INTRODUCTIONDo you ever wake up in the morning, turn on the coffee pot and think, “Hey,I wonder how this machine works?” and then decide to take it apart and figureit out? Me neither. I simply want to turn on the machine and drink my coffee.

I find the same thing in recording my music. I don’t want to be a technician;I simply want to be a musician and songwriter. That’s the premise of Pro Tools

for Musicians and Songwriters. If you want to sit down and be creative, andmake music without being overwhelmed with technical details, then you madea wise choice in picking up this book.

So many new users of computer-based audio systems are intimidated by thetechnology and overwhelmed at the thought of setting up and learning it. Ifyou feel that way, you’re not alone. I always remind new users that at somepoint in their lives, the knobs and buttons on the dishwasher or washingmachine looked complicated too—but now they’re common knowledge. That’sthe comfort zone where I hope this book will take you. I believe this book willmake it possible for songwriters and musicians to learn Pro Tools in a fun,unintimidating way. My goal is to turn even the staunchest technophobesinto download-savvy Pro Tools whizzes. So, make a fresh pot of coffee andlet’s get started.

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I’m Going to Assume……that musicians already know how to play their instruments and that songwriters alreadyknow how to write songs. I’m going to assume that all of you understand common songstructure, as well as tempo and meter. But other than that, you’ll need to know almost nothingabout making music with your computer in order to read and learn from this book. You won’tneed to know much about the computer itself beyond how to turn it on, and the differencebetween clicking and double-clicking.

And You’re Going to Need…◆ A computer with an Internet connection

◆ A Pro Tools interface, such as

◆ Digidesign’s Mbox

◆ Digi 002 or 002 Rack

◆ Any Pro Tools–compatible M-Audio interface

◆ Pro Tools LE 7 or M-Powered Pro Tools 7

◆ A separate, external hard drive to record to

◆ A MIDI keyboard

◆ A microphone, your instrument, and cables

◆ Headphones and/or speakers

◆ A CD burner and CD burning application

A computer with an Internet connection. It’s very important to have an Internet connec-tion on the computer that you’ll be recording with. This book will require many downloadsfrom the Internet throughout the various chapters, with the specific goal of helping youbecome more comfortable using the Internet to download and import audio files. In today’sprofessional music industry, a basic understanding of the Internet and of how to upload anddownload files will open up your world as a writer and musician. The Internet provides a lim-itless palette of sounds, musicians, and resources for your music.

A Pro Tools interface. Until very recently, there were only two hardware choices for ProTools LE—Digidesign’s Mbox and the Digi 002. Now that M-Audio has become part of theAvid/Digidesign family, the choice of interfaces has drastically expanded. M-Audio supports11 different interfaces that work with Pro Tools LE. Four that I recommend are the OzonicInterface and Controller, the FireWire Solo, the FireWire 410, and the FireWire 1814.

Version 7.4 updatesWe are pleased to provide you with several updates to thebook for the current version of Pro Tools. To access theseupdates, please visit www.peachpit.com/ProToolsforMusiciansand register your copy of the book.

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If you buy an Mbox or Digi 002, the Pro Tools software is included. However, if you buy anM-Audio interface, you’ll also have to buy Pro Tools M-Powered software. Take note that anM-Audio FireWire Solo combined with Pro Tools M-Powered software costs almost exactlythe same as an Mbox. Given the choice, I would definitely choose the FireWire Solo becauseit uses a FireWire connection and also provides MIDI functionality; the Mbox uses USB anddoes not support MIDI. I personally find FireWire to be much faster and more reliable to workwith. That said, I’d choose a Digi 002 or 002Rack over the M-Audio FireWire 1814 becauseI find the Digi 002 to be a sturdier, more substantial piece of gear.

A separate, external hard drive to record to. A common question I get from new users is,“Doesn’t the computer have a hard drive? Why do I need another one?” The answer is: Yourcomputer’s hard drive is for the programs you use; the external hard drive will be the one ontowhich you record your music. In other words, the computer is the tape machine, and theexternal hard drive is the reel of tape.

The hard drive that came with your computer is already running your operating system, aswell as your applications. If you force it to do all that, and also record and play back multi-ple audio tracks, you’re going to have nothing but headaches. So do yourself a favor beforeyou get started with Pro Tools—invest $100 in a 7200 RPM FireWire hard drive.

What’s a Hard Drive, Anyway?Remember 45 records? They were called 45s because they rotated at 45 RPMs (revolutionsper minute). Hard drives work the same way. Inside the metal case of a hard drive is simply a disk that looks almost exactly like an old record album—but it’s spinning thousands oftimes faster. Just as the old records turned at 45 or 33 RPM, hard drives come in differentspeeds. Pro Tools requires the hard drive used for recording to spin at a minimum of 7200RPM. So make sure when you buy a hard drive for Pro Tools that the speed is sufficient to allow problem-free playback and recording.

