Moving Very Short MIDI notes

[timdiggle]

OK, this is probably a very stupid question, but here goes:

I've recorded a drum part live using a cheap set of drum pads to trigger the BFD (works a treat). However, as my drumming leaves, shall we say, a little to be desired, I need to move a few of the notes to bring 'em roughly in time.

Problem is, the notes are so short (ie: the midi rectangles that represent them have "x"s through them) that when I select the grabber tool I can't manage to move it over an area that turns it into the little pointy finger to move the note, unless I magnify it up to a ridiculous extent. Surely there must be a way around this? I can't have to zoom in a gazillion times to each hit just to move it 1/64th of a beat to the left..... can I?

I've looked in the reference guide but there doesn't seem to be any mention of this problem. Can anyone help?

[spkguitar]

It might be easier for you all around if you just quantize them (page 380 in the ref guide).

[albee1952]

Zoom out horizontally. That will make the notes larger on the screen. I try to go easy on the quantize as it can suck the life out of the track. I edit my tracks by hand mostly(recorded with a Roland TD10 kit).

[timdiggle]

Agreed - I don't want to quantise, if I wanted that I would have programmed the drums in!

[timdiggle]

Hmmm... tried the zooming out thing, couldn't really see what you meant. However, I found another fix, which was to draw another MIDI note of the same pitch with the pencil tool next to the one I want to move, then select both notes, and use the grabber on the larger note to move both of them wherever I want, then delete the note I drew in with the pencil. This fast enough for me, but if anyone knows an easier way, please let me know! Alternatively Digi, if you're listening, give us a fix in the next PTLE upgrade! (If it's not in 6.7 that is).

[lwilliam]

Have you tried the Ctrl-E option to expand the track temporarily? It's much quicker than zooming, although you can set the right zoom level for midi editing as well.

[gaz loren]

You may be able to select all the questionable notes, stretch them by stretching one, move them as selected groups to where you want, and then select all again, to make them short.
It may not even matter if they are left in the stretched state, because once the note is hit , the sound dissipates as a drum sound would anyway...

Control+T to stretch the whole window of tracks
Control+R to retract or shorten the view

The arrows are cool for jumping to the start or end of a selected 'audio' track but not sure if vs 7.0 Pt le works that way with 'midi'. (It didn't seem to before, in 6.7, it would only jump to the start of the selected note(s)) Will have to test it now, myself. I hope it does.

Maybe you could select groups of MIDI notes at a time that look similarly out of step
Drag them to place the most important one in the group (perhaps the downbeat "1") and the rest will retain your original feel.

Quantizing, of course will take some of the precious human feel out , so I don't recommend it unless you need precision through an otherwise sloppy track ( you know , if the bass and guitar are a little off from each other)
But then, truly awesome drummers do strive for perfection in their execution.
Practise those drums ! (just kidding) ;-)

I find myself doing this same thing alot myself.

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Time, where does it go when I am at the helm of my PT le?

[albee1952]

SOmewhere in midi setup world, I believe there is a place to set the default note duration. Try making it longer and record another midi pass to see if your notes are now easier to grab.

[max cooper]

Zoom out horizontally. That will make the notes larger on the screen. I try to go easy on the quantize as it can suck the life out of the track. I edit my tracks by hand mostly(recorded with a Roland TD10 kit).

You mean zoom in, right?

Sometimes Pro Tools makes little notes that aren't selectable unless you zoom in quite a bit.

Drawing a note adjacent to the one in question works but is kind of an unnecessary step.