Part 2 of four. Open the song from 1. Make a Beat.
1. Add an instrument track with a bass sample
Press ⇧⌘T (New Instrument Track…), press ⇥ to Samples, type bass and press Return. The sample loads into the built-in Sampler; a bass plugin you own works too, and Free Sounds and Plugins lists free ones.
Press a letter key: you hear the bass at that pitch. More: Load Instruments and Effects.
2. Loop the bass in the Sampler
Press ⌥X, or click the sample card in the Inspector, to open the sampler editor. Switch Loop on, drag the loop flags around the steady part of the note and raise Crossfade until the seam is smooth; Return closes it.
Hold a letter key: the note now sustains as long as you hold it. More: Sampler.
3. Play and record a bass line
Play the letter keys along with the beat; in the Scale layout they stay in the project’s key. When you have a line, press Caps Lock and Space, play it, and press Space to stop. Or write it note by note without record mode: hold a key, press Return to write it at the cursor, and tap → while still holding to make it longer (Stamping).
You hear your own bass line under the drums. More: Play with the Keyboard, Record MIDI.
4. Or stamp a bass pattern
Press ⌥P (Stamp MIDI Shapes and Patterns…), type bass and arrow through the rows to hear each in your key. Press Return and click where the pattern goes on the bass track.
You hear a written bass line play through your Sampler. More: Patterns.
5. Fix notes in the piano roll
Select the bass clip and press ⌥↓ (Enter Focus Mode), or double-click it. ⌘-click and drag to draw a new note, press ⌘→ to mark a note and ↑ / ↓ to move it a semitone, and with it marked ⌘-click elsewhere to stamp a copy; ⌥↑ steps back out.
You hear the corrected line on the next loop. More: Piano Roll.
6. Duck the bass under the kick
With the bass track selected, press ⌥D (Add Ducking…) and choose the kick track.
You hear the bass make room on every kick. More: Ducking.
Next: 3. Arrange Last modified on October 23, 2026
