Logic Pro (X) Piano sustain

T

Tom Senff

Logician
I'm having a problem with a piano part in a recording...... after I record it without even using the sustain pedal, it still sounds like I played the track WITH the pedal, down........ i.e., it does't stop...... is there a “notes off” feature or someway I can make the sustain stop? The weird thing is that it sounds normal when I start the playback right BEFORE the piano solo, but then I get the continual sustain if I start from the beginning.

I just read the posting with the explanation about checking the Event list and couldn't find the event list.......

Thanks!

tom
 
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Hello,

In the upper right of the Logic page is an icon that looks like a bulleted list. Clicking on it will open the Event List. (See the topmost red arrow in the attachment).

Or, use the key command: click on the letter 'D' on your computer keyboard to open it.

Look for controller data as shown in the attachment.

Another place to look is on the automation lane of the piano track.
Click on the letter 'A' to open it. The attachment shows an organ track with automation.

Hope this helps.
Report back what you're seeing.

Others members may jump in with a different way to go about solving your sustain issue.
 

Attachments

  • Event List.png
    Event List.png
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Thanks so much for your reply........ I immediately went to the Event window and searched but could find NOT ONE “control” feature in the window. What does this mean? Also if I had found one, what do I do with it? What exactly do I do to reduce the sustain? I appreciate the attachment you sent and it looks great....... not sure why I don't have the control for in the menu.......

tom
 
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More information is needed to better understand what's going on.

Is there any automation on the track? Click on letter 'A'.

What piano plug-in are you using?

What happens if you mute the solo piano track, thenn create a new track and re-record the part with a new instance of the piano plug-in? Does anything change?
 
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Thanks again, CSeye........ there is no automation on the piano track........ I'm using the Steinway Grand Piano patch I found in the regular Logic library. I don't know about re-recording the piano track but I can try......... was hoping for an easier fix.......

tom
 
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I just tried something that worked, CSeye........ I re-recorded about 2 bars before the piano solo, making sure the sustain pedal wasn't being used and sure enough, it cancelled the sustain on the solo...... thanks for your help!

I'm going to put in another thread on a different subject that I hope you'll see......

tom
 
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Returning to CSeye's first post, when you looked in the Event list, was the box at the top containing the word 'Controller' highlighted blue? If not, then MIDI Control information (which includes Sustain Pedal commands) wouldn't appear in the list. Make sure the 'Controller' box is highlighted blue by clicking on it, then check the list again. Control 64=127 means the pedal is down, and Control 64=0 means it's released again, and it sounds like what's happening is that you are starting to play your piece at a point where it has just missed playing back the Control 64=0 command to cancel the Sustain Pedal.
 
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Thank you, Sonny....... the word “Controller” was NOT highlighted blue...... I'll fix that as you suggested.......
I very much appreciate the added information!

tom
 
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sonnykeyes said:
...when you looked in the Event list, was the box at the top containing the word 'Controller' highlighted blue?
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing this out.
It would help this solve mystery if Tom posts back indicating whether or not the Controller button was active.
 
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Tom, you're right. I read you're comment too quickly.
The point is that when a button is active, that type of data - notes, pitch bend, or controller is visible.

A hypothetical application: With the controller button active and Control 64 present in the Event list as described by Sonny Keyes above, you could remove this data by deactivating the Notes button. This would filter the Event list to only show controller data, assuming the absence of pitch bend or program change data . EDIT: Select all of the problem Control 64 data within a specific time range, then delete it. Reactivate the Notes button to see the notes again.

Sometimes, I may forget to use a MIDI guitar converter preset without pitch bend. After recording MIDI I notice the pitch bend data. No problem, deactivate Notes (and maybe Controller) so that only pitch bend data remains. Select all and delete. Reactive notes and controller buttons.

Cheers!
 
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Wait! Let's keep that hypothetical application hypothetical! Deleting all the Control 64 data will eliminate all the pedal presses you recorded when you played the part in originally, which will surely create problems...
 
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No doubt, Sonny, but as I mentioned I solved the problem the old fashioned way........ I went back a few bars and re-recorded the piano part being sure of my pedal usage and it took out the held notes...... I'm sure your method was far more scientific and appropriate but I tend to fall back on my mundane methods!!

Thanks again!

tom
 
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sonnykeyes said:
Wait! Let's keep that hypothetical application hypothetical! Deleting all the Control 64 data will eliminate all the pedal presses you recorded when you played the part in originally, which will surely create problems...
Click to expand...
This is true.

Selecting Control 64 within a specific time range (the problem area) in the Event List vs. selecting all instances of this controller should avoid creating other problems. I don't typically use CC64 so maybe i'm underestimating this issue.

I marked up my previous post to clearly indicate selectively deleting data vs. all.
 
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As a final observation, there are often instances in performed piano parts where starting in the middle of the song yields the unwanted result that Tom originally reported, simply because Logic is convinced that the pedal is down when it is supposed to be up, (and often vice versa, when the piano seems oddly staccato until the next CC64=127 is encountered in the timeline) and the solution is usually to start a bar or two earlier for your punch-in so the pedal cue is picked up correctly. It may not, therefore, be necessary to delete anything.
 
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sonnykeyes said:
Control 64=127 means the pedal is down, and Control 64=0 means it's released again
Click to expand...
I'm having a tricky issue with my sustain pedal. In the Event List, I'm seeing values in between 0 and 127, so I'm finding that the sustain isn't ever really "clearing" when it should (ie if I have not fully released the pedal, but retained a slight foot pressure on it perhaps). I thought sustain would be either value=0 or value=127 (ie. sustain off or sustain on) - I'm surprised to find values in between as well!
Anyone know what I can do to remedy this? At the moment all my recordings that use pedal are sounding blurry! :(
 
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