Slice to MIDI Guide 

How to start chopping with Live, Logic, and FL Studio. 

 
 
 
 
The purpose of this guide is to demonstrate how to start slicing audio to MIDI in a handful of 
DAWs. Let your mentor know if you run into any issues, or post in the Production channel on Slack 
if you’re looking for some quick help! 
 
Live 

Logic 

FL Studio 
 

   
Live  
Chopping with Live is very straight forward. To start, import the file you want to work with into an 
audio track in either the Session or Arrangement view, and set your session tempo to the tempo 
indicated on your loop. Here our tempo is 94, and Live has automatically adjusted the tempo to 
match: 
 

 
 
Once the file is imported, right-click on the file and select the menu option ​Slice to New MIDI 
Track​. 

 
  
A window will appear and ask you how you would like it to divide the file. 
  

 
Let’s breakdown a couple of key choices from this window. The menu next to ​Create one slice per: 
has the following options: 
 
Transient: ​Live automatically detects each transient in the file, often the individual attacks of 
drums, and cuts up the file based on what the software determines the important transients are. 
This is great for loops between 1-16 bars. 
 
Warp Markers: ​This splits the file up according to the Warp Markers that you manually or 
automatically identify in the file BEFORE slicing to MIDI. This is great for longer files where you 
don’t want a million slices, and have specific moments in mind that you want to sample.  
 
To manually identify Warp Markers in a clip, double-click on the clip, and double-click on the little 
markers above the transients to create the Warp Markers. 
 

 
 
Rhythmic Divisions: ​The other options in this first menu allow you to slice the beat based on 
rhythmic divisions. This can be great for files where you can see that interesting transients fall on 
specific rhythms. Otherwise, we suggest using the “Transient” setting or identifying specific Warp 
Markers. 
 
The next drop-down menu, labeled ​Slicing Preset​,​ ​has a bunch of options. This determines how 
the Drum Rack will behave once the slices are assigned. The two that will be the most useful are 
below: 
 
Built-in: ​This will create a Drum Rack instrument that is velocity sensitive — meaning that the 
individual notes will adjust volumes based on the intensity you play the keys with.  
 
Built-in 0-Vel: ​This creates a Drum Rack that is NOT velocity sensitive. Since there isn’t any 
sensitivity, the samples are a consistent volume.  
 
Both are useful, it’s up to you to determine what works best for you! 
 
If you’re not sure, leave it as default: “Transients” and “Built-in.” 
 
When you click ​OK​, a new MIDI Track will appear, with a MIDI file that ascends up and to the right. 

 
 
Mute the Audio Track containing the original clip, and try playing back. You’ll hear the original 
performance played via MIDI clip and the Drum Rack on the MIDI track! 
 
When you pause, try playing some individual notes on your keyboard. You should now be able to 
perform and record the sampled material like a MIDI instrument!  
 

   
Logic 
 
Logic’s slice to MIDI ability is long overdue, but finally built-in. The process is also eerily similar to 
Live’s. Let’s break down how to set this up. 
 
Drag and drop a file, like one of the drum breaks, onto a new audio track. Then set the session 
tempo to match that of the loop. If there is tempo information in the audio file, Logic may detect 
that and may prompt you to use it.  
 
In the case of the “Honey Dripper Break” we’re using, it’s 94 BPM. 
 

 
 
Once imported, right-click on the region and select ​Convert​, and ​Convert to New Sampler Track​. 
 

 
A prompt will drop down. Let’s go over some of the options quickly: 
 

 
 
For shorter loops, like breaks, choose ​Transient Markers​, and turn on ​Create ‘1Shot’ Zones​. This 
will create an EXS24 sampler that will perform like a drum machine.  
 
Create ‘1Shot’ Zones ​will create a sampler where when you press a key, the entire sample will play 
from start to end. This is similar to how drum machines play back samples.  
 
***Note that the Trigger Note Range defaults to the very bottom of your MIDI note range, and 
ends at the very top. If you leave it as is, just remember that you’ll have to adjust the octave on 
your controller.*** 
 
For longer files, like an entire funk track, the ​Regions​ function is really useful. If you were to divide 
a full-length song into regions that interest you, when you select all those regions, right-click, and 
select ​Convert to New Sampler Track​, selecting ​Regions​ will create a sampler instrument that 
assigns the regions to individual MIDI notes.  
 
This is an example where ​Create ‘1Shot’ Zones ​would not be useful. If this is selected, and the 
region that you’re sampling is 16 bars long, you won’t be able to stop it! If you’re working with 
longer source material, turn this function off. 
 
   
When you click OK, Logic will slice things up and assign them to MIDI notes on a new EXS24 
sampler, and generate a MIDI file with ascending notes.  
 

 
 
If you playback, you should be able to hear the loop performed on this new MIDI track. When you 
stop, try playing some notes and try recording your own performance! 
 
   
 

FL Studio 
FL Studio has a couple of ways to slice and dice. In this guide, we’ll be looking at the simplest tool, 
Fruity Slicer​. 
 
Start by adding a Fruity Slicer plug-in to the ​Channel Rack. ​Then, drag and drop a loop onto the 
Fruity Slicer.  
 

 
 
   
Next, click on the third menu button that resembles a little x-acto blade, and select one of the 
auto-slicing prests. As their names suggest,​ Dull​ will generate the fewest slices, and ​Sharp​ will 
generate the most. 
 

 
 
You’ll notice that this automatically generates the ascending MIDI that represents the original 
performance of the loop. This will automatically be part of the pattern you’re currently working on 
if ​AUTO DUMP ​is enabled.  
 

 
 
If you want to perform a new pattern, you can disable ​AUTO DUMP​, or just clear out the 
ascending MIDI and perform something new!