Gestures & Drawing

PixelBoop uses intuitive gesture-based input for drawing musical patterns. Different gestures create different musical results depending on the track and direction.

Gesture Overview

PixelBoop interprets your touch gestures based on:

• Direction: Horizontal, vertical, or diagonal
• Track: Melody, Chords, Bass, or Rhythm
• Duration: Quick tap vs. held touch

Basic Gestures

Tap (All Tracks)

The simplest gesture — tap any pixel to place a single note.

Tap Gesture

Tap Gesture

Tap any pixel to place a single note

Tap to Place Note

Single tap places one note at that step and pitch.

Melody Track

Rows 2-7. Tap to place melody notes.

Accent (Hold)

Hold a pixel for 400ms+ to place an accented (louder) note.

Accent Gesture

Accent Gesture

Hold longer for accented notes (brighter = louder)

Accented Note

Hold 400ms+ for a louder note (velocity 96 vs 64).

Normal Note

Quick tap for standard velocity.

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Horizontal Gestures

Swipe horizontally to create patterns that span multiple steps.

Run (Melody)

Horizontal swipe on Melody track creates a scale run — notes ascending or descending through the current scale.

Melody Run

Melody Run

Horizontal swipe on melody = scale run

Scale Run

Horizontal swipe creates ascending/descending scale run. Notes snap to current scale.

Swipe Direction

Swipe left-to-right for ascending, right-to-left for descending.

Arpeggio (Chords)

Horizontal swipe on Chords track creates an arpeggio — chord notes played sequentially.

Chord Arpeggio

Chord Arpeggio

Horizontal swipe on chords = arpeggio pattern

Arpeggio Pattern

Chord notes spread across steps. Creates rhythmic chord pattern.

Chords Track

Rows 8-13. Horizontal swipe creates arpeggio.

Walking Bass (Bass)

Horizontal swipe on Bass track creates a walking bass line — root, 5th, 4th pattern.

Walking Bass

Walking Bass

Horizontal swipe on bass = walking bass line

Walking Bass Pattern

Root → 5th → 4th → 5th pattern. Classic bass movement.

Bass Track

Rows 14-17. Horizontal swipe creates walking bass.

Drum Roll (Rhythm)

Horizontal swipe on Rhythm track creates a drum roll — rapid hits on the same drum.

Drum Roll

Drum Roll

Horizontal swipe on rhythm = drum roll

Drum Roll

Rapid consecutive hits on the same drum sound.

Rhythm Track

Rows 18-21. Horizontal swipe creates drum roll.

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Vertical Gestures

Swipe vertically to stack notes at the same step.

Chord Stack (Melody/Chords)

Vertical swipe on Melody or Chords creates a chord stack — multiple notes at the same step.

Chord Stack

Chord Stack

Vertical swipe = stacked chord notes

Chord Stack (Maj7)

Vertical swipe creates Root-3rd-5th-7th chord at one step.

Fifth (Bass)

Vertical swipe on Bass creates Root + 5th — a power chord foundation.

Bass Fifth

Bass Fifth

Vertical swipe on bass = root + fifth

Root + Fifth

Vertical swipe on bass adds the 5th above the root.

Multi-Drum (Rhythm)

Vertical swipe on Rhythm plays multiple drums at the same step.

Multi-Drum

Multi-Drum

Vertical swipe on rhythm = multiple drums

Multi-Drum Hit

Vertical swipe triggers multiple drums simultaneously (e.g., kick + snare + hat).

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Diagonal Gestures

Swipe diagonally to create melodic phrases or fills.

Phrase (Melody/Chords)

Diagonal swipe on Melody or Chords creates a melodic phrase — notes that follow the scale diagonally.

Melodic Phrase

Melodic Phrase

Diagonal swipe = melodic phrase

Melodic Phrase

Diagonal creates a musical phrase following the scale.

Fill (Rhythm)

Diagonal swipe on Rhythm creates a drum fill — notes that traverse multiple drums across steps.

Drum Fill

Drum Fill

Diagonal swipe on rhythm = drum fill

Drum Fill

Diagonal creates a fill pattern across drums.

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Special Gestures

Sustain (Hold + Drag)

Hold a note for 400ms, then drag horizontally to create a sustained note across multiple steps.

Sustained Note

Sustained Note

Hold + drag = sustained note

Sustained Note

First note is accented, following notes are sustain markers.

Erase (Double-Tap)

Double-tap any pixel to erase the note at that position.

Clear (Shake)

Shake the device to clear all notes from the current pattern.

Undo/Redo (Double-Swipe)

• Double-swipe left: Undo last action
• Double-swipe right: Redo last undone action

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Gesture Reference Table

Gesture	Direction	Melody	Chords	Bass	Rhythm
Tap	Point	Note	Note	Note	Drum hit
Hold	Point	Accent	Accent	Accent	Accent
Horizontal	← →	Scale run	Arpeggio	Walking	Roll
Vertical	↑ ↓	Chord stack	Chord stack	Root+5th	Multi-drum
Diagonal	↗ ↘	Phrase	Phrase	Bass walk	Fill
Hold+Drag	Hold →	Sustain	Sustain chord	Sustain	—