Notes
Mixcraft How-To
Katie Wardrobe
Midnight Music
2013
Mixcraft How-To
Basics
Getting help
Videos
Teachers Guide
Starting a new project
Mixcraft screen
Zooming
Using loops
Searching for loops
Adding a loop to your project
Reset the loop browser
Playback
Adding sound eects to a project
A word about snapping
Adding sound eects
Adding a virtual instrument
Add a new virtual instrument track
Change instrument sound
Recording a virtual instrument
Prepare to record
Record some music
Recording a drum pattern
Prepare to record
Set up the loop region
Record the pattern
10
Combine parts
10
Quantize
11
Recording a speaking or singing track
11
Adding Eects
12
Delete a track
13
Editing Regions
13
Increase or decrease the length of a loop
13
Increase the length of a loop (option #2)
13
Copy and paste loops
13
Split
13
The Edit window
13
Editing MIDI
14
Edit notes
14
Selecting groups of notes
14
Transposing groups of notes
14
Fade-ins, fade-outs and panning (track & project automation)
14
Varying the volume of the overall project
14
Varying the volume on a single track
15
Track pan
15
Adding loops in to the loop library
15
Creating loops from sounds in your project
15
Importing loops from your hard drive
16
Editing the content of the Library
16
Beat-matching stems
17
1. Setting up a new project
17
2. Work out project tempo and key
17
3. Adjust individual audio file tempo and key
18
4. Line up the first beat and syncronize
18
5. Crop the loop (audio)
18
6. Rename and Add To Library
19
7. Repeat!
19
Chopping up long stems into short loops
19
3
Creating short loops
19
Sharing Beat-Matched Loops
19
Save the loops into a folder
20
How to import the beat-matched loops
20
Exporting a project
20
Mixcraft How-To
Basics
Getting help
There are lost of good quality tutorial videos that teach you the basics of Mixcraft - many by Acoustica
(the company that makes Mixcraft) themselves. You should also take a look at the Help Topics in the
Help menu of Mixcraft.
Videos
Mixcraft tutorials on Mixcraft website (and Youtube) http://www.acoustica.com/mixcraft/v6/help/
video-tutorials.htm
Mixcraft 6 Tutorial The Basics (created by a Mixcraft user): http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Tkst8MlP6BI
There are many others. Go to Youtube and search Mixcraft tutorial or how-to
Teachers Guide
Acous&ca
have
published
an
excellent
free
Teachers
Guide
which
is
available
for
download
from
their
website.
It
includes
lots
of
step-by-step
projects,
how-to
instruc&ons
and
sample
les
for
you
to
use
with
your
students.
Starting a new project
Open
MixcraD
and
in
the
New
Project
window,
give
your
project
a
name
and
choose
your
project
type.
Most
are
self-explanatory
and
its
not
the
end
of
the
world
if
you
choose
the
wrong
one!
5
Mixcraft screen
Zooming
To
zoom
the
project
area
in
and
out,
you
can
hover
your
mouse
in
the
Timeline
area
and
use
the
mouse
wheel
to
zoom
in
and
out.
You
can
also
zoom
by
using
the
+
and
-
buJons.
Using loops
Searching for loops
To see the Mixcraft loop library, click on the Library tab
6
You can use the Library and Sort By drop-down menus to narrow your choices: select loops by
style, genre or instrument
You can also type something into the search box - such as drums or dubstep
Click on the green Play button next to the loop to hear it play back
Adding a loop to your project
When youve found a loop you like you can add it to your project by doing one of the following:
Drag it up into the project area
Select an audio track, place the playback line where you want the loop to go and click on the plus
button next to the loop name. Mixcraft will add the loop into the timeline area
Each loop or snippet of music that appears in your Mixcraft project is known as a Region or Clip.
Reset the loop browser
If
you
used
the
search
eld
to
look
for
a
loop,
you
will
need
to
clear
the
search
box
by
clicking
on
the
cross
(to
delete
your
search
text).
Playback
You
can
play
back
the
project
in
a
number
of
ways:
Click
on
the
Play
buJon
on
the
Transport
controls
(right)
Use
the
Space
bar
to
start
and
stop
playback
Use
the
Home
and
End
keys
to
jump
to
start
or
nish
Use
Ctrl+.
(full
stop
key)
to
fast
forward
or
Ctrl+,
(comma)
to
rewind
Adding sound eects to a project
A word about snapping
Snapping is a feature that causes loops or recorded audio to snap to the
beginning of a bar, or to a specific beat. This is highly useful when youre doing
a music project since youll nearly always want the music to adhere to bars and
beats in a song.
