Attack and release
How a note starts and how it ends.
Lesson 1 of 2
The amplitude envelope sets the volume of each note over time. Its first and last stages decide whether a sound is sharp or soft.
Short notes, long gaps
Try a long Attack, then a long Release.
Drag the squares on the envelope, or turn the knobs: they move together.
Attack3 ms
Release150 ms
Attack is the time from pressing a key to full volume. A few milliseconds is instant, like a drum or a pluck. Hundreds of milliseconds and the note swells in, like a bowed string.
Release is how long the note fades after the key is let go. Short releases leave gaps of silence; long ones let notes ring into each other.