Cakewalk SONAR

Users Guide
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not repre-
sent a commitment on the part of Twelve Tone Systems, Inc. The software described in
this document is furnished under a license agreement or nondisclosure agreement.
The software may be used or copied only in accordance of the terms of the agreement.
It is against the law to copy this software on any medium except as specifically allowed
in the agreement. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording,
for any purpose without the express written permission of Twelve Tone Systems, Inc.

Copyright 2005 Twelve Tone Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Program Copyright 2005 Twelve Tone Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

ACID is a trademark of Sonic Foundry, Inc.

Cakewalk is a registered trademark of Twelve Tone Systems, Inc. SONAR and the
Cakewalk logo are trademarks of Twelve Tone Systems, Inc. Other company and prod-
uct names are trademarks of their respective owners.

Visit Cakewalk on the World Wide Web at www.cakewalk.com.

 Table of Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii
About This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii
Registering SONAR Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxiii
Conventions Used in this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiv
Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiv

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
About SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Music Composition and Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Remixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Game Sound Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Sound Production and Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Web Authoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Film and Video Scoring and Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Computers, Sound, and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Installing SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Audio Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
MIDI Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Starting SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
SONAR Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
SONAR File Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Opening a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Working on a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Windows Taskbar Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Screen Colors and Wallpaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
 Starting to Use SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

2 Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Tutorial 1The Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Opening a Project File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Preparing for Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Playing the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Restarting the Project Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Changing the Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Muting and Soloing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Changing a Track's Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Playing Music on a Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Tutorial 2Recording MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Recording a MIDI Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Saving Your Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Loop Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Punch-In Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Tutorial 3Recording Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Setting the Sampling Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Setting the Audio Driver Bit Depth and Recording Bit Depth . . . . . 71
Open a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Setting Up an Audio Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Checking the Input Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Recording Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Listening to the Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Recording Another Take . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Input Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Loop and Punch-In Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Recording Multiple Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Tutorial 4Editing MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Transposing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Copying Clips with Drag and Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Editing Notes in the Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Slip Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Drawing MIDI Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Converting MIDI to Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Tutorial 5Editing Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Opening the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Importing a Wave File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Moving and Looping the Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Slip Editing a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Automatic Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Bouncing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

vi
Tutorial 6Using Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Adding Groove Clips to a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Looping Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Changing the Pitch of Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Changing the Tempo of Your Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Creating Your Own Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Tutorial 7Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Adding Real-time Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Automating an Individual Effects Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Grouping Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Automating Your Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Exporting an MP3 File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Tutorial 8Using Soft Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Inserting Cakewalk TTS-1 into a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Playing MIDI Tracks through a Soft Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Tutorial 9Drum Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Create a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Creating a Drum Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Create a Drum Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Map Drum Notes to Different Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

3 Controlling Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

The Now Time and How to Use It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
The Now Time Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Displaying the Now Time in Large Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Other Ways to Set the Now Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
The Time Ruler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Controlling Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Handling Stuck Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Looping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Track-by-Track Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
The Playback State Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Silencing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Soloing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Inverting the Phase of a Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Changing Tracks Mono/Stereo Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Changing Track Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Setting Up Output Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Assigning Tracks to Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Choosing the Instrument Sound (Bank and Patch) . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Adding Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Adjusting Volume and Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

vii
 Configurable Panning Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Adjusting Volume Trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Assigning a MIDI Channel (Chn) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Adjusting the Key/Transposing a Track (Key+) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Adjusting the Note Velocity (Vel+) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Adjusting the Time Alignment of a MIDI Track (Time+) . . . . . . . . 130
Other MIDI Playback Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Controlling Live MIDI PlaybackMIDI Echo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Local Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Playing Files in Batch Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
The Play List View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Video Playback, Import, and Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Inserting and Playing Back Videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Exporting Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Optimizing Video Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Using the Video Thumbnails Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Video Playback on a FireWire DV Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Exporting a Project to a FireWire DV Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Synchronizing External Video Playback to Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Locating Missing Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
The Find Missing Audio File Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Restoring Missing Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Managing Shared and External Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

4 Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Using Per-Project Audio Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Creating a New Project File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Setting the Meter and Key Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Setting the Metronome and Tempo Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Setting the Audio Sampling Rate and Bit Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Setting the MIDI Timing Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Preparing to Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Recording Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Choosing an Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Arming Tracks for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Auto Arming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Recording Music from a MIDI Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Recording Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Tuning an Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Confidence Recording and Waveform Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Input Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

viii
The Audio Engine Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Loop Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Punch Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Step Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Step Record Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Step Pattern Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Recording Specific Ports and Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Input Filtering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Importing Music and Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Importing Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Importing Material from Another SONAR Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Importing OMF Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Importing MIDI Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Saving Your Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Labeling Your Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
File Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

5 Arranging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Arranging Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Changing the Order of Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Inserting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Configuring the Display of Tracks in the Track View . . . . . . . . . . 187
Copying Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Erasing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Track Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Track Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Arranging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Displaying Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Using the Navigator View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Double-clicking Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Selecting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Moving and Copying Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Nudge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Nudge Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Working with Partial Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Markers and the Snap Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Showing Gridlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Defining and Using the Snap Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Snap Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Creating and Using Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Working with Linked Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Splitting and Combining Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

ix
 Take Management and Comping Takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Clip Muting with the Default Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Clip Muting with the Alternate Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Audition (Selection Playback) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Isolating (Clip Soloing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Track Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Adding Effects in the Track View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Changing Tempos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Using the Tempo Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Using the Tempo Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Using the Tempo View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Undo, Redo, and the Undo History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

6 Using Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

The Loop Construction View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Loop Construction Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
The Loop Explorer View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Folders Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Contents List Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Working with Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Working with Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
How Groove Clips Work in SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Using Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Creating and Editing Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Editing Slices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Saving Groove Clips as Wave Files/ACIDized Wave Files . . . . . . . 238
Using Pitch Markers in the Track View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
MIDI Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Exporting, and Importing MIDI Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Importing Project5 Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

7 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Event Inspector Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
The Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Note Map Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Drum Grid Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Notes Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Controller Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Track List Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Opening the View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . 246

x
 Note Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View Only) . . . . . . . . . . 248
Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Selecting Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Editing Notes with the Draw Tool and the Select Tool . . . . . . . . . . 250
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Adding Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Selecting Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Editing Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
The Inline Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Displaying the Inline Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
The MIDI Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Displaying Notes and Controllers in the Inline Piano Roll View . . 260
Selecting and Editing Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Copying and Pasting MIDI Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Transposing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Shifting Events in Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Inserting Time or Measures into a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Stretching and Shrinking Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Reversing Notes in a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Adding Crescendos and Decrescendos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Slip Editing MIDI (Non-destructive Editing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Slip Editing Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Using Slip Editing for MIDI Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Slip-editing Multiple MIDI Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Changing the Timing of a Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Quantizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Fit Improvisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Snap to Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Searching for Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Event Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and
Automation Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
The Event List View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Event List Buttons and Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Selecting Events in the Event List View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Event List Display Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Editing Events and Event Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Additional Event Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
MIDI Effects Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Quantizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Adding Echo/Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

xi
 Filtering Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Adding Arpeggio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Analyzing Chords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Changing Velocities with the Velocity Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Transposing MIDI Notes with the Transpose MIDI Effect . . . . . . . 300

8 Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

The Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Creating and Editing a Drum Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
The Drum Map Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Working in the Drum Map Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
The Map Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Saving a Drum Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Using Drum Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Assigning a MIDI Track to a Drum Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Opening a Drum Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Displaying Tracks in the Drum Grid Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Velocity Tails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Editing Note Velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Previewing a Mapped Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
The Note Map Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Changing Mapped-note Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
The Drum Grid Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Grid Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
The Pattern Brush Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
How the Pattern Brush Tool Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Creating Custom Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

9 Editing Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Digital Audio Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Basic Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
ExampleA Guitar String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Recording a Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
The Decibel Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Managing Audio Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Basic Audio Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Editing Clip Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Moving, Copying, Pasting and Deleting Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Audio Scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Splitting Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Bouncing to Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

xii
 Scrubbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Basic Audio Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Using the Normalize and Gain Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Reversing Audio Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Advanced Audio Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Removing Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Extracting Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Removing DC Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Slip-editing Audio (Non-destructive Editing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Slip-editing Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Using Slip-editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Slip-editing Multiple Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Fades and Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Using Fades and Crossfades in Real Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Applying Fades and Crossfades Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Audio Effects (Audio Plug-ins) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Applying Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Directly Applying Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Shifting Pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Stretching Time and Pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

10 Working with Software Synthesizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Synth Rack View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Synth Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Inserting Soft Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Multi-port Soft Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Inserting a Soft Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Opening a Soft Synths Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Playing a Soft Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Muting and Soloing Soft Synth Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Automating a Soft Synths Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
ReWire Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Inserting a ReWire Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Mixing Down ReWire Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Automating ReWire Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
ReWire Troubleshooting Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Stand-alone Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Playing a Stand-alone Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Recording a Stand-alone Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

11 Mixing and Effects Patching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

xiii
 Preparing to Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Configuring the Console and Track Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Mixing MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Mixing a MIDI Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Converting MIDI to Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Routing and Mixing Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Stereo Buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Surround Buses (Producer Edition Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Main Outs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
What the Meters Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Hiding and Showing Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Changing the Meters Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Segmented and Non-segmented Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Changing the Meters Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Peak Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Waveform Preview for Buses and Synth Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Freeze Tracks and Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
Using Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Effects Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
How to Use Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Effects on Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
V-Vocal Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Using V-Vocal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
Playing Back V-Vocal Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Pitch Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Editing Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Editing Formants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Editing Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Context Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Using the Per-track EQ (Producer Edition Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Applying Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Applying MIDI Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
The VST Configuration Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Using Control Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
Quick Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Using Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Using the Learn Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
Bouncing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411

xiv
 Preparing to Create an Audio CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Preparing Audio for Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Exporting OMF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Dithering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

12 Surround Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Surround Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Configuring SONAR for Surround Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Using Surround Format Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Choosing a Surround Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
Surround Buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Routing in Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Downmixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Panning in Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
Controlling Surround Panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
Automating Surround Panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
Joystick Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
Surround Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Bass Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Surround Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
The SurroundBridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Effect Property Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Effect Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
How to Patch and Configure Surround Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Importing Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Exporting Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

13 Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Quick Automation Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
The Automation Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Automation Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
Dotted Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Using the Envelope Draw Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Drawing Envelopes on Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Showing or Hiding Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Deleting Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
Copying and Pasting Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
Resetting Envelopes and Nodes to Current or Neutral Values . . . 449
Envelope Mode and Offset Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

xv
 Converting MIDI Envelopes to Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Adding Nodes at a Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
Automating Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
Automating Individual Effects Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
Recording Groups of Faders and/or Knobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Recording Automation Data from an External Controller . . . . . . . 454
Reassigning Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
Automated Muting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456

14 Layouts, Templates
and Key Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Floating Views and Dual Monitor Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Template Example: Three MIDI Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Key Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Importing Key Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
Exporting Key Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

15 Working with Notation and Lyrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467

The Staff View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
Opening the Staff View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
Staff Pane Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
The Staff Pane Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
The Fretboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
Fretboard Popup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
Basic Musical Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
Inserting Notes on the Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
Inserting Notes with the Fretboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Selecting Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Moving, Copying, and Deleting Notes on the Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Moving Notes from within the Fretboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
Auditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
Changing Note Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
Deglitch Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
Working with Triplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
Beaming of Rests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Changing the Way Notes Are Displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Using Enharmonic Spellings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
MIDI Channels and the Fretboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481

xvi
Chords and Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Adding Chord Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Adding Expression Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Adding Hairpin Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
Adding Pedal Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
Tablature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
Tablature Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
Changing Fretboard Texture and Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Quick TAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Regenerate TAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Entering Notes from the TAB Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
Single Note Editing from the TAB Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
Editing Chords or Groups of Notes from the TAB Staff . . . . . . . . . 491
Editing Notes and Chords from the Fretboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Working with Percussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
Setting Up a Percussion Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
Setting Up a Percussion Staff or Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
Ghost Strokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
The Meter/Key View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
What Is Meter? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
What Is Key? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
Opening the Meter/Key View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Adding and Editing Meter/Key Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Music Notation for Non-concert-key
Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Working with Lyrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Adding and Editing Lyrics in the Staff View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
Opening the Lyrics View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Adding and Editing Lyrics in the Lyrics View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

16 Using Instrument Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

Assigning Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
Importing Instrument Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Creating Instrument Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
Creating and Editing Patch Name and Other Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
Copying Name Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
Assigning the Bank Select Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
Assigning Patch Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
Assigning Note Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511
Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
Instrument Definition Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Why Use Instrument Definitions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513

xvii
 What Can They Do and Not Do? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Where Do Instrument Definitions Come From? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Start of Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514

17 Using System Exclusive Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517

What Is System Exclusive? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Sysx Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Using the System Exclusive View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Sending Sysx Banks at Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Importing, Creating, and Dumping Sysx Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
More about Dump Request Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
Editing Sysx Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
Sysx View Buttons 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Send . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Send All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Receive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Clear Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Edit Bytes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Load Bank and Save Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Transmitting Banks During Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Sysx Echo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Sysx .INI File Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525

18 Synchronizing Your Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527

Synchronization Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
Choosing Clock Sources When SONAR is the Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
MIDI Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
SONAR as the Slave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
SONAR as the Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Using MIDI Sync with Drum Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532
Troubleshooting MIDI Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532
SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532
Playing Digital Audio under SMPTE/MTC Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
SMPTE/MTC Sync and Full Chase Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536
Troubleshooting SMPTE/MTC Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536
MIDI Machine Control (MMC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537

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19 Audio File Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
The Project Files Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Project Files and Bundle Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Audio Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Global Audio Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Per-project Audio Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Imported Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
Backing Up Projects with Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
Deleting Unused Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546

20 Improving Audio Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547

System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
The Wave Profiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
Enabling and Disabling Audio Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
Sampling Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
Bit Depths, and Float Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
Bit Depths for Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
Bit Depths for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
Bit Depths for Importing Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
Bit Depths for Exporting Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
Bit Depths for Rendering Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
Preparing Higher-quality Audio for CD Burning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
Improving Performance with Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
Getting the Most Out of Your PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
Mixing Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
ASIO Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
Queue Buffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
Status Bar/CPU Meter/Disk Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555

21 Appendix A:
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
When I Play a File, I Dont Hear Anything . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
I Cant Record from My MIDI Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
When I Play a File Containing Audio, the Audio Portion Doesnt Play 560
I Cant Record Any Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560
My Track or Bus Fader is Maximized, But Theres No Sound or Level 561
The Music Is Playing Back with the Wrong Instrument Sounds . . . . . 561
How Do I Use SONAR to Access All the Sounds on My MIDI Instrument? 562
My Keyboard Doubles Every Note I Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562
I Dont See the Clips Pane in the Track View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562

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 Why Cant SONAR Find My Audio Files? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
I Get an a Error Message When I Change a Project to 24-bit Audio . . . 563
Bouncing Tracks Takes a Long Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
Why Do I Get Errors from the Wave Profiler? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564
I Hear an Echo When I Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564
Audio Distorts at Greater than 16 Bits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564
No Sound from My Soft Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
My Pro Audio 9 Files Sound Louder/Softer When I Open Them in SONAR
565
I Cant Open My Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566
SONAR Cant Find the Wavetable Synth or MPU401 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566

22 Appendix B: Hardware Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

Connect Your MIDI Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
Set Up to Record Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570

23 Appendix C: New Features in SONAR 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

V-Vocal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
Integrated VST Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
Inline Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
Streamlined Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
Improved MIDI Step Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
64-bit Audio Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
Video Output to FireWire Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
Grouping Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
Per/Clip Effects Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
Float File Support and Multiple Bit Depths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Track Layer Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Waveform Preview for Buses and Synth Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Peak Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Audio Scaling in Buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Cloning Multiple Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Fade Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
OMF Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Lock Track Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
Insert Multiple Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
Automation Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
Snap to Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
Remove DC Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578

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New Normalize and Gain Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
MIDI Scale/Zoom Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578
Audio Meter Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
Enhanced Preset Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
Interleave Indicator in FX Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
Track Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
Track Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
Tabbed Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
Add Nodes at Selection Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
Round Envelope Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579

24 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581

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xxii
 Preface

The SONAR Users Guide is designed to help you learn and use SONAR. This Guide explains
how SONAR works and how to use it to create, edit, produce, and perform. The SONAR
Users Guide is task-oriented, with lots of cross-references, so that you can find the
information you need. The Users Guide also includes a comprehensive index that you can

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use to find information on any specific topic.

About This Book

The SONAR Users Guide is organized as follows:
Chapter 1, Introduction, provides an overview of SONAR, installation instructions and basic
equipment setup options.
Chapter 2, Getting Started, contains tutorials that cover many of the features of SONAR.
The remaining chapters cover all the basic and advanced skills you need to use SONAR to
play, record, edit, arrange, and mix your projects.
The appendices contain additional information you can use for troubleshooting, setting up
SONAR for use with audio hardware, and SONARs new features.

Registering SONAR Today

New Cakewalk products will require product registration. When you register your product,
you provide some information including your name and email address, as well as the serial
number for your product.

Product registration can be done quickly on the internet or by phone.

To register anytime log onto http://www.cakewalk.com/register, or call 888-CAKEWALK
(U.S.) or +(617)-423-9004 (outside the U.S.) between 9 AM and 8 PM Eastern Standard Time.
If you live outside of North America, please visit our distributors page at
www.cakewalk.com/Dealers/International.asp to get the telephone number of your local
distributor.

Youll need to supply your serial number, your name, and a valid email address. In return for
this information, well email you a registration code that will allow you to keep using the
software forever. We recommend you write this registration code on the serial number sticker
for safekeeping.
 Conventions Used in this Book
The following table describes the text conventions in this book:

Convention... Meaning...

Bold Italics Text that appears in bold italics is a command in SONAR.

hyphen (File-Open) A hyphen represents a level in the menu hierarchy. For example, File-
Open means to click on the File menu and select the Open command.

SMALL CAPS Small caps are used for file extensions (.MID) and file names (AUD.INI).

Getting Help
In addition to this Users Guide, SONAR includes online help that can provide you with quick
reference information whenever you need it. Simply press F1 or click the Help button in any
dialog box to find the information you need. If you are new to recording and editing music on
your PC, see the online help topic Beginners Guide to Cakewalk Software for an
introduction.
If you need more information than you can find in the Users Guide or the online help, here
are two great places to look:
Check the Support page of our Web site (www.cakewalk.com) for updated technical
information and answers to frequently asked questions.
Post messages to the SONAR user community using one of the Cakewalk forums. For
more information about the newsgroups, visit www.cakewalk.com.
You can also get technical support directly from Cakewalk. In order to obtain technical
support, you must register your product. You can obtain technical support for this product in
the following ways:
Visit http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/SONAR/SR5.asp.
Call Cakewalk Technical Support at +1 (617) 423-9021 on weekdays, 10:00 AM to 6:00
PM, Eastern time. Be sure to have your serial number ready when you call.
Technical support hours, policies, and procedures are subject to change at any time. Check
our Web site for the latest support information.

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 1
Introduction

SONAR is a professional tool for authoring sound and music on your personal computer. Its
designed for musicians, composers, arrangers, audio and production engineers, multimedia
and game developers, and recording engineers. SONAR supports Wave, MP3, ACIDized
waves, WMA, AIFF and other popular formats, providing all the tools you need to do

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professional-quality work rapidly and efficiently.
SONAR is more than an integrated MIDI and digital audio authoring software packageits
an expandable platform that can function as the central nervous system of your recording
studio. With drivers for common high-end audio hardware, full support for audio plug-ins,
software synthesizers, MFX MIDI plug-ins, and MIDI Machine Control (MMC) of external
MIDI gear, SONAR can handle your most demanding projects.

In This Chapter
About SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Computers, Sound, and Music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Installing SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Starting SONAR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
SONAR Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Windows Taskbar Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Screen Colors and Wallpaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Starting to Use SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
 About SONAR
:
SONAR is the flagship product of the Cakewalk line of integrated MIDI and digital audio sequencers for
the Windows platform. SONAR has a comprehensive feature set that makes it the single most
productive tool for sound and music authoring. Here are some of the ways you can use SONAR.

Music Composition and Exploration

SONAR is a powerful music-composition application, providing tools to record your own musical
performances; enhance or improve the quality of those performances; and edit, arrange, and experiment
with the music. With a few simple clicks of the mouse, you can arrange, orchestrate, and audition your
composition. Fully integrated sequencing allows you to combine the convenience and flexibility of MIDI
composition with the high-quality sound and subtlety of digital audio sound recording and
reproduction. Change the feel of a piece by locking it to a musical groove, or add delicate delays,
anticipations, or echoes that add richness to the music.
SONAR displays and lets you edit your music using standard musical notation and guitar tablature, so
you can adjust individual notes, add performance markings, and print individual parts or full scores.
You can graphically draw tempo and volume changes, or add lyrics to display on-screen or to include
with printed scores.

Remixing
SONARs Groove clips allow you to import, create, export and edit loops, making it possible to quickly
change tempos and keys for an entire project. The Loop Explorer view lets you preview loops in the
projects tempo and key before dragging and dropping them onto a track.

Game Sound Development

Theres no better tool than SONAR for composing music for electronic games. Clip-based sequencing
lets you create and reuse musical themes freely, so you can associate musical sections with game
characters, locations, objects, and actions. Your creations can be saved and replayed using the compact
MIDI file format, which adapts its sound automatically to the target hardware for the best possible
sound reproduction.

Sound Production and Engineering

If you want to produce music CDs or master tapes, SONAR has virtually everything you need from
recording to mixing and mastering. Multichannel recording lets you capture studio or live performances
track by track. Reconfigurable buses provide full control over your mix. Real-time stereo effects like
chorus, flange, reverb, and delay/echo can be applied as track inserts, in effects loops, or to the master
mix. SONAR supports 44.1 KHz sampling for CD-quality sound, 24-bit/96 kHz sound for DVD-quality
sound, and lets you choose from lower or higher sample rates as well. All audio effects are 32-bit
floating point for faster processing and high-quality sound reproduction. Many effects now support 64-
bit processing for pristine quality.

Web Authoring
SONAR is the ideal tool for developing and producing music and sound for the World Wide Web, because
it lets you save your work in the formats that are most commonly used on web sites: MIDI, MP3, and
Windows Media Advanced Streaming Format. Any SONAR projectmusical composition, audio clip,
commercial spot, jingle with voice-overcan be stored in a web-compatible format with a few simple
mouse clicks.

Film and Video Scoring and Production

SONAR has many of the tools you need to execute audio post-production projects quickly and
efficiently. SONAR provides chase lock sync to time code for frame-by-frame accuracy when

26
 synchronizing audio or MIDI to film or video. Or, you can turn chase lock off to conserve CPU power.
SONAR provides high-quality time stretching and sample-accurate editing with zero-crossing
detection so you can make the fine adjustments you need in record time. In addition, SONARs support
for video files gives you convenient synchronized access to digitized video, making film and video
scoring easier than ever.

Flexibility
SONAR works the way you want to workyou can customize screen layouts, toolbars, and audio and
MIDI system configurations to make your work more efficient. SONAR integrates with other sound
editing tools so you can access them in an instant without leaving SONAR.

Computers, Sound, and Music

This section provides some background on the different ways that computers store and play sound and
music. Computers work with sound and music in two different forms: MIDI and digital audio.

MIDI

English
MIDI (short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is the way computers communicate with most
sound cards, keyboards, and other electronic instruments. MIDI refers to both the type of cables and
plugs used to connect the computers and instruments, and to the language those computers and
instruments use to talk to each other. The MIDI standard is accepted and used worldwide. Almost any
electronic instrument you buy today will have MIDI connectors and can be used with other MIDI
instruments and with your computers MIDI interface.
The MIDI language conveys information and instructions, both from the computer to the instrument
and from the instrument to the computer. For example, if your computer wants your keyboard to play a
note, it sends a MIDI Note On message and tells the keyboard which note to play. When your
computer wants the keyboard to stop playing that note, it sends another message that stops the note
from playing.
The MIDI language has many other instructions, such as messages to change the sound that is used to
play the notes (the bank and patch), messages used to work the sustain pedal and the pitch-bend wheel,
and others. By sending the right messages at the right times, your computer can control your electronic
instrument and make it play music.
MIDI information can be sent on 16 different channels. You can set up your MIDI equipment to listen
for messages on all channels or on only a few.
MIDI files contain all the MIDI messages and timing information that are needed to play a song. MIDI
files can be read and played by many different programs, including SONAR, and can even be played by
programs on other types of computers. MIDI files have the extension .MID.
There are several important advantages of the MIDI format:
Large amounts of music can be stored in a very compact form
Different parts of a piece can easily be assigned to any instrument you can imagine
The music contains information on notes, tempos, and key signatures that makes it possible to
display and edit the piece using standard musical notation
The primary disadvantage of MIDI is that the quality of the music a listener hears will vary depending
on the MIDI equipment the listener is using. For example, MIDI usually sounds much better on an
expensive synthesizer than it does on an inexpensive sound card.

27
 :
Digital Audio
Digital audio is a simple way to record and play sounds of any type. It works like a tape recorderyou
record something, then later play it back. Digital audio stores the sound as a long series of numbers.

Sound Waves
Sound waves are vibrations in the air. Sound waves are generated by anything that vibrates; a
vibrating object causes the air next to it to vibrate, and the vibration is passed through the air in all
directions. When the vibrating air enters your ear, it makes your eardrum vibrate, and you hear a
sound. Likewise, if the vibrating air hits a microphone, it causes the microphone to vibrate and send
electrical signals to whatever it's connected to.
These vibrations are very fast. The slowest vibration frequency you can hear is about 20 vibrations per
second, and the fastest is around 16,000 to 20,000 vibrations per second.

Recording Digital Audio

To record digital audio, your computer monitors the electrical signal generated by a microphone, an
electric guitar, or another source. At equal intervals of time (for CD-quality sound, this means 44,100
times a second), the computer measures and saves the strength of the electrical signal from the
microphone, on a scale from 0 to 65,535.
That's it. Digital audio data is just a long series of numbers. The computer sends these numbers, in the
form of electrical signals, to a speaker. The speaker then vibrates and generates the same sound that
was recorded.
The primary advantage of digital audio is the quality of the sound. Unlike MIDI, a digital audio
recording is very rich, capturing all the nuances, overtones, and other characteristics of the sound
exactly as performed. The main drawback of digital audio is that it takes up a lot of disk space. To
record a 1-minute segment of stereo, CD-quality digital audio, you need about 10 megabytes of disk
space.
On the PC, digital audio is usually stored in Wave files (extension .wav). There are many programs
available that let you create, play, and edit these files. SONAR reads, writes, and lets you edit Wave
files.

Installing SONAR
SONAR is easy to install. All you need to do is choose the folder where the program and sample project
files should be stored.Before you start, make sure you have your serial number handy. Your serial
number is located on the back of your CD case.
Installation note: If you choose to not install the Sample files, you will not have the necessary content
to use the tutorials in Chapter 2.

28
 To Install SONAR
1. Start your computer.
2. Close any open programs you have running.
3. Place the SONAR CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive.
If you have autorun enabled, the SONAR AutoRun menu opens automatically, showing you a
dialog box with several buttons. If autorun is not enabled, you can open the SONAR AutoRun
menu by selecting Start-Run and entering d:\AutoRun.exe (where d:\ is your CD-ROM drive).
4. Click the Install SONAR button.

Note:
If you exit Setup without completing the installation, choose Start-Run, type
D:\AutoRun.exe (where D:\ is your CD-ROM drive), and click OK. This will
reopen the AutoRun window, and you can click Install SONAR to start
installation again.

English
5. Follow the installation instructions on the screen.
You can also install SONAR by choosing Start-Run and running the application named SETUP.EXE
from the CD.

Uninstalling SONAR
When you installed SONAR, the setup program placed an Uninstall icon in the Start menu. To
uninstall SONAR, click the Start button and choose Programs-Cakewalk-SONAR 5 (Studio Edition
or Producer Edition)-Uninstall SONAR 5.

Setup
You can install SONAR on any computer that runs Windows XP or x64 and has a sound card or built-in
sound module. If you want to hook up other devices, like a MIDI keyboard, an electric guitar, or a
microphone, you need the right cables, and you need to find the right connectors on your computer.
Before you install SONAR, take a minute to register the software so we can let you know when updates
become available and provide you with technical support. To register anytime log onto http://
www.cakewalk.com/register, or call 888-CAKEWALK (U.S.) or +(617)-423-9004 (outside the U.S.)
between 9 AM and 8 PM Eastern Standard Time. If you live outside of North America, please visit our
distributors page at www.cakewalk.com/Dealers/International.asp to get the telephone number of your
local distributor. Youll need to supply your serial number, your name, and a valid email address.
To connect a MIDI keyboard to your computer, you need standard MIDI cables or a MIDI adapter cable,
such as the one available in Cakewalks PC Music Pack. One end of the adapter cable should have two 5-
pin DIN connectors that connect to your keyboard or other MIDI device. At the other end, you need a
15-pin connector to connect to a sound card through its MIDI/joystick port.
If you have a dedicated MIDI interface, lots of electronic music gear, or work with many different music
software packages,see
Before you attach or detach any cables from your computer, you should shut down your computer and
turn off the power to all your equipment. This greatly reduces the chance of electrical damage to your
equipment while plugging and unplugging cables.

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Audio Connections
There are several types of audio interfaces (soundcards). CardBus (PCI), USB/USB2 and FireWire are
the most common. Laptops can use an audio PCMCIA card. Many audio interfaces also have MIDI
inputs and some have built in MIDI synthesizers as well. This section covers the various audio
connection options.

Analog and Digital Inputs

There are two basic types of audio inputs, analog and digital. Analog inputs allow you to connect a
guitar, mic or other instrument to your computer directly. The audio interface converts the analog input
to digital. Digital inputs allow other digital devices to connect directly to your computer. Common
digital inputs include external analog to digital converters, popular guitar processors like the Line6
Pod, and other digital recording systems like the ADAT decks. Analog inputs are very common, and are
standard in virtually all consumer sound cards (the ones that come with your PC). Digital inputs are
becoming more popular and are very common on professional and mid-level, prosumer interfaces.
Analog inputs allow you to record a mono or stereo signal (assuming you have a stereo input) while
digital inputs allow you to record 1 to 8 signals depending on the type of digital connection.
The following table describes the various analog inputs and outputs:

Type of Analog Input/Output Description...

Balanced (XLR, phono or RCA) a mono input/output

Unbalanced (TRS) a stereo or mono input/output

The following table describes the various digital inputs and outputs:

Type of Digital Input/Output Description...

S/PDIF Sony/Philips Digital Interfacecapable of carrying a stereo signal, S/

PDIF is transmitted via RCA, Toslink or more rarely BNC jacks (single-
pin cable-TV connections)

ADAT Lightpipe Up to 8 channels of simultaneous transfer. If you want to import your

old ADAT material without any signal degradation, this is the
connection you should use.

TDIF Tascam Digital Interfaceup to 8 channels of simultaneous transfer.

AES/EBU Often referred to as simply AES, this type of digital connection uses a
modified XLR cable to transfer a stereo signal.

Read your hardware documentation carefully to determine what kind of digital connections, if any, you
have on your audio interface.

To Connect an Electric Guitar to Your Computer

If your sound card has a 1/8 inch input jack, plug your 1/4 mono guitar cable into a 1/8 stereo
adapter, and then plug the 1/8 adapter into the microphone input or line input jack on your
computer sound card.
If you use a professional or pro-sumer sound card, there is probably a 1/4 inch input jack on your

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 sound card or audio hardware interface that you can plug your guitar cable into.

To Connect a Microphone to Your Computer

If your sound card has a 1/8 inch input jack, and your microphone cable has a 1/4 plug on the end,
plug the mic cable into a 1/8 stereo adapter, and then plug the 1/8 adapter into the microphone
input jack on your computer sound card.
If you use a professional or pro-sumer sound card, there is probably a 1/4 inch input jack on your
sound card or audio hardware interface that you can plug your mic cable into.
If your mic has a cable with an XLR plug on the end, and your sound card or audio hardware
interface has a 1/4 inch input jack, plug the mic cable into an XLR-to-quarter inch adapter, and
then plug your mic cable into your audio hardware. If your audio hardware has an XLR input, of
course its better to use that.
You can also plug your mic into a mixer or pre-amp, and connect the mixer or pre-amp to an input
jack on your audio hardware. This is usually the best method.
That's it! Now that your instruments are all set to go, you can restart your computer and turn on your
keyboard, guitar, and microphone.

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For a complete description of audio input options, see the online help topic Hardware Setup.

MIDI Connections
Use the following procedure to connect a MIDI instrument to your computer.

To Connect a MIDI Keyboard to Your Computer

1. One of the 5-pin connectors on the MIDI cable is labeled Out. Plug this connector into the MIDI In
jack on your electronic keyboard.
2. The other 5-pin connector on the MIDI cable is labeled In. Plug this connector into the MIDI Out
jack on your electronic keyboard.
3. If you are using a MIDI adaptor cable, plug the 15-pin connector on the MIDI cable into the MIDI/
joystick port on your sound card. If you have a joystick, unplug it, plug in the MIDI cable, and plug
the joystick into the pass-through connector on the MIDI cable.
Or
If you are using standard MIDI cables, plug the cable connected to the MIDI Out on your MIDI
instrument into the MIDI In of your sound card or MIDI interface. Plug the cable connected to the
MIDI In on your MIDI instrument into the MIDI Out of your sound card or MIDI interface.

Starting SONAR
There are many different ways to start SONAR. Here are a few:
Double-click the SONAR icon on your desktop.
Click the Start button, and choose Programs-Cakewalk-SONAR 5 (Studio Edition or
Producer Edition)-SONAR 5 (Studio Edition or Producer Edition).
Click the Start button, point to Documents, and choose a SONAR project from the menu.
Double-click the SONAR program or any SONAR document from the Windows Explorer or the
Find menu.
When you start SONAR, you see the Quick Start dialog box.

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The Quick Start dialog box has several options:

Option How to use it

Open a Project Choose a project from the Open File dialog box to
open it

Open a Recent Project Select a project from the list, and click this button
to open it

Create a New Project Click here to create a new project.

Getting Started Click here to view the Getting Started topic in the
help file. This topic has links to a glossary of
terms, as well as some basic procedures.

If you dont want to see the Quick Start dialog box in the future, uncheck the box at the bottom of the
dialog box, and click Close. You can see the Quick Start dialog box later by choosing Help-Quick Start.

Migrating Preferences
If you have a previous version of Cakewalk installed, SONAR will detect it and give you the option of
migrating certain preferences from a single earlier version.
When you choose to migrate preferences, SONAR migrates the following settings from an earlier
Cakewalk version:

Setting Description...

Global Options Settings in the Global Options dialog. Open by

selecting Options-Global.

Key Bindings Your customized key bindings for controlling

SONAR using your MIDI keyboard or computer
keyboard.

Instrument Definitions Files used to control specific MIDI instruments.

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Setting Description...

Audio data directory (WaveData folder) and SONAR uses the Data directory and Picture
Picture Cache directory locations Cache directories from the previous Cakewalk
version for storing project wave files and their
waveform image files.

Running Wave Profiler

The first time you start SONAR, it automatically runs the Wave Profiler utility. Wave Profiler
determines the proper MIDI and Audio timings for your sound card and writes them to a file that
SONAR refers to when using the card. Wave Profiler does not change the sound cards DMA, IRQ, or
port address settings.
Wave Profiler detects the make and model of your sound card, which determine the cards audio
characteristics. If Wave Profiler finds a card that has a WDM driver, it only profiles that card. If you
want to use more than one sound card at a time, and they dont both have WDM drivers, you must force
the one with the WDM driver to use that driver as an older, MME driver. It is not necessary to run the
Wave Profiler for a sound card using an ASIO driver. For more information about Wave Profiler, WDM,

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and MME, see the online help topic The Wave Profiler. When Wave Profiler determines the kind of
card you have, always accept the default settings.

Note:
You can run the Wave Profiler again at a later time (for example, if you install
a new sound card or driver) by choosing the Options-Audio General tab
command and clicking Wave Profiler.

Setting Up the MIDI In and MIDI Out Devices

When you start SONAR for the first time, it checks your computer to find all the MIDI input and output
devices you have installed (such as sound cards and MIDI interfaces). However, sometimes you need to
tell SONAR exactly which devices you want it to use. If youre not getting sound from your sound card
or MIDI keyboard, or if you just want to change the MIDI outputs and devices that you are using, follow
the steps in this section.
Choose Options-MIDI Devices to open a dialog box in which you select the MIDI In and MIDI Out
devices that SONAR will use. Each item in the list is a MIDI Input or MIDI Output from drivers
installed using the Windows Control Panel.

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 1.
:
Select Options-MIDI Devices. You will see the MIDI Devices dialog box, which lets you choose
instruments on MIDI inputs and outputs.

Devices selected for MIDI output

Device selected for MIDI input

Device not
selected for MIDI
output

Click here to
change order of
MIDI devices

2. Look at the left window. Notice that it shows devices on MIDI Inputs; make sure that all devices in
this window are highlighted. If a device isnt highlighted, click on it once to select it for MIDI
Input.
3. Look at the window on the right. Notice that it shows devices on MIDI Outputs. SONAR numbers
its MIDI Outputs by the order of the devices in this window. The device on top is on Output 1, the
one below it is on Output 2, and so on.
4. Highlight one device at a time in the Outputs window and click Move Selected Devices to Top to
change its order. Then highlight all the devices that appear in the window to select them for
output.