Platters

Spindle

Head

Arm

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I recommend using an external drive because it is much more convenient for movingaround, working at another studio or with other musicians. Simply unplug your hard driveand go. If you ever replace your computer, you have all your songs ready to move with you.I recommend FireWire drives because they are the simplest and best hard-drive solution forPro Tools.

Since all new Macintosh computers come with a FireWire port, hooking up an external driveis fast and easy. Windows users may need to add a FireWire card, but it is worth the extramoney and effort in order to work with a FireWire drive, because external USB 2.0 drives arenot supported by Digidesign at this time and may have playback issues.

Rename Your External Hard Drive I always recommend renaming the hard drive used forrecording, changing it to “Audio Drive” so that it’s veryclear which hard drive you are recording to and savingto. To rename a hard drive on the Macintosh, click thedrive’s name (below its icon) on the desktop. When you click once on the name, it will turn into a type-ablefield. In Windows, your hard drives are found under My Computer, and also in Windows Explorer. Renamethe drive by right-clicking it and choosing Rename.

A MIDI keyboard. If you’re a keyboard player, this is a must—and if you’re not a keyboardplayer, it’s still a must. So many people say, “I don’t want to use MIDI, I just want to recordaudio.” That’s what you think now. But I promise that you’ll find many creative uses for aMIDI keyboard. And if you’re intimidated by MIDI, this book will change all that and willteach you MIDI simply and painlessly.

A microphone, your instrument, and the proper cables. A few exercises in this bookrequire the use of a microphone. Make sure that you use a real microphone cable, known asan XLR cable. It’s very common for inexperienced users to try to use a 1/4" cable for a micro-phone. If you want to have proper volume levels and less noise, use a professional microphonecable. If you play keyboard, bass, or guitar, have a 1/4" cable on hand for that, too.

Headphones and/or speakers. Ideally, you’ll have both headphones and speakers. Whenyou record, you turn the speakers down and put the headphones on. When you’re mixing,you use the speakers. Sony 7506 headphones are very popular. KRK speakers are an afford-able, quality choice found in many personal studios.

This is my System Hard Drive

This is the hard driveI record to

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A CD burner and CD-burning application. These days, most computers come with a CDburner (writer) installed. If yours didn’t, you’re going to need one. You’ll also need a specialapplication for burning the CDs. You can use what comes with your computer, but I recom-mend Roxio Toast and/or Jam for Mac, and Roxio Easy Media Creator for Windows. Theseapplications make possible the reordering or changing of your songs’ audio level, where thestock applications don’t. These applications will be invaluable not only for burning your audioCDs but for backing up your data, as well.

Why This Book?This book takes an unconventional approach by teaching Pro Tools from the musician’s andsongwriter’s perspective. The chapters comprise a series of step-by-step exercises. Each stepis followed by a screenshot—a picture of what you’ll see on your monitor—that allows youto follow along visually. The exercises will increase your skill gradually, demonstrating ProTools and helping you acquire the knowledge you need to use this application—not as atechnician, but as a musician and/or songwriter.

The Pro Tools manual is extremely informative, but it’s written as a reference guide ratherthan a tutorial and has an overwhelming amount of information. Since Pro Tools is such aversatile program, it’s used not only for music production but also for film and video pro-duction, sound design, radio production, mastering, and more. There are many Pro Toolsfunctions that you, as a musician, will simply never use. So think of this book as your short-cut to the information that you need, and a way around the information that you don’t.

By the end of the book, you’ll be comfortable importing audio, recording, editing, automat-ing, mixing, and bouncing. You’ll know the keyboard shortcuts for many common com-mands, and you’ll have learned lots of tips and tricks for becoming fast and effective usingPro Tools. The goal of this book is to give you the skills that you need so that you can con-centrate more on your music and less on the technology required to record.

Working in Bars and BeatsIf you’re a musician or songwriter and you’re going to learn Pro Tools (or any music soft-ware), and create your songs without a click track and without a designated meter andtempo, then you may as well be using a 20-year-old analog tape machine. The greateststrength of Pro Tools for creating music is using it in Bars and Beats mode.

In Bars and Beats, you specify a fixed tempo for your song and record to a click track. As aresult of this fixed tempo, your song is displayed on a linear timeline and divided visually intobars and beats, providing a grid to work with as you edit. Bars and Beats mode gives you

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complete musical freedom to copy and paste one section to another and edit the arrangementof your songs. Using Bars and Beats ensures that your edits will be perfectly synchronizedwith other tracks, and provides a seamless solution for bringing your work to other players andother studios. When you present a Pro Tools session recorded to a click track to other musicians,they have the same luxury of being able to move, edit, and copy and paste any new partsto and from any bar. You and your fellow musicians become more flexible and efficient, onlymaking your songs better in the end.

