Midi loops play tones instead of music

Hello,
I am having a problem with my Garageband loops that I can't seem to solve.
Basically the problem is that when I select a midi loop (The green ones?) I get tones instead of the music. If I preview the loop in the loop browser the music plays fine but when I drop the loop into the arrangement area all I get is tones and chimes.
I don't have this problem whatsoever with the audio loops (The blue ones?) They play just fine when previewed in the loop browser as well as in the arrangement area.
I have tried removing and re-installing Garageband, and I have exhaustively searched the web and this forum for a solution to no avail! Any help would be much appreciated!!

the instruments aren't installed, reinstall GB:
http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/GBFAQ.html#reinstallgb
(Let the page FULLY load. The link to your answer is at the top of your screen)

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Audio Loops vs. Midi Loops

I am new to Logic Express:
Can Audio Apple loops be played on the "Apple Loops" tracks? Because as of now, when I just drag the audio loops into the track (and I've checked the instrument/output settings), they don't play. The Midi loops play just fine.
Right now I can only get audio loops to play for me if I create an "Instrument" track and drop them into there.

is this under sampling ... if you are using it as a sample, it should be in a sample friendly format: the sample should be dropped in and timesliced to your tempo
sorry so vague but I am new to this as well

Does anyone use MIDI loops in Logic Pro to compose music?

Seriously, if anyone out there uses the MIDI loops to compose music in Logic, how the heck do you do it? Especially if you are also using audio loops, it seems almost impossible to me. The chord transpositions that you get from the chord track are not even to the right pitch, and the transposition behavior is different according to whether you drag the loops into the arrange area before or after putting the changes in the Chord track. The signature track is no better, as it doesn't seem to affect audio loops. So how do you get the bass loops etc. to play in the keys you want them to without going through extraordinary contortions? I looked at one of the Logic Pro books, and it said to transpose by using the transpose function in the inspector, but that only lets you transpose by octaves! Do you really go in and edit the loops by hand to transpose each note?
Any pointers on this would be greatly appreciated.

kent swearingen wrote:
I looked at one of the Logic Pro books, and it said to transpose by using the transpose function in the inspector, but that only lets you transpose by octaves!
Put the mouse pointer on top of the transpose number, which is zero, hold down the left mouse button and drag up or down to transpose by steps. At the beginning of either the getting started or Logic manual there's an explanation of the different types of mouse/key behavior, if you're not used to using Logic it's a good idea to go over these.
Also, Logic does not always use simplified Mac conventions (thank the stars for that), as a result you have a lot more variety of data input, it varies according to the task at hand.

MIDI Loops sound different in preview

I'm a new user to Logic, and I'm confused about the green (MIDI) loops. When I preview one it sounds one way, but will sound different when I drag it to my arrangement, even when having it create a new track. On many of them it sounds like it's just missing some reverb, but the change is more drastic in others, eg. "Desire A Cellos", where it sounds like the wrong samples have been loaded.
Also I noticed that it loads instruments like "strings" and "piano" where I would expect it to be using the more sophisticated EXS sampler.
Is this normal?
If I listen to a loops like "Concert Hall Piano 4" it sounds way more realistic in the preview than it does when I let it play the MIDI in my track. My first thought is that this must be because the "Piano" instrument doesn't know how to handle the extra midi data such as expression.
Is anyone else having this problem, and what can I do to fix it?
Thanks,
-Emil

enjakobsen wrote:
Also I noticed that it loads instruments like "strings" and "piano" where I would expect it to be using the more sophisticated EXS sampler.
To answer this question, loops are created to be used with Garageband, so all of the instruments selected will use Garageband instruments.
The other more important question....I DON'T KNOW! Great question, I'm having the same issue with mine. I hope someone can shed some light on this. If you double click the 'strings' instrument in the channelstrip where you have your 'Desire A Cellos' and select the 'Cellos Pizzicato' preset instead of the 'Cellos' preset that is selected, you get much closer. It seems like it has defaulted to the wrong setting. Your right though, there's definitely some verb there too. And also, if you then change your song key, the loop in the arrange window should change with it, but mine is not.
HOWEVER....If you drag a GREEN loop into an audio channel instead of a MIDI channel, it will create an audio file loop (like the blue loops). As far as I can tell, they sound exactly as they should, and they do change keys. Still though, very strange. Perhaps tis a bug??

