Jon Connolly is the most sought-after Pro Tools instructor in the world.
Having been with Avid since the company first started out as DigiDesign in the early ‘90s, he quickly became their Product Specialist in Los Angeles, offering Pro Tools installations, training, and support to major studios like Warner Bros., Universal, Capitol, The Village, Record One, Westlake, and more.
Today, Jon is a Pro Tools Master Instructor for Avid, travelling the world and training Pro Tools users of all levels. He also teaches at the world-renowned Berklee College of Music.
In this clip, Jon teaches you how to create a click track.
You should start by opening a new, blank Pro Tools session. From there, select the Track menu and go all the way to the bottom: there you’ll find the option to Create Click Track.
Your click will automatically appear in the Edit and Mix windows as an auxiliary input with the Pro Tools Click II plugin loaded.
You can change the tempo from the MIDI Controls section in the Edit window. It isn’t always enabled by default, so here’s how to do so:
Navigate to the upper right corner of the Edit window and find a drop-down arrow called the Edit Window View Selector. Click it, and you’ll find MIDI Controls as an option. Once you’ve enabled MIDI Controls, you’ll see tempo as a small area within the window. Click the number and type in the desired tempo, hitting return when you’re finished. The click track will now sync with the tempo you’ve chosen in MIDI Controls.
If you don’t hear your click, make sure that it’s enabled. Again from the MIDI Controls section, you’ll see a small metronome icon. Click the metronome button to enable the click track–it will turn blue to signify that it’s selected.
The shortcut to turn the metronome on and off is number 7 on the numeric keypad.
To tap the tempo of a song you’ve already imported into Pro Tools, simply select the tempo field in MIDI Controls and tap the T key on your keyboard.
Additionally, if you know you’ll need a click track in every new session you create, there’s a selectable preference to do so automatically. Go to the Setup menu in Pro Tools, choose Preferences, select the MIDI tab, and check the box next to “Automatically Create Click Track in New Sessions.” Now, every time you open up a new session in Pro Tools, a click track will already be there!
