Whether it’s a sample of a kick, snare, clap, high-hat, or even an 808 you found on Splice, Cymatics or elsewhere,, or its a Karaoke backing track to sing over or beat to rap over, , the process works the same.
Working With Audio
In the case of audio files, whether they be a sample or a full track, you can use two methods to import it into a Logic Project. The first is to use the key command Command Shift I. This opens a standard file dialog and allows you to navigate to file’s located on your Mac’s internal hard drive or any external drive you have connected to it. Once you have the file selected you can press Return, or navigate over to the Open button and VO Space on it. On your way to the Open button you will also find a play button that will allow you to preview the file so you can verify its the right one.
Your other option to import audio files is to simply select the file in finder and press Command C on it to Copy it. Then you can just press Command V when in the track headers in Logic to paste it in. While this method can be the quickest way to import files, it may not always work. There appears to be a limitation where this will only work if you have not copied or pasted with in the Logic Project so far. Otherwise, you will need to quit Logic, and re-open it for the ability to copy and paste from finder to work again.
Importing MIDI
Unfortunately, importing MIDI doesn’t have a key command like importing Audio does. So in this case you will have to go to File Menu > Import > MIDI File. Once again, this opens a standard file dialog and allows you to navigate to file’s located on your Mac’s internal hard drive or any external drive you have connected to it. Once you have the file selected that you’d like to import, you can press Return, or navigate over to the Import button and VO Space on it. You’ll then be prompted if you would like to import the tempo data embedded in the MIDI file. If you choose this option the project tempo will be changed to the tempo of the MIDI file with in the time range that the MIDI file is in the project.
Like audio files, your other option to import MIDI files is to simply select the file in finder and press Command C on it to Copy it. Then you can just press Command V when in the track headers in Logic to paste it in. However, in this case you will want to ensure you have the Software Instrument/MIDI Track selected in the track header before pasting, as it will paste onto the selected track instead of creating it’s own track like when you import audio Files. So depending on the project, you may want to create a new blank Software Instrument/MIDI track first before pasting. While this method can be the quickest way to import files, it may not always work. There appears to be a limitation where this will only work if you have not copied or pasted with in the Logic Project so far. Otherwise, you will need to quit Logic, and re-open it for the ability to copy and paste from finder to work again.
Using the File Browser
The third option you have which works the same for any kind of media file is using the File Browser. Using the file browser will require you to first select the track you want to import the file to in the track headers. SO if you plan on importing audio you will want to select or create a new audio track first. If you plan to import a MIDI track, you will want to select or create a new Software Instrument/MIDI track first.
You can show and hide the File Browser with it’s key command which is F, and the file browser will show as a new Tab in the main arrangement window. Once you interact with the project group, you’ll see options for Project, Media, and All Files, and that last option is the one you will want to select to be able to browse any file on your internal or external drive. Selecting all files will change the view slightly and you will need to interact with the all files group. Once you do this you can choose Computer to be able to browse your internal or external drives for the file you would like to import. Then you can navigate over to the table or column browser and interact with it in order to browse to the file you would like to import. Once you find the file you would like to import, you can stop interacting with the browser and navigate over to the Add button and VO Space on it. At this point feel free to hide the file browser if you’d like by pressing it’s Key Command F again.
While in some ways using the file browser can be the most tedious way to import files, it has a couple advantages of it’s own. One being that it will let you import multiple files unlike Command Shift I (for importing Audio Files) or File Menu > Import > MIDI File, (for MIDI files). The other advantage is that it will automatically name the track using the name of the file being imported similar to the copy and paste from finder option.
Those are a few different ways you can import your audio or MIDI files into your Logic Pro Projects. So whether you use import dialog with Command Shift I (for audio) or File Menu > Import > MIDI File (for MIDI), you copy and paste from finder, or you use the file browser, you now know the pros and cons of each, and can get your beat, karaoke backing track, or sample you plan to turn into a sampler instrument into Logic.
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