1. Downloading Tonalic

After creating your Tonalic account at tonalic.com, you’ll receive download links for both macOS and Windows directly in your web browser.

You can also access your downloads via:
The “License” section in your Tonalic account dashboard
The confirmation email you received after the purchase

2. Installing Tonalic

After downloading the installer: Close all open DAWs before running the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

Tonalic installs automatically to your system’s default plugin directories. We recommend keeping these default locations for best compatibility.

The Tonalic installer contains:

• AU (Generator) – macOS
• VST3 – macOS & Windows
• AAX – Pro Tools
• Tonalic ARA – for Studio One 7.2.3 or Fender Studio Pro 8, Cubase 15.0.30 or Nuendo 15.0.30
• Tonalic Standalone - only for previewing and utility tasks

The installer itself is only small in size. Tonalic downloads content on demand in the background as you explore, so you can start quickly without large upfront downloads.

macOS 13.0 or later
Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)

Tonalic Instrument: 64-bit DAWs that support VST3, AU (Generator), or AAX plug-ins
Tonalic ARA: currently supported by Studio One Pro 7.2.3 or Fender Studio Pro 8, Cubase 15.0.30 or Nuendo 15.0.30

Hardware
Broadband Internet Connection
Multi-core CPU (Intel, AMD, or Apple Silicon)
at least 16 GB of RAM, at least 20 GB of free disk space
ASIO or Core Audio compatible audio interface recommended

You’re free to use Tonalic Audio Content to create your own original music and soundtracks — and you can release, distribute, or monetize those works however you like, including in connection with commercial and non-commercial music productions, advertising campaigns, film soundtracks or other audio-visual works that require a synchronization license, video games, podcasts, and other media.

All Tonalic Audio Content is royalty-free, and no third party (including any Tonalic Featured Musician whose sounds you may have used) may claim any rights in your finished work — including, but not limited to, rights in the composition or recording.

That said, there are a few important restrictions to be aware of. You may not:

• Redistribute Tonalic Audio Content as part of, or in connection with, a sample library, sample-based product, or other musical instrument or audio production tool.

• Use Tonalic Audio Content for AI training, modeling, or dataset creation.

• Use the name, likeness, image, or trademark of any Tonalic Featured Musician, or suggest any affiliation, sponsorship, direct contribution, or endorsement by any Tonalic Featured Musician.
  

All audio content in Tonalic was recorded and produced by our engineers in collaboration with professional studio musicians — our “Tonalic Featured Musician” — and is 100% AI-free, ensuring full clarity over its origin, rights, and permitted uses.

If you’re unsure about a specific use case you have in mind, please review our EULA or contact us at support@tonalic.com and we’ll be happy to assist.

In the event of a conflict between this FAQ and our EULA, the EULA shall prevail. If in doubt, contact us!

Yes, you retain full ownership of your original musical work created using Tonalic Audio Content. However, please note that while you own your composition, you don't have exclusive rights to the Tonalic Audio Content you've used - other users can use the same Tonalic Audio Content in their works without infringing on your rights, and vice versa.

Same answer as above – you retain full ownership of your original musical work created using Tonalic Audio Content. However, you don't have exclusive rights to the Tonalic Audio Content you've used - other users can use the same Tonalic Audio Content in their works without infringing on your rights, and vice versa.

A public-domain license such as CC0 is not appropriate for non-exclusive, royalty-free sounds such as the Tonalic Audio Content. While you have full ownership of your works made with Tonalic, you do not own exclusive rights to the Tonalic Audio Content you’ve used.

Music created with Tonalic is fully cleared for any kind of release. Tonalic performances are licensed, royalty-free audio content. No third party – including the featured musicians – can claim rights in your finished song. You are free to release and monetize your music.

A note on Content ID and automated systems:

Content ID works independently of software developers and evaluates whether someone claims exclusive rights to specific audio material.

Tonalic provides non-exclusive licensed performance recordings that are adapted to your song. That means users can legally use them, but like most sample-based or performance-based tools, the underlying recordings themselves are not exclusively owned by one person.

For that reason, songs containing non-exclusive material generally should not be registered in Content ID systems as exclusively owned audio. This is standard practice across the industry (similar to loop and sample libraries).

