With the release of Pro Tools 2024.10 in Nov 2024, Avid has introduced a host of new features to the Pro Tools software. Among these additions is MIDI Playlist editing – one of Pro Tools users’ most requested features! MIDI Playlists allow users to record, compare, and seamlessly comp MIDI performances from multiple takes.
MIDI Playlists in Pro Tools
When recording into Pro Tools, it often requires multiple passes to perfect certain parts of the performance. Instead of redoing the entire performance until you achieve the elusive “perfect take,” Pro Tools lets you store each take separately on its own playlist. You can then assemble sections from different takes to create a polished composite, or 'comp,' of the best parts."
Pro Tools’ playlist editing workflow has been an essential audio editing technique for years. However, until the latest update, this powerful workflow wasn’t available for MIDI. With this new feature, MIDI users can now utilize playlists to compile the perfect take on both MIDI tracks and Instrument tracks. If you want to learn more about using playlists to create the perfect take on Audio tracks, check out this article (link to a previous playlist editing article).
Creating MIDI Playlists
First off, let’s define what a playlist is in Pro Tools. In Pro Tools, a playlist refers to the area on any audio or MIDI track where clips are arranged and organized. Each playlist holds a unique set of clips in a particular order. Every time you place clips on a track, you are creating a unique playlist on that track. Pro Tools allows you to create multiple alternate playlists for any given track so you can manage alternate takes or clip arrangements.
Playlists offer flexibility and efficiency in recording and editing, allowing users to manage multiple ideas without cluttering their session with additional tracks. To create a new playlist on an Instrument or MIDI track, click the Playlist Selector button to the right of the track nameplate:
From the pop-up menu select "New..."
Name your Playlist, then select OK
SHORTCUT: You can also create a new playlist on a track by using the keyboard shortcut Control+\ (macOS) or Start+\ (Windows).
The Playlist Selector button will now appear in blue, indicating that this track has multiple playlists.
The newly created playlist will be empty, so can now record a new performance to the playlist!
Loop Record To Create New Playlists
Sometimes, you may want to record multiple takes over a selection without needing to manually create each individual playlist. This can easily be done by loop recording a particular selection of your session. To enable this option, click the track’s Playlist Selector button and choose “New Playlist on Loop Recording:"
When this option is enabled, you can quickly record multiple takes over a selected range while in Loop Record mode. To put Pro Tools in Loop Record mode, do one of the following:
- Go to Options > Loop Record.
- Use the keyboard shortcut Option+L (macOS) or Alt+L (Windows).
- Press [5] on the numeric keypad
- Control+Click (macOS) or Start+Click (Windows) on the Record button in the transport to cycle through the different recording options
- Right-click on the Record button in the transport and select Loop.
Make a selection to set Pro Tools’ playback range. The selection will be continuously looped as you record, and each take will automatically be saved to a new playlist on the track where they’ll be ready for editing and comping!
Viewing Playlist
To view all of the alternate playlists for a track, click on the Track View Selector and choose “playlists” from the pop-up menu.
When the track is put into playlists view, all the track’s playlists (or alternate takes) will appear below the track in multiple lanes.
To listen back to any of your recorded playlists, toggle on that playlist’s Audition button – the speaker icon underneath the playlist name. Toggling this on for the individual playlists lets you quickly do A/B comparisons between playlists. Only one Audition button can be active at a time.
If none of the playlists have the Audition button toggled on, the track will play whatever is on the main playlist.
Edit and Comp Playlists
Once you have put your track in playlist view, it’s very simple to start comping together sections of each playlist into a final, composite take. By default, any selections you make to add to the comped take will appear on the main playlist, so you want to make sure the main playlist is a clean slate. To do this, you can click on the track’s Playlist Selector button and choose New… to create a blank, main playlist.
To comp the perfect MIDI take, use the Selector tool to select your desired portion on any of your original takes. Then, click the Copy Selection to Target Playlist button – the arrow button next to the playlist’s Audition button:
SHORTCUT: You can use the keyboard shortcut Control+Option+V (macOS) or Start+Alt+V (Windows) to copy your selection to the target playlist.
Your selection will be copied to the main playlist. You can now repeat this process for rest of your takes – find your desired take for any given moment, select it, and then copy it to the main playlist. When you are finished copying selections to the main playlist, it may look something like this:
Note that when you make a selection to copy to the main playlist, that take’s automation data, including controller data (sustain pedal, mod wheel, expression, etc.), will be copied to the main playlist as well.
To learn Pro tools techniques like this, and many more, train with us live in-person, or live-online, at ProMedia Training.com, the longest running Avid Learning Partner in the U.S. for Professional Pro tools Certification for the audio industry.
Pro Tools User 101/110
Pro Tools Operator 201/210M or 210P
Dolby Atmos Professional 205D/210D
Author: Alex Thomen
Avid Certified Instructor: Pro Tools / Sibelius
Composer & Musician
ProMedia Training, LLC
www.protoolstraining.com
888-277-0457
Alex Thomen, Professor at University of Colorado, is also on ProMedia Training's elite group of Avid Pro Tools Instructors. Alex obtained his Masters in Music from the prestigious Belmont University in Nashville, and like many industry professionals, also attended multiple Pro Tools Certifications at ProMedia Training. Alex Thomen is a producer, composer, pianist, mixing engineer, and music educator based in Denver. From small-scale chamber groups and rock bands to full symphonic orchestra, Alex arranges, produces, and mixes for a variety of ensembles and styles. Alex earned a Bachelor's of Music in Music Composition from Kansas State University and a Masters of Music in Commercial Composition and Arranging from Belmont University and is an active composer and arranger for Film/TV/Games.