> ## 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.

# Groove and Swing

> Moves the grid away from straight time, so the clips and notes on it swing, for the whole project or for one track. Press ⌘2, pick a pattern under Grid and raise its Amount.

## Set the project groove

<video src="/videos/groove-menu.mp4" poster="/videos/groove-menu.jpg" aria-label="In the Project tab's Grid section, the Groove menu lists the patterns, with Swing checked" title="In the Project tab's Grid section, the Groove menu lists the patterns, with Swing checked" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

Press `⌘2` for the Project inspector tab. Under `Grid`, pick a pattern from the **Groove** menu. **Swing** is the default.

## Set the amount

<video src="/videos/groove-amount.mp4" poster="/videos/groove-amount.jpg" aria-label="Dragging Amount to forty percent moves every second sixteenth line later, and the hats move with it" title="Dragging Amount to forty percent moves every second sixteenth line later, and the hats move with it" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

Drag **Amount** above 0%. The grid lines slide while you drag, and the clips and notes on them move along.

## Give a track its own groove

<video src="/videos/groove-track.mp4" poster="/videos/groove-track.jpg" aria-label="Track Groove On/Off from the Command Palette, then Command 1: under Grid, the kick's Project Groove switch is off and it has its own Groove and Amount" title="Track Groove On/Off from the Command Palette, then Command 1: under Grid, the kick's Project Groove switch is off and it has its own Groove and Amount" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

Select the track and press `⌘1`. Under `Grid`, turn off **Project Groove**, then pick the track’s pattern from its **Groove** menu and set its **Amount**.

## Shift a track

<video src="/videos/groove-shift.mp4" poster="/videos/groove-shift.jpg" aria-label="Under Grid, Shift is dragged to plus ten milliseconds and the hats move behind the beat" title="Under Grid, Shift is dragged to plus ten milliseconds and the hats move behind the beat" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

In the track Inspector (`⌘1`) under `Grid`, drag **Shift**. Positive values lay the track back, negative values push it ahead.

## Use a sample as the groove

<video src="/videos/groove-sample.mp4" poster="/videos/groove-sample.jpg" aria-label="Return runs Set Project Groove from Sample on the break, and the grid lines move onto its slice markers" title="Return runs Set Project Groove from Sample on the break, and the grid lines move onto its slice markers" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

Select a clip on a drum loop’s track and run Command Palette → **Set Project Groove from Sample**. The grid follows the loop’s slice markers. Or pick the sample’s track under `Project Samples` in any **Groove** menu.

## Good to know

* **A groove is a pattern of timing offsets** for the sixteen 16th-note steps of a bar, scaled by an amount. Every new project starts at 0%, so choosing a pattern alone changes nothing until you raise the amount.
* **Everything on the grid follows the grooved lines.** Clips snap to them, clips and MIDI notes on the grid are drawn and played there, and [Quantize](/timing/quantize.md) lands on them. Notes you placed off the grid keep their position.
* **Nothing is lost.** Clip data stays in straight time, so you can change the groove or take it out at any point.
* **Shift moves everything on the track**, unlike a groove pattern: notes off the grid move too, so flams and played timing keep their spacing. It works with or without a groove.
* **The [metronome](/record/metronome.md) follows the groove too.** It adds a quieter click on each off-beat, placed where the groove puts it.

> **Details**
>
> * **The project groove sets the feel for every track** that does not have its own. Once the amount is above 0%, the off-beat lines on every track move to the pattern’s positions (with **Swing**, later). At 100% the full pattern applies.
> * **The Grid section also opens from the toolbar.** Click the project title for the same section in a popover, from any tab.
> * **Command Palette → Master Groove Style** lists all built-in patterns with their category beside each name. The current one has a check mark.
> * **More ways to set Amount:** while the song plays you hear the change as you drag. Double-click the slider to type a value and press `Return`. Option-click resets it to 0%. **Master Groove Amount Up** / **Down** change it in 10% steps.
> * **A track groove starts as a copy of the project groove.** Only that track’s grid lines and clips change. Turn **Project Groove** back on to return the track to the project groove; tracks with it on follow every change automatically. Use it when one part should swing differently, the hats swung and the kick straight.
> * **Track groove commands act on the selected track.** Style and amount commands give the track its own groove first if it was following the project.
> * **Only sample and instrument tracks have a Grid section.** Groups, automation tracks, returns and the master have no groove of their own.
> * **Shift moves a track’s whole grid by a constant amount**, independent of the pattern, the amount and the **Project Groove** toggle. Use it to lay a part slightly behind the beat, or push it ahead for urgency. The track’s clips move right away and snap and play at the shifted positions.
> * **Shift is fine at the small end.** The slider is not linear: the first tenth of the travel out from center covers the first millisecond, the halfway point sits at 25 ms, and only the last stretch reaches 100 ms. Dragging lands on whole milliseconds; double-click to type an exact value, fractions included. Option-click resets it to 0 ms.
> * **Shift is per track only**, because a single value applied to every track would just be latency. It is stored in milliseconds, so the push or pull stays the same when the project tempo changes.
> * **A sample track qualifies as a groove automatically** once its sample has slice markers and reads as rhythmic. There is no toggle. Eligible tracks appear in every **Groove** menu under `Project Samples`, below the built-in patterns: in the Project tab (`⌘2`), or in a track’s Inspector with **Project Groove** off. **Amount** scales a sample groove like any other.
> * **The sample link is live.** Move a marker or change the sample’s tempo in the [Sample Editor](/samples/sample-editor.md), and the groove follows. If the sample’s track is deleted, the groove keeps the last pattern it took from it.

> **Presets**
>
> 34 built-in patterns in six categories:
>
> | Category | Presets |
> | - | - |
> | **Swing** | Swing, Alt Shuffle, Machine Swing, Surf Rock, Nice Eighths |
> | **Triplet** | Triplets, Triplets Alt, Drummer Triplets |
> | **Hip-Hop** | Hip-Hop 16th, Hip-Hop 8th, Westside, MPC 60 #1, MPC 60 #2 |
> | **Funk** | Boogaloo, Funky B, Groovy 60s, Groovy 70s |
> | **Breakbeat** | Amen, Amen B, Break 1, Chemical 1, Chemical 2 |
> | **Complex** | Push Pull, Push Pull Heavy, Late Snare, Laid Back, Ragga, Loose Feel, Pushing 1, Pushing 2, Drummer Swing 1, Drummer Swing 2, Ragged, Tight |

> **Settings**
>
> | Setting | Range | Default |
> | - | - | - |
> | Groove | The presets above, or a project sample | **Swing** (default) |
> | Amount | 0–100% | **0%** (default) |
> | Project Groove (track) | On / Off | On |
> | Shift (track) | ±100 ms | **0 ms** (default) |

> **Commands**
>
> All groove commands sit in the Command Palette’s **Groove** group. None has a default shortcut; assign one from the palette.
>
> | Command | Action |
> | - | - |
> | **Master Groove Style** | Pick the project's pattern |
> | **Master Groove Amount Up** / **Down** | Project amount ±10% |
> | **Track Groove On/Off** | Give the selected track its own groove, or return it to the project groove |
> | **Track Groove Style** | Pick the selected track's pattern |
> | **Track Groove Amount Up** / **Down** | Selected track's amount ±10% |
> | **Set Project Groove from Sample** | Make the project groove follow the selected clip's sample |
> | **Set Track Groove Shift** | Type the selected track's Shift, in ms |


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