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 Pro Tools
Fundamentals II
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Avid Technology, Inc.

 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Copyright and Disclaimer

© 2023 Avid Technology, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, photographing, and recording, for any purpose, without the express
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The media provided with this book, and any accompanying course material, is to be used only to complete the
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Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice.

Trademarks
Avid, the Avid logo, Avid Everywhere, Interplay, ISIS, Media Composer, Pro Tools, and Sibelius, and all related
product names and logos, are registered or unregistered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United
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Legal Disclaimer
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The sale or distribution of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchase this book without a
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This book includes material that was developed in part by the Avid Technical Publications department and the
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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Acknowledgements
Avid Learning Services would like to recognize the following contributors for the development of this book:
Andy Hagerman, Author
Thomas (TJ) Guardino, Technical Editor and Author (Exercise 4)

Paola Bianca Flores, John Patrick Dalangin, Reeve Adubal, Copy Editors

John Patrick Dalangin, Reeve Adubal, Curtis Poole, Book Layout

Special thanks to Alex Brooke, Brian Smithers, Ryan Summers, Anders Motz, Dave Philips, Joe Simmonds,
Chris Mckeith, Felipe Capilla, Joseph Sierzputowski, Rachel Becker Wright, Christian Valente, Stefano
Pinzi, Fabio Nicholls, and Mako Uetake (植竹真子).

We would also like to recognize the immeasurable contributions of the worldwide community of Avid Certified
Instructors for their ongoing suggestions and comments, based on their experience in the classroom and their
professional expertise, which have resulted in the continued improvement of Avid’s curriculum.

About the Author

Andrew Hagerman has been a professional musician and teacher for the majority of his 50+ years. Beginning
his musical life at the early age of eight as a tubist and bassist, Andy continued his studies at the prestigious
Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. During his time there, MIDI and computer music were in their
infancy, and Andy recognized the usefulness of these new technologies in aiding the creative process. He had
the unique opportunity to learn these tools as they were being created and refined, and his quest for the best
in audio and music technology ultimately led him to use and teach Avid’s Pro Tools.

Andy has accumulated varied experience as a performer, composer, arranger, and producer, including as a
musician and arranger for Walt Disney productions and Tokyo Disneyland, to composer, arranger, and
producer on a wide range of music projects and post-production work. As an educator, he began teaching at
Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, where he rose to the position of Associate Course Director of
Advanced Audio Workstation Studies. in 2005, he joined the training team at Avid Technology as Training
Services Manager for the Asia-Pacific region (with his office based in Tokyo Japan, where he resides today) and
is now audio curriculum manager within the learning services team. During this period, he has authored
numerous books on music and audio production and continues to create content to inspire the next generation
of creative professionals.

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... iii
About the Author ........................................................................................................ iii
Using This Book ......................................................................................................... xiv
Using The Course Material ........................................................................................ xiv
Prerequisites ............................................................................................................. . xv
System Requirements ...............................................................................................xvi
Becoming Avid Certified .............................................................................................xx
Lesson 1: Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System .......................................... 1
Using the Playback Engine Dialog Box ........................................................................ 2
Changing the Playback Device ...................................................................................... 2
Hardware Buffer Size ...................................................................................................... 2
Limit Number of Real-Time Threads ................................................................................ 4
Intel® Turbo Boost .......................................................................................................... 5
Disk Playback................................................................................................................. 5
The Hardware Setup Dialog Box .................................................................................. 6
Using Your Computer's Built-In I/O .................................................................................. 7
The System Usage Window ......................................................................................... 8
The Session Setup Dialog Box...................................................................................... 9
Setting Inputs and Outputs in the I/O Setup Dialog Box ............................................ 11
Inputs ............................................................................................................................. 11
Outputs ......................................................................................................................... 14
Working with Paths ....................................................................................................... 14
Busses ........................................................................................................................ 17
Output Busses ............................................................................................................... 17
Internal Busses .............................................................................................................. 18
Working with Busses ..................................................................................................... 20
Managing I/O Settings .............................................................................................. 22
Exporting I/O Settings ...................................................................................................22
Importing I/O Settings ...................................................................................................23
Summary of Key Concepts ....................................................................................... 25
Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson ................................................. 25
Knowledge Check ..................................................................................................... 26

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Exercise 1: I/O Setup Workflows....................................................................... 27

Part 1: Getting Started .............................................................................................. 27
Part 2: Customizing an I/O Setup ............................................................................. 28
Part 3: Exporting I/O Settings ................................................................................... 29
Part 4: Importing I/O Settings ................................................................................... 30
Part 5: Mirroring an Output Bus ................................................................................ 30
Lesson 2: Getting Around in Style ....................................................................33
Zooming.................................................................................................................... 34
Zoom Presets ................................................................................................................ 34
Single Zoom ................................................................................................................. 35
Zoom Toggle .................................................................................................................36
Setting Locations and Making Selections .................................................................. 38
Choosing Locations with Shortcuts .............................................................................. 38
Typing Selections ..........................................................................................................39
Selecting with Rulers .....................................................................................................39
Changing Start or End Position .................................................................................... 40
Navigating Your Session with the Universe View .........................................................41
Revealing the Universe Edit window view ....................................................................... 41
Current View Indicator ................................................................................................. 43
Scrolling with the Universe View .................................................................................... 43
Markers and Memory Locations ................................................................................ 44
Adding a Marker to your Session .................................................................................. 44
Non-Marker Memory Locations .................................................................................... 48
Using None Time Properties ...........................................................................................49
Creating a Marker from the Marker Ruler ..................................................................... 50
Editing a Memory Location............................................................................................ 51
Removing a Memory Location ....................................................................................... 51
Managing Windows .................................................................................................. 52
Floating Windows ......................................................................................................... 52
Arranging Your Windows .............................................................................................. 52
Window Configurations ............................................................................................... 52
Recalling Window Configurations ................................................................................ 54
Summary of Key Concepts ....................................................................................... 57
Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson ................................................. 57
Knowledge Check ..................................................................................................... 58

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Exercise 2: Getting Around in Style ..................................................................59

Part 1: Getting Started .............................................................................................. 60
Part 2: Setting the Mood ........................................................................................... 60
Part 3: Using the Universe ......................................................................................... 60
Part 4: Using Zoom Toggle ........................................................................................ 60
Part 5: Markers and Memory Locations .....................................................................61
Part 6: Managing Windows ....................................................................................... 63
Lesson 3: Working with Tracks .........................................................................65
Introducing Folder Tracks ......................................................................................... 66
What are Folder Tracks? .............................................................................................. 66
Using Folder Tracks ....................................................................................................... 67
Deleting Folder Tracks .................................................................................................. 68
Track Colors ............................................................................................................. 68
Viewing Track Colors .................................................................................................... 68
Default Track Colors .....................................................................................................69
Customizing Track Colors .............................................................................................70
Track Colors and Folder Tracks ..................................................................................... 71
Adding Tracks: A New Workflow ................................................................................ 72
Batch Renaming ....................................................................................................... 73
Track Status Shortcuts .............................................................................................. 76
Track Status Indicators.................................................................................................. 77
Scrolling to a Track ................................................................................................... 78
Track Activity and Folder Tracks.................................................................................... 79
Track Timebases ....................................................................................................... 80
Sample-Based Tracks .................................................................................................... 81
Track Defaults ............................................................................................................... 81
Changing Track Timebases .......................................................................................... 82
Track Timebase Workflows ........................................................................................... 82
Timebases and Automation .......................................................................................... 84
Summary of Key Concepts ....................................................................................... 85
Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson ................................................. 85
Knowledge Check ..................................................................................................... 86
Exercise 3: Track Layout .................................................................................. 87
Part 1: Getting Started .............................................................................................. 87
Part 2: Track Creation .............................................................................................. 88

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Part 3: Bringing in Folders ......................................................................................... 90

Part 4: Track Colors ................................................................................................... 91
Part 5: Bringing In the Audio ..................................................................................... 93
Part 6: Testing and Trashing ..................................................................................... 94
Lesson 4: Making the Most of Clips .................................................................. 97
Working in the Clips List ........................................................................................... 98
Batch Renaming Clips ...................................................................................................98
Auditioning Audio Clips .................................................................................................99
Clip Colors ............................................................................................................... 101
Default Clip Coloring ................................................................................................... 101
Manual Clip Coloring .................................................................................................. 102
Clip Groups ............................................................................................................ 105
Creating a Clip Group ................................................................................................ 105
Identifying Clip Groups ............................................................................................... 106
Uses for Clip Groups ................................................................................................... 108
Ungrouping and Regrouping ....................................................................................... 109
Exporting Clip Groups .................................................................................................. 110
Clip Loops ................................................................................................................. 111
Looping a Clip ............................................................................................................... 111
Editing a Clip Loop ....................................................................................................... 113
Using Edit Tools ............................................................................................................ 113
Unlooping and relooping .............................................................................................. 115
Loops and Groups ........................................................................................................ 115
Introducing Edit Playlists...........................................................................................117
Creating a New Edit Playlist ......................................................................................... 118
Creating a Duplicate Playlist....................................................................................... 120
Playlists and Track Timebases ...................................................................................... 121
Deleting Alternate Playlists ........................................................................................... 121
Summary of Key Concepts ...................................................................................... 122
Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson ................................................ 123
Knowledge Check .................................................................................................... 123
Exercise 4: Working with Clips ....................................................................... 125
Part 1: Getting Started ............................................................................................. 126
Part 2: Importing Guitar Parts.................................................................................. 126
Part 3: Working with Playlists................................................................................... 126

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Part 4: Choosing a Guitar Part ................................................................................ 128

Part 5: Clip Looping ................................................................................................. 128
Part 6: Cleaning Up ................................................................................................. 129
Lesson 5: Track and Clip Processing Workflows ............................................. 131
Track Freeze............................................................................................................. 132
Freezing a Track .......................................................................................................... 132
Working with Frozen Tracks......................................................................................... 133
Un-Freezing Tracks ...................................................................................................... 133
Track Commit .......................................................................................................... 134
Committing a Track .................................................................................................... 134
Bouncing Tracks ...................................................................................................... 138
Clip Gain ................................................................................................................. 142
Applying Clip Gain Within a Clip ................................................................................ 145
Working with Clip Gain ............................................................................................146
Viewing Clip Gain ........................................................................................................ 146
Nudging Clip Gain ...................................................................................................... 147
Clip Gain Hacks .......................................................................................................... 148
Introducing Elastic Audio ......................................................................................... 149
Activating Elastic Audio ............................................................................................... 150
Working with Event Markers ........................................................................................ 152
Warping with Elastic Audio .......................................................................................... 153
Quantizing Elastic Audio ............................................................................................. 155
Identifying Warped Clips ............................................................................................ 157
Summary of Key Concepts ...................................................................................... 159
Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson ............................................... 160
Knowledge Check .................................................................................................... 161
Exercise 5: Clip and Track Techniques ........................................................... 163
Part 1: Getting Started ............................................................................................. 163
Part 2: Track Management ......................................................................................164
Part 3: Clip Gain Tweaks .........................................................................................165
Part 4: Using Elastic Audio ....................................................................................... 167
Part 5: Bouncing Tracks ...........................................................................................168
Lesson 6: Import, Export and Recording .......................................................... 171
More Ways to Import Audio...................................................................................... 172
Creating New Tracks When Importing ......................................................................... 172

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Batch Importing .......................................................................................................... 172

Exporting Clips ............................................................................................................ 172
Basic Clip Export ......................................................................................................... 173
Searching with Tags................................................................................................. 174
Sound Libraries ........................................................................................................ 176
Adding a Sound Library............................................................................................... 176
Session Interop......................................................................................................... 177
Session Templates ........................................................................................................ 177
Importing Session Data ............................................................................................... 179
Summary of Key Concepts ......................................................................................184
Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson ................................................184
Knowledge Check ....................................................................................................185
Exercise 6: Import and Export Worflows......................................................... 187
Part 1: Getting Started ............................................................................................. 187
Part 2: Importing Session Data.................................................................................188
Part 3: Searching and Importing Clips .....................................................................190
Part 4: Exporting Clips ............................................................................................. 192
Lesson 7: More Editing! .................................................................................. 193
More ways to Trim Clips ........................................................................................... 194
Trimming from the End of a Clip .................................................................................. 194
Trim to selection .......................................................................................................... 194
Trim Tool Variations.................................................................................................. 195
The TCE Trim Tool ........................................................................................................ 195
Clip Looping with the Trim Tool ................................................................................... 196
Grabber Tool Variations ........................................................................................... 197
Changing Grabber Tools............................................................................................. 197
The Time Grabber ....................................................................................................... 197
The Object Grabber .................................................................................................... 197
The Smart Tool and Edit Tool Variations ................................................................... 199
Reversing An Operation with the Option/Alt Key ...................................................... 199
Working with Edit and Timeline Selections ..............................................................200
Linking and Unlinking Selections ................................................................................ 200
Dynamic Transport...................................................................................................... 201
More Ways to Work with Fades .............................................................................. 203
Presets ....................................................................................................................... 203

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Fade Settings ............................................................................................................. 203

Smart Tool Fades ....................................................................................................... 205
Batch Fades ............................................................................................................... 206
Edit Groups............................................................................................................. 210
Edit Groups and Mix Groups ....................................................................................... 210
Creating an Edit Group ............................................................................................... 210
Activating and Deactivating Groups ........................................................................... 213
Edit Group Behavior .................................................................................................... 214
Track Comping with Playlists: Getting Started ........................................................ 214
Viewing Alternate Playlists ........................................................................................... 215
A New Way to Create an Edit Playlist .......................................................................... 216
Track Comping with Playlists: Workflows ................................................................. 216
Using Solos .................................................................................................................. 216
Creating the Composite .............................................................................................. 217
Summary of Key Concepts ...................................................................................... 219
Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson ............................................... 220
Knowledge Check .................................................................................................... 221
Exercise 7: Mini-Gauntlet #2 ..........................................................................223
Part 1: Getting Started ............................................................................................ 223
Part 2: TCE Trim, Repeat, and Loop ........................................................................ 224
Part 3: Edit Tools ..................................................................................................... 225
Part 4: Track Comping ............................................................................................ 226
Lesson 8: More Music Making! ....................................................................... 227
Changing MIDI Track Views .................................................................................... 228
Using the Track View Selector ......................................................................................228
Using Track Lanes .......................................................................................................229
MIDI Loop Recording Workflows.............................................................................. 229
Auditioning MIDI and the MIDI Default Thru ............................................................. 231
What's MIDI "Thru"? .................................................................................................... 231
Enabling MIDI Thru ...................................................................................................... 231
Setting a Default Thru Instrument ...............................................................................232
MIDI Thru Workflows....................................................................................................234
The MIDI Editor ........................................................................................................ 235
Different Ways to the MIDI Editor ................................................................................235
Getting Around the Docked MIDI Editor ....................................................................... 237

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Navigating and Transposing ................................................................................... 239

Navigation .................................................................................................................. 240
Transposing................................................................................................................ 240
Converting MIDI and Audio ...................................................................................... 241
Extracting MIDI ............................................................................................................242
Summary of Key Concepts ..................................................................................... 245
Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson ............................................... 245
Knowledge Check ................................................................................................... 246
Exercise 8: Making More of MIDI .................................................................... 247
Part 1: Getting Started ............................................................................................ 248
Part 2: Previewing MIDI ........................................................................................... 248
Part 3: Working in the MIDI Editor ........................................................................... 249
Lesson 9: Post-Production Primer .................................................................. 251
What is Post-Production ......................................................................................... 252
Frame Rates............................................................................................................ 252
Tools of the Trade: Video Tracks .............................................................................. 254
Pro Tools Versions and Video ...................................................................................... 254
Importing Video .......................................................................................................... 255
Video Tracks and Clips ............................................................................................... 256
The Video Window ...................................................................................................... 258
Tools of The Trade: Conforming Clips ..................................................................... 259
Snapping the Start of a Clip ....................................................................................... 260
Snapping the End of a Clip ........................................................................................ 260
Snapping a Sync Point ................................................................................................ 261
Tools of the Trade: Clip Effects ................................................................................ 261
Showing the Clip Effects View .....................................................................................262
Using Clip Effects ........................................................................................................263
Managing Clip Effected Clips .................................................................................... 264
Managing Clip Effects Settings and Workflow ........................................................... 265
Summary of Key Concepts ..................................................................................... 267
Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson ............................................... 267
Knowledge Check ................................................................................................... 268
Exercise 9: Post-Production Techniques ......................................................... 269
Part 1: Getting Started ............................................................................................ 269
Part 2: Setting Up the Video .................................................................................... 270

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Creating a 2-Pop ........................................................................................................270

Setting the Start Time .................................................................................................. 271
Part 3: Bringing In Audio .......................................................................................... 271
Part 4: Spotting Clips .............................................................................................. 272
Using Spot Mode ......................................................................................................... 273
Snapping the Start of a Clip ........................................................................................ 273
Snapping a Sync Point ................................................................................................ 273
Part 5: Clip Effects to the Rescue ............................................................................ 274
Lesson 10: More Mixing! ................................................................................. 275
Mirroring Outputs ................................................................................................... 276
Mirroring the Output of a Track ................................................................................... 276
Mirroring Output Busses .............................................................................................. 277
Exploring Sends ...................................................................................................... 278
Expanded Sends View.................................................................................................. 279
Using Output Windows ........................................................................................... 280
Automation Safe.......................................................................................................... 281
Follow Main Pan ..........................................................................................................282
Panning Options .........................................................................................................282
Automation Modes .................................................................................................. 283
Choosing an Automation Mode ...................................................................................283
Auto Read .................................................................................................................. 284
Auto Off ..................................................................................................................... 284
Auto Touch and Auto Latch: The Update Modes ......................................................... 284
Auto Write .................................................................................................................. 286
The Automation Window ......................................................................................... 287
Editing Automation ................................................................................................. 288
Basic Cut, Copy, and Paste ....................................................................................... 288
Special Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear ..........................................................................289
Clear vs. Cut ............................................................................................................... 291
Nudging Automation ...................................................................................................292
Suspending Automation ..............................................................................................292
Mix Groups ............................................................................................................. 293
The Importance of Group IDs ......................................................................................293
Group Membership and Nested Groups ......................................................................294
Groups and Track Selections.......................................................................................294

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Mixing with Folder Tracks ........................................................................................ 295

Moving Tracks to Folders .............................................................................................296
Converting Auxiliary Input Tracks to Routing Folder Tracks ......................................... 297
Folder Tracks and Solo/Mute Behavior ........................................................................298
Finishing Touches.................................................................................................... 298
Using Dither.................................................................................................................298
More Archiving Tips .................................................................................................... 300
Congratulations! ..................................................................................................... 303
Summary of Key Concepts ..................................................................................... 304
Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson ............................................... 305
Knowledge Check ................................................................................................... 306
Exercise 10: Mix Workflows ............................................................................ 307
Part 1: Getting Started ............................................................................................ 308
Part 2: Subgroups ................................................................................................... 308
Part 3: Managing Levels.......................................................................................... 310
Part 4: Creating a Sonic Landscape ....................................................................... 310
Part 5: Mix Groups ................................................................................................... 312
Part 6: Punching Up the Guitar ................................................................................ 313
Part 7: Saving the Saxes........................................................................................... 313
Part 8: Finishing Up .................................................................................................. 314

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on continuing your study of Pro Tools with the Avid Learning Series. The Pro Tools
Fundamentals II (PT110) course expands upon the basic principles taught in the Pro Tools
Fundamentals I (PT101) course and introduces the core concepts and techniques students need to
competently operate a Pro Tools system running mid-sized sessions.
Students learn to build sessions designed for commercial purposes and improve the results of their
recording, editing, and mixing efforts. The hands-on exercises provide experience setting up
sessions, importing media, working with digital video, spotting sound effects, using loop recording
and MIDI Merge techniques, working with virtual instruments, warping with Elastic Audio, applying
Real-Time Properties, creating clip loops, applying signal processing, using automation, and using
submixes and track groups to simplify a final mix.

Using This Book

The lessons in this course are followed by exercises that take you step-by-step through some of the
main Pro Tools functions described in the lessons. While this course can be completed through self-
study, Avid recommends obtaining hands-on experience through an instructor-led class offered by
an Avid-authorized learning partner. For more information on the classes offered through the Avid
Learning Partner program, go to www.avid.com/learning.

Using The Course Material

This book makes use of media files for the included exercises and supplemental projects. The media
files can be downloaded by pointing your browser to https://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-allExercises. The
download will begin automatically. Alternatively, you can download each exercise’s media
separately, with links provided at the beginning of each exercise.

Prerequisites
• Completion of the Pro Tools Fundamentals I (PT101) course, or equivalent experience
• Ability to create sessions, select appropriate session parameters, record audio and MIDI, use
Edit modes and tools effectively, set Grid and Nudge values, create and recall memory
locations, navigate tracks and media, create Edit selections using a variety of common

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

techniques, use plugins for signal processing and virtual instruments, create a basic mix, and
use basic automation techniques
• For additional refreshers and tutorials covering Pro Tools fundamentals, check out the Pro
Tools > Getting Started page on Avid.com:
https://www.avid.com/pro-tools/getting-started

System Requirements
This book assumes that you have a system configuration suitable to run Pro Tools software. To
verify the most recent system requirements, visit https://tinyurl.com/PTsystemReqs.
This course’s exercises employ a number of plug-in effects. These effects are all free, and included
with Pro Tools, but they should be installed on your system prior to beginning the first exercise. The
required plug-ins are:
• AIR Chorus • Dyn3 • Pro Multiband
Compressor/Limiter Dynamics
• AIR Filter Gate
• EQ3 1-Band • Pultec MEQ-5
• AIR Frequency
Shifter • EQ3 7-Band • Reverb One
• AIR Vintage Filter • Impact • SansAmp PSA-1
• Channel Strip • Mini Grand • Space
• Click II • Mod Delay III • Trim
• D-Verb • Pitch II • Vacuum
• Dither • Pro Compressor • Xpand!2
• Pro Limiter

Becoming Avid Certified

Avid Certification helps professionals attain and demonstrate the skills and credentials they need to
increase their value, competency, and efficiency in the highly competitive music, video and media
industries. Recognized by top music, post-production, movie, television, and broadcast facilities
worldwide, Avid Certifications serve to validate a person’s expertise.
To become certified in Pro Tools, you must enroll in a program at an Avid Learning Partner, where
you can complete additional Pro Tools coursework if needed and take your certification exam. To
locate an Avid Learning Partner, visit https://www.avid.com/learning.

Pro Tools Certification

Avid offers three levels of professional Pro Tools certification: Avid Certified | Specialist, Avid
Certified | Professional, and Avid Certified | Expert. The 100-, 200-, and 300-level Pro Tools courses
are designed to prepare candidates for each of these certification levels, respectively.

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 Pro Tools® Fundamentals I Introduction

Specialist Certification
To gain the title of Avid Certified | Pro Tools Specialist, you must take two foundational courses, Pro
Tools Fundamentals I (PT101) and Pro Tools Fundamentals II (PT110), before sitting and passing the
associated certification exam.
Becoming an Avid Certified | Pro Tools Specialist verifies that you possess a fundamental
understanding of and the capability to use Avid Pro Tools to engineer a project through to
completion, with all of the fundamental operational skills to record, edit, mix and output the finished
session.

For more information about Avid’s certification programs, please visit

https://www.avid.com/learning/certification.

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 LESSON 1
Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

From bedroom studios to high-end music and post-production facilities, Pro Tools is the industry's
DAW of choice. That's great news for anyone beginning a study of Pro Tools — the skills you learn
here will be useful in a wide variety of situations. However, to make the most of Pro Tools in any
given scenario, you'll need to know how to customize the behavior to the DAW, and that's what
you'll learn in this lesson.

Duration: 1 hr

GOALS

• Optimize Pro Tools for your needs using the Playback Engine and Hardware Setup dialog
boxes
• Understand the System Usage window
• Customize your session using the Session Setup dialog box
• Create and name inputs and outputs to suit your needs
• Understand the two types of busses, and how to make the most of them
• Learn how to manage I/O settings
 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Using the Playback Engine Dialog Box

The settings in the Playback Engine dialog box will determine your systems performance, and can be
adjusted to accommodate a wide range of workflows:

Changing the Playback Device

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you used the Playback Engine dialog box to choose a device through
which Pro Tools will play. You can also change the device that you use for playback to fit your needs.
The process is similar to choosing an initial device:
1. From the Setup menu, choose Playback Engine.
2. In the Device section at the top of the Playback Engine dialog box, choose your desired
device in the Playback Engine pop-up menu. The list shown will vary depending on the
system and its connected interfaces.
3. When changing devices, Pro Tools will need to save and close any currently open session,
and will either restart automatically or close (requiring a re-launching of Pro Tools) based on
the device you'll be using. In the dialog box that appears, click the Yes button, and your
session will close.
4. Click the OK button of the Playback Engine dialog box to restart (or close) Pro Tools. When
restarted (or relaunched), the new playback engine device will be applied.
Changing the device that Pro Tools is using can affect your input and output (I/O) configuration. This can be
managed in the I/O Setup dialog box, discussed later in this lesson.

Hardware Buffer Size

Broadly speaking, a buffer is an allocated amount of your computer's memory for temporary storage
of data as your computer works on processing. The purpose of a buffer is to act as a cushion against
the fluctuating processing needs of your session as it plays, to allow for more stable performance.
In Pro Tools' case, the Hardware Buffer (shown as H/W Buffer Size in the Playback Engine dialog box)
applies to processes that are both real-time and native (processed by your computer's built-in CPU),
and there is not one hardware buffer, but two:
• The Low Latency Hardware Buffer is the one you can see (and change in the Playback
Engine dialog box). This buffer applies to all tracks that have a live input (for example a
record-armed audio track).
• The High Latency Hardware Buffer is invisible and is always set to be the highest buffer
setting possible (based on your session's sample rate). This applies to tracks without a live
input (for example, an audio track that is just playing back audio).
Having two hardware buffers in your system allows you to have a high plug-in processing load on
your playback-only tracks, while also having low recording latency on your record-enabled tracks.
You can easily choose the Low Latency Hardware Buffer Domain setting from the H/W Buffer Size
pop-up menu in the Settings section of the Playback Engine dialog box.

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Choosing the Best Hardware Buffer Setting

There's no single best setting for the Hardware Buffer (which is actually the Low Latency Hardware
Buffer). Generally speaking, a low buffer setting in the Playback Engine dialog box is desirable,
providing low recording latency, but there are a few factors to consider in your choice:
• Auxiliary Input tracks that are being used for effects returns and subgroups have a live input,
and so are placed on the Low Latency domain. If plug-in effects are placed on these tracks,
they may necessitate a higher buffer setting (depending on the plug-in — different plug-ins
require different amounts of processing power).
• If you're recording a large number of tracks at once, your buffer might need to be set higher
than when you are recording only one or two tracks. Greater numbers of recording tracks
places greater demands on your system's memory.
• When recording on audio tracks, the fewer plug-ins on the track, the better for recording
latency. If your recording tracks are loaded with processing-intensive plug-ins, this may
result in your needing to raise the hardware buffer setting (increasing recording latency).
• Virtual Instruments typically require higher buffer settings. If your session contains large
numbers of Virtual Instruments, you may need to freeze the tracks to move them to the High
Latency Hardware Buffer.
Pro Tools' Track Freeze feature is discussed later
in this course.

Beyond these two first settings, there are more

ways to set and optimize your Pro Tools
system in the Playback Engine dialog box:
[1] Video Engine: Check the Video Engine
Enable check box to enable or disable the
Avid Video Engine (or AVE). With this
setting the advice is simple — if you don't
need it, don't activate it. When active, the
video engine will consume a portion of
your system's memory (even if there is no
video in your session), so turning it off
when you don't need it will free up that
memory for other Pro Tools processing.
Importing video into your session will activate the
Avid Video Engine, even if the box is previously
unchecked.
The Playback Engine dialog box

[2] Ignore Errors During Playback/Record: The first item in the Optimizations section of the
Playback Engine dialog box is the Ignore Errors During Playback/Record check box. When
enabled, Pro Tools will suppress errors related to processing. This can sometimes be useful
with plug-in intensive sessions but take care — when this option is enabled, you may record or
play back with clicks and pops (something that can cause massive problems for you in other
phases of your production).

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

When active, this setting runs the risk of compromising critical audio quality, so Ignore Errors
During Playback/Record should only be enabled when absolutely necessary. It's recommended
to enable Ignore Errors During Playback/Record only if you are experiencing frequent error
messages to the point that your workflow is being disrupted. Also, whenever recording or
creating a final mix, this should be disabled.
[3] Minimize Additional I/O Latency: When Ignore Errors During Playback/Record is enabled,
you'll see one more option become available — Minimize Additional I/O Latency. When active,
Pro Tools will limit the amount of latency needed by Ignore Errors During Playback/Record to
work to its minimum value (128 samples). This option relates only to Ignore Errors During
Playback/Record.
This feature can be independently enabled for the Main Playback Engine and the Aux I/O.
Workflows involving Auxiliary I/O are explored in other courses in the Avid Learning Series.
[4] Dynamic Plug-in Processing: In older versions of Pro Tools (prior to Pro Tools version 11,
released in mid-2013) all real-time plug-ins consumed the same amount of CPU power, whether
there was audio to be processed or not. Put another way, a plug-in on an empty track
consumed the same resources as the same plug-in on a track with audio files.
With the introduction of Dynamic Plug-in Processing, your Pro Tools processing power gets a
big boost. When enabled, Pro Tools will only draw CPU power for a plug-in when there is audio
on the track's timeline to be processed. Enabling this feature is generally recommended, with
only a few advanced workflow scenarios in which it would be disabled.
[5] Optimize Performance at Low Buffer Sizes: The Optimize Performance at Low Buffer Sizes
improves the performance of the host computer's CPU at the smallest two Hardware Buffer
settings. It is generally recommended to enable it, except in cases where certain plug-in effects
cause the system to hang for a few seconds (disabling this option or increasing the Hardware
Buffer will remedy this problem).
Beyond these options, you might see a few others, depending upon your system:
• Limit Number of Real-Time Threads (Intel-based Mac computers only): Pro Tools uses
real-time threads for low-latency processing, which can sometimes conflict with other
applications running on the same system that also use real-time threads. This can result in
various errors and enabling this option can resolve such problems.
If you're not running into this issue, it is recommended to leave this box unchecked, allowing
Pro Tools to make best use of the available CPU resources.
TIP: When recording, an enabled Limit Number of Real-Time Threads option can sometime cause
errors (including AAE -6101 and AAE -9093). As a general rule, it is recommended to disable this option
when recording if possible.

• Intel® Turbo Boost (Intel-based Mac computers with Turbo Boost support only): In Mac
computers that support it, the Turbo Boost feature can accelerate the CPU beyond the rated
processing frequency, increasing performance. However — and this can be an important
factor in audio production facilities — when Turbo Boost is active, the CPU may run hotter
than normal, resulting in more fan noise as your system tries to keep its cool.

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As a general rule, the Intel® Turbo Boost option should be enabled, but if you find that the fan noise
of your computer is becoming a problem, you may consider disabling it (though processing power
may decrease somewhat).

Disk Playback
As discussed in the PT101 course, a Pro Tools session file plays audio files that are stored on your
system's hard drives. Disk playback can optimize playback of your system by copying audio from
your drive (or shared network storage) into your system's RAM and plays back the audio data from
RAM. This has a few advantages — more responsive playback and less reliance on the drives upon
which your audio is stored chief among them.
Clicking on the Disk Playback Cache Size pop-up menu will reveal a menu of different options, which
fall into one of two categories:
• Dynamic: When Normal is chosen
from the Disk Playback Cache
Size pop-up menu, the playback
cache is dynamically managed by
Pro Tools, and will vary in size
based upon the amount of audio
file data on the timeline.
• Fixed: The bottom section of
the pop-up menu will reveal a
number of cache size options,
which will vary based on the
amount of RAM in your system.
Choosing any of these
will copy audio used in your session
from your storage into RAM for Choosing a Disk Playback Cache Size

playback from the cache.

The Disk Playback Cache Size pop-up menu will not list all the RAM installed in your system — depending on
your computer's configuration, either 3 GB or 4 GB will be reserved for the system.

Choosing whether to use a dynamic or fixed cache is largely a matter of circumstance: If you have
plenty of unused RAM and agile playback is a priority, choosing a fixed setting may be the right
choice. However, it's important to be aware that any RAM being used by the cache for audio
playback will be unavailable for plug-in processing. If you want to prioritize the use of your system's
RAM for plug-in effects and playing back from the hard drive isn't a specific problem, it’s
recommended to choose Normal from the pop-up menu.
If you are choosing a fixed size, the choice you make in the Disk Playback Cache Size pop-up menu
will represent the limit of RAM that can be used for audio file caching. How much of this cache
you're using will be shown in the System Usage window (which will be discussed later in this lesson).
The rule of thumb in this case is to choose a cache size that is big enough to hold all of your
session's audio file data.

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The Hardware Setup Dialog Box

The Playback Engine dialog box is a central player in your system optimization, but there are other
windows and boxes that will help you to configure and monitor your system's performance. As you
learned in the PT101 course, the hardware options displayed in the Hardware Setup dialog box
(from Setup menu, choose Hardware) will vary based on the hardware you've selected as your
device in the Playback Engine dialog box. These options can range from setting a default sample
rate, clock source, switch assignments, and more.
These windows will vary based on the hardware attached to your system. Here are two examples.

Avid Interfaces: In some cases, the settings for

your devices are accessible directly from
the Hardware Setup dialog box, as shown here
with a Pro Tools | Carbon audio interface:

The Hardware Setup dialog box

when using a Pro Tools | Carbon Interface

3rd-Party Interfaces: In other situations,

the Hardware Setup window is relatively
simpler, providing access to the hardware's
proprietary software. In the image shown
here, the interface selected in the Playback
Engine is a Universal Audio Thunderbolt
interface. In the Hardware Setup dialog
box, you have no controls, but you can
access the interface's control software
by clicking the Launch Setup App button.

The Hardware Setup dialog box

when using a Universal Audio Interface

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Using Your Computer's Built-In I/O

Although a computer's built-in inputs and outputs typically won't deliver pristine audio quality, their
convenience is quite useful in many situations. If you're producing on the go with a laptop computer,
for example, it can be advantageous to simply plug your headphones into the computer without
additional bulky hardware.
The process of using a computer's built-in I/O differs between Mac and Windows-based computers:

Using the Pro Tools Aggregate I/O

When Pro Tools is installed on a Mac, a new virtual device is created in the Audio MIDI
Setup application, called the Pro Tools Aggregate I/O. This enables Pro Tools to not only use the Mac
computer's inputs and outputs simultaneously, but also to use multiple interfaces at once.
Clicking the Launch Setup App button in
the Hardware Setup dialog box (or launching
the Audio MIDI Setup app directly) will show a
list of the system's audio devices in the leftmost
column, with the selected device shown in the
main pane of the window. The Pro Tools
Aggregate I/O enables you to choose a clock
source, default sample rate, and which devices
will be accessible by Pro Tools when it's chosen
in the Playback Engine dialog box. Just click the
check box next to the devices that you want to
use.
Only built-in inputs and outputs are officially
supported by Avid in the Pro Tools Aggregate I/O. The Pro Tools Aggregate I/O Device in the
Audio MIDI Setup application

ASIO4ALL
In most cases, your Windows computer will have WASAPI (Windows Audio Session API) or ASIO
(Audio Steam Input/Output) drivers that you can choose in the Playback Engine dialog box. If your
computer doesn't, you're not out of luck — ASIO4ALL is a free universal ASIO driver that you can
download and install to provide a connection from Pro Tools to your WDM (Windows Driver Module)
hardware.
Clicking the Launch Setup App button in the Hardware Setup dialog box will display a list of all
devices that have WDM drivers. Like the Mac's Pro Tools Aggregate I/O, you can choose multiple
devices for input and output.

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The System Usage Window

The System Usage window is a useful diagnostic tool which shows you how hard your computer is
working. You can open or close the System Usage window by going to the Window menu and
clicking System Usage (at the bottom of the menu). This window is comprised of a number of
different sections:
[1] CPU Meters: The CPU
section of the System Usage
window gives valuable
feedback of your total CPU
usage (in the Total meter) as
well as the activity of your
CPU's individual processors.
This section can be expanded
or collapsed using the
disclosure triangle in the upper
left-hand corner of the section.
[2] Activity Meters: The
Activity section of the System The System Usage window
Usage window includes Disk,
Memory, and Disk Cache meters (when a fixed cache size is chosen). This section can be expanded
or collapsed using the disclosure triangle in the upper left-hand corner of the section.
[3] Disk Meter: The Disk meter indicates the activity of your hard drives as they play back audio in
your session.
[4] Memory Meter: The Memory Meter shows the amount of your system's RAM used by Pro Tools.
This meter does not include RAM usage by other applications running on your system.
When a fixed Disk Playback Cache size is chosen in the Playback Engine dialog box, the Disk
Cache meter will appear in the Activity section. The color of this meter indicates the portion of your
audio file data that has been copied into your system's RAM for cached playback:
• A green meter indicates that
all of the audio file data (from
the session's timeline and
clips list) has been copied to
the playback cache.
• A yellow meter indicates
that not all of the audio file The System Usage window when a fixed Disk Playback Cache size is chosen
data has been copied to the
playback cache.

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If your Pro Tools system includes HDX

cards, you'll see a separate HDX
Card section for each card installed in
your system. This section also
appears in systems using a Pro Tools
| Carbon audio interface. This section
will show the activity of the various
DSP chips on the card or in the
Carbon interface.
The setup and use of HDX-based Pro
Tools systems is discussed in the PT201
course in the Avid Learning Series.

The HDX Card section of the System Usage window

on an HDX-powered Pro Tools system

The Session Setup Dialog Box

In the Setup menu, the Session Setup window (Setup > Session) allows you to configure your session
in additional ways. The window comprises three sections — for the purposes of this lesson, we'll
focus on the Format section.
The Sync Setup & Timecode Offsets and Timecode Settings sections of the Session Setup window are
discussed in the PT210P course of the Avid Learning Series.

The default shortcut to show or hide the Session Setup window is Command+2 (on your computer
keyboard's numeric keypad) on a Mac, or Ctrl+2 (on your computer keyboard's numeric keypad) on a
Windows computer.

In the Format section, there are a number of different controls, many of which are beyond the scope
of this course (or will be discussed later in this course). Let's focus on some of the most critical.

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

The Session Setup dialog box

[1] Sample Rate: This field will display the sample rate of your session. Unlike most other fields
in this dialog box, this setting is not changeable.
[2] Bit Depth: This field will display the currently active bit depth in your session. This can be
changed at any time, which will change the bit depth of recorded and processed audio files (the
change is not applied retroactively to previously recorded or processed files). Files of different
bit depths can coexist in a single session.
[3] Audio Format: This field will display the currently active audio file format in your session.
This can be changed at any time, which will change the file format of recorded and processed
audio files (this change is not applied retroactively to previously recorded or processed files).
Files of different formats can coexist in a single session.
[4] Interleaved: This check box will display the currently interleaved file status in your session.
This can be changed at any time, which will change whether recorded and processed
multichannel audio files will be multi-mono or interleaved (this change is not applied
retroactively to previously recorded or processed files). Interleaved and multi-mono clips can
coexist in a session.
The controls on the far-right side of the Session Setup dialog box primarily relate to workflows
involving video (a topic that we'll begin to cover in Lesson 9), including:
• Session Start
• Session Length Limit
• Timecode
• Timecode Rate
• Feet+Frames Rate
• Timecode 2 Rate

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Setting Inputs and Outputs in the I/O Setup Dialog

Box
In the Pro Tools 101 course, you worked
with a simple default input/output (I/O)
setup. Now, it's time to customize your
inputs, outputs and more to enhance
your workflow. You can get the control
you need in the I/O Setup dialog box.

From the Setup menu, choose I/O.

The I/O Setup dialog box will appear:

The various parameters of the I/O

Setup dialog box relate to workflows that
range from basic to highly specialized. The I/O Setup dialog box
For the purposes of this course, we will focus
on the basic setup of inputs, outputs, busses and managing your I/O settings.
Other features of the I/O Setup dialog box are discussed in other courses of the Avid Learning Series.

Although the setup of your various inputs and outputs can happen in any order, for the purposes of
this lesson, we'll move from left to right, starting with the setup of your inputs.

Inputs
At the top of the I/O Setup dialog box, you'll find a series
of tabs. Clicking the Input tab will display Pro Tools' input
paths — the avenues by which Pro Tools can record
tracks through your interface's inputs.
Directly underneath the tabs, you will see the available
channels of the interface that you've chosen as the Choosing the Input tab
device in the Playback Engine dialog box. Below that, you'll see an
area where you can manage the various input paths associated with those channels.

Adding an Input Path

Let's imagine a scenario where your I/O
Setup dialog box shows an empty grid —
in other words, there are no input paths
from your interface into Pro Tools. In this
scenario, regardless of the number of
physical inputs on your audio interface,
you would not be able to use it for
recording. In order to fix this problem,
you'll need to create an input path. No input paths!

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

There are a few ways that you can create a new input path:
1. Do one of the following:
• Click the New Path button.
• The shortcut to create a new path is Command+N on a Mac, or Ctrl+N on a Windows
computer.
The New Paths dialog box that appears is similar (but simpler) to the New Tracks dialog box
you've used to create new tracks. You can create multiple paths, change their channel width
and name them descriptively, just as you did with tracks.

The New Paths dialog box

At the bottom of the box, there are a few options that pertain to I/O paths:
• Add default channel assignments: When this box is checked, Pro Tools will create
channel assignments to each path. When unchecked, you'll need to make these
assignments manually.
• Auto-create sub paths: Every multichannel path can include subdivisions, called sub
paths. In the case of a stereo path, the sub paths would be a mono left path and a mono
right path. When this box is checked, these subpaths are created along with the path —
when unchecked, any desired sub path must be created manually.
2. Click the Create button. The path (and sub paths, if the check box is enabled) will be created.
In this example, a stereo path is created, named My Keyboard. Because Add default channel
assignments was enabled, you'll see individual left and right channel boxes under the
corresponding interface channels.

A new stereo input path

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When creating a path with the Add default channel assignments box unchecked, you'll need to
create the channel assignments manually. Just click in the appropriate row and channel, and
the assignments will be created.
If you want to change the channel assignments associated with the path, you can click and
drag the path's channel assignment boxes under different interface channels. These
channels do not need to be adjacent to each other.
3. Click the OK button in the lower right-hand corner of the dialog box. Your changes will be
applied to the session.
Clicking the Cancel button will discard your changes and close the I/O Setup dialog box.

Outputs
Once you have your inputs
set up, the next thing to do is
take care of your outputs.
Here again, we'll start out
with a blank Output tab,
meaning that, despite the
capabilities of our interface,
Pro Tools cannot be heard
through our speakers.

An empty Output tab

The good news is that the creation,

naming, and management of your paths
in the Output tab is identical to that in
the Input tab. For example, if we were to
click the Default button, we would get a
generic layout, as shown here:

A generic output path configuration

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

In the lower right-hand corner of the dialog

box in this tab, you'll find a few options
specifically relating to outputs.
In this lesson, we'll focus on the top
two options — Monitor
Path and Audition Path:
• Monitor Path: This allows you to tell
Pro Tools which output path is
attached to your speakers. When a
monitor path is selected on a system,
sessions that were created on other
systems can automatically re-map Monitor Path options
their outputs to your speakers.
• Audition Path: The path that you
choose here will be the one used for
previewing audio from the Workspace
browser, Clip List, and AudioSuite plug-in window.

Working with Paths

Although paths in the Input and Output tab differ in function, they are similar in many other regards.
Here are a few ways that you can manage your paths:

Sub Paths
When sub paths are created along with an input or output path, you can reveal them by clicking the
disclosure triangle to the left of the path name. In this case, you'll see that the left and right channels
of a stereo input path are individually available.
If you don't create sub paths with the creation of a path, you can do so at any time:
1. Select the path that you want to
create sub paths for.
2. In the lower left-hand section of
the dialog box, click the New Sub-
Path button. The New Sub-
Paths dialog box will appear. The New Sub-Paths dialog box

3. The process of creating a sub path is similar to

creating a path — choose the number of paths, their channel width, and name them
descriptively. You can choose to Add default channel assignments automatically (by checking
the box) or manually.
4. Once the sub path is created, you can assign it to a channel by clicking the appropriate box.
Your sub path channel assignments are limited to channels of the parent input or output
path.

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Selecting Paths
The selection of a single path or multiple paths follows the same convention as selecting tracks or
clips in the Edit or Mix window:
• Clicking on a path will select it
• Holding the Shift key will enable you to select a range of paths
• Holding the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows) will enable you to select and deselect
individual paths
• Holding the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and clicking on a single path will select all
paths in the tab

Renaming a Path
The naming of paths can be done at the time of creation — here are two ways that they can be
renamed after they have been created:
1. Double-click the name of the path that you want to rename.
2. Once the text is selected, type a new name.
TIP: Pressing the Tab key will advance to the next path's naming dialog box. This can be useful when naming
multiple paths.

OR
1. In the Edit or Mix window, right-click on
the Input or Output Path selector and
choose Rename from the menu.
2. Type a new name in the Rename
I/O dialog box. After typing a new name
for the path, the change will be reflected
in the I/O Setup dialog box.
TIP: Renaming a path will automatically rename Renaming an input path
any associated sub paths. Sub paths can also be from the Mix window
individually renamed, which will not rename the
parent path.

Creating Default Paths

You can create input or output paths manually, but there's another way you can set things up
quickly — by creating default paths for a tab. Just click the Default button in the bottom left-hand
section of the dialog box.

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Clicking this button will not remove any paths already used in the session but will add default values
for any unassigned interface channels or unused paths. In the image shown here, a single stereo
input path is created, and assigned to interface channels 1 and 2. Clicking the Default button created
paths for the other channels without affecting the pre-existing path.

Creating default input paths

Paths that are used in a session are indicated with bold fonts used for the path name.

Beyond the control you have over the paths that you use in your session, you have some flexibility
as to how to deal with paths you're not using.

Deactivating a Path
When assigning inputs or outputs to a track, active paths will appear in the Input Path selector or
Output Path selector menu (depending on the track's channel width). If you don't want a given path
to appear in that list, you can deactivate the path by clicking the path's Active/Inactive Status check
box to remove the green check mark.

Deleting a Path
Going a step beyond deactivating a path, you can also remove the path entirely:
1. Select the path (or sub path) that you want to delete. Multiple paths can be selected.
2. In the lower left-hand section of the dialog box, click the Delete Path button. All selected
paths will be deleted.
Deleting a path will also delete any associated sub paths. Deleting a sub path will not delete the
associated parent path.
TIP: To create a fully default path list, first delete any pre-existing paths before clicking the Default button.

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Busses
In older versions of Pro Tools, the Bus tab of Pro Tools looked much like the input and output tabs,
and busses were used exclusively for internal routing within the Pro Tools software. In current
versions of Pro Tools, the Bus tab is structurally and functionally much different from inputs and
outputs.
The creation, renaming, deactivating, and deleting of busses is identical to that of input and output paths.
Busses can also include sub paths.

When it comes to busses, note that all track outputs are busses. Put another way, a track's output
doesn't directly go out of an output path, but rather through a bus that is mapped to that output.
Busses can function in two different ways — as Output Busses or Internal Busses.

Output Busses
When an output path is created, Pro Tools does something interesting in the background — it
creates a bus that is named after that path. In the images below, you can see output paths (in
the Output tab) and the busses that are automatically created along with the output paths.
The image below shows the default output
paths for a Universal Audio Apollo Twin audio …and this image shows the busses that are
interface… created along with those output paths.

If you take a look at these busses, you'll see that they are mapped to outputs. When you create
output paths, the naming of the bus is based on the corresponding output path. For example, the
automatically created MON L/R bus is mapped to output MON L/R, shown in the Mapping to Output
column.

Busses mapped to outputs

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Busses that are mapped to an output path are called Output Busses.
The management of output busses (and I/O settings in general) depends on personal preference
and the system's needs of the moment, but for the sake of illustration, we'll rename our output
busses for the function they serve. In this example, the Main MON output bus is mapped to
the MON L/R output path. Cue 1 and Cue 2 (our headphone mix outputs) are mapped to the Line 3-
4 and HP L/R output paths respectively.

Renamed output busses

Here's what you'll get: When choosing

a track's output, you'll see that in
the Output section of the output
menu, all output busses are
displayed, followed by an arrow, and
then the output path to which that
output bus is mapped. In the
example shown here, the Audio
1 track's output is set to the Main
MON output bus, which is mapped to
the MON L/R output path. Because all
of these auto-created busses include
sub paths, the individual mono
channels that comprise the larger
stereo output are also accessible. An audio track's output menu, showing output
busses and their associated output paths

Note that in this example, the bus menu item (directly below output), is greyed out. This is because
there are no non-mapped busses (all busses are output busses and displayed in
the output submenu).

Internal Busses
If output busses enable us to route signals to a physical output path, Internal busses allow us to
route a signal from one point within Pro Tools to another. For example, you'd use an internal bus to
route the output of an audio track to the input of an Auxiliary Input track when creating a subgroup
(which you learned about in the Pro Tools 101 course).

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In the I/O Setup dialog box's Bus tab, the

creation of busses is identical to the creation
of input or output paths. In this image, we're
creating five stereo busses, named
SUBGROUP. Note that in this case, we're
choosing not to auto-create sub paths.
Creating 5 stereo busses

Here's the result: The five new stereo busses are not mapped to any output, as indicated by the
unchecked box in the Mapping to Output column. This makes our Internal Busses, and as the name
suggests, they are used for internal signal routing within the Pro Tools software.

Five new internal busses

Here's the effect of creating internal

busses: When you choose an output for
a track, you'll see that the bus
submenu is no longer greyed out, and
when revealed, shows all of the
unmapped internal busses. In this case,
because we didn't create sub paths, all
we see are the five stereo busses.

Internal busses in the Edit window

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Working with Busses

Once you understand how busses work, your control over your I/O and signal routing gets a real
boost. Armed with the ability to work in this tab, you can do some interesting things with your
session:

Changing Output Assignments

You can change the path assignment of any output path by clicking the small triangular button to
the right of the output path name in the Mapping to Output column (the Mapping to Output selector).
From the list that appears, choose a new path. Multiple busses can be routed to the same output
path.

Changing Bus Type

To change an output bus into an internal bus, simply un-check the corresponding box in
the Mapping to Output column.
In the image shown here,
the mapping has been
removed from the VIRTUAL
3-4 bus, changing it from
an output bus to an
internal bus. Now, the bus
will show up in the bus
submenu of a track's
Output Path selector,
where previously it was in
Removing the mapping from the VIRTUAL 3-4 bus
the output submenu.
Conversely, you can change an internal bus into an output bus by assigning it to
an output.
You can even go one step
further and assign multiple
busses to the same output
path! In this example, you
see a different way to mix —
The Main MON path has
been deactivated (by
unchecking the check box to
the left of the bus name),
and each of the subgroups
has been assigned to the MON L/R path. This A different way to treat your busses

gives direct output access to each of the

subgroup paths.

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Here's where you'll see the busses mapped to an output

path...

...and here is the Main MON, since it’s no longer

mapped to an output path.

There are other ways to work with busses:

• Reordering Busses: You can reorder your busses by clicking and dragging up or down in the
list (although this can also be done in the Input and Output tabs, it's more frequently done in
the Bus tab). The order of busses will be reflected in the tracks Output Path selector.
• Resetting Busses: Because there are two different types of busses, the Default button
behaves slightly differently than in the Input and Output tabs. Clicking on the pop-up menu
next to the Default button reveals a list — from here you can choose to reset all of your
busses, only output busses or only internal busses to their default values.
• Changing Bus Width: You can change the channel width of a bus by clicking the format
column of the bus and choosing from the menu that appears. When changing channel width
from stereo to mono, any existing sub paths will be deleted.
• Setting a Default Output Bus: In the lower right-hand corner of the Bus tab, you'll see
the Default Output Bus settings. Clicking the pop-up menu here will allow you to choose a
default output bus (which can either be an output bus or an internal bus) for your different
track types. In Pro Tools Intro and Pro Tools Artist, your choice is limited to mono and stereo
busses — on a Pro Tools Studio or Pro Tools Ultimate system, this includes surround
formats. The choice you make here will be the output that will be chosen for new tracks.

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Managing I/O Settings

Changes made in the I/O Setup dialog box are immediately applied to your session as soon as you
click the OK button, incorporated as part of the session file. Put another way, your I/O settings are
saved with your session. However, the system that you're working on also plays a role, and
understanding ways in which your session and your system both contribute to your I/O settings is
important.
When you open a session, Pro Tools applies the session's bus settings, but the settings for all other
tabs are recalled from the system. This enables Pro Tools sessions to more easily be used on a
variety of Pro Tools systems.
Beyond this, you can manage your I/O settings in a few ways, found at the bottom of the I/O Setup
dialog box. Here again, we'll cover the controls from left to right:

Clicking the Apply to all tabs check box

Exporting I/O Settings

Configuring your I/O settings can become quite intricate and time-consuming to create. Fortunately,
you can save your settings and easily reuse them in other sessions:
1. Once your I/O settings are adjusted in a way that you want to save, click the Export
Settings button in the lower left-hand corner of any tab of the I/O Setup dialog box.
2. In the browser window that appears, type a descriptive name for your I/O setup.
The file name of the .pio file is subject to the same restrictions as a session file, with certain characters that
cannot be used.

By default, the browser window will open with the default I/O setting location (on a Mac,
it's Documents > Pro Tools > IO Settings, and on a Windows computer it's C:\Users\[Account
Name]\Documents\Pro Tools\IO Settings). You can choose to save in this default location or choose
any other location for the file.
The location for your I/O Settings file is a matter of personal preference, with pros and cons for
either storing the settings in the default location, another location, or both:
• For freelance engineers that work at different studios, it can be advantageous to save to a
portable hard drive, so that they can be recalled at whichever studio the engineer is working
at the time.
• I/O settings that are saved in the default location will appear in the I/O Settings pop-up menu
when creating a new session.

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

When saving an I/O settings file, it's important to note that you're saving all tabs' data in a single file
— inputs, outputs, busses, and so on are all included in a single file.

Importing I/O Settings

When exporting settings, the entire I/O Setup dialog box is saved to a .pio file — this is
fundamentally different from how Importing works. When you import I/O settings from a pio file
into an open session, you have the ability to choose individual aspects of the I/O setup to be
changed:
1. Choose the tab that you want to change.
2. Click the Import Settings button (to the right of the Export Settings button). A browser
window will appear, and like you saw when exporting settings, will open with the default I/O
setting location shown.
3. Navigate to the desired folder and I/O setting (.pio) file.
4. Do one of the following:
• Double-click the desired .pio file.
• Click the Open button in the browser window.
Depending on which tab you're importing into (the tab you're currently viewing), you might
see different dialog boxes come up:
• If you're importing into the Input or Output tab, and if your session has currently used
paths, you'll be presented with a dialog box allowing you to keep (by clicking
the Yes button) or discard (by clicking the No button) any existing paths.
• If you're importing into the Output tab, you may be presented with a dialog box allowing
you to choose between remapping or maintaining busses assigned to the monitor path.
• If you're importing into the Bus tab, and if there are unused busses in your session,
you'll be presented with a dialog box allowing you to keep (by clicking the No button) or
discard (by clicking the Yes button) any unused busses.
When this workflow is used, only the currently open tab will be changed — no other paths
will be affected (except in the case of remapping busses to a changed monitor output path).
5. Click the OK button. The dialog box will close and your changes will be applied to the
session.

Importing all tabs

In the previous example, different tabs of the I/O Setup dialog box were imported individually, giving
you control over what to and not change. Alternately, you can import all tabs simultaneously,
replacing the session's complete I/O setup with the settings from a .pio file. There are two ways to
do it:
• Hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) while clicking the Import Settings button.
• Click the Apply to all tabs check box. When checked, importing from a .pio file will apply to all
tabs.

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Importing from a Session File

The .pio files that you import or export contain only a session's I/O settings, but as we've discussed
earlier in this lesson, a session file also includes its I/O settings. With this in mind, you might not be
surprised to learn that you can import the I/O settings directly from one session file into another!
The process is identical to the importing you've already done — the only difference being that
instead of navigating to a .pio file, you will choose a .ptx session file.

