Overview of the Piano Roll Editor in Logic Pro for iPad
The main tasks in the Piano Roll Editor are viewing and editing the content of a MIDI region, which are MIDI events and region automation. It provides a close-up view of the software instrument track selected in the Tracks area, showing all its MIDI regions on that single track lane (the working area of the Piano Roll Editor). The MIDI notes, displayed as horizontal bars in a time grid and a specific color code, can be edited with various tools. The vertical lines in the working area (extending to the ruler on top) show the time position, while horizontal lines indicate pitch referenced to a vertical keyboard along the left edge. The Piano Roll Editor displays its own playhead, ruler, and cycle area linked to the Tracks area.
The main controls in the Piano Roll Editor are located in its menu bar above the working area.
View buttons: You can choose the Default View button (for editing notes) or the Automation View button (for editing region automation).
Function buttons: The function buttons in the center let you choose the edit modes. They change the functionality of gestures like tap, drag, touch and hold, and so on.
Trim button: Use the Trim button to trim and move or copy notes. This is the default mode that also lets you select individual notes or open their shortcut menus. In this mode you also open the shortcut menu of the working area.
Pencil button: Use the Pencil button to add and delete notes. It also lets you trim notes and copy notes.
Brush button: Use the Brush button to add a series of notes. It also lets you delete a note when you touch and hold it.
Velocity button: Use the Velocity button to edit note velocities.
Modifier buttons: Next to the function buttons are up to two additional buttons that modify the functionality of the current edit mode.
Multiple Select button: The Multiple Select button lets you select multiple notes or automation points. When selected, it temporarily deselects the current function button.
You can momentarily enable Multiple Select mode when you touch and hold the Multiple Select button (or press and hold the Shift key on your external keyboard), tap the notes you want to select, and then release the button or key to deselect it.
Copy Mode button: When the Copy Mode button is selected, dragging any note copies the note instead of moving it.
You can momentarily enable Copy mode when you touch and hold the Copy Mode button (or press and hold the Option key on your external keyboard), drag the notes you want to copy, and then release the button or key to deselect it.
Additional controls: On the right side of the menu bar is the Snap pop-up menu to set the Snap value, the More button to set various view settings, and the resize handle to resize the Editors area vertically.
Auto zoom and auto scroll
When you select one or more MIDI regions in the Tracks area and open the Piano Roll Editor, its working area auto zooms and auto scrolls to show the notes of the selected regions. With a single region selected, the working area ranges from the left border to the right border of the selected region. With multiple regions selected, the working area ranges from the left border of the first selected region to the right border of the last selected region.
With the Piano Roll Editor open, you can manually scroll and zoom the working area horizontally and vertically.
Download this guide: PDF