Blank chain

How to create it and do it only once

A blank chain isn’t something that comes out-of-the-box, and you’ll likely need it in every project. By a very lucky coincidence, not only is it very easy to create, but you’ll only need to do it once — in a template song — and then it’ll be available in every new project you start.

Adding a blank chain to the project template

By the end of this section, you’ll learn how to navigate, create and delete things on the grid, and manage your projects.

Create the template song

The template song is just a song with a reserved filename /System/TEMPLATE.m8s.

  1. Hold SHIFT and use the navigation keys to position the highlight to the letter P above S in the minimap. This will take you to the Project view.

  2. Use the navigation keys to highlight the NEW button on the PROJECT row and press EDIT.

Project screen. Project row. 'New' button is highlighted.

  1. If asked, confirm that you want to create a new project.

Create the blank chain

While still in the template song, let’s go ahead and create the blank chain. That’s pretty much why we’re here, after all.

  1. In the song view, move your cursor to the first cell of the first channel.

  2. Hold EDIT and, using your navigation keys, pick a chain number.

There are people who use 00 for their blank chains, and there are people who use FE. This is a template song, remember. You’re making this decision for the rest of your life, and the other folks won’t forgive your betrayal today. No pressure.

  1. Hold SHIFT and press → to position the highlight to the letter C in the minimap. This will take you to the Chain view.

  2. Hold EDIT and, using your navigation keys, choose a phrase number. Use the same number you chose for the chain to make it easier to remember.

  3. We want our chain to consist of 4 identical phrases. M8 remembers the last value you used, so adding three more phrases is as easy as pressing ↓, EDIT, ↓,EDIT, ↓, EDIT.

Save the template song

  1. Hold SHIFT and press ← to return to the Song view.

  2. Hold EDIT and press OPT to delete the empty chain from the first step of the first channel.

    This way our song will be clear when starting a new project, but the chain will still be available for selection.

  3. Hold SHIFT and press ↑ to return to the Project view.

  4. Follow your gut, change the project name to TEMPLATE, and save it to the /System folder.