Music Production in Logic Pro X in 5 Easy Steps - Beginner's Starter Guide!

1. Introduction: Hello and welcome to this logic pro five Easy steps course. My name is Thomas George, composer and producer and have taught thousands of students all around the world Music theory, music production. So this course for anyone that's brand new toe logic pro Just want to jump in and start making music straight away. I'm gonna be going over stuff like software instruments, midi recording audio floggings, the mixer on automation. So if you're brand new to logic pro, make sure your role in this course. 2. What you are Going to Learn in this Class: Hello and welcome to this. Beginners start a guy in logic Pro TEM. My name is Thomas George on in this course, I'm going to give you my five steps for Logic Pro TEM The logic Pro 10. It's a fantastic piece of software, but when you open it up, you might not know what to do straight away. So in this course, I'm gonna give you some tips and techniques and just show you really my five top steps. So these are software instruments, Amidi, recording audio plug ins, mixer and automation. So let's jump into the 1st 1 which is software instruments and midi. 3. Step 1 - Software Instruments and MIDI: Okay, Step one, which is software, instruments and midi. So when we create a new track in logic pro attempt, this window will appear. This will give us a few different options. So we have software judgments. Amidi. Then we have audio on drama. So let's just have a look at this software instruments and midi here. So it says plug in a midi keyboard or used the keyboard on your Mac to play and record built in virtual instruments. So basically, you have a midi keyboard. You can use this to place like a little Midi, which is musical instrument digital interface. You can use this to play some of the notes, or you can use something called musical type. And for this we're going to use musical typing because not everyone will have a MIDI controller. If you have one, feel free to use that, then we have a few things the bottom here. But let's just leave that for now and hit crate. Okay, now we're gonna open something called musical type in. We can go up Teoh window and go down to show musical typing, or we can use the key command command K. Let's just hit command K, and then this will appear. So this is basically, like a little keyboard. You can use your mouth so you can play notes for you can actually use your Mac keyboard. So that a link up this see ass date set, you can play cause, like, this is not ideal. Uh, traveling young ago. It can be done a few things as well. That pitch band if you hit one or two up here, a modulation have phones in or powered speakers you can hear because between these and then we have octaves. They have velocity, which is basically a how hard in there is hit. No, we have to stay. And if you hold down the top, uh, so this is basically musical typing. We have another view here. You have to bring the keyboard up like, say so. This is one way we can actually play in some stuff. We have software instruments, Softwares from basically just means of virtual instruments. Savior, look on the side here. If you hit this button in the top left, this will open and close the library on. This will allow us to just download those of instruments. If you go onto logic Pro X in the top left. Let's go to sound library on download, All available sounds. People ask me this all the time. Why have you got so many different sounds? But I've got something different cables because I've downloaded all the available sounds. So logic. Pro X Sound Library. Make sure you download all the available sounds, and then you should get a load of these instruments on the side. It's like the cool stuff, like drum machines, guitars, piano Simpsons, World instruments. It's like a percussion keyboards, strings, etcetera based sounds. I'm not going to go through them all because I recommend the best way to actually just used the's Simpson cables. It's just go through and play around. So it's going to emphasize that Let's choose Bell. Um, okay, delicate bells. Let's try that. Okay. And this will appear. It's Abelson. Ah, OK, A few ways we can actually record the Seine. One is we can hit this big record, but not here on physically play in O or two. We can actually type in the MIDI information for now. Let's just play something in this record and make sure the Metrodome is on which is up here . Mention animal keepers in time. And then even here are two record or hit this button. Good way to do something that that really basic, really simple or alternatively, we can hit. This is a button up here on the top left and then we can just draw in Yes, and media information. So basically a keyboard is put on its side and this is what it is on getting across. It's time so we can just go for enjoy them. You can change this cursor here to a pencil tool making Just draw in some information if you backspace or delete. Okay, let's just hear this. It's the first parts I actually played in the second part. I okay, so you might have noticed the first, but wasn't completely in time. So what we can day actually just put this in time by the encyclical Quanta izing. Change this back to points. It's all. And then we can even drag and slept for this command in a Then we need to Kwan ties by hitting this Q button here. Then we have Kwan ties amount. I'm gonna leave this at 16th notes in the an artist. It's