Analyze and Generate

Use this workflow when you already have a musical idea and want Miaou to turn it into editable song structure. Analyzed chords become normal Chord Track blocks, and generated parts become normal MIDI regions.

Generated MIDI is ordinary piano-roll material. Edit notes, change instruments, add effects, or regenerate later.

Fast Path

Use this when you have a MIDI idea and want a quick chord-driven arrangement sketch:

1. Save or unlock the project.
2. Select one melodic MIDI region.
3. Choose the Analysis grid that matches the chord rhythm.
4. Click Create chords.
5. Review any Review or Check chord blocks.
6. Correct chord symbols, slash bass, inversion, or timing where needed.
7. Select the chord blocks, timeline range, or marker section you want to generate from.
8. Check the Generate summary so the source and bar span are what you intend.
9. Click Pad, Bass, Arp, Lead, Drums, or Build arrangement.
10. Edit the created MIDI in the Piano Roll like normal notes.

Do not skip the review pass. Generated bass, lead, and pad parts follow the Chord Track, so one wrong analyzed chord can make several generated regions feel wrong.

The Mental Model

Step	What Miaou creates	What you can edit
Analyze	Chord Track blocks with review details.	Chord symbol, slash bass, inversion, timing, reviewed state.
Generate	MIDI regions and MIDI clips.	Notes, velocity, timing, instrument, effects, routing.
Regenerate	Replacement notes from saved chord source.	Undo, create a new variation, or edit the regenerated notes.

Miaou keeps the workflow DAW-native. Chords, markers, MIDI clips, tracks, and regions remain visible project objects.

Before You Click

Use this checklist whenever analysis or generation changes more music than expected. It catches the common wrong-source mistakes before they create several tracks of MIDI to clean up.

Action	Check first	Safe sign
Create chords	One melodic MIDI region is selected; drum-kit regions are not selected.	The Selection inspector names the intended MIDI region and shows an analysis grid.
Generate MIDI	The chord blocks, marker section, or timeline range you want is selected.	The Generate summary names the expected source and bar span.
Build arrangement	The Chord Track has the progression you want, or the selected marker/range is the right one.	Created regions appear as normal editable MIDI on named tracks.
Regenerate	The generated MIDI region source chip is Chords, Changed, or Saved.	The From chords disclosure explains the source and Regenerate is enabled.
New variation	You want an alternate editable take, not a replacement of the current region.	Miaou creates a new generated take/region and keeps the source relationship visible.
Section actions	The selected marker-to-next-marker span is the intended section.	The Markers panel reports the section bar range, chord count, and generated-MIDI statuses.

If a generated result is wrong, undo immediately and fix the source selection or chord review before trying another generator.

Start With a Short Range

For the first pass, work on 4-8 bars instead of the whole song. A short range makes review, correction, generation, and undo easier to understand.

Step	What to do	Why it helps
1	Save a version before analysis or generation.	You can return to the pre-analysis project state.
2	Select one clear melodic MIDI region or one marker section.	Miaou analyzes/generates from a source you can inspect.
3	Choose the coarsest Analysis grid that still follows the chord rhythm.	Fewer, longer chords are easier to review than noisy fragments.
4	Review every Review and Check chord before generating.	Generated parts inherit these harmonic decisions.
5	Generate one part first, usually Pad, Bass, or Make MIDI.	One layer makes wrong chords, register, or density obvious.
6	Play the result, then add Arp, Lead, Drums, or arrangement.	More layers are easier to judge after the source is trusted.

Once that range works, repeat the same process for the next section or use marker-section generation.

Analyze MIDI into Chords

1. Create or import a melodic MIDI region.
2. Select the MIDI region.
3. In Selection, choose an Analysis grid:
   • 1/2 bar for faster harmonic rhythm.
   • 1 bar for the normal chord-per-bar pass.
   • 2 bars for slower changes.
4. Click Create chords.
5. Miaou writes editable Chord Track blocks over the analyzed range.

