sequencer
A device or software that records, edits, and plays back MIDI data or audio in a predetermined order.
In Depth
Sequencers are the backbone of electronic music production. Hardware sequencers in early synthesisers and drum machines allowed musicians to program patterns step by step. Modern DAW-based sequencers offer unlimited tracks, automation, and editing capabilities. Step sequencers, where each step represents a rhythmic division, remain popular for programming drum patterns and synth arpeggios. The sequencer transformed music from a purely real-time art to one that could be constructed and refined incrementally.
Kraftwerk's use of sequencers in the early 1970s was so ahead of its time that their influence shaped the entire development of electronic, hip-hop, and dance music.