Midi loop not sounding same at arrange area

Hi,
when I drag a midi loops (green loops) into the arrange area it will not play the same sound........ mean I'm not getting the same effect of the midi loop at the arrange area & I don't want use these loop on audio track. I know if I drag the midi loops into audio track it will create an audio loop sounds same effect what I'm listening at the Loop browser but I want to use these midi loops in there own midi track.
Please help me guys

Thanks Jorge for getting back to me.
I tried what you said and when I do get the first Capital Violin 2 midi loop and turn it to green. There is a slight staccato sound but not much. When I move the modulation wheel and select the first sound in the piano roll, yes I can hear a dramatic staccato sound. But the minuet I get the play head to the front of the loop and play it from start it is gone again. Quite frustrating. I would love to get that energetic Capita F Violin 2 midi sound but it doesn't have the power or anything like what it sounds in the loop browser.
Any extra tips on how to KEEP the sound after playback would be a great boost to my musical loop understanding.
But thanks for those suggestions!
I am using a 49 E keyboard and it has a Pitch Bend Wheel and a Modulation Wheel to the left of the keys. The volume control on the 48 e is all the way up. That is another problem I have is even when I push the volume up high in the arrangewindow more often than naught the loops don't seem strong like they do in the loop browser.
But again, my main problem is a lack of strong staccato sound.
Bill
Message was edited by: William Furner1

FrontRow bug playing slide shows with music on remote share

I found a new bug with FrontRow playing slideshows using music stored on a shared drive. I tried with AFP & NFS shares, but I suspect the same will apply to SMB shares. Here are the steps to repro the problem:
1) Define a new iTunes playlist
2) Add songs to the playlist from a shared drive
3) Define a new album and add photos to it.
4) Hit play -> Music and choose the iTunes playlist you just defined. Click on "Save Settings"
5) Go to FrontRow, locate your album and play it. After a few seconds, in which FR appears to time out, it will play the album with music from the standard library, instead of your iTunes library.
WORKAROUND: Play the Album from iPhoto, only a couple of seconds, enough for iPhoto to pick the right music from your iTunes playlist. Next time you go to FR and play the album it will chose the correct music.

I don't know what MB Pro you have... 2008 early/late, 2009, mid 2010, etc. ???
Also, what Audio inputs are available for your HDTV?
Not knowing these things for sure, here are your options:
1. If the HDTV has "Optical Audio" input then you can use this cable to get audio (regardless of what model MBP you have) This kind of audio input is often referred to as Toslink.
I resolved the problem on my machine unexpectedly
2. If the HDTV only has RCA stereo inputs then you need this cable (again regardless of MBP model)
http://www.amazon.com/RiteAV-3-5mm-Stereo-Male-Cable/dp/B000V0G2C4/ref=sr12?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1292163583&sr=1-2
If you do have Toslink available on the TV, that is the better choice. Also a perk with Toslink is it even provides 5.1 surround sound capability which is available from your MBP.
As for your Macbook Pro, only the current 2010 models provide audio and video via the mini display port. So, if you your MBP is new, you could use this adapter, mini display to HDMI, then run a standard HDMI cable to your TV.
http://www.amazon.com/DisplayPort-Female-Adapter-Macbook-Laptop/dp/B002HU629E/re f=sr11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1292163818&sr=1-1
Earlier MBP that have Minidisplay port only provide video out so you'd still need #1 or #2 above to deliver audio.
If your MBP has DVI port for video, that as well only provides a video signal so #1 or #2 above would apply.
This should cover all of the possibilities.

