Pro Tools for Musicians and Songwriters

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INTRODUCTION

Do you ever wake up in the morning, turn on the coffee pot and think, "Hey, I wonder how this machine works?" and then decide to take it apart and figure it out? Me neither. I simply want to turn on the machine and drink my coffee. I find the same thing in recording my music. I don't want to be a technician; I simply want to be a musician and songwriter. That's the premise of Pro Tools for Musicians and Songwriters. If you want to sit down and be creative, and make music without being overwhelmed with technical details, then you made a wise choice in picking up this book. So many new users of computer-based audio systems are intimidated by the technology and overwhelmed at the thought of setting up and learning it. If you feel that way, you're not alone. I always remind new users that at some point in their lives, the knobs and buttons on the dishwasher or washing machine looked complicated too--but now they're common knowledge. That's the comfort zone where I hope this book will take you. I believe this book will make it possible for songwriters and musicians to learn Pro Tools in a fun, unintimidating way. My goal is to turn even the staunchest technophobes into download-savvy Pro Tools whizzes. So, make a fresh pot of coffee and let's get started. xii

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I'm Going to Assume...

...that musicians already know how to play their instruments and that songwriters already know how to write songs. I'm going to assume that all of you understand common song structure, as well as tempo and meter. But other than that, you'll need to know almost nothing about making music with your computer in order to read and learn from this book. You won't need to know much about the computer itself beyond how to turn it on, and the difference between clicking and double-clicking.

And You're Going to Need...

A computer with an Internet connection A Pro Tools interface, such as

Digidesign's Mbox Digi 002 or 002 Rack Any Pro Tools?compatible M-Audio interface Pro Tools LE 7 or M-Powered Pro Tools 7 A separate, external hard drive to record to A MIDI keyboard A microphone, your instrument, and cables Headphones and/or speakers A CD burner and CD burning application

Version 7.4 updates We are pleased to provide you with several updates to the book for the current version of Pro Tools. To access these updates, please visit ProToolsforMusicians and register your copy of the book.

A computer with an Internet connection. It's very important to have an Internet connection on the computer that you'll be recording with. This book will require many downloads from the Internet throughout the various chapters, with the specific goal of helping you become more comfortable using the Internet to download and import audio files. In today's professional music industry, a basic understanding of the Internet and of how to upload and download files will open up your world as a writer and musician. The Internet provides a limitless palette of sounds, musicians, and resources for your music.

A Pro Tools interface. Until very recently, there were only two hardware choices for Pro Tools LE--Digidesign's Mbox and the Digi 002. Now that M-Audio has become part of the Avid/Digidesign family, the choice of interfaces has drastically expanded. M-Audio supports 11 different interfaces that work with Pro Tools LE. Four that I recommend are the Ozonic Interface and Controller, the FireWire Solo, the FireWire 410, and the FireWire 1814.

INTRODUCTION

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If you buy an Mbox or Digi 002, the Pro Tools software is included. However, if you buy an M-Audio interface, you'll also have to buy Pro Tools M-Powered software. Take note that an M-Audio FireWire Solo combined with Pro Tools M-Powered software costs almost exactly the same as an Mbox. Given the choice, I would definitely choose the FireWire Solo because it uses a FireWire connection and also provides MIDI functionality; the Mbox uses USB and does not support MIDI. I personally find FireWire to be much faster and more reliable to work with. That said, I'd choose a Digi 002 or 002Rack over the M-Audio FireWire 1814 because I find the Digi 002 to be a sturdier, more substantial piece of gear.

A separate, external hard drive to record to. A common question I get from new users is, "Doesn't the computer have a hard drive? Why do I need another one?" The answer is: Your computer's hard drive is for the programs you use; the external hard drive will be the one onto which you record your music. In other words, the computer is the tape machine, and the external hard drive is the reel of tape.

The hard drive that came with your computer is already running your operating system, as well as your applications. If you force it to do all that, and also record and play back multiple audio tracks, you're going to have nothing but headaches. So do yourself a favor before you get started with Pro Tools--invest $100 in a 7200 RPM FireWire hard drive.

What's a Hard Drive, Anyway? Remember 45 records? They were called 45s because they rotated at 45 RPMs (revolutions per minute). Hard drives work the same way. Inside the metal case of a hard drive is simply a disk that looks almost exactly like an old record album--but it's spinning thousands of times faster. Just as the old records turned at 45 or 33 RPM, hard drives come in different speeds. Pro Tools requires the hard drive used for recording to spin at a minimum of 7200 RPM. So make sure when you buy a hard drive for Pro Tools that the speed is sufficient to allow problem-free playback and recording.

