Keyboard only, mouseless step sequencer or piano roll workflow

[xbow]

Edited for clarity:

I am looking for a piano roll or step sequencer grid that I can navigate, and enter notes into, without using the mouse pointer, using only keyboard short cuts. This is specifically for situations where I only have my laptop and no external gear (not even a mouse).

For example: I would have a cursor in one cell of the sequencer's grid, and then move up/down a semitone and forth/back in time with the arrow keys. Another key would allow me to put a note at the cursor position.

Furthermore, it would be helpful to select a note with a keyboard shortcut, and be able to transpose it, edit its length, velocity, all without using the mouse.

From the options I have looked at, the following come close:

Trackers like Renoise may be the best option for what I want, but I'd have to give up on a visual representation of a note's pitch.

Reaper, with custom keyboard shortcuts, can come pretty close, but it is not easy to select multiple notes without drawing a selection with the mouse (more investigation of custom mappings pending).

Ableton has good keyboard shortcuts to select notes and move them around. The only way I found to enter notes is turning on the midi computer keyboard and step recording. Not exactly what I was looking for, but it seems quite powerful.

In VCV Rack, Squinky Lab's Seq++ does exactly what I want (but it's only a VCV Rack module) (link to manual).

Do you know any other DAWs or sequencer plugins that support this kind of keyboard workflow?

Thanks for any experiences you can share

[FranklyFlawless]

For the last several months, I used the Deluge. It has encoders to scroll up/down or left/right on the piano roll grid. For a tracker-based workflow, there is the Polyend Tracker and/or Polyend Tracker Mini. These are complete all-in-one hardware solutions that are designed for a tactile-based workflow. Otherwise, you may be interested in control surfaces, designed to interact with your DAW (compatibility varies).

[xbow]

Yes, these devices look great! But I'm specifically looking for solutions that allow me to use my computer (with the VSTs and samples on my harddisk) and my computer keyboard (which already is a very good "tactile interface" in my opinion, it just needs to be implemented well to be useful).

Can people who use other DAWs (Logic, FL, Live, Bitwig) chime in on how well these work with only using keyboard shortcuts, arrow keys, etc.?

Unfortunately, this is very hard to google because unsurprisingly, queries including "keyboard" and "daw" will produce tons of results that do not address my question.

[Jolaff]

Ableton Live is really good at this if you learn all the keyboard shortcut.

[pdxindy]

Can people who use other DAWs (Logic, FL, Live, Bitwig) chime in on how well these work with only using keyboard shortcuts, arrow keys, etc.?

Both Logic and Live have midi step input. It's a fast way to input notes without a mouse. You can use the computer keyboard for that, but I prefer using a midi controller cause it has more octaves and is velocity sensitive.

I miss this function in Bitwig which is my primary DAW. That's why I still have Logic.

[dermichl]

energyXT has this functionality

[lfm]

Unfortunately, this is very hard to google because unsurprisingly, queries including "keyboard" and "daw" will produce tons of results that do not address my question.

You can use the hyphen thingy, a minus for words that should be excluded.
Just a blank between and start word with hyphen.

Just find you way further getting closer.

You still might need to combine touchpad and keyboard.

Mighty Piano Roll
https://docs.cherryaudio.com/cherry-aud ... piano-roll

Mixcraft Musical Typing Keyboard


Even for a carpenter you cannot do everything with a hammer.

[xbow]

energyXT has this functionality

Thanks, this DAW looks cool, I like the light weight approach.

I couldn't figure out how to place a note in the grid without using my mouse, though. Is there documentation for the keyboard shortcuts anywhere?

[dermichl]

You are looking for the step input feature (F4 to turn it on) - you will see a red rectangle that you can move around the piano roll via cursor keys - use insert/ delete for placing notes - ctrl + cursor to nudge and transpose - alt + up/ down to change velocities. Support and documentation are very poor to say the least. But it‘s rather intuitive. In Setup you can look up all shortcuts too. There‘s a dedicated subforum here: viewforum.php?f=36

[xbow]

You are looking for the step input feature (F4 to turn it on) - you will see a red rectangle that you can move around the piano roll via cursor keys - use insert/ delete for placing notes - ctrl + cursor to nudge and transpose - alt + up/ down to change velocities. Support and documentation are very poor to say the least. But it‘s rather intuitive. In Setup you can look up all shortcuts too. There‘s a dedicated subforum here: viewforum.php?f=36

Awesome, thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for

[BriocheBaps]

Renoise mate. Basically designed for mouseless operation.

[dermichl]

You are looking for the step input feature (F4 to turn it on) - you will see a red rectangle that you can move around the piano roll via cursor keys - use insert/ delete for placing notes - ctrl + cursor to nudge and transpose - alt + up/ down to change velocities. Support and documentation are very poor to say the least. But it‘s rather intuitive. In Setup you can look up all shortcuts too. There‘s a dedicated subforum here: viewforum.php?f=36

Awesome, thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for

You‘re welcome!
Just to be on the safe side: remember to save often!! And do not take support for granted - energyXT is „as is“. Do not hope for updates or new features. It maybe is not abandoned but surely dormant.