Arranger tracks

A project can contain multiple Arranger tracks, with each track containing its own set of sections.Multiple Arranger tracks provides many benefits, including:

Simultaneously declare multiple sections intersecting within a given range of time.

Define and organize sub-sections within a larger section. For example, if you have a live recording of multiple songs, you can use one Arranger track to mark out each song, and another to mark out the verses and choruses within each song.

Use multiple sections for generic annotation within a project.

Figure 157. Multiple Arranger tracks.

A. Multiple Arranger tracks (the active track is highlighted) B. Active Arranger track C. Current arrangement (can contain sections from any Arranger track) 

To show/hide all Arranger tracks

To show or hide all Arranger tracks, click the Track view View menu and choose Arranger Track Show/Hide, or press A.

To resize Arranger tracks, drag the splitter bar between the Arranger pane and the Track pane to change its height.

Figure 158. Drag the splitter bar vertically to resize the Arranger track.

Arranger tracks are empty until you define one or more sections (see Defining sections of your song).

There's no limit to the number of Arranger tracks you can create, but only 8 can be visible at once. To hide an Arranger track, right click on the Arranger track header and select Hide from the context menu. For details, see To hide individual Arranger tracks.

To make an arranger track visible again, select it from the context menu or from the Arranger Inspector’s Sections drop-down menu. For details, see To show hidden Arranger tracks.

The active Arranger track is always shown in the Arranger Inspector. To select the active track, click on the Arranger track header, or select it from the Arranger Inspector’s Sections drop-down menu. The active Arranger track is highlighted in the Arranger track header.

Arranger timeline

The Arranger track timeline shows all defined sections. You can drag to create and rearrange sections, then freely move them along the timeline.

Any changes in the Arranger timeline are immediately reflected in the Arranger Inspector’s Sections list, and vice versa.

 

Tip: To zoom the Clips pane so it shows the full width of a section plus a small portion of adjacent sections, hold down the SHIFT key and double-click a section. Repeat to return to the previous zoom level, or press ALT+Z.

To create a new Arranger track

To create a new Arranger track, do one of the following:

In the Arranger Inspector, click the Sections menu and select Add Arranger Track to create a new empty track, or select New Arranger Track from Template to create a new track from an existing Arranger template.

In the Track view, right-click any Arranger track name and select New to create a new empty track, or select New Arranger Track from Template to create a new track from an existing Arranger template.

In the Media Browser, select the Arranger Templates content location preset, then drag a template (.arr file) to the Arranger Inspector’s Sections area or to the Arranger Track header area in the Track view.

 

Note: Only 8 Arranger tracks can be shown simultaneously. If 8 Arranger tracks are already visible, you must first hide at least one track before you can create a new Arranger track (see To hide individual Arranger tracks).

To rename an Arranger track

To rename an Arranger track, do one of the following:

Double-click the Arranger track name in the Track view or Arranger Inspector.

Right-click the Arranger track header and select Rename.

In the Arranger Inspector, select the Arranger track you want to rename, then click the Sections menu and select Rename.

To duplicate an Arranger track

To duplicate an Arranger track, do one of the following:

Right-click the Arranger track header and select Duplicate.

In the Arranger Inspector, select the Arranger track you want to duplicate, then click the Sections menu and select Duplicate Arranger Track.

To delete an Arranger track

To delete an Arranger track, do one of the following:

In the Arranger Inspector, select the Arranger track you want to delete, then click the Sections menu and select Delete Arranger Track.

In the Track view, right-click the Arranger track name and select Delete.

 

Note: In order to delete a hidden Arranger track, first make the track visible, then select the Delete command.

To hide individual Arranger tracks

The Track view can show up to 8 Arranger tracks simultaneously. If a project contains 8 visible Arranger tracks, you will not be able to create any additional tracks unless you first hide an existing track.

To hide an Arranger track, do one of the following:

In the Arranger Inspector, click the Sections menu and select Hide to hide the active Arranger track.

In the Track view, right-click the Arranger track name and select Hide.

Hidden Arranger tracks appear in parenthesis in menus.

A. Hidden track (name is shown in parenthesis) 

To show hidden Arranger tracks

To show a hidden Arranger track, do one of the following:

In the Arranger Inspector, click the Sections menu and select the hidden Arranger track.

In the Track view, right-click any Arranger track name and select the hidden Arranger track from the context menu.

 

Note: Only 8 Arranger tracks can be shown simultaneously. If 8 Arranger tracks are already visible, you must first hide at least one track before you can make another hidden track visible again.

To only show the active Arranger track

Although a project can contain multiple Arranger tracks, you may want simplify the UI and only display the active Arranger track.

To only show the active Arranger track in the Track view, do one of the following:

In the Arranger Inspector, click the Sections menu and select Only Show Active Arranger Track.

In the Track view, right-click any Arranger track name and select Only Show Active Arranger Track.

Click the Track view View menu and select Display > Only Show Active Arranger Track.

A. All Arranger tracks visible (up to 8 simultaneously) B. Only active Arranger track visible 

To sort Arranger tracks

To change the order of Arranger tracks in the Track view, drag the track names up/down.

Arranger track time base

The time base format for each Arranger track can be set to either Musical or Absolute. The time base format determines what happens to sections when you change the project tempo.

To toggle between musical and absolute time, click the icon to the left of the Arranger track name in the Track view:

Musical .  A section’s M:B:T position stays constant, and its absolute position shifts.

Absolute .  A section’s absolute position stays constant, and its M:B:T position shifts. Absolute time is useful for scoring to film/video. The Arranger track tooltip shows time as H:M:S:F and samples.

A. Musical time B. Absolute time 

When committing an arrangement, the following rules apply:

If all the sections came from absolute time Arranger tracks, the committed arrangement track will be absolute.

If the sections came from musical Arranger tracks (or a mixture of musical/absolute), the committed arrangement track will be musical.

Selection behaviors

You can choose whether a time selection contains sections from only the active Arranger track, or from all Arranger tracks. This is done from the Track view Options menu:

Select Sections with Time Ruler (Active Arranger Track). Making a time selection in the time ruler will also select any overlapping Arranger sections in the active Arranger track.

Select Sections with Time Ruler (All Arranger Tracks). Making a time selection in the time ruler will also select any overlapping Arranger sections in all Arranger tracks.

Ripple Edit All affects sections in all Arranger tracks.

The Cut Special, Copy Special, and Delete Special commands provide the option to include sections from only the active Arranger track, or from all Arranger tracks.

Section operation behaviors

Each Arranger track acts completely separately from one another, so section operations in one Arranger track will not affect other Arranger tracks. For example:

Section Move/Copy/Swap operations does not affect sections in other Arranger tracks

Moving sections between tracks does not affect clips

There are three exceptions:

Using Delete when Ripple Edit All in enabled

Using Project > Insert Time/Measures

Using Cut/Copy/Paste with all the sections range selected, or Ripple Edit All is enabled

 

See:

Arranger tracks

Arranger Inspector

Defining sections of your song

Section types

Editing sections

Creating arrangements

Navigating by Arranger sections

Exporting arrangements

Arranger templates