Changing a Software Track Instrument

Not only can you edit Software Instrument regions, but you can also change the instrument itself. Imagine recording a music part using a piano sample, then deciding that you would rather have a guitar play that partor vice versa. No problem. All you have to do is open the Track Info window and change the instrument for the track.

Before you go changing instruments, let's listen to the song to hear what it sounds like. You may notice that three of the tracks have been muted. We'll get to those in a few minutes. For now, leave them muted.

1.	Press the Home key to move the playhead to the beginning of the Timeline, if it is not there already.
2.	Press the spacebar and listen to the entire song. I wrote this piece on my baby grand piano, then recorded the piano part using a MIDI keyboard and the Grand Piano Software Instrument.
3.	Double-click the Grand Piano track header to open the Track Info window for that track. The Track Info window opens.
4.	Select Guitars as the Software Instrument, and Classical Acoustic for the specific guitar.
5.	Close the Track Info window. The first track in the Timeline is now called Classical Acoustic, and the track icon is a guitar.
6.	Press the Home key to move the playhead to the beginning of the song.
7.	Listen to the first half of the song again with the new Guitar track as the lead instrument.

Now you see how easy it is to change one Software Instrument to another. This is incredibly useful if you only play keyboards but not guitar, for example, or the other way around.

I like the guitar as the lead for part of this song, but I miss the piano for other parts. Later on, when we work on song arrangement in Lesson 6, you'll learn how to break a song up into different parts on different tracks. For now, let's stick with one instrument for the lead.

Project Tasks

Change the lead instrument track (Classical Acoustic track) back to a Grand Piano.

1.	Double-click the top track header to open the Track Info window.
2.	Choose Pianos and Keyboards > Grand Piano.
3.	Close the Track Info window.