Grid/Groove Quantize

The Grid/Groove Quantize MIDI operation lets you adjust the timing of your selected notes. This is great when you want to conform the rhythmic placement of your MIDI notes to a grid or you have a problem with a really bad drummer and you want to fix his timing mistakes.

The Grid/Groove Quantize version of the MIDI Operations window, as shown in Figure 6-3, contains the following fields:

• What to Quantize: From this section, choose which part of the note to quantize:
  • Note On: Selecting this check box sets the quantization to the start of the selected notes.
  • Note Off: Selecting this check box quantizes the ends of the notes.

  • Preserve Note Duration: Selecting this check box produces different results depending on whether you choose Attacks or Releases.

    With Attacks selected, Preserve Note Duration keeps the end of the note intact. With Releases selected, the start of the note is left intact. If both Attacks and Releases are selected, the Preserve Note Duration option is dimmed.

• Quantize Grid: Here is where you choose the resolution of the quantize grid, from whole notes to sixty-fourth notes. If you choose sixteenth notes, for example, your notes will move to the nearest sixteenth note when you quantize.
  • Note selector: Choose the note value of your quantize grid from this drop-down menu. Click the note to select it.
  • Tuplet: This check box allows you to select odd note groupings, such as triplets. When you select this option, you need to fill in the tuplet value. For example, to create a regular eighth-note triplet, enter 3 in Time 1; for a quarter-note triplet, enter 3 in Time 2.
  • Offset Grid By: Use this option to move the Quantize grid forward or backward in time by the selected number of ticks. This is helpful for creating a groove that lies slightly ahead of — or behind — the beat.
  • Randomize: Using this option adds a level of randomness to the quantizing of your selection — no, not to mess up the rhythm, but to keep it from being too rigid. You can select values between 0 and 100%. Lower values place the randomized notes closer to the grid.
• Options: Select these items to fine-tune your Grid/Groove Quantize operation by specifying which notes to quantize and by how much:
  • Swing: This option and slider allows you create a swing feel (a dotted-quarter, eighth-note triplet). You specify a percentage (from 0 to 300%); selecting 100% provides a triplet feel.
  • Include Within: Here you specify a range of notes to include. Selecting this option quantizes only selected notes that fall within the boundaries you set here (from 0 to 100%); the smaller the number, the narrower the range of notes affected.
  • Exclude Within: Here you specify a range of notes to exclude from quantization. Any selected notes that fall within the boundaries you set here (between 0 and 100%) won’t be quantized.
  • Strength: This is, in my opinion, the most useful function in the Pro Tool Grid/Groove Quantize operation. You can use it to move your quantized notes by a percentage (from 0 to 100%) rather than just snapping them right to the grid. Higher numbers keep more strictly to the grid than do the lower values.

Using the options in these four sections well helps keep a natural feel in your performance.

The following list explains your options when you want to take the groove from a recorded performance and apply it to the MIDI sequence of your track. Just choose one of the templates from the Groove Clipboard in the Quantize Grid drop-down menu located in the Grid/Groove Quantize version of the MIDI Operations window (as shown in Figure 6-4).

When you select your groove template, the Grid/Groove Quantize menu options appear, as shown Figure 6-5.

One limitation of Pro Tools is that you can’t create your own groove templates. Instead, you either have to use what comes with Pro Tools (which are pretty good), buy one from Avid, or hunt one from a third-party maker. Of course, there’s an off chance that you may find some downloadable ones on the Internet. To find out, I recommend checking out the Avid User Conference website at http://duc.avid.com/ (do a search for Digigroove template).

The options in the Grid/Groove Quantize version of the MIDI Operations window include the following:

• Groove template selector: From this drop-down menu, choose a groove template to apply to your selection. (These templates are located in the Groove folder within the Pro Tools folder on your system’s hard drive.)

  After you choose your template, its content, meter, and tempo information show up in the Comments section in the middle of the window. To see these settings, simply click the Show Comments button.

• Pre-Quantize: When you have the timing field enabled (see the next section), selecting this check box applies the setting in the Quantize version of the MIDI Operations window to the template before you apply your selection using the Grid/Groove Quantize settings.
• Randomize: Selecting this check box adds a level of randomness to the quantizing of your selection — no, not to mess up the rhythm, but to keep it from being too rigid. Use the slider to select values between 0% and 100%. Lower values place the randomized notes closer to the grid.
• Options: Here’s where you can tinker with your groove:
  • Timing: This option lets you adjust the timing of the quantization applied. A setting of 0% makes no change to the selection; a setting of 100% places the notes right at the groove template’s grid settings. A setting of 200% moves the selected notes twice the distance from the template’s grid locations.
  • Duration: This setting changes the duration of the notes to fit the groove template. A setting of 0% makes no change, a setting of 100% matches the notes to the groove template, and a setting beyond that increases or decreases the duration of the original notes according to their ratio to the notes in the groove template.
  • Velocity: This field changes the velocity — the volume — of the quantized notes. Like with the other fields (Timing and Duration), the lower the number, the less the velocity changes.
• Slider Settings: You can recall and save the slider settings of the options with a template.
  • Recall with Template: Selecting this check box resets all the option settings to those that are saved with the template.
  • Save: Click this button to save your current option settings. If you choose Save, you can add any comments about the template, and they show up in the Comments section of the Grid/Groove Quantize options of the MIDI Operations window.