Previewing midi loops

I've a bunch of midi drum loops from Groovemonkee and was wondering if it's, in any way, possible to preview them with any of LP's instruments? Without having to drag them into a track with a preloaded instrument that is. I guess what I'd like to do is click through the midi loops, previewing them with the sound of a drumkit I like, then just drag and drop it into Logic.
Help is greatly appreciated.

You can open them in Quicktime, if they've been recorded right they should just play as a standard midi drum kit.
If not, then they'll play as a piano. Quicktime won't let you change the midi channel number unfortunately.

CAF & MIDI Loops

I thought I had at least a basic understanding of both CAF and MIDI loops in Jam Packs, but then I started looking closer and am totally confused. If I drag a MIDI loop into Logic, I see what I would expect, a MIDI file and a generator. If I look that same file up in the Finder, it has a CAF extension and the Get Info says it opens with the Apple Loop Utility. If I open it in the the Apple Loop Utility and look at the Transients panel, I see an audio waveform that sounds just like the MIDI file plus the generator. Huh? What's going on?

The CAF format is a container which can store music in other formats, including MIDI.
(33285)

Audio-midi loops

we use to have in the audio loop browser a ton of audio- midi loops the ones with the green icons . did they dissapeared??? I dindt see them
thanks

No they haven't dissappeared. Maybe you should set the Loop Browser view to "All" to see all the Loops available-if the green loops still don't show up something went wrong during Installation.

Midi loops in browser sound different in arrange window controller messages

I have a problem with controller messages as well with fx
I audition a midi loop it has FX and then drag it to arrange window
sounds different, I know of ther is another topic about the FX,
But as well controller messages not being read right
say a Timpani loop, foot controller is not reading
so the timpani roll is gone

This is not a problem, it's intentional design.
The preview audio contains reverb for these instruments, because the sound is in context - it let's you hear it how you are typically going to use it, and use can use it as an audio loop without problems.
When you load it as MIDI, it does not add another reverb to the channel because it assume you are going to use a global reverb, rather than add individual reverbs per channel - this is the generally better way of doing it, and avoids new users having a hundred reverbs on individual channels when they only need one.
As for articulations switched by MIDI, the preview audio can contain only one sample, but if there are different articulations, they need to be played/switched accordingly.
It's not a bug, it's the way it works for flexibility in the main. You have to remember, that when stepping up from a entry-level program to a professional one, a lot of hand-holding that the entry level programs do is no longer there, and so you can feel like the pro version is "less good" than the entry one. This is not the case - professional users do not need hand-holding, and that generally gets in the way.

Midi loops when imported into arrange window sound pretty lifeless - please help

Hi
I am currently using Logic pro 9 and when I play the orchestral midi loops in the loop window they sound really lush. When I drag them into the arrnage window they sound really dull. I think I have changed a master setting somewhere along the line but don't know how to restore it.
It doesn't happen with the audio loops
I am on Mac OS x 10.6.8
any suggestions welcome
Rhythmseeds

Sorry to say, this isn't a bug — it's a feature!
You've just described exactly how they're supposed to work.
+Green Apple Loops are known as Software Instrument Apple Loops (SIALs). They differ from the blue (audio) Apple Loops in that they also contain a MIDI region plus software instrument and effect settings.+
+When Software Instrument Apple Loops are placed on instrument tracks, the region shown in the Arrange area can be edited just like other MIDI regions, including individual note editing.+
+If dragged onto a blank instrument track (one with an empty channel strip), the corresponding instrument and effect(s) settings are automatically inserted.+
+You can also drag Software Instrument Apple Loops directly into a blank Arrange window (with no tracks), or to a blank area below existing tracks. An instrument track and corresponding channel strip are automatically created, and the Apple Loop is loaded (the instrument is inserted into the instrument channel, along with any effects, and the Apple Loop region is placed on the track).+
+When you place Software Instrument Apple Loops on audio tracks, they are imported as audio regions (and behave like blue Apple Loops). Processing load is reduced when green Apple Loops are added to audio tracks.+
+Note: Blue Apple Loops will not play if placed on instrument tracks.+

