Prologue

Welcome to Prologue

Prologue turns chord symbols, mood choices, timeline edits, imported JSON, and AI-assisted ideas into voiced MIDI progressions. A single progression can feed Bass, Body, and optional Shimmer lanes so you can audition harmony quickly and distribute it across different instruments.

Best starting point: Insert Prologue before one or more MIDI instruments, choose or create a progression, select an Output mix, then press play in your DAW.

Quick start

1. Insert Prologue on a MIDI or instrument track and route its MIDI output to the instruments you want to play.
2. Create harmony with a mood preset, chord-symbol text, the chord timeline, or the {} JSON panel.
3. Click a section tab to work on that variation, or use + to capture the current setup as a new section.
4. Choose Body and Shimmer voicings, set Bass/Body/Shimmer arrangement options, and enable Legato where notes should tie across chord changes.
5. Choose the Output mix heard on MIDI channel 1, then play the transport.
6. Drag the main export or a fixed Bass, Body, or Shimmer export into your DAW when the progression is ready.

Create and edit a progression

Chord line

Click empty space to add a chord. Click a chord block to edit it. Right-click to add, edit, or delete, and hold a block to audition it.

Chord editor

The chord editor sets the root, chord quality, optional bass note, Rest state, and duration in bars. Chord tokens also support compact text entry such as Cmaj7, Dm9:2, C/E, or R:0.5.

Voicing and piano roll

Voicing controls how chord notes are spread and voice-led. The piano roll follows the selected output and supports the same click and right-click editing model as the chord line.

Sections and projects

Sections are independent progression variations. Each section can carry its own chord line, Body and Shimmer voicings, octave choices, Legato states, and arrangement settings. Use section tabs to switch variations and + to capture the current setup.

Projects save and restore complete local ideas, including the section set. Use them for reusable songs or sketches rather than relying on a single exported MIDI file.

Progression lock: When a section’s progression is locked, preserve it while exploring surrounding arrangement choices or other sections.

Arrangement layers

Shimmer modes

• Off: No separate Shimmer lane.
• Top: One high note from the chosen Shimmer voicing; useful even with simple triads.
• Color: Written 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, add tones, and altered extensions move to Shimmer.
• Halo: Color material plus an added anchor for a richer small-chord cloud; without written color tones it falls back toward Top behavior.

Color and Halo: These modes need written color tones in the chord symbols. Plain triads and power chords may leave Color silent.

MIDI routing and export

The main export follows the selected Output mix. Footer export controls always create fixed Bass, Body, or Shimmer MIDI, which is useful when each layer needs a separate DAW track.

Recommended setup: I recommend routing one Prologue instance to three instrument tracks: a bass instrument listening on MIDI channel 2, a body instrument on channel 3, and a shimmer instrument on channel 4. This gives each layer its own instrument, mixer channel, and effects while Prologue keeps the harmony and Sections together.

DAW routing: Channel 1 changes with the selected Output mix; channels 2–4 stay dedicated to their named layers.

Sync between Prologue instances

A Leader instance publishes progression, key, scale, suggested BPM, and sections. Followers can still change their own Sync and Output settings; edits to shared fields return to the Leader state.

Use this when several instruments should follow the same harmonic structure while keeping their own output-layer selection.

Isorek MCP

While Prologue is loaded, the local Isorek MCP companion can discover the processor, read its complete section arrangement as JSON, and apply validated edits immediately. There is no AI mode to enable: regular controls remain available, the editor may be closed, and accepted changes persist with the DAW session.

Without opening Prologue, MCP can also list, read, create, update, and delete saved pure-JSON Projects in the Prologue Project Library.

If several Prologue instances are open, your AI client lists their active-section summaries and runtime IDs so you can select the intended one. A Follower can be read but not edited directly; target its Leader to update the shared musical state through regular Sync.

MCP JSON includes musical sections and their arrangement settings. It does not expose or change regular Sync, UI state, export choices, or local output configuration. Ask your AI client to undo its last MCP change if you want to restore the preceding musical JSON.

Set up Isorek MCP for installation commands, supported AI clients, troubleshooting, and a starter prompt.

JSON and AI-assisted ideas

Open the {} panel to import or export JSON. A single object creates one preset; an array creates a section palette. Paste valid JSON into the overlay, apply it, then audition the result before saving it as a Project.

{
  "name": "A - Warm Intro",
  "scale": "D Minor",
  "bpm": 78,
  "progression": "Dm9:2 A#maj9:2 Gm11:2 A7b9:2",
  "body_voicing": "Smooth",
  "shimmer_voicing": "Smooth",
  "arrangement": {
    "bass_legato": false,
    "body_legato": true,
    "shimmer_legato": true,
    "bass_octave": -1,
    "body_octave": 0,
    "shimmer_octave": 1,
    "bass_add_octave": true,
    "bass_add_fifth": false,
    "body_add_root": true,
    "body_add_fifth": true,
    "body_with_shimmer": false,
    "shimmer_mode": "Color"
  }
}

Groove Architect assistants: Use the ChatGPT or Gemini version to draft Prologue-compatible ideas for the {} panel. You only need to be signed in to either service; using both is not required. Treat generated JSON as a starting point: apply it, listen, and refine chord choices, durations, voicings, and layer modes inside Prologue. I have personally had excellent results with this workflow.

Shortcuts

Troubleshooting

• No MIDI reaches an instrument: Confirm the DAW is accepting Prologue’s MIDI output and that the destination track or device is monitoring the expected channel.
• Shimmer is silent: Check that Shimmer is not Off. For Color or Halo, use chord symbols containing written 7ths or extensions.
• A follower will not keep a shared edit: That field is controlled by the Sync Leader; edit the Leader or leave follower mode.
• The exported file lacks a layer: The main export follows the selected Output mix; use the fixed footer export for the missing Bass, Body, or Shimmer lane.
• A project and the current host session differ: Load the intended local Project, then verify the selected section and Output routing for this instance.

Support and privacy

The Help or Help & Privacy panel provides update notices, registration status, telemetry consent, terms, and third-party notices. Use the in-app email control when you need product support.

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