Matthew Range

A Guide On How To Use Logic Pro X

Throughout this walkthrough you will learn the basics of Logic Pro x and will be
able to create a basic audio file whether that is a song or a voice recording. By
learning each of the independ parts within Logic which will allow you to create a
high levelled piece of work.
By having a good studio space to work on, your work will be more productive and
will allow you to concentrate as your surroundings are professional. You will also
need a good studio set up as it will help you when creating a good audio file. The
list of the equipment is below.
Studio Monitors
( Fosteks
)

Computer Screen

Apple Mouse
Midi Keyboard
Line 6

Apple Mac Mini

Apple Keyboard
-

The green cable is a Jack to Jack cable

The blue cable is a usb cable

The rest of the equipment youll need in order to help you with creating
something in Logic Pro x is;

Logic Pro x
Apple Mac Mini
The mac mini that we are using has the specs below;
Processor: 2.6 GHz intel core i5
Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics: Intel iris 1536 MB

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Apple Mouse
Apple Keyboard
Computer screen
2 Fosteks monitor speakers
Line 6 midi keyboard

Logic Pro X
Logic Pro X is a music instrument digital interface which allows you to create
things such as beats and melodies and also record audio clips. Logic is simple to
use as many of the buttons are clear on the software itself. The software allows
you to do many things such as record instrument sequences, audio sequences,
edit sounds and also mix all the instruments together to create an ensemble.
Logic Pro X is the newest version in the Logic series which comes with many new
features and a new look which arguably makes it a better environment to work
in. In this write up I will split Logic Pro X apart so it is easier to understand and
will make it simple to use.

Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)

Midi stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and this is when you use a
piece of hardware such as a midi keyboard or synthesiser that is plugged into the
music software which is then mapped to the music software. This will then allow
the piece of hardware to send an electronic signal which will then generate a
musical note to whatever instrument is selected on the software. Using a MIDI
keyboard allows you to easily create melodies and simple beats which will be
recorded onto the music software. By using a MIDI keyboard you get a real feel
for the piece of music you are creating as it shows that you can play it and its not
just about clicking a mouse button.
Within the creation of our radio advert we used one MIDI keyboard which was
Line 6 and from the MIDI keyboard itself we could control the volume of the
sound that would be coming out of our monitor speakers. I like to use a MIDI
keyboard as at a time when you cannot think of a good melody or beat pattern
you can just play around on the MIDI keyboard and maybe come across a good
melody that could fit your piece of work. Also i believe that using a MIDI
keyboard allows you to get a real feel for the piece of music that you have
created as you are properly creating it and playing it.

Software Instrument/ Audio Channels

Within logic there are many instruments that can be programmed into a track to
allow you to use them and for that track to create the certain sound you would
want it to make. Software instruments link with the piano roll and also using a
MIDI keyboard, this works by the software programming the selected instrument
sound to a key on the keyboard and also a key on the piano roll.
To make it easier to search for certain software instruments you would like to
use, Logic created the software instrument library to allow people to look for
specific instruments that you would want to have in the song or piece of audio
that you will create. (Software instrument library seen below)

Matthew Range
When first opening a Logic file its good to have a look through all of the software
instruments that logic offer as it would give you a good idea of what instruments
you can use in your piece but also it allows you to know where your favourite
instruments are within the library.
When I create a track within Logic I like to start off with the drums as it gives you
a good solid beat to create more layers for the song. I like to go to the electronic
drum kits section as there are many good drums that can be used in production
work such as house and R&B music. I like to use the Big Room drum as it has
many high hats and kicks that I like to have in my projects. There are endless
amounts of instruments and they are easy to find.
Image to
show you
what type of
instrument is
selected
Name of the
instrument so
you know what
it is but also
you can then
search it if you
need it again

A search bar to allow

you to search for key
instruments you
would like, this saves
searching through
every instrument

This is all the

individual types of
different
instruments that
are under the main
header, for
example Classic
Electric Piano is
under the Vintage
Electric Piano