just going in time. Let's let's play this back. Uh, okay, great. We can always late notice up here. If we drag over, it will make a loop that we could always copy this over whole dye adult. We can always double click this and then we can actually go into the piano roll editor and just edit some of this. So this one's actually different to that one. If we right, click this more options here. So if you want Teoh mute on enough loop on enough, we can actually make it look like crazy. We can drag it back. You can go on to loop, and it's off again. This the way of making loops and beats if you want to make them quickly, is just may close of loops. But I like to go in and drag them over separately just so I can customize loops a bit and change them around just so they're not too repressed. It really depends on what you want. Todo Okay, So you noticed. Second slightly different. Okay. Great. You can always go to this tool here on. You can choose the textile Now I could rename this to rename the 1st 11 on. That's just some ways it really just going in. Of course, we can loop on enough of the right click, but, um, commute on enough as well. Would you have shortcuts if you want to meet this on enough So we just go through and make loops quickly? A mute, different ones. That's kind of how I make loops. You can add another track just by hitting this big plus bottom. Let's choose another software instruments. Okay, now let's choose a drum kit, okay? And let's ah, dr this over the same information before just so we can go in, just see what's going on with after use this information. But it's good to actually see what's going on. Okay, you notice the drums actually link up two different next on the keyboard so that as a kick from there is open hi hats. It's fact from finding out there. But generally the high hat, sir. Shop g sharp I pawns in a shop kick is a C snatches day. The clap Isasi shop see here in that the accented one. There we go. Ok, Trump to this over may be odd that that OK, you might not be else. Do this straight away. This is just a way you can draw in drums. So just go through, find out whether different drums I can just drag on the site like, say, Okay, and let's just close this. We could just direct this down or we can hit this, says the button up here, top left. And then we can just put lube on enough if you want. What I want to do this. If you drive at the top, it loops to drag towards the bottom. We can change the size of this, and now I'm gonna loop it. Let's just hear this back waken late much this gray area appear on. If we click on this grey area will actually go orange thistle thistle. Basically, how we could make a loop with Midi Instruments in logic Pro TEM. Add one more. Let's add a bass part. I'm not gonna do the same and just copy the information over. Do you make him a state like that? You can just hit command and said, just so I know what the notes were actually doing. It's my favorite way of actually write music is seeing what they even though it's doing rather than just guessing. Okay. And then, uh, the 1st 1 isn't a I use this base night, 2nd 1 Uh, c major. So I might go down to a C fed. One is a Ah huh. The aim honest, tonight. And this one is a see against about down to the sea, and this is kind of a person notes I just leave seagoing. Now I can add a bit River bass, part making. So 10 holding that alter just two copies to favor. Okay, uh, copy this rhythm over. I'm just This is really just a quick crash course. Anyone that wants to learn because I think I just give you my top tips to get started today . Sometimes it's essentials notice stuff like the preferences, But a lot of time it's a lot more fun just to jump in and start making music straight away . So let's just copy the 1st 1 over. Hold a look down on now. You might have noticed I haven't chosen the base parts. So what I can do is actually go over to hear the library on. That's true is base. And there's a few different basic and choose. Let's try finger style base. OK, and now if we hit space by or play loop, Octavia is a bit low, so just click on this double click, open up the piano roll command A to select all and just drag it open up. Go for a change. Certain bits, for example, don't like that I've never not here date. OK, that's basically how we could make a quick loop in logic Pro TEM. It's really about just selecting the MIDI instrument. Going through here and just choosing an instrument. That's the best way to get started, of course, is stuff like editing the instrument, changing the sound. But for now, if you just want to make music, the best thing is to just use one of these precepts. Sounds use one. The sounds from logic gruesome, fantastic ones that rely to some of the piano sounds that the world in judgments on. It all comes with Logic Pro, which is fantastic. So just hit the plus button to software instrument on. You can either play in with a midi keyboard or you can use musical typing by hitting command okay, Or you could just use the piano roll at a certain type it in here 4. Step 2 - Recording Audio: Okay, Step two, we're going to record audio. So we've got a lip going with our MIDI Instruments or software instruments on. Now let's actually add on some audio. It's a few ways we can do this. You can even find audio Lupin audience sample or become record our own audio information. Let's record our own order information by hitting this plus button. Appear we hit this. This