105 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
105 lines
4.5 KiB
Markdown
+++
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title = "Creating looped sections"
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description = "Creating and combining region duplicates in Ardour"
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chapter = false
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weight = 8
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+++
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You can easily repeat sections of audio in your Ardour session.
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Here, we take the short rhythmic passage we created in _Working with Regions_
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and duplicate it to make a loop.
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Before duplicating the passage, it is a good idea to combine individual regions
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in the same track into a single one: it is easier to move them around this way,
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and it prevents you from accidentally moving a single hihat out of place, for
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example. There are two ways of doing this: _Combine Regions_ (allows you to
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"uncombine" later on), and _Consolidate Range_ ("writes it in stone", does not
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allow you to separate them later).
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If you are still planning on making alterations to the rhythm (adding, removing,
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or moving individual regions), it may be better to use the _Combine_ regions
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option. If you like the sequence the way it is and don't want or don't care to
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have the ability to separate them later, use _Consolidate Range_ option.
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## Combine Regions
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Simply select all the regions you want to combine:
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{{< figure alt="combine" src="en/ardour7-combine-regions-1.png" >}}
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Then go to menu `Region > Edit > Combine` (or right-click on the selected
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regions and find the same option through the context menu, as shown below):
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{{< figure alt="combine2" src="en/ardour7-combine-regions-2.png" >}}
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The combined regions will look like this (note the word "compound" appended to
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the name):
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{{< figure alt="combine4" src="en/ardour7-combine-regions-3.png" >}}
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Should you need to separate them again in the future, simply select the compound
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region and go to the same menu and choose the option _Uncombine_.
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## Consolidating the Range
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A more permanent alternative to _Combine_ is to use the _Consolidate_. When
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you've arranged your regions into a single "loop cycle" and you're satisfied
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with the sound, create a _range_ with all the regions that will make up the
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loop.
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First, make sure every track used in the loop is selected. Unselected tracks are
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gray, and selected ones are colored (depending on UI theme). If any of the
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tracks you used are not selected, hold down the **Shift** key while clicking on
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them to add them to the selected group. Finally, use the Range tool to select
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the entire loop.
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Once again, the _Grid_ setting will help you to set the range precisely to the
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start and end points of your metric bar. Once you have the entire loop selected,
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right-click on the range and select _Consolidate range_. If you would like any
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automation or plugin effects you have added to the loop to be included, select
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_Consolidate range with processing_.
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{{< figure alt="consolidate" src="en/ardour7-consolidate-range-1.png" >}}
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When the range is consolidated, new regions will appear in each track, each
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containing all the repetitions of the samples which you set up in the previous
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steps. Remember, once the range is consolidated, there is no way to undo this
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operation. In any case, if you find that you need to alter the rhythm in any
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way, you can always retrieve the original individual samples from the region
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List and rebuild the pattern with them.
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{{< figure alt="consolidate2" src="en/ardour7-consolidate-range-2.png" >}}
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## Duplicating the Range
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After you have merged individual regions that form your pattern (using
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either _Combine_) or _Consolidate)_), it's time to duplicate the
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pattern to make it loop for several bars.
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The _Multi-Duplicate_ feature (seen in the [Working with
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regions](../working-with-regions/) chapter) is a good way to accomplish this.
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Go back to _Grab_ mode (**G**) , select all regions, and hit
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**Shift+D**. Choose how many times you want to duplicate the pattern (for
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example, 16). After duplication our session looks something like this:
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{{< figure alt="multi-dup" src="en/ardour7-multi-duplicate.png" >}}
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Just for review, other options you could have used for duplication are:
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- The _Fill Track_ command from menu `Region > Duplicate > Fill Track`. This
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would fill the entire track with copies of the selected regions, all the way up
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to the_End Marker_.
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- The single _Duplicate_ command from the same menu (**Alt+D**). This
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lets you make a single copy at a time.
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- The single duplicate action with **Ctrl+Click** on the region + _Drag a copy_.
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## Continuing
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In the next tutorial we will learn about stretching/shrinking regions that are
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longer or shorter than one bar in order to fit the rhythm of our passage.
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Next: [STRETCHING/SHRINKING REGIONS](../stretching-shrinking-regions)
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