MusicDevelopments has announced a major update to its composition and music-generation software for Windows and macOS.
The highlight of RapidComposer v6.2 is a new Play Mode for the Virtual Keyboard in Live mode. The keyboard can be split into left- and right-hand zones, allowing you to control the harmony with your left hand while playing or triggering musical material with your right hand.
The most powerful option is Phrase mode: the left hand can trigger configurable sections of the composition, while the right hand triggers phrases from a dedicated melody track. Each section can contain its own chord progression, so a single key press can launch a sequence of changing chords. The triggered melody automatically follows the harmony of the section, with its notes quantized to stay synchronized with the composition. This opens up a new way of performing and experimenting with RapidComposer in real time.
Other improvements in v6.2 include:
- 8 Scene buttons for storing and recalling selected settings during Live playback, including tempo, scale, track mute states and expressions.
- More intuitive phrase resizing, with color-coded visual feedback showing whether a phrase will be scaled, repeated, or have its generator length changed.
- One-click note conversion between chord-relative, scale-relative, and absolute MIDI notes directly from the track header.
- Customizable track colors, with four different track header styles.
- A new note selection menu for selecting notes by harmony, scale membership, or duration.
- Improved MIDI recording in the Phrase Editor, including recording position and real-time note display.
- Mackie Control Universal (MCU) support for controlling transport, mute/solo, and track expressions.
- Improved Virtual Keyboard options, including Monitor Current Track and Toggle Mode.
- A new option to optimize memory usage for loaded phrases by keeping them compressed in memory.
- A new Record button in MIDI Mutator.
- The Virtual Keyboard state is now stored with the composition.
RapidComposer 6.2 is available to purchase at 40% off during the Autumn Sale until September 20th, 2026.
More information: MusicDevelopments
