Write notes
Each row of the roll is a pitch and each column a step of the grid.
Click an empty square to add a note, drag it to move it, and drag its
right edge to make it longer. Right-click a note to delete it.
Shift-drag across empty grid to select several notes at once.
Pick a track
The panel on the left holds the tracks: two pulse channels, a
triangle and noise. Click one, or press 1 to 4, and new notes go
onto it. M mutes the current track and S solos it. Click the
keyboard beside the roll to hear a pitch on that track.
Play it
Press Space or Play. Click the ruler along the top to choose where
playback starts, and untick Loop to play through once.
BPM, Bars and Grid in the toolbar set the speed, the length and how
finely notes snap. Double-click the ruler to add a tempo change.
Shape the sound
Click or drag in the VEL lane under the roll to make notes louder or
softer. The meter menu at the top left sets the time signature, and
the Tuning menu swaps the usual twelve semitones for 19, 24 (quarter
tones) or 31 equal steps to the octave. Each note can also be detuned by a few cents.
Keep it
Save writes a .punch song file, and Open loads one back;
on the desktop, double-clicking a .punch file opens it too.
Export WAV renders the song to an audio file. Ctrl+Z undoes almost
anything.
Every key is listed under Help, Keyboard shortcuts (or press F1).