Intro to Play Surfaces in Logic Pro for iPad

In Logic Pro for iPad, you can use Play Surfaces to play and control the various software instruments in your project by touching the screen of your iPad.

Figure. Logic Pro for iPad with the Keyboard Play Surface open.

By default, the Play Surface shown depends on the type of instrument patch loaded on the selected software instrument track. However, you can play any software instrument with any of the Play Surfaces. If you prefer to always use a particular Play Surface, you can set it as the default for all instrument patches by locking the Play Surface.

Figure. Logic Pro for iPad with the Drum Pads Play Surface open.

For more information about each Play Surface, see the following topics:

Note: Drum patches that use tracks stacks use an enhanced Drum Pads Play Surface that offers extended features and flexibility for designing your own drum patches. See Drum Machine Designer overview.

You can also play software instruments using an external MIDI device connected to your iPad.

Open the Play Surface area

In Logic Pro, select a software instrument track, then tap the Play Surfaces button on the right side of the view control bar.

Choose a different Play Surface

Tap the Surface Types button, then choose a Play Surface from the menu.
The icon for the Surface Types button changes to indicate which Play Surface is active.

Lock the default Play Surface

Tap the Surface Types button, then tap Lock Surface.
A lock symbol appears on the Surface Types button when Lock Surface is on.

Change size of the Play Surface

Drag the resize handle up or down.

Play within a particular scale

You can play the Keyboard and Fretboard Play Surfaces in various scales. After you choose a scale, the Play Surface changes to show notes in the scale.

In the Play Surface menu bar, tap the Scale button, tap the Activate switch, then choose the root note and scale from the pop-up menus.

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Logic Pro User Guide for iPad