Step Sequencer
The first sequencers played rigid patterns of notes using a grid of (usually) 16 buttons, or steps, each step being 1/16 of a measure. These patterns of notes were then chained together to form longer compositions. Sequencers of this kind are still in use, mostly built into drum machines and grooveboxes, and are now called step sequencers. They are monophonic by nature, although some are multitimbral, meaning that they can control several different sounds but only play one note on each of those sounds. The Fairlight CMI’s built-in sequencer, known as Page R, combined step sequencing with sample playback. This led to the development of similar software sequencers of this kind, called trackers, which were popular in the 1980s and 1990s as simple sequencers for creating computer game music and the like. List of free Tracker/Sequencer SoftwareFree/Open Source
