Music software resources

Audio software includes software for editing, recording, and altering playback of music.

Audacity, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and Transcribe! are audio software programs available on selected computers and circulating laptops at the Marvin Duchow Music Library.

Audacity is a free, open-source audio editing/recording software, available for Windows, MacOS, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. It is equipped with a range of effects and plugins, the ability to record or import audio, the ability to export in various formats, and accessibility options for visually impaired users. Learn more about this software and find the download link at audacityteam.org.

Audacity is available on selected computers and circulating laptops at the Music Library.

Audacity Manual

• An online manual including a Tour Guide, a "Getting Started" guide, beginner and advanced tutorials, how-to guides, and a link to the forum.
• For users of all levels
• Available in English only

Development Manual

• An alpha version of the online manual
• For users of all levels
• Translations of previous versions of the manual available in French, Croatian, Dutch, German, Greek, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese

Mike Russell Audacity Tutorials for Beginners Playlist

• A YouTube playlist of free video tutorials created by a professional audio producer
• For beginners
• Available in English only

Logic Pro is an audio editing software offered by Apple for MacOS. It has various tools, effects, and plugins for the recording, editing, and mixing processes, as well as beat-making and looping capabilities.

Logic Pro is available on selected computers and circulating laptops at the Music Library.

Logic Pro - Resources

• Resources from the Apple website including user guides (for Logic, MainStage, and Control Surfaces), troubleshooting support, and online communities.
• For users of all levels
• Available in English only
• Tip: scroll down to the Online Communities section of this page for a list of forums, user groups, and subreddits to connect with and learn from other members of the Logic Pro community.

MusicTechHelpGuy YouTube Channel

• Video tutorials ranging from short, stand-alone tip videos to full playlists containing beginner's guides or detailed production workflow tutorials
• For beginners and intermediate users.
• Available in English only

ASDR YouTube - Logic Pro X Playlist

• Video tutorials focused on one short topic per video
• For intermediate and advanced users.
• Available in English only

Music Library Resources

• Discover recent books about Logic Pro in the McGill Library catalogue.

Pro Tools is an audio editing software offered by Avid for Windows and MacOS. The software includes tools and plugins for recording, MIDI input, editing, mixing, and mastering, as well as loops and samples for music creation. Pro Tools is available either as a limited, free version or via paid subscription. 

Pro Tools Studio is available on selected computers and circulating laptops at the Music Library.

Pro Tools Documentation

• A hub to download guides from the Avid website, including Reference, Quick Reference (for beginners), Shortcuts, and Installation.
• For users of all levels
• Available in English and Japanese

Getting Started

• Video tutorials created by Avid, organized into categories
• For beginner to intermediate users
• Available in English only

Avid YouTube Channels

• Avid's official YouTube channels for various regions, containing tutorial and tip videos as well as other video content
• For users of all levels
• Available in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean.
• Tip: some Avid channels have more / different content than others. Navigate to the playlist tab of the regional channel of your choice to discover the content available in your language.

McGill Library Resources

• Discover recent books about Pro Tools in the McGill Library catalogue.

Transcribe! is a software program created to help musicians transcribe music by altering its playback. This program can apply various effects to an audio recording such as changing the speed without altering the pitch, identifying and visualizing pitches, transposing pitch, and filtering EQ

Transcribe! is available on selected computers and circulating laptops at the Music Library.

Transcribe! Overview - Video Tutorials

• A list of links to video and text tutorials curated by the creator of the software.
• For users of all levels
• Available in English, German, French, and Spanish