February 23, 2023: v4.6.2
February 20, 2023: v4.6.1
- Fixed crashing bug when all tracks were removed
- [Plug-ins] Fixed crashing bug when dropping a phrase/instrument/scale/chord in a closed and re-opened window
- [Plug-ins] Fixed hanging notes during phrase preview when selecting a phrase
February 6, 2023: v4.6.0
- MIDI import: imported MIDI is zoomed out when loaded
- MIDI import: MIDI CC's are displayed as events, not curves
- MIDI import: LSB of 14-bit controllers are not added to the imported MIDI CC's as a separate CC
- Fixed: 2/4 grid lines disappeared when zooming when grid was set to 2/4
- Fixed: VST3 plug-in resizing to a bigger size resulted in black areas
- Fixed a bug when auto-harmonizing many phrases at once
January 23, 2023: v4.5.2
- VST3 instrument plug-ins supported
- Instrument plug-in handling simplified: the 'multi-timbral plug-in' setting was removed, all plug-ins are handled equally. If you select a plug-in from the 'Loaded plug-ins' section, it will use the existing loaded plug-in instance, otherwise choosing from the menu will load a new instance.
- Searchable lists for plug-ins, settings, keyboard shortcuts, UI colors
- Smart instrument menu displays instruments based on your usage statistics
- Drag phrase directly to a DAW from the Phrase Editor
- MIDI keypresses can be assigned to any functions as shortcuts
- [Windows][Plug-ins] Using keyboard shortcuts is possible even if the plug-in host does not support that! Select the small keyboard in the upper right corner. Deselect it to allow the host to process keypresses.
- 'Replace Selection' option added to the Idea Tool to replace the contents of the timeline selection
- Idea Tool 'generate' button is always displayed after using the Idea Tool
- Tonnetz visual improvements
- File menu: "Save composition (selection only)" added with shortcut
- Track inspector: "Duplicate track with new plug-in instance" added with shortcut
- Right-click on the structure bar will select the timeline and master track for the line, Shift-right-click will do the same for the part
- Keyboard focus border is hidden if window looses keyboard focus, and shown if window becomes keyboard focus (this is important for the plug-ins)
- [macOS] New setting: 'Disable retina screen detection'
- New setting: 'Enable mouse-wheel over track sliders' (disabled by default)
- Dozens of chord progressions added with voicing kindly contributed by Robin Bergsohn
- "Merge composition" menus fixed, and set up automatically when track names match
- User guide updated
December 14, 2022: v4.5.1
- New setting: 'Enable mouse-wheel over track sliders' (disabled by default)
- Timeline range selection added to the Phrase Editor and Melody Editor (Ctrl-drag on the timeline to make a selection). When there is a selection, only the selection is played back.
- In the MIDI Mutator you need to hold down Ctrl for timeline selection to be consistent with Phrase Editor and Melody Editor
- Fixed composition templates which used the old V3 file format
- Fixed scroll bar when using the Idea Tool
- Fixed a bug in MIDI Mutator when new MIDI was dropped but some operations used the previous state
- Fixed a bug in the standalone version that caused the program hanging during exiting when VST plug-ins were used
December 5, 2022: v4.5.0
- Slider improvements and fixes; mouse-wheel can be used over track sliders
- [macOS][Plug-ins] Fixed window size for re-opened plug-in window on retina screens
- [macOS] Cursor fixes: eraser cursor was not shown, pencil cursor had wrong color
- [Plug-ins] Fixed crash when closing and re-opening the window with the note inspector open
- Fixed: hanging notes when adding pitch bend to a note
July 18, 2022: v4.4.3
- Reworked MIDI CC and parameter editing with curves (exponential or S-curve) or individual events
- Reworked MIDI CC processing with improved precision (floating point values). 14-bit MIDI CC's are supported.
- Add MIDI CC's for phrases and notes (in the Phrase Editor). Controller data are attached to phrases/notes as you move them and can be saved.
- New LE features: articulations and melody generators were added to the light edition!
