MIDI Keyboard Not Working in Logic Pro

Three years ago I plugged a MIDI keyboard into my Mac mid-session and Logic Pro just sat there. No notes, no meter movement, nothing. My Arturia KeyLab 61 was powered on and the USB connection looked fine, but Logic Pro acted like the keyboard wasn't in the room.

A MIDI keyboard can stop working in Logic Pro for a few different reasons: macOS no longer detects it, Logic Pro isn't receiving the MIDI signal at all, a track or project setting is filtering it out, or control-surface and project routing are intercepting the notes before they reach an instrument. The keyboard itself can also be at fault, from a failing USB port to a firmware issue, so it's worth ruling that out along the way. The checks below work through those layers in order, starting with the one that takes the least time to test.

Check Logic Pro's MIDI Activity Display

Before changing any settings, find out whether Logic Pro is receiving MIDI from your keyboard at all. Logic Pro has a built-in MIDI Activity display built for exactly this. Set the LCD in the control bar to Custom, then press a key on your controller.

The top line of the display shows the last MIDI message Logic Pro received, and the bottom line shows the last one it transmitted. Play a chord and the notes should show up together.

If the display changes when you play, Logic Pro is receiving MIDI, and the problem is further downstream: track selection, MIDI input routing, Input Filter, the instrument patch, or control-surface interception. If Audio MIDI Setup shows your keyboard but the MIDI Activity display never moves, the signal isn't reaching Logic Pro, and a driver reset or a control-surface check is next. This one display tells you which half of the problem you're dealing with, which is why it belongs first.

Confirm Audio MIDI Setup Detects Your Keyboard

Logic Pro doesn't talk to your keyboard directly. It reads whatever macOS reports through Audio MIDI Setup, the built-in utility in Applications/Utilities. Open it, then open the MIDI Studio window from the Window menu. Your keyboard should appear as an icon with its actual name, not greyed out.

If the icon is dimmed, unplug the keyboard and plug it into a different USB port, ideally one built into the Mac rather than a hub or dock. A dead port on a USB hub cost me an afternoon once before I thought to try that. Many USB MIDI keyboards are class-compliant and need no separate macOS driver, while others require manufacturer software, so check the documentation for your exact model and confirm any driver is current. Our Logic Pro system requirements guide covers what your Mac needs to run current versions without these conflicts.

If the keyboard appears correctly in Audio MIDI Setup, macOS has detected it. Logic-side MIDI input, track routing, controller assignments, and project settings become the next things to check, although vendor software can still be involved if the keyboard behaves oddly only inside Logic Pro.

Test a Stock Instrument With Musical Typing in Logic Pro

Before touching drivers or routing, rule out the instrument and track. Create a new software instrument track, load a stock Logic Pro instrument, and make sure that track is selected. Then press Command-K to open Musical Typing and play a few notes on your computer keyboard.

If Musical Typing plays sound, the instrument, output, and track are all working, and you can rule them out. Go back to the MIDI Activity display and check whether your hardware keyboard registers there. If Musical Typing doesn't play anything either, the issue isn't your MIDI keyboard specifically. It's something further downstream in the track or instrument chain, and no amount of driver resetting will fix that on its own.

I've burned a full session on a MIDI problem that turned out to be a track with no instrument loaded. Command-K would have caught it immediately.

Reset All MIDI Drivers in Logic Pro Settings

This single button has solved dead MIDI input for me more than once, usually right after a macOS update or a sleep and wake cycle. Open Logic Pro, then Settings (or Preferences), then MIDI. If the MIDI tab is hidden, open Logic Pro > Settings > Advanced and enable Complete Features, the current name for what older versions of Logic Pro called Show Advanced Tools.

Inside the General tab of MIDI settings, click Reset All MIDI Drivers. Apple describes it as a fix for MIDI communication problems: it reinitializes Logic Pro's communication with the available MIDI drivers and devices.

Test the keyboard immediately after the reset. If communication doesn't come back, restart Logic Pro, then restart the Mac, before moving on to the project-level fixes below.

Check MIDI In Port, Channel, and Input Filter in Logic Pro

If the MIDI Activity display is picking up your keyboard but a specific track still won't respond, the next place to look is that track's own settings, not the keyboard.

Select the track and check the Track inspector. The MIDI Input pop-up menu controls which port or device feeds that track: Off, All, Musical Typing, a specific listed device, or Logic Pro Virtual In. When recording from more than one MIDI device at a time, Apple's documented workflow uses the MIDI In Port and MIDI In Channel pop-up menus in the Track inspector to match each track to a specific port and channel.

