Do you ever have a weekend worship set that requires the same song to be in two different keys? Does your team split the weekend in to shifts? In this article we will learn how to utilize playlists to quickly change keys of multiple songs. This is all about spending a few extra minutes when building the session, to save you stress and work on the weekend.
Here are the parameters of this example:
- 8 services
- Saturday PM and Sunday AM are the exact same set and songs are in the same keys.
- For the Sunday PM services, 2 songs will change keys because a different leader will be leading them.
- Select all tracks containing harmonic material (keys, synths, guitars, vocals, bass, etc.); NO PERCUSSION, CLICK, OR COUNT.
- Go to the Groups window in the bottom left corner of the screen, press the arrow, and select "New Group". Or simply press command-G on the keyboard as a shortcut.
Name group, click OK
With the group enabled, click the arrow on the right side of the keys track and select "New". This will create a new playlist for the grouped tracks.
- Click the arrow on the LEFT side of the Keys track
- Select Track View
- Select Playlists
Your session should now look like this:
- Select the playlist arrow again
- Click on your original track name; in this case "Keys"
This will put your original tracks on the top layer.
ProTools automatically gives the new playlist tracks names (Keys.01, GTRS.01, etc.). We need to name these to apply to our situation.
- In this scenario, we need to name our original tracks "Sat/Sun Keys"
- We will name the new tracks "Sun PM Keys"
Drag in the clips to the blank playlist tracks.
Your session should now look like this:
Select the Key clip for the first song, which will select all the clips within the group
- Hold down option on the keyboard
- Click the clip
- Drag the clip straight down in to the new playlist track
Repeat this step for the remaining songs. When completed, all tracks should have content.
You can now match the fades of the new tracks, to the work you've already done on the original tracks. Double check your work!
- Select view arrow on the LEFT of track name
- Select Waveform view
This will consolidate the session back to the original view.
You can now easily switch between playlists by selecting the playlist arrow on the RIGHT of the track name.
So that's it! Utilizing this tool will save yourself headaches and stress on the weekend. Setting up your session in Playlists will keep you from scrambling to process key changes before rehearsals or new shifts. Remember that proper preparation leads to success and a stress free environment!