Beatly Pro

What it does

Generates whole loops in rap, trap, lo-fi, chiptune and cinematic styles, one per tap of the arrow, keeping a history you can step back through. Key, tempo and chord progression are set by hand or locked so they survive the next roll. Every part opens in a piano roll where notes are drawn, drum pieces picked and a custom sample dropped in. Song mode extends a short pattern into a full arrangement.

In the demo

Jade rolls through generated tracks, solos the drums and renders them out as a loop to AudioShare, then exports a bass part as MIDI, drops it into GarageBand and reassigns it to iSymphonic. She also runs it into GarageBand over Inter-App Audio, which takes a few tries to connect.

Worth knowing

It is a starting point rather than a finish: the generic instrument sounds are there to be replaced once the MIDI reaches a DAW. Version 2.1 redesigned the interface and added a chord progression builder, a 100-deep beat history and per-instrument MIDI and sample import, so MIDI now comes in as well as out. It runs on Mac too. There is still no AUv3, only standalone and Inter-App Audio.