Chapter 35: MIDI Event List

The MIDI Event List displays a detailed list of all events in a single MIDI or Instrument track. The events are displayed with text and numbers, allowing you to precisely edit their location, length, and event values.

Number of Events

Track selector

MIDI Event List menu

Target

Mute data for MIDI and Instrument tracks is not displayed in the MIDI Event List.

Opening the MIDI Event List

To open the MIDI Event List, do one of the following:

„

Choose Window > MIDI Event List .

– or –

„

Right-click a MIDI or Instrument track name in the Mix or Edit window, or in the Track List.

Press Alt+Equal (Windows) or

Option+Equal (Mac) to open the MIDI

Event List.

Track Selector

The Track selector in the MIDI Event List both indicates the currently displayed MIDI or Instrument track and can be used to choose a different

MIDI or Instrument track to be displayed.

MIDI Event List

Events in the MIDI Event List can be copied and pasted, selected, or deleted. Any MIDI event (except Sysex data) can be inserted and edited in the list. Certain MIDI event types can be hidden with the View Filter.

Unlike playlists in the Edit window, you can insert and display polyphonic aftertouch in the MIDI Event List.

Number of Events

The number of MIDI events on the selected track are displayed at the top of the MIDI Event

List.

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Target

The Target button for the MIDI Event List determines whether or not the MIDI Event List follows the Edit cursor and Edit selections in the

Edit window and MIDI Editor windows. For example, when the Target is enabled, the Events shown in the MIDI Event List update to show the event in the Edit selection in the Edit window. When the Target is disabled, the MIDI

Event List shows the same events regardless of changes to the Edit selection in other windows.

Playback cursor double-click to edit simultaneous

MIDI events

MIDI Event List Menu

The MIDI Event List menu contains commands

and options for the MIDI Event List (see “MIDI

Event List Options” on page 748).

MIDI Event List columns

Event Column Displays the event type, indicated by an icon, and associated event values.

Length/Info Column Displays the end point or length for notes, depending on which option is selected in the Options pop-up menu. Also displayed are the names for continuous controller events and program changes.

Columns in the MIDI Event List

Information for the events in the MIDI Event

List is displayed in the following three columns:

Start Column Displays the start location, using the Main Time Scale, for each event. Locations can also be displayed in the Sub Time Scale when the Show Sub Counter option is selected in the Options pop-up menu.

The playback cursor appears as a blue arrow (red, when tracks are record-enabled) in the Start column.

When several events reside at the same location, the location is only indicated for the top event, with the others dimmed. The dimmed locations can be edited by double-clicking them.

View Filter for MIDI Event List

You can use the View Filter to specify which event types are displayed in the MIDI Event List.

This can help you zero in on only the events you want to affect; it also protects MIDI events from being edited or deleted. Events not displayed in the MIDI Event List still play back.

The View Filter can be set to display “all” messages, “only” the specified messages, or “all except” the specified messages.

When inserting an event type that has been filtered from the MIDI Event List, that event type will no longer be filtered.

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Example: To filter the display of aftertouch and

System Exclusive Messages in the MIDI Event

List:

1 In the MIDI Event List, choose View Filter from the MIDI Event List menu.

With the MIDI Event List as the front-most window, press Control+F (Windows) or

Command+F (Mac) to open the MIDI Event

List View Filter dialog.

2 In the MIDI Event List View Filter dialog, select the All Except option.

MIDI Event List View Filter dialog

3 Select the options for Mono Aftertouch , Polyphonic Aftertouch , and System Exclusive . Leave all other messages deselected.

When using the All Except option, the selected events are not displayed. Conversely, when using the Only option, only the selected events are displayed.

4 Click OK .

Navigating in the MIDI Event List

You can use the Tab and Arrow keys to move through the MIDI Event List. You can also locate to the Edit start point, or any other specified location.

To move through the MIDI Event List, do any of the following:

• Double-click to edit a value.

• Press Tab or the Down Arrow to move to the next event (with or without the edit field selected).

• Press Control+Tab (Windows) or Option+Tab

(Mac) or the Up Arrow to move to the previous event (with or without the edit field selected).

• With an edit field selected, press the Right Arrow to move to the next edit field to the right.

• With an edit field selected, press the Left Arrow to move to the next edit field to the left.

To keep the last event selected, press Shift while moving to the next or previous event.

To go to the Edit start point:

„

In the MIDI Event List, choose Scroll To Edit

Selection from the MIDI Event List menu.

