Score Timeline

Score Timeline

Overview

The Score is Blue’s main editor for arranging material in time. It is a modular timeline built from Layer Groups. Each Layer Group provides a timeline view on the right and layer controls on the left.

For positions, durations, rulers, and snap formats, see Time System.

User-Interface Walkthrough

Main toolbar

The toolbar above the Score includes the transport controls used while working on the timeline:

  • previous marker and next marker buttons for navigating between markers
  • a rewind button that returns the render start to the beginning of the score and clears the render end
  • play and stop buttons for starting and stopping realtime rendering
  • an F button for toggling follow-playback scrolling
  • a loop button for repeating playback between the render start and render end

Playhead display

The Playhead display shows the current playback position. It can show one or two simultaneous readouts.

  • The primary readout follows the primary ruler by default.
  • The secondary readout follows the secondary ruler by default.
  • Right-click the display to choose whether each readout syncs to the ruler or uses its own display format.
  • The secondary readout can be turned off from the same menu.

This makes it possible to keep the timeline ruler in one format while watching playback in another.

Selection display

The Selection display shows the current render selection:

  • render start
  • render end
  • selection duration

By default it follows the primary ruler. Right-click the display to choose another format if needed. If no render end is set, the display shows - values.

BlueLive controls

Blue also provides a BlueLive toolbar for live performance and testing:

  • blueLive starts or stops BlueLive rendering
  • Recompile recompiles and restarts the current BlueLive render
  • All Notes Off sends an all-notes-off event to stop hanging notes
  • MIDI Input enables or disables Blue’s MIDI input for BlueLive

Score Bar

The Score Bar shows which container you are editing. At the root score you will only see root. When you edit a PolyObject, the bar shows the path back to the root score so you can move in and out of nested timelines.

Layer Groups

A Score is divided into Layer Groups. The header area shows the controls for the group’s layers, while the timeline area shows the material that belongs to that group.

Layer Groups can be managed directly in the timeline or through the Score Manager. All Layer Groups also support NoteProcessors. A NoteProcessor applied to a Layer Group affects all notes generated inside that group.

SoundObject Layer Groups

SoundObject Layer Groups are the most general timeline type. They hold SoundObjects of any supported kind and are also where Parameter Automation is drawn.

Each SoundLayer can contain different kinds of SoundObjects. A layer is not tied to a single instrument or mixer channel, so one layer can hold material that generates different kinds of Csound data.

Right-click a SoundLayer to add a SoundObject, paste from the buffer, or open other layer commands. Once a SoundObject is on the timeline, you can select it, move it, resize it, copy it, duplicate it, and open it for editing. Double-click a SoundObject to open its editor. Use F3 to open Sound Object Properties and Ctrl-T to open Quick Time.

For more information on the different SoundObjects, see Sound Objects.

Pattern Layer Groups

Pattern Layer Groups use the SoundObject system in a grid-based workflow. Each Pattern layer holds one source SoundObject, and the grid determines where that material is triggered.

This makes Pattern Layer Groups useful when you want repeated or regularly spaced material without placing each event separately on the Score. The layer determines the playback position for each enabled cell, while the source SoundObject defines the generated material.

Patterns Layer Menu Options

Patterns Layer Menu Options

New Pattern layers use a GenericScore SoundObject with a duration of four beats and a None time behavior. From the layer popup menu, you can replace the source SoundObject from the buffer, switch it to another SoundObject type, or open the source object for editing.

Click a grid cell to toggle it on or off. Click and drag across multiple cells to apply the same change across a range. You can also click the layer panel on the left to bring the source SoundObject into the editor.

Audio Layer Groups

Audio Layer Groups provide DAW-style audio clip editing. Each Audio Layer maps to a channel in Blue’s mixer, and automation for effect parameters is available on the layer.

You can drag audio files from the operating system or Blue File Manager onto an Audio Layer. Layer names also appear under their corresponding mixer channels.

Once a clip is on the timeline, drag the clip body to move it in time. Drag the left edge to move the clip start and the file start together. Drag the right edge to change the clip duration. Double-click a clip to open its editor, or use F3 to open the Properties window.

Audio clips support fades. Fade handles appear when the pointer is over a clip. Drag a fade handle to change the fade duration, and right-click within a fade area to choose the fade type. Like Ardour, upon which much of the audio layer system is based, Blue uses crossfades for clip fades.

For more information about fades, see Ardour’s manual entry on Region Fades and Crossfades.

Note

At the moment, 8-bit and 16-bit audio data, in mono and stereo, with sample rates from 8 kHz to 48 kHz are supported.

Working with Layers Inline

Many day-to-day layer operations can be done directly in the timeline.

Adding and moving layer groups

Between layer groups you will find a spacer panel. When you hover it, a small + indicator appears.

  • Double-click the spacer to add a new layer to the group above it.
  • Right-click the spacer to open a menu with Add Layer, Move Layer Group Up, and Move Layer Group Down.

Layer selection in headers

Layer headers support selection within a group and across groups:

  • Click a layer header to select it.
  • Shift-click within a group to extend the selection.
  • Shift-click in another group to create a cross-group selection.

When a selection spans multiple groups, Blue keeps that selection coordinated across the visible header panels.

Deleting layers across groups

Layer header context menus support deleting selections that span multiple groups. If deleting the selected layers would empty one or more groups, Blue offers a Delete empty Layer Groups option in the confirmation dialog.

Add-above, add-below, and push-up or push-down remain single-group operations. When a cross-group selection is active, the context menu shows only the actions that apply to that selection.

Renaming layers

Double-click the layer name in the header area to rename it in place.

Score Manager

The Manage button opens the Score Manager. At the root score it manages the root Layer Group list. Inside a nested timeline such as a PolyObject, it manages the Layer Groups for that container.