will allow us toe create new track. This time let's choose audio. We've got a couple here. I've got audio recording, a microphone, all line inputs and we've got record guitar or base using logic Pro as now What logic Pro. Those alleged pretenders has a virtual amplifiers, so if you plug in the guitar or base, you don't have to actually record up your amplify. You don't have to have a send a line out we d I, but from amplifier logic. Pro does have some virtual amps, which is pretty good, but for now, let's just put this one on. We will need the audio interface to do this. That's anything about recording audio, so if you don't have an audio interface, you can't actually do this. So we're back to plug in my audio interface now. Okay. So you might have noticed that there is another microphone appear here. I'm just going to show you how to actually set up a mike in logic broke. So you will need some kind of audio interface. What I'm going to show you is this one here, which is a sure X to use a small, portable audio interface on what you really have to do to set up in order interfaces. Plug this into your computer. Want to record logic Broadway. So this one is us, Basil after its plug in the USB, and that's basically it. And then if using a mike like this one, which is a shotgun microphone, it does have phantom policy. Will need the 48 volts or Phantom Powell turned. But make sure everything is plugged in. First of all, before you actually turn on phantom power. So one under this goes into the audio interface on the other end goes into the microphone. Okay, you're swells. Have some kind of light appear, and I'm gonna flashing signal on the screen. Which says, Do you want to use audio interface? Sure, digital, which basically means logic Pro has realized this on audio interface plugged in now on its asking me if want to use that you don't just have to plug the X. Ella generally will be next. Lay can get years be microphones, but not as good. Really. Then you can just plug this and Okay, if you do want to record, would you? You will generally need a pop shield or you'll get up the pop sound on. Okay, so that's just use this now. The logic priority once used to torture device short digital says it use. And it might take a moment. Just the load and the K The output is still set. The same input I'm gonna change. That doesn't seem to appear here, So you could just council this. And if we get the preferences in the top left and go so large, it projects preference isn't going to audio. He will see. I put device. Sure. Digital Gonna keep the output device as it was before on input device? Sure. Digital. It's the output. I'm actually recording fruit and external monitors. I'm leaving that there The import. I want a shore digital. Okay, so that's never way. If you go on the plus button on. You don't see the input appear here. Might just be 1 to 1 and two doesn't really make too much sense. Never thing you can do is get to the preferences, the logic, pro X preferences audio. And he can select your I have a device annual input device, Annual buffer size. Okay. And now, to actually set up a microphone on audio track Just hit this, plus bottom Jews audio. It should all be set up because we did this in preferences. Hit, right? And then you have to make sure if using a microphone like this phantom power is turned on, you might get small popping sound when you turn on phantom power, see the waves shoot up there and now should be helped to hear this microphone if you don't . If you don't hear it, make sure monitors to Senate, which is this year. So let me just suman. So here you go. Here's my and my family's been here on this one has record enable. So if its record enable you need this selected to be able to record anybody doing this autumn, this is sitting here. Sometimes you don't want to hear that wanted here. My voice. I have enough. Some people might want that. We have video, is it? This is big red, but way you can do the same with a loop. Turn off input Monitor. Internet record. Enable Way. Set up a microphone in logic Pro TEM. It's the same principle for a guitar, but you will need an audio interface that has a line input, not just an XLR input for a guitar. Ubell. Physically plug it in unless you are Mike and got a guitar up, then you will need a microphone. But you can't do this without a microphone or that an audio interface. Okay, so let's go on to the next step. 5. Step 3 - Plugins: Okay, so let's have a look at elegance, each one of these instruments. We can actually add effects and plug ins to it. The way we do this. Easiest way with this by using this inspector button or this I but in the top left. So if you hit this, this will bring up a channel strip. This is cold. It has loads of different things. You might notice The's are plug ins already. So a lot of these already have plug ins on them, so we can actually click on all of these on this one. At the top here says access 24 will bring up the instruments. You can go for this and just tweak certain things. So let's just move this over here on just so below the base by hitting this headphone button just here, using a different version of logic. Pretend it could be an s on this could be an M from UT's, but the same thing. So for me, that cut off this dial here, you know just the same changes. We have a lows, a different sense. We don't just have this one logic pro. We have tons of them. These are the different sense, but let's have