MIDI comp

[pepelemofo]

Greetings all,

 

My name is Chris and I am a new Logic user currently working my way through David Nahmani's Apple Pro Training Series book, which I am enjoying very much, thank you. It is a clearly organized and communicated introduction to Logic and I highly recommend it to other newcomers. I look forward to using the skills I am acquiring and hope to begin recording and arranging the songs that have been brewing in my head for far too long; it's time hit the record button. I also look forward to learning from the good people here and thank you in advance for the guidance and inspiration I am sure to find here.

 

Speaking of guidance, I could use some in clearing up a question regarding a keyboard shortcut:

 

Pages 154-155 of David's book describe being able to go from record to play mode while recording MIDI in cycle mode by either hitting the Play button or pressing Shift-Return. I find that the keyboard shortcut has no effect.

 

And concerning MIDI take folders:

 

Page 157 - "Unlike audio folders, you cannot comp the takes in a MIDI take folder".

 

I was very disheartened to read that, especially as I have poor piano skills. Perhaps I haven't reached the point in the book where a similar technique is available to achieve the same result. Can anyone point me to a similar method?

 

Thanks so much,

Chris

[pepelemofo]

I believe I have found the answer to my first question:

 

The key command seems to be Enter, not Shift-Return; which is a distinction relevant to the wireless keyboard I am using which requires the FN key in conjunction with the Return key to access Enter. One thing I have noticed though, when toggling out of record mode using the (Enter) FN-Return command or by clicking on the Play button, the playhead seems to stall momentarily, then continue on; is this normal behavior?

 

Thanks,

Chris

[Jordi Torres]

And concerning MIDI take folders:

 

Page 157 - "Unlike audio folders, you cannot comp the takes in a MIDI take folder".

 

I was very disheartened to read that, especially as I have poor piano skills. Perhaps I haven't reached the point in the book where a similar technique is available to achieve the same result. Can anyone point me to a similar method?

 

Hi, as with many things in Logic, there is a workaround for comping MIDI takes:

 

First thing to keep in mind though is that in a MIDI region you have note-on and note-off events, plus possible controller events like, pitch bend, modulation, etc....this makes comping MIDI a more complicated deal than comping audio, because those events could be modified when splitting a region, and you have to decide how to deal with that so that the performance doesn't get damaged. In your case, since you mention you want to do this with piano takes, then you'll have to be careful with the notes more than anything else:

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2734/4430889909_a69889caaf_o.png

 

So, first thing to do after you're done recording your takes, is to unpack the folder to new tracks. This will place each take (region) in its own track, but all of them will be assigned to the same channel strip, where your instrument is instantiated:

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2793/4430903727_d8b2170318.jpg

 

The "comping" process will require the use of the marquee tool to do the "swipes", and the M key for muting and splitting the takes selected with the marquee tool. In other words, by selecting an area with the marquee tool and then pressing "M", the regions will be split and muted at the same time.

After a couple of edits, it will look like this: (This is when you may get that dialog asking what you want to do with any overlapping notes.)

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4431658694_faa6d15538.jpg

 

When you're done deciding what you want to keep, go to the Edit menu in the arrange and choose the "select muted regions" command (key command Shift+M), and press the delete key to delete the muted regions.You'll get this:

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4430889811_a3a4270820.jpg

 

Finally, with the upper track selected, select all (Command+A) to select all remaining regions, go to the Region menu and select the "Move Selected Regions to Selected Track" command (Shift+Command+T), resulting in this:

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/4431658770_1183cbf05e.jpg

 

And that's it. At this point you could delete the empty tracks and merge the regions.

 

J.

[45rpm]

I find that the keyboard shortcut has no effect.

 

Here's my guess: you haven't loaded the US preset. Someone else reported a problem closely related to yours. See here for further details.

 

The key command seems to be Enter, not Shift-Return

 

This is consistent with my theory, that you haven't loaded the US preset. Whether you do or not is pretty much a matter of personal preference. As I said in the other thread, I think there are only one or two places in David's book where it makes a difference.

 

Can anyone point me to a similar method?

 

I see that you have been provided with an excellent tutorial.

 

Also, David's book is very good, but don't overlook the manual. Some helpful info on MIDI recording starts on p. 453. You can find the pdf User Manual via here.

 

edit:

 

Oops, didn't notice this until just now.

 

when toggling out of record mode using the (Enter) FN-Return command or by clicking on the Play button, the playhead seems to stall momentarily, then continue on; is this normal behavior?

 

I don't think so. It doesn't happen here.

 

Does it happen all the time? Even in a fresh, new, empty project file?

