Get to know the interface and transport

Choose the mode for what you want to do

Mode	Main use
Visualizer	Watch the music, play live, record and set up the look of the video.
Practice	Play along with a MIDI guide and use the study tools.
Editor	Record and modify notes, hands, expression, musical maps, audio and camera.

Switch modes with the selector at the top or from View. The shortcuts are Cmd+1, Cmd+2 and Cmd+3, respectively. Changes made in the editor are reflected in the session's playback and export.

Identify the panels

The top bar gives you access to the auxiliary panels: Free Practice, Blocks, History and Guided Training on one side; Instrument, Mixer, Camera Frame and Export on the other. You'll also find the master volume, its output meter (OUT), access to Settings and the About window.

These are auxiliary windows: use them to set up a task and then return to the main area. Some options depend on the mode or on having a piece loaded; the camera frame, for example, only has something to frame when the output format is vertical or square.

If an icon isn't clear, hover the pointer over it to read its tooltip.

Turn layers on and off from the visualizer

Above the visualizer there's a row of buttons for the scene layers: Sustain Pedal, Waterfall, Particles, Curves / Plexus, Water Waves and Chord Display. Each button turns its layer on or off instantly, without opening Settings.

They're the same switches that appear in the View menu and in the sections of Settings > Scene: there's only one state, no matter where you change it.

Play, pause and stop

Import a MIDI file or prepare content in the editor.
Place the playhead where you want to start listening.
Click Play.
Use Pause to interrupt and keep the current position.
Use Stop to end playback and return to where you started it.

The Space bar starts playback when stopped and stops it when running. It isn't the same as the pause button. If REC is armed, it starts recording; if you're recording, it stops the take. Return moves the playhead to the start.

Next to the transport you'll find the bar and beat readout, elapsed time, tempo, transposition and the metronome switch. An indicator tells you when the session has unsaved changes.

Find a part of the piece

Click the MIDI track overview to jump to a point.
Or click the Bar and beat readout in the transport and type where you want to go.
Check the time, bar and beat readout.
Play from there.

With the keyboard: , and . jump one bar back or forward; with Shift, eight bars; with Control, one beat; with Option, to the previous or next marker. Return goes back to the start.

Turn on Options > Scroll Follow Playhead to keep the playhead in view. Turn it off when you need to work in a fixed area while listening to another part. To repeat a section, see A/B Loop.

Zoom the waterfall in and out

Hold Cmd and turn the mouse wheel —or swipe with two fingers on the trackpad— over the visualizer: the waterfall zooms in or out, and the notes take up more or less time on screen. It's a viewing setting; it doesn't change the music or the exported video.

You also have three commands in the View menu:

Action	Menu	Shortcut
Zoom in the waterfall	View > Zoom In Waterfall	Cmd++
Zoom out the waterfall	View > Zoom Out Waterfall	Cmd+−
Return to natural size	View > Reset Waterfall Zoom	Cmd+0

Reset Waterfall Zoom is dimmed when the waterfall is already at its natural size: if it's enabled, zoom is applied. You'll also find the Reset button in Settings > Scene > Waterfall, next to the current zoom readout.

These shortcuts belong to Visualizer and Practice. In the Editor, Cmd++, Cmd+− and Cmd+0 zoom the piano roll: they're two different screens and each has its own.

With playback stopped, the wheel without Cmd scrolls through the piece.

Zoom isn't saved in the session: when you reopen the app, the waterfall starts at its natural size.

Tour the menus

Menu	What you'll find
File	Sessions, Sample Sessions, importing and exporting MIDI, audio, settings, instrument, video and chart.
Edit	Editor undo and redo, copy and paste, Render Chords and Left Hand / Right Hand.
Events	Insert and delete bars.
View	The three modes, the pedal, the visualizer layers, the camera frame, Waterfall Zoom and Full Screen.
Charts	Chart preview, library and saving.
Practice	Presets, histories and reports for free practice, blocks and training, and the practice grid.
Options	Loop Enabled, Always Start Inside Loop, Scroll Follow Playhead and Click Sound….
Help	This help.

Find the settings

Open Medussa > Settings… or press Cmd+,. Settings are organized into three tabs:

Global: what happens when Medussa opens, automatic backups and linked files.
Audio / MIDI: MIDI inputs, audio output and how the audio engine runs.
Scene: everything that's seen and exported.

Scene is a single page with a row of icons at the top that jumps to each section. First the frame, then the layers, from back to front:

Section	What it contains
Main	Interface theme, visualizer shape, scene glow (HDR, bloom) and the Tell the hands apart switch.
Camera Frame	Output format, framing and camera movement.
Chords	How the chord name is shown on screen.
Appearance Profiles	Complete looks for the scene, built-in and your own.
Keys	Colors, proportions, shadows, highlights, note names and practice colors.
Visualizer Background	Color, image or video behind the scene.
Floor	Rug or color under the keyboard.
Sustain Pedal	Indicator and visual behavior of the sustain.
Waterfall	The notes falling toward the keyboard, and the button to reset their zoom.
Particles	The burst each note leaves behind.
Curves / Plexus	The lines that connect the activity.
Water Waves	The water layer.

Each layer section has its presets bar at the top, for saving and recalling that layer by name. The theme of windows and controls is independent of the colors that appear in the video.

Continue with Connecting a piano or go back to the index.