1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
|
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE section PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN" "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd" [
]>
<section id="sn-working-with-layers">
<title>Working with layers</title>
<para>
It is possible to arrange regions in a playlist (track) so that they
overlap - one starts before another finishes, for example. Because of
this, its important that there is a clear and understandable rule for
what you will hear when playing back these kinds of region arrangements.
</para>
<para>
Every region in a playlist is assigned to a layer. There can only ever
be one region on a given layer, although rearranging the playlist
(track) may change which region is on which layer. At any given point
along the timeline, you will hear the uppermost region at that point.
</para>
<para>
Of course, nothing in digital audio is ever quite that simple, and so of
course there are some complications:
</para>
<section id="layers-crossfades">
<title> Crossfades </title>
<para>
Whenever two regions overlap, there is the potential for a
<link linkend="sn-working-with-crossfades">crossfade</link> between
them. If the crossfade is not muted, then you will hear the contents
of the crossfade during the overlap, not just the uppermost region.
</para>
</section>
<section id="region-opacity">
<title> Region Opacity </title>
<para>
In a perverse nod to image manipulation programs, Ardour allows you to
make regions transparent. By default, all regions are created opaque,
which means that when they are playing, no region below them are
audible. However, if you change the region to be transparent, the
region will be audible together with any regions below it. This
capability should probably not be abused - if you really want to mix
sounds together in this way, they should probably live in their own
tracks. Occasionally though, this can be useful trick.
</para>
<para>
To change the opacity of a region, popup the region's editor,
accessible by context clicking on the region. Then click on the
"opaque" button, turning it on or off as desired.
</para>
</section>
<section id="layering-styles">
<title> Layering Styles </title>
<para>
When you are recording new material for a track, its typical to want
to new material recorded "over" existing material in the track to be
what you hear on playback. For example, if you overdub part of a
guitar solo, you normally want the overdub to be audible, not hidden
by the old version that was already there. By contrast, when editing
using splitting/trimming/moving of regions to create a particular
arrangement along the timeline, many people find that they want
regions that start later on the timeline to be the ones that are
audible.
</para>
<para>
To facilitate these two contradictory desires, Ardour features three
different styles for assigning regions to layers.
</para>
<variablelist>
<title></title>
<varlistentry>
<term>Most recently added regions are higher</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Use this style when recording/overdubbing new material. Edits of
any kind do not modify the layering.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Most recently added/moved/trimmed regions are higher</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Use this style when recording/overdubbing new material, but you
want basic edits to cause regions to rise to the top.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Later regions are higher</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Use this style when rearranging and editing regions.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>
A new session has the layering style set to "Most recently
added/moved/trimmed regions are higher". To change the layering style,
open the <emphasis>options editor</emphasis> and select the
"Layers&Fades" page. There is an option there to select the style
you want. Layering style may be changed at any time. The existing
layering of all playlists is not changed when changing the layering
model.
</para>
</section>
<section id="modifying-layering-by-hand">
<title> Modifying Layering By Hand </title>
<para>
If you want a particular region to be the uppermost when the current
layering style has put it on a lower layer, context click on the
region. Select the region from the menu that pops up, and in the
submenu that appears, choose one of "Move region to lowest layer" or
"Move region to upper layer". The layering for the playlist will be
recalculated to ensure that the region is on the layer you chose.
Note: these operations only have any effect if using one of the "Most
recently .." layer models.
</para>
<para>
You can see the precise layer a region is assigned in the popup region
editor, accessible by context clicking on the region.
</para>
<note>
<para>
At one time, Ardour offered more explicit control over the layering,
allowing you to move regions up or down to specific layers. This was
found to be problematic, confusing, and generally rendered
unnecessary by both of the layering styles the program now offers.
</para>
</note>
</section>
<!--
<xi:include xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
href="Some_Subsection.xml" />
-->
</section>
|
