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It writes basslines from chord changes. You type a progression, choose a style and an instrument, and Continuo generates a line that plays those changes — chord tones on the strong beats, approach notes leading into the next chord — which you can audition, edit, and export to your DAW or notation software.

Type them into the box at the top, one bar at a time, separated by | — for example Dm7 | G7 | Cmaj7 | Cmaj7. A % repeats the previous bar. A slash chord like Am/C pins the bass note, so the line will play exactly that note under the chord.

You can also tap Presets for 18 ready-made sets of changes (12-bar blues, rhythm changes, ii–V–I, bossa turnaround, 7/8 vamp and more), or import them from a MIDI or MusicXML file.

If you don't have a progression yet, it writes one for you in the current key and mode, so you have something to play against. Tap it again to cycle through other suggestions. It's a starting point — for full control over the harmony itself, that's what our companion app Mediant is for.

Seven of them: Root & Fifth (pop, rock, country, worship), Walking (jazz — one note per beat with chromatic approaches), Funk/R&B (sixteenth grooves and ghost notes), Tumbao (salsa and son — anticipated roots, rest on the downbeat), Bossa Nova, Reggae (one-drop, where the downbeat is the rest), and Motown (busy melodic eighths with passing tones and octave drops).

Density sets how busy the line is, from sparse to constant. Motion moves it from plain roots toward passing tones, chromatic approaches, and inversions. Swing goes from straight eighths at one end to a full triplet feel at the other.

Instrument changes what Continuo plays — the range it uses, how far it leaps, whether it jumps octaves, and how fast it's willing to move. An upright bass stays put and avoids octave pops; an 808 plays sparse and sustained; a synth bass roams. Sound only changes the tone you hear on playback, so you can hear a walking line through a synth timbre if you want.

4/4, 3/4, 2/4, 2/2 and 7/4; compound 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8; and irregular 5/4, 7/8, 5/8 and 11/8. Every style works in every meter — the grooves are written against the underlying pulse rather than against fixed bar patterns.

Continuo generates several distinct lines for the same settings and ranks them. Generate gives you the best one; Next take steps through the alternatives. Nothing is lost — you can keep cycling until one feels right.

You edit the changes, and the line follows. Tap any chord in the timeline strip to swap it for another from the palette, move it, duplicate it, or stretch it across more beats — the bassline rewrites around your edit.

No. Continuo is fully offline and requires no sign-in. It collects no data.

Tap Export — MIDI for a DAW, XML for notation software (a standard MusicXML .xml file with chord symbols) — and choose a destination from the share sheet. There's a checkbox to include a reference chord track alongside the bass in the MIDI, which is handy for lining things up in a session.

That's expected. The on-screen staff is a quick preview; the XML export is the real thing, fully engraved and editable in your notation software. Bass parts are written an octave above where they sound, which is the standard convention — the preview follows it, and the exported file carries the proper transposition so your notation app renders it correctly.

Tap Audition once more — iOS only allows audio to start after a tap. Continuo plays with the ringer switch either way. If it's still silent, check the volume with the app in the foreground, since iOS tracks media volume separately.

Make sure you're opening the exported file with an app that reads standard MIDI or MusicXML. If a specific app rejects a file, email us the details at support@songdeed.com and we'll take a look.