Everything you need to know

grafer is a browser-based computer-assisted composition (CAC) tool designed for contemporary music. It provides a visual node graph environment where you can build complex pitch structures, intricate rhythms, spectral transformations, and more — all without installing any software.

grafer supports a wide range of contemporary composition techniques including spectral analysis and morphing, serial and post-serial methods (tone rows, pitch multiplication, integral serialism), complex rhythmic structures (nested tuplets, proliation canons), stochastic and chaos-based processes, microtonal systems, and algorithmic generation using mathematical models.

The node graph lets you connect compositional processes visually. Each node performs a specific musical operation — generating pitches, subdividing rhythms, analyzing spectra, transforming data. You connect nodes by dragging cables between their inputs and outputs, creating a flow of musical transformations that updates in real-time.

grafer exports to MusicXML, which is compatible with all major notation software including Dorico, Finale, Sibelius, and MuseScore. The export preserves microtonal accidentals, nested tuplets, complex articulations, and other details that matter for contemporary notation.

Yes! Every new account starts with a 14-day free trial of the full Composer Pro plan. No credit card required. You get access to all 90+ composition nodes (including the live OSC bridge to SuperCollider, Max and Pd), all analysis views, and full export capabilities during your trial.

No. grafer runs entirely in your web browser. There's nothing to download, install, or configure. It works on any modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) on both desktop and laptop computers.

Yes, grafer draws significant inspiration from IRCAM's OpenMusic and similar visual programming environments for music. However, grafer is built for the modern web, offering a more accessible and streamlined experience while maintaining the depth and rigor that serious composers need.

MIDI playback is available for previewing your compositions within grafer. You can audition pitch collections, rhythmic patterns, and complete passages before exporting to notation software for final engraving and performance preparation.

Absolutely. grafer is an excellent teaching tool for composition, music theory, and acoustics courses. The visual node graph makes abstract concepts tangible, and the institutional pricing makes it affordable for departments. Many conservatories and universities are already using grafer in their curriculum.

Simply visit grafer.app and create a free account. You'll have immediate access to the full tool set during your 14-day trial. We recommend starting with the built-in template patches to explore different compositional techniques, then building your own from scratch.

Yes. The Live tab turns the score into a rhizome — cells wired into a graph of weighted edges — and the conductor walks that rhizome non-linearly during performance. You get Play / Pause / Skip transport controls, weighted-random or OSC-triggered cell transitions, and a full performance recording you can export as JSON for analysis afterwards. Perfect for indeterminate-duration pieces, sensor-driven works, and pieces where the form responds to performers in real time.

Yes. Open a Live performance session and share the six-character code with your players — they go to grafer.app/perform on any device with a browser, type the code, claim a voice (e.g. "Cello"), and see their part rendered live. As the conductor advances cells during performance, each performer's score swaps to whichever cell is currently playing, with their voice highlighted. Voice claims are by name, so a player who's "Cello" stays "Cello" across every cell that defines that part. Works on iPad, Android tablets, laptops, anything with a modern browser. Audience members can also follow along on grafer.app/listen to see the full score advance in sync — useful for educational concerts and pieces that benefit from a visible structure.

Yes — over OSC, in either direction. Send OSC into grafer to advance the conductor, skip cells, pause/resume, or fire reactive in-cell events; send OSC out from any cell graph to drive synths (SuperCollider, Max, Pure Data) or robotics. Hardware-side, the easiest setups are an ESP32 over WiFi or an Arduino with an Ethernet shield — the Hardware integration guide includes four ready-to-run example sketches (button pedal, LED receiver, bidirectional foot-controller, wired Arduino). You can also use any computer running TouchOSC, MaxMSP, SuperCollider, Pure Data, or any other OSC-aware tool.

A set of sketchpads for the messy stage before notation. Idea boards for visual notes, polymetric loops for layered cycles, harmonic progressions, a Scale Lab for microtonal tunings (with .scl import and a cultural-scale library), a Groove Sketcher for tap-in rhythms (with cultural grooves), a Harmonic Arc planner for piece-level dramaturgy, a MIDI Sequencer, and an Orchidea-style Orchestration Sketcher that builds chords from samples. Each one has a Send-to-cell button: the wired subgraph drops straight into the active cell as real, editable nodes — not a snapshot.

Yes — a family of cp.* nodes. cp.counter generates a second voice from a cantus firmus by species rules; cp.canon builds canons at any interval and time delay; cp.invertible handles invertible counterpoint; cp.stretto overlaps subject entries; cp.phase drives Reich-style gradual phasing. cp.check audits an existing pair against the species rules and reports parallel fifths, octaves, voice crossings, and tritone leaps in-line on the score.

A way to encapsulate a chunk of graph as a reusable node. Drop a Subpatch from the catalogue, double-click it to enter, and place Inlet (sub.in) and Outlet (sub.out) nodes inside to define its interface. The parent Subpatch grows ports automatically. Use the breadcrumb at the top of Graf to navigate back out. Useful for hiding complexity, reusing a pattern across multiple cells, or building your own higher-order operators on top of the base node library — the same idea as Pure Data subpatches or OpenMusic patches.

Yes — lightweight phone tools that round-trip into the desktop project. The Rhythm Tapper captures a clave by tapping the screen; the Sound Recorder grabs a sample and ships it to the Orchestration Sketcher; the Groove Sketcher builds cyclic rhythms with cultural-groove templates; the Live Controller fires cues during performance. Open them on a phone alongside the desktop session — useful both for solo composition (capture an idea on the way home) and ensemble work (each player has a personal trigger pad).