Glossary

Arm — make a track ready to record (the ● in its header).

Arrangement — the view that lays the song out on a timeline. See Arrangement.

Automation — a value changing over time, drawn or recorded in a lane. See Automation.

Audio track — a track that holds audio clips and has no instrument.

AU / VST3 — the plug-in formats Nota hosts: VST3 everywhere, AU on macOS. See Plug-ins.

Chain — the devices on a track, or one strand inside a rack, processed left to right.

Choke group — pads that cut each other off, like an open and a closed hi-hat.

Clip — a block of notes (MIDI clip) or audio (audio clip) on a track or in a Session slot.

Consolidate — join the material in a range into one clip per track.

Count-in — bars of clicks before playback or recording starts.

CV — a control signal in the Modular view that moves a parameter. See Modular.

Detail panel — the panel under the view that shows devices, a step pattern or a clip.

Device — an instrument, audio effect or MIDI effect. See Devices.

Follow action — what a Session clip or scene does after it has played for a while.

Freeze / Flatten — render a track to audio to save CPU; flatten makes that permanent.

Group — a track that holds other tracks and acts as their submix.

Kit — a set of drum sounds loaded on a Drum Rack or Nota Rhythm.

Launch quantize — the grid Session clips and scenes start on (Quant).

Legato — playing a new note before releasing the last; synths can slide instead of retriggering.

Loop / one-shot — a sample that repeats in time, versus a single hit.

LUFS — perceived loudness, as streaming services measure it.

Macro — a knob on a rack or kit that drives many parameters at once. See Macros.

Master — the sum of all tracks, going to your speakers.

MCP — the protocol an AI assistant uses to work in Nota. See AI control over MCP.

MIDI Learn — mapping a hardware or phone control to a control in Nota. See MIDI Learn.

Modulator — an LFO, envelope or similar source that moves parameters over time.

Monitor — hear a track’s input live through its effects.

PDC — plug-in delay compensation: Nota delays the other tracks so everything stays in time.

Preset — saved settings for a device. Factory presets ship with Nota; you can save your own.

Project key — the key set in the transport bar; loops can be transposed to it.

Quantize — snap notes to the grid.

Rack — a device that holds several chains: Instrument Rack, Drum Rack, Audio Effect Rack.

Return track — a shared effect bus that tracks feed through their sends.

Scene — a row in the Session view, launched as one.

Section — a named stretch of the song in the Arrangement’s Sections lane.

Session — the clip-launching view. See Session.

Sidechain — feeding one track’s signal to a device on another track to control it.

Slot — one cell of the Session grid.

Stem — one part of a mix on its own (drums, bass, vocals…), from export or Separate Stems.

Time range — a stretch of time across tracks, selected with ⇧-drag.

True peak — the highest level between samples, which a converter can actually reach.

Unison — several detuned copies of each voice, for width.

Velocity — how hard a note is played.

Version — a saved state of the project in its history. See Version history.

Warp — stretching audio to the project tempo without changing its pitch.

Zone — the key or velocity range a rack chain answers to.