Tip!
Be sure to enable (highlight) MIDI output devices in the MIDI Devices dialog
(use the Options-MIDI Devices command). If you dont do this, you wont
hear any of your MIDI instruments when you play songs in SONAR.

Using MIDI Devices After Making Driver Changes

If you later add or remove drivers using the Drivers icon of the Windows Control Panel, SONAR reacts
in the following way:
If you remove a Control Panel driver, SONAR will not use the device it belongs to the next time you
run the program. Any other devices you had selected using the Options-MIDI Devices command
will remain selected.
If you add a driver through the Control Panel, SONAR does not automatically use it. You must use

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 the Options-MIDI Devices command to enable the new driver in SONARs list.

Note:
After you add or remove a driver with the Drivers icon in the Windows
Control Panel, you must restart Windows for the change to take effect.

Defining Your MIDI Instrument or Sound Card

Once you have selected your MIDI Input and Output devices, SONAR, by default, plays back MIDI
sequences using a General MIDI instrument definition. If you are using a synthesizer or sound card
that does not adhere to the General MIDI standard, you may want to define that instrument.

SONAR Basics

English
SONARs menus and toolbars give you quick access to all the features of SONAR. Some menu choices
and tools display dialog boxes that let you choose among various options, or type in the values you
want. If you click in most views, in time rulers, or on certain other items with the right mouse button,
you see a popup menu that provides quick access to many common operations.
The project is the center of your work in SONAR. If youre a musician, a project might contain a song,
a jingle, or a movement of a symphony. If youre a post-production engineer, a project might contain a
30-second radio commercial or a lengthy soundtrack for a film or videotape production. By default,
every project is stored in a file (known as a project file). The normal file extension for a SONAR work
file is .CWP.
SONAR organizes the sound and music in your project into tracks, clips, and events.
Tracks are used to store the sound or music made by each instrument or voice in a project. For
example, a song that is arranged for four instruments and one vocalist may have 5 tracksone for each
instrument and one for the vocals. Each project can have an unlimited number of tracks. Some of these
tracks may be used in your finished project, while others can hold alternate takes, backup tracks, and
variations that you might want to keep for future use. Each track can be made up of one or many clips.
Clips are the pieces of sound and music that make up your tracks. A clip might contain a horn solo, a
drum break, a bass or guitar riff, a voice-over, a sound effect like the hoot of an owl, or an entire
keyboard performance. A track can contain a single clip or dozens of different clips, and you can easily
move clips from one track to another.
Groove clips are audio clips which have tempo and pitch information embedded within them, allowing
them to follow changes to the project tempo or project pitch. You can click on either edge of a Groove clip
and drag out repetitions in the track.
Events are MIDI data (in MIDI tracks) or automation data.

SONAR File Types

Projects in SONAR can be saved as a project file with the extension .CWP or as a Bundle file with the
extension .CWB.
For a complete description of the differences between project files and bundle files, see the online help
topic Project Files and Bundle Files.

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Other Types of Files
SONAR lets you create and work with several other types of files, in addition to project (.CWP) and
bundle (.CWB) files that store your projects:

File type Description

MIDI files (extension .MID) Standard MIDI files.

Template files (extension .TPL) Templates for new files you create

StudioWare (extension To control external MIDI devices from SONAR

.CAKEWALKSTUDIOWARE)

OMF (extension .OMF) Open Media Framework format files.

Opening a File
Use the following procedure to open a file.

To Open a File in SONAR

1. If you haven't already done so, start SONAR.
2. Choose File-Open.
3. In the Open dialog box, navigate to the directory where the project you want to open is located and
select it.
4. Click the Open button.
5. If you are opening an OMF file, the Unpack OMF dialog appears. Set the initial tempo and specify
the directory where you want to save the file and its audio. For more information about opening
OMF files, see Unpack OMF dialog in the online help.
SONAR loads the project.

Views
SONAR displays your project in windows on the screen that are known as views. You can have many
views open at once, all showing the same project. When you edit a project in one view, the other related
views are updated automatically.

The Track View

The Track view is the main window that you use to create, display, and work with a project. When you
open a project file, SONAR displays the Track view for the project. When you close the Track view for a
project, SONAR closes the file.
The Track view is divided into several sections: toolbars (at the top), the Navigator pane, the Video
Thumbnails pane (Producer Edition only), the Track pane, the Track/Bus Inspector, the Clips

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 pane, and the Bus pane. You can change the size of the panes by dragging the vertical or horizontal
splitter bars that separate them.

The Track pane The Clips pane

Expanded Clips
track

Minimized
tracks

English
Track icon

Splitter bars
Track/Bus Inspector Show/Hide Bus pane The Bus pane

All of the current tracks controls, plus a few that are only available in the Console view, are contained
in the Track/Bus Inspector which is an expanded version of the current tracks controls located on the
far left side of the Track view. You can hide or show the Track/Bus Inspector by pressing i on your
keyboard (see Track/Bus Inspector on page 38, for more information).
The Track pane lets you see and change the initial settings for each track. By default, the current track
is displayed in gold. To change the current track, move the highlight using the mouse or the keyboard as
follows:

Key What it does

Left/Right Arrow Moves the highlight to the next or previous

control.

Up/Down Arrow Moves to the same control in the adjacent track,

or the next track of the same type if the control
only applies to a specific track type (for example,
the Patch control only applies to MIDI tracks).

Page Down Displays the next page of tracks.

Page Up Displays the previous page of tracks.

Home Moves the focus to the first track.

End Moves the focus to the last track.

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The current tracks controls are contained in the Track/Bus Inspector.
The Clips pane shows the clips in your project on a horizontal timeline called the Time Ruler that helps
you visualize how your project is organized. Clips contain markings that indicate their contents. The
Clips pane lets you select, move, cut and copy clips from place to place to change the arrangement of
music and sound in your project.
The Bus pane shows the buses in the project, and also shows any editing views that are in tabbed
(docked) format. The Show/Hide Bus pane button allows you to show or hide the Bus pane at the
bottom of the Track view.
The Navigator pane displays a large part of your project so you can see an overview of your song. The
Navigator pane displays all of your projects tracks.
The Track view makes it easy to select tracks, clips, and ranges of time in a project. These are the most
common selection methods:

To Do this

Select tracks Click on the track number, or drag over several

track numbers

Select clips Click on the clip, or drag a rectangle around

several clips

Select time ranges Drag in the Time Ruler, or click between two
markers

Select partial clips Hold down the Alt key while dragging over a clip

As with most other Windows programs, you can also use the Shift-click and Ctrl-click combinations
when selecting tracks and clips. Holding the Shift key while you click adds tracks or clips to the current
selection. Holding the Ctrl key while you click lets you toggle the selection status of tracks or clips.

Track/Bus Inspector
The Track/Bus Inspector makes it easy to adjust the current tracks (or buss) controls, because its a
greatly expanded version of the current tracks controls that is located on the left side of the Track pane.
You can hide or show any one or all of the controls in the Track/Bus Inspector by clicking the four
buttons at the bottom of the Track/Bus Inspector.
The following graphic shows most of the Track/Bus Inspectors controls (there may not be room to
display all of a tracks controls on the Track/Bus Inspector, depending on the resolution of your
monitor):

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 Track/Bus Inspector for an Audio Track Track/Bus Inspector for a MIDI Track

Input menu

Trim

Fx bin: large view

with assignable
sliders

Send controls: MIDI ch.,

Bank, Patch

Phase, Mono,
Input Echo

Input Echo

English
Mute, Solo, Arm

Mute, Solo, Arm

Pan
Pan
Volume fader

Volume meter

Volume fader

Icon
Icon
Output menu

Output menu
Choose track or
bus menu

Click to select the Track/Bus

Inspector controls you want to
display

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 :
You can hide or show any of the Track/Bus Inspectors controls, and use it to display the controls from
any track or bus. The following table shows you how:

To do this Do this

Hide or show the Track/Bus Inspector Press i on your keyboard.

Display a certain tracks or buss controls in the Click the track or bus to make it current, or choose the
Track/Bus Inspector track or bus in the track/bus dropdown menu thats at the
bottom of the Track/Bus Inspector.

Hide or show any of the Track/Bus Inspectors Click any of the four buttons at the bottom of the Track
controls Inspector (these are 3-position buttons, except for the
Volume button):
Send button when yellow, displays
send controls for audio tracks and busses;
and channel, bank, and patch controls for
MIDI tracks. When blue, shows as many
sends as possible. When grey, hides the
send controls.
Volume button hides or shows the
volume fader in MIDI tracks, audio tracks,
and busses.
EQ button in audio tracks and busses
shows the built-in EQ controls. When yellow,
shows band 1; when blue, shows all 4
bands. In MIDI tracks it has no function.
FX button when yellow, shows the FX
bin in audio tracks and busses. When blue,
also shows the first 4 parameters of the
selected effect (if its an automatable effect).
In MIDI tracks, shows the FX bin when
yellow. When blue, shows sliders for 4
assignable MIDI continuous controllers.
Note: you can not display a MIDI tracks Time + or Key +
controls in the Track/Bus Inspector.

Reassign MIDI controller sliders in a MIDI Right-click the slider you want to reassign and choose
Tracks Fx bin Reassign Control from the popup menu, choose the
new parameter, and click OK.

Display the parameters of a different Click the name of the effect you want to select.
automatable effect

Assign a control to a group, arm it for Right-click the control and choose options from the
automation, take an automation snapshot, or popup menu.
set up remote control

Narrow the Track Inspector Right-click a blank area and choose Narrow Strip from
the popup menu.

Bypass the FX bin Right-click the FX bin and choose Bypass Bin from the
popup menu.

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 The Console View
The Console view is where you can mix the sounds on all the different tracks to create the final mix of
your project. While the Track view provides most of the same controls, you may want to use the more
familiar interface of the Console view for mixing.
You use the Console view to adjust the levels of sound for the different tracks in your project, to change
the stereo panning, and to apply real-time effects to an individual track, combinations of tracks, or the
final mix.
The Console view contains several groups of controls. There is one module for each track in your project,
and one module for each bus. You can use bus sends to direct certain tracks to special modules that are
known as buses.

Audio module MIDI module Bus Main Out

English
Bus Send Enable

Stereo/Mono button

Pan control

Volume fader
for each track

Show/Hide
controls buttons

Icon Mute, Solo, and Track Arming buttons

As in the Track view, you can change track settings or record new music or sound in the Console view.
You may choose to use one view or the other, or the choice you make may depend on which project you
are working on.

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Other Views
SONAR has a number of other views you can use to display and work on your project. To display these
views, select one or more tracks, by Ctrl-clicking their track numbers and:
Click the icon for the view in the Views toolbar
Or
Choose the view you want from the View menu
The Piano Roll view : shows the notes from a MIDI track or tracks as they would appear on a
player-piano roll. You can move the notes around, make them longer or shorter, and change their
pitches by just dragging them with the mouse. You can also use the Piano Roll view to display and edit
MIDI velocity, controllers, and other types of information. The Piano Roll view also contains the Drum
Editor, which allows you to paint drum patterns using the Pattern Brush tool and play different drum
modules from a single track.
The Console View

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The Staff view : displays the notes from one or more MIDI tracks using standard music notation,
similar to the way the notation would appear on a printed page. You can add, edit, or delete notes;
create percussion parts; add guitar chords and other notation markings; display guitar tablature;
display the Fretboard pane; and print whole scores or individual parts to share with other musicians.

English
The Loop Construction view : allows you to create and edit Groove clips (SONAR loops that
know the tempo and key in which they were recorded), and export these clips as ACIDized files.

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 :
The Loop Explorer view : allows you to preview ACIDized files and other Wave files; and drag and
drop them into your project.

The Event List view : displays the events in a project individually, so that you can make changes at
a very detailed level.

SONAR has several other views that are used for very specific purposes:

View How you use it

Meter/Key To change the meter (time signature) or key

signature, or to insert changes in the meter or key
signature at specific times in a project.

Big Time To display the Now time in a large, resizable font

that you can read more easily.

Markers To add, move, rename, or delete labels for parts of

your project that make it easier to move from one
point to another.

Lyrics To add and display lyrics for a track.

Video To display a loaded video file.

Sysx To create, display, store, and edit System

Exclusive MIDI messages used to control
instruments and other gear that are MIDI capable.

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 Tempo To view and edit the project's tempo changes.

Zoom Controls
Many of the views contain Zoom tools that let you change the horizontal and vertical scale of the view:

Zoom Clips pane out vertically

Vertical Zoom fader for Clips pane

Zoom Clips pane in vertically
Zoom Bus pane out vertically

Vertical Zoom fader for Bus pane

Zoom in horizontally
Zoom out horizontally Horizontal zoom fader

The Track view toolbar contains the Zoom tool:

English
The zoom tools are used as described in the following table:

Tool How you use it

Zoom out (Clips pane or Bus pane) Click to zoom out incrementally, or press Shift and
click to zoom all the way out

Zoom in (Clips pane or Bus pane) Click to zoom in incrementally, or press Shift and
click to zoom all the way in

Zoom fader Click and drag to zoom continuously

Zoom tool Click to arm, then click and drag in the view to
select the zoom area. Click the dropdown arrow to
display a menu of zoom and view options.

You can also zoom with the keyboard:

Key What it does

Ctrl+up arrow Zoom out vertically

Ctrl+down arrow Zoom in vertically

Ctrl+right arrow Zoom in horizontally

Ctrl+left arrow Zoom out horizontally

G Go to (center) the Now time, without zooming

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 Hold down Z
: Arm the Zoom tool

U Undo the current zoom

F Fit tracks to window

A Show all tracks

Shift+F Fit project to window

Shift+Double Click a clip Maximize track height

Docking Views
You can dock any view other than the Console view in the lower-right corner of the Track view by
enabling a views Enable Tabbed option. You can have as many views open in tabbed format as you
want. You can toggle through the different views by clicking the tab of the view you want to see (or use
the Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right Arrow shortcut). You can also maximize the pane to do detailed work in a
view, or drag the splitter bar at the top of the view to enlarge the tabbed view area. For step-by-step
instructions, see the procedures below.

Scroll left or right to

view tabs Active view Tabs
Maximize pane

To do this Do this

Display a view in tabbed Click the upper left corner of a view, and choose
format Enable Tabbed from the popup menu

Disable tabbed format for a Right-click the views tab, and choose Disable
view Tabbed from the popup menu.

Enable or disable tabbed Use the View-Enable Tabbing for Open Views
format for all open views command.

Maximize a tabbed view Click the Maximize/Restore button thats just

to the left of the tabs.

Restore tabbed view Click the Restore button thats in the lower
left corner of the view that youre restoring.

Close a View that is in Tabbed Right-click the views tab, and choose Close
Format from the popup menu

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Locking Views
By default SONAR allows only one instance of each view, but you can lock the contents of most views,
preserving the current view by forcing a new instance of the view to appear if necessary. Locking views
is the only way you can have multiple instances of the same view open. Only the Track and Console
views cannot be locked.
To lock a view, just click the lock button at the top right of the view. An unlocked view looks like this ,
and a locked view looks like this . A view can be locked automatically by pressing the Ctrl key when
opening the view.

Floating Views
When a view is float enabled, you can move it outside of the confines of SONAR. This is particularly
useful if you take advantage of SONARs dual monitor support. Using dual monitor support, you can
keep the Track or Console view on one monitor and float other views to the other monitor by dragging
them to the second screen.
For more information, see the online help topic Floating Views and Dual Monitor Support.

Layouts
You may spend a lot of time making sure that all the views are laid out on the screen just the way you

English
want. When you save your work, you can save the screen layout along with it. You can also save the
layout by itself and then use the layout with other projects. For more information, see the online help
topic Layouts.

Working on a Project
Much of your time in SONAR is spent recording and listening to your project as it develops. The
Transport toolbar, shown below, contains the most important tools and other pieces of information youll
need to record and play back your project.
Every project has a current time, known as the Now time. As you record or play back a project, the
Now time shows your current location in the project. When you create a project, the Now time is set to
the beginning of the project. The current Now time is saved with your project.
You control recording and playback using tools on the Transport toolbar, which work a lot like the ones
on your tape deck or CD player:

Stop Go to End Record automation

Go to Beginning Play Record Reset

As you work with a project, you can use SONARs mute and solo features to choose which tracks are
played, or you can create loops to play a particular section over and over again. You can also create
markers, which are named time points you add to your project to make it easy to jump to a particular
location.

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Windows Taskbar Indicators
When SONAR is running, youll normally see two indicators in your Windows Taskbar, right next to the
clock.
The MIDI activity monitor contains two lights that indicate MIDI input and output. When you play
your MIDI keyboard, the first light flashes when each note is pressed, and it flashes again when each
note is released. When you play back a project that contains MIDI, the second indicator lights up.
The volume control is used to control the playback and record volumes on your sound card. Double-
click on this indicator to open a dialog box that lets you control the levels for audio, MIDI, CD playback,
and record.
The volume control is available only if your sound card is using a native Windows driver. If your sound
card does not use a native Windows driver, no volume control will be displayed in the taskbar. In this
case, your sound card probably came with a separate program to control input and output levels. See
your sound card documentation for more information.

Screen Colors and Wallpaper

SONAR lets you customize the colors that are used for virtually all parts of the program using the
Options-Colors command. This command also lets you change the background bitmap that is
displayed in the SONAR window.
For any SONAR screen element, you can assign a color in two ways:
Choose one of the colors that is part of your Windows color scheme.
Assign a custom color.

To Assign Custom Colors

1. Choose Options-Colors to display the Colors dialog box.
2. Choose the screen element whose color you want to change from the Screen Element list.
3. Assign a color to the screen element in one of two ways:
To use a color from the Windows color scheme, choose one of the options in the Follow System
Color list
To use a custom color, check Use Specific Color, click the Choose Color button, and select the
color you want
4. To save these changes from session to session, check the Save Changes for Next Session box.
5. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR uses the colors you have chosen.

To Restore the Default Colors

1. Choose Options-Colors to display the Colors dialog box.
2. Click the Defaults button.
3. Click OK.
SONAR uses the default colors for all screen elements.

To Change the Wallpaper

1. Choose Options-Colors to display the Colors dialog box.

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 2. Choose the desired wallpaper according to the table:

To do this Do this

Use the default wallpaper Check Default in the Wallpaper list

Not use any wallpaper Check None in the Wallpaper list

Use a custom bitmap Check Custom, choose a bitmap, and click Open

3. Click OK when you are done.

Starting to Use SONAR

This chapter has provided you with an overview of SONAR and basic information on how to install the
software and configure your system. To get started with SONAR, try the Tutorials in Chapter 2.

English

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50
 2
Tutorials

Now that youve learned some of the basics, its time to put that knowledge to work. These
tutorials will give you some hands-on practice in playing, recording, and mixing your
projects.

English
Note:
If, during installation, you chose in the Select Components dialog not to install
the Tutorials folder (part of the Sample files), you will not have access to the
sample tutorial files needed to follow the tutorials in this chapter. If you didnt
install these files, insert your product CD and copy the files to your hard drive.

In This Chapter
Tutorial 1The Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Tutorial 2Recording MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Tutorial 3Recording Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Tutorial 4Editing MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Tutorial 5Editing Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Tutorial 6Using Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Tutorial 7Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Tutorial 8Using Soft Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Tutorial 9Drum Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
 :
Tutorial 1The Basics
The first tutorial teaches you the basics of SONAR. You'll learn how to:
Open and play a project file
Make the project repeat automatically
Use markers
Speed or slow the tempo
Mute a track and play a track solo
Change a track's instrument
Play a track on a MIDI instrument
If you have not already done so, please read Chapter 1, Introduction, for basic background information
about projects, tracks, clips, the Track view, and the Console view.

Opening a Project File

As you learned in Chapter 1, SONAR stores MIDI and digital audio data in project files. The first
thing you need to do is load a project file.

To Open a Project File

1. If you haven't already done so, start SONAR.
2. Choose File-Open.
3. In the Open dialog box, navigate to the directory in which you installed SONAR, double-click the
Tutorial folder to open it and select the file TUTORIAL1.CWP.
4. Click the Open button.
SONAR loads the project and opens the Track view. Feel free to move and resize the Track view to
better fit your screen.

Preparing for Playback

Before you can play a project, you must choose the outputs for both MIDI sounds and audio sounds. By
choosing the outputs, you are telling SONAR from which outputs you want to hear the sounds.
You may have a soundcard with a built-in synthesizer, or a MIDI keyboard that produces sounds. We
will discuss using these with a project later on in the tutorial. First we will explore using a software
synthesizer to hear a projects MIDI tracks. A software synthesizer is a software program that produces
various sounds through your audio interface when the soft synth program receives MIDI data from a
MIDI controller or sequencer program. When you insert a software synth, you need to assign the output
of the MIDI track to that software synth.
The software synthesizer itself must be routed to one of your audio outputs in order for you to hear it.
Your project might also contain audio data, perhaps vocals, that you have recorded. To hear the audio
data playing back, you need to choose an output for the audio track that contains the audio data. The
output you choose for both the software synthesizer and the audio data will be the one on your sound
card that you have connected to an amplifier and speakers, or to headphones.
Lets insert a software synthesizer, Cakewalk TTS-1, to the tutorial project file.

To Insert Cakewalk TTS-1 into a Project

1. Use the Insert-Soft Synths command and click Cakewalk TTS-1 on the popup menu.
The Insert Soft Synth Options dialog appears.

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2. In the Create These Tracks fields, deselect MIDI Source, because we want to patch the pre-existing
MIDI tracks into Cakewalk TTS-1.
3. Verify that the First Synth Audio Output option is checked. Well need this track to route
Cakewalk TTS-1 to our chosen audio output. The new synth track will have Cakewalk TTS-1
already patched as an audio input.
4. In the Open These Windows fields, select only the Synth Property Page. This option opens
Cakewalk TTS-1s property page (interface).
5. Click OK.
SONAR opens the TTS-1 interface, and inserts a synth track that has the Cakewalk TTS-1s output 1 as
an input. Feel free to look over the Cakewalk TTS-1s interface, but we will not be making any
adjustments here in this tutorial. Close the TTS-1 property page (interface) by clicking X in the upper-
right corner of the window.
Now that you have a software synthesizer available for use, you can continue preparing the project for
playback. We now need to direct our MIDI tracks to the Cakewalk TTS-1.

To Choose MIDI Outputs for Your Projects Tracks

English
1. In the Track view, click the dropdown arrow in the Output dropdown menu in a MIDI track to
display the tracks Output menu. MIDI tracks display a MIDI icon just to the right of the track
number:

MIDI icon
Restore Stip Size button

You may need to enlarge the track to show the Output control: In Track 1, click the Restore Strip
Size button to expand the track. Also, you may have to click the All tab control thats at the bottom
of the Track pane to display all the controls in the track.

Output menu Dropdown arrow to

display menu

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All tab controlclick this to display all the track controls. Click the other tabs
to display smaller groups of controls.

After you click the dropdown arrow in a tracks Output menu, a dropdown menu appears,
containing a list of enabled MIDI outputs.
2. Select the output you want to use for that trackselect Cakewalk TTS-1 1 Output 1.
3. For all the other MIDI tracks, youll also want to choose the Cakewalk TTS-1 1 Output 1 option:
press the down arrow on your computer keyboard to move the focus rectangle to the Output field
for the next track, press Enter to display the tracks Output menu, and choose the Cakwalk TTS-1
again.
4. Repeat step 3 for each track.
Each MIDI track is now routed to the Cakewalk TTS-1. Next we need to enable the audio output well
use to hear the sounds the software synthesizer produces.

To Enable Audio Outputs

1. Select Options-Audio from the menu.
The Audio Options dialog box appears.
2. Click the Drivers tab in the Audio Options dialog box.
3. In the Output Drivers field, select the drivers you want enabled. All enabled drivers appear
highlighted. Be sure to enable the driver of the audio device connected to your speakers or
headphones.
4. Click OK.
Your desired audio output will now be available for selection in your synth tracks Output menu.

To Choose an Audio Output for your Synth Track

1. In the Track view, click the Output dropdown arrow in the Cakewalk TTS-1 synth track. Synth
tracks are distinguished by the synth icon to the right of the track number.

Output dropdown arrow

2. From the Output dropdown menu, select the audio output that is connected to your speakers or
headphones.

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Note: TUTORIAL1.CWP does not contain audio data or audio tracks, but if you need to choose an audio
output for an audio track, each audio track also has an Output menu. Audio tracks display an audio
icon just to the right of the track number:

Audio icon

Audio output menu in an

audio track

This tutorial has so far focused on using a software synthesizer as a sound source for your MIDI tracks.
If you have built-in synthesizer on your soundcard, or a MIDI keyboard that produces sounds (that
youve connected to your computer through a MIDI interface of some kind), you might want to use these
devices instead. The following optional procedure describes how to configure your project to use these
MIDI outputs.. If youre happy using Cakewalk TTS-1, feel free to skip ahead to the next section.

To Use Other Sound Sources for MIDI Tracks

English
1. Select Options-MIDI Devices from the menu to open the MIDI Devices dialog box.

2. In the MIDI Devices dialog in the Outputs field, arrange the outputs by doing the following:

To do this Do this

Enable or disable a device Click on itan enabled device appears highlighted; a disabled
device does not appear highlighted.

Move a device to the top of the Highlight it, temporarily deselect all other highlighted devices,
list and click the Move Selected Devices to Top button.

3. Click OK.
Note: If you have a large number of MIDI outputs enabled, you may occasionally get MIDI
transmission errors or an out-of-memory message. You can try either deselecting some outputs, or
lowering the number of Sysx buffers by using the Options-Global command to open the Global
Options dialog box: on the MIDI tab, lower the value in the Number of Buffers field to 16.
4. Return to the Track view and reassign the Output menu setting on any MIDI tracks you wish to
hear through something other than Cakewalk TTS-1.
If using a soundcard synthesizer, you need to select the name of that synthesizer (for example,
SB Live! Synth A for the synthesizer in a SoundBlaster Live sound card) in the Output menu.
If youve connected a keyboard or MIDI sound module to a MIDI interface, you need to select
the name of the MIDI interface, and set the correct output MIDI channel in the same track
(the MIDI channel that your keyboard is set to receive on).

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MIDI Channel menu for Dropdown arrow to
track 1 display menu

Let's play the project!

Playing the Project

Buttons in the Large Transport toolbar, shown in the following picture, can control most of SONARs
basic playback functions.
If you dont see the Large Transport toolbar, then choose View-Toolbars and check Transport
(Large).

Rewind Go to End Run/Stop Audio Engine

Meter/Key

Stop Play Record Record Automation Auto-punch Reset

To Start Playback
To play the project, click the Play button , or press the Spacebar.
Do you hear music? If you don't hear anything, see the online help topic called Troubleshooting for some
troubleshooting tips.

The Now Time

The Now time is the current time in the projectthe time where playback is occurring, or where
playback will start up again if playback is stopped. The Now time is indicated in the Clips pane by a
vertical black line, which moves as your project plays to indicate what part of your project is playing.
When playback is stopped, at the top of the black line you will see a green triangle. This triangle, known
as the Now time marker, represents the point at which the Now time will snap back to after you stop
playback or recording (you can change this behavior in the Global Options dialogselect Options-
Global, click the General tab in the Global Options dialog, and uncheck the On Stop, Rewind to Now
Marker option).

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 Now time marker

Now time

The Now time is also shown in the Transport toolbar, both in MBT (measure/beat/tick) format and in
time code format (hour/minute/second/frame). During playback, the Now time increases in accordance
with the progress of the project.
You can set the Now time of the project by clicking in the Time Ruler in the Clips pane, or (when
playback is stopped) by dragging the Now time slider in the Large Transport toolbar.
While you are playing the project, you may want to keep an eye on the Now time. The Big Time view
displays the Now time in a large font so you can more easily see it from a distance. To open this view,

English
choose View-Big Time. You can change the time format displayed in the Big Time window by clicking
on it. You can change its font by right-clicking on it.

To Restart the Project

When SONAR gets to the end of the project, it stops. By default SONAR will rewind to the Now Time
marker after you stop playback or recording. To play the project again, do the following:

1. If the Now time marker is at a measure other than the first, click the Rewind button , or press
w to go back to the first measure.
2. Click the Play button, or press the Spacebar.

To Pause Playback
To temporarily pause playback, hit Ctrl-Spacebar. By default, hitting just the Spacebar or Stop
or Play will rewind the project to the Now time marker rather than pausing at the current
Now time. However, you can change the Now time marker behavior so that the marker moves to
the current Now time when playback or recording is stopped (use the Options-Global command;
on the General tab uncheck On Stop, Rewind to Now Marker).
Certain SONAR functions can only be used when the project is paused. If a function or command does
not seem to work, try pausing the project
For more information on the Now time and Now Time marker, see the online help topic The Now Time
and How to Use It.

Starting from a Marker

Markers make it easier to find certain points within the project. You may want to set markers at the
beginning of each section of your project or at times with which some event must be synchronized. The

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Markers toolbar lets you move the Now time to a marker, add a new marker at the Now time, and edit
the marker list. If you dont see the Markers toolbar, then choose View-Toolbars and check Markers.
Open Markers view

Markers list Previous Next Insert Default Groove clip pitch

marker marker marker

The current project contains several markers. Lets try starting playback from the marker labeled C:

1. If the project is playing, pause playback by clicking the Stop button .

2. In the Current Marker dropdown menu in the Markers toolbar (the larger dropdown menu, on the
left), select the marker labeled C. The Now time moves to the start of measure 17.

3. Click the Play button .

You can jump to the next or previous marker by pressing Ctrl+Shift+ Page Down or Ctrl+Shift+Page
Up.
For more information on markers, see the online help topic Creating and Using Markers.

Restarting the Project Automatically

Wouldnt it be easier to practice your solo if you didn't have to restart the project each time it ended?
Rather than manually rewinding and restarting the project, you can make SONAR automatically jump
back to the beginning and keep playing.

Looping Over the Entire Project

To control looping, use the tools in the Loop/Auto Shuttle toolbar. If you dont see this toolbar, choose
View-Toolbars and check Loop.

Loop properties

Loop On/Off Loop end time

Loop start time Set loop to selection time

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To loop over the entire project, do the following:
1. In the Loop toolbar, click the Loop Start time. The time display changes to an edit box with spin
controls.
2. To loop over the entire project, the loop must start at 1:01:000. If the Loop Start time is not already
set to 1:01:000, use the keyboard or spin controls to enter this value. To set it to 1:01:000, click the
Loop Start time, enter 1 and press Enter.
3. In the Loop toolbar, click the Loop End time.
4. Press F5 to open the Markers dialog box.
5. Select the marker named <End> and click OK. The Loop End time is set to the end of the project.

6. Click the Loop On/Off button to enable looping.

7. Click Play.
When looping is enabled, the Time Ruler displays special flag markers that indicate the loop start and
end times. You can drag these markers to change the loop start and end times.

English
Loop Start Loop End

To turn looping off, click the Loop button again.

Looping Over a Section of the Project

Maybe you would like to practice one section of the project over and over. Or, maybe you'd like one
section played repeatedly so you can practice an extended solo. In either case, you need to set the start
and end times of the loop section. Let's have SONAR loop over the section between markers C and D:
1. In the Loop toolbar, click on the Loop Start time.
2. Press F5 to open the Markers dialog box.
3. In the Markers dialog box, select marker C and click OK. The loop start time is set to the marker
time.
4. In the Loop toolbar, click on the Loop End time.
5. Press F5 to open the Markers dialog box.

6. In the Markers dialog box, select marker D and click OK.

7. Click the Loop On/Off button to enable looping.

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 8.
:
Click Rewind. The project rewinds to the Loop Start time.
9. Click Play.
A quicker way of selecting the loop times in the preceding example would be to simply click in the area
between the markers at the top of the Clips pane, then click to copy the selection start and end
times to the Loop/Auto Shuttle toolbar.

Click here to select the portion of the project between markers C and D

Changing the Tempo

If the project is having trouble keeping up with you (or if you're having trouble keeping up with the
project!), you can easily speed up or slow down the project since it contains only MIDI data. There are
two ways to do this: you can change the tempo, or you can change the tempo ratio, which determines the
tempo by multiplying it by a user-defined amount. The controls for either method are found on the
Tempo toolbar. If you dont see this toolbar, choose View-Toolbars and check Tempo.

Drag here to move toolbar to new location

Tempo ratio 3

Insert tempo Tempo ratio 2

Tempo Tempo ratio 1

Setting the Tempo

Lets pick up the pace a little. Do the following:
1. With the project playing, click on the tempo value in the Tempo toolbar. The tempo will be
highlighted and spin controls will appear.
2. Use the spin controls to increase the tempo to 100 beats per minute.
3. Press Enter. The project will play a little faster.

Changing the Tempo with the Tempo Ratio Buttons

By default, the Tempo Ratio buttons let you play the project at half or double tempo. Try this:

1. Click Button 1 . The project slows to half its normal tempo. Note that the displayed project
tempo has not changed.

2. Click Button 3 . The project speeds to twice its normal tempo.

3. Click Button 2 . The project returns to its normal tempo.

Note: The Tempo Ratio buttons do not function in projects containing audio clips. Also, the clock source
setting on the Clock tab of the Project Options dialog (Options-Project command) must be set to
Internal.

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Setting the Tempo Ratios
Tempo ratios can be changed by Shift-clicking on them in the Tempo toolbar and entering a new number
in the dialog box. By default, tempo ratios are set to 0.50, 1.00, and 2.00, respectively.

Advanced Tempo Control

This project is a special case in that it has only one tempo for the entire project. If you need to vary the
projects tempo, SONAR lets you insert tempo changes. Tempo changes can be inserted individually so
that different sections can be played at different tempos, or they can be inserted graphically in the
Tempo view. For more information, see the online help topic 'Changing Tempos.
Tempo ratios affect the entire project, even if there are tempo changes. SONAR always multiplies the
current tempo in the project by the tempo ratio to determine the playback tempo.

Muting and Soloing Tracks

Muting a track causes it not to sound when you play your project. Soloing a track mutes all the tracks
except the ones that are soloed.
You can change a tracks mute or solo status while your project is playing.

Muting a Track

English
Frequently you will want to temporarily turn off one or more instruments in your ensemble. SONAR
makes it easy to mute the parts you dont want to hear.
For example, suppose that you are practicing the piano part for this project and want to hear only the
other instruments. Lets mute the piano part. With the project playing, do the following:

1. In the Track pane, click the Mute button in the Piano track (track 1). The button turns yellow,
and the piano part drops out of the project.
2. To turn the piano back on, click the Mute button again.
Note that the yellow MUTE indicator lights up in the Status bar whenever a track is muted (the Status
bar is located at the bottom of the SONAR window). This can be very helpful if there are muted tracks
that arent visible.
Let's try using a different method to mute two tracks simultaneously:
1. In the Track pane, click the track number (the left-most column) of the Piano track. The track is
selected.
2. While pressing Ctrl, click the track number in the Sax track. The Piano and Sax tracks are
selected.
3. Choose Track-Mute. Both tracks are muted.
You can also mute or unmute tracks by using the popup menu:
1. In the Track pane, click the track number of the Piano track.
2. While pressing Ctrl, click the track number of the Sax track. The piano and sax tracks are selected.
3. Right-click on either track to bring up the popup menu.
4. Choose Mute (which should have a check mark beside it).
SONAR unmutes the tracks. You can also unmute all tracks by clicking the Mute indicator on the
Status bar.

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Playing a Track Solo
If you want to hear one track by itself, you could mute all other tracks. But theres a quicker way to do
itthe Solo button. For example, to play the drum part by itself, do the following:

1. Click the Solo button in the Drum track (track 5). Voila, a percussion solo!
2. To let the other instruments back into the project, click the Drum track's Solo button again.
Solo is not exclusiveyou can let as many instruments as you like into the solo. Notice that the green
SOLO indicator lights up in the Status bar (located at the bottom of the screen) whenever a track is
soloed.
Lets use a different method to solo all three percussion tracks:
1. In the Track pane, click the track number in the Drums track. The track becomes selected.
2. While pressing Shift, click the track numbers in the Shaker and Triangle tracks. All three
percussion tracks become selected.
3. Choose Track-Solo.
When you want to let the entire ensemble back into the project, click the Solo indicator on the Status
bar to unsolo all the tracks, or select all soloed tracks and choose Track-Solo. As a third option, right-
click, bring up the popup menu, and turn off the solo from there.
Note that Mute takes priority over Solo. If both buttons are enabled in a track, the track does not play.

Mute and Solo in the Console View

The Console view contains Mute and Solo buttons identical to those in the Track view. The two sets of
buttons are synchronized. To see this, do the following:
1. In the Console view, mute the Bass, Sax, and Drums tracks.
2. Solo the Piano track.
3. In the Track view, check that the first track is soloed and that tracks 2, 3, and 5 are muted. Click
the enabled Solo and Mute buttons to return the tracks to normal.

