MUS 2014 - Introduction to Music Technology

Pro Tools Assignment 01

Radio Edit
Reference Material
01 Pro Tools Introduction.pdf
01a Pro Tools Edit Window.pdf
02 Pro Tools Basic Editing.pdf
Assignment instructions below

Assignment 01
10%, Due Sep. 29th at the Beginning of Class
[1] Create a new Pro Tools Session /1
Set the sample rate to 44.1kHz and the bit depth to 16bit
Be sure to use the correct file naming convention (-3 points if
incorrect)
eg. MUS2014_D_Assignment01_Mike_Ardagh
Import audio titled: Assignment01_Audio.mp3 to a new audio
track.
Name the track City Riff (the songs name) /1

[2] Identify structural components of the

song with Memory Location Markers
accurately drop the markers shown in the image
to the right /2
place your markers accurately to save time in
editing

MUS 2014 - Introduction to Music Technology

markers must appear on the downbeat of the section they

denote /1

[3] Copy all audio and location markers to 7:00 (7

minutes) on the time line /2
keep the original in place and perform the Radio Edit on the
copy
good practice when editing since we always have original audio
to go back to, avoiding confusion
Tip:
Make sure you are on the SMART Tool, click on the lower part
of the region to select the entire thing (this will be the
grabber tool)
shift-click in the markers ruler to add the markers to the
highlighted selection
copy
cursor to timeline at 07:00
click in audio track (this will be the selector tool)
shift-click in markers ruler to add them to the selection
paste
place Memory Location with text "--Final Edit--" just before
07:00 /1
this type of label makes it clear to everyone who looks at the file
which is the original take and which is the edited version
this is good practice

[4] Radio Edit: this song is too long for radio at 6

minutes. Do the following edits to get the song
down closer to 4 minutes.

MUS 2014 - Introduction to Music Technology

a) Cut the band intro entirely. Start the track musically 8 bars into
the Guitar Intro where the pedal steel begins. Place a memory
location here titled Intro and use a very short fade (~30
milliseconds) to start the song. /3
Tips:
zoom to marker GUITAR INTRO
Count in 8 bars where the pedal steel starts.
Use multi-tool (SMART) or selector tool to highlight back from
this point to before the beginning of the track.
Shift-Click in the Memory Locations lane then delete everything
up to the new song start.
Add a short musical fade to the new start of the song (as
above). Note: this is not a fade in happening over many bars
just a short fade so that the first pick-up strum of the guitar
sounds natural.
b) At the beginning of the outro, the 2 bar guitar figure repeats 4
times. Remove the 2nd and 3rd time it is played to create a
4bar guitar part before the band is in. /3
Play the outro, rhythmically dropping markers at the beginning
of each phrase.
Select the phrases you wish to delete by Shift-Clicking between
the appropriate memory locations
Use shuffle mode [F1]
shift-click in markers ruler bar (so that markers move as well)
delete
these 4 bars will disappear but there will be no break in the
music (we're in shue mode)
Listen to the unfaded version of your edit. How is the timing? If it
sounds good create a short crossfade (use your judgement)
to smooth the edit. If it doesnt sound right then undo
(Command Z), readjust your markers and try again!

MUS 2014 - Introduction to Music Technology

c) Repeat the same procedure for the full band instrumental at

the beginning of the outro. the full band portion should now be
4 bars long. /3
d) Once the female vocal double comes in towards the end of the
outro, start a long gradual fade out that is approximately 15
seconds long. /3
Go to the marker entitled VOCAL DBL IN and highlight past
the end of the track.
Use Command F to open the fade dialogue and pick an
appropriate fade
Trim the end of the fade back (using the trim tool) so that the
fade isnt too long
You can find out the exact length of a fade by clicking in
the fade to highlight it (with the grabber tool) then
referring to the Length parameter in the Counters
and Edit Selection Indicators Bar (refer to the
document 01a Pro Tools - Edit Window.pdf)

[5] Submit properly named Pro Tools folder

containing the session file (.ptx), Audio Files Folder
and other applicable files file to teacher's Dropbox
The folder you submit should have at least these contents:

total /20
4