- [Plug-ins] The UI engine was replaced in the plug-ins. As a result retina screens are also supported in the plug-ins on macOS.
- Dozens of UI changes to improve the UI on Retina (macOS) and HiDPI (Windows) screens
- Double-clicking on the timeline selection will zoom into the selection
- Horizontal zoom on the timeline is very smooth now (in Composition, Phrase Editor, Melody Editor, MIDI Mutator)
- Instrument menu better organized in the track inspector
- Articulations included for Amadeus Symphonic Orchestra Kontakt library and the four sections of Red Room Audio Palette Kontakt library (contribution by Jose Eulogio Sanguino Payan)
- Fixed: when using default.rcCOMP for new compositions, it is not overwritten for a 'Save'
- Fixed crash when dropping a phrase on another one and selecting 'Replace Phrase'
- Fixed a rare crash during editing a phrase generator
- Bugs of MIDI recording fixed (crashes and recording offset)
- User guide updated: a new chapter added explaining MIDI CC editing
- Many stability improvements
July 4, 2022: v4.4.2
- New setting: Reset Phrase Editor, MIDI Mutator and Chord Rules Editor for New Composition
- New setting: Past 'History' states to store
- Fixed: VST plug-in instance issues when duplicating a track
- Fixed a 'division by zero' error in the Modern Random Rhythm generator
- [macOS, plug-ins] Fixed a crash after the plug-in was unloaded
June 29, 2022: v4.4.1
- [MIDI Mutator] Recalling a MIDI Mutator preset won't disable the 'Apply Changes' button
- [MIDI Mutator] Notes are updated live when moving the chord edges
- [MIDI Mutator] Fixed internal inconsistency because of playback (e.g. 'randomize progression' did not work sometimes)
- Ctrl-up/down transpose selection by semitones in the Phrase Editor
- Fixed: editing notes during Phrase Editor loop playback are heard immediately
- Fixed: due to a compiler bug harmonization crashed in the plug-in (but not in the standalone, or on macOS!)
June 13, 2022: v4.4.0
- Fixed: VST plug-ins are properly instantiated when a composition is reloaded
April 25, 2022: v4.3.4
- MIDI Mutator tab added for manipulating MIDI files (change rhythm, timing, accents, chords, voicings, pitches of loaded MIDI files)
- Auto-regeneration options added for phrase generators: change the rhythm and/or notes at the end of loop or on stopping playback.
- New rhythm generator: 'Modern Irregular Rhythm' suitable for modern genres
- New chord suggestion that looks up chords with the same bass note: Bass pedal tone chords
- New chord suggestion that looks up chords with the specified melody note: Melody pedal tone chords
- 'Scale Degrees' received a note filter where you can filter the displayed chords by notes (e.g. when using a melody pedal tone)
- Optimized phrase rendering and MIDI import (chord detection is many times faster)
- Smoother horizontal zooming
- Splash screen shown during initialization
- UI option to use color buttons (can be customized or turned off entirely)
- Small UI cleanup in Quick Suggestions
February 14, 2022: v4.3.3
- [macOS] New setting: Invert scrolling direction
- New setting: Load 'default.rcCOMP' for 'New Composition'.
