> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gridshift.studio/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Record MIDI

> Records notes and slices onto the selected track, live while the song plays or one step at a time with the transport stopped. Press Caps Lock to turn on record mode, then Space.

## Record live

<video src="/videos/recording-live.mp4" poster="/videos/recording-live.jpg" aria-label="With record mode on, Space counts in one bar and the notes played on the letter keys appear in a new clip on the Chords track as they are released; Space stops and keeps the take" title="With record mode on, Space counts in one bar and the notes played on the letter keys appear in a new clip on the Chords track as they are released; Space stops and keeps the take" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

Select the track, press `Caps Lock` and press `Space`. Play, and press `Space` again to stop: the take is kept and record mode stays on for the next one.

## Enter notes step by step

<video src="/videos/recording-step.mp4" poster="/videos/recording-step.jpg" aria-label="With the transport stopped and record mode on, each letter key writes a note at the cursor and moves it one grid step on" title="With the transport stopped and record mode on, each letter key writes a note at the cursor and moves it one grid step on" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

With the transport stopped, select the track, place the cursor and press `Caps Lock`. Each key writes a note at the cursor, one grid step long, and moves the cursor on. Hold the key and press `→` or `←` to lengthen or shorten it.

## Audition, then commit

Without record mode, play keys until the note, chord or slice sounds right. Press `Return` while still holding them, and they are written at the edit cursor as one step. Use `→` / `←` before releasing to set the length.

## Record in a loop

Turn looping on with `⌘L`, then record live. Each pass adds a layer to the previous one, and `⌘Z` takes back the last layer only.

## Quantize while recording

<video src="/videos/quantize-record.mp4" poster="/videos/quantize-record.jpg" aria-label="Command palette, Set Record Quantize, choosing a resolution" title="Command palette, Set Record Quantize, choosing a resolution" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

Run Command Palette → **Set Record Quantize**, or right-click the record button, and pick a grid. Each recorded note then starts on that grid.

## Delete the previous step

<video src="/videos/recording-delete.mp4" poster="/videos/recording-delete.jpg" aria-label="Backspace twice removes the last two steps' notes and moves the cursor back one grid step each time" title="Backspace twice removes the last two steps' notes and moves the cursor back one grid step each time" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

With the timeline focused and nothing selected, press `⌫`. The grid step before the cursor is cut out and the cursor moves back, like deleting a typed character.

## Good to know

* **Record mode arms the selected track; there is no per-track arm.** It does not start playback. Leave it with `Esc` or `Caps Lock`; during a live take, `Esc` ends the take and keeps it.
* **What gets recorded depends on the track.** An instrument track records MIDI notes from [Musical Typing](/work-fast/play-with-the-keyboard.md) or a controller, a sample track with transients records slice triggers. An empty sample track records [audio](/record/record-audio.md).
* **[Automation](/mix/automation.md) is recorded on any track.** Move a plugin knob or a mixer fader while record mode is on, and the moves become automation points.
* **Each note appears in the clip when you release it.** Notes played over an existing clip go into that clip; elsewhere a new clip is created, rounded to whole bars.
* **A whole live take is one undo step**, **Record Take**.

> **Details**
>
> * **The record button in the transport bar blinks red while record mode is on**, and the Caps Lock light follows record mode exactly, however it was switched. Record mode is also **Record On/Off** in the Command Palette and the record button itself.
> * **`Caps Lock` leaves record mode alone while you type** in a text field or while the Command Palette is open.
> * **An open plugin window and an active drag take `Esc` first.** The next `Esc` leaves record mode.
> * **In [Focus Mode](/edit/focus-mode.md), recording goes to the focused clip's track.** With no instrument or sample track selected, a Return for example, record mode captures only automation.
> * **A live take from a stopped transport starts after the [count-in](/record/metronome.md).**
> * **A note you are still holding shows as a ghost.**
> * **In a loop, notes from every pass stay.** A note from a later pass replaces an earlier note of the same pitch where they overlap. Each pass is its own undo step.
> * **Recorded slices replace whatever they land on**, in a loop or not. Clips under a new slice are trimmed, split or removed.
> * **Several keys pressed within 50 ms form a chord** at the same position in step entry.
> * **Releasing the key ends the resize.** `⌘`, `⇧` and `⌥` arrows keep their navigation meaning.
> * **On a sample track, step entry writes each slice at full natural length**, and the cursor lands on the next grid line at or after the slice's end.
> * **Hold-and-Return needs no record mode.** Computer keyboard, hardware MIDI and the number-row levels all work. The held pitches are written at the velocity you auditioned them at, a slice at the gain it played at, and the cursor moves on.
> * **Hold-and-Return also works inside an open MIDI clip.** The step lands at the piano roll's cursor, one grid cell long, and the cursor steps on by that cell, so holding a chord and pressing `Return` repeatedly lays out a row of steps. It stops at the end of the clip where a neighboring clip leaves no room to grow.
> * **`Return` keeps its usual meaning in record mode** (every key already writes), during live recording, with a range marked (`Return` fills the range), and in an open clip with marked notes or a drawn region (`Return` stamps or duplicates them).
> * **`⌫` works whenever the timeline has focus and nothing is selected**, in record mode or not. A clip inside the step is removed, and a clip running through it is split or trimmed, so only that step's content goes. If the step is empty, the cursor still moves back. With a clip or range selected, `⌫` deletes the selection instead.
> * **Record Quantize lets your playing feel natural and still land on the beat.** It moves starts only, and a note never moves out of the clip it was played into. It also applies to MIDI committed with [MIDI Capture](/record/midi-capture.md), and you can still [quantize](/timing/quantize.md) afterwards.

> **Record Quantize**
>
> | Setting | Behavior |
> | - | - |
> | **None** (default) | Notes keep their played timing |
> | **1/4** / **1/8** / **1/16** / **1/32** | Each note's start snaps to the nearest grid line at that resolution |

> **Keys**
>
> | Action | Shortcut |
> | - | - |
> | Record On/Off | `⇪ Caps Lock` |
> | Start / stop playback | `Space` |
> | Loop On/Off | `⌘L` |
> | Commit the held note, chord or slice | `Return` (while holding) |
> | Lengthen / shorten the step | `→` / `←` (while holding) |
> | Delete the previous grid step | `⌫` |
> | Leave record mode | `Esc` |


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