The
headings for
the main
type of
instruments,
once they
are clicked it
opens up all
the different
versions of
that
instrument
that is
Audio channels is a channel which allows you to record audio frequencies using a
microphone which is plugged into the software. By doing this you are able to
record whatever you like by using the microphone which will pick up any sound
that it hears, thats why when you are recording you must be aware of any
sounds that you do not want to hear. Audio channels are also classed as tracks,
and each tack will be assigned to a different instrument, you can have multiple
tracks within a logic project, the tracks can be multiple things such as, software
instruments or audio tracks.
In order to create a new track you select this button:

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Once clicked it will create a new track with it having no instrument loaded, which
means you can choose what you want that track to be.
An audio channel will also be automatically set to a channel on the mixer which
means it is free to have effects added to it separately from other audio channels
so it can be different if it needs to be.
The Transport Bar
Within Logic it has a section named the transport bar which allows you to
navigate the majority of the music software. The transport bar involves the Play,
Pause, Stop, Record and the two skip buttons on one side. On the other it shows
the metronome which is important if you wish to record straight from a midi
keyboard as it will guide you in your timing. By having these buttons located in
one place and at the top of the screen allows the software to be easy to access
and navigate around as you do not have to spend a lot of your time looking for
important buttons, which then means you are able to work on the next piece of

your project as you can proceed.

The blue rectangle in the middle this shows the whole information of your
project, for example in the image above it shows the bpm count, in this case it is
at 120bpm. This can be changed by hovering over the bpm and clicking and
typing what speed you want your project to be at. This information section can
show other pieces of information such as the length of the project, as seen in the
image below.

It is highly useful having this bar on your project screen as you can always refer
to it which means you will always know the important information within your
project so that it is as good as it can be and exactly how you would want it. I
believe it is good to have this bar constantly at the top of your screen as it allows
you to always have the constant ability to view it when you would like.

Matthew Range

Piano Roll/Tool box

Within Logic the piano is highly useful as this is where you are able to edit any
notes that you have recorded using a midi keyboard or any other device. You can
edit the notes using the tool box which will allow you to properly edit each note
to how you would want it to sound. Piano roll has a full scale piano down the right
side which allows you to decide what key you want to place your note in.

This is
what Piano
roll looks like once you have opened it with no recordings recorded or notes that
have been added. In order to add notes which, will create a noise, youll have to
use the pencil tool which will allow you to place a note. Or if you have a midi
keyboard you can press the record button which is located in the transport bar.
To use the pencil tool or any other tool such as the velocity tool you have to
press the T key which will bring up the tool box.
In our last project which was making a radio advert we used the piano roll and
the pencil tool to draw in our patterned notes, we decided to this because we
believe this is the best way to create accurate patterns as, when using piano roll,
you can easily edit the notes to ensure that they sound perfect and the way you
would want them to sound.

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This is the tool box and it will allow you to add, edit and delete
any notes that you have placed in the piano roll, which will all
add up to an audio file which you have created.
The Pointer Tool: The pointer tool allows you to select and
move things to whatever position you would like them to be
in. For example if you need to move a midi region you would
select the pointer tool, which is default, and you can then click
and drag it to a new position. You can also copy and paste
things by using this tool, this is done by clicking and dragging
but before you release the mouse you hold down the ALT key
and then release the mouse button.
The Pencil Tool: The pencil tool also allows you to drag midi
regions and drawn notes to certain places but when you click
an empty space within the piano roll it will create a note at
where you have clicked, while you are still on the pencil tool
you can edit this note by changing its position and length. I
use the pencil tool a lot as I like to draw my notes in on the
piano roll as that is how I like to create midi regions.
The Eraser Tool: The eraser tool deletes anything that you
have placed using the pencil too, for example, if you are
creating a melody within piano roll and you place a note in the wrong place you
can select the eraser tool and delete the note you misplaced.
The Velocity Tool: The velocity tool allows you to change how forced the note is
played. For example if you want the kick drum to be heard the most you would
change the velocity of it to make it so that it is played harder out of the other
notes. This tool is useful as it allows you to change up certain notes in a chord
and it would sound good. When the colour of the note has changed it means the
force of how the note is played, for example, if the note is a lighter colour such
as blue it is really lightly played. But if the colour of the note is red it means it is
being played with force.
Once you have used some of the tools within the tool box on the piano roll it will
look like this;
Example of the velocity tool
Example of pencil tool and different lengths they can be

