The Rohans — Music
Key mapping, navigation, phrase commands, and config.xml reference for Traqueur, the music tracker DAW for lo-fi composition on macOS.
Traqueur is a music tracker and DAW optimised for portable and low-resource devices. It runs on macOS, Linux, Raspberry Pi, and Steam Deck. The interface is built around a hierarchy of nested objects, each with its own editing screen.
config.xml (see Configuration).
For gamepad or Steam Deck use, configure mapping.xml.
| Button | Default Key |
|---|---|
| A | J |
| B | K |
| START | Space |
| LT | Right Ctrl (RCTRL) |
| RT | Left Ctrl (LCTRL) |
| Controller | Keys | Action |
|---|---|---|
| D-Pad | WASD | In-screen navigation |
| A | J | Insert Chain / Phrase / Note |
| A, A | J, J | Insert next unused Chain / Phrase / Instrument |
| LT+(B, A) | LT+(J, K) | Clone highlighted item into next unused slot |
| B+A | J+K | Cut highlighted item |
| A+UP / DOWN | J+W / S | Change value ± 0x10 |
| A+LEFT / RIGHT | J+A / D | Change value ± 1 |
| B+UP / DOWN | K+W / S | Song: page up/down; Chain: next/prev phrase; Instrument/Table: ± 0x10 |
| RT+D-Pad | LCTRL+WASD | Navigate between screens |
| … | F | Full screen |
| Controller | Keys | Action |
|---|---|---|
| LT+B | RCTRL+K | Start selection (cursor cell only) |
| LT+B+B | RCTRL+K+K | Start selection (entire row) |
| LT+B+B+B | RCTRL+K+K+K | Start selection (entire screen) |
| D-Pad | WASD | Grow or shrink existing selection |
| B | K | Copy selection to buffer |
| LT+A | RCTRL+J | Paste clipboard at cursor or cut selection |
Switch between Song and Live modes with B+LEFT/RIGHT in the Song screen (K+A/D).
| Controller | Keys | Action |
|---|---|---|
| START | SPACE | Song screen: play/stop from row. Chain / Phrase screen: solo play |
| Controller | Keys | Action |
|---|---|---|
| START | SPACE | Queue highlighted step. Queued items blink >. |
| LT+START | RCTRL+SPACE | Queue all channels on current row. |
| Controller | Keys | Action |
|---|---|---|
| RT+B | K+LCTRL | Toggle mute. Release RT first = stays muted; release B first = reverts. |
| RT+A | J+LCTRL | Solo channel. |
| LT+RT | LCTRL+RCTRL | Restore full playback on all channels. |
Each phrase row can hold two commands. Commands affecting instruments can run
on any step, including the step that triggers the instrument. Commands marked
* may have platform-specific behaviour.
| Command | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ARPG | abcd | Cycle relative pitches a/b/c/d by semitone in a loop |
| CRSH * | aabb | Pre-crush drive aa (00=bypass); bit depth bb (0x0=1 bit, 0xF=16 bit) |
| DLAY * | --bb | Delay the note by bb ticks |
| FBMX | aabb | Approach feedback mix xxbb at speed aaxx |
| FBTN | aabb | Approach feedback tune xxbb at speed aaxx |
| FCUT | aabb | Adjust filter cutoff to bb at speed aa |
| FLTR | aabb | Lowpass: set absolute cutoff aa and resonance bb |
| FRES | aabb | Adjust filter resonance to bb at speed aa |
| HOP * | aabb | Jump to step bb in next phrase; in tables: jump to row bb aa times then continue |
| IRTG | aabb | Retrigger instrument transposed bb semitones (cumulative) |
| KILL * | --bb | Stop instrument after bb ticks |
| LEGA * | aabb | Exponential pitch slide to bb at speed aa |
| LPOF | aaaa | Shift loop start+end by aaaa (values > 0x800 go backward) |
| MDCC | aabb | MIDI CC: control# aa, value bb |
| MDPG | --bb | MIDI program change (0000 = program 1) |
| PAN * | aabb | Pan to bb at speed aa |
| PFIN | aabb | Pitch fine-tune: width bb at speed aa (00–7F up, FF–80 down) |
| PLOF | aabb | Play offset: jump to chunk aa or move ± bb chunks (256 chunks total) |
| PTCH * | aabb | Linear pitch change: time aa, semitones bb |
| RTRG * | aabb | Retrigger: advance loop aa ticks each cycle, loop length bb ticks |
| TABL * | --bb | Trigger table bb |
| TMPO * | --bb | Set tempo in hex (003C=60 BPM, 0190=400 BPM) |
| VOLM * | aabb | Approach volume bb at speed aa (bb 00=silent; aa 00=instant) |
Speed is fixed and cannot be changed. ARPG 3000 loops original/+3st; ARPG 4050 loops original/+4/+0/+5.
FCUT 0080 sets cutoff to 50% instantly; FCUT 1000 closes the filter at speed 10. FLTR 00FF is an unfiltered signal.
Instant — the instrument and any commands on the same row still execute. HOP has no effect on instruments themselves.
The retriggered instrument is not reset: all running state (filter, volume, etc.) is preserved. Transpositions are cumulative — useful for dubby echoes and non-4/4 timing without switching grooves.
LEGA is exponential (equal speed across octaves); PTCH is linear. If pitch offset is 0 on a note row, a LEGA slide occurs automatically from the previous note.
Resets each time a new note triggers. Cannot itself trigger a note — a sample must already be playing.
RTRG 0001 loops 1 tick; RTRG 0102 loops 2 ticks advancing 1 each cycle; RTRG 0101 is a no-op (offset equals loop length).
To create a swell: set the instrument volume to 0 and use VOLM to ramp up.
Flags can be stored permanently in config.xml, placed alongside the executable.
| Key | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BACKGROUND | 0F0F0F | Background colour (hex RGB) |
| FOREGROUND | E5E5B9 | Foreground colour |
| HICOLOR1 | 35748B | Row-count colour in Song Screen |
| HICOLOR2 | FF4138 | Cursor colour |
| CURSORCOLOR | D0DC12 | Cursor overlay colour |
| FULLSCREEN | YES | Start in fullscreen |
| KEY_A | j | A button |
| KEY_B | k | B button |
| KEY_LEFT | right ctrl | Left (LT) navigation button |
| KEY_RIGHT | left ctrl | Right (RT) navigation button |
| KEY_UP | w | Up arrow |
| KEY_DOWN | a | Down arrow |
| KEY_LSHOULDER | s | Left shoulder trigger |
| KEY_RSHOULDER | d | Right shoulder trigger |
| KEY_START | space | Start button |
| ROOTFOLDER | /home/user | Project storage location |
| SAMPLELIB | root: | Sample library location |
| RENDER | FILERT | FILE, FILESPLIT, FILERT, FILESPLITRT |
Key values use SDL_KeySym names. For USB controllers and Steam Deck button mapping, use mapping.xml.