60 CHAPTER 2 Basic Sequencing Techniques through the use of an audio interface, which mainly converts the analog audio signal into digital and vice versa. These two main types of data constitute the basic elements of your sequences, and that is where you are going to start your first project. It is time to begin sequencing! 2.3 hOW A SequenCer WOrKS AnD hOW It IS OrgAnIzeD The first time you start a new project in your sequencer you are presented with the main track list win- dow. Keep in mind that this option can be changed depending on the sequencer and its preferences. For example, you can create templates that have different windows and editor layouts, or you can have the sequencer customized to start up with an "Open" dialog window so you can load a preexisting project. There's no perfect setup, but I usually like to have the sequencer set to a "do nothing" option and choose each time I launch the software which action to take. There are exceptions to this setting, such as when I am working frenetically on a specific project for an extended period. In this case I prefer to have the sequencer loading automatically the latest project: it definitely saves time. The track list window is where all the tracks available in your project are organized and presented in a horizontal way. The layout of the tracks may change slightly among the four sequencers analyzed in this book, but the concept is the same for all of them. There are three main types of track: MIDI, audio, and software synthesizer. The MIDI tracks receive the data from the MIDI interface, usually through the universal serial bus (USB) port. The audio tracks receive the audio from the audio interface connected to the computer through a FireWire (FW), USB, or peripheral component interconnect (PCI) connection. The software synthesizer tracks are