However, if you are working on podcasting, storytelling, or adding sounds
eects to a film scoring project, its unlikely that youll want snapping enabled
since dialogue and sound eects dont conform to bars and beats.
You can turn snapping o by going to clicking on the Snapping drop-down
menu on the Toolbar. Select Snap O (see right).
7
Adding sound eects
Once youve turned o the snapping function, you can add a sound eect to your project in the same
way you would add a music loop - by dragging it into the timeline area, or by positioning the playback
line and then using the plus button next to the loop name to add it to the project.
Once the sound eect is in the timeline area, you can drag it left or right with your mouse to position it
more precisely.
Adding a virtual instrument
Add a new virtual instrument track
A virtual instrument track allows you to record music into your project by using the on-screen keyboard,
or by playing an external MIDI keyboard that you have plugged into your computer.
Go to Track > Add track and choose Virtual Instrument Track (or use the shortcut Ctrl+E)
A new Instrument track will be created with the default grand piano sound
Change instrument sound
To change the instrument sound:
First, click on the Change Instrument button on the track header
Select an instrument Category on the left-hand side of the panel
Then select a specific Instrument Preset within that family on the right-hand side of the panel
(below)
Click on the Musical Typing button to open the floating on-screen keyboard. This allows you to
play notes by using the keys on your computer keyboard (or by clicking on the screen)
Press the letters A L on your computer keyboard to audition the instrument sound
8
Recording a virtual instrument
Prepare to record
Before you record, make sure the Musical Typing window is open, or that you have access to a MIDI
keyboard
If youre going to play something musical (in time to a
beat), click on the Metronome icon next to the Transport
controls and turn on the Recording and Recording CountIn Measures options on. If youre going to play something
non-musical (like sound eects) then turn those options o
Record some music
Make sure the instrument track is selected
Rewind the playback line to beginning (or move it to the place you want to start recording from)
Press the Record button, wait for the count-in bar (if applicable) and then record the part
Recording a drum pattern
The steps for recording a drum part are essentially the same as the Recording a Software Instrument
instructions, but there are a couple of other things you should do:
Prepare to record
Before you record, make sure the Musical Typing window is open, or that you have access to a MIDI
keyboard
Locate the kick, snare and hi-hat sounds! Make sure your Musical Typing keyboard is using the C1
octave. The kick can then be triggered with the A key on your computer keyboard, the snare with
the S key and the closed hi-hat with the T key
Make sure the Metronome and Count-in are turned on: click on the Metronome icon to check these
settings
Adjust the tempo if necessary. You do not need to record the drum pattern at speed - slow it down
to 80 BPM if you like and then speed it up again when youve finished
Set up the loop region
When recording drum patterns, its a good idea to record just one or two bars. You can then drag the end
of your recorded region to make the pattern longer. To record the pattern, well set up a one or two-bar
cycle which Mixcraft will play over and over. On each pass of the cycle you can record a dierent part of
the drum pattern.
9
Click on the Loop Mode button located to the right of the Transport control
(see right). A loop region with show in the timeline area (the non-loop
region will be greyed-out)
Adjust the length of the loop region by dragging the Loop End in the Timeline. I usually suggest
making the loop region two bars long
Record the pattern
Arm the drum track for recording
Rewind the playback line to beginning of the loop region
Dont forget that if you do not feel confident about playing the drum pattern at the project tempo,
slow the tempo down first, before hitting the record button!
Press the Record button, wait for the count-in bar and then record the kick drum part only
When the playback line returns to the beginning of the cycle region, play the snare part
When it returns to the beginning again, play the hi-hat part
It doesnt matter if you dont start playing each part straight away, one after the other, just wait for the
beginning of the loop region and then play. You can even stop or pause the recording and then start
recording again.
When youve finished, disarm the track.
Combine parts
Each of the parts will end up on its own lane on the track (see below).
To combine the 3 parts into one:
Control-click on all 3 clips (or double-click the track header to select everything on the track useful if this is the only thing on the track so far)
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Right-click on any one of the parts and choose merge. The 3 parts will merge into the first one
To delete the empty lanes, rightclick on the track header and
choose Lanes > Delete empty
lanes
Quantize
You can quantize the drum pattern to even-up any uneven playing:
Double-click on the drum pattern region to open the piano roll editor at the bottom of the screen
Click on MIDI Editing > Quantize and then select an appropriate value from the Note Type dropdown menu (usually 8th or 16th notes)
Recording a speaking or singing track
To record a speaking or singing track:
Select an audio track. If there is no empty audio track in your project, you can add a new one by
going to Track > Add Track > Audio Track
On the track header, select your
recording input device (microphone)
from the drop-down menu (see right)
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Test the levels by speaking or singing into the
microphone - you should see the meter moving.
