A to Z of Studio One: M is for Mute Tool

We have a tendency to overlook the little things in the heat of recording, producing and mixing. Sometimes, the smallest tool can be of the most help. Such is the case with the Mute Tool in Studio One. It’s a simple tool that can be found in most DAW’s, but it’s usefulness should not be underestimated. Muting parts within a section of audio, muting individual notes within an instrument part, and muting sections of a song can be a great way to try out different arrangements without actually deleting anything.

Mute Tool – Arrange View

The Mute Tool [6] is a great tool for muting parts without having to delete them.  It works equally well on audio events, audio parts and instrument parts. Once you select the Mute Tool using [6] on the keyboard, just click on the part or event you want to mute.

Clicking again will unmute the part or event. You’ll notice that the part or even will be ‘grayed out’ and there will be a small ‘m’ at the lower left section of that event or part.

The Mute Tool can also be used to mute several events at one time. Just select the Mute Tool and drag across multiple events to mute them.  If those events are already selected, just click on any one of the selected events to mute them all.

Mute Tool – Edit View

The Mute Tool works very similarly here to the way it does in the Arrange View. Click on events to mute it. Click on it again to unmute the event.

Select multiple events (notes) with the Mute Tool to mute them all. And, of course, if you select multiple instrument tracks and enter Edit View, you can then use the Mute Tool to mute and unmute them all.

NOTE:  Be careful in Event View. The tendency (until you get really comfortable) is to hit ‘M’ to mute an event. Hitting ‘M’ in the Event View actually mutes the channel. This doesn’t really help if you’re trying to mute just one note (or group of notes) within the track.

Here are a couple of other Mute commands you may find useful:

Global Mute (this works in the Console view):      [Shift]+[Cmd]+M

Toggle Mute (this works in Event view):                [Shift]+M

Mute (this works in Track view):                               M

Also remember that you can change the key commands you currently have assigned if something else makes sense for your mute functions. I have found that the fastest way to mute and unmute events is by becoming intimately familiar with the Number [5] and [6] keys. In fact, the following number keys should be committed to memory to enhance your productivity and workflow:

In Arrange View:

[1]        Arrow Tool

[2]        Select Tool

[3]        Split (Razor) Tool

[4]        Eraser Tool

[5]        Freehand (Drawing) Tool

[6]        Mute Tool

[7]        Bend Tool

[8]        Listen Tool

In Edit View:

[1]        Arrow Tool

[2]        Split (Razor) Tool

[3]        Freehand (Drawing) Tool

[4]        Eraser Tool

[5]        Mute Tool

[6]        Listen Tool