Importing audio and projects

This chapter shows you how to bring existing material into Head Chef: audio files, several files at once as separate tracks, MIDI files, and projects saved by other music apps. It also explains which formats Head Chef reads, how it handles a file whose sample rate differs from your session, and what carries over when you open a project from another app.

Import audio files #

1. Choose File > Import Audio… or press ⇧⌘I. You can also click Import Audio in the toolbar; in a narrower window the button reads Import.
2. Select one file, or several files at once.
3. Click Open.

Head Chef inspects the selection and opens Import Media Options. Each audio file normally becomes its own track, starting at the beginning of the session. The whole import is one step in Edit > Undo, so one undo removes every track it added.

If a file's sample rate differs from the session rate, the window is titled Sample Rate Conflict & Import Options. The default Resample imported audio to project rate keeps playback speed and pitch. Choose Best, Good or Fast resampling quality. Other choices are:

• Change project sample rate: use the incoming rate; existing audio is converted when needed.
• Keep samples at project rate: keep the original sample frames and play them at the project clock. Different sample rates change playback speed and pitch.

Under Placement, choose separate tracks at the start, separate tracks placed end to end, or the files' BWF timestamps. End-to-end placement still creates a separate track for each file. Channels can preserve the channel layout, split stereo to mono, or combine matching .L/.R files.

In a small window, scroll the options to reach the lower controls. Cancel and Import stay at the bottom of the window.

Click Import when the choices are ready. The footer shows import progress and offers Cancel import. Nothing is added until the complete selection is ready. Cancelling before that point leaves the session unchanged.

When no session is open, Import Audio… creates a session from the imported files.

Supported audio formats #

The picker and Arrange drop target accept these audio file families. A file must contain a supported audio encoding; changing its extension does not convert its contents.

WAV and AIFF support 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit integer or 32-bit float audio. Other supported encodings are decoded during import. If Head Chef cannot read the contents, export a WAV or AIFF from the app that created the file and try that copy.

Drag files into Arrange #

Select files in Finder and drop them onto Arrange. Audio and mixed audio/MIDI selections use the same import options. You can also drop a folder; Head Chef selects supported audio and MIDI files inside it, skipping hidden files.

A single project or MIDI file can instead open as a session, as described below.

Open a MIDI file #

1. Choose File > Open Session… or press ⌘O.
2. Select a file ending in .mid, .midi or .smf, and click Open.

Each MIDI track becomes an instrument track with its notes. Tracks that mostly use the drum channel play through Voltage 80; the others play through Octet. The tempo and time signature come from the file; a file without them opens at 120 BPM in 4/4. You can change any track's instrument afterwards; see MIDI and instruments.

Open a project from another music app #

Head Chef opens projects saved by other music apps. Choose File > Open Session… (⌘O), select the project and click Open, or drag the project file onto Arrange.

Head Chef accepts these file extensions:

The Open Session window shows all of these under All supported sessions.

What carries over #

Head Chef reads what the project describes and builds a new Head Chef session from it, for example:

• track names and their order;
• audio clips at their positions, with the audio they play;
• volume, pan, mute and solo settings;
• tempo and time signature.

How much comes across depends on the file and the app that saved it. Plugins and their settings from the other app are not loaded; add Head Chef processing or your own plugins afterwards.

Head Chef finds the project's audio in the folders next to the project file. Open the project from its original folder, with its audio folders beside it.

Save the result #

The opened project becomes a new, unsaved Head Chef session. The original file is never changed.

1. Choose File > Save Session As… or press ⌃⌘S.
2. Choose a name and folder, and click Save. Head Chef saves a .headchef session and copies its audio into the same folder.

Limits #

Supported imported audio has no fixed file-size or combined session-audio allowance. Head Chef keeps its own copy on disk, so moving the originals does not change the song. Leave enough free disk space for the audio, conversion work and saved session copies.

Changing clip timing during playback can briefly pause playback, then resume at the current cursor. Stop playback before changing clip timing when external plugins are loaded.

If an import exceeds the source-track capacity, has unreadable audio or cannot complete safely, Head Chef adds nothing and explains the problem. File length alone is not a reason to reject supported audio.

Tips #

• Select several files in one Import Audio window rather than importing them one at a time. They arrive together as one undo step.
• To combine files recorded at different sample rates, keep the default resampling choice. Before a session has audio, you can also choose its rate in Settings > Session Settings…; see Tempo and session settings.
• Importing is unavailable while Head Chef is recording.