# Apple Logic Pro for Composition: instructor pacing guide

## Delivery model

This is a 24-28 hours college-level intensive for students beginning with no application-specific experience. Students complete the 75-minute Professional Media Workflow Foundation first. Module checkpoints are formative; the completed portfolio is assessed with the 100-point rubric.

## Lab readiness

- Current Logic Pro on an institution-managed Mac.
- MIDI keyboard recommended but not required; Musical Typing is supported.
- Headphones or lab monitors and at least 12 GB of free project storage.
- No notation, keyboard, or prior DAW knowledge is required.
- Create one clean student account and complete every guided build before release.
- Publish the exact tested application version, workspace/keymap assumptions, storage location, and support escalation route.
- Provide captions and transcripts for demonstrations, text alternatives for diagrams, and additional time or alternate input methods where required.

## Module 1: Turn a brief into a musical project

**Student workload:** 3 hours

**Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account.

**Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection.

**Outcomes:**
- Navigate Tracks area, Library, Inspector, Mixer, editors, and transport.
- Set project tempo, meter, key context, and file organization.
- Write a composition intention with measurable constraints.

**Checkpoint:** Submit the empty mapped project, intention statement, palette list, and a screenshot identifying the main Logic work areas.

**Common diagnostic prompts:**
- Playback continues beyond the intended duration: Set and verify the project end marker, cycle region, and any trailing regions or automation.
- A region changes when tempo changes: Identify whether it is MIDI, Apple Loop, Flex-enabled audio, or absolute-time material and choose the intended behavior.
- The palette becomes unmanageably large: Return to role-based tracks and replace rather than accumulate similar sounds.

## Module 2: Construct rhythm, meter, and groove

**Student workload:** 3.5 hours

**Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account.

**Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection.

**Outcomes:**
- Program and edit a coherent drum pattern.
- Use velocity and timing to shape groove.
- Develop rhythmic variation across formal sections.

**Checkpoint:** Submit MIDI regions, rhythm-only bounce, groove comparison, and an annotated pattern showing pulse, accents, subdivision, and variations.

**Common diagnostic prompts:**
- The groove feels late rather than relaxed: Identify which anchor should remain stable and move only supporting subdivisions or adjust swing amount.
- Kick and bass lose impact together: Inspect timing, note length, register, phase if audio is layered, and arrangement density before adding processing.
- Fills sound pasted on: Derive their rhythm or timbre from existing material and make them lead into a formal event.

## Module 3: Write harmony, bass, and melody

**Student workload:** 4 hours

**Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account.

**Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection.

**Outcomes:**
- Create a harmonic progression with controlled tension and release.
- Write a bass part that clarifies harmony and groove.
- Develop a memorable motif into a complete melodic phrase.

**Checkpoint:** Submit the MIDI project, annotated chord/voice-leading map, motif development sheet, and two harmonized bounces.

**Common diagnostic prompts:**
- Chord changes sound disconnected: Reduce voice movement, sustain common tones, reconsider bass leaps, and align harmonic rhythm with phrase structure.
- Melody follows every chord too literally: Preserve motif identity across harmony and use target notes rather than arpeggiating each chord.
- The bass masks harmony: Simplify duration or register, coordinate with kick, and leave space for chord attacks.

## Module 4: Arrange form, texture, and orchestration

**Student workload:** 3.5 hours

**Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account.

**Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection.

**Outcomes:**
- Create a complete beginning-to-end arrangement.
- Use register and density to clarify musical roles.
- Build transitions that prepare rather than merely decorate formal change.

**Checkpoint:** Submit the full arrangement, form-and-density map, transition audit, and uninterrupted listening notes.

**Common diagnostic prompts:**
- The piece sounds like repeated loops: Change internal events, phrase endings, texture, harmony, and transition logic rather than only muting whole tracks.
- The climax arrives too early: Control register, density, loudness, harmonic tension, and strongest timbres across the whole arc.
- Transitions feel like effects pasted on top: Connect them to existing rhythmic, melodic, or timbral material and the exact next-section entrance.

## Module 5: Shape expression, recording, and automation

**Student workload:** 3.5 hours

**Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account.

**Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection.

**Outcomes:**
- Edit MIDI for phrasing rather than visual regularity.
- Record and comp a playable performance.
- Use automation to reinforce form and expression.

**Checkpoint:** Submit raw and edited performances, automation comparison, recorded texture, and a change log explaining five expressive edits.

**Common diagnostic prompts:**
- MIDI feels uneven after quantization: Inspect note length, velocity, articulation, controller data, and interaction with other parts instead of increasing quantize strength.
- Automation jumps at region boundaries: Check breakpoint values immediately before and after the boundary and whether region and track automation are both active.
- Recording latency affects performance: Reduce buffer and monitoring load, use direct or low-latency monitoring where available, and verify compensation after recording.

## Module 6: Mix, deliver, and explain the composition

**Student workload:** 3 hours plus capstone work

**Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account.

**Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection.

**Outcomes:**
- Mix for musical hierarchy and translation.
- Export a master and aligned role-based stems.
- Package a clean Logic project with composition and QC notes.

**Checkpoint:** The capstone package is the checkpoint: Logic project, master, stems, composition map, decision log, QC report, and walkthrough.

**Common diagnostic prompts:**
- Stems sound different from the full mix: Check bus processing, sidechains, shared effects, master processing, automation, and whether returns were included consistently.
- The master clips after bounce: Inspect overs, true peak, inter-sample behavior, normalization settings, and sample-rate conversion; preserve headroom.
- The mix is clear but emotionally flat: Return to dynamics, orchestration, phrase, and sectional contrast before adding broad mastering processing.

## Assessment calibration

Before marking, score two sample portfolios independently. Discuss any criterion differing by more than five points, revise the local examples, and retain the common rubric language. Do not reward expensive equipment, preset choice, or speed where the stated outcome is judgment, organization, delivery, or evidence.

## Completion gate

A portfolio is not complete until the native project opens on a second lab system, required outputs meet the specification, the final master has been inspected outside the timeline, known limitations are documented, and the student can explain the workflow in five minutes.