Recording MIDI

In the last lesson you added a drum loop using the Hyper Editor's GM Drum Kit hyper set. That's a great way to program beats, but there's nothing quite as intuitive as playing a beat out and recording it. In the following steps you will redo the beat by playing your MIDI keyboard and recording the MIDI events created by pressing keys.

In the exercise above, you got a quick introduction to the Record button. Just as on an analogue tape deck, the Record button is the Transport button with a circle on it. Press the button, and you're recording! When it comes to recording MIDI, Logic always records to the track currently selected in the Arrange window. In fact, as you select MIDI or Audio Instrument tracks in the Arrange window, they automatically become record-enabled and ready to accept MIDI input (you've already used this feature several times while playing Logic's internal Audio Instruments). All that's left is to actually record. Let's give it a shot now.

Currently, you have a MIDI Region in the Audio Instrument track that plays the Drum Kits instrument. Let's get rid of that sequence and clear the way to record a new one.

1.	In the Arrange window, select the MIDI Region in the Drum Kits Audio Instrument track, and press the Delete key. The sequence is deleted.
2.	Create a four-bar Cycle range at a point in your song where all of the drum Regions are playing. TIP You may have to zoom out before creating the Cycle range. Because you are going to record a drum part, it's important that you can hear all of the other drum sounds in the song, so make sure you select an appropriate part of the arrangement.
3.	Make sure the Drum Kits Audio Instrument track is selected. When you select a MIDI or Audio Instrument track in the Arrange window, the Record Enable button turns red. This means the track is now able to accept MIDI input and is also armed for recording. If you play your keyboard, the track's instrument will make sound. NOTE If you click the Record Enable button to turn it off, you cannot play the instrument assigned to the track, and Logic will not record MIDI data to the track.
4.	Play your MIDI controller keyboard. NOTE If you don't have a MIDI keyboard, press the Caps Lock key to open Logic's Caps Lock Keyboard. The Drum Kits Audio Instrument plays.
5.	Press the spacebar to start playback.
6.	As the cycle plays, practice a rhythm part until you find a good groove you're ready to track out.
7.	When you're ready to record, press the spacebar to stop playback.
8.	Move the SPL to the start of the Cycle range.
9.	Press the Transport's Record button, or press the asterisk (*) key on your keyboard's number pad. The Bar Ruler turns red to indicate you are recording, and the SPL jumps back to one bar before the Cycle range begins (the one-bar count-in set in the previous section) and then plays.
10.	Play your MIDI controller and lay down some beats. Logic records the MIDI events as you play them.
11.	Press the spacebar to stop recording.

Using Cycle Record

In the previous section, you attempted to record a drum sequence using a four-bar Cycle range. As the cycle continued to play and you continued to enter MIDI events on your controller keyboard, the new events were added to the first recorded MIDI Region. That can be a fine way to record if you need to keep adding new MIDI events to a sequence, but for most situations, there's a better way to record short loops like this one: Auto create new tracks in cycle record.

With the "Auto create new tracks in cycle record" song setting, each time you finish a cycle while recording, Logic automatically creates a new Arrange window track using the same output channel as the track you are recording on, and then automatically records to the new track. It works like a charm, so let's try it out.

NOTE

Cycle record also works when recording audio.

1.	Delete the newly recorded Region.
2.	In the Transport, click and hold the Metronome button, then choose Recording from the menu that appears. The Song Settings window opens to display the Recording pane.
3.	In the General section of the Recording pane, select "Auto create tracks in cycle record." You can mute the passes you've already laid down. It helps to avoid a confusing clash of sounds as you attempt to play in your new passes of the MIDI Region. You can do this in the Song Settings window's Recording pane, too.
4.	In the General section of the Recording pane, select "Auto mute in cycle record."
5.	Close the Song Settings window.
6.	Press the Transport's Record button, and lay down some beats.
7.	Continue recording through several passes of the cycle. NOTE You must let two cycles pass before Logic creates the first new track. With "Auto create tracks in cycle record" enabled, you must record a full cycle before Logic will save the MIDI Region and create the new track. Logic creates a new track at the end of each cycle and moves the last recorded MIDI Region down to the new track. Additionally, Logic mutes all the previous recording passes so you don't hear their sound over the sound you are playing.
8.	Continue recording new tracks until you've got the groove you're after.
9.	Press the spacebar to stop playback. You now have a lot of tracks in the Arrange windowmore than you need. In fact, you should only select the best pass from the many you've recorded. Let's clean up the Arrange window by deleting the tracks you don't need. First, you'll have to audition the recorded passes to find the one that sounds best.
10.	From the toolbox, select the Mute tool. NOTE To toggle the mute status of any Region that is currently selected in the Arrange window, press the M key.
11.	Press the spacebar to play the cycle.
12.	As the cycle plays, click the muted MIDI Regions to toggle their muted status, and audition the sequences until you find the one you like best. TIP Muted regions have a dot before their name and are a lighter color than similar unmuted regions. To make muted regions visible, Logic Pro users can check the "Muted regions are textured" check box, located on the Arrange tab of the Display Preferences window.
13.	Delete the tracks that contain recording passes you don't like.
14.	Make sure your remaining MIDI Region is not muted. You are left with one perfect recording!
15.	Stop playback.
16.	From the toolbox, select the Arrow tool.