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Unit 1 · Lesson 3 of 9

The Piano Roll & the Grid

Count 16th notes, then draw, move, resize, and delete notes in the Piano Roll.

Warm-up 7 minLearn 15 minTry it in Logic 25 minCheck + exit 10 min
Learning targets
  • I can count a bar of 4/4 in quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes.
  • I can open the Piano Roll and draw, move, resize, copy, and delete notes.
  • I can set Snap so notes line up with the grid I choose.

Warm-up: count and clap

With the metronome at 80 BPM, the class claps along while counting out loud:

  1. Quarter notes: clap on 1, 2, 3, 4
  2. Eighth notes: clap on 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
  3. Sixteenth notes: clap on 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a

Dividing the beat

Quarter note
A note that lasts one beat. There are 4 in a bar of 4/4.
Eighth note
Half a beat. There are 8 in a bar of 4/4, counted 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.
Sixteenth note
A quarter of a beat. There are 16 in a bar of 4/4, counted 1 e & a 2 e & a… Most beats in this course are built on 16ths.

Here's one bar of 4/4 split into 16 boxes. Each box is one sixteenth. The orange column labels are the beats. This kind of diagram appears throughout the unit.

1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
Quarters
Eighths
Sixteenths

One bar of 4/4 · each box = one sixteenth note

Grid
The vertical lines in an editor that mark bars, beats, and smaller divisions. Notes line up with the grid.

The Piano Roll

Piano Roll
Logic's editor for MIDI notes. Pitch runs up and down (a piano keyboard is on the left), and time runs left to right. Each note is a bar: where it starts is when it plays, and its length is how long it lasts.
Pencil tool
A tool for drawing new notes by clicking in the Piano Roll.
Snap
The setting that decides which grid line a note jumps to when you draw or move it, such as 1/4, 1/8, or 1/16 note.
Heads up

Logic names middle C C3, not C4 like some other programs. When a step says C3, it means middle C.

Try it in Logic

Make an empty region and open the Piano Roll
  1. Open your project. Control-click (or right-click) an empty spot in your track's lane at bar 6 and choose Create MIDI Region. A one-bar empty region appears.
  2. Double-click the region, or select it and press P, to open the Piano Roll at the bottom of the window.
  3. Find the Snap menu at the top of the Piano Roll and set it to 1/16 Note.
  4. Choose the Pencil tool from the tool menu at the top of the Piano Roll.
Draw and edit notes
  1. Click on the C3 row at beats 1, 2, 3, and 4 to draw four quarter notes. If they come out too short, drag the right edge of each note to make it one beat long.
  2. Press Space (with Cycle on over bar 6) to hear it.
  3. Move: drag a note left, right, up, or down.
  4. Copy: hold Option while dragging a note.
  5. Resize: drag the right edge of a note.
  6. Delete: click a note and press Delete.
  7. Select all: click inside the Piano Roll and press ⌘A.
Practice

Program each rhythm into its own one-bar region on C3. Listen to each one with Cycle on, and count along.

1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
Rhythm A
Rhythm B
Rhythm C

Draw a sixteenth-note-long note for each lit box

Check your understanding

Quick check: How many sixteenth notes are in one bar of 4/4?

Quick check: In the Piano Roll, what does moving a note up or down change?

Exit ticket

Write the count for Rhythm B using 1 e & a syllables. Circle the syllables where a note plays.