The Pro Tools Edit Window
- Exercise 1: Import Audio a New Way
- Exercise 2: Import Loops into Pro Tools
- Exercise 3: Use the Grabber in Grid Mode
- Exercise 4: Create a Snare Track and a Hi-Hat Track
- Exercise 5: Use the Trimmer with Slip Mode and Spot Mode
- Exercise 6: Change Timebase
- Exercise 7: Use the TCE Trimmer
- Exercise 8: Use Shuffle Mode
- Wrap Up
Exercise 1: Import Audio a New Way
In Pro Tools, there are often several ways to perform similar functions. Just as you may sometimes take the highway to get home, and sometimes the back way, both routes get you where you’re going—but they serve different purposes, as well. As you continue working with Pro Tools, gradually you’ll begin to understand which functions to use when.
There are a few different ways to import audio into Pro Tools, so this time we’ll use another method: importing to the Region bin.
Launch Pro Tools. You should have just the big empty window we started with in Chapter 1. If you already have a Pro Tools session open, save and close the session (rember the /Alt+Shift+W shortcut).
Download and uncompress new samples. With Pro Tools open, start your Web browser, go to www.protoolsformusicians.com, and click on the Chapter 3 link. Control-click or right-click to download Chapter3Samples.zip. As always, make sure you know the destination location to which you’re downloading these files.Uncompress the file; you’ll have a folder containing five samples.
Make a new session. Go back to Pro Tools (you can quit or hide your Web browser if you like), and select File > New Session or use +N or Ctrl+N. Name your session “Chapter3Tutorial.”
Import to the Region bin. Go to the File menu. Under Import, choose Import Audio to Region List. The shortcut is +Shift+I (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+I (Win). This places your imported audio into the Region bin, but it’s up to you to create a track and place the audio regions at the correct places.
Choose the samples to import. We’ve seen this window once before, and it’s asking the same question: “Where are the files?” Find where you downloaded your Chapter3Samples folder, and import all five samples by holding down the Shift key and selecting them all. When all five samples are in the bottom-left window (Regions in Current File), click the bottom button, Copy All.
Choose a folder. When you choose Copy All, as opposed to Add All, Pro Tools makes a copy of the audio you’re importing and then conveniently places the copied files into your Audio Files folder. So now you just tell Pro Tools where to put the copies.
Find the samples in the Region bin. You’ll now see all five samples in the Region bin.If you don’t see the Region bin in the Edit window, click the tiny arrow at the lower right-hand corner of the window.
The most important items in the Edit window are the four Edit modes and six Edit tools. To start learning to edit, you’ll need to first understand these modes and tools. Let’s start with the Edit tools.