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Summary of Key Concepts

Lesson 1 covers topics that will help you make the most of your Pro Tools system.
In this lesson, you learned:
• How hardware buffer settings impact your session, and how to choose the buffer size to suit
your workflow
• Other settings in the Playback Engine dialog box, including the Video Engine, Ignore Errors
During Playback, Dynamic Plug-in Processing, and Disk Playback Cache Size
• How to use the Hardware Setup dialog box and your computer's built-in inputs and outputs
• How to monitor your system's performance with the System Usage window
• How to configure your session using the Session Setup window
• How to create custom input and output paths for your session
• How to manage your input and output paths to make the most of your session's I/O
• How to create busses, and differentiate between output busses and internal busses
• How to export and import I/O settings from a .pio or .ptx file

Keyboard Shortcuts and Modifiers from this Lesson

Following is a summary of shortcuts and modifiers that you should know from this lesson.

Regarding Keyboard Shortcuts

Beginning with Pro Tools version 2022.4, keyboard shortcuts can be customized, allowing flexibility in
choosing individual workflows. For the purposes of this course, and to build a strong foundation that is
most compatible with the broader Pro Tools-using community, Pro Tools' default keyboard shortcuts will
be used.

To reset Pro Tools' shortcuts to their default state:

1. From the Setup menu, choose Keyboard Shortcuts. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box will appear.
2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the dialog box, click the Reset All button. An Are You Sure? dialog
box will appear.

3. Click the Yes button.

For the purposes of the Pro Tools 101 and Pro

Tools 110 courses the Edit Keyboard focus should
always be enabled.

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 Lesson 1 Making the Most of Your Pro Tools System

Action Default Shortcut

Show or hide the Session Setup window Command+2 (on your computer keyboards numeric keypad) on a Mac,
or Ctrl+2 (on your computer keyboards numeric keypad) on a Window's
computer

Create a new input, output, or bus path in the Command+N (Mac) or Ctrl+N (Windows)
I/O Setup window

To select input, output, or bus paths: • Hold the Shift key to select a range of paths

• Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows) to select

and deselect individual paths

• Hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and clicking on
a single path will select all paths in the tab

Import I/O settings to all tabs of the I/O Setup Hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) while importing a
dialog box single tab

Knowledge Check
Click or scan the QR code shown to experience a fully interactive online
knowledge check with scored results.
You can also type the URL below into your browser:
https://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-KC1

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 Exercise 1
I/O Setup Workflows
Setting up your inputs, outputs and busses to suit your session is an important part of working
efficiently, and the further ability to modify, save, and recall I/O settings to suit various stages of
your workflow can help you keep things moving smoothly. In this exercise, you'll create an I/O setup
and use it in a few common scenarios.

Media: PT110 2023 Exercise 1 (Cue Mix), PT110 2023 Exercise 1 (Piano Solo)
Duration: 30 minutes

Downloading the Media Files

To complete this exercise, you will need to use various files included in the PT110 Download Media.

• Download all the media files for the course by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_All_Exercises.zip

• Download just the media files for this exercise by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_Exercise_1.zip

TIP: If clicking either of the links above does not initiate the media download, copy the link address and
then paste it into a new tab in your browser.

This exercise is designed to be completed using an audio interface with a minimum of 4 outputs. If your
system doesn't meet that standard, you can still go through the steps—workarounds are provided where
necessary.

Part 1: Getting Started

To get started, we'll need to create a blank session:
1. Launch Pro Tools.
2. Do one of the following:
• In the Dashboard window, click the create tab if it isn’t already selected.
• From the File menu, choose Create New. The Dashboard window will appear with
the Create tab already selected.
 Exercise 1 I/O Setup Workflows

3. Choose the following session settings:

• Local Storage (Session)
• Create from Template: Unchecked
• File Type: BWF (.WAV)
• Bit Depth: 24-bit
• Sample Rate: 48 kHz
• I/O Settings: Stereo Mix
• Interleaved: Checked
4. Name the session descriptively. Here's a possible name – PT 110 2023 Exercise 1 (IO Setup) -
[Your Name] [today's date]..
5. Click Create. If you have chosen Prompt for Location, you'll need to choose a location for
your session. After that, your session will appear, showing a blank Edit or Mix window.

Part 2: Customizing an I/O Setup

You've created a session with no tracks, but that's not a problem for what we're going to do—create
a customized I/O setup:
1. Open the I/O Setup dialog box.
2. In the Input tab, click the Default button to set your inputs to their default values.
3. In the Output tab, click the Default button to set your outputs to their default values.
4. Choose the output path connected to your speakers as your Monitor Path and Audition
Path.
5. In the Bus tab, select all busses, and then press the Delete Path button. This will clear all
paths from the tab.
Now let's create some busses that will suit our workflow:
6. Create the following busses in one operation:
• One stereo path
named Main MON
• One stereo path
named CUE MIX
• Five stereo paths
named Subgroup BUS
• One stereo path
named Reverb BUS
• One stereo path named Delay BUS
For the purposes of this exercise, you don't need to create sub paths.

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 Exercise 1 I/O Setup Workflows

7. Click the Create button and your busses will populate the Bus tab:

8. Assign the Main MON bus to the output path assigned to your monitor speakers.
9. Do one of the following:
• If you have an interface with more than two outputs, assign the CUE MIX bus to another
available stereo output path. This will be the output that we'll use for our performer's
headphone mix in this simulation.
• If you are using an audio interface with only 2 outputs, do not assign the CUE MIX bus to
an output path at this time.
10. Assign your Default Output Bus to be Main MON for both mono and stereo tracks.
11. Click the OK button, and your changes will be applied to the session. Save your session
before proceeding to the next part of this exercise.

Part 3: Exporting I/O Settings

Now that you've saved your changes in the I/O Setup dialog box, and then saved your session, these
settings are now part of the session file. They can also be exported to a .pio file:
1. Reopen the I/O Setup dialog box.
2. Click the Export Settings button.
The browser window that opens will display the default location of Pro Tools' I/O settings.
Settings that are saved here will be available from the I/O Settings pop-up menu when
creating a new session. Since this exercise is only a simulation of a workflow, let's not save it
there:
3. Navigate to the folder where you have stored this exercise's session.
4. Name your .pio file IO Settings for Import.
5. Click the Save button.
6. Close the I/O Setup dialog box.

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 Exercise 1 I/O Setup Workflows

7. Close the session.

Part 4: Importing I/O Settings

Next, you'll import your newly-created I/O settings into a session that needs some help!
1. From the File menu, choose Open Session.
2. In the browser window that appears, navigate to PT110 (2023) Exercises > PT110 2023 Exercise
1 > PT110 2023 Exercise 1 (Piano Solo) > PT110 2023 Exercise 1 (Piano Solo).ptx. Double-click this
session file to open the session.
3. Using File > Save As, save your session as PT110 2023 Exercise 1 (Piano Solo) - [Your Name]
[today's date].

4. Open the I/O Setup dialog box, and show the Bus tab.
5. Make sure that the Apply to all tabs box is unchecked.
6. Click the Import Settings button.
7. Navigate to the IO Settings for Import.pio file that you created earlier.
8. Click the Open button.
9. You'll be asked if you want to delete unused busses. Click the Yes button.
10. The preexisting busses will be removed (since none of them were used), and your new
busses are now in the Bus tab.

11. Click the OK button.

12. Assign the output of all tracks to the Main MON output bus.
TIP: You can quickly assign the output of all tracks at once by holding the Option key (Mac) or Alt key
(Windows) and changing the output of any track.

TIP: You could have also imported the I/O settings from the Exercise 1 (IO Setup).ptx file that you created in
this exercise.

Part 5: Setting Up a Cue Mix

To finish the exercise, one more simulation:
1. From the File menu, choose Open Session.
2. In the browser window that appears, navigate to Pro Tools 110 (2023) Exercises > PT110 2023
Exercise 1 > PT110 2023 Exercise 1 (Cue Mix) > PT110 2023 Exercise 1 (Cue Mix).ptx. Double-
click this session file to open the session.

3. Using File > Save As, save your session as PT110 2023 Exercise 1 (Cue Mix) - [Your Name]
[today's date].

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 Exercise 1 I/O Setup Workflows

In the Mix window, you'll see the same

tracks that you used before, assigned to
the Main MON output bus. You'll also
see sends above each track,
assigned to the CUE MIX output bus.
This send is what we'll use to create
a separate mix for our performer,
but we'll want to hear it out of our
control room's monitors first so that
we can set things up:

4. Open the I/O Setup dialog box.

5. In the Bus tab, deactivate the Main MON path.
6. map the CUE MIX bus to the path that is connected to your monitor speakers.
7. Click the OK button.
8. Now, when you play your session, you won't hear anything, because the send levels are all
down. As your session plays, you can change the level of the individual sends and create a
different mix from the one that your "control room" will hear.
9. Once you're happy with your mix, you'll want to change your bus settings back to what they
were before in the I/O Setup dialog box:
• Reactivate the Main MON path—this is what you'll hear in the control room.
• Reassign the CUE MIX path to only the output path that you're using for the headphone
mix—This is what the performer will hear, and can be a completely different blend of
the session's tracks (in actual practice, this will only work when using an interface with
more than two outputs).
10. Click the OK button to change your I/O setting.

This completes the exercise.

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Exercise 1 I/O Setup Workflows

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 LESSON 2
Getting Around in Style

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned about the basics of the Pro Tools Graphic User Interface
(GUI) and basic navigation. In this lesson, you'll learn how to refine your control over your Pro Tools
production environment and work more effectively than before, with your improved efficiency
translating to more time for creativity!

Duration: 1 hr

GOALS
• Learn new ways to zoom in and out of your timeline
• Set locations and make selections
• Navigate Your session with the Universe view
• Use Markers and Memory Locations
• Manage multiple windows
 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

Zooming
Zooming in and out of your timeline is essential to working in the Pro Tools environment, and in any
normal editing (and many mixing) workflows, you might zoom hundreds — sometimes thousands —
of times in a single sitting. The ability to zoom quickly and easily will help you in a wide range of
workflow situations.
We began a discussion on zooming at a basic level in the PT101 course (In Lesson 4, the Scrolling and
Zooming in the Edit Window section). Let's build upon that foundation in ways that will boost your
ability to navigate your session.

Zoom Presets
As you learned in the Pro Tools 101 course, in the Edit window's
toolbar you can show the Zoom controls cluster. Here you will see
two side-facing triangle buttons — clicking the left triangle
(Horizontal Zoom Out) button will show more time on the timeline,
while the right triangle (Horizontal Zoom In) button will show less
time on the timeline. Clicking and dragging horizontally on either
of these buttons will smoothly zoom in or out (dragging left will
zoom out and dragging right will zoom in).
Horizontal Zoom buttons
Immediately below the zoom buttons, you'll see a row of five
numbered buttons. These are zoom presets — easy ways to recall
your favorite zoom settings.
Once you have a zoom setting that is useful to you (and you want
to be able to recall quickly), you can assign it to one of these
numbered buttons:
1. Set your horizontal zoom setting to the desired level.
2. Holding the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl Key (Windows),
click the button to which you want to assign the settings.
Zoom presets
The box will flash, and your setting will be stored.
To recall the setting, just click on the appropriate Zoom Memory button, and your session
will zoom to that preset level.
TIP: You'll see similar rows of 5 numbered buttons in other contexts throughout Pro Tools. You'll be able to
configure presets in a similar way to store (and later recall) a variety of settings.

There are also shortcuts to recall zoom presets — if you want them. You can set them up in Pro
Tools' Preferences dialog box:
1. From the Setup menu, click Preferences. The Pro Tools Preferences dialog box will appear.
2. Click the Editing tab.

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

3. Click the 1-5 Number

Keys Control pop-up
menu. You can choose
either to have shortcut
control over Zoom
Presets or Clip Effects
presets. If you want to
have shortcut access of
Zoom Presets, choose
that menu item.
Clip Effects is a powerful
feature in Pro Tools Ultimate
and Pro Tools Studio, but is
not available in the Pro Tools
Intro or Pro Tools Artist
software.This feature Setting Shortcuts for Zoom presets
will be explored in Lesson 9 of this course.

If you select the 1-5 keys to control zoom presets, you can recall zoom settings through keys 1
through 5 on your QWERTY keyboard (above the lettered keys on your computer's keyboard).

Single Zoom
You already worked with the Zoomer tool in the Pro Tools 101 course, but there is a variation of that
tool, called the Single Zoomer tool, that can help you work faster.
Before you can use it though, you have to be able to access it — here are a couple of ways:
• Click and hold the Zoomer tool button. In the pop-up menu that appears, choose Single
Zoom.
• Repeatedly press the F5 key. The first press will select the Zoomer tool, and subsequent
pressing will toggle between the Normal Zoom and Single Zoom tools.

When the Single Zoom tool is the active mode, the

button will include a small, curved arrow along with
the traditional magnifying glass icon:

This is a tool that's best shown in a workflow

the Single Zoom tool
situation:
Let's say that we're working with a small selected area on our timeline, but we can’t see the selected
area in as much detail as we’d like, so we want to zoom in. Normally this would involve switching to
the Zoomer tool, zooming in, and then switching back to the Selector tool to continue our work, but
Single Zoom takes one step out of the process.

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

1. Using the Selector tool, select an area on a track.

2. Click the Single Zoom tool (or press the F5 key once to select it).
3. Draw a marquee around the area that you want to see in detail, just as you would with the
Normal Zoom tool.
4. Release your mouse.
Here's where the difference comes in: When using the Single Zoom tool, the active tool will
automatically revert to the last used tool (in this example, the Selector tool) so that you can continue
working. The Single Zoom tool removes one click from your zooming workflow by switching the
active tool back to the previously used tool as soon as you've zoomed.
The time saved by using the Single Zoom tool as opposed to Normal Zoom may seem too small to
make any real difference, but many professional editors will tell you differently. Editing sessions can
easily involve many thousands of individual operations a day, and if even a small amount of time
can be saved on these edits, that saved time can really add up. Many editors choose Single Zoom as
their go-to Zoomer tool because its efficiency makes them a significantly more effective editor.

Zoom Toggle
While shortcuts and the Single Zoom tool are significant improvements over basic zoom workflows,
there's one feature that for many professionals stands apart — Zoom Toggle. This feature allows for
users to zoom in quickly, do their work, and zoom back out just as quickly.
The secret to using Zoom Toggle is in the setup:
1. In the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box, click the Editing tab.
In the lower right section of the dialog box, you'll see the Zoom Toggle preferences section.
The preferences in this section have a profound effect on how you’ll work with this tool, so
let’s take a moment to get familiar with your options.

Zoom Toggle preferences

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LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

[1] Vertical MIDI Zoom: The setting you choose here will determine the vertical zoom level
when you activate Zoom Toggle for MIDI or Instrument tracks:
• Selection: The vertical zoom adjusts to fit the range of MIDI notes in the selected area.
• Last Used: MIDI vertical zoom will be set to the level last used when Zoom Toggle was
activated.
[2] Horizontal Zoom: This setting will determine the lateral zoom level recalled when Zoom
Toggle is activated:
• Selection: When activated, Zoom Toggle will horizontally zoom based on the selected
area on the timeline.
• Last Used: Horizontal zoom will be set to the level last used when Zoom Toggle was
activated.
[3] Remove Range Selection After Zooming In: This check box will determine how a
selected area is treated when using Zoom Toggle:
• Unchecked: When Zoom Toggle is activated, the selected area will be maintained.
• Checked: When Zoom Toggle is activated, the selected area will be cleared. This can be
a useful time-saver, removing the need for the user to manually clear the selected area
before continuing work.
[4] Track Height: The setting chosen here will determine the height of tracks in the selected
area when Zoom Toggle is activated. The track height options are:
• Last Used: Track height will be set to the level last used when Zoom Toggle was
activated. (Medium, Large, Jumbo, Extreme).
• Fit to Window: Selected tracks will be resized to maximize available space in the Edit
window.
[5] Track View: In this setting you can choose the track view of tracks in the selected area
when Zoom Toggle is activated:
• Waveform/Notes: Audio tracks will be displayed in Waveform view, and
MIDI/Instrument tracks will be displayed in Notes view.
• Warp/Notes: Audio tracks will be displayed in Warp view, and MIDI/Instrument tracks
will be displayed in Notes view.
• Last Used: Tracks will be set to the view last used when Zoom Toggle was activated.
• No Change: The view of selected tracks will not be changed when Zoom Toggle is
activated.
[6] Separate Grid Settings When Zoomed In: When this box is checked, the user can
change grid setting when Zoom Toggle is active without changing the grid setting when
Zoom Toggle is deactivated. The grid setting changes made when "zoomed in" with Zoom
Toggle will be recalled when Zoom Toggle is activated.
[7] Zoom Toggle Follows Edit Selection: When this box is checked, any selection that you
make when Zoom Toggle is active will reapply the Zoom Toggle preferences.

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

Once you've set your preferences in a way that suits your workflow, the rest is easy.
2. Select the area on your track (or tracks) that you want to zoom in on.
3. Do one of the following:
• Click on the Zoom Toggle
button.
• Press the E key.

Clicking the Zoom Toggle button

Your session's view will immediately change to reflect your Zoom Toggle preferences. Now
that you're zoomed in, you can do your detailed work. But that's not the end of the workflow
— the beauty of Zoom Toggle is that you can get back to your previous zoom level as easily
as you zoomed in.
4. Do one of the following:
• Click on the Zoom Toggle button.
• Press the E key.

Setting Locations and Making Selections

Along with zooming, choosing where your session will start playback and making timeline selections
is a central part of virtually every Pro Tools workflow. You learned how to do this at a basic level in
the Pro Tools 101 course — here are some more ways to get the job done.

Choosing Locations with Shortcuts

You've already learned (in the Pro Tools 101 course) how to type a location in the Main Counter tool
cluster in the Edit window toolbar. Using shortcuts will make this even easier:
1. Pressing the Asterisk (*) key on your computer's numeric keypad will immediately select a
field of the Main Counter. The field will differ according to the timescale you're using:
• Bars when using Bars|Beats
• Minutes when using Min:Secs
• The entire field when using Timecode
• Feet when using Feet+Frames
• The entire field when using Samples
2. Do one of the following:
• If the entire field of the Main Counter is selected, type the timeline position that you
want to locate.
• If only part of the Main Counter display is selected, you can navigate between the
different fields of the counter using the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys.

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

3. Confirm the number by pressing the Return key (Mac) or the Enter key (Windows), and the
blue arrow icon will move to that position, indicating that playback will start at that point.
When you enter a value in the Main Counter, the values in the Selection Fields (Start, End, and Length) are reset
to match the value you entered in the Main Counter (with a length of zero).

Typing Selections
In addition to typing a location in the Main Counter (which will determine where playback will begin,
without a specified stopping point), you can type values in the Edit Selection fields, which can
determine when playback will start and end. Though you can click on the desired field (Edit Selection
Start, Edit Selection End, and Edit Selection Length), you can also do this with shortcuts:
1. Pressing the Forward Slash (/) key in your computer's numeric keypad will immediately select
a field of the Edit Selection Start section. As when you were typing values in the Main
Counter, the field will differ according to the timescale you're using.
2. Do one of the following:
• If the entire field of the Main Counter is selected, type the location that you want.
• If only part of the Edit Selection Start display is selected, you can navigate between the
different fields of the counter using the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys.
3. You can advance to the next field in the section by again pressing the Forward Slash (/) key in
the numeric keypad. The selected will cycle between Edit Selection Start > Edit Selection End
> Edit Selection length.
4. Once you've typed all the values you need, confirm the number by pressing Return (Mac) or
Enter (Windows).
The Edit Selection End and Edit Selection Length values are linked — changing one of these will
change the other accordingly. For example, if you wanted to create a selection that begins playback
at bar 12 and ends at bar 16, you would set the start position and the end position or set the start
position and a length of 4 bars. Either will give you the same result.

Selecting with Rulers

Your playback cursor will be
displayed in the rulers of your Edit
window, with a blue arrow icon
visible (in the ruler corresponding
with the Main Time Scale) when no
tracks are record-enabled, or with
a red arrow when any tracks are
record-enabled. The playback cursor at 8|1|000 The playback cursor at 8|1|000 with
with no tracks record-enabled tracks record-enabled

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

As you've learned already, there are a few intuitive ways of positioning the playback cursor on the
timeline:
• Marking a point: Clicking on a ruler will reposition the playback cursor to the position you
clicked (or the nearest grid line if you're in Grid edit mode).
• Marking selection: Clicking and dragging horizontally on a rule will create a selected area on
the timeline.

Changing Start or End Position

When the playback cursor represents a single
point in time, the icon will appear as a blue or red
arrow. When there is a selection on the timeline,
that arrow will split, with the left half of the arrow
icon representing the beginning of the selection
(or Timeline Selection In Point) and the right half of
the arrow representing the end (or Timeline
Selection Out Point). You can adjust the beginning
or end independently by clicking and dragging on
either of these half- arrow icons.

Changing a selected area on the timeline

Changing Start and End Position
You can drag either the start or the end of a selection to change its duration and position on the
timeline by dragging either the Timeline Selection In Point or the Timeline Selection Out Point. But
what if you want to just change the position of the selection, but not the duration? For example, let's
say that you have a 4-bar selection that starts at bar 12, and you just want to shift that selection so
that it starts at bar 15, but remains 4 bars?
The modifier that will get the job done is the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows). Here's how our
hypothetical workflow would go:
TIP: In this hypothetical scenario, we want to position our selection at the beginning of a bar. In this case,
using Absolute Grid mode with a 1 Bar grid value will make the job easier.

1. Holding Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows), click and drag on either the Timeline
Selection In Point or the Timeline Selection Out Point. You'll see that as you move one of the
points, both points will move, changing the position of your timeline selection, but not its
length.
2. When your selection is in the desired new position, release the mouse.

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

Navigating Your Session with the Universe View

In the previous section, you learned some new ways to navigate in your session. With navigation of
the Edit window being so central to overall Pro Tools proficiency though, the more tools you have at
your disposal, the better.
The Edit window's Universe view is a great way to get an overview of your session, where you are in
it, and how to navigate to different sections quickly. This view becomes especially useful in more
involved sessions with higher track counts and longer timelines to navigate.

Revealing the Universe Edit window view

To show or hide the Universe view in the Edit
window, do one of the following:
• From the View menu, move your cursor
to the Other Displays menu item. In the
submenu that appears, you'll see
Universe at the top of the list. You can
click on this menu item to show or hide it
(when shown, the menu item will be
indicated with a checkmark).
• Click the Edit Window pop-up menu (the
small circular button in the upper right-
hand corner of the Edit window). In the
list that appears, click Universe to show
or hide it (when shown, the menu item
will be indicated with a green check
mark).

The Edit Window pop-up menu

• Click the Show/Hide Universe/Clip Effects View

button (the small downward-pointing arrow
button to the far right- hand side of the top
ruler in your session).

Revealing the Universe Edit window view

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

The Universe view shows an overview of your entire session, with clips on all of your shown tracks
represented by horizontal lines that match the color of the corresponding clips (audio, MIDI, or
video) on your timeline.

The Universe Edit window view showing clips in your session

There are a few things to keep in mind with the Universe view:
• Though Auxiliary Input, VCA, and Master Fader tracks can't contain clips, they are
represented in the Universe view, appearing as "empty" tracks.
• The Universe view only displays the shown tracks in your session. Hidden tracks will not be
represented in this view.
• The Universe view also will show the Markers ruler (if it's shown).
Using Markers are covered later in this lesson.

You can resize the Universe view by moving your cursor

to the bottom edge of the Universe. When your cursor
turns into a double arrow, click and drag up or down to
change the height of the universe.

Resizing the Universe view

If the Universe view is too short to show all tracks in your session, you'll see a scroll bar to the right of the
Universe view, enabling you to show other tracks.

If you narrow the Universe view to less than its minimum height, the view will be hidden (and the
corresponding check boxes in the View menu and Edit Window pop-up menu will be cleared).

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Current View Indicator

In the Universe view, you'll see a light-colored area — this indicates the portion of the overall session
that you're seeing in the Edit window. The size and shape will vary depending upon your track
heights and zoom levels.
For example, in the image shown
here, a number of tracks are
visible, and the horizontal zoom
level shows only a portion of
some clips, while several other
some other clips are seen in their
entirety in the tracks area of the
Edit window — this is reflected in
the Universe view's Current
View indicator.
A clip shown in the Edit window, reflected in the
Universe view’s Current View indicator

After the track height and horizontal zoom

levels are increased, the portion of the overall
session's timeline that is displayed decreases,
which is reflected in a smaller Current View
indicator.

Increased zoom and track height

Scrolling with the Universe View
The Current View indicator not only shows you where you are — it can also help you get to wherever
you want in your session quickly and easily. You can use the Universe view to scroll horizontally,
vertically, or both at the same time. Here are two ways:
• In the Universe view, click the location that you want to move to. The Current View will
immediately update, and your view in the Edit window's tracks area will change accordingly.
• In the Universe view, click on the Current View indicator and drag it to the location that you
want. As the box in the Universe moves, the tracks and portion of the timeline in the tracks
area of the Edit window will change accordingly.
As you've already learned in this section, you can adjust the height of your Universe view to suit your needs. If
the Universe isn't showing all tracks in your session, then as you drag the Current View indicator vertically, the
Universe will automatically scroll to accommodate your motion.

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

Markers and Memory Locations

In the course of your work, you may find that your sessions get quite complex, both in terms of your
timeline and the numbers and types of tracks that you use. As complexity increases, the time
needed to navigate your session will tend to increase, and any tools that can shorten that time can
become valuable assets. Memory Locations are just such a tool, enabling you to jump to a desired
section on the timeline or track view instantly. Think of Memory Locations as bookmarks that you
can create, and easily recall.
Pro Tools provides up to 32,000 Memory Locations in each session, which can be used to store and
recall a variety of aspects of your session. When a memory location is storing a specific point in time
(as opposed to a selected area on your timeline), it is called a Marker and is shown in the Markers
ruler. Markers are commonly used in a variety of situations to signify different points on your
timeline — in a music project it might be the beginnings of verses and choruses, or in a post-
production project it might be to mark where scenes change or sound effects are to be placed.
This course will focus on creating markers on the Markers ruler. At the end of this section is an addendum
covering the basics of Track Markers.

Adding a Marker to your Session

Perhaps the most straightforward way of creating a Marker in your session is to store the current
playback cursor location:
1. Place the playback cursor at the desired location (at the beginning of a verse, for example).
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Window menu, choose Memory Locations. The Memory Locations window will
appear.
• Press Command+5 (on the computer keyboard's numeric keypad) for a Mac, or Ctrl+5
(on the computer keyboard's numeric keypad) on a Windows computer.

The Memory Locations window will appear:

The Memory Location window

3. Do one of the following:

• In the Memory Locations window, click the pop-up menu button (the small circular
button in the upper right-hand corner of the window) and choose New Memory
Location.
• Press the Enter key on your keyboard's numeric keypad (this shortcut will create a new
memory location even if the Memory Locations window is closed).

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LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

The New Memory Location dialog box will

appear.
You can easily create a Memory Location by
starting at the top of the New Memory Location
dialog box, and working your way to the
bottom. Refer to the callouts in the image shown
here for steps #4 through #9:
4. Name and Number: In the Name field, type a
descriptive name for your Marker.
In the Number field, you can type the memory
location number (between 1 and 32,000) for your
Marker..
By default, the Number field will be populated with the
first available number.

TIP: Your Markers (and other kinds of Memory

Locations) can be recalled by number with shortcuts, so
choosing a number that can easily be remembered can
be useful for workflows.

5. Time Properties: In the Time Properties section of

the New Memory Location dialog box, you can
The New Memory Location dialog box
choose how your Memory Location will behave in
relation to time. Since we want to recall a point in
time, click the Marker radio button.
6. The Reference pop-up menu will allow you to choose the time base for your Memory
Location:
• Bar|Beat: When this option is chosen, the Marker or Selection will be locked to a tick-
based position and will change in relation to real time if the tempo of the session is
changed. For example, if you choose Bar|Beat and create a Marker at bar 9, that Marker
will always be at bar 9, even if the tempo changes.
• Absolute: When Absolute is chosen as the time reference, the Marker or Selection will
be based upon a sample-based (real-time) position and will not change if the tempo of
the session is changed. For example, if you choose Absolute and create a Marker that
starts at 1 minute, that Marker will always start at 1 minute, even if the session's tempo
changes.
A third option — Follow Track Timebase — will be available when creating a marker on a track. This
workflow is beyond the scope of this course, but is covered in other courses in the Avid Learning
Series.

7. Marker Properties: In this section, you can choose where your marker will be created — on
the Marker Ruler (Main Ruler) or on a targeted track. For the purposes of this course, choose
Main Ruler.

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

Also in this section, you have the ability to choose among 16 different colors for your
marker. Simply click the colored tile that you want for your marker or use one of the
shortcuts:
• Hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and press numbers 1-8 (in your numeric
keypad or QWERTY keyboard) to choose a color from the leftmost bank of 8 colors.
• Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows) and press numbers 1-8 (in your
numeric keypad or QWERTY keyboard) to choose a color from the rightmost bank of 8
colors.
8. General Properties: In the General Properties section, you can choose additional aspects of
your session that will be recalled:
• Zoom Settings: Horizontal and vertical zoom settings
• Pre/Post Roll Times: Position of your pre-roll and post-roll indicators
• Track Visibility: Tracks that are shown or hidden
• Track Heights: Height of shown tracks
• Group Enables: Edit and Mix group active/inactive status
• Window Configuration: When this is chosen, a window configuration will be recalled
along with the Memory Location. The desired window configuration is chosen from the
accompanying pop-up menu. The topic of Window Configurations is covered later in this
lesson.
• VENUE Snapshot: When connected to a VENUE system, clicking this check box will recall
the snapshot chosen from the accompanying pop-up menu.
9. Comments: In the Comments field, you can type any descriptive notes about the Memory
Location.

Here's an example of a simple Memory Location that will

recall the beginning of the first verse of a song:
• Because its time properties are a marker based on a
Bars|Beats location, the verse will only recall the start
of the verse and will retain that position even if the
tempo of the session is changed.
• Since no General Properties have been chosen, when
the Memory Location is recalled, the playback cursor
will jump to the beginning of the verse, but no other
aspects of the session will change (zoom settings,
track height, and so on).
10. Click the OK button.
A simple Marker
Memory location

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

Once created, here's how your Memory Location would appear in the Memory Locations window.
In the Memory Locations
window, each row represents
a Memory Location, including
the number and name of the
Memory Location, whether it
is a Marker or Selection (the
first two icons), any General
Properties recalled by the
Memory Location, and any
comments associated with the The Memory Locations window, with one Marker Memory location listed
Memory Location.
Memory Location comments can be shown or hidden from the Memory Locations window's pop-up menu.

If the Memory Location is a Marker Memory Location

(as opposed to having a Selection or None time
property), you can see the Marker in the Markers
ruler in the Edit window (if you're not seeing the
Marker ruler, you can show it from View > Rulers >
Markers or the Edit window's Ruler View selector).

The Memory location shown in the Markers ruler

The icon on the Markers ruler will tell you whether the Marker is Bar|Beat or Absolute — if the icon
is an irregular pentagon, it's a Bar|Beat Marker, and if it's diamond-shaped, it's an Absolute (sample-
based) Marker.

A Bar|Beat Marker (left) and an Absolute (sample-based) marker

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Recalling a Marker
Recalling a Marker at a basic level is simple. Here are three ways to do it:
• Click on the desired Marker in the Memory Location window.
• If the Memory Location is a marker, you can click the desired Marker icon in the Marker
ruler.
• Press the Period (.) key on your computer's numeric keypad, then the number of the
Memory Location that you want to recall (also on the numeric keypad), and then the Period
key again. So, if you wanted to recall Window Configuration #1, you'd press .1., all on the
numeric keypad.

Non-Marker Memory Locations

Even though using Markers on a basic level is tremendously useful, Memory Locations can do much
more than just recall points on your timeline. Fortunately, accessing that additional functionality
follows the same basic steps as creating a simple Marker.

Section-based Memory Locations

Section-based Memory Locations follow much the same workflow that you just learned when
creating a Marker.
1. Configure your Edit (or Mix) window in a way that you want to recall (zoom levels, track
heights, and so on).
2. Select the area that you want to recall.
3. Create a new memory location using the same method that you used for creating a marker
(from the Memory Location window or by pressing the Enter key). So, if you wanted to recall
Window Configuration #1, you'd press .1., all on the numeric keypad.

What you choose in the New Memory Location dialog box is

important:
• Because you want to recall an area on the timeline,
you'll click the Selection radio button.
• In the General Properties section, check the boxes
that you want to recall — in this case, Zoom
Settings, Track Visibility, and Track Heights.

Saving a selected area as a Memory Location

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

Here's how the new Memory

Location would appear in the
Memory Locations window.
Note the dots in the various
columns indicating that it is a
selection Memory Location
(the second column from the
left) as well as the other
aspects of the session that
Recalling a selected area as a Memory Location
will be recalled with the
Memory Location.

Using None Time Properties

So far, we've discussed how to use Memory Locations to quickly access a point or selection on the
timeline, with or without recalling other properties of the session. You can also choose to create a
Memory Location that only recalls those additional properties.
Let's consider another workflow scenario: You have a music session with different kinds of tracks —
Vocals, Drums, Guitars, and so on — and you want to be able to quickly change your view to show
only the drum tracks, with the track heights adjusted to make the most of your Edit window, and
with the Drum group enabled. You don't want to change the zoom settings or go to a point in the
timeline — you just want to be able to work with the drums quickly. Here's how:
1. Configure your session by in a way that you want to recall.
2. Create a new memory location using the same method that you used for creating a marker
(from the Memory Location window or by pressing the Enter key).

Here again, the process follows the normal Memory

Location creation workflow. What you choose in the New
Memory Location dialog box will determine what it recalls:
• Because you don't want to recall a point or
selection on the timeline, your Time Properties will
be set to None.
• In the General Properties section, choose the
aspects of your session that you want to recall.

Recalling a General Properties with a Memory Location

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…and here's how the

Memory Location would
appear in the Memory
Locations window.

The Drums Memory Location added to the Memory Locations window

Memory Locations created with Selection or None chosen as their Time Properties will not appear on the
Marker ruler.

Creating a Marker from the Markers Ruler

If you're showing your Markers ruler in your session, you can quickly create a Memory Location
without using the Memory Locations window:
1. Move your playback cursor to the desired location on the session timeline or make the
desired timeline selection.
2. Click the Add Marker/Memory
Location button (the plus [+]
icon in the Markers ruler
header.
3. The New Memory Location
dialog box will appear, and
from this point, follow the
same steps you took
when creating a new Memory
Location, covered earlier in this Adding a Memory Location with the
section. Add Marker/Memory Location button

Here's another way to create a

Memory Location from the Markers
ruler: Hold the Control key (Mac) or
Start key (Windows) and move your
cursor to the position that you want to
recall. When you see the cursor turn
into a pointing finger with a plus (+)
sign, click the ruler and the New
Memory Location dialog box will
appear.
Creating a Memory Location at a specific point on the Markers ruler

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Editing a Memory Location

After a Memory Location is created, it can be edited (including renaming and renumbering) from the
Memory Locations window:
1. Select the Memory Location that you want to edit.
2. Click the Memory Locations window's pop-up menu.
3. Choose Edit "[memory location name]". The Edit Memory Location dialog box will appear,
identical to the New Memory Location dialog box.
4. Make the desired changes in the Edit Memory Location dialog box.
5. Click the OK button to apply your changes.
Alternately, you can right-click (or hold the Control key (Mac) or Start key (Windows) when clicking)
the Memory Location that you want to change in the Memory Locations dialog box. The steps for
changing a Memory Location are similar to creating a Memory Location.
TIP: When you edit a Memory Location, the current position or selection on the timeline will determine the
time properties of the edited Memory Location. If you want to retain the time properties of the Memory
Location, select the Memory Location prior to editing it.

Removing a Memory Location

The steps for removing a Memory Location are similar to those you'd take to edit one:
1. Select the Memory Location that you want to edit.
2. Click the Memory Locations window's pop-up menu.
3. Choose Clear "[memory location name]".
Another way to delete all Memory Locations is to hold Shift+Option (Mac) or Shift+Alt (Windows) and click on
any Memory Location.

You can also delete all of your session's Memory Locations:

1. Click the Memory Locations window's pop-up menu.
2. Choose Delete All.

Addendum: Using Track Markers

Introduced in Pro Tools 2022.6, the ability to create markers on

individual tracks (in addition to creating markers in the Markers ruler,
which has been a long-standing feature in Pro Tools) is a fantastic addition
to the Pro Tools user's toolbox.

Though this course will focus on the traditional marker workflows

(creating markers on the Markers ruler), if you're interested in learning more
about this new feature, here's a good place to start!

Scan the QR code or type the URL below into your browser to view this course addendum.

https://tinyurl.com/PT101-23-Add02-1

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Managing Windows
Before we finish this lesson on making the most of the Pro Tools environment, here are a few useful
tips to help you manage your desktop:

Floating Windows
Windows like the Transport window, System Usage window, and plug-in windows fall into a category
called floating windows. You’ll use various floating windows as you go through the production
process, and sometimes your desktop can get pretty cluttered with them. Of course, you could close
and then show them one at a time, but here's another way to do it:
1. From the Window menu, choose Hide All Floating Windows. Any currently visible floating
windows will move behind the Mix or Edit window.
2. If you go back to the Window menu and click Hide All Floating Windows again (unchecking
that menu item), all your floating windows will come back, in the same position they were
before.
TIP: Professional Pro Tools users will show and hide floating windows frequently, so here's the shortcut: On
a Mac, press Control+Option+Command+W, or on a Windows computer, press Ctrl+Start+Alt+W.

Arranging Your Windows

You can arrange your open
windows in different ways.
From the Window menu,
choose Arrange and a menu
will appear. The different
arrangement options be
handy if you want to quickly
manage multiple Pro Tools
windows.
The Window > Arrange submenu

Window Configurations
Just as Memory Locations allow us to recall elements of a session, Window Configurations give you
the ability to save and recall the positions and views of your Pro Tools windows (up to 99 different
configurations in a single session).
1. Arrange your windows as desired.
2. From the Window menu, choose Configurations. A submenu will appear.

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3. Choose New Configuration. The

New Window Configuration dialog
box will appear.
4. In the Number field, choose an
available Window Configuration
number (between 1 and 99).
5. In the Name field, type a
descriptive name for the Window
Configuration.
6. In the center section, choose
what will be stored and recalled
in the configuration:
The New Window Configuration dialog box
• Clicking the Window Layout
radio button will store the sizes
and positions of any open windows on your desktop.
o If you additionally click the Include Edit, Mix, Targeted MIDI Editor, Score Editor
and Transport Settings check box, the view settings of these windows can also be
recalled (for example, the rulers shown in the Edit window).
• Clicking the second radio button will store only the view settings of the window selected
from the menu (Edit window, Mix window, Score Editor window, Transport window, or
MIDI Editor window) without affecting the size and position of other windows.
o If you additionally click the Include MIDI Lanes in Display Settings (only available
when choosing Edit window or targeted MIDI Editor window), MIDI lanes will also
be stored.
7. Though this is optional, it can be useful — type a description in the Comment field.
Here's an example of what you might
choose. This window configuration
will recall all the shown windows,
including their positions and active
view options.
8. Click the OK button.

A Window Configuration for a basic edit window layout

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Recalling Window Configurations

Recalling a window configuration is easy — and, as with most things in Pro Tools, you can do it in a
number of ways. Here’s one:
1. Click on the Window menu and choose Configurations. The Window Configurations
submenu will appear.
2. Any existing window configurations appear at the bottom of the submenu. Just click on the
layout you want to recall.
Any currently active Window Configuration is indicated by a dash in the list. Additionally, the "Update
[Window Configuration Name]" will be available, allowing you to update with any layout changes you might
have made.

Selecting the Auto-Update Active Configuration option will automatically change an active Window
Configuration with any display changes you make.

There’s a convenient floating window

that shows a list of your Window
Configurations: Choose Window
Configuration List from the Window >
Configurations submenu to show the
Window Configurations window.
The Window Configurations window

This window will not only show you a list of Window Configurations but will also show you the
aspects that are recalled with each configuration through the icons to the immediate right of the
configuration name (Window Layout, Edit Window, Mix Window, Score Editor, Transport Window,
and MIDI Editor). Just click on the configuration you want to recall.
The Window Configurations window, like many other Pro Tools windows, has a pop-up menu button
in the upper right-hand corner that will reveal a number of options (including the ability to create a
new Window configuration).

The Window Configurations window pop-up menu

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Window Configurations and Memory Locations

While Window Configurations can be recalled directly (from the Window > Configurations submenu
or the Window Configurations window), they can also be recalled indirectly, as part of a Memory
Location. With these two features working together, you can really speed up your workflow.
Let's imagine that you have a music session, and you want to be able to show your vocal tracks at
any time without affecting the timeline. That's easy — you've learned how to do that already in this
lesson. Let's say that you also want to recall a stacked Edit and Mix window at the same time!
1. Set up your session, showing only the tracks that you want to recall with the Memory
Location.
2. Create a Memory Location as normal. For the purposes of this example, the settings would
be:
• Time Properties: None
• General Properties: Zoom Settings, Track Visibility, Track Heights
3. So far, this follows the workflow
you've used before. Here's where the
difference comes in: In the General
Properties section, click the Window
Configuration checkbox.
4. Click the Window Configuration pop-
up menu. Any Window Configurations
you've created will appear in this list.
Choose the desired configuration. Choosing a Window Configuration

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Here's an example of a Memory Location

that would not change the timeline in any
way, but would show only certain tracks,
recall their track height and zoom settings.
Additionally, a Window Configuration
named Stacked Edit/Mix would be recalled
along with the Memory Location.

A Memory Location that includes a Windows Configuration

Window Configuration Shortcuts

As with Memory Locations, the key to working efficiently with Window Configurations is to use
shortcuts:
• To create a Window Configuration, press the Period (.) key, then the number of the Window
Configuration that you want to create, and then the Plus (+) key, all on your computer's
numeric keypad. So, if you wanted to create Window Configuration #16, you'd press .16+
(again, all on the numeric keypad). These shortcuts will open the New Window Configuration
dialog box.
• To recall a Window Configuration, press the Period (.) key, then the number of the Window
Configuration that you want to recall, and then the Asterisk (*) key, all on your computer's
numeric keypad. So, if you wanted to recall Window Configuration #16, you'd press .16*.

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Summary of Key Concepts

Lesson 2 covers topics that will help you navigate your session and control the Pro Tools GUI.
In this lesson, you learned:
• How to store your favorite zoom settings as Zoom Presets
• How use the Single Zoom tool to speed up your workflow
• How to configure and use Pro Tools' powerful Zoom Toggle feature
• How to quickly move your playback cursor and make selections on the timeline using
shortcuts and rulers
• About the Universe view in the Edit window, and how to use it to navigate your session
quickly
• How to use Markers and Memory Locations in a variety of ways to instantly change aspects
of your session to speed up your workflow
• How to quickly hide (and then show again) floating windows
• How to use Window Configurations to instantly change your desktop layout so that you can
work quickly in a number of environments

Keyboard Shortcuts and Modifiers from this Lesson

Following is a summary of shortcuts and modifiers that you should know from this lesson.

Regarding Keyboard Shortcuts

Beginning with Pro Tools version 2022.4, keyboard shortcuts can be customized, allowing flexibility in
choosing individual workflows. For the purposes of this course, and to build a strong foundation that is
most compatible with the broader Pro Tools-using community, Pro Tools' default keyboard shortcuts will
be used.

To reset Pro Tools' shortcuts to their default state:

1. From the Setup menu, choose Keyboard Shortcuts. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box will appear.

2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the dialog box, click the Reset All button. An Are You Sure? dialog
box will appear.

3. Click the Yes button.

For the purposes of the Pro Tools 101 and Pro

Tools 110 courses the Edit Keyboard focus should
always be enabled.

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 LESSON 2 Getting Around in Style

Action Default Shortcut

Recall Zoom Presets Press keys 1 through 5 on your QWERTY keyboard

Single Zoom tool Repeatedly press the F5 key to toggle between the two Zoom tool
modes

Zoom Toggle Press the E key

Select a field of the Main Counter Press the Asterisk (*) key in your computer's numeric keypad

Select a field of the Edit Selection Start section Press the Forward Slash (/) key in your computer's numeric keypad

Navigate between different fields of the Main Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys
Counter or Edit Selection value

Confirm changes to the Main Counter or Edit Press the Return key (Mac) or the Enter key (Windows)
Selection value

Move a selected area on the timeline without Hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows), and drag either
changing its length the Timeline Selection In Point or the Timeline Selection Out Point

Show or hide the Memory Locations window Command+5 (on the computer keyboard's numeric keypad) for a
Mac, or Ctrl+5 (on the computer keyboard's numeric keypad) on a
Windows computer

Create a Memory Location Enter key on your keyboard's numeric keypad

Recall a Memory Location Press the Period (.) key on your keyboards numeric keypad, then
the number of the Memory Location that you want to recall (also
on the numeric keypad), and then the Period key again

Create a Memory Location from the Markers ruler Hold the Control key (Mac) or Start key (Windows) and move your
cursor to the position that you want to recall. When you see the
cursor turn into a pointing finger with a Plus (+) sign, click the ruler

Modify a Memory Location in the Memory Locations Right-click (or hold the Control key (Mac) or Start key (Windows)
window when clicking) the Memory Location that you want to change

Hide (or show hidden) floating windows Control+Option+Command +W (Mac) or

Ctrl+Start+ Alt+ W (Windows)

Create a Window Configuration Press the Period (.) key, then the number of the Window
Configuration that you want to create, and then the Plus (+) key, all
on your computer's numeric keypad

Recall a Window Configuration Press the Period (.) key, then the number of the Window
Configuration that you want to recall, and then the Asterisk (*) key,
all on your computer's numeric keypad

Knowledge Check
Scan the QR code shown to experience a fully interactive online knowledge check
with scored results.
You can also type the URL below into your browser:
https://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-KC2

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 Exercise 2
Getting Around in Style

A big part of being a more effective Pro Tools user is the ability to navigate your session quickly and
efficiently, and to have control over your workspace. In this exercise, you'll review many of the
techniques covered in this lesson to improve your workspace skills.

Media: PT110 2023 Exercise 2 (Ryan's Session)

Duration: 30 mins

Downloading the Media Files

To complete this exercise, you will need to use various files included in the PT110 (2023) Exercises folder.

• Download all the media files for the course by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_All_Exercises.zip

• Download just the media files for this exercise by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_Exercise_2_(Ryan's_Session).zip

TIP: If clicking either of the links above does not initiate the media download, copy the link address and
then paste it into a new tab in your browser.

This session comes to us from Ryan Summers, a gifted composer and former Avid Certified Instructor in
the United States. Though this session was used for a demonstration of a Pro Tools feature, it's a good
example of a common part of the creative FXprocess—the exploration of a musical idea that could serve
as the foundation of a finished project.
To learn more about Ryan and his work, visit his website:
https://www.ryansummers30.com/
 Exercise 2 Getting Around in Style

Part 1: Getting Started

To get started, we'll need to open a session:
1. Launch Pro Tools.
2. Do one of the following:
• In the Dashboard window, click the Open From Disk button.
• From the File menu, choose Open Session.
3. Navigate to the folder containing the exercises for this course and locate the PT110 2023
Exercise 2 (Ryan's Session) subfolder.
4. Double-click the PT110 2023 Exercise 2 (Ryan's Session) session file.
5. Using File > Save As, save a new version of the session file, naming the session descriptively.
Here's a possible name - PT110 2023 Exercise 2 (Ryan's Session) - [Your Name] [today's date].

Part 2: Using the Universe

In the session, there is a single yellow clip that you'll need to do some editing on. Of course, you
could scroll around and hunt it down, but let's make the job easier with the Universe view.
1. From the Edit window pop-up menu, show the Universe Edit window view.
2. Using the Universe view, scroll to the yellow clip (which will be about halfway down your
tracks, just a bit past the middle of the timeline).
3. Using the Selector tool, click within the yellow clip (you'll see why in a minute).
4. Using the R and T keys (shortcuts you learned in the PT101 course) to zoom in and out,
adjust your view so that you're clearly seeing the first half of the yellow clip. Note that as you
zoom, the playback cursor is centered in the Edit window, and that the white box in the
Universe view changes according to your zooms.
5. Using the Trim tool, remove the first two notes of the yellow clip (you'll need to solo the track
and listen to it first). The beginning of the clip should begin at around 16|4|000, but let your
ears be your guide.

Part 3: Using Zoom Toggle

If you listen to the entire session, you'll hear a problem. The job in this section is to zoom in, fix the
problem, and zoom back out quickly!
1. Double-click the Zoomer tool to show the entire session's timeline.
2. Play your session, you'll hear something strange — a sine wave blip at around bar 22.
There's a red-colored clip on the Riser track that is likely the source of that problem.
3. Before we go further, open the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box (from the Setup menu) and
check the Editing tab.

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 Exercise 2 Getting Around in Style

Set your Zoom Toggle settings as follows:

• Vertical MIDI Zoom: selection
• Horizontal Zoom: selection
• Remove Range Selection After Zooming In: Checked
• Track Height: Fit to Window
• Track View: No Change
• Separate Grid Settings When Zoomed In: Unchecked
• Zoom Toggle Follows Edit Selection: Unchecked
4. Select the red clip on the Riser track, and use Zoom Toggle to zoom in.
5. Using the Trim tool, remove the sine wave blip from the clip.
6. Using Zoom Toggle, zoom out to your previous zoom level.

Part 4: Markers and Memory Locations

Next, let's set up a few Markers and Memory Locations to make our navigation easier:
1. Type a location of 3|1|000 into your Main Counter.

2. Create a Marker in location #2 named START

with the settings shown here:

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Exercise 2 Getting Around in Style

3. Create a selection from the START Memory Location to the pre-existing Bounce End Memory
Location by first recalling one of the Memory Locations, then while holding the Shift key,
recall the other Memory Location. This can be done by opening the Memory Locations
window or with shortcuts.

4. Create a new Memory Location called Bounce

Selection, using the settings shown:

Next, create several Memory Locations that will

enable you to quickly show different groups of tracks:
5. Show only the following tracks: Blip, Riser, and Pad Filter.

6. Create a new Memory Location called Show FX Tracks,

using the settings shown:

7. Following a similar process, create these Memory Locations:

• A Memory Location named Show Synth Tracks, which shows the Sloping Lead, Synth 1,
Synth 2, and Synth 3 tracks
• A Memory Location named Show Orch Tracks, which shows the Violins, 2nd Violins, Violas,
Cellos, Fr. Horns, Trumpets, Session Horns, and Trombones tracks
• A Memory Location named Show Bass Tracks, which shows the Saw Bass.cm and Sub
Bass.cm tracks

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 Exercise 2 Getting Around in Style

• A Memory Location named Show Drum Tracks, which shows the Kick Snare 1, Kick Snare 2,
Bass Snare, Hat Perc, Acoustic Hats, Pitched, Rides, Crashes, and Rides FX tracks

When you're done, your Memory Locations

dialog box should look like this:

8. To check your work, recall Memory Location #3 (Bounce Selection) and begin playback. If
you've set things up correctly, recalling Memory Locations #4 through #8 will change the
tracks shown without interrupting playback of the session.

Part 5: Managing Windows

To finish this exercise, let's add some Window Configurations to the session:
1. If the Memory Locations window is currently visible in your session, please close it (since we
don't want to include it in the Window Configurations we will create).
2. In the Edit window, hide the Clips List, to give you a bit more track space. Also make sure
that the Universe view is shown and resized appropriately.

3. Create a new Window Configuration

called Basic Edit, with the settings shown
here (see image):

4. Switch over to the Mix window and hide

the Tracks/Groups List (if it's not already
hidden). Make sure that Inserts A-E,
Sends A-E, Meters and Faders, I/O, and Track Colors are chosen as visible Mix Views.
5. Save this as a Window Configuration called Basic Mix, choosing the same options in the New
Window Configuration dialog box that you chose for step #3.
6. Now, let's do something a bit less conventional:
• In the Edit window, hide the Universe view and resize the window so that it only
occupies the top half of the monitor screen.

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 Exercise 2 Getting Around in Style

• In the Mix window, show only the Meters and Faders view and resize the window so that
it only occupies the bottom half of the monitor screen.

Depending on your
monitor resolution, you
might have to do some
tweaking, but the goal is
to be able to see both the
Edit and Mix windows
simultaneously,
something like this:

7. Save this as a Window

Configuration called Split
Screen, choosing the same options in the New Window Configuration dialog box that you
chose for step #3.
Let's associate some of these new window Configurations with some of the Memory
Locations we created earlier:
8. Recall Memory Location #2 (START).
9. In the Memory Locations window, right-click the START Memory Location. This will open the
Edit Memory Location dialog box.

10. Click the Window Configuration

check box and choose Basic Edit
from the menu (see image).

11. Assign the Split Screen Window

Configuration to the following Memory Locations:
Show Synth Tracks, Show Orch Tracks, Show Bass Tracks, and Show Drum Tracks
12. Once more, let's check to see what you have accomplished.
• Recall Memory Location #2, which will also recall Window Configuration #1.
• Begin playback and then change to Memory Locations #5 through #8. You'll see that
you'll also recall the Split Screen Window Configuration.
• Recall the first Window Configuration to view the Edit window, or the second Window
Configuration to view the Mix window.
13. Great job! Save your session.

That completes this exercise.

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 LESSON 3
Working with Tracks

Tracks and clips are the twin cornerstones of your Pro Tools session, and in the next two lessons in
this course, we'll take a closer look at how to work efficiently with these important elements. In this
lesson, we'll start with tracks and how to work with them quickly and efficiently.

Duration: 1 hr

GOALS

• Work with Folder tracks

• Customize your session with track colors
• Learn a new workflow for adding tracks
• Save time with batch renaming of tracks
• Use track status shortcuts
• Manage active and inactive tracks
• Understand track timebases
 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Introducing Folder Tracks

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned about Folder tracks, insofar as they are a track type in Pro
Tools. In this section, you'll learn how to put these powerful track types into practice!

What are Folder Tracks?

In your computer, you can organize files into folder and subfolders — that's precisely
what Folder tracks do in your session. Folder tracks are a powerful organizational tool, enabling you
to manage large numbers of tracks in easy-to-manage groups. But the power of Folder tracks go
beyond just organization, as you'll see in this section.
There are two types of Folder tracks — Basic Folders and Routing Folders:

Basic Folder Tracks

Basic Folder tracks are primarily used to simply organize complex sessions into more easily
managed chunks, in exactly the way that you would use a folder on your computer's hard drive to
collect a number of files.
Though limited in their functionality, Basic Folder tracks have a few controls
available to you:
• Groups: Basic Folder tracks may be members of an Edit or Mix
group.
• Solo: Clicking the Solo button on a Basic Folder track will allow only
the tracks within the Folder track to be heard.
• Mute: Clicking the Mute button will mute the tracks within the Folder
track.
• Audio Signal Indicator: Below the Mute button are two small boxes.
The top box will be colored green (shown below) when an audio
signal is present on any of the tracks within the Folder track.
• MIDI Signal Indicator: Directly below the Audio Signal Indicator is
another box, which will give you visual feedback about MIDI activity
within the Folder track. The box will appear orange (shown below)
when MIDI data (notes, continuous controllers, and so on) is played A Basic Folder track
back.

Routing Folder Tracks

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned about Instrument tracks, and how they combined the
functionality of a MIDI track and an Auxiliary Input track to boost your MIDI production workflow.
We can extend that logic to Folder tracks — a Routing Folder track is the combination of a Basic
Folder track and an Auxiliary Input track. This powerful combination finds a prominent role in many
mixing workflows — workflows that will be discussed later in this course.

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

A Routing Folder track includes all of the controls seen in a Basic Folder track
(group membership, Solo, Mute, Audio and MIDI Signal Indicators), plus the
inputs, outputs, pan, and volume controls that are also found in an Auxiliary
Input track.
Routing Folder tracks are commonly used to control mix subgroups, enabling the
user to control the visibility and levels of subgrouped tracks, which will be discussed
in Lesson 10 of this course.

Using Folder Tracks

Using Folder tracks is similar to other tracks in some regards, and very
different in others. Let's take a look at some basic procedures when using
Folder tracks.

Creating Folder Tracks

Adding a Folder track to your session is just the same as adding any other
kind of track — from the New Tracks dialog box. However, there are two
small differences worth noting:
• Like MIDI tracks, Basic Folder tracks are not in themselves audible
tracks. Also, like MIDI tracks, there is no Track Format selector (where
you would normally choose Mono, Stereo, and so on).
• In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned that by holding A Routing Folder track
the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows) and pressing
the Arrow keys, you can navigate the different track types available to you. Since the New
Tracks dialog box defaults to creating an Audio Track, you'll need to use the Up Arrow key to
change the type to Folder tracks (all other track types can be accessed by pressing the
Down Arrow key).

