This free video tutorial brought to you in association with Avid is the sixth in a series, aimed at people who are new to recording or new to Pro Tools. We follow the development of a demo recording from the point of view of someone with no prior experience of recording.

In part 5, we looked at how to edit performances to fix mistakes or improve on the take by comping the best bits together.

Part 6 - MIDI and Virtual Instruments

In this video, we introduce virtual instruments by recording a Hammond organ into the song. Rather than making an audio recording of the organ we record the MIDI performance. This involves a new track type which records the notes played into the instrument rather than the sound the instrument makes. By doing this we can make radical changes to the performance easily, for example changing the notes played or even the instrument played. If we decide to swap the organ for an electric piano it's not a problem.

Additional Resources:

If you want to know more try these additional resources:

• MIDI - What is it?
• Understanding Instrument Tracks
• More Information On Pro Tools Virtual Instruments
• Using the Pencil Tool In the MIDI Editor In Pro Tools

What Will We Cover In The Rest Of This Series?

Over the coming weeks, we will cover...

• Mixing
• Bouncing to stereo

Part 7 - Mixing

Come back for part 7 in which we mix "Rosaline".