manual/include/creating-music-with-ardour.html

<p>
  Ardour can be used in many different ways, from extremely simple to extremely
  complex. Many projects can be handled using the following kind of
  <dfn>workflow</dfn>:
</p>

<h2>Stage 1: Creating The Project</h2>

<p>
  The first step is to create a new <dfn>session</dfn>, or open an existing
  one. A session consists of a folder containing a session file that defines
  all the information about the session. All media files used by the session
  are usually stored within the session folder.
</p>

<p class="note">
  More details on sessions can be found in <a href="@@sessions">Sessions</a>
  chapter.
</p>

<h2>Stage 2: Creating and Importing Audio and MIDI Data</h2>

<p>
  Once a session has been created, it will be necessary to add some audio
  and/or MIDI material to it&mdash;which can be done in one of 3 ways:
</p>

<ul>
  <li><dfn>Record</dfn> incoming audio or MIDI data, either via audio or MIDI
  hardware connected to the computer, or from other applications</li>
  <li><dfn>Create</dfn> new MIDI data using the mouse and/or various dialogs
  </li>
  <li><dfn>Import</dfn> existing media files into the session</li>
</ul>

<p>
  <dfn>MIDI recordings</dfn> consist of performance data ("play note X at time
  T") rather than actual sound. As a result, they are more flexible than actual
  audio, since the precise sound that they will generate when played depends on
  where the MIDI data is sent to. Two different synthesizers may produce very
  different sounds in response to the same incoming MIDI data.
</p>

<p>
  <dfn>Audio recordings</dfn> can be made from external instruments with
  electrical outputs (keyboards, guitars, etc.), or via microphones or other sound capturing equipment.
</p>

<p>
  Ardour uses the <dfn>JACK Audio Connection Kit</dfn> for all audio and MIDI
  I/O, which means that recording audio/MIDI from other applications is
  fundamentally identical to recording audio/MIDI from audio/MIDI hardware.
</p>

<p class=fixme>Sanity check: is this true anymore? Does Ardour's ALSA backend make this statment not exactly true?</p>

<h2>Stage 3: Editing and Arranging</h2>

<p>
  Once there is material within the session, it can be arranged in time. This
  is done in one of the two main windows of Ardour: the <dfn>Editor</dfn>
  window.
</p>

<p>
  Audio/MIDI data appears in chunks called <dfn>regions</dfn>, which are
  arranged into horizontal lanes called <dfn>tracks</dfn>. Tracks are stacked
  vertically in the Editor window. Regions can be copied, shortened, moved, and
  deleted without changing the actual data stored in the session at
  all&mdash;Ardour is a <dfn>non-destructive</dfn> editor. (Almost) nothing
  done while editing will ever modify the files stored on disk (with the
  exception of the session file itself).
</p>

<p>
  Many <dfn>transformations</dfn> can be done to the contents of regions, again
  without altering anything on disk. It is possible to alter, move, and delete
  MIDI notes, and remove silence from audio regions, for example.
</p>

<p class=fixme>Sanity check: deleting MIDI notes doesn't change them on disk? Isn't anything done to MIDI a destructive operation?</p>

<h2>Stage 4: Mixing and Adding Effects</h2>

<p>
  Once the arrangement of the session mostly complete, the next step is the
  <dfn>mixing</dfn> phase. Mixing is a broad term to cover the way the audio
  signals that the session generates during playback are processed and added
  together into a final result that is actually heard. It can involve altering
  the relative levels of various parts of the session, adding effects that
  improve or transform certain elements, and others that bring the sound of the
  whole session to a new level.
</p>

<p>
  Ardour allows <dfn>automation</dfn> of changes to any mixing parameters (such
  as volume, panning, and effects controls)&mdash;it will record the changes
  made over time, using a mouse or keyboard or some external control device,
  and can play back those changes later. This is very useful because often the
  settings needed will vary in one part of a session compared to
  another&mdash;rather than using a single setting for the volume of a track,
  it may need increases followed by decreases (for example, to track the
  changing volume of a singer). Using automation can make all of this
  relatively easy.
</p>

<h2>Stage 5: Export</h2>

<p>
  Once the arrangement and mix of the session is finalized, a single audio file
  that contains a ready-to-listen to version of the work is usually desired.
  Ardour allows the <dfn>exporting</dfn> of audio files in a variety of formats
  (simultaneously in some cases). This exported file would typically be used in
  creating a CD, or be the basis for digital distribution of the work.
</p>

<p>
  Of course it is sometimes desirable to export material that isn't finished
  yet&mdash;for example, to give a copy to another party to mix on their own
  system. Ardour allows exporting as much of a session as desired, at any
  time, in any supported format.
</p>