1. Drag a file, such as a sustained guitar power chord or pad, into an audio track.

2. Trim the clip length to a measure boundary by slip-editing the left edge, then click on the clip and go Edit > Bounce to Clip(s). This “fixes” the clip length at the measure boundary.

3. Double-click on the clip to open up the Loop Construction window.

4. Enter the clip’s duration in beats in the “Beats in Clip” field. Under “Slices,” select Eighth Notes (for an eighth-note rhythm) from the drop-down menu, and set “Trans Detect” to 0.

5. Click on the Gain Envelope icon.

6. Drag the gain envelope as desired for each slice to create a “level step sequence.”