Piano Roll Tips & Tricks in Logic Pro X

Hello Logic users, Mike here. And I will share my top tips for working FAST in the Piano Roll Editor of Logic Pro X.

Here’s my ultimate guide to boost your Piano Roll workflow when composing & producing music in Logic Pro X.

PS. Feel free to Bookmark this Page for future reference! =)

Select all Notes (CMD + A)

Probably one of the most used key commands in the piano roll editor.

Duplicate Notes (Option + Drag)

One of my favorite key commands. Hold option while dragging notes to create duplicates.

Move Notes +1/-1 (Option + Up/Down)

Moves the selected notes up or down in semi-notes (use the arrow keys).

Move Notes +12/-12 (Shift + Option + Up/Down)

Moves the selected notes up or down in octaves (use the arrow keys).

Nudge Note Left/Right (Option + Left/Right)

Moves the selected notes left or right (based on the nudge value you have chosen).

Repeat Notes (Select + CMD + R)

Great for many repetitions of a note, or notes. Automatic placement based on note length.

Join Notes (CMD + J)

Join selected notes of the same pitch (very useful for smoother voice leading).

Split Notes (Scissor Tool + Click)

Split the selected notes where you place the scissor tool.

Multi-Split Notes (Option + Scissor + Click)

Split the selected notes in equal multiples based on the first split point.

Mute Selected Notes (Ctrl + M)

Mute or unmute the selected notes in the piano roll.

Select all Muted Notes (Shift + M)

Selects all the currently muted notes in the piano roll.

Select Notes of same Sub Position (Shift + P)

Selects all notes of the same grid sub position (must be perfectly quantized).

Select Notes with Same Articulation (Shift + D)

Click on one note of a specific articulation, and then apply this key command.

Select all Following Notes (Shift + F)

Select one note, then use this command to add all following notes to the selection.

Select all Following Notes of the same Pitch (Shift + F)

Select only the following notes of the same pitch as the 1st selected note.

Select all Notes of the same Pitch (Click Piano Roll Key)

For example selecting all kick drum hits, simply click the corresponding piano roll key.

Invert Selection (Shift + I)

Inverts the current selection (great for toggling between specific selections).

Temporary Velocity Tool (Ctrl + CMD)

If you don’t have the velocity tool on main quick access, this is a very useful command.

Temporarily disable snapping (Select: Ctrl + Shift + Drag)

Select the note(s) first, then use this command to avoid snapping when you move the notes.

Toggle “Snap to Grid” (CMD + G)

If you want to disable or enable snap to grid mode.

View Automation Lane (A)

The automation lane for the region inside the piano roll.

Autoflow Automation Lanes (CMD + Y)

Flow through the active automation lanes for the region.

View Note Labels (View – Note Labels)

See the note names for all notes, by setting this view options in the piano roll menu.

Color by Region (View – Set Note Color – By Region Color)

See the notes based on their region colors (which is great for multi-part editing).

Bonus Piano Roll Tips

I find it very useful to create your own custom key commands for specific piano roll features in Logic Pro X. Here are the ones I currently added:

Remove Overlaps (F1)

Shorten selected notes to remove overlaps between them.

Force Legato (F2)

Lengthen selected notes to remove gaps between them.

MIDI In Toggle (F3)

Toggles MIDI Input on/off for use with the Step Input Recording method.

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Master Logic Pro X for Music Production

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