Melody Sketcher — v105.0 (Rich Sound + Smart Melodies + Undo)

Controls

Chord palette + essential melody knobs.

Chords: click to append to selected section(s). Shift+click inserts at cursor in the focused section.

Chord palette

Diatonic triads for the selected key/scale.

Melody knobs fine-tune vibe

Pitch & Harmony

Stepwise bias?Higher = more stepwise motion (neighbor notes). Lower = more leaps/jumps.

Resolve-to-tonic?Higher = more likely to end a line on the key center (tonic).

Chord-tone bias?Higher = prefer chord tones on strong beats. Lower = more passing tones.

Repetition?Higher = more repeated notes/motifs. Lower = more melodic variety.

Vocal range?Set your comfortable singing range. The generator stays within these bounds.

Phrase ending?Root = stable. 3rd = sweet. 5th = strong. Unresolved = tension. Surprise = chromatic.

Snap accents to chord changes?Biases note starts and pitches to hit chord tones at chord changes.

?Snap strength.

Rhythm & Timing

Phrase spacing?Higher = inserts more tiny rests between notes so phrases breathe. Lower = notes fill every available slot.

Rhythm looseness?Higher = more timing jitter between syllables. Lower = grid-locked.

Smoothing?Higher = more even note spacing inside each line. Lower = more syncopated.

Groove?Micro-timing feel. Swing delays offbeats; Laid-back nudges late; Push nudges early; Funk adds syncopation.

Line ending?How lines finish: Breath = rest before last; Hold = extend last; Cadence = stable pitch; Hard stop = cut short.

Clamp notes to line window?Prevents notes from bleeding past their line's timing window.

Handle dense lines?Compresses note lengths when a line has many syllables for the available time.

soft limit syll/bar

Smart rests at punctuation?Auto-insert breaths at commas, periods, question marks. Question marks add an upward pitch hint.

Markup: _ splits into rapid syllables • spaces = pauses • ~ sustain • blank line = wait

Expression & Delivery

Delivery mode?Speech: stressed syllables get more time. Sung: even spacing, stress affects pitch. Chant: very even, minimal stress.

Stress influence?How much syllable stress affects pitch, duration, and velocity.

Emotional arc?Pre-configured contour + interval + rhythm + dynamics combos. Overrides per-line contours when set.

Call & response?Odd lines sit higher (call), even lines lower (response). Creates conversational texture.

Rhyme-aware phrasing?Rhyming lines get matching ending pitches so rhymes sound like rhymes.

Vocal Smoothing

These affect playback sound only — not the stored melody.

Humanize?Micro-timing randomization so notes don't land on perfect grid positions.

Vibrato?Natural pitch oscillation on sustained notes (5-6Hz). Fades in after attack so onsets stay clean.

Vocal air?Blends filtered noise with the tone — like breath in a human voice. Adds warmth and realism.

Swell?Volume rises gently through sustained notes, like a singer leaning in. More natural than flat sustain.

Portamento?Pitch slide between connected notes. 0 = instant jumps. 100 = long lazy slides (R&B/soul).

Legato overlap?How long notes overlap during transitions. Higher = smoother, more connected. Lower = more articulated.

Composer

Rhythm markup: _ fast syllables • spaces = pauses • ~ sustain • blank line = wait for next cycle.

0 selected Tip: click section header to select; Shift-click multi-select.

Utilities

Import • Accompaniment • Presets

Import Markup

Format [SECTION NAME] optional [CHORDS...] then lyric lines

Replace current sections

Tip: Section headers are bracketed like [VERSE 1]. The first bracketed line after a header that looks like chords becomes the chord progression.

These affect playback and MIDI export. They do not change your generated melody notes.

Bass

Bass Pattern Octave Arp dir

FeelHigher = slightly looser timing and velocity variation. 25

FlourishHigher = more occasional approach notes and extra hits. 20

VolumeBass loudness relative to chords/melody. 75

Drums

Drums Pattern Hats

Swing0 = straight. Higher = more swing. 0

FeelHigher = looser timing/velocity for a human pocket. 20

ComplexityHigher = more extra kicks/ghosts/opens. 20

VolumeDrums loudness relative to other layers. 65

Style preset Style: None

Auto-apply style on Generate

Styles are macro presets: they only set knobs. They don’t overwrite your sections/text/chords or existing generated notes unless you choose a regen action.

Bars & Chords Cheat Sheet quick reference

Bars per line = how long the lyric line lasts. Chords per line = how many chord changes happen during that line.

1 bar / 1 chord (slow, stable)

Line: | G |

1 bar / 2 chords (pop default)

Line: | G D |

2 bars / 1 chord (big, held)

Line: | G —— |

2 bars / 2 chords (balanced verse)

Line: | G | D |

1 bar / 4 chords (busy / talky)

Line: | G D Em C |

Rule of thumb: Lyrics feel rushed → increase Bars/line. Harmony feels boring → increase Chords/line.