Changing a Track's Instrument

If the sound card synthesizer or software synthesizer you are using is like most, it is capable of
producing at least 128 different instrument sounds, plus several dozen percussion sounds. Now you'll
find out how to get some of those other instruments into the act. Lets try changing the instrument
playing the piano line.

Changing the Patch in the Track View

With the project playing, do the following:
1. Solo the Piano track so you can hear the piano part more clearly. To do this, click the Solo button
in the Piano track (track 1).
2. Loop the project, or a part of the project and click Play.
3. In the Piano track in the Track pane, find the Patch control (its the field just after the Bank
control). Click the down arrow that is at the end of the patch name (the patch name should be
something like Acoustic Grand Piano).
4. To change the patch, select a new patch from the menu that appears. SONAR closes the menu and
immediately starts playing the piano part with that new instrument.
5. Have fun trying all the different patches!
6. Click the Solo button in track 1 again to unsolo the Piano track.

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You can change the patch at other times in the project besides the beginning by using the Insert-Bank/
Patch Change command:
1. Stop playback.
2. Select the track in which you want to insert a patch change by clicking on its track number.
3. Move the Now time to the place where you want to insert the patch change.
4. Use the Insert-Bank/Patch Change command.
The Bank/Patch Change dialog box appears.
5. Choose a patch from the Patch field and click OK.
SONAR inserts the patch change that you selected at the Now time.
6. Move the Now time to a place before the patch change and play the project so that the Now time
moves through the place where you put the patch change. You may want to solo the track to hear it
clearly.
7. Listen to the sound change when the Now time reaches the patch change.

English
You may want to experiment with changing all the instruments used by the project. One thing you
should know: Changing the instrument on a percussion track (such as the Drum, Shaker, and Triangle
tracks in this project) may have no effect. Percussion instruments are played on MIDI channel 10,
which in General MIDI is dedicated to percussion. The note determines the instrument, and the patch
is irrelevant.

Changing the Patch in the Track/Bus Inspector

You can also change a tracks patch in the Track/Bus Inspector, which is a vertically expanded version of
the current tracks controls at the far left side of the Track view. The current track is the one with the
gold title bar. Whichever tracks controls that you click becomes the current track. For example, to
change the Piano tracks patch, click the Patch button in the Piano tracks Track/Bus Inspector and
choose a new patch from the menu. The Patch button is just below the Bank button. You can hide or
show the Track/Bus Inspector by pressing i on your computer keyboard.

Playing Music on a Keyboard

If you've connected a MIDI keyboard (or another instrument) to your external MIDI interface or the
MIDI interface of your sound card, you can play one or more parts of the project on the keyboard instead
of the sound cards internal synthesizer. For instructions on connecting a keyboard to your computer, see
To Connect a MIDI Keyboard to Your Computer on page 31. For this section, we assume that you want
to connect the keyboard to the MIDI In and MIDI Out of your sound card.

Checking Your MIDI Device Settings

First, lets make sure that SONAR is set up to send MIDI output to your keyboard.
1. Choose Options-MIDI Devices to open the MIDI Devices dialog box.
2. In the Outputs field, two devices should be selected. The first should be your sound card
synthesizer device; the second should be the MIDI output your MIDI device is connected to (it
should say something like SB Live MIDI Out). The uppermost selected device will correspond to

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Output 1, the second device to Output 2, and so on. For help with these settings, see the online help
topic Setting Up Output Devices.

3. Click OK.

Routing MIDI Data to the Keyboard

Lets play back the Piano track through your MIDI keyboard. First, turn your keyboard on and make
sure it is set up to receive MIDI input on channel one. Then, do the following:
1. In the Track view, in the Piano track (track 1), click the Output field to open the menu of outputs.
2. Select the output that your keyboard is attached to.
3. Click the Play button or press the Spacebar to play your project.
SONAR plays the piano part through your keyboard.
Or, if you prefer, the procedure is similar in the Console view:
1. In the Console view (to display, use the View-Console command), click the Output button in the
Piano module to open the menu of outputs. The Output button is just below the volume fader.
2. Select the output that your keyboard is attached to.
3. Play your project.

Tutorial 2Recording MIDI

This tutorial teaches you how to record MIDI data with SONAR. Youll learn how to:
Set up the metronome
Record MIDI tracks
Use loop recording
Use punch recording

Creating a New Project

If you havent already done so, the first thing you need to do is create a project file:
1. Start SONAR.
2. Choose File-New.
3. In the New Project File dialog box, enter Tutorial2 in the Name field.

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4. Select the MIDI tracks template from the template list.
5. Click OK.
SONAR opens a new project named Tutorial2, containing only MIDI tracks.

Recording a MIDI Track

Lets record a new MIDI track in the project.

Setting Up the Metronome

Musicians often use a metronome to keep track of the beat. SONARs metronome is more versatile than
most real metronomes. You can configure it to sound on playback or recording; it can count off any
number of lead-in measures or beats; and it can use audio clips or MIDI notes to produce sounds. It also
quickly and accurately follows any tempo changes that happen in the project.
You can set up the metronome with the Metronome toolbar. If you dont see the Metronome toolbar,
choose View-Toolbars and select Metronome.

Accent first beat Use Audio Metronome

English
Metronome settings

Measures Metronome during

record Use MIDI metronome

Count-in Beats
Metronome during playback

Lets set up the metronome to play audio for two count-in measures when recording. Here's what to do:
1. In the Metronome toolbar, click in the Count-in box.
2. Use the + or - buttons to set the count-in value to 2.

3. Click the Count-in Measures option to select it.

4. Deselect the Metronome During Record option .

5. Select the Use Audio Metronome option .

By disabling the Metronome During Record option, you cause the metronome to turn off after the count-
in measures. If you would prefer to hear the metronome during the entire project while recording,
enable this option instead.
In this example, the metronome counts in for recording, not for playback.

Setting MIDI Inputs

Let's make sure that SONAR is set up to receive MIDI data from your instrument.
1. Choose Options-MIDI Devices to open the MIDI Devices dialog box.

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In the Inputs column, select your sound card's MIDI In device or the MIDI In for your external
MIDI interface. For help with these settings, seethe online help topic Setting Up the MIDI In and
MIDI Out Devices.

3. Click OK.

Setting Up Playback
During recording, SONAR will play the rest of a project as usual. Depending on what instrumental part
of the project you are going to record, you may want to mute one or more tracks, or solo certain tracks.
For example, if you are going to record a new piano part, you might want to mute the old piano part so
that you're not competing with it while recording (you can also record over the old piano partarm the
piano track and make sure Overwrite is the selected mode in the Record Options dialog box, which you
open with the Transport-Record Options command). To mute any track, click the track's Mute button
.
Since this is a new project, there is no need to mute or solo any track.
You can also set other playback options, such as the tempo ratio, to make your recording session easier.

Recording MIDI
Now you'll record a track in the project. Do the following:
1. Make sure your instrument is turned on and set up to transmit MIDI data.
2. If you dont have an unused MIDI track in the project, create a new MIDI track by right-clicking in
the Track pane and selecting Insert MIDI Track from the menu that appears.

3. In a MIDI track, click the Arm button (arming a track automatically sets the Input field to
MIDI Omni, meaning that this track will record incoming MIDI data from any channel).

4. On the Transport toolbar, click Record , or press r.

The metronome counts off two measures, then SONAR starts recording.
5. Play your MIDI instrument.

6. When you finish recording, click the Stop button , or press the Spacebar.
If you've played any notes, a new clip appears in the Clips pane in the track you recorded on. If no new
clip appears, see I Cant Record from My MIDI Instrument in the Troubleshooting section of the
online help for some troubleshooting hints.

Listening to the Recording

Lets play back your performance on your sound card. For an added dimension, well open a few other
views in the process. Do the following:

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1. Display the controls of the track you recorded by clicking its Restore Strip Size button , or by
dragging the Vertical Zoom control thats located at the lower right corner of the Clips pane. You
may need to click the All tab at the bottom of the Track pane to display all the controls.
2. Click the Output dropdown arrow to display the menu of available outputs.
3. Select your sound cards MIDI synthesizer (if you dont see the outputs you expect to see, use the
Options-MIDI Devices command and enable the correct outputssee Preparing for Playback
on page 52).
4. In the Ch field, click the dropdown arrow to select a MIDI channel, and select an unused channel.
5. In the Patch field, select any patch.
6. Choose View-Piano Roll to open the Piano Roll view.
7. Choose View-Staff to open the Staff view.
8. Choose View-Event List to open the Event List view.
9. Choose Window-Tile in Rows to tile the views.

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10. To return to the start of the project, click the Rewind button, or press w.

11. Click Play or press the Spacebar.

Its almost as easy to listen to your performance on your MIDI instrument. For instructions on how to
play a track on a MIDI keyboard, refer to Tutorial 1.
The Piano Roll, Staff, and Event List views all show the same basic informationthe notes that you
recorded. The Piano Roll view displays the track as a player-piano roll. The Staff view shows notes in
traditional music notation. The Event List view lists all MIDI events for the track. When you need to
edit a track, you can work in any of these views. On different occasions you may have reason to use
different views. More information about the Piano Roll, Staff, and Event List views can be found in later
chapters of this manual or in the online help.
When you're ready to continue, close the Piano Roll, Staff, and Event List views.

Recording Another Take

Maybe your first attempt at recording resulted in a perfect performance, but maybe not. If you'd like to
remove your first take and try again, do the following:
1. Choose Edit-Undo Recording or press Ctrl+Z to undo your recording.

2. Click Rewind , or press w. The track is still armed for recording, so you don't need to re-arm it.

3. Click Record , or press r.

4. When you finish recording, click the Stop button in the Transport toolbar or press the Spacebar.
Alternatively, you could record your next attempt on a new track. That way you can keep all the takes
and select the best one later (or combine the best parts of each!). If you record on a new track, be sure to
arm the new track for recording and to disarm the previous track. See Loop Recording on page 68 for
a convenient way to record multiple takes.

Saving Your Work

When you have something youd like to keep, you can save the project by doing the following:
1. Choose File-Save As.
2. In the File Name box, type a new file name, such as my project.

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Click OK.
SONAR saves the project under the new name. From now on, you can click the Save button to save
this project.

Loop Recording
If you'd like to record several takes successively, you can set up SONAR to loop over the entire project,
or just some section of it. SONAR will record a new take during each loop, storing that take in a new
clip. You can set SONAR to place each clip in a new track or to pile all clips in one track.
Let's try recording a few takes of the first four measures of a project, placing each take in a new track.

Setting Up Looping
First, let's set up SONAR to loop over the first four measures:

1. Click the down arrow in the Snap to Grid combo button to open the Snap to Grid dialog box. If
the Snap to Grid button is not visible in the Track view toolbar, use your mouse to drag the vertical
splitter between the Track pane and the Clips pane to the right.
2. In the Snap to Grid dialog box, click the Musical Time button and select Measure from the list of
durations. In the Mode field, select Move To, and click OK to close the dialog box.
Now you can only select exact one-measure blocks of time in the Time Ruler, which is located at the
top of the Clips pane.
3. In the Time Ruler, drag through the first four measures to select them.

4. In the Loop/Auto Shuttle toolbar, click the Set Loop to Selection button to set the Loop Start
and Loop End times.
Clicking enables looping automatically.

Setting Up the Tracks

Now let's set up the first of the tracks where the takes will be stored:

1. Arm a MIDI track by making sure its Arm button is red.

2. Click the tracks Output field to set its output to your sound card's MIDI synthesizer.
3. Use the tracks Ch field to set its Channel to an unused channel.
4. Use the tracks Patch field to select any patch.
As usual, you could set the tracks to play back on your MIDI keyboard instead by specifying the
appropriate output and channel.

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Loop Recording
Finally, let's record our takes:
1. Choose Transport-Record Options to display the Record Options dialog box.

2. Choose the Store Takes in Separate Tracks option to store each new take in a separate track. Each
time a new take starts, the settings from the first track will be copied to the new track.
3. Click OK.

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4. Click Rewind .

5. Click Record .

SONAR loops over the designated section and records your takes to successive tracks. If you want
to erase the most recent take during loop recording, choose Transport-Reject Loop Take.

6. To stop recording, click Stop , or press the Spacebar.

Now you can listen to each take individually by muting the other ones.
Alternatively, you could set your loop recording options to Store Takes in a Single Track and display
them all within one track. After you finish recording several takes, press the Track Layers button
on the track strip. The track will then expand to show all clips on separate layers that can be muted and
soloed indivdiually.
For more information on Track Layers, see the online help topic Take Management and Comping
Takes.

Punch-In Recording
Imagine that one of your takes was close to ideal, except for one or two notes in one measure. Rather
than recording another full take, you'd prefer to keep the take but replace that measure.
Punch-in recording lets you replace a section of a track. The way it works is this: first, you set the start
and end times of the punch to the section you want to replace, and turn on punch recording. Then, you
arm the track and start recording. You can play along with the original take to get the rhythm and
feeling. However, nothing will be recorded until the Now time reaches the punch start time. During the
punch, the material already in the track will be replaced with what you record. When the punch ends,
the project will continue to play, but recording will stop.

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Let's try it. Suppose you want to replace several measures in the recording you made earlier in this
tutorial.
1. Display the Record toolbar by choosing View-Toolbars-Record.

Auto-punch on/off Record mode Step record

Click to open the Record

Options dialog box

Punch In Punch Out Click here to set punch

Time Time times to the selection start
and end times

2. In the Record toolbar, click the Punch In Time.

3. Type the number of the measure at which you want to begin punch recording and press Enter.
4. Click the Punch Out Time.
5. Type the number of the measure at which you want to end punch recording and press Enter.
6. Click the Auto-Punch On/Off button to enable punch recording.
7. Select Overwrite from the Record Mode dropdown menu.
8. Arm the track in which you want to punch record.

9. If looping is still on, click the Loop button to turn it off.

10. Click Rewind .

11. Click Record .

Play along until you are past the punch end time, then click Stop . Replay your take to hear the
difference. If it's still not right, try again!
An alternative method is to select measures by dragging in the Time Ruler. Then right-click the Time
Ruler and choose Set Punch Points. This automatically enables punch recording.
You can combine loop recording with punch recording; see the online help topic Punch Recording for
details.
When Auto Punch is enabled, the Time Ruler displays special markers that indicate the punch in and
punch out times. You can drag these markers to change the punch in and punch out times.

Punch In Punch Out

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Tutorial 3Recording Digital Audio
To record digital audio, you need some sort of device hooked up to your sound card's line or mic input
an electric guitar, a preamp, or a mixer, for example. If nothing else, try playing or singing into a
microphone!
If you have never connected an instrument to your sound card, see To Connect an Electric Guitar to
Your Computer on page 30.
This tutorial covers these procedures:
Setting the sampling rate
Setting the audio driver bit depth and recording bit depth
Opening a new project
Setting up an audio track
Checking the input levels
Recording digital audio

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Listening to the recording
Recording another take
Input monitoring
Loop and punch-in recording
Recording multiple channels

Setting the Sampling Rate

Each SONAR project has a parameter that specifies the sampling resolution for all digital audio data in
the project. You should set this rate before recording any digital audio.
To set the sampling rate:
1. Choose Options-Audio to open the Audio Options dialog box.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Under Default Settings for New Projects, select a Sampling Rate. For CD-quality sound, use 44100
Hz.
4. Click OK.
Lower sampling rates will save disk space but will result in lower-quality audio. Before embarking on
any major project, consider what media your project will eventually be stored on, and what sampling
rate is best for that media.

Setting the Audio Driver Bit Depth and Recording Bit Depth
The drivers for most sound cards use anywhere from 16 to 24 bits to play back recorded data. CDs use
16 bits. You can possibly get better sound quality by recording at a higher bit depth and converting to 16
bits when its time to master your project, but keep in mind that 24 bit audio takes 50% more memory
than 16 bit audio, possibly straining your computers storage capability and speed of operation. Your
sound cards documentation could have some advice on choosing an audio driver bit depth.
You can record audio data at 16 bits or 24 bits. It usually makes sense to record and play back at the
same bit depth.
To set the audio driver bit depth:

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Use the Options-Audio command to open the Audio Options dialog box.
2. On the General tab, find the Audio Driver Bit Depth field and select one of the options.
3. Click OK.
For more information about audio driver bit depth, see the online help topic Bit Depths for Playback.
To set the record bit depth:
1. Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog box.
2. On the Audio Data tab, find the Record Bit Depth field and select one of the options.
3. Click OK.

Open a New Project

Lets open a new project for this tutorial.
1. Select File-New from the menu.
2. In the New Project File dialog box, enter Tutorial3 in the Name field.
3. Select the Normal template from the template list and click OK.
Note: In the New Project File dialog you can also confirm where your project and project audio will be
stored when you save a new project. Do so by adjusting the paths in the Location and Audio Path fields.
For the purpose of these tutorials, however, the default locations should be acceptable.

Setting Up an Audio Track

Lets set up a track for digital audio:
1. Insert a new track by doing the following: in the Track pane, right-click below the last track, or
wherever you want to insert a track, and choose Insert Audio Track from the popup menu.
SONAR inserts a new audio track.
2. In the tracks Output field, click the dropdown arrow and select an audio output from the menu.
3. In the tracks Input field, choose an audio input. Usually you select the left channel of one of your
sound cards inputs to record a mono track, or the stereo input to record a stereo track.
The Normal template has several audio tracks in it already, which you could use to record with. You
dont have to insert a new audio track to record with if your project already has one or more empty
audio tracks.

Checking the Input Levels

Before trying to record, you need to check and adjust the audio input levels. If your audio input is too
low, it will be lost in the background noise. If it is too high, it will overload the input channel and be
distorted/clipped. Before you check input levels, make sure that the Record Meters are set to be
displayed in the Track view. Click the right arrow next to the Show/Hide Meters button and in the
menu that appears, select the Record Meters command if it is not already checked.
You may need to drag the splitter bar that separates the Track pane from the Clips pane to the right to
see all the buttons in the Track view toolbar.
Note: SONAR has a button called the Audio Engine button in the Transport toolbar, which you
click to stop any feedback you may experience if there is a loop somewhere in your mixer setup.
Whenever you play a project, SONAR automatically enables the audio engine, which you can tell by
watching the Status barwhenever the audio engine is running, the Audio Running indicator in the
Status bar lights up. The Status bar is located at the bottom of the SONAR window.

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To check the audio input levels:

1. Click the Arm button in your new audio track. The tracks meter becomes a record meter.
2. Perform as you would during recording. Watch the meter respond to the sounds you produce. If the
meter does not respond, you may need to raise the volume of your plugged-in instrument. Also,
make sure that the Audio Engine button in the Transport toolbar is depressed.
If you still don't see any movement of the audio meters, you may have an audio input problem.
3. If the meter never comes even close to the maximum, increase the input level by using the
Windows mixer or your sound cards software mixer (or if you are recording your instrument
through an amplifier or mic preamp, turn up the amp or preamp).
4. If the meters even occasionally reach the maximum, decrease the input level.
The idea is to try to get the input level to rise as high as possible, but without ever reaching the
maximum. That way, you get the strongest possible signal without distortion.
SONARs meters are extremely adjustable for the kind and range of data they display. For more
information, see the online help topic Metering.

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Recording Digital Audio
It's time to record!
1. If you havent already set up the metronome, follow the directions in Setting Up the Metronome
on page 65 to set the metronome for a two-measure count-in.
2. The track is already armed for recording.

3. In the Transport toolbar, click Record , or press r on your computer keyboard.

Youll hear two measures counted in by the metronome, then playback and recording begin.
4. Go ahead and perform!

5. When you finish recording, click the Stop button , or press the Spacebar.
A new clip appears in the Clips pane. Also, right-click in the Clips pane and choose View-Options to
open the Track View Options dialog boxmake sure Display Clip Names and Display Clip Contents are
checked.

Listening to the Recording

Let's play back your performance. Do the following:
1. In the tracks Output field, click the dropdown arrow to display the menu of available outputs, and
select a pair of your sound cards stereo outputs (if your sound card only has two outputs, just
select the name of your sound card).
2. To return to the start of the project, click the Rewind button.
3. Disarm your audio track by clicking its Arm button againthis changes the tracks meter to a
playback meter. The track is disarmed when its Arm button is not red.

4. Click Play .
5. Watch the tracks meter. If the level is not what you want, record your track again.

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Recording Another Take
If you'd like to delete your performance and try again, do the following:
1. Choose Edit-Undo Recording to undo your recording, or press Ctrl+Z (Undo).

2. If necessary, click Rewind or press w.

3. Make sure the track is still armed for recording.

4. Click Record .

5. When you finish recording, click the Stop button , or press the Spacebar.
Alternatively, you could record your next attempt on a new track, or in the same track. If you enable a
tracks Track Layers button , you can display alternate takes in different lanes in a single track.
To avoid erasing each take, enable Sound on Sound (Blend) mode in the Record Options dialog
(Transport-Record Options command), and make sure that Create New Layers On Overlap is
enabled in the same dialog.

Input Monitoring
SONAR has a feature called input monitoring, which allows you to hear any instrument that is
plugged into your sound card whether you are currently recording the instrument or not. You can hear
your instrument, including any plug-in effects, whenever input monitoring is enabled and the Audio
Engine button in the Transport toolbar is depressed. You can enable or disable input monitoring on
an individual track by clicking the tracks Input Echo button , and you can enable or disable input
monitoring on all tracks at once by clicking the Input Echo button thats on the Playback State toolbar
(to display, use the View-Toolbars-Playback State command).
Caution: If you have any kind of a loop in your mixer setup that causes the output of your sound card
to be fed back into the input, you can get feedback. Input monitoring can make it very intense because
both the direct signal and the processed signal are coming out of your sound card. Turn your speakers
off whenever you enable input monitoring, and then try turning them up very gradually to try it out. If
you hear feedback, click the Audio Engine button in the Transport toolbar to turn input
monitoring off.
For more information on Input Monitoring, see the online help topic Input Monitoring.

Loop and Punch-In Recording

Loop and Punch-in work the same for digital audio recording as they did for MIDI recording. For more
information, see the online help topics Loop Recording or Punch Recording.

Recording Multiple Channels

If you can gather the entire band around your computer, and if you have the proper equipment, you can
record a full multiple-instrument performance all at once. If you have several MIDI instruments, you
can route their input into your sound card through a MIDI mergerdata that arrives on different MIDI
channels can be routed to different tracks. Likewise, a typical sound card can record audio on both right
and left channelseach can be recorded on a different track by choosing the right channel as an input
for one track, and the left channel as an input for another. Multiple sound cards and multi-I/O sound
cards can expand the number of possible inputs. For more information, see the online help topic
System Configuration.
That completes the audio recording tutorial. Now youve learned the basics of playing and recording
material for your projects. In the following tutorials you'll learn about basic editing techniques for both
MIDI and audio.

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Tutorial 4Editing MIDI
SONAR has too many powerful MIDI features to look at in one tutorial, so lets look at some of the most
basic features and also cover some exciting new ones, such as slip editing and MIDI envelopes.
In this tutorial, start by opening the file TUTORIAL4.CWP in the Tutorial folder where SONAR is
installed. We will be doing the following tasks:
Transposing
Copying Clips with Drag and Drop
Editing Notes in the Piano Roll View
Slip Editing
Drawing MIDI Envelopes
Converting MIDI to Audio

Transposing

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Here are two ways to transpose MIDI data in SONAR:
You can apply the Transpose command to selected data (see the procedure below).
You can use the Key+ control for a specific trackthe Key+ control is located with the other track
parameter controls in the Track pane. This method causes a track to play higher or lower by the
number of half steps you enter in the Key+ control. This is a non-destructive form of editing that
leaves the pitch of the original data unchanged, but adds an offset when the track plays back.

To Transpose our Tutorial File

1. Select all the notes in the bass track by clicking the bass tracks track number. The track number
should appear highlighted when it is selected.
2. Select all the notes in the organ track by Ctrl-clicking (holding down the Ctrl key while you click)
the organ tracks track number. Ctrl-clicking allows you to make multiple selections.
3. Use the Process-Transpose command to open the Transpose dialog box.
4. Enter -2 (negative 2) in the Amount field and click OK.
5. Ctrl-click both track numbers again to deselect them.
SONAR transposes the selected data down a whole step (2 half steps). Choose MIDI outputs for your
tracks and play the project. You can undo the transposition by pressing Ctrl+Z, and redo the
transposition by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Z.

Copying Clips with Drag and Drop

The first clip in the bass track is two measures long; we can easily drag-copy it to make it eight
measures long. When we drag-copy some of the clips, we can make them into linked clips. When you
edit a linked clip, SONAR performs the exact same edits on all other clips that the clip is linked to.

To Copy Clips Using Drag and Drop

1. In the Track view toolbar, click the Snap to Grid buttons down arrow to open the Snap to Grid
dialog box.
2. Make sure that the Musical Time radio button is selected, and in the list to the right of it, select
Measure.
3. In the Mode field, select Move By and click OK. Now we can only move clips in the Clips pane by
distances of an exact measure or measures.

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While holding down the Ctrl key, drag the first clip in the bass track to the right and release the
mouse when the start of the clip is at measure three. The Drag and Drop Options dialog box
appears. Click OKSONAR places a copy of the clip in measures three through four. Ctrl-dragging
a clip copies and moves it, while dragging without holding down any extra keys moves a clip
without making a copy of it.
5. Now lets make a linked clip copy of the new clip in measure three: Ctrl-drag the clip from measure
three to measure five. When the Drag and Drop Options dialog box appears, click the Copy Entire
Clips as Linked Clips checkbox and click OK. SONAR places a linked clip copy into measures five
and six. The two linked clips have dotted outlines to show they are linked.
6. Make another linked copy of one of the linked clips and place it in measures seven and eight.
Because this copy overlaps the clip thats in measure 9, make sure that the Blend Old and New
option is checked in the Drag and Drop dialog box. Because none of the notes in the two clips
overlap, blending the two clips does not change any of their data.
Now you have linked clip copies in measures three through eight: when you edit any of these three clips,
SONAR performs the exact same edits on the other two.

Editing Notes in the Piano Roll View

SONARs Piano Roll view gives you complete control of individual note properties. Lets edit a couple of
notes.

To Edit Notes in the Piano Roll View

1. Open the Piano Roll view of the first bass clip by double-clicking the clip. In the Piano Roll view,
you may have to use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys on your computer keyboard to display the
note data (the Right and Left Arrow keys scroll the display in the horizontal direction).
2. Drag the Piano Rolls Horizontal Zoom control in the lower right corner of the Notes pane to make
the note data large enough for easy editing (see following picture).

3. In the Piano Roll toolbar, right-click the Snap to Grid button to open the Snap to Grid dialog
box (Snap to Grid settings in each view are independent of each other).
4. Make sure the Musical Time radio button is selected, and in the window to the right of it, select
Eighth.
5. In the Mode field, make sure that the Move By radio button is selected and click OK. Now we can
only move data in the Piano Roll view by exact distances of one or more eighth notes.

6. In the Piano Roll toolbar, click the Draw tool to activate it.

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7. Find the note that starts at the beginning of measure three and move the cursor over the
beginning of the note so that the cursor becomes a cross. Drag the beginning of the note to the left
by a half beat, and release the mouse.

Beat 1 of Measure 3

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Drag note from here Drag Horizontal Zoom control

SONAR moves the note to the left by a half beat and lengthens the note by a half beat, and also
performs the same edits on the identical notes that are at the beginnings of the other two linked
clips.
8. Close the Piano Roll view when you finish editing.
If you want to unlink clips when youre through editing them, select the clips you want to unlink (in
the Track view), right-click one of them, and choose Unlink from the Clips pane popup menu. Select
Independent, Not Linked At All in the Unlink Clips dialog box and click OK.

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When you move the Draw tool over a note, it changes into one of 3 different editing tools, depending on
what part of the note you move it over:
If you move the Draw tool over the beginning or end of a note, the Draw tool changes into a cross.
When you drag one end of a note with the cross icon, the other end of the note stays put, thereby
changing the duration of the note as you move the opposite end.
If you move the Draw tool just inside the beginning of a note, the Draw tool changes into a
horizontal, double-ended arrow. When you drag the beginning of a note with this icon, the other
end of the note moves with the beginning of the note, thereby keeping the duration of the note
constant.
If you move the Draw tool over the middle of a note, the Draw tool changes into a vertical, double-
ended arrow. Use this tool to drag the note up or down in pitch.

Slip Editing
Now lets take advantage of one of the most convenient features of SONAR: slip editing. Slip editing lets
you drag the beginning or ending borders of a clip to hide the notes or other MIDI data that are in the
area that you drag through (slip editing also works on audio clips). SONAR does not delete these notes
or data, but does not play them either. As soon as you drag the clip borders to display the data again,
SONAR plays them again. Slip editing is a very fast and convenient way to try out different sounds
without destroying any data. You can also leave the clip borders unchanged and only drag the data
thats within the clip, which is called scroll-trimming. Scroll-trimming changes the rhythmic placement
of data without changing the clips borders.

To Slip Edit TUTORIAL4.CWP

1. Drag the horizontal zoom controls in the Clips pane so that a space of about 2 measures fills up the
Clips pane.
2. Click the down arrow in the Snap to Grid combo button to open the Snap to Grid dialog box, change
the Musical Time resolution to Eighth, make sure Move By is selected in the Mode field, and click
OK. Now we can only drag the borders of clips by units of eighth notes.
3. In the organ track in the Clips pane, move the cursor over the right end of the first clip until the
cursor changes to a square. Drag the right border to the left until the MIDI data at the end of the
clip is hidden.

Hide this region Like this

Now you cant hear those notes.

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4. Drag the end of the second clip to the left until just the tail or glissando of the data is hidden.

Hide this region Like this

5. In the third clip, hold down both the Alt and Shift keys and drag only the data inside the clip to the
left by about one eighth note.
You can experiment as much as you want with slip editing, all without destroying any data! For more
information about Slip Editing, see the online help topic Slip-editing Audio (Non-destructive Editing).

Drawing MIDI Envelopes

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MIDI envelopes are lines and curves you can draw on MIDI data in the Clips pane. Each envelope
produces continuous control over one of the following track parameters: volume, pan, chorus, reverb,
automated mute, or a MIDI controller. You can show or hide any envelope you create, but the envelope
still functions when it is hidden. For our tutorial, lets create a MIDI volume envelope.

To Draw and Edit a MIDI Volume Envelope

1. In the Clips pane in the organ track, right-click and choose Envelopes-Create Track Envelope-
Volume (default Ch. 1) from the Clips pane popup menu.
SONAR creates a blue line through the organ track, with a small round dot (a node) at the
beginning of the line. The line shows the initial volume of the track, if it has an initial volume.
Otherwise, it shows a default value.
2. Scroll the Now Time to the next marker by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Page Down; the marker is called
Verse, and is located just before measure nine. Drag the Horizontal zoom control so that the beat
markers are visible in the Time Ruler.
3. At the fourth beat of measure eight, add a node to the envelope by moving the cursor over it until a
double-ended, vertical arrow appears under it, right-clicking to open the Envelope Editing menu,
and choosing Add Node from the menu. A shortcut to add a node is to double-click the line.
4. At the start of measure nine, add another node.
5. Move the cursor over the newest node until a cross appears under it, and drag the node downwards
until its just below the MIDI data thats at the start of the clip.

Drag second node to here

6. At the fourth beat of measure twelve, add another node and drag it up to the top of the track. Now
you have a gradual volume increase in the organ track for almost four measures.
7. At the start of measure thirteen, add another node and drag it downward just below the MIDI data
at the start of the measure.

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Right-click the line thats between the last two nodes, and choose Slow Curve from the Envelope
Editing menu. SONAR changes the line to a curve. Now the drop in volume is a little more gradual.
Now you have some interesting dynamics in your track. You can add a lot more to your envelope, and
add more envelopes if you wish. You can also copy and paste envelopes. For more information, see the
online help topic Automation Methods.

Converting MIDI to Audio

When you finally get your MIDI project into the shape you want, you can convert the MIDI tracks to
audio for export as Wave, MP3, or other file formats. If you are using external MIDI modules, just
record the outputs of your modules into your sound card. If you are using soft synths, use the File-
Export-Audio command, or the Edit-Bounce to Track(s) command. If you are using the built-in
synthesizer in your sound card to produce MIDI sounds, you can use your sound cards What You Hear
or wave capture function to convert the MIDI tracks, if your sound card can function this way. See the
following procedure:

To Convert MIDI to Audio

1. Pick a destination audio track (or create a new one) and set the Input field to Stereo (name of
your sound card).
Note: If you have more than one sound card installed, select the one that has the built-in synth
that your MIDI tracks use.
2. Arm the destination track. Make sure its Input Echo button is off, so you wont hear an echo when
youre recording.
3. Mute or archive any tracks that you dont want to record to the destination track.
4. If SONARs metronome is set to use any software synth to produce a click, disable the metronome
during recording option in the Project Options dialog box. To do this, select Options-Project to
open the Project Options dialog box, select the Metronome tab and uncheck Recording in the
General section. Alternatively, you could set the metronome to use the audio metronome and not
use a MIDI note.
5. Open your sound card's mixer device. This is normally done by double-clicking the speaker icon on
your Windows taskbar, or by choosing Start-Programs-Accessories-Entertainment-Volume
Control-Options-Properties.
Note: Some sound cards have their own proprietary mixer. If yours has one, please use it instead.
6. If youre using the Windows mixer, use its Options-Properties command to open the Properties
dialog box, click Recording (in the Adjust Volume For field), and make sure all boxes in the Show
the Following Volume Controls field are checked.
7. Click OK, and locate the slider marked MIDI, Synth, Mixed Input, or What You Hear. Check the
Select box at the bottom, then close the window.
8. In SONAR, rewind to the beginning of your project, click the Record button, and click the Stop
button when youre done recording.
SONAR records all the MIDI tracks that are assigned to your sound card synth as a stereo audio track.
After you finish recording, mute the MIDI tracks that you just recorded so you dont hear them and the
new audio track at the same time.

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Tutorial 5Editing Audio
In this tutorial we will be editing a bundle file with drums, bass, guitar and organ. We will add some
additional percussion, and edit some of the existing tracks. This tutorial covers the following:
Importing wave files
Dragging and looping clips
Slip editing
Using automatic crossfades
Bouncing tracks

Opening the Project

1. In SONAR select File-Open from the menu.
2. In the Open dialog, select TUTORIAL5.CWB and click OK.
3. The Unpack Bundle dialog now appears. This dialog lets you specify where the project and project

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audio will be stored if you Save the file. For the purpose of this tutorial, the defaults should be
acceptable: click OK.
The audio data is loaded into SONAR and TUTORIAL5.CWB opens.

Importing a Wave File

Now that you have the file open, click the Play button to hear the project. The project contains drums,
bass, and two guitar tracks. Lets import an organ track:

To Import a Wave File

1. Click the down arrow in the Snap to Grid combo button located in the Track view toolbar.
The Snap to Grid dialog appears.
2. In the Snap to Grid dialog, click the Musical Time radio button, select Measure from the list of
durations and click OK.
3. Make sure the Snap to Grid button is depressed (on).
4. In the Track pane, right-click below the bottom track and select Insert Audio Track from the
menu that appears.
5. Click the track number of the new track to select it.
6. We want to insert the new part at measure 18, so click in the Time Ruler at measure 18. The Time
Ruler is at the top of the Clips pane above the drum track.
7. Select File-Import-Audio from the File menu.
The Open dialog appears.

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Open the Tutorials folder located in the directory where SONAR is installed.
9. Select ORGAN.WAV and click Open.
A new clip appears in the selected track at the specified Now Timemeasure 18.
10. Double-click the track name, and type in a new name: Organ, and press Enter.
11. Move the Now time to the beginning, insert another audio track, import the file MARACAS.WAV, and
name the track.
After you import MARACAS.WAV, notice that the clip has beveled or rounded corners instead of sharp
ones. That means its a Groove clip, and contains tempo and pitch information. Well learn more
about Groove clips in the next tutorial.
12. Insert another audio track, import the file CONGAS.WAV (which is also a Groove clip) and name the
track.

Moving and Looping the Clips

When you drag and drop clips in the Clips pane, the Snap to Grid setting determines the resolution to
which the clips snap to. If your Snap to Grid setting is Measures and you drop a clip between two
measures, the clip appears aligned to the closest measure.
We have just dropped two percussion clips into our project, and we could have dropped them where we
wanted, but then we wouldnt get a lesson on how to move clips in SONAR.
Lets move both clips to the 18th measure of the project.
1. Click and drag the maracas clip to measure 18 (the Snap Grid is still set to Measure).
2. The Drag and Drop Options dialog appears. The Drag and Drop Options dialog box has options for
how the clip you are dragging affects existing clips. Since the clip we are dragging is not being
moved onto an existing clip, we can just accept the default setting. Click OK to accept the default
settings.
The clip now appears at the 18th measure.
3. Now move the congas clip to the 18th measure by using the same method.
Now lets loop the two percussion clips to make copies of them by using their Groove clip characteristics:

1. Move the cursor over the end of the maracas clip until the cursor looks like this .
2. When the cursor changes, click the end of the clip and drag it to the right until you have created
repetitions of the clip through the end of measure 28.
3. Copy the congas clip the same way until it reaches the end of measure 28.