Adding Tracks to Folders

Once you've created your Folder track, moving tracks into them is easy, and you can do it in a
number of ways. Perhaps the most straightforward way to move tracks into a folder is to select the
track(s) that you want to move, and then drag them over the Folder track that will contain them. A
yellow outline will indicate when the tracks can be dropped.
In the Tracks list, you can determine the
membership of tracks within a folder by a
hierarchical tree diagram and indentation of the
member tracks.
It's worth noting that the process of dragging
tracks into a Routing Folder will not automatically
route the outputs of these tracks into the Folder.
In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned how to
route the output of tracks into an Auxiliary Input
track to create a subgroup — that workflow works Five Audio tracks within a Folder track

in this case as well.

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

If a Folder track is selected when a new track is created, the new track will be placed within the Folder track.

Collapsing and Expanding Folder Tracks

Once you've added tracks to a Folder track, you're now ready to make the most of them, starting
with the ability to collapse and expand them. You can do this in both the Edit and Mix windows:
• In the Edit window, click the small folder icon in the lower left section of the Folder track to
collapse or expand the folder (hiding or revealing the tracks within). Note that in the Folder
track itself, whether expanded or collapsed, you'll see a visual representation of the clips on
the tracks within the folder.
• In the Mix window, you'll see a similar folder icon — this time in the lower right-hand corner
of the channel strip. Here again, clicking this icon will collapse or expand the folder.

Deleting Folder Tracks

Like any track, Folder tracks can be deleted. But what will happen to the tracks within? Fortunately,
you've got control over that behavior!

1. Using any of the normal methods of deleting a track (from the Track menu, or by right-
clicking the track name) delete the Folder track. A dialog box will appear:

2. Click the appropriate button:

• Clicking Cancel will abort the

deletion process. No tracks
will be deleted.
• Clicking Delete will delete the
Folder tracks and all tracks
within the folder.
Deleting a Folder track
• Clicking Keep will delete the
Folder track only, leaving the
member tracks in your session.

Track Colors
As your session gets larger with more tracks, being organized becomes increasingly important, and
color-coding your tracks is a great way to keep things in order. Fortunately, there are a number of
ways that you can make track colors work for you:

Viewing Track Colors

You have the ability to view track colors (or not) in the Edit and Mix windows. There are a few ways
that you can do it:
• From the View menu, choose Mix Window Views or Edit Window Views and then
choose Track Color to toggle the feature on or off for that window. When enabled, the menu
item is indicated with a check mark.

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

• To change the setting in the Edit window, click the Edit Window View selector and
choose Track Color. When enabled the box will be checked.
• To change the setting in the Mix window, click the Mix Window View selector and
choose Track Color. When enabled the box will be checked.
When you show track colors, you'll notice that colored tabs appear (on the left end of tracks in the
Edit window and at the tops and bottoms of channel strips in the Mix window), as well as
correspondingly colored blocks by each track in the Tracks List.

Default Track Colors

By default, your tracks can be colored based on the criterion you choose in the Pro Tools
Preferences dialog box, in the Display tab:
• None: No colors will be assigned to
your tracks by default. Effectively, all
of your track tabs will be
colored black.
• Tracks and MIDI Channels: This will
assign a color to each track according
to its voice assignment (for non-HDX
hardware systems, its
either Dyn or Off) or MIDI channel
assignment.
• Tracks and MIDI Devices: This will
assign a color to each track according
to its voice assignment or MIDI device
assignment.
• Groups: This will assign a color to
each track according to its group
membership. Choosing track default coloring

• Track Type: This will assign a color to

each track according to its track type:
o Folder Tracks: Light Blue
o Audio Tracks: Blue
o Auxiliary Input Tracks: Green
o Master Fader Tracks: Red
o VCA Master Tracks: Dark Blue
o MIDI Tracks: Purple
o Instrument Tracks: Brown

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Customizing Track Colors

Coloring your tracks to suit your session is a powerful way of visually organizing your session. Tracks
can be individually colored, which will override the default track color coding preference.
Track colors can be customized from the Color Palette window, which can be accessed in a few ways:

1. Do one of the following:

• From the Window menu, choose Color Palette.

• Double-click a tracks color tab (at the bottom and top of each track channel strip in the
Mix window, and at the far left of each
track in the Edit window).

2. In the Color Palette window, clicking

the Apply to Selected pop-up menu will
show you the focus of the Color Palette
window, and what kind of colors can be
changed. In order to customize your track
colors, make sure that Tracks is selected
from this list.

The Apply to Selected pop-up menu

TIP: The Apply to Selected menu will change according to what's selected — for example, if you click a
clip in your track's timeline, it'll automatically switch to Clips in Tracks. An easy way to let Pro Tools
know you want to recolor a track is to simply select a track by clicking the track name.

3. Select the track (or tracks) that you want to change. As tracks are selected, their
corresponding color block will be indicated with a white outline in the Color Palette window.

4. Next, just choose the desired color tile in the Color Palette window, and any selected tracks
will change to this color.

In the upper right-hand corner of the Color Palette window are three buttons that can come in
handy:
• Clicking the Hold button will slightly reduce the size of the color tiles that are currently
indicated with a white outline. As you select other tracks (with different colors) this smaller
tile will persist, letting you know the color of the
previously selected tracks.
• Clicking the Default button will change the tracks
back to their default coloring, based upon your
preference settings.
• Clicking the None button will remove all coloring
from the track, making the track black.

More track color options

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Track Colors and Folder Tracks

Because Folder tracks involve tracks within tracks, the color coding for Basic and Routing Folder
tracks is implemented a little differently than with other track types. This will help you quickly
determine not only which tracks are Folder tracks, but also which tracks are included within.

Here's a basic example: In this image,

you see a yellow Routing Folder track
(named Vocals). Within the Folder
track are two lead vocal tracks
(colored green) and three backing
vocal tracks (colored orange). In the
Edit window, you will see a
descending yellow line (following the
yellow color of the Routing Folder
track), indicating the membership of
the tracks.
In the Mix window, the Folder track
also indicates the member tracks —
this time with a box enclosing the
tracks within the Folder.

A Routing Folder track containing 5 Audio tracks

Folder tracks can be nested within other Folder

tracks, and here again, Pro Tools gives you visual
cues as to the organization of your session.
In this example, we still see five Audio tracks, but
the backing tracks have been placed in a Basic
Folder track (named BG VOX), which is colored blue.
Here you can see two descending lines, indicating
the membership of the Audio tracks, as well as the
membership of the BG VOX Basic Folder within
the Vocals Routing Folder track.

Vocal tracks in the Edit window

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

...and here's how it looks in the Mix

widow. Note that the nested Folder
track indicates its member tracks as a
blue box (following the color of the BG
VOX Folder) within the
yellow Vocals Routing Folder track.

Vocal tracks in the Mix window

Adding Tracks: A New Workflow

In the course of their work, audio professionals will create a lot of tracks, and anything that can
make the process even a little easier can be a huge benefit. Here's a new way to create tracks that
can come in handy in many situations.
You'll notice that in the Tracks List (in either the Edit window or the Mix window), there is a bit of
blank space under the last track. Similarly, a bit of blank space can always be found at the bottom of
the Edit window’s tracks, and on the far right of the Mix window’s tracks.

Blank spaces in the Pro Tools GUI

Here is the shortcut: Double-clicking in any of those blank areas will create a track just like the last
track you’ve created. For example, if the last track that you created was a stereo Master Fader,
double-clicking would create another stereo Master Fader track.

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

But this feature is even more useful — if you hold a modifier key, you can create a new track of a
specific type (even if it's different from the last track you created):
• Holding down the Command key (Mac) or the Ctrl key (Windows) and double-clicking will
create an Audio track.
• Holding down the Control key (Mac) or the Start key (Windows) and double-clicking will
create an Auxiliary Input track.
• Holding down the Option key (Mac) or the Alt key (Windows) and double-clicking will create
an Instrument track.
• Holding down the Shift key and double-clicking will create a Master Fader track.
This shortcut really comes in handy when you want to quickly create tracks, but there are a few
behaviors that you should bear in mind:
• If you haven’t added any new tracks since opening a session, double-clicking in one of the
above locations will create a new stereo Audio track by default. Double-clicking while holding
a modifier will create a stereo track (of a type determined by the modifier).
• Even when using modifier keys, the channel width of the new track will be the same as the
last created track. For example, if you last created a mono Audio track, holding the Shift key
would create a new mono Master Fader. Instrument tracks are the exception to this rule and
are always created as stereo tracks when using this workflow.
• Holding down multiple modifier keys will create multiple new tracks. For example, if you hold
down Command+Control (Mac) or Ctrl+Start (Windows) and double-click, a new Audio Track
and Aux Track will be created.

Batch Renaming
Though tracks can be named when they are created, sometimes you'll find yourself in need of
renaming large numbers of tracks. Sometimes individual renaming is unavoidable, but there are
other situations in which Pro Tools' Batch Rename feature can become a huge time-saver.

1. Select the tracks that you want to rename.

2. Right-click on one of the selected track nameplates (either in the Edit window, Mix window,
or Tracks List). A menu will appear.

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Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

3. Choose Batch Rename.

The Batch Track Rename dialog box will

appear:

[1] Replace: When the Replace check

box is clicked, you have the ability find
words and replace them, to clear a
track's existing name entirely (by clicking
the Clear Existing Name check box), or to
find and replace text based on advanced
criteria (by clicking the Regular
Expressions check box).
For more information on regular expressions,
visit https://regex101.com/.

[2] Trim: When clicking the Trim check

box, you have the ability to remove
name characters from the beginning of
the track name, the end of the track
name, or within a defined range (by
clicking the Range check box).
[3] Add: When the Add check box is
clicked, you can type a new name in a
number of ways:
• Prefix: Text typed into this field will
be added to the beginning of the
new track names.
• Insert: Text typed here will be
placed within the tracks' names. You
can determine at which character
the new text is applied by entering a The Batch Track Rename dialog box
number in the At Index field.
• Suffix: Text typed into this field will be added to the end of the new track names.
[4] Numbering: When the Numbering box is checked, you can apply numbers to your
renamed tracks in a number of ways:
• The Position menu will enable you to place the number at the beginning of the name,
the end of the name, or at a specific point within the name (by choosing At Index). If you
choose "At Index", the value in the Index field will determine the placement of the
number.
• The Starting Number field will determine the first number to be used in the renaming
series.
• The Number of Places field will enable you to determine how many numeric
characters will be used.

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

• The Increment value determines the steps in which the numbering will be structured.
• Clicking the Separate With check box will enable you to insert a single character or
space between the numbers and the rest of the track name. This field can contain only a
single character or space — if there's already a space in the field, you won't be able to
add another character!
• Clicking the Use A-Z check box will use letters for the "numbering" sequence instead of
numeric characters.
4. After setting up the Batch Track Rename dialog box to suit your needs, click the OK button,
and your selected tracks will be renamed according to the settings you've chosen.
Here's a workflow example: In this hypothetical example, let's assume that we have 10 Audio tracks
that have not been descriptively named. Because these will be vocal tracks, we want them to be
named "Vocal 01", "Vocal 02", Vocal 03", and so on. (If you want to follow along, you can create a
blank session and add 10 mono audio tracks with the default naming.)
After selecting the tracks and right-clicking on one of the names, you choose Batch Rename. There
are a few ways that you could rename these tracks — here's one:

1. Since we don’t want to keep the previous names, you will click the Replace check box, and
then the Clear Existing Name check box.

2. Since we're building new track names from scratch, un-check the Trim check box.

3. Check the Add check box, and then the Prefix check box, and in the corresponding field, type
"Vocal".

4. This one can get a little tricky: Check the Numbering box, and choose End as a number
position. Because you want the numbering to be "01, 02, 03" and so on, you'll want to set
the Number of Places at 2 characters. And because you want to put a space between the
name and the number, check the Separate With box and enter a single space in the field.
Yes, the field looks empty, but there is actually a single space in there.

5. Click the OK button and you’ll see the tracks

renamed like this (see image):

Renamed tracks

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Renaming Presets and Settings

Just as with Zoom presets, you can store your
settings as a preset by holding the Command
key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows) and clicking
the Batch Track Rename Preset button to
which you want to assign the settings. The box
will flash, and your setting will be stored.
A preset can be instantly recalled by clicking
Saving or recalling a Batch Track rename preset
the corresponding Preset button:
Alternately, you can save your settings as a
setting file from the Batch Track Rename
Librarian Selector (which by default
reads <factory default>).
When you save a setting, a browser window
will appear (initially showing the default
Saving or recalling a Batch Track Rename preset
location for Batch Track Rename settings),
where you can choose a location and name
for your settings file.
Settings can be recalled by clicking the
Librarian selector and choosing the setting
from the list. The Batch Track Rename Librarian Menu

Track Status Shortcuts

When working with tracks, you'll change the status of tracks in a number of ways — soloing, muting,
and so on — and doing so quickly will make your work progress more efficiently. Luckily, there are a
few shortcuts that make it easy:
• To solo (or unsolo) a track: Shift+S
• To mute (or unmute) a track: Shift+M
• To open (or close) a folder track: Shift+F
There is a trick to this though — these shortcuts are based upon the tracks that have edit cursors on
them. This can cause confusion for some users, who expect the shortcuts to work on the selected
tracks.
Tracks with a selected area on them by definition will also have edit cursors, and will similarly be affected by
these shortcuts.

If you want to be able to select tracks and

apply these shortcuts, there's a workaround:
Enable the Link Track and Edit Selection
button, which will make sure that when you
select a track, an edit cursor will be placed
on that track. Enabling Link Track and Edit Selection

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Another point worth noting is that these shortcuts will toggle a track's state — for
example, Shift+M will mute a track that is un-muted, or un-mute a track that is muted. This opens up
a number of workflow possibilities.
For example, let's say that you have two vocal tracks, and you're not sure which one to use in your
session. To quickly toggle between the two tracks as your session plays (if you want to follow along,
you can do this with any two tracks in a session):

1. Manually mute one of the two tracks that you want to switch between (in our scenario, we'd
mute one of the two vocal tracks).

2. Make sure that there are edit cursors on both of the vocal tracks (and only these tracks). In
this case, enabling Link Track and Edit Selection makes it easy.

3. Begin playback, and whenever you press the Shift+M shortcut, one track will be muted at the
same time that the other track is un-muted, effectively swapping the tracks in your mix as it
plays.

Though this scenario only involved two tracks, this technique can be applied to any number of
tracks.

Track Status Indicators

It's happened to nearly every producer — you play your session but cannot hear your entire mix.
Your brain races to figure out the cause of the problem, and you check things like your Playback
Engine, I/O Setup and more, only to find out that a track in your session has been soloed, muting the
rest of your tracks. You un-solo the track and the session plays back normally, but what a waste of
time and adrenaline!

You can avoid these kinds of problems by

checking the track status indicators in the Edit
window's Counter and Edit Selection section.
The Solo Status and Mute Status indicators are
located in the lower right-hand
corner of the section:

Solo Status and Mute Status indicators

in the Counter and Edit Selection section

The Solo Status indicator will appear as an "S" within a yellow square (shown
here) whenever any track in your session is soloed. Clicking this box will
"clear" any soloed tracks (un-soloing all tracks).

The Solo Status indicator

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

The Mute Status indicator will appear as an "M" within an orange square
(shown here) whenever any track in your session is muted. Unlike
the Solo Status indicator, clicking this box will not have any effect on
your session, since mute is an automateable element in your
session.
The Mute Status indicator

Scrolling to Track
When you're working with big sessions (sessions with many tracks), you might find that you spend a
good deal of time vertically scrolling in the Edit window or horizontally scrolling in the Mix window to
get to the desired track. Here again, Pro Tools lends a hand with its Scroll to Track feature.
Let's say that you're working on a big band session, and you want to get to a track that isn't in view,
and moreover, it's in a closed Routing Folder track. Normally, getting to that track would take some
time, but we're going to do it quicker:

1. From the Track menu, choose Scroll To

Track. The Scroll To Track dialog box will
appear:

Scroll to Track dialog box

2. Type the name of the track that you want to locate. As you type, Pro Tools will provide a
drop-down menu of potential tracks for you to choose from. If you see your desired track in
that menu before you're done typing the full name of the track, just click the appropriate
menu item, and the Scroll To Track field will be populated.

3. Click the OK button.

Here's what will happen:

• If the track is in a collapsed Folder track, the folder will be expanded to reveal the track.
• The track will be selected.
• The Edit window will be scrolled so that the track is positioned in the top of the tracks
area.
• The Mix window will be scrolled so that the track is positioned to the far left in the tracks
area.
Using the Scroll To Track feature makes it easy to find your tracks quickly and get to work. Here are
some other ways to access this feature (and will bypass the Scroll To Track dialog box):
• Right-click the desired track name (in the Edit window, Mix window, or Tracks List), and
choose Scroll Into View from the pop-up menu.
• Hold the Shift+Control keys (Mac) or the Shift+Start keys (Windows) and click the desired
track name (in the Edit window, Mix window, or Tracks List).

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Active and Inactive Tracks

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned how to mute a track, rendering it inaudible while it's muted.
However, even when muted, it will still consume resources (such as CPU power for any inserted
plug-ins on the track). You could free up those resources by deleting the track, but then you couldn’t
use that track later (or at least, you’d have difficulty doing so).
That's where inactive tracks come into play. An inactive track is essentially asleep, being both
inaudible and consuming no resources until you wake it up (activate it) again. Here are a few ways to
do it:
• Select the track(s) that you want to deactivate, then from the Track menu, choose Make
Inactive.
• Right-click any track's name plate and choose Make Inactive from the pop-up menu.
Deactivating a track will simultaneously deactivate any inserts and sends on the track, rendering the
track completely inert.
A deactivated track can be visually identified in a number of ways:
• In the Edit window, the deactivated track will appear darkened.
• In the Mix window, the track strip is similarly darkened.
• The track name (in the Edit window, Mix window, and Tracks List) will be in italic font.
Re-activating a deactivated track is essentially the same process — select the track(s) that you want
to reactivate and choose Make Active (from either the Track menu or by right-clicking the track
name).

Track Activity and Folder Tracks

Folder tracks — both Basic Folders and Routing Folders — are massively useful in organizing your
session, and these relatively new track types have been quickly incorporated into many professional
workflows. But there's one largely overlooked aspect of Folder tracks that can come in very handy:
When an active track is added to an inactive folder, the added track's activity status changes to
match the activity status of the parent Folder track. This results in the following behavior:
• If you drag an active Audio track into an inactive Folder track, that track will become inactive.
• A manually inactive track will not become active when dragged into an active Folder track.
• When you change the activity status of a Folder track, any tracks that were active when
added to the track will follow the track's status. Tracks that have been manually made
inactive will retain their inactivity.

Creating a "Trash Can" in Your Session

These behaviors open up possibilities for interesting workflows. One such workflow is something I
call the "Trashcan Technique."

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Consider this: During the course of your production work, you'll occasionally find that you don't
need certain tracks any longer — for example, if you wrote a musical part using a Virtual Instrument
on an Instrument Track and then converted that MIDI data into an audio file on an Audio track,
you'd no longer have any need for that Virtual Instrument.
You could delete the track, but that would cause a couple of problems: First, the track would no
longer be available in the session, and secondly, deleting the track would clear the session's undo
history.
Here's an alternative way to work with tracks that you don't need any longer:

1. Create a new Basic Folder track and name it descriptively (something like "Trash Can"
or "Unused Tracks").

2. Make the Folder track inactive (using the same methods you would use to make any other
track type inactive).

And you're done! Now, instead of manually deactivating or deleting the tracks you don't need in
your session, you can just drag them into your new Trash Can track, and they will become inactive. If
the folder is collapsed, the track will also be hidden from view, helping to keep your Tracks List more
manageable.
If you later decide that you need that track again, you can just drag it out of the “Trash Can” Folder,
and the track will resume its active status (unless you manually deactivated the track before
dragging it into the Trash Can). When you drag it out again, the track will become fully active —
including sends and plugins.
This workflow represents a few advantages:
• Tracks aren't deleted, so they can be recovered if you need them later (by simply dragging
them out of the trash)
• Tracks are automatically made inactive or active, without the need to manually change the
state of the track.
• Clips and automation on inactive tracks can be dragged, copied, and pasted onto active
tracks, allowing you to recover elements of tracks in the Trash Can Folder
• Since no track has been deleted, Pro Tools' undo history is not affected.

Track Timebases
In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned that MIDI deals with time in terms of Ticks (960 ticks per
quarter note) in the same way that audio files deal with time in terms of Samples (a certain number
of samples per second, commonly referred to as the sample rate). On a larger level, virtually all timed
elements are either tick-based (also referred to as relative), or sample-based (also referred to
as absolute). This applies to things like Rulers, Memory Locations and tracks.
Understanding track timebases and how to use them is an important skill for the Pro Tools user, so
let's take a closer look at how these timescales apply to the tracks in your session.

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Sample-Based Tracks
The definition of a sample-based track is simple: All elements on the track, including clips and
automation, are tethered to a "real time" location on the timeline. If the tempo of the session is
changed (for example, in the tempo ruler), nothing changes on sample-based tracks.

A sample-based track can be identified

by a blue clock icon displayed in the
track's Timebase Selector.

A sample-based Audio track

Tick-Based Tracks
If a track isn't sample-based, it's tick-based, which means that every element on the track (clips,
notes, automation, and so on) are not tethered to an absolute position, but rather a tick location on
the timeline. Since ticks and tempo are interrelated, changing tempo on a tick-based track will
change the position of elements on the track.
For example: Your session has a tempo of 120 BPM, and you have a MIDI note at the beginning of
measure 2 (2|1|000) on a tick-based Instrument track. In absolute terms, your note would begin at 2
seconds on your timeline. Now, let's say that you changed the tempo to 60 BPM — half as fast as the
previous tempo. On a tick-based track, the note would still start at 2|1|000, but in real-time, the
note would start at 4 seconds.
A tick-based track can be identified by a
green metronome icon displayed in the
track's Timebase Selector.

A tick-based Instrument track

With MIDI data, changing tempo will affect not only the start of notes, but also the duration of notes, since
MIDI note start and end positions are separate events. This is not the case with audio, unless Elastic Audio is
used on the track. The topic of Elastic Audio is discussed in Lesson 4 of this course.

Track Defaults
By default, the following track types default to sample-based:
• Audio • VCA
• Auxiliary Input • Routing Folder
• Master Fader • Video

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Which leaves the following tracks defaulting to being tick-based:

• MIDI
• Instrument
Basic Folder tracks, being simple containers for other tracks, have no timebase and are neither sample nor
tick-based.

These defaults work in many situations, but some Pro Tools users (particularly MIDI and music
production, which can rely heavily on tempo) might want all of their tracks to be created as tick-
based tracks. No problem — we've got a preference for that:

1. From the Setup menu, choose Preferences.

2. Click the Editing tab.

3. In the Tracks section, click the New Tracks Default to Tick Timebase check box.

When this preference is enabled, all tracks (except Basic Folders and Video tracks) will be created as
tick-based tracks. Pre-existing tracks' timebases will not be changed.

Changing Track Timebases

At any time, you can change the timebase of a track. It's easily done:
1. Click the desired track's Track Timebase Selector (which will either appear as a blue clock or
green metronome icon).
2. From the menu that appears, choose the desired timescale.
You'll see that this menu also has an option called Selection Changes Alternate Playlists. This refers to edit
playlists, which is discussed in Lesson 4 of this course.

Video tracks can only be sample-based, and thus do not have a Track Timebase Selector.

Track Timebase Workflows

Once you understand how track timebases work, new workflow possibilities will open to you:

Sample-based MIDI
Traditionally, MIDI data is used in musical situations, so it's generally desirable for it to be able to
follow tempo changes — in other words, to be tick-based. However, MIDI can be used for more than
just music: It's frequently used for sound effects and other audible elements in post-production,
with sounds synchronized to video.
Since video is always sample-based, and since it is critically important for sound effects to be aligned
with the corresponding visual element, it's often a good idea to change the MIDI-based track (either
a MIDI track or an Instrument track) to sample-based so that any tempo changes that might occur
during production won't change the position of the MIDI data.

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Tick-based Audio
Tick-based audio is more commonly used than sample-based MIDI and can be a very powerful
production tool. The concept to bear in mind when working with tick-based audio is that the
beginning of each clip is anchored to a tick-based location.
Let's take a look at
how not to do this first: In
this situation, you’ll see a
typical repeated drum beat
clip on an Audio track.
Following the default Pro
Tools preferences, the track
is a sample-based track. A basic drum beat

Our goal here is to have the

beat follow tempo changes. We already know that we have to change the track to be tick-based, so
we do that. Thinking that the job is done, we write some tempo changes.
The results were not what
we were going for. Instead
of the drum beat getting
faster and slower with
tempo changes, they move
without changing tempo.

Our first try

The reason why this didn't give us what we were hoping is because the beginning of each clip is
locked to a tick-based location, and in this situation, each clip in the timeline comprises an entire
bar-long beat. The solution is simple.
First, we'll undo what we've done (removing the tempo changes from the timeline and getting back
to our originally sounding beat), and then we'll call on some skills you learned back in the Pro Tools
101 course — Separate Clip at Transients:

1. Select all the clips that we want to separate (in this situation, all of the drum loop clips).

2. From the Edit menu, move we move our cursor to the Separate Clip menu item. A submenu
will appear.

3. Choose At Transients. The Pre-Separate Amount dialog box will appear.

4. In this case, we don't have any need for a pre-separate amount, so we just click
the OK button. The selected area will be separated wherever there's a transient. In this case,
because it's a drum loop, it's a quick way to cut at every drum hit.

Now, instead of a clip boundary at the start of every drum beat, we have a clip boundary at every
drum hit, and because the track is a tick-based track, each of those drum hits will be locked to a
Bar|Beats|Ticks location.

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Let's see what happens now when we change the tempo:

Though there are a few
places where we might
need to clean up some
clicks with fade-ins, the
drum track is now following
the tempo changes the way
that we want, and because
the drums aren't being
stretched or compressed,
A different result
they still sound like natural drums.
There are many cases where you will want a track to follow tempo, and for the durations of the audio to
change along with tempo. For that, Pro Tools' Elastic Audio is a fantastic tool, which we'll discuss in Lesson 4
of this course.

Timebases and Automation

When discussing track timebases, it's typical to initially think in terms of their effect on things like
clips and notes, but the story doesn't end there. Everything on a sample-based track is locked to an
absolute location, just as everything on a tick-based track is locked to a position relative to the
session's tempo. This includes automation. Understanding this, and how to change a track's
timebase can be a powerful production skill!

Let's say that you're composing

within Pro Tools using MIDI and
Virtual Instruments — tick-based
tracks by default. The outputs of
these tracks are routed to an
Auxiliary Input Track serving as a
subgroup master, and on that Aux
track you have some volume
automation, controlling the total
level of the members of the
subgroup (sax tracks in this case):

Saxophone Instrument tracks in a subgroup

If your Instrument tracks are tick-based and your Aux track is sample-based, you might run into a
problem. If you change the tempo of your session, the MIDI data will move, but the automation data
on the sample-based Aux won't!
The solution is simple: Change the subgroup Aux track (or Routing Folder track) to be tick-based as
well. With all tracks being tick-based, the musical information and their corresponding mix
automation will move together!

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Summary of Key Concepts

Lesson 3 discussed various ways that you can work with your tracks.
In this lesson, you learned:
• How to identify, create, and work with Basic Folder tracks and Routing Folder tracks
• How to take control of your track coloring
• New workflows for creating tracks
• How to efficiently rename large numbers of tracks in a single operation
• Useful shortcuts for soloing, muting, and expanding Folder tracks
• How to effectively use the Tracks List pop-up menu
• How to determine quickly if tracks are soloed or muted
• How to navigate your session with Pro Tools' Scroll to Track feature
• The difference between active and inactive tracks, and how to use them to bring more power
to your workflow.
• About track timebases — sample-based and tick-based tracks — and how to use both types to
get the job done.

Keyboard Shortcuts and Modifiers from this Lesson

Following is a summary of shortcuts and modifiers that you should know from this lesson.

Regarding Keyboard Shortcuts

Beginning with Pro Tools version 2022.4, keyboard shortcuts can be customized, allowing flexibility in
choosing individual workflows. For the purposes of this course, and to build a strong foundation that is
most compatible with the broader Pro Tools-using community, Pro Tools' default keyboard shortcuts will
be used.

To reset Pro Tools' shortcuts to their default state:

1. From the Setup menu, choose Keyboard Shortcuts. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box will appear.

2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the dialog box, click the Reset All button. An Are You Sure? dialog
box will appear.

3. Click the Yes button.

For the purposes of the Pro Tools 101 and Pro

Tools 110 courses the Edit Keyboard focus should
always be enabled.

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 Lesson 3 Working with Tracks

Action Default Shortcut

Change track types in the New Tracks dialog box Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) and the Up Arrow or Down Arrow keys

Create an Audio track Hold down the Command key (Mac) or the Ctrl key (Windows) and double-click
in an empty space in the Edit window, Mix window, or Tracks List.

Create an Auxiliary Input track Hold down the Control key (Mac) or the Start key (Windows) and double-click in
an empty space in the Edit window, Mix window, or Tracks List.

Create an Instrument track Hold down the Option key (Mac) or the Alt key (Windows) and double-click in an
empty space in the Edit window, Mix window, or Tracks List.

Create a Master Fader track Hold down the Shift key and double-click in an empty space in the Edit window,
Mix window, or Tracks List.

Store a preset in the Batch Track Rename dialog Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl Key (Windows) and click the Batch Track
box Rename Preset button to which you want to assign the settings

Solo (or unsolo) a track Shift+S

Mute (or unmute) a track Shift+M

Open (or close) a Folder track Shift+F

Scroll to Track Hold the Shift+Control keys (Mac) or the Shift+Start keys (Windows) and click
on the desired track name (in the Edit window, Mix window, or Tracks List)

Knowledge Check
Scan the QR code shown to experience a fully interactive online knowledge check
with scored results.
You can also type the URL below into your browser:
https://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-KC3

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 Exercise 3
Track Layout
In Lesson 3, you learned techniques that take your mastery of tracks to the next level. In this
exercise, you'll put those new skills to the test. The steps outlined in this exercise comprise a task
commonly referred to as "track layout," a fundamental task for producers and studio interns alike.

Media: PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)

Duration: 30 min

Downloading the Media Files

To complete this exercise, you will need to use various files included in the PT110 (2023) Exercises folder.

• Download all the media files for the course by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_All_Exercises.zip

• Download just the media files for this exercise by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_Exercise_3_(Mako's_Cheesecake_Blues).zip

TIP: If clicking either of the links above does not initiate the media download, copy the link address and
then paste it into a new tab in your browser.

The music used for this exercise is a composition by the author titled Mako's Cheesecake Blues, a big band
arrangement dedicated to Mako Uetake (植⽵真⼦). One notable feature of this session is that it's a
mixture of live performances using Virtual as well as "real" instruments, and special thanks go to:

• Brian Smithers (Saxophones and Baritone Sax solo)

• Alex Brooke (Guitar)

Part 1: Getting Started

To get started, we'll need to open a session:
1. Launch Pro Tools.
2. Do one of the following:
• In the Dashboard window, click the Open From Disk button.
 Exercise 3 Track Layout

• From the File menu, choose Open Session.

3. Navigate to the folder containing the exercises for this course and open the PT110
2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues) subfolder.
4. Double-click the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues).ptx session file.
5. Using File > Save As, save a new version of the session file, naming the session descriptively.
Here's a possible name: PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues) - [Your Name] [today's
date].

Part 2: Track Creation

Let's create the tracks we'll need for the session:
1. Create 17 mono Audio tracks. For this exercise, we'll allow Pro Tools to assign default names.
2. Create 7 stereo Audio tracks. Again, we'll let Pro Tools use the default names.
Here's what your session should look like at this point:

3. First, we'll need to do some manual renaming. Rename the first four mono Audio tracks the
following:
• Bari Solo • Bass
• Bari • Guitar
4. Next, we'll manually name the first four stereo Audio tracks:
• Bone Falls • Piano Comp
• Drums • Piano Solo

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 Exercise 3 Track Layout

Now let's rename the remaining tracks using Batch Rename:

Typically, you'll use batch renaming when working with large numbers of tracks, but for the purposes of
building your skills, doing it multiple times with smaller numbers of tracks will help you work quickly with this
feature. Please use the Batch Rename workflow for steps 5 through 10.

5. Rename the first two generically-named mono Audio tracks Alto 1 and Alto 2. Save your Batch
Rename settings in preset #1.
6. Rename the next mono Audio tracks Bass Bone 1 and Bass Bone 2.
7. Rename the next three mono Audio tracks Bone 1, Bone 2, and Bone 3. Save your Batch
Rename settings in preset #2.
8. Rename the next two mono Audio tracks Tenor 1 and Tenor 2.
9. Rename the last four generically named mono Audio tracks Trumpet 1, Trumpet 2, Trumpet
3, and Trumpet 4. Save your Batch Rename settings in preset #3.
10. Finally, rename the last three generically named stereo Audio tracks Trumpet Falls 1, Trumpet
Falls 2, and Trumpet Falls 3.

When you're done, your tracks should look

something like this:

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 Exercise 3 Track Layout

Part 3: Bringing in Folders

At this point, we have several tracks in a flat, unorganized list. That's not going to help us work
efficiently. Now it's time to organize them, and there's no better time to start using Folder tracks.
We'll be using Routing Folder tracks to create subgroups, along with Master Fader tracks to help us
manage levels.
1. Create five new stereo Routing Folder tracks.
2. Name the Folder tracks:
• Sax SUB
• Trumpet SUB
• Trombone SUB
• Piano SUB
• Rhythm SUB
3. Drag the following tracks into the Sax SUB Routing Folder track:
• Bari • Tenor 1
• Alto 1 • Tenor 2
• Alto 2
4. Adjust the order of the tracks to the following:
• Alto 1 • Tenor 2
• Alto 2 • Bari
• Tenor 1
5. Change the output of these five Audio tracks to the Sax SUB Bus. (TIP: You can do this easier
if the track height is set to medium for these tracks.)
6. Change the input of the Sax SUB track to the Sax SUB Bus.
7. Drag the following tracks into the Trumpet SUB Routing Folder track, and arrange them in the
following order:
• Trumpet 1 • Trumpet Falls 1
• Trumpet 2 • Trumpet Falls 2
• Trumpet 3 • Trumpet Falls 3
• Trumpet 4
8. Change the output of these seven Audio tracks to the Tpt SUB Bus and change the input of
the Trumpet SUB track to Tpt SUB Bus.

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 Exercise 3 Track Layout

9. Next, move and the following tracks to the Trombone SUB track, and reorder them to match
the list below. You should then route the output of these six tracks to input of the Trombone
SUB track, using the Bone SUB Bus:
• Bone 1 • Bass Bone 1
• Bone 2 • Bass Bone 2
• Bone 3 • Bone Falls
10. Moving on to the piano tracks, move and properly route the following tracks to the Piano
SUB track, in this order. Use the Piano SUB Bus to route the output of the audio tracks to the
input of the Routing Folder track:
• Piano Solo
• Piano Comp
11. Finally, using either of the methods, move and properly route the following tracks to
the Rhythm SUB track, in this order (using the Rhythm SUB Bus to route the output of the
audio tracks to the input of the Routing Folder track):
• Guitar • Drums
• Bass
While we're routing audio, let's get our monitoring set up:
12. Route the output of all of the Routing Folder tracks to MAIN MIX.
13. Route the output of the Bari Solo track to MAIN MIX.
14. Create a Stereo Master Fader Track, and name it MAIN MIX. Assign the output of this track
to MAIN MIX.

Part 4: Track Colors

Now that we have our tracks organized into folders, let's color-code them. There are many ways to
organize your tracks by color; This session is just one example of how you could do it.
Here's how we'll do it:
1. Color the Sax SUB track bright yellow.
2. In the Color Palette window, with the Sax SUB track still selected, click the Hold button so that
this track’s color will still be indicated even when you change your track selection.
3. Next, select all the Audio tracks within the Sax SUB Folder track.
4. Color the Audio tracks dark yellow, clicking directly below the “held” color tile indicating the
color of the Sax SUB track.
5. Repeat this process for the other tracks, choosing a bright color for Routing Folder tracks
and the corresponding dark color for the member tracks:
• Trumpets – Purple • Piano – Green
• Trombones – Red • Rhythm - Blue

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 Exercise 3 Track Layout

When you're done, your

Edit window should look
like this, and you're almost
ready to test your work.

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 Exercise 3 Track Layout

Part 5: Bringing In the Audio

During this exercise, you've done what professionals do every day when getting new sessions
started—getting their tracks set up properly to suit their workflow. In a real-world situation, we'd
now be ready to bring in audio, and if everything works as it should, start editing and mixing.
1. Open a Workspace browser window (Window > New Workspace > Default).
2. In the Workspace browser, navigate to the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake
Blues) folder, and then to the Mako Tracks subfolder.
3. In the Workspace browser, make sure that the Audio Files Conform to Session Tempo button
is deactivated.
4. Drag all the audio files in the folder into the Clips List.
Now, we need to drag audio from the Clips List to the right track. In this case, we want each
clip to start exactly at the beginning of the track, so Shuffle edit mode will be helpful!

5. Change to Shuffle Mode.

6. Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Bari Solo clip to the Bari Solo track
7. Let's move on to the tracks in the Sax SUB folder:
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Alto 1 clip to the Alto 1 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Alto 2 clip to the Alto 2 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Tenor 1 clip to the Tenor 1 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Tenor 2 clip to the Tenor 2 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Bari clip to the Bari track.
8. Continuing with the tracks in the Trumpet SUB folder:
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Trumpet 1 clip to the Trumpet
1 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Trumpet 2 clip to the Trumpet
2 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Trumpet 3 clip to the Trumpet
3 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Trumpet 4 clip to the Trumpet
4 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Trumpet Falls 1 clip to
the Trumpet Falls 1 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Trumpet Falls 2 clip to
the Trumpet Falls 2 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Trumpet Falls 3 clip to
the Trumpet Falls 3 track.

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 Exercise 3 Track Layout

9. Now, let's tackle the tracks in the Trombone SUB folder:

• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Bone 1 clip to the Bone 1 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Bone 2 clip to the Bone 2 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Bone 3 clip to the Bone 3 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Bass Bone 1 clip to the Bass Bone
1 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Bass Bone 2 clip to the Bass Bone
2 track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Bone Falls clip to the Bone
Falls track.
10. ...and the Piano SUB folder:
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Piano Solo clip to the Piano
Solo track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Piano Comp clip to the Piano
Comp track.
11. Last but not least, the Rhythm SUB folder:
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Guitar clip to the Guitar track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Bass clip to the Bass track.
• Drag the PT110 2023 Exercise 3 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)_Drums clip to the Drums track.

Part 6: Testing and Trashing

It's the moment of truth — we've set up our tracks and brought the client's audio in. Let's play the
session and see where we are:
1. Begin playback. You should hear your entire mix through your monitor speakers.
2. As you session plays, periodically press the Solo button on the different Routing Folder
tracks. You should hear the instruments within that folder, and no others.
There seems to be a problem: The Trumpet Falls 2 and Trumpet Falls 3 tracks are identical. To make
things more straightforward, let's create a "Trash Can" for that duplicate track, which won't delete it,
just in case we need it later.
3. Create a Basic Folder track named Trash Can. Position the track at the bottom of your Tracks
List.
4. Make the Trash Can track inactive (right-clicking and choosing Make Inactive is an easy way to
do this).
5. Drag the Trumpet Falls 3 track into the Trash Can Folder track. Note that when it is added to
the folder, it immediately becomes inactive. Handy!

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 Exercise 3 Track Layout

Here's what your

session might look
like:

6. If your session sounds and looks good, well done. You've successfully completed a solid
track layout session (an important and often-overlooked part of professional production). As
always, save your session before moving on to the next lesson!
This completes the exercise.

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Exercise 3 Track Layout

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 LESSON 4
Making the Most of Clips

Along with tracks, clips are essential building blocks of your session. In this lesson, we’ll explore ways
to manage clips that will take your workflow to the next level!

Duration: 45 min

GOALS

• Get to Know the Clips List

• Work with Clip Colors
• Create and utilize Clip Groups
• Create Clip Loops
• Take your workflow to another level with Edit Playlists
 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

Working in the Clips List

So far in the Avid Learning Series, you've worked with the Clips List in a fairly basic way — to see
what clips are available to you and to drag them onto a track when needed. While this is certainly
the central function of the Clips List, you have a few more tools available to you in the management
of your media.

Batch Renaming Clips

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned that when you record onto a track, clips are named after
the track name (which is why it's so important to name your tracks descriptively before recording),
and you've seen that imported Audio clips are (typically) named after the audio file that they are
referring to. Also in the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned how to rename individual clips.
To take that topic one step further, you can rename multiple files in a very similar way that you've
learned how to Batch Rename tracks in Lesson 3:
1. Select the clips that you want to rename.
2. Do one of the following:
• Click the Clips List
Pop-Up menu
button (the
circular button in
the upper right-
hand corner of
the Clips List).
From the pop-up
menu, choose
Batch Rename.
• Right-click on one
of the selected
clips. From the
pop-up menu,
choose Batch
Rename.
Accessing the Clips List pop-up menu

The Batch Clip Rename dialog box will appear. It's similar to the Batch Track Rename dialog
box you've seen in the previous lesson, with just a few differences:

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Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

[1] Replace: When the Replace check box is

clicked, you have the ability find words and
replace them, to clear a clip's existing name
entirely (by clicking the Clear Existing
Name check box), or to find and replace text
based on advanced criteria (by clicking the
Regular Expressions check box).
[2] Trim: When clicking the Trim check box,
you have the ability to remove name
characters from the beginning of the clip
name, the end of the clip name, or within a
defined range (by clicking the Range check
box).
[3] Add: When the Add check box is clicked,
you can type a new name in a number of
ways:
• Prefix: Text typed into this field will
added to the beginning of the new clip
names.
• Insert: Text typed here will be placed
within the clips' names. You can
determine at which character it's
applied by entering a number in the
At Index field.
• Suffix: Text typed into this field will be
added to the end of the new clip
names.
[4] Numbering: When the Numbering box is
checked, you can apply numbers to your
renamed clips in a number of ways:
• The Position menu will enable you to
place the number at the beginning of the The Batch Clip Rename dialog box
name, the end of the name, or at a specific
point within the name (by choosing At Index). If you choose At Index, the value in the
Index field will determine the placement of the number.
• The Starting Number field will determine the first number to be used in the renaming
series.
• The Number of Places field will enable you to determine how many numeric
characters will be used.
• The Increment value determines the steps in which the numbering will be structured.
• Clicking the Separate With check box will enable you to insert a single character or
space between the numbers and the rest of the track name. (NOTE: his field can

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

contain only a single character or space — if there's already a space in the field, you
won't be able to add another character!) Clicking the Use A-Z check box will use letters
for the "numbering" sequence instead of numeric characters.
[5] Process Order: This is unique to the Batch Clip Rename dialog box, and differs from the
track renaming feature you learned about in Lesson 3. When you renumber your clips, you
have two options regarding how they will be applied:
• Timeline Order (Left to Right, Top to Bottom): Clips will be numbered according to
their position on your session's timeline.
• Clips List Sort Order: Clips will be numbered according to their current order in the
Clips List.
3. Once you've made your choices in the Batch Clip Rename dialog box, click the OK button and
your changes will be applied.
Like the Batch Track Rename dialog box, in the Batch Clip Rename dialog box you have the ability to save up
to five presets or save your settings for easy recall later.

Auditioning Audio Clips

As your work progresses, your Clips List will tend to grow, and it might become increasingly difficult
to track down the specific clip you want. While you could drag clips onto an available track to hear
what they sound like, there's a much quicker way: Auditioning the clip directly from the Clips List.
This workflow requires a little bit of
setup in order to work properly: In the
I/O Setup dialog box (which you can
access from the Setup menu), in the
lower right-hand corner of the Output
tab, you'll find the Audition Path
selector. Click this menu and choose
the physical output that you want to
use when hearing auditioned sounds.
While this is often the same as your
main monitor speakers, it doesn't
have to be — for example, you could
choose outputs that are routed to
specific headphones instead, so that Setting an Audition Path

you can audition sounds privately, without

bothering clients in the studio.

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

Once that's done, auditioning Audio clips is

easy — just press and hold the Option key
(Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and move your
cursor over the clip that you want to hear.
When the cursor turns into a speaker icon
(shown here), just click and hold your mous e
button. The clip will be previewed from the
start of the clip for as long as you hold your
mouse button.
MIDI Clips can also be auditioned from the Clips
List, but that requires a little more set-up. This is
discussed in Lesson 8 of this course.

Auditioning an Audio clip in the Clips List

Clip Colors
Like many other elements of your session, you have control over the color of your clips — both in
terms of setting a session default coloring and manually coloring specific clips. Let's first look at your
default coloring options:

Default Clip Coloring

You can set your default clip coloring from the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box:
1. From the Setup menu, choose Preferences.
2. In the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box, click the Display tab.
3. At the bottom of the Color Coding section,
you'll see Default Clip Color Coding options.
You have a few choices:
• None: All clips will be displayed as a black
waveform or MIDI notes against a light
grey background when using a Classic UI
Theme or as light grey waveforms or MIDI
notes against a black background when
using the Dark UI Theme
• Tracks and MIDI Channels: Clips on Audio
tracks will be differentiated on a track-by-
track basis. MIDI clips will be colored
according to the MIDI channel chosen in
the track's Output Path selector.
Default Clip Color Coding in the Pro Tools
Preferences dialog box

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

• Tracks and MIDI Devices: Clips on Audio tracks will be differentiated on a track-by-track
basis. MIDI clips will be colored according to the MIDI channel chosen in the
track's Output Path selector.
• Groups: Clips will be displayed according to the color of their associated group. Two
things to bear in mind with this setting: Note that if the group is deactivated or
suspended, the coloring will revert to None (black and grey).
• Track Color: Clips will be displayed in the same color as the tracks that they are on. If
you change the track color, the clips' color will change as well.
• Marker Locations: This is an interesting option: If you have a marker in the Markers
ruler, and if that marker is colored, all clips that begin within that colored area in the
Markers ruler will be correspondingly colored. If they begin in an area where there is no
colored marker, the clip will take on the None coloring (NOTE: This coloring will be
applied even if the Markers ruler is hidden).
• Clip List Color: Clips can be manually colored in two ways — Clips in Tracks and Clips
in Clips List. When this option is chosen, clips will be colored according to their Clips List
coloring. If a clip isn't colored in the Clips List, the clips will take on the None coloring.
4. Click the desired setting's radio button.
5. Click the OK button. Your settings will be applied and the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box
will close.

Manual Clip Coloring

In addition to the default clip coloring, you can manually apply colors to specific clips in a few
different ways. The coloring that you apply manually will override the default coloring.

Coloring Clips in Tracks

You've have a track with a number of clips on it. The clips on the track are following your Pro Tools
preferences, which is set to follow the track color. Because the track is colored blue, the clips on that
track are also colored blue.

A blue track with blue clips

Now let's say that one of the clips has a problem that we want to mark so that we can easily find it
later. Here's how to do it:
1. Select the clip(s) whose color you want to change.
2. From the Window menu, choose Color Palette.

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

3. In the upper left-hand corner of the Color Palette window, you'll see a menu selector.
Clicking on this will reveal a list of aspects of your session that can be manually colored,
including:
o Tracks o Groups
o Clips in Tracks o Markers
o Clips in Clip List

4. Choose Clips in Tracks. The menu will close, and the current colors used by the selected
clip(s) will be indicated by a white outline in the corresponding color tile(s).

The Color Palette window

5. Click on the desired color tile. The color will immediately be applied to the selected clip(s).
As an example, here's what you'd see on the blue track if you chose one clip and changed its color to
bright yellow:

A colored clip on the timeline

There are a few things to bear in mind when it comes to coloring a clip in this way:
• This color will persist. If you changed your track color in this example, the other clips in the
track would change accordingly (since in this example, we've chosen the default coloring to
follow the track's color in the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box). The manually colored clip will
retain its coloring.
• If you drag or copy this clip from its current location to elsewhere in the timeline, the
coloring will persist, despite the default clip coloring preference you've chosen.
• This coloring only pertains to the specific clip in the tracks area of the Edit window. If you
drag this clip from the Clips List onto a track, that clip will follow the default coloring.

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

Coloring Clips in the Clips List

There's another way you can color clips: in the Clips List. This is a different way of marking your clips
with different behaviors:
1. Select the clip(s) that you want to color in the Clips List.
2. From the Window menu, choose Color Palette.
3. Since clips are already selected in the Clips List, the menu in the upper left-hand corner of
the Color Palette dialog box should read Clips in Clips List. If it doesn't, click the menu and
change it to Clips in Clips List.
4. Click the color tile that you want to assign to the selected clips.

In the Clips List, you'll see small colored

rectangles to the left of the clip names,
reflecting your choice. In the example here, six
clips have been colored yellow (Kick and Hat
clips):

Colored Clips in the Clips List

The colors that you assign to clips in the Clips List are completely independent from colors you assign to clips
in a track's playlist area. Coloring in the Clips List is essentially a way for you to quickly differentiate clips in
the Clips List but will not affect how they appear in tracks.

If you're not seeing these colors, click the

Clips List pop-up menu button. Move your
cursor over the Show menu item, and a
submenu will appear. Checked items will be
shown — make sure that Color is checked,
and you'll see your Clips List color coding.

Showing clip colors in the Clips List

Distinct from coloring clips in a track, these colors are largely organizational tools. They don’t affect
the color of the clip when you drag it onto a track — at that point the clip will adopt the defaults
you've set in the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box. That said, when dealing with a complex session
with an extensive Clips List, the ability to color-code your clips can come in very handy!

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

Clip Groups
In the PT101 course, you learned that clips are used to manage media on your timeline — audio and
video clips point to media files stored on your hard drive, and MIDI clips are containers for MIDI
data. With clips you can position individual media elements in your session.
Clip Groups are containers for clips, enabling you to work with multiple clips of different types. A Clip
Group looks and acts much like a clip and is useful in a wide variety of workflows.

Creating a Clip Group

Let's start with a simple situation: You've edited a number of lines of dialog for a post-production
and gotten the timing the way that you want it. Now you need to move the entire phrase and want
to do it quickly and make sure that you don't change the timing relationship between the clips.
Here's one case when Clip Groups can help:
1. Select the clips that you want to group.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Clip menu, choose Group. The individual clips will be replaced by a single clip
group on the tracks' timeline.
• Right-click within the selected area and choose Group from the pop-up menu.
• Press Option+Command+G (Mac) or Alt+Ctrl+G (Windows).

Clip Groups look a lot like a regular clips, but

you can easily identify them by an icon in the
lower left corner of the Clip Group (which
varies depending upon the kinds of clips in
the Clip Group, which we'll discuss later in
this section). Identifying a Clip Group

You'll see a similar icon indicating

Clip Groups in the Clips List.

Identifying a Clip Group in the Clips List

TIP: Clip Groups containing audio clips can be previewed from the Clips List just like other clips — just press
the Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key and click and hold on the Clip Group that you want to preview.

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

Let's take it one step further: If

the lines of dialog reside on
different tracks, you can create a
Clip Group that spans multiple
tracks!

A Clip Group that spans five tracks

There are no restrictions on the number of clips that can be included in a Clip Group. A Clip Group can even
be created that includes no clips (by selecting an empty area on the timeline and creating a Clip Group
according to the steps shown here).

The size of the edit selection determines the size of the Clip Group. All clips within the edit selection will be
included in the Clip Group.

Identifying Clip Groups

Clip Groups can be comprised of clips on Audio tracks, MIDI tracks, Instrument tracks, or Video
tracks — or any combination of these track types. The Clip Group icon (in the lower left-hand corner
of the Clip Group) indicates the kinds of clips contained within.

If a Clip Group includes only Audio clips, a small waveform icon will be
shown.

If a Clip Group includes only MIDI clips, a MIDI cable waveform icon will be
shown.
A keen eye will note that a MIDI cable has 5 pins, not the 3 pins that are
shown in the Clip Group icon. This was due to the limited space for the icon.
However, for those who are interested in MIDI trivia, it's worth noting that of
the 5 pins in a MIDI cable, only 3 of them are used!

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

If a Clip Group includes only Video clips, a film icon will be shown.
Video clips are not supported in Pro Tools Artist, one video clip is supported
in Pro Tools Studio, and multiple video clips are supported in Pro Tools
Ultimate. As such, video Clip Groups are only possible when using Pro Tools
Ultimate.

Mixed
Clip Groups can contain clips of different types (Audio, MIDI, and Video).
When a Clip Group contains more than one type, a bar icon is shown in
the lower left-hand corner of the Clip Group.

It is possible to create a Clip Group from an empty section — in other words, a Clip Group with no clips in it.
This can come in handy in a number of workflows, and is often used to manage gaps between clips, as a
placeholder for clips to be added later, or even as a way to put notes in the timeline.

Clip Groups can also contain other Clip Groups. A Clip Group within a Clip Group is called a nested Clip
Group. This happens more than you might think — for example, whenever a multi-track Clip Group is
created, Pro Tools first creates track-by-track Clip Groups within the selected area, and then groups those
Clip Groups. So, for example, if you had a Clip Group comprising three Audio tracks, a single clip multi-track
Clip Group would be created, within which would be three nested Clip Groups.

You might run across another Clip Group icon, one you need to take note
of: When you see a Clip Group with and icon that looks like a ripped piece
of paper, that Clip Group is separated, meaning that the Clip Group you're
looking at doesn't represent all of the clips in that group. This can happen
during the normal course of production — for example, hiding a track that
is part of the Clip Group, or moving a track so that it "breaks" the Clip
Group block.
A separated Clip Group

Why is this icon particularly important to take note of? The reason is that even if separated, Clip
Groups still function, meaning that they will all move and edit as a group even if they are separated.
When you see a separated Clip Group icon, be aware that the changes you're making may affect
tracks that you can't see.
Clip Groups can also be identified in the Clips list, and will be displayed with a similar icon next to
the Clip Group name. Nested Clip Group are shown associated with their parent Clip Group.

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

For example: Here you can see a multi-track Clip Group of a

number of vocal clips. You can tell from the icon in the lower
left-hand corner that only Audio clips are in the group. In the
upper left-hand corner is the name of the Clip Group.

A multi-track Clip Group, named Group-01

In the clips list, you'll see the Clip Group

listed, and because it's a multi-track Clip
Group, you'll see a disclosure triangle beside
the clip. Clicking the triangle will reveal the
component Clip Groups nested within.

Clip Group Group-01 in the Clips list

Uses for Clip Groups

Because Clip Group behave like normal clips, they can come in handy in a wide variety of workflow
situations. Here are just a few:
• Editing sections of a song. For example, by grouping all the clips in the chorus of a song, you
can move, cut, copy, and paste it to a new location on the timeline. Because Clip Groups can
be renamed, this gets even easier, as you can descriptively name the different sections of
your song.
• Managing multiple tracks that must remain aligned, such as drums. Let's say that you
have a number of tracks of a recorded live drum track (kick, snare, overheads and so on).
Grouping these clips will ensure that they maintain the proper relationship with each other.
• Moving or editing a large number of very small clips. Often in the process of editing, your
track(s) might be populated with many small clips. Moving or editing them can be made
much easier by grouping them.
• Editing multiple clips as if they were a single clip. Clip Groups allow you to do things you
couldn't do otherwise, like creating fades that span multiple member clips.

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

Ungrouping and Regrouping

After grouping clips, you may occasionally find that you need to individually change one of the
member clips without affecting the other clips in the group. No problem — clips can be easily
ungrouped and regrouped.
To ungroup a Clip Group:
1. Select the Clip Group(s) that you want to ungroup.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Clip menu, choose Ungroup.
• Right-click the Clip Group (or one of the Clip Groups you've selected) and from the pop-
up menu, choose Ungroup.
• Press Option+Command+U (Mac) or Alt+Ctrl+U (Windows).
When you have nested Clip Groups (excepting the nested Clip Groups that are automatically created
with a multi-track Clip Group) using the ungroup command will preserve the nested Clip Groups. If
you want to ungroup not only the Clip Group, but also the nested Clip Groups, you can instead
choose to Ungroup All (which will only be available for Clip Groups that contain nested Clip Groups):
1. Select the Clip Group(s) that you want to ungroup.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Clip menu, choose Ungroup All.
• Right-click the Clip Group (or one of the Clip Groups you've selected) and from the pop-
up menu, choose Ungroup All.
After ungrouping a Clip Group and making changes to individual clips, you may want to regroup
them. You could of course create a new Clip Group, but you could also regroup them — there are
two ways you can do it:
• From the Clip menu, choose Regroup.
• Press Option+Command+R (Mac) or Alt+Ctrl+R (Windows).
The regroup feature will regroup previously ungrouped clips, starting with the most recently ungrouped clip.
For example, if you ungrouped two Clip Groups, regrouping would regroup the most recently ungrouped
clip. Regrouping again would regroup the other Clip Group.