a look at some of these plug ins below, so we actually add on effects on top of the synth to notice. This one here says Bass AMP. So if you click on based on, I will bring this up, which is meant to be a base up. Quite simple. It's got boost. I'm Tony More Basie. Troubling High frequency cup. You see, you have different options as well. I'm not going to go through all these plug ins because there's lows. Um, I just want to show you how you can actually add on plug ins that we have a compressor which basically makes a quite stuff loud. On the last of quiet. Move some of these styles Dogo through the compressing a lot more detail. My complete logic pro course paddleboard, which is meant to represent guitar Faxon Just arrive. Ease over. You can just delete them by hitting backspace. Okay, so that's the base. Let's go onto this Bluebird, This drum kit. So we have a drum kit. Just pretty cool logic. We could go through change, just different kick drums, shooting a different drum, just like licking them clicking on the stuff on the side. It's nice, nice and watch a parade of channel que who used to a digital audio workstation now, But you cares, it's analyzed. Button will show us the frequencies. The waves just go through. Contract these, change them around. But this is just a basic course just to get open right. I'm not going to go through all the details. Now Let's have a look at this delicate bells. What we've gotten here. So solo this with headphone bottom on. Got compressive. Got tape delay. Let's open this up. You can change the delay. Tight feedback, the way Theo soothe. You can get a little crazy. Have you got? Because that's the type Delight. The best way to learn is just to go in, mess around. Stop playing with stuff, really, so we can actually add some stuff. So let's go back to this base that so this with headphone bottom. Let's add something here, so we have to do to add something. Just find a space on, just go in and add a new plug in. So find a space below here, then you've got all these different plug ins here. Let's go to pitch. That's an easy one. Let's go to pitch shifter. I recommend going for all these and working out what the day pitch shifter quite literally just changes the pitch so it could make higher or lower chase the next year. The next change. Okay, that's just an easy one. Click on here. Want to replace it? You'll see this arrow. We can go for in change and everyone we could change it to, say, Tremell Latest fuse, Chamila. No headphones on it is going left or right speaker. Change the rate, and here it's going at a faster rate. That's going pretty crazy. If you haven't got headphones are using a model device like a phone. It might not sound that mad, but that Okay, you can also add arm plug ins, todo instruments as well. That's just so low. But my terrible singing on let's add, um, nor the effect that had on pitch pitch shifter obviously notices going a lot higher. We can go down to say reverb and Adam try. It's one of these reverb space designers. Cool. Let's try space designer, wait, get loads of different presets and defaults these plug ins as well so if you can't think of one, you don't make it from scratch. You can actually go through and change them. There is some crazy presets you can get, especially the walk defects. Thats kind of thing pretty much you contend after plug in just by hovering above it and you'll see a circle of a line for it, and I will turn it off. Let's go back to the finger style base on Let's go to the base up. Double click on this because you go through and click a drop down box. It's same pretty much all the plug ins, the logic ones, and we could use one of these presets. Let's go on the razor base. Let's hear what this sounds like. This change the scythe, go for it and change the presets. Say, Mother, Since so, if you click on Webster Sculptor, this is type of synthesizing logic. Pro. Let's drop down here. Some versions of Logic Pro had a left and right arrow. Or just use the drop down. Let's choose bowed instrument. Let's try bowed lead. You hear that instantly changed. I'm not going to go through this investment now. It is a bit complex. I do talk about it. So my complete logic pro course sculptor space is a plug ins we can add on different effects to each instrument separately. That's basically yeah, fed step in this five step guide. 6. Step 4 - The Mixer: Okay, step forth. It's the mix up. So the vic's want my favorite things in logic. Pro tennis today. It's one of the best mixes in all the digital audio extensions of used. It is, yeah, very intuitive on Quite straightforward. Actually, it's a few ways we can open it. We can even here x open the mixer, or we can hit this button up here that's like a mixer. Or we can use a key command, which is command, too, and you will have to enable tools, advanced tools. So if you haven't done this year to perform command open mix of the future, extra windows require, which is available to win show advanced tools. So if you haven't actually done the chef, this is a new version of Logic Pro 10 which is on this new computer. I'm using a different computer. It's normal. You will have to enable events tools on. There you go. It will open up. If you do hick command to several times, we'll just bring up lows of different versions that while those of the same version in different windows for here x several times it would just open and close the window saying With this button, just