Slip Editing a Clip

Solo the two guitar tracks and listen to the project. We are going to combine these two tracks and create
an automatic crossfade between them. Before we do, we have to hide the beginning of the second guitar
part so it doesnt affect the crossfade. Well do this using slip editing.
1. Click the Snap to Grid button to turn off Snap to Grid. The Snap to Grid settings control slip
editing as well as drag and drop.
2. Move the cursor over the beginning of the second guitar clip.

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3. When the cursor turns into a rectangle, click and drag the beginning of the clip until you have
reached the beginning of the waveform.

Drag to here

The beginning of the clip is now hidden. The data is not lost, as you will see if you drag the
beginning to where it was originally. slip edited data is still in the project, but it is not seen or
heard.

Automatic Crossfades
Lets combine these two tracks and create a crossfade.

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1. Enable automatic crossfades by clicking (depressing) the
Enable/Disable Automatic Crossfades combo button located next to the Snap to Grid button
on the Track view toolbar.
2. Click the down arrow on the Enable/Disable Automatic Crossfades combo button, select Default
Crossfade Curves and select a crossfade curve.
3. Make sure no clips are currently selected by clicking in the Clips pane outside of any clips.
4. Hold down the Shift key and drag the second guitar clip on top of the first guitar track and drop it
there; make sure that Blend Old and New is selected in the Drag and Drop dialog box before you
click OK. Shift-dragging ensures that a clip can only move vertically and not horizontally, so you
dont need to enable the Snap to Grid button to keep the same exact rhythmic placement of a
dragged clip.
The two clips appear on the same track with a crossfade marker on the overlapping data. The first
guitar track fades out as the second guitar fades in. For more information about crossfades, see the
online help topic Using Fades and Crossfades in Real Time.

Bouncing Tracks
When you finish editing a certain number of audio tracks, you can conserve memory and simplify your
mix by bouncing (combining) some tracks down to one or two tracks. You can choose to include any
effects and automation in the new track that are on the tracks that you want to combine, greatly
reducing the load on your CPU.
Lets bounce, or combine our two percussion tracks together:
1. Make sure no time range is selected by clicking in the Clips pane outside of any clips.
2. Select the tracks that you want to combine: in this case, Maracas and Congas. To select multiple
tracks, hold down the Ctrl key while you click each tracks track number. You can also solo tracks
instead of selecting them.
3. Click the Snap to Grid button to turn it on (the Snap to Grid setting is still set to Measure).
4. In the Time Ruler, select measures 18 through 28.
5. Use the Edit-Bounce to Track(s) command to open the Bounce to Track(s) dialog box.
6. In the Destination field, choose <8> New Track.

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In the Source Category field, choose Entire Mix.
8. In the Channel Format field, since our two original percussion tracks are in stereo, choose Stereo.
This way we preserve their stereo quality.
9. In the Source Bus(es) field, make sure the name of the sound card that the relevant tracks use to
play back on is highlighted.
10. In the Mix Enables field, make sure everything is checked. By checking the Track Mute/Solo
option, you make sure that SONAR only mixes down the unmuted tracks. If any tracks are soloed,
this option causes SONAR to mix down only the soloed tracks.
11. Click OK.
SONAR creates a new, stereo track that combines both percussion tracks. Now you can archive the old
percussion tracks so that they dont consume memory. Do this by right-clicking each track number and
choosing Archive from the popup menu.

Tutorial 6Using Groove Clips

Groove clips are audio clips that know their tempo and root note pitch. SONAR uses this information
to stretch the clips to match changes in tempo and to transpose the root note pitch to match the projects
pitch and pitch changes. SONAR also has MIDI Groove clips that work much the same as audio Groove
clips.
You can create repetitions, or loops of Groove clips simply by dragging their ends in the Track view,
creating as many repetitions as you want.
You can change the pitch of your Groove clips by inserting pitch markers in the Time Ruler. The default
project pitch for Groove clips in a new project is C. The root note of your Groove clips is transposed to
the default for any part of the Groove clips that come before the first pitch marker, or if you do not have
pitch markers in your project. You can change the default pitch of the current project in the Markers
toolbar.
You can create and edit Groove clips in the Loop Construction view.
This tutorial covers the following:
Adding Groove clips to a project
Looping Groove clips
Changing the pitch of Groove clips
Making Groove clips follow the project tempo

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Adding Groove Clips to a Project
There are two ways to add a Groove clip to your project. Lets use both.

To Import a Groove Clip

1. Select File-New to create a new project.
2. In the New Project File dialog box, enter Tutorial6 in the Name field.
3. Select the Normal template from the template list and click OK.
4. Set the default pitch to E by clicking the dropdown arrow in the Markers toolbar and choosing E (if
you dont see the Markers toolbar, use the View-Toolbars command and check Markers).

Click here

5. Click the Rewind button in the Transport toolbar to move the Now Time to the beginning of the
project.

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6. Select track 1 by clicking its track number.
7. Select File-Import-Audio from the menu.
The Open dialog appears.
8. Navigate to the Tutorial folder in the directory where you installed SONAR.
9. Select 100FX.WAV and click Open.
The clip appears on the track at the beginning of your projectthe clips corners are beveled instead of
sharp, indicating that it is a Groove clip.
Before we import another loop, lets give this track a name. In the track titlebar, double-click on the
track name and enter the name Sound Effect and press Enter.
Lets add some more Groove clips:

To Drag and Drop a Groove Clip into a Project

1. Click the down arrow in the Snap to Grid combo button located in the Track view toolbar.
The Snap to Grid dialog appears.
2. In the Snap to Grid dialog, on the Clips tab, select the Musical Time radio button and the duration
Measure.
3. In the mode section, select the Move To radio button.
4. Click OK to close the Snap to Grid dialog.
5. Make sure Snap to Grid is on. When Snap to Grid is on, the button appears blue.

6. Open the Loop Explorer view by clicking the Loop Explorer icon in the Views toolbar .

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Navigate to the Tutorial folder in the directory where you installed SONAR.
8. Select 100ONETWO.WAV and drag it into the Clips pane below the Sound Effect track at measure 3.
Repeat step 8 by dragging 100BEAT2.WAV below Track 2 at measure 7 and 100ORGAN.WAV below Track 3
at measure 1, and close the Loop Explorer view. SONAR automatically creates any necessary audio
tracks when you import audio data.
You now have a four track project. If you havent done so yet, click the play button to take a listen to
your project before we begin to arrange the clips.
Your project should look something like this:

Looping Groove Clips

Heres where Groove clips get real fun. You need only drag the beginning or end of a Groove clip to
create repetitions or loops.
First, though, lets copy the Groove clip in Track 2.

To Copy a Groove Clip

1. Press the Ctrl key and click and drag the clip until the beginning is at measure 8 and release.
The Drag and Drop Options dialog appears.
2. Make sure the Copy Entire Clips as Linked Clips option is not checked and click OK.
A copy of the Groove clip now appears on the same track at measure 8.

To Loop a Groove Clip

1. Move the cursor over the end of the first Groove clip in Track 2 until the cursor looks like this .
2. When the cursor changes, click the end of the clip and drag it to the right until you have created
one repetition of the clip (through the end of measure 6).
You can also create a partial loop of a Groove clip if the Snap to Grid setting is set to less than one
measure. You can create a partial loop as small as the Snap to Grid setting allows. For example, if your
Snap to Grid setting is set to quarter notes, you can create partial repetitions as small as a quarter of a
measure.
Now lets edit the clip we copied on Track 2.

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To Crop a Groove Clip
1. Click the dropdown arrow on the Snap to Grid button to open its dialog box, set the Musical Time
duration to Quarter, and click OK to close the dialog box.

2. Move your cursor over the beginning of the second clip in Track 2 until it looks like this .
3. Crop the beginning of the clip one and a quarter measure (you may want to expand the Clips
pane a little by dragging the Horizontal Zoom slider thats in the lower right corner).
Like this:

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4. Crop the end of the clip by one quarter measure.
Like this:

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Click on the clip and drag it one measure to the left.
Like this:

The Drag and Drop Options dialog appears.

6. In the Drag and Drop Options dialog, click Blend Old and New and click OK.
You have added Groove clips and edited them. Your project should look like this:

Lets take a listen to what we have. Click the Play button in the Transport toolbar.

Changing the Pitch of Groove Clips

Now that you have heard what your project sounds like, lets change some pitch settings.

To Set a Groove Clip to Not Follow the Project Pitch

1. Double-click on the Groove clip in Track 4.
The Loop Construction view appears.

2. Deselect the Follow Project Pitch button .

3. Close the Loop Construction view and listen to your project again.
It sounds different because the Groove clip on Track 4 is no longer following the default project
pitch of E, instead it follows its own root note of C.
Next, lets add some pitch markers.

To Add Pitch Markers

1. Click the Solo button in Track 4 to solo the track.

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2. Right-click in the Time Ruler at the beginning of measure 1 and select Insert Marker from the
menu.
The Marker dialog appears.
3. In the Groove Clip Pitch dropdown, select C and click OK.
4. Create another pitch marker at the beginning of measure 2, this time selecting F from the Groove
Clip Pitch Change dropdown.
5. Double-click on the clip in track 4 to open the Loop Construction view.
6. In the Loop Construction view, click the Follow Project Pitch button to enable it.
Listen to the project. Because the default pitch of the project is now C at measure 1, the clip in
track 4 sounds at its original pitch, because its original root note is C. When the Now time reaches
measure 2, the project pitch changes to F, which forces the clip to transpose all of its data up a
perfect 4th, from a root note of C to a root note of F.
Now lets change the tempo of the project.

Changing the Tempo of Your Project

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Groove clips follow the projects tempo, so we can change the tempo, either for the entire project or just
one part, and still have all our clips playing in time with each other.

To Change the Project Tempo

1. Select Insert-Tempo Change from the menu.
2. In the Tempo field, enter 110 and click OK.
The projects tempo is now 110.
Play your project. Do you hear the difference? Try other tempos.
Now that we have created a project that uses existing Groove clips, lets take the next step and learn
how to create our own Groove clips.

Creating Your Own Groove Clips

Any audio clip (of a reasonable size) can be a Groove clip.
We are going to take a clip, slip edit it so that it contains just the parts we want, and open it in the Loop
Construction view to add tempo and pitch information to it.

To Create a Groove Clip (example 1)

In this example we will import a short clip of a bass guitar, slip edit it and convert it to a Groove clip.
1. Select File-New to create a new project.
2. In the New Project File dialog box, enter Tutorial6B in the Name field.
3. Select the Normal template from the template list and click OK.
4. Right-click the Snap to Grid button to open its dialog box, set the Musical Time duration to
Measure, and click OK to close the dialog box.

5. Click in the Views toolbar to open the Loop Explorer view.

6. In the Explorer view, navigate to the Tutorials folder in the directory where you installed SONAR.
7. Drag and drop the BASS.WAV file into the new project at measure 1.
8. Double-click the clip.

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The Loop Construction view appears. You see that there is silence at both the beginning and end of
the clip. We are going to slip edit the clip so that the clip begins with the attack of the first note and
ends as the last note tails off.
9. Move you cursor to the beginning of the clip.

10. When the cursor changes to look like this , drag the beginning of the clip until you reach the
edge of the first rise in the waveform and release the mouse.
11. Slip edit the end of the clip until you reach the end of the last notes decay. You may need to scroll
the scrollbar at the bottom of the Loop Construction view a little to the right to see the end of the
loop.
Note: You can not slip edit a clip that has its Groove clip characteristics enabled. You can turn a
clips Groove clip characteristics on or off either in the Loop Construction view, or in the Clips pane.
In the Clips pane, right-click the clip and choose Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu.
Your clip should look something like this:

12. Click the Enable Looping button on the Loop Construction view toolbar to enable the clips
Groove clip characteristics.
SONAR automatically slices the clip and assigns in a number of beats. Notice that SONAR has
sliced this clip at eighth note intervals. This is a clip with a waveform that does not have dramatic
transients (sharp rises in volume). For clips like this, markers at beat intervals work best.
The clip is now a Groove clip, and it looks like this:

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The bass track is now a Groove clip, so you can move it where you want and create repetitions by
dragging it out.
Lets create another Groove clip.

To Create a Groove Clip (example 2)

For this example we are going to use a clip that does not need to be slip edited.
1. In the Explorer view, navigate to the Tutorials folder in the directory where you installed SONAR.
2. Drag and drop the DRUMS.WAV file into the new project below your bass track at measure 1.
3. Double-click the clip.

4. Click the Enable Looping button .

SONAR automatically slices the clip and assigns in a number of beats. Notice that SONAR has
sliced this clip at eighth notes and at the beginning of some transients. This has dramatic
transients. For clips like this, transient markers work best.
The clip is now a Groove clip, and it looks like the following picture. You can click the zoom buttons
in the lower right corner to get a better view.

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The markers in the Loop Construction view are used to tell SONAR where to preserve timing. The idea
is to preserve the clip while being able to change the tempo. When a clip has a lot of transients, as this
one does, it is a good idea to make sure that the slicing markers fall at the beginning of the transients,
thus preserving their timing. This clip has several markers which can be fine tuned to give better
results. Lets move some markers to better preserve the timing of this clip.

To Fine Tune the Slicing Markers in a Groove Clip

1. Identify the markers which are close to the beginning of a transient.
An example of transients that should be moved:
Slicing marker

Slicing marker which

should be moved

Transients

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Click the Select tool .
3. Click and drag the slicing markers that need to be fine tuned so that they are at the very beginning
of the transient.
Like this:

Slicing markers which

have been edited. Edited
slicing markers appear in
blue.

Slicing markers now appear right next

to the beginning of the transients

Use the two projects you have created to experiment with Groove clips further. Try new loops, change
tempos, add pitch markers, record clips and use them to create your own loops. For more information
about Groove clips, see the online help topic Using Loops.

Tutorial 7Mixing
SONAR has an almost unlimited number of tools to help you mix down. You can automate almost any
knob, fader, or button by using any of several methods. You can even automate the internal settings of
some effectsnot just the bus controls, but the controls of some individual effects. When your project
sounds the way you want, you can save it and export it in Wave, MP3, or Windows Media Advanced
Streaming format.
Lets do some more work on TUTORIAL5.CWB, and explore the following tasks:
Adding real-time audio effects
Automating an individual effects settings
Grouping controls
Automating your mix
Exporting an MP3 file

Adding Real-time Audio Effects

Let's add some flanging to the first guitar track in TUTORIAL5.CWB:
1. Add the flange effect to a guitar track by right-clicking its FX field, and choosing Audio Effects-
Cakewalk-FxFlange from the popup menu.
The effects dialog box appears.
2. Choose a preset flange setting from the Presets field.

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3. Play the project to hear what it sounds like. You can continue to adjust the effect while the project
plays; there is a slight delay before your adjustments are audible.
Close the dialog box. You can add effects to buses with the same method (right-click the FX field in a
bus, and choose an effect from the popup menu).
You can delete an effect from an FX field by right-clicking the effects name and choosing Delete from
the popup menu. Instead of moving the controls manually, lets automate them by drawing an envelope
in the Clips pane.

Automating an Individual Effects Settings

Lets draw an envelope to automate one of the flangers controls:
1. In the Clips pane, right-click in the first guitar track (the track you added the FxFlange effect to)
and choose Envelopes-Create Track Envelope-FxFlange 1 from the popup menu.
The FxFlange1 dialog box appears.
2. Lets create only one envelope, even though we could create many: in the Envelope Exists field,
check the Voice 1 Feedback option to create an envelope that controls the level of feedback on voice

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1 of the FxFlange effect.
3. Click OK (you could choose a color for the envelope before you click OK by clicking the Choose
Color button).
A solid line with 2 nodes (round dots) appears on top of the guitar clip, one node at the beginning
and one at the end of the last clip in the project. The dotted line after the project ends means there
is no automation data in that area of a trackonly nodes and solid lines represent actual values.
4. Lets add a node at measure 17 of the guitar track: move the cursor over the line at measure 17
until a vertical, double-ended arrow appears under it, and right-click the line.
The Envelope Editing menu appears.
5. Choose Add Node from the menu.
A new node appears on the envelope at measure 17.
6. Move the cursor over the node until a cross appears under it, and drag the node up to the top of the
track. Now you have a gradual increase in the level of Voice 1 Feedback. Notice that the line
between the two nodes is solid, indicating that there is automation data everywhere between the
two nodes.
7. Change the straight line between the two nodes, which is called a Linear shape, into a Slow
Curve shape, by moving the cursor over the straight line until the vertical, double-ended arrow
appears, then right-clicking the line and choosing Slow Curve from the Envelope Editing menu.

Node
Node

Slow curve

Now you have a gradual, but not linear increase in the Voice 1 Feedback level of your flange effect. You
can drag linear and curve shapes vertically, but not horizontally. To change their horizontal positions,
drag the node at either end of a shape. You can drag a node in any direction.

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Grouping Controls
To assist in manipulating the controls, you can tie faders to one another. For example, if you want to
increase the volume level on several tracks at the same time, you can assign them to a group. Then,
when you move one volume fader, you move them all. You can even have the controls move in opposite
directions. For example, you can fade one track in and another out.
To group faders:
1. In the Track view (you can use the Console view if you want), right-click the volume fader for track
2 (bass).
2. In the popup menu, choose Group and select A from the dropdown list. This assigns the fader to
group A. A red marker appears next to the volume fader, indicating that it belongs to group A,
whose color is red.You could also create your own customized group name and color by choosing
New.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for tracks 3 and 4.
Now youve grouped the volume faders of three tracks. When you move one fader, all of the others follow.
If you want to move a single fader independently of the others, hold the Ctrl key while moving the fader.
To ungroup a fader, right-click it and choose Remove From Group from the popup menu.

Automating Your Mix

You can record the fader movements of the mix, which is called automating them. To do so:
1. Rewind to the beginning of the project.
2. Move the faders, pans, and any other controls to the initial settings you desire. You should set up a
good balance between the tracks.
3. Arm the volume fader for track 4 by right-clicking it and choosing Arm for Automation from the
popup menu. A highlighted rectangle appears around the armed fader.
4. Display the Automation toolbar by using the View-Toolbars-Automation command.

5. Make sure that the Enable Automation Playback button in the Automation toolbar is in the
depressed position and lit blue.

6. To start recording the automation, click the Record Automation button in the Transport
toolbar, and move the armed fader as needed so that the balance between the guitar and other
instruments is optimized throughout the project. You can see a preview of your automation is
drawn as you record.
7. Stop recording by clicking the Stop button or by pressing the Spacebar.
Youve now automated the volume fader of track 4 of your projectSONAR draws a graph (an envelope)
of the automation in the Clips pane of track 4. You can hide or show envelopes by using the dropdown
arrow located on the side of the Envelope tool button in the Track view toolbar, or by using the
Clips pane popup menu, or the Envelope Editing menu. Now lets listen to the project again and watch
the fader move automatically:
1. Rewind to the beginning.
2. Press the Spacebar to start playing the project.
Youll see the fader move just the way it moved when you recorded its movements. You can compare this
mix to a mix with no automation by clicking the Enable Automation Playback button and playing
your project again. Clicking the Enable Automation Playback button toggles the automation off and on.

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When youre done tweaking the mix, to make sure you dont accidentally erase any automation data,
you can disarm any armed controls by clicking the Disarm All Automation Controls button in the
Automation toolbar, or the red AUTO indicator thats in the Status bar.

Exporting an MP3 File

When your project finally sounds the way you want, you can export it in any or all of several file
formats, including:
Wave (CD format)
MP3
Windows Media Advanced Streaming Format
When you export a file from SONAR, you can choose to include any or all of the effects, automation, and
mute and solo settings that your project contains.
Lets export our project as an MP3:
1. Make sure all the tracks you want to export are unmuted and unarchived. If you only want to
export one or two tracks, its easier to solo these tracks instead of muting all the others.

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2. Make a time selection, if necessary. If any tracks use real-time effects such as reverb or delay,
select your whole project plus an extra measure or two at the end so you wont cut off the reverb
tail.
3. Choose File-Export-Audio to display the Export Audio dialog box.
4. Select a destination folder using the Look In field.
5. Enter a file name.
6. Choose MP3 from the Files of type dropdown list.
7. In the Format field, select one of the following options:
Export to Stereo File(s)All exported tracks are mixed down to a single stereo file.
Export to Separate Left and Right FilesAll exported tracks are mixed down to two mono
files, left and right.
Export to Mono File(s)All exported tracks are mixed down to a single mono file.
8. In the Bit Depth field, select the bit depth that you want your exported file to use. For MP3s use
16.
9. In the Source Bus(es) field, select a sound card or sound cards from the list. If you select more than
one, you can select the Each Source to Separate Submix checkbox to create separate files for each
device selected in the Source Bus(es) field.
10. If the Outputs of the tracks you are combining are the same (if they have the same thing listed in
their Output fieldsthey should in this tutorial example), you can ignore this step. Otherwise, in
the Separation field, choose from these options:
Each Bus to Separate Submixif the tracks you are combining use different buses in their
Output fields, choose this option if you want to create separate files for each different output
that the tracks use.
Each Main Out to Separate Submixif the Outputs of the tracks you are combining go to
different Main Outs, choose this option to create separate files for each different Main Out
that the tracks use.

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All Main Outs to Single Mixif the Outputs of the tracks you are combining go to different
Main Outs, choose this option to create a single new file that combines the output data from
all the Main Outs.
11. In the Mix Enables field, select the effects you want to include in your new fileusually, you select
all the listed options.
Note: Selecting the Track Mute/Solo option causes muted tracks to be left out of the exported mix,
and soloed tracks to be the only tracks exported.
12. Click Export.
The Cakewalk MP3 Export Options (Trial Version) dialog box appears.
13. Choose the options you want for your new MP3 filefor help choosing options click the Help
button in the dialog box.
14. When you finish choosing options, click the OK button.
SONAR compresses and mixes your project to a file with the extension .MP3 that is located in the folder
you chose in the Look In field of the Export Audio dialog box.

Tutorial 8Using Soft Synths

A software synthesizer is a software program that produces various sounds through your audio
interface when the soft synth program receives MIDI data from a MIDI controller or sequencer
program. SONAR supports all major varieties of software synthesizers, including DXi, ReWire, and VST
Instruments (you can use VST instruments by running SONARs included VST Configuration Wizard to
configure the VST instruments). SONAR has a Synth Rack view to make inserting a soft synth a one-
step process.
Cakewalk TTS-1 is a great example of a soft synth, so lets use it for our tutorial. Because this soft synth
supports the mult-output format, it has multiple outputs (4), and you can record the movement of some
of its controls as automation. You probably installed Cakewalk TTS-1 when you installed SONAR. To
make sure, open a project that has at least one audio track, right-click the FX field of an audio track to
open the plug-in popup menu, and look under Soft Synths. You should see Cakewalk TTS-1 listed. If
you dont, insert your SONAR CD into your CD drive, install the software synthesizers including
Cakewalk TTS-1 to your hard drive, and restart SONAR.
This tutorial covers the following:
Inserting Cakewalk TTS-1 into a project
Playing MIDI tracks through a soft synth
Converting soft synth tracks to audio

Inserting Cakewalk TTS-1 into a Project

Inserting a soft synth into a project means that the name of the soft synth appears in the dropdown
menus of MIDI track Output fields and audio track Input fields.

To Insert Cakewalk TTS-1 into a Project

1. Open a MIDI projectfor this tutorial use TUTORIAL8.CWP.
2. Use the Insert-Soft Synths command and click Cakewalk TTS-1 on the popup menu.
The Insert Soft Synth Options dialog appears.
3. In the Create These Tracks fields, deselect MIDI Source, because we want to patch some pre-
existing tracks into Cakewalk TTS-1.

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4. Select All Synth Audio Outputs because were going to use a different synth track for each of
Cakewalk TTS-1s 4 outputs. The new synth tracks have Cakewalk TTS-1 already patched to them
as audio inputs.
5. In the Open These Windows fields, select both Synth Property Page and Synth Rack view. These
two options open Cakewalk TTS-1s property page (interface), and the Synth Rack view,
respectively.
6. Click OK.
SONAR inserts 4 synth tracks that each have one of Cakewalk TTS-1s outputs as an input (notice that
these tracks have the soft synth label next to their track numbers), opens the Synth Rack view with
Cakewalk TTS-1 displayed in the first row, and opens Cakewalk TTS-1s property page.
Notice that the Output field of the MIDI track is labeled Cakewalk TTS-1 1. The 1 means that this is
the first instance of Cakewalk TTS-1 that you have inserted into this project. If you use the Insert-Soft
Synths command to insert another instance or copy of Cakewalk TTS-1 into this project, its label will
be Cakewalk TTS-1 2, and it will function as a totally separate synth. MIDI data in tracks that use
Cakewalk TTS-1 1 as an output will have no effect on MIDI tracks that have Cakewalk TTS-1 2 as an
output.

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Playing MIDI Tracks through a Soft Synth
Now that you have verified that Cakewalk TTS-1 is installed, lets try some of its sounds on some pre-
recorded MIDI data.

To Play MIDI Tracks through Cakewalk TTS-1

1. Drag the Cakewalk TTS-1 property page out of the way for now, and in the first MIDI track (Guitar
1), click the dropdown arrow in the tracks Output field, and choose Cakewalk TTS-1 as an output.
Notice that when you choose Cakewalk TTS-1 as a tracks output, the patch for that tracks MIDI
channel in Cakewalk TTS-1 interface changes to the same one that the track displays.
2. Set the Output fields in all the other MIDI tracks to Cakewalk TTS-1. Note: When the cursor is in
the Output field of one track, pressing the Up or Down arrow key moves the cursor to the same
field in the next track.
3. Lets insert a patch change in track 1: click the track number of the Guitar 1 track to select it, and

move the Now time to the Verse 1 marker by clicking the Next Marker button once (the Next
Marker button is in the Markers toolbar; if you dont see it, use the View-Toolbars command and
check Markers).
4. Use the Insert-Patch/Bank Change command to open the Bank/Patch Change dialog box.
5. In the Bank field, select 15488-Preset Normal 0, and in the Patch field, select Overdrive Gt, and
click OK.
Now youve routed your MIDI tracks through Cakewalk TTS-1, and inserted a patch change. Rewind
the project and play it to hear the project through Cakewalk TTS-1.

Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio

Once your project sounds the way you want it, its extremely easy to convert your soft synth MIDI tracks
to either new audio tracks, or Wave, MP3, or other exportable files.

To Convert Your Soft Synth Tracks to New Audio Tracks

1. Mute all tracks that you dont want to convert; make sure you dont mute the synth track(s) that
the soft synth is patched into, or the MIDI track(s) that you are using as a source.

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 2.
:
Lets set our MIDI tracks to use different outputs on the TTS-1: in the TTS-1 interface, click the
System button to open the System Settings panel, and click the Option button in System Settings
to open the Options dialog.
3. On the Output Assign tab look in the Tone Name column, and click one of the four Output buttons
next to each name in the Tone Name column. This assigns your individual MIDI instruments to
different audio outputs from the TTS-1. Click the Close button.
4. Use the Edit-Bounce to Track(s) command.
The Bounce to Track(s) dialog box appears.
5. In the Source Category field, choose Tracks.
6. In the Channel Format field, choose mono if you want mono tracks, and stereo if you want stereo
tracks.
7. In the Source/Buses field, make sure all 4 outputs are selected. This will create a separate audio
track for each selected output. If you wanted to combine your MIDI tracks into just one audio
tracks, send all the MIDI tracks through just one output (Step 3), and select only that output in the
Source/Buses field.
8. In the Mix Enables field, make sure all choices are selected.
9. Click OK.
SONAR creates new audio tracks from the outputs you selected. When youre through converting, dont
forget to mute your MIDI tracks so you wont hear them and the new audio track(s) at the same time.

To Export Your Soft Synth Tracks as Wave, MP3, or Other Type Files
1. Mute all tracks that you dont want to export; make sure you dont mute the synth track(s) that the
soft synth is patched into, or the MIDI track(s) that you are using as a source.
2. Use the File-Export-Audio command.
The Export Audio dialog box appears.
3. In the Look in field, choose the location where you want the exported file to be.
4. Type a file name in the File name field.
5. In the Files of Type field, choose the kind or file you want to create.
6. In the Source Category field, choose Tracks if you want to create separate files for each MIDI track,
or choose Entire Mix if you want to create one file.
7. Choose a channel format, sample rate, and bit depth that are appropriate for the new file(s) you
are creating. Dont choose Split Mono in the Channel Format field if you want to export a single
file.
8. In the Source/Buses field, select all outputs if you chose Tracks in Step 6, or accept the default if
you chose Entire Mix.
9. In the Mix Enables field, make sure all choices are selected.
10. Click OK.
SONAR creates a new audio file or files of the type you specified. Find the file(s) in the folder you
specified, and double-click each file to listen to it.

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Tutorial 9Drum Maps
In SONAR drum maps allow you to assign a single MIDI track to multiple outputs. MIDI drum tracks
appear in the Piano Roll views Drum Grid pane. In the Note Map pane you can map pitches to notes in
any number of software or hardware outputs.
In this tutorial we are going to create a drum map, create a MIDI drum track using the Pattern Brush,
and use the drum map to map drum notes to several different outputs.

Create a New Project

First, we need to create a new project.
1. Select File-New from the menu.
2. In the New Project File dialog box, enter Tutorial9 in the Name field.
3. Select the Normal template from the template list and click OK..

Creating a Drum Map

English
Drum maps allow you to map note pitches from the same track to different output devices, either
hardware or software.
Note: Before you begin, make sure you have some MIDI devices selected. To check, select Options-
MIDI Devices.

To Create a New Drum Map

1. In a MIDI track, click the Output dropdown menu and choose Drum Map Manager from the
menu that appears.
The Drum Map Manager dialog appears.

2. Click the Create New Drum Map button .

A new drum map appears in the Drum Maps Used in Current Project field.
3. Click the Presets dropdown arrow and select GM Drums (Complete Kit).
4. In the Out Port column, click one of the down arrows, hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys, and click
the name of the port or instrument that you want to hear drums on.
All the Out Port entries change to the port or instrument you selected. Later, well start sending
individual notes to different outputs.
5. In the Chn column, make sure all entries are set to 10, or whatever MIDI channel your drum
sounds are on.
6. Close the Drum Map Manager.

Create a Drum Track

You can use any blank MIDI track for your drums. If you dont have a MIDI track, create using the
Insert-MIDI Track command.

To Assign a MIDI Track to a Drum Map

1. Display the Track view if it is minimized.
2. In the track you want to assign to a drum map, click the Output dropdown and select DM1GM
Drums (Complete Kit) from the options in the menu that appears.

To Create a Drum Track Using the Pattern Brush

1. Select the track you have assigned to a drum map and select View-Piano Roll.

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The blank drum track appears in the Drum Grid pane of the Piano Roll view.

2. In the Piano Roll view, click on the down arrow to the right of the Pattern Brush tool and
select Kick+Snare Patterns (R-T)-Stacy 7.
3. Click the down arrow again and select Use Pattern Polyphony. This option tells SONAR to use
the original pitch values when painting notes in the Drum Grid pane.
4. Click on the Pattern Brush to select it.
5. Starting at the beginning of your track, click and drag the Pattern Brush tool for a few measures in
the Drum Grid pane.
A series of notes, at different pitch values appears in the Drum Grid pane. If you dont see any
notes, scroll down in the Drum Grid to see the notes.
6. Click the Pattern Brush down arrow again and select Cymbal Patterns (C-F)-Fill 4.
7. Repeat step 5.
8. Listen to your drum track. Make a mental note of the drum sounds your hear, because they are
about to change.
Now it is time to mix things up a bit. Lets send some of your drum sounds to a different output.

Map Drum Notes to Different Outputs

First, we need to create an output to use, so lets open Cakewalk TTS-1 and use that soft synth for this
part of the tutorial.

To Open Cakewalk TTS-1

1. Select View-Synth Rack from the menu.

2. Click the Insert Synth button in the Synth Rack toolbar and select Soft Synths-Cakewalk
TTS-1 from the menu that appears.
The Insert Soft Synth Options dialog appears.
3. Make sure that the MIDI Source option in the Create These Tracks section is unchecked.
4. In the Create These Tracks section, check the First Synth Audio Output option. This option creates
a single synth output track.
5. In the Open These Windows section, check the Synth Property Page option. This option opens
Cakewalk TTS-1 when we close the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog.
6. Click OK.
7. An synth output track for the Cakewalk TTS-1 appears in the Track view and the Cakewalk TTS-1
appears. If you dont see the track, scroll down in the Track pane to find it.
Now, we can map notes to different outputs.

To Map a Note to a New Output

1. Select your drum track and open the Piano Roll view by selecting View-Piano Roll from the
menu.
2. Right-click in the Note Map pane (the list of drum names on the far left of the Piano Roll view) and
select Drum Map Manager from the right-click menu.
The Drum Map Manager appears.
3. In the Drum Map Manager, change the Out Port for the In Note 46 (Bb3) to Cakewalk TTS-1.

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 The new Port/Channel pair Cakewalk TTS-1 1 / 10 appears in the Port and Channels field at the
bottom of the Drum Map Manager.
4. In the Bank column for the Port/Channel pair Cakewalk TTS-1 1 / 1 select 15360-Preset Rhythm.
5. In the Patch column for the Port/Channel pair Cakewalk TTS-1 1 / 1 select Standard Set.
6. In the Drum Map Manager, change the Out Port setting for In Note 38 (D3) to Cakewalk TTS-1.
7. Close the Drum Map Manager and play your project to listen to the different drum sounds.

To Change Other Drum Map Settings

You can open the Drum Map Manager from either a MIDI tracks Output menu, or with the Options-
Drum Map Manager command.
Change map settings in the Drum Map Manager as described in the following table:

To do this Do this

Add a row (a mapped pitch) Click the Add New Drum Map Entry button .

English
Change In Note value Double-click in the appropriate cell and enter a new
value, or click on the right side of the cell, and when
the cursor changes to an up and down arrow, drag it
up to increase the value or down to lower the value.

Change the Name setting Double click on the appropriate cell and enter a new
name.

Change the Channel setting Click the appsropriate channel cells down arrow and
select a channel from the menu that appears.

Change the Out Port setting Click the appropriate Out Port cells down arrow and
select an output port from the menu that appears.

Change the Vel+ setting Double-click in the appropriate cell and enter a new
value, or click on the right side of the cell, and when
the cursor changes to an up and down arrow, drag it
up to increase the value or down to lower the value.

Change the V Scale setting Double-click in the appropriate cell and enter a new
value, or click on the right side of the cell, and when
the cursor changes to an up and down arrow, drag it
up to increase the value or down to lower the value.

When you are happy with the drum sounds you have mapped, you can mixdown to an audio file.

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 3
Controlling Playback

When you play your SONAR project, you have full control over the tempo or speed of
playback, which tracks are played, which sound cards or other devices are used to produce
the sound, and what the tracks sound like.

English
SONARs multi-MIDI enhancements give you the ability to play multiple synths or tracks
from a single keyboard or controller, or let multiple performers play the same or different
tracks. You have total control over MIDI echo (MIDI echo refers to where MIDI input signals
are sent once SONAR receives them).
Note: SONAR has a button called the Audio Engine button in the Transport toolbar
which you click to stop any feedback you may experience if there is a loop somewhere in your
mixer setup. Whenever you play a project, SONAR automatically enables the audio engine,
which you can tell by watching the Status barwhenever the audio engine is running, the
Audio Running indicator in the Status bar lights up.

In This Chapter
The Now Time and How to Use It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Controlling Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Track-by-Track Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Changing Track Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Controlling Live MIDI PlaybackMIDI Echo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Local Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Video Playback, Import, and Export. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Locating Missing Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
 :
The Now Time and How to Use It
Every project has a current time, known as the Now time, which keeps track of where you are in a
project. The Now time appears as a vertical line in the Track view and is displayed in both the Large
Transport toolbar and the Position toolbar, in two formats:
The measure, beat, and tick number (MBT) identifies the Now time in musical time units. Ticks are
subdivisions of quarter notes and indicate the timebase of the project. For more information about the
timebase, see Setting the MIDI Timing Resolution on page 152. The other time format is the SMPTE
format, expressed in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames.

The current time in hours, Meter, Key Signature

The current measure, beat, and tick minutes, seconds, and frames display

Here are some examples of times expressed in measure, beat, and tick (MBT) format:

Time... What it means...

