Lock to time

Arp · Lesson 2 of 3 · AR2

Exercise Sync the arp to the bed, add swing.
Result An arp that grooves.

The 2nd step of the arp track in PatchPond's subtractive synthesis curriculum. Capstone — ties rhythm to sound — and this lesson is where you meet rate / swing (also in delay) for the first time.

What you'll learn

Setting a metronome to clicks-per-bar instead of clicks-per-second.

Tempo sync locks a rate-based parameter — arp rate, LFO rate, delay time — to the song's tempo. Instead of milliseconds or Hertz, the rate is set in musical divisions: quarter notes, eighths, sixteenths, triplets, dotted values. Read more →

Built on

A music box that plays whichever notes you hold down for it.

An arpeggiator takes a held chord and turns it into a sequence of single notes — playing the chord one note at a time in a chosen direction, rate, and octave range. Full definition →

First taught in AR1 Make it move

Build this lesson live in the PatchPond studio. Web MIDI in, on-screen keyboard otherwise. The patch you make here loads back into iOS later on — same patch format.

Open in studio →
AR1 Make it moveAR2 Lock to timeAR3 Combine