Quantization

Quantizing is the ability of your hardware of software sequencer to shift the MIDI signals it receives.

What is that mean in English?

Let me put it this way. Although the most expert beat maker can be dead accurate when making a drum pattern or playing keyboards, as humans, we make mistakes.

This is good and bad.

If we were all robots, music as we know it would be horrible. If every single drum sound or instrument sound was perfectly on beat, the music we listen to would sound boring as hell.

You'd be surprised how much of popular music is actually a little off beat. Our brains process things pretty accurately but can make up for really subtle mistakes in musical timing.

Turning your quantize feature off while you make a beat will allow your beats to start sounding very loose. Your timing mistakes won't be corrected at all.

Modern quantizing functions also include "swing". This is the ability to quantize your beats while still keeping a little human element in the music. So if you really screw up the placement of a kick drum for example, the quantizer will save you and shift the drum a little bit to keep it sounding natural.