When you ungroup a Clip Group that is used multiple times in your session, only the selected Clip
Groups will be ungrouped. However, if you choose to regroup that Clip Group, you have the option
to only change that clip group or to change all instances of the Clip Group in the session.
Here's an example: Let's say that you have
a Clip Group that has been used three
times in a session. You ungroup the last
Clip Group and make a change.

Regrouping dialog box

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

When the clip is regrouped, the following dialog box will appear.

If you click the Copy

button, a new Clip
Group will be created,
reflecting the changes
that were made. The
other instances of the
Clip Group will be
unaffected.

After clicking the Copy button

If you click the Modify

button, all the instances
of the Clip Group will
be changed.

After clicking the Modify button

Exporting Clip Groups

Clip Group can be exported from the Clips List so that they can be used on other sessions:
1. In the Clips List, select the Clip Group(s) that you want to export.
2. Do one of the following:
• Click the Clips List pop-up menu and choose Export Clip Groups.
• Right-click the desired
Clip Group (or one of the
selected Clip Groups, if
multiple Clip Groups are
selected). Choose Export
Clip Groups from the
pop-up menu.

The Export Clip Groups dialog box

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

The Export Clip Groups dialog box will appear, enabling you to choose the location for the
clip group(s) and how duplicate Clip Groups will be renamed.
3. Click the Export button.

In your computer's file browser, Clip Groups can be indicated by

a .cgrp file extension and a distinctive icon.
A Clip Group in a
browser window

Clip Loops
Looping — the multiple repetition of a clip (or Clip Group) — is a widely-used technique in both
music and post-production workflows. In previous lessons, you've learned how to duplicate and
repeat clips; Now you'll learn another way: Clip Looping.

Looping a Clip
Let's start by reviewing a basic example:
1. Select the clip that you want to loop (this can be an audio clip, MIDI clip, or Clip Group).
2. From the Clip menu, choose Loop. The Clip Looping dialog box will open.
3. Choose how will you loop. You have
three different options with regard to
the length of the Clip Loop:
• Choosing the Number of Loops
radio button will enable you to
enter a number of loops
(including the selected clip).
• Choosing the Loop Length radio
button will enable you
to enter a duration for the loop.
The timescale of the field follows the main time scale.
• Choosing the Loop Until End of the Session or Next Clip will loop the clip until the end
of the session's timeline or until the next clip on the track.
4. (Optional) Create a crossfade. You also have the ability to create crossfades between each
repetition, by clicking the Enable Crossfade check box.

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 Lesson 4 Making the Most of Clips

You can customize the crossfade settings by clicking the

Settings button (which will open a Loop Crossfade dialog
box). Enabling and configuring crossfades is particularly
useful when a click or other distracting sound is heard
when a new loop begins.

5. Once you've chosen how you want your Clip Loop to behave, click the OK button in the Clip
Looping dialog box.
TIP: Though Clip Loops are more frequently used in music production, they certainly can come in handy in
the post-production world as well. Clip Loops are often used for ambient background audio or as "room
tone" inserted between lines of dialog.

Looping can't be applied to multiple clips on a track. If you want to loop a number of clips, the easy
workaround is to group those clips and loop the clip group.

Clips on multiple tracks can be looped simultaneously, but be careful: The clips will be looped based upon
the length of each individual clip. For example, if you have a one-bar loop on one track and a short snare hit
on another which are aligned with each other, they will both loop, but it might not be the result you want.
The easy fix is to group the clips — multi-track clip groups can be looped in the same way as single clips. For
example, if you want to loop a live recorded drum set (comprising multiple tracks). Group those clips and
loop them — easy!

A looped clip, like a Clip Group, will appear

as a single object on your tracks, with a small
curved arrow icon in the lower right corner
of each loop iteration, indicating where
individual repetitions end.

A Clip Loop

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Editing a Clip Loop

Like Clip Groups, looped clips — even those that create a large number of clips — are edited as one.
This means that Clip Loops can be moved and edited as if they were a single clip. Also like Clip
Groups, this allows you to do a few things that you couldn't do otherwise:

Fading
When clips are duplicated or repeated in the traditional way, you'll end up with a number of
individual clips on the timeline. In this case, you're limited as to how long your fade-in and fade-outs
can be (since fades can't span multiple clips, unless those clips are grouped).

When clips are looped, however, they

behave as a single clip, meaning that you
can create fades that span multiple loop
iterations.

Using Edit Tools A long fade-in on a looped clip

Additionally, the edit tools can be used, but in different ways. For example, the Grabber tool and
Selector tool can both be used to remove individual loops from within a series of loops.

Using the Grabber

A Clip Loop behaves like a single click, so clicking and dragging with the Grabber tool will allow you
to move multiple loops as a single unit, but there's more to the Grabber tool than meets the eye!
Here's a situation that comes up more often than you might think: You've looped a clip a number of
times and it sounds great, except that you want to remove one of the loops within the loop without
affecting the rest of the Clip Loop. Of course, you could mute the track at that point or change
volume automation, but the Grabber tool might be the easiest way to get the job done:
1. Select the Grabber tool.
2. Move your cursor to the lower right-hand corner of the loop that you want to remove. You'll
see that when your cursor gets near to the loop icon (the curved arrow) a similar curved
arrow will appear within the Grabber tool cursor.
3. Click on the desired loop. This will allow you to remove the single loop, leaving the loops
prior and after the selected loop unchanged.
You can select multiple loops by holding the Shift key while selecting clips. This is useful in selecting a range
of loops.

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Using the Selector Tool

The Selector tool can be used in a way quite like the Grabber tool, to select individual loops within a
series of loops:
1. Select the Selector tool.
2. Move your cursor to the lower right-hand corner of the loop that you want to remove. You'll
see that when your cursor gets near to the loop icon (the curved arrow) a similar curved
arrow will appear within the Selector tool cursor.
3. Click and drag left or right to select areas on your track in increments of a loop. Once
selected, they can be deleted.

Using the Trim Tool

The Trim tool can be used to edit Clip Loops in a number of ways. For example, let's suppose that
you have a 5-bar loop that you want to change into a 4-bar loop. The trim tool can be used to trim
the sequence in the same way that you would trim a normal clip.
1. Select the Trim tool.
2. Move your cursor toward the beginning or end of the Clip Loop. When your cursor gets near
to the boundary, a curved arrow will appear within the Trim tool cursor.
3. Click and drag left or right to change the loops. The Clip Loop will be changed according to
your current Edit mode, just as if you were trimming a normal clip.
It's important to note that when you use the Trim tool in this way, you will not change the length of
individual loops, just the duration of the looping, adding or subtracting the number of loops.
There's another way to use the Trim tool, leaving the duration of the Clip Loop unchanged, but
changing the duration of the individual loops within:
1. Select the Trim tool.
2. Move your cursor to the lower boundary of any loop in the series.
3. Click and drag left or right to change the duration of individual loops within the series.
The key difference between this workflow and more traditional trimming is that the total length of
the loop series doesn't change — the length of the individual loops within the series does. Put
another way, the duration of the Clip Loop on your timeline remains unchanged, but there will be
more (or fewer, depending on how you trim) loops within that time.
The other important aspect is that the speed of the playback of the audio loops will not change —
you're not changing the tempo of a drum beat, for example — but rather you are simply trimming
the loops' start or ending points.
Clip Loops can be also created and edited using the Loop Trim tool, which will be discussed in detail in
Lesson 7 of this course.

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Unlooping and relooping

Unlooping a looped clip (or looped Clip Group) is a straightforward process, and presents you with a
few options:
1. Select the looped clip(s) (or Clip Groups) that you want to unloop.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Clip menu, choose Unloop.
• Right-click within the selected area and choose Unloop from the pop-up menu.

A dialog box will

appear, giving you
three options:

The Unloop dialog box

• Cancel: Clicking this button will close the dialog box with no changes made to your session.
• Flatten: Clicking the Flatten button will result in a series of clips on your timeline that is
equal to the length of the previous Clip Loop. This is similar to the result that you'd get if you
had repeated or duplicated the clip (though there may be partial loops at the beginning
and/or end of the Clip Loop, depending on the length of the Clip Loop).
• Remove: Clicking the Remove button will completely eliminate the Clip Loop, resulting only
in the first iteration clip.
Note that whenever a Clip Loop is unlooped, fades applied to the loop will not be preserved.

Loops and Groups

Looping a clip is certainly a powerful tool in its own right, but single clips are by definition single
elements on your timeline, and more often than not represent single discrete sounds within your
larger session. Clip Groups, on the other hand, are collections of multiple clips, organized into a
single block that enables you to work on many mix elements as a single element on your timeline.
Wouldn't it be great if you could loop a Clip Group? Well, of course you can!

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Here's an example: In this session

we've got a Bass track, on which
are two bars of edited bass. The
other tracks are a drum kit
(incidentally within a Routing Folder
track acting as a subgroup master)
which is 8 bars long. The first thing
we'll do is loop the bass to match
the length of the drums, using Clip
Groups and Clip Loops.

Drums and bass in a session

This workflow is the culmination of many features that you've learned up to this point:
1. First, we'll group the clips in the Bass track, and then loop the clip group to match the drums.
We'll work in Grid edit mode to make the job easier.
Up to now, we've looked at single drum loop tracks, but in many production workflows, drums
comprise multiple tracks (Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat and so on). In this session, we have just such a layout.
Can we create a multi-track Clip Group and loop that? Yes we can, but why stop there!
2. Group all of the individual drum clips, and also the newly-looped Bass Clip Group. at this
point we have a looped clip group nested within a larger multi-track Clip Group.
3. Since this larger Clip group is a single object, it can be looped (even though it contains
multiple tracks as well as another looped Clip Group), now it's easy to loop it as many times
as you want, with all the drums and the bass being kept in perfect alignment.

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Looping the Bass and drum tracks as a single multi-track Clip Group

Introducing Edit Playlists

In the previous lesson of this course, you learned more about working with tracks. In this lesson,
we're focusing on clips. Edit Playlists are where clips and tracks meet. Though this might seem a bit
daunting at first, once you learn how to work with Edit Playlists, you'll take your Pro Tools workflow
skills to a whole new level.
Here's a definition to keep in mind: An Edit Playlist is a series of clips on a track.
With this simple definition in mind, let's take a new look at a basic Audio track:

A basic Audio track

Looking at this track, we know a few things:

• Its input is set to no input
• Its output is set to Main Out
• The volume level is -.4, and the track is panned dead center.
• There are two inserts on the track (Channel Strip and C1Chorus/Vibrato)
• There is one send set to Reverb

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We'd also be tempted to say that the track name is Bass. Though the audio community commonly
refers to this as the track name (which we also do throughout the courses in the Avid Learning
Series), it's perhaps not the more technically accurate term. More precisely, Bass is the Edit Playlist
name. In other words, Bass is the name for the sequence of clips on the track.

Edit Playlists and Automation Playlists

Edit Playlists — the sequence of clips on a track — are not the only playlists on your tracks. You've learned
about writing mix automation (volume, pan, and so on) in the Pro Tools 101 course. Those lines and
automation breakpoints are known as Automation Playlists.

While you aren't limited in the number of Edit Playlists that you can create, you are limited with
Automation Playlists — one Automation Playlist per automation type per track. Put another way, while
you can create many Edit Playlists on an Audio track, that track can only have one volume Automation
Playlist.

Creating a New Edit Playlist

Let's start our discussion of Edit Playlists by
learning to create a new Edit Playlist. A new Edit
Playlist is an empty sequence of clips on a track —
essentially a blank timeline:

1. Click the Playlist Selector button, to the

immediate right of the track "name." A
menu will appear.
2. At the top of the menu, click New.
Creating a new Edit Playlist

The New Playlist dialog box will appear. By default, the Name for new playlist field is
populated with the name of the currently active playlist, followed by a period and a number.
For example, the first new playlist you create on a track named Bass would be Bass.01, with
the next one you create being Bass.02, Bass.03, and so on.

The New Playlist dialog box

3. Type the name for the new Edit Playlist.

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4. Click the OK button. The "track name" (which you now know is the Edit Playlist name) will
change to match what you chose in the New Playlist dialog box, and the tracks timeline will
be empty, containing no clips.
At this point, you might be feeling a bit of panic — did you lose your previous track's clips?
Absolutely not — you can change playlists at any time you want by going back to the Playlist Selector
and choosing the playlist you want to see from the list of playlists.
In the playlist menu, you'll see a number within parenthesis by
the name of each playlist. This indicates the order in which the
playlists were created in the session.

TIP: Edit Playlists can be changed during playback, enabling

you to easily audition different playlists in the context of the
rest of your session.

A Playlist Selector on a track with multiple playlists

But which tracks in your session have multiple playlists and which do not? Fortunately, the Playlist
Selector itself will give you a clue. The selector will be colored, indicating that there are other
playlists that you can choose from.
Edit Playlists is a big topic in its own right, and bigger still in its impact on different workflows (some
of which we'll discuss in later lessons in this course), and the secret to learning Edit Playlists is to
take it slow and make sure you really understand what you're doing. Let's take stock of what we've
covered so far, and get some terminology straight:
• The "Track Name" on any track that can contain clips (Audio, MIDI, or Instrument tracks) is
more precisely an Edit Playlist name, referring to the arrangement of clips on that track.
• Changing the Edit Playlist on a track will change the track "name" in the Edit window, Mix
window, and Clips List.
• Since an Edit Playlist is only a sequence of clips on a track, changing playlists will not affect
other aspects of a track, like inputs, outputs, plug-ins, and so on.
• The Edit Playlist that you see on a track is called the active playlist. Other playlists that are not
visible on any track are referred to as alternate playlists.
• Only the active playlists can be audible in the session. Alternate playlists are inactive and
inaudible, but ready for you to call upon when you need them.
The uses for new Edit Playlists are as many and varied, fitting a variety of workflow situations.
Perhaps their most traditional role is in recording multiple "takes" on a track: By creating a new Edit
Playlist on a given track (a vocal track, for example), you can record multiple attempts at a track
without having to create and set up an entirely new track per take. When you're done with recording
those takes, you can create a composite — or "comp" — track on yet another playlist, keeping the
best bits of each take into a final track.
Track "comping," and Edit Playlists' role in that workflow, will be discussed in Lesson 7 of this course.

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Creating a Duplicate Playlist

In addition to creating a new Edit Playlist, you also have the option of creating a duplicate playlist —
a copy of the arrangement of clips on the track. Let's go back to the original Bass track that we were
looking at before:

A basic Audio track

We want to try a different edit, but preserve the one we have, so that we can give ourselves (or our
client) some options later in the production process.
The steps to create a duplicate playlist are similar to those you took in creating a new playlist, but
with a different result:
1. Click the Playlist Selector button.
2. At the top of the menu, click Duplicate.
Just like when creating a new Edit
Playlist, you'll be presented with a
window that enables you to type a
name for the playlist — this time
for your duplicate playlist:
3. Type the name for the duplicate
Edit Playlist.
The Duplicate Playlist dialog box
4. Click the OK button.
At this point, you will see that the track “name” has changed, but apparently nothing else. You're
right — when created, a duplicate playlist is identical to the original in all ways. But since it's a copy,
you can make changes without losing the original.
You'll find that the ability to create duplicate Edit Playlists to be massively helpful. With these new
abilities, you not only have a new level of freedom in working with clips without losing alternate
versions you've already created.
TIP: You can even use alternate playlists to manage system resources. For example, if you had a track with a
large number of small clips, you could reduce the workload put on your hard drive by consolidating the
multiple clips into a larger single clip. By using playlists, you can have a consolidated playlist as your active
consolidated playlist (reducing the stress put upon your hard drive), and keep the original playlist as an
alternate playlist, so that you can go back and make changes if needed.

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Playlists and Track Timebases

Again, the trick to using Edit Playlists is to go back to its fundamental definition as a sequence of
clips on a track — no more and no less. In the previous lesson in this course, you learned about
Track Timebases — either sample-based or tick-based — and how this affects how clips react to
tempo. So isn't it safe to say that a track's timebase pertains to the sequence of clips on the track?
In fact it does — and if you wish, you can set your track's timebase on a playlist-by-playlist basis:
From the Timebase Selector, uncheck the Selection Changes Alternate Playlists menu item. With this
deselected, you have individual control over the playlists, and changing the timebase on this playlist
will not affect other playlists on this track.

Deleting Alternate Playlists

As your work progresses, you'll start to accumulate
alternate playlists. At this point, managing your
playlists might be a necessary bit of housekeeping.
At some point, you'll have created playlists that you
have no intention of using and may be wondering
whether or not it's a good idea to delete them. On
one hand, alternate playlists won't put more of a
processing load on your session — only the active
ones will impact your CPU and RAM.
However, unused playlists will "protect" the clips on
them. This means that when you're archiving your
session and want to remove unused clips from your Selection Changes Alternate Playlists
Clips List, clips that are used by alternate playlists
will not be considered to be unused and won't be deleted as part of normal archiving workflows.
You can easily delete unused playlists from any track's playlist selector:
1. Click any track's Playlist Selector button.
2. Click the Delete Unused menu item. The Delete Unused
Playlists dialog box will appear:
3. Click on the playlist that you want to delete. You can hold
down the Shift key to select a range of playlists or hold the
Command key (Mac) or Control key (Windows) to select or
deselect multiple individual playlists.
4. Click the Delete button.
As you learned in the PT101 course deleting a track will also clear the
entire undo history in your session! Deleting unused playlists operates
quite differently — not only will this not clear the undo history, but the
deletion of unused playlists is itself undoable.
The Delete Unused Playlists dialog box

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Summary of Key Concepts

Lesson 4 covers tips, tricks, and techniques that give you more control over your clips!
In this lesson, you learned:
• How to audition clips from the Clips List, so that you can preview them before you place
them on a track
• How to change your default clip colors and how to customize coloring for specific clips to aid
in your workflows
• How to create, identify, and use Clip Groups to bring more power to your editing
• How to create and edit Clip Loops and combine this feature with the power of Clip Groups
• The nature of Edit Playlists and how to create new and duplicate playlists.
• How to use and manage Edit Playlists in your session

Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson

Following is a summary of shortcuts and modifiers that you should know from this lesson.

Regarding Keyboard Shortcuts

Beginning with Pro Tools version 2022.4, keyboard shortcuts can be customized, allowing flexibility in
choosing individual workflows. For the purposes of this course, and to build a strong foundation that is
most compatible with the broader Pro Tools-using community, Pro Tools' default keyboard shortcuts will
be used.

To reset Pro Tools' shortcuts to their default state:

1. From the Setup menu, choose Keyboard Shortcuts. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box will appear.
2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the dialog box, click the Reset All button. An Are You Sure? dialog
box will appear.

3. Click the Yes button.

For the purposes of the Pro Tools 101 and Pro

Tools 110 courses, the Edit Keyboard focus should
always be enabled.

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Action Default Shortcut

Audition clips in the Clips List Hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and move your cursor
over the clip that you want to hear. When the cursor turns into a speaker
icon (shown here), click and hold your mouse button

Create a Clip Group Option+Command+G (Mac) or Alt+Ctrl+G (Windows)

Ungroup a Clip Group Option+Command+U (Mac)

Alt+Ctrl+U (Windows)

Regroup a Clip Group Option+Command+R (Mac)

Alt+Ctrl+R (Windows)

Knowledge Check
Click or scan the QR code shown to experience a fully interactive online
knowledge check with scored results.
You can also type the URL below into your browser:
https://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-KC4

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 Exercise 4
Working with Clips

In Lesson 4, you learned how to maximize your use of Clips and Edit Playlists in your Pro Tools
session. In this exercise, you will use those tools to craft an entire guitar part from just a few basic
clips and add them to your session.

Media: PT110 2023 Exercise 4 (Suspense)

Duration: 30 min

Downloading the Media Files

To complete this exercise, you will need to use various files included in the PT110 (2023) Exercises folder.

• Download all the media files for the course by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_All_Exercises.zip

• Download just the media files for this exercise by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_Exercise_4_(Suspense).zip

TIP: If clicking either of the links above does not initiate the media download, copy the link address and
then paste it into a new tab in your browser.

Here's another session from former Avid Certified Instructor and composer Ryan Summers. To learn
more about Ryan and his work, visit his website:
https://www.ryansummers30.com/

Additional guitar parts have been created by T.J. Guardino and Alex Brooke.
 Exercise 4 Working with Clips

Part 1: Getting Started

To get started, we'll need to open a session:
1. Launch Pro Tools.
2. Do one of the following:
• In the Dashboard window, click the Open From Disk button.
• From the File menu, choose Open Session.
3. Navigate to the folder containing the exercises for this course and locate the PT110 2023
Exercise 4 (Suspense) subfolder. Within the folder, open the PT110 2023 Exercise 4 (Suspense)
Session folder.
4. Double-click the PT110 2023 Exercise 4 (Suspense).ptx session file.
5. Using File > Save As, save a new version of the session file, naming the session descriptively.
Here's a possible name: PT110 2023 Exercise 4 (Suspense) - [Your Name] [today's date].

Part 2: Importing Guitar Parts

Once your session is open, we will need to import the guitar parts we will be working with. The best
way to find those parts is to use a Workspace browser window.
1. Do one of the following:
• From the Window menu, choose New Workspace > Default.
• Press Option+I (Mac) or Alt+I (Windows) to open a default Workspace browser.
2. In the Workspace Browser, navigate to your exercise materials, and then to the PT110 2023
Exercise 4 (Suspense) subfolder. Within that folder, open the Suspense Guitar Parts folder.
3. Select all audio files in that folder and drag them into your Clips List.
4. After importing new audio files onto your Clips List, it's a good idea to audition them to make
sure you've got the correct files. Hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and click on the newly
imported guitar parts in the Clips List to hear them before moving on.

Part 3: Working with Playlists

We've imported the guitar files into our Clips list, and we're ready to build our guitar part, but we're
not sure which one we (or our client) will like best, so we want some options to choose from.
Of course, we could create three different audio tracks, but there's a better way—with Edit Playlists:
1. Create a new mono Audio track (Track > New). Once you've created the track, name it
Guitar 1.
2. Locate the Suspense Guitar Part 1 Clip 1 clip in the Clips List.
3. Drag the clip onto the Guitar 1 track at 24|3|000 on your timeline (TIP: Grid mode will help
make this easy).

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4. Next, locate the Suspense Guitar Part 1 Clip 2 clip in the Clips List.
5. Drag this clip onto your new track as well, so that it starts at 27|1|000.
When placed correctly, here is what your clips will look like on your Guitar 1 track:

We have our first guitar part placed on our track, but we have two more guitar parts to
consider before deciding which one belongs in our song. Here's where Edit Playlists can help
us get the job done quickly and efficiently!
6. First, we want to create a new Edit Playlist on our track. We can do this by clicking on the
drop-down icon next to the track nameplate and clicking New.
7. A dialog box will appear asking for you to name the new playlist. For our purposes, let's
name this playlist Guitar 2.
8. Locate the Suspense Guitar Part 2 Clip 1 clip in the Clips List and drag it to 24|3|000 on the
timeline.
9. Locate the Suspense Guitar Part 2 Clip 2 clip in the Clips List, and drag it to 27|1|000 on the
timeline.
Once again, we will repeat this process for the third guitar part.
10. Create another new Edit Playlist on this track, and name it Guitar 3.
11. Locate the Suspense Guitar Part 3 Clip 1 clip in the Clips List and drag it to 24|3|000 on the
timeline.
12. Locate the Suspense Guitar Part 3 Clip 2 clip in the Clips List and drag it to 27|1|000 on the
timeline.

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13. Create one final Edit Playlist on this track and name it Guitar 4.
14. Locate the Suspense Guitar Part 4 Clip 1 clip in the Clips List and drag it to 24|3|000 on the
timeline.
15. Locate the Suspense Guitar Part 4 Clip 2 clip in the Clips List and drag it to 27|1|000 on the
timeline.

Part 4: Choosing a Guitar Part

Now that we have each guitar part on a separate playlist, it's time to listen! These four parts are
different, and it is up to you to choose which one you like the best. We'll set a loop so that we can
keep listening to the guitar in context as we switch between playlists.
1. Make sure that Loop Playback is enabled.
2. Do one of the following:
• Using the Grabber tool, select the two clips in any of the guitar playlists.
• Using the Selector tool, select between 24|3|000 and 29|3|000.
3. Begin playback. You will hear the last Edit Playlist you created (Guitar 4) in the mix.
4. Without stopping playback, click the Playlist selector and choose different playlists from the
pop-up menu.
5. Make sure you listen to all four Edit Playlists in their entirety, and audition different playlists
until you've found your favorite.
Once you've found your favorite part, you can stop playback and we can move on to the next step!

Part 5: Clip Looping

Now that you've chosen your favorite guitar part, we want to loop it so it continues until the end of
the song. Before we can loop our part, however, there are a few steps we need to take.
1. Some of these guitar parts include notes before the downbeat of the measure (something
commonly called a "lead-in). Since we don't want to loop this, using the Selector tool,
separate the first clip at 25|1|000 (NOTE: Do this even if your favorite guitar part doesn't
include lead-in notes). Your Edit Playlist will now contain three clips.
2. Using the Grabber or Selector tool, select the last two clips on your Edit Playlist.
Now we can loop our clip until the end of the song. But we can't loop multiple clips at once,
so we will need to create a Clip Group of the last two clips on our Edit Playlist.
3. Using any of the methods that you learned in Lesson 4, create a clip group of the selected
clips on the Guitar track.
4. Loop the newly created Clip Group from the Clip > Loop menu item.
5. A dialog box will appear asking you how many times you would like to loop your clip. Since
we don't know exactly how many loops will take us to the end of the song, just type 2 and
press the Enter key.

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6. Using the Trim tool, move your cursor to the edge of your looped clip. You will see a loop
icon appear beside your Trim tool.
7. Click and drag your loop until it reaches the beginning of the fade-out (41|1|000).
Now, your clip is looped until the end of our track, but we have a problem! If you listen to
your clip loop, you'll hear that the dead space at the end of the last of the Clip Group is
causing the loop to become increasingly out of sync with the music. You could un-loop the
Clip Group, trim that silence, and then re-loop the group, but there's a much faster way to
get the job done.
8. Make sure that you're using Absolute Grid Mode, with a grid setting of a quarter or half note.
(This step isn't technically required, but it'll help you make sure you trim the loop properly.)
9. Move the Trim tool to the bottom right-hand side of any of the loop iterations (near the
curved arrow icon). Since we want to trim the end of a loop (and not the beginning), make
sure that the open side of the trim tool is facing left.
10. Click and drag to the left until you see the dead space erased and the curved icon in each
clip loop iteration lines up with a bar line. Notice that this has resolved our dead space issue
for every loop all at once, without changing the overall length of the loop!

Part 6: Cleaning Up
Let's take a moment to listen to our newly formed guitar part. The guitar should be looping correctly
and play through the end of the song smoothly and consistently. Before we wrap up this exercise,
let's remove any unused Edit Playlists to keep our session nice and tidy.
1. From the Playlist Selector of any track, choose Delete Unused.
2. The Delete Unused Playlists dialog box will appear, asking which playlists you want to delete.
The three playlists you have not chosen to use in your song should appear.
3. Holding the Shift key, select all three playlists, then click the Delete button.
4. If your session looks and sounds good, you're done! As always, save your session before
moving on to the next lesson!
This completes the exercise.

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 LESSON 5
Track and Clip Processing Workflows
Tracks and clips are the twin cornerstones of your Pro Tools session, and in the next two lessons in
this course, we'll take a closer look at how to work efficiently with these important elements. In this
lesson, you'll learn how to make the most of your tracks and how to work with them quickly and
efficiently.

Duration: 1 hr

GOALS
• Work with Track Freeze
• Work with Track Commit
• Bounce tracks
• Work with clip gain
• Gain skills with Elastic Audio
• Learn Warp workflow
 Lesson 5 Track and Clip Processing Workflows

Track Freeze
In this lesson, we'll discuss a few ways to process your tracks and clips that will help you work more
efficiently and make the most of your system's resources. Let's start with a feature called Track
Freeze.
The primary (but certainly not the only) use of Pro Tools' Track Freeze feature is to help you manage
your system's processing resources. What Track Freeze does is quickly render the track, including
any clips and plug-ins, in a way that's most easily playable.
Let's say that you're working with Virtual Instruments in an extensive composition project. Your MIDI
and Instrument tracks can add up quickly, and these active tracks will use computer processing
resources whether you're currently working on them or not. Track Freeze allows you to render the
tracks that you're not actively working on, so that you have the most processing power for the tracks
you're currently focused on, and in a way that is easily "un-frozen" so that you can make changes
whenever you need to.

Freezing a Track
Tracks can be frozen in different ways. Let's start out with freezing a whole track:
1. Select the track(s) that you want to freeze.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Track menu, choose Freeze.
• Right-click any of the selected track names. From the pop-up menu, choose Freeze.
At that point, you'll see a progress bar indicating the process of rendering the track. When
completed, the selected track(s) will be frozen.

Here's another way to freeze a track, if you only

want to quickly freeze a single track: Click
the Track Freeze icon in the desired track (just
above the track's Timebase selector). Here again,
the audio will be rendered and the track will be
frozen.

TIP: You can freeze multiple tracks by clicking The Track Freeze icon
the Track Freeze icon, if you use some familiar
modifiers:

• Holding the Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key when clicking the icon of one track will freeze (or
unfreeze) all freeze-able tracks.

• Holding Shift+Option (Mac) or Shift+Alt (Windows) when clicking the icon of one selected track will
freeze (or unfreeze) all selected tracks.

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Depending upon the track type, you'll see a change in the track's area:
• On a frozen Audio track, you'll see a waveform representing the output of the track,
including the processing of any frozen plug-ins.
• On a frozen Auxiliary Input track or Routing Folder track, you'll see a waveform, representing
the output of the track, including the processing of any frozen plug-ins.
• On a frozen Instrument track, you'll see the track's MIDI notes superimposed with a
waveform representing the output of the track, including the processing of any frozen plug-
ins.
MIDI tracks, VCA tracks and Master Fader tracks cannot be frozen.

A frozen track can be quickly identified in other ways:

• The Track Freeze icon on the track will appear as a white button with a blue snowflake.
• Clips on the track will appear with thin diagonal lines superimposed upon them.
When frozen, a track no longer consumes computer processing resources for inserted plug-ins,
which can greatly reduce the burden of the track on your system. The track has been rendered to an
audio file (or files) which are stored in the Rendered Files subfolder of your session.

Working with Frozen Tracks

With frozen tracks, there are a few things you can't do:
• Edit clips on the timeline in any way
• Edit MIDI notes or continuous controllers
• Change any plug-in on a frozen insert
• Change the input of the track
That being said, there are a surprising number of things that you can do:
• Add, remove, or modify plug-ins on any un-frozen inserts
• Change any sends on the track
• Change automation parameters like Volume and Pan and send automation (frozen plug-in
parameters are not changeable)

Un-Freezing Tracks
The power of Track Freeze is that tracks can be frozen, un-frozen, and re-frozen at will, allowing you
to manage the processing load of your system while giving you the ability to make changes when
you need to. The methods of un-freezing a track are similar to that of freezing them:
1. Select the frozen track(s) that you want to un-freeze.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Track menu, choose Unfreeze.
• Right-click any of the selected track names. From the pop-up menu, choose Unfreeze.

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• If you only want to quickly un-freeze a single track, click the frozen track's Track
Freeze icon.

Addendum: Track Freeze Workflows

If Track Freeze sounds interesting to you, let's dig deeper!

Scan the QR code or type the URL below into your browser
to view this course addendum.

https://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-Add5-1

Track Commit
Track Freeze is very useful if you want to be able to render and restore tracks at will within your
session to save resources, but frozen tracks come with significant limitations — for example, you
can’t edit clips on frozen tracks. That's where Track Commit comes in handy, enabling you to
permanently apply plug-in effects, and leaving you with an editable new audio track.

Committing a Track
Let's start with a basic workflow:
1. Select the track(s) that you want to commit.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Track menu, choose Commit.
• Right-click any of the selected track
names. From the pop-up menu,
choose Commit.
At this point, the Commit Track dialog box will
appear, enabling you to determine how your
track will be committed:
[1] Commit: Clicking this menu will determine
what you commit.
• Choosing Selected Tracks will commit all
selected tracks in their entirety, from the
beginning of the sound on the track to the
end of the last sound on the track
(including aspects such as reverb tails).
• Choosing Edit Selection will commit the
selected area in your Edit window's tracks The Commit Tracks dialog box
area.

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[2] Consolidate Clips

• When checked, your committed track(s) will have single clips on each track, starting
where sound begins and ending where sound ends for the entire track or edit selection
(depending upon what you've chosen in the Commit menu).
• When unchecked, your committed tracks can contain multiple clips, representing where
sound starts, stops, and starts again.
[3] Render Automation: In this section, you can choose to apply Volume and Mute and/or
Pan automation to the committed audio clip:
• Checked items will be applied to the audio clips on the track, resetting the automation
playlist on the track.
• Unchecked items will not be rendered to the audio on the track and will be maintained
as automation playlists on the committed track.
[4] Copy: Clicking the appropriate check box (Sends and/or Group Assignments) will replicate
these aspects of the source track to the committed track.
[5] Insert after last selected track:
• When checked, the committed track(s) will be placed immediately after the last selected
track.
• When unchecked, each committed track will be placed immediately after the source
track.
[6] Source Tracks: Once your tracks are committed, you have a few choices as to what will
be done with the source tracks:
• Hide and Make Inactive
• Make Inactive
• Delete (NOTE: Unlike normal track deletion, choosing Delete in this menu is undoable,
and will not clear the session's undo history.)
• Do Nothing (NOTE: Choosing Do Nothing will result in two identically sounding tracks —
the source and the committed track).
[7] Offline: Clicking this checkbox will render your track(s) as quickly as your computer's
processing power will provide. When unchecked, the rendering of the committed track will
occur in real-time.
3. Once you've made your choices in the Commit Tracks dialog box, click the OK button. Your
tracks will be rendered, and a new committed track will appear in your session.
Unlike frozen tracks, which are functionally and visually different from non-frozen tracks, a
committed track is a normal Audio track, and can be further edited and manipulated just like any
other Audio track in your session.

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The following track types can be committed:

• Audio
• Auxiliary Input

• Instrument

• MIDI (if routed to a Virtual Instrument plug-in)

• Routing Folder

Here are a few subtle visual indicators signifying

a committed track:
• The track name will follow the naming of
the source track, followed by .cm.
• The clips on the track are similarly
appended with .cm.

A committed track

Let's take a look at this in a workflow context: Let’s suppose that we have 10 mono Audio tracks,
each with audio on them. On each of these tracks is the same volume automation, which dips the
volume before coming back to the original level. In this example, we want to commit only the third,
sixth, and ninth tracks, and leave the others alone.
The first thing that we'll do is select the three tracks that
we want to commit. Then, using any of the methods
we've discussed, we'll open the Commit Tracks and apply
the following settings:
• Commit: Selected Tracks
• Consolidate Clips: Unchecked (which doesn't
affect the result in this scenario)
• Render: Volume an Mute and Pan
• Copy: Sends and Group Assignments
• Insert after last selected track: Unchecked
• Source Tracks: Hide and Make Inactive
• Offline: Checked

Our settings for the Commit Tracks dialog box

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Here's what we'll get:

You'll see that, as far as visible tracks go, the
committed tracks have replaced the source
tracks (actually, the source
tracks weren't replaced — they've been
hidden and made inactive). Each of the
tracks is in the position that it was in the
track order, because the Insert after last
selected track box was unchecked.
You'll also notice that in the waveforms of
the committed tracks, you will see the dip
that used to be in volume automation is now
shown in the new rendered waveform. But
what happened to the volume automation?
Because you clicked the Volume and
Mute check box in the Render section, the volume automation Our result
playlist has been applied
to the audio file, with the playlist itself being reset.
Like Pro Tools' Track Freeze feature, certain aspects of a track are rendered:
• Clip Gain
• Clip Effects
• Elastic Audio
• HEAT
• Inserts
• Volume, Pan, and Mute automation (if selected)
Unlike freezing however, the track that you create through Track Commit is editable in the same way
as any other audio track in your session.
Earlier in this lesson, you learned that the audio generated by freezing a track is stored in the Rendered
Files subfolder of your session. When you commit a track, the audio file will be stored in the Audio
Files subfolder.

Addendum: More Track Commit Workflows

Just as with Track Freeze, there's more than meets the eye with
Track Commit. If you're interested in learning more about its uses,
start here!

Scan the QR code or type the URL below into your browser
to view this course addendum.

https://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-Add5-2

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Bouncing Tracks
Last in our trio of track processes (including Track Freeze and Track Commit) is our ability to bounce
tracks. Think of this as another way to bounce to disk, but instead of bouncing your entire session,
you're just bouncing a single track.
Bouncing a track is similar in many respects to committing and freezing tracks, but each of these
features are used for different purposes:
• Track Freeze stores audio in the Rendered Files subfolder and is useful for temporarily
rendering and unrendering tracks to save system resources.
• Track Commit stores audio in the Audio Files subfolder and is also useful for saving
resources. However, since audio tracks are created, this feature is also useful for editing,
mixing, and collaboration.
• Track Bounce stores files (by default) in the Bounced Files subfolder. This feature is useful
for creating audio files for collaboration and for creating final deliverables.
The workflow to bounce a track is a combination of the traditional "Bounce Mix" workflow and Track
Commit:
1. Select the area on the timeline that you want to bounce.
2. Select the names of the track(s) that you want to bounce.
The following track types can be bounced:

• Audio

• Auxiliary Input
• Instrument

• Master Fader

• Routing Folder

TIP: To select a range of tracks, hold the Shift key while clicking. To select (or deselect) non-adjacent tracks,
hold the Command key (Mac) or CTRL key (Windows) while clicking track names.

TIP: It is highly recommended that you make a timeline selection prior to bouncing (whether traditional
bouncing or bouncing tracks), but not technically required. If you don't make a selection, the bounce will start
at the beginning of the session's timeline and will end with the last sample of audio on the track(s).

3. Do one of the following:

• From the Tracks menu, choose Bounce.
• Right-click any of the selected track names. From the pop-up menu, choose Bounce.

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At this point, the Track Bounce dialog box will appear, enabling you to determine how your track(s)
will be bounced:
[1] Name Prefix:
The track(s) that you
bounce will be
named after the
track name(s) of the
source tracks. The
text you type into
the Name Prefix field
will be added to the
track. In this
example, if the name
of a source track is
Sax SUB, the
bounced file would
be MAKO'S
CHEESECAKE
BLUES_Sax SUB in
this example.
[2] File Type: Here,
you can choose the
type of the audio
file(s) that you will
create. Your
available choices are
WAV (BWF), AIFF,
MP3, and MXF (Op-
Atom).
Workflows that involve
MXF files are explored
in other courses in the
Avid Learning Series.

[3] Automation: In
the Automation
section you can
determine what aspects of the source tracks The Track Bounce dialog box
will applied to the bounced files you create.
Here, you have two check boxes: Render Volume Automation and Render Pan Automation.
[4] Compression Type: This section is more of an indicator than a parameter — the
Compression Type setting typically defaults to PCM (Uncompressed) for most file types and
cannot be changed. If MP3 is selected as the file type, it updates to MP3 and cannot be
changed.

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[5] Add MP3: This is a very useful feature: When you click the Add MP3 check box, MP3 files
will be created in addition to types of files that you chose in the File Type menu. This can be
especially useful if we want to simultaneously create smaller (but lower-quality) files for
sharing with collaborators prior to delivering final files.
[6] File Format: Here's where you will determine how the number of channels (or "width") of
your tracks will determine what files are created. You have three options (depending upon
the files you're bouncing and the file type you choose):
• Mono (Summed): Multichannel tracks will be rendered as single mono audio files. For
example, in this case a bounced stereo track would be bounced as a mono file, with
both left and right channels merged.
• Multiple Mono: Multichannel tracks will be rendered as separate mono files per output
channel. For example, in this case a bounced stereo track would be bounced as two
audio files — one for the left side and another for the right.
• Interleaved: When this option is chosen, each track will be bounced as a single file
maintaining the different channels of the source track. In this case, a stereo track would
be bounced as a single audio file, but the left and right channels would remain separate.
[7] Bit Depth: Here, you can choose the bit depth of your bounced files, as 16 Bit, 24 Bit, or
32 Bit Float (not available when bouncing to MXF). (NOTE: This menu is unavailable when
MP3 is chosen in the File Type field.)
[8] Sample Rate: Here, you can choose the sample of your bounced files. This list will
include all of the standard sample rates when bouncing to WAV or AIFF files, but will be
limited when bouncing to MP3 or MXF files. (NOTE: Unlike when freezing or committing
tracks, the sample rate of your bounced tracks can be different from your session's sample
rate.)
[9] Pad to Frame Boundary: Checking this box will create a file that extends (or "pads") the
audio files' length outward to the nearest frame, according to the frame rate that you set for
your session. This is useful when preparing files to be used in post-production workflows,
ensuring proper placement in frame-based video editing software like Avid's Media
Composer.
[10] Import After Bounce: After bouncing your track, you can import it into your session
(either to a new Audio track or just to the Clips List) by checking the Import After Bounce
check box. (NOTE: This option is not available if your bounce is of a different sample rate
from your session.)
[11] File Destination: When it comes to choosing a location for storing your bounced files,
you have a great deal of flexibility:
• Session Folder: Choosing this option will create your bounced file in the session folder,
including any subfolder in the field to the right (by default, the Bounced Files subfolder).
• Prompt For Location: Choosing this option will allow you to choose any location you
wish for your bounced file. Before the bounce begins, you'll be presented with a
browser window.

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• Directory: This is a good option if you want to have all of your bounced files stored in a
single location, regardless of the session file. Clicking the Choose button will present you
with a browser window from which you can choose your default storage location.
[12] Offline: Clicking this checkbox will bounce your track(s) as quickly as your computer's
processing power will provide. When unchecked, the bouncing of the tracks will occur in real-
time.
TIP: You'll see that, at the top of the dialog box, you have the ability to save and recall presets (you can
save them by holding the Command (Mac) or CTRL (Windows) key and clicking the desired preset), as
well as save and recall settings from the Librarian menu (which currently reads <Factory Default>).
You've seen this before in many other context, including the GUI settings and Fade dialog boxes.

4. Once you've made your choices in the Track Bounce dialog box, click the OK button. When
creating MP3 files, you'll be presented with a dialog box, enabling you to choose MP3 file
settings. Your tracks will be bounced and created in the location you determined in
the Location section.
Let's take a look at this feature in a workflow context: Let’s imagine that we have a big band session,
with saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and so on, all routed to subgroups (in this case, Routing
Folder tracks are used). Our goal is to create individual audio files that represent the different
subgroups (often referred to as "printing the stems"), as well as one bounce of the whole mix (as
heard through a Master Fader track).
Here's what we'll do:
1. Select the tracks that we want to bounce. In this example, it'dll be the individual subgroup
masters as well as the Master Fader controlling the entire output of the mix.
2. Right-click one of the track names and choose Bounce.
3. Choose our settings in the Track Bounce dialog box. In this example, we'll want to create Red
Book audio files for our collaborators, plus smaller MP3 files to attach to an email, so that
they can hear the tracks before the receive the full-quality WAV files:
Red Book audio is a standard introduced with audio CDs, and still a popular bounce choice. For red
book audio, the bit depth should be set to 16, the sample rate should be 44.1 kHz, and the file format
should be interleaved.

4. Click OK.
5. We'll then choose our MP3 file settings, and then click the OK button in that dialog box. At
this point, the bouncing will begin, with a progress bar indicating how long the task will take.

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What will we end up with? Since we chose to

save the files in the Bounced Files subfolder
of our session, we'll find the answer there:
You'll see that we have two files created for
each track that we've bounced — one
interleaved stereo file, and one MP3 file
(since the Add MP3 box was checked).
They follow a consistent naming convention,
which is [session name]_[track name]-[track
format, if panning is rendered]. This way it's
easy to determine the session that the
bounces came from, the tracks that were bounced, and The bounced files

whether their number of channels (mono, stereo, and so on).

Clip Gain
In this Lesson, we've covered trio of track-based process (Freeze, Commit, and Bounce). We’ll
conclude with two clip-based processes. First up: Clip Gain.
Clip Gain is most significant not by what it is, but where it is in terms of signal flow. Let's quickly
review the signal flow of an Audio track:
1. Input: Signal from the live input of the track, or from the clips in the Edit Playlist.
2. Inserts: Most often used for effects, like plug-in compressors, EQs, and so on.
3. Pre-Fader Sends: Copies of the signal after the inserts but before the track's main fader,
that can be routed to the input of other tracks, or to an interface output. This is most
commonly used for effects.
4. Fader: The main volume control of your track
5. Post-Fader Sends: Copies of the signal after the track's main fader, that can be routed to the
input of other tracks, or to an interface output. This is most commonly used for headphone
(or "cue") mixes.
6. Pan: Control over the spatial positioning of your track.
7. Output: Signal from the track, that goes to either the input of another track (in the case of
subgroups), directly to the Pro Tools mix engine, or to an interface output (in the case of "out
of the box" mixing workflows).
We most commonly think of gain control of your track as being the tracks fader, but changes to the
fader will affect the level of the signal post-insert. In other words, moving the fader up or down on
your track will have no impact on the level of the signals going to your inserts (for example, a plug-in
compressor). So you can think of your volume fader as gain control at the end (or very nearly the
end) of the signal chain.
Clip Gain, on the other hand, is at the beginning of the signal chain, at the clip level. That means that
changes that you make with Clip Gain will affect the level of the signal sent to your first insert, which
give you much more control over how those inserts will behave and sound.

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Let's take a classic example: Here we have a vocal track with a number of phrases sung. You'll see
that the second phrase is significantly louder than the others. This isn't unusual at all in a recording
session, but when we're mixing, we want to be able to even the levels out a bit so that the track fits
in the overall mix a bit better.

Our vocal track

A compressor works by attenuating (reducing) the levels of any signals over a threshold. So, it might
make sense use a compressor on this track and set the threshold to be around the level of the
quieter clips, meaning that the level of the louder clip will be reduced to around the same level of
the other clips.
While this might technically seem like a fine solution, compression can change the tonal color of a
sound — part of the reason that we use compression in the first place — and though the output
levels might look the same, that second phrase still won't match the other phrases due to the
coloration of the compressor. Changing the volume fader in this situation won't help either, since
the level of the signal hitting the compressor is happening far in advance of the volume fader in the
track's signal chain.
Clip Gain will help us fix the problem at the source — let's start with a basic Clip Gain workflow:

Applying Clip Gain to an Entire Clip

The example we're looking at here is pretty straightforward. Going back to our original scenario, you
can see three clips on the timeline. The first and third clips are fine, but the levels of the second clip
are too high. Changing the gain of the entire second clip will solve our problem. Fortunately,
changing the gain of an entire clip is simple. In fact, maybe the hardest part of this feature is finding
it!

Our vocal track

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1. From the View menu, move your

cursor to Clips. A submenu will
appear.
2. The third segment of
the Clips submenu pertains to Clip
Gain views. To see the controls for
this workflow, we want to see Clip
Gain Info. When checked, the basic
Clip Gain controls and value will be
shown.

Showing Clip Gain Info

Now, you'll see a small change in the lower left-hand

corner of each audio clip: A small fader icon, with a
decibel value, indicating the amount that the clip has
been adjusted by Clip Gain.

Clip Gain Info

From this point on, the process is simple:

3. Click and hold on the fader icon. A small volume fader will appear to the left of the icon.
4. Still holding your mouse, drag up or down to adjust the gain of the clip. One of the great
aspects of this workflow is the visual feedback — you will see your waveform change as you
drag, and in this situation we can quickly match the other clips' levels. You'll see that as you
move the clip gain fader, the value will be reflected in the field to the right of the fader.
Clip Gain can be adjusted from –144 dB (represented as -∞) to +36.0 dB

TIP: Just like a volume fader, you can reset a Clip Gain fader to unity (0 dB) by clicking the fader icon while
holding the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows).

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TIP: In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned that you could move a track's volume fader (and other
parameters) with fine resolution by holding the Command key (Mac) or CTRL key (Windows) while moving
the parameter. This works for the Clip Gain fader as well — holding this modifier will enable you to change
values in .1 dB increments.

Applying Clip Gain Within a Clip

Let's make things a little more challenging. Here we have a similar vocal track, but instead of
multiple clips on the timeline, there's only one clip.

A single vocal clip

You can see within the clip a section that is significantly louder than the rest, and while we might be
able to separate clips at different phrases, it's going to be time-consuming and limited in its
effectiveness. It would be awesome if we could change the clip gain with more flexibility within a
single clip. And of course, we can!
To do this though, we're going to need more discrete control than the Clip Info view can provide.
What we need to see is the Clip Gain Line:
1. From the View menu, move your cursor to Clips. A submenu will appear.
2. Click Clip Gain Line. When checked, the Clip Gain Line will be shown.
Here's what you'll see now:

The Clip Gain Line

This might look like the volume automation line at first glance, but instead of changing your track's
level at the end of the signal chain, you're changing the clip's level at the beginning! There is one
visual cue letting you know you're looking at Clip Gain and not volume automation — the Clip Gain
line begins and ends at the boundary of each audio clip in your session.
Not only does the Clip Gain line look like a volume line, but it can also be manipulated like one as
well. You can edit tools in the same way, or even use the Pencil tool to draw using either
its freehand mode or its variety of drawing shapes.

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In this particular case, here's what we'll do:

1. Use the Selector tool to mark an area in the clip.
2. Use the Trim tool to lower the Clip Gain for that selected area.
3. Use the Grabber tool to create and move Clip Gain breakpoints to create a smoother
transition.

Evening out a track using Clip gain

And here's the payoff: By easily changing the level of the clip, the signal being sent to the
compressor is far more consistent, allowing the plug-in to subtly enhance the sound, rather than act
as a brutish level manager.

Working with Clip Gain

Like many Pro Tools features, Clip Gain can be used not only at a basic level, but for more advanced
workflows as well. Let's take a look at some of the aspects of Clip Gain that will help you make the
most of this powerful feature!

Viewing Clip Gain

Let's start out by making the showing and hiding of the various Clip Gain-related views easier:
TIP: When it comes to shortcuts, Shift+Control (on a Mac computer) or Shift+Start (on a Windows computer)
are your best friends when working with Clip Gain. You'll find this key combination as the foundation of all
the shortcuts discussed in this section.

• Show or hide Clip Gain info: Shift+Control+= (Mac) or Shift+Start+= (Windows)

• Show or hide the Clip Gain Line: Shift+Control+- (Mac) or Shift+Start+- (Windows)
There are a few other visual indicators to take note of when working with Clip Gain:
• Trim Tool Icon: You'll notice that one of the icons looked a little different than what you've
seen so far — the Trim tool cursor. When you're trimming Clip Gain, this will appear as a
downward-facing bracket with a small fader icon within.
• Clip Gain Values: When you're changing clip gain using the Trim tool, you'll see indications
of what you're doing above your cursor. The leftmost value is an absolute representation of
the value of your Clip Gain. There's also a value within parenthesis with a triangular icon —
this represents the amount by which you're changing the Clip Gain.

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Nudging Clip Gain

Clip Gain, like many other elements in your session, can be nudged. In this section, you'll learn the
various ways to do it:

Vertically Nudging Clip Gain

Let's start out by nudging it vertically (up or down):
• To nudge a selected area's Clip Gain up: Shift+Control+Up Arrow (Mac) or Shift+Start+Up
Arrow (Windows)
• To nudge a selected area's Clip Gain down: Shift+Control+Down Arrow (Mac)
or Shift+Start+Down Arrow (Windows)
By default, you will nudge levels up or down in .5 dB increments, which suits many Pro Tools users.
That said, you can easily change the nudge
amount:
1. From the Setup menu, open
the Preferences dialog box.
2. In the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box,
click the Editing tab.
3. In the Clips section, type the value you
want in the Clip Gain Nudge Value field.
You can enter values in .1 dB increments.

The Clip Gain Nudge Value preference

The workflow of nudging Clip Gain up and down is simple: Select the area you want to change and
apply the shortcut for the direction that you want to nudge. You'll notice that Pro Tools will
automatically create Clip Gain breakpoints at the beginning and end of the selected area, and the
shape of any Clip Gain breakpoints within the area are preserved (just shifted upward or
downward).
There's another way that you can nudge automation up or down: If your mouse has a scroll wheel,
just hold Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift+Start (Windows) and move your scroll wheel (or scroll with your
computer's touchpad) in the direction you want to move the Clip Gain. Just as with the Arrow Key
shortcuts, your Clip Gain will shift based upon the Clip Gain Nudge Value you've set in your Pro Tools
Preferences.

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Horizontally Nudging Clip Gain

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned how to nudge clips using your computer's numeric keypad
(or the comma and period keys). You can nudge Clip Gain breakpoints as well, but there's a
workflow to it:
1. Select an area that you want to nudge.
2. Hold Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift+Start (Windows)
3. Use any of the traditional nudge shortcuts:
• On your computer keyboard's numeric keypad, press the Plus (+) key to move your
breakpoints later by the nudge amount or press the Minus (-) key to move your
breakpoints earlier by the nudge amount.
• Alternately, you can press the Period (.) key to move your breakpoints later by the nudge
amount or press the Comma (,) key to move your breakpoints earlier by the nudge
amount.

Clip Gain Hacks

Let's end this section with a satisfying combination of things you've learned in this lesson — tips that
will give you new flexibility with your Clip Gain work.

Clip Gain and Edit Playlists

Earlier in this lesson you learned about Edit Playlists, and that the definition of an Edit Playlist is that
it is a sequence of clips on a track. But what about the Clip Gain on those clips?
The great news is that the same clips on different playlists can have their own independent Clip gain.
For example, here we have a vocal track with some Clip Gain on the Vocal_01 clip:

Clip Gain on the Vocal_01 clip in the Vocal track

Let's put this into real-world situation: Say, your vocal track has hundreds of clips on the timeline,
with many having meticulously tweaked Clip Gain. Now, you want to try something new on some of
those clips, but you don't want to lose what you have already.
The workflow is easy: Just create a duplicate playlist and make changes to the Clip Gain of the clips
you want. As soon as a change is applied, a new clip will appear in your Clips List, ensuring that your
original playlist is unchanged. Now you have the ability to switch between an infinite number of
playlists, each supporting independent Clip Gain modifications. Better yet, you can switch between
these playlists during playback!

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This workflow is a workaround of one of Pro Tools' mixing limitations: On any given track, you've
only got one volume automation playlist, but with Clip Gain and Edit Playlists, you can, in a sense,
create alternate "mixes" on a track (with the stipulation that the flexibility that Clip Gain and Edit
Playlists provides is limited to pre-insert gain).

Clip Gain and Clip Groups

You've got a clip on which you've written some brilliant Clip Gain. Now you want to write a new Clip
Gain line, while preserving what you've already done. You'll have to render that Clip Gain first, and
then write new Clip Gain on the (reset) Clip Gain Line, right?
While that's certainly one way you could do it, here's another workflow that is less destructive,
utilizing the power of Clip Groups. As you learned, a Clip Group is simply a container for other clips
(even a single clip), so it should come as no surprise that Clip Gain is maintained. What is interesting
though, is that a Clip Group (if it includes at least one audio clip) will itself include a Clip Gain Line!
This new, default line overlays upon the Clip Gain of the audio clips within the group. Like Edit
Playlists, you can create as many Clip Groups as you like, including making a Clip Group of another
Clip Group. And each time you do it, you'll get a fresh new Clip Gain line without losing the levels of
Clip Gain of the member clips and Clip Groups.

Introducing Elastic Audio

In the previous section, you learned about Clip Gain, which is able to stretch your audio
waveform up or down, but what about side to side? That's where Elastic Audio comes in.
Elastic Audio has a number of uses:
• Applying an accelerando (gradually speeding up) or ritardando (gradually slowing down) to
an audio clip, to have it follow a corresponding change in your session's MIDI tracks.
• Stretching an audio file to match a video scene, with the ability to anchor certain key points
to on-screen actions.
• Change the tempo of recorded audio — from subtle changes in different sections to control
the energy of a song to more radical changes for different arrangements or remixes.
• Changing the timing of a note or word within a clip, leaving other notes or words unchanged.
• Applying quantization (the aligning of events like notes and words to a grid) to audio in a
similar way that MIDI data can be quantized.
Elastic Audio was originally conceived as a music production tool, allowing Pro Tools users to work with
audio with the same flexibility as MIDI notes, but it has found a place in many different kinds of workflows,
including post-production and even sound design. For the purposes of this lesson, we'll focus on the basics
of Elastic Audio, and explore more specific workflow scenarios in other courses in the Avid Learning Series.

