diff --git a/sermon_clean/cli.py b/sermon_clean/cli.py
index 5a73ed6..dd627df 100644
--- a/sermon_clean/cli.py
+++ b/sermon_clean/cli.py
@@ -164,6 +164,21 @@ def cmd_paste(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
     return 0
 
 
+def cmd_multiband(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
+    """Print a multi-band ASCII waveform. Each row is N seconds labeled."""
+    from .waveform import render_multiband_waveform
+    audio = Path(args.audio)
+    if not audio.exists():
+        print(f"error: {audio} not found", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+    print(render_multiband_waveform(
+        audio,
+        width=args.width,
+        band_seconds=args.band_seconds,
+    ))
+    return 0
+
+
 def cmd_slices(args: argparse.Namespace) -> int:
     """Extract overlapping audio slices for manual review.
 
@@ -324,6 +339,13 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
     p_paste.add_argument("--replacements", nargs="+", help="glob(s) for replacement MP3s in order")
     p_paste.set_defaults(func=cmd_paste)
 
+    # multiband (multi-row ASCII waveform with band labels)
+    p_mb = sub.add_parser("multiband", aliases=["mb"], help="Multi-band ASCII waveform with band-start labels")
+    p_mb.add_argument("audio")
+    p_mb.add_argument("--width", type=int, default=60, help="waveform width in columns per band")
+    p_mb.add_argument("--band-seconds", type=float, default=60.0, help="seconds of audio per band (one row)")
+    p_mb.set_defaults(func=cmd_multiband)
+
     # slices (extract overlapping audio chunks for manual review)
     p_slices = sub.add_parser("slices", help="Extract overlapping audio slices for manual review")
     p_slices.add_argument("audio")
diff --git a/sermon_clean/waveform.py b/sermon_clean/waveform.py
index 1a9f3ec..a5bd070 100644
--- a/sermon_clean/waveform.py
+++ b/sermon_clean/waveform.py
@@ -228,4 +228,59 @@ def find_pauses(
     """
     return find_silence_runs(
         src, threshold_db=threshold_db, min_duration_seconds=min_duration_seconds
-    )
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+    )
+
+def render_multiband_waveform(
+    src: Path,
+    *,
+    width: int = 80,
+    band_seconds: float = 60.0,
+    sample_rate: int = 8000,
+) -> str:
+    """Render a multi-band ASCII waveform — N rows of width-M bars, each band
+    labeled with its start time. Lets you eyeball long audio in chunks and
+    count timestamps by row/column.
+
+    Example output (width=60, band_seconds=30):
+        0:00 |▇▇▆▇▇▇▆▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇|
+        0:30 |▆▇▆▆▇▇▆▇▆▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇|
+        1:00 |▇▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▆▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇|
+        ...
+
+    Each character represents (band_seconds / width) seconds of audio.
+    Count column position and add to the band start time to get a timestamp.
+    """
+    src = Path(src)
+    samples = _extract_pcm(src, sample_rate=sample_rate)
+    if len(samples) == 0:
+        return f"[no audio data found in {src}]"
+    duration = len(samples) / sample_rate
+    # Each band = exactly band_seconds of audio. Downsample within each band
+    # so it fits in `width` columns. Use exact sample counts to avoid drift.
+    band_size_samples = int(band_seconds * sample_rate)
+    chunks_per_band = max(width * 2, 40)
+    chunk_size = max(1, band_size_samples // chunks_per_band)
+
+    out_lines = []
+    cursor_sample = 0
+    while cursor_sample < len(samples):
+        end_sample = min(cursor_sample + band_size_samples, len(samples))
+        band_samples = samples[cursor_sample:end_sample]
+        if len(band_samples) == 0:
+            break
+        # Compute RMS for this band
+        band_rms = _per_chunk_rms(band_samples, chunk_size)
+        band_rms = _downsample(band_rms, width)
+        bar_chars = "".join(_db_to_bar(v) for v in band_rms)
+        # Label: "MM:SS |" prefix
+        band_seconds_elapsed = cursor_sample / sample_rate
+        label = _format_seconds(band_seconds_elapsed) + " |"
+        out_lines.append(f"{label}{bar_chars}")
+        cursor_sample = end_sample
+
+    header = f"=== multiband waveform ({len(out_lines)} bands of {_format_seconds(band_seconds)} each, width={width}) ==="
+    out_lines.append("")
+    out_lines.append(header)
+    out_lines.append(f"each character = {band_seconds/width:.2f}s of audio")
+    out_lines.append(f"add (band_row * band_seconds) + (column * band_seconds/width) to find timestamp")
+    return "\n".join(out_lines)
diff --git a/tests/test_waveform.py b/tests/test_waveform.py
index a6527a2..34a3901 100644
--- a/tests/test_waveform.py
+++ b/tests/test_waveform.py
@@ -122,5 +122,30 @@ def test_find_pauses_returns_list():
         # The first silence should start near 0 and end near 5
         assert pauses[0][0] < 1.0
         assert pauses[0][1] > 4.0
+    finally:
+        path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+
+
+def test_render_multiband_smoke():
+    """render_multiband_waveform: 6-sec audio, 3 bands of 2 sec each → 3 rows."""
+    from sermon_clean.waveform import render_multiband_waveform
+    import tempfile, subprocess
+    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(suffix=".wav", delete=False) as f:
+        path = Path(f.name)
+    try:
+        # 6-sec 440Hz tone
+        subprocess.run([
+            "ffmpeg", "-y", "-v", "error",
+            "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "sine=frequency=440:duration=6",
+            str(path),
+        ], check=True)
+        result = render_multiband_waveform(path, width=30, band_seconds=2.0)
+        band_lines = [line for line in result.splitlines() if "|" in line]
+        # 6-sec audio at 2-sec bands → 3 full bands + 1 partial = 4 rows
+        assert len(band_lines) in (3, 4), f"expected 3-4 bands, got {len(band_lines)}"
+        # First band should be labeled 0:00
+        assert band_lines[0].startswith("0:00")
+        # Second should be 0:02
+        assert band_lines[1].startswith("0:02")
     finally:
         path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
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