If you are ever incorrectly flagged by an automated system, your Tonalic EULA serves as documentation of your legitimate, licensed right to use the material and can be used to dispute the claim.

No, while you will no longer be able to use the Tonalic software (and thus lose access to all features available in Tonalic) upon cancellation of your subscription, the license granted to you concerning Tonalic Audio Content you have bounced and incorporated into your own music productions survives. This including the right to publish or otherwise monetize your works created with Tonalics.

Yes. You can switch at any time to a different license model or alter the duration of your license; so you can switch from a prepaid to a subscription model or from a monthly to an annual subscription. Or the other way round. Either you will be credited with your remaining balance, or the duration of your subscription will be extended to take account of whatever time remains of your existing license. Just look in your user account under Details - Change/Upgrade. There you will see the prices and conditions that would apply to whatever changes you might be considering. Here's a link to your upgrade page.

It depends which license model you have now. The price of each update is calculated for you individually. In most cases, any time remaining on your current Tonalic license will be credited towards the purchase. Just look under License Details - Upgrade in your user account. There you will see the individual price of any license changes you may be considering along with the terms and conditions that would apply.

Everything to do with your subscription can be managed online through your Tonalic user account. All you'll need is the email address you gave when you set up your account and your password. Here's a link to your Tonalic user account.

Prepaid licenses are licenses that are valid for a limited period with no further obligations. They can be purchased from specialist retail outlets such as music dealers. Prepaid licenses remain valid for either a month (30 days) or a year (365 days). If you decide to switch to a subscription while the period of your prepaid license is still running, you will be credited for the remaining days or else the duration of your subscription will be extended to take these into account.

Yes, provided they are for the same edition; your license period will simply be extended by the corresponding amount. However, you should not mix editions (arranger and studio), as then you would get separate licenses for each edition and these would run parallel, which is unlikely to be your intention.

You'll find download links for MacOS and Windows in your Tonalic user account. Here's a link to your Tonalic user account.

Software updates (e.g. to adapt to new operating systems etc.) are free of charge, as are content updates, whereby the library is expanded to include additional Tonalics from new or existing members of our team of session musicians.

You can cancel your subscription at any time from your Tonalic user account online (License Details - Cancel Subscription); you do not need to give notice and you will not be charged for doing so. When you cancel, your Tonalic will continue to run until your current license expires. At that point, it will be deactivated and you will no longer be able to access Tonalic.
If you wish later to reactivate your Tonalic, you can do so at any time – either by renewing your subscription or (if you only wish to use it for a short period) by purchasing a 30-day prepaid license from a music dealer.

If you cancel your subscription, your Tonalic will be deactivated as soon as your existing license expires. When that happens, you will no longer be able to access Tonalic. We therefore advise you to bounce your Tonalic tracks before cancelling your subscription; that way you will no longer be dependent upon the Tonalic software. You will find the procedure for bouncing a track set out in the user manual of whichever DAW it is that you are using.
If you forget a track or two, don't worry. You can reactivate your Tonalic at any time – either by renewing your subscription or (if you only need short-term access) by purchasing a 30-day prepaid license from a music dealer.

Currently we accept the following credit cards: Visa, Mastercard and JCB, but we hope to add other options as soon as possible. Within Europe, payment is made in Euros; elsewhere, in US dollars.

Unfortunately, at the present time purchases cannot be associated with VAT ID numbers. However, we mean to remedy this as soon as possible.

If the method of payment you have registered with us has expired or cannot for any other reason be used, you can go to your Tonalic user account online and enter the details of another card and set that as your preferred means of payment.
If we are unable to process a payment, we will inform you of this by e-mail and ask you to register a valid means of payment within the next few days.

Whether you are switching from a prepaid license to a subscription or entering the details of a new payment method (such as a credit card), we have to verify your means of payment first before it can be used. To do this, we charge you the smallest sum possible (i.e. 0.01 €/USD) and then refund it immediately. As soon as your means of payment has been validated once in this way, it can be used freely thereafter for further purchases.

Tonalic 1.0.2 or later supports the full ARA workflow in Cubase 15.0.30 and Nuendo 15.0.30. Make sure you have updated your DAW to this version or higher before getting started.

