Effect Series: How to use Automation
For this effect, we’ve created a project that you can work on while going through the instructions. Click here to open it up in the studio.
In this episode, we’ll uncover the magic of automation! While it sounds like a word from a 80’s sci-fi movie, the concept of automation is simple - to control a sound setting over time. We’ll cover all three automation options in Soundtrap - to adjust volume, panning, and to make epic sweeps! Automation is very important for producers, as it can create the difference between ‘dull’ and ‘interesting’. When an effect is changing in real-time, it gives life and movement to our mix - two words that I’ve rambled on about in these series, but are worth noting again and again!
Open up the project here, and for this step, play tracks 1-4 as you’re going through the following steps. We’ll get to the other tracks in the following sections.
Let’s get some automation action going! In this hazy R&B tune, we have a keyboard that’s playing some bars alone at the end. Automation is perfect for creating good-sounding fade-outs, so let’s do just that! Start by clicking on the automation icon on ‘Track 2 - Keys Normal’. Then, place four dots like in the first picture below, and hold and drag the dots to recreate the second picture below. Now, we have a great-sounding ending to our song!
Automation dots
End result
Do you have any questions on this? Reply with a comment and our Audio Producer will explain further!
In this section, we’ll get some panning action with automation. Like you might remember from one of our previous Effect Series, panning lets us place sounds in different directions in the stereo image. With a regular pan knob, we can only make our sound sit still in a certain direction - with automation, we can make a sound move from left to right!
Open up the project here, and for this step, play tracks 1-5 as you’re going through the following steps. We’ll get to the other tracks in the next section.
We have a snappy hi-hat pumping 16th notes for us in our track. However, this kind of pattern can become pretty unnerving after a while without variation. In RnB and Hip Hop songs, producers are very aware of this. To solve it, they create subtle, small variations in their hi-hats to make them interesting and less static. Let’s create some variation for our hi-hats with panning automation! Open up automation on ‘Track 5 - Hi-hat’ and place four dots on every second region, like in the first picture below. Then, drag and hold the dots to recreate the second picture below. Now, the hats are moving from left to right, creating great variation!
Automation dots
End result
Do you have any questions on this? Reply with a comment and our Audio Producer will explain further!
Automation lets us control a sound over time, which is crucial to make our mix come alive and really pop out of the speakers. In the previous posts we’ve gone through volume and pan automation - now it’s time to uncover sweep automation!
Open up the project here, and for this step, play tracks all as you’re going through the following steps.
As we’ve created some interesting movement for the hi-hats and a nice fade-out, our intro is left untouched and is yearning for some tinkering! We have three instruments playing in the first two bars, so let’s make a sweep for each of them to create a cool beginning to the tune.
Open automation and select ‘Sweep’ on ‘Track 2 - Keys Normal’. Then, change the automation setting to ‘Hollow’ by clicking the automation box in the track header.
Then, place four dots as in the first picture below, and edit them to mirror the second picture below. After that, repeat the same process for Track 6 and Track 8, and voíla - a smooth intro to our song is created!
Automation dots
End result
Do you have any questions on this? Reply with a comment and our Audio Producer will reply!
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Hi! Yes, you can find these examples in the project here. Hope this helps! Let us know if there's anything else :)
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Hi, thanks for getting in touch!
We're afraid this isn't possible yet, but a quick and easy workaround is to highlight the section of the automation and then copy (Ctrl/Cmd + C) immediately (since the highlight disappears once you release the mouse button). You can then paste it in the section underneath the track you moved.
Hope this helps! Let us know if you have further questions :)
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Hi @Michele Sharik, thank you for reaching out.
To delete an automation point/dot, you can simply select it and hit Delete or Backspace. To know more about Automation, check it our here.
Let us know if you need further assistance :)
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Thanks, Jethro -- I thought I had tried that, but maybe I wasn't selecting it right. Whenever I tried to select one, I just accidentally created a new one. 🤷♀️
However, I have since found another way: highlight the region with the dots & then click Delete/Backspace. This allows you to delete multiple dots at once. 👍
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