Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Avoiding MIDI Jigsaw Puzzles in GarageBand

If you record in your home studio using GarageBand and then take your project to a studio with ProLogic, then all the tracks fall into place beautifully.

But suppose you then take those same tracks from ProLogic (since many of us can't figure out how to get MIDI tracks out of GarageBand and so take our .band files into ProLogic) to another program such as ProTools?

In my experience, every REGION of a MIDI track becomes a separate track when brought into ProTools. Worse.... every separate track begins at measure #1. Even if the region is at the end of the song.

Easy work-around I've found If you have no expectation of ever needing separate regions (see a future hint on the pro's and con's of merging regions):
1. Merge all the MIDI track's regions.
2. Check the measure and count number of the first MIDI note. Then grab the front of the newly joined region and drag it to begin at measure 1, being careful that the first MIDI note does not change location.
That's it. When you take this track to ProTools, it should come in as a single MIDI track.

Easy work-around if you DO want to keep your regions separate:
1. Create a duplicate track and carefully copy all the MIDI data into it from the original track.
2. Give the new track a name such as PIANO joined.
3. Follow steps 1 and 2 above for the duplicate track.
4. Either delete or, better, MUTE the duplicate track until you're sure you won't need it again.

Much Joy in recording music to you! ©2018, 2011 DianaDee Osborne

Reprinted 16 January 2018

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