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Activating Elastic Audio

Just like with Clip Gain, half the battle when it comes to Elastic Audio is finding it!
Elastic Audio can be activated on Audio tracks only, and accessed only from the Edit window.

1. On the Audio track upon which you want to activate Elastic Audio, click the Elastic Audio
Plug-in Selector, immediately to the right of the Timebase Selector. A menu will appear.
2. Because no one time-stretching algorithm is best for all kinds of audio, Pro Tools gives you
five different algorithms (which fall into then general category of "plug-in") to choose from:
• The Polyphonic plug-in is a general, all-purpose algorithm that is effective with a wide
range of material.For complex loops and multi-instrument mixes, use the Polyphonic
plug-in.
• The Rhythmic plug-in is best suited to material with clear attack transients, such as
drums and other percussive instruments.
• The Monophonic plug-in is best suited to single-note instruments — everything from
single vocal tracks, to one-pitch-at-a-time instrument tracks (instruments like bass,
woodwind and brass instruments). The Monophonic plug-in analyzes pitch as well as
transients in order to provide high-quality results for monophonic tracks.
• Use the Varispeed plug-in when you want to change pitch and speed at the same time.
This plug-in works a lot like tape or a record — when speed increases, the pitch goes up,
and as the sound slows down, the pitch goes down as well. This plug-is great for special
effects.
• ElastiquePRO is a new addition to Pro Tools, being introduced in version 2023.3. This
algorithm gives generally excellent audio performance in a wide range of situations, and
performs particularly well when stretching long audio segments or even whole songs.
• X-Form is a simplified version of an Avid AudioSuite plug-in that is very popular,
especially for post-production workflows. Though each of the algorithms on this list
have their strengths, X-Form often yields the best results. There's one draw-back
though: X-Form only operates in a rendered mode (we'll talk about that later in this
section).
Directly below the X-Form plug-in, you'll see Melodyne. Choosing this will enable Melodyne on your track for
rhythmic and pitch correction. Melodyne workflows are beyond the scope of this course, but are explored in
detail in other courses in the Avid Learning Series.

3. Choose your desired algorithm. You'll notice that for some time, the clips on the track will go
"offline" (turning grey and being inaudible). This is due to the analysis needed for the audio,
and will vary depending on the size of the audio files used on the timeline. Once the clips
return to their normal view, you're ready to go!

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Real-Time Processing and Rendered Processing

When we choose Polyphonic to be our Elastic Audio plug-in, you'll see the name of the algorithm in
the name displayed in the Current Elastic Audio Plug-in indicator. You'll also see a small square to
the right of the plug-in name. In this case, the square is colored green. But what does that mean?

That small square indicates whether Elastic Audio is

running as a real-time or rendered plug-in. Both of
these modes of operation have their pros and cons.
• When the square is green, Elastic Audio is
running as a real-time plug-in. Technically
speaking, this is very similar to an AAX plug-
in running on your track's inserts. There are Elastic Audio as a
real-time plug-in
some pros and cons for choosing
real-time operation:
• Pro: Real-time Elastic Audio is much more responsive during the production process —
when you adjust your audio (which you'll learn how to do later in this section), the audio
is immediately audible.
• Con: Just like wi th any real-time plug-in, when real-time Elastic Audio is activated on a
track, it will consume CPU resources during playback. Though each Elastic Audio plug-in
takes very little processing power to play back, if your session has many Elastic Audio-
enabled tracks all running in real-time, it can impact your session's available resources.
• When running in Rendered mode, the Elastic Audio plug-in is not running similar to an AAX
plug-in, but rather more like an AudioSuite plug-in, creating audio that reflects your Elastic
Audio manipulations (which are stored in your session's Rendered Files subfolder). Here
again, there are some pros and cons to factor into your decision:
• Pro: Because Pro Tools is playing back an audio file (from the Rendered Files subfolder),
rendered Elastic Audio doesn't require any real-time processing that might steal power
from other tasks in your session (like AAX plug-ins in your tracks' inserts).
• Con: Because every change you make when manipulating Elastic Audio has to be
rendered in order to be heard, the workflow is significantly slowed down when working
with Elastic Audio in a rendered mode. This can become a serious production obstacle
when working with large audio files!
A few things to keep in mind with regard to your processing mode:
• There is no sonic difference between real-time and rendered mode. Any given algorithm will
sound the same regardless of how it is running.
• All of the algorithms can operate in either real-time or rendered mode, except X-Form, which
can only operate in rendered mode.

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• You can switch from real-time to rendered — or change Elastic Audio plug-ins — anytime
you want. For example, you could work in Polyphonic mode in real-time, and when you're
done, change to X-Form (which only runs in rendered mode).
Changing Elastic Audio's operational mode is easy:
1. Click the Elastic Audio Plug-in selector (the small icon to the left of the active Elastic Audio
plug-in name).
2. In the bottom segment of the pop-up menu, you'll see the two modes, with the currently
active one marked with a check mark. Click the other mode, and the menu will close and
your change will be applied.
You'll notice that when you change from Real-Time Processing to Rendered Processing, the
green "light" in the square to the left of the Elastic Audio plug-in name will "turn off". This is a
signal to you that the track is now operating in a rendered mode.
You can choose processing modes on a track-by-track basis, using the best mode per track to suit your
workflow.

In extreme cases where your computer is having trouble keeping up with all of the real-time processing
needed for playback, you may be shown a message box recommending that you change your Elastic Audio
tracks to rendered mode.

Working with Event Markers

As soon as Elastic Audio is enabled on a track, you have two new track view formats available to you:
Analysis view and Warp view. Let's start out with Analysis view:
1. Click the desired track's Track View selector,
2. Choose Analysis. You'll see the view change, with your audio being marked with a series of
vertical lines.
The vertical lines that you see are called Event Markers and will denote transients in your
audio — places where the amplitude rapidly changes, like the beginnings of drum hits, or
words in a spoken sentence. Event markers are comparable with MIDI notes on a MIDI or
Instrument track, and the placement of your Event Markers will affect the results you get
when quantizing or having the audio follow tempo changes.
Event Markers don't fully go from the bottom to the top of the track. This is an important visual cue to
distinguish them from Warp Markers, which we'll discuss later in this section.

Making sure that you only have the event markers you want will help greatly with any quantize- or
tempo-related workflows, and there are a number of ways you can work with Event Markers:
• Adding Event Markers: Not seeing an Event Marker where you need one? Here are three
ways you can add an Event Marker:
• Choose the Grabber tool and double-click where you want a Marker.
• Using the Pencil tool, single-click where you want to create an Event Marker.
• Right-click where you want to add an Event Marker and choose Add Event Marker from
the pop-up menu.

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• Deleting Event Markers: If you want to remove an Event Marker, there are a number of
ways you can do it:
• Using the Grabber tool, double-click on the Event Marker that you want to remove.
• Using the Selector tool, select a range on your clip, then press the Delete key.
• Using the Pencil tool, hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and click the Event
Marker that you want to remove.
• Right-click on an Event Marker and choose Remove Event Marker from the pop-up
menu.
Event Markers are only part of the story. In order to stretch your audio, you'll need to go into the
other new view: Warp Markers.

Warping with Elastic Audio

While Event Markers (in Analysis view) is certainly an important component of Elastic Audio for many
workflows, it's in Warp view where things really get interesting:
1. Click the desired track's Track View selector,
2. Choose Warp. You'll still see Event markers in the track, but they will be less bright.
When we're in Warp view, we won't be working with Event Markers, but rather Warp Markers. But
what exactly are Warp Markers?
Let's go with the idea that a Warp Marker can function as one of two things — either a handle or
an anchor.
Let me show you what I mean: Let's say that, in this vocal track, the beginning of the phrase is fine,
and the long note at the end is good as well, but the middle phrase is a bit too early.

Our vocal track, pre-warp

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Let's start off with creating the “handle”:

1. A Warp Marker can be created anywhere, but the visual cues of your Event Markers will
often be greatly helpful. Since we want to move that second phrase (which is marked by the
third Event Marker in our example), we'll use the Grabber tool, and double-click on that
Event Marker line, and you'll see that the line becomes brighter, extends from the top to the
bottom of the track, and has a small triangular icon at the base. Now we've created a Warp
Marker.
Now that we've created a Warp Marker — the "handle" that we'll use to warp our audio —
are we ready to go? Not yet. If you were to drag this single Warp Marker, you'd see that the
audio before the marker stretches, and the audio after the marker moves later. This isn't
what we want in this situation, so we'll need to create some "anchor" Warp Markers.
2. Still using the Grabber tool, click on an Event Marker prior to the current Warp Marker, that
you want to change to a second Warp Marker (since we won't be moving this one, it'll
function as an anchor unless we specifically move it). In our simulated example, this would
be the first Event Marker.
3. Double-click on an Event Marker after the first Warp Marker that you created. This will create
a third Warp Marker (in this scenario, this will also function as an anchor). In our simulated
example, that would be the sixth Event Marker.
TIP: When using the Grabber tool to create Warp Markers, depending on the location of the Warp
Marker, you might have to single-click or double-click. One helpful workaround to this inconsistency is
to hold the Control key (Mac) or Start key (Windows) when clicking with the Grabber.

At this point, we should be clear that the terms "handle" and "anchor" aren't proper, official terms,
but they are useful way to think about how we use Elastic Audio. With that disclaimer in mind, here's
what we've done. We've created a Warp Marker at the same position as the first, third and sixth
Event Markers, With the middle Warp Event being the one that we'll manipulate, and the outer ones
serving as boundaries for the changes that we make.

Our three Warp Markers

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4. Now, we're ready. Click and drag on the Warp Marker you want to move (the "handle" in our
unofficial terminology). You'll see that the change stops at the preceding and following Warp
Markers (our "anchors").
Now that you understand how Warp Markers work, let's look at different ways to work with them:
• Adding Warp Markers: Not seeing a Warp Marker where you need one? Here are three
ways to create a Warp Marker
• Choose the Grabber tool and click or double-click where you want a marker.
• Using the Pencil tool, single-click where you want to create a Warp Marker.

• Right-click where you want to add a Warp Marker and choose Add Warp Marker from
the pop-up menu.
Given that Event Markers are placed at significant transients, they are often a natural place to
create a Warp Marker, but they're by no means the only place you can create a Warp Marker. You
can use the Grabber tool or Pencil tool to create Warp Markers in places where there are no Event
Markers.

TIP: If you want to warp within a selected area, you might want to create two Warp Markers at
either end of that selection first. Here's a great workflow: After selecting your area, right-click
within the area and choose Add Warp Marker. Two Warp Markers will be created, at either end of
the selection!

• Deleting Warp Markers: If you want to remove a Warp Marker:

• Using the Grabber tool, double-click on the Warp Marker that you want to remove.
• Using the Selector tool, select a range on your clip, then press the Delete key. All Warp
Markers within the selection will be removed.
• Using the Pencil tool, hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and click the Warp
Marker that you want to remove.
• Right-click on an Warp Marker and choose Remove Warp from the pop-up menu.

Quantizing Elastic Audio

The word quantization has many meanings in the audio world, perhaps the most well-known one
being the adjustment of the timing of events on your timeline. These events could be MIDI notes,
clips, and so on. Typical uses of quantization are the "tightening up" of musical performances so that
they better align with the tempo grid, sometimes taken to its extremes of superhuman precision.
With Elastic Audio, you can quantize audio clips with the same ease as you quantize MIDI notes —
let's take a look at a scenario:
In this track we have three
bass notes, each a bit off the
grid. The first and third are a
bit early, and the second is a
tad late:

A bass part (pre-quantize)

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The trick to getting Quantize to work the way you want is to make sure you've got all the Event
Markers you need, and no others. When you quantize audio with Elastic Audio, Pro Tools will treat
each Event Marker as if it was a MIDI note, and having unnecessary Event Markers can result in
audio being stretched in ways we don't want.
Since in this case we
want to line up the
beginnings of the
notes, let's keep things
simple and remove all
but the three Event
Markers that signify
the beginnings of each
note. There are a
number of ways that
you learned how to
manage your Event
Markers, but in this
case, right-clicking the
clip and lowering the
Event Markers only where we need them
Event Sensitivity in the Elastic Properties
dialog box gets us to what we want quickly.
After this, it's easy, and a workflow that's nearly identical to quantizing MIDI:
1. Select the clip or area that you want to quantize.
2. From the Event menu, move your cursor to the Event Operations menu item. A submenu will
appear. From the Event Operations submenu, choose Quantize.
3. In Event Operations/Quantize dialog box,
you'll first need to make sure that you're
quantizing the right things. In the What to
Quantize pop-up menu, make sure that
you're set to be quantizing Elastic Audio
Events.
4. In the Quantize Grid pop-up menu,
choose a grid resolution. For this
example, since we want each note to be
on the down beat (first beat) of each bar,
we'll choose 1/1 note.
5. Click the OK button. Quantizing Elastic Audio Events

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Here's what we get:

The Event markers
have been
promoted to being
Warp Markers, and
then moved to the
grid we specified in
Quantized Elastic Audio
the Quantize dialog box.
This example is about as simple as it comes, and if you've ever quantized MIDI before (in any DAW),
you know that it's important to know the position of the notes prior to quantization and choosing
the right grid resolution for the job at hand. The same holds true for quantizing Elastic Audio — if
you make sure that you have the Event Markers you need, and choose the right quantize grid, you
can tighten up an audio clip quickly.
One final detail to note is that a track doesn't need to be tick-based in order to be quantized — this
process applies to both sample-based and tick-based tracks.
TIP: When quantizing long sustained notes, you'll sometimes hear a strange warbling artifact. This is often
caused by unnecessary Event Markers in the clip (which Pro Tools is trying to quantize, resulting in uneven
playback). This can be fixed by removing the Event Markers prior to quantization or removing the Warp
Markers after quantization.

Identifying Warped Clips

When working with Elastic Audio, you'll want to be able to quickly determine which of your clips have
been changed using Elastic Audio, and which ones have been unaltered. Fortunately, there's an easy
visual reference:

When any clip has been altered with Elastic Audio

you'll see a Warp Marker-style icon in the upper
right-hand corner of the clip.
Just creating Event Markers or Warp Markers doesn't
count — the audio has to be changed in some way.

A warped clip

You'll see a similar-looking icon in the

Clips List.

A warped clip in the Clips List

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Addendum: Warp Workflow Tips

Elastic Audio is a powerful feature with a great deal of flexibility,
using features that go well beyond the scope of the Pro Tools 110 course.
If you're interested in diving deeper into warping, this module will explore
just some of the customizations and workflows as your fingertips.

Scan the QR code or type the URL below into your browser
to view this course addendum.

https://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-Add5-3

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Summary of Key Concepts

Lesson 5 looks at different ways to process tracks and clips.
In this lesson, you learned:
• How to freeze and unfreeze tracks in your session, maximizing your systems processing
resources.
• How to commit tracks and choose the options that best suit your workflow.
• A third way to process your tracks — by bouncing them — and how to render tracks for
creating deliverable media.
• How to take control of your tracks' signal flow with Clip Gain, controlling your clips' levels
before they reach your inserts.
• The basics of Elastic Audio — how to choose the right plug-ins for the job, and work at a
basic level with Event Markers and Warp Markers.

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Keyboard Shortcuts and Modifiers from this Lesson

Following is a summary of shortcuts and modifiers that you should know from this lesson.

Regarding Keyboard Shortcuts

Beginning with Pro Tools version 2022.4, keyboard shortcuts can be customized, allowing flexibility in
choosing individual workflows. For the purposes of this course, and to build a strong foundation that is
most compatible with the broader Pro Tools-using community, Pro Tools' default keyboard shortcuts will
be used.

To reset Pro Tools' shortcuts to their default state:

1. From the Setup menu, choose Keyboard Shortcuts. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box will appear.

2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the dialog box, click the Reset All button. An Are You Sure? dialog
box will appear.

3. Click the Yes button.

For the purposes of the Pro Tools 101 and Pro

Tools 110 courses the Edit Keyboard focus should
always be enabled.

Action Default Shortcut

Freeze (or unfreeze) all tracks Hold the Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key when clicking
the Freeze icon of one track

Freeze (or unfreeze) all selected tracks Hold Shift+Option (Mac) or Shift+Alt (Windows)
when freezing one selected track

Store a preset in the Bounce Track dialog box Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl Key (Windows) and
clicking the Bounce Track Preset button to which you want
to assign the settings

Reset a Clip Gain fader to unity (0 dB) Click the fader icon while holding the Option key (Mac)
or Alt key (Windows)

Move a track's Clip Gain fader with fine resolution Hold the Command key (Mac) or CTRL key (Windows) while
moving the fader

Show or hide Clip Gain info Shift+Control+= (Mac) or Shift+Start+= (Windows)

Show or hide the Clip Gain Line Shift+Control+- (Mac) or Shift+Start+- (Windows)

Nudge a selected area's Clip Gain up Shift+Control+Up Arrow (Mac) or Shift+Start+Up

Arrow (Windows)

Nudge a selected area's Clip Gain down Shift+Control+Down Arrow (Mac) or Shift+Start+Down
Arrow (Windows)

Nudge Clip Gain up or down with a mouse scroll wheel Hold Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift+Start (Windows) and move
your scroll wheel (or scroll with your computer's touchpad)
in the direction you want to move the Clip Gain

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Action Default Shortcut

Horizontally nudge Clip Gain Hold Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift+Start (Windows) and on
your computer keyboard's numeric keypad, press
the plus (+) key to move your breakpoints later by the
nudge amount or press the minus (-) key to move your
breakpoints earlier by the nudge amount

Horizontally nudge Clip Gain Hold Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift+Start (Windows) and press
the period (.) key to move your breakpoints later by the
nudge amount or press the comma (,) key to move your
breakpoints earlier by the nudge amount

Delete Event Markers Using the Selector Tool, select a range on your clip, then
press the Delete key

Delete Event Markers Using the Pencil Tool, hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key
(Windows) and click the Event Marker that you want to
remove

Move Warp Markers Using the Grabber tool, hold the Control key (Mac)
or Start key (Windows) and move your cursor over an
existing Warp Maker. When your cursor changes, just click
and drag

Create a Warp Marker Using the Grabber tool, hold the Control key (Mac)
or Start key (Windows) and click in the desired location

Delete Warp Marker Using the Selector Tool, select a range on your clip, then
press the Delete key

Delete Warp Marker Using the Pencil Tool, hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key
(Windows) and click the Warp Marker that you want to
remove

Knowledge Check
Click or scan the QR code shown to experience a fully interactive online
knowledge check with scored results.
You can also type the URL below into your browser:
https://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-KC5

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 Exercise 5
Clip and Track Techniques
In Lesson 5, you learned ways to work with clips and tracks that will help you in a wide range of
situations. The job at hand in this exercise is to open a session from a client, do some clean-up, and
send final tracks back.

Media: PT110 2023 Exercise 5 (Danny Boy)

Duration: 30 min

Downloading the Media Files

To complete this exercise, you will need to use various files included in the PT110 (2023) Exercises folder.

• Download all the media files for the course by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_All_Exercises.zip

• Download just the media files for this exercise by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_Exercise_5_(Danny_Boy).zip

TIP: If clicking either of the links above does not initiate the media download, copy the link address and
then paste it into a new tab in your browser.

Part 1: Getting Started

To get started, we'll need to open a session:
1. Launch Pro Tools.
• Do one of the following:
• In the Dashboard window, click the Open From Disk button.
• From the File menu, choose Open Session.
2. Navigate to the folder containing the exercises for this course and open the PT110 2023
Exercise 5 (Danny Boy) subfolder.
3. Double-click the PT110 2023 Exercise 5 (Danny Boy).ptx session file.
4. Using File > Save As, save a new version of the session file, naming the session descriptively.
Here's a possible name: PT110 2023 Exercise 5 (Danny Boy) - [Your Name] [today's date].
 Exercise 5 Clip and Track Techniques

Part 2: Track Management

Looking at this session, you'll see 5 frozen Instrument tracks, plus a reverb track and a Master Fader.
Your job is to do some tweaking, but there's a potential pitfall waiting for you: You (probably) don't
have the plug-ins that are on the Instrument tracks, so if you un-freeze these tracks, you'll lose the
ability to hear the music.
The Virtual Instrument plug-in used for this session is called SWAM, from a company called Audio
Modelling (https://audiomodeling.com). These physical modelling plug-ins aren't cheap, but they're quite
good at approximating the instruments they are modelled after. Each part was individually performed on an
AKAI EWI MIDI Controller.

Fortunately, a frozen track can be committed. Let's do this as efficiently as possible:

1. Make sure that the 5 Instrument
tracks are selected.
2. Right-click on the track nameplate of
any selected track, and
choose Commit.
3. In the Commit Tracks to Insert dialog
box, choose the settings shown here,
and then click the OK button (see
image):

Now, you have five new Audio tracks along with the original Instrument tracks, which we
don't need any longer. Let's create a “Trash Can” track to put them in, instead of deleting
them.
4. Create a Basic Folder track, and name it Trash Can.
5. Right-click the Trash Can nameplate and choose Make Inactive.
6. Drag all of the Instrument tracks into the Trash Can track. Note that they will automatically
become inactive.
7. Since we're not using the Click track either, let's drag that into the Trash Can as well.

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At this point, your session should look something like this:

If it does, you're ready to move on to the next section!

Part 3: Clip Gain Tweaks

In this exercise, we'll make some small (and not so small) adjustments to the tracks, using Clip
Gain and Elastic Audio. Let's start with some Clip Gain tweaks:
1. Make sure that you're seeing the Clip Gain Line (View > Clip > Clip Gain Line).
2. Resize all of the Audio tracks to Large (this isn't technically required, but you'll want to be
able to see what you're doing).
3. Make sure that you're in Slip Edit mode.
The end of the second phrase of the trumpet gets a little lost in the rest of the brass. Let's give it a
nudge with Clip Gain:
4. On the Trumpet 1.cm track, using the Grabber tool, create three Clip Gain breakpoints:
• At around 4|3|405
• At around 5|3|268
• Anywhere between those two breakpoints

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5. Grab the middle breakpoint

and raise it so that the end of
the phrase doesn't taper as
much. You can drag the
breakpoint both vertically and
horizontally to suit your tastes.
There's no right answer to
this—it's your artistic choice—
but here's an example for your
consideration.

There's one other place that we want to do a little sonic surgery: the next to the last note of the
French horn is just a little too jarring:
6. On the Horn.cm track, using the Grabber tool, create three Clip Gain breakpoints:
• At around 19|1|480
• At around 19|2|480
• Anywhere between those two breakpoints
7. Grab the middle breakpoint and lower it so that the attack of the note doesn't stick out as
much. You can drag the breakpoint both vertically and horizontally to suit your tastes.
Here again, it's a matter of taste, but here's what might work:

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Part 4: Using Elastic Audio

Let's use Elastic Audio to fix a few things and add some drama to the song!
1. On each Audio track, enable Elastic Audio, and choose the Monophonic Elastic Audio plug-in.
Make sure that you're using Real-Time Processing on each of the tracks.
2. Confirm that all Audio tracks are tick-based. (They should be, as the Instrument tracks they
were committed from were tick-based.)
3. Make sure you're still in Slip Edit mode.
This is meant to sound like a live performance, so we're not going to go crazy and over-edit this, but
there is one note that needs to be fixed: The first note on the Tuba.cm track—it's late.
While we don't technically have to do anything in Analysis view, cleaning it up a bit will make our
work easier:
4. On the Tuba.cm track, change your track view to Analysis.
5. Using the Selector tool, select an area between 2|2|103 and 2|2|871.
6. Press the Delete key. You should now be left with a single Event Marker at the beginning of
the track, with the second Event Marker just before the second note of the tuba
7. Using the Grabber tool, double-click near 2|1|000 to create another Event Marker. Your
track should now look like this:

8. Switch to Warp view on the Tuba.cm track. You'll still see the Event Markers, slightly greyed-
out.
9. Click (or double-click) on the first three event markers, promoting them to be Warp Markers.
10. Now, let's have some fun: drag the beginning of the first tuba note so that it's roughly at the
same time as the first note on the Trombone 2.cm track.
This was recorded to a click track, meaning that the performer was limited in what they could do,
tempo-wise. In the next lesson, you'll learn how to work with tempo in a deeper way, but you know
that tick-based tracks will respond to tempo changes, and with Elastic Audio enabled, that means
stretching audio to respond to tempo changes. So, let's add some simple tempo changes and inject
some emotion!

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There's one thing we'll have to do first: We haven't deleted the original frozen tracks, and tempo
changes can't be added when there are frozen tracks in a session.
11. Using File > Save As, save a new version of your session (in the same folder) with "TEMPO
CHANGES" added to the end of the session name.
12. Delete the Trash Can track. In the dialog box that appears, choose to delete all the member
tracks.
13. Now, let's make some tempo changes (To do this, refer to Lesson 5 of the Pro Tools 101
course, in the "Setting Tempo and Meter" section. Remember that in order to have tempo
changes in your session the Conductor track must be enabled):
• At 9|1|000, change the tempo to 45 BPM.
• At 9|3|000, change the tempo to 50 BPM (NOTE: You'll need to uncheck the Snap to
Bar check box).
• At 13|3|000, change the tempo to 43 BPM.
• At 14|1|000, change the tempo to 50 BPM.
• At 18|3|000, change the tempo to 40 BPM.
14. There are some audio artifacts creeping in, but we can fix that: change the Elastic Audio
plug-in on all Audio tracks to X-Form.

Hey, what's happening at the end?

When tempo is slowed down, minute differences in timing (that make the music sound live) are increased
(sometimes making the music sound sloppy). That's what's happening in the last two notes of the French
Horn, Trombones, and Tuba. It's beyond the scope of this exercise, but in a real-world situation, we'd
probably use Elastic Audio to tighten that up a bit. If you want to, have at it!

Part 5: Bouncing Tracks

We're now ready to give our client what they asked for—individual tracks of our edited song. Here's
where we'll use Track Bounce to get the job done quickly!
1. Select all of the tracks in your session (including the reverb track and the Master Fader)
2. Make a timeline selection from the beginning of the session to 21|1|000.
3. Bounce the tracks (either by Track > Bounce or by right clicking a track's name and choosing
Bounce from the pop-up menu).

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4. In the Track Bounce

dialog box, choose the
settings shown (see
image):
5. Click the Bounce button.
6. Check the Bounced Files
subfolder of your session
and confirm that you can
see all of the track
bounces. If you do, you're
done—make sure to save
your session before
moving on to the next
lesson!

This completes the exercise.

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 LESSON 6
Import, Export and Recording

In this lesson, we’ll explore new ways of recording and importing audio, and take the discussion a
few steps beyond, into session interoperability as well. The topics that you learn in this lesson will
improve your efficiency in a wide range of workflow scenarios.

Duration: 1 hr

GOALS

• Learn new workflows for importing and exporting audio

• Search for clips using tags
• Utilize sound libraries
• Explore session Interop
 Lesson 6 Import, Export and Recording

More Ways to Import Audio

In the PT101 course, we imported audio in a few traditional ways: from the Import Audio dialog box,
the Workspace Browser window, or even your computer's file browser. Building on those frequently
used workflows, let's take a look at a few variations:

Creating New Tracks when Importing

You've already learned how to create new tracks when importing audio into your session (by
dragging into an empty area in the tracks area of the Edit window, or by dragging into the Tracks
List). Here's a useful modifier:
• Holding the Shift key when dragging from a browser (either the Pro Tools Workspace
Browser or your computer's file browser) into your tracks area will force Pro Tools to create
new tracks (one per audio file) even if you drop the file in a non-empty area.

Batch Importing
All of the basic import methods support "batch" importing of audio (the importing of multiple audio
files) into your Pro Tools session. A few aspects of this way of working to bear in mind:
• Any files with a different sample rate from the open session will be converted (re-created at
the session's sample rate within the session's Audio Files subfolder).
• Any files of formats that are not directly supported by Pro Tools (MP3 files, for example) will
also be converted.
• When importing multiple files to your session's Tracks List or an empty area in the tracks
area, one new track will be created for each imported audio file, and each file will appear in
the Clips List.
• When dragging multiple audio files into the Edit window's tracks area, you must have
enough tracks of the right types and widths to accommodate the audio. For example, if you
are dragging three stereo audio files onto tracks in a session that only has two stereo Audio
tracks, you won't be able to import them (unless you're holding down the Shift key, which
will create new tracks for your audio files).

Exporting Clips
In addition to importing audio files into your session and creating clips in your Clips List, you have
the ability to reverse the process — to export clips from your session as new audio files. Bear in
mind, however, is that when you are exporting clips, you are not including any plugin processing or
mix automation that might be on the track where the clip resides (to export that, you could use track
commit or bounce track, which you learned about in Lesson 5). With that said, the exporting of clips
is a valuable tool, enabling you to render specific elements of your current session for use in other
projects.
Let's start with a basic workflow.

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Basic Clip Export

Any whole-file or subset clip can be exported from the Clips List:
1. In your session's Clips List, select the audio clip(s) that you want to export as audio files.
2. Click the Clips List pop-up menu button (the circular button in the upper right-hand corner of
the list),
3. Do one of the following:
• From the Clips List pop-up menu, choose Export Clips as Files
• Right-click one of the selected clips and choose Export Clips as Files from the right-click
pop-up menu.

The Export Selected dialog box will

appear:
[1] File Type: This pop-up menu
will enable you to choose what
file format you will be creating —
Wave, AIFF, MP3, or MXF.
MXF file export is only available when the
Enforce Avid Compatibility check box is
enabled.
MP3 file export is only available when the
Enforce Avid Compatibility check box is
disabled.

[2] Format: Similar to bouncing,

you can export your multichannel
files either as (multiple) mono
files or Interleaved files.
[3] Bit Depth: With regard to bit-
depth, you have three options for
your exported files:
• 16 bit
• 24 bit The Export Selected dialog box

• 32 bit Float
[4] Sample Rate: From this pop-up menu, you can choose the sample rate for your exported
files, including Pull Up/Down formats used in post-production, or even custom sample rates.

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• [5] Enforce Avid Compatibility: When this check box is enabled, files are created in formats
that are broadly compatible with Avid's Media Composer software, including:
• MXF file support
• Sample rates limited to 32, 44.1, and 48 kHz
• Frame-accurate file boundaries
• [6] Destination Directory: Knowing where your files will be created is important, and by
clicking the Choose button (which will open a browser window) you can choose precisely
where to find them. Just open the folder where you want the files to be created and click the
Open button to confirm your choice. Your choice will be listed directly below (in this image,
the location for new files will be Macintosh HD: Users: AVID DATA FOLDER)
You can also create a new folder from the browser window, by clicking the New Folder button in the
lower right-hand corner.

• [7] Resolve Duplicate File Names By: When your file exporting creates duplicate file names,
you have three choices as to how to deal with them:
• Prompting For Each Duplicate will enable you to manually rename any exported file with
a name that conflicts with a preexisting file in the destination directory. This is done on a
per-file basis, with a browser window appearing for each file whose name presents a
conflict.
• Auto Renaming will automatically append the file name with an underbar and number
at the end of the file name. For example, if you were to export a file named vocal.wav
into a file that already had a file by that name, the exported file would be named
vocal_01.wav.
• Replacing With New Files will overwrite existing files with the same name as files being
created during export.
4. After making your selections in the Export Selected dialog box, click the Export button, and
your new files will be created.
Elastic Audio and Clip Gain will not be exported when using this workflow — files will be created with their
original timing and amplitude.

Searching with Tags

Tags are descriptive labels that are saved within the audio file itself (in the file's metadata). Searching
for audio files by using tags is simple and straightforward, but there are a few things to be aware of
during the process:
The Avid Loopmasters Sample Pack gets you started with working with tags. This library of samples, phrases,
and loops (nearly 2 Gigabytes worth) are tagged and ready for you to use. The sample pack is installed
separately from Pro Tools and can be installed either from your Avid account or through the Avid Link
application.

1. In the Workspace Browser window, make sure you're seeing your tags pane (by clicking the
Tags button in the upper right-hand corner of the browser window. When the Tags pane is
visible, this button will appear colored blue.

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2. The Tags pane will be populated by any file tags within the area being shown, so the location
that you choose is as important with this workflow as with any other search you do in the
Workspace browser. Choose the location (in the Locations pane) that you want to search.
TIP: If you want to search your entire system, choose Volumes in the Locations pane.

TIP: The Tags pane can take some time to populate, depending upon the speed of your computer and the
amount of storage that you're searching. A good rule of thumb is to limit your search locations as much as
possible.

3. With the tags being shown, the rest is easy. Do one of the following:
• Click the button named for the tag that you want to search.
• Type a keyword that you want to search in the Search Tags field at the top of the Tags
pane. Pro Tools will auto complete as you type, based upon the tags available.
4. As you click additional tags, the files shown in the browser will be correspondingly filtered.
As you refine your search, the available tags will change, reflecting the filtered results in the
Browser pane.
Any results you see in the Browser pane will reflect any filtering present in the Advanced Search pane. For
example, if you wanted to search by tags, but limit the results to a specific key, you would use a combination
of tag-based searching but filter the results in the Advanced Search field.

In order to remove a Tag from the Search Tags field, just click the X in the desired tag.

TIP: You can clear any selected tags from the Search Tags field by clicking the Escape (esc) key.

Let's change things a bit. Let's say that we still want to search for basses, but specifically don't want
any distorted audio files. Here's what we do:
1. Click the Bass tag. This will show all files in the search location that have that tag.
2. Holding the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows), click on the Distorted tag.

When you hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key

(Windows) and add a tag to your search, it's acting
in an opposite way from a normal tag search.
These tags (which will appear grey in the Search
Tags field) will filter results that are not tagged with
that keyword.

Changing the search

TIP: Tags that you're searching with (tags already in the Search Tags field) can be inverted by holding the
Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and clicking the desired tag.

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Addendum: Adding and Editing Tags

Searching by tag keyword can speed up the process of finding files

that you want to bring into your session. As you gain experience and
collect files of your own that you frequently use, you may want to expand
your collection of searchable tags. In this optional module, we take a look
at how you can customize your files' tags.

Scan the QR code or type the URL below into your browser
to view this course addendum.
http://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-Add6-1

Sound Libraries
Sound libraries are collections of sounds for different purposes. For music producers, they might be
a collection (either purchased or compiled by the user themselves, or both) of drum hits, bass loops,
phrases, and more. For a Pro Tools user who is focused on audio for film, sound libraries would
contain things like footstep sounds, sound effects, atmospheric sounds, and other commonly used
audio segments.
As you gain experience, you’ll build your own libraries and perhaps buy some from third parties —
the Workspace and Soundbase windows make it easy to quickly search your ever-growing collection!

Adding a Sound Library

As mentioned before, Pro Tools includes its own sound library, and the folder that contains those
files is automatically added to the Sound Libraries location upon installation. Your own tagged files
will likely be saved in different folders. However, you’ll typically want to be able to search your
custom tagged files and the Pro Tools stock sound library at the same time. That’s where adding a
folder to the Sound Libraries location can come in handy.
1. In the Locations pane, navigate to the folder containing the tagged files that you want to add
to your Sound Libraries location.
2. Right-click the folder and choose Add Sound Library Location. The folder will be added to the
Sound Libraries.

Adding a folder to the Sound Libraries location

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• Viewing Sound Libraries: You can see which folders are part of your Sound Libraries by
clicking the disclosure triangle to the left of the Sound Libraries item in the Locations pane.
• Removing Sound Libraries:
To remove a folder from the
Sound Libraries locations, just
right-click the desired folder in
the Sound Libraries location
and choose Remove Sound
Library Location from the
drop-down menu, and the
folder will be removed.

Removing a Sound Library Location

At no time during this process were any files copied, moved, or deleted. The Sound Libraries is
simply a collection of folder aliases that you can add to as your sound libraries grow, enabling you
quick access to frequently searched audio files.

Session Interop
So far, we've discussed ways to get aspects of a session — audio, clips, and so on — out of and into
your session. Now let's think a bit bigger and look at a few ways to work with sessions themselves.

Session Templates
In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned how to create a session from a session Template, as
opposed to creating a blank session. This is a great way to save effort in creating new tracks and
signal routing and get right to work. Of course, the templates included with Pro Tools' installation,
while a good starting- off point, aren't the only templates you'll want to be able to work with.
Let's say that you've created a session that you'd like to be able to use as a basis for future projects.
Here's how you can create your own session templates:
1. Configure your session in the way that you want to be able to recall (including tracks,
routing, and so on).
2. From the File menu, choose Save as Template. The Save Session Template dialog box will
appear, with some options:

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[1] Install template in

system: Clicking the Install
template in system radio
button will save the
template file in the default
location on you computer.
This will enable you to create
a new session from the
template in the Dashboard
dialog box.
[2] Category: If you've
clicked the Install template
in system radio button,
clicking the Category selector will reveal a list of categories for your template (these are
subfolders in the default session template location on your system). Choose the
category that you want to assign the new template to.
At the bottom of the pop-up menu, you have two options:
• Add Category: This will open a dialog box that enables you to create and name a
new category.
• Reveal Session Templates Folder: This will open the default session template
location in your operating system's file browser. From here you can modify your
categories.
[3] Name: If you've clicked the Install template in system radio button, you can type a
descriptive name here.
Clicking the Name pop-up menu (to the right of the Name field), you can select a name
from a list of all the existing templates in the selected category. Choosing from this list
will populate the Name field with the selected name, enabling you to update that
template.
[4] Select location for template: Clicking the Select location for template radio button
will enable you to save the template file in any location. Clicking the OK button will open
a browser window where you can choose a name and location for the session template
file.
[5] Include Media: Sometimes, you might want to create a session from a template, and
have your new session stocked with media (test tones, frequently used sounds, and so
on). Clicking the Include Media will include any audio, MIDI, or video clips in your session
with the new template.
3. Click the OK button. The session template will be created on your system (if you've chosen
the Install template in system radio button) or a file browser will open (if you've chosen the
Select location for template radio button).

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Importing Session Data

Pro Tools' Import Session Data is a frequently used tool among many professionals. This workflow
gives you the power of importing tracks and other aspects from another session into the currently
open session.
This can be used in a number of scenarios. Do you want to import a set of drum tracks from a
collaborator's session? Are you recording a band that you've recorded before? These are just a few
examples of situations where importing sessions can be a real time-saver.
Here's a typical workflow:
1. From the File menu, move your cursor to the Import menu item. A submenu will appear.
2. Click Session Data. A browser window will appear.
The default shortcut for Import Session Data is Shift+Option+I (Mac) or Shift+Alt+I (Windows).

3. Navigate to the session file (not an audio, video or MIDI file) that you want to import. The
Import Session Data dialog box will appear.
You can also drag a session file from a Workspace browser into your current session’s tracks area or
Track List to open the Import Session Data dialog box.

The Import Session Data dialog box can be daunting when you first open it, but if you break it down
by section, it will make sense:

[1] Source Properties: In the Source Properties section, you'll see relevant information
about the session you'll be importing from. Of particular note are the Audio sample rate(s),
which will determine how audio media can be imported and the Start time, which determines
where clips will be placed on the timeline.
[2] Timecode Mapping Options: Sometimes, the start time of the session you're importing
from and the session that you're importing to will be different (this is more commonly found
in post-production workflows but can naturally occur in music workflows as well). Clicking
the pop-up menu will give you three options:

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• Maintain absolute timecode values: Choosing this option will place clips according to
their timecode positions. For example, if you imported from a session with a 60-minute
start time to a session with a 0-minute start time, clips from the source settings will start
at 60 minutes and later.
• Maintain relative timecode values: Choosing this option will place clips according to
your min:secs timeline, regardless of any differences in session start times. For example,
any clips that start at the beginning of your source session would start at the beginning
of your current session when imported.
• Map start timecode to: This option enables you to choose the start time of clips. For
example, if you choose a value of 10 minutes (which you would type in the field below
the pop- up menu), it will cause any clips that start at the beginning of your source
session's timeline to begin at the 10-minute mark in your current session.
• Adjust Session Start Time to Match Source Start Time: This check box will be
available in different situations, where the start times of the source session and the
current session are different. When checked, the start time of the current session will be
changed to the value of the source session (which you can see in the Source Properties
window).
[3] Track Offset Options: Any value typed into the Offset Incoming Tracks By field will shift
clips in addition to any offset that you've entered in the Timecode Mapping Options section.
You can enter a value in:
• Bars, Beats and Ticks (Bars|Beats) • Feet+Frames
• Minutes and Seconds (Min:Secs) • Samples
• SMPTE Timecode (Timecode)

[4] Audio Media Options: This pop-up menu will determine how audio will be imported into
your session:
• Link to source media (where possible): Imported audio clips will refer to audio files in
their original location. This does not apply to audio files of a different sample rate from
the open session.
• Copy from source media: Audio files will be copied into your session's Audio Files
subfolder.
• Consolidate from source media: Only the portions of audio files that are used in the
imported tracks will be copied into your session. When this option is chosen, you can
also type an amount of padding in the Handle Size field (padding is an extra amount of
audio before and after the used portion, to enable further editing such as crossfading
with other clips).

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• Force to target session format: Audio files will be copied into your session's Audio Files
folder, and any files that don't match the current session's format (audio file format, bit
depth, and sample rate) will be converted upon import.
Video Media Options: This pop-up menu will determine how video will be imported into
your session:
• Link to source media: Imported video clips will refer to video files in their original
location.
• Copy from source media: Video files will be copied into your session's Video Files
subfolder.
• Import as offline Satellite media: Video clips will be imported into your session, but as
offline video clips (referring to no media files). This is typically only chosen when working
in a Video Satellite system (which is beyond the scope of this course but is discussed in
other courses in the Avid Learning Series).
[5] Sample Rate Conversion Options: This section enables you to apply sample rate
conversion (SRC), and to specify a Source Sample Rate (that typically will be set to the sample
rate of the source session), a Destination Sample Rate (that will typically be set to the sample
rate of the current session), and a Conversion Quality pop-up menu (which will enable you to
determine the accuracy of the sample rate conversion). This box will automatically be
checked whenever data from a session of a different sample rate is being imported.

[6] Tracks: In the Tracks section of the Import Session Data dialog box, you'll see a list of all
tracks in your source session. On a track-by-track basis, you can choose to import the tracks
in a few different ways:
• None: Leaving the pop-up menu for a track set to none will not import the track.
• New Track: Choosing New Track from a track's pop-up menu will import the track as an
additional track, without disrupting any existing tracks in your session.
• Existing Track: In each track's pop-up menu, you'll additionally see any tracks in your
current session that match the source track's format. For example, importing a mono
Audio track will list all of the current session's mono Audio tracks. Choosing any
preexisting track from the pop-up menu will overwrite that track, based on the settings
made in the Session Data section at the bottom of the Import Session Data dialog box.

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• Match Tracks: The Match Tracks button is a fantastic feature: When clicked, Pro Tools
will compare track names in the source session with track names in the current session
and assign similarly- named tracks in the destination field (if their track type and format
also match).
This can be a great tool when working with different sessions with consistently named
tracks, but it's a good rule to double-check the assignments before clicking the OK
button at the bottom of the Import Session Data dialog box!
TIP: You can import all of the source session's tracks as new tracks by holding the Option key
(Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and choosing New Track in any track's pop-up menu in the tracks area.
You can also reset all tracks to None by holding the same modifier and changing a single track to
None.

[7] Import: In this section, you can choose to import various global session aspects,
including:
• Tempo/Meter Map (This will overwrite the session's existing tempo and meter
settings.)
• Key Signature/Chord Map (This will overwrite the session's existing key signature and
chord rulers.)
• Markers/Memory Locations (This will add to your session's Markers and Memory
Locations.)
• Window Configurations (This will add to your session's Window Configurations.)
• Mic PRE Settings (This will overwrite your session's existing Mic PRE settings.)
• HEAT Master Settings (This will overwrite your session's HEAT settings.)
[8] Main Playlist Options: When you're importing a track from the source session to an
existing track in your current session, you have three options as to how the main Edit Playlist
will be changed:
• Import - Replace Existing Playlists: This option will remove clips from the timeline of
the existing track in favor of the main Edit Playlist of the imported track.
• Import - Overlay New On Existing Playlists: This option will keep the existing clips on
the track, and add clips from the source track.
• Do Not Import: This will not import clips from the source track. Clips on the existing
track will not be changed.

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Lesson 6 Import, Export and Recording

If you click the Track Data to Import/Choose button, you'll see another window, which
determines which aspects of your source session's tracks will be imported.

• Presets: As with many windows in Pro Tools, you can store up to five of your most
commonly used settings as user presets. To save a preset, hold the Command key (Mac)
or Ctrl key (Windows) and click on the desired button. The button will flash briefly,
indicating that the settings have been stored. To recall the settings of a preset, click the
desired button.
• Librarian Menu: By clicking the Librarian Menu, you will reveal a list of option, including
the ability to save your settings, recall saved settings, and import settings. (NOTE: The
default to save settings is Shift+Command+S or Shift+Ctrl+S.)
• Track Data: In the Track Data section, you can choose which aspects of your source
session's tracks will be imported. Items marked with a check will be imported in your
session.
4. After making your choices in the Import Session Data dialog box, click the OK button to
import the selected data from the source session. Clicking the Cancel button will close the
dialog box without importing any data.

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 Lesson 6 Import, Export and Recording

Summary of Key Concepts

Lesson 6 looks at more ways to get media into and out of your session.
In this lesson, you learned:
• New ways to import and export audio clips.
• How to use file tags: How to search with them, and how to customize them to suit your
workflow.
• How sound libraries can be powerful tools when searching for audio files, and how to add
(and remove) sound library locations.
• How to save your session as a session template for easy recall
• How to import data from one session to another

Keyboard Shortcuts and Modifiers from this Lesson

Following is a summary of shortcuts and modifiers that you should know from this lesson.

Regarding Keyboard Shortcuts

Beginning with Pro Tools version 2022.4, keyboard shortcuts can be customized, allowing flexibility in
choosing individual workflows. For the purposes of this course, and to build a strong foundation that is
most compatible with the broader Pro Tools-using community, Pro Tools' default keyboard shortcuts will
be used.

To reset Pro Tools' shortcuts to their default state:

1. From the Setup menu, choose Keyboard Shortcuts. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box will appear.

2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the dialog box, click the Reset All button. An Are You Sure? dialog
box will appear.

3. Click the Yes button.

For the purposes of the Pro Tools 101 and Pro

Tools 110 courses the Edit Keyboard focus should
always be enabled.

Action Default Shortcut

Force Pro Tools to create new tracks when importing Hold the Shift key when dragging from a browser (either the
audio files Pro Tools Workspace Browser or your computer's file
browser)

Clear any selected tags from the Search Tags field Escape (esc)

Filter results that are not tagged with that keyword Hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and add a tag
to your search

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 Lesson 6 Import, Export and Recording

Action Default Shortcut

Show the Import Session Data dialog box Shift+Option+I (Mac)

Shift+Alt+I (Windows)

Import all of the source session's tracks as new tracks in Hold the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and choose
the Import Session Data dialog box New Track in any track's pop-up menu in the tracks area

Save a preset in the Track Data to Import dialog box Hold the Command key (Mac)
Ctrl key (Windows) and click on the desired button

Knowledge Check
Scan the QR code shown to experience a fully interactive online knowledge
check with scored results.
You can also type the URL below into your browser:
https://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-KC6

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Lesson 6 Import, Export and Recording

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 Exercise 6
Import and Export Worflows

In this exercise, we're going to look at different importing and exporting workflows!

Media: PT110 2023 Exercise 6 (Stressin')

Duration: 30 min

Downloading the Media Files

To complete this exercise, you will need to use various files included in the PT110 (2023) Exercises folder.

• Download all the media files for the course by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_All_Exercises.zip
• Download just the media files for this exercise by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_Exercise_6_(Stressin').zip

TIP: If clicking either of the links above does not initiate the media download, copy the link address and
then paste it into a new tab in your browser.

This session includes tracks created by Avid Certified Instructor Dave Phillips. Dave is an Avid Certified
Instructor teaching at Point Blank, an Avid Learning Partner in the United Kingdom. Thanks for the tracks,
Dave!

To learn more about Dave and his work, visit his website:
www.davephillipsmusic.co.uk

This session is a good example of a backing track being prepared for an artist, and our job will be to move
that process forward!

Part 1: Getting Started

To get started, we'll need to open a session:
1. Launch Pro Tools.
2. Do one of the following:
• In the Dashboard window, click the Open From Disk button.
• From the File menu, choose Open Session.
 Exercise 6 Import and Export Worflows

3. Navigate to the folder containing the exercises for this course and locate the PT110 2023
Exercise 6 (Stressin') subfolder. Within that folder, locate the Stressin' Session folder and open
it.
4. Double-click the PT110 2023 Exercise 6 (Stressin').ptx session file.
5. Using File > Save As, save a new version of the session file, naming the session descriptively.
Here's a possible name: PT110 2023 Exercise 6 (Stressin') - [Your Name] [today's date].

Part 2: Importing Session Data

You've got a few tracks, but the session is clearly incomplete. Let's assume that you have a colleague
that has been working on a different session that includes the tracks you need. Let's import those
tracks:
1. From the File menu, choose Import > Session Data. A browser window will appear.
2. Navigate to the folder containing the exercises for this course and locate the PT110 2023
Exercise 6 (Stressin') subfolder. Within that folder, locate the Session for Import folder and
open it.
3. Double-click the Session for Import.ptx session file. The Import Session Data dialog box will
appear.
Not every aspect of this complex dialog box applies to this specific workflow, but there are a
few settings for us to set correctly:

4. In the Timecode Mapping

Options section in the
upper right-hand corner
of the dialog box, choose
Maintain relative
timecode values.

5. In the Audio Media Options pop-up menu, choose Copy from source media.

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 Exercise 6 Import and Export Worflows

6. In the Tracks
section, import all
of the tracks as
New Track.

TIP: If you hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and click on one track name, you can do this all in one click!

7. In the Session Data section, make sure that none of the boxes are checked.

8. In the Main Playlist Options

section, click the Import -
Replace Existing Playlists radio
button.
9. In the Track Data to Import
section, Click the Choose button.
The Track Data to Import dialog
box will appear.

10. In the Track Data to Import

dialog box, make sure that all
boxes are checked (except the
two ICON check boxes near the
bottom), then click the OK
button to close the Track Data
to Import dialog box.

11. Click the Import Session Data dialog box's OK button. The tracks will be imported into your
session. Play your session to make sure you're hearing all tracks.
12. Just to organize things, drag the Mix and Master tracks to the bottom of the tracks list.

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 Exercise 6 Import and Export Worflows

At this point, your session should look like this:

If it does, you're ready to move on to the next section!

Part 3: Searching and Importing Clips

Now that we have all our tracks, let's spice things up a bit by importing some audio files from the
Soundbase browser:
1. Make sure that Loop Playback is enabled.
2. From the Window menu, choose New Workspace.
3. Make sure that the Tags pane and the Advanced Search panes of the Workspace browser
are visible.
4. In the Workspace, in the Locations pane, navigate to the folder containing the exercises for
this course and locate the PT110 2023 Exercise 6 (Stressin') subfolder. Within that folder,
locate the Files for Import folder and open it.
It might take some time for the Tags pane to populate, depending on your computer's speed and the
amount of storage in your system.

5. Make sure the Conform to Session Tempo button (the green metronome at the top of the
Workspace window) is enabled (green).
6. Click the Drums tag, and then the Tech House tag. You should now see a list of twelve
results.
7. Make a selection on your timeline from 52|1|000 to 54|1|000.
8. Start playback.

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Exercise 6 Import and Export Worflows

9. Click the triangular button in the Waveform column of different files to preview them. There
are many that sound good, but let's choose DA_123_Lazers_Drums.
10. Holding the Shift key, click on the file name (DA_123_Lazers_Drums), and drag it into the tracks
area of the Edit window. Because you're holding the Shift key, a new track will be created
when you release the mouse. Don't worry about the position of the clip on the timeline—
we'll take care of that in just a bit.
Next, we're going to look for a bass hit, but there's a potential problem: This song is in the
key of D#, which isn't too common. We'll have to filter our results to find the right file:
11. Clear the two tags from the Search Tags section.
12. Click the Bass tag.
13. In the Advanced Search pane, in the Key row, choose D#/Eb. Your search results will be
reduced to three files.
14. Preview the individual files. Let's decide on ENE_D#_Bass_Hit_4.
15. Click on the file name and drag it to the Tracks List. A new track will be created, with the clip
at the beginning.
16. Stop playback.
Now, let's assemble a basic part with these two clips:
17. On the DA_123_Lazers_Drums track, we'll place the clip at 52|1|000, and loop it until
101|1|000.
18. On the ENE_D#_Bass_Hit_4 track, place the clip at the following positions (you'll need to
duplicate the clip):
• 64|1|000
• 66|1|000
• 68|1|000
• 70|1|000
• 86|1|000
• 88|1|000
• 90|1|000
• 92|1|000
• 94|1|000
• 96|1|000
19. This next step is optional: On the ENE_D#_Bass_Hit_4 create a send that is assigned to the
VERB BUS. Set the send's fader to unity (0.0).
20. Once that's done, adjust the volume of your two newest tracks to suit your tastes, and we're
ready to move on!

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 Exercise 6 Import and Export Worflows

Part 4: Exporting Clips

We're almost done. To finish things up, we'll export some effects clips as files, so that we can use
them in other sessions:
1. In the Clips List, select the FX 1, FX 2, and FX 3 clips.
2. Your next step is to open the Export Selected dialog box, which can be done in a few ways:
• Right-click a selected clip and choose Export Clips as Files.
• Click the Clips List pop-up menu and choose Export Clips as Files.
3. We'll export these as Red Book audio format files. Here are the settings you'll choose:
• File Type: WAV
• Format: Interleaved
• Bit Depth: 16 Bit
• Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz

4. In the Destination Directory section, click the Choose button. In the browser window that
appears, locate the PT110 2023 Exercise 6 (Stressin') subfolder. Within that folder, create a
folder named Sound Effect Export.
5. Click the Export button.
6. Using your computer's file browser, navigate to the Sound Effect Export folder and confirm
that the files have been created.
7. If all looks and sounds good, save your session, and you're done!
This completes the exercise.

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 LESSON 7
More Editing!
As discussed in the Pro Tools 101 course, the process of editing essentially boils down to a few basic
processes done multiple times in the course of an editing session. The mark of a professional editor
is the ability to accomplish these simple tasks quickly, and that’s what we’ll focus on in this lesson!

Duration: 1 hr

GOALS
• Learn new trimming workflows
• Explore the Grabber Tool variations
• Learn how to reverse operations with the Option (Mac) and Alt (windows) keys
• Work with unlinked edit and timeline selections
• Learn more ways to create and edit fades
• Work with Edit Groups
• Comp tracks using Edit playlist workflows
 Lesson 7 More Editing!

More Ways to Trim Clips

The Trim tool is useful for adjusting the start and end of clips (and more), and is a foundational part
of many workflows. In this section, we'll look at a few other ways to trim clips — in many cases, the
quickest way to trim a clip doesn’t involve the Trim tool at all!

Trimming from the Beginning of a Clip

Here’s an easy way to trim the beginning of your clip, using the Selector tool and shortcuts.
1. Using the Selector tool (or the Smart tool in Selector tool mode), place your playback cursor
at the point where you want the clip to start.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Edit menu, move your cursor to Trim Clip. From the submenu that appears,
choose Start to Insertion.
• Press the A key.
Editors do a lot of clip trimming, so learning one of the shortcut-based workflows is recommended.
No matter which method you choose, here’s what you’ll get: The area from the original beginning of
the clip will be removed from the track, establishing a new clip start at the position where your
playback cursor has been set.

Trimming from the End of a Clip

A mirror of the previous workflow, here’s an easy way to trim the end of your clip, using the Selector
tool and shortcuts.
1. Using the Selector tool (or the Smart tool in Selector tool mode), place your playback cursor
at the point where you want the clip to end.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Edit menu, move your cursor to Trim Clip. From the submenu that appears,
choose End to Insertion.
• Press the S key.
The area from the original end of the clip will be removed from the track, establishing a new clip
end at the position where your playback cursor has been set.

Trim to Selection
Here’s an effective way to trim a clip’s start and end to a selected area in the same way you crop a
picture.
1. Using the Selector tool (or the Smart tool in Selector tool mode), select the area of a clip that
you want to keep on your timeline.

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2. Do one of the following:

• From the Edit menu, move your cursor to Trim Clip. From the submenu that appears,
choose To Selection.
• Press Command+T (Mac) or Ctrl+T (Windows).
You’ll see that in this case, any unselected part of the clip has been removed from the timeline,
leaving only the selected area.

Trim Tool Variations

Let’s go back to the Trim tool, and its two variations: TCE Trim and Loop Trim.

