Userguide | Bitwig

Playing Back the Arranger

How to play Arranger clips is simple enough: you play the Arranger. But there are a few details worth getting into at this point. Let's begin this discussion with the elements that enable basic playback.

To play the Arranger timeline: engage the transport by pressing either SPACE BAR or P, or by clicking the Global Play button.

To stop the Arranger timeline: disengage the transport by pressing either SPACE BAR or P, or by clicking the Global Stop button.

The Global Playhead is an indicator of where the transport has most recently played. In the Arranger Timeline, it is represented with a vertical black line. Whenever the transport is active, the Global Playhead progresses thru the Arranger tracks, and its location is noted by the play position display in the window header.

The Play Start Marker is the blue, right-facing triangle within the Beat Ruler that indicates where the transport will play from the next time it is engaged.

To move the Play Start Marker: single-click in the top half of the Beat Ruler.

Other ways to move the Play Start Marker include:

Single-click anywhere within the Arranger Timeline with the Pointer tool.
Click and drag the play position in the window header's display section.
Select a single Arranger clip to move the Play Start Marker to the beginning of that clip.

To play the Arranger timeline from the beginning: press ALT+SPACE BAR or ALT+P .

To play the Arranger timeline from the Global Playhead's position: press SHIFT+SPACE BAR or SHIFT+P .

To stop the Arranger timeline and advance the Play Start Marker: click the Global Play button.

The Arranger Loop Selector sets the region of the Arranger Timeline that will be looped during playback. This region is also used for several other functions.

To toggle the Arranger Loop function: click the Arranger Loop toggle in the window header.

The Arranger Loop function affects all tracks as it literally picks up and moves back the Global Playhead when the end of the region is reached. This is a playback function, while clip looping is an arrangement function.

To move the Arranger Loop Selector's position: click the center of the Arranger Loop Selector and drag it in time.

To change the Arranger Loop Selector's length: mouse over the left or right edge of the Arranger Loop Selector so that a bracket cursor appears. Then click and drag in either direction.

Cue Markers

You also have the option of using cue markers in the Arranger, which store play positions along the Arranger Timeline for easy triggering. To use Arranger cue markers, first right-click within the Beat Ruler, and then enable Show Cue Markers from the context menu. This will make the Beat Ruler slightly taller.

To create a cue marker: right-click the Beat Ruler, and then select Insert Cue Marker. A yellow play icon and the cue marker's current name (likely Untitled) will appear in the Beat Ruler. Or use the Insert Cue Marker Here function, which can be freely assigned to a keyboard or MIDI command (on the Shortcuts page of the Dashboard).

The left edge of a cue marker's play button icon aligns with its location.

To trigger playback from a cue marker: double-click its play icon.

If the transport was inactive, playback will start immediately from the cue marker. If the transport was already going, playback will move to the cue marker's position after the Default Launch Quantization interval (see Launch Section).

	Note
	If you want the same playback behavior without creating a cue marker, simply double-click the desired playback position from the top of the Beat Ruler (between the numbers).

To rename a cue marker: double-click its name.

The Comment area in the Inspector Panel allows for adding any text you find relevant, including lyrics. Additionally, a list of all Arranger cue markers — and their comments — can be seen, selected, or triggered from the Sections tab of the Project Panel (see Sections Tab).

To change a cue marker's color: right-click either the cue marker's icon or name, and then select a different color from the palette that appears within the context menu.

To move a cue marker: click either the cue marker's icon or name, and then drag it to the desired position. Or click the cue marker to select it, and then change its position in the Inspector Panel.

To delete a cue marker: click the cue marker to select it, and then press [DELETE] or [BACKSPACE].

Time Signature Changes

Like cue markers, time signature changes can also be inserted along the Arranger Timeline.

To insert a time signature change: right-click the Beat Ruler, and then select Insert Time Signature Change. An orange triangle appears beside the new time signature change, indicating that it is selected and its parameters can be edited from the Inspector Panel.

	Note
	For more information on time signatures and how the ticks parameter is handled, see Display Section.

To move a time signature change: click either the time signature change's triangle or name, and then drag it to the desired position. Or click the time signature change to select it, and then change its position in the Inspector Panel.

To delete a time signature change: click the time signature change to select it, and then press DELETE or BACKSPACE.

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