Apple MB792Z/A User Manual - Page 22

Recordings are made through suitable MIDI or audio hardware that is connected to, or installed in, your Mac. MIDI recordings are used to trigger (play back through) either external MIDI devices, such as synthesizers, or internal software instruments. Software instruments are played back through your audio interface or the Mac audio outputs. Not only can you record the notes of your performance, but you can also record and play back information such as synthesizer parameter changes-all in real time. Audio recordings can be made by playing an instrument (such as a guitar) or singing into a microphone, for example. Stage 3: Arranging and Editing Once your musical material has been imported or recorded into Logic Express, you will generally organize it into a "project structure." This is done in the main Logic Express window, called the Arrange window. Musical material appears as rectangular blocks, known as regions. These regions run from left to right across the Arrange area, and are positioned on vertically stacked lanes, known as tracks. You may freely copy, repeat, loop, move, shorten, lengthen, or delete regions-either on a track or across tracks. This grid-like layout and the use of building blocks (regions) make it easy to see, and create, the overall song structure. There will be many occasions when you'll need to perform more detailed edits to your MIDI or audio data recordings than is possible at the region level. Logic Express offers a number of editing windows that allow you to modify your musical material at a variety of levels. For example, this might be useful if: • You have made a recording of a great main vocal performance, but can hear a thud in the silent passages between two phrases, where the vocalist kicked the microphone stand. It probably goes without saying that this isn't a sound you'd like to have on the finalized CD. No problem. Simply edit the recording by inserting silence during the thud, or perhaps cut that portion out of the recording entirely. • You have made a MIDI keyboard recording that is perfect except for one note that should have been a C, but is a B. No problem. Simply drag the MIDI note event from B to C. More details can be found in Understanding the Basics of Projects and Regions. Stage 4: Mixing, Automating, and Using Plug-ins Following the creation of your arrangement and any edits that may have been required, you would commonly move on to the mixing phase of your project. Mixing, as a term, generally refers to balancing the relative levels of each song component. Put another way, the main vocal needs to be louder than the bass, guitars, drums, and keyboards, thus allowing the lyrics to be heard. 22 Chapter 1 Introducing Logic Express