Logic Pro User Guide

What does MIDI stand for and what does a MIDI keyboard do? MIDI stands for Musical, Instrument, Digital, Interface. The MIDI keyboard is capable of sending MIDI signals from a USB and in other cases, other cables such as a MIDI cable, to others devices that it is connected to with the same MIDI interface. This allows you to send what notes that are being placed on the MIDI Keyboard, onto the interface such as Logic Pro on a Mac. Below is a diagram of a standard MIDI Keyboard alongside all the settings that come alongside it. In certain cases you’ll find some MIDI keyboards have more or less than the standard MIDI keyboard.

MIDI KEYBOARD

What messages does a MIDI keyboard send? A MIDI message can send messages out to another device enabling you to play "keyboard sounds" or whatever instrument you have loaded on you Logic Pro software. A MIDI message can send up to 128 note messages per channel. This message (note) will tell the interface what note is to be played. For example, by playing C on the MIDI Keyboard will then be shown on the Logic Pro software. Diagram of a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) including cables Below you will see a diagram of a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)

As you can see, it is as simple as using USB cables to connect the MIDI into your computer to send data and messages to create music.

How might a composer use MIDI? A composer could use MIDI by creating an orchestra of tracks on Logic Pro. Using a MIDI Keyboard, they can easily create individual sections for each instrument to create a piece of music of music fitting the genre that they are making music to. For example, You could create a piece with a cello in, and then double the cello with a double bass an octave lower which will cause much more of an impact on the overall sound. Composer can also command the dynamics, octave, pitching and bending of their instruments easily through MIDI.

As you can see in this diagram, composers can also use a score sheet and add / remove notes as they please.

How to open and save a new Logic project.

Step 1; Open Logic You can simply do this by clicking on its logic from the panel on the bottom of the Mac. And a big loading page from Logic should come up. Step 2; Opening a new Project There will then be a simple menu called the ‘Template Manager’ page. On this page there will be an option to click the empty project. Click this to option a new Logic Pro page.  

Step 3; Saving your new project. Once you’ve created a piece that you would like to save you can easily save the project by going onto File > Save as. The next menu will take you start to the Logic folder. This will be where the related data from your project will be stored. You can select where you want to save your new project by choosing places on the side of the menu. You’ll then find the folder alongside it’s audio file and it’s project.

How do you create new instrument tracks? In order to create a new instrument track, you’ll need to be able to create a new track firstly which can be seen in the images below. A menu will then come up asking which of the following types of tracks you’d like to use. Use Software Instrument. Logic will then automatically bring up the library of musical instrumentals Logic Pro has to offer. In my experience, I wanted to create instrumental tracks because I wanted to sing harmonies on my own songs, as well as this, I created multiple tracks to sing over what I was already doing. For example, there is a picture with a list of tracks that I used in my audio file.

Available instruments and how to edit them There is a wide range of instruments that can be used of Logic Pro from percussion, to keys, to strings. It is also possible to edit these instruments. By going into the mixer menu you can find all the different instruments in the plug-ins. You can also apply different pre-sets if you’re not too familiar will editing your instruments.

   

What does BPM mean? How can you change the BPM? BPM stands for Beats per Minute. This means how many beats are in a minute and is usually

used to work out the tempo of a song. In order to change the BPM of a song, you can first use a plug-in called the BPM counter. This will allow you to work out the BPM of the track. I had to change the tempo in my piece of music.

 

In order to change the BPM you can find menus such as the pictures below where you can edit it from there.

 

Tools and what they’re used for There  are  many    tools  in  Logic  Pro  that  editing  wave  forms  easier.  One  of  the  first  toold  is  a  standard  pointer  tool.  This  allows  you  to  select  other  menus  and  tracks.  The  pencil  toold  when  clicked,  vcan  create  new  audio  files  sny  track  clicked  on.  The  eraser  tool  does  the  opposite  of  the  pencil,  as  it  can  delete  any  track  that  the  user  clicks  on.  The  text  tool  is  good  for  renaming  any  tracks.  The  scisscor  toold  lets  you  cut  one  track  into  two  separate  pieces.  The  glue  tool  allows  you  to  do  the  opposite  and  allows  you  to  stick  together  audio  files  together  on  one  track.  The  zoom  tool  allows  you  to  enchance  the  waveforms  on  a  track.  Finally  the  fade  tool,  allows  you  to  dynamically  fade  out  a  track.  

How to set up a loop In order to loop a certain section in Logic Pro you can highlight certain areas of the timeframe that you want looped. I used loops to carefully listen to my piece of music so I can listen to any pieces that didn’t work in my piece of music.  

Recording MIDI data You can record MIDI data by clicking the record button on Logic Pro. This will allow you to record the sent messages from the MIDI onto the software.      

Quantizing What is it? Quantization, is have a piece of music and notes be set in a precise setting. You can specifically quantize certain things such as time, and pitch. This can allow you to keep your tracks in time in case a few notes don’t work or are out of time. What factors do you need to be aware of so you can record audio?- There are certain things that you should be aware of to be able to record audio. For example, you need to make sure your setup in all in order. For example the condenser microphone is plugged into the mixer or MIDI and the +48v are turned on. Secondly you need to make sure the Mac is in the right settings to pick up the right settings so it is allowed to use the microphone. I also realised that it is sensible to have a pop shield whilst recording so the condenser microphone doesn’t pick up certain sounds that would stand out too much. What are the different noise problems you might get when recording audio, and what might you do to reduce them?- There are many factors to why you can get noise problems when recording audio. For example, by having the music you’re recording being played out loud may cause a loop because of the microphone picking it up. This could cause white noise. In order to avoid this, it is recommended to use headphones when recording audio. What effects have you used and why? (Both ‘corrective’ e.g. EQ, compression etc, and ‘creative’ e.g. reverb, distortion etc). In my own work, I have used many effects such as reverb. As a singer, I wanted my voice to have more of a reach within the music and to be able to stretch more in the music. Secondly, I used a compressor to dynamically change certain parts of my voice where I would sing louder. Thirdly I used EQ to define my voice more to give it more of a crisp sound.

Explain the main sections of the ‘channel strip’ (inserts, pan, volume etc).- How can a film composer use Logic? Film composers can use Logic because Logic gives you the option to load movies alongside the project. This can allow you to watch the piece that you’re creating music to.   What is mixing, and how have you applied mixing techniques within your project? How to mix in Logic Pro In Logic Pro there is a bounce function that allows you to convert your piece of music to CD, DVD and others like MP3.

How to bounce in Logic Pro

General setup for Logic Pro (Computer, Keyboard, Soundcard & Speakers)

A typical setup for Logic Pro would to have a mixer so you are able to record your guitar and vocals. It is recommended to use a condenser microphone with a pop shield. It is also recommended to use headphones whilst recording your audio. There is an image below demonstrating some of the things needed for a general setup. It is recommended to have good speakers with good surround sound that is capable of playing all elements of music. Low and high frequencies too. The cables used in a general DAW would be USB, MIDI and in certain cases, Ethernet cable. The USB cable is used to connect the condenser microphone and we would use MIDI to connect to the computer. In my DAW setup we used these as well as this we also had an Ethernet cable from the MIDI to connect to the computer.