Logic 11 | Session Players, Chromaglow | Let's Write a Track!

D.I.D. CHOI
14 May 202451:17

TLDRIn this video, the creator explores Logic 11's new AI session players and instruments, using them to craft a worship song. They test the piano, bass, and drum players, highlighting the improvements in sound quality and realism. The process of setting up chord progressions and adjusting the humanization is discussed. The creator then integrates the AI-generated tracks with their own sounds and mixing presets, resulting in a convincing demo that showcases the efficiency and potential of Logic 11's session players for quick music production.

Takeaways

  • 🎹 Logic 11 introduces new session musicians that can be useful for creating quick demos and filling in spaces when full MIDI work is not feasible.
  • 🎼 The video demonstrates the creation of an instrumental for a popular Church worship song using Logic 11's session musicians to test their ease of use and quality.
  • 🎵 A new piano sound, the Studio Grand, is featured with multiple mic positions, offering a significant improvement over the previous Steinway Grand sound.
  • 🔊 Logic 11 includes a new saturation plugin called Chromaglow, which was previously missing and is now a welcome addition for achieving different tonal qualities.
  • 📝 The process of setting up chord progressions can be a bit cumbersome initially but allows for quick setup of multiple instruments once done.
  • 👍 The humanization of the session musicians is praised for its realism, including the ability to adjust the level of human-like imperfections in the performance.
  • 🚀 The piano track setup, including the guide and chord track, was completed in half an hour, showcasing the speed at which these new features can be utilized.
  • 🔧 The bass player in Logic 11 is highlighted for its realism, including features like slides that were previously lacking in sampled basses.
  • 🥁 The drumming in Logic 11 is adjustable for different styles, with options to customize the complexity, intensity, and fills to fit the desired genre.
  • 🌟 The video concludes with a full mix including Logic's AI session players alongside the creator's own guitar and percussion tracks, resulting in a convincing worship-style mix.
  • 🔧 While the AI session players are not intended for professional or film scoring settings, they serve as excellent placeholders and starting points for demos and songwriting.

Q & A

  • What new features in Logic 11 does the video discuss?

    -The video discusses the new session musicians in Logic 11, which the creator finds useful for creating quick demos and filling in spaces when full MIDI work is not desired. It also mentions the new piano sound and the new saturation plugin called 'ChromaGlow'.

  • How does the video creator describe the new piano sound in Logic 11 compared to the previous version?

    -The creator describes the new piano sound as a huge improvement over the Sampler Steinway Grand that has been used for a long time. They find it more detailed and realistic, with options for different mic positions and the addition of key and pedal noises.

  • What is the purpose of the 'ChromaGlow' plugin mentioned in the video?

    -The 'ChromaGlow' plugin is Logic's new saturation plugin, which was previously missing from the software. It adds different types of saturation effects to the audio, such as modern, retro, magnetic, and tube emulations.

  • How does the video creator use the session musicians to create an instrumental for a popular Church worship song?

    -The creator uses the session musicians to quickly generate different parts of the instrumental, such as the piano, bass, and drum tracks. They experiment with different styles and settings within the session player to achieve a sound that fits the worship song style.

  • What is the process for setting up chord progressions in the session musicians as described in the video?

    -The process involves manually entering chord symbols bar by bar. Once set up, it allows for the quick arrangement of different instruments with a few clicks. The creator also mentions the ability to copy and paste chord progressions for repeating sections.

  • How does the video creator adjust the humanization of the session musicians' performance?

    -The creator adjusts the humanization by changing settings such as the intensity and complexity of the performance. They also mention the ability to edit the MIDI for more specific fills and to adjust the velocity sensitivity when changing instruments.

  • What is the role of the 'Basse player' in the session musicians as demonstrated in the video?

    -The 'Basse player' in the session musicians is used to create bass lines for the instrumental. The creator chooses different styles and tones, and adjusts settings like intensity, complexity, and fill amount to fit the worship song style.

  • How does the video creator approach adding drum parts using the session musicians?

    -The creator uses the session drummer to add drum parts by selecting different drum beats, fills, and tom patterns. They adjust the complexity and intensity of the drumming to match the style and mood of the worship song.

  • What is the final step the video creator takes after programming the session musicians?

    -The final step the creator takes is to convert the session musician tracks into MIDI. They then replace the Logic 11 sounds with their own sounds and mix presets to create a full worship-style mix.

  • What are the creator's overall thoughts on using Logic 11's session musicians for professional work versus quick demos?

