Online

2013

Pro Tools for Music Teachers

Session 3 Homework
Amy Bennett
Midnight Music
Pro Tools for Music Teachers 3

How to use these notes 3

An editing reminder 3

Using Spot Mode - why not! 3

Using inserts and sends 4

Creating a Reverb eect using an insert 4

Creating a Reverb eect using a send 4

Create a Vocals Aux Input track to control the level of both vocals 5

Adding automation 5

Recording and editing automation - Volume 5

Recording and editing automation - Mute 5

Bounce to Disk 6
 Pro Tools for Music Teachers

How to use these notes

You should already have the:

Exercise Media folder

Pro Tools shortcuts

This week you should have downloaded the following from the website:

Midnight Music Online Course Notes Session 3 (Notes)

Midnight Music Online Homework Pro Tools Session 3 (this document)

An editing reminder
Open your saved session from the last homework task. Make sure the guitar and drums are ready
to go (should have been completed in the last task) and the Edit Window is open.

Place the 10_01.wav and 10_03.wav clips at the beginning of two separate tracks labeled Vox1 and
Vox2.

Mute the Vox2 track.

Select the clip on Vox1 and repeat it 3 Omes.

Select Grid Mode and set the Grid to 0|0|480 (1/8 note).

Using the Selector Tool select the word Time in the second clip. Cut the selecOon and paste it on
the second 1/8th note in Bar 4 on the same track. Play the edit to see how it sounds.

Notes: See the notes for Session 2, Editing

Using Spot Mode - why not!

Unmute the Vox2 track. Select Spot Mode.

Click on the 10_03 clip with the Grabber tool to select it and the Spot Mode dialog box will open.

Enter 5|1|000 as the Start locaOon for this clip and click Ok. With the clip sOll selected, copy it to
the start of Bar 7. You can do this by clicking the cursor to Bar 7 and pasOng, or se\ng the Edit
SelecOon Start eld in the Edit window to 7|1|000 and pressing enter, then pasOng.

3
Fig. 1. Se\ng the Edit SelecOon Start eld.

Go back to Grid Mode, with the Grid set to 1/8 note. Select the rst three 1/8th notes in the second
region (7|1|000 to 7|2|480) which are the words Baby you got me. Copy the selecOon.

Make a new selecOon from 7|2|480 to 8|1|000 (the words making circles) and press Delete. Put
the cursor at 7|3|000 and paste your selecOon from the above step.

Listen to your edits.

Using inserts and sends

Creating a Reverb eect using an insert
Go to the Mix Window using the shortcut.

In Insert slot A on the Vox1 track, add the D-Verb plug-in and select an appropriate reverb from the
preset menu. Play around with various reverbs and delays to see how they work.

Note that you can bypass the eect by clicking the Bypass bueon on the eect window. You can
also compare two se\ngs by making the rst se\ng, then clicking Compare, then making the
second. Clicking Compare will then toggle back and forth between the two se\ngs.

Notes: See Page 6, Inserts

Creating a Reverb eect using a send

Create an Aux Input track linked to the Vox2 track using the Send slot A on the Vox2 track. Call it
Reverb.

Insert the D-Verb plug in and use the presets to select an appropriate reverb.

Raise the level of the send fader (or the fader on the bus oaOng window) to send the desired
volume of the Vox1 track to the Reverb track.

Notes: See Page 8, Working with sends

4
Create a Vocals Aux Input track to control the level of both vocals
Create an Aux Input track linked to the Vox1 track using the Send slot A on the Vox1 track. Call it
VOCALS. Set the send fader to send most of the Vox1 track audio to the VOCALS track.

Use the Send slot B on the Vox2 track to send the audio to the VOCALS Aux Input track. This Ome
you will not need to add new track... rather select VOCALS from the track opOon when you click on
the send slot.

Play around with sending various levels of the two Vox tracks to the VOCALS track and then altering
the overall level of both tracks using the VOCALS track fader.

Adding automation
Recording and editing automation - Volume
Go to the Edit Window using the shortcut.

Open the AutomaOon Window.

Make sure VOL and MUTE automaOon are selected (red). Others can be too, but youre going to
automate volume and mute. Close the AutomaOon Window.

Select Write Mode as the AutomaOon Mode for the Drum track. Swap to the Mix Window. Hit play
and ride the volume fader on the drum track to record volume automaOon. Riding a fader means
listening and changing it over Ome. Create a fade in over two bars for the drums from the start.

If you make a mistake either re-record the automaOon or edit the automaOon data either on the
track in the Edit Window or pop out the AutomaOon Lane underneath the track. Make sure the
AutomaOon Mode is set back to read.

Even if you record it perfectly the rst Ome, have a go ediOng the automaOon data.

Notes: See Page 10, Automation

Recording and editing automation - Mute

This exercise is to automate the muOng of the Reverb Aux Input track you created earlier.

Change the AutomaOon Mode of the Reverb Aux Input track to write. Mute the track. You can do
these steps in either the Mix or Edit Windows.

Press play, and when you decide the reverb should come in, unmute the track. Mute the track
again aier a Ome.

Set the AutomaOon Mode back to read.

View the mute automaOon either on the track, or in the AutomaOon Lane in the Edit Window.

5
Bounce to Disk
Zoom your session right out so you can see all the clips.

In the Omeline ruler, drag a selecOon that encompasses all the clips in the session.

Bounce your track out as a wav le (interleaved, 16 bit, 44.1 kHz). Give it an appropriate name and
save it in an appropriate place. Note the default is the Audio Files folder. SomeOmes I go up a
folder to save my bounces, as it gets confusing if the nal bounce is in with all the other audio.

Notes: See Page 12, Creating a Stereo Mixdown