Pitch- The unanswerable question?

[Strad]

OK,

I am a singer songwriter, and like you, I like to put together high quality demo's as quickly and efficiently as possible. I use lot's of samples and loops and I compose in the rock-country genre. Music is repetitious and when there are chord changes in a song sometimes I use the same licks and riffs across chord changes. I have always been puzzled by audio loop "libraries" and Logic's methods for changing pitch.

 

Logic's methods for pitch changing loops:

1) Changing the key signature-transposition in global tracks

2) Using transposition in the track inspector

3) Using the "pitch" plugin supplied with Logic

 

Non of these methods seem to work that great when changing a riff-loop from a 1 to 4 or 5 chord ----artifacts! But for some reason the "global track" transposition method seems to work the best ---

Questions:

1) Why are there at least 3 different methods of transposing audio in Logic?

2) Is it true? ...does the global tracks method seem to work better than the other two methods ?....why?

3) In what situations do YOU use these different transposition methods...why?

4) I have Celemony Melodyne, and i am anxiously waiting for the "DNA" upgrade-----will that be the best way to change notes within a chord for me ? ....

 

Retail audio loops:

So, I am trying to "re-use" audio riffs-loops when I change chords. I am getting artifacts, as mentioned above, and i have tried a number of loop libraries.

Questions:

1) Why, even in Apple loops, do they have an example of a lick in a particular key ---but it is not replicated in at least 2 other keys --so as to make it easier to transpose the loop w/o artifacts

2) Even when i purchase "construction kits", which are wonderful for separating out parts from the full mix ---are all the looped parts in just one single key ?

3) All the retail loops I have found do NOT have identical audio loop riffs-licks in the same key ---why don't they do that ?

4) Do you have any resources (loop libraries) that you know of that have this capability ? ...can you point me to the name and/or the URL?....and please remember the genre i work in ....rock-pop-folk-country

 

Any help with the the "Logic" and the "loop" questions would be greatly appreciated......

 

Jim E

[steveH]

Too many questions in one post. Simplify. Ask one question per post and you (probably will get the answer.

 

However, your questions reveal that you probably haven't spent too much time in the Logic manual, David's book or perhaps my video tutorials.

 

We can't teach Logic in the forums... just isn't enough time and space.

 

Dig in!

[Kent Sandvik]

It might indeed help if you wrote one single question, telling what you want to achieve and where you get stuck. Logic has so many possibilities and options so don't worry if you find multiple ways to change the pitch, for example. Someone somewhere needs it.

[inquiry]

Alright, I like detail oriented people : )

 

 

Logic's methods for pitch changing loops:

1) Changing the key signature-transposition in global tracks

2) Using transposition in the track inspector

 

These two have same effect -- works on Apple Loops or audio recorded directly in the song (which is secretly analyzed by Logic in an Apple Loops-like way). Read up on Apple Loops format and the older Acid format it knocks off.

 

3) Using the "pitch" plugin supplied with Logic

 

This is traditional real-time pitch shifting and never very good -- can be used for slight tuning or intentionally synthetic effects.

 

Non of these methods seem to work that great when changing a riff-loop from a 1 to 4 or 5 chord ----artifacts!

 

Most pitch shifting technologies sound bad after a few semitones for most audio material. Simpler audio material shifts much better than complex material. With destructive off-line pitch shifting which you'll find in Logic's Pitch and Time Machine (read manual), you can fiddle with settings to sometimes improve the quality. Everyone would like perfect instant pitch shifting -- it's a few decades off.

 

1) Why are there at least 3 different methods of transposing audio in Logic?

 

Different techniques appropriate for different production situations.

 

2) Is it true? ...does the global tracks method seem to work better than the other two methods ?....why?

 

Same as track transposition, Apple Loop technology. Better than realtime pitch plug-ins. Likely not as good as non-realtime destructive pitch shifting (Time and Pitch Machine, better 3rd party products), but sometimes may be better especially for sparse, rhythmic material.

 

3) In what situations do YOU use these different transposition methods...why?

 

Avoid transposition except when utterly necessary (and it may just not work for the audio in question) or for intentionally synthetic effect.

 

4) I have Celemony Melodyne

 

Ask on a Melodyne list.

 

 

Your questions on loops aren't related to using Logic. Why don't you discuss this in the We Are Artists forum of Logic Pro Help.

 

The general answer is, commercial audio loops are a hugely ridiculous situation in the music industry today. They rarely come with enough variations to really be musically useful, and end up either taunting you or for amateurs producing monotonous music.