1. Open your Cubase or Nuendo project.

2. In the Right Zone, locate Tonalic.

3. Log in with your Tonalic account credentials if prompted.

4. Drag a Tonalic pattern directly into the project area to load it as an ARA extension.

5. Use the Chord Track to control Tonalic's chords and progressions.

Tips

• Work directly from the Browser, or double-click a Tonalic region to open the GUI in the Editor tab.
• Name your tracks clearly before adding more – names appear automatically inside Tonalic's Groove Master panel.

We have tested the latest version of Tonalic with the following configurations:

Cubase 15.0.30 and Nuendo 15.0.30 (ARA + VST3) under

• Windows 11
• macOS 14.6 (Intel)
• macOS 15.7 (Apple Silicon native)

Render In Place

1. Select the Tonalic regions you want to render and Control+Click on them.

2. Choose the render method: Select Render In Place (with current settings) to convert immediately, or Render Settings to adjust before rendering.

Result: Cubase or Nuendo creates a new audio track containing the rendered Tonalic performance. The original Tonalic track will be muted automatically.

Note: Cubase's Bounce Selection function produces an empty audio file when used on Tonalic regions. Always use Render In Place instead.

Tips:

• After rendering, you can disable or remove the Tonalic track to save CPU resources, or keep it muted if you want to re-render later.
• Render In Place always starts at the exact bar boundary, which can cut off transients that fall before beat 1. To preserve these, use the Range Selection Tool to make a selection that starts slightly before the first Tonalic region, then run Render In Place on that selection.

Audio Mixdown

1. Open the export panel: Go to File → Export → Audio Mixdown.

2. Select your tracks: In the Export panel, choose the Tonalic tracks you want to export.

3. Export: Click Export Audio.

Tip: In the Export panel, enable Create New Audio Track under After Export to automatically bring the exported audio back into your project.

In some sessions, changes made to the Chord Track may not immediately be passed to Tonalic, which may continue using the previous chord information.

Workaround: Move the edited chord slightly, then move it back.

When switched to Fixed Tempo Mode by disabling Active Tempo Track, timing information passed to ARA extensions may become inconsistent. This can cause Tonalic's chord playback to no longer align with the Chord Track.

Recommendation: Keep Active Tempo Track enabled when working with Tonalic in Cubase or Nuendo.

Certain drag-and-drop replacement operations are currently not correctly reflected in the ARA data received by Tonalic. The original region may remain active even after a replacement appears to have been made.

Workaround: Remove the existing Tonalic region first, then insert the replacement.

When turning off Automatic Scale in Cubase or Nuendo, existing scale information from the Chord Track is not immediately passed to Tonalic, which may continue using outdated data.

Workaround: Slightly move a scale or chord event and move it back, or create/edit a chord event to force a refresh.

The Glue Tool does not correctly merge ARA data associated with adjacent Tonalic regions, which can result in incomplete playback or missing content.

Recommendation: Avoid using the Glue Tool on Tonalic regions. Render them to audio first if you need to combine them.

Ableton Live currently supports Tonalic via the „Tonalic Instrument" plug-in. While you may see a “Tonalic ARA” option in Live, this deeper ARA workflow is not available yet for Tonalic.

To work with Tonalic in Live, please use the "Tonalic Instrument" as described below:

• Open a new or existing Live Set.
• Go to Preferences → Plug-Ins and enable Use VST3 Plug-In System Folders.
• In the Browser, search for Tonalic.
• Drag Tonalic Instrument onto a new track (or double-click it).
• Log in when prompted.

Tonalic runs on an Instrument Track but does not respond to MIDI notes.

Tips

• Each Tonalic Instrument instance creates its own track inside Tonalic.
• Rename or reorder tracks—changes sync instantly with Tonalic.

We have tested the latest version of Tonalic with the following configurations:

Live 12.3 (VST3) under

Windows 11
macOS 15.7 (Intel)
macOS 15.7 (Apple Silicon native)

To convert a Tonalic Instrument track to audio in Ableton Live 12, please do the following:

• Create a MIDI clip: Double-click on the Tonalic Instrument track in the Live timeline to create an empty MIDI clip.

• Set the render length: Extend the MIDI clip to cover the full section you want to render as audio.

• Bounce to a new track: Open the Live menu and choose Edit → Bounce to New Track.

• Result: Live creates a new audio track containing the rendered Tonalic performance. The original Tonalic Instrument track remains unchanged.