The TCE Trim Tool

First on the list is the Time Compression/Expansion (TCE) Trim tool. This useful variation of the
standard Trim tool enables you to stretch or compress the duration of an audio clip without
changing the pitch.
1. Click and hold on
the Trim tool button
until the Trim tool pop-
up menu appears. The
currently selected
version of the Trim tool
will be indicated by a
checkmark.

Viewing Trim Tool variations

2. Choose TCE. The TCE Trim tool will

become the active tool. The icon
for the Trim tool will change to
reflect the currently active version
of the tool.
TCE Trim Tool active

The shortcut to choose the TCE Trim tool (and the Loop Trim tool, which will be discussed later in this lesson)
is to repeatedly press the F6 key. As you repeatedly press the F6 key, the various Trim tools will cycle.

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3. Click and hold the boundary that you want to adjust.

4. Drag the boundary left or right, just as if you were using the standard Trim tool.

When you release the mouse button, a new audio clip will be created with a different
duration from the original clip, but with its pitch unchanged.

TIP: The TCE Trim tool is especially useful in Grid mode. Suppose you’ve imported a drum loop that doesn’t
match the tempo of the rest of your project (as is the case in the exercise session). Just make sure your
Grid is set to a musical value and use the TCE Trim tool. The edges of the clip will snap to the nearest grid
line when released, and you’ll be right in tempo!

Clip Looping and the Loop Trim Tool

As if clip looping wasn’t easy enough already, the Loop Trim tool makes the process easier still, and
will give you even more functionality.

Clip Looping with the Loop Trim Tool

As if clip looping wasn’t easy enough already, the Loop Trim tool makes the process easier still, and
will give you even more functionality.

1. Do one of the following:

• Click and hold on the Trim tool button until the Trim tool pop-up menu appears. The
currently selected version of the Trim tool will be indicated with a checkmark.
Choose Loop to change to the Loop Trim tool.
• Repeatedly press the F6 key until
the Loop Trim tool is the active
version of the Trim tool.

2. Cursor placement is important to

The Loop Trim tool active
make the Loop Trim tool work:
Position your cursor in the middle or
top half of a clip boundary until you
see the Trim tool with the curved
arrow icon.

3. You can drag either the left or the

right boundary to loop forward or
backward. When you’ve got the
duration you want, release the
The Loop Trim tool cursor icon
mouse, and you’ll have your new
looped clip.

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 Lesson 7 More Editing!

Grabber Tool Variations

In the Pro Tools 101 course, we learned about the "big three" editing tools (Trim, Selector,
and Grabber), and went into more detail with the Trim tool. Now, let's take a closer look at the
different Grabber tool variations.

Changing Grabber Tools

As with the Trim tool variations, you've got a few different ways to change which version of the
Grabber tool you're using:
• Perhaps the most direct way to change the active version of the Grabber tool is to click and
hold on the Grabber tool button. A pop-up menu will appear, and you can choose the
Grabber tool that you want from that list.
• You can also repeatedly press the F8 key to cycle through the different Grabber tools.
Now, let's go through the different Grabber tools, starting with a bit of review...

The Time Grabber

The Time Grabber tool is called a
lot of things — the “standard”
grabber, the “default” grabber, or
even the ”hand tool" — but calling
it by its actual name is not only
correct, but descriptive of its
The Time Grabber tool
function.
The Time Grabber can be identified by a hand icon within the tool button, and does just what it says
— it grabs a block of time.
Let’s say that you have three vocal clips that represent a phrase that needs to be moved together,
that is, the clips need to be moved to a new position, but the relative spacing between those clips
needs to be preserved.
Because the Time Grabber tool moves blocks of time, it's the right tool for this job. Just click on the
first clip to select it, then hold the Shift key and select the last clip in the phrase. Now that the block
of time has been selected (including all the clips and spaces within), the phrase can be moved to a
new location as a single unit.

The Object Grabber

The Object Grabber tool makes sense if you think of clips as "objects" that you can move
independently. With this tool, you're not moving a block of time, but rather the selected clips (or
"objects").

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You can identify the Object

Grabber tool by the rectangles within
the hand icon.

The Object Grabber tool

Let’s go back to our hypothetical vocal track, with three clips on the timeline. This time, let's assume
that we want to move the first clip of a phrase and the third clip of a phrase, but not the one
between them.
The Object Grabber tool makes it easy. We'll again choose the first clip of the phrase and hold
the Shift key while we click the third clip. In this case, you'll see a yellow outline around these two
clips. This indicates that these are the clips that will be moved when you drag either of the selected
clips.

The Separation Grabber

The Separation Grabber tool doesn't do anything special on its own, but in combination with other
tools within a workflow context, it's very useful. Let's say that you have a long clip of dialog, and you
want to isolate an individual phrase and move that phrase. Normally, that would involve a workflow
like this:
1. Choose the Selector tool
2. Make a selection
3. Separate the selection
4. Choose the Time Grabber tool
5. Drag the clip to a new location
The Separation Grabber can simultaneously separate and move a selected area, cutting steps out of
this process.

You can identify the Separation

Grabber tool by the scissors within
the hand icon.

The Separation Grabber tool

Clicking and dragging a selected area of a clip with the Separation Grabber tool will separate the clip
and move the selected area only.
There's a variation of this workflow that's commonly used as well. You have already learned that
you can make a copy of a clip when dragging by holding down the Option key (Mac) or Alt key
(Windows). When you're using the Separation Grabber, this has the effect of dragging a selected
area to another location, leaving the original clip unchanged.

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The Smart Tool and Edit Tool Variations

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned that the Smart Tool gives you quick access to the big three
edit tools: the Trim tool, the Selector tool, and the Grabber tool. One critical aspect of the Smart tool
is that it not only comprises these three edit tools but any active variant of those tools. This opens
up new workflow possibilities.
For example, if you enable the Smart tool while the Loop Trim tool is active, then that's the version
of the Trim tool that will be accessible to you. In this case, you can easily select, move and loop a
clip without clicking an edit tool button.
If your Smart tool includes the Standard Trim tool and the Separation Grabber tool (which you
learned about earlier in this lesson), you can easily select an area within a clip, move it (with the
Separation Grabber making the separation automatically) and then trim it to perfection!

Reversing An Operation with the Option/Alt Key

The Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key is perhaps the most-used key when it comes to Pro Tools
shortcuts and modifiers. When it comes to editing, this key typically reverses behavior:

• When using the Zoomer tool, holding this

modifier will zoom out rather than in.

Holding the Option or Alt key with the Zoomer tool

• When using the Trim tool, the trim bracket

will flip, reversing its direction from its
normal function.

Holding the Option or Alt key with the Trim tool

• When using the Pencil tool, the pencil will flip

to the "eraser" side, enabling you to remove
data rather than add it.

Holding the Option or Alt key with the Pencil tool

The Grabber tool is an exception to this rule. Holding the Option or Alt key with this tool will make a copy that
is dragged.

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 Lesson 7 More Editing!

Working with Edit and Timeline Selections

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned about edit selections (which you make in a track's Edit
Playlist area) and timeline selections (which you make in one of your session's rulers). By default,
and in most workflow situations, these two selections are linked, but they don't have to be. Let's
take a look at how to unlink the edit and timeline selection and the new things that can be done
when it is!

Linking and Unlinking Selections

Here are two ways to unlink your edit and timeline selections:
• In the Edit window toolbar, click
the Link Timeline and Edit
Selection button to disable the
feature. When disabled, the color
of the button will match your GUI
preferences (when enabled the
button is blue). Disabling the Link Timeline

and Edit Selection feature

• From the Options menu, click
the Link Timeline and Edit Selection menu item.
When disabled, there will be no check mark next to the menu item.
With Link Timeline and Edit Selection unlinked, you can select independent areas in the rulers and
playlists area. Compared with when these selections are linked, your session's timeline will look a
bit different:

When the timeline and edit

selection are linked, you'll
see half-arrow icons that
define the timeline
selection and the edit
selection.

Timeline and Edit selections linked

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 Lesson 7 More Editing!

When the timeline and edit

selection are unlinked, you'll
still see half-arrow icons that
define the timeline selection.
In this case, however, you'll
also see orange icons
(called Edit Markers) that
indicate the edit selection.

Timeline and Edit selections unlinked

Here's the thing to remember when you work with an unlinked timeline and edit selection: When
you start playback, the timeline selection will play. This can be a bit disconcerting at first, since we
often will select clips in the tracks area to determine playback, but it's important to be aware that
selecting clips and hearing that area play only works when the selections made in the track's Edit
Playlist area are reflected in the timeline selection (which ultimately determines playback).
That said, there's a powerful advantage to working with the timeline and edit selection unlinked
when the situation calls for it. Consider: You've got a dialog track comprising a number of clips on a
track, and have selected a phrase that we're working with. The problem is that whenever we select
a clip within that phrase, our previous timeline selection goes away. This is because when Link
Timeline and Edit Selection is enabled, the selection you make in the track is mirrored in the
timeline. Many times that's the way you want to work, but in this case, we're losing our selected
phrase.
When we unlink the timeline and edit selection, Pro Tools' behavior significantly changes. Now
when we select a clip, the timeline selection does not change, and when we restart playback, it
begins playing the timeline selection, not just the selected clip.
TIP: Perhaps the most important part of any workflow involving the unlinking of your timeline and edit
selection is to re-link these selections when you're done with this way of working, so that you can return to
the more traditional linked behavior of Pro Tools.

Dynamic Transport
Pro Tools' Dynamic Transport feature takes the unlinking of the timeline and edit selection one step
further. When enabled, not only will your selections be unlinked, but you'll have additional playback
control.
1. Do one of the following:
• From the Options menu, choose Dynamic Transport.
• Right-click the Play button and choose Dynamic Transport from the pop-up menu
• The shortcut to enable or disable Dynamic Transport is Control+Command+P (Mac)
or Start+Ctrl+P (Windows)

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When Dynamic Transport is active, you'll notice that a few things have changed:
• Link Timeline and Edit Selection has been disabled (if it was previously enabled).
• Loop Playback is enabled.
• The Main Time Scale ruler has increased in height relative to the other rulers.
• There is a blue side-facing triangle (called the Play Start Marker) in the Main Time Scale ruler.

The Main Time Scale ruler with Dynamic Transport enabled

Dynamic Transport takes the idea of independence one step further than what we've seen so far.
Now, not only are our timeline and edit selections independent (since Dynamic Transport will unlink
these selections when activated), but the relationship between your timeline selection and playback
is also partially independent.
Your playback start point will be determined by the location of the Play Start Marker, which can be
positioned by clicking and dragging the icon or by clicking with any tool in the Play Start section of
the Main Time Scale ruler (the bottom half of the expanded ruler).
TIP: You can reposition the Play Start Marker by pressing Fast Forward or Rewind button in the Transport
window or in the Transport section of the Edit window toolbar

TIP: Double-clicking in the Play Start section of the Main Time Scale ruler (the bottom half of the expanded
ruler) will move the Play Start Marker to that position and begin playback.

Let's take a look at a few scenarios:

• Normally, playback begins and ends depending on your timeline selection, but that is only
partially the case when Dynamic Transport is enabled. If you drag the blue Play Start
Marker to a point before your selection begins, playback will start from that point and end at
the selection end.
When recording, this can be an alternative to a traditional pre-roll setting.
When Loop Playback or Loop Record is active, playback will begin at the Play Start Marker and continue
to the end of the timeline selection. When the end of the timeline selection is reached, playback will
continue from the beginning of the selection.

• If you move the Play Start Marker to a point within the timeline selection area, playback will
start at the Play Start Marker and continue to the end of the selected area.
TIP: Dynamic Transport can really help when you want to check the beginning and end of a selection
from which you want to create a loop, especially if that selection is a long one.

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Without Dynamic Transport enabled, you'd have to listen to the entire selected area before you could
check to see how the end of the selection loops back to the beginning. But with Dynamic Transport, you
can position your Play Start Marker close to the end of the selection and save some time — as soon as
the playback cursor reaches the end it'll loop back to the beginning of the timeline selection.

• If you move the Play Start Marker to a point after the timeline selection area, playback will
start at the Play Start Marker and continue until playback is stopped.
Dynamic Transport is also particularly convenient for unlinked Timeline and Edit Selection-based
workflows. Not only does it unlink the selections when activated, when deactivated it will do the
following:
• Re-activate Link Timeline and Edit Selection (if it was previously enabled).
• Disable Loop Playback (if it was previously disabled).
• Return the Main Time Scale's ruler to its normal height.
This enables you to quickly change your mode of working, take advantage of the changed behavior
that comes with unlinking your timeline and edit selection, and then change back and continue
working in a more traditional mode.

More Ways to Work with Fades

Fades — how we can gradually begin and end our clips (or transition between them) — is a key part
of any editing session. To make your editing quicker and easier, let's take a look at a few details that
will improve your workflow.

Fade Presets
As with other windows in Pro Tools (including the Edit window, Workspace browser and others),
you'll see five numbered buttons in the upper left-hand corner of a Fade dialog box. These are your
fade presets, enabling you to quickly store (and later recall) the settings in your fade dialog box.
The process is similar to other presets you've stored: Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key
(Windows) and click the preset button to which you want to store the settings.
Recalling a preset is also similar to what you've done in other windows: Just click
the Fade Preset button that you want to recall, and your settings will change accordingly.
You can save separate preset settings for the Fade In, Fade Out, Crossfade, and Batch Fades dialog boxes.

Fade Settings
Beyond five presets, you can also save
your fade settings from the Librarian
menu.
1. In a Fade dialog box (Fade In, Fade
Out, Crossfade, or Batch Fades),
click the Librarian menu button.
The Fade Librarian menu button

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[1] factory default: Choosing

this menu item restores the
default settings for the fade
dialog box.
[2] Save Settings: If you've
opened a settings file from
the Librarian menu, clicking
the Save Settings menu item
will overwrite the settings file
with the new settings. The
shortcut for this action is
Shift+Command+S (Mac) or
Shift+Ctrl+S (Windows)
If you haven't opened a
settings file from the menu
(or have clicked the <factory
The Fade Librarian menu
default> menu item), clicking Save Settings will
open the Save Preset as dialog box. In this
dialog box, you can type a name for your setting and choose whether to save it in your
Root Settings Folder (the default location for fade settings on your system) or in your
Session Folder (which will create a Fade Presets subfolder within your session and store
the setting file there).
[3] Save Settings As: Clicking Save Settings As will open the Save Preset as dialog box. In
this dialog box, you can type a name for your setting and choose whether to save it in
your Root Settings Folder (the default location for fade settings on your system) or in
your Session Folder (which will create a Fade Presets subfolder within your session and
store the setting file there).
[4] Import Settings: Clicking the Import Settings menu item will open a file browser
window, from which you can choose a settings file.
Fade settings files have a .fdpreset file extension.

[5] Delete Current Settings File: When a setting has been chosen from the Librarian
menu list, choosing Delete Current Settings File will remove the file from your system.
Prior to the file's deletion, you'll be presented with a dialog box asking you to confirm that you
want to permanently delete the file.

[6] Lock Settings File: When a setting has been chosen from the Librarian menu list,
choosing Lock Settings File will protect the setting file from being overwritten or deleted.
When a locked setting has been chosen in the Librarian menu, the Save Settings and Delete
Current Settings File menu items are unavailable.

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[7] Save Fade Settings To: If you move your cursor to the Save Fade Settings To menu
item, you can choose where fade preset files (with a .fdpreset file extension) will be
saved. Here you have two options:
• Root Settings Folder: Settings are saved in the default location for fade settings, as
determined in the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box (in the Operations tab, in the
User Media and Settings Location section).
• Session Folder: Settings are saved in a subfolder of your session folder, named "Fade
Presets."

Smart Tool Fades

These three edit tools — Trim, Selector, and Grabber — aren't the only advantages that the Smart
tool brings to the table. With the Smart tool, you can also create fades and crossfades easier than
before:
Using the Smart tool, and positioning your cursor near to a top corner of a clip (within 12 pixels) will
change the tool's behavior, enabling you to create a fade-in (if your cursor is near to the upper left-
hand corner) or fade-out (if your cursor is near the upper right-hand corner). When you see the
square icon with a diagonal line, you're ready to go — Just click and drag horizontally to create a
fade.
If you move your cursor towards the bottom corner of two overlapping clips, you'll see your cursor
turn into a square icon with two diagonal lines. This indicates that the Smart tool is ready to create a
crossfade between the two clips. Again, just click and drag horizontally to create a crossfade of the
desired length.

Smart Tool Fade Shapes

You can create fades and crossfades, but what kind of fades are they? That's up to you — you can
choose default fade shapes (determining the shapes that are created with the Smart tool) in the Pro
Tools Preferences dialog box.
1. From the Setup menu, choose Preferences. The Pro Tools Preferences dialog box will
appear.
2. In the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box, click
the Editing tab.
3. In the Edit tab, you'll see the Fades section in
the upper right-hand corner of the dialog box.
In that section you'll see four Default Fade
Settings buttons (Fade In, Fade Out, Crossfade,
and REX). Clicking one of these buttons will
open the corresponding dialog box, where you
can choose your fade's default shape.
Default Fade Settings in the Pro Tools
Preferences dialog box

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The REX Default Fade Setting applies to imported REX files (subject to other preferences in the Pro
Tools Preferences dialog box). This fade setting does not apply to fades created with the Smart tool.

4. In the fade dialog box you can adjust your settings. Once you're done, click the OK button —
future fades created with the Smart tool will have this shape.

Editing Fades with the Smart Tool

After creating the fades using the Smart tool, you can edit them just like other fades (techniques
that you learned in Lesson 7 of the Pro Tools 101 course). However, when you're actively using the
Smart tool, you have some choices as to how you can edit fades.
1. From the Setup menu, choose Preferences. The Pro Tools Preferences dialog box will
appear.
2. In the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box, click the Editing tab.
3. In the Edit tab, the Smart Tool
Fade Adjustment preference will
determine how you can change
fades when you use the Smart
tool. Your two options are Always
On or Requires Command/Control
Key.

Setting the Smart Tool Fade Adjustment preferences

The difference in behavior relates to when you drag the shape of a curve in a fade on your track's
timeline:
• Always On: Moving your cursor within a fade. Once you see your icon changes into a fade
icon (a square with a diagonal line), you can click and drag the curve without holding down
any modifier keys.
• Requires Command/Control Key: When you choose this preference, you must hold
the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows) in order to click and drag the curve line. This
is similar behavior to when you're working with other edit tools.

Batch Fades
When cutting or trimming a clip, it’s important to cut on the zero-volt line with the waveform
ascending to avoid clicks and other unnatural behaviors. In reality though, there’s not always
enough time to do that kind of detailed work in high-pressure situations. What to do?

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One defining aspect of fades is that they either start or end at a point of silence, and silence is zero
volts. This means that when you create a fade (fade-in, fade-out, or crossfade), you’re creating a
zero-volt start or end.
Here’s a situation where using fades lets us work quicker: The image below shows a few cut pieces
of dialog. We have a tight deadline, so we don't have time to zoom in on each clip boundary to
make sure that we're cutting on the zero-volt line. The risk, of course, is that there might be clicks
and pops in the track, which is completely unacceptable!

Multiple dialog clips

The workflow workaround would be to create fade-ins, fade-outs, and crossfades at all the
appropriate boundaries, but it’s time-consuming to create them individually. Not to worry, though
— Batch Fades to the rescue!

1. Select an area that includes all the clips that you want to fade-in, fade-out, or crossfade.

2. Do one of the following:

• Click on the Edit menu, then move your cursor to Fades. The Fades submenu will
appear. Choose Create.
• Press Command+F (Mac) or Ctrl+F (Windows)

The Batch
Fades dialog box will
open.

The Batch Fades dialog box

The Batch Fades dialog box is the combination of a fade-in, a fade-out, and a crossfade dialog box.
This will cover all the possible fades that could be created in your selected area.

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The top part of the Batch Fades dialog box will allow you to choose different curves for your
different kinds of fades/crossfades. This works like other fade dialog boxes you’ve learned about
previously in this lesson.
The bottom section of the Batch Fades dialog box is new, and covers aspects of the fade creation
that apply specifically to this kind of workflow:

New controls in the Batch Fade dialog box

• Create New Fade Ins (or Fade Outs or Crossfades) will allow you choose what batch fades
will be created. For example, if you want to create new batch fade-ins and batch fade-outs,
but not batch crossfades, you can uncheck the Create New Crossfades check box.
• Often, you’ll have existing fades in your selected area — the question is whether you want
your batch fades to change those existing fades or not. Clicking the Adjust Existing Fade
In (or Fade Out or Crossfade) Shape & Slope check box will change the shape of any existing
fades within your selected area.
• Again, relating to any existing fade, clicking the Adjust Existing Fade In (or Fade Out or
Crossfade) Length will change the duration of any existing fades within your selected area.
TIP: If you want your existing fades to remain completely unchanged, uncheck both the Adjust Existing Fade
In (or Fade Out or Crossfade) Shape & Slope and the Adjust Existing Fade In (or Fade Out or
Crossfade) Length check boxes.

Crossfade Placement
In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned various ways to edit fades — dragging, trimming, changing
the fade curve and so on — and in this section we'll add another control you have over the fades
that you create, one that relates to how you create batch fades. The specific setting that we'll look at
is the crossfade placement setting.
This is an important (though often overlooked) setting in the Batch Fades dialog box, and is perhaps
best shown with clips that have clearly defined transients,
like a snare drum track:

A Snare track, before batch fades

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Typically, we think of crossfades as being centered between the two clips being crossfaded — in
other words, the center of the crossfade is positioned where the two clips meet. This creates a
potential problem:
Here's a close-up of a portion of the track's
timeline: You'll see that the beginning of
the snare clip represents a strong, punchy
transient — things that we're looking for in
a snare track.
Unfaded clips on the snare track

If you create a batch fade using the default

settings, you'll see that though a crossfade
can remove any unwanted clicks and pops,
because it's centered on the clip boundary,
it's fading in during that important initial
transient. This will have the effect of
reducing the punch and definition of the track. A centered crossfade

In the Batch Crossfades dialog box, there are controls

that will make a big difference to the result: In the
lower center of the window, you’ll see the Placement
controls. You've got three choices:
• Pre-splice
• Centered
• Post-splice
In this context, the term "splice" refers to the border
between two adjacent or overlapping clips.
The Batch Fades dialog box's Placement controls
For the purposes of this workflow, we'll choose
Pre-splice.
Here's our result: Because we've
chosen Pre-splice as a batch fade setting,
crossfades between clips are completed
prior to the latter clip. In the case of this
track, this means that you can use batch
fades to avoid clips and pops and preserve A pre-splice crossfade
the initial transient of transient-based tracks!
TIP: In the example shown in this section, we're choosing to use Pre-splice crossfades to preserve the
transients of clips, but there are cases when you want to go the other way: Choosing Post-splice for your
crossfades will start the crossfade at the "splice" point (the border between two clips), preserving the end of
the preceding clip.

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Edit Groups
Earlier in this course, we learned how Elastic Audio changes made on a track are shared by all
members of that track's Edit Group. Now, let's dig a bit deeper into what Edit Groups are and how
you can use them.

Edit Groups and Mix Groups

Pro Tools features like Clip Groups and Folder tracks are fantastic organizational tools, but Pro
Tools' groups allow for control at a more fundamental level. Pro Tools includes two kinds of
groups: Edit Groups and Mix Groups.
• Edit Groups: Edit Groups are used to link edit-related tasks among multiple tracks, including:
• Track Height
• Track View
• Elastic Audio settings and edits
• Audio and MIDI editing
• Mix Groups: Mix Groups similarly group mix-related tasks among multiple tracks:
• Volume changes
• Other mix parameter and track status changes (pan, mute, solo, and so on)
• Automation modes
• Send settings
• Plug-in settings
Groups are shown in the Groups List of the Edit and Mix windows (Edit Groups are shown in the
Groups List of the Edit window, and Mix Groups are shown in the Groups List of the Mix window).

Creating an Edit Group

Creating an Edit Group is fairly straightforward, but there are some tips that can help you make the
most of them:
1. This step is technically optional but commonly done: In the Edit window, select the tracks
that you want to group.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Track menu, choose Group.
• From the Groups List pop-up menu, choose New Group.
• The default shortcut to create an Edit Group or Mix Group is Command+G (Mac)
or Ctrl+G (Windows).

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The Create Group dialog box will appear:

[1] Name: In the Name field, type a descriptive name for your Edit Group.
[2] ID: In the ID field, you can choose the identification letter for your group (there are uses
for this, which we'll discuss later in this course). You can choose from four banks of 26 letters
(giving a total of 104 available Edit Groups in a single session). If you don't manually choose
an ID, the first available ID will be assigned.
A good workflow habit is to choose a letter that corresponds with your group name — for example, in
this example, since we're naming this group "Saxes," we'd choose ID "s" from the first bank.

[3] Follow Globals: When the Follow Globals box is checked, the groups attributes will be
based on the attributes that are active in the Globals tab.
Advanced workflows involving Globals are beyond the scope of this course, but are explored in other
courses in the Avid Learning Series.

[4] Type: When you create a group, you have three options:
• Edit: This will create an Edit Group only. The group will not function as a Mix Group.
• Mix: This will create a Mix Group only. The group will not function as an Edit Group.
• Mix/Edit: The group will function as both a Mix Group and an Edit Group.

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[5] Tracks: The Tracks tab is where you will choose which tracks will be grouped. Tracks that
are not currently part of the group are listed in the Available column, and tracks that are part
of the group are listed in the Currently in Group column.
[6] Attributes: When the Follow Globals box is unchecked, the behavior of the group, and
what aspects of the tracks are linked, is based on the settings in this tab. Some of the
aspects that can be linked in this tab are:
• Track level, mute, pan, and LFE
• Send level, mute, pan, and LFE
• Insert controls and bypass
• Mix attributes, including record states, solo, automation, and so on
[7] Globals: When the Follow Globals box is checked, the behavior of the group, and what
aspects of the tracks are linked, is based on the settings in this tab. Some of the aspects that
can be linked in this tab are:
• Track level, mute, pan, and LFE
• Send level, mute, pan, and LFE
• Insert controls and bypass
• Mix attributes, including record states, solo, automation, and so on.
When settings are changed in the Globals section, this will affect the behavior of all groups that are
set to follow globals.

[8] Tracks (Available): This is a list of tracks that are not included in your new Edit (and/or
Mix) Group. You can add Tracks to the group by selecting them in this list and clicking the
Add button.
[9] Tracks (Currently in Group): This is a list of tracks that are included in your new Edit
(and/or Mix) Group. You can remove Tracks from the group by selecting them in this list and
clicking the Remove button.
When initially creating a group, any selected tracks will automically be in the Currently in Group
column. This button is typically only used when modifying an existing group.

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[10] Add: The Add button will become active whenever you select a track in the Available
column. Clicking this button will move the track to the Currently in Group column.
[11] Remove: The Remove button will become active whenever you select a track in the
Currently in Group column. Clicking this button will move the track to the Available column.

[12] Use Track Selection from Mix/Edit Window (Add): Clicking the Add button will move
the tracks currently selected in your session from the Available column to the Currently in
Group column, adding them to the tracks that are already in the Currently in Group column.
[13] Use Track Selection from Mix/Edit Window (Replace): Clicking the Replace button will
clear the Currently in Group column, and replace the column with the tracks that are
currently selected in your session.
3. Once you've chosen your Edit Group's settings, click the OK button.

Activating and Deactivating Groups

Once you create an Edit Group, it will appear in the Edit window's Groups List.
Each group will appear in the list, with the group's ID letter appearing to the left of the group name.
This includes groups that are active and inactive:
• Inactive: If a group is inactive, the controls you've
set as being linked in the Create Group dialog box
are unlinked. Inactive Edit Groups are indicated in
the list as being not highlighted (In the image shown
here, the All, Trumpet MIDI,
and Piano groups are currently inactive).
• Active: When a group is active, the controls you've
chosen in the Create Group dialog box are linked.
Active Edit Groups are highlighted in the Groups List Edit Groups in the Edit window's
Groups List, with an active Saxes group
(in the image shown here, the Saxes group is active).
When an Edit or Mix Group is created, its state will be active.

You can make a group active or inactive by clicking it. When active, the group will be highlighted.
Multiple groups can be simultaneously active.

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The “All” Group

Even if you haven't created any Edit or Mix Groups, you'll see one group in the list — the All group. This
Edit and Mix Group is automatically created by Pro Tools and always includes all tracks in the session.
This is useful in simultaneously changing the level of all tracks.
A few things to note regarding the All group:

• The All group cannot be deleted

• The All group cannot be renamed

• When the All group is active, it will override any other active groups

Edit Group Behavior

Let's take a look at few ways in which Edit Groups can help your workflow:
• When editing clips, all members of its active Edit Group will be similarly changed.
• If you change an automation playlist, you can similarly change multiple tracks at once.
TIP: Changes that you make to a member of an active Edit Group are not applied to any members of the
group that are hidden. If you want to change all the member tracks of an Edit Group, make sure that the
tracks are shown.

Addendum: Editing with Folder Tracks

Folder tracks can be powerful allies when working with large sessions.
But Folder tracks go beyond simply containing tracks — you have the
ability to edit multiple tracks as well, without even opening the folder!
In this optional module, you can see how easy it is to edit multiple tracks
using folders.

Scan the QR code or type the URL below into your browser
to view this course addendum.

http://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-Add7-1

Track Comping with Playlists: Getting Started

There's a term that you'll hear used in the audio industry — "comping" a track. The word "comp" is
short for "composite," and the process refers to the assembling of a final track from multiple takes.
This is done with all kinds of tracks, but maybe most notably with vocals: A vocal phrase is sung
over and over many times, and the best bits of each take are pulled into a final ("comped") track,
which is the final track used for mixing. There are a number of ways that this is done, typically
involving large numbers of tracks and a lot of copy-and-paste.
In Lesson 4 of this course, you learned about Edit Playlists — the sequence of clips on a track — and
in Lesson 6, you learned even more ways that Edit Playlists can be used in recording workflows.
Let's take that process one step further and use those multiple Edit Playlists during the editing
phase, to create a perfect "comped" final track.

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Workflows involving Edit Playlists and track comping are varied and can get quite complex. In this course,
we'll focus on the basics of comping with Edit Playlists. More advanced features and workflows are explored
in other courses in the Avid Learning Series.

Track comping is done in numerous ways, and there's no one "right way" to do it, but a commonly-
done first step is to create a new blank playlist to comp to.
Here's an example: we have done multiple loop recording passes on a track called Lead Vocal. In
the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box has the Automatically Create New Playlists When Loop
Recording preference enabled, so each loop will create a new Edit Playlist automatically (something
that isn't required, but makes the process a lot easier). The latest full take is the ninth take, which
has been recorded to an Edit Playlist named Lead Vocal.08.

Our vocal track

You might wonder why the ninth take is on a playlist with a .08 suffix. Viewing all of the Edit Playlists
together will answer that question and help you take control of your organization.

Viewing Alternate Playlists

An Audio track's Playlist view is a visual way to manage tracks with multiple Edit Playlists. Let's take a
look.
Playlists view is only available on Audio tracks. Though MIDI and Instrument tracks both support Edit
Playlists, this view is not available on these track types.

1. Click the track's Track View selector (directly below the track's nameplate). A pop-up menu
will appear.
2. From the Track View menu,
choose Playlists.

With the Audio track in Playlists view,

you can now see both the main Edit
Playlist (on top — representing the Edit
Playlist that is currently audible), plus
the alternate Edit Playlists on the track.
You'll note that the first loop was
recorded to the Lead Vocal playlist,
which subsequent loops being indicated
by increasing .[##] suffixes.

Multiple Edit Playlists on the Lead Vocal track

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A New Way to Create an Edit Playlist

In the preceding image, though we have many different playlists to draw from, we don't have at this
point is an empty playlist to comp to. One way you could go, which you learned earlier in this
course, is to create a new playlist, which is essentially an empty track with no clips. But there's
another way that you could go — let's move things around so that we can comp to the Lead
Vocal playlist:
1. First, we'll change the main Edit Playlist to Lead Vocal. The current Edit Playlist (which
represents the last recorded take) will become one of the alternate playlists in the
track's Playlists view.
2. At the bottom of the track's Playlists view, you'll find an empty area. Dragging audio from the
Clips List or from another playlist into this empty lane will create a new alternate playlist on
the track. In this case, we'll drag all the clips on the main Edit Playlist down to this bottom
area (with tracks that have multiple clips, you can triple-click with the Selector tool and then
drag the clips with the Grabber tool).
3. When you release the clips from the main Edit Playlist into the empty lane, a new alternate
playlist will be created, and you're now ready to start comping to the main Edit Playlist!

Track Comping with Playlists: Workflows

Now that we can see our Edit Playlists and have organized them, we're ready to start comping. Let's
take a look at the tools available to us:

Using Solos
In order to effectively manage multiple takes, you must be able to preview them individually —
and to do that, you'll need to solo them. When you're working in Playlists view, you have not one
level of solo control, but two:

The Solo button on the main Edit Playlist does what it has
always done: It will isolate the output of that track, and this
button that will allow you to hear only the track you're
working with.

The main Edit Playlist's Solo button

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Additionally, you have individual Solo buttons on each of the

alternate playlists. At any given time only one of these
buttons can be active, but when one is, you'll hear that
alternate playlist playing through the track instead of the
main Edit Playlist. For example, in the image shown here, the
clips on the Lead Vocal.02 playlist will be heard from the
track — any clips on the Lead Vocal playlist (the main Edit
Playlist) will not.

These two levels of solo control work together, and with an

understanding of what each type of solo works, you can
hear what you want:
• If the track's main Solo button is engaged, you'll only
An alternate Edit Playlist's Solo button
hear the track's main Edit Playlist (and any other
soloed tracks in your session).
• If the track's main Solo button is engaged and an alternate Edit Playlist's Solo button
is engaged, you'll hear the alternate Edit Playlist's clips (and any other soloed tracks in your
section).
• If the track's main Solo button is disengaged and no alternate Edit Playlist's Solo button is
engaged, you'll hear the track's main Edit Playlist along with the other tracks in your session.
• If the track's main Solo button is disengaged and an alternate Edit Playlist's Solo button is
engaged, you'll hear the alternate Edit Playlist's clips along with the other tracks in your
session.

Creating the Composite

You can see all of your playlists and you've organized them the way that you want. You've then
listened to individual takes, and you've found a section that you really like. How do you move that
section to your "comp" playlist?
1. Select the area on the timeline of the alternate Edit Playlist that you want to move to your
main Edit Playlist.
2. When you select an area in an alternate Edit
Playlist lane, you'll see the small upward-
pointing arrow button (to the right of
the Solo button) become active. Click the Copy
Selection to Target Playlist button.

Clicking the Copy Selection to Target Playlist button

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Here's what will happen: The selected area will be copied to the Target playlist (which in this case is
the main Edit Playlist). The clip that's created on your "comp" track is a subset clip (if it's a portion of
another clip) and can be moved, trimmed, or otherwise edited as normal.

The Target Playlist

There's a term that's crept into our discussion — Target Playlist. This relates to some of the more
advanced features that are beyond the scope of this course. If you click a track's Playlist Selector button,
you'll see the Target Playlist submenu. By default, the Target Playlist is the current Main Playlist, and that's
the option that you should use for the workflows described in this course.

Advanced track comping workflows using Edit Playlists, including those using manually-defined Target
Playlists, are explored in other courses in the Avid Learning Series.

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Summary of Key Concepts

Lesson 7 is a grab bag of tips, tricks, and techniques that will take your editing to the next level.
In this lesson, you learned:
• How to trim the start, end, and selection of a clip with shortcuts
• The different variations of the Trim tool, including the TCE and Loop Trim tools
• The different variations of the Grabber tool (Time, Object, and Separation) and how to use
them
• How to reverse an edit tool's function using the Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key
• How to work with an unlinked Timeline and Edit selection, and the workflow possibilities that
become available
• How to use Dynamic Transport
• How to take control of your fades with presets and settings
• How to make batch crossfades work with transient-heavy clips
• How to work with Edit Groups:
o How to create Edit Groups
o How to work with Edit Groups
o How to activate, deactivate, and suspend Edit Groups
• What track "comping" is, and how to do it using Pro Tools' Edit Playlists

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Keyboard Shortcuts and Modifiers from this Lesson

Following is a summary of shortcuts and modifiers that you should know from this lesson.

Regarding Keyboard Shortcuts

Beginning with Pro Tools version 2022.4, keyboard shortcuts can be customized, allowing flexibility in
choosing individual workflows. For the purposes of this course, and to build a strong foundation that is
most compatible with the broader Pro Tools-using community, Pro Tools' default keyboard shortcuts will
be used.

To reset Pro Tools' shortcuts to their default state:

1. From the Setup menu, choose Keyboard Shortcuts. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box will appear.

2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the dialog box, click the Reset All button. An Are You Sure? dialog
box will appear.

3. Click the Yes button.

For the purposes of the Pro Tools 101 and Pro

Tools 110 courses the Edit Keyboard focus should
always be enabled.

Action Default Shortcut

Trim from the beginning of a clip to the insertion point A

Trim from the end of a clip to the insertion point S

Trim to selection Command+T (Mac) or Ctrl+T (Windows)

Change the Trim tool variation (Normal, TCE, and Loop) Repeatedly press the F6 key to cycle through the different
Grabber tools

Change the Grabber tool variation (Time, Separation, Repeatedly press the F8 key to cycle through the different
and Object) Grabber tools

Select a range of clips using the Time Grabber tool Hold the Shift key while selecting multiple clips

Select multiple clips using the Object Grabber tool Hold the Shift key while selecting multiple clips

Reverse the operation of the Zoom, Trim, and Pencil tools Hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows)

Toggle Dynamic Transport Control+Command+P (Mac) or Start+Ctrl+P (Windows)

Store a preset in a fade (Fade In, Fade Out, Crossfade, Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows) and
or Batch Fades) dialog box click the preset button to which you want to store the
settings

Save fade setting Shift+Command+S (Mac) or Shift+Ctrl+S (Windows)

Create an Edit Group or Mix Group Command+G (Mac) or Ctrl+G (Windows)

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Knowledge Check
Click or scan the QR code shown to experience a fully interactive online
knowledge check with scored results.
You can also type the URL below into your browser:
http://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-KC7

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Lesson 7 More Editing!

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 Exercise 7
Mini-Gauntlet #2
When it comes to editing, the twin imperatives are accuracy and speed—we want to get the job done
right, get it done quick, and move on to other things. In the Pro Tools 101 course, we introduced the
concept of a "gauntlet," a component of testing for students pursuing Expert certification. In the Pro
Tools 101 course, the first Mini-Gauntlet was a way for you to put your editing skills to the test and
refine your editing workflow—in this exercise, we'll do it again.
This hands-on exercise isn’t a graded test, but it is a challenge: How fast can you get things done and
still do exactly what’s being asked in each step?

Media: PT110 2023 Exercise 7 (Mini-Gauntlet #2)

Duration: 1 hr

Downloading the Media Files

To complete this exercise, you will need to use various files included in the PT110 (2023) Exercises folder.

• Download all the media files for the course by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_All_Exercises.zip

• Download just the media files for this exercise by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_Exercise_7_(Mini-Gauntlet_2).zip

TIP: If clicking either of the links above does not initiate the media download, copy the link address and
then paste it into a new tab in your browser.

Part 1: Getting Started

To get started, we'll need to open a session:
1. Launch Pro Tools.
2. Do one of the following:
• In the Dashboard window, click the Open From Disk button.
• From the File menu, choose Open Session.
3. Navigate to the folder containing the exercises for this course and open the PT110 2023
Exercise 7 (Mini-Gauntlet #2) subfolder.
4. Double-click the PT110 2023 Exercise 7 (Mini-Gauntlet #2).ptx session file.
 Exercise 7 Mini-Gauntlet #2

5. Using File > Save As, save a new version of the session file, naming the session descriptively.
Here's a possible name: PT110 2023 Exercise 7 (Mini-Gauntlet #2) - [Your Name] [today's date].
6. Next, let's make sure that your session is properly set up:
• Make sure that the Edit and Timeline selection is linked.
• Loop Playback should be enabled.
In this Mini-Gauntlet, some of the directions will specify that you use shortcuts to do the job as
quickly as possible. Some of these (like recalling Memory Locations) require that your computer
keyboard have a numeric keypad—those might not be possible on all systems.
Here's a list of the shortcuts you will need to know to get through this gauntlet (the Pro Tools default
shortcuts are listed here):

Action Default Shortcut

Shuffle Mode F1
Slip Mode F2

Spot Mode F3

Grid Mode F4

Switch between Absolute Grid and Relative Grid Mode Repeatedly press F4

Trim Tool F6

Selector tool F7

Grabber tool F8

Change Grabber tool variations Repeatedly press F8

Copy Command+C (Mac) or Ctrl+C (Windows)

Paste Command+V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (Windows)

Trim from the end of a clip to the insertion point S

Activate the Smart tool Any two- or three-key combination of F6, F7, and F8Any two- or
three-key combination of F6, F7, and F8

Nudge a clip's contents Hold the Control key (Mac) or Start key (Windows) and use
the Plus/Minus keys on your computer keyboard's numeric
keypad

Copy a selection on an alternate playlist to the Target Shift+Option+Up Arrow (Mac) or Shift+Alt+Up Arrow (Windows)
Playlist

Part 2: TCE Trim, Repeat, and Loop

1. Recall Memory Location #1.
2. Change your Main Counter's time scale to Bars and Beats.
3. Set your Grid value to 1 bar.

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 Exercise 7 Mini-Gauntlet #2

4. On the TCE track, stretch the clip at the beginning, so that it is exactly 1 measure (Hint:
Putting yourself into Grid mode will help with this.).
5. Repeat or Duplicate the stretched clip on the TCE track 7 times, so that there is a total of 8
measures of drums on the track.
6. Loop the clip on the Loop track, so that there’s a total of 8 measures of audio on that track.
When you’re done, the two tracks should look like this:

Part 3: Edit Tools

Now, let's switch gears and work with Edit tools!
1. Recall Memory Location #2. You'll see a single mono Audio track with one clip of dialog.
2. Using shortcuts, switch to Slip edit mode.
3. Using shortcuts, switch to the Separation Grabber tool.
4. Using shortcuts, activate the Smart tool.
5. Change your Main Time Scale to Min:Secs.
6. Using the Smart tool, select from roughly 31 seconds on the timeline to 35 seconds (a
selection length of about 4 seconds). This will include the middle phrase with some silent
space at the beginning and end.
7. Using the Separation Grabber mode of the Smart tool, drag the selected area to around the
40 second mark on the timeline.
8. Still using the Smart tool, trim the silent audio from the end of the dragged clip.
9. Using the Smart tool, create fade-ins and fade-outs for the silent portions of the first two
clips (the clips you didn't drag).

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 Exercise 7 Mini-Gauntlet #2

Part 4: Track Comping

To finish this exercise, we'll do some simple track comping!
1. Recall Memory Location #3. You'll see one mono Audio track, named English.
2. Using shortcuts create a new playlist on the track, and name it Comp.
3. Change your track view to Playlists. You'll see a Spanish, Japanese, and English playlist. Each of
these playlists has a clip counting from 1 to 10 in that playlist's language.
4. Solo the English playlist.
5. Using the Selector tool (or the Smart tool in Selector mode), select the first number ("one")
on the English playlist.
6. Using shortcuts, paste the selection to the Target (Main) Playlist.
7. Repeat the process, alternating the language that you paste to the comped track, so that the
order of languages on the comped track is as follows:
1. English 4. English 7. English
2. Japanese 5. Japanese 8. Japanese
3. Spanish 6. Spanish
9. Spanish 10. English
8. Change your track to Waveform view and check your work (note that changing back to
waveform view clears any solos you might have on any alternate playlist). If it plays back as
you expect, you're done! As always, save your session before moving on to the next lesson.

This completes the exercise.

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 LESSON 8
More Music Making!

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned the fundamentals of MIDI and music production — in this
lesson we'll take those foundational concepts to the next level. We'll explore ways to creatively use
Pro Tools as a compositional platform and explore other techniques that, though they can be used
in non-musical workflows, will be important tools when producing your next big hit.

Duration: 45 min

GOALS

• Change MIDI Track Views

• Learn new MIDI Loop Recording workflows
• Audition MIDI and use the MIDI Default Thru
• Work with the MIDI Editor
• Convert MIDI and Audio
 Lesson 8 More Music Making!

Changing MIDI Track Views

There's a lot more to MIDI than notes — aspects like velocity, pitch bend, and various continuous
controllers all work together on a track to deliver the performance you're looking for. This can mean
changing a MIDI or Instrument track's views quite frequently.

Using the Track View Selector

On a basic level, you can do this from the

track's Track View selector. Clicking this will
(as on any track in your session) give you a
list of different views that relate to that
track type.
It's important to remember that MIDI and
Instrument tracks are different, with an
Instrument track being the combination of
a MIDI track and an Auxiliary Input track.
With that in mind, you won't be surprised
to see that the menu that you see in these
two track types will be different.

The Track View selector on a MIDI and Instrument track

• MIDI Tracks: Since MIDI tracks involve only MIDI data, the different track view options are
related to MIDI data and not audio. In the pop-up menu, you'll see choices like notes, velocity,
(MIDI)volume, pitch bend, and so on.
• Instrument Tracks: Instrument tracks, unlike MIDI tracks,
perform dual roles with MIDI data as well as audio signals.
Clicking the Track View selector will show a list that reflects
this expanded capability.
The trick to understanding the pop-up menu on an Instrument
track is the dividing line: All of the menu items above the line
relate to MIDI data and are identical to the views that are
available on a MIDI track. Below the dividing line are audio-
related view, identical to what you'd see on an Auxiliary Input
track.

The Track View selector menu

on an Instrument track

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Using Track Lanes

Sometimes changing track views isn't practical — you really need to see multiple kinds of data
simultaneously. Let's say for example, that you want to be able to work with
the notes on a MIDI track as well as the notes' velocity, but without changing
views all the time. That's where track lanes can help:
1. At the bottom left-hand corner of any track (in this case a MIDI track),
click the Show/hide automation lanes button. Additional lanes will
appear.

Clicking the Show/hide

automation lanes button

2. Each lane has its own Lane view selector, which functions similarly to the track's Track View
selector, enabling you to choose what is shown in each lane (in the image shown here, it's
Velocity). You can show additional lanes by clicking the Add automation lane below this
one button (the circular + button to the left of the lane) and hide individual lanes by clicking
the Remove this automation lane button (the circular - button to the left of the lane).

A single (velocity) automation lane

MIDI Loop Recording Workflows

Loop recording works the much the same when recording MIDI as it does when recording audio,
creating multiple MIDI clips with each repetition of the selected area. When you’re done, you’ll be
able to choose your takes in the same way as you’ve previously done with audio. There are two
significant caveats to this, though:

• Because MIDI isn't audio, there is no such thing as a MIDI whole-file clip. Each loop-recorded
take is a separate clip, but there won't be an additional clip created that comprises all of the
clips back-to-back.

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• MIDI and Instrument tracks don't support playlists track view, so comping is a bit more
manual when using multiple Edit Playlists (manually changing playlists and copy-pasting
from one playlist to another).
• Whenever Loop Record mode is active, there is a button in the MIDI controls that becomes
greyed out: the MIDI Merge button. This behavior will factor heavily into our different loop
recording worlflows.

Loop Record mode active, and an unavailable MIDI Merge button

With this in mind, there are two loop record-style workflows:

• Traditional Loop Recording, which results in multiple separate MIDI clips. Just make sure
you're in Loop Record mode, and record MIDI in the same way that you would record audio.
You'll create one MIDI clip for every take.
• MIDI Merge Loop recording, which stacks notes with each repetition of the selected area. But
if MIDI Merge is disabled when Loop Record is enabled, how is this possible?
It's easier to set up than you might think:

MIDI Merge “Loop Recording”

1. Enable Loop Playback (either from the Options menu, or by right-clicking the Play button).
2. Make sure you’re in Normal record (either from the Options menu, or by right-clicking the
Record button).
3. Enable MIDI Merge by clicking the MIDI Merge button. When enabled, the button will be
blue.
When you’re done, your Transport and MIDI controls should look like this:

Ready for recording

4. Select the area that you want to record.

5. Click on the Track Record Enable button to arm the track (MIDI or Instrument) for recording.

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6. Click on the Record Enable button in the Transport window (or in the Transport controls at
the top of the Edit window).
7. Click on the Play button. Recording will begin.
8. With MIDI Merge recording, there’s no rush since there’s no requirement to play each time
your selection repeats. Whenever you do play, though, you’ll add MIDI data to the clip.
When you’re finished, you’ll have a single clip that includes all the notes (and other MIDI data) that
you’ve played.

Auditioning MIDI and MIDI Default Thru

Earlier in this course, you learned how to audition an audio clip from the Clips List, by holding
Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and clicking on the clip that you want to preview. From a technical
standpoint, this is pretty straightforward — you're essentially just playing audio in a different way.
MIDI, on the other hand, has no intrinsic sound of its own, so the mechanism of auditioning MIDI
clips from the Clips List gets a little more complex. But when you understand the logic behind it, this
ability can really help your creative process!
The trick to making this work is to realize that you're not auditioning the MIDI directly, but instead as
played by the Pro Tools' Default MIDI Thru Instrument.

What's MIDI "Thru"?

As was briefly discussed during the introduction of MIDI in the Pro Tools 101 course, in the early
days of MIDI, synthesizers had MIDI In connections (from which they could receive MIDI data from
another device) and MIDI Out connections (from which they could send MIDI data to another device).
Additionally, many synthesizer devices also had a MIDI Thru port, which allowed MIDI data coming to
the device to pass through to other MIDI Devices. This allowed for many things, most commonly for a
single MIDI controller (usually a keyboard) to trigger sounds on multiple MIDI sound modules.
Of course, a DAW is different from a hardware synthesizer module, but Pro Tools' MIDI Thru
implementation is similar in many ways. The settings you make in your MIDI Thru preferences will
choose how MIDI data coming into your system is routed to Virtual Instruments in your session, but
the benefits don't stop there.

Enabling MIDI Thru

One of the aspects of MIDI Thru in Pro Tools is found in the Options menu: From this menu, you can
enable or disable MIDI Thru by clicking the menu item (when active, the item will be indicated with a
check mark). If you're recording MIDI from an external MIDI controller or using Pro Tools' built in
MIDI Keyboard window, you'll need to have this option enabled in order to bring signals into Pro
Tools.
It might seem obvious that you'd always want this option to be enabled, but there are advantages to
having it disabled: When composition is over, and during real-time bouncing or otherwise printing a
track, disabling MIDI input from a controller helps prevent errant notes from being heard if
someone accidentally presses a key on the MIDI controller.

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Setting a Default Thru Instrument

While MIDI Thru can be enabled or disabled from the Options menu, how it will behave can
differently depending upon the specific settings that that you choose. Perhaps the best way to show
this is in a simple example: In this session, we have three Instrument tracks and two Auxiliary Input
tracks, all of which have different Virtual Instruments on an insert:
• The Xpand-Strings track has an Xpand!2 Virtual Instrument set to a pizzicato string sound.
• The Mini Grand-Piano track has a Mini Grand Virtual Instrument set to a piano sound.
• The DB33-Rock Organ track has a DB-33 Virtual Instrument set to a rock organ sound.
• The Vacuum-Lead track has a Vacuum Virtual Instrument set to a lead synth sound.
• The Xpand-Drums track has an Xpand!2 Virtual Instrument set to a drum kit sound.
You'll see that in the Clips List we have an assortment of MIDI clips.

A simple session with Virtual Instruments

The job at hand is to decide which of these Virtual Instruments will be our Default Thru Instrument to
which MIDI data is routed:
1. From the Setup menu, choose Preferences.
2. In the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box, click the MIDI tab.

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3. In the left-hand side of the

dialog box, you'll find the
Default Thru Instrument pop-up
menu. in this menu, you'll
choose which one of the
available Virtual Instruments (or
external MIDI devices) will be
your default instrument:

The Default Thru Instrument pop-up menu

• If you choose none, you've effectively turned the MIDI Thru functionality in Pro Tools
off. No MIDI data will be automatically sent to a destination. This can be the best choice
in situations where you don't want to run the risk of inadvertently triggering a Virtual
Instrument or MIDI device.
• In the second section of the menu, you'll see a list of all the Virtual Instrument plug-ins
in your session. Note that you're seeing instruments on both the Instrument tracks as
well as the Auxiliary Input tracks. If you choose an instrument from this list, it'll be your
session's Default Thru Instrument — you'll learn more about what that means later in
this section.
• Though a default instrument will be commonly set to a Virtual Instrument in your
session, it doesn't have to be: If you move your cursor to the Predefined menu item,
you'll see a submenu of the available physical MIDI outputs (the items on this menu will
vary based on your system's attached interfaces, or not at all if you don't have a MIDI
device connected). You can choose a physical MIDI output port through which the MIDI
data will be sent, enabling you to use a hardware MIDI sound module as your Default
Thru Instrument.
• Finally, the Follows First Selected MIDI Track is an interesting choice. When you
choose this, you aren't making a definitive choice in your preferences, but rather setting
up a situation where you can have your first selected MIDI track (actually, an Instrument
or MIDI track) behave as your Default Thru Instrument. It takes a little extra setup, but
this gives you the ability to not only preview a MIDI clip, but also preview it with different
instruments without having to change your preferences.

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For the purposes of illustration, we'll

choose the Vacuum Virtual Instrument on
the Vacuum-Lead track. Note that the
track that this Virtual Instrument is on is
an Auxiliary Input track — when we
choose from this part of the list, we'll see
all of the Virtual Instruments in our
session, regardless of the kind of track
that they're on.
4. Click the OK button. The dialog box will
close and your choice will be applied.

MIDI Thru Workflows

Choosing Vacuum as our Default Thru Instrument
Here's what our choice has given us:
• If no other MIDI or Instrument track is record-enabled, the instrument you've set as your
Default Thru Instrument will play any incoming MIDI data (including anything you play using
Pro Tools’ built-in MIDI Keyboard window).
Options > MIDI Thru will need to be enabled in order for data from a MIDI controller to be routed to
the Default Thru Instrument.

• You can preview MIDI clips the same way that you preview audio clips, by holding
Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and clicking and holding on the clip that you want to preview.
Here again, the instrument that you've chosen as your Default Thru Instrument will sound,
audible through its track.
It's important to note that when you're previewing a MIDI clip using the Default Thru Instrument, the
sound that you'll hear will be from the track that is hosting the Virtual Instrument (or that is monitoring
the external sound-generating MIDI device, if you've chosen an output from the predefined category in
the Preferences dialog box). This is fundamentally different from previewing audio files and clips, the
output of which is determined by the Audition Path that you choose in the I/O Setup dialog box.

If, on the other hand, we choose Follows First

Selected MIDI Track, you have more flexibility. With
this preference selected, you can choose different
Virtual Instruments to use, simply by selecting the
MIDI-based track that the Virtual Instrument is
assigned to.

Choosing Follows First Selected MIDI Track

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If you have Virtual Instruments on Aux Tracks, they won't be able to be previewed by clicking the track if the
Follows First Selected MIDI Track preference is chosen. This is remedied by creating MIDI tracks's and routing
their outputs to the Aux tracks, a technique that was covered in Lesson 6 of the PT101 course.

TIP: For MIDI-based workflows, the benefits of MIDI Thru are well worth the effort, but there's no denying
that setting up a session just right can take some time. This is a case where Session Templates (which you
learned about earlier in this course) can really come in handy: After creating tracks with your favorite Virtual
Instruments and presets, and setting up MIDI Thru in your Preferences, save the session as a Session
Template, so that you can recall it easily when you create a new session in the future, saving time and getting
your creative juices flowing!

The MIDI Editor

Though MIDI production can be done using only the Edit and Mix windows (and often is), there is a
window that can make the creative process a lot easier: the MIDI Editor window.
What makes the MIDI Editor so useful is that it is tailored to showing only the aspects of your
session that are specifically related to MIDI-based workflows and it has the ability to show multiple
tracks' note data in a single environment.

Different Ways to the MIDI Editor

There are two ways that you can view this environment — with the docked MIDI Editor or with a
standalone MIDI Editor window. The good news is that both of these MIDI-editing environments are
nearly identical, so the real choice for you is where you want to work, not how.

The Docked MIDI Editor

You've been working with Pro Tools' Edit window for some time now, so you might be surprised to
learn that there's even more to this powerful production window. The docked MIDI Editor (or MIDI
Editor Edit window view) becomes available to you if your session has any MIDI-based tracks (MIDI
and/or Instrument tracks).
There are a few different ways to show (or hide) the docked MIDI Editor:
• From the View menu, move your cursor to the Other Displays menu item. In the submenu
that appears, choose MIDI Editor. When visible, the menu item will be indicated with a check
mark.