1:01:000 First beat of the first measure

9:04:000 Fourth beat of the ninth measure

4:02:060 The 60th tick of the second beat of the fourth

measure

The hours-minutes-seconds-frames format is commonly referred to as the SMPTE time. SMPTE is the
acronym for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. In this format, time is measured in
hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. Its not necessary for a project to begin at time zero in this
formatany time can be used to represent the start of a project. If you are synchronizing SONAR with
an external device whose start time is not 0, you must offset SONAR to match the external devices
start time. For more information, see Chapter 18, Synchronizing Your Gear.

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Here are some examples of times expressed in this format (assuming that zero is the start time):

Time... What it means...

00:00:00:00 The beginning of the project

00:05:10:00 Five minutes and ten seconds from the beginning

of the project

01:30:00:00 One hour and thirty minutes into the project

00:00:00:05 Five frames into the project

SONAR provides many ways to set the Now time. Here are just a few:

To Change the Now Time

Click the desired time on the Time Ruler in the Track view, Piano Roll view, or Staff view

English
In the Navigator pane, click anywhere in the view while holding down the Ctrl key to change the
Now Time to that location
Click on the Now time in the Large Transport toolbar, enter the desired time, and press Enter
Choose Go-Time or press F5, enter the desired time, and click OK
Click on an event in the Event List view
You can also set the Now time by right-clicking in the Clips pane if you enable the Right Click Sets Now
option in the Track View Properties dialog. Right-click a an empty area of the Clips pane, and select
View Options from the menu that appears to open the Clip View Properties dialog.
When entering a time in MBT format, the beat and tick values are optional. You can use a colon, space,
decimal point, or vertical bar to separate the parts of the Now time:

You enter The Now time is set to

2 2:01:000

420 4:02:000

9 9:01:000

5|1:30 5:01:030

When entering a time in SMPTE format, you can enter a single number (hour), two numbers (hour and
minutes), three numbers (hour, minutes, and seconds), or all four numbers.
If you click in the Time Ruler while the snap grid is enabled, the Now time will be snapped to the
nearest point in the grid. By setting the grid size to a whole note or quarter note, you can easily set the
Now time to a measure or beat boundary.
You can also use the buttons and the scroll bar in either the Transport toolbar or Large Transport
toolbar (shown below) to adjust the time.

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Meter/Key
Click to jump to the end Signature display

Click to jump to the beginning Click to move ahead one measure

Drag to any desired position

Click to back up one

The Large Transport toolbar differs from the Transport toolbar because it displays the Now time (which
you can set by entering numbers into the display fields in either MBT or SMPTE time) and the Meter/
Key Signature display. The Meter/Key Signature display shows the current meter, key signature, and
tempo. You can edit the meter and key signature by clicking the display to open the Meter/Key
Signature dialog box. You can display the Large Transport toolbar by selecting the View-Toolbars
command to open the Toolbars dialog box, and checking Transport (Large).
When playback or recording is stopped, the Now Time either remains at the point where the project
stopped or snaps back to the Now Time Marker. This behavior is controlled in the General tab of the
Global Options dialog.

The Now Time Marker

In the Track view, the Now time appears as a black vertical line. When you set the Now time in the
Track view a green triangle called the Now time marker appears in the Time Ruler. This marker
represents the point at which the Now time will snap back to after you stop playback or recording. You
can change the Now time marker behavior so that the marker moves to the current Now time when
playback or recording is stopped (use the Options-Global command; on the General tab uncheck On
Stop, Rewind to Now Marker).

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To Change the Now Time Marker Behavior
1. Select Options-Global from the SONAR menu.
The Global Options dialog appears.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Uncheck the On Stop, Rewind to Now Marker option to have the Now time marker move to follow
the current Now time when you stop playback.
Or
Check the On Stop, Rewind to Now Marker option to have the Now time snap back to the Now time
marker when you stop playback.
4. Click OK.

Displaying the Now Time in Large Print

SONAR can display the Now time in large print so that its easier to see when you are far from your
monitor (for example, when youre at your keyboard or another instrument) or when several people
need to read the Now time from a distance. Heres how:

English
To Display the Big Time View
1. Choose View-Big Time to display the Big Time view.

2. Change the settings according to the table:

To do this Do this

Switch time format Click on the view to toggle between MBT and
SMPTE time

Change font or color Right-click on the view, choose the font and color
you want, and click OK

Change the size of the view Drag any corner of the view to change its size

Note that SONAR ignores font styles and effects such as strikeout and underline.

Other Ways to Set the Now Time

There are a variety of commands and keyboard shortcuts you can use to set the Now time:

Command... Shortcut... What it does...

Go-Time F5 Lets you enter the Now time in the

Position toolbar or in a dialog box

Go-From F7 Sets the Now time to the From time (the

start time of the current time selection)

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 Go-Thru
: F8 Sets the Now time to the Thru time (the
end time of the current time selection)

Go-Beginning Ctrl+Home Sets the Now time to the beginning of the

project

Go-End Ctrl+End Sets the Now time to the end of the

project

Go-Previous Measure Ctrl+PgUp Sets the Now time to the start of the
current measure if the Now time is not on
a barline, or to the start of the previous
measure if the Now time is on a barline.

Go-Next Measure Ctrl+PgDn Sets the Now time to the start of the next
measure

If your project has markers, you can use the Marker toolbar to set the Now time:

To do this Do this

Skip to the next marker Click on the Markers toolbar (or press
Ctrl+Shift+PgDn).

Skip to the previous marker Click on the Markers toolbar (or press
Ctrl+Shift+PgUp).

Jump to any marker Click on the Markers toolbar to open the

Markers view. Click on the marker you want to
jump to in the Markers view.

For more information about markers, see Creating and Using Markers on page 203.

The Time Ruler

The Time Ruler appears in the Track view, Tempo view, Staff view and Piano Roll view. It has several
functions, including:
Making a Time Selection
The Time Ruler follows the Snap to Grid settings, if enabled. For more information about using the
Snap to Grid, see Defining and Using the Snap Grid on page 201.
Changing the Now time
For more information about the Now time, see The Now Time and How to Use It on page 104.
Adding loop, punch, and pitch markers
You can right-click in the Time Ruler to add markers. For more information, see Creating and
Using Markers on page 203 and Using Pitch Markers in the Track View on page 238.
In the Track view, the Time Ruler has the following time display options or formats:
Measures, Beats and Ticks (M:B:T)
Hours, Minutes, Seconds and Frames (H:M:S:Falso called SMPTE)
Samples

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 The M:B:T setting follows your settings in the Meter/Key view. If you project is set to 4/4 time, you have
four beats in the Time Ruler for each measure. If your project is set to 6/8 time, you have six beats in the
Time Ruler for each measure.

To Set the Time Ruler Format to M:B:T

1. Right-click in the Track view Time Ruler.
2. In the menu that appears, select Time Ruler Format-M:B:T.

To Set the Time Ruler Format to H:M:S:F (SMPTE)

1. Right-click in the Track view Time Ruler.
2. In the menu that appears, select Time Ruler Format-H:M:S:F.

To Set the Time Ruler Format to Samples

1. Right-click in the Track view Time Ruler.
2. In the menu that appears, select Time Ruler Format-Samples.

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Note:
The Display All Times as SMPTE checkbox in the General tab of the Global
Options dialog forces all times in the project to be displayed in SMPTE time,
regardless of your setting in the Time Ruler.

Controlling Playback
To control playback, you have your choice of tools, menu commands, and shortcut keys for most common
operations.
When you start playback, the Now time updates continuously to show the current time. When you stop
playback, the Now time rewinds to the Now Time Marker. When you start playback again, it continues
from the same point.
If the Now time is advancing but you dont hear any sound, see Appendix A: Troubleshooting. If you are
using MIDI sync or syncing to MIDI time code, SONAR waits to receive external timing data before it
begins playing. If the various views are not updating during playback, make sure the Scroll Lock key on
your computer keyboard is not enabled. For more information, see Chapter 18, Synchronizing Your
Gear..
Note: If your Windows setup uses any system sounds that are associated with any typical activity, such
as minimizing a window, etc., you should disable these sounds. They can sound extremely loud through
your monitors, and also interrupt playback and recording, if you open any dialog boxes or do anything
that has a system sound attached to it while a project plays. The quickest way to disable all system
sounds is to open the Control Panel (Start-Settings-Control Panel), double-click the Sounds icon to
open the Sounds Properties dialog box, and in the Schemes field select No Sounds. Click Apply, and then
click OK.

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To Start and Stop Playback

To do this Do this

Start playback Press the Spacebar, click , or choose

Transport-Play, or double-click in the Time
Ruler

Stop playback Press the Spacebar, click , or choose

Transport-Stop

Rewind to the start of the project Click , press the w key, or choose
Transport-Rewind

Skip to the end of the project Click

Note:
The default behavior for the Now time when you click the Stop button is for it to return to the Now time
marker where playback began. If you want the Now time to remain where it is when you stop playback,
you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Spacebar. If you want to change the default behavior, select
Options-Global and click the General tab. In the General tab, uncheck the On Stop, Rewind to Now
Marker option.

Handling Stuck Notes

Under MIDI, the events that turn notes on are separate from the events that stop notes from playing.
Normally, when you stop playback, SONAR attempts to turn off all notes that are still playing.
Depending on how your equipment is configured, its possible for notes to get stuck in the on position.
The Transport-Reset command is used to stop all notes from playing. The Transport-Reset command
also stops feedback from input monitoring.

Note:
You can control the MIDI messages that are sent by the Transport-Reset
command by changing the Panic Strength variable in the CAKEWALK.INI file.

To Clear Stuck Notes

Choose Transport-Reset, or click on the Large Transport toolbar.

Looping
Sometimes you want to listen to one portion of a project over and over, either so you can play along and
rehearse or because you want to edit that section of the project while it is playing and hear the results
as you make changes. SONAR has a playback looping feature that makes this simple.

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Looping is defined in the Loop/Auto Shuttle toolbar, as shown here:

Click to turn looping on or off Click to copy the

selection (From and Thru)

Click to open the Loop/Auto

Shuttle dialog box
Loop Start time Loop End time

To set up a loop, you do three things:

Set the start time of the loop
Set the end time of the loop
Enable looping
From then on, SONAR will automatically jump back to the start of the loop when it reaches the end.
When looping is enabled, the loop times are indicated by special markers in the Time Ruler.

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Loop From Loop Thru

The Loop/Auto Shuttle dialog box, which appears when you use the Transport-Loop and Auto
Shuttle command or click the Loop and Auto Shuttle button in the Loop toolbar, contains two
additional settings that affect the details of how looping operates:

Option... How it works...

Stop at the end time Playback does not proceed beyond the end of the
loop

Loop continuously When playback reaches the end of the loop and
rewinds to the start, playback continues
automatically (this option is on by default)

With the default option settings, SONAR will play the loop over and over again, continuously.
If you start playback before the loop start time, SONAR will play until the loop end time is reached,
then jump back to the loop start time.
Note: If you stop playback while looping is enabled, the Now time jumps to the Now time marker. If you
disable the On Stop Rewind to Now Marker option in the General tab of the Global Options dialog, the
Now time stays wherever you stopped playback.
The Rewind command operates slightly differently when looping is in effect. The first time you rewind,
the Now time is set to the start of the loop. If the Now time is already at the start of the loop, Rewind
takes you to the beginning of the project. From then on, Rewind switches back and forth between the
loop start time and the start of measure 1.

To Set Up a Playback Loop

1. Set the loop start and end times in one of the following ways:
Drag the mouse between two points in the Time Ruler of the Track view, Staff, or Piano Roll
view to select a range of times, then click in the Loop/Auto Shuttle toolbar to copy the
selection time to the loop time.

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:
Click between two markers in the Track, Staff, or Piano Roll view to select a range of times,
then click in the Loop/Auto Shuttle toolbar to copy the selection time to the loop time.

Type the loop start and end times directly into the toolbar.
Select a range of times, then right-click in the Time Ruler and choose Set Loop Points (this
method makes the second option unnecessary).
Looping is automatically turned on when you use the Set Loop to Selection command.

To Change the Loop Settings

1. Click , or choose Transport-Loop and Auto Shuttle to display the Loop/Auto Shuttle dialog
box.
2. Check the options you want to use.
3. Click OK.

To Cancel a Playback Loop

Click on the toolbar to disable looping.

Track-by-Track Playback
SONAR lets you play back any combination of tracks at one time by changing each tracks status. You
can control the status of each track with the individual controls that are on every track, or with the
global controls on the Playback State toolbar or the Status bar thats at the bottom of the SONAR
window. For more information on the Status bar, see Status Bar/CPU Meter/Disk Meter on page 555.
For more information on the Playback State toolbar, see The Playback State Toolbar on page 113.
There are several different status settings for each track:

Status... What it means...

Normal The track plays unless one or more of your other

tracks is soloed.

Muted The track is not played, but you can turn it on

while playback is in progress.

Archived The track is not played, and you must stop

playback to re-enable it. Archived tracks do not tax
your CPU during playback so they can be used to
store alternate takes.

Soloed Only those tracks that are designated as solo

tracks are played; all others are muted.

Armed The track is armed for recording.

Mono/Stereo The track plays back in either mono or stereo,

depending on what the individual track setting is,
and whether the Play in Mono button in the
Playback State toolbar is depressed.

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Phase normal or inverted If a track was accidentally recorded out of phase
with another track, the Phase button lets you
reverse the phase of a track.

While playback is in progress, you can mute and unmute tracks in any combination, which means you
can hear only the tracks that you want. You can change the status of a track in the Track view, the
Console view, the Track menu, or the Playback State toolbar.
If a track is both muted and soloed, it does not play. Mute has precedence.
The track status is saved with the SONAR project file. If you save a SONAR project as a Standard MIDI
File, however, all tracks are saved without mute, solo, or archive indicators.

The Playback State Toolbar

To display the Playback State toolbar, use the View-Toolbars command to open the Toolbars dialog
box, and make sure Playback State is checked. The Playback State toolbar is a global control that allows
you to mute or unmute, solo or unsolo, arm or disarm, and toggle the input echo status of all tracks.

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Drag to reposition

Input echo or MIDI echo

Mute Solo Arm

Silencing Tracks
When a track is muted, SONAR processes the track while playback is in progress so that you can
unmute the track without stopping playback. If you have lots of muted tracks, this can place a heavy
load on your computer. Archived tracks, on the other hand, dont place any load on your computer.
Therefore, if there are tracks you want to keep but dont need to play, you should archive them instead.
Archived tracks are indicated by the letter A in the Mute button that is displayed in the Track and
Console views.
When you mute or unmute a track while playback is in progress, there may be a slight delay before you
hear the effect of the change. This is to be expected and does not indicate a hardware or software
problem.

To Mute or Unmute Individual Tracks

To mute or unmute a track, click its M button in the Track or Console view.
To mute or unmute several tracks at once, select the tracks and choose Track-Mute, or select the
tracks, right-click, and choose Mute from the popup menu.

To Unmute All Tracks

Click the M button in the Playback State toolbar or the Mute label in the Status bar.

To Mute All Tracks

If no tracks are currently muted, click the M button in the Playback State toolbar.
Or
Select all tracks, and then use the Track-Mute command.

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To Archive or Unarchive Tracks
1. Select one or more tracks in the Track view.
2. Choose Track-Archive, or right-click and choose Archive from the menu to toggle the archive
status of the selected tracks.

Soloing Tracks
Sometimes you want to hear a single track, or a few tracks at once, without having to mute all the other
tracks. You can do this by soloing the tracks you want to hear.
As soon as any track is marked as a solo track, SONAR ignores all mute settings (unless a soloed track
is also mutedmute takes precedence over solo) and plays only the track or tracks that are set to solo.
Any number of tracks at one time can be marked as solo. All these tracks will play together. As soon as
the solo status of the final solo track is turned off, SONAR once again plays back tracks based on their
mute settings.

To Solo or Unsolo Individual Tracks

To solo or unsolo a track, click the Solo button in the Track or Console view
To solo or unsolo several tracks at once, select the tracks and choose Track-Solo, or right-click,
and choose Solo from the popup menu.

To Unsolo All Tracks

Click the S button in the Playback State toolbar or the Solo label in the Status bar.

To Solo All Tracks

If no tracks are currently soloed, click the S button in the Playback State toolbar.
Or
Select all tracks, and then use the Track-Solo command.

Inverting the Phase of a Track

A waveforms exact opposite is called an inversion. It is a shift of 180 degrees. A waveform and its
inversion cancel each other out completely, so it is usually not desirable to have two track recordings of
the same source if one is phase inverted. It can lead to reduced volume, lowered or distorted response in
certain frequencies, or even silence in the case of two tracks which are exactly identical (i.e. cloned
tracks).
Occasionally, for example when recording a source using two microphones, one of the microphones may
be recording an inversion of the other, the resulting tracks may, to some degree, be cancelling each other
out. SONAR allows you to invert the phase of a track to match another.

To Invert the Phase of a Track

1. Open the Track view or Console view.

2. In the track you want to invert the phase, click the phase inversion button .

Changing Tracks Mono/Stereo Status

SONAR has a mono/stereo button in each track module in the Track and Console views. The buttons in
the track modules force each track to play in either stereo or mono, but preserve the tracks pan
positions in the stereo mix.
The Mono/Stereo button in each track forces the tracks audio signal to enter any patched plug-ins as
either mono or stereo, whether or not the tracks are mono or stereo. This allows you to use either mono
effects on a stereo track or stereo effects on a mono track.

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 Note: You may lose important stereo data by using mono effects with stereo tracks because your stereo
tracks are summed to mono in order to pass through the effect. If you never want your stereo data to be
summed to mono, select stereo.

To Use a Tracks Stereo/Mono Button

1. Display the Track view or Console view.
2. In the track you want to force to either mono or stereo for processing effects, click the Stereo/Mono
button to the desired position:
Speaker icon pointing leftThis choice means that you manually selected mono for this track.
Speaker icon pointing left and right (as pictured above)This choice means that you
manually selected stereo for this track.

Changing Track Settings

Each track in a project contains MIDI or audio information and has a variety of settings (also called
parameters) that determine how the track sounds. By changing these parameters, you can change the

English
sound of your project. For audio tracks, you control parameters such as volume, stereo panning, and the
output device that is used to produce the sound. For MIDI tracks, you control many additional
parameters, including the type of instrument sound that is used to play the notes stored in the track.

Audio Track Parameters

The following pictures illustrate the parameters that audio tracks have. The pictures are of an audio
track that is located in the Track view, however most of these parameters can also be adjusted in the
Console view:

An audio track

Audio track titlebar controls

Strip selector Header icon Track name Input Echo button Show layers button

Maximize track

Mute, Solo and Arm buttons Peak value Minimize track

Track number

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Audio track interior
controls
Volume slider Pan slider

Mono/stereo switch
Trim
Input Phase button
Output
Send destination
Send enable

Send pre-post Send level Send pan

Audio track FX bin, meter,

and track scale Meter (shown in vertical position)

Track scale

FX interleave
indicator

FX bin

Here is a summary table of the different audio track parameters and how they are used.

Parameter... What it means...

Strip selector Click this to add a track to a Quick Group, which means that certain
controls in tracks that are in the Quick Group are grouped.

Number A sequential track number used for reference

Name A name that you assign the track for easy reference. Note that if
you do not assign a name to a track, the default name is the
track number. This track number will change if you change the
order of your tracks.

Mute When enabled, mutes the track

Solo When enabled, solos the track

Arm When enabled, arms the track for audio recording.

Input Echo Turns input monitoring on or off.

Peak value Displays the Peak value, which is the amplitude of the latest audio
peak in the track.

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Show Layers Hides or shows track layers.
button

Minimize/restore Collapses track to minumum possible height, or restores it to the size

track button it was before it was minimized.

Maximize/restore Expands track to maximum possible height, or restores it to the size

track button it was before it was maximized.

Vol (volume) The current volume level for the track, ranging from -INF (silent) to
+6 dB (maximum volume).

Pan The stereo distribution of the output, ranging from 100% left (hard
left) to 100% right (hard right); a value of C indicates sound that is
centered left-to-right. On stereo tracks, pan acts as balance.

Trim (volume trim) Volume Trim is a pre-fader control which allows the fine tuning of a
single tracks volume.
For example, lets say you have four tracks, three tracks have their

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volume fader set to 0 dB while the fourth tracks fader is set to +10
dB. You want to group the faders and do a slow fade out, but the
slightly higher level of the fourth track causes its volume to be higher
in relation to the other tracks towards the end of the fade out. To
balance the fader levels, reduce the fader level for the fourth track to
0 dB and raise the Volume Trim value for that track to +10 dB. The
resulting volume levels for the project are the same, but now you can
group the faders and perform a fade out with no track standing out
disproportionately at the end of the fade out.

Input The input source for the track, used in recording

Output The output bus through which the track is played

Send Enable Activates a send module, which sends a copy of the track signal to a
bus.

Send Level Controls volume of audio data sent by this send module..

Send Pan Adjusts the send pan setting.

Send Pre/Post Pre (pre-fader) means that the Send signal goes to the bus prior to
switch the tracks volume fader; post means the Send signal goes to the
bus after the volume fader.

Send destination Displays name of bus that the Send is sending data to.

Mono/Stereo A switch that determines whether a tracks signal enters an effect or

chain of effects as mono or stereo, regardless of the nature of the
track.

Phase In/Out A switch that inverts the phase of the track.

Effects bin The patch point for a tracks plug-ins or soft synths.

Meters The recording and playback levels are displayed in the Playback and
Record meters.

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MIDI Track Parameters
The following pictures illustrate MIDI track parameters:

A MIDI track

MIDI track titlebar controls

Input Echo button
Strip selector Track name Show layers button

Maximize track

PRV Mode button Minimize track

Header icon Mute, Solo and Arm buttons

Track number

MIDI track interior

controls
Volume slider Pan slider Trim

Input
Output
Channel
Bank
Key +
Patch
MIDI reverb
Time +

Snap to Scale On/Off MIDI chorus

Snap to Scale Snap to Scale scale
root note type

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MIDI track FX bin and track
scale

Track scale

MIDI FX bin

Here is a summary table of the different MIDI track parameters and how they are used:

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Parameter... What it means...

Strip selector Click this to add a track to a Quick Group, which means that certain
controls in tracks that are in the Quick Group are grouped.

Track number A sequential track number used for reference

Track name A name that you assign the track for easy reference. Note that if you
do not assign a name to a track, the default name is the track
number. This track number will change if you change the order of
your tracks.

Mute When enabled, mutes the track

Solo When enabled, solos the track

Arm When enabled, arms the track for audio recording.

Input Echo Controls whether the track will echo MIDI data or not.

PRV Mode button When enabled, displays a track in Inline Piano Roll view mode.

Show Layers button Hides or shows track layers.

Minimize/restore track Collapses track to minumum possible height, or restores it to the size it
button was before it was minimized.

Maximize/restore track Expands track to maximum possible height, or restores it to the size it
button was before it was maximized.

Vol (volume) The current volume level for the track, ranging from 0 (silent) to 127
(maximum volume).

Pan The stereo distribution of the output, ranging from 100% left (hard left)
to 100% right (hard right); a value of C indicates sound that is
centered left-to-right.

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 Velocity trim
: The change in velocity (volume) that will be applied to notes in this
track on playback; ranges from 127 to +127

Input The input source for the track, used in recording

Output The output device through which the track is played

Ch (channel) The MIDI channel through which the notes will be played

Bank The set of patch names available for the track

Patch The instrument sound that will be used for playback.

Time+ An offset applied to the start time of the events in the track

Key+ The number of steps by which the notes in the track are transposed on
playback (e.g., 12 to transpose up one octave)

Chorus Adds MIDI chorus effect to the track

Reverb Adds MIDI reverb effect to the track

Snap to Scale scale Displays current scale for Snap to Scale feature
type

Snap to Scale root note Displays root note of current Snap to Scale scale

Snap to Scale on/off Turns Snap to Scale feature on or off

To Change a Track Name

1. Double-click on the current track name.
2. Enter the new track name.
3. Click Enter.
The default track names (Track 1, Track 2, etc.) are not actually names, but placeholders until you
name a track. If you reorder the tracks these placeholders change.
You can rearrange and resize the panes in the Track view as shown in the following table:

To do this... Do this...

Change the width of the Track pane and Drag the divider that separates the Track pane
Bus pane from the Clips panes to the left or right

Change the height of the Mains/Buses pane Drag the divider that separates the Track and Clip
panes from the Bus pane up or down

You can customize which tracks are displayed or not displayed, and enlarge or maximize individual
tracks while other tracks remain minimized. You can also manually set the exact size of a tracks
display. The following table shows how to customize the appearance of tracks in the Track pane:

To do this... Do this...

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Hide or show a track Open the Track Manager dialog (press M), and
check or uncheck a tracks checkbox in the dialog.

Maximize a track Click the Maximize button in the track

Restore a track to its original size (before it Click the Restore button in the track
was minimized or maximized)

Minimize a track Click the Minimize button in the track

Change the height of a track using splitter Move the cursor over the gap below a track until
bars the cursor looks like this . Click and drag until
the track is the size you want.

Lock or unlock the height of a track Right-click an empty area in the tracks controls
and choose Lock Height from the menu.

You can display subsets of the Track panes interior controls (the titlebar controls are always displayed)
by selecting one of the tabs located at the bottom of the Track view. The following table lists the controls

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displayed when each tab is selected:

Tab Controls displayed when selected

All All controls are displayed

Mix Volume
Pan
Volume Trim
Phase (audio tracks only)
Key+ (MIDI tracks only)
Time+ (MIDI tracks only)
Snap to Scale controls (MIDI tracks only)

FX FX bin
Send controls (if a track has a Send module)
Mono/Stereo (audio tracks only)
Chorus (MIDI tracks only)
Reverb (MIDI tracks only)

I/O Input
Output
Channel (MIDI tracks only)
Bank (MIDI tracks only)
Patch (MIDI tracks only)
Snap to Scale controls (MIDI tracks only)

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Changing Audio Track Settings in the Track Pane
You can change the values in the Track pane in a number of ways:

Control How to change the setting

Volume, Pan, Volume Trim, Send Output Click on the control and move your cursor left or
Level, and Send Pan right to adjust values, or press Enter and type a
value.

Input and Output Click on the black arrow on the right of the control
and select a driver from the menu that appears, or
double-click on the control and select a driver from
the menu.

Changing MIDI Track Settings in the Track Pane

Control How to change the value

Channel Click on the black arrow on the right of the control and select
a channel from the menu that appears, or double-click on the
control and enter a value.

Bank Click on the black arrow on the right of the control and select
a bank from the menu that appears, or double-click on the
control and enter a value.

Patch Click on the black arrow on the right of the control and select
a patch from the menu that appears, or double-click on the
control and enter a value.

Volume, Pan, Volume Trim, Click on control and move your cursor left or right to adjust
Chorus and Reverb values, or double-click on the control and enter a value.

Key+ and Time+ Double-click the control or click on the black arrow on the
right of the control and enter a new value, or double-click on
the control and enter a value.

Input Click on the black arrow on the right of the control and select
a MIDI channel from the menu that appears, or double-click
on the control and select a driver from the menu.

Output Click on the black arrow on the right of the control and select
a driver from the menu that appears, or double-click on the
control and select a driver from the menu.

You can change numeric values in MIDI tracks as shown in the following table:

To do this... Do this...

Change the value by 1 Press the - or + key on your numeric keypad, or

click on the spinner control

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Change the value by 10 (for Key+, by 12) Press the [ or ] key, or right-click on the spinner
control

Enter a new value Press Enter and type the new value using the
keyboard, and press Enter

For numeric fields, you can press and hold both mouse buttons to change the value by increments of 10
(12, a full octave, for Key+).
You can also edit Track properties in the Track Properties dialog box. To open this dialog box, right-click
on the Track bar and select Track Properties.

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You can change the value of a track parameter for several tracks at once using commands on the Track-
Property menu. For example, to assign a group of tracks to the same output, select the tracks you want
to assign, then choose Track-Property-Output. These menu commands can also be used to change the
settings for individual tracks.
All track parameters are saved with a SONAR project. However, if you export a project to a Standard
MIDI File, several of the parameters (Key+, Vel+, Time+, and Chan) are applied to the MIDI data as the
file is being exported. Other parameters, including Input, Output, Mute, Solo, and Archive, are lost
when you export the project to a MIDI file.
The following sections contain more information about many of the parameters in the Track view. For
more information on the track inputs and the track Arm button, see Preparing to Record on page 152.

Setting Up Output Devices

The output setting for a track determines which piece of hardware or software synthesizer will be used
to produce the sound stored in your project. In a very simple equipment setup, you might have only a
computer equipped with a basic sound card. In this case, you want to play all MIDI and audio output
through the sound card on your computer.
If your equipment setup also includes a MIDI keyboard attached to the MIDI port on your sound card,
you can choose to route MIDI data directly to the sound card or through the sound card MIDI port to the
keyboard. If you choose the former, the music will play from your computer speakers. If you choose the
latter, the sound will play from the speaker attached to your keyboard. You can even choose to send
some MIDI information to each of these devices so that they both play at once.
You can purchase MIDI interfaces that plug into your parallel, serial, or USB port to add MIDI ports to
your computer. For more information on complex system configurations, see Appendix B: Hardware
Setup.

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If your computer has several MIDI outs, choose the ones you want to use and put them in a particular
order using the Options-MIDI Devices command. The order in which your MIDI devices appear in the
Output menus in the Track and Console views is based solely on the order in which the selected outs
appear in the MIDI Devices dialog box. As a result, the order in which your devices appear in a tracks
output control may not match the port numbers that appear on your external multiport MIDI device.

These
devices are
not selected

When you first run SONAR it asks you to select MIDI devices. You may want to change these selections
in the future. You can do so by selecting different devices in the MIDI Devices dialog box.
Your computer is usually equipped with at least one audio deviceyour computer sound card. Your
setup may have several different audio output devices, or you may have a multichannel sound card that
presents itself to your computer as though it were several different devices, one for each stereo pair. In
SONAR, audio tracks are assigned to main outs or buses. Each main out represents a hardware device.
You use the Output control to assign a track in a project to the main or bus you want to use.
While you need to choose the MIDI output devices you want to use before you assign them to tracks, all
of your audio devices can be assigned to tracks freely. You do not need to configure them the way you do
MIDI devices. If you have a voice modem or speakerphone in your computer, however, you might want to
set up SONAR so that it wont use those devices. Also, note that some dedicated audio equipment has
specific setup requirements. For more information, see Chapter 20, Improving Audio Performance.

To Choose MIDI Devices

1. Choose Options-MIDI Devices to display the MIDI Devices dialog box.
2. Click on any MIDI device in the Outputs list.
3. To move any device to the top of the list, deselect all other devices and click Move to Top to move
the selected device to the top of the list.
4. When all devices are selected in the order you want, click OK.

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Assigning Tracks to Outputs
You assign each track to a MIDI or an audio output using the Output dropdown in the Track view. From
then on, material on that track will be sent to the appropriate output device.

Note:
If you rearrange your MIDI output devices after making output assignments,
you may find MIDI information being sent to different instruments than you
expect. Also, SONAR allows you to define instruments that are associated
with certain outputs and channels. If you use this feature, the name of the
output will change to reflect the instrument you have chosen. For more
information about instrument definitions, see Chapter 16, Using Instrument
Definitions.

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To Assign a Track to an Output
1. Click the Output dropdown of the track you want to assign.
2. Select the output you want to use.
To change the output setting for more than one track at a time, select the tracks you want to change and
choose Track-Property-Output.

Choosing the Instrument Sound (Bank and Patch)

Electronic keyboards and synthesizers often contain hundreds or thousands of different sounds. Each
sound is known as a patch. The name comes from the early days of synthesizers, for which you
physically rewired (using patch cords) the oscillators and modulators to produce different sounds.
Patches are normally organized into groups of 128, called banks. Most instruments have between 1 and
8 banks, but MIDI supports up to 16,384 banks of 128 patches each (thats over 2 million patches).
The bank and patch settings in the Track view control the initial bank and patch of a track during
playback. Every time SONAR starts playback at the beginning of a project, the bank and patch settings
for the track are set to these initial values.
Many instruments have descriptive names for their banks and patches. SONAR stores these names in
an instrument definition. For more information about instrument definitions, see Chapter 16, Using
Instrument Definitions. If you are using an instrument that supports General MIDI, your patch list will
contain the 128 sounds that are defined by the General MIDI specification.

Note to Experts:
Different MIDI instruments use different types of commands to change banks.
SONAR supports four common methods for changing banks. For information
about the bank selection method you should use with your MIDI gear, see your
MIDI equipments documentation.

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Tip:
If your bank name is too long to fit in the bank field, hold your cursor over the
bank name. A tooltip appears with the complete bank name.

Note that a single MIDI channel can only play one patch at a time on each instrument assigned to that
channel. Therefore, if two or more MIDI tracks are set to the same output and channel but have
different bank and patch settings, the patch of the highest-numbered track will be used for all the
tracks.
In some projects you want the sound played by a track to change while playback is in progress. You can
accomplish this using the Insert-Bank/Patch Change command. When you start playback in the
middle of a project, SONAR searches back through the track to find the correct patch to useeither the
initial bank and patch or the most recent bank/patch change. Note that the Track view only shows the
initial bank and patch, even while a different bank and patch are being played back. The only way to
see and edit a bank/patch change is in the Event List view. For more information, see The Event List
View on page 289.

To Assign an Initial Bank and Patch to a Track

1. Right-click on the Track titlebar (the top of the track which contains the track name) and select
Track Properties.
The Track Properties dialog box appears.
2. In the Track Properties dialog box, choose the desired bank and patch from the dropdown lists.
3. To search for a patch containing specific text, click the Patch Browser button to the right of the
dropdown lists. You can also open the Patch Browser by right-clicking a bank or patch control in
the Track or Console views.
4. Click OK.

Another Way to Assign a Patch to a Track

1. Select the patch you want from the Patch dropdown.
To change the bank and patch settings for more than one track at a time, select the tracks you want to
change and choose Track-Property-Bank or Track-Property-Patch.

To Insert a Bank/Patch Change

1. Highlight the track whose bank and patch you want to change by clicking on the track number.
2. Set the Now time to the time at which you want the change to occur.
3. Choose Insert-Bank/Patch Change to display the Bank/Patch Change dialog box.
4. Choose a bank and patch from the lists.
5. Click OK.
SONAR inserts a change in bank and patch. When you play back the project, the initial bank and patch
shown in the Track view will be used to the point at which the bank/patch change takes place. You can
remove a bank/patch change in the Event List view.

To Choose Patches with the Patch Browser

1. In the Track view or Console view, right-click the patch name in the track module you want to
change patches in.

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 The Patch browser dialog box appears, displaying a list of all the Instrument patch names that
have been installed.
2. Search for a patch name, if desired, by filling in text in the search field at the top of the dialog box.
3. When you find the right patch, click its name and click OK.
SONAR changes the patch of the track you selected.

Adding Effects
You can add both MIDI and audio effects directly from the Track view. SONAR adds these effects in
real-time, preserving your tracks original data.

To Add an Audio Effect in the Track Pane

In an audio track, right-click in the FX field, choose Audio Effects-Cakewalk, and select an effect
from the menu that appears.

Adjusting Volume and Pan

The Volume and Pan settings control the initial volume and pan of a track during playback. Every time

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SONAR starts playback, the Volume and Pan settings for the track are set to these initial levels.
SONAR allows you to choose different panning laws if you want (seeConfigurable Panning Laws on
page 128).
In some projects you want the volume or panning of a track to change while playback is in progress. You
can accomplish this by drawing a volume or pan envelope in the Track view, or by recording automation.
For more information, see Chapter 13, Automation, Chapter 11, Mixing and Effects Patching, and
Chapter 7, Editing MIDI Events and Controllers.

Note to Experts:
SONAR processes the volume and pan settings by transmitting MIDI volume
and pan events (controllers 7 and 10, respectively) when playback starts. If
two or more MIDI tracks are set to the same output and channel but have
different volume or pan settings, the settings for the highest-numbered track
will prevail.
Note also that not all keyboards and synthesizers respond to these events.
Check your instruments manual for more information.

To Set the Initial Volume Setting

1. Move your cursor to the Volume control of the track you want to change.
2. Click and drag to the left to lower the volume or the right to raise the volume.
You can also change the volume settings in a variety of other ways, as described on page 122. To change
the volume settings for more than one track at a time, select the tracks you want to change and choose
Track-Property-Volume.

To Set the Initial Pan Setting

1. Move your cursor to the Pan control of the track you want to change.
2. Click and drag to the left to adjust the pan to the left or to the right to adjust the pan to the right.