To go to a specific location in the MIDI Event List:

1 In the MIDI Event List, choose Go To from the

MIDI Event List menu.

With the MIDI Event List as the front-most window, press Control+G (Windows) or

Command+G (Mac) to open the Go To dialog.

2 In the Go To dialog, choose a format from the

Time Scale pop-up menu.

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Go To dialog

3 If using Time Code, you can select the Use

Subframes option (Pro Tools and Pro Tools HD only).

4 Enter the location you want to go to, then click OK .

The following items from the MIDI Event List menu affect navigating in the MIDI Event List:

• When the Page Scroll During Playback option is selected, the MIDI Event List scrolls during playback.

• When Scroll During Edit Selection is selected, the MIDI Event List is scrolled automatically when the Edit selection changes in the Edit window.

Inserting Events in the MIDI

Event List

You can insert events in the MIDI Event List by choosing an event type from the MIDI Event

List menu. Following are several examples of inserting events in the MIDI Event List.

To insert a note in the MIDI Event List:

1 From the MIDI Event List menu, select Insert >

Note .

With the MIDI Event List as the front-most window, press Control+N (Windows) or

Command+N (Mac) to Insert a note.

2 Enter the location, pitch, attack (Note On) and release (Note Off) velocities, and length for the new note. To move between the Event Entry fields, use the Left and Right Arrow keys.

Pitch Release velocity

Attack velocity

Event Entry fields for note

When a field is selected, enter a value with any of the following methods:

• Enter the value on the numeric keypad.

• Drag up or down to scroll to the value.

• Play the note on your MIDI controller keyboard, then press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) on the alphanumeric keyboard to confirm the value.

With the Start field selected, you can automatically enter the location of another event already in the track by clicking that event.

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3 Do one of the following:

• To insert the note and remain in Event

Entry mode, press Enter on the numeric keypad.

• To insert the note and exit Event Entry mode, press Enter (Windows) or Return

(Mac) on the alphanumeric keyboard.

• To exit Event Entry mode, without inserting the note event, press Escape on the alphanumeric keyboard.

To insert a controller event in the MIDI Event List:

1 From the MIDI Event List menu, choose Insert

> Controller .

With the MIDI Event List as the front-most window, press Control+L (Windows) or

Command+L (Mac) to Insert a controller event.

2 Enter the location, controller “type” number, and controller value for the new event. The controller name is displayed in the Length/Info column, to the right of the controller value. To move between the Event Entry fields, use the

Left and Right Arrow keys.

When a field is selected, enter a value with any of the following methods:

• Enter the value on the numeric keypad.

• Press the Up or Down Arrow to scroll to the value.

• While pressing Control (Windows) or

Command (Mac), drag up or down to scroll to the value.

• Play the controller event on your MIDI controller keyboard, then press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) on the alphanumeric keyboard to confirm the value.

With the Start field selected, you can automatically enter the location of another event already in the track by clicking that event.

3 Do one of the following:

• To insert the controller event and remain in Event Entry mode, press Enter on the numeric keypad.

• To insert the controller event and exit

Event Entry mode, press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) on the alphanumeric keyboard.

• To exit Event Entry mode, without inserting the controller event, press Escape on the alphanumeric keyboard.

Controller number

Controller name

Controller value

Event Entry fields for controller event

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To insert a program change in the MIDI Event List:

1 From the MIDI Event List menu, choose Insert

> Program Change .

With the MIDI Event List as the front-most window, press Control+P (Windows) or

Command+P (Mac) to Insert a program change event.

2 Enter the location for the new event.

3 Enter a Program Change number and Bank Select value (if necessary). The program change name is displayed in the Info column.

Inserting Another Event

After inserting an event, you can easily insert another event of the same type. The event type to be inserted is indicated at the bottom of the

Insert menu.

Example: After inserting a note, to insert another, do one of the following:

„ From the MIDI Event List menu, select Insert >

Another Note .

With the MIDI Event List as the front-most window, press Control+M (Windows) or

Command+M (Mac) to Insert a note.

Program number

Program name

Controller 32 value

Controller 0 value

Event Entry fields for program change

You can click in the Length/Info column to open the Program Change window (for details,

see “Patch Select (Program and Bank Changes)” on page 683).

With the Start field selected, you can automatically enter the location of another event already in the track by clicking that event.

4 Do one of the following:

• To insert the program change and remain in Event Entry mode, press Enter on the numeric keypad.