Note: Tonalic is not a MIDI instrument. The MIDI clip only defines the time range Live should render – it does not affect the musical content of the Tonalic performance.

Tip: After bouncing, you can deactivate or remove the Tonalic Instrument track to save CPU resources, or keep it muted if you want to make changes later and bounce again.

Logic does not support Tonalic ARA yet.

To work with Tonalic in Logic, please use the "Tonalic Instrument" as described below:

• Open a Logic project.
• Under Create New Track, choose Software Instrument.
• In the instrument slot, navigate to
  AU Generators → Celemony → Tonalic Instrument → Stereo.
• Click Create.
• When Tonalic opens, log in with your Tonalic credentials.

Tonalic runs inside Logic on a Software Instrument track but is not a MIDI instrument.
MIDI notes on that track will not trigger Tonalic.

Tips

• Add additional Tonalic Instrument tracks for more instruments.
• Rename your Logic tracks; names appear inside Tonalic’s MultiTrack View.
• To reopen Tonalic quickly, hold ⌘ + double-click the track header.

We have tested the latest version of Tonalic with the following configurations:

Logic Pro 11.2.2 (AU) under

macOS 15.7 (Intel)
macOS 26.0 (Apple Silicon)

To convert a Tonalic Instrument track to audio in Logic, please do the following:

• Create a MIDI region: Right-click on the Tonalic Instrument track and select "Create MIDI Region" from the context menu.
• Set the render length: Extend the MIDI region to cover the full section you want to render as audio.
• Bounce to audio: In the next prompt, choose "New Track" under "Destination" and "Mute" under "Source".
• Result: Logic creates a new audio track containing the rendered Tonalic performance. The original Tonalic Instrument track remains unchanged.

Note: Tonalic is not a MIDI instrument. The MIDI region only defines the time range Logic should render – it does not affect the musical content of the Tonalic performance.

Tip: After rendering, you can disable or remove the Tonalic Instrument track to save CPU resources, or keep it muted if you want to make changes later and re-render.

Pro Tools does not support Tonalic ARA yet.

To work with Tonalic in Pro Tools, please use the "Tonalic Instrument" as described below:

• Open a Pro Tools session.
• Go to Track → New… and create a Stereo Instrument Track.
• In the track’s insert slot, load Tonalic Instrument
  (multi-channel → Celemony → Tonalic).
• Log in with your Tonalic credentials.

Tonalic uses the Instrument Track as a host plug-in but is not a MIDI instrument.
MIDI data on that track will have no effect.

Tips

• Each Tonalic Instrument insert corresponds to one Tonalic Track.
• Rename tracks to identify them easily in MultiTrack View.
• Track order inside Tonalic matches the order of creation in Pro Tools.

We have tested the latest version of Tonalic with the following configurations:

Pro Tools 2025.10 (AAX) under

Windows 11
macOS 15.7 (Intel)
macOS 26.0 (Apple Silicon native)

To convert a Tonalic Instrument track to audio in Pro Tools, please do the following:

• Set the render length: Choose the blocks or clips view in your Instrument track and select the full section you want to render directly in the tracks timeline.
• Create a MIDI clip: Consolidate the selected section, either via the keyboard shortcut (Mac: Shift + Option + 3 / Win: Alt + Option + 3) or choose "Edit / Consolidate Clip" in the Pro Tools Menu.
• Create an audio track: Create a new stereo audio track in Pro Tools.
• Drag to audio track: Drag & drop the MIDI clip from the Tonalic Instrument track onto the newly created audio track.
• Result: Pro Tools renders the Tonalic performance to an audio clip on the audio track. The original Tonalic Instrument track remains unchanged.

Note: Tonalic is not a MIDI instrument. The MIDI clip only defines the time range Pro Tools should render – it does not affect the musical content of the Tonalic performance.

Tip: After rendering, you can deactivate or remove the Tonalic Instrument track to save CPU resources, or keep it inactive if you want to make changes later and render again.

• Open a Studio One session.
• In the right-hand Browser, locate Tonalic.
• Drag Tonalic onto a track—or into the arrangement area—to load the ARA extension.
• Log in with your Tonalic credentials when prompted.
• Use the Chord Track to control Tonalic’s chords and progressions.

