The term ‘software sequencer’ was originally coined to represent applications which offered what were by today’s standards only basic MIDI recording and programming facilities. These days, MIDI sequencing is often just a small part of what this kind of software can do, but it remains a fundamental of software music making. Now typically combined with scoring, audio recording, software instruments, mixing, effects and other processing, the software sequencer has evolved into an extraordinarily powerful recording tool. This article will look at how software sequencers came to be, and what they can be used for. Along the way we’ll look at the main options that are available to you.

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