Getting started with QTracks
QTracks takes you from a song to a programmable grandMA3 show in a handful of steps: import, mark, export a macro, then use QTracks as the playhead while you program in the console. Here's the whole flow, start to finish.
By Levyn Schneider, grandMA3 operator and creator of QTracks · Updated June 2026
The QTracks workflow is: import a song and place markers, export a grandMA3 macro that scaffolds your sequences, cues, and timecode pool, run it once in grandMA3, then press play in QTracks to stream LTC or MTC into the console as a playhead while you program the lighting. You can be programming within minutes of opening the app.
The quickstart
- 1
Install QTracks
Download QTracksfor macOS, Windows, or Linux and open it. It’s free — no account, no licence key. The app opens to a project list.
- 2
Create a project and import your song
Create a project and drop in the recorded version of the song, plus its click track. Multi-stem imports are supported if you want to place cues against separate stems, but song + click is the common case.
- 3
Listen and place markers
Play the song and place markers on the hits and structure changes. Tag each marker with a cue type so it lands in the right sequence later. Press 1–9 to drop a marker for the cue type in that slot, and [ / ] to jump between markers.
- 4
Export the grandMA3 macro
Open the Export panel (Cmd/Ctrl+3) and export a grandMA3 macro. The macro is scaffolding only — sequences, cues, a timecode pool, and timecode events tied to your markers. It contains no lighting data. See the grandMA3 export guide.
- 5
Run the macro in grandMA3
Import the macro into grandMA3 and run it once. The console now has the full structure — sequences, cues, and the timecode pool — waiting to be programmed.
- 6
Program the lighting in grandMA3
Cue by cue, program the actual looks by hand in grandMA3. QTracks never touches fixtures, colors, or effects — that creative work stays in the console.
- 7
Use QTracks as the playhead
Wire up routing (MTC to grandMA3 onPC, or LTC to a desk), press Space, and timecode streams into grandMA3. The cue list advances in time with the song so you can watch cues fire and refine looks while the playhead runs. Autosave keeps your session safe every 30 seconds.
A note on showtime
QTracks lives in the programming loop, not on the show floor. At the real performance it’s out of the signal path entirely — timecode comes from the band’s rig (typically Ableton with a dedicated SMPTE track, or Q-Lab) straight into grandMA3, and the console runs the show on its own. By then your grandMA3 showfile is self-contained.
Where to go next
Dig into routing & devices to choose how timecode reaches your console, cue templates to organise markers by cue type, the grandMA3 export settings, or the keyboard shortcuts. For the deeper picture of timecode itself, read the grandMA3 timecode guide.
Get QTracks and run through it.
Download QTracks free for macOS, Windows, and Linux and program your first song with it.