Specifications

Eleven Rack & Pro Tools14
Composing Music with MIDI
What’s MIDI?
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) data isn’t audio, and it has no sound of its own. MIDI is
just a way for musical devices like virtual instrument plug-ins, MIDI controllers, and MIDI sequencers
to talk to one another.
Hardware MIDI instruments connect via MIDI cables to the MIDI inputs and outputs on your audio
interface or MIDI interface. Virtual instruments are inserted as plug-ins on Instrument tracks in Pro
Tools and accessed directly from within Pro Tools. If you don't have a MIDI Controller, skip to “Mix
and Change Your Sounds” on page 16.
Make Beats and Compose with a MIDI Controller
Here we’ll show you how to compose with a MIDI controller/keyboard (you can also compose using
just the mouse) using the Session Template file named “Full Session.”
To record MIDI on an Instrument track:
1 Choose File > Open, navigate to the Session Template file “Full Session” and select it, then click
Open.
2 Make sure your Eleven Rack is connected to your computer.
3 Use MIDI cables to connect your MIDI controller/keyboard directly to the MIDI ports on the back
of the Eleven Rack. (For details, see the Eleven Rack User Guide.)
4 Choose View > Mix Window to display the Mix window, then navigate to the Drums channel strip.
5 Click the Track Insert selector near the top of the Instrument track and choose Xpand!
2
from the In-
strument sub-menu. Pro Tools inserts the plug-in on your track and opens its plug-in window.
Inserting Xpand!
2
on a track (left) and the Xpand!
2
plug-in window (right)
Track Insert selector