Use the manager when you want to:

  • add or remove Layer Groups
  • add, remove, or reorder layers within a group
  • move multiple Layer Groups together
  • rename groups or layers
  • change default layer heights

The controls on the left side of the dialog apply to Layer Groups. The controls on the right side apply to layers in the selected group.

Time, Rulers, and Snap

Ruler configuration

The Score uses the Ruler Configuration dialog to set:

  • the primary ruler format
  • an optional secondary ruler format
  • SMPTE frame rate
  • whether existing ScoreObjects and Markers are converted when the primary ruler changes

The primary ruler also determines the default time base for newly added score objects and newly imported audio clips.

Secondary ruler

The secondary ruler is optional and can show a second representation of the same timeline at the same time. For example, you can keep bars and beats visible on the primary ruler while also showing clock time or SMPTE on the secondary ruler.

Snap

Snap is configured independently from ruler display.

  • Left-click the Snap button to turn snap on or off.
  • Right-click the Snap button to choose the snap value.

Snap values are available in musical, triplet, time-based, SMPTE-based, sample-based, and auto categories.

Timeline Rows

The left header area includes visibility controls for the timeline rows that sit above the layer groups.

Right-click the left-side row labels or the secondary-ruler spacer to show a popup with:

  • Show Tempo Row
  • Show Meter Row
  • Show Markers Row

This visibility is stored with the timeline state, so you can keep only the rows you need visible while working.

Tempo row

The tempo row has two parts:

  • a compact control row on the left with Use Tempo and the expand or collapse control
  • a tempo region bar and optional expanded line editor on the right

The region bar gives an overview of the tempo map. Each region shows its tempo and gives visual feedback for constant or linear tempo changes.

Common tempo-row actions:

  • Double-click the tempo region bar to add a new tempo point or edit an existing one.
  • Right-click a tempo region to edit the point, switch between constant and linear curve types, or delete the point.
  • Use the edit dialog to position tempo points with the same time fields used elsewhere in Blue.

If you prefer to manage tempo with Csound t statements, you can leave Blue’s tempo system disabled. Avoid using both at the same time.

Meter row

The meter row shows the project’s time-signature map as regions. You can:

  • double-click a region area to add a new time-signature change or edit an existing one
  • right-click a region to edit or delete the time-signature change

Measure-based ruler formats such as BBT, BBST, and BBF depend on this map, so editing the meter row directly affects how those rulers and time entries are interpreted.

Markers row

The markers row provides navigation and structural reference points. Marker times use the same time-entry rules as other timeline objects, and the ruler configuration dialog can update marker time bases when the primary ruler changes.

Working with SoundObjects and Audio Clips

SoundObjects

SoundObjects can be selected, dragged, resized, copied, cut, duplicated, and repeated directly on the timeline.

If you select a single SoundObject, you can edit it in two especially useful places:

  • F3 opens Sound Object Properties
  • Ctrl-T opens the Quick Time dialog

In both places, start time, subjective duration, and repeat point use the same time fields described in Time System.

The Quick Time dialog is useful when you want to make timing edits without opening the full properties window. Position and duration fields follow the same rules used elsewhere in Blue.

Audio clips

Audio clips follow the same time-system conventions as SoundObjects. When you import or drag in an audio file, the clip’s initial start time uses the selected primary ruler’s time base.

Audio clip properties use the same time fields for:

  • clip start time
  • clip duration

Audio Layer Gestures

These gestures are specific to Audio Layer Groups:

Gesture Description
Drag the clip body Move the clip in time
Drag the left edge Move the clip start and the file start together
Drag the right edge Change the clip duration
Alt-drag inside a clip Move the file start offset without moving the clip start
Shift-Alt-click inside a clip Split the clip at the clicked point
Drag a fade handle Adjust fade duration
Right-click within a fade area Choose fade type

Layer Header Actions

Action Result
Hover the spacer between groups Shows the inline + indicator
Double-click the spacer Adds a layer to the group above
Right-click the spacer Opens Add Layer, Move Layer Group Up, and Move Layer Group Down
Click a layer header Selects that layer
Shift-click another layer header Extends the selection, including across groups
Right-click selected layer headers Opens the layer-operation menu for the current selection
Double-click a layer name Renames the layer

Score Timeline Shortcuts

Shortcut Description
spacebar Render project using the project’s real-time render options
1 Switch to Score mode
2 Switch to Single Line mode
3 Switch to Multi Line mode
alt-s Toggle snap on or off
g Scroll to the render start time
y Scroll to the render end time
[ Move render start time to the previous marker or project start
] Move render start time to the next marker or project end
right click Open the context menu for the item under the pointer
left click + drag Create a marquee selection in Score mode
ctrl-c Copy selected score objects or audio clips
ctrl-x Cut selected score objects or audio clips
ctrl-z Undo
ctrl-shift-z Redo
delete / backspace Remove selected score objects or audio clips
ctrl-d Duplicate selected score objects or audio clips
ctrl-r Repeat selected score objects or audio clips by entering a repeat count
ctrl-click Paste copied score objects or audio clips at the clicked time
shift-click Add or remove a score object or audio clip from the current selection
ctrl-t Open the Quick Time dialog for the selected score object or audio clip
f3 Open the Sound Object Properties window
left / right Nudge selected score objects one pixel
shift-left / shift-right Nudge selected score objects ten pixels
up / down Move selected score objects up or down one layer
ctrl-left / ctrl-right Decrease or increase horizontal zoom

When a layer-header panel has focus, up and down move the layer selection within that panel, and shift-up / shift-down extend the selection.

For the full application shortcut reference, see Shortcuts.