USING PROTOOLS

GETTING STARTED

1) Open the program by clicking on the Pro Tools Icon (in the courseware tab).

2) Create a new session by choosing "New Session" from the file menu.

3) Choose a name for your session in the ensuing dialog box (itís best if you save the session to a folder that youíve created on the work space.

4) Load the soundfiles you wish to work with by choosing ìImport Audioî from the file menu.

5) One by one, select all of the soundfiles that youíve just loaded (you may do this by clicking on them with the ìhandî tool, and then pressing delete. Note that the files are still listed in the ìAudioî list on the right hand part of the screen.

WORKING WITH STEREO FILES

1) To drag a file from the list on the right into the workspace: a) select the ìhandî tool, b) click on the name of the file you want and hold down the mouse button, c) drag the file into the workspace.

2) Repeat step one to drag the other channel of a stereo file into the workspace.

3) To group the two tracks youíve just created (so that any change you

make to one applies to the other): a) Click the track name of the upper track, b) shift-click the track name of the lower track, c) select ìGroup selected tracksî from the File menu

MAKING SELECTIONS

1) You may select an entire audio segment at once by clicking it with the ìhandî tool

2) You may select a portion of an audio segment by a) selecting the ìwaveformî tool (just to the left of the ìhandî tool), b) clicking and holding the mouse button down where you what the selection to start, c) dragging to the place where you want the selection to end.

3) Once youíve made a selection, you can create a region by choosing ìCapture Regionî from the edit menu. You will be given the opportunity to name the new region. Once youíve done so, it will appear in the audio list on the right part of the screen.

4) Once youíve made a selection you can also trim everything but the selection by choosing ìTrimî from the Edit menu. (This is how you get rid of the parts you donít want.)

FADE IN AND FADE OUT

1) To make a simple fade in, a) using the ìwaveformî tool, click once in the location where youíd like the fade to end. b) Type ìoption+shift+tabî (all three keys together) on the computer keyboard. This will select all the audio from the beginning of the track to the end of the fade. c) Type ìapple+fî on the computer keyboard, and then select the ìOKî button in the dialog that comes up.

2) To make a simple fade out, a) using the ìwaveformî tool, click once in the location where youíd like the fade to start. b) Type ìshift+tabî (both keys together) on the computer keyboard. This will select all the audio from the beginning of the track to the end of the fade. c) Type ìapple+fî on the computer keyboard, and then select the ìOKî button in the dialog that comes up.

3) To erase a fade, a) select the fade with the ìhandî toolî, then b) hit the delete key.

EDITING THE VOLUME GRAPH

1) On the left part of the screen, locate the buttons that say:

rec read

solo mute.

Just underneath this will be a button that says ìwaveformî. Click this,

and then select ìvolumeî from the pop-up menu. You will now see a line

across your track. This represents the volume graph. If you make the

graph lower on the screen, you are lowering the volume. If you

make it higher, you are raising the volume.

2) Clicking with the ìhandî tool creates new points in the graph. Clicking and dragging allows you the to move the points up and down.

3) To return to the waveform view of your audio, click the ìvolumeî button, and then select ìwaveformî from the list that opens.

TO MAKE LOOPS

1) Create a region that you would like to loop (see the instruction above for how to do this

2) Click the word shuffle in the upper left corner of the screen (this puts the

program in shuffle mode).

3) Begin dragging your region from the audio list into the workspace. The regions will line up like magnets while in this mode.

4) For most of your other work, you will probably want to be in slip mode. To return to slip mode, just click on the word ìslipî in the upper left part of the screen.

TO SAVE YOUR WORK

1) Choose "Save Session" from the File Menu.

TO BOUNCE YOUR MIX TO DISK

1) Choose Bounce to Disk from the File menu.

2) You can accept the defaults by choosing Bounce from the dialog box that then pops up. Bouncing to disk creates a new sound file that you can then save onto your zip disk, or that you can import into other Pro Tools sessions.