Change Velocity

The Change Velocity version of the MIDI Operations window, as shown in Figure 6-6, allows you to adjust the volume (velocity in MIDI-speak) of the attack or release of selected MIDI notes.

This operation is a lifesaver for times when you have a drummer playing an electronic kit and just one note is weak — or when you need to tame overly aggressive cymbals.

The Change Velocity options in the MIDI Operations window contain the following fields:

• Change Velocity Of: Here you choose between the initial attack of the note (the Note On check box) or the release value (the Note Off check box).
• Set All To: Selecting this radio button sets all the velocities of the selected notes to the value in the field. You can ether type the value in or move the slider to adjust the value up or down.
• Add: Here you add a specified value to your existing one. You can either enter the value in the field or use the slider. Your selected notes will change velocity by the number you specify.
• Subtract: Here you subtract a specified value to your existing one. You can either enter the value in the field or use the slider. Your selected notes will change velocity by the number you specify.
• Scale By: Here you set a scale for how much the velocities of your selected notes are to change — a percentage between 1 and 400. (Again, you can use the slider or type in a number.)
• Change Smoothly: Use this option to change the velocity of selected notes gradually over time. This is useful for creating crescendos and decrescendos. Type in the beginning and end values in the From and To fields, respectively.
• Change Smoothly by Percentage: This option is similar to Change Smoothly (see the preceding bullet) except that you specify a percentage of change instead of typing in specific numbers. This field is also where you can use a curve graph to specify how much the notes’ velocity must increase or decrease; choose a percentage value between –99 and +99. The curve graph then shows how your setting is implemented.
• Limit To: Select this option if you want to set a minimum and maximum range for your Change Velocity settings. You type those values into the fields. This field will be editable when you check the Randomize options (listed below).
• Randomize: Here, you create a random velocity change, specifying it as a percentage value between 0 and 100%. For example, if you choose a Set All To value of 60 and a Randomize setting of 40%, you end up with Change Velocity values from 48 to 72.

Be careful if you’re changing groups of notes. Using Add or Subtract for that purpose can change the relationships between various notes. If you like the way the original notes sound together, try using the Scale option instead. This keeps the relationships between notes intact.

Change Duration

Use the Change Duration operation to alter the length of recorded MIDI notes. The Change Duration version of the MIDI Operations window, shown in Figure 6-7, contains the following fields:

• Set All To/Add/Subtract/Scale option. This check box allows you to choose among several options:
  • Set All To: Select this radio button to set the duration of selected notes to the values in the accompanying fields.
  • Add: Here, you add a specified value to your existing one.
  • Subtract: Here you subtract a specified value to your existing one.
  • Scale By: Here you set a scale for how much the velocities of your selected notes are to change — a percentage between 1 and 400.
• Legato: This option lets you lengthen your selected notes in one of two ways:
  • Gap: Select this option to lengthen the notes to a point where a specified gap exists between your selected notes and the following ones.
  • Overlap: Use this option if you want to extend the length of your select notes and have them overlap the following notes.
• Remove Overlaps and Leave Gap: This option lets you remove any overlaps between notes of the same pitch. You designate the amount of the gap in the field to the right.
• Transform Sustain Pedal to Duration: This option transforms sustain pedal data for a note and applies it to the duration of the note. Checking the Delete sustain events after transformation box removes the sustain data from the MIDI track.
• Change Continuously: This option gives you two different ways to change the duration of your selection over time. These are:
  • In Ticks: Here you change the length of notes gradually over time, entering ticks in the From and To fields to specify beginning and end times for the change in duration. You can also enter a Curve value to modify the shape of the change. You can either drag the slider or enter a value in the field from –99 to +99.
  • By Percentage: In this field, you apply the duration change smoothly (see the previous bullet) by a percentage rather than by entering quarter notes and ticks. You can also adjust the curve of the change, using values from –99 to +99.
• Limit Range: Use this setting to specify a minimum and maximum change duration for the settings you choose.
• Randomize: Use this field to create a random change in duration, based on the setting you choose in the fields described here.