[pepelemofo]

Jordito - Thanks for your very helpful tip! And for explaining why MIDI takes cannot be comped in the same way as audio, that makes sense to me now, especially having just read about region based automation. I have followed your tutorial and am happy to report that I was able to more or less duplicate the steps you show here. I'd like to practice this technique a bit more before I feel confident enough to say that I "got it" - as I've encountered some unexpected behavior while trying to recreate what you've shown here. Let me practice a bit more before I ask any follow-up questions. For instance, I have somehow managed to extend the take folder backwards while recording my electric piano, as shown below (I hope).

 

 

 

45rpm - Thanks to you for that helpful reminder regarding the US preset. I have loaded that and now find that not only does Shift-Return take me out of record mode, but the slight hesitation of the playhead is no longer evident (as it was even in a fresh project). Thanks for pointing me to the pdf manual, I am downloading it as I type.

 

[image too wide removed by moderator - Please keep all screenshots below 800 pixels, thanks. Read Me Before Posting - Forum Guidelines (#8 )]

[Jordi Torres]

Hi,

 

The key in the process is to audition each take individually so that you can spot which part of each take you like the most. You can do this directly from the take folder or by soloing or muting each take once the folder has been unpacked. Having done this, you just go and pick out the parts from the rest and assemble your comp by following the steps I posted.

 

Regarding the the new screen shot you posted...that happened because you played some notes before entering bar 1. You should not start anything before bar 1, Logic doesn't like it...it's been like that for quite a while. If you ever need to record pickup notes, always record them in bar 1 (or 2, or 3, etc) but never bar zero.

 

Regards,

 

J.

[Jordi Torres]

In this thread they discuss why you shouldn't start any project before bar one (1 1 1 1)

 

http://www.logicprohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=35660

 

J.

[45rpm]

Thanks to you for that helpful reminder regarding the US preset. I have loaded that and now find that not only does Shift-Return take me out of record mode, but the slight hesitation of the playhead is no longer evident

 

That's interesting. Sometimes I am running Logic with no preset (like the US preset) loaded, and I don't have that problem with the hesitation. So I'm surprised that loading the preset fixed your problem. Anyway, it's not worth worrying about, and I'm glad the issues you reported are solved.

[pepelemofo]

Jordito - Yes, after playing with the marquee tool and the letter M for a bit and making sure not to play during the count-in I think I've got it, thanks again.

 

45rpm - To clarify: hitting Shift-Return is not quite without hesitation either; however, it is greatly reduced so that it appears to scroll smoothly by comparison. And, as you say, it is not worth worrying about especially as the playback does not seem to be affected.

 

Cheers,

Chris

[David Nahmani]

Greetings all,

 

My name is Chris and I am a new Logic user currently working my way through David Nahmani's Apple Pro Training Series book, which I am enjoying very much, thank you. It is a clearly organized and communicated introduction to Logic and I highly recommend it to other newcomers. I look forward to using the skills I am acquiring and hope to begin recording and arranging the songs that have been brewing in my head for far too long; it's time hit the record button. I also look forward to learning from the good people here and thank you in advance for the guidance and inspiration I am sure to find here.

 

Chris, thanks a lot for the endorsement! And I'm sure you'll find the guidance and inspiration you're looking for right here. In fact, it seems you've already found some good guidance! Welcome here.

[thecragusinsightbb.com]

Neither elegant or quick but it does do the trick.

I unpack my Midi Take Folder to separate tracks.

I then bounce each in place.

I then select all the new audio files and put them in a Take Folder by having them all selected, holding down "control" and click and hold on the top edge of one of the audio tracks (pack into new folder is at the bottom of the list).

Now I have a normal Take Folder of audio files which allows better comping and the ability to save multiple comps for reviewing.

[timothyallan]

Neither elegant or quick but it does do the trick.

I unpack my Midi Take Folder to separate tracks.

I then bounce each in place.

I then select all the new audio files and put them in a Take Folder by having them all selected, holding down "control" and click and hold on the top edge of one of the audio tracks (pack into new folder is at the bottom of the list).

Now I have a normal Take Folder of audio files which allows better comping and the ability to save multiple comps for reviewing.

 

That's not a bad idea actually (if you have the drive space to spare). Is there a way to bounce in place multiple tracks simultaneously, or will it just bounce multi selected regions into one track?

[45rpm]

Is there a way to bounce in place multiple tracks simultaneously

 

What do you want first, the good news or the bad news? The good news is that the answer to your question is yes. On the Arrange local menu, select Track > Bounce-Replace All Tracks. This will "bounce in place multiple tracks simultaneously." The bad news is that it goes too far. It acts on your entire project, even if certain tracks are hidden, or packed in folders. So it's probably useless for the situation you have in mind.

 

or will it just bounce multi selected regions into one track?

 

That's what will happen if you apply Bounce Regions in Place to a selection of multiple regions, on different tracks.

 

So, unfortunately, I think in this situation the bounces have to be done individually. But it's really not so bad if you use key commands.