In this article you will find everything a beginner needs to know about Pro Tools and few Pro Tools Keyboard shortcuts, starting from opening the program! This step-by-step tutorial will walk you through the beginning stages of your Pro Tools hobby and/or career.
To begin with, go to File -> New Session. The Pro Tools Keyboard shortcut for a new session is Command + M. When you have done this, a new dialog box will open. Name your project in the “save as” box and choose a location for your file to be saved. After this, choose the following session options:
· Audio file type – aiff
· Sample rate – 44.1 kHz (IMPORTANT: Only use 44.1 kHz if you’re not planning to use the sample in a video, if you are planning to use the sample in a video then set the sample rate at 48 kHz which is the standard for audio in video).
· Bit depth – 16 bit
· I/O settings – Stereo mix
After that, click the save button (Pro Tools Keyboard – Command + S).
The program can look confusing to a beginner. In this section you will learn all about the different elements of the Pro Tools screen, Pro Tools Keyboard shortcuts and their functions. The main Pro Tools screen is divided into several sections. In the middle of the screen, you will see an open space; this is for laying audio tracks. Using Pro Tools, you can lay down multiple tracks and you can mix and fade between them to create your final track.
You will see a time line at the top of the screen. The time line is used to keep track of the overall length of your project and to know where you are in the editing process at any time.
On the right you will see the audio bin. This is where the raw audio files are stored that you’ve imported. Do not confuse this with the recycle bin on your desktop. The audio bin is simply a place to store audio files and not to dispose of them. To load files into the audio bin, click on the words “audio bin”. This will reveal an options menu. Click on import audio. In the import audio box, go to the place where your audio files are stored and highlight all the audio you would like to add to your bin. They will appear in the “regions currently chosen” box. To add more files, double click on the file name and click add. Press the done button when you’re finished. After this, a box will appear asking where you’d like to save your files. Choose the “audio files” folder. In the audio bin you will see a list of your audio files in the audio bin. To add them to your project, you can drag them onto “new audio tracks”.
Now that you have the audio files ready in the audio bin, you need to create a track to put them in. To do this, click file then new track. When the dialog box pops up, select either mono track if you’re working with and interview or voiceover for example, or stereo tracks if you’re working with music. A new track should have appeared in your workspace.
To bring audio into the workspace, drag a file from the files in the audio bin into the track. To play it, press the spacebar the most magical Pro tools keyboard shortcut of them all. Press the spacebar again at any time to stop the audio. “Audio 1” is the name of that track. To change it to something a little more relevant, click on the title once and type in a new name.
Below the title are three Pro Tools Keyboard shortcuts. R for recording, S for soloing, and M for mute. Use the R button to record audio onto a track, the S button when you only want to hear audio on that specific track, and the M button to silence that track.
Now that you have been introduced to the first steps of getting started with Pro Tools, look out for part two: Beginning to Edit Using Pro Tools! Join us on Facebook to be alerted about part two: http://www.facebook.com/editorskeys. Click here for Pro Tools Keyboard.
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