Matthew Range

Quantising
Within logic quantising is very useful when it comes to you recording notes in
yourself when using a midi keyboard as it allows you to edit your notes to ensure
that they are perfect and in time with the bars within your track. Quantising links
in with the piano roll as the piano roll is needed to be open so that you can click
the quantise button which will then rearrange your notes for you so that they are
on time and align.
Once you have recorded your notes using the midi keyboard and open up the
piano roll you may notice that your recorded notes possibly look out of place and
not even as they should be. To fix this you highlight all of the notes you want to
be quantised. Once this has been done you then click the Q button which is
located on the left side of the piano roll. Once this is clicked it will set the
highlighted notes to fit the bars of your track.

However when I have used quantising in the past it has not worked properly, for
example when I have highlighted the notes and pressed quantise, the notes
would quantise to the bar but they would not quantise to the actual beat of the
music. So the notes would not align how I would want them to so if I would have
quantised it I would have to then edit the notes even further to ensure that they
sounds like the correct note. So be aware when using quantise as sometimes it
may not work and fit your proper track.
Before Quantising:

After Quantising:

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The Inspector
Within logic there is a tab called the inspector which is located at the top right
part of the screen and once it is pushed it will create another window which looks
similar to the mixer but only it is just smaller. This window consists of two mixer
channels strips, one of which is the track channel of which is highlighted. For
example if I had my 3rd track highlighted and had the inspector window open it
would show that channel strip. The other channel strip will be the master
channel.
This is the icon
for the
inspector and
once it is open
it looks like

I believe it to be a good thing that there is a thing such as the

inspector this is because it makes it easier to see how your
selected channel strip looks compared to the master level, this
could be EQ and volume also panning. By having this window it
also means you can focus on the one track you have highlighted
and add all of the different effects to that track you would like. The
inspector is basically a smaller version of the mixer which is
smaller which allows for easy accessibility as you do not have to
open up the whole mixer. I often use the mixer a lot as I can focus
on that one track and add anything I need to, to it.

Matthew Range

The Mixer
The mixer is a big part within the making of your track as it allows you edit
selected tracks by adding different effects and doing things such as panning and
changing the overall volume output. When a track is created it is automatically
added to a channel strip on the mixer. When it is first added it has no effects or
inputs/outputs on it as you have to do that. There are a lot of things with in the
mixer that can be confusing and overwhelming. A mixer can have as many
channels strips you wish to have, this is helpful as you can have an endless
amount of tracks within your project.
To open the mixer within logic you press this icon
Once this is pressed this is what the mixer looks like with your
tracks, with recorded tracks and effects:
This is the effects section, which is where you can add different effects such as echo and distortion.
This is the sends which allows you to send the effects on that channel to another.

This is the panning button, and when twisted to one side will determine if that channel comes out of the lef

Channel fader, this allows you to change the volume of the track. When the green bar appears this means
There are the mute and solo buttons. The mute button silences the track so you cannot hear it and the solo

Matthew Range

There are many effects that you can place on a channel strip which allows to give
your track a good different feel about it, also adding effect can make it sound
better to the viewer. Using effects can produce a good build up into a song but
also it can make it sound how you want it to your feel.
To be able to add an effect to a channel strip you click an empty space in the
audio FX part.

Once you have clicked in an empty space

within this section, a drop down menu
would appear with all of the different
effects that you can use to go onto your
selected track.

There are many effects than can be placed on a channel strip which
will allow different sounds to be changed and even sound better.
Although some effects might not sound as good as others, for
example in one of my projects I had a drum build up which would
involve kicks and claps, I decided to put an echo effect on it, but it
made the build-up sound fuzzy and overcrowded.