    -The creator believes that while the session musicians are not suitable for professional settings or film scoring, they are excellent for making quick demos, placeholders, and for sending to friends for overdubs. They find the session musicians to be a great starting point that saves time.

  • What suggestions does the video creator have for improvements in future updates of Logic?

    -The creator suggests adding more pro features, improving performance, fixing the arrange melody problem, and improving the native Apple Silicon transition. They also express a desire for Logic to be more usable natively on Apple Silicon.

Outlines

00:00

🎹 Introduction to Logic Pro 11 and Session Musicians

The speaker discusses the release of Logic Pro 11, expressing a lack of excitement for the new features but interest in the session musicians for creating quick demos. They plan to test the new features by creating an instrumental version of a popular church worship song, expecting it to be simple and suitable for showcasing the session musicians and new instruments.

05:01

🎼 Utilizing Logic Pro 11's New Piano and Session Musicians

The speaker begins by using Logic Pro 11's new piano sound, comparing it favorably to the older sampler Steinway Grand. They explore different mic positions and the addition of key noise and pedal noise for realism. They also introduce a new saturation plugin, the saturator, to add warmth and analog preamp characteristics to the piano sound. The speaker then proceeds to create chord progressions for a worship song, demonstrating the process of inputting chords and arranging the music.

10:02

🎵 Composing the Piano Part for a Worship Song

The speaker describes the process of composing a piano part for a worship song using Logic Pro 11. They adjust the piano's sound to emulate a vintage upright piano and add humanization to the performance. They discuss the complexity and intensity of the piano part, tailoring it to different sections of the song such as the verse, chorus, and interlude. The speaker also mentions the ease of editing and humanizing the session musician performances within the software.

15:05

🎷 Adding Bass and Drums with Session Musicians

The speaker moves on to add bass and drum parts using Logic Pro 11's session musicians. They experiment with different bass tones and playing styles, settling on a pick style for a pop-rock sound. For the drums, they explore various options for snare and kick beats, ride symbols, and tom fills. The speaker emphasizes the realism of the slides and string noises in the bass and the tasteful fills in the drum parts, which contribute to the worship music style.

20:09

🥁 Customizing Drum Beats and Bass Lines

The speaker continues to refine the drum and bass parts, adjusting the complexity, intensity, and fills to fit the worship music style. They discuss the importance of selecting the right drum sounds and beats for different song sections, such as the intro, verse, and chorus. The speaker also mentions the need for more options in phrase endings and the process of automating fades for a natural sound.

25:19

📐 Fine-Tuning the Drum and Bass Performance

The speaker works on fine-tuning the drum and bass parts, focusing on the details of the performance such as ghost notes and fill complexity. They experiment with different drum fills and adjust the snare and tom sounds to create a buildup in the song. The speaker also discusses the importance of understanding the role of a drummer in creating the desired music style and the process of manually editing MIDI for specific patterns.

30:22

🌟 Enhancing the Mix with Pads and Additional Instruments

The speaker adds pad sounds to the mix, using Logic Pro 11's session musicians to create a worship-style atmosphere. They discuss the ease of programming pads and the importance of maintaining common tones. The speaker also mentions changing the drum tone to fit the worship style, adjusting the snare, toms, and cymbals for a big, fat sound. They experiment with automation to create a fade-in effect for the pad and adjust the intensity and range of the pad sounds throughout the song.

35:24

🔧 Post-Production and Final Thoughts on Logic Pro 11

The speaker concludes by discussing the post-production process, including converting the session musician performances into MIDI and applying their own mix settings and sounds. They mention using third-party instruments for drums and bass and adding pre-made guitar tracks for a full worship-style mix. The speaker reflects on the overall experience with Logic Pro 11's session musicians, noting their usefulness for quick demos and placeholders but acknowledging the need for manual editing and adjustments for professional use.

40:42

🤖 AI Session Players and the Future of Music Production

In the final thoughts, the speaker reflects on the role of AI in music production, expressing skepticism about AI replacing human musicians but acknowledging its potential as a tool for efficiency. They commend Apple for the improvements in Logic Pro 11 but suggest that more professional features and performance enhancements would be welcome. The speaker also addresses the need for bug fixes and improvements in the software's functionality.