Drum-kit MIDI is skipped because drum notes are kit-piece addresses, not pitches.

Choose the grid by how often the harmony actually changes, not by how dense the notes are:

Analysis grid	Use it when...	Avoid it when...
1/2 bar	Chords change quickly, or the part has clear two-beat harmonic moves.	Passing notes make every half-bar look like a different idea.
1 bar	Most bars have one main chord.	The part holds one chord for several bars.
2 bars	Chords hold longer, or the MIDI is sparse.	There are obvious chord changes inside each two-bar span.

If the result looks fragmented, undo and try a longer grid. If the result misses changes, undo and try a shorter grid.

Review the Result

Analyzed chords can show review badges:

Badge	Meaning
Review	Low confidence. Check it before trusting generated parts.
Check	Medium confidence. Usually usable, but worth listening to.
Reviewed	You accepted or checked this chord.
Corrected	You chose one of Miaou's alternate candidates.
Manual	You typed a correction that was not one of the analyzer candidates.

Use Next review, Previous review, Mark reviewed, and Reviewed + next to move through the queue. Use Accept high-confidence when you want to approve clear matches and focus on uncertain segments.

Use this review loop:

You see...	Do this
Review	Preview the chord, compare it to the MIDI, then choose a candidate or type a correction.
Check	Listen once; mark reviewed if it matches the musical intent.
A good chord, wrong bass	Add or change slash Bass, such as C/E or Bb/F.
Correct harmony, jumpy motion	Adjust Inv before generating smoother chord stacks or bass movement.
Empty analyzed space	Leave it empty if the source was silent or unclear, or add a chord manually.

The Selection inspector is where you correct chord symbols, slash bass, inversion, key, scale, and generation controls.

Correct a Chord

Select the chord block and use one of these:

• Type a symbol such as Cm7, F#maj7, Bb/D, or Gsus4.
• Choose a candidate button when Miaou shows alternates.
• Adjust Root, Type, Ext, Bass, Inv, Start, or Beats.
• Drag the chord block or either edge in the Chord Track.

Slash bass matters. A chord like C/E keeps C as the harmony while telling bass generation to treat E as the low target.

Generate Editable MIDI

Before generating, make the source explicit. Miaou uses the active selection to decide which chords become MIDI:

Active source	What Miaou uses
Selected chord block(s)	Only those Chord Track blocks.
Selected marker section	Chords from that marker to the next marker.
Selected timeline regions	Chords that overlap the selected region range.
No active source	The full Chord Track lane.

Check the Generate summary before clicking a generation action. It names the source and bar span so you can catch a wrong selected marker, stale region selection, or unintended full-lane generation.

Then choose a generation action:

Action	Result
Make MIDI	Block chords.
Pad	Held harmony with smoother voice-leading.
Arp	Repeating chord-tone motion.
Bass	Rhythmic low notes that follow roots and slash bass.
Lead	Short top-line phrases from scale and chord tones.
Drums	Editable kit hits on a drum-kit MIDI track.
Build arrangement	Several coordinated MIDI layers from the same source.

Generation controls are deterministic:

Control	Use it for
Voicing	Close, open, or spread chord shapes.
Variation	Main, alternate variation, or fill behavior.
Density	Sparse, normal, or denser note grouping.
Energy	Softer, balanced, or more accented notes.
Rhythm	Straight, syncopated, or offbeat timing choices.
Register	Lower, middle, or higher generated pitch range.
Seed	Repeatable alternate phrase choices from the same source.

The same source and settings create the same generated MIDI, so regeneration is predictable.

Generated notes are editable immediately. If you manually change the notes, save a version before using Regenerate, because regeneration replaces the generated note material from its saved source.