You want to make sure the meter is showing
green/yellow levels and not red (which means
the recording will be distorted). If you are seeing red, move away from the microphone, or adjust
the recording level by using the slider on the track header (tip: the slider allows you adjust the
recording level when you have armed the track for recording. When the track is disarmed, it
becomes the volume slide for that track)
Check that the track is armed for recording (the track header should be red)
Put some headphones on your singer so that they can hear the backing track (if applicable) and so
that the sound of any previously-recorded tracks does not come out of the computer speakers
If your singer would like to hear their own voice,
as well as the other tracks, click on the Monitor
Incoming Audio button on the track header (see
right)
Adding Eects
Using voice eects can give students a boost in confidence - theyre more comfortable recording their
voice when it sounds dierent, or is disguised a little!
You can choose to add eects - such as AM Radio, Megaphone, Chipmunk, or reverb - to a voice track (or
other audio track) while youre recording, or after youve finished recording.
To add an eect to the track:
Click on the FX button on the track header
In the window that opens, select one of the Vocal eect options in the Eect Chains drop-down
menu (see below)
You can also build your own eects from scratch or adjust the preset eects by using the options in the
lower part of the Eects window.
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Delete a track
To delete a track:
Select the track
Go to Track > Delete Track, use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+D or right-click on the track header and
select Delete Track
Editing Regions
Increase or decrease the length of a loop
You can lengthen a loop by hovering your mouse at the top right
corner until you see a double-headed arrow (see right)
Click and drag your mouse to the right to increase the length of the
loop. Drag to the left to decrease the length of the loop
Increase the length of a loop (option #2)
You can use the +1 Loop button on the region itself to add
another instance of that loop at the end (see right)
Copy and paste loops
Select a region
Press Ctrl+C to copy it
Place the playback line at the destination point
Paste by pressing Ctrl+V
Split
Select the region you want to split
Place the playback line (cursor) at the point you want to split the region
Go to Edit > Split or use the shortcut Ctrl+T
The Edit window
To edit regions in more detail, you can use the Sound tab.
Double-click on the region you wish to edit (or select the track and click on the Sound tab)
The selected region will appear in detail at the bottom of the screen
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Editing MIDI
Edit notes
To edit a MIDI region (correct mistakes, or add new notes):
Double-click on the region you wish to edit (or select the track and click on the Sound tab)
The selected region will appear in detail in the MIDI editing window at the bottom of the screen
If you cant see the MIDI notes, you may need
to
scroll
up
or
down
within
the
MIDI
edi&ng
window
Select a note and then:
Drag it up or down to change the pitch
Drag it left or right to change the rhythmic position
Shorten or lengthen the note by dragging the end
Selecting groups of notes
You can select more than one note by doing one of the following:
Ctrl-click or Shift-click on each one
Click and drag a lasso around a group of notes that are
near one another (see right)
Transposing groups of notes
Once a group of notes has been selected, they can be transposed
all at the same time:
Select
the
notes
Drag one of the notes up or down (all the other notes will move up simultaneously)
Fade-ins, fade-outs and panning (track & project automation)
Varying the volume of the overall project
Go to Track > Show Master Track
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You can click on the volume line to add points. Drag the points up or down to vary the volume
(see below)
Varying the volume on a single track
You can fade sound eects and music in or out by adding a volume envelope to that track
Click on the Toggle Automation button on the track header. The track volume info will appear
underneath the selected track
Click on the volume line to create points and drag the points up or down to adjust the volume level
(see below)
Track pan
You can adjust the track pan (the level of sound in each speaker or headphone) in the same way. Track
pan is useful when you want to create an eect of footsteps or a car moving from one speaker to the
other.
From the automation drop-down menu, select Track Pan (see
right)
Add points to the line and then drag them up or down to vary the
track pan
Adding loops in to the loop library
Creating loops from sounds in your project
Any sounds that are a part of your project can be added to the loop library.
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Right-click on the sound in your project
Select Add To Library
In the dialog that opens (see right), select the
library you would like to import to (type in a new
name if you want to start a new library)
Select the Song Kit you would like the sound to be
associated with
Choose whether youd like track eects and clip envelopes to be applied when importing
Click Add
Importing loops from your hard drive
You can import individual loops, or folders of loops from your computers hard drive into the Mixcraft
library.
Click on the Library tab
Click the +Import button (see below)
The Import To Library window will open with various options. To locate the loops on your hard
drive, click on the Browse button
Choose your other settings and click Import
You can also open Windows Explorer and drag a folder of loops into the Library window.
