Learning Logic Pro keyboard shortcuts
To learn Logic Pro keyboard shortcuts, start with the transport (Space to play or stop, R to record, C for Cycle) and the single keys that show and hide parts of the main window (X for the Mixer, Y for the Library, I for the Inspector, E for the Editors). Then press Option-K (⌥K) to open the Key Commands window, where you can search every command Logic has, see which key it is on, and give a key to the many that have none.
Logic calls its shortcuts key commands, and there are far more of them than anyone memorizes. The trick is to learn the ones you need every minute by pressing them, and to look the rest up in Logic itself rather than in a list you printed months ago.
The transport keys
These are Logic Pro’s defaults on a Mac, and they cover most of what you do while recording and listening back:
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Space | Play or stop |
| R | Record |
| C | Cycle mode on or off |
| K | Metronome click on or off |
| Return | Go to the beginning |
| , (comma) | Rewind |
| . (period) | Forward |
| M | Mute or unmute the selected track |
| S | Solo or unsolo the selected track |
Space and R you will learn on the first day without trying. C is the one that changes how you work: with Cycle on, playback loops the cycle area, and recording with Cycle on loops the section so you can record several takes of the same part in a row. K saves a trip to the control bar every time you want the click for one take and not the next.
Comma and period move the playhead back and forward without the mouse, and Return takes you to the start of the project. Together with Space, that is enough to audition a section again and again without looking away from your instrument.
Single keys that show and hide the window
Logic’s main window has areas you open and close all the time, and each has a single key:
| Key | Shows or hides |
|---|---|
| X | Mixer |
| Y | Library |
| I | Inspector |
| E | Editors |
| B | Smart Controls |
| P | Piano Roll |
| O | Loop Browser |
These are worth learning as a set, because they are how you keep a laptop screen usable. Open the Mixer with X, set levels, press X again, and the tracks are back at full height. Press P to edit notes, P again to close it.
One more that musicians on a laptop use constantly: Command-K (⌘K) shows and hides Musical Typing, which lets you play a software instrument from the Mac keyboard when no MIDI keyboard is plugged in.
The Key Commands window
Choose Logic Pro > Key Commands > Edit Assignments, or press Option-K, and the Key Commands window opens. It lists every command Logic has, grouped by where it works, with its key beside it if it has one. A quicker way in: hold Control while you choose a menu command, and the window opens with that command already selected.
Three things make it useful for learning rather than just for reference:
- The search field. Type part of a command’s name and the list narrows to matches. Search for something you do from a menu every day and see whether it has a key.
- The empty column. Many commands have no key at all by default. That is not an oversight: there are simply more commands than keys. If you use one often, give it one.
- The groups. Some commands are global and work anywhere in Logic. Others only work in one area, such as the Piano Roll or the Mixer, so the same key can do different things in different places.
To assign a key, select the command, click Learn by Key Label, press the key with any modifiers, then click the button again to stop learning. Learn by Key Position works the same way but can tell apart keys with the same label, so the number row and the numeric keypad can do different things. Logic Pro > Key Commands > Presets switches between key command sets, and the Action pop-up menu at the top left of the window has Save As and Import Key Commands, which is how you carry your setup to another Mac.
Before you take a key for a new command, check what it already does. Click the Pressed filter button in the Key Commands window, then press the key: the list shows every command that uses it. A key you think is free may be a command you simply have not met yet. Which keys does an app leave free? is about choosing keys that will not collide.
When a key command does nothing
The most common reason is key focus. Logic sends a key command to the area of the window that has focus, and a command that belongs to the Piano Roll does nothing while the Tracks area is in front. Click in the area you mean to work in, and try again.
The second reason is a window that takes your keys for its own use. With Musical Typing open, for example, many letter keys play notes, and Z, X, C and V change the octave and velocity. Close it with Command-K when you are done playing.
The third is a key that was changed. If you or a colleague edited the assignments, the defaults in this post will not match. The Key Commands window always shows what your copy of Logic actually does.
Keep the commands in view
Logic’s menus show the key command beside each item, so the cheapest habit is to read them as you use them: when you choose something from a menu, note the key on the right and press it next time. How to learn Mac keyboard shortcuts and actually remember them explains why that works better than a list.
The trouble is that menus are out of sight while your hands are on an instrument. Typebar puts a keyboard on your screen and keeps the commands in reach:
- Hold a modifier such as Command or Option for a moment, and the keys relabel with what they do in Logic, read from Logic’s own menus.
- Hold fn for the single-key ones from Typebar’s hand-made Logic Pro pack, one of 20 packs for shortcuts that menus leave out.
- Search the Cheatsheet List for a command; pick it and its keys light up on the board. The same list can show which keys an app leaves free, a quick first look before you confirm in Logic’s own Key Commands window.
If you record lessons, Typebar’s keystroke pill shows each key as you press it, and the board appears in screen recordings like any window, so students can see that you pressed C and not just that the loop started. Show keyboard shortcuts on screen while you record a Mac tutorial covers the recording side. Typebar is $9 once, with a 24-hour free trial.
Questions
How do I see all of Logic Pro’s key commands?
Open the Key Commands window with Option-K, or choose Logic Pro > Key Commands > Edit Assignments. It lists every command, with its key if it has one.
Can I use Logic Pro key commands on a MacBook keyboard?
Yes. The keys in this post are all on a MacBook keyboard. A command assigned to a key a MacBook lacks, such as one on a numeric keypad, needs a keyboard with that key, or a new key of your choosing.
Why does a key command work in one place and not another?
Logic sends key commands to the area with key focus, and some commands only work in one area. Click where you want to work and press the key again.