There are loads of key commands/ keyboard shortcuts for Logic Pro X. Using these key commands can help you work faster on Logic Pro X and you don’t have to waste time using the mouse and keyboard for doing everything. You get to focus more on music than spending time on other things.

Here are a few Logic Pro X shortcuts/Key commands for efficient and fast production

Moving midi notes up an octave (Command-Shift-Arrow keys (up & down)

Generally, in modern day music, we find a lot of songs having a 4 or 8 bar BGM repeated twice in 2 octaves. This can be done easily in Logic Pro X, instead of dragging the midi up an octave. We can use the COMMAND-SHIFT-ARROW KEYS (UP & DOWN) to move the midi notes up an octave or down an octave.

Making all midi notes to the same Length (OPTION-SHIFT holding the end of the MIDI region)

Highlight the MIDI region in your session and open the piano roll. Generally while producing your Pads track, Bass track, and chords, we generally want all the notes to be of the same length and not be of different lengths like the one near the end of the bar and the other one beyond the bar. Having all notes with the same proper length generally, tightenes the track. For doing this, highlight the notes you want by using the mouse or by pressing COMMAND-A to select everything. Then click the end of any one MIDI region to adjust the length. Then press OPTION-SHIFT while you’re adjusting. All selected note ends will lock to the grid setting you have chosen.

Capture a MIDI Recording (Shift-R)

When you are jamming over a beat that you have produced,  for example layering some synth leads, a lot of people get conscious when the track is record enabled and don’t end up playing it properly and miss out on the creative improvisation part of it. Logic provides you with the CAPTURE MIDI RECORDING option where you don’t really need to record enable the track. You just play your lead while in playback and once you are done with it, stop the playback and hit SHIFT and R to capture the midi recording.

Move MIDI notes

Moving the notes up and down

Highlight one MIDI note you want to move by pressing the OPTIONS key and use the arrow keys UP and DOWN to move the notes.

Moving the notes left and right

RIGHT CLICK on one MIDI note and look for the “Set Nudge Value To” on the menu list and select how much you want it to nudge, like for example 1/4th or 1/8th. Once you selected the nudge value, hold OPTION keys and use the arrow keys LEFT AND RIGHT to move the MIDI regions by the value given.

Automation (Control-Command-A and A for the automation tab)

CONTROL-COMMAND-A, doesn’t it look ‘A’ shape on the keyboard? Yes, that’s how you trigger the automation. It changes from reading automation that has already been recorded to the Latch mode.

Now start your playback and whatever effect or synth knob or fader or volume levels you adjust, it all records in automation and you get every effect you need. Now stop playback and hit the A key on the keyboard to open your automation on the track and you will find all the parameters you have automated. Now you can do the automation manually by drawing them or leave it as it is if you are satisfied with how you moved the knobs while doing the playback.

Destructive cutting and Pasting (Control-Command-X)

This feature is also known as shuffle mode edit on pro tools. This is a handy shortcut for editing. For example you have a song and you don’t want the regions between bar 12 and bar 14 and you want to join bar 15 to bar 12 and remove the 2 bars, you create a loop cycle between bar 12 and bar 14 and press CONTROL-COMMAND-X and all the regions between those 2 bars will be deleted and whatever was there from bar 15 earlier gets to bar 12 now. This is handy when you are editing huge session and when you are looking to delete things forever.

Creating Space between regions (Control-Command-Z)

Just like how we delete unwanted regions with Control-Command-X, we use CONTROL-COMMAND-Z to create space between regions. For example, you want to extend your BGM by another 4 bars, but you have already finished arranging the track, now place the cursor at the end of the chorus portion and hit CONTROL-COMMAND-Z and you create addition 2 bars for space for repeating the chorus or to add a new tune. Every time you do this, you keep getting more additional space and the rest of the song moves to the point right after space.

Bringing all MIDI velocities to the same level

This is really useful if you are looking for a tight robotic sound. Once you record your MIDI, press OPTION and move the velocity bar left and right, you will find all notes fixing to the same velocity even though it was recorded at different levels.

Author:

Vishal Ramakrishnan, Global peace song of the year award winning and music producer. He is also a music production trainer. For more details, visit www.vishaladitya.com