• From the Edit window toolbar's pop-up menu, choose MIDI

Editor at the bottom of the pop-up menu. When visible, the
box will be checked.

Showing the docked MIDI Editor from

the Edit window pop-up menu

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• In the bottom left-hand corner of the Edit window, you'll see the MIDI Editor button (this will
only be clickable in sessions that have at least one MIDI-based track). Clicking this button will
show the docked MIDI Editor.
• Double-click on a MIDI clip (if the Double Clicking a MIDI Clip Opens preference is set to Docked
MIDI Editor in the MIDI tab of the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box).
When the docked MIDI Editor is shown, this button will switch to a downward pointing arrow just above the
docked MIDI Editor. Clicking this button will hide the MIDI Editor.

When you show the docked MIDI Editor, you'll see it appear in the lower section of your Edit window.
Just like the lists on the two sides of your Edit
window, you can resize the border of the
docked MIDI Editor, and control how much
space it'll take up on your desktop. Just
position your cursor near the top edge of the
docked MIDI Editor, and when the cursor
turns into a double-arrow icon, you're ready
to drag up or down to manage your on-
screen space.

Resizing the docked MIDI Editor

The MIDI Editor Window
The docked MIDI Editor is a fantastic way to work with MIDI in your session, but it's really best-suited
for working with small numbers of tracks and limited other MIDI data — going beyond that, you'd
need to resize it to the point where it takes too much real estate in the Edit window. That's where
the MIDI Editor window steps in, as a more comprehensive MIDI Editing environment.
Here are a couple of ways to open a MIDI Editor window:
• From the Window menu, choose MIDI Editor.
• The default shortcut to open a MIDI Editor window is Control+Equals (=) (Mac) or
Start+Equals (=) (Windows).
• Double-click on a MIDI clip (if the Double Clicking a MIDI Clip Opens preference is set to MIDI
Editor in the MIDI tab of the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box).
TIP: When you double-click a MIDI clip with the Grabber tool, you have some control over what will happen:
from the MIDI tab of the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box, you'll find the Double-Clicking a MIDI Clip Opens
preference. Your options are:

• Docked MIDI Editor

• MIDI Editor

• Score Editor

• MIDI Event List

• Name Dialog (the same behavior that applies to audio clips)

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Getting Around the MIDI Editor

The good news is that the MIDI Editors — both the docked MIDI Editor and the MIDI Editor window
— follow many of the same fundamental conventions of the other Pro Tools windows. That means
that if you're comfortable in the Edit and Mix windows, you'll be up and running in the MIDI Editor in
no time!

Record/Solo/Mute The MIDI Editor window

These buttons are very useful for controlling tracks not only in the
MIDI Editor, but in your Edit and Mix windows as well:
• Record: Clicking this button will record arm (or disarm) all of
the tracks that are currently shown in the MIDI Editor. Record, Solo, and Mute buttons

• Solo: Clicking this button will toggle the solo status for all of
the tracks that are currently shown in the MIDI Editor.
• Mute: Clicking this button will toggle the mute status for all of the tracks that are currently
shown in the MIDI Editor.

Notation Display
If you read music notation, you'll love
this: Clicking the Notation Display
button will change your notes from
the colored blocks that you've seen
up to now (commonly called "Piano
Roll" view) to traditional notes on a
staff. Both views have their strengths,
which makes this easy way of
switching so useful for composers
and arrangers. The Notation Display button

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Edit Toolbar
The top of the MIDI Editor is a slightly miniaturized version of the Edit window toolbar, complete
with familar-looking edit tools, edit modes and so on. Certain controls (Like Link Timeline and Edit
Selection and Mirrored MIDI Editing) have migrated somewhat, but you'll find all the edit tools you
need in this top toolbar.

Target
You can have multiple MIDI Editor window's open, but only one of
them can be the target window (indicated by a red Target button —
any window that isn't a target will show this button in grey). Any
changes to the Edit selection in the Edit window are reflected in the
Targeted MIDI Editor window.
Features and workflows involving multiple windows are explored on other
The Target button
courses in the Avid Learning Series.

Tracks List
The Tracks List in the MIDI Editor window (and Docked MIDI Editor) works in much the same way as
the lists in the Edit and Mix windows — you can select and show tracks using the techniques you've
used in those other windows. There are, however, two differences worth mentioning:
• You'll see that not all of your session's tracks are
represented in the list. This list will show only
Instrument, MIDI, and Auxiliary Input tracks (since
we often use Aux tracks to host Virtual
Instruments). Track types that don't relate to
MIDI production aren't included in this Tracks
List.
• You will see a small pencil icon to the far right of
the list — this shows you what track you will be
actively changing when adding notes using the
Pencil tool. Just click on the right edge of Tracks
List to move the pencil icon to the track that you
want to work with. You can have multiple tracks
selected (using the Shift or Command/Ctrl
modifiers), enabling you to write multiple MIDI
notes at the same time.
The Tracks List
Note Coloring Options
In the main section of the MIDI Editor, all notes for all shown tracks are displayed in a single
environment. By default, the coloring of these notes follows the coloring of their clips in the Edit
window. Frequently, this means that many tracks' worth of data is displayed in the same color,
making it hard to tell which notes are on which tracks!
There are two controls in the upper left-hand corner of the MIDI Editor that can help: The Color Code
MIDI Note By Track button (the top button in the image shown here) and the Color Code MIDI Note By
Velocity button.

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• Clicking the Color Code MIDI Note By Track button,

when clicked, will assign a unique color to each track
(shown in the Tracks List) and color each track's notes
with that same unique color).
• Clicking the Color Code MIDI Note By Velocity button
will show all notes in red, with the saturation level of each
colored note indicating the velocity of that note. This isn't
too helpful in determining which note belongs to which
track, but it can be useful for differentiating notes by
velocity.
The Color Code MIDI Note by Track (top), and
the Color Code MIDI Note by Velocity buttons
Piano Roll/Notation Area
In the main area of the MIDI Editor, you'll see your note data (for all the tracks shown in the Tracks
List), shown in "Piano Roll" view or as music notation.

Automation Lanes
In the Pro Tools 101 course, and then again earlier in this lesson, you learned how to show
additional lanes below your track, enabling you to see multiple types of information simultaneously.
It works the same way here, but multiplied: For every kind of additional data you want to see, you'll
see an additional lane for each shown track (with the exception of the velocity lane, which shows all
the shown tracks' velocity data in one lane, color-coded to match its associated note).

Groups List
This operates identically to the Edit window's Groups List.

Addendum: The Score Editor

The MIDI Editor is a great creative environment within Pro Tools,

but even though it supports notation view, it's not suitable for printing
music parts. The notation view is essentially a long scrolling score with
no page breaks, and therefore unprintable. That's where the Score Editor
comes in.

Scan the QR code or type the URL below into your browser
to view this course addendum.

http://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-Add8-1

Navigating and Transposing

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned how to use the Tab key to navigate clips on a track, and by
enabling Tab to Transients, you can jump from transient to transient within clips. Let's see what can
be done with MIDI notes.

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Navigation
Let's start out with a couple of ways to navigate MIDI notes:

Tabbing
When looking at a MIDI-based track in Notes view, the Tab key behaves in much the same way as it
does on Audio tracks:

• When Tab to Transient is disabled, pressing the tab will cause the edit cursor to jump from
clip boundary to clip boundary.

• When Tab to Transient is enabled, when you press the Tab key, the edit cursor will jump to
the next note to the right, progressing down the timeline of the track.
Tabbing backwards (right to left) also follows the same conventions you've learned when working with Audio
tracks: Hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while tabbing to reverse the tabbing direction.

Holding the Shift key as you tab will select notes as you navigate.

Using the Left and Right Arrow keys

If your MIDI or Instrument track is in Notes view, there's another way that you can navigate: Using
the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys. This behaves a little differently in a few ways:

• Notes are selected from left to right, and when chords are played, from bottom to top when
using the Right Arrow key, and the opposite directions when using the Left Arrow key.

• Notes are played when they are selected, enabling you not only to navigate, but to hear the
notes as you navigate.
Holding the Shift key as you use the Arrow keys will select notes as you navigate.

Transposing
You can use the Left and Right Arrow keys for navigation — wonder what the Up and Down
Arrow keys do? They allow you to nudge the pitch up or down, with a few helpful modifiers that
make these keys even more useful:

Chromatic Nudging
At a basic level, the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys will nudge any selected note(s) up or down
chromatically (in increments of half-steps). Just as the Up/Down Arrow keys did when navigating, the
note will play each time the key is pressed, letting you know its new pitch (if multiple notes are
selected, you'll hear the first selected note).

Diatonic Nudging
Holding the Control key (Mac) or the Start key (Windows) and using the Up Arrow or Down
Arrow keys will nudge any selected note(s) up or down diatonically (within the key signature).
For example, if the key signature in your session's Key ruler was C major each time you pressed an
Arrow key, the note would be nudged to the next note in a C major scale.

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 Lesson 8 More Music Making!

Octave Nudging
Holding the Shift key and using the Up Arrow or Down Arrow keys will nudge any selected note(s) up
or down in increments of an octave.

Duplicating and Nudging

Holding the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) and nudging notes up or down will make a copy
when you nudge. This works with the Arrow keys as well as with the diatonic and octave modifiers.
For example, if you wanted to double a note in octaves, you'd hold Shift+Option (Mac) or Shift+Alt
(Windows) and press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key.

The Play MIDI Notes When Editing Option

If, as you use the arrow keys to navigate or transpose notes, you aren't hearing them as expected, the
first thing to check is whether the Play MIDI Notes When Editing option is enabled.

You can enable this option by first making sure that at least one MIDI or Instrument track is visible (if
you're trying to navigate MIDI notes, that's already taken care of), and then going to the far right side of
the Counter section of the Edit window toolbar. You'll see a MIDI cable/Speaker icon, which you can click
to enable or disable the option. When enabled (as shown below), you'll hear MIDI notes as you navigate
and edit notes. When disabled, the icon will be dimmed, and you won't hear MIDI as you edit in Notes
view.

Converting MIDI and Audio

Though MIDI isn't itself audio, it certainly has a relationship with sound-making devices. In this
section, we'll look at a few ways to create audio from your MIDI, and MIDI clips from your audio!

Rendering MIDI
When anybody mentions "converting MIDI to audio", it's a bit misleading — what's really happening
during these workflows is that the sound that is created by MIDI's control of a MIDI device (either an
external sound-generating device, or a Virtual Instrument) is rendered as an audio file.
You've already learned a couple ways to do it — Track Freeze (for temporarily rendering a track to
free up system resources) and Track Commit (to render the track as an Audio track). If your MIDI is
on an Instrument track, here's another way:
1. Create an Audio track that matches the same format (mono, stereo, and so on) as the
Instrument track whose MIDI you want to render.
2. On the Instrument track, select the clip(s) that you want to render.

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3. Using the Grabber tool, drag the clip(s) from the Instrument track into the Audio track. When
you release your mouse, the audio will be rendered, using the Virtual Instrument on the
Instrument track as a sound source.
The size and position of the audio clip that is created will be based on the selected MIDI clips, and
sometimes that might mean that the sound of the Virtual Instrument (which can often go on longer
than the duration of the MIDI notes triggering it) might sound cut off. Not a problem — this useful
Pro Tools feature renders all of the audible sound of the Virtual Instrument, meaning that you can
use the Trim tool, extend the end of the clip, and reveal the ends of the notes.

Extracting MIDI
In recent versions of Pro Tools, you can create MIDI clips based upon an analysis of an audio file.
The software that powers this feature is called Melodyne, from a company named Celemony. There
are various versions of Melodyne available, including the Melodyne Essentials version, which is
installed along with Pro Tools.

Track Extraction
There are a number of workflows that you can choose from to extract MIDI from audio — let's start
out with the most basic:
1. Select the Audio track whose audio you want to extract.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Track menu, choose Extract MIDI to New Track.
• Right-click the track name whose audio you want to extract. From the pop-up menu that
appears, choose Extract MIDI to New Track.
The Audio to MIDI Properties dialog box that appears gives you control over how your MIDI will be
created:
[1] Destination Track Type: When your
new MIDI is created, the MIDI clip will be
deposited on a track. From the
Destination Track Type pop-up menu,
you can choose whether that track will
be a MIDI or Instrument track.
[2] Conversion Type: The choice that
you make in the Conversion Type menu
will determine the way that the audio is
analyzed. By default, you have the
following options:
• Automatic: Melodyne will make its
own determination as to which
algorithm to use.
The Audio to MIDI Properties dialog box

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 Lesson 8 More Music Making!

• Universal: Best for complex signals

including both pitched and non-pitched instruments.
• Percussive: For drum hits and loops
• Percussive Pitched: For pitched percussive instruments like toms and taiko
• Melodic: For vocals and other monophonic audio
• Polyphonic Sustain/Decay: These two modes are best suited for audio with multiple
simultaneous notes. The difference between the two is that the "sustain" mode is best
suited for longer legato notes, and the "decay" mode is better suited for shorter notes.
[3] Consolidate Clips: Clicking the Consolidate Clips check box will result in a single MIDI clip
being created from multiple audio clips. When unchecked, a separate MIDI clip will be
created for every audio clip on the track.
[4] Insert after last selected track: When checked, the new MIDI Tracks will be placed after
the last selected track in your session. When unchecked, Each new MIDI track will be placed
after the Audio track that was its source.
[5] Source Tracks: What do you want to do with the Audio track that is being used for your
new MIDI? From the Source Tracks pop-up menu, you have three choices:
• Hide and Make Inactive: The source Audio track will be deactivated and hidden.
• Make Inactive: The source Audio track will still be visible.
• Delete: The source Audio track will be permanently deleted.
• Do Nothing: The source Audio track will be unchanged.
3. Click the OK button. The MIDI will be extracted to a new track. The new MIDI track will be
named after the source track, with a .MIDI extension on the track name.
You'll note that the position and pitch of the notes is following the source audio, but there's a hidden gem:
The amplitude of the audio waveform is converted to MIDI velocity!

TIP: Different conversion types can result in different results. If one extraction doesn't give you the MIDI
you're looking for, you can easily and quickly perform another extraction with another conversion algorithm
(without having to delete the previous extraction).

Drag-and-Drop Extraction
Here's another way to extract MIDI from audio, which is essentially a simplified workflow from the
track-based extraction you just learned:
When using this drag-and-drop workflow, you'll need to have preexisting MIDI or Instrument tracks to drag
to. You'll need one MIDI-based track per track that you're dragging from — if you don't already have the
available destination tracks, you'll need to create these before starting these steps.

1. Select the audio clip(s) (or Clip Groups) that you want to extract MIDI from.
2. Drag the clip(s) to the destination MIDI or Instrument track(s). As you drag, yellow rectangles
will indicate where your MIDI will be created.

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3. The dialog box that appears is a

simplified version of what you've
worked with before. After you've made
your settings choices, click the OK
button.

A simplified Audio to MIDI Properties dialog box

Copy-and-Paste Extraction
Here's yet another variation on the MIDI Extraction workflow, one that will enable you to choose to
extract from audio clips, even if they're not being used on a track!
1. Do one of the following:
• Right-click on an audio clip (or clips) in an Audio track or in your session's Clips List, and
choose Copy Audio as MIDI from the pop-up menu.
• Select an area on an Audio track (or tracks) that includes at least one audio clip. Right-
click on any clip within the selected area and choose Copy Audio as MIDI from the pop-
up menu.
• Select the desired audio clip(s) in the Clips List, and click the Clips List pop-up menu.
From the menu, choose Copy Audio as MIDI.
2. Here again, you'll see a simplified Audio to MIDI Properties dialog box. When you've made
your settings choices, click the OK button.
3. On the target MIDI or Instrument tracks, place your edit cursor at the position at which you
want to paste your MIDI. Note that if you're copying from multiple tracks in your session,
your edit cursor should include the same number of MIDI-based tracks.
4. Finally, paste using any of the traditional methods (from the Edit menu, or using the
shortcuts).

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Summary of Key Concepts

Lesson 8 discusses different ways to work with MIDI more effectively.
In this lesson, you learned:
• How to change your track view quickly, giving you the ability to view the MIDI data that you
need to work with
• How to view multiple MIDI data types simultaneously, using automation lanes
• Different ways to use various loop-style recording workflows with MIDI to give you the result
you're looking for
• How to set up and use Pro Tools' Default Thru Instrument, improving your composition and
production workflow flexibility
• Different ways to show the MIDI Editor, and the various tools included in this powerful
production window
• How to navigate your MIDI notes using the Tab and Arrow Keys, giving you the navigation
and previewing behavior you need to do your creative work
• Learn how to use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to transpose notes chromatically,
diatonically, or by octaves
• Different ways to render MIDI to audio, and how to extract MIDI data from an audio clip

Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson

Following is a summary of shortcuts and modifiers that you should know from this lesson.

Regarding Keyboard Shortcuts

Beginning with Pro Tools version 2022.4, keyboard shortcuts can be customized, allowing flexibility in
choosing individual workflows. For the purposes of this course, and to build a strong foundation that is
most compatible with the broader Pro Tools-using community, Pro Tools' default keyboard shortcuts will
be used.

To reset Pro Tools' shortcuts to their default state:

1. From the Setup menu, choose Keyboard Shortcuts. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box will appear.

2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the dialog box, click the Reset All button. An Are You Sure? dialog
box will appear.

3. Click the Yes button.

For the purposes of the Pro Tools 101 and Pro

Tools 110 courses the Edit Keyboard focus should
always be enabled.

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Action Default Shortcut

Audition a MIDI clip from the Clips List Hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and click on the clip that
you want to preview

Open a MIDI Editor window Control+Equals (=) (Mac)

Start+Equals (=) (Windows)

Move the edit cursor to the next note Tab (with Tab to Transients activated)

Select and play notes Left Arrow key or Right Arrow key

Nudge note pitch chromatically Up Arrow key or Down Arrow key

Nudge note pitch diatonically Hold the Control key (Mac) or the Start key (Windows) and
press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow keys

Nudge note pitch by octaves Hold the Shift key and press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow
keys

Duplicate a note when nudging with the Arrow keys Hold the Option key (Mac)
Alt key (Windows)

Knowledge Check
Click or scan the QR code shown to experience a fully interactive online
knowledge check with scored results.
You can also type the URL below into your browser:
http://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-KC8

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 Exercise 8
Making More of MIDI

In Lesson 8, you learned some new ways to work with MIDI, including an introduction to the
powerful MIDI Editor window. In this exercise, we'll take a look at a typical session—one with MIDI
and audio living side-by-side—and apply some of what you've learned in Lesson 8 to take the
production process forward.

Media: PT110 2023 Exercise 8 (Revelation)

Duration: 30 min

Downloading the Media Files

To complete this exercise, you will need to use various files included in the PT110 (2023) Exercises folder.

• Download all the media files for the course by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_All_Exercises.zip
• Download just the media files for this exercise by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_Exercise_8_(Revelation).zip

TIP: If clicking either of the links above does not initiate the media download, copy the link address and
then paste it into a new tab in your browser.

This session represents the latter stage of the composition process of a project I worked on many years
ago with laser show producer extraordinaire David Oxenreider (who provided the rough video to
compose to). Thanks to Dave for the use of this video!

The audio tracks in this session represent bounces of sound effects and the existing (incomplete) music
track. Our job is to add some finishing touches.
 Exercise 8 Making More of MIDI

Part 1: Getting Started

To get started, we'll need to open a session:
1. Launch Pro Tools.
2. Do one of the following:
• In the Dashboard window, click the Open From Disk button.
• From the File menu, choose Open Session.
3. Navigate to the folder containing the exercises for this course and locate the PT110 2023
Exercise 8 (Revelation) subfolder.
4. Double-click the PT110 2023 Exercise 8 (Revelation).ptx session file.
5. Using File > Save As, save a new version of the session file, naming the session descriptively.
Here's a possible name: PT110 2023 Exercise 8 (Revelation) - [Your Name] [today's date].

Part 2: Previewing MIDI

At the beginning, we've got a MIDI clip of some chords. We know we want to use it, but we're not
sure which sound we want to use. Let's use our understanding of the Default Thru Instrument
preference to make the job easy!
1. From the Setup menu, choose Preferences.
2. In the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box, click the MIDI tab.
3. Click the Default Thru Instrument pop-up menu and choose Follows First Selected MIDI
Track.
4. Click the OK button to close the dialog box.
5. In the Edit window, you'll see four empty Instrument tracks:
• Intro Piano
• Intro Arpeggio
• Intro Action Pad 1
• Intro Action Pad 2
6. Select the Intro Piano track.
7. Holding Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) click and hold the Intro Chords clip in the Clips List.
You should hear the clip played out of the Intro Piano track.
8. Select each of the other tracks and preview the clip through the different tracks. When you
choose the one you prefer, drag the clip so that it starts at 1|1|000.

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 Exercise 8 Making More of MIDI

Part 3: Working in the MIDI Editor

We've got a few MIDI tracks that we want to look at, and we'll do that in the MIDI Editor window.
1. From the Window menu, open the MIDI Editor.
2. In the MIDI Editor window's Tracks List, show only the Bass MIDI track.

3. You might need to do

some zooming and
scrolling, but make sure
you can clearly see the
first seven notes in the
Bass MIDI track.

4. Using the Selector tool, click anywhere in the piano roll before the first note.
5. Press the Right Arrow key once. You'll see that the first MIDI note is selected.
6. Now press it four more times, and you'll have selected the first note of three ascending
pitches.
7. Holding the Shift key, press the Right Arrow key two more times. Now the entire ascending
line is selected.
8. Hold Shift+Option (Mac) or Shift+Alt (Windows), and press the Down Arrow key. You'll create
a copy of the selected notes one octave below the originals.

This completes the exercise.

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Exercise 8 Making More of MIDI

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 LESSON 9
Post-Production Primer

In the Pro Tools 101 course, we began a discussion on MIDI and music composition tools (which we
have continued in this course). Now, let's switch gears and delve into the world of audio post-
production.
Generally speaking, audio post-production refers to audio production for visual media, including
television and movies. Like music production, audio post-production has its own formats, terms, and
workflows. In this lesson, we’ll take a first look at the world of audio post-production engineer.

Duration: 45 min

GOALS

• Learn about commonly used Video Frame Rates

• Work with video tracks
• Conform clips
• Apply clip effects
 Lesson 9 Post-Production Primer

What is Audio Post-Production?

Perhaps the best way to start a discussion of audio post-production is to explain the meaning
behind the name: The process of making a television show or movie starts with the filming and on-
site recording of the actors and performers. This is collectively known as the production phase. So,
when we talk about production audio when working with video, we're specifically referring to the
audio that was recorded during the filming.
Once production (filming and basic editing) is done, post-production begins for all of the various
elements of the project. This typically involves post-production for visual elements (where the video
is edited, color corrected, affected in various ways, and so on) and audio post-production, which
involves all the work needed to bring professional-sounding audio to the final product. As you might
guess, this involves additional recording, audio import, editing, and mixing. These are all skills you've
refined during your study in the Pro Tools 101 and 110 courses, so you're well on your way!
With that in mind, it's helpful to think of audio post-production as the crafting of audio that is
synchronized with a moving picture. Historically this has been television and film production but has
gradually expanded to include other media, including web-based media. Audio podcasts,
audiobooks, and game audio might not fall squarely into this category, but many of the techniques
that we discuss in this lesson are equally applicable to those kinds of work as well.

Addendum: Post-Production Concepts

Like production in the music world, post-production has its own
fundamental terms and concepts. Here we'll look at a few of them
that you'll encounter during the normal course of audio post-production.

Scan the QR code or type the URL below into your browser
to view this course addendum.

http://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-Add9-1

Frame Rates
Just as a second is broken down into increments of a sample when we're talking about digital audio,
a second is broken down into frames. in the world of video and SMPTE Timecode. The most used
frame-based standard is SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Editors) timecode. It's this
standard that we'll focus on in this lesson. just as there are different sample rates you can choose
from, there are different frame rates supported by SMPTE.
SMPTE Timecode indicates the current time of a video in terms of hours, minutes, seconds, and
frames (which are subdivisions of a second). SMPTE timecode is displayed as a series of numbers
separated by colons or semicolons (depending on the timecode format) —
Hours:Minutes:Seconds:Frames.
The importance of choosing the right frame rate cannot be overstated. Even one of the production
team members is using a different frame rate from the rest of the group, the results can jeopardize
the entire project.

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The correct frame rate is generally specified at the beginning of a project (before filming even
begins), and there are some standard frame rates that you should know:
• 23.976 fps (Frames Per Second): Commonly used by many digital cinema cameras, this
frame rate can be easily converted to film or NTSC.
• 24 fps (Frames Per Second): Commonly used for film production.
• 25 fps (Frames Per Second): Commonly used for PAL video (a broadcast format used in
Europe and other countries).
• 29.97 fps (Frames Per Second): Commonly used for NTSC video (a broadcast format used in
the United States and other countries).
• 30 fps (Frames Per Second): Commonly used for ATSC video (short for Advanced Television
Systems Committee, this is a digital replacement format for NTSC). It is also used for music
production that involves SMPTE synchronization.
There are also a number of "drop" frame rates — for example, there are both 30 frames per second
and 30 frames per second drop. Drop frame rates are technical compromises that have been
created by SMPTE to work around certain technical issues. These compromises work by skipping (or
"dropping") a portion of the timecode frames to make sure that the hours, minutes, and seconds of
the timecode can be maintained. It's important to note that no frames of video are being dropped —
only timecode.
From a production perspective, you should consider drop frame rates as being completely distinct
frame rates and be very careful that drop and non-drop frame rates aren't being simultaneously
used by members of the production team.

You can set your frame rate in the

Session Setup dialog box from the
Timecode Rate pop-up menu.
Clicking this selector will reveal a
list of all available frame rates,
including drop frame rates.

Choosing the Timecode Rate

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What about the Timecode 2 Rate?

In the Session Setup dialog box, below the Timecode
Rate selector, you'll see another timecode selector:
Timecode 2 Rate. This pop-up menu will also reveal a
list of available frame rates. But how do you choose this,
and which rate affects the session?
Any selection you make in the Timecode 2 Rate pop-
up menu will affect the Timecode 2 ruler only, and is
only used when it is desirable to be able to see two
different frame rates in the rulers section of the Edit
window. Only the Timecode Rate selector determines
the frame rate of your session, with the Timecode 2
The Timecode 2 Rate pop-up selector Rate being only a visual indicator in the rare cases that
require it.

Tools of the Trade: Video Tracks

In many situations, the video that we're working with is incorporated into the session itself, in the
form of a Video track. In this section, we'll go over the basics of viewing video in your session.

Pro Tools Versions and Video

When it comes to video, the version of Pro Tools that you're using (Artist, Studio, or Ultimate)
matters. Here are the key differences:
• Pro Tools Intro and Pro Tools Artist does not support Video tracks.
• Pro Tools Studio supports a single Video track (and single video clip).
• Pro Tools Ultimate supports multiple (up to 64) Video tracks (only one track can be played
at a time), plus limited editing capabilities, including:
o Cut o Paste
o Copy o Delete
Though Pro Tools Ultimate supports multiple Video tracks and some editing functionality, it shouldn't be
confused with a professional video editing application. Fortunately, Avid also has a professional video
production solution called Media Composer, complete with its own curriculum and certification!

For the purposes of this course, we'll focus on basic video track operations using Pro Tools Studio.

The Avid Video Engine

Before you can use video in Pro Tools, you'll need to activate its ability to play that video, which is
accomplished by the Avid Video Engine, or AVE. When you import video into a session, the AVE will
be automatically activated, but you also have the ability to control it manually in order to better
manage system resources:

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1. From the Setup menu,

choose Playback Engine.
2. In the Settings section, click the Video
Engine > Enable check box. When
active, there will be a check mark
displayed in the box.
3. Click OK to apply your changes and
close the Playback Engine dialog box.
TIP: Even if there is no video in your session, an
active AVE will use system memory. If your
Activating the Avid Audio Engine
session doesn't involve video, it is recommended to
deactivate the Avid Video Engine.

Importing Video
If you're using Pro Tools Studio, you'll notice that in the New Tracks dialog box, there's no option to
create a Video track. This isn't a bug — since there's only one Video track supported in this version
of Pro Tools, the only way to create a Video track is to import a video file into your session.
When using Pro Tools Ultimate (which does support multiple video tracks), you will see "Video" as a track
type option in the New Tracks dialog box.

Importing a video file can be done the same way as an audio file — by dragging it in from a file
browser or Workspace Browser window. If you want to import it from the File menu, you'll do it just
a little bit differently:
1. From the File menu, move your cursor to the Import menu item. A submenu will appear.
2. From the Import submenu, choose Video. A browser window will appear.
Pro Tools supports the following video file types for import and playback:

• H.264 • .mp4

• H.265 • .m4v

• .mov • .mxf

3. Navigate to the location of your desired video file and select it in the browser window.
4. Click the Open button.
5. You'll be presented with the Video Import
Options dialog box. From here, you can
choose where your video clip will be
positioned (Session Start, Song Start,
Selection, or Spot, just as when importing
audio), and you have the option of also
importing the audio from the video (by
checking the Import Audio from File check
box). When you've made your selections
press the OK button.
The Video Import Options dialog box

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6. If you've chosen to import the audio from the video file, you'll be prompted to choose a
location for that video file (by default, the browser will select your session's Audio
Files subfolder). Clicking the Open button will import the audio.
7. If you have chosen Spot as your location, you must choose a location from the Spot Dialog
dialog box that appears.
Pro Tools will import the movie as a new Video track in the Edit window, and a floating Video window
will appear. The first frame of the movie will be placed at the selected start location in your session.
You learned the difference between adding and copying when you import. When you import video using this
method, your file will be added, meaning that the file will be referred to in its original location in your system.

Pro Tools Studio (as opposed to Pro Tools Ultimate) supports only one video file per session. This means that
if you import a video file into a session that already contains video, that new video file will replace the
preexisting file.

Video Tracks and Clips

Once you've imported a video file, you'll see the new Video track in your session:

A new Video track, with accompanying Audio track

With video tracks, you've got only two track views — Blocks and Frames:
• Blocks View: This is the
simplest view possible:
The video clip is
represented as a colored
block. This has the
advantage of being easy
on your computer’s
resources, but there’s no
visual feedback
in the clip to let you know A video track in Blocks view
what’s inside.

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Lesson 9 Post-Production Primer

• Frames View: When your

video track is in Frames
view, you'll see small
thumbnail images in the
clip. This will give you a
sense of the contents of
the video clip, which will
change in response to
your horizontal zoom A video track in Frames view
level — the more you're
zoomed in, the more
detail you'll see. It is worth noting, however, that this view will consume some of your
computer's resources to display.
• Immediately below the Track View
selector, you'll see the Video Engine
Rate, indicating the video's frame
rate. This is worth taking note of: If
the text in this section is colored red,
it signals to you that the frame rate of
the video doesn't match the frame
rate that is set in the Session
Setup dialog box. Since frame rates are an The Video Engine Rate on a Video track.
important way of determining position, the
usual remedy for this problem is to change the setting in the Session Setup dialog box to
match the video file's frame rate.
• In the I/O column, you will see a
series of menu buttons. Most of
them are beyond the scope of this
course, but the third one down
(which reads "Full Quality" in the
image shown here) is worth taking
note of here. This is the Select video
playback quality menu — from
here, you can choose lesser-quality
The Select video playback quality on a Video track.
outputs, which will lower the quality of
the video window, but will conserve CPU
resources.

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The Video Window

The Video window is of course useful for viewing the video in your session, but this window can
sometimes get in the way of your Edit or Mix window. The ability to show and hide this window
quickly and efficiently is an important part of many video workflows, and it can be done in a couple
of ways:
• From the Window menu, choose Video.
• Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows), and press the 9 key on your computer
keyboard's numeric keypad.
You can resize the Video window by moving your cursor to any corner of the window and dragging.
Note that this will change the size of the window, but not the aspect ratio of the video.
When you move your cursor to the corner of a video window, you'll note that the cursor icon won't change to
the familiar diagonal double-arrow icon that we typically use to resize windows. If you click on a corner and
drag, you'll find that you can resize the window, despite the cursor icon change!

Alternately, you can choose some preset sizes:

1. Right-click within the Video window. A menu will appear.
2. At the top of the pop-up menu,
you have a number of sizing
options. Clicking on any of these
options will immediately resize
the window and close the menu.
Below that top section, you also
have ratio options (Stretch and
Pillarbox/Letterbox), and below
that you have the same Select
video playback quality menu that
you have already seen in the
I/O column of the Video track
(with qualities ranging from Full
Quality to Best Performance).
Right-clicking in a Video window
Two things to consider when using the Video window:
• One of the options that you have available to you in terms of size is Fullscreen. For Pro Tools
systems that have multiple monitors, this can give you the option of dedicating one of your
screens to video playback, a popular choice for many post-production Pro Tools users.
• If you're pushing your system’s limits and you want to conserve processing resources, bear
in mind that the least CPU-intensive size setting for your Video window is Actual Size. Any
resizing that needs to be done (even resizing that makes the image smaller) will require
additional processing power to create the image.

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Editing Video
If you're using Pro Tools Studio, you are limited to a single Video track and a single video clip. That
clip can't be edited, but it can be moved. This ability to move the video clip follows the same
conventions as other (audio and MIDI) clips in your session and will depend upon the Edit mode that
you're using.

There's one workflow that bears mentioning when

moving a video clip: Since the position of the video
on your session's timeline is so important to the
overall workflow, the video's position is often
specified, using SMPTE Timecode as the positional
reference. This is where Spot mode steps in to help:
1. Click the SPOT button in the Edit window's
toolbar.
2. Using the Grabber tool, click the video clip.
The Spot Dialog dialog box will appear.
3. If your Time Scale isn't set to Timecode, it
should be. Click the Time Scale menu button
and choose Timecode from the list.
4. In the Start field, type the desired location
for the beginning of the clip.
5. Press the OK button. Your video clip will be
moved according to your entered Start value. Changing the Time Scale to Timecode in the
Spot Dialog dialog box

There are many different ways to spot video and audio clips, which are beyond the scope of this post-
production primer but are discussed in other courses in the Avid Learning Series.

Tools of the Trade: Conforming Clips

One of the most time-consuming (yet important) parts of the audio post-production workflow is the
careful positioning of audio elements and ensuring that they are properly aligned to the action on
the screen. Sometimes the locations of sounds on the timeline are determined during a spotting
session (where the producers view the video and determine the positions of sounds), but more
often than not, the ultimate task of making sure the sounds are perfectly placed falls to the Pro
Tools user.
Of course, you can use Spot mode to position a clip to a point on the timeline, or Slip mode to freely
move a clip, but even with these two Edit modes the job can become too time-consuming. Here are
a few ways that you can quickly and accurately move your clips, techniques that are staples in the
post-producer's toolbox.

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 Lesson 9 Post-Production Primer

The techniques that you'll learn here have three things in common:
• All the techniques in this section utilize the Control key (Mac) or the Start key (Windows),
either on their own or with another modifier.
• All the techniques shown here will use the Grabber tool (or the Grabber behavior of the
Smart tool).
• All the positioning of the clips will be in relation to the position of the Edit cursor.
Bearing these three things in mind, let's dive in!

Snapping the Start of a Clip

Let's say that you have an effect that you've identified on the timeline — an exploding car, for
example. Your Timeline and Edit selection are linked, and your timeline cursor is located at the very
beginning of the explosion (where you want the sound effect to start). There's a problem though —
you have the sound effect on the track already, but it's in the wrong place, and as soon as you click
on the clip with the Grabber tool, you'll lose your timeline selection. Here's how to snap the
beginning of that clip to your Timeline/Edit cursor:
1. Make sure that you're not using either Shuffle or Spot mode. Typically, Slip mode is used in
these situations.
2. Make sure that your Edit cursor is exactly where you want to place the start of the clip
(because in post-production workflows, this involves navigating the timeline of your session,
Link Timeline and Edit Selection are typically enabled when using these techniques).
TIP: Nudging can help greatly in moving your timeline/edit cursor to just the right position. This is typically
done using a suitably small nudge value (for example, one quarter frame).

3. Do one of the following:

• If the clip you want to move is already on a track, hold the Control key (Mac) or the
Start key (Windows) and click on the clip that you want to move using the Grabber tool
(or the Smart tool in Grabber tool mode). The start of the clip will snap to the Edit cursor
position.
• If the clip you want to position is in the Clips List, hold the Control key (Mac) or the
Start key (Windows) and drag the desired clip from the Clips List. The start of the clip will
snap to the Edit cursor position.

Snapping the End of a Clip

The rest of the workflow techniques are derived from the steps you have just learned. Here's how
you can snap the end of a clip to the Edit cursor position: Instead of just holding down the
Control key (Mac) or the Start key (Windows), you'll hold Control+Command (Mac) or Start+Ctrl
(Windows) before clicking on the clip with the Grabber tool (or dragging from the Clips List).
This workflow is especially handy for effects that have a definitive ending position (for example, a
scene transition).

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Snapping a Sync Point

Many times, what needs to be synched is neither the beginning nor the end of a clip, but a specific
point within a clip. For example, let's say that you're working with a line of dialog, but the speaker is
off-screen when the phrase starts — how can you line things up in cases like this?
The secret is to create a Sync Point — a location that you can define within a clip — and then use that
sync point as a way to position the clip.
The first job is to create the sync point:
1. Using the Selector tool, place your edit cursor at a point in a clip where you want to create a
sync point.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the Clip menu, choose Identify Sync Point.
• Press Command+Comma (,) on a Mac, or Ctrl+Comma (,) on a Windows computer.
The sync point will appear as a small green
triangle at the bottom of a vertical line. You
can use the Grabber tool to reposition the
sync point if you need, or you can remove
the sync point by holding Option (Mac) or
Alt (Windows) and clicking on the sync
point.
A sync point

A clip can only have one sync point.

Here again, the rest of the workflow techniques are similar to the other workflows. Here's
how you can snap the sync point of a clip to the Edit cursor position:
3. Make sure that your Edit cursor is exactly where you want the sync point of the clip to snap
to.
4. Hold Control+Shift (Mac) or Start+Shift (Windows) before clicking on the clip with the
Grabber tool (or dragging from the Clips List).

Tools of the Trade: Clip Effects

Clip Effects is one of Pro Tools' hidden gems, enabling you to apply effects to individual clips on a
track in a way that bears similarity to AudioSuite plug-ins, but with important workflow advantages.
Though this feature is not limited to post-production workflows, it's commonly used when editing
dialog and voiceover tracks.
Let's explore this feature in the context of a narration track. When recording voice talent, it's not
uncommon to have to contend with plosives (a low "thump" picked up by the microphone when hard
consonants like "b" or "p" are spoken) and sibilance (high frequencies that can accompany "s"
sounds). One solution is to instantiate plug-ins on the track, but any processing that you apply to
that track will be applied to all the clips on the track, even those that don't need it (unless extensive
plug-in automation is created).

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Clip Effects give you the ability to apply basic effects (those included in Avid's Channel Strip plug-in)
to individual clips that need it, without affecting other clips on the track. Better still, the feature is
optimized to make otherwise time-consuming editing quick and easy.

Showing the Clip Effects View

Clip Effects is an Edit window view, similar to the docked MIDI Editor that you learned about in
Lesson 8. You can show or hide this
view in different ways:

• From the View menu, move

your cursor to the Other
Displays menu item. In the
submenu that appears, choose
Clip Effects. When enabled, the
menu item will be indicated
with a check mark.

• From the Edit window toolbar's

pop-up menu, choose Clip
Effects. When visible, the box
will be checked.

Showing Clip Effects from the Edit window pop-up menu

• Click the Clip Effects button in

the bottom left-hand side of
the Edit window. Clicking this
button again will hide the view.

Revealing the Clip Effects Edit window view

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 Lesson 9 Post-Production Primer

Clip Effects comprise the same different kinds of effects as Avid's Channel Strip plug-in, including
(from left to right):
• Input trim and phase inversion
• An EQ section, including four parametric bands
• A Filters section, including high-pass and low-pass filters
• A Dynamics section, including a compressor/limiter and expander/gate

The Clip Effects view

Using Clip Effects

Once you've shown the Clip Effects view, the rest of the process is easy:
1. Select the clip(s) on your track's timeline that you want to process.
2. Adjust the parameters of the Clips View section as needed. You can play your session during
this process. (Using Loop Playback is especially useful in hearing how the changes that you
make affect your selected clips.)

Individual sections can be enabled or

disabled by clicking the corresponding
"power" button. This will remove the
processing from the clip but will retain the
settings in the view so that you can easily
compare how things sound with the
section enable or disabled.

Enabling or disabling the EQ section

Using Clip Effects is similar to using AudioSuite in that the settings are statically applied to the clips
you've selected and cannot be automated. However, the functionality differs from AudioSuite in that
the clips are processed in real-time, without new files being created, and can be changed or
removed at any time without degradation to the original audio.

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Managing Clip Effected Clips

Using Clip Effects in Pro Tools is as simple as it is effective, but there are even more ways that you
can use this powerful feature to enhance your workflow:

Identifying Effected Clips

When working with Clip Effects, you'll want to know which clips you've changed and which ones you
haven't. You can choose to see (or hide) that information from the View menu:
From the View menu, move your cursor to the Clip menu item. In the submenu that appears, choose
Clip Effects Status. When enabled, the menu item will be indicated with a check mark.
In the upper right-hand corner of affected clips you'll see
an icon (or multiple icons) indicating the Clip Effects that
are applied to the clip:
• A Theta icon (Ø) indicates clips whose polarity has
been inverted.
• A DYN icon indicates clips upon which
compression/limiting or expansion/gating has
Clip Effects indicators
been applied.
• An EQ icon indicates clips upon which equalization or filters have been applied.

Managing Effected Clips

Right-clicking a clip will reveal a pop-up menu for that clip. In that menu, the Clip Effects submenu
enables you to manage your Clip Effects for that clip:
• Bypass: Clicking this item will suspend the Clip
Effects from the clip until you choose
Unbypass from this submenu.
• Copy: This will duplicate your settings to the
clipboard. Clicking in the Clip Effects section of
the Edit window and choosing Edit > Paste Clip
Effects (or using the generic paste shortcut) will
apply those settings to the Clip Effects controls.
• Clear: This will remove Clip Effects from the
selected clip(s).
• Render: This will apply Clip Effects to the
selected clips, creating new audio files in the
Audio Files subfolder.

The Clip Effects submenu

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Managing Clip Effects Settings

To wrap up this introduction to Clip Effects, here are some ways to work even faster!

Clip Effects Presets

By now, you've seen preset buttons in a number of different settings, including zoom and fade
settings. In the Clip Effects view, you have a similar ability to store and recall settings for this feature.

Clip Effects presets

• To store a Clip Effect preset, hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows), and click
the button to which you want to assign the settings. The box will flash, and your setting will
be stored.
• To recall the settings, click on the appropriate Clip Effects Memory button, and the settings
will appear in the Clip Effects controls.

Clip Effects Settings

The Librarian menu also gives you additional ways to manage your settings. This menu includes a
list of presets (identical to the presets list for the Channel Strip plug-in), plus other ways to save and
recall settings.

The Clip Effects Librarian menu

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Clip Effects Preferences

Recalling a preset can be even easier than clicking a preset button:
In the Pro Tools Preferences dialog
box, click the Editing tab. In the
Clips section of the dialog box, you'll
find the 1-5 Number Keys Control
preference. In this preference, you
can control which presets are recalled
by the 1-5 keys of your QWERTY
keyboard (you can choose between
Zoom Presets and Clip Effects
Presets).
Accessing Clip Effects Presets using the 1-5 Number Keys

TIP: If you choose to be able to access Clip Effects Presets using the 1-5 Number Keys, you don't need to
be able to have the Clip Effects view enabled to be able to use the feature. With this preference chosen, you
can recall Clip Effects presets and apply them to a clip even if the Clip Effects Edit window view is disabled.

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Summary of Key Concepts

Lesson 9 introduces you to the world of audio post-production.
In this lesson, you learned:
• SMPTE frame rates — what it is, how it's used, and standard frame rates for different types
of media
• How to import video and effectively work with Video tracks and the Video window
• How to conform clips to quickly and precisely align your audio clips with on-screen action
• How to use Clip Effects to take your editing to the next level

Keyboard Modifiers and Shortcuts from this Lesson

Following is a summary of shortcuts and modifiers that you should know from this lesson.

Regarding Keyboard Shortcuts

Beginning with Pro Tools version 2022.4, keyboard shortcuts can be customized, allowing flexibility in
choosing individual workflows. For the purposes of this course, and to build a strong foundation that is
most compatible with the broader Pro Tools-using community, Pro Tools' default keyboard shortcuts will
be used.

To reset Pro Tools' shortcuts to their default state:

1. From the Setup menu, choose Keyboard Shortcuts. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box will appear.
2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the dialog box, click the Reset All button. An Are You Sure? dialog
box will appear.

3. Click the Yes button.

For the purposes of the Pro Tools 101 and Pro

Tools 110 courses the Edit Keyboard focus should
always be enabled.

Action Default Shortcut

Show or hide the Video window Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows), and
press the 9 key on your computer keyboard's numeric
keypad

Snap the start of a clip to the Edit cursor • Hold the Control key (Mac) or the Start key (Windows),
and click on the clip that you want to move using the
Grabber tool
• Hold the Control key (Mac) or the Start key (Windows),
and drag the desired clip from the Clips List

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Action Default Shortcut

Snap the end of a clip to the Edit cursor • Hold Control+Command (Mac) or Start+Ctrl (Windows),
and click on the clip that you want to move using the
Grabber tool
• Hold Control+Command (Mac) or Start+Ctrl (Windows),
and drag the desired clip from the Clips List

Identify Sync Point Command+Comma (,) (Mac), or Ctrl+Comma (,) (Windows)

Snap the sync point of a clip to the Edit cursor Hold Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift+Start (Windows), and click
on the clip that you want to move using the Grabber tool
Hold Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift+Start (Windows), and drag
the desired clip from the Clips List

Store a Clip Effect preset Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows), and click
the button to which you want to assign the settings

Recall a Clip Effect preset 1-5 keys of your QWERTY keyboard

Knowledge Check
Click or scan the QR code shown to experience a fully interactive online
knowledge check with scored results.
You can also type the URL below into your browser:
http://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-KC9

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 Exercise 9
Post-Production Techniques
In Lesson 9, you learned fundamental concepts and techniques associated with audio post-
production. In this exercise, we'll apply them in a basic workflow scenario.

Media: PT110 2023 Exercise 9 (Agent MX-Z3R0)

Duration: 45 min

Downloading the Media Files

To complete this exercise, you will need to use various files included in the PT110 (2023) Exercises folder.

• Download all the media files for the course by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_All_Exercises.zip

• Download just the media files for this exercise by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_Exercise_9_(Agent_MX-Z3R0).zip

TIP: If clicking either of the links above does not initiate the media download, copy the link address and
then paste it into a new tab in your browser.

Part 1: Getting Started

To get started, we'll need to create a session:
1. Do one of the following:
• Launch Pro Tools. The Dashboard window will appear. Click the Create tab if it isn’t
already selected.
• If Pro Tools is already open, from the File menu, choose Create New. The Dashboard
window will appear with the Create tab already selected.

2. Choose the following session settings:

• Local Storage (Session).
• Create From Template: Unchecked
• File Type: BWF (.WAV)
• Bit Depth: 24-bit
• Sample Rate: 48 kHz
• I/O Settings: Stereo Mix
• Interleaved: Checked
 Exercise 9 Post-Production Techniques

3. Name the session descriptively. Here's a possible name: PT110 2023 Exercise 9 (Agent MX-
Z3R0) - [Your Name] [today's date].
4. Click Create. If you have chosen Prompt for Location, you'll need to choose a location for
your session. After that, your session will appear, showing a blank Edit or Mix window.

Part 2: Setting Up the Video

The first thing to do is to bring our video in and set up our SMPTE timecode:
1. From the File menu, choose Import > Video.
2. In the browser window that appears, navigate to your exercise materials and then to
the PT110 2023 Exercise 9 (Agent MX-Z3R0) subfolder. Within that folder, open the Agent MX-
Z3R0 Video folder.
3. Select the Agent MX-Z3R0.mov file and click the Open button.
4. In the Video Import Options dialog box, choose Session Start in the Location menu, and
do not import audio from the file.
When you're done, you will have a single video track in your session. Now, let's set up the
session to work with that video:
5. In the Counter section of the Edit window toolbar, show Timecode as your Main Time Scale,
and hide the Sub Counter if it's visible (you can do that by clicking the triangle to the right of
the Main Counter in the Edit window toolbar).
6. In the Session Setup dialog box (Setup > Session), make sure that the Timecode Rate is set
to 23.976.
7. In the Session Setup dialog box, make sure that the Session Start is set to 00:00:00:00. If a
dialog box appears, choose Maintain Relative Position (which will keep the video clip at the
beginning of the timeline)
8. Show the Video window (Window > Video) and play the video. You'll see that there's a period
of black video, with a quick flash that begins two seconds before the scene begins. The video
begins at five seconds.

Creating a 2-Pop
The next job is to create a "2-Pop," which is a quick tone that is heard two seconds before the video
begins. This will line up with the flash of white that we see in the video.
9. Make sure your Edit mode is Absolute Grid mode, with a grid setting of 1 Frame (which is
included in the Timecode category of grid settings).
10. Create a mono Audio track, and name it "2POP."
11. Using the Selector tool, select an area that begins exactly at 3 seconds, with a duration of
exactly 1 frame. You'll need to zoom in to make the selection.
12. From the AudioSuite > Other category, open the Signal Generator plug-in.

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 Exercise 9 Post-Production Techniques

13. Using the settings

shown here, create
a 1 kHz sine wave
in the selected
area. Click the
Render button to
create a clip on the
track's timeline.

Now, when you play your session, you will hear a tone that corresponds to the flash of white in the
Video window.

Setting the Start Time

If you look at the "burn-in" at the bottom of the window (which indicates the SMPTE timecode for the
video), the start of the picture has a location of 01:07:48:00. This doesn't line up with your Main
Counter, which will cause problems if we don't fix it now. Given that the video has five seconds prior
to the start of the picture, the beginning of the timeline should have a SMPTE location of 01:07:43:00.
14. In the Session Setup dialog box, set the Session Start to 01:07:43:00.
15. When you press the Enter key, you'll see a dialog box indicating that the original SMPTE
timecode can't be maintained. This is not a problem—click the OK button to maintain the
relative position of your clips.
Now, you should hear a 2-pop before the video, and the video's burn-in should match what you see
in Pro Tools' Main Counter. If you do, you're ready to move on!

Part 3: Bringing In Audio

In many post-production settings, different teams work on different types of audio. Your task in this
section is to import tracks from different sessions, but in a way in which everything lines up!
1. From the File menu, choose Import > Session Data.
2. In the browser window that appears, navigate to your exercise materials and then to
the PT110 2023 Exercise 9 (Agent MX-Z3R0) subfolder. Within that folder, open the Agent MX-
Z3R0 FOLEY folder.
3. Select the Agent MX-Z3R0 FOLEY.ptx file, and click the Open button.

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 Exercise 9 Post-Production Techniques

Here's a problem that

trips up a lot of post-
production workflows: If
you look at the Source
Properties section of
the Import Session
Data dialog box, you'll
see that the Start Time of
the session you're
importing from is
different from the start
time of the session
you're importing to.
Here's the way to avoid the pitfall:
4. Import all tracks from this session, using the following settings in the Import
Session Data dialog box:
• Timecode Mapping Options: Maintain Absolute Timecode Values
• Audio Media Options: Copy from Source Media
• Session Data: No items selected
• Main Playlist Options: Import - Replace Existing Playlists
5. Navigate to the Agent MX-Z3R0 DIALOG folder, and import all tracks from the Agent MX-Z3R0
DIALOG.ptx file, with the same settings you used for step #4.
When you're done, you can reorganize and resize your tracks in any way that makes sense to you.
When you play your session, you should hear most (but not all) of the sonic elements, and what you
hear should line up with the picture.

Part 4: Spotting Clips

There are a few sounds missing—in this section, we'll bring them in:
1. Do one of the following:
• From the Window menu, choose New Workspace > Default.
• Press Option+I (Mac) or Alt+I (Windows) to open a default Workspace browser.
2. In the Workspace browser, navigate to your exercises, materials, and then to the PT110
(2023) Exercise 9 (Agent MX-Z3R0) subfolder. Within that folder, open the Agent MX-Z3R0 AUDIO
FILES folder.
3. Select all of the audio files in that folder and drag them into your Clips List.

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 Exercise 9 Post-Production Techniques

Using Spot Mode

Let's start with the casino ambience clip:
4. Switch your Edit mode to Spot.
5. Drag the Casino clip from the Clips List to the Tracks List. The Spot Dialog dialog box will
appear.
6. In the Start field of the Spot
Dialog dialog box, type 01:07:48:00
(since this clip is meant to start when
the video starts). Once the value is
entered, press the OK button. A new
track will be created and the clip will be
placed at the same time as the
beginning of the scene.
7. Set the output of the track to be FX
Sub (from the Bus category).
8. This is an ambient clip, so lower the
volume until it's barely audible and
doesn't distract from the dialog (try a
level between -10 and -11 dB).

Snapping the Start of a Clip

You'll notice that the first two lines of dialog are missing, first from the bad guy (Mysterion) and then
the good guy (Agent Z3R0). We've got the clips in the Clips List, so let's get them lined up quickly:
9. Change your Edit mode to Slip.
10. Using the Selector tool, place your edit cursor at 01:07:55:13 on any track (this is where the
actor's jaw begins to drop as he speaks his first line)
11. Holding the Control key (Mac) or Start key (Windows), drag the Agent First Line clip onto
the AMXZ ADR 1 Finished track.

Snapping a Sync Point

The first line of the villain isn't quite so easy. The first word he says—"now"—isn't easy to see, and
much of the line is delivered with the character out of frame. Let's use Sync Points to line up with a
more visually clear part of the line:
12. Drag the Mysterion First Line clip onto the Mysterion DX Finished track, and position it
anywhere after the video is finished (so we can easily hear only the clip).
13. Zoom in on the clip so that you can clearly see the waveform (TIP: Zoom Toggle makes this
easy.)
14. Place your edit cursor where Mysterion says "care." (TIP: Tab to Transient makes this easy.)

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15. Create a Sync Point on the clip at the beginning of the word "care."
16. Now, let's find the place where Mysterion speaks the word "care" in the video. It's visible on
screen at 01:07:53:14. Place your edit cursor there.
17. Switch your Edit tool to the Grabber.
18. Holding Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift +Start key (Windows), click on the Mysterion First Line clip.

Part 5: Clip Effects to the Rescue

The session we've been working with so far is clearly near the beginning of production—there's
plenty of work left to do—more than we have time for right now. Before we leave this exercise, let's
take a look at one problem, and how to fix it using Clip Effects.
1. Solo the AMXZ ADR 1 Finished track, and select an area from about 01:08:01:00 to 01:08:07:00.
2. Listen to the selected area. The second clip (" but I thought tonight") is a bit too boomy and
the third clip ("I'd play with this") lacks some energy. Because they're both on the same track,
putting a plug-in on an insert will cause as many problems as it solves.
3. Show Clip Effects view in the Edit window.
4. Select the second clip (" but I thought tonight"), and using clip effects, gently reduce the low
frequencies and boost the highs. We want to keep the intensity of the line, but have it sit in
the phrase a bit better.
Here are some EQ and Filter settings you can use for your reference, but let your ears be your guide!

5. Now, let's take a look at the third clip in that selection ("I'd play with this"), boost the low
frequencies a little and raise the input trim, so that it follows the previous phrase a bit more
dramatically.
6. As always, save your session before moving on to the next lesson!

This completes the exercise.

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 LESSON 10
More Mixing!

The latter lessons of the Pro Tools 101 course explored the fundamental concepts of mixing, but
there’s much more to learn about this important phase of production. In this lesson, you’ll learn how
to use Pro Tools mix features to bring more power to your mix process!

Duration: 45 min

GOALS

• Mirror outputs
• Explore Sends
• Use Output Windows
• Learn new ways to create and edit mix automation
• Work with Mix Groups
• Mix with Folder Tracks
• Apply finishing touches
 Lesson 10 More Mixing!

Mirroring Outputs
The essence of mixing is signal flow, and that means inputs and outputs. You've already learned that
an input (be it a track's input or Pro Tools' mix engine) can receive signals from multiple sources (for
example, an Aux track being used as a subgroup master, receiving signals from multiple tracks), but
we traditionally think of outputs as going to only one place. In this section, you'll learn how to send
the output of a track or output bus to multiple destinations — something that in Pro Tools, we
call mirroring.
There are multiple ways that an output can be mirrored — in this section we'll look at mirroring the
output of a track and a bus.

