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List of music sequencers

Music sequencers are hardware devices or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling note and performance information.

Hardware sequencers

Many synthesizers, and by definition all music workstations, groove machines and drum machines, contain their own sequencers.

The following are specifically designed to function primarily as the music sequencers:

Rotating object with pins or holes

  • Barrel or cylinder with pins (since 9th or 14th century) — utilized on barrel organs, carillons, music boxes
  • Metal disc with punched holes (late 18th century) — utilized on several music boxes such as Polyphon, Regina, Symphonion, Ariston, Graphonola (early version), etc.

Punched paper

Sound-on-film

  • Variophone (1930) by Evgeny Sholpo—on earliest version, hand drawn waves on film or disc were used to synthesize sound, and later versions were promised to experiment on musical intonations and temporal characteristics of live music performance, however not finished. Variophone is often referred as a forerunner of drawn sound system including ANS synthesizer and Oramics.
  • Composer-Tron (1953) by Osmond Kendal—rhythmical sequences were controlled via marking cue on film, while timbre of note or envelope-shape of sound were defined via hand drawn shapes on a surface of a CRT input device, drawn with a grease pencil.
  • ANS synthesizer (1938-1958) by Evgeny Murzin—an earliest realtime additive synthesizer using 720 microtonal sine waves (1/6 semitones × 10 octaves) generated by five glass discs. Composers could control the time evolution of amplitudes of each microtone via scratches on a glass plate user interface covered with black mastic.
  • Oramics (1957) by Daphne Oram—hand drawn contours on a set of ten sprocketed synchronized strips of 35 film were used to control various parameters of monophonic sound generator (frequency, timbre, amplitude and duration). Polyphonic sounds were obtained using multitrack recording technique.

Electro-mechanical sequencers

Analog sequencers

Analog sequencers with CV/Gate interface

Analog-style step sequencers

Analog-style MIDI step sequencers

Since the analog synthesizer revivals in the 1990s, newly designed MIDI sequencers with a series of knobs or sliders similar to analog sequencer have appeared. These often equip CV/Gate and DIN sync interface along with MIDI, and even patch memory for multiple sequence patterns and possibly song sequences. These analog-digital hybrid machines are often called "Analogue-style MIDI step sequencer" or "MIDI analogue sequencer", etc.

Analog-style MIDI pattern sequencers

Several machines also provide "song mode" to play the sequence of memorised patterns in specified order, as per drum machines.

Step sequencers (supported on)

Typical step sequencers are integrated on drum machines, bass machines, groove machines, music production machines, and these software versions. Often, these also support the semi-realtime recording mode, too.

  • MFB Step 64—Standalone step sequencer dedicated for drum patterns (16 steps/4 tracks or 64 steps/1 track, 118 programs×4 banks, 16 song sequences, each with up to 128 sequences)

Embedded self-contained step sequencers

Several tiny keyboards provide a step sequencer combined with an independent timing mode for recording and performance:

  • Casio VL-Tone VL-1 (1979), Casiotone MT-70 (c.1984), Sampletone SK-1 (1986), etc.—Timings of musical notes stored on the step sequencer, can be designated by the two trigger buttons labeled "One Key Play", around the right hand position

Embedded CV/Gate step sequencers

Several machines have white and black chromatic keypads, to enter the musical phrases.

Embedded MIDI step sequencers

Groovebox-type machines with white and black chromatic keypads, often support step recording mode along with realtime recording mode:

Other groovebox-type machines (including several music production machines) also often support step recording mode, of course:

Button-grid-style step sequencers

Recently emerging button-grid-style interfaces/instruments are naturally support step sequence. On these machines, one axis on grid means musical scale or sample to play, and another axis means timing of notes.

In addition, newly designed hardware MIDI sequencers equipping a series of knobs/sliders similar to analog sequencers, are appeared. For details, see #Analog-style MIDI step sequencers.

Digital sequencers

CV/Gate

Also often support Gate clock and DIN sync interfaces.

Proprietary digital interfaces (pre MIDI era)

Hardware MIDI sequencers

Standalone MIDI sequencers
MIDI phrase sequencers
Embedded MIDI sequencers
MIDI sequencers with embedded sound module
  • Yamaha TQ5—desktop version of EOS YS200 FM workstation
  • Yamaha QY10—with embedded GM tone generator (1990)
  • Yamaha QY20—with embedded GM tone generator (1992)
  • Yamaha QY300—with embedded GM tone generator (1994)
  • Yamaha QY20—with embedded GM tone generator (1995)
  • Yamaha QY700—with embedded XG tone generator (1996)
  • Yamaha QY70—with embedded XG tone generator (1997)
  • Yamaha QY100—with embedded XG tone generator (2000)
Palmtop MIDI sequencers
Accompaniment machines

Open-source hardware

  • MIDIbox Sequencer modules—Analog-style MIDI step sequencer/MIDI effect processor modules of MIDIbox project
  • oTTo Sampler, Sequencer, Multi-engine synth and effects - in a box.

Software sequencers and DAWs with sequencing features

Free, open source

Scorewriters

DAW with MIDI sequencers

  • Ardour—Linux, OS X, FreeBSD, Windows
  • LMMS—Linux, Windows
  • MusE—Linux
  • Qtractor—Linux
  • Rosegarden—Linux
  • —iOS 7

Drum machines

Commercial

Scorewriters

Software MIDI sequencers

by Alfred Faust] at http://bnp.hansfaust.de/indexeng.html

Loop-oriented DAWs with MIDI sequencers

Tracker-oriented DAWs with MIDI sequencers

DAWs with MIDI sequencers

Integrated software studio environments

See also

References