AudioTheory Grids News

[p][/p][p]A new update is here for AudioTheory Grids. It includes two main new features that are designed to work together to give you greater control over how sharp and flat notes display.[/p][p][/p][h2]Automatic/ Manual Sharps & Flats[/h2][p][/p][p]There's a new dropdown in the application options that lets you select between two different sets of rules that determine how the application handles sharps and flats.[/p][p][/p][h3]Auto set based on scale[/h3][p]This is the default option, and retains the existing method of automatically showing a sharp or a flat based on context. The advantage of this mode is that it will prioritise practical scales over theoretical ones, for example showing D♭ major but C♯ minor within the scale library.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]As before, you can then click on the sharp/ flat note name in the note selector (bottom left) to change a specific note if required.[/p][p][/p][p]However, the addition of the theoretical scales means that now if the root note is swapped then the whole scale will update. E.g. if you load C♯ minor and then click on the C♯ note, it will change the scale to D♭ minor.[/p][p][/p][h3]Manually configure[/h3][p]This is a new alternative method of handling sharps and flats that lets you specify the default value for each of the accidentals.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]These can still be swapped by clicking on the note name in the selector, and notes will still update to the correct state when a scale preset is loaded, but reverting from a scale preset (selecting the 'all' or 'none' buttons) will apply the default values specified in the options.[/p][p][/p][p]This mode is useful if you want to use theoretical scales. For example, setting the default display for C♯/D♭ to D♭ means that the theoretical D♭ minor scale will display in the scale selector and scale library (whereas in automatic mode C♯ minor is given priority).[/p][p][/p][h2]Theoretical Scales[/h2][p][/p][p]The changes to how sharps and flats can display opens up many new situations where theoretical notes and scales come into play. The application has been updated to properly support these, meaning scale highlighting works with double sharps, double flats and enharmonic notes such as C♭ and B♯.[/p][p][/p][p]Theoretical scales have also been added to the scale library, although to keep things simple scales are still presented in groups of 12. The 12 you'll see are determined by the sharp/ flat options described above.[/p][p][/p][h2]Other changes[/h2][p][/p]

• [p]The default display settings have been optimised for Steam Deck. The application runs in windowed mode as standard, on Steam Deck this would result in the wrong resolution being applied. It could previously be fixed by swapping to fullscreen, but now it displays correctly by default.[/p]
• [p]The note selector now references the sharp/ flat state of accidentals when indicating a scale match (appending the scale name with an asterisk if the scale has been modified). E.g. G, A, B, C, D, E, and G♭ is now recognised as a modification of G major.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue with the scale type label not displaying correctly on certain scale sets[/p]
• [p]Grid size is now automatically saved when a preset file is loaded[/p]
• [p]Refactored startup logic to resolve various fringe-case bugs loading grid data[/p]
• [p]Off-screen grid content now persists between application sessions[/p]
• [p]Unity upgrade to fix security issue CVE-2025-59489. More info on this is provided by Steam here.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]In other news...[/h2][p][/p][p]Dracula's Cave now has its own dedicated Steam publisher page. The full range of AudioTheory software and also the games I've released can now be found in one convenient location.[/p]

Very small update to fix a couple of minor display issues, including a situation where custom colours would inadvertently default to light blue for all notes apart from C.

All requests Friday. A new update is here and it's composed entirely of features requested by you, the users of AudioTheory Grids. Let's have a look at what's new:

[h2]Revised Keyboard Design[/h2]

Someone kindly pointed out that the piano keyboard had a few differences when compared to a real piano, specifically in the placement and size of the black keys. The keyboard layout has been revised to address this, and now the position and placement of the black keys has been adjusted to match a real piano with greater accuracy.

I've also added in a depth effect so the black keys now look like they sit above the white keys (also to better match the look of a real piano). This can however be turned off in the settings if you prefer a flat, more abstract look.



[h2]Custom colours for the black keys[/h2]

Iit's now possible to set unique custom colours for the black keys. The default option is still for the black keys to automatically match the natural note colours (so C♯ uses the colour for C, where as D♭ uses the colour for D), however this can be changed using a new dropdown in the settings. If the black keys display mode is changed over to use custom colours then you'll see an additional set of black key notes for which individual colours can be set.



A benefit of displaying notes this way is that an incremental colour hue can be used that matches the pitch increment between the notes.

Features, features, features. Lots of new things arrive today, let's take a look.

[h2]Extra Instrument Grids[/h2]

The main view now includes an extra instrument grid, so you can add in a bass part, or layer in whatever additional sounds you desire.

The instrument itself is now set independently from the main piano, meaning that each grid can have a different instrument and then the main piano can use something else too. E.g. you could play bass, keys and drums using the grid and then overlay a synth part in real-time using the main piano.

[h2]Export as MIDI[/h2]

Anything you create in AudioTheory Grids can now be exported as a MIDI file that can be imported into your DAW. These options can be found under the new MIDI item in the toolbar and they work as follows:

Export current grid as MIDI – this generates a MIDI file for the current on-screen view (either notes or drums depending on what's currently in focus).

Export all notes as MIDI – this cycles through all grid configurations on the number pad and exports them into one continuous MIDI file. A second file is then created for the second set of note grids.

Export all drums as MIDI – as above, this combines all configurations on the number pad into a single MIDI file. However it exports the drums grids, rather than the two sets of note grids.

[h2]Auto Save and Load[/h2]

The full notes grid now automatically saves and loads between sessions. All input across all grids across all number pads remains in place.

Under the 'Grid' option in the toolbar there are additional options to clear the view. It's possible to clear the current grid using the 'Clear Current' option, or to clear everything by selecting 'Clear All Grids'.

[h2]Undo[/h2]

Undo recent changes from the 'Edit' item in the toolbar, or by pressing Ctrl+Z.

[h2]Stopwatch Synchronised Grid[/h2]

Grid playback is now controlled using a new stopwatch mechanism. This ensures greater precision in playback time and accurate tempo speeds.

[h2]Bug fixes[/h2]

A couple of smaller changes are also included in this update:

• Input handling has been updated to better support keyboard input when used alongside the instrument grids
  
• Fixed a couple of issues with grids not muting correctly
  
• Muted grids no longer highlight across the keyboard. This made sense when there was only one note grid, but across two it became confusing to see what was going on.
  
• Grids-specific hotkeys no longer work when the file name input field is active.