Acoustica
Cherry Audio

Chord Lane and Chord Blobs

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CHORD LANE AND CHORD BLOBS

The chord lane is a horizontal strip above the piano roll body where chord "blobs" represent chord events. Each blob has a position, a duration, and a chord — and the notes it generates play through the track's virtual instrument.

DISPLAY MODES

The chord lane has two display modes, toggled with the button in the chord lane header:

  • Text mode — compact display showing chord symbols such as "Cm7" or "G/B".

  • Tab mode — a taller lane showing guitar tablature diagrams for each chord.

CREATING AND EDITING CHORD BLOBS

  • Drag a chord from the Chord Browser Panel onto the lane, or double-click an empty spot in the lane.

  • Use the Paintbrush tool to paint chords across the lane at the current snap grid length, or the Pencil tool to place them one at a time.

  • Double-click a blob to edit its chord symbol inline — type "Gsus4" and the chord changes to G suspended 4th.

  • Click to select; Ctrl+click for multi-select; Shift+click for a range; or drag a selection rectangle.

  • Drag to move a blob in time; drag its edges to resize; Alt+drag to duplicate.

  • The up/down inversion buttons on a selected blob cycle through chord inversions.

  • The Split command splits a chord blob at the caret.

THE RIGHT-CLICK MENU

Right-click a chord blob for the full command set: Invert Up/Invert Down, Bake to MIDI Notes, Detach Notes, Keep Chord Type (lock quality through key changes), Set Scale, Voice Leading, Pattern Alignment, Apply Voice Leading, Reset To Root Position, and — in Pro Studio — an Advanced submenu with Edit Chord Palette and Edit Chord Style. Right-clicking a chord's note in the piano roll pre-selects its chord blob, so menu actions target the chord under your cursor.

INVERSIONS, SLASH CHORDS, AND VOICING

Every chord blob keeps a clear, editable record of its voicing: which inversion, in which octave, and — if you played it in — the specific voicing you performed. Inverted voicings display automatically as slash chords ("C/E" for a first-inversion C major). Dragging, transposing, and palette changes keep the voicing stable, and the drag preview shows exactly what you'll get. Apply Voice Leading smooths the transitions across a progression, while Reset To Root Position restores root voicings (and clears any octave offset).

EDITING MULTIPLE CHORDS AT ONCE

Select multiple blobs and apply any operation to all of them together: move, resize, copy, invert, change style or palette, change voice leading, quantize, transpose, humanize, and adjust velocity. Batch operations update in a single pass, so even dense progressions stay responsive.