- The piano keyboard can be removed from the tracks ('Show Keyboard' in the menu)
- 'Remove Unused Motives' added to the Melody Editor context menu
- Fixed: dragging MIDI from the plug-in to DAW during playback sometimes included wrong notes
- Fixed a crashing race condition bug
- Fixed: pop-up help stopped working after opening a pop-up menu
- [macOS] Fixed mouse coordinates when RC window dragged from retina to non-retina screen
- [macOS] Too fast scrolling on Apple Trackpad or Magic Mouse improved
January 10, 2022: v4.3.2
- 'Reload all articulations' menu item added to Controller menu in the track inspector
- Fixed crash when dragging a folder track
- Fixed crash during editing Strum Pattern Generator
- [macOS] Fixed UI layout issues in the demo version on retina displays
- [Plug-ins] Fixed crashing bug when using soundfonts in the plug-ins
- Various stability fixes
December 30, 2021: v4.3.1
- Scrolling settings (speed, acceleration, deceleration) added under Settings / User Interface
- Arpeggiator has a 'generate' button, improved 'Random' setting
- [macOS] Fixed visual issues on retina, UI optimizations for high-DPI screens
- [macOS] Fixed too fast scrolling
- [macOS] Redo is command-shift-Z by default
- Removed pop-up menu unnecessary title in Melody Editor
- Fixed: inspector windows when opened outside the main window, were always-on-top regardless of the settings
- Fixed using negative octave offset in the phrase inspector (in the allowed notes)
- Fixed a note editing bug when editing Motive Generator (wrong scale used as a reference)
- [macOS, AU] Fixed: when opening RC in a separate window, resizing the window did not work
December 13, 2021: v4.3
- [macOS] UI fixes and improvements on retina resolutions
- Redesigned scrollbars, scrollbar width setting is reset to 'Auto'
- Fixed redraw and window size issues in Chord Selector
- Fixed dragging from the Chord Selector
- [macOS] Fixed mouse cursor (it was always an arrow)
- [macOS] Fixed crash when opening menus
- Other small fixes for issues appeared in v4.3
September 27, 2021: v4.2.3
- New UI engine with hardware acceleration, retina display support and smooth scrolling
- [macOS] Apple M1 is natively supported
- [macOS] AU synth plug-in supports 128 MIDI channels!
- Dragging and dropping selected chords on the master track is possible
- Reworked chord rules editor toolbar
- New MIDI import setting: Import MIDI markers as chords
- New variation: Insert Connecting Notes
- New variation: Insert Connection To Next Phrase
- 'Learn' functionality in Markov Melody generator: drop a monophonic MIDI file or a phrase on the Learn button!
- Cosmetic changes on the Markov Melody UI, a missing option added
- Tolerance option added to Join Notes
- Phrase variations: 'Remove Note' variation improvements: specify number of notes/events for 'Random notes' and 'Random times'
- [Plug-ins] New playback option: 'Sync playback to host'
- Shortcuts Ctrl-Z/Cmd-Z and Ctrl-Y/Cmd-Y work in the Phrase Editor
- Chord rules are looked up for church modes and chromatic scale (when unlocked), not just for major and minor scales
- Last edited rules are saved and restored between sessions
- Lower case is used for labels
- [Plug-ins] Fixed silent or swallowed notes at the beginning of a loop for local playback: usage of 'all notes off' removed
- [macOS][Plug-ins] Crash fixed when right clicking on a phrase magnet
- [Windows] Installer updated
July 19, 2021: v4.2.2
- Ctrl-Drag Master Track chords as MIDI file (timeline selection, or all when there is no selection). Use Ctrl-Shift-drag for voice leading.
- Phrase variations: 'Remove' and 'Remove All' work for all selected phrases
- Phrase variations: setting a parameter works for all selected phrases
- Shortcut added for showing/hiding the browser (unassigned by default)
- [Melody Editor] Playback option added to play the chords track together with the melody
- [Melody Editor] Chords track length issues fixes (when adding/removing motives)
- [Melody Editor] Crashing issue when resizing the last chord fixed
- Fixed chord rule selection from menu when magnet was 'off'
- Fixed bug when applying Mirror Vertically on a Chord Generator
June 21, 2021: v4.2.1
- It is possible to regenerate the shape only or the rhythm only for phrase generators
- Markov Melody Generator UI reworked
- Phrases had incorrect length when dragging from the browser (wrong signature was used)
- Fix disappearing graphics when dragging over a zoomable scroll bar
- Instrument selection in the Percussion Generator did not update the editor (bug introduced in v4.2.0)
- Stability fixes for various undo/inspector crashes
- Fix for a crash when editing the Percussion Generator in the Idea Tool
- Enable Drawing 'Line' And 'Freehand' Phrases is among experimental settings
- [Windows] Fix for a crash during text editing (e.g. when saving a progression)
- Other bug fixes
June 7, 2021: v4.2.0
- Keyboard left-right arrows move notes and phrases by 'snap' setting
- Preview implemented when moving notes with the arrow keys (note editing mode)
- Fixed: Alt/Option-click to split or join notes did not work in note editing
- States are stored for 'undo' during note editing
- New MIDI Export setting: Embed 'Program Change' events in exported MIDI
- New chord suggestion: secondary dominant for the next 'I' chord
- Fixed: VSTi instruments unloaded for 'undo' if 'Save VSTi State In History' was turned off
- Fixed: invalid control number inserted to exported MIDI for some soundfonts
- [Plug-ins] Fixed: first note of the loop sometimes did not play back in some hosts
- [Plug-ins] Fixed rare crash when right-clicking on a phrase to open the inspector during playback
April 19, 2021: v4.1.4
- Undo/redo arrows added to main composition, History tab removed
- Past 'undo' states can be stored in RAM or on disk. The default is in RAM.
