Selection

Let's start by opening the tutorial project Music Creator Tutorial Demo.cwb that we used in earlier tutorials.

Let's review a few tools in Music Creator that you will be using. Select the Edit Audio screenset from the Screensets list in the Control Bar. Your screen should look like this:

Above the Track View, you will see the Navigator. The Navigator provides you with a “bird's eye” view of the entire project. This is helpful when you're working on a small part of the project and you forget which verse you were working on.

Below the Navigator is the Track view. By now, you should be familiar with the Track view and its controls. If you need a review, see Track view.

Each track has an Edit Filter, which allows you to change the information displayed in the clips. You can display the wave forms (“Clips”), automation envelopes, and on MIDI and Instrument Tracks, an inline Piano Roll. For more information, see Selecting the data type to edit.

A. Edit Filter

For this tutorial, make sure the Edit Filter is set to Clips for all tracks. This should already be done.

The Time Ruler is shown just above the Clips pane. For this tutorial, the Time Ruler is showing time in musical measures. For more information about the Time Ruler, including how to change the Time Ruler format, see The Time ruler.

One of the most important things to understand in order to edit your music successfully is selection. Once you become familiar with selecting, the rest is easy. In this tutorial, we will cover Time based selection, which is a selection that can be made on an individual clip on one track, or a series of clips across multiple tracks.

Let's explore some different ways to make a time based selection in the demo project. All of the tools described are available in the Tools module in the Control Bar. For a complete description of each tool in the Tools module, see Tools.

Figure 26. The Tools module.

Time based selection using the Smart tool

1.	For this tutorial, let’s use the track named GTR_Lead 1.

Tip: Click in the Tracks pane on the left, not the Clips pane on the right.

2.	Select the Smart tool in the Control Bar.

3.	Click in the center of the clip in track 1 and drag to select the section you want to delete.

The selected time range is highlighted.

4.	Press DELETE or select Edit > Delete.

The selected time range is now deleted.

Snap and selection

Snap to Grid is the term used in Music Creator to describe the behavior of selecting or moving clips by a specific interval, usually described in musical note values. The Grid in Snap to Grid is the specified note value.

Figure 27. Snap to Grid on/off toggle.

For example, Snap to Grid in Music Creator defaults to a Whole Note value. This means that the length of the selection you are making will default to the nearest Whole Note. This allows you to easily work in blocks of measures. When you were making a time selection in the previous exercise, you were able to easily select full measures.

Let's turn off Snap to Grid and make the same selection as before.

1.	First, undo the last edit by going to Edit > Undo or by pressing CTRL+Z.

2.	Now, with Snap to Grid off, make the same selection as before and delete. You probably deleted a little more or a little less than before.

Some people prefer to work with Snap to Grid on, others with it off. Sometimes it will depend on the song you're working on.

Always remember to note whether or not Snap to Grid is on or off. Often you'll find that if you're not getting the selection you thought you were making, it's because of the Snap to Grid setting. For more information, see Defining and using the Snap Grid.

 

See:

Moving clips

Splitting clips

Cropping clips

Undo and Redo