Sequenced sound

Between interactive and recorded sound is what we usually call sequenced sound. This is the method of most music production in use today for genres like hip-hop, rock and pop. The sounds are short recorded clips of individual instruments or vocal lines which are layered together according to instructions stored in a sequencer, often as MIDI data. The MIDI sequencer acts as a tool for a composer to re-arrange the recorded parts and then play them back in a fixed order. Sequenced sound has been used in games for a long time in the guise of "trackers", but this has fallen into disuse for reasons we will examine later.