Arrange and perform

The tbd 16 has no song mode. That turns out to be the interesting part.

You now have: a loop that sounds finished. What it isn’t yet is a track.

This lesson is being written. The outline below is what it will cover.

Planned outline

Say it plainly up front: there is no song mode, no pattern chaining, no scene list and no arranger. You do not write an arrangement down and press play. You perform it.

That’s a real constraint, and it shapes how you work:

  • Mutes are your main tool. Drop the hats for eight bars and bring them back — that’s a chorus. Everything except the kick out, then everything in — that’s a drop. Most of arranging on this device is deciding what isn’t playing.
  • Six pattern slots per track. Build a variation in slot 2 — busier hats, an extra kick — and switch to it live. Each track switches independently, so you can move the drums to a new pattern while the bass keeps going.
  • A global pattern move can switch all tracks to the same pattern row at once. That’s as close as the device gets to launching a scene, and it’s enough to structure a whole track around.
  • Mute, solo, and cue create breakdowns and transitions without stopping playback.
  • Hands on knobs. A filter sweep on the bass over eight bars does more for a build than any amount of programming. This is why the four encoders are always live.
  • Automation lanes for the things you want to keep moving without holding a knob — eight per track, LFO or random, with control over when they reset.
  • Track speed per pattern: half-time the drums for a breakdown without touching the tempo.
  • A structure that works: 8 bars drums → add bass → add lead → strip to kick → everything → out. Practise it a few times, then record it.
  • Recording the performance out: the master output, or straight into a DAW over USB.

The finished exercise will provide two pattern variations and a small set of working mute and pattern controls, then guide the learner through a short intro–breakdown–drop performance.

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Reference: Pattern · Sequencer · Navigation