Soundtrap Quick Start Guide

Welcome to Soundtrap! This guide will help you quickly get started and explore more features beyond our intro lesson.

1. Navigating the Studio

Once you're in the Soundtrap studio, you'll see several key areas:

• Tracks Area: This is where your instruments and audio recordings appear. Each horizontal strip is a track.
• Timeline: At the top, showing the time and measures of your song.
• Play/Pause/Record Buttons: Control your song playback.
• Library/Loop Browser: Usually on the right, where you can find pre-made loops and sounds.
• Instrument/Pattern Editor: Appears at the bottom when you select an instrument track, allowing you to edit notes or drum patterns.

2. Adding New Tracks

Click the "Add new track" button (often a + symbol).

Here are some common track types you can add:

• Voice & Microphones: For recording your singing, speaking, or any live sound.
• Drums & Beats: To create rhythm using drum machines or virtual drum kits.
• Synthesizer: To play various electronic sounds, from basslines to melodies.
• Guitar & Bass: For connecting a real guitar or bass, or using virtual amps.
• Loops: Pre-recorded musical phrases you can drag and drop into your project.

3. Working with Loops

Soundtrap has a huge library of pre-made loops that can instantly make your music sound professional.

1. Click on the Loop icon (often looks like a musical note or a circular arrow) usually on the right side of the screen.
2. You can filter loops by Genre, Instrument, or Mood.
3. Click on a loop to preview it.
4. Drag and Drop the loop directly into your project on an empty track.
5. You can resize the loop by dragging its edge to make it longer or shorter.

4. Editing Your Music (MIDI Editor)

For instrument tracks (like drums or synthesizers), you can edit the notes you've played or programmed.

1. Double-click on a region of your instrument track in the tracks area.
2. This will open the Piano Roll or Pattern Editor at the bottom.
3. Each horizontal bar represents a note. You can:
   • Add new notes: Click on an empty space.
   • Delete notes: Select a note and press delete, or right-click.
   • Move notes: Drag them horizontally (for time) or vertically (for pitch/different drum sounds).
   • Change length: Drag the ends of the note bars.

5. Adding Effects

Effects can dramatically change the sound of your tracks. Think of them as special audio filters!

1. Select the track you want to add effects to.
2. Look for the Effects section (often on the left panel or in the track settings).
3. Click "Add effect" and browse through options like:
   • Reverb: Makes sounds echo and feel like they're in a big space.
   • Delay: Creates repeating echoes.
   • Distortion: Makes sounds gritty or fuzzy (great for guitars!).
   • EQ (Equalizer): Adjusts the brightness or bassiness of a sound.

6. Saving and Sharing

Soundtrap automatically saves your projects, but it's always good to manually save too!

• Look for the "Save" button (often a floppy disk icon or just the word "Save") in the top bar.
• To share your finished song, click the "Share" button. You can invite collaborators or export your song as an audio file.

Music Thoughts Warm-Up

Instructions: Take 2-3 minutes to jot down your thoughts on the following question.

Have you ever created music before? If so, what tools did you use? If not, what do you imagine it would be like to create your own music?

My First Beat Reflection

Instructions: Please answer the following questions to reflect on today's Soundtrap lesson.

1. What was one new thing you learned about digital music production today?
   
   
   
   
   
   

2. Describe the beat you created. What instruments did you use?
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. What is one thing you would like to explore further in Soundtrap?