45:42

🎶 Conclusion and Sign Off

The speaker concludes the video with a sign off, summarizing the experience with Logic Pro 11's session musicians and their potential use in music production. They express a balanced view on AI's role in the industry and look forward to future developments. The video ends with a musical outro, highlighting the creative possibilities of the software.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Logic 11

Logic 11 refers to the eleventh version of Logic Pro, a popular digital audio workstation (DAW) used for music production. In the video, the creator discusses new features in Logic 11, particularly focusing on the session musicians and instruments that have been updated or added.

💡Session Musicians

Session musicians are professional musicians hired to record music in the studio, often for other artists or for specific projects. In the context of the video, Logic 11's session musicians are virtual, AI-driven musicians that can generate performances in the DAW, which the creator uses to create demos quickly.

💡Studio Grand

Studio Grand is a type of piano sound featured in Logic Pro. The video mentions a new piano sound that starts with the Studio Grand, which has both a single mic and multiple mic position options, providing a detailed and realistic sound improvement over previous versions.

💡Saturator

The saturator is a new addition to Logic's effects plugins. It is used to add warmth and harmonics to an audio signal by simulating the saturation characteristics of analog equipment. In the video, the creator uses the saturator to add an analog preamp sound to the piano track.

💡Chord Progression

A chord progression is a series of chords played in succession that outline the harmony of a song. The video script describes setting up chord progressions for a worship song, which are then used by the session musician features in Logic 11 to create a piano accompaniment.

💡Humanize

Humanizing refers to the process of making a musical performance sound more like it was played by a human rather than a machine. In the context of the video, the creator adjusts the humanize parameter to make the piano and bass performances sound more natural and less robotic.

💡MIDI

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a protocol for communicating musical information between devices. The video involves the use of MIDI to program and edit the virtual performances created by the session musicians in Logic 11, allowing the creator to manipulate and customize the generated music.

💡Pads

Pads are sustained, often synthesized, musical sounds that provide harmonic support in a mix. In the video, the creator uses pad sounds to add atmospheric elements to the worship song, utilizing Logic 11's session musician feature to generate the pad parts.

💡Automation

Automation in a DAW like Logic Pro refers to the process of automatically changing parameters of an effect, instrument, or track over time. The video script mentions using automation to create a fade in for the pad sound, which is a common technique in music production to add dynamics to a track.

💡Drum Programming

Drum programming involves creating and arranging drum patterns and sounds in a DAW. The video demonstrates how the creator uses Logic 11's session drummer feature to program a drum track that fits the style of worship music, adjusting parameters like intensity and complexity to suit the song's sections.

💡Mixing

Mixing is the process of balancing and adjusting the individual elements of a recorded piece of music to create a cohesive sound. The video script discusses the creator's process of mixing the AI-generated tracks with their own guitar tracks, using effects and adjustments to achieve a full and polished worship-style mix.

Highlights

Logic 11 introduces new session musicians, which are useful for creating quick demos and filling in space when manual MIDI work is not feasible.

The video demonstrates the creation of an instrumental for a popular Church worship song using Logic 11's session musicians.

The new piano sound in Logic 11 is a significant improvement over the previous Steinway Grand, offering more detail and realism.

Logic 11 includes a new saturation plugin called Chromaglow, which was previously missing and is now a welcome addition.

The session musician's piano part emulates a real pianist on an upright piano, providing a realistic worship sound.

The input method for chord progressions could be improved, but once set up, it allows for quick configuration of multiple instruments.

The bass player in Logic 11 offers a realistic performance with features like slides, making it a good choice for pop rock and worship music genres.

The drummer in Logic 11 provides a variety of fills and can be adjusted for complexity, intensity, and style to fit the song's needs.

The pad feature in Logic 11 is useful for worship music, providing a simple way to program pads that would otherwise be tedious.

The AI session players can be a great starting point for songwriting, saving time by providing a foundation that can be further edited and refined.

The video shows how to convert the AI-generated performance into MIDI, allowing for the use of personal sounds and mix settings.

Logic 11's session players are not intended for professional or film scoring settings but are excellent for quick demos and placeholders.

The piano in Logic 11 is less sensitive to velocity, requiring adjustments when changing instruments to achieve the desired performance.

The video concludes with a full worship-style mix, incorporating pre-made guitar tracks alongside the AI-generated session parts.

The creator suggests that while AI is a useful tool, it cannot replace human musicians in all aspects of music production.

Logic Pro could benefit from more professional features and performance improvements, such as fixing the Arrange Melody issue.

The video provides a comprehensive overview of using Logic 11's AI session players to create a worship song, highlighting the potential and limitations of the technology.