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Hard left is 100% left. Hard right is 100% right. Pan is centered at C.
You can also change the pan and volume settings in a variety of other ways, as described on page 122.
To change the pan settings for more than one track at a time, select the tracks you want to change and
choose Track-Property-Pan.

Configurable Panning Laws

You can choose from six different panning laws, if you want. A panning law is the mathematical formula
that a sequencer or mixer uses to control panning.

To Change Panning Laws

1. Use the Options-Audio command to open the Audio Options dialog.
2. On the General tab, in the Stereo Panning Law field, choose one of these options:
(Default) 0 dB center, sin/cos taper, constant powerthis choice causes a 3 dB boost in a
signal thats panned hard left or right, and no dip in output level in either channel when the
signal is center panned.
-3dB center, sin/cos taper, constant powerthis choice causes no boost in a signal thats
panned hard left or right, and 3dB dip in output level in either channel when the signal is
center panned.
0dB center, square-root taper, constant powerthis choice causes a 3 dB boost in a signal
thats panned hard left or right, and no dip in output level in either channel when the signal is
center panned.
-3dB center, square root taper, constant powerthis choice causes no boost in a signal thats
panned hard left or right, and 3dB dip in output level in either channel when the signal is
center panned.
-6dB center, linear taperthis choice causes no boost in a signal thats panned hard left or
right, and 6dB dip in output level in either channel when the signal is center panned.
0 dB center, balance controlthis choice causes no boost in a signal thats panned hard left
or right, and no dip in output level in either channel when the signal is center panned.
3. Click OK.

Adjusting Volume Trim

Volume Trim acts like the trim control on a mixer, raising or lower the level prior to the volume fader.
Volume Trim is useful for calibrating your faders to match a dB reference level or for aligning your
faders for grouping. The Volume Trim control has a range of -18dB to +18dB. Raising or lowering the
Volume Trim raises or lowers the apparent volume of the track by that amount without affecting the
actual fader level.

To Set the Volume Trim Level

1. Move your cursor to the Volume Trim control of the track you want to change.
2. Click and drag to the left to lower Volume Trim level or to the right to raise Volume Trim level.

Assigning a MIDI Channel (Chn)

MIDI transmits information on 16 channels, numbered 1 through 16. Every MIDI event is assigned to a
particular channel. Some MIDI equipment can accept MIDI information on only a single channel. This
channel may be preassigned, or you may be able to change it. Other MIDI equipment, including many
electronic keyboards and synthesizers, can accept information on several different MIDI channels at
once. Usually, these devices use a different instrument sound for each channel.

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On playback, the channel number is used to direct the MIDI information to a particular piece of
equipment.
The Chn parameter in the Track view redirects all events in the track to the specified channel, ignoring
the channel number stored with each event. If this parameter is left blank, all events in the track are
sent to their original channels.
This parameter does not affect the channel information that is stored with each MIDI event. When the
track is displayed in other views, like the Piano Roll or Event List view, you will see the original channel
that is stored in the file. You can edit the channel values in those views or use the Process-Interpolate
command.

To Set the Channel for a Track

1. In the track you want to change, click on the black arrow to the right of the Chn field and select the
channel you want to use.
To change the channel assignment for more than one track at a time, select the tracks you want to
change and choose Track-Property-Channel.

Adjusting the Key/Transposing a Track (Key+)

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Each MIDI note event has a key number, or pitch. On playback, the key offset (Key+) parameter
transposes all notes in the track by the designated number of half-steps. The value can range from -127
to +127. A value of 12 indicates that notes will be played back one octave higher than they are written.
This parameter does not affect the note number that is stored for each note event. When the clip is
displayed in other views, like the Piano Roll, Staff, or Event List view, you will see the original notes as
they are stored in the file. To permanently change the pitches, you can edit them individually or use the
Process-Transpose command.
If the key offset value transposes the key number (MIDI note) outside the allowable MIDI range (0
127), the key number will be transposed to the lowest or highest octave within that range.
You can use the Key+ parameter to assist in preparing scores for instruments whose music is written in
something other than concert key (such as Bb trumpet). For more information, see Music Notation for
Non-concert-key Instruments on page 498.
When you edit the Key+ parameter, pressing [ or ] changes the value by 12 instead of by 10. This makes
it easy to transpose by octaves.

To Set the Key Offset for a Track

1. In the track you want to change, click on the Key+ control.
2. Enter a value (1 = a semitone), or press the + or key to change the key by a single semitone. Use
the [ or ] key to change the key by 12 semitones (one octave).
To change the key offset for more than one track at a time, select the tracks you want to change and
choose Track-Property-Key+.

Adjusting the Note Velocity (Vel+)

Each MIDI note event has a velocity, which represents how fast the key was struck when the track was
recorded. On playback, the velocity offset parameter adjusts the velocity data for all notes in the track
by the designated amount. The value can range from -127 to +127. The effect of changing velocities
depends on the synthesizer. Some synthesizers do not respond to velocity information. For others, the
effect varies depending on the sound or patch you have chosen. Normally, higher velocities result in
louder and/or brighter-sounding notes.
This parameter does not affect the velocity that is stored for each note event. When the clip is displayed
in other views, like the Piano Roll view, Staff view, or Event List view, you will see the original velocities

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as they are stored in the file. You can edit the velocity values in those views, or use the Process-Scale
Velocity or Process-Interpolate command.
Velocity is different from volume in that it is an attribute of each event, rather than a controller that
affects an entire MIDI channel. Heres an example of where this distinction might be important.
Suppose you have several tracks containing different drum parts. All of these parts would probably be
assigned to MIDI channel 10 (thats the default channel for percussion in General MIDI). If you change
the volume setting for any track that uses channel 10, all the different drum partsregardless of what
track theyre inwould be affected. If you change the note velocity for one drum track, it will be the
only one whose volume is affected.

To Set the Velocity Offset for a Track

In the track you want to change, click and drag the Vel+ control to the desired setting.
To change the velocity offset for more than one track at a time, select the tracks you want to change and
choose Track-Property-Vel+.

Adjusting the Time Alignment of a MIDI Track (Time+)

Each event takes place at a known point in the project. On playback, the time offset (Time+)
parameter adjusts the times for MIDI events in the track by the designated amount. The value can be
as small as a single clock tick or as large as you want.
This parameter can be used to make a part play behind the beat or in front of it or to compensate for
tracks that sound rushed or late. The time shift can be used to create a chorus or slap-back echo effect
by making a copy of a track and then applying a small offset to the copy. You can use larger time offsets
to shift a track earlier or later by several beats or measures.
Note that you cannot shift any event earlier than 1:01:000. For example, if the first event in the track
starts at 2:01:000, you cannot shift its start time earlier by more than one measure.
This parameter does not affect the time that is stored for each note event. When the clip is displayed in
other views, like the Piano Roll, Staff, or Event List view, you will see the original times as they are
stored in the file.

To Set the Time Offset for a Track

1. In the track you want to change, click on the Time+ control.
2. Enter a value, or press the + or key until you reach the value you want.
To change the time offset for more than one track at a time, select the tracks you want to change and
choose Track-Property-Time+.

Other MIDI Playback Settings

Two other MIDI settings can affect what happens when you play back your project, as described in the
following table:

Option How it works

Zero Controllers When Play If this option is enabled, SONAR zeroes (resets) the pitch wheel, the
Stops pedal Controller, and the modulation wheel Controller on all 16 MIDI
channels whenever playback is stopped. It also sends a Zero All
Continuous Controllers MIDI message, which turns off other continuous
Controllers on newer synthesizers. If you experience frequent stuck notes
when playback stops, try checking this option.

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 Patch/Controller Searchback If this option is enabled, SONAR searches for and sends the most recent
Before Play Starts patch change, wheel, and pedal events on each output and MIDI channel
before starting playback. This ensures that all these settings are correct,
even if you start playback at an arbitrary point in your project.

To set these options, choose Options-Project and click the MIDI Out tab. If you have set up a playback
loop, enabling either of these options can cause an audible delay when the loop is restarted.

Controlling Live MIDI PlaybackMIDI Echo

When you play your MIDI keyboard or controller, the sound that SONAR produces is determined by
what hardware or software synth SONAR sends the incoming MIDI data to after SONAR receives the
data. This is called MIDI echo. By default, SONAR sends the data to the MIDI output or software synth
listed in the Output field of the current track. The current track is the one whose titlebar has the golden
colorpress the up and down arrows on your computer keyboard and watch each track turn golden in
succession as you change different tracks into the current track (you can also click any of a tracks

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controls to make it current).
However, you can echo MIDI data to much more than just the current track, or turn echoing off on the
current track if you want. With a single keyboard or controller, you can echo MIDI data to as many
MIDI tracks as you want, meaning that you can simultaneously play as many hardware and software
synths as you can hook up to your MIDI interface or run on your computer. You can also have multiple
performers on different controllers sending MIDI data to either the same synth or multiple synths.
Each SONAR track allows you to select what MIDI input ports and channels the track will respond to.
The Output field of the track determines what instrument will sound when the track receives the data.
Each tracks Input Echo button determines whether the track echoes MIDI data.

The Input Echo Button

Each MIDI track has an Input Echo button, which controls whether the track will echo MIDI data or
not. The button has three states: on , dimmed , and off . When the button is on, the track
echoes MIDI data. When the button is dimmed, the track echoes MIDI data because the track is the
current track. When the button is off, the track does not echo any data, even if it is the current track.
The off position on a current MIDI track is only available if you disable the Always Echo Current MIDI
Track option in the General tab of the Global Options dialog (Options-Global command). The dimmed
position becomes unavailable with this setting.
There are several ways to turn Input Echoing on:
Click a tracks Input Echo button so that it is on.
Click a track to make the track the current track (if the Always Echo Current MIDI Track option
on the General tab of the Global Options dialog is enabled). In this situation (which is the default),
if the tracks Input Echo button is not on, it appears dimmed, to show that this track echoes data
because it is the current track.
If the Always Echo Current MIDI Track option on the General tab of the Global Options dialog is
disabled, make a track the current track, and use the Track-Input Monitor/Echo command (or
click the tracks Input Echo button).

Storing Favorite Configurations

If you want a track to respond to more than one port or channel, you must create a preset input
configuration. If you create some favorite configurations of MIDI input options, not only will they be
stored with the project you created them in, but you can save each one as a preset to load in any MIDI
track in any project you want. Clicking the dropdown arrow in a tracks Input field displays the Inputs

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dropdown menu, which has the Manage Presets choice that allows you to create and store your
favorite combinations of MIDI input choices.

To Play One Synth at a Time from One or More MIDI Keyboards

Since this is SONARs default behavior, simply use the Up or Down arrow keys on your computer
keyboard to choose the current track (the current track has a gold titlebar), and choose the synth
you want to play by using the tracks Output, Bank, Patch, and Channel fields. With the default
behavior, all MIDI input from all ports and channels is merged and sent through the current track.
Notice that the tracks Input field says Omni.
If youve disabled the default behavior (see next procedure), you must make sure that the current
tracks Input Echo button is lit up (on) before you can play the synth that the track is patched to.

To Disable the Default MIDI Echo Setting

If you want to turn off the automatic MIDI echoing of the current track, disable the Always Echo
Current MIDI Track option in the General tab of the Global Options dialog (Options-Global
command). If you then turn off the current tracks Input Echo button and play your keyboard,
SONAR will not produce sound.

To Play Multiple Synths from a MIDI Keyboard

1. Choose a synth for each track that you want to play by using each tracks Output, Channel, Bank,
and Patch fields.
2. In the Input field of each track that you want to play, click the dropdown arrow and choose the
MIDI input port and channel that you want the track to respond to from the following options:
Nonethis option actually sets the Input field to Omni: with this setting the track will
respond to any MIDI input coming in on any port (MIDI interface input driver) on any
channel.
(name of MIDI input driver)-MIDI Omnichoosing this option causes the track to respond
to any MIDI channel coming from the named MIDI interface input driver.
(name of MIDI input driver)-MIDI ch 1-16choosing this option causes the track to
respond ONLY to whatever MIDI channel you choose coming from the named MIDI interface
input driver.
Presetif youve created any preset collections of input ports and channels, you can select
one here.
Manage Presetsif you want to create or edit any preset collections of input ports and
channels, you can select this option (see following procedure).
3. Make sure that the Input Echo button on each track that you want to play is turned on.

To Create or Edit a Preset Input Configuration

1. In the Input field of a track that you want to select inputs for, click the dropdown arrow and choose
Manage Presets from the dropdown menu.
The MIDI Input Presets dialog appears.
2. In the Input Port column, find the input port that you want to use for this track (if you only use a
single-port MIDI interface, youll only see one choice).
3. To the right of the input port, select the MIDI channels that you want this track to respond to on
this MIDI port.
4. Select channels for any other MIDI port thats listed, if you want to use channels on that port also.
5. If you want to save this configuration, type a name for it in the window at the top of the dialog, and
click the disk icon to save it.

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 Now, when you choose inputs for other tracks, you can choose the preset you saved by clicking the
Presets option in the tracks Input dropdown menu. If you want to edit a preset, select it in the top
window of the MIDI Input Presets dialog, edit it, and click the disk icon. If you want to delete a preset,
select it in the same dialog and click the X button to delete it.

To Use Multiple Performers on Multiple Tracks

1. For performer number 1, click the Input dropdown menu(s) of the track(s) you want that performer
to play, and choose the port and MIDI channel that performer 1s keyboard is sending data to
SONAR on.
2. Repeat step 1 for all other performers.
3. If there is any track that you want more than one performer to play, create a preset of the input
ports and channels that you want that track to respond to (see previous procedure).
4. Make sure the Input Echo button is on for each track you want to play.

To Turn MIDI Echo (and Input Monitoring) On or Off for All Tracks
In the Playback State toolbar (to display, use the View-Toolbars-Playback State command), click
the Input Monitor button (last one on the right).

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Local Control
You should normally disable the Local Control setting on your master keyboard to prevent notes from
being doubled when you play your keyboard. If you disable Local Control, your keyboard sends notes
that you play to SONAR, which echoes them to the synthesizer, which plays them only once.
When SONAR starts, you can have it send a special MIDI message that attempts to disable Local
Control automatically. Most modern synthesizers respond to this message. If yours does not, you will
need to disable Local Control every time you turn it on for use with SONAR.
If your synthesizer does not let you disable Local Control (this is rare), you can use the Local On Port
setting in the Input tab of the Project Options dialog box to indicate the number of the output port
connected to your synthesizer. SONAR will then refrain from sending MIDI echo data to that port. In
this configuration, you may need to turn your synthesizers volume control up and down from time to
time to avoid hearing it play along with your other modules. If this situation doesnt apply to you, the
Local On Port should be set to 0.

To Automatically Disable All Local Control Whenever You Launch SONAR

1. In the directory where SONAR is installed, double-click on the TTSEQ.INI file to open it.
2. In the Options section, add the line:
SendLocalOff=1
3. Save the file and close it.
4. When you launch SONAR, it automatically sends a Local Off message to your keyboard.
Note: Not all keyboards respond to this message.

Playing Files in Batch Mode

SONAR allows you to play several files in sequence automatically using the Play List view. You can use
this feature in live performance applications or just for fun.

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SONARs Play List view lets you create and work with a series of project, MIDI, and bundle files. As
each file plays, SONAR loads it and displays it in the Track view and other views like any other project
file.

The Play List View

The Play List view lets you create, edit, and save a play list (or set) of up to 999 SONAR projects. Once
youve created the list, you can play back the entire sequence automatically. You can even program the
list to pause between songs for a fixed amount of time or to wait for a keystroke before proceeding.
The Play List view looks like this:

Switch to the next song Repeat the list

Add a song Set a delay

Drop a song

Enable the play list Display full

path

List of songs

Play lists can be saved for future use. Play list files have the extension .SET.

To Create and Edit a Play List

To create and edit a play list in the Play List view, follow the instructions in the table:

To do this Do this

Open an existing play list Choose File-Open, choose Play List from the
Files of Type list, choose the file you want
and click Open

Create a new play list Choose File-New, choose Play List Set from
the list, and click OK

Add songs to the play list Click or press Insert, choose a file from
the Add Song to Play List dialog box, and
click Open

Set the delay after a song Click on the song in the play list, click ,
enter the delay you want, and click OK

Change the order of songs Drag the file to a new location in the play list

Copy a song to another location in Ctrl-drag the file to a new location in the play
the play list list

Remove a song from the play list Select the song and click or press the
Delete key

Save the play list Choose File-Save; or choose File-Save As,

enter a file name, and click Save

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 To Play Files from the Play List View
To play back files from the Play List view, follow the instructions in the table.

To do this Do this

Activate the play list Click in the Play List view toolbar so that the
button is pressed. If this button is not pressed, only a
single file will play when you start playback.

Choose the starting song Double-click the file you want to start with. The project
is opened and displayed as usual.

Start playback Click , choose Transport-Play, or press the

Spacebar.

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Stop playback Choose Transport-Stop, or press the Spacebar.

Skip to the next file Click in the Play List view toolbar.

Loop continuously over the play Click the button in the Play List view toolbar.
list

Show or hide file name Click the button to enable or disable the display of
extensions and folder names folders.
(path)

Video Playback, Import, and Export

Video files play in the Video view in real time as your project plays. You can also view your video on an
external DV device connected to an IEEE 1394 port (FireWire).
The File-Import-Video command lets you include the following video file types in your project:
AVI (also called Video for Windows)
MPEG
Windows Media Video
QuickTime (.MOV files only)
Note: some .MOV and .AVI files contain no video. You cant import these files with the File-Import-
Video command. You must use the File-Import-Audio command instead, and set the Files of Type
field to All Files.
The File-Export-Video command lets you export your audio tracks and your imported video as the
following file types:
AVI (also called Video for Windows)
Windows Media Video
QuickTime

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SONAR Producer also has a Video Thumbnails pane at the top of the Track view, which shows
individual frames of your video at different places in your project (See below for more information).
You open the Video view by using the View-Video command. The Video view displays the Now time (as
in the Big Time view) and the video itself. The display in the Video view is synchronized with the Now
time, giving you convenient random access to the video stream. This makes it easy to align music and
digitized sound to the video.
Commands in the Video views right-click popup menu let you set the time display format, the size and
stretch options for the video display, the video start and trim times, and other options.

Inserting and Playing Back Videos

Here are step-by-step procedures for inserting and playing back videos:

To Load a Video File Into a Project

1. Choose File-Import-Video, or choose Insert from the Video views popup menu.
The Import Video dialog appears.
2. In the Files of Type field, select the kind of video file youre looking for.
3. Select a file.
4. Check the Show File Info option to display information about the file in the File Info section of the
dialog.
5. Check the Import Audio Stream option if you want to load the files audio data.
6. Check the Import As Mono Tracks option if you want to import the files audio data as one or more
mono tracks.
7. Click Open.
SONAR loads the video file and displays it in the Video view. If you choose to import audio data,
SONAR inserts a new track above the currently selected track, and puts the audio data in a clip or clips
on the new track.
Note 1: when you save a project that contains video, SONAR saves the projects video file by reference
only; the actual video data remains in the original file. Video data is not saved in bundle files, so it must
be backed up on its own.
Note 2: after you load a video file into a project, you can play it back either in the Video view, or on an
external DV device through a FireWire port. See Video Playback on a FireWire DV Device on page 141
for more information.

To Play a Video File in the Video View

1. Open the Video view by choosing View-Video.
2. Press the Spacebar to play or stop video playback.
3. To change the display size of the video, right-click in the Video view and choose Stretch Options-
[desired size] from the popup menu.
Note: When you play a video file that has high temporal compression, such as movies optimized for web
delivery, playback may not be smooth unless you disable video thumbnails (found in SONAR Producer
only), (see Using the Video Thumbnails Pane on page 139 for more information).

To Delete the Video From the Project

1. Open the Video view by choosing View-Video.
2. Right-click in the Video view and choose Delete.
SONAR removes the video from the project. Note that imported audio data is not deleted.

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To Enable or Disable Video Playback
1. Open the Video view by choosing View-Video.
2. Right-click in the Video view and choose Animate.
If your computer is not fast enough to play back video efficiently, you can get better performance by
temporarily disabling video animation during playback.

To Set the Time Display Format

Click the time display to cycle between MBT, SMPTE, Frames and None
Or
Right-click in the Video view and choose an option from the Time Display Format menu:

To do this Do this

Select a time format Choose MBT, SMPTE, Frames or None

Change font or font color Choose Font and select new font characteristics

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Turn off the time display Choose None

To Adjust the SMPTE Time

1. Move the Now time to the place where you want SMPTE time to be either 00:00:00:00, or a number
you can enter.
2. Use the Transport-Set Timecode At Now command to open the Set Timecode At Now TIme
dialog.
3. If you want to set SMPTE time to 00:00:00:00 (the dialogs default value) at the current Now time,
click OK to close the dialog. If you want to set SMPTE time to some other value at the current Now
time, type that value into the SMPTE/MTC Time field, and click OK to close the dialog.

To Choose a Frame Rate

1. Use the Options-Project command to open the Project Options dialog.
2. On the Clock tab, under Timecode Format, choose the frame rate you want from the six choices,
and then click OK (for more information, see SMPTE/MIDI Time Code SynchronizationSMPTE/
MIDI Time Code Synchronization on page 532).

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To Set the Video Display Format
Right-click in the Video view and choose an option from the Stretch Options menu:

To do this Do this

Display the video in its original size Choose Original Size

Stretch the video to fill the Video view Choose Stretch to Window

Stretch the video as much as possible Choose Preserve Aspect Ratio

while preserving the original aspect
ratio

Make the video display as large as Choose Integral Stretch

possible, but only enlarge by integral
multiples

Display the video in full screen mode Choose Full Screen

SONAR adjusts the video display according to the selected option. The stretch option is used to
recalculate the video display size whenever you resize the Video view.

To Set the Background Color

Right-click in the Video view and choose a color option from the Background Color menu.

To Set the Start and Trim Times

1. Right-click in the Video view and choose Video Properties.

2. Set options as described in the table:

Option What it means

Start Time The time in your SONAR project at which you want the video file to
start playing

Trim-in Time The time in the video file at which you want video playback to start

Trim-out Time The time in the video file at which you want video playback to stop

SONAR synchronizes the video to the project according to the specified Start and Trim times.

Exporting Video
After youve mixed your audio tracks the way you want them, you can export the inserted video file
together with your audio tracks to create a new video file.
When you export a video, any changes youve made to the Start, Trim-In, or Trim-Out times determine
how long your new exported video is compared to the original video that you inserted into your SONAR
project.
Note: if youre exporting an AVI file, the No Compression option in the Video Codec field of the AVI
Encoder Options dialog is a good choice. This choice does not change or compress your source video
material. If you want your exported AVI file to be compressed, the Cinepak option will create an AVI
file that plays back smoothly with decent quality. The MJPEG option will create an AVI file that does
not play back as smoothly, but is a high quality format to archive a file in.

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To Export a Video
1. Make sure your audio tracks are completely mixed, and your video Start time, Trim-In time, and
Trim-Out time are set the way you want them.
2. Use the File-Export Video command.
The Export Video dialog appears.
3. In the File Name field, type a name for your new video.
4. In the Files of Type field, choose the kind of video file you want the exported file to be.
5. Click the Encoding Options button to open a dialog of encoding options for the kind of file youre
creating. Some codecs do not work: click the Help button in the dialog for help choosing options.
Note: if youre exporting an AVI file to either a 24-bit audio format or to a multi-channel (surround
sound) format, set the Audio Codec in the AVI Encoding Options dialog to No Compression.
6. Click the Audio Mixdown Options button to open a dialog of audio mixdown options. Click the Help
button in the dialog for help choosing options.
7. Click Save to export your video.

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Optimizing Video Performance
Here are a few tips to optimize video performance:
Viewing your video in on an external DV device will significantly decrease the processor load on
your computer if the video stream is a DV AVI file. See Video Playback on a FireWire DV Device
on page 141 for more information.
If you intend to do a lot of seeking around or looping and editing while a video file is loaded, make
sure that your video file has sufficient keyframes. Since each frame has to be computed from the
last keyframe encountered, if you have very few keyframes in the video, performance may be slow.
To change the number of keyframes, you may recompress the file using the File-Export Video
command and specify more frequent keyframes. Choose a suitable video compressor such as
Cinepak and change the KeyFrame Rate parameter to a number between 1-5. A value of 1 makes
every frame a keyframe, and higher numbers insert a keyframe after that many frames.
Changing the video properties of an AVI file, such as Trim and Start time, can make realtime
performance slightly slower. You can make these changes permanent (and thereby reduce the load
on your CPU) by using the File-Export Video command, and then re-importing the file.
Playing videos at a resolution (video size) of 320x240 is usually a high enough resolution to
monitor the video while youre composing a soundtrack. You can still choose to stretch the video to
full screen at this resolution. You set the video size on the Render Quality tab of the Video
Properties dialog. Using a higher resolution can bog down your computer if youre processing audio
tracks at the same time.

Using the Video Thumbnails Pane

At the top of the Track view in SONAR Producer is the Video Thumbnails pane, which displays
individual frames of your video at certain time intervals of your project. The time interval between
displayed frames is determined by the zoom level you choose. If you zoom in far enough, you can view
each individual frame of your video.
Note 1: if youre playing back a highly compressed movie (not many keyframes in the file), it can take
about a minute to redraw video thumbnails when youre playing the movie or resizing a window.
Note 2: some Windows Media videos do not report their frame rate to SONAR. SONAR can play these
files, but cannot create thumbnails from them, so no thumbnails appear in the thumbnail pane.

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Video Thumbnails pane

Show/hide
video pane Show/hide frame numbers Show/hide thumbnails button
button button

Splitter bar

Video track strip

Frame number

Here are the various commands and functions of the Video Thumbnails pane:
You can show or hide the pane.
You can show or hide the video thumbnails.
You can display absolute frame numbers.
You can resize the thumbnails while preserving the aspect ratio by dragging the splitter bar.
The video track strip at the top of the Track pane has display fields for Video File Name, Start
Time, Trim-In Time, Trim-Out Time, Duration, and Current Frame, as well as a toggle buttons to
show/hide the thumbnails (without hiding the Video Thumbnails pane), and to show/hide frame
numbers on individual frames. You can edit the Start Time, Trim-in Time, and Trim-Out time
fields.
SONAR saves the size and state of the Video Thumbnails pane on a per/project basis.
The Video Thumbnails pane zooms horizontally when you use the standard Track view commands
for horizontal zooming. You control the height of the Video Thumbnails pane by dragging the
splitter bar up or down thats at the bottom of the Video Thumbnails pane.
For step-by-step instructions, see the following procedures:

To Hide or Show the Video Thumbnails Pane

Drag the splitter bar that separates the Video Thumbnails pane from the Clips pane.
Or
Use the View-Video Thumbnails menu command.
Or
Click the Show/Hide Video button in the Track view toolbar.

To Turn Video Thumbnails On or Off

1. Right-click the Video Thumbnails pane or the Video Thumbnails track strip.
2. Choose Show/Hide Thumbnails from the popup menu that appears.
Or
Click the Show/Hide Thumbnails button in the Track view toolbar.

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To Hide or Show Frame Numbers on Frames
In the video track strip, click the Show/Hide Frame Numbers button .

To Open the Video Properties Dialog

Double-click the video track strip.

To Open the Video View

Double-click the Video Thumbnails pane.

To Move the Now Time to a Thumbnail

Click the thumbnail.

To Change the Start Time

In the video track strip, click the Start field, type a new number in Measure/Beat/Tick format, and
press Enter. The start time is the time in your SONAR project at which your video starts to play.

To Change the Trim-In Time

In the video track strip, click the Trim-In field, type a new number in SMPTE format, and press
Enter (you can press the Spacebar instead of typing colons, if you want, and you can type single
zeros instead of double zeros). The trim-in time is the time in your video file at which you want to

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start video playback.

To Change the Trim-Out Time

In the video track strip, click the Trim-Out field, type a new number in SMPTE format, and press
Enter (you can press the Spacebar instead of typing colons, if you want, and you can type single
zeros instead of double zeros). The trim-out time is the time in your video file at which you want to
stop video playback.

To Use the Video Thumbnails Context Menu

1. Right-click the Video Thumbnails pane or the Video Thumbnails track strip.
2. Choose any of these options from the popup menu that appears:
Show/Hide Thumbnails
Display Absolute Frames
Open Video View
Insert Video
Delete Video
Export Video
Video Properties

Video Playback on a FireWire DV Device

You can view your video projects on an external FireWire DV device.
Note: this feature will decrease the processor load to your computer if the video stream is a DV AVI file.
If the stream is not DV AVI, the CPU load will significantly increase, compared to playing back
onscreen with SONARs Video view.

To Convert a Video Project to DV AVI Format

1. Use the File-Export Video command.
The Export Video dialog appears.
2. In the File Name field, type a name for your new video.
3. In the Save as Type field, choose Video for Windows.

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Click the Encoding Options button to open the AVI Encoder options dialog, and choose DV Video
Encoder in the Video Codec field. Click OK.
5. Click the Audio Mixdown Options button to open a dialog of audio mixdown options. Choose the
audio options you want, but remember that if you plan to save the project to DV tape, choose the
following audio format:
Channel Formatchoose Stereo.
Sample Ratechoose 48000.
Bit Depthchoose 16.
6. Click Save to export your video.
Once you save the video file, it can be re-inserted into a project (see Inserting and Playing Back Videos
on page 136). If the project will ultimately be exported to tape, that project will need to have an audio
sample rate of 48 KHz playing back at 16 bits.

To Play Video on an External DV Device

1. Connect your external FireWire device. Make sure Windows recognizes the device, and displays
the devices icon on the Windows taskbar.
2. Launch SONAR and open your video project.
3. In SONARs video view (View-Video command), right-click the Video view and choose External
DV Output-[name of external DV device] from the popup menu.
4. Play your SONAR project.
The video disappears from the Video view and appears on your external monitor or camcorder.
Leave the Video view open so that you can move the Now Time frame-by-frame with the Video
view keyboard shortcuts.
If the Video view is the active window, you can use keyboard shortcuts to advance by a frame or a frame
increment. The +/-, and left/right arrow keys move forward/backwards by a single frame. If you hold
down the Ctrl key, then the frame increment value is used (default = 5 frames). You can also use the [
and ] keys to seek by the frame increment.

Exporting a Project to a FireWire DV Device

Once your project sounds the way you want it to, you can export the video and audio together to an
external FireWire DV device. This is called printing to tape, if your external device uses tape.

To Export a Project to an External DV Device

1. Use the File-Export-Video command to open the Export Video dialog.
2. In the Save as Type field, choose AVC Compliant Device. You might see a different name in the
dropdown menu, depending on what type of external device you are using.
3. Click the Audio Mixdown Options button to open the Audio Mixdown Options dialog.
4. In the Audio Mixdown Options dialog, choose the following options, and then click OK:
Channel Formatchoose Stereo.
Sample Ratechoose 48000.
Bit Depthchoose 16.
5. In the Export Video dialog, click the Encoding Options button to open the property page of your
external device.
6. In the property page, use the transport controls to position the tape in your external device to a
blank area for recording.

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 7. Close the property page, and click the Save button in the Export Video dialog to start exporting. If
youre printing to a device that uses tape, the tape stops rolling when the export process is
finished.

Synchronizing External Video Playback to Audio

Because there is more latency in FireWire video playback than in PC digital audio playback, video
playback on an external device will probably be playing back later than the audio tracks in SONAR.

To Sync External Video to Audio

1. Right-click the Video view and choose Video Properties from the popup menu to open the Video
Properties dialog.
2. On the Render Quality tab of the dialog, under External DV Output, enter an offset number in the
Video Sync Offset field. The number you enter here causes the Video to start playing sooner than
the audio. Its helpful if your video has some pre-roll footage that contains a visual sync point.
Note: the offset is accurate to 3 decimal places, e.g. 1 ms (a thousandth of a second). One frame of
video is approximately 33 ms long for NTSC and 40 ms for PAL; the offset will typically be less
than 1 second.

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3. Click OK to close the dialog. Play your video, and readjust the Video Sync Offset number as
needed.

Locating Missing Audio

If you try to open a project and SONAR is unable to locate all the audio files that the project references,
the Find Missing Audio dialog appears. The Find Missing Audio dialog helps you find any missing audio
in your project.

The Find Missing Audio File Dialog

Use the Locate Missing Audio File dialog to find missing audio in your project. The following is a brief
description of the options you have in this dialog:
OpenClick this button once you have searched for and found the missing audio file.
SkipClick this button to move to the next missing file. When you skip and audio file your project
opens without that piece of missing audio.
Skip AllClick this button to skip all missing audio files. When you skip all missing audio files,
you project opens without those pieces of missing audio
SearchClick this button to begin a search of all available hard drives for your missing audio file.
After locating the file OptionsYou can choose to either move an audio file to the projects
audio data folder, copy an audio file to the projects audio data folder, or leave an audio file in its
current folder.

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Restoring Missing Audio Files
When you open a project file that references audio files which SONAR can not find, the Locate Missing
Audio dialog appears. Use the following procedure to restore the missing audio files to your project.

To Restore Missing Audio Files

1. In the Locate Missing Audio dialog, click the Search button.
The Search for Missing Audio dialog appears and SONAR begins searching all available hard
drives for the missing file or files.
2. When SONAR is finished searching, the files that it has found appear in the dialog.
3. Select the file or files that SONAR has found and click OK.
The Locate Missing Audio dialog appears.
4. Select one of the following options:
Move file to Project Audio FolderUse this option if you are sure that no other projects
are referencing this file in its present location.
Copy file to Project Audio FolderUse this option if the missing file is shared with
another project and you want to keep all of your projects audio files together.
Reference file from present locationUse this option if you want to leave the missing file
in its current location now that SONAR knows where it is.
5. Click Open.
SONAR moves, copies or references the missing file or files as you instructed.

Managing Shared and External Files

You may want to share files between projects. The files you want to share may be frequently used sound
effects or drum loops. SONAR allows you to choose whether to copy imported audio files to your projects
audio data directory or to link to them in their current (external) location.
Note: External files are defined as any file not in the projects audio data folder (or a subfolder within
the projects audio data folder).

To Configure SONAR to Always Copy Files to the Project Audio Data Folder
Use this procedure if you want to keep all of your projects audio in one folder (your projects audio data
directory).
1. Select Options-Global and click on the Audio Data tab.
2. In the All Projects section, click the Always Copy Imported Audio Files option.

To Configure SONAR to Share External Files

SONAR allows you to share external files (files not in the projects audio data directory). There are some
exceptions, however. Files that have a different sampling rate or bit depth are always copied to the
projects audio data directory. Also, if the Always Copy Imported Audio Files option in the Audio Data
tab of the Global Options dialog is checked, imported audio is always copied to your projects audio data
directory.
Do the following to ensure that you are sharing files:
1. Uncheck the Always Copy Imported Audio Files option in the Global Options dialog.
2. In the Open dialog, when importing audio, make sure the Copy Audio to Project Folder option is
unchecked.

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Recording

You can add sound or music to a SONAR project in many different ways. You can record
your own material using a MIDI-equipped instrument, use a microphone or another audio
input to record digital audio information, or import sound or music data from an existing
digital data file. With the input monitoring feature, you can hear your audio instruments

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exactly they sound in SONAR, including any plug-in effects (effects are not recorded,
however). When you record audio or MIDI tracks, SONAR displays a wave preview of your
recorded data as you record it.
You can also input new material using your computer keyboard or mouse using the Piano
Roll view, the Staff view, or the Event List view. For more information on entering music
using these views, see Chapter 15, Working with Notation and Lyrics, The Piano Roll View
on page 244, and The Event List View on page 289.

In This Chapter
Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Preparing to Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Recording Music from a MIDI Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Recording Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Confidence Recording and Waveform Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Input Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
The Audio Engine Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Loop Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Punch Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Step Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Recording Specific Ports and Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Importing Music and Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Saving Your Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
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Creating a New Project
You can add music and sound to an existing project or to a new project. Just as in any Windows
program, you open an existing project file using the File-Open command, and create a new project file
using the File-New command.
When you create a new SONAR project, there are some additional parameters you can set to make it
easier to work on your project. These include:
Meter and key signature
Metronome and tempo settings
Audio sampling rate
MIDI timing resolution

Using Per-Project Audio Folders

For ease of backing up your audio files in a project, SONAR allows you to use a separate audio folder for
each project. This feature is off by default.

To Enable Per-Project Audio

1. Select Options-Global.
The Global Options dialog appears.
2. Click the Audio Data tab.
3. In the Audio Data tab, click the Use Per-Project Audio Folders option.
4. Click OK.
Note: If you use the default project that is created when you open SONAR, you are not using per-project
audio. You must use the Copy All Audio with Project option in the Save As dialog to create a per-project
audio folder. For more information, see To Save an Existing Project Using Per-project Audio on page
543.

