Specifications

Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 355
Chapter 23: MIDI Editing
Pro Tools provides powerful MIDI editing tools.
You can create and edit individual MIDI notes
and controller events with the Pencil, Trimmer,
and Grabber in the Edit window. You can also
use the various MIDI Operations (such as Quan-
tize, Transpose, Change Velocity, and Change
Duration) to transform groups of MIDI notes to
affect pitch, timing, and phrasing. For informa-
tion on region-specific editing for both MIDI
and audio, see Chapter 17, “Working with Re-
gions and Selections.”
The Pencil Tool
The Pencil tool is useful for creating and editing
MIDI data. The Pencil tool shapes (Freehand,
Line, Triangle, Square, and Random) can be
used to enter pitches with varying durations and
velocities (note velocities are determined by the
Pencil shape). The various Pencil tool shapes
can be particularly useful for drawing and edit-
ing different types of MIDI control data—for ex-
ample, try using Line for volume, Triangle for
pan, Freehand for pitch bend, and Square or
Random for velocity.
To select the Pencil tool shape:
1 Click the Pencil tool icon in the Tool Bar for
the Pencil tool shape pop-up menu.
2 Select a Pencil tool shape.
Freehand
When in Note view, the Freehand shape inserts
a single MIDI note whose velocity is defined by
the Default Note On Velocity MIDI preference
(Setups > Preferences > MIDI). The pitch, loca-
tion, and duration of the note are determined
by where on the MIDI track you click and release
with the mouse.
When editing MIDI velocities or continuous
controller data, the Freehand shape draws freely
according to the movement of the mouse. The
shape is reproduced as a series of steps according
to the Pencil Tool Resolution. When Drawing
Controller Data MIDI preference (Setups > Pref-
erences > MIDI).
Pencil tool shape pop-up menu