Platters Spindle

Head Arm

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I recommend using an external drive because it is much more convenient for moving around, working at another studio or with other musicians. Simply unplug your hard drive and go. If you ever replace your computer, you have all your songs ready to move with you. I recommend FireWire drives because they are the simplest and best hard-drive solution for Pro Tools.

Since all new Macintosh computers come with a FireWire port, hooking up an external drive is fast and easy. Windows users may need to add a FireWire card, but it is worth the extra money and effort in order to work with a FireWire drive, because external USB 2.0 drives are not supported by Digidesign at this time and may have playback issues.

Rename Your External Hard Drive I always recommend renaming the hard drive used for recording, changing it to "Audio Drive" so that it's very clear which hard drive you are recording to and saving to. To rename a hard drive on the Macintosh, click the drive's name (below its icon) on the desktop. When you click once on the name, it will turn into a type-able field. In Windows, your hard drives are found under My Computer, and also in Windows Explorer. Rename the drive by right-clicking it and choosing Rename.

This is my System Hard Drive

This is the hard drive I record to

A MIDI keyboard. If you're a keyboard player, this is a must--and if you're not a keyboard player, it's still a must. So many people say, "I don't want to use MIDI, I just want to record audio." That's what you think now. But I promise that you'll find many creative uses for a MIDI keyboard. And if you're intimidated by MIDI, this book will change all that and will teach you MIDI simply and painlessly.

A microphone, your instrument, and the proper cables. A few exercises in this book require the use of a microphone. Make sure that you use a real microphone cable, known as an XLR cable. It's very common for inexperienced users to try to use a 1/4" cable for a microphone. If you want to have proper volume levels and less noise, use a professional microphone cable. If you play keyboard, bass, or guitar, have a 1/4" cable on hand for that, too.

Headphones and/or speakers. Ideally, you'll have both headphones and speakers. When you record, you turn the speakers down and put the headphones on. When you're mixing, you use the speakers. Sony 7506 headphones are very popular. KRK speakers are an affordable, quality choice found in many personal studios.

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A CD burner and CD-burning application. These days, most computers come with a CD burner (writer) installed. If yours didn't, you're going to need one. You'll also need a special application for burning the CDs. You can use what comes with your computer, but I recommend Roxio Toast and/or Jam for Mac, and Roxio Easy Media Creator for Windows. These applications make possible the reordering or changing of your songs' audio level, where the stock applications don't. These applications will be invaluable not only for burning your audio CDs but for backing up your data, as well.

Why This Book?

This book takes an unconventional approach by teaching Pro Tools from the musician's and songwriter's perspective. The chapters comprise a series of step-by-step exercises. Each step is followed by a screenshot--a picture of what you'll see on your monitor--that allows you to follow along visually. The exercises will increase your skill gradually, demonstrating Pro Tools and helping you acquire the knowledge you need to use this application--not as a technician, but as a musician and/or songwriter. The Pro Tools manual is extremely informative, but it's written as a reference guide rather than a tutorial and has an overwhelming amount of information. Since Pro Tools is such a versatile program, it's used not only for music production but also for film and video production, sound design, radio production, mastering, and more. There are many Pro Tools functions that you, as a musician, will simply never use. So think of this book as your shortcut to the information that you need, and a way around the information that you don't. By the end of the book, you'll be comfortable importing audio, recording, editing, automating, mixing, and bouncing. You'll know the keyboard shortcuts for many common commands, and you'll have learned lots of tips and tricks for becoming fast and effective using Pro Tools. The goal of this book is to give you the skills that you need so that you can concentrate more on your music and less on the technology required to record.

Working in Bars and Beats

If you're a musician or songwriter and you're going to learn Pro Tools (or any music software), and create your songs without a click track and without a designated meter and tempo, then you may as well be using a 20-year-old analog tape machine. The greatest strength of Pro Tools for creating music is using it in Bars and Beats mode. In Bars and Beats, you specify a fixed tempo for your song and record to a click track. As a result of this fixed tempo, your song is displayed on a linear timeline and divided visually into bars and beats, providing a grid to work with as you edit. Bars and Beats mode gives you

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