NoteEvery exercise in this book will be done using Bars and Beats.

I can honestly say that 99 percent of every professional piece of music recorded in Pro Toolsis recorded to a click track or drum loop. Most every piece of music that I’ve had the honorto work on over my 15-year career as a studio owner and Pro Tools engineer—whether it waspop, country, rock, metal, new age, world, techno, R & B—was created using a click trackand Bars and Beats. Some of you may be unaccustomed to working with a click track, andmay even argue that it makes music “sterile.” But a click track doesn’t have to be just a rimshot or cowbell—it can be a shaker or tambourine loop or even a drum loop. I find it mucheasier to play to something musical other than just a click track. You’ll learn how to do thisin Chapter 1.

I promise that our journey using Bars and Beats will take your music to the next level.

“My Drummer Won’t Play to a Click Track”Over the years, numerous artists and bands have played their demos for me. Many ofthese are extremely well produced, but their tempo drifts: Verses feel slow, choruses feelrushed. What I call “1970s drum fills” are everywhere, further varying the tempo. All thismakes the demo sound unprofessional. When I gently suggest they should have recordedthe song to a click track, a common answer is, “My drummer won’t play to a click track.”

I’m going to piss off a lot of drummers out there, but I’m going to say this anyway: A drummer in a modern studio who refuses to play to a metronome shouldn’t be record-ing. Get another drummer immediately. Any drummer playing today’s music and recordingwith today’s technology must be able to record to a metronome. There are definitely excep-tions to working with a metronome, but a studio drummer should actually prefer workingwith a click track whenever possible.

I’ve heard some sob stories about bands who finally achieved that record deal—but oncethey got into the studio with a professional producer, the drummer couldn’t or wouldn’tplay or practice to a click track. Many, many times, though, producers will only let the band’sdrummer play in live concerts and will hire a session drummer to record the album.

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Why Did I Write This Book?My father was a gadget addict. Back in the early ’70s when the first calculators and taperecorders became available, he continually brought home the latest technological toys. Healso traveled to Japan quite frequently, and he returned from every trip with some kind ofelectronic gadget that we would both sit down and figure out how to use. He often gave upin frustration, and I would take the gadget to my room and learn how to use it. Then I wouldgo and teach my father. It always felt like such a victory when I conquered a new piece ofgear, and I got double the satisfaction teaching him how to use it.

Over the years, I, too, became a gadget addict, and to this day I have an odd assortment ofold and new electronic toys. Today it includes PDAs, Game Boys, digital video cameras,iPods—not to mention mountains of software. I started playing piano and guitar and writingsongs around the age of 11. With my “high-tech” Japanese tape machines, I began creatingsome very terrible demos. I started working in recording studios at the age of 18 and openedmy first studio, Blue World Music, in 1992 in New York City. With every job I was hired toengineer, I bought and sold gear to stay up with the latest technologies. When I purchasedmy first digital audio system in 1992, it changed my life as a songwriter, musician, and engineer.I was, and still am, passionate about the endless creative possibilities a digital audio system hasprovided for me.

For many years, when I wasn’t working in my own studio, I was consulting, installing, andtraining for other studios, advertising agencies, game design companies, musicians, song-writers, producers, and engineers—helping as many as I could to also make the transitioninto the digital world. I’ve received enormous personal satisfaction in seeing the huge differ-ence this knowledge has made in the lives of so many creative individuals. Training peopleto use Pro Tools has become second nature to me.

At present, I’m in the process of creating eSession.com, which I optimistically anticipate willmean my doing more and more training and support. Fortunately and unfortunately, I can nolonger keep up with the numbers of people buying personal studios. So, with a little urgingfrom clients and family, I decided to write a book. What better way to reach a large numberof people and to make an even bigger difference than with one-on-one training?

I hope you find my approach as a writer and musician valuable in turning the usual struggleof learning software into a fun, unintimidating, and musically captivating experience.

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To Users of Pro Tools 7.4 I wrote this book using Pro Tools 7.0 so there are some very subtle changes in various sectionsof the book but nothing that should prevent you from doing the lessons.

If you ever get stuck or confused due to a different software version, look for updated chapterPDFs at www.peachpit.com/ProToolsforMusicians.

You are also always welcome to contact me at my blog at www.ProToolsforMusicians.com.

Thank you,

Gina Fant-Saez

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