Systems and methods of note event adjustment

Some embodiments provide a music editing application that enables a user to compose and edit note characteristics, e.g., via a touch-sensitive display. The graphical user interface (GUI) can display a portion of a music track including note events. In response to receiving a user selection of a note event and a user indication for editing a note event, the GUI can display a menu providing a list of characteristics. The characteristics can include an option for associating at least one of several virtual instruments or one of several articulations with the note event. Upon receiving a user input indicating a characteristic, the matrix editor can associate the note event with the characteristic based on the user input. The music editing application can allow the user to edit additional note characteristics (e.g., an instrument, an articulation) because of the extended capacity for data associated with each note event. A. GUI for an audio editing application enables a user to easily and conveniently shift a temporal and/or pitch of a sequence of note events within a musical piece, e.g., via a touch-sensitive display. The GUI displays a set of note events on a matrix grid and a subset of the note events (e.g., selected by the user) on a note events grid that overlaps the matrix grid. The note events grid is moveable with respect to the matrix grid such that the subset of note events is shifted against the remaining note events while the note events within the subset maintain a spatial relationship with respect to each other. Further, the user can shift the note events grid (and the note events therein) to any location within the matrix grid, without unintentionally snapping the note events to a nearest grid location on the matrix grid.