Mirroring the Output of a Track

The output of an Audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, or MIDI track can be mirrored to as many
different destinations as you want. The secret to the workflow is the Control key (Mac) or Start key
(Windows). The order of steps is flexible — here's one way to do it:
1. Click the Output Path selector of the desired track. The pop-up menu will appear, with the
currently selected output indicated with a check mark.
2. Holding the Control key (Mac) or Start key (Windows), select additional outputs. These can be
internal or interface paths, and there is no limit to the number of paths that can be
simultaneously selected. You can also deselect a mirrored path (removing the check mark
from the path).
The workflow is easy,
but the possibilities are
far-reaching: For
example, in this
example, you're seeing
an audio mix (of a
post-production
soundtrack) being
routed to both a 5.1
surround path and a
stereo path:

Mirroring the outputs of an Audio track

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Here's another way

you can use output
mirroring: In this case,
the output of a MIDI
track is routed to three
Virtual Instruments,
each residing on
separate Auxiliary
Input tracks. This
makes creating a
complex, layered
sound easy!

Mirroring the outputs of a MIDI track

You can identify any track with multiple

outputs with a Plus (+) icon to the left of
the Output Path selector.

Mirrored outputs

You might occasionally see an Output

Path selector with an Asterisk (*)
instead: This indicates that at least one
of the mirrored output paths is inactive.

Mirrored outputs

In order to change a mirrored output to a single output path, just click the Output Path selector and choose
an output path (holding no modifier keys) and select an output as normal.

Mirroring Output Busses

Instead of (or in addition to, in some cases) mirroring a track's output, you could go one level deeper
and mirror the output itself. When you mirror an output bus, all tracks assigned to that bus will be
routed to the physical outputs that the bus is mapped to.

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The process of mirroring a bus is similar to what you've already learned with tracks, except that it's
done in the I/O Setup dialog box:
1. Open the I/O Setup dialog box (from the Setup menu), and click the Bus tab.
2. Do one of the following:
• Holding the Control key (Mac) or Start key (Windows), select output paths for a bus (in
the Mapping to Output column). There's no limit on how many output paths that can be
selected, and paths can be individually selected (and deselected) as long as you hold
down the modifier.
• Right-click in the Mapping to Output column of a bus and select an additional path for
the bus. The main difference between this workflow and holding the
Control/Start modifier is that using this technique, the menu will close each time you
select a path, so if you want to map to additional outputs, you'll need to right-click again.
When a bus' output is mirrored, you'll see the different names of the output paths in the Mapping to
Output column, separated by a comma. In the image shown here, the bus named Cue OUT 1 is being
routed to both the Cue OUT 1 and Stereo OUT output paths.

The Cue OUT 1 bus, mapped to the Cue OUT 1 and Stereo OUT output paths

Exploring Sends
Let's take a closer look at how sends can be used in your session:

Send Level Preferences

In your overall mix's signal flow, sends play a unique role — they route a copy of a signal on your
track (after the inserts) to another destination (an output or another track). Because of this role, they
can be especially susceptible to causing feedback or other undesirable results.
There's a preference that can help you avoid problems like this when you create sends, enabling you
to set a level for the send at creation:
1. From the Setup menu, choose Preferences.
2. In the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box, click the Mixing tab.

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3. In the upper left-hand corner of the

dialog box, you'll see the Sends
Default to [#] dB preference. With the
preference enabled, you can
customize a starting level in the
value field. By default, the level is
-∞ (minus infinity).
This preference and default setting is
generally recommended to avoid feedback
situations and enable you to control the
signal by manually moving the fader up.
The Sends Default to [#] dB preference
Expanded Sends View
You have already learned how to set a send's parameters by clicking on it and adjusting settings in
the send's output window. Now let's look at a new way that you can control sends, using the
Expanded Sends view. This view gives you immediate visibility and access to send parameters.
Showing or hiding Expanded Sends view is easy:
1. Do one of the following:
• From the View menu, move your cursor to the Expanded Sends menu item. A submenu
will appear. In the submenu, choose the send that you want to see in Expanded
Sends view (expanded sends will be indicated by a check mark).
• Holding the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows), click the small arrow icon next to
a send that you want to see in expanded mode. When you show a send in Expanded
Sends view, all sends in that position will be shown in that view. For example, if you hold
the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows), and click on one send in the Send A
position, all Send A sends will be shown in Expanded Sends view.
The controls in Expanded Sends view mirror what you’ve seen so far
in a send’s Output window:
[1] Send Level Fader: This adjusts the level of the signal sent
from the send.
[2] Send Meter: This shows the levels being sent.
[3] Send Pan Controls: This determines the positioning of
the signal being sent.
[4] Send Mute: This enables you to mute the send's output.
When highlighted, no signal will be sent.
[5] Send Pre/Post Fader: This enables you to change the
pre/post fader status of the send. When highlighted, the
send will behave as a pre-fader send.
[6] Send Level Indicator: This shows the numerical value of
the send level fader.
A send in Expanded Sends view

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The Expanded Send view is a great way to see multiple sends' settings, but the controls included in
this view are minimal. Next, let's take a closer look at a send's Output window...

Using Output Windows

In the PT101 course, you learned the basics of using an output window. We'll do a little review, and
then take things a few steps further:

You can quickly show a send's Output window by clicking the Send
Assignment button for the send you want to view.

Opening a send’s Output window

You can show a track's main Output

window by clicking the Output Window
button next to the track's Output Path
selector.

Opening a track’s Output window

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At the top of a send's Output window, you'll see a number of controls.

Let's start out with the basics:
[1] Track Selector: Clicking the Track Selector button will
show a pop-up menu showing the tracks in your session.
Choosing a track will show the Output window for the
selected track.
[2] Target: You've seen target buttons in other windows in
Pro Tools as well (for example, the MIDI Editor or plug-in
windows), and the Target button in an Output window does
the same thing: When active (red), any output window that is
opened later will replace the targeted window. When the
target button is deactivated (grey), you can open another
Output window without replacing un-targeted ones.
[3] Output View Selector: You have up to ten sends available
to you in each track and clicking the Output View Selector will
give you access to them without having to close the window.
Just click this button and choose the desired send (from
send a to send j) from the pop-up menu. Sends that are A send’s Output window

already assigned to an output will be indicated with the name

of that output in parenthesis.
[4] Audio Output Path Selector: You will see the send's or track's output displayed in this
selector. When you click it, a pop-up menu appears, enabling you to change the output.
[5] Pre/Post Fader: This enables you to change the pre/post fader status of a send. When
highlighted, the send will behave as a pre-fader send. This button is only shown in send
Output windows.
Now let's take a look at the features that weren't covered in the previous course:

Automation Safe
If you've got automation on a track or send, you can protect it from
accidentally being overwritten by clicking the Automation Safe button.

When active (green), automation cannot be written to the Output

window's parameters (volume, pan, and so on) using any of the
automation modes. This prevents automation from being accidentally
overwritten and will not affect the reading of automation.
Automation Safe will not prevent automation from being changed using the
Pencil or other edit tools.

Automation Safe enabled

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Follow Main Pan

We often use sends for reverbs and other ambient effects, but there's a
problem that can arise — if you pan your track but you don't
correspondingly pan the send to the effect, the effectiveness of the ambient
plug-in can suffer. In the past, that often meant that we would copy the
main pan settings and automation to sends, but it's now even easier: Just
click the FMP (Follow Main Pan) button. When active (orange), you won't
have control over the send's pan controls, but they will automatically mirror
the pan parameter on the track.
You can choose to have tracks created with FMP active in your Pro Tools
Preferences dialog box. You'll find the Send Pans Default to Follow Main Pan
preference in the Mixing tab of the dialog box.
Follow Main Pan Enabled

Panning Options
With any multichannel track, you have independent pan controls for each channel of the track (in
both main Output windows and Send Output windows). For example, with a stereo track being
output to a stereo output, you'd have two pan knobs — one that controls the position of the left
channel and another for the right.

For example, if you had a stereo track that you wanted to position to the left
but still maintain some of the stereo qualities of the track, you could change
your pan settings as shown here.

A stereo track
leaning to the left

If you wanted to move the track to the right but maintain exactly the same
stereo width, you'd need to move both the left and right pan knobs the same
amount, and the Link button (right next to the Automation Safe button) makes
it easy. Just click the button to activate linking (the button will turn orange)
and move one of the pan knobs — the other will move correspondingly.
If you click the Link button and the Inverse Pan button (to the right of the
Link button), changes you make to one pan control will move the other pan
control as well, but in reverse.

Inverse linking
pan changes

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Automation Modes
In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned a bit about mix automation — the ability to have
parameters like volume and pan change over time. In that course, you learned how to create
automation using various Edit tools — now let's take a look at how you can perform your mix
changes in a more direct way.
In addition to creating automation with the Edit tools, you can capture your adjustments of faders,
pan knobs, and other controls as your project plays. In fact, in many mixing situations, this “live”
writing of automation movement is the first step after creating a static mix, and the written
automation is then adjusted with editing tools.
In this course, we'll look at six automation modes included in Pro Tools Studio, which determine the
way your fader, pan, mute, send, and plug-in parameters will be written. Each automation mode is
unique to fit a wide variety of mixing workflows, and understanding the distinction between these
modes is the best way to choose when and how to use them.

Choosing an Automation Mode

You can choose automation modes on a track-by-track basis:
1. In the Mix or Edit window, click on the Automation
Mode selector on the track that you want to
automate (which by default will display “Auto Read”
or “Read” depending on track height). A menu of the
automation modes of Pro Tools will appear.
• Off
• Read
• Touch
• Latch
• Touch/Latch
• Write The Automation Mode menu

2. Choose the desired automation mode from the

menu.
Depending on the windows you're looking at, you'll see mode names displayed differently in different
contexts. For example, what is shown as Read mode in the Edit window is shown as Auto Read in the Mix
window. These two names refer to the same thing, and for the purposes of this lesson, we'll use the full
names.

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But which automation mode is the right one? That depends on what you want to do with the track.

Reading, Writing, and Automation

When a track is created, the automation line is flat. When we start exploring the creation of automation in
real-time, it's tempting to call what we're doing "recording" automation. This can cause confusion with
other kinds of recording (recording audio or MIDI, for example). To keep what we do with automation
distinct when we're creating automation using any of these modes, we say that we're "writing"
automation. When we're playing back automation we've created, we're "reading" automation.

Auto Read
By default, Auto Read mode is the active mode on any new track. Read mode does what its name
implies: with this mode selected, any written automation will be read during playback. For example,
if a volume automation line goes downward over time, the fader will move accordingly.
Auto Read mode is a good choice if you have finished your automation work on the track and you
just want it to read your automation. With this mode selected, even if you accidentally touch a fader
during playback, you will not write any new automation data.
One point about Read mode: When a track is created, the automation line is flat, as you’ve seen previously in
this chapter. In these cases, where there is only one automation breakpoint at the beginning of the track,
the fader will not read any automation (since there is not enough automation to be read). The fader will
stay wherever you position it.

Auto Off
Auto Off is another automation mode that is aptly named for its purpose. When a track’s automation
mode is set to Auto Off, no automation data will be read as your project plays, even if there is
automation on the track. With this mode selected, you will see a blue line (called the Composite
Playlist) indicating the current level of the parameter.
You’ll use Auto Off mode when you want to temporarily disable the motion of parameters on a
track. It’s commonly used when you want to compare a simpler, non-automating track to a more
complex track with changing mix parameters.

Auto Touch and Auto Latch: The Update Modes

You’ll hear Auto Touch and Auto Latch collectively referred to as the “update modes” because they’re
well-suited for spot-checking sections of your mix and replacing older automation with something
new.
Auto Touch and Auto Latch work nearly identically, with the only difference at the end of the
workflow. Let's start by going through the process using Auto Touch.

Auto Touch
The essence of Auto Touch mode is that it will write automation data for parameters that you are
changing (or “touching”) and will revert to reading automation whenever you're not release that
parameter.

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The steps that outlined in this section mention using a mouse to move a mix parameter — something that
can be done on any system. Alternately, if you have a control surface (or the Avid Control app) connected to
your Pro Tools system, mix parameters can be changed using those more intuitive controls.

1. Select Touch automation mode from the Automation Mode selector.

2. Play your session. As long as you don’t click on any parameters, your automation will be read
back, and the appropriate controls will follow the existing automation lines.
3. When you want to make a change in your automation, just click on the appropriate control
and adjust it. You’ll see that as you move the control, a new automation playlist line will be
written, colored red.
4. When you release your mouse button, your mix parameter will quickly return to the
previously written automation and continue reading that preexisting automation until
playback is stopped.

AutoMatch Time
When using Auto Touch mode, you'll notice that when you release a mix parameter, that parameter
takes a little bit of time to smoothly glide back to reading the preexisting automation. But just how
fast does it go back, and can you change that speed?
In fact, you can — the time taken from the point that a parameter is released to the point where it
goes back to reading automation is called AutoMatch Time, and you can change its value from the
Preferences dialog box:
1. In the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box, click the Mixing tab.
2. In the lower right-hand
corner of the Automation
section, you'll see the
AutoMatch Time field, where
you can enter a value in
milliseconds. The default
value in this field is 250
milliseconds (a quarter of a The AutoMatch Time field in the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box
second), which works well in
most situations, but you can decrease the value all the way down to zero or up to 5000
milliseconds (five seconds).
3. Click the OK button. The Pro Tools Preferences dialog box will close and your settings will be
applied.
TIP: Be careful of using very low AutoMatch Time values. A short AutoMatch time means that a parameter
will go from writing automation to reading automation very quickly. In some cases, where large volume
changes are occurring in a very short time, clicks can result.

Auto Latch
Auto Latch is easy to describe — it's exactly like Auto Touch, except for what happens when you
release a parameter. If using Auto Latch mode, your mix parameter will stay at the value where you
released your mouse and continue writing automation at that level until playback is stopped.

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AutoMatch Time doesn't apply to Auto Latch mode — as soon as playback stops, automation will stop writing.

Touch/Latch
Touch/Latch mode is a combination of both Auto Touch and Auto Latch modes:
• The main volume fader on the track behaves as if in Auto Touch mode.
• All other parameters on the track behave as if in Auto Latch mode.
This mode fits workflows where the volume of a track is temporarily adjusted to suit the needs of
the track, but in which other parameters' adjustments need to be retained after they are let go. This
automation mode is a popular choice in many post-production mixing workflows.

Auto Write
Since it’s already been established that automation is written (as opposed to recorded), you might
assume that Auto Write is the best mode to use when starting your mix. However, this mode is
actually the least used by many mix engineers!
Let’s take a look at an automation workflow using Auto Write mode to change the volume of a track.
1. Select Write automation mode from the Automation Mode selector.
2. Using the Selector tool, move your playback cursor to the point where you want to start
writing automation.
3. Change your mix parameter(s) to the value that you want them to have when writing begins.
4. Start playback. Automation will be written for all parameters that can be automated (volume,
pan, mute, sends, and plugin parameters), whether you touch that parameter or not. As your
automation is being written, you will see the data represented as a red line in the track’s
automation playlist. Initially, the automation data written will be the level of the mix
parameter before playback begins, but you can change this during playback (similar to how
you would use Touch or Latch modes).
5. When you’re finished writing automation, stop your project’s playback.
You might have noticed that the track’s Automation Mode selector turned red as soon as you changed your
automation mode to Write. This indicates one of the unique behaviors of this mode. It begins writing
automation as soon as playback starts.

The strength of Auto Write mode is that it writes on all enabled automation parameters (volume,
pan, sends, and plug-in parameters), whether you touched those parameters or not. That makes it a
choice for many for first passes at automation, but rarely beyond that. To tweak individual
parameters, you’ll use Touch and Latch modes.

Auto Write Preferences

Because Auto Write mode writes data on all parameters, it's not a mode that users tend to use
multiple times in a row. In fact, it could be quite destructive if you in Auto Write mode if all you
wanted to do was to change a single parameter!

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Fortunately, there's a preference that will help you out:

1. In the Pro Tools Preferences dialog box, click the Mixing tab.
2. On the right-hand side of the Automation section, you'll see the After “Write” Pass, Switch
To section, where you have three different
options:
• Touch: When playback is stopped, the
automation mode will automatically
change to Auto Touch mode.
• Latch: When playback is stopped, the
automation mode will automatically
change to Auto Latch mode.
• No Change: Be careful of this one.
When playback is stopped, the The After "Write" Pass, Switch To: options in the Pro
automation mode will continue to be Tools Preferences dialog box
Auto Write mode.
3. Click the OK button. The Pro Tools Preferences dialog box will close and your settings will be
applied.

The Automation Window

Pro Tools' Automation window is loaded with powerful controls over
automation in your session, ranging from basic controls to advanced mixing
workflows. In this lesson, we'll focus on the basics.
1. Do one of the following:
• From the Window menu, choose Automation.
• The Automation window can be opened and closed with a
shortcut. By default, it's Command+4 (on your computer
keyboard's numeric keypad) on a Mac, or Ctrl+4 (on your
computer keyboard's numeric keypad) on a Windows
computer.

The Automation window has multiple controls, broken into sections. In this
course, we'll look at the ones at the top of the window.

The Automation window

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• Suspending Automation: At the top of the window is the

SUSPEND button — clicking this will turn off all automation in
your session, as if you changed all tracks’ automation modes
to Auto Off.
• Enabling Automation Parameters: Directly below the
SUSPEND button, you'll find eight Write Enable buttons:
• PLUG IN: Plug-in automation
• VOL: Main volume automation
• S VOL: Send volume automation
• PAN: Main pan automation
• S PAN: Send pan automation
• MUTE: Main mute automation
• S MUTE: Send mute automation The top section of the
Automation window
• OBJ/BUS: Object/bus output mode (relating to Dolby Atmos
mixing)
Buttons that are colored red indicate the types of automation that can be written using Pro
Tools' automation modes. For example, if the VOL button were clicked (changing the color of
the button to grey), moving the main volume fader on any track would not write automation
data, even if the automation mode were set to any of the writing modes.
The ability to selectively enable and disable writable aspects of your session is an effective
tool in controlling what data can be created. Disabling any type of automation is one way to
prevent you from inadvertently writing data of specific types when using any of the
automation modes (you can still manually write any type of automation data with edit tools,
such as the Pencil tool).
It's worth noting that these buttons have no effect on the reading of automation data as
your session plays — they only control what can be written.
Other controls in the Automation window relate to advanced mixing workflows that are explored in other
courses in the Avid Learning Series.

Editing Automation
In Lesson 10 of the Pro Tools 101 class, you learned how to use the Trim tool and the Grabber tool
to edit automation. In this section, we'll add more editing techniques for you to use.

Basic Cut, Copy, and Paste

You already know how to cut, copy, and paste session elements such as notes and clips, and
automation data can be worked with in the same way (either by using shortcuts or by choosing the
relevant action from the Edit menu). That said, there are a few things to bear in mind when using
these essential editing techniques:

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• When you select an area of automation and paste it to a new location on the timeline, an
additional automation breakpoint will be added to the beginning and end of the pasted
selection.
• Cutting or copying data from an automation playlist that contains no data (other than a
single breakpoint at the beginning of the track) will not add breakpoints when pasted.
• Copying and pasting clips will also copy and paste all the automation accompanying that clip.

Special Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear

The nature (and sometimes the sheer volume) of automation data requires a few more ways to
perform cut, copy and paste, which is where the four "Special" categories — Cut Special, Copy Special,
Paste Special, and Clear Special — come in to play. These submenus include ways of working with
automation that help you work efficiently.
Let's start by taking a look at how to “special” cut:
1. Select the area on the track(s) that you want to cut.
2. From the Edit menu, move your
cursor to the Cut Special menu
item. A submenu will appear:
3. In this submenu, you can cut
only Clip Gain or Clip effects (in
the top section of the submenu),
plus three options that pertain
to cutting automation:
• All Automation: All
automation will be cut from
the selected area.
The Cut Special submenu
• Pan Automation: Only pan automation will
be cut — all other automation will be unchanged.
• Plug-In Automation: Only plug-in automation will be cut — all other automation will be
unchanged.

The Edit > Copy Special menu is

similar:

• All Automation: All

automation will be copied
from the selected area.
• Pan Automation: Only pan
automation will be copied.
• Plug-In Automation: Only
plug-in automation will be copied. The Copy Special submenu

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Cutting automation and clearing

automation are similar, but with a
significant difference that we'll look at
later in this section. Edit > Clear
Special includes the following
options:
• All Automation: All
automation will be cleared
from the selected area.
• Pan Automation: Only pan
automation will be cleared.
The Clear Special submenu
• Plug-In Automation: Only plug-in
automation will be cleared.
When you want to get rid of all automation on a track (or in a selected area), here’s another way that you can
clear all automation playlists:

1. Change your track(s) view to any automation view.

2. Select the area where you want to clear automation data (this area can span multiple tracks).

3. Press Control+Delete (Mac) or Start+Delete (Windows).

Automation breakpoints for all automation types will be removed.

The Paste Special submenu is a bit different, and gives you control over your copied data:
• Merge: This applies to
MIDI data — copying
MIDI data and then
using Edit > Paste
Special > Merge will
paste the copied MIDI
data without
overwriting any existing
MIDI data in the
selected area.

• Repeat to Fill Selection works with any The Paste Special submenu

selected material — clips, notes, automation,

and so on. When you copy a selection and use this method to paste it onto a longer
selection, the copied material will repeat to fill the pasted selected area.
• To Current Automation Type: Normally, automation can only be cut and pasted to the
same type — for example, if you cut some volume automation (which indicates gain by the
height of the automation line), you couldn't normally paste that line to pan automation (in
which the height of the line indicates lateral positioning). Edit > Paste Special > To Current
Automation Type breaks this rule. Just copy from one kind of automation, change the track
view, and paste!

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The different Paste Special actions discussed here don't require any unusual copying — just copy a
selection in the normal way, and then choose the right option from the Edit > Paste Special submenu.

Edit > Paste Special > To Current Automation Type allows for different Pro Tools automation types to be
pasted to each other or different MIDI Continuous Controller data to be pasted to each other, but not
between the two kinds of data. For example, audio volume automation cannot be pasted to MIDI volume or
vice versa.

Clear vs. Cut

On its face, clearing and cutting automation might seem to be the same thing. They nearly are, but
with one important difference, and understanding this difference is the key to getting the results you
want.
Let's look at this in a very
simple example: in this track,
we have an automation
playlist with three
breakpoints. The first and
third breakpoints are the
same value, with the middle
one at a lower level.
Surrounding the second
breakpoint, we have a
selected area.
A simple automation example

Clearing Automation
You can clear automation in one of three ways:
• Edit > Clear
• Command+B (Mac) or
Ctrl+B (Windows)
• The Delete key.
The result will be that any automation
breakpoints in the selected area will be
removed. In this example, the result would
be a straight line, with only the first and
third of the original breakpoints remaining.

Cutting Automation Clearing Automation

You can cut automation in two ways:

• Edit > Cut
• Command+X (Mac) or Ctrl+X (Windows)

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When you cut, all breakpoints within the

selected area will be removed (identical to
clearing automation), but this time
automation breakpoints will be created at
the beginning and end of the selected area.

Nudging Automation Cutting Automation

In the Pro Tools 101 course and continuing in this course, you learned about different nudging
workflows. This can be applied to automation data as well:
1. Change your track view to the type of automation you want to nudge (or show additional
automation lanes so that you're seeing the various types of automation you want to move).
2. Choose the desired nudge value from the Nudge pop-up menu.
3. Using your computer keyboard's numeric keypad, press the Plus (+) key to move selected
automation breakpoints later, or press the Minus (-) key to move the selected automation
breakpoints earlier.

Suspending Automation
When you don't want to hear your automation but don't want to delete it, you can suspend the
reading of automation. You have different levels of control:

Suspending All Automation

As you saw earlier in this lesson, at the top of the Automation window is the SUSPEND button —
clicking this will turn off all automation in your session, as if you changed all tracks' automation
modes to Auto Off.

Suspending All Automation on a Track

Suspending all automation on a track is easy — just change the automation mode to Auto Off. The
mix parameters will not respond to any automation changes.

Suspending Specific Parameters

Here's a scenario: You love the volume automation for a track, but you're not too sure about the
panning. It would be great if there were a way to selectively suspend individual parameters within a
track — and there is!

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1. Do one of the following:

• On the desired track, switch your track view to the automation type that you want to
suspend.
• Show the automation type that you want to suspend in an automation lane.
2. Holding the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows), click the Track View selector (or
Automation Lane selector). The selector will be greyed-out, with the text shown in italics. You
can later un-suspend the parameter by holding the modifier and once again clicking on the
selector.
Holding Option+Command (Mac) or Alt+Ctrl (Windows) and suspending a parameter will suspend the same
parameter on all tracks in your session.

Mix Groups
In Lesson 7, you learned about Edit Groups and their use in the Edit window. Mix Groups (also
referred to as Fader Groups) play a similar role in the Mix window. The primary use of a Mix Group is
the ability to link the movement of faders, including the ability to write automation to multiple tracks
simultaneously.
The creation and management of Mix Groups is identical to Edit Groups. In this section, we'll focus
on tips and tricks to make the most of groups when you're mixing!

The Importance of Group IDs

Creating a Mix Group is identical to the creation of an Edit Group:
• Click the Groups List pop-up menu and choose New Group from the menu.
• Press Command+G (Mac) or Ctrl+G (Windows).
There is, however, one often-overlooked part of
the process that can really help you when you
start using groups:
By default, Pro Tools will assign the first available
Group ID to any group you create, and after the
group is created, this is the only aspect of the
group that can't be changed later. Instead of
letting Pro Tools choose a letter for you, choose
a letter that you can easily remember for the
group.
When you're working in the Mix window, there's The Group ID pop-up menu
only one place where your keyboard can be
focused (indicated by the yellow A-Z icon): The
Groups List.
When you choose a Group ID that you can remember (for example, "D" for "Drums"), you can
activate and deactivate a group by pressing the corresponding key on your keyboard.

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Only Group IDs in the first bank of letters can be activated or deactivated using your keyboard.

To activate or deactivate the <All> group, press the exclamation point key (Shift+1).

Group Membership and Nested Groups

When a track is a member of an active group, its Group ID displays the group name and Group ID
letter.
Clicking the Group Indicator will reveal a pop-up menu with various actions that can be taken —
including a list of all group members — similar to right-clicking the group in the Groups List.

Clicking the Group Indicator

Tracks that are members of multiple active Mix Groups are indicated with an upper-case Group ID in
the Group Indicator. Clicking the indicator for one of these tracks will display a list of the multiple
active groups of which the track is a member.

Groups and Track Selections

To the left of each group name is a space that, for some groups, can
show an icon. But what do those icons tell us?
• No icon: This indicates that no member tracks are selected.
In the image shown here, the Drums group has no member
tracks selected.
• A circle icon indicates that some of the group's members,
but not all, are selected. In the image shown here, some of
the <All> group's tracks are selected.
• A dot icon indicates that all the members of the group are
selected, and no others, as is the case with the Keys group in
this image.
• A dot with a circle indicates that all of the members of the group are selected, plus other
Mix Group Icons
tracks. In this image, since the Pads group is a nested group within the Keys group, this bulls-
eye icon is shown.
These icons aren't just indicators — they're controls as well. You can quickly select only the
members of a group by clicking in the area to the left of the group name. You'll see that a dot icon
appears next to the name (indicating that all of the members of the track are selected and no
others), and other icons will adjust accordingly.

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"Clutching" a Group
In some cars, a pedal called a clutch is used to take a car "out of gear," so that the gears can be
manually changed. For as long as this pedal is held down, the car will coast, but not be powered by
the engine, even though it's still running.
That's what the Control key (Mac) or Start key (Windows) does with groups: When held, it
temporarily suspends the group, enabling you to move individual parameters without affecting
other members of the group. When the key is released, the group goes back to its normal behavior.
It's like disabling and re-enabling a group, but much easier.
This is perhaps best shown with volume faders. With no modifiers being held, all faders will move
together (if the group is active and volume is one of the linked attributes), but as soon as the
Control/Start key is held, any fader can be moved in isolation. Releasing the modifier, the faders are
again linked.

Showing Group Members

When working with big sessions, getting to the tracks you want (in both the Mix and Edit window)
can involve a lot of scrolling. Fortunately, there's one more bit of functionality that will help out in
situations like these!
Holding the Control key (Mac) or the Start key (Windows), click on the name of the group (in either
the Mix window or Edit window) whose tracks you want to see. Only the member tracks will be
shown, with all other tracks hidden.
A Mix or Edit Group does not need to be active in order for this technique to be used.
TIP: To show all tracks in your session, hold the Control key (Mac) or the Start key (Windows) and click on the
<All> group name.

TIP: Here's another way to work: Hold the Control key (Mac) or the Start key (Windows) and click on the first
group you want to see. If you want to add another group without hiding the currently visible one,
hold Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift+Start (Windows) and click on an additional group. As long as you hold these
modifiers, you can selectively show and hide group members.

Mixing with Folder Tracks

In Lesson 3, you learned how to create and use Folder tracks (both Basic Folders and Routing
Folders) at a fundamental level. In this section, we'll take a closer look at Routing Folders.
Because Routing Folder tracks combine the organizational power of a Basic Folder track with the
signal routing capabilities of an Aux track, it probably comes as no surprise that Routing Folders are
a popular favorite for mix subgroups (the routing of multiple tracks into a single track for mixing
purposes, which you learned in the Pro Tools 101 course). Let's look at a couple of workflows that
will make using Routing Folders easy!

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Moving Tracks to Folders

In Lesson 3, you learned that you can manually select and drag tracks into a Basic Folder or Routing
Folder. While that workflow is certainly easy and straightforward, it does have a limitation — the
process of dragging tracks into a Routing Folder will not automatically route the outputs of these
tracks into the folder. You can change the appropriate inputs and outputs manually of course
(matching the outputs of the member tracks to the input of the Routing Folder), but that can take up
a bit of time.
Here's another way to route tracks, a
workflow that may better suit this
situation:
1. Select the track(s) that you
want to move into a Routing
Folder.
2. Right-click any selected track's
nameplates, and a menu will
appear.
3. From the Move To submenu,
choose New Folder. The Move
to New Folder dialog box will
appear: Moving tracks to a new Folder track

Any previously created Folder tracks will also be accessible from the Move To menu.

The Move to New Folder dialog box looks and acts much like the New Tracks dialog box, and from
here you can move the selected tracks to a new Basic Folder or Routing Folder track. This is already
a time-saving workflow as it will create a new Folder track and move the selected tracks into it, but
there's more — if you choose to move the tracks into a Routing Folder track (as shown here), you will
see a small check box in the lower left-hand corner.
This Route Tracks to New Folder check box will change the outputs of the member tracks and the
input of the soon-to-be-created Routing Folder track so that the track will function as a subgroup
master for the member tracks.

The Move to New Folder dialog box

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This is a powerful workflow, which in one single operation accomplishes multiple tasks:
• Creating a Folder Track
• Moving the selected tracks into the folder
• Configuring the inputs and outputs so that the outputs of the member tracks will be routed
to the input of the Routing Folder.

Converting Auxiliary Input Tracks to Routing Folder Tracks

When you work with older sessions (created before the introduction of Folder tracks) or sessions
from other Pro Tools users, you'll often find Auxiliary Input tracks used as subgroup masters. While
that's the traditional way to create subgroups and there's certainly nothing wrong with that
approach, you might wish that the subgroup had used a Routing Folder track instead. Pro Tools has
you covered by enabling you to convert an Auxiliary Input track to a Routing Folder!

Here's a basic example:

the 5 vocal tracks (all
Audio tracks in this
particular case) have been
routed to the VOX SUB Aux
track through Bus 1-2:

A basic vocal subgroup, using an Auxiliary Input track

1. Select the Aux track(s) that you want to convert to Routing Folders.
2. Do one of the following
• Right-click one of the selected track names (either in the Edit window, Mix window, or
Tracks List).
• Click the Track menu.
3. Choose Convert Aux to Routing Folder from the menu. The Auxiliary Input track will be
changed into a Routing Folder. The signal routing will not change, meaning that the new
Routing Folder track performs the same mix function as the previous Aux track.
4. Though you've changed the track type, you haven't moved any tracks, so in order for the
new Routing Folder to do its job as an organizational tool, you'll probably want to drag the
desired tracks into the folder.

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Folder Tracks and Solo/Mute Behavior

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned how to "solo safe" a track so that it would not become
mute when other tracks are soloed. When using Auxiliary Input tracks as subgroup masters, they are
typically "solo safe-d," but when working with Routing Folders as subgroup masters, this is not
necessary — yet another convenience that Folder tracks provide.
Here are a few rules when soloing or muting with Folder tracks:
• When you Mute a Folder track (Basic or Routing Folder). All tracks within will be inaudible.
• When you Solo a Folder track, all tracks within will be audible unless they have been
specifically muted. As usual, any "solo-safe-d" tracks will not be muted.
• When a member of a Routing Folder track is soloed, all other tracks except the parent Folder
track (and any solo-safe-d tracks) will be muted. Solo-safe-ing the Routing Folder is
unnecessary.
These behaviors — slightly different from other types of tracks — can simplify the mix setup and can
make Routing Folder tracks an even more attractive alternative to Aux track subgroup masters.
When a solo-safe-d Auxiliary Input track is converted into a Routing Folder track, the solo-safe status is
removed. This is aligned with most mix workflows using Routing Folder tracks.

Finishing Touches
Your mix is done — what's next?

Using Dither
In the realm of mastering, there is a process called dither — though it’s something that many audio
professionals use, there's still uncertainty and confusion surrounding this process. In overly
simplistic terms, dither is a very low-level noise that is added to digital audio to offset the negative
effects of reducing bit depth. For example, if you’re working on a 24-bit session, but you need to
create a 16-bit file, you can improve the quality of your audio by instantiating a dither plug-in on a
Master Fader track.
Dither should be considered only when the final product needs to be at a lesser bit depth than the original
session. For example, if you have a 24-bit session and must make a 16-bit final mix, you should add dither. If,
however, your final mix is to remain 24-bit, don't use it. Sample rates and file formats have no bearing on
dither.

Dither and Mastering

Whether you apply dither yourself or not relies not only on bit depth but also on whether you're sending
your mix to be professionally mastered. Mastering engineers typically want as much sonic space to move
in as possible, and that includes minimal (ideally no) mastering-style effects on the files that you send
them, including no dither applied (and usually no bit-reduction either). A good rule of thumb is to give
them files that do not have dither applied but always check with your mastering engineer to see what
they prefer.

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In the workflow shown here, we'll be using the POW-r Dither plug-in. POW-r stands for Psychoacoustically
Optimized Wordlength Reduction.

1. On an insert on the Master Fader track, select a dither plug-in (in this example, POW-r
Dither) from the Multichannel Plug-In menu. The plug-in’s window will appear.
TIP: It's common to place this plug-in on the last insert in case we want to add any other plug-ins to the
Master Fader — it’s important that dither is the last process in your mix.

2. Click on the Bit Resolution selector menu (the box in the lower left-hand corner of the plug-
in window, which by default reads “16 bit”) and choose the final resolution for your mix from
the list that will appear. For example, if you wanted to make a 16 bit bounce of your mix
(assuming that your session was 24 or 32-bit), you would choose the 16-bit option.

Setting the Bit Resolution in the POW-r Dither plug-in

3. Next to the Bit Resolution selector is the Noise Shaping Type pop-up menu. Noise shaping
can help make dither “noise” even less perceptible than it would otherwise be. Click the
Noise Shaping Type button and select a noise-shaping type from the list.

Setting the Noise Shaping Type in the POW-r Dither plug-in

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What's the best noise shaping type?

The differences between the different kinds of noise shaping are very subtle, and opinions on their usage
differ. Here are the recommendations cited in the POW-r Dither manual:

• Type 1 has the flattest frequency spectrum in the audible range of frequencies, modulating and
accumulating the dither noise just below the Nyquist frequency. This type is recommended for less
stereophonically complex material such as solo instrument recordings

• Type 2 has a psychoacoustically optimized low-order noise shaping curve. It's recommended for
material of greater stereophonic complexity.

• Type 3 has a psychoacoustically optimized high-order noise shaping curve. It's recommended for
full-spectrum, wide-stereo field material.

More Archiving Tips

In the Pro Tools 101 course, you learned about how Save Copy In (which you can access from the
File menu) is a fundamental part of backing up your important work. Now let's look at a few other
tips that will help you improve your archived sessions.
TIP: Because many of the steps in the workflow discussed here are destructive and not undoable, it's
strongly recommended that this be performed on a copy of your session (using File > Save Copy In), making
sure that you include all of your session's audio and video files in the copy. Once you've completed the
procedures outlined below on the copy, close and re-open the copy and confirm that your session plays back
properly. Only after this should you consider deleting the original files. To review the Save Copy In the
workflow, refer to Lesson 10 of the Pro Tools 101 course.

Clearing Unused Clips

In the Pro Tools 101 course (in Lesson 5 - Recording Audio), you learned how to clear unwanted clips
individually from your session. As your session progresses through the editing process, your Clips
List can become populated with even more clips that aren't used in your session's timeline. A
common step in archiving workflows is to remove unused clips (and their referenced files) so that
the backup is makes efficient use of your storage space.

This process is typically done in two stages: selecting the unused clips, and then clearing the
selected clips:
1. In the Clips List pop-up menu, move your cursor to the Select menu item. A submenu will
appear.
In the Select submenu, you have three options (which can come in handy anytime, but
especially when you're archiving):
• All: This will select all clips in the Clips List.
• Unused: This will select only clips that are not being used in your session (including
whole-file clips).
• Unused Audio Except Whole Files: This will select only unused audio subset clips.

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• Offline: This will select only offline clips.

The Select submenu

2. Choose Unused.
The default shortcut to select unused clips is Shift+Command+U (Mac) or Shift+Ctrl+U (Windows).

Once your unused clips are selected, you can remove them from your session:
3. In the Clips List pop-up menu, click Clear. A dialog box will appear.
The default shortcut to clear selected clips in the Clips List is Shift+Command+B (Mac) or Shift+Ctrl+B
(Windows).

4. Do one of the following:

• If your selected clips are only subset clips, the window you see will give you the option of
removing them from your session only. Click the Remove button.

Clearing subset clips

• If your selected clips include whole file clips, you'll see more options:

Clearing whole file clips

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• Delete: Selected whole-file clips and their associated audio files will be
permanently removed. Selected subset clips will be removed from the session, but
their files won't be deleted (unless their parent whole-file clip is also selected).
• Move to Trash: Selected whole-file clips will be removed from your session, with
their associated audio files being moved to your computer's Trash bin. Selected
subset clips will be removed from the session, but their files won't be moved to the
trash (unless their parent whole-file clip is also selected).
• Remove: Selected clips will be removed from your session, but no audio files will be
deleted or moved to the Trash bin.
For archiving workflows, click either Delete or Move to Trash.

Compacting Files
Once you've removed all unused clips from your Clips List, you can go one step further and remove
all unused audio from the remaining audio files. For example, a snare drum hit that's used in your
session might be a small portion of a much larger file, with most of the audio in that file being
unused by your session.
This is where Compact comes in. This process removed unused audio from the selected clips' files.
The workflow is pretty straightforward.
1. In the Clips List pop-up menu, move your cursor to the Select menu item. A submenu will
appear.
2. In the submenu, choose All. All clips in the Clips List will be selected.
The default shortcut to select all clips is Shift+Command+A (Mac) or Shift+Ctrl+A (Windows).

3. In the Clips List pop-up menu, click Compact. A dialog box will appear.
In the Compact Selected dialog box,
you'll see a description of the
compacting process, plus the ability to
add "padding" to your resultant audio
files. "Padding" is similar to "handles"
in AudioSuite plug-ins, allowing for
future operations like trimming and
fading. The default value is 1000
milliseconds (one second) at the
beginning and end of each file
(excluding whole-file clips).
4. After choosing the value you want,
click the Compact button. The session
will automatically save, with unused
Setting the Padding
portions of audio files permanently removed.

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Congratulations!
Congratulations, you've made it to the end of the Pro Tools 110 course. The Pro Tools 101 course
covered a lot of ground, but this course dug much deeper into making the most of your Pro Tools
system. Armed with the skills you've learned in these combined two courses, you're poised to do
great things. We can't wait to hear what you'll come up with.
For many of you, the Pro Tools User certification is coming up next, and we wish you the very best of
luck with it. Getting certified is your way to prove your mastery of the material covered in this
course, and passing the exam is an accomplishment you can be proud of.
At Avid, “Powering Greater Creators” is more than a slogan — it’s a passion. On behalf of the whole
Avid Learning team, we hope that this course has inspired you, and we wish you all the success that
you wish for yourself.
Good luck!

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Summary of Key Concepts

Lesson 10 discusses techniques that will take your mix to the next level.
In this lesson, you learned:
• How to mirror the outputs of tracks and output busses.
• How to set your sends' initial output level
• How to view sends in Expanded Sends view
• How to use an Output window (with a send or main track's controls), including various
features like Follow Main Pan and different pan linking options
• Different ways to work with mix automation:
• Automation modes
• The Automation window
• Viewing, editing, and suspending automation
• How to make the most of Mix Groups:
• Best ways to create Mix Groups
• How to determine selected group member tracks
• "Clutching" a group
• Showing only a group's member tracks
• How to use Routing Folder tracks in mix situations
• New ways to work with subgroups:
• Techniques to quickly set up a subgroup
• Various ways to work with Master Faders with subgroups
• How (and when) to apply dither to your mix
• How to make the most of your session archiving

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Keyboard Shortcuts and Modifiers from this Lesson

Following is a summary of shortcuts and modifiers that you should know from this lesson.

Regarding Keyboard Shortcuts

Beginning with Pro Tools version 2022.4, keyboard shortcuts can be customized, allowing flexibility in
choosing individual workflows. For the purposes of this course, and to build a strong foundation that is
most compatible with the broader Pro Tools-using community, Pro Tools' default keyboard shortcuts will
be used.

To reset Pro Tools' shortcuts to their default state:

1. From the Setup menu, choose Keyboard Shortcuts. The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box will appear.

2. In the bottom right-hand corner of the dialog box, click the Reset All button. An Are You Sure? dialog
box will appear.

3. Click the Yes button.

For the purposes of the Pro Tools 101 and Pro

Tools 110 courses the Edit Keyboard focus should
always be enabled.

Action Default Shortcut

Mirror the output of a track Holding the Control key (Mac) or Start key (Windows),
select additional outputs

Mirror the output of a bus • Holding the Control key (Mac) or Start key
(Windows), select additional output paths in the
Mapping to Output column
• Right-click in the Mapping to Output column,
and select additional output paths

Show a send in Expanded Sends mode Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows),
and click the small arrow icon next to a send that you
want to see in expanded mode

Open or close the Automation window Command+4 (on your computer keyboard's numeric
keypad) on a Mac, or Ctrl+4 (on your computer
keyboard's numeric keypad) on a Windows computer

Clear automation breakpoints Command+B (Mac) or Ctrl+B (Windows)

The Delete key

Cut automation breakpoints • Command+X (Mac)

• Ctrl+X (Windows)

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Action Default Shortcut

Clear all automation playlists Control+Delete (Mac) or Start+Delete (Windows)

Nudge automation breakpoints Using your computer keyboard's numeric keypad,

press the Plus (+) key to move selected automation
breakpoints later, or press the Minus (-) key to move
the selected automation breakpoints earlier

Suspend an automation parameter on a single Hold the Command key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows),
track and click the Track View selector

Suspend an automation parameter on all tracks Hold Option+Command (Mac) or Alt+Ctrl (Windows),
and click the Track View selector

Create a Mix Group Command+G (Mac) or Ctrl+G (Windows)

Activate or deactivate a group in the Mix window. Press the key corresponding to the group's ID letter

Activate or deactivate the <All> group in the Mix Press the exclamation point key (Shift+1)
window

Temporarily suspend a Mix Group Hold the Control key (Mac) or Start key (Windows)
when moving mix parameters

Show only the members of a Mix or Edit Group Holding the Control key (Mac) or the Start key
(Windows), click on the name of the group whose
tracks you want to see

Show the members of a Mix or Edit group without Hold Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift+Start (Windows) and
hiding currently shown tracks click on the name of a group

Select unused clips Shift+Command+U (Mac) or Shift+Ctrl+U (Windows)

Clear selected clips Shift+Command+B (Mac) or Shift+Ctrl+B (Windows)

Select all clips Shift+Command+A (Mac) or Shift+Ctrl+A (Windows)

Knowledge Check
Click or scan the QR code shown to experience a fully interactive online
knowledge check with scored results.
You can also type the URL below into your browser:
https://tinyurl.com/PT110-23-KC10

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Mix Workflows
In this exercise, we'll take a second look at the big band song, Mako's Cheesecake Blues, and look at
how the features and techniques you learned in Lesson 10 can bring out your best mix!

Media: PT110 2023 Exercise 10 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues)

Duration: 45 min

Downloading the Media Files

To complete this exercise, you will need to use various files included in the PT110 (2023) Exercises folder.

• Download all the media files for the course by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_All_Exercises.zip

• Download just the media files for this exercise by pointing your browser to
http://learn-cdn.avid.com/IPT/Avid_Training/PT110_2023_Exercise_10_(Mako's_Cheesecake_Blues).zip

TIP: If clicking either of the links above does not initiate the media download, copy the link address and
then paste it into a new tab in your browser.

The music used for this exercise is a composition by the author, named Mako's Cheesecake Blues, a big
band arrangement dedicated to Mako Uetake (植⽵真⼦). One notable feature of this session is that it's a
mixture of live performances using Virtual as well as "real" instruments, and special thanks go to:

• Brian Smithers (Saxophones and Baritone Sax solo)

• Alex Brooke (Guitar)

This session uses some of the same files used in Exercise 3 but was mixed by Avid Master Instructor
Anders Motz, using many techniques you'll recreate in this exercise.
 Exercise 10 Mix Workflows

Part 1: Getting Started

To get started, we'll need to open a session:
1. Launch Pro Tools
2. Do one of the following:
• In the Dashboard window, click the Open From Disk button.
• From the File menu, choose Open Session.
3. Navigate to the folder containing the exercises for this course and locate the PT110 (2023)
Exercise 10 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues) subfolder.
4. Double-click the PT110 (2023) Exercise 10 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues).ptx session file.
5. Using File > Save As, save a new version of the session file, naming the session descriptively.
Here's a possible name: PT110 2023 Exercise 10 (Mako's Cheesecake Blues) - [Your Name]
[today's date].

Part 2: Subgroups
This big band arrangement has several instrumental sections — saxes, trumpets, trombones, piano,
and the rhythm section (guitar, bass, and drums). The saxes are arranged in a Routing Folder track,
but the rest aren't, so let's get things organized before we move on to mixing:
1. Select the Tpt SUB track (which is currently an Aux track) and convert it to a Routing Folder
track (either by right-clicking the track name or from the Track menu).
2. Drag the following tracks into the Tpt SUB Routing Folder track:
• Trumpet 1 SWAM VI EDITED • Trumpet 4 SWAM VI EDITED
• Trumpet 2 SWAM VI EDITED • TPT Falls Opus VI 1 EDITED
• Trumpet 3 SWAM VI EDITED • TPT Falls Opus VI 2 EDITED
3. Select the Bone SUB track and convert it to a Routing Folder track.
4. Select the following tracks:
• Bone 1 SWAM VI EDITED • Bass Bone SWAM VI EDITED
• Bone 2 SWAM VI EDITED • Bass Bone Kontakt VI EDITED
• Bone 3 SWAM VI EDITED • BONE Falls Opus VI EDITED
5. Right-click any selected track, and choose Move To > Bone SUB.
6. Select the Piano SUB track and convert it to a Routing Folder track.
7. Drag the following tracks to the Piano SUB Routing Folder track:
• Piano Solo EDITED
• Piano Comp EDITED
8. Select the Rhythm SUB track and convert it to a Routing Folder track.

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9. Select the following tracks:

• Guitar EDITED • Bass Opus VI EDITED
• Drums EDITED
10. Right-click any selected track, and choose Move To > Rhythm SUB.
At this point, the output of all of the subgroups is going to a track called Main SUB (an
Auxiliary Input track). We're going to do a little extra routing (you'll see why later in this
exercise):
11. Select the following tracks:
• Bari Solo • Piano SUB
• Sax SUB • Rhythm SUB
• Tpt SUB Bone SUB
12. While holding Shift+Option (Mac) or Shift +Alt (Windows), click the Output Path selector of
any selected track, and choose New Track from the pop-up menu.
13. In the New Track dialog box, create a stereo Aux Input track named Dry Band SUB.

14. Click the Create button.

15. Drag the new Dry Band SUB track into the MIX Basic Folder track.
16. Set the output of the Dry Band SUB track to Main SUB BUS.
Here's how your Mix window should look at this point:

If it does, you're ready to move on to the next section!

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Part 3: Managing Levels

We've got our tracks laid out, and when we play our song, we hear it, but the mix is way off. The first
problem we're facing is that the signals of individual tracks, while balanced within each section,
aren't arriving at the input of their subgroup master tracks at the right level. We could take the time
to change all the track levels one by one, but there's a better way — using Master Faders:
1. Create five stereo Master Fader tracks.
2. Name your new Master Fader tracks the following:
• Sax SUB MF • MF Piano SUB
• Tpt SUB MF • MF Rhythm SUB MF
• Bone SUB MF
3. Move the Master Fader tracks into their corresponding Folder tracks:
• Sax SUB MF > Sax SUB • Piano SUB MF > Piano SUB
• Tpt SUB MF > Tpt SUB • Rhythm SUB MF > Rhythm SUB
• Bone SUB MF > Bone SUB
4. Assign the output of each Master Fader to their corresponding bus:
• Sax SUB MF > Sax SUB Bus • Piano SUB MF > Piano SUB Bus
• Tpt SUB MF > Tpt SUB Bus • Rhythm SUB MF > Rhythm SUB Bus
• Bone SUB MF > Bone SUB Bus
5. Set each Master Fader track to the following levels:
• Sax SUB MF: -13.4 dB • Piano SUB MF: -0.4 dB
• Tpt SUB MF: -6.8 dB • Rhythm SUB MF: -6.5 dB
• Bone SUB MF: +0.9 dB
TIP: To set the Master Fader tracks, you might need to use fine resolution mode to get to the right value:
Hold Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) while dragging the Master Fader track's fader.

Part 4: Creating a Sonic Landscape

The goal of this mix is to re-create a live big band sound, and a part of that is to place the
instruments in the right places on the sonic stage.
Here's a typical big band stage layout:
• Rhythm section (drums, bass, guitar, and piano) are on the left half of the stage
• Wind instruments in three rows (from front to back: Saxes, trombones, and trumpets)
occupy the right half of the stage.
• A soloist microphone is in the center.

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The individual tracks of each subgroup are positioned correctly in relation to each other — now
we're going to move the sections so that they are properly positioned:
1. On the Sax SUB track, set the Left Pan to left 28 and the Right Pan to right 100.
2. On the Tpt SUB track, set the Left Pan to left 20 and the Right Pan to right 69.
3. On the Bone SUB track, set the Left Pan to left 12 and the Right Pan to right 58.
4. On the Piano SUB track, set the Left Pan to left 67 and the Right Pan to left 1.
5. On the Rhythm SUB track, set the Left Pan to left 100 and the Right Pan to right 28.
6. We want to make sure that the positioning of signals on sends mirrors the positioning of our
tracks. Click the Send Assignment for each send in your session, and make sure that Follow
Main Pan (FMP) is enabled.
TIP: If you hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and change any send to Follow Main Pan, FMP will be activated
on all sends in that position (send a, send b, and so on).

By now, the mix is really starting to come into focus. However, the point of view that you're hearing
is quite close to the band (essentially, you're sitting in the band leader's position). If we moved back
in a real listening space, the distance between the leftmost and rightmost player would decrease.
This is where our Dry Band SUB track is going to help!
7. Click the Dry Band SUB track's Output Window button. The Output window will appear.
8. Click the Link button.
9. Click the Inverse Pan button.
10. Start playback of your session from the beginning.
As your session plays, move either of the pan knobs to narrow the panning width of the dry
track. Note that if you release a control, the parameters will stay where they are (since there
is no previously existing automation on the track for the track to
read). Note that this doesn't affect the width of the reverb or delay,
meaning that the listening space won't change, but the width of the
dry band will.
11. As always, let your ears be your guide. A setting that might work is
Left pan = -60 and Right pan = 60.

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Part 5: Mix Groups

Let's quickly set up some Mix Groups:
1. Create a Mix Group named Saxes,
assigned to ID letter s in the first
bank of group IDs. Check the
Follow Globals check box, and
include the following tracks:

• Bari Solo Sax SUB

• Alto 1 LIVE EDITED
• Alto 2 SWAM VI EDITED
• Tenor 1 LIVE EDITED
• Tenor 2 SWAM EDITED
• BARI SAX
• Sax Falls Opus VI EDITED
• Sax SUB MF

2. Create a Mix Group named Trumpets, assigned to ID letter t in the first bank of group IDs.
Check the Follow Globals check box, and include the following tracks:
• Tpt SUB • Trumpet 4 SWAM VI EDITED
• Trumpet 1 SWAM VI EDITED • Trumpet Falls Opus VI 1 EDITED
• Trumpet 2 SWAM VI EDITED • Trumpet Falls Opus VI 2 EDITED
• Trumpet 3 SWAM VI EDITED • Tpt SUB MF
3. Create a Mix Group named Bones, assigned to ID letter b in the first bank of group IDs.
Check the Follow Globals check box, and include the following tracks:
• Bone SUB • Bass Bone SWAM VI EDITED
• Bone 1 SWAM VI EDITED • Bass Bone Kontakt VI EDITED
• Bone 2 SWAM VI EDITED • Bone Falls Opus VI EDITED
• Bone 3 SWAM VI EDITED • Bone SUB MF

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4. Create a Mix Group named Piano, assigned to ID letter p in the first bank of group IDs. Check
the Follow Globals check box, and include the following tracks:
• Piano SUB • Piano Comp EDITED
• Piano Solo EDITED • Piano SUB MF
5. Create a Mix Group named Rhythm, assigned to ID letter r in the first bank of group IDs.
Check the Follow Globals check box, and include the following tracks:
• Rhythm SUB • Bass Opus VI EDITED
• Guitar EDITED • Rhythm SUB MF
• Drums EDITED
Now let's create a Mix Group of all of our subgroup masters and other tracks that we'll
primarily use to mix:
6. Create a Mix Group named Mix, assigned to ID letter m in the first bank of group IDs. Check
the Follow Globals check box, and include the following tracks:
• Bari Solo • MIX
• Sax SUB • Dry Band SUB DLY
• Tpt SUB • DLY
• Bone SUB • VRB
• Piano SUB • Main SUB
• Rhythm SUB MIX • Master
7. In the Mix window, and using only your computer's keyboard, deactivate each Mix Group (by
pressing the corresponding Mix Group ID letter) until no groups are active, including the
<All> group.
8. Holding Control (Mac) or Start (Windows), click the Rhythm Mix Group. Only the members of
that group will be shown.

Part 6: Saving the Saxes

There's one part of the mix that is obviously wrong, and we're going to use Touch automation mode
to fix it!
1. Holding Control (Mac) or Start (Windows), click the Saxes group in the Groups List. Only that
group's member tracks will be shown.
2. Check to make sure that no groups are enabled in the Groups List.
3. Resize the Sax SUB track to Large.
4. Change the Track View of the Sax SUB track to Volume.

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5. Position the playback

cursor to 171|1|000,
then zoom and scroll
so that you can see
the phrase that
begins in the middle
of bar 171, as shown
here:

6. Open the Sax SUB track's Output window.

7. Change the Sax SUB track's automation mode to Auto Touch.
8. This might take you a few tries: Start playback, and before the sax line starts, bring the
volume fader up to about +5 dB. As soon as the phrase is finished, release the fader.

Part 7: Finishing Up
We're almost done — to wrap things up, we'll bounce your mix of Mako's Cheesecake Blues as a Red
Book Format (44.1 kHz/16 bit) audio file, using dither:
1. Make a timeline selection from the beginning of your timeline to the Bounce End marker
(180|1|000).
2. On the second insert of the Master track, instantiate a multi-channel POW-r Dither plug-in.
3. In the POW-r Dither plug-in, choose 16 bit and Noise Shaping Type 2.
4. Bounce your mix (File > Bounce Mix) to your Bounced Files folder with the following settings
(you can name the bounce however you prefer):
• File Type: WAV (BWF)
• File Format: Interleaved
• Bit Depth: 16 bit
• Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz
• Offline: Checked
5. Save your session, and close Pro Tools.
6. Check your bounced mix in any media player (or by previewing the file using your
computer's file browser). If it sounds good, you're done — as always, save your work!

This completes the exercise.

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