Choose the Right Generator

Start with one or two parts, then add more layers after the first pass plays correctly:

Need	Start with	Check afterward
Hear the chord progression	Make MIDI or Pad.	Chord quality, inversion, register, and sustain.
Add low-end direction	Bass.	Slash bass, octave, lead-in notes, and rhythm.
Add motion without a melody	Arp.	Density, rhythmic feel, and note range.
Add a sketch melody	Lead.	Whether phrases land on useful chord/scale tones.
Add beat support	Drums or Build arrangement.	Kit lanes, density, section energy, and accents.
Build a multi-track sketch	Build arrangement.	Track targets, generated region labels, and balance.

If the generated MIDI is close but not perfect, edit the notes directly. Use regeneration when you want to rebuild from changed chords, not for small manual note fixes.

Check the Generated Parts

Before adding more layers or regenerating, make sure the first result is useful:

Check	What good looks like
Source range	Generated regions start and end inside the chord range, marker section, or timeline range you chose.
Track targets	Pads, bass, lead, arp, and drums landed on the intended MIDI tracks or newly created named tracks.
Drum lanes	Drum parts use a kit-backed track with named lanes, not melodic pitch rows.
Instrument choice	Each generated MIDI track has a loaded instrument or drum kit, and preview/playback is audible.
Musical density	Notes support the section instead of crowding it. Lower Density or Energy if it feels too busy.
Source disclosure	The generated region's From chords disclosure names the expected source and can regenerate safely.
Manual edit safety	Save a version or duplicate the region before heavy note edits if you may want to regenerate later.

If the generated part is wrong because the source was wrong, undo, correct the chord range or marker selection, then generate again. If the source was right but the part only needs musical cleanup, edit the MIDI notes directly in the Piano Roll.

Generate for Sections

Markers make generation more song-shaped.

1. Add markers such as Intro, Verse, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Bridge, and Outro.
2. Select a marker.
3. Choose Build arrangement, Build fill, Regenerate section, New section take, Duplicate section, or Duplicate variation.

Miaou reads the marker-to-next-marker range as the section. It uses the marker name as a light musical role hint: intros and outros are sparser, choruses are fuller, bridges and pre-choruses use alternate motion, and fills become denser transition material.

For the complete marker workflow, including marker editing, section duplication, fills, and section regeneration, see Markers and Sections.

Regenerate Safely

Generated MIDI regions remember:

• generation mode and settings;
• the chord blocks or source range they came from;
• marker section label and role when applicable;
• a saved copy of the source chords for safe regeneration when the current chord lane no longer contains that range;
• seed, take, density, energy, rhythm, register, and voicing.

The region source chip explains whether regeneration is safe:

Chip	Meaning
Chords	The generated region still matches current Chord Track source blocks.
Changed	Current Chord Track blocks fully cover the saved source range, but changed.
Saved	Current chords are gone, so Miaou can regenerate from the saved snapshot.
Missing	Source material is partial or absent; regeneration is disabled.

The From chords disclosure tells you what created the selected MIDI and whether regeneration can use current chords.

Miaou does not silently regenerate from partial sources. If only part of a saved source range has replacement chords, regeneration stays disabled instead of dropping bars.

Use regeneration deliberately:

Situation	Better action
You changed the Chord Track and want the part updated	Use Regenerate or Regenerate changed when the source chip allows it.
You like the current take but want another option	Use New variation or duplicate the region before regenerating.
You manually edited many notes	Save a version first, or duplicate the region and regenerate the duplicate.
Source chip says Missing	Restore or recreate the missing chord range, or keep editing the MIDI by hand.

Common Checks

• If generated MIDI sounds wrong, select the source chord range and preview the chords first.
• If Regenerate is disabled, open the From chords disclosure and read the source status.
• If drums generate on unexpected lanes, load a full drum kit and use the named drum lanes.
• If analyzed chords look sparse, try a shorter analysis grid or remove passing notes from the source MIDI.
• If the generated part is too busy, lower Density or use Main instead of Fill.

Related Pages

• Chords and Scales explains the full Chord Track reference.
• MIDI Editor explains how to edit the generated notes.
• Markers and Sections explains marker-section generation, fills, duplicate section, and section regeneration.
• Workflow Recipes gives a short task walkthrough.