EH301 User Help Project Zach Walker

LOGIC PRO X APPLE LOOPS User Guide

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How to Create a Song in Logic Pro X Using Apple Loops

Table of Contents

Page 1: Table of Contents

Page 2: Introduction

Page 3: Step 1 – Open Logic Pro X; Step 2 – Logic Pro X’s user interface

Page 4: Step 2 (cont.)

Page 5: Step 2 (cont.); Step 3 – Project tempo; Step 4 – Apple Loops menu

Page 6: Step 4 (cont.)

Page 7: Step 4 (cont.); Step 5 – Drag and arrange Apple Loops

Page 8: Step 5 (cont.); Step 6 – Mixing techniques

Page 9: Step 6 (cont.); Step 7 – Save, bounce, and export project

Page 10: Step 7 (cont.); Conclusion

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How to Create a Song in Logic Pro X Using Apple Loops

If you have always wanted to create your own music, but don’t play an instrument and have

never had experience with any DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software, Apple’s Logic Pro X

software has a library of pre-recorded audio files called Apple Loops that can be arranged

together to create songs.

Before you begin, you must purchase Logic Pro X from the Apple App Store. While it is an

investment compared to Garageband, Apple’s proprietary free audio production software, the

expense is well worth it if you aspire to make your own music regularly. Logic Pro X has more

sophistication and complexity than Garageband while sharing its intuitive, user-friendly design

and layout.

Whether you need a personalized music track for a school project, for a personal video project,

or you want to start making your own music for fun, Logic Pro X’s extensive Apple Loops library

unable to delve into the world of audio production and song arranging with a minimal learning

curve.

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Step 1. Open Logic Pro X and load Apple Loops project template

After you have downloaded the program and all necessary program files, start by opening Logic

Pro X by clicking on the icon.

You will be prompted to choose the project template from a window. Select “Audio”, then hit the

Create button.

Step 2. Become familiar with Logic Pro X’s layout, interface, and basic

controls

Before you begin, it’s important to know some basic areas of the Logic Pro X user interface. The

top horizontal section is the dashboard, which displays play controls, project details, and houses

collapsible option menu buttons.

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The main section where audio files go is called the Timeline.

The panel directly left of the Timeline displays all the tracks in the project.

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The Inspector panel to the left displays track and overall main output volume. Use the slider to

manipulate the volume up or down.

Step 3. Set project tempo, time signature, and key

In order to get more personalization out of your song, you can change the song’s tempo (speed

– notated in Beats Per Minute, BPM) key signature (the musical pitch in which the song is

based), and the time signature (how many beats are in a measure). These options can be

changed via the dashboard section.

To simplify the learning process, choose a tempo between 100 – 160 BPM and keep the time

signature at 4/4. Feel free to experiment with different options later as you become more

comfortable with arranging songs.

Step 4. Navigate to Apple Loops menu to sample and select loops

Now you can begin sampling Apple Loops. On the top right of the dashboard, locate the button

which loop icon on it.

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This will open the Apple Loop library. By default, all loops will be shown. However, finding the

perfect loop with the default view can be daunting as there are thousands of loops to choose

from. This is where the search and category menu are important.

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At the top of the Apple Loops library, you can narrow your search by selecting buttons with

instruments or genres/moods listed on them. You can also search for loops by name.

To sample a loop before you drag it to the Timeline, simply double click the loop.

Step 5. Arrange loops in project to create songs

Once you’ve found a loop you like, it’s now time to make it part of your song. Click on the loop

and drag it to the left onto the Timeline. Try to line up the beginning of the loop with the grid, as

this will make it much easier for other loops to be lined up properly.

If you want to repeat the loop, click and drag on the right side of the loop’s audio file in the

Timeline. Repeat this process for any other loops you want to add.

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When adding additional loops: Drag and drop the loop under an existing loop in the Timeline to

layer the two together so they play simultaneously. This will create a new track by default that

has its own volume and effects options. Drag and drop the loop to the right of the existing loop

to add it after the loop in the song’s structure.

Step 6. Implement basic mixing techniques to refine songs

After you’ve added several loops to your project, you may notice poor sound characteristics for

your song: Perhaps it sounds like a wall of sound in which no instrument is discernible, and/or

the song sounds thin at the same time.

This can be solved by changing the tracks’ panning – or their position in the stereo field. By

default, the tracks are all panned in the center. When many tracks are panned this way, the

results can be cacophonous! To remedy this, try dragging a track’s panning button to the left or

right so it occupies a different position in the stereo field.

Generally, rhythm instruments (bass and drums) are kept in the center, as well as lead

instruments (vocals, solo guitar or synth), which instruments such as keyboards, pianos, rhythm

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guitars, and other synths are panned left or right to help widen and clarify the mix

simultaneously.

Step 7. Save and bounce song as mp3 file

After you’ve got your song to your liking, it’s time to bounce and export it so you can listen to it

on any device.

Be sure to save your project, then navigate to File → Bounce → Project or Section…

A dialogue window then pops up, allowing you to select a time range and the type of audio file

you’d like your song to be. To save on space, choose MP3, then the Bounce button. This will

join all the audio files in your project and export them to one MP3 file.

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From there, navigate to a Finder window, and locate where you saved your song. Double click

the file to open it via iTunes (or whichever your default music player is).

Once you become comfortable with arranging Apple Loops to create a song, be sure to

manipulate some other editing and mixing options within the software. You will find that the

sounds you can create, even with the prerecorded loops, are endless.