Tracks are what allow us to play and manipulate audio regions (either MIDI or samples) in Ardour. MIDI audio and sample audio, however, do not use the same kind of track. Both tracks operate similarly, but allow us to work with and manipulate the different types of data in ways that are type appropriate. Each type of audio must be matched with its appropriate type of track, or else you won't be able to import/record the audio properly!
To start creating a track, go to the top bar and click on Track > Add Track, Bus, or VCA...
This will bring up the track and bus creation wizard, in which you can choose whether you want to create a MIDI track or a Audio track, shown below.
Let's first focus on adding an Audio track. Audio tracks are where we can place sample audio regions, like the drum samples we will import for this project. For more on Importing Audio (which complements this article well) check out my other article about Importing and Recording Audio.
First, we need to decide how many tracks we want to add. In this case, we're just going to add one, but you can add as many as you like from the wizard. Then you need to give your track a name. Make sure you give your track a descriptive name based on the audio regions you'll be putting on your track, or else your session will get confusing very quickly. If you want to be even more organized, you can add your tracks to different Groups so that you can manipulate them together and keep track of how different tracks fit together. This, however, is not a necessary step.
The other important aspect of the wizards is the "Configuration" of your track. You can either have a Mono track or a Stereo track. These words refer to the number of inputs and outputs the track can have. A Mono track has one input and one output, while a Stereo track has two inputs and up to two outputs (although it can, and often will, have one output, depending on how it's configured).
You should choose the track type you want based on the type of audio region you're importing, and the way you want your tracks and buses to route (check out the other article on Buses and Routing for more information about that!) If you're not sure which way to go, creating a Mono track is always a safe bet!
Once you click "Add and Close" you'll have a brand new empty Audio track to which you can add sample audio regions! If you don't know how to import Audio files to add to your track, check out the other article about Importing and Recording Audio.
Each track has a Fader, which allows you to control the volume of the track. It also has a record button (red circle), to toggle recording on the track, a mute button (M), to mute the track so it doesn't play, a solo button, to toggle the scrubber to only play that particular track, a playlist button (P) and a group button (G), which allow you to change how and when the track plays and what group it's in, and finally, an automation button (A), which allows you to access all the automation for the track. We'll learn more about automation in a later article calle Creating Automation.
Now let's try adding a MIDI track. MIDI tracks are useful (and necessary) if you want to record and work with MIDI data from a MIDI controller.
To add a MIDI track, click Track > Add Track, Bus, or VCA... as we did above to open the Track and Bus creation wizard. This time, however, select MIDI Tracks from the options on the left, shown below.
As before, you should give your track a name that is descriptive and will help you identify what is recorded on the track later when you're working with the MIDI data. For these tracks, you cannot choose a configuration, but you can still add it to a group if you choose to.
An important aspect of the MIDI track that differs from Audio tracks is that, upon creating a MIDI track, you must choose a software instrument to play on the track (you can always change your choice later). Software instruments are similar to Plugins, and are found through the Plugin Manager. If you don't know what a plugin or software instrument is yet, do not fear! Check out the other article about Using Plugins for more info.
For now, you should just choose a software instrument. You can check out how it sounds later when you record some MIDI notes, which you can learn about in the article titled Importing and Recording Audio.
Once you click "Add and Close" you'll have a new empty MIDI track on which you can record whatever you want!
Note that your new MIDI track (shown at the bottom in this image) will be highlighted in green to differentiate it from other tracks! Now that you're a master at making tracks, check out other articles to learn how to record audio, manipulate audio regions, and put those tracks to good work!
To start creating a track, go to the top bar and click on Track > Add Track, Bus, or VCA...
This will bring up the track and bus creation wizard, in which you can choose whether you want to create a MIDI track or a Audio track, shown below.
Let's first focus on adding an Audio track. Audio tracks are where we can place sample audio regions, like the drum samples we will import for this project. For more on Importing Audio (which complements this article well) check out my other article about Importing and Recording Audio.
First, we need to decide how many tracks we want to add. In this case, we're just going to add one, but you can add as many as you like from the wizard. Then you need to give your track a name. Make sure you give your track a descriptive name based on the audio regions you'll be putting on your track, or else your session will get confusing very quickly. If you want to be even more organized, you can add your tracks to different Groups so that you can manipulate them together and keep track of how different tracks fit together. This, however, is not a necessary step.
The other important aspect of the wizards is the "Configuration" of your track. You can either have a Mono track or a Stereo track. These words refer to the number of inputs and outputs the track can have. A Mono track has one input and one output, while a Stereo track has two inputs and up to two outputs (although it can, and often will, have one output, depending on how it's configured).
You should choose the track type you want based on the type of audio region you're importing, and the way you want your tracks and buses to route (check out the other article on Buses and Routing for more information about that!) If you're not sure which way to go, creating a Mono track is always a safe bet!
Once you click "Add and Close" you'll have a brand new empty Audio track to which you can add sample audio regions! If you don't know how to import Audio files to add to your track, check out the other article about Importing and Recording Audio.
Each track has a Fader, which allows you to control the volume of the track. It also has a record button (red circle), to toggle recording on the track, a mute button (M), to mute the track so it doesn't play, a solo button, to toggle the scrubber to only play that particular track, a playlist button (P) and a group button (G), which allow you to change how and when the track plays and what group it's in, and finally, an automation button (A), which allows you to access all the automation for the track. We'll learn more about automation in a later article calle Creating Automation.
Now let's try adding a MIDI track. MIDI tracks are useful (and necessary) if you want to record and work with MIDI data from a MIDI controller.
To add a MIDI track, click Track > Add Track, Bus, or VCA... as we did above to open the Track and Bus creation wizard. This time, however, select MIDI Tracks from the options on the left, shown below.
As before, you should give your track a name that is descriptive and will help you identify what is recorded on the track later when you're working with the MIDI data. For these tracks, you cannot choose a configuration, but you can still add it to a group if you choose to.
An important aspect of the MIDI track that differs from Audio tracks is that, upon creating a MIDI track, you must choose a software instrument to play on the track (you can always change your choice later). Software instruments are similar to Plugins, and are found through the Plugin Manager. If you don't know what a plugin or software instrument is yet, do not fear! Check out the other article about Using Plugins for more info.
For now, you should just choose a software instrument. You can check out how it sounds later when you record some MIDI notes, which you can learn about in the article titled Importing and Recording Audio.
Once you click "Add and Close" you'll have a new empty MIDI track on which you can record whatever you want!
Note that your new MIDI track (shown at the bottom in this image) will be highlighted in green to differentiate it from other tracks! Now that you're a master at making tracks, check out other articles to learn how to record audio, manipulate audio regions, and put those tracks to good work!
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