Music Production and Technology

Introduction
In this article I will show you how you can make interesting, self-generating patterns within Logic.

Most of this is accomplished with the help of the Environment window which is a very confusing yet immensely powerful area within Logic. The learning curve for the environment can be steep but after you finish this tutorial, you will have a strong understanding of some of the modules that exist in the environment window which in turn will help flatten that steep learning curve. Eventually you will be able to look at Logic as more than just a sequencer and be able to come up with your own concoctions of other worldly ‘environments’.

Environment Objects
The objects that are available in the environment makeup the core building blocks of the modules that can be created. For this example we will be using the ‘arpeggiator’ object. Traditionally this object is used to create an arpeggiation of a chord you enter. For example, if you play a CMaj7 chord, the arpeggiator will play the notes (C,E,G,B) one after the other at a rate defined by you. You can even define which direction to arpeggiate the notes. Upwards (C,E,G,B), downwards (B,G,E,C), both or even random where it randomly chooses the order of the notes.

First Steps
Load a new empty project.

Add a software Instrument track.

Select Ultrabeat (Drum Synth) > Stereo from the track’s input section.

Open the Environment window by going to Window > Environment or by hitting the key command ‘command 8’). By default you will be brought to the mixer layer in the Environment. There are many other layers that can be accessed from the top left drop down menu but for now we will continue working in the ‘mixer’ layer.

Add a new arpeggiator object by clicking on new > arpeggiator.

This will create the arpeggiator object into the environment. Most of the modules in the environment can be connected to each other in a very modular fashion. If you click, hold and drag on the little arrow that is sticking out of the arpeggiator object, a cable will pop out of it and now you can connect this cable to any other device in the environment. The connection signifies that MIDI information will flow from the first object into the other. Keep in mind only MIDI and other propriety Logic control signals can be sent through these virtual cables, not audio.

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