Assigning same articulation ID to notes on multiple tracks

[Harriet]

I'm wondering whether there is a quick way to assign the same articulation ID to notes which are at the same position but on multiple tracks, each of which uses a different articulation set.

For example: I have several choir libraries, each of which uses keyswitches to switch between vowel sounds. Each is on a different track. The keyswitches are different for each one, so I have a different articulation set for each one; but articulation ID 1 is always "a", articulation ID 2 is always "e", and so on.

At any given point I want everyone singing the same vowel - for example, "a" in bar 1, "e" in bar 2 and so on. So, in this example, I would assign articulation ID 1 to all the notes in bar 1 (irrespective of which track they are on), articulation ID 2 to all the notes in bar 2 and so on.

It would be nice if, while viewing all the notes in the piano roll, I could select all those in a specific bar and assign the appropriate articulation ID to all of them at once; but it seems that Logic won't let me do that if the tracks in question use different articulation sets. Is there a simple way round this, or do I just have to do each track individually?

[Plowman]

2 hours ago, Harriet said:

...but it seems that Logic won't let me do that if the tracks in question use different articulation sets.

I'm not sure what this means. Logic's articulations are only a sequence of data sends, often keystrokes, though sometimes CC data.  Logic is unaware of what actual sounds are generated in its Articulation Sets. 

Fear not. As you say that you can select all of your target notes in Piano Roll (viewing multiple tracks at once), you can use key commands. Go into the KC menu and search "Articulation." You'll find KC's for articulations 1 to 32. Though I have not proofed this, any selectable note in Piano Roll (no matter its home track) should respond to Set Articulation commands. 

So "Set Articulation 1" "a" would set everything to that vowel, "Set Articulation 2" "e" likewise. 

You'll need to assign those KC's. They have no default. 

As for doing this by bar, that would require setting the cycle to the bar, then "Select Inside Locators," then perform the KC. 

[Harriet]

What I should have said is: "It would be nice if, while viewing all the notes in the piano roll, I could select all those in a specific bar and assign the appropriate articulation ID to all of them at once with the Articulation menu in the local Inspector; but it seems that Logic won't let me do that if the tracks in question use different articulation sets." In these circumstances the Articulation menu doesn't work.

But the key commands (which I wasn't aware of) do work. Logic can indeed assign an articulation ID to notes on multiple tracks at once, even if they use different articulation sets. That being so, I find it puzzling that it won't let you do the same thing in the more intuitive way, viz. clicking on the Articulation menu. But I know how to do it now, so thank you!

Edited March 30 by Harriet
clarity

[Plowman]

53 minutes ago, Harriet said:

all of them at once with the Articulation menu in the local Inspector

That's interesting, and I never realized it. The Piano Roll allows for multiple region/track viewing, but the local articulation menu is track-specific. As soon as a second track's region is added to Piano Roll, the articulation menu is greyed out. It'll read out a selected note's articulation, or an asterisk for differing articulations for multiple selected notes, but the menu ceases to be adjustable.  

And yet, you can adjust velocity for all selected notes irrespective of their track. 

I'm guessing the programmers fear the kind of chaos that could happen when multiple tracks whose articulations are not aligned (like your choir) are shifted to the same art ID. 

[Harriet]

37 minutes ago, Plowman said:

I'm guessing the programmers fear the kind of chaos that could happen when multiple tracks whose articulations are not aligned (like your choir) are shifted to the same art ID. 

But in that case wouldn't they have prevented you from doing it with key commands too? I wonder if it's just an oversight. I might submit a bug report, just in case.

[Plowman]

Strictly speaking, the Piano Roll's Inspector is actually a "Local Inspector." Key commands on the other hand tend to be global (unless there's another higher on the hierarchy). If it's selected, and it's an appropriate key command, it'll work in any window.

So adjustments in a local inspector may reasonably be limited, but KCs have a broader scope. That's probably for the best.   

Another thought: a slider in PR adjusts the velocity relative to velocities already present. Two notes at vel 30 and vel 60 -- adjusted plus 10 -- makes for vel 40 and 70. 

Now imagine dragging an art ID up 10 and getting the same relative (not identical) shifts in IDs in two separate notes. (They'd need to program it so shift-option select to get identical Art IDs.)

Logic is trying to keep things sane and limit damage, and that's always a judgement call -- helpful sometimes, and sometimes frustrating.    

[David Nahmani]

19 hours ago, Harriet said:

So, in this example, I would assign articulation ID 1 to all the notes in bar 1 (irrespective of which track they are on), articulation ID 2 to all the notes in bar 2 and so on.

Yes, you can do this by selecting all the regions (so that you can see their content in the Piano Roll), then select all the desired notes, Control + click one of the notes to open the shortcut menu and choose an articulation. 

I just tried it with cello and horn which use different articulation sets and that works! 🙂 

[Harriet]

David, thank you. That's another way of doing it that works (the first being key commands). This makes it all the more puzzling, to me at least, that you can't do it with the Articulation menu in the local Inspector. Do you agree with @Plowman that the distinction is likely to be deliberate, and not a bug?

[David Nahmani]

It's hard to tell if it's deliberate or a bug, or an oversight... to me, it would make sense to have the menu available, the same way you have the articulation names available in the Control-click shortcut menu. 

Moreover, when multiple regions are selected on multiple tracks with different articulation sets, if I select only one note, the Articulation pop-up menu is still disabled and that definitely isn't ideal. Ideally I should be able to view the Articulation set of the track where the selected note is located.