• To insert the program change and exit

Event Entry mode, press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) on the alphanumeric keyboard.

• To exit Event Entry mode, without inserting the program change, press Escape on the alphanumeric keyboard.

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When the option for Insert At Playback Lo-

cation is enabled (see “MIDI Event List Options” on page 748), you can use the key-

board shortcuts for inserting “another” event to insert events on-the-fly.

Editing Events in the MIDI

Event List

Events in the MIDI Event List can be edited, selected, deleted, and copied and pasted.

To edit an event in the MIDI Event List:

1 Do one of the following:

• Double-click the event field you want to edit.

– or –

• To edit a selected event, press Control+Enter (Windows) or Command+Enter (Mac).

2 Enter a new value with any of the following methods:

• Enter the new value on the numeric keypad.

• While pressing Alt (Windows) or Option

(Mac), press the Up or Down Arrow to scroll to a new value.

• While pressing Control (Windows) or

Command (Mac), drag up or down to scroll to a new value.

• Play the new note or controller value on your MIDI controller keyboard, then press

Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) on the alphanumeric keyboard to confirm.

3 Do one of the following:

• To enter the new event value and move to another field or event, use the Arrow keys.

• To enter the new value and remain in Edit

Entry mode, press Enter on the numeric keypad.

• To enter the new value and exit Edit Entry mode, press Enter (Windows) or Return

(Mac) on the alphanumeric keyboard.

• To exit Edit Entry mode without entering the new value, press Escape on the alphanumeric keyboard.

Selecting Events in the MIDI Event

List

To select a range of events in the MIDI Event List, do one of the following:

„

Click the event at the beginning of the selection and drag to the ending event.

– or –

„

Shift-click the event at the beginning of the selection, then Shift-click the ending event.

To select noncontiguous events in the MIDI Event

List:

„

Control-click (Windows) or Command-click

(Mac) each event.

To deselect an event in the MIDI Event List:

„ Control-click (Windows) or Command-click

(Mac) the selected event.

Notes selected in the MIDI Event List can be modified by any of the commands in the

Event Operations window (see Chapter 42,

“Event Operations”).

Deleting Events in the MIDI Event

List

To delete an event in the MIDI Event List:

„

Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) the event you want to delete.

To delete a selection of events in the MIDI Event

List:

1 Select the events you want to delete by either dragging in the Start column, or by Shift-clicking each event.

2 To view only the events you want to delete, use the View Filter (see “View Filter for MIDI

Event List” on page 742). Events not displayed cannot be deleted.

3 Do one of the following:

• Choose Edit > Clear to delete all selected events.

– or –

• Press Backspace (Windows) or Delete (Mac) on the alphanumeric keyboard.

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Copying and Pasting Events in the

MIDI Event List

To copy and paste events in the MIDI Event List:

1 Select the events you want to copy in the

MIDI Event List.

Selecting in the MIDI Event List

2 Choose Edit > Copy .

3 Do one of the following:

• To paste the material at an existing event’s location, click the event in the MIDI Event

List.

– or –

• To paste the material at any location, choose Go To from the Options menu in the MIDI Event List, enter the location where you want to paste, and click OK.

4 Choose Edit > Paste. The events from the Clipboard are pasted, replacing any existing events already there.

To paste events without overwriting other events, use the Merge Paste Special command.

MIDI Event List Options

The MIDI Event List menu provides the following options:

Show Sub Counter Displays event times in the

Sub Time Scale.

Go To Opens the Go To dialog, where you can specify a location, based on any of the supported Time Scales, to which the Edit insertion point is moved.

Scroll To Edit Selection Scrolls the MIDI Event

List to the Edit start point or Edit insertion point.

Page Scroll During Playback Scrolls the MIDI

Event List during playback.

Show Note Length Displays note lengths, instead of note end times, in the Length/Info column of the MIDI Event List.

Show Note End Time Displays note end times, instead of note lengths, in the Length/Info column of the MIDI Event List.

Insert Provides a submenu of options that let you insert any type of MIDI event.

Insert At Edit Location Defaults the location for inserted events defaults to the Edit start point or

Edit insertion point.

Insert At Playback Location Lets you insert events in the MIDI Event List in real time while listening to the session playback.

Insert At Playback Location With Grid Snaps the location for events inserted in real time to the grid.

View Filter Opens the View Filter dialog, where you can specify which events are displayed in the MIDI Event List (see “View Filter for MIDI

Event List” on page 742).

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Part VII: Arranging

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