Creating a New Project File

When you create a new project you are asked to choose a template to use for your new file. If you have
per-project audio folders enabled (for more information, see the online help topic Using Per-Project
Audio Folders), you are also asked to specify a file name, the folder where you want to store the file, and
the folder where you want to store the files audio. You can override per-project audio by unchecking the
Store Project Audio in its Own Folder option.
SONAR includes a set of templates you can use to create a new project. These templates include
common types of ensembles, such as rock quartets, jazz trios, and classical full orchestras. When you
create a new project using one of these templates, SONAR creates a project that has MIDI settings
predefined so that one track is set up for each of the instruments in the ensemble. SONAR also includes
a template with two MIDI and two audio tracks (called the Normal template). If you are creating a new
project that will contain only audio material, use the Audio Only template. If you are creating a new
project that will contain only MIDI material, use the MIDI Only template.
You can create your own template files and use them as the basis for other new projects. For more
information, see Templates on page 461.

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To Create a New Project File
1. Choose File-New to display the New Project File dialog box.

2. If you have the per-project audio folders option enabled, enter a file name, set the folder where you

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want to store the new file, and set the folder where you want to store the new files audio.
3. Choose a template from the list.
4. Click OK.
SONAR creates the new project file and displays it with the Track view open.

Setting the Meter and Key Signatures

By default, a new SONAR project is in 4/4 time and the key of C major. You can change these settings to
any desired meter or key. These settings apply to all the tracks in a project. You cannot set different
meter or key signatures for different tracks.
The meter or key signature of a project can change at any measure boundary. To insert changes in the
meter or key signature, use the View-Meter/Key command to display the Meter/Key view, or use the
Insert-Meter/Key Change command.
If you are creating a new project that will contain only audio material (no MIDI material), you do not
need to set the meter and key signature.

Note:
Groove clips do not follow your projects key. Groove clips follow the project
pitch in the Markers toolbar and pitch markers in the Time Ruler. For more
information, see Working with Groove Clips on page 234.

The key signature controls how SONAR displays notes in the Staff view, the Event List view, and
elsewhere. The meter tells SONAR the number of beats per measure and the note value of each beat.
Common meters include:
2/4 (two beats per measure, each quarter note gets a beat)
4/4 (four beats per measure, each quarter note gets a beat)

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:
3/4 (three beats per measure, each quarter note gets a beat)
6/8 (six beats per measure, each eighth note gets a beat)
The top number of a meter, the number of beats per measure, can be from 1 through 99. The bottom
number of a meter is the value of each beat. You can pick from a list of values ranging from a whole note
to a thirty-second note.
The meter determines the following:
Where the metronome accents are placed
How the Now time is displayed
How the Staff view is drawn
How grid lines are displayed in the Piano Roll view

To Set the Meter and Key Signature

1. Display the Views toolbar by choosing View-Toolbars-Views.
2. Select Insert-Meter/Key Change.

3. Click on the View toolbar to open the Meter/Key view.

4. Select the first (and only) meter/key change in the list.

5. Click to open the Meter/Key Signature dialog box.

The Meter/Key Signature dialog appears.

6. Enter the top and bottom meter values in the Beats per Measure and Beat Value fields.
7. Choose the key signature from the Key Signature list.
8. Click OK.
You can also set the meter and key signature in the Large Transport toolbar display.

Setting the Metronome and Tempo Settings

The metronome counts off each beat in a measure, so you can hear the tempo of your project. You can
choose to have the metronome sound during recording, during playback, or both. When you start
recording, SONAR can play any number of beats or measures of metronome clicks before recording
begins. This can help you get in the groove before you start performing. These beats or measures are
called the count-in.
When you create a new project, you should set the metronome to play during the count-in and while
recording. If you are adding material to an existing project, you might only need the metronome for the
count-in.

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You can customize the metronome sound to use audio or any note on a MIDI instrument. By default,
SONAR uses a hi-hat cymbal sound from a General MIDI drum kit for the MIDI metronome, but you
can change this setting to anything you like by changing the MIDI output, MIDI channel, and duration.
You can also choose the note and velocity (volume) to use for the first beat of each measure and for all
other beats. The metronome settings are stored separately with each project, so you can use different
settings for each one.
Most metronome options can be set in the Metronome toolbar:

Accent first beat Use Audio Metronome

Metronome settings

Measures
Metronome during Use MIDI note
Count-in record

Beats Metronome during

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playback

If you dont see the Metronome toolbar, use the View-Toolbars command to open the Toolbars dialog
box, and check the Metronome checkbox. The metronome MIDI note parameters must be set in the
Metronome Settings dialog box.

Note:
If you are synchronized to an external clock source, you cannot use the count-
in feature. For more information, see Synchronizing Your Gear on page 527.

To Set the Tempo and Metronome for a New Project

1. In the Metronome toolbar, select the Metronome during Recording and Metronome during

Playback options.
2. If you want to hear a count-in before recording begins, set the count-in to 1 or more. Select Count-
in Measures or Count-in Beats .

3. Select Use Audio Metronome and/or Use MIDI Metronome .

4. Arm at least one track.

5. Press r or click to start recording. The count-in will play, and the Now time will start to
advance.
6. If necessary, stop playback and adjust the tempo using the tempo controls in the toolbar and
restart playback. Repeat until the metronome plays the tempo you want.

7. Press the Spacebar or click to stop recording.

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Press w, or click to rewind to the beginning of the piece.
Your tempo and metronome settings are now ready. When you save the project file, the metronome and
tempo settings will be saved as well.

To Change Your Metronome Settings

1. Open the Metronome Settings dialog box in one of the following ways:

Click Metronome Settings in the Metronome toolbar.

Choose Options-Project and click the Metronome tab.
2. Change the metronome settings as indicated in the following table:

To do this Do this

Enable the metronome during Check Playback

playback

Enable the metronome during Check Recording

recording

Enable the count-in Enter the number of clicks for the count-in in
the Count-in box, and select Measures or
Beats

Use the audio Check Use Audio Metronome

Use a MIDI note as the sound Check Use MIDI Note and choose the output,
channel, and other settings

3. Click OK.
Your metronome settings will be saved with the project file.

To Set the MIDI Metronome Sounds from your MIDI Instrument

1. Select a track in the Track view that is assigned to the MIDI device you want to use for the
metronome sound.

2. Click Metronome Settings in the Metronome toolbar to open the Project Options dialog box.
3. Make sure that the settings in the Output and Channel fields match those for the track in the
Track view.
4. Click on the Key box in the First Beat or the Other Beats section.
5. Play a note on your MIDI instrument. The note number is entered automatically. The velocity is
not updated.
6. Click OK.
Your metronome settings will be saved with the project file.

Setting the Audio Sampling Rate and Bit Depth

EachSONAR project has an audio sampling rate and an audio driver bit depth that indicate the level
of accuracy with which audio data are sampled and processed. The same parameters are used for all the
digital audio in a project. When you create a new project, if you do not want to use the default setting,
you must choose a sampling rate before you start recording audio.

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SONAR lets you choose from several different sampling rates: 11025 Hz, 22050 Hz, 44100 Hz, 48000
Hz, 88200 Hz, 96000 Hz, 176400Hz, and 192000 Hz. The default used by SONAR is 44100 Hz, the same
rate as audio CDs. However, you may choose a higher rate and later mixdown to 44100. You can also
enter any hardware-supported value in the Sampling Rate field. Consult your hardware documentation
for supported sampling rates.
Note: For most sound cards, all digital audio in the same song must be at the same sampling rate. Some
dedicated audio systems let you mix different sampling rates in the same song; SONAR only lets you do
this if the audio system supports it. This feature is meant primarily for sound cards that use different
Windows drivers for input and output; SONAR treats such cards as two different programs.
A higher sampling rate produces better quality sound. However, a higher sampling rate also means that
each audio clip takes up more memory and disk space and requires more intensive processing by your
computer. If you have an older computer, or a slow hard drive, you might be better off with a lower
sampling rate. For more information, see Improving Performance with Digital Audio on page 553.
By default, the audio driver bit depth of audio data is 16 bits. If your sound card supports 18, 20, 22, or
24 bit audio, you can choose to take advantage of these higher resolutions.
If you are creating a new project that will contain only MIDI material (no audio), you do not need to set

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the audio sampling rate or bit depth. If you import audio from a Wave file or another digital audio file,
the sampling rate and audio driver bit depth of the wave file are converted to your default setting, if
necessary.

Note:
If you are planning to move your project to a Digital Audio Tape (DAT) or to
some other media via a digital transfer, set your sampling rate and bit depth
to match the target unit. For example, use 44100Hz/16 bit for a project that
will be mastered to a CD, so that no sample rate conversion is required.

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To Set the Sampling Rate and Audio Driver Bit Depth for New Projects
1. Choose Options-Audio to display the Audio Options dialog box.
2. On the General tab of the dialog, select a value in the Sampling Rate dropdown menu, and a value
from the Audio Driver Bit Depth dropdown menu.
3. Click OK.
The sampling rate and audio driver bit depth are saved with the project file.

Setting the MIDI Timing Resolution

Each SONAR project has a setting for the timing resolution, or timebase, that indicates the resolution
of MIDI data. This resolution is measured in ticks or pulses per quarter note and is often abbreviated as
PPQ. The default resolution is 960PPQ, which is accurate enough for most applications. In this
timebase, each quarter note is represented by 960 ticks, each eighth note by 480 ticks, each eighth-note
triplet by 320 ticks, and so on.
In some projects you may need a different timebase. For example, if you wanted to use eighth-note
septuplets (7 eighth notes per quarter note) and represent them accurately, you would need to have a
timebase that is divisible by 7, such as 168PPQ. SONAR uses the timebase you choose for a project to
determine the range of tick values in the Now time.

To Set the Timebase for a Project

1. Choose Options-Project and click the Clock tab.
2. Choose the timebase you want from the Ticks per Quarter Note list.
3. Click OK.
The timebase will be saved with the project file.

Preparing to Record
To prepare for recording, you need to do the following:
Set the recording mode.
Choose your input(s).
Arm one or more tracks for recording.
Check your recording levels (audio only).
Tune your instrument if necessary (audio only).
Set the Now time to the point where recording should start.
Start recording.
After you record, you can use the Edit-Undo command to erase the most recently recorded material.
You can use the Edit-Redo command to restore the recording and toggle between Undo and Redo as
many times as you like.
If you are using MIDI Sync or time code sync for the clock source, SONAR waits to receive external
timing data before it begins recording. For more information see Chapter 18, Synchronizing Your Gear.

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Recording Modes
Any material you record is stored in a new clip. If you record into several tracks at once, one clip is
created in each track. If you record into a track that already contains clips, you can choose one of three
recording modes to determine what happens to those clips. When you save your project, you also save
whatever recording mode you choose together with that project:

Recording mode How it works

Sound on Sound The new material is merged with any existing material. This means that
any existing clips on the track are left unchanged and all newly recorded
material is stored in new clips. While recording, you will be able to hear
material from existing clips.

Overwrite The new material replaces (overwrites) any existing material. This means
that portions of existing clips may be wiped clean to make room for
newly recorded material. While recording, you will not be able to hear
material from existing clips.

English
Auto Punch Recording only takes place between the punch-in and punch-out times.
You can use Auto Punch in either Sound on Sound or Overwrite mode.

To Choose a Recording Mode

Select a mode from the dropdown list in the Record toolbar.
Or
Choose Transport-Record Options or click to display the Record Options dialog box, then
select the desired mode.
SONAR saves your recording options with each project, so you can save a different recording mode with
each of your projects.

Choosing an Input
To record into a track, you must choose an input for the music or sound to be recorded. Usually, you
choose All Inputs - Omni to record material from a MIDI instrument, or the left or right channel of a
digital audio device (such as a sound card) to record audio material, or stereo if you want to record
stereo audio in a single track. The input for each track is displayed in the tracks Input field and at the
top of each module in the Console view.
When you choose All Inputs - Omni as the input for a track, SONAR merges material from all MIDI
inputs and instruments. This means you dont have to worry about input, channel, or other MIDI
settings. Sometimes, you may want to record different MIDI channels into different tracks. To learn
how to do this, see Recording Specific Ports and Channels on page 173.
While each track can have a different input, it is also possible for several tracks to have the same input.

To Choose a MIDI Input in the Track View

1. Click the dropdown arrow of an Input field of a MIDI track (an Input field has this icon to the left
of it: ).
A dropdown menu of MIDI inputs appears.
2. Choose an input from the following:
Nonethis option actually sets the Input field to Omni: with this setting the track will record
any MIDI input coming in on any enabled port (MIDI interface input driver) on any channel.

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:
All Inputs-(MIDI Omni or MIDI ch 1-16)with this setting the track will record any MIDI
input coming in on any enabled port (MIDI interface input driver) on any channel, unless you
choose a particular MIDI channel instead of MIDI Omni. Then the track will only record input
thats on the MIDI channel you chose.
(name of MIDI input driver)-(MIDI Omni or MIDI ch 1-16)choosing this option causes
the track to record any MIDI channel coming from the named MIDI interface input driver,
unless you choose a particular MIDI channel instead of MIDI Omni. Then the track will only
record input thats on the MIDI channel you chose, from the named input driver.
Presetif you want to record multiple data from multiple ports and/or channels, you need to
select a preset collection of those ports and channels. You can select one here (to create
presets, see next line).
Manage Presetsif you want to create or edit any preset collections of input ports and
channels, you can select this option (see To Create or Edit a Preset Input Configuration on
page 174).

To Choose an Audio Input in the Track View

1. Click the dropdown arrow of the Input field of an audio track (an Input field has this icon to the left
of it: ).
A dropdown menu of audio drivers appears.
2. Select the audio driver for the sound card you want to record with from these options:
NoneThis choice ensures that you do not record to the track in question.
Left (name of your sound card)Choose this if you want to record a mono signal on the left
channel of your sound card.
Right (name of your sound card)Choose this if you want to record a mono signal on the right
channel of your sound card.
Stereo (name of your sound card)Choose this if you want to record a stereo signal.
If your sound card has more than one pair of inputs, a pair of numbers appears after the name of each
audio driver to indicate which pair of inputs the driver is attached to.

To Choose an Audio Input in the Console View

1. At the top of an audio track module, click the Input button.
A popup menu of audio drivers appears.
2. Select the audio driver for the sound card you want to record with from these options:
NoneThis choice ensures that you do not record to the track in question. It also turns off
input monitoring for this track.
Left (name of your sound card)Choose this if you want to record a mono signal on the left
channel of your sound card.
Right (name of your sound card)Choose this if you want to record a mono signal on the right
channel of your sound card.
Stereo (name of your sound card)Choose this if you want to record a stereo signal.
If your sound card has more than one pair of inputs, a pair of numbers appears after the name of each
audio driver to indicate which pair of inputs the driver is attached to.

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To Choose a MIDI Input in the Console View
1. At the top of a MIDI track module, click the Input button.
A popup menu of MIDI channels appears.
2. Choose an input from the following:
Nonethis option actually sets the Input field to Omni: with this setting the track will record
any MIDI input coming in on any enabled port (MIDI interface input driver) on any channel.
All Inputs-(MIDI Omni or MIDI ch 1-16)with this setting the track will record any MIDI
input coming in on any enabled port (MIDI interface input driver) on any channel, unless you
choose a particular MIDI channel instead of MIDI Omni. Then the track will only record input
thats on the MIDI channel you chose.
(name of MIDI input driver)-(MIDI Omni or MIDI ch 1-16)choosing this option causes
the track to record any MIDI channel coming from the named MIDI interface input driver,
unless you choose a particular MIDI channel instead of MIDI Omni. Then the track will only
record input thats on the MIDI channel you chose, from the named input driver.
Presetif you want to record multiple data from multiple ports and/or channels, you need to

English
select a preset collection of those ports and channels. You can select one here (to create
presets, see next line).
Manage Presetsif you want to create or edit any preset collections of input ports and
channels, you can select this option (see To Create or Edit a Preset Input Configuration on
page 174).

Arming Tracks for Recording

SONAR lets you record any number of tracks at one time. You indicate the tracks you want to record by
arming the tracks. You can arm a single track or several tracks at one time. Each track records
material received though its selected input. Whenever a track is armed, not only does the tracks R
button turn red, but the Clips pane thats to the right of that tracks controls turns a reddish hue.

To Arm One or More Tracks for Recording

To arm a track in the Track view, click .
Or
To arm a track in the Console view, click (to see the Arm button in the Console view, the MSR
button on the left side of the Console view must be depressed).
Or
To arm several tracks at the same time, select one or more tracks in the Track view, then right-
click and choose Arm from the popup menu.
A tracks Arm button turns red to indicate that the track is armed for recording.

To Disarm All Tracks at Once

Click the red Arm label thats located in the Status bar at the bottom of the SONAR window.
Or
Click the red Arm button in the Playback State toolbar, which you can display by using the View-
Toolbars command and checking Playback State in the Toolbars dialog box.

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 Auto Arming
:
You must arm tracks in order to record. To safeguard your data, there is no automatic arming of any
tracks.
If you want to record MIDI tracks without arming a track, choose Options-Global, and select the
General tab. Click the Allow MIDI Recording without an Armed Track checkbox.
This feature lets you start recording a new track simply by making it the current track and pressing R
or clicking the Record button in the toolbar. Auto-arming makes it possible to inadvertently record over
existing material in the current track, however.

Recording Music from a MIDI Instrument

Once you have set your tempo and metronome, and armed one or more tracks, you are ready to start
recording.

To Record MIDI
1. Set the Now time to the point in the project where you want to start recording.

2. Click , press r, or choose Transport-Record. If your metronome count-in is turned on, it will
play the count-in.
3. Play or perform the material you want to record. As you record, SONAR displays a clip containing
the new material in the Clips pane (unless youve turned off this option on the General tab of the
Global Options dialogOptions-Global command).

4. Click , press the Spacebar, or choose Transport-Stop to stop recording.

To listen to the new material, set the Now time to the start of the clip and press the Spacebar or click
. If youre not happy with the recording, use Edit-Undo or press Ctrl+Z to erase the new material.
When you stop recording, if you do not see a new clip in the Clips pane, you may have a problem with
MIDI input. See Appendix A: Troubleshooting for more information.

Recording Audio
Before you record audio, you should check your input levels. If the levels are too low, you may end up
with too much hiss and background noise in your recording. If the levels are too high, your recording
will be inaccurate or distorted. To check your audio levels, use the audio meters in the either the Track
view or Console view. To adjust the input levels, you must use your sound cards software mixer
program (or the Windows XP mixer) or an external hardware mixer for certain sound cards.
The audio meters indicate the volume at which the audio will be recorded, in units called decibels (dB).
The meter values range from -INF (silent) to 0dB (maximum volume). You can change many options in
the way SONARs meters display data: see Metering on page 378. To maximize the dynamic range of
your recording, you want to set the levels as high as possible without clipping.

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 Clipping indicator
Volume Fader
Meter

When the audio level exceeds 0dB, some of the audio information is lost. This is known as overload.
Many sound cards use clipping to deal with an overloaded signal, but clipping can distort the audio
signal. As a result, you should avoid letting the meter level exceed 0dB.

English
Note to Experts:
Because SONAR is a digital recorder, a level of 0dB indicates digital zero.
Digital distortion will occur at 0dB. You will not get analog compression or
warmth from pushing the input levels. If you are transferring data from a
DAT or another device, you may want to calibrate the input levels of your
sound card with the output levels of other devices in your studio. This will
ensure that 0dB on one unit will appear as 0dB in SONAR.

To Check the Input Levels

1. In the Track view, choose the inputs for the tracks you want to record, and arm the tracks for
recording. Make sure that the Show/Hide All Meters button at the top of the Track view is enabled.
2. The default meter range is from 0 dB to -60 dB. To change the range, right-click on the meter and
choose a new range from the menu.
3. Perform at the loudest level at which you plan to record.
Watch the meters respond. Increase the input volume as high as possible without ever letting the
meters move all the way to 0dB, even for an instant, or letting the Clipping indicator turn red. If
either of these things happen, reduce the input volume just enough to avoid them during the entire
performance. Note that some kinds of audio, such as percussive or plucked musical instruments,
can produce very short, high-level transients when struck or plucked aggressively, which can lead
to clipping if the input volume is set too high. Consider the possibility of these transients when
examining the meters and setting your record level.
Note: If the Clipping indicator is illuminated, click on it to reset.
Once you have set your sampling rate and input levels, you are ready to start recording. If the meters do
not move, check your sound card softwares mixer program and make sure that you have the proper
input enabled for recording.

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 :
When you record audio, SONAR stores each audio clip in a separate file. These files have the same
format as a Wave (.WAV) file, but they have special names and are stored in a separate directory on your
hard disk. SONAR automatically manages these audio files for you, making it easier for you to manage
your projects. If you want to work with these files directly, or to learn more about how SONAR stores
audio data, see System Configuration on page 548.

Tuning an Instrument
SONAR Chromatic Tuner analyzes any input signal from the sound card and displays the intonation (in
cents) on the meter. The tuner automatically determines which string/pitch you are trying to tune, so
that you can keep both hands on the instrument while tuning. The VU Meter shows how loud your
input signal isa strong signal is essential for accurate tuning.
The Tuner works just like an effect and each track can have its own instance.
With a microphone, you can also tune acoustic instruments.

To Tune an Instrument
1. In the track you want to record your instrument on, right-click in the Effects bin.
2. From the menu that appears, select Audio Effects-Cakewalk-Tuner.
3. Click the tracks Input Monitor button. If you dont click the Input Monitor button on the track
the Tuner is patched into, you will not be able to use the tuner.
4. With your instrument plugged into your sound card and turned up, play a note.
The Tuner displays the intonation reading on the cents meter and the name of the note you played
between the three arrows. One of the three arrows lights up, indicating one of the following:
Up arrow indicates the note is in tune.
Right arrow indicates the note is sharp.
Left arrow indicates the note is flat.
5. Adjust the pitch if necessary and repeat for the rest of the pitches you need to tune.

To Record Audio
1. Choose the audio inputs for the track(s) you want to record.
2. Arm the tracks for recording. The Clips pane next to each armed track turns a reddish hue when
the track is armed.
3. Set the Now time to the point in the project where you want to start recording.

4. Click , press r, or choose Transport-Record. If your metronome count-in is turned on, it will
play the count-in measures or beats.
5. Play or perform the material you want to record.
As you record, SONAR displays a waveform preview of the new material in the Clips pane, unless
youve turned off the Display Waveform Preview option on the General tab of the Global Options
dialog (Options-Global command). If youve turned off the option, SONAR displays a red swath
along the area of the Clips pane where youre recording.

6. Click , press the Spacebar, or choose Transport-Stop to stop recording.

SONAR displays a clip containing the new material in the Track window. To listen to the new material,
set the Now time to the start of the clip and press the Spacebar or click . If youre not happy with
the recording, use Edit-Undo to erase the new material.

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 If you do not see a new clip in the Clips pane, you may have a problem with audio input. See Appendix
A: Troubleshooting for more information.
Important: Make sure you have enough space on your hard disk when recording digital audio.
Running out of hard disk space when recording can lead to unpredictable results.

Confidence Recording and Waveform Preview

When youre recording audio or MIDI data, SONAR gives you many visual cues that tracks are armed
and that SONAR is recording data.
When one or more tracks are armed:
The R button in each armed track turns red.
The Clips pane next to each armed track gets a reddish hue.
The R button in the Playback State toolbar is depressed (to display the toolbar, use the View-
Toolbars-Playback State command).

English
The Status bar displays the red Arm message.
While youre recording, SONAR displays these cues:
Audio tracks display a waveform preview in the area in the Clips pane where youre recording.
This is actually a visual record of the record meters progress. When you stop recording, SONAR
displays the actual waveform, which is slightly different from the preview. The preview is a
snapshot taken at certain time intervals, while the actual waveform represents all the data that is
recorded.
MIDI tracks display the actual data that they record, both in the Clips pane and the Piano Roll
view (not the Staff view).
Automation data appears as a red block. When you finish recording, the actual envelopes are
shown.
If you want to turn off the real-time display of audio clips, see the following procedure.

To Turn Off Waveform Preview for Audio Recording

1. Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog.
2. On the General tab, uncheck the Display Waveform Preview While Recording option, and click OK.
Now when you record audio tracks, a red swath appears in the Clips pane in the area youre recording.

Input Monitoring
Being able to hear plug-in audio effects applied to a live signal is an exciting feature of SONAR.
However, there are two issues that users commonly stumble upon when using the input monitoring
feature. The first is that the monitored signal seems to have an echo associated with it. The second is
that live input monitoring can lead to nasty feedback problems, particularly if you have an outboard
audio mixer, or you record from a different sound card from the one you are playing back with.
SONAR has several buttons to control input monitoring:
Per-track Input Echo button each audio track has an Input Echo button that turns that
tracks input monitoring on or off.
Global Input Monitor buttonthe Playback State toolbar (to display, use the View-Toolbars-
Playback State command) has the Input Monitor button on the right end, which turns input

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monitoring on or off on all audio tracks with one click.
Audio Engine button clicking this button so that its in its up position turns all audio activity
in SONAR off, which includes input monitoring.
Note: When you use input monitoring, make sure that the track youre playing through uses the same
audio interface (sound card) for both input and output. Using different audio interfaces for a tracks
input and output can produce distortion during input monitoring.
To understand the echo and feedback problems, lets look at how audio signals travel through your
sound card, the drivers, and SONAR. The following diagram depicts a simplified version of this signal
flow.

The bottom block of the picture represents the sound card. The shaded area above it represents the
audio drivers. The unshaded area at the top represents the main environment of the operating system.
As the diagram shows, analog audio flows into the card's line input (on the left), and is immediately
split in two. One branch goes up through the analog-to-digital converter (ADC), where the audio is
digitized, buffered and fed to the driver (labeled Wave In in the diagram).
The digital audio data buffers are read by SONAR from the Wave In driver, processed, and then sent out
to the Wave Out driver. The driver passes the digital audio buffers through a digital-to-analog converter
(DAC), where the audio data is converted back to an analog signal.
Finally, this analog output signal is mixed with the original branch of the input analog signal, and the
summed result is presented to the sound card's line output.

160
With this information in hand, let's follow a simple audio signal through the system to understand how
echoes get introduced into the input monitor path.

say 1

Suppose you are counting "1, 2, 3" into your sound card very quickly. When you say the first "1," this

English
sound immediately appears in all the places indicated in the illustration above. In other words, the
analog audio signal is pure electrical signal traveling at the speed of light, so it is immediately present
across all analog audio paths inside the sound card.

say 2

Next, you say "2." In the time it takes you do that, the ADC has converted the "1" to digital form and the
Wave In driver has fed it to SONAR for processing. SONAR processes the buffer right away and passes
the processed data right back to the Wave Out driver.

say 3

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 :
Finally, you say "3." By this time the original "1" has been converted back to analog audio by the DAC,
and that analog signal is mixed in with the "3" you have just said. The ultimate result is that you hear a
"1" and "3" mixed together at the line output of cardseemingly sounding like an echo, but actually just
an artifact of the signal flow through the system.
You can eliminate the echo by muting the line-in from playing back (see To Eliminate the Echo from
Input Monitoring on page 162); youll send only the processed signal to the sound card outputs. This
technique introduces a little extra latency to what you hear coming out of your sound card, but if you
use WDM or ASIO drivers with your sound cards, the latency is negligible.
The feedback problem results whenever you have a loop in your mixer path: the output of your mixer is
patched into the input of your sound card. Feedback can happen with or without input monitoring, but
since input monitoring can add several levels of gain to the signal flow, its of greater concern when you
have input monitoring enabled. Input monitoring is disabled by default when you install SONAR, and
you enable it with the following procedure.

To Enable Input Monitoring

Turn your speakers down, and on an audio track that you want to monitor, click the Input Echo
button so that its lit up (on) . To disable monitoring for this track, click the button off.
Or
Turn your speakers down, and on the Playback State toolbar (to display, use the View-Toolbars-
Playback State command), click the Input Monitor button so that its lit upthis enables input
monitoring on all tracks. To disable monitoring for all tracks, click the button off.
Now you can hear your instrument in real time with any plug-in effects that you want to patch into the
current track. You might also hear an echo, because the dry signal is coming out of your sound card
slightly ahead of the processed signal. To eliminate the dry signal, see the next procedure.

To Eliminate the Echo from Input Monitoring

1. Open the software mixer that controls your sound card. If your sound card uses the Windows
mixer, open the mixer by using the Start-Programs-Accessories-Entertainment-Volume
Control command, or double-clicking the speaker icon on the Windows taskbar.
2. In the Play Control window of the mixer, check the Mute checkbox in the Line-In column, or in the
column of whatever jack your instrument is plugged into, and close the mixer window.
Now you can hear only the processed sound when you use input monitoring. Using WDM or ASIO
drivers for your sound card keeps latency to a negligible amount.
Note: This procedure does not eliminate feedback from you system, only the echo. If you experience
feedback, you have a feedback loop somewhere in your mixer setup.

The Audio Engine Button

SONAR has a button in the Transport toolbar called the Audio Engine button . This button lets you
turn SONARs audio engine off if youre getting distortion or feedback and want to cut the sound off.
When playback or recording are in progress, SONAR enables the button automaticallyhowever, the
button appears greyed-out during playback or recording because you cant control the button at that
time. Whenever the button is enabled, the Audio Running message lights up on the Status bar thats at
the bottom of the SONAR window.
If you experience feedback during input monitoring, you can click the Audio Engine button to turn off
the audio engine. However, if playback or recording are in progress, the button is unavailable, and you
should click the Reset button thats just to the right of it instead, or else stop recording or playback
first and then click the Audio Engine button.

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 You may experience slightly better playback and recording performance by turning the Audio Engine
button off before you press the Play or Record buttons. This happens if your computers resources are
already stretched to the limit. When you start recording or playback with the audio engine already
functioning, there is still some processing that SONAR has to do thats left over when you start the
transport. This places an extra load on your system that can cause dropouts if your system is already
stretched thin. A more effective solution than disabling the audio engine before starting the transport is
to reduce the load on your system by hiding some meters, increasing latency slightly, reducing the
number of plug-ins and/or tracks, etc.

Loop Recording
When recording a vocal or an instrumental section, you might want to record several different takes so
that you can choose the one you like best. You might even want to record several takes to double a part
or merge the best parts of each.
Normally, to record each take you would have to arm a track, start recording, perform the take, and
then stop recording. You can record multiple takes more easily using a feature called loop recording.
Loop recording lets you start recording and record as many takes as you like, all in a single step.

English
SONAR loops between the loop start and loop end time, allowing you to record one take on each pass.
SONAR creates a clip for each take. You have three choices for where these clips are stored:
All clips can be recorded in Sound on Sound mode and stored in a single track, where they are
stacked on top of one another.
All clips can be recorded in Overwrite mode in a single track, where each take is successively
muted except the last one.
Each clip can be recorded to a different track. SONAR automatically places each take into a new,
empty track. No existing tracks are changed in any way.
When you stack takes, using the Sound on Sound record mode, you hear all the previous takes as you
record each new take. When you store takes in different tracks, each take is automatically muted as you
record the next one. You choose the option you want from the Record Options dialog.
When you finish recording, you can use the Edit-Undo command to erase all your takes in a single
step.

To Use Loop Recording

1. Choose the input for the track(s) you want to record, and arm the track(s) for recording.
2. Set the loop start and end times in either the Loop/Auto Shuttle dialog box or in the Loop toolbar.

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 3.
:
Choose Transport-Record Options, or click on the Record toolbar, to display the Record
Options dialog box.

4. Choose to stack all takes in a single track or to store them in separate tracks.
5. If you choose to stack all takes in a single track, choose either Sound on Sound or Overwrite mode.
6. Click OK to close the Record Options dialog, and set the Now time to the point in the project where
you want to start recording.

7. Click , or press r, or choose Transport-Record. If your metronome count-in is turned on, it will
play the count-in measure.
8. Play or perform the material you want to record. At the end of the loop, SONAR will return to the
start of the loop and you can record the next take.
9. If you want to erase the most recent take while loop recording is underway, choose Transport-
Reject Loop Take.

10. Click , or press the Spacebar, or choose Transport-Stop when you want to stop recording.
The takes are stored in the manner you requested.

Punch Recording
Suppose you are happy with most of a track but want to replace some sound or add new material in one
small sectionperhaps as small as a couple of notes. This is where punch recording comes in handy,
because it lets you record new material only within a specified range of times.
For example, suppose you recorded a 32-bar keyboard solo but made some mistakes in the 24th and 25th
bars. With punch recording, you can play the entire solo again, so you make sure you can get the feel
you want. However, only the bars you want to correct are actually recorded. That way, you dont have to
worry about introducing new mistakes elsewhere in the recording.
To use punch recording, follow these steps:
Enable punch recording.
Set the start and end times of the punch.
Choose Sound on Sound mode or Overwrite mode.
Start recording by pressing r or clicking the button on the Transport toolbar.

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The Record toolbar shows the punch settings, as shown here:

Record mode Step record

Enable punch recording

Click to open the Record

Options dialog box

Punch In Punch Click here to set punch

Time Out Time times to the selection start
and end times

When punch recording is enabled, the punch times are indicated by special markers in the Time Ruler,
which is at the top of the Clips pane:

Punch In Punch Out

English
After you punch record, choosing Edit-Undo both discards any new material you recorded and restores
the original material that had been deleted.
You can also combine loop and punch recording to record several takes of a punch. Say you are working
on that perfect take of a guitar solo and you need to hear a couple of bars of the project as pre-roll
before you punch in. By combining looping with punch, you can have each take begin before you start to
play and still have the solo cut in at the appropriate instant.
In the example mentioned previously, you could loop from bar 17 to bar 26 but record only bars 24 and
25. Heres what this looks like:

The punch starts and ends here

The loop starts and ends here

To Punch Record
1. Choose the input(s) for the track(s) you want to record, and arm the track(s) for recording.
2. Enable the Auto Punch button in the Record toolbar (the button is red when enabled).
3. Set the start and end times in one of the following ways:
Enter the times directly on the toolbar

Select a range of time and click on the Record toolbar

Select a range of time, then right-click in the Time Ruler and choose Set Punch Points
4. Choose either Sound on Sound or Overwrite from the Record toolbar (or in the Record Options
dialoguse the Transport-Record Options command to open the dialog).
5. Set the Now time to a point where you want to start playback.

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 6. Click
:, or press r, or choose Transport-Record. If your metronome count-in is turned on, it will
play the count-in measures or beats.
7. Play or perform the material you want to record.

8. Click , or press the Spacebar, or choose Transport-Stop to stop recording.

The material you play during the punch time is recorded in the chosen track, either replacing any
existing material (Overwrite mode) or blending with it (Sound on Sound mode).

To Use Punch While Looping

1. Choose the input for the track(s) you want to record, and arm the track(s) for recording.
2. Set the loop start and end times.
3. Set the punch start and end times, as described previously.

4. Choose Transport-Record Options, or click on the Record toolbar, to display the Record
Options dialog box.
5. Choose to stack all takes in a single track or to store them in separate tracks.
6. Set the Now time to the beginning of the loop.

7. Click , or press r, or choose Transport-Record. If your metronome count-in is turned on, it will
play the count-in measures.
8. Play or perform the material you want to record. At the end of the loop, SONAR will return to the
start of the loop and you can record the next take.
9. If you want to erase the most recent take while loop recording is underway, choose Transport-
Reject Loop Take.

10. Click , or press the Spacebar, or choose Transport-Stop when you want to stop recording.
The takes are stored in the manner you requested.

Step Recording
Step recording is a method of recording MIDI notes one note or chord at a time. Its a very easy and
precise way to record, but can sound mechanical if used in the wrong situation. You use step recording
in its typical form by choosing a step size, such as a quarter note, and then playing a note on your MIDI
keyboard. When you play the note, SONAR records the note, and moves the insertion point forward by
the distance of the step size (moving the insertion point every time you press a note is the default
behavior). You can then record more notes of the same duration by playing notes on your keyboard, or
you can change the step size while youre recording and record different size notes. You can also choose
how long the notes you play will sound, as a percentage of the step size. For example, even though you
record some notes that have a step size of a quarter note, if you set the Duration field to 50%, the notes
will be recorded and displayed as a series of eighth notes, each followed by an eighth rest. The insertion
point for each recorded note in this example moves by a quarter note (the step size) each time you record
a note. If the duration is longer than the step size, the notes will overlap with the notes recorded at the
next step.
SONAR displays your step-recorded notes in the Staff view, Piano Roll view, Event List, and Clips pane
in real time as you step record them. SONAR also lets you:
Use other commands while step recording
Note: SONAR doesn't respond to sync signals while the Step Record dialog is open and enabled.

