Editing MIDI Regions

The MIDI Editor lets you fine-tune your performances with precision and flexibility. By adjusting note timing, velocity, pitch, and length, you can correct mistakes, refine grooves, and bring more expression to your tracks.

Learn how to edit Audio Regions here!

Where can I find the MIDI Editor?
Web Mobile
  1. Double-click on any MIDI Region or right-click and select Edit
  2. You can also open the MIDI Editor tab at the bottom of the Studio
How do I draw MIDI notes?
The piano roll in the MIDI Editor is a visual editor for creating and editing MIDI notes. It displays time horizontally and pitch vertically, with notes represented as bars that can be moved, resized, and adjusted for timing, length, and velocity.
 
Web Mobile

Time Grid

The Time Grid represents the region's timeline in the MIDI Editor. The numbers at the top of the grid show the specific bar being viewed. When you zoom into the Editor, the decimals in between represent the division of measures. The divisions per bar will be determined by your project's Time Signature.

Drawing Notes

  1. Click the Pencil icon (draw tool) on the left side of the MIDI Editor
  2. Using the Pencil, manually place or remove notes on the grid
  3. If you're not using the Pencil, you can also place or remove notes by double-clicking on the grid
  4. You can extend the duration of the notes by dragging the end handle
  5. To duplicate note patterns:
    1. Right-click on the highlighted note(s) and select Copy or press Ctrl/Cmd + C on your keyboard. You can also select Cut or press Ctrl/Cmd + X on your keyboard
    2. Right-click on an area in the Editor and select Paste or press Ctrl/Cmd + V on your keyboard
  • The length of the drawn notes will be determined by the length of the last note you placed
  • Engaging the headphone_web.png headphones icon to the left enables MIDI monitoring. This allows you to hear the notes you place
  • Click the Fold button on top of the virtual piano to hide all rows that don't contain notes
  • To Transpose, highlight the notes and click +/- 1 or +/- 12 in the left part of the Editor to change the pitch by semitones or octaves
  • Enabling Smart View on the left shows rows that belong to the selected scale. This makes it easier to draw chords or melodies

Adjusting the Note Velocity

  1. Click the Velocity icon on the left side of the MIDI Editor to go into Velocity Mode
  2. Click and drag up or down on the note, or use the Velocity slider on the left to change the volume of the notes. Click Randomize for a random velocity value
  3. You can also highlight multiple notes and adjust them all at once

In Velocity Mode, the white horizontal line on the MIDI notes represents the velocity or volume of that note. The maximum velocity is 127.

How to Quantize, Humanize, and use Legato
  • Quantize automatically aligns your selected notes to the Time Grid depending on the selected note division. 
  • Humanize slightly shifts the selected notes, creating imperfections in the performance. This helps simulate a real person playing. This function is only available on Studio Web.
  • Legato extends note duration, so notes connect smoothly without gaps, allowing overlapping MIDI notes to transition seamlessly rather than sounding separate. This function is only available on Studio Web.
Web Mobile

Quantize Notes

  1. Highlight the MIDI notes you want to quantize in the Editor
  2. Right-click on the notes, select Quantize, and choose the note division (e.g., 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc.)
  3. You can also use the Quantize settings in the left part of the Editor

Humanize Notes

  1. Highlight the MIDI notes you want to humanize in the Editor
  2. Click the Humanize button in the left part of the Editor. You can click it repeatedly to generate more random humanizations

Using Legato

  1. Highlight the MIDI notes you want to apply legato to
  2. Click the Legato button in the left part of the Editor
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