DAW Basics
A digital audio workstation, or DAW, is software for recording, arranging and mixing music. Tracks hold different parts, clips hold sections of material, and the mixer combines their sound. Learn that shared structure first, then use your program's manual for the exact buttons.
- Audio records sound
- MIDI controls instruments
- export creates a listening file
Where you run into this
- Recording
- Programming
- Arranging
- Mixing
What am I looking at in a project?
- Tracks
Separate lanes for parts such as drums, bass and voice. A track also provides controls for how its signal is routed and mixed.
- Clips or regions
Pieces of recorded audio or note data that occupy time. You can arrange short sections into a longer song.
- The mixer
Controls for level, stereo position and signal flow. Its combined output is what you normally hear through your selected audio device.
What is the difference between audio and MIDI?
Audio stores a sound signal: a recorded voice, guitar or drum loop. MIDI stores performance instructions that an instrument turns into sound. A MIDI clip needs a software instrument or a connection to an external instrument.
If you change a MIDI track from a piano sound to a synth, its notes can remain the same. An audio recording already contains the original sound, so changing it involves processing or replacing that recording. MIDI and Sequencing goes deeper into what a MIDI note contains.
Build a small first project
- Set a simple pulseChoose 4/4 and a comfortable tempo. Create a four-bar region or loop range.
- Add an instrumentLoad a drum or keyboard sound on a suitable track. Confirm that it makes sound before recording a full part.
- Record or draw one phraseUse a few notes or drum hits. Play the four bars back and check that the loop begins and ends where you expect.
- Add a second partKeep it simple enough to hear how the two parts fit. Adjust their levels, save the project and export a short audio file.
How do bars, beats and the grid relate?
In 4/4, a bar contains four quarter-note beats. An eighth-note grid divides each beat in two; a sixteenth-note grid divides it in four. One bar then has sixteen sixteenth-note positions.
Snap helps you place material on grid positions. Quantizing adjusts existing note timing toward a chosen grid. Neither setting decides what rhythm you should write. A precise repeating pattern can be musically useful, and a performance may also need timing that sits between the lines.
Why can I see a track but hear nothing?
Follow the signal in order rather than changing several settings at once.
| Check | Question |
|---|---|
| Material | Is the playhead passing through a clip containing audio or notes? |
| Instrument | If it is MIDI, is it reaching an instrument that can make sound? |
| Track | Is the track muted, or is another track soloed? |
| Output | Is the signal routed to the main output or the intended bus? |
| Device | Is the DAW using the speakers, headphones or interface you are listening to? |
Meters help locate the break. If a track meter moves but the main output does not, inspect its routing. If the main output moves but you hear nothing, check the selected device and its output level.
What does recording enable actually do?
Record-enable, often called arming a track, selects a track for incoming recording. Monitoring determines whether you hear its live input through the DAW. Those are related but distinct controls.
For an audio recording, select the correct input and test a short take. For a MIDI recording, select the controller and confirm that notes reach the instrument. Check your DAW's recording instructions because track types and monitoring behavior differ.
How do I turn a loop into a song?
Copy or arrange the loop into sections, then give the sections a reason to differ. Leave the bass out of the intro, simplify a verse part or change the drum pattern at the chorus.
Save a new version before major changes. A project with clearly named tracks and section markers is easier to continue than a collection of unnamed loops.
What is the difference between saving and exporting?
Saving preserves the editable project. Exporting or rendering creates an audio file for listening outside the DAW. Your project may also depend on separate samples and recordings, so use the program's file-collection or project-consolidation tools when archiving or moving it.
After exporting, play the file in another player. Check the beginning, ending and any effect tail, and confirm you exported the intended section.