Once you have sounds on the timeline, you can move, trim, loop, and duplicate clips, fix their pitch and timing, add fades, and organize everything into a full song.

Move, copy, and duplicate clips

Select a clip: Click the clip's title bar. Cmd+click adds clips to your selection, and Shift+click extends the selection.
Move a clip: Drag the clip to a new position or track. Hold Cmd while dragging to move the clip off the grid.
Copy a clip: Hold Option while dragging. Drag the copy below the last track to put the copy on a new track with the same instrument and effects.
Duplicate a clip: Press Cmd+D to place a copy right after the original.
Copy, cut, and paste: Use Cmd+C, Cmd+X, and Cmd+V. Clips paste where you last clicked on the timeline, or at the playhead.
Delete a clip: Select the clip and press Delete.

Tip: To silence a clip without deleting the clip, right-click the clip and choose Disable.

Note: The modifier keys above are for Create's default keyboard shortcuts. If you've chosen another DAW's shortcuts in Settings → Shortcuts, the keys may differ.

The tool picker in the timeline toolbar sets what dragging on the timeline does: Selector selects the clips you drag over, and Marquee Tool selects a range of bars.

Trim, loop, split, and join clips

Trim: Drag a clip's left or right edge to make the clip shorter or longer.
Loop: Turn on looping for the clip in the clip editor or the clip's right-click menu, then drag the clip's edge to repeat the loop.
Split: Press T to select Scissors, then click a clip where you want to split the clip. You can also press Cmd+E to split at the insert marker.
Join: Select clips on the same track and press Cmd+J to consolidate the clips into one.

Dragging the right edge of a clip on the Create timeline to trim or loop the clip

Change a clip's pitch

Double-click an audio clip to open the clip editor, then drag Transpose or double-click Transpose to type a value. You can shift a clip from -24 to +24 semitones.

The Transpose control in the Create audio clip editor

For MIDI clips, press Shift+↑ / Shift+↓ on the timeline to transpose selected clips by a semitone, or Shift+Cmd+↑ / Shift+Cmd+↓ by an octave.

Change a clip's timing and tempo

Audio clips follow your project's tempo by default. To change how a clip follows the tempo, open the clip editor and use the toolbar:

Warp: Turns tempo-following on or off.
Warp Mode: Choose Auto, Drums, or Melody to stretch the clip and keep its pitch, or Re-pitch to speed the clip up or slow it down like tape.
Speed: Changes how fast the clip plays.
Reverse: Plays the clip backward. You can also press Cmd+R.

The Warp Mode menu beside Warp in the Create audio clip toolbar

To fine-tune timing within an audio clip, click a transient guide in the clip editor's warp lane to add a warp marker, then drag the marker.

For MIDI clips, right-click the clip and choose Quantize to snap notes to the grid, or Humanize to loosen the timing.

Add fades and crossfades

Fade in or out: Drag the fade handle at the top-left or top-right corner of an audio clip. Drag the diamond on the fade curve to change the fade's shape.
Remove a fade: Double-click the fade handle.
Crossfade: Overlap two audio clips on the same track and drag a fade past the neighboring clip's edge. Create blends the two clips together.

Organize your song with sections

Sections divide your song into named parts, such as a verse and chorus, so you can work on, export, and arrange each part.

When Sections move clips is turned on in Settings → General, moving a section also moves the clips inside it. Turn the setting off to move sections without moving their clips.

Tip: To turn a loop into a full song structure, select the loop and ask Rheo to "build an arrangement from this loop". Rheo asks whether you want a full song or a short song, then builds out the sections for you.

Undo a change

Press Cmd+Z to undo an edit.

When your song is ready, see How do I export music from Create?

How do I edit and arrange my music in Create?