open and close the window. If you do want to separate window. If you do have an external monitors around like I normally work with one or two external monitors, you can drag it over to an external monitor. If you're just using it on a laptop or just one Mac, you might want it all in the same window. Really depends on how you work, but I Let's have separate monitors, but depends if you do have set promoters. If you want to go using the laptop, you might not have this option. This brings up the mixer. It looks a bit like an analog mix. If anyone's bean to any recording studios will have seen the analog mixers, it's based on that. So we have each channel strip. So remember we said before, if you click on the side, you get Channel Strip becomes, Yeah, Channel Strip down here, actually, links open tells us what is going on. So you see here, Bode lead says, bowed. Lead down here, Blue bed says blue bed, finger style based fingers cell paste audio on audio one. We can change the values independently with these knobs here The dial's you can change the pan of these knobs. Zoom in the bet. So if you want one going toe last speaker one going to the right speaker. We consume in the rats and then we get the outputs. Then we get bus. I'm not really good talk about bus but buses where we send the instrument to another channel. So if you want to add effects separately, we can send it there and part effects this one and keeper as it is, this is useful for reverb zor time based effects. I could talk about this in my complete logic pro. Of course. Then we have the audio effects. So these are basic the plug ins talks about previously. And then we have these little boxes here which will open up UK. This I have not the equalizer. So that is in a nutshell. What the mix it does. So let me get the master void in the stereo outs. The difference between the stereo out on the master is a stereo out. You can add on effects. Master is just the volume. Ideally, you don't really want to touch the master volume too much had more concentrated. Stare out. You don't really want to go into the red. Let's just play this back. Now. Stereo is going into the red a bit so you can put down a bit for 10 hours of leave. Weaken, turn separate instruments down. Let's say no can go through and just change some of the volumes of these effects these instruments. So I just put the the singing on my attempt of singing into the right speaker. So we get all the way to 63 or we can put a part way free. Generally, you want the lower frequency instruments that the basic kick drum in the middle. So I'm gonna put this keyboard part to the left. So I'm just gonna also change this. I just want the first loop so we can close the mixer here and just go in. Hold down old copy over. Like I said, command to open the mix in a new window. This is just a quick overview off the mixers lows, more stuff we can do. You can just save the channel strip settings. So say I really like what I've done to this boat. Lead here and click on here the top. So for just hold on and click it. I can go on Save Channel Strip setting on and rename this bowed lead Thomas So basically, I could open this on your notice here. Bodley Thomas is now one of my save presets. So I really like the way I change the tape delay or added a new effects that can change this and save it. So save channel strip setting. Why do a lot of time my main computer? I actually use a lot more in presets that I've been making over the ISS, but it's a good idea to start with the pre made presets on logic Pro. Adapt them, create your own create your own son was just to kind of make your own custom sounds. There is a lot of fun as well, so we got this kind of stuff. You get that put group group his way. Weaken basically put instruments together. So say, for example, he recalled the singer several times. Several take. You want to layer them together. You can group these vocal tics together, so when you move one of them, you can add it. The ever eso group in this stuff like, Yeah, volume utes editing So you can group these. I wouldn't worry about that too much. If you're new to logic Pro, it's more just about know what this stuff does and just jump in them and making music. So the mixer is basically just the channel strip setting on the side. So if you hit this, I bottom top left. This will open and close the channel strip setting. It's just a load them together. One for each of the instrument. It's pretty much it. And then we've got Master one. You can change some effects we can add e que on. Then we can just, uh, yeah, mix like that. Love is about using the ear. Lovitt's trial and error. Of course, you will need to know stuff like what? You. Q. What compress it does the different modulation effect? So the different effects, like chorus phaser, that kind of thing. But really, it's not as complicated as it looks in. The first song mixes that Whoa, especially analog mixer in real life, which is basically the same as this. I was really confused, but now it's just yes, just the channel. Strip the load them stuck together. It's kind of what the mixture is. OK, next we're gonna look at the fifth step, which is automation. 