Examples of some effects

EQ:
The channel EQ effect allows you to change all of the frequencies within that
track, it provides eight frequency bands to allow high pass and low pass
frequencies to pass through. The EQ effect is a very good effect to use as you
can easily change and manipulate the original instrument, for example you can
change a deep a bass sounds by EQ-ing it and only allowing the low frequencies
to pass through it, and example of this is down below;

Matthew Range

Echo:
Another effect that you can add is the echo, and this repeats the last beat
depending on what setting you have this on. For example if the time is set to 1/8
it will repeat 1 beat 8 times but fade down after every time it is repeated. The
echo effect looks like this once open;
You can change this effect in loads of
ways such as the time, by changing
the times determines on how many
times the beat is repeated, using echo
is good for build ups just before a drop
as it will make the beats faster without
actually changing the bpm.

Compressor:
Within logic the compressor effect reduces the dynamic range of audio, for
example if you had many instruments within your project and one of them
possibly over powered the other instruments, you can add a compressor to it and
this would result in this instrument being amplified. This is highly useful to
ensure that the mix of the whole track is to the level you want it and it sounds
good.
By playing around with all of the different
settings on this effect you can get a perfect
level for all of the instrument, this then
means youll have a good level of sound
over all with no unwanted distortion.

Matthew Range

Busses
Within logic you can use busses to ensure that your project does not get
overloaded and possibly slow your computer down. Busses are when you have
an empty channel within the mixer which has no instrument assigned to it, all
this channel has on it is effects that you would want. The reason for having
busses is so that if you want multiple instrument to have the same effects and
EQ as each other, to make this work, within the mixer area there is a section
named sends and this is where you can add as many different busses as you
would want. This is good as you can add loads of different busses with different
effects on them, also you can assign each channel with as many busses as you
would like, so there could be loads of different effects that will be linked to one
instrument. I believe having busses to be very helpful as it allows you to link all
of the instruments together and you can easily add different effects to multiple
instruments at the same time.

Automation
Automation is when you can fade in and fade out certain tracks that you would
wish to do within a piece of music. Within automation you can also pan which will
put certain instruments into whatever side of the headphones or speakers you
would like. For example you might want to have the guitars panned to the left
and then the vocals panned to the right. Within the volume aspect of automation
if you had 2 drum kits within your piece you can automate on of them so that
one is lower than the other, this makes the track not being over powered by
drum kits.

Matthew Range

Within my
work I like to
add automation as you can properly overlap instruments and make them sound
nice and layered. If you do not use automation your track can sound like a big
mash of loads of different sounds and it may not sound nice to the audiences
ear, so its good to automate your work to ensure it sounds nice and not
overloaded.
Previous logic software comparison
Before logic pro x there was logic express 9, which was used prior to x. however I
believe that that logic pro x is better for many reasons.
One reason is that the aesthetic view of logic pro x is better, it is good to have a
good looking working space as it allows you to continue working hard without
getting bored of your surroundings that you will probably be looking at for hours
at a time. An example of how logic pro x looks better is because with logic pro x
you can change the colour of the tracks you have created, to brightly coloured
colours, whereas logic express 9 is all grey and a lightly green colour which is not
very attractive.
Logic pro X:

Logic express 9:

Matthew Range

Another reason why believe that logic pro x is better than logic express 9 is that
it is easier to understand and navigate. An example of this is the mixers, the
logic pro x mixer is easier to add effects and also it is easier to see what channel
strip you are on, this is because with the logic pro x mixer it has an image of the
instrument it is on but also it shows all of the information that you will need.
Whereas I think that the express 9 mixer is less aesthetically pleasing with less
information on it so you would have to open other windows to see the
information that might be on the logic pro x mixer
Logic pro x:

Logic express 9:

Overall I believe Logic

pro x to be a good, easy understanding music producing
software, you are able to do everything you need with just one software. By
being able to import videos and other interfaces to adding extra plugins such as
massive by native instruments. The combinations to this software are endless
and is also one of the best looking music softwares that is on the market. I like
how everything is easily organised to its own section within the software, this
means that it is easy to navigate and there is no way to get lost and confused.
This is a great thing as it means you can carry on creating your project to the
standards you want it. It is a high level software but is as easy as reading a book,
I enjoy using it daily with ease and professionalism.