Lesson time: (3min 29sec)
Dov Waterman introduces the course and shares his take on creativity, and how Logic Pro can shorten the gap between the ideas in your head and finished music.
This lesson is part of the course Composition in Logic: Workflow & Templates
Watch this lesson for free below.
Lesson transcript:
As creative people, we have a need to produce material that moves others and ourselves. As musicians and arrangers of music, we leverage our ability to play an instrument or help somebody else make music.
These days, the computer and relevant software are as much an artist's tool as the paintbrush and canvas were to a visual artist, or a score manuscript to a composer. Logic Pro is a piece of intelligent software that helps us produce the sounds we hear in our heads.
The software has developed over time, becoming easier and simpler to use, but there's still a barrier between us and the virtual world of sound and computers. Our aim is to shorten the bridge between our ideas and their realization, smoothing out the technical barriers that get in the way of our creativity.
So how do we do this? Two key words you're going to be hearing from me over the course of our sessions are:
By being efficient with the way you work, we can ensure a smooth flow of tasks, staying focused, working fast, and realizing those ideas the moment they enter our brains.
Like with any instrument, to work at this level, you need to put into practice certain elements to achieve this efficiency. This is as much a lesson in mindfulness and the theory of the human condition as it is a lesson in how to use Logic Pro.
Logic has a plethora of features and ways to perform certain functions. Over time, you'll find the ones that benefit you. However, you do not need to become a "Logic ninja," or a "Pro Tools ninja," or an "Ableton ninja."
At an intermediate level, you should already know your way around the program. Understanding basic signal flow, how to connect a guitar, a mic, or a MIDI keyboard, etc., is crucial.
The challenge now lies in exploring the most efficient use of Logic's features to enhance your creative output and elevate your skills. For example, you will learn about:
All of these techniques are designed to help you stay in the zone.
Other helpful practices might not be related to Logic at all. These are concepts you could learn from a life coach or a motivational speaker, such as:
You might be asking yourself, "Why am I here? I thought this guy was going to teach me Logic Pro." I'm going to teach you how to use Logic as a creative tool, and how to create with intent and not idly noodle.
When you are experimenting, I'll show you how to express yourself with the tools at your disposal. We'll spend time before you begin creating to develop a palette of sounds relative to your ideas.
We'll go through various production techniques and learn to hear what our finished piece would sound like before it's finished.
However, because the creative impulse is so fleeting, it's vital that we can actually get music made when ideas come. As Denis Desantis states in his book Making Music, "above all else, music touches our soul, gives you goosebumps, and moves your listeners."
As such, music is a product, a material that takes time to craft, likewise honing the practices, tools, and concepts used to create it.
Dov Waterman is a composer, pianist and producer. He has written and designed sound for films including After Earth, Terminator Genisys, Transformers: The Last Knight and The Snowman, and works as a sample-library audio editor and sound designer with companies such as Native Instruments and SonoKinetic.His Composition in Logic series walks through building a track end to end in Logic Pro - from templates and workflow to synthesis and beat programming, MIDI effects, editing and the final mix - for producers who want to turn their ideas into finished records. read more
