Sessions

This chapter is the full reference for Head Chef sessions. You will learn what a session holds, every choice in the New Session window, which files Head Chef can open, how saving and Save Session As work, what happens to unsaved changes, which files a session keeps next to it, and how to move or back up a session without losing audio. For the quick path, see Getting started.

What a session holds #

A session is one song. When you save it, Head Chef stores:

• its name, sample rate, pan depth, tempo and time signature, including any tempo map;
• every track, its clips and their edits, its notes, its instrument and sound, and its recording input;
• the mix: faders, pan, solo, mute, Chicken Strip, effects, plugins and their settings, sends, Effect Returns and Main;
• folders, groups, VCA masters and track heights;
• the audio the session plays.

Some settings belong to Head Chef on your Mac rather than to a session, so opening a session never changes them:

The edit history is not saved. When you open a session, Edit > Undo starts fresh from that point. See undo history.

Create a session #

1. Choose File > New Session… or press ⌘N. With no session open, you can also click New Session… on the start screen.
2. Fill in the fields described below.
3. Click Create, or Cancel to close the window without creating anything.

If the open session has unsaved changes, Head Chef first asks whether to save them. See Close a session.

The New Session window #

The line at the bottom, Eight bars · 110 BPM · 4/4, describes every new session: eight bars long, at 110 BPM in 4/4. Change these afterwards in Settings > Session Settings….

Choose what a session starts with #

Until you set your own default, the window suggests 48 kHz and Mini Bar.

If you chose an input in Default Recording Input Device in the Audio Engine window, a new mono audio track starts on that device's first input. See Connect your hardware.

Other ways to start #

• From an instrument: with no session open, choose an instrument from the Add Instrument menu. The New Session window opens with only the name and sample rate. When you click Create, Head Chef adds that instrument and opens its window.
• From audio files: with no session open, click Import Audio… on the start screen. Head Chef creates a session at the files' sample rate, named after the first file. See Importing.
• From a jam: in Jam, click Create Studio session →, review the parts and click Open editable tracks →. With no session open, Head Chef creates one at the jam's tempo. See Jam.

A new session opens in Studio, in Arrange. Any jam you had open stays as it was.

Open a session #

1. Choose File > Open Session… or press ⌘O. With no session open, you can also click Open Session… on the start screen.
2. Select the file and click Open.

You can also drag a session file from Finder onto the Arrange timeline.

The Open Session window groups the files Head Chef can open:

A .headchef file opens exactly as you saved it. Any other file becomes a new, unsaved session built from what the file describes, and the original file is never changed. See Importing and File formats.

If opening stops because the session's saved track organization cannot be read, your current session, unsaved edits and Undo/Redo history stay available. Restore the session's files from a backup and try again.

When you open a saved session, Head Chef also checks its recordings folder for a take that was cut short. If it finds one, the status bar shows Earlier recording available. See Recover an interrupted take.

You cannot open or create a session while Head Chef is recording, or while a mix render is running: Wait for the mix render to finish, or cancel it before replacing this session.

Save a session #

Save Session #

Choose File > Save Session, press ⌘S, or click Save in the toolbar.

• The first time, Head Chef asks where to save and what to call the file. It adds .headchef to the name.
• After that, Save Session writes to the same file without asking.

The status bar confirms with Saved session.

Save Session As #

Choose File > Save Session As… or press ⌃⌘S to save the session to a new file.

1. Choose a folder and type a file name.
2. Click Save.

Head Chef writes the new file and copies every audio file the session uses into that folder. From then on you are working in the new file; the old file stays as you last saved it.

The file name and the session name are separate. Save Session As sets the file name; the toolbar keeps showing the Session name you gave the session when you created it.

When you cannot save #

• Save Session is unavailable while a recording is in progress.
• While you are still dragging a control, Head Chef asks you to Finish or cancel the current gesture before saving or rendering.

Head Chef saves only when you ask it to, so save often. Recording needs a saved session.

Unsaved changes #

While a session has changes you have not saved, a dot follows the session name in the toolbar and the window title, and the toolbar button reads Save •. If you undo back to exactly the saved state, the dots go away.

Close a session #

Head Chef keeps one session open at a time. A session closes when you create or open another, or when you close the main window with File > Close or ⌘W.

If the session has unsaved changes, Head Chef asks first:

The window reminds you: Your changes are lost if you don't save them.

Recover an interrupted take #

Head Chef writes a recording to disk while you play, so a take that stops early, or is cut short when Head Chef quits, is not lost. When you open the session again, click Recovery… in the status bar, then Keep take to add the audio to the session or Dismiss to leave it out. See Recording audio.

Where your files live #

When you save a session called My Song.headchef, Head Chef keeps these items together in the folder you chose:

The names start with a dot, so Finder hides them. Press ⇧⌘. in Finder to show or hide them.

Audio in .headchef-media is named by its content, not by its original file name. Head Chef checks each file when it opens the session. If a file was changed, it stops with The session audio has changed. Restore its original media file.

Move, copy or back up a session #

1. Quit Head Chef, or save and close the session.
2. In Finder, copy or move the whole folder that holds the session file. The hidden items move with it.
3. Open the session from its new place with File > Open Session….

Keep these points in mind:

• If you move only the .headchef file, Head Chef cannot find the audio and shows a message starting Cannot open audio:. Put .headchef-media back beside it.
• To rename a session file, open it and use File > Save Session As… rather than renaming it in Finder. The organization file is named after the session file, so a file renamed in Finder opens without its folders, groups and track heights.
• On another Mac, install the same plugins. The session stores each plugin's settings, not the plugin itself.

Session limits #

Supported imported audio stays in the session's audio files, with no fixed allowance for its combined file size. Leave enough free disk space for imported audio, conversion work and saved copies.

Head Chef refuses a change that would pass one of these limits and tells you why.

A session file over the size limit opens with This session document is too large., or saves with This session document is too large to save. A file that is not a Head Chef session shows This is not a valid Head Chef session. For more messages, see Troubleshooting.

Change session settings #

Tempo, time signature, sample rate and pan depth live in Settings > Session Settings…. See Tempo and session settings.