- Chord rules lock have been added to all chord rules settings. When unlocked, the rule automatically changes based on the scale (default).
- Sending MIDI Machine Control events is implemented (enable under Settings / MIDI)
- New menu added when right-clicking on a master track scale/tempo/signature where scale/tempo/signature can be reviewed and edited for all levels (composition, part, line, local)
- 'Create Tone Row' setting for chromatic progression generation (experimental setting, which must be enabled under Settings / Miscellaneous)
- Double-clicking on horizontal or vertical scrollbars zooms out the view, another double-click restores the previous view
- Vertical scrollbar has magnifiers to allow zooming
- New Idea Tool track option: 'Select Phrases From List In Random Order'
- Melody Generator UI improvements: '2nd Last Note' menu added, Tonic, Step Above Tonic, Step Below Tonic added to 'Last Note' options
- 'Render Motive With Variations' added to Melody Editor menu
- 'Change Chords According To New Scale' option added to master track scale menu (Scale Inheritance) and other places
- Editing in Percussion Generator was reworked, it is snappier and more reliable
- 'Preserve Phrase Order' option added to Phrase Container, moving phrases up/down is possible
- Improved bar position editing is used in the Timeline Inspector, and in Loop Options
- Track vertical zoom is saved with the track
- [Plug-ins] RC VST3 plug-in displays input and output channel menu in Studio One
- [Plug-ins] RC VST3 plug-in offers 128 output channels (some DAWs may not handle all 128 channels)
- [Plug-ins] Fixed preview (incoming notes sent to plug-in host)
- Memory footprint reduced, memory and resource allocations optimized (lots of changes under the hood)
- Stability improvements
March 22, 2021: v4.1.3
- Fixed: entering a melody formula crashed in the Melody Editor 'generation settings' when the chords track was not enabled
- Fixed: pop-up help did not work in Melody Editor 'generation settings'
- Fixed: wrong font sizes were used for vertical sliders on Melody Editor 'generation settings'
- Fixed occasional issues with exported MIDI length
- [macOS] Fixed crashes when opening pop-up menus
March 3, 2021: v4.1.2
- Keyboard shortcuts added: 'Mute/Unmute Selected Track', 'Solo/Unsolo Selected Track' (unassigned)
- 'Undo' and 'Redo' keyboard shortcuts added to Melody Editor
- Chord help is displayed multiple times on the master track
- Fixed: split phrases at bar boundaries did not work
- Fixed MIDI import issues when 'auto-detect phrases' was not enabled
- Fixed: Track Templates browser did not display folders initially
February 22, 2021: v4.1.1
- New size entry for phrase generators in the phrase inspector
- Improved length display for phrases and rhythm patterns in the phrase inspector
- Fixed badly working "Preview Rhythm" button in the phrase inspector
- Fixed: preview in chord selector was always turned on
- Fixed: 'lock' should never be enabled for percussion phrases
- Fixed: in a percussion track the 'lock' button should not be displayed
February 8, 2021: v4.1
- Fixed: adding notes to a transposed phrase added the wrong notes in Note Editing mode
- Fixed: composition loaded in Note Editing mode sometimes did not display notes
- Fixes for adding notes/phrases in the composite track
- Fixed crash when 'unghosting' a phrase during playback
- Fixed phrase preview in inspector when preview with other tracks
- Fixed importing MIDI files with multiple 'note off' events for a 'note on' event
- [macOS] Fixed hanging when using the AU plug-in in Logic Pro X 10.6
December 7, 2020: v4.03
- Chords track added to Melody Editor
- 'Tonnetz' added to Chord Selector and master track chord options
- 'Parallels' tab added in the Chord Selector that lists all modes and chords
