Use the cycle area

Use the cycle area

You can use the cycle area to repeatedly play a particular part of a project. The cycle area can be used for composing, practicing a part before recording, recording multiple takes, and other purposes.

Figure. Bar ruler with cycle area between the left and right locators.

When Cycle mode is on, the cycle area is displayed as a yellow strip in the upper part of the ruler (or in the center, when the secondary ruler is visible).

The left and right locators are the start and end points of the cycle area. When Cycle mode is turned off, the cycle area (and the locators) are no longer visible.

You can also create a skip cycle to skip a passage during playback; for example, to try out different transitions from one project section to another without moving regions. Skip cycle is also useful when editing, to leave out parts of the project that you don’t want to be affected by the edit.

You can add buttons to the control bar to set, go to, or start playback from the left or right locator position, and to swap locators (for a skip cycle). For information, see Customize the control bar.

Turn Cycle mode on or off

Do one of the following:

  • Click the Cycle button in the control bar (or press C).

    Figure. Clicking the Cycle button.

  • Click the top part of the ruler.

Set the cycle area in the ruler

  • Drag left or right in the top part of the ruler.

The cycle area appears as a yellow strip in the ruler, and Cycle mode is automatically turned on.

Set the locator positions in the LCD

  1. Click the icon on the left side of the LCD, then choose Custom.

    The left and right locator positions appear in both beats and time formats in the LCD.

    Figure. Left and right locator positions in the LCD.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Click-hold individual units of the left or right locator position, then drag vertically.

    • Double-click the left or right locator position, then enter a new position.

Set the locator positions automatically

You can set the locator positions (and thereby set the cycle area) to automatically “follow” the marquee selection, the currently selected region, or selected note in the MIDI region.

  • Control-click the Cycle button in the control bar, then click Auto Set Locators.

  • Choose any of the following from the shortcut menu:

    • By Marquee Selection: The locators (and the cycle area) are set to the borders of the marquee selection in the marquee stripe.

    • By Region Selection: The locators (and the cycle area) are set to the borders of the currently selected region.

    • By Note Selection: The locators (and the cycle area) are set to the bar in which the selected MIDI note appears. If the note crosses multiple bars, the locators encompass all the bars in which the note is located.

When Auto Set Locators is selected, the Cycle button changes to indicate that the cycle area is set automatically.

Set the locator positions using key commands

  • Use any of the following key commands

    • Set Locators by Regions/Events: Sets the locators at the start and end points of the selected regions or events.

    • Set Locators and Play: Sets the locators at the start and end points of the selected regions or events and starts playback.

    • Set Rounded Locators by Regions/Events: Rounds the position of the locators to the barline that is nearest to the beginning and end points of the selected regions or events.

    • Set Rounded Locators and Play and Set Rounded Locators and Record: Rounds the position of the locators to the barline that is nearest to the beginning and end points of the selected regions or events, and starts playback or recording.

    • Set Rounded Locators and Cycle Play and Set Rounded Locators and Cycle Record: Rounds the position of the locators to the barline that is nearest to the beginning and end points of the selected regions or events, and switches to cycle play or record mode.

Move the cycle area

  • Grab the yellow cycle strip by the middle (the pointer turns into a hand) and drag it horizontally.

Resize the cycle area

Do one of the following:

  • Grab the left or right edge of the cycle area to move the start or end points.

  • Shift-click a position in the ruler.

    This works even when the stripe is outside the visible range, or Cycle mode is turned off.

Create a skip cycle

Do one of the following:

  • Hold down the Option key while selecting a cycle area in the ruler.

  • Set the cycle area to the part of the project you want to skip, then click the Swap Left and Right Locators button in the control bar (or use the Swap Left and Right Locator key command).

    The cycle area changes color, indicating that it is now a skip cycle.

    Figure. Skip cycle in the ruler.

You can add the Swap Left and Right Locators button by customizing the control bar. For information, see Customize the control bar.