The Change Duration operation is useful for changing the feel of the music by making your selection either more staccato or legato.

Transpose

Use the Transpose operation to change the pitch of selected notes. Checking out the Transpose version of the MIDI Operations window, as shown in Figure 6-8, you see that the Transpose operation offers these ways of changing pitch:

• Transpose By: Use this setting to transpose by octaves or semitones (one half-step). You can either type in the value or use the sliders to adjust the setting.
• Transpose: Here you type in the note and octave that you want to transpose from (in the From field) and to (in the To field). You can also use the slider to adjust the settings if you prefer.
• Transpose All Notes To: Selecting this option changes all your selected notes to the note you designate in the field.
• Transpose in Key: Here you can transpose your selected notes by scale steps.

Transposing using this MIDI operation makes it easy to change the pitch — in effect, the musical key — of the entire song or clip. This is especially helpful if you decide that the song needs to be in a different key for your singer to sing well.

Select/Split Notes

The Select/Split Notes operation allows you to choose specific MIDI notes or a range of notes in a selection and to move them from the track or copy them to another track. Your options, as shown in the Select/Split Notes version of the MIDI Operations window you see in Figure 6-9, include the following:

• All Notes: Use this option to select all the notes in your selection.
• Notes Between: Use this option to specify the range of notes to select. You can either use pitch references (C1, B1, and so on) or MIDI note numbers (0–127) for your selection.
• Top: Using this option chooses the highest note or notes (depending on the number you enter) in each chord.
• Bottom: Using this option selects the lowest note or notes (depending on the number you enter) in each chord.

You can also choose other criteria to include in your selection of notes, including

• Velocity Between: Here you can select the minimum and maximum velocities to be included in your selection.
• Duration Between: Use this option to designate minimum and maximum note durations.
• Position Between: You can also control the location of your selected notes within certain beat and tick locations in each bar. Again, a minimum and maximum value determines the start and end points.

After you choose your selection parameters, you need to choose whether you want to select the notes or to split them. Selecting the Select Notes radio button simply selects them, but selecting the Split Notes option allows you to choose from two options:

• Copy: This command copies your selected notes.
• Cut: This command removes the selected notes from the original track.

The new location of your copied or cut notes is based upon your choice from the To drop-down menu:

• Clipboard: Your notes are placed on the Clipboard.
• A New Track: This places your selected notes into a new MIDI track.
• A New Track per Pitch: This places each pitch in its own new track.

If you want to include all continuous MIDI data, select the Include All Continuous MIDI Data check box.

To select notes, do the following:

1. Make a selection on a track or tracks that contain the notes you want to select.

   Book 5, Chapter 2 has all you need to know about making selections.

2. Choose Event⇒  MIDI⇒  Select/Split Notes from the main menu.

   The Select/Split Notes version of the MIDI Operations window appears.

3. Enter your note or note range in the window.

   Again, your choices here are All Notes, Notes Between, Top, and Bottom.

4. Choose the action for the selected notes (Select Notes or Split Notes).
5. Click Apply.

The Select/Split Notes operation is handy for selecting the snare drum from a drum sequence before you change its note (pitch) or quantize it.

The Select/Split Notes operation is also handy for taking tom-toms from a drum sequence and moving them to their own track where you can edit, pan, and effect them separately from the rest of the drums. Another useful thing you can do with Select/Split Notes (keeping the drum-track theme going) is to make a copy of all the kick-drum notes and put them in another track where you can process them and add them to the original kick during mixdown. (Hey, why not get your kicks while you can? Sorry about that.)

To actually split notes from a MIDI track, do the following:

1. Make a selection on a track or tracks that contain the notes you want to select.

   Book 5, Chapter 2 has all you need to know about making selections.

2. Choose Event⇒  MIDI⇒  Select/Split Notes from the main menu.

   The Select/Split Notes version of the MIDI Operations window appears.

3. Enter your note or note range in the window.

   Again, your choices here are All Notes, Notes Between, Top, and Bottom.

4. Choose the Split Notes action and then choose to copy or cut the selected notes from the track.
5. Select the location you want your split material to go: the Clipboard, a new track, or a new track per pitch.
6. Click Apply.

To place the split notes that you placed on the Clipboard into another track, do the following:

1. Position your cursor in the destination track at the same point as the start point of your Split Note operation.
2. Press ⌘  +V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (PC) to place the copies or cut notes from your Clipboard into the track.

Input Quantize

Use the Input Quantize operation to set a Quantize value that your recorded performance is adjusted to automatically as you record it. The fields you can adjust in the Input Quantize version of the Operations window (see Figure 6-10) are the same as with the Grid/Groove Quantize operation.

