Workflow Recipes

Use these recipes when you know what you want to do and need the shortest path through the app.

Import a Song or Loop and Speed It Up

1. Set the top-bar BPM to the target tempo you want to hear.
2. Drag the audio file onto the timeline, right-click the timeline and choose Import audio here, or run Import audio from the command palette.
3. Choose Follow project tempo during import when the tempo policy is visible.
4. If the region does not follow correctly, select it and enter the original Source BPM in the Selection inspector.
5. Keep Follow project tempo enabled on that region.
6. Choose Default for a first pass, Beats for drums and loops, Tones for sustained tonal material, or Tape when pitch should move with speed.
7. Press Play and adjust project BPM, Source BPM, or Stretch mode by ear.
8. Export from the top-bar Export control when the timing sounds right.

The original sample is not overwritten. Miao stores the source file and the region timing choices separately. For the full mental model, see Tempo and Follow Project Tempo.

Make an 808/909 Beat with Drum Lanes and Pads

1. Add or select a MIDI track.
2. Open Sounds, choose Drum Kits, then load 808/909 Kit.
3. Open Piano Roll and create or select a MIDI region on that track.
4. The editor switches from pitch rows to named drum lanes for the kit.
5. Use the draw tool to place kicks, snares, hats, claps, toms, rides, crashes, and percussion hits.
6. Drag in a drum lane with the draw tool to paint repeated hits at the current Grid spacing.
7. Drag the velocity line inside a hit to change its accent. Select several hits first when you want relative velocity changes across a pattern.
8. Use the computer-keyboard pad layout or on-screen pads to audition exact kit pieces.

If a kit piece is not visible, check the named lanes first, then turn on Unmapped in the MIDI toolbar when working with imported MIDI that uses notes outside the kit map.

Sidechain Bass, Pad, or Reverb to a Kick

1. Put the kick on its own audio or MIDI track.
2. Put a Compressor Track Effect on the track you want to duck, such as bass, pad, or a printed reverb track.
3. Set the Compressor Sidechain Source to the kick track.
4. Lower Comp Thresh until the target track dips when the kick hits.
5. Increase Comp Ratio for stronger ducking.
6. Use Comp Attack for how fast the dip starts and Comp Release for how fast it recovers.
7. Route the kick track to None if you want it to trigger ducking silently without being heard in the mix.

Sidechain routing is a Track Effect setting. The full mix and export should match realtime playback.

Export a Full Mix and Stems

1. Save the project and make sure it is unlocked.
2. Click Export in the top bar.
3. Click Export ZIP.
4. Wait for the export status to finish.
5. Click Download ZIP.

The ZIP includes project-mix.wav, project.json, referenced source media, and per-track files in stems/ when the project fits the stem-size guard. The full mix includes routing, Track Effects, Master Effects, and Master track-head mute/volume/balance. Stems are source-track based and do not include final Master output controls.

Build Chords into MIDI and Edit the Notes

1. Add chords with the + button in the Chords header, by clicking the chord lane, or by using progression presets.
2. Select the chord block or leave the chord lane unselected to use the full progression.
3. Choose Make MIDI, Arp, Bass, or Build arrangement from the Selection inspector.
4. Select the created MIDI region and open Piano Roll.
5. Edit the generated notes like normal MIDI: move, trim, transpose, quantize, humanize, change velocity, or add/remove notes.
6. Use Regenerate only when you want to replace the edited notes from the latest chord source.

Chord blocks are planning data until converted. After conversion, the MIDI region is editable musical material.

Record Audio into a Saved Project

1. Click Save first if you are still in a starter draft.
2. Select or add an audio track.
3. Arm the track with the record-dot icon.
4. Enable monitoring with the ear icon if you need to hear the input before recording.
5. Choose metronome and count-in settings in the transport.
6. Click Record.
7. Watch the live region drawing and input meter.
8. Click Record again to stop.

Recording creates an audio region on the armed track. Saved projects upload and restore the recorded file automatically.

Use Only the Computer Keyboard to Sketch Notes

1. Select a MIDI track and load an instrument from Sounds.
2. Open Piano Roll so the computer-keyboard panel is visible.
3. Use the lower row Z S X D C V G B H N J M and upper row Q 2 W 3 E R 5 T 6 Y 7 U to play notes.
4. Use [ and ] or the octave buttons to move the playable range.
5. Record-arm the MIDI track when you want to capture the performance.
6. For a drum kit, use the pad layout shown by the selected kit instead of melodic pitch rows.
7. Edit the recorded notes with the draw/select tools, in-note velocity handles, quantize, and humanize.

Preview and computer-keyboard sound follow the selected MIDI region or selected MIDI track. If preview uses the wrong sound, select the intended MIDI region or track again.