why does PT auto-change MIDI files??

[tommydee]

dear all,

new to MIDI on ProTools.

3 questions:

1) if i have a repeated MIDI region, is there any way to make a change to one region, and have all the repeated regions automatically incorporate the change? (currently it auto-names the single edited region with a new name, and all the other remain unchanged, and i am deleting them and re-copying the new phrase... this just seems labor intensive.)

2) is there any way to 'group' notes within a midi region? i.e. group all the hi-hats so i can return and tweak velocities without having to repeatedly select them all?

3) when i repeat, cut'n'paste, etc... PT seems to be doing a lot of renaming of sections... why does it do this? (my midi folder goes from having 5 files, to having like 20... messy).

any help is much appreciated.

tom.

[IOP Drummer]

1 Answer--- (windows) Shift+Alt+3 to consolidate selection. You can also triple click on a track to highlight from start to finish. This command is also under the pull down menus (not sure if it's file or edit, but I'm pretty sure it's edit).

2 Answer--- To select certain notes, you can drag select with the hand in MIDI Notes veiw, or the fast way is to go to the MIDI/select notes pull down menu. You will have an option to copy or paste all notes from say F# to F# (closed Hat). They are then on the clipboard to paste on another track. This info (explained quite better) is in the manual under the MIDI editing section under 'select notes' Page 213 in my book.

3 Answer--- There is an option under the display menu whether to display auto created regions or not. I think the command for windows is control+Alt+K. Also, the Control Alt U function will Highlight all unused MIDI regions. This is in the MIDI regions list pull down menu. Also try Alt+R and type in how many you wish to repeat. It's a little faster than 8 Control D's.

Other things--I think that each region has a different name because MIDI is so flexible as far as performance. For example, very often I take a region with a beat in it, and change the snare on the end for a fill, or maybe add in a cymbal. If PTLE used the same regions, changing one region would change all duplicates, too. Not desirable. Also, if you use MAC, the keys translate to this--

Windows Control= Mac Apple
Windows Alt = Mac Option
Windows Start = Mac Control
Windows Shift + Mac Shift