For best results, use Studio One 7.2.3.
If your version doesn’t support Tonalic ARA, load Tonalic Instrument instead.

Tips

• Work directly from the Browser, or double-click a Tonalic region to open the bottom-panel GUI.
• Each Tonalic Instrument instance creates a separate track inside Tonalic.
• Name tracks clearly before adding more.

We have tested the latest version of Tonalic with the following configurations:

Studio One 7.2 (ARA-VST3) under

Windows 11
macOS 15.7 (Intel)
macOS 26.0 (Apple Silicon native)

To convert a Tonalic track to audio in Studio One 7, please do the following:

• Bounce to a new track: Right-click on the Tonalic track and select "Bounce To New Track".
• Result: Studio One creates a new audio track containing the rendered Tonalic performance. The original Tonalic track remains unchanged.

Tip: After bouncing, you can disable or remove the Tonalic track to save CPU resources, or keep it muted if you want to make changes later and bounce again.

• Open a Fender Studio Pro 8 session.
• In the right-hand Browser, locate Tonalic.
• Drag Tonalic onto a track—or into the arrangement area—to load the ARA extension.
• Log in with your Tonalic credentials when prompted.
• Use the Chord Track to control Tonalic’s chords and progressions.
  

Tips

• Work directly from the Browser, or double-click a Tonalic region to open the bottom-panel GUI.
• Each Tonalic Instrument instance creates a separate track inside Tonalic.
• Name tracks clearly before adding more.

We have tested the latest version of Tonalic with the following configurations:

Fender Studio Pro 8 (ARA-VST3) under

Windows 11
MacOS 15.7 (Apple Silicon native)

To convert a Tonalic track to audio in Fender Studio Pro 8, please do the following:

• Bounce to a new track: Right-click on the Tonalic track and select Bounce To New Track.
• Result: Fender Studio Pro creates a new audio track containing the rendered Tonalic performance. The original Tonalic track remains unchanged.

Tip: After bouncing, you can disable or remove the Tonalic track to save CPU resources, or keep it muted if you want to make changes later and bounce again.

Dragging a Tonalic into your DAW should always result in a region length of exactly 1 or 2 bars. If this is not the case in your environment:

Verify Session Setup:

1. Open Preferences and select Session Setup at the bottom.

2. Make sure Stretch audio files to tempo is checked, then apply any changes.

3. Enabling this setting ensures that each new audio track behaves correctly when working with Tonalic.

Verify for existing tracks:

1. Open the Track Inspector by pressing F4 on your keyboard or clicking the i button in the bottom-left corner of your DAW window.

2. Select one or more audio tracks and make sure the Inspector's Tempo parameter is set to Timestretch.

Tonalic can be used in all major DAWs via the "Tonalic Instrument" plug-in. Even if your DAW supports ARA or shows a “Tonalic ARA” option, this deeper ARA-based workflow may not be available yet for Tonalic.

To work with Tonalic, please load the "Tonalic Instrument“ plug-in on a MIDI or Software Instrument track.

All Tonalics follow the tempo of your DAW and the chords and key you can set in the Tonalic window. Tonalic always behaves musically the same, regardless of the DAW you are using.

General Notes

• Tonalic runs on an Instrument track but is not a MIDI instrument.
• MIDI notes on that track will not trigger Tonalic.
• Each Tonalic Instrument track corresponds to one Tonalic track inside the plug-in.

To convert a Tonalic Instrument track to audio in other DAWs, please do the following:

• Create a render range: Create an empty MIDI or instrument region on the Tonalic Instrument track and extend it to cover the section you want to render as audio. (Some DAWs may create this region automatically during bounce.)
• Use your DAW’s bounce or render function: Use your DAW’s standard Bounce, Render, or Freeze / Convert to Audio function for instrument tracks.
• Result: Your DAW creates a new audio track or audio file containing the rendered Tonalic performance. The original Tonalic Instrument track remains unchanged.

Note: Tonalic is not a MIDI instrument. If your DAW requires a MIDI or instrument region for bouncing, this region only defines the time range to render – it does not affect the musical content of the Tonalic performance.

Tip: If your DAW offers multiple render options, choose the one that renders instrument tracks to audio rather than exporting MIDI. After rendering, you can disable or remove the Tonalic Instrument track to save CPU resources.