Unless your timing is really bad (or the person you record can’t walk and chew gum at the same time), I suggest that you disable this function and quantize — if needed — after your performance is saved. Otherwise it’s incredibly easy to overdo the quantizing and end up with a performance with absolutely no human feel to it.

Step Input

Use the Step Input MIDI operation to add MIDI to a track manually. This can be handy if you want to “create” a performance that you’re unable to play in real-time. This can be time-consuming, but it would likely be quicker than learning to play a really difficult part before recording it.

Figure 6-11 shows the Step Input options in the MIDI Operations window. Here’s a run-down on the parameters you choose from:

• Enable: This enables the Step Input function while also disabling any tracks that were record-enabled. If you have a default MIDI through instrument chosen (in the MIDI preference menu), it is also disabled.
• Destination Track: This is the track where your MIDI notes are added.
• Step Increment: In this section, choose the spacing and duration of your new MIDI notes. You can choose between whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, thirty-second, and sixty-fourth notes. As well, you can also choose
  • Tuplet: Use this to input triplets by dividing the step increment selected for Step Increment into the value chosen in the tuplet fields. For example, if you want to input triplets, select the quarter note in the Step Increment field, select the Tuplet check box, and then enter 3 and 2 in the fields to the right (so that is reads 3 in Time 2). This places three notes between quarter notes instead of two.
  • Note Length: Use this slider to choose a percentage of the note increment you select in the Step Increment section. For example, if you want a staccato pattern and you chose eighth notes as your step increment, you might want to select a 50% value. This will play the note for only half the total eighth-note duration.

You also have a few options that you choose from when step inputting notes:

• Use Input Velocity: Selecting this radio button assigns the velocity that you play on your instrument to the note.
• Set Velocity To: Use this slider to choose a velocity for this note so you don’t have to worry about playing it at the right volume on your instrument.
• Enable Numeric Keypad Shortcuts: Selecting this check box allows you to enter your Step Input options via keyboard shortcuts.
• Undo Step: Clicking this button removes the last step input. If you have a note depressed on your MIDI instrument, clicking this changes the title to Decrement and removes the last step increment that you added to your track.
• Next Step: Clicking this button moves you to the next increment, adding a rest to your track. If you have a note depressed on your MIDI instrument, this button reads Increment and lengthens your note by the step increment value that you entered in the Step Increment section earlier.
• Redo Step: Clicking this button replaces the note that was removed by your previous Undo step operation.

Follow these steps to step input MIDI notes:

1. Choose Event⇒  MIDI⇒  Step Input.

   The Step Input options in the MIDI Operations window open.

2. Select the Enable check box.

   This enables the Step Input function.

3. Choose the MIDI or Instrument track from the Destination Track drop-down menu.
4. Choose your note parameters (listed earlier in this section).

5. Play the note on your MIDI instrument.

   Your note is placed in the designated track.

   Your cursor moves to the next step in your track. Repeat Steps 3–5 for each additional note you want to add.

Restore Performance

Restore Performance returns you to a saved performance settings. This operation is like having an Undo for all the other operations listed in this chapter. Your performance returns to one of two earlier states:

• The settings saved by using the Flatten Performance command (see the next section) if you used it.
• Its original settings (if you haven’t saved any other settings).

Using the Restore Performance version of the MIDI Operations window, you can select from several areas to restore. (See Figure 6-12.)

• Timing (Quantization): Selecting this check box restores the note’s start time. If the Duration check box is cleared, the duration of the notes changes back to what it was originally.
• Duration: Selecting this check box restores the length of the note. If you don’t have the Timing check box selected, the start times of your notes don’t change but the end times may.
• Velocity: Selecting this check box restores the volume of the note.
• Pitch: Well, you know what this restores.

If you use the Grid/Groove Quantize operation when you recorded, you can remove it by using this operation. Choose the Timing (Quantization) option, and your original performance is resurrected in all its pristine beauty.

Flatten Performance

Flatten Performance is the operation you use when you want to save the performance data of a selection — timing, duration, velocity, and pitch — as the “original” setting that the Restore Performance operation (see the previous section) returns you to. The Flatten Performance version of the MIDI Operations window is shown in Figure 6-13.

Using this operation allows you to tweak performance data and lock it in before you do more tweaking. If you don’t like the extra tweaking, you can just go back to these settings. It’s a little added insurance when you’re messing creatively with MIDI data.

Use the Flatten Performance operation to save the following data:

• Timing (Quantization): The note’s start time. If the Duration check box is cleared, the duration of the note changes back to what it was originally.
• Duration: The length of the note.
• Velocity: The volume of the note.
• Pitch: Well, you know what that is.