Depending on your Logic Pro version and whether Complete Features is enabled, Apple may label the device selector MIDI Input or MIDI In Port. Either way, confirm it isn't set to Off, and that the selected port and MIDI In Channel match what your controller transmits.

Also check File > Project Settings > MIDI > Input Filter. If the Notes checkbox is selected, Logic Pro filters incoming notes at the sequencer input on that project, regardless of what your keyboard sends. It's an easy setting to switch on by accident while trying to filter out something else, like aftertouch or pitch bend.

If one track stays silent while the rest of the project receives MIDI, check its MIDI input source, port, channel, Input Filter, and loaded instrument before going back to troubleshooting the keyboard.

Bypass Control Surfaces to Fix Logic Pro MIDI Conflicts

Automatic or incorrect control-surface assignments can intercept specific notes, CC messages, buttons, or ports without treating your entire keyboard as a control surface. Apple documents automatic assignment of USB MIDI controller hardware to Smart Controls and other functions, and that assignment can occasionally grab something it shouldn't. The symptom is usually specific: a particular key resizes a window or changes the mixer view instead of a note sounding.

To check, go to Control Surfaces in the Logic Pro menu bar and choose Bypass All Control Surfaces. If your keyboard behaves normally with control surfaces bypassed, open Control Surfaces > Setup, check the Input and Output ports assigned to your device, and look at its Controller Assignments. Fix or remove only the duplicate or incorrect assignment rather than deleting the whole device.

If a specific assignment fix doesn't resolve it, quit Logic Pro, go to ~/Library/Preferences, and move the com.apple.logic.pro.cs file into a new folder before restarting your Mac. That resets control surface preferences without touching your projects, a step Apple documents directly.

Fix a Project-Specific MIDI Environment in Logic Pro

If a keyboard works fine in a brand new project but does nothing in an older one, work through the checks in this order: confirm a new empty project takes input, then on the problem track check the MIDI In Port, MIDI In Channel, and Input Filter settings covered above. Only after those check out is it worth opening the Environment.

Apple's own documentation notes it's not essential to know about, or even open, the Environment to make music in Logic Pro, since new tracks automatically create and configure the objects they need. It's mostly relevant now for legacy or heavily customized projects.

If you do need to open it, hold Option and choose Window > Open MIDI Environment, or press Command-0. Find the layer containing the Physical Input and Sequencer Input objects, often labeled Clicks and Ports in older projects, though naming and layout can vary. Apple's MIDI signal path documentation describes Physical Input as representing your MIDI In ports and Sequencer Input as the entry point for incoming MIDI events.

Work on a duplicate of the project before changing any Environment cabling. If there's no intentional processing chain in place, connect the SUM output of Physical Input to Sequencer Input. If other objects already sit between them, such as a monitor, transformer, arpeggiator, or cable switcher, trace that chain first rather than bypassing it blindly. Someone built it that way for a reason, even if that reason is no longer obvious.

I inherited a session once where that connection had been deleted outright, while every other project on my machine worked fine. It's rare, but it's the kind of thing that only shows up on one specific file.

Fix One-Note MIDI Mono Mode in Logic Pro

If Logic Pro is clearly receiving your keyboard's notes but a specific software instrument patch only plays one note from a chord, check MIDI Mono Mode. Apple documents this for patches that respond monophonically when a controller transmits on a MIDI channel above channel 1. Open the instrument plug-in, reveal the additional parameters, and set MIDI Mono Mode to Off.

One important exception: turn MIDI Mono Mode off only if you're using a conventional, non-MPE keyboard. MIDI Mono Mode is what gives Logic Pro instruments MPE compatibility, sending each note and its control changes on a separate MIDI channel so you can bend or modulate individual notes in a chord. Apple lists Alchemy, EFM1, ES2, Quick Sampler, Retro Synth, Sampler, Sculpture, and Vintage Clav as the stock instruments supporting it. If you're using an MPE controller on purpose, keep Mono Mode on and make sure the controller and the instrument agree on the same common base channel and pitch bend range.

This is also a different scenario from a track that receives no input at all, which points back to the MIDI In Channel mismatch covered above rather than Mono Mode.

Workstation keyboards and stage pianos add one more variable worth a mention: Local Control. If Local is on while the keyboard also acts as a MIDI controller into Logic Pro, you can get doubled notes as the onboard sound engine and Logic Pro both trigger the same voice. Check your model's manual for how to switch Local off if double-triggering, rather than missing notes, is what you're hearing.