- Chord rules and chord progressions are included for Dorian, Lydian, Myxolydian, Phrygian, Aeolian modes, kindly contributed by Tomás San Miguel (not available in the demo version)
- MIDI files and folders can be dropped on the progression browser to save the chord progressions from the files
- Improved detecting and importing 'chords only' MIDI files
- New variation: Rhythm Mapper
- New option in Idea Tool track menu: Use Rhythms For 'Rhythm Mapper'
- Chords can be on 'beat' boundaries by default which is the denominator of the signature
- 'Lightning' button added to folder tracks in the Idea Tool which regenerates all tracks in the folder
- Improved 'Collect Scales For Selected Chords'
- Vector graphics is used for the buttons in the track header
- Idea Tool UI layout improved when used with big font sizes
- Using sliders in the track header updates the same slider in the track inspector
- Variations display help when the mouse is hovered on the name
- Fixed crash in Chord Selector when using bigger font sizes
- [Plug-ins] Fixed: settings were saved in the RapidComposer folder instead of RapidComposerV4
November 30, 2020: v4.02
- [macOS] AU MFX plug-in included
- 'Open User Guide' button added which opens the updated v4 user guide (the wiki is deprecated)
- Fixed importing MIDI CC's in MIDI files and other MIDI import fixes
November 23, 2020: v4.01
- Fixed inserting bars into the composition in the timeline inspector
- Fixed loading compositions when a VST instrument was set as preview instrument
- Small fixes in the phrase and rhythm drop targets
- Double-clicking on a 'Motive Generator' will set the instrument in the Melody Editor
- When using the 'Repeat' option in the Idea Tool, regenerating individual tracks or the master track will do the repetition
- Fixed crash when clicking on the phrase preview in Apply Shape and Apply Melody variations
- [macOS] Fixed crash on Cmd+Q on macOS Catalina
November 16, 2020: v4.0
- Phrase inspector shows timeline and note lengths for percussion phrases
- Idea Tool 'Replace Composition' mode sets composition scale, tempo and signature, instead of setting the same in the added part
- [Plug-ins] Fixed playback issues in the Melody Editor when soundfont was used
- Fixed playback in the phrase inspector when previewing phrase generators dropped in percussion tracks
- Fixed Idea Tool crashing randomly
- Fixed crash when clicking on the 'Phrase Container'
- Redesigned user interface
- Browsers are docked on the right side, file browser added
- Melody Editor tab added for motive development, melody generation and editing
- All rhythm and phrase generators were revamped
- New rewritten VST2, VST3 and AU plugins. The plug-ins are self contained, so they do not use the main application. You can use soundfonts in the plug-in.
- The installer is improved, including installing plug-ins. The Windows installer includes 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
- Folder tracks
- Peak meters and Audio Gain slider displayed for SF2, VSTi and audio tracks
- Settings / VSTi page reworked and simplified
- New structure inspector with extended functionality
- Diatonic and chromatic mediant chords are in the Chords Suggestions
- The initial 'enter license key' screen redesigned with the possibility to start the demo version
- New variation: 'Apply Shape'. It is similar to Apply Melody but uses the new rhythm mapping
- Add selected chords to a progression rule (from the master track, the progression editor, and the browser)
- Additional bigger font sizes offered, suitable for 4K resolution
- At the first usage font size is automatically set based on the screen resolution
- Supporting special characters in directory names (cyrillic, kanji, etc)
- Color themes updated and cleaned up. New color themes: 'Dark With Orange', 'Katalin Dark'
- Dozens of other improvements and bug fixes that are impossible to list