Getting the key, tempo and structure of your songs right can make a world of difference.

Pro Tools is often thought of primarily as a production environment, but it can also be an extremely powerful songwriting and arrangement tool. Many songwriting problems are actually arrangement problems, and one of the most valuable things a DAW can offer is the ability to experiment freely without damaging the version you already have. That might mean trying the song in a different key to better suit a vocalist, experimenting with alternate section orders to improve pacing, or changing the tempo to alter the energy of a performance. Possibly the single most important of these changes, particularly in vocal music, is finding the best key for the singer.

Get Shifty

Anyone who has spent time playing in bands will know that while instrumentalists may have preferences about which key a song should be played in, ultimately the correct key is the one that best suits the singer’s voice.

Very often, songs are written before a vocalist has fully lived with the arrangement, and it’s extremely common to discover that the song simply sits better a tone lower or a semitone higher. Finding the right key can completely change the confidence, tone and emotional impact of a performance.

If a song has been developed entirely using MIDI, changing key has never really been a problem. One of MIDI’s biggest advantages is that pitch can be changed freely and without any loss in quality. Audio tracks can be pitch‑shifted in real time using Elastic Audio, though pitch‑shifting always affects audio quality so I’d always recommend re‑recording in the new key if possible. Fortunately, there is a unified way to transpose an entire session containing both MIDI and audio tracks.

Before transposing audio tracks, Elastic Audio must first be enabled on every track you want to pitch‑shift. In most sessions, that will mean excluding drums and percussion. Elastic Audio is enabled from the Edit window track header using the Elastic Audio / ARA selector located directly beneath the automation mode selector. To enable it across multiple tracks at once, select all required tracks and Option+Shift‑click (Alt+Shift‑click on Windows) the desired Elastic Audio mode.

Not all Elastic Audio modes work with this workflow. Varispeed mode won’t function using this technique. Monophonic mode also doesn’t work, despite seeming like the obvious option for sources such as lead vocals or bass guitar. In practice, Polyphonic mode is the safest choice when auditioning alternate keys across an arrangement.

With Elastic Audio enabled where required, the next step is to select everything you want to transpose. The simplest way to do this is often to enable the All group in the Edit Groups list, place the insertion point after the final clip in the session, then use Shift+Return to extend the selection back to the start of the timeline.

Now go to Event / MIDI Operations / Transpose, or use the...