Reset Logic Pro Preferences or Reinstall as a Last Resort

If the signal path and project settings all check out, damaged user-level preferences are one of the remaining possibilities. Controller firmware, incompatible vendor software, a faulty USB or MIDI interface, a non-standard operating mode on the device, and plain hardware failure are the others, so keep those in view as you work through this. Before doing any of the below, note your custom key commands and settings so you can rebuild them.

Work through this order: test in a new macOS user account first. If it works in the new account, user-level settings or files in your original account become the main suspects, rather than Logic Pro itself. If you suspect a control-surface conflict specifically, reset com.apple.logic.pro.cs as covered above. Then reset Logic Pro's own settings: go to Settings, then choose Reset All Settings Except Key Commands.

If that still doesn't fix it, quit Logic Pro, go to ~/Library/Preferences, and move the plist file for your edition into a new folder before restarting your Mac: com.apple.logic10.plist for the one-time purchase version, or com.apple.mobilelogic for the Apple Creator Studio subscription version. Apple documents both files and this sequence in its official troubleshooting guide.

Reinstalling Logic Pro from the App Store is the final step. In my experience, a plist reset has always solved it before reinstalling became necessary. If your keyboard registers fine but nothing lands on a track when you record, that's a separate problem covered in our Logic Pro not recording audio guide.

Logic Pro MIDI Keyboard FAQ

Why does my MIDI keyboard show up in Audio MIDI Setup but not in Logic Pro?

Audio MIDI Setup only confirms that macOS sees the hardware. Check Logic Pro's MIDI Activity display next: if it stays blank, the signal isn't reaching Logic Pro, and a driver reset or control-surface check is the next step. If it lights up but a specific track stays silent, check that track's MIDI In Port, MIDI In Channel, and the project's Input Filter settings.

Does Logic Pro need drivers for USB MIDI keyboards?

Many USB MIDI keyboards are class-compliant and need no separate macOS driver, while others require software from the manufacturer. Check the documentation for your exact model, and confirm any driver you do install is updated for your current macOS version.

Why did my MIDI keyboard stop working after a Logic Pro or macOS update?

Updates can reset driver states or change control-surface assignments. Start with Reset All MIDI Drivers in Logic Pro's MIDI settings, then check the MIDI Activity display and try Bypass All Control Surfaces if the signal still isn't getting through. Confirm your keyboard's firmware and any manufacturer software are updated too.

Can I use a Bluetooth MIDI keyboard with Logic Pro for iPad?

Yes. Logic Pro for iPad supports Bluetooth MIDI controllers alongside USB-C and other Core MIDI-compliant connections. Tap App Settings, tap MIDI on the left, tap In/Out, then tap Bluetooth MIDI Devices. You can also reach the same dialog from the MIDI Input pop-up menu in the Track inspector. Once paired, confirm the device is switched on under MIDI Input Devices and Ports, since only activated devices appear in the Track inspector's MIDI Input menu. A device currently broadcasting a pairing signal shows as Not Connected and can be tapped to connect; only remove an Offline entry when it represents an old pairing that's no longer available. A Core MIDI-compliant controller connected to the iPad's USB-C or Lightning port appears in that list automatically. If the connection works but playing feels delayed, that's a separate issue covered in our guide to fixing latency in Logic Pro.

Why does my MIDI keyboard only play one note at a time in Logic Pro?

This can point to a MIDI Mono Mode or MPE channel configuration on the software instrument patch, which some patches trigger when a controller transmits on a channel above 1. Open the instrument plug-in, reveal the additional parameters, and set MIDI Mono Mode to Off to restore full polyphony. If you're deliberately using an MPE controller, leave Mono Mode on instead and match the common base channel between the controller and the instrument.

Why does Logic Pro receive MIDI but not play my keyboard's built-in sounds?

MIDI carries note and controller data, not the keyboard's audio signal, so Logic Pro can register every note you play without ever passing the hardware's own tone generator through your speakers. To use those built-in sounds, connect the keyboard's audio outputs to an audio interface and route them through Logic Pro's External Instrument plug-in or a separate audio track. The External Instrument plug-in handles both sides at once: it sends MIDI to your hardware's port and channel, and takes the returning audio from your interface input.

Related guides: Audio Interface Not Showing Up in Logic Pro · Logic Pro Not Recording Audio · Logic Pro Beginner Tutorial

Sources: MIDI devices overview in Logic Pro — Apple · If Logic Pro for Mac isn't working — Apple Support