7. Step 5 - Automation: OK, now let's look at step number five, which is automation. Automation allows us to change certain parts off the track or the instrument over time. Basically, if you want, say, this finger style based, start off quite and get louder. We could do this with automation or we have to do is hit this button here which will share or hide automation. Or we could just who's about a and this will open and close the automation. You see, the track gets a bit transparent. It's a bit darker as well. I know. You see, Yeah, these lines appear when you click on them. So let's just click on this and this will create lows of dots. You can actually just don't do them of command and set and you'll notice on the side. Here it says volume. So volume means, yeah, what is being effective? What has being automated? So you go through and change some of these so it wants something on Sculptor. We can change whatever is going on there. I won't look at sculpt now is a bit complex. If you're new to Ledgett, pray let's just stop before you so you can go through and we can just click. Drag it down and this will change this effect or this parameter every time in this case is volume. So let's listen to the spirit lead or notice starts off. Quiet gets louder, comes in that way. You can do the same a pan so you could make it a bit crazy if you want. So let's start off down there and go up there and gradually go there. So let's hear this. One of my favorite things about logic pro is live automation. So if you change, read to one of these touch natural rights. Let's choose touch. What this means is, when I change certain parts, the instrument it will actually recorded ends we'll have to do is play and opened up this track. Open up this instrument. So finger style base, Hit this. I button, let's go to access 24 which is the synthesizer. It's actually a sample. I'm gonna chinese this cut off. Okay, I'm gonna hit play and the move this dial here, it's gonna move the automation on that already. OK, wait to start again. And this time I can change drive residents. So what? They're touch one means is when you move it and let go. Go back to the defaults. Lunch means when you move it and let go, it will stay where it is. So you noticed the line stayed there. If we go to touch line jumps back, that's kind of the difference between touch and latch. Wouldn't really use rights can be a bit dangerous if you knew to logic Pro. Remember to stick about to lead, and then it will save it like this. I always go through and needs up by hand. Sometimes we do that. That can be a bit jagged. You can always go through, need to up like so that's kind of automation is automation just allows you to change a parameter over time so it could be avoided because Japan could be live automation, which I really loved him alive. Automation just largest give you Morva, riel fields. You can change certain effects over time. Let's go to believe it. A careless it's actually add on a reverb. Okay, open space designer. We got spaces on the river, the river all the way down there. Now let's turn this here in two. Change it to latch. Okay, Now I'm gonna hit space bar and a whack up this river and put it back down again. That's here. This okay? Remember to turn this back to read. Obviously, this isn't the best track in the world. It's just thrown some ideas that I'm just to show you how you can start making music this easy and logic pro temp. So this is really Yeah. The five main steps software instrument Amidi recording audio plug ins Mixer on automation . 8. Bouncing and Goodbye!: one more thing we need to do is actually bounce this down. So the easiest way to do this, it's just select this loop area up here and just to rag it wherever you want. The about to start the way. We want the mix to start back since. But we just print the mix and then go to file Barents Project or section. We've got nothing muted. It won't actually play. You have something so load it would just record or write this. So let's get a project or section, or we can use the key command command. Be them, accuse PCM, which is kind of a higher quality on compressed version. MP freeze once a lower quality compressed version and be free free 20 bits. Still good so we can change the bit rate over here. So a lot of music you're here. I mean, nightclubs and stuff will be a free 20 bit and p free a lot Stuff on the radio B a lot lower. We can choose PCM if you want a high quality or taken both. If you want both. Sometimes it's good to have both, so you just want to quickly send a friend a bounce. You could have his MP free from the put some of that publicly would use a PCM so you can choose the A i f f or a wave, which are the same. Really A f f is the apple version in the waves them or universal PC version to his resolution Sample. Right. Um 24 bet 44 105. If I was going a bit faster, just you can just choose them and select a default one that will be absolutely fine and then just hit. Okay, you can name it here. Test song. You can choose where you want to save it. So I'm just gonna put it on the desktop. Hit bouts on yet? Zzz. Is that really a little bounce? Depending on ah, length on the mount of entrance track? Might take a while. Might take a few seconds on. Hey, we go. You'll notice I've got test song and before he tests on wave, you probably can't really notice the difference right now thing is the way. All the while on here's the MP free size pretty much the same. But you blast this through large speakers Got love tracks. If it's quite intricate song that will make a big difference where it's a wave on them, be free. That's basically yeah, how we combines the track as well. So thank you became fortunes video. You found it useful.