Create groove templates

Create groove templates

You can create quantization grids, called groove templates, based on the rhythms of audio or MIDI regions. You can use groove templates to capture the subtle timing deviations that give a region its “feel” and apply that feel to other audio or MIDI regions. You can even take the feel of an audio region and apply it to a MIDI region—helping a MIDI clavinet part to sit well with a funk guitar Apple Loop, for example.

You can also select multiple regions to create a groove template, and all of them will contribute their transients or notes to the new groove template. When there are multiple transients or MIDI notes around the same musical position, however, only the first will be evaluated for the groove template.

Tip: Two-bar MIDI regions work particularly well for groove templates, but you can use MIDI regions of any length. Make sure that the source MIDI region actually contains a note at every desired quantization value.

Create a groove template

  1. Select the audio or MIDI region or regions you want to create a groove template from.

    Figure. Audio region selected in the Tracks area.

    If you select multiple regions, the transients or notes from all the selected regions are used for the groove template. When there are multiple transients or MIDI notes around the same musical position, however, only the first will be evaluated for the groove template.

  2. In the Region inspector, choose a quantization value from the Quantize pop-up menu.

  3. Open the Quantize pop-up menu again, and choose Make Groove Template (or use the corresponding key command).

    Figure. Make Groove Template selected in the Quantize pop-up menu.

    The groove template, with the default name of the selected region, appears near the bottom of the Quantize pop-up menu, and the Quantize parameter of the parent region is set to it.

    Figure. The default groove template name selected in the Quantize pop-up menu.

This function transforms the exact timing of transient markers or notes in the selected audio or MIDI region into a groove template that can be accessed, and used, like any value in the Quantize pop-up menu.

Important: The source audio or MIDI region used for a groove template must remain in your project if you want to use the groove template. If you delete the source region from the project, the groove template is not removed from the Quantize pop-up menu, but it can no longer be used. Choosing the groove template from the Quantize pop-up menu produces no effect.

Remove groove templates from the Quantize pop-up menu

  1. In the Region inspector, open the Quantize pop-up menu of any region, and choose the groove template.

  2. Open the Quantize pop-up menu again and choose “Remove Groove Template from List” (or use the corresponding key command).

    The selected source region is deleted from the list of possible quantization templates, removing it from the Quantize pop-up menu. The region is not removed.

    Without changing the actual quantization of that region (or of any other region that may use that groove template), the previously selected groove template is deleted, and the region is set to the Quantize value “off (3840).”

Share a groove template between projects

  1. Copy or create your source regions in one project.

  2. Name these regions with the Text tool.

  3. Open the Quantize pop-up menu, then choose Make Groove Template for each source region (or use the corresponding key command).

  4. Pack all of these regions into a folder (and rename the folder Grooves, for example).

  5. Choose File > Save As Template.

Use this template as your project starting point whenever you want to access these quantization templates.