For more information about each of the options in this window, see Mixcraft 6 Help.
Editing the content of the Library
You can edit loop information such as the loop name, the tempo, key signature time signature, style and
so on.
Click on the Library tab
Click on Edit Library (see right)
Sounds or loops that you can edit will have a pencil icon
next to them. Click on the field that you want to edit and
type the new information
When youve finished, click the Stop Editing button
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Beat-matching stems
1. Setting up a new project
Start a new project choose the Build Loop and Beat Matched Music template
On the Project tab make sure Auto Beat Match is on
Drag the audio file from Windows Explorer or from the Library tab in Mixcraft on to the main
project area
A dialog box will probably appear: Use Best Sounding
Project Tempo? Say yes and take note of tempo
identified
Drag the audio region to bar 1 beat 1
Set the Metronome to play during playback (see right) and
press Play. Does the audio file match the metronome tempo?
Is it in sync for the entire song? If yes, good!
2. Work out project tempo and key
If the audio file is not in sync and does not start on a downbeat (most likely), follow these steps:
Figure out the real tempo of the audio file. You can use an online metronome, or an iPhone/iPad
app which will identify a tempo that you tap
If its a melodic part, work out the key as well
On the Project tab, fill in the correct tempo and key settings
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3. Adjust individual audio file tempo and key
Double-click on the stem you dragged into the main project
area. This will take you to the Sound tab (or simply select the
stem/region and click on the Sound tab)
On the Sound tab, edit the loop tempo and key to match Project
settings (see right)
4. Line up the first beat and syncronize
Youll need to beat-match each stem or audio file one at a time . Trim the beginning (and end of the
region) so that it starts on the correct beat:
Start by trimming the beginning of the region/loop in the main
project area. Get as close to the downbeat as possible
Drag loop back so its begins at bar 1
Look at the detailed view in the Sound tab. Zoom in as far as possible and trim the beginning of
the loop even further by dragging the Loop Start line to the right
Press Play (in the main Project area) and listen. Does the audio file start on the correct beat? Is it in
sync? Adjust it further if necessary. Do lots of listening!
5. Crop the loop (audio)
When youre satisfied that its playing back in time to the
metronome, right-click on the loop and choose Set Loop
To Crop (or press Alt+M)
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6. Rename and Add To Library
Click on the Sound tab and rename the loop if necessary
Right-click on the loop and choose Add to Library (the first time you do this you might like to set up
a folder so the loops are organised into a single location)
7. Repeat!
Drag in the next stem and repeat this process (from step 3) for all other stems
Chopping up long stems into short loops
Once youve beat-matched the complete stems, you might like to choose short sections of audio and
create little snippets or loops for use in your remix.
Creating short loops
Drag a beat-mapped stem/loop into the project area
Find the bit you want to keep - usually just a few bars in length
Place the cursor at the beginning of the section (placing it at the beginning of a bar works best)
and press Control+T to split the region
Place the cursor at the end of the section you want to keep (at the end of a bar) and press Control
+T to split the region
Select the section you want to keep and press Alt+M to Set Loop To Crop (this will mean that the
little snippet will be cropped and it will loop when the end of it it dragged out)
Click on the Sound tab and rename the loop (see right). This is
VERY important!! Rename it to reflect the nature of the cropped
loop - ie. Guitar ostinato beginning only or First line of verse
Then, right-click on the loop and choose Add To Library
Sharing Beat-Matched Loops
If you want to share a set of loops that you have beat-matched (or that a student has beat-matched), you
can drag them all into a project and save all of the Project Files into a folder for others to use in their own
projects.
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Save the loops into a folder
First, beat-match the loops
Put all the loops into a project (don't worry about how it
sounds - just dump them all in!)
Save the file
Then go to File > Copy Project Files To > Folder (see
right)
Choose an existing folder or click Make New Folder, name the
folder and click OK
Mixcraft will save your project to the folder and all of the
loops used in that project will appear as individual loops inside the folder, alongside the Mixcraft
file
How to import the beat-matched loops
Students can now import the beat-matched loops into their own projects:
Open Mixcraft and start a new Project
Click on the Library tab
Select +Import (see below)
Browse for the folder containing the loops
Choose your desired import settings (particularly the Import location)
Click Import
The loops will now appear in the Library, ready for students to use
Exporting a project
When you have finished your project, you can export it as a WAV or MP3 file so that it is in a sharable
format, suitable for burning to CD or adding to a mobile device.
Go to the File > Mix Down To or click on the Mix Down To Audio button on the toolbar (below)
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In the Save Your Mix window that opens, name your file and select an option in the Save As Type
drop-down (usually MP3 or WAV)
Click Save
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