There are typically two stages of learning in Pro Tools. The first stage is what we call “learning how to use Pro Tools.” This is where you learn the essential functions and capabilities of Pro Tools and how to apply them to your project.

The second stage is one we like to call “learning how to use Pro Tools efficiently,” which is where you learn that you’ve been doing everything the hard way and find ways to streamline your workflow so you can finish faster. In this stage, you’ll master edit tools and edit modes that help you fine tune your projects to perfection.

Learning how to nudge in Pro Tools falls squarely into the second stage, and once you know how to do it, you’ll wonder how you ever edited without out. 

What is a “nudge” in Pro Tools?

“Nudging” is an action in Pro Tools that allows you to make an edit selection and move a region or section either left or right by a predetermined amount of space. This is an essential function for efficient editing, as it allows you to move entire segments within a track or between tracks by a set amount of bars, beats, or seconds. 

Say you have a four-bar piano measure you love, but you decide it would work better if it were inserted twelve bars later to overlay a different part of the percussion line. 

However, this piano measure is also layered with a violin solo, and you don’t want them to slip out of harmony. With nudging, you can grab both the piano bars and the violin solo and move them precisely twelve bars later, together. 

Using nudges will speed up your editing and make it much more precise. 

How to nudge in Pro Tools

Follow these simple steps to nudge a clip, selection, or segment in Pro Tools:

Step 1: Open your Pro Tools session (or create a new one). 

Step 2: Set the time scale and value of your nudge.

Before you start nudging clips, first decide what scale you’ll be using (for example, bars/beats, minutes/seconds, or timecode) and how much of that scale you want to nudge each clip by. 

To do this, locate the nudge pop-up menu. You should see a value window at the top of your Pro Tools session that displays “Grid” and “Nudge” next to their respective values. Next to the nudge value, you will see a small arrow. Click this arrow to access the nudge value pop-up menu.