MIDI Loops & Loop Browser

Does anyone know if MIDI loops can be manually added to the Loop Browser?

that's as simple as make an apple loop with an audio file.
4 exemple:
u open exs 24, u record some drums, u open a compressor, eq ,etc(even non apple plug in).when ur happy with wath uv done,u just go to the menu region > add to aplle loops library
choose it a tag and it 's done.don't forget to define the right signature key (if it's a musical region),and well place the locator!
u can now open it in every project as an audio file or as a midi file,then logic will automaticaly open the right plug in (instrument,compressor,reverb,etc....)
extremaly usefull.

Question about Midi loops and Software Instruments

In past versions of Garage Band, I could take a Midi loop ("the green ones") and drag it onto a track with a different instrument and it would play with that instrument. For example, I could drag a loop of a piano melody onto a guitar track, and the melody would play on the guitar. In '08 though, if I drag the piano melody onto the guitar track, it changes the instrument for that track to the loop's instrument, in this case the piano. Is there any way to switch this function off? I find nothing in the preferences.
It's getting really annoying constantly dragging out loops and changing instruments to what I intend to have.

not to dissuade you from trying, you could always find something that i missed, but i did test the modifier keys, none changed anything (and the shiftKey prevented a drag from occurring at all)
as i recall, no matter what i did, dropping into a blank track changed it, dropping into a track that already had a region in it tossed up a warning dialogBox (i think it allowed you to proceed, automatically create a new track, or cancel the operation)
this does seem like a behavior that should have a toggle in prefs

Converting existing MIDI loops

Hi,
I have a bunch of previously acquired and used MIDI loops, which I should like to import and use in GarageBand. When double-clicked, the MIDI loops open in QuickTime, with which I can export to an AIF file - but these are full-lenth, 3-4 minute long AIF sound files repeating the 5-10 second loop over and over.
How can I reliably extract a single cycle to save as an AIF file and import to GarageBand? Preferably, as I have a boatload of these, I am looking for a utility/script that can do this in batch mode...
Thanks, Tristan
G4 PowerBook Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Hi,
...well, that didn't work either: dragging those files over onto the track portion of the window (either an existing instrument or the empty area) did not turn the cursor into "+"; upon releasing, the files would jump back to the Finder window.
That got me thinking, that perhaps these were somehow not proper MIDI files (they came from a cross-platform program). Upon opening one of them with QuickTime, I exported it as "Music to Standard MIDI", and that file indeed can be dropped into the track, and creates its "Software instrument" and the full repetitive track. The created file has the type "Midi", creator "????" and UTI "dyn.ah62d4rv4ge8044pe"; and, just changing the type of the original file from "MooV" to "Midi" doesn't make it work.
From this, I can now indeed cut down to a desired cycle, and save that in GB's library. So, I now do have a method for importing these files:
(1) Open in QuickTime & export as standard MIDI file.
(2) Drag to GB's track, cut and save the result.
(3) Tweak the velocity information, since the setting obtained is disproportionate: the sounds of lesser volume are barely audible.
(4) Repeat. ...great...
Well, that answers my original question; thanks for insisting that GB should be able to use the (standard) MIDI files.
Thanks, Tristan
G4 PowerBook Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Is there any way that I can have songs in an iTunes Playlist without having the songs play in my regular music list. For instance: can I have a Playlist of Christmas songs without having them play in the routine shuffle of my music library? Thanks -Rog

Is there any way that I can have songs in an iTunes Playlist without having the songs play in my regular music list. For instance: can I have a Playlist of Christmas songs without having them play in the routine shuffle of my music library? Thanks -Rog

Select the songs, press CTRL+I to Get Info, on the Options tab set Skip when shuffling to Yes.
If you want to the hide the songs from your main music view you could consider changing the media kind to audiobooks or podcasts if you don't mind the side effect of them showing up there instead.
tt2

Midi loops play tones instead of music

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