Humanizing Your Productions in Logic Pro X
Despite the incredible advantages gained by working with digital audio workstations one of the main downsides is the fact that sometimes your productions can have a very sterile, robotic nature often due to the over quantisation of certain elements. There are times when songs need to be extremely tight and on the beat however we must remember that, music, when played by a musician of any standard, possesses a natural human feel. Now this can be achieved when working in the digital domain through clever programming techniques and limited use of quantisation tools but for many composers and producers who use step programming and for those who don’t have any midi input devices and rely on the pencil tool or computer keyboard to enter their MIDI notes, a lot of the natural feel associated with music is sadly lost. Fortunately however, there are techniques that you can use to reinject that human feel into your work and make your songs sound more natural. More ‘human’ if you like. These are ‘humanisation’ techniques and form the basis of these tutorial videos. Essentially I’ll be showing you how you can improve the feel and flow of your productions when you find that things are sounding too computer generated.
The Logic X Transform Window & Piano Roll
Now in Logic pro X there are a number of things that you can do to improve the feel of your songs. The main thing you need to look at include adjusting:
- Velocity
- Timing
- Note duration
- Pitch detuning
These are the main elements modified in order to loosen things up and making your instruments sound a little less perfect, which is a good thing I assure you. Now within Logic Pro X there are in fact tools designed specifically to generate a more natural feel to your production and most of these crucial modifiers are accessible through the Transform WIndow or Editor. Now that is all well and good having these tools at your disposal but what’s the point of having them if you don’t know how to use them? Well there is no need to worry about that as this the videos here will show you how to find the tools and use them. Whether you want to loosen up a programmed drum pattern or create a nice feel to a keyboard chord progression or maybe you want to groove your bassline a bit more. These are all things that can be done with the humanisation tools in Logic X.
Editing Notes & Automation in Logic X
So as I mentioned before the main window you’ll be working in is the Transform Window. Here you will find a host of incredible functions specifically designed to create that more natural flow to your music. In addition to the Transform Editor you will also find Logic’s Piano Roll Editor extremely useful when performing those surgical edits on individual elements. Finally, by adding some appropriate automation to both MIDI and audio tracks you will be amazed at how much more natural your song begins to sound. Although this tutorial is demonstrated using tools in Logic Pro X the general principles apply to all digital audio workstation platforms and the skills are therefore transferable. So even if Pro Tools, Cubase or FL Studio reason happens to be your DAW of choice you will still be able to benefit from the lessons covered in this video. It just means that you will need to apply the skills learnt using the tools available in those programs.
Check out my Other Tutorials
Ultimately, my aim is to assist you in learning something new, so do also check out my other videos on Music production techniques, Logic Pro Key Commands, as well as beats making techniques. And be sure to like and leave a comment just letting me know what you think about the video. Finally make sure you subscribe to my channel and set up an alert as I’ll be releasing more useful Music Tech tips for you over the coming weeks. Enjoy. Peace!