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 Change tracks while recording
Add step sizes together by Ctrl-clicking additional step sizes, or by pressing the + key between each
step size selection
Delete as many step-recorded notes as you want, while moving the insertion point back through
the steps you delete
Configure step recording key bindings
Make any kind of tuplet
Create a custom step size lasting any number of ticks (ticks are divisions of a beatSONAR uses
960 by default); SONAR will remember the custom step size until you change it
Move the insertion point by beats, measures, or step size
Link the position of the Now Time to the insertion point
Offset the insertion point by the number of ticks that you specify
Randomize duration

English
Record notes with constant pitch, and/or velocity, and/or channel
Hold notes across steps
Tip: with the new keyboard shortcuts, you can leave your left hand on your MIDI keyboard to enter
notes with, and control most step recording functions with your right hand on the Num Pad.
MIDI data is recorded using step record even if the track is not armed. Loop markers are ignored. And
step recording always uses the Sound on Sound (blend) record mode, regardless of the current
record mode.
With Auto Advance disabled, you must click Advance each time you want to advance to the next step.
While this requires more effort, it also provides you with more flexibility. For example, with Auto
Advance disabled, you do not even need to play the notes at a single step at the same time! You can play
any number of notes one at a time, and they will all be recorded at the same step until you click the
Advance button. You can even record notes of different durations at the same stepsimply record the
notes of one duration, change the duration, and play more notes, without clicking Advance.
The Step Record dialog has two modes: Basic (smaller with fewer options), and Advanced (larger, more
options). To use Basic mode, click the Bas./Adv. button so that the Adv. button is displayed. To use
Advanced mode, click the Bas./Adv. button so that the Bas. button is displayed.
Heres a picture of Basic mode:

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Custom tick size field

Total step size display

fClick to move insertion point by step

size.

Step Record Toggle button to enable/

disable step recording

Insertion point location Position slider

Basic/Advanced button

Heres a picture of Advanced mode:

Randomize
durations field

Click to move
Step pattern insertion point by
recording field single measure

Click to move insertion point

by single beat

To Use Basic Step Recording

1. Open the Step Record dialog by using the Transport-Step Record command, or by clicking in
the Record toolbar to display the Step Record dialog box, or press Shift+F4.
2. Make sure that the Basic mode of the Step Record dialog is displayed (the Adv. button will be
showing if the Basic mode is displayed; if the Bas. button is showing, click it).

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3. Set the insertion point by doing one or more of the following:

Click the Step Advance button to move the insertion point forward by the current step
size, or click the Step Backwards button to move the insertion point backward by the
current step size. SONAR displays the insertion point location in the insertion point location
field (see Basic mode picture above).
Drag the position slider left or right to move the insertion point one measure at a time.
Type a location in MBT (Measure-Beat-Tick) format in the insertion point location field.
4. Choose a step size by doing one of the following:
For common step sizes, click one of the notehead icons to choose a step size as large as a whole
note or as small as a 64th note . You can increase the step size you choose by 50% or

75% by clicking the dot icon , or double-dot icon , respectively. You can add different
step sizes together by holding down the Ctrl key while you click extra icons, or by pressing the
+ key on the Num Pad.

English
For a tuplet step size, click a notehead icon to choose the tuplet unit (for example, for eighth-
note triplets, choose an eighth note). Then enable the Tuplet checkbox and fill in the n in
time of n fields. For example, if you want quarter-note triplets, click the quarter-note icon

, enable the Tuplet checkbox, and fill in 3 in the time of 2, which means 3 quarter notes in
the time of 2 quarter notes. If you want eighth-note triplets, click the eighth-note icon ,
enable the Tuplet checkbox, and fill in 3 in the time of 2. If you wanted 5 notes in one beat,
click the quarter-note icon, enable the Tuplet checkbox, and fill in 5 in the time of 1.

If you want to create a custom step size, click the N button , and fill in the number of ticks
in the ticks field.
5. Choose a duration by doing one of the following:
If you want duration and step size to be the same, enable the Follow Step Size checkbox.
If you want duration and step size to be different, disable the Follow Step Size checkbox and
fill in a percentage value in the % of Note Value field.
6. Choose a destination track for your recording in the Destination Track field.
7. If you want the insertion point to advance automatically when you play your MIDI controller,
enable the Auto Advance checkbox.
8. Play a note or chord on your MIDI controller. When you release the note(s), the insertion point
moves by the step size, if the Auto Advance checkbox is enabled. If Auto Advance is not enabled,
you can release the notes and record more notes, or you can use the Navigation controls to advance
the insertion point. If you are still holding down a note or notes when you advance the insertion
point, the step size of the held notes is extended by the current step size.
9. Continue recording notes of the same step size and duration to the same track, or change any of
those parameters and continue recording. To create a rest, advance the insertion point without
playing any notes. To delete notes on previous steps, you can press Ctrl+Z for each recorded step.
If you want to delete previous steps and move the insertion point back at the same time, check the
Delete on Back Step Checkbox, and click the Step Backward button.
10. When youre finished recording, close the dialog by clicking the X icon in the upper right corner, or
by pressing Shift+F4.

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You can press Ctrl+Z during or after recording to undo your recording one step at a time.
Note: options that you choose in Advanced mode, such as Link to Now Time, are still in force when you
use Basic mode.

To Use Advanced Step Recording

The procedure for Advanced step recording is the same as for Basic, but with these extra options, which
become available when you click the Bas./Adv. button in the Step Record dialog so that it displays Bas.:

To do this Do this

Randomize the note duration Disable the Follow Step Size checkbox,
enter a number into the % of Note Value
field (leave it at 100 if you want to follow
step size), and enter the maximum
duration that the step size should be
randomized in the Randomize By field.

Choose a constant pitch and/or To choose a constant value for pitch,

velocity and/or MIDI channel for velocity, or channel, disable the Use
the recorded note(s) Input checkbox next to the desired field,
and fill in the value you want to use for
that particular parameter.

Link the insertion point to the Enable the Link to Now Time checkbox.
Now TIme

Enter notes at an offset distance Enter a positive or negative number of

from the displayed insertion ticks in the Offset field.
point.

Move the insertion point back or

forward by one beat. Click the Beat Backward button or

the Beat Advance button.

Move the insertion point back or

Click the Measure Backward button
forward by one measure.
or the Measure Advance button.

Use step pattern recording. See Step Pattern Recording on page

172.

Use the mouse to click the command you want to use.

or
Click the Activate Step Recording button in the Step Record dialog so that the button is not
red. This disables step recording, allowing you to use both the mouse, and any keyboard shortcuts
that the Step Record dialog uses, for other commands.
By default, opening the Step Record window will automatically enable step recording. Shift+R is the
default shortcut to open the Step Record dialog. Once the Step Record window is open, you can enable/

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disable step recording at will without closing the Step Record window: just click the Activate Step
Recording button in the Step Record dialog, or press Shift+R.

Step Record Keyboard Shortcuts

The default keyboard shortcuts for step recording are on the Num Pad, so that you can keep one hand
on your MIDI keyboard to play notes with, and use the other hand on the Num Pad to use shortcuts.
To configure your own shortcut, use the Options-Key Bindings command to open the Key Bindings
dialog, choose Step Record in the Bind Context field, select a key and a function you want to bind, and
click the Bind button to bind them together. Bind additional keys and commands as needed.

Default setting or option Default shortcut

Whole note Num Pad 1

Half note Num Pad 2

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Quarter note Num Pad 4

Eighth note Num Pad 8

16th note Num Pad 6

32nd note Num Pad 3

64th note Num Pad 7

Custom step size Num Pad 9

Tuplet Num Pad /

Dot Num Pad *

Double dot Shift+Num Pad *

Add next step size to previous Num Pad plus key +

step size

Toggle the Delete on Back Step Num Pad minus key -

option

Follow step size Ctrl+Num Lock (does not change Num

Lock state)

Step backward Num Pad 0

Step advance Num Pad Enter

Beat backward Shift+Num Pad 0

Beat advance Shift+Num Pad Enter

Measure backward Ctrl+Num Pad 0

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Measure advance Ctrl+Num Pad Enter

Auto Advance Num Pad .

Toggle step recording Shift+ R

Step Pattern Recording

The Pattern option lets you define a repeating rhythmic pattern of notes and rests so that you can use
step recording more efficiently. For example, suppose your project is in 4/4 time, and one track has a
pattern that is two measures long: quarter notes in the first measure and on the first two beats of the
second measure, followed by a half-note rest on the last two beats. This pattern has six quarter notes
followed by two quarter-note rests.
When you use step recording with Auto Advance, you can play the six quarter notes and SONAR will
automatically advance to the next step. However, to skip over the rests, you need to click the Advance
button two times.
With pattern recording, you define a pattern that indicates where the rests appear in the pattern.
SONAR will then skip over the rests automatically, so you dont need to click the Advance button at all.
SONAR displays patterns as a combination of digits (which represent beats that contain notes) and dots
(which represent beats that contain rests). The pattern described previously looks like this:
123456..
Here is another example:
12.4
This pattern automatically skips over every third beat; SONAR interprets this pattern as one, two,
rest, four.
Here is one final example based on 4/4 time, with a step size of eighth-note triplets (twelve steps per
measure):
1234.67.90.2
No matter how you enter a pattern, SONAR displays the digits in sequence, with periods replacing
digits at each step where a rest would occur. You can create patterns with up to 64 steps.

To Use Pattern-Based Step Recording

1. Choose Transport-Step Record to display the Step Record dialog box.
2. Set the insertion point where you want to start recording.
3. Click in the Pattern field.
4. Press any number key to indicate a beat at which notes will be played.
5. Press the Spacebar, period, or the letter r to indicate a beat on which there is a rest.
6. When the pattern is complete, click elsewhere in the dialog box.
7. Step record as before.
From now on, after you record each step, SONAR automatically advances past all rests to the next step
on which notes will be played. If you change step sizes while recording, the size of each rest changes
also. To stop pattern-based step recording, simply delete the pattern from the Pattern box. SONAR
stores up to 10 patterns in the Pattern field.

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Recording Specific Ports and Channels
Most MIDI instruments are capable of sending information on several different channels at once. By
default, SONAR merges all incoming MIDI data and records it on whatever MIDI tracks are armed.
However, SONAR also allows you to control which MIDI input ports and channels each track will
record. Here are some examples of when this feature might be useful:
There are several performers, each playing a different MIDI instrument. By setting each
instrument to transmit MIDI on a different channel and/or port, you can record each players
performance into a separate track, even though they are all playing at the same time.
You are using a MIDI guitar controller and want to record the notes played on each string on a
separate track.
Your electronic keyboard has a built-in auto accompaniment feature that plays a drum part and an
accompaniment while you play lead. You want to record each of these three parts into a different
track in a SONAR project.
You have a MIDI sequence stored on your synthesizers built-in sequencer, and you want to record
each channel onto a different track. Note: You can use external MIDI synchronization to automate

English
the process of loading multichannel sequences from other MIDI devices. For more information, see
Synchronizing Your Gear.
You can choose MIDI inputs for a track by using either the Inputs field on each individual track, or by
using the Track-Property-Inputs command to display the Track Inputs dialog box.
SONAR allows you to filter MIDI input so that you can record only certain kinds of MIDI data (see
Input Filtering on page 174), and also allows you to automatically turn off the Local On setting of your
master keyboard.

To Assign Input Ports and Channels to MIDI Tracks

1. Click the dropdown arrow on an individual tracks Input field to display the Input dropdown menu
(jump to step 4, below).
Or
1. Use the Track-Property-Inputs command to display the Track Inputs dialog box.
2. In the Track column, select a MIDI track or tracks that you want to choose inputs for.
3. Click the MIDI Inputs button thats at the bottom of the dialog to open the MIDI inputs dropdown
menu.
4. Choose track inputs from these choices:
Nonethis option actually sets the Input field to Omni: with this setting the track will record
any MIDI input coming in on any enabled port (MIDI interface input driver) on any channel.
All Inputs-(MIDI Omni or MIDI ch 1-16)with this setting the track will record any MIDI
input coming in on any enabled port (MIDI interface input driver) on any channel, unless you
choose a particular MIDI channel instead of MIDI Omni. Then the track will only record input
thats on the MIDI channel you chose.
(name of MIDI input driver)-(MIDI Omni or MIDI ch 1-16)choosing this option causes
the track to record any MIDI channel coming from the named MIDI interface input driver,
unless you choose a particular MIDI channel instead of MIDI Omni. Then the track will only
record input thats on the MIDI channel you chose, from the named input driver.
Presetif youve created any preset collections of input ports and channels, you can select
one here.

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:
Manage Presetsif you want to create or edit any preset collections of input ports and
channels, you can select this option (see following procedure).
5. Click OK.
SONAR shows new track inputs in the Input fields in the Track pane.

Note:
You can use external MIDI synchronization to automate the process of loading
multichannel sequences from other MIDI devices. For more information, see
Synchronizing Your Gear on page 527.

To Create or Edit a Preset Input Configuration

1. In the Input field of a track that you want to select inputs for, click the dropdown arrow and choose
Manage Presets from the dropdown menu (this menu is also available from the MIDI Inputs
button in the Track Inputs dialog).
The MIDI Input Presets dialog appears.
2. In the Input Port column, find the input port that you want to use for this track (if you only use a
single-port MIDI interface, youll only see one choice).
3. To the right of the input port, select the MIDI channels that you want this track to respond to on
this MIDI port. Clicking the OMNI button in this row of MIDI channels clears or fills all the
checkboxes in this row.
4. Select channels for any other MIDI port thats listed, if you want to use channels on that port also.
5. If you want to save this configuration, type a name for it in the window at the top of the dialog, and
click the disk icon to save it.
Now, when you choose inputs for other tracks, you can choose the preset you saved by clicking the
Presets option in the tracks Input dropdown menu. If you want to edit a preset, select it in the top
window of the MIDI Input Presets dialog, edit it, and click the disk icon. If you want to delete a preset,
select it in the same dialog and click the X button to delete it.

Input Filtering
SONAR lets you filter out specific types of MIDI messages or filter the MIDI input stream channel by
channel. Any MIDI information that is filtered out is neither recorded nor echoed to any other MIDI
devices.
You can use the message type filter to screen out resource-intensive MIDI messages like key and
channel aftertouch. By default, SONAR records all types of events except these two.
You can use message-type filtering to record short System Exclusive (Sysx) messages in real-time.
These will end up in the track as Sysx data events, which can hold System Exclusive messages up to
255 bytes. Leave the Buffers setting at 128 unless you experience data not being recorded. For more
information about Sysx, see Chapter 17, Using System Exclusive Data.

To Filter Event Types

1. Choose Options-Global and click the MIDI tab.
2. Check the message types you want recorded.
3. Click OK.

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 From now on, SONAR records only the types of events you have chosen.

Importing Music and Sound

While recording is perhaps the most common way of adding material to a SONAR project, there are
several other methods you can also use. SONAR lets you import music into a project from several
different types of digital data files, including MIDI files; audio files in Wave, MP3, AIFF, and other
formats; and other SONAR project files.

Importing Audio Files

SONAR lets you insert digital audio information into any track of a project. If the audio file you are
importing is in stereo, then it can be imported into a single stereo track, a pair of mono tracks or a
single mono track.
The File-Import-Audio command supports the following digital audio file types:
Wave (extension .wav)
MPEG (extensions .MPEG, .MPG, .MP2, and .MP3)

English
Apple AIFF (extensions .AIF and .AIFF)
Active Streaming (extension .ASF)
Next/Sun (extensions .AU and .SND)
The sampling rate and bit depth for a project is set based on your default settings in the Audio Options
dialog. If the sampling rate from the Wave file does not match the sampling rate in your project, then it
will be converted to the current projects sampling rate and bit depth.

To Import an Audio File

1. Set the Now time and current track to indicate where the audio should be placed.
2. Choose File-Import-Audio to display the Open dialog box.
3. Choose the audio file you want to import. SONAR displays information about the file at the bottom
of the dialog box.
4. Click Play to listen to the audio file before importing.
5. If the new file is stereo, check the Stereo Split option if you want to insert the file into two separate
tracks.
6. Click Open.
SONAR loads the audio data from the audio file and places it in the selected track at the Now time.

Broadcast Wave Files

Broadcast Wave files are wave files with some additional information stored in them. Broadcast Wave
files have the following information:
DescriptionA brief description of the contents of the Broadcast wave. Limited to 256 characters.
OriginatorThe author of the Broadcast wave. This information is taken from the Author field in
the File Info dialog.
Originator ReferenceA unique reference identifier created by SONAR.
Origination DateThe date the file was created.
Origination TimeThe time the file was created.
Time ReferenceThe SMPTE time stamp for the beginning of broadcast wave.

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 :
To import a Broadcast Wave file:
1. If you want SONAR to import Broadcast Wave files always at their timestamped location, select
Options-Global, click the Audio Data tab and check the Always Import Broadcast Waves At Their
Timestamp option. Otherwise, set the Now Time and current track to indicate where the audio
should be placed.
2. Choose File-Import-Audio to display the Open dialog box.
3. Choose the audio file you want to import. SONAR displays information about the file at the bottom
of the dialog box.
4. Click Play to listen to the audio file before importing.
5. If the new file is stereo, check the Stereo Split option if you want to insert the file into two separate
tracks.
6. Click Open.
If the Always Import Broadcast Waves At Their Timestamp option is selected in the Global Options
dialog, the imported Broadcast Wave file appears at its timestamp on the selected track. Otherwise, the
file appears at the Now Time on the selected track.

Importing Material from Another SONAR Project

You use the Edit-Copy and Edit-Paste commands to import material from one project to another using
the Windows clipboard. The project that contains the material you want to import is the source
project. The project into which the material is imported is the target project.
Normally, if you copy material from several different tracks to the Windows clipboard, the information
will be pasted back into separate tracks. You can choose to paste all the material from the clipboard into
a single destination track in the target project.
You can also copy material from one project to another by displaying the Track view for both projects
side by side, then using drag-and-drop editing.

To Import Material from Another Project

1. Open the source project, or click in the Track view for that project.
2. In the Track view, select the material you want to import.
3. Choose Edit-Copy to display the Copy dialog box.
4. Make sure that Events in Tracks is checked. If you dont want to import tempo changes, meter/key
changes, or markers, uncheck those options. Click OK.
5. Open the target project, or click in the Track view for that project.
6. Set the Now time and current track to indicate where the material should be placed.
7. Choose Edit-Paste to display the Paste dialog box.
8. Check Paste to One Track if you want all material imported into the current track (not
recommended if youre importing both MIDI and audio data).
9. Click OK.
SONAR imports the material and displays it in the Track view.

Importing OMF Projects

With OMFI (Open Media Framework Interchange) support & Broadcast WAVE support SONAR lets
you collaborate and exchange project files with users of other programs and platforms. Support for
OMFI and Broadcast Wave files provides cross-platform compatibility with OMFI host applications

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such as Pro Tools, Avid and Logic systems. SONAR also exports projects as OMF files that you can open
in Pro Tools and other audio software.
SONAR now allows you to select sample rate and bit depth during OMF import.
A few general guidelines for preparing OMF files for import into SONAR:
OMF version 2 is preferred.
AIFC can take slightly longer to open, as the data must be converted to WAVE on read, so WAVE is
the best choice.
If exporting from Avid Xpress DV, select "embed" (not "link") when exporting the OMF file, and
don't include any video.

OMF Explained
The OMF format, or OMFI (Open Media Framework Interchange, means the same as OMF), is a file
format that can be read by many professional-level audio programs. OMF files contain two basic types
of information:
Audio and/or video files, referred to as media

English
Information needed to put the media data in sequenceknown as the Composition
The OMF file supplies the following data and information:
Tracks
Clip positionsan OMF file's EDL edit resolution can be either frame accurate or sample accurate.
SONAR can read either, but always writes sample accurate. The clip position is specified in
absolute samples.
Slip edits
Fades and crossfades (as destructive edits)SONAR renders any fades when it writes OMFs,
creating separate clips for any fade-ins or fade-outs. SONAR slip-edits the original clip to make
room for the fade-in and fade-out clips. If you export to an audio program that supports slip
editing, the user can delete the fade clips and roll out the original clip to return to the original raw
audio (without fades) if desired.
Sample rate and audio bit depth, but only if the media are embedded in the OMF
The OMF file does NOT supply the following data and information:
Volume and pan envelopesOMF does actually support limited automation. However, as with
Nuendo and most other OMF host programs, gains and pans are ignored (on both read and write)
in SONAR as they are only supported on MONO tracks (OMF limitation).
Plug-in effects.
MIDI data
Tempo
Whoever supplies the OMF file that you want to open in SONAR should also send along a text file
containing all pertinent information about the project, especially tempo.

To Open OMF Files in SONAR

1. Use the File-Open command, which opens the Open dialog.
2. In the Files Of Type field, select OMF File.
3. Navigate to the folder that contains your OMF files, select the OMF file you want to open, and then
click the Open button, which opens the Unpack OMF dialog.

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 4.
:
If you know the exact tempo of the file, enter it into the Initial Tempo field. It is always preferable
to know and enter the project tempo at this point. If you don't know the project tempo you can open
the file at the default tempo and then change the file's tempo later, but this will cause the clips to
move.
5. The Sample Rate field displays the sample rate of the imported audio (if the audio is embedded in
the OMF). Use this field to change the sample rate, if you need to.
6. The Bit Depth field displays the bit depth of the imported audio if the audio is embedded. If the
audio is external, the Bit Depth field defaults to the Original menu option, which will import the
audio at the bit depth the audio is currently using. If you want to import the audio at a different bit
depth, you can choose the bit depth in this field.
7. If you have previously enabled SONAR's Use Per-Project Audio Folders option, which is located in
SONAR's Global Options dialog, then the Store Project Audio In Its Own Folder checkbox is
already enabled, and the fields under it are available. If you want to use this option, fill out the
fields below the checkbox; otherwise, disable the checkbox.
6. Click OK.
7. SONAR opens the OMF file.
You can also export SONAR projects as OMF files (File-Export-OMF command).
See Exporting OMF Files on page 418.

Importing MIDI Files

You can create a new SONAR project from a MIDI file simply by opening the file. SONAR takes
material from the file and places it into one or more tracks in the Track view.

To Import Data from a MIDI File into a Project

1. Open the MIDI file as a new, separate project.
2. Choose Edit-Select-All.
3. Choose Edit-Copy to display the Copy dialog box.
4. Make sure that Events in Tracks is checked. If you dont want to import tempo changes, meter/key
changes, or markers, uncheck those options. Click OK.
5. Open the target project, or click in the Track view for that project.
6. Set the Now time and current track to indicate where the material should be placed.
7. Choose Edit-Paste to display the Paste dialog box.
8. Check Paste to One Track if you want all material imported into the current track.
9. Click OK.
SONAR imports the material and displays it in the Track view.

Saving Your Work

Like most Windows programs, SONAR has a File-Save command and a File-Save As command to save
your work. Normally, you save your projects in the standard project file format, with a file extension of
.CWP. This file contains all your MIDI data and all your project settings. Any digital audio that is part of
your project is stored in a separate file, as described in System Configuration on page 548.

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SONAR also lets you save files in several other formats, as described in the table:

File type... Format... Explanation...

Standard MIDI .MID Used to transfer MIDI-only projects to other software

products that support Standard MIDI files.

Bundle .CWB A single file that includes all the material in your
project: MIDI data, project settings, and audio data.
This format is used for projects that contain digital
audio, when you want to back up your work or
transfer a project to a different computer. See
Backing Up Projects with Digital Audio on page 544
for more information. Note: Bundle files do not
save video data.

Template .CWT A file that is used as a pattern to create another.

Templates make it easy to create and configure new
projects. See Chapter 14, Layouts, Templates and

English
Key Bindings for more information.

If you have made changes to a project and then attempt to close the project, either by closing the Track
view or by choosing File-Close, SONAR asks if you want to save the changes you have made. This
prevents you from accidentally losing your work. You can tell whether changes have been made to a
project by looking for an asterisk (*) after the project name in the SONAR title bar.
SONAR has an Auto Save feature that periodically saves your work into a special backup file. You can
request automatic backups at fixed time intervals or every time a certain number of changes have been
made to the file. When the limit is reached, the file is saved automatically. If your original project is
called MYPROJECT.CWP, the Auto Save version is called AUTO SAVE VERSION OF MYPROJECT.CWP.
If there is a power failure or if you make a significant mistake, you can recover the last-saved version of
your project by opening this file. You should then save your project under a different name by using the
File-Save As command.

To Save a Project
1. Choose File-Save As to display the Save As dialog box.
2. Choose the type of file you want to save from the Save as Type list.
3. Enter a file name and click Save.
SONAR saves the file.

To Change the Auto Save Settings

1. Choose Options-Global and click the General tab.
2. To enable Auto Save, set either the number of minutes or the number of changes between saves.
3. To disable Auto Save, set both values to zero.
4. Click OK.
From now on, your projects are saved automatically according to the settings you entered.

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Labeling Your Projects
SONAR lets you attach subtitles, composer credits, copyright, and other information to your projects, as
shown in the following table:

Title The title for your project; prints automatically at the top of a Staff
view printout.

Subtitle For a subtitle or dedication; prints directly below the title in a

Staff view printout.

Instructions Use for performance instructions; prints flush left in a Staff view
printout.

Author Put your name here if you are the composer. Prints flush right in
a Staff view printout.

Copyright Copyright information prints flush right, under the author name,
in a Staff view printout.

Keywords Put keywords describing the project here for future reference.

Comments Free text comments. Type as much as you like. You can enter
approximately the same amount of text as you can in Windows
Notepad.

This information is shown in the File Info dialog box, which is displayed using the File-Info command.
If the File Info window is open when you save a file, then this window is displayed automatically the
next time the file is opened. This is useful if you:
Share files with others and want them to see special instructions when they open the file
Want your copyright information to be displayed automatically
If the File Info window is closed when you save the file, it will not be automatically displayed the next
time the file is opened.
Although you cannot use Edit menu commands while working in the File Info window, standard
Windows hot keys like Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V can be used to cut, copy, and paste text.

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To Display and Edit Project Information
1. Choose File-Info to display the File Info window.
2. Edit the information as desired.

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3. If you want the File Info window to display automatically, save the file.
4. Click Stats to see statistics about the contents of the file.
5. Choose File-Print Preview if you want to print the project information

6. Close the File Info window.

File Statistics
To open the File Statistics dialog, select File-Info and click the Stats button in the File Info dialog. The
File Statistics dialog box displays the following information about the contents of the project file:

Statistic... What it means...

Created The date the project was first saved.

Editing time The total time youve had the project open, from
the time it was created to the last time it was
saved. This does not include time spent editing
the project since you last saved it. If you want to
update this value, save the project.

Revision Each time you save a file that has been changed,
this number is incremented. If you open a project,
make no changes, then save it, the revision
number is not changed.

Events The total number of events in the project.

Sample rate The sample rate for digital audio.

Bit depth The audio driver bit depth of digital audio.

File version The SONAR version number.

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182
 5
Arranging

The Track view makes it easy to arrange and mix your projects from a single view. From one
location, you can select, copy, move, mix, and rearrange the parts of your project, using menu
commands or drag-and-drop tools. You can add real-time audio and MIDI effects from the
Effects bin and buses. Markers provide easy-to-use reference points and labels for the

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different parts of your project, and the Snap Grid makes it easy to align your clips to the
desired time points. Slip Editing allows you to non-destructively change the start and/or end
time of a clip, just by dragging its borders. With Slip Editing, you can easily create
repetitions of your clips using your mouse. Both the Track view and Console view have a full
set of record and playback meters, which you can configure in several ways. SONAR also
has a variety of tools and commands for changing the tempo of your project. Composite
tracks allow you to keep all your takes in one track if you want, and selectively mute and solo
the various clips in the track. Track folders let you edit multiple tracks at once and conserve
screen space.

In This Chapter
Arranging Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Arranging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Nudge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Working with Partial Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Markers and the Snap Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Working with Linked Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Splitting and Combining Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Take Management and Comping Takes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Track Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Adding Effects in the Track View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Changing Tempos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Undo, Redo, and the Undo History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
 :
Arranging Tracks
SONAR provides a variety of commands that let you work with the tracks in your project.
Here are some of the things you can do:

You can Heres why

Rearrange the tracks in the Track view This makes it easier to see and work with a subset of tracks,
so that they appear in a different order like the rhythm section, or the vocals and vocal backing tracks,
or all muted tracks.

Hide individual tracks This makes it easier to work in a large project. You can display
only the tracks you want to see at a given time.

Move tracks into a track folder Lets you group tracks by function, edit several tracks at once,
hide groups of tracks easily, and mute, solo, archive, arm, or
input monitor a group or tracks with one click. See Track
Folders on page 216 for more information.

Make copies of a track Copying a track and then adding a time offset or changing the
patch is an easy way to double a part. You can also copy and
then transpose a track to add harmony.

Erase or delete a track Tracks and clips that you are no longer using in your project
are distracting and take up space in your project file.

All the commands you use to arrange tracks work on selected tracks. The current track (the
one with the gold titlebar) is always selected. You can select additional tracks as shown in
the table:

To do this Do this

Select a track Click the track number (click the right side of the track
number; the upper left corner of the track number is for
grouping tracks) in the Track view. The track is selected,
and all other tracksexcept the current trackare
deselected.
When a track is selected, both the track number and all the
data in the track appear highlighted.

Select several adjacent tracks Click the track number for the first track in the group, drag
the mouse to the last track number in the group, and
release the mouse button.

Select/deselect all tracks Double-click a track number.

Add or remove a single track from the Hold the Shift key and click the track number to add it to the
selection selection; hold the Ctrl key and click the track number to
toggle its selection status.

Changing the Order of Tracks

There are several ways you can change the order of tracks in the Track view:
Drag a track to a new position in the Track view.

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 Use the Track-Sort command to rearrange the tracks in order based on the track
name, status, or other setting.

To Drag a Track to a New Position

1. Position the mouse just to the right of the track number, over the track icon of the track
you want to move.
The cursor changes to an up/down arrow.
2. Drag the track to its new location, and release the mouse button.
SONAR rearranges and renumbers the tracks.
You can sort the tracks in a project based on several parameters, in either ascending or
descending order:

Sort by What happens

Name Ascending puts track in alphabetic order,

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descending puts them in reverse order

Size, output, or channel Ascending puts them in increasing numeric order,

descending puts them in decreasing numeric order

Muted, archived, selected Ascending puts qualifying tracks at the end,

descending puts them at the beginning

No matter how you sort, blank tracks always go to the end of the list.
Note that track numbers are used for reference only. When you re-arrange the order of
tracks, they are automatically assigned sequential numbers based on the order in which they
are displayed in the Track view.

To Sort the Tracks

1. Choose Track-Sort to display the Sort Tracks dialog box.

2. Choose the attribute by which to sort from the Sort By list:

Attribute How it works

Name If you choose this attribute, SONAR puts the tracks into
alphabetical order, either ascending or descending, depending
on what you choose in the Order list.

Muted If you choose this attribute, SONAR puts all the muted tracks at
either the top or bottom of the Tracks window, depending on
whether you choose descending (top) or ascending (bottom) in
the Order list.

Archived If you choose this attribute, SONAR puts all the archived tracks
at either the top or bottom of the Tracks window, depending on
whether you choose descending (top) or ascending (bottom) in
the Order list.

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 : Selected If you choose this attribute, SONAR puts all the selected tracks
at either the top or bottom of the Tracks window, depending on
whether you choose descending (top) or ascending (bottom) in
the Order list.

Size If you choose this attribute, SONAR puts the tracks in order by
size, either in descending or ascending order.

Output If you choose this attribute, SONAR sorts the tracks by output
number, either in descending or ascending order. SONAR
considers non-numbered outputs to have lower numbers than
numbered outputs.

Channel If you choose this attribute, SONAR sorts the tracks by channel
number, either in descending or ascending order:
If you choose ascending order, SONAR puts all
MIDI tracks at the bottom of the Tracks window,
with the lower channel numbers first.
If you choose descending order, SONAR puts all
MIDI tracks at the top of the Tracks window, with
the higher channel numbers first.

3. Choose the order in which to sort from the Order list.

4. Click OK.
SONAR sorts the tracks according to the settings you chose.

Inserting Tracks
You can insert new tracks by a variety of methods. When you insert multiple tracks, you can
set track output properties at the same time. If you want new audio tracks to always use the
same output bus, you can set that bus as the default bus.
For step-by-step instructions, follow these procedures:

To Insert a Single Track

Click the Insert New Tracks or Buses button thats in the Track View toolbar, and
choose options from the popup menu.
Or
Right-click in the Track pane at the place where you want to insert a track, and select
Insert Audio Track to add an audio track or Insert MIDI Track to add a MIDI track.
Or
Press Insert to add a track of the same type (audio or MIDI) as the current track.
SONAR shifts the current track and all tracks below it down by one, and inserts a blank, new
track at the location of the highlight.

To Insert Multiple Tracks

1. Use the Insert-Multiple Tracks command to open the Insert Tracks dialog.
2. If you want to insert audio tracks, do the following:
Fill in the number of audio tracks you want to insert in the Audio sections Track
Count field.

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 Pick a main audio output for the tracks in the Main Destination field.
If you want the main output that you chose to be the default output for new audio
tracks, enable the Set as Default Bus checkbox. You can also choose the default bus
by right-clicking a bus, and choosing Set as Default Bus from the popup menu.
If you want your new audio tracks to contain a Send module that outputs to a
specific bus, choose the bus in the Send field. If you choose None, the new audio
tracks will not contain a Send module.
3. If you want to insert MIDI tracks, do the following:
Fill in the number of MIDI tracks you want to insert in the MIDI sections Track
Count field.
Pick a MIDI output for the tracks in the Port field.
Pick a MIDI output channel for the tracks in the Channel field.
4. Click OK to insert your tracks, or click Cancel to cancel the operation.
Your new tracks appear below any pre-existing tracks, with new audio tracks appearing

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above new MIDI tracks.
Note: you can also choose the default output bus for new audio tracks by right-clicking a
bus, and choosing Set as Default Bus from the popup menu.

Configuring the Display of Tracks in the Track View

There are several commands in the Zoom tool dropdown menu that allow you to configure the
appearance of your tracks in the Track view. You can use these commands to zoom in or out,
show or hide any combination of tracks, and revert back to previous display settings. The
following table lists each of these commands and provides an explanation of each:

Command Description Shortcut

Show and Fit Selection This command hides all tracks which are not selected. Shift+S
The remaining tracks are adjusted in size vertically and
horizontally to fit in the Track view, without scrolling if
possible. All track selections are lost after this command is
executed.

Fit Tracks to Window All currently displayed tracks are adjusted in size vertically F
to fit in the Track view, without scrolling if possible.

Fit Project to Window This command resizes all tracks both vertically and Shift+F
horizontally to fit in the Tracks view.

Lock Height This command maintains the tracks height when you use
a zoom or fit command. See To Lock or Unlock the Height
of a Track on page 188.

Show Only Selected This command hides all tracks which are not selected. H
Tracks The remaining tracks are adjusted in size vertically.

Hide Selected Tracks Hides all selected tracks. Shift+H

Show All Tracks Shows all tracks in your project, including these hidden A
using the Track Manager.

Track Manager Opens the Track manager dialog. For more information M
about the Track Manager dialog, see Track Manager
dialog.

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 :
Undo View Change This command restores the view to its previous state. U
There are up to 16 levels of undo.

Redo View Change This command restores the view to the state prior to the Shift+U
Undo View Change command.

Vertical FX Bins Changes track FX bins from vertical position into

horizontal FX fields located with other track property
fields.

To Lock or Unlock the Height of a Track

1. Right-click an empty area in one of the desired tracks controls to display the Track
Pane context menu.
2. Choose Lock Height from the menu.
When a track is locked, the Maximize Strip button in the track appears filled-in:
Maximize Strip button

When you lock the height of a track, its height does not change when you use a Zoom or Fit
command. When a tracks height is locked, you can still drag the track strips lower border to
adjust the tracks height. After you drag the border, the altered track height becomes the
tracks locked height.

Copying Tracks
When you copy one or more tracks using the Track-Clone command, you can choose any of
the following options:
What to copy: events, properties, effects, sends
Repetitions: how many copies of each selected track
Starting track: where you want the first new track to appear

To Copy Tracks
1. Select the tracks that you want to copy.
2. Choose Track-Clone to display the Clone Track(s) dialog.
3. Check the Clone Events, Clone Properties, Clone Effects, , and/or Clone Sends boxes to
indicate which items you want to copy.
4. If you want copied events to become linked clips, check the Link to Original Clips
checkbox.
5. Select the number of repetitions of each selected track that you want to create.
6. Select the track number where you want the first new track to appear. The other new
tracks appear right after it.
7. Click OK.
SONAR copies the tracks and pastes the selected tracks, with the first new track appearing
at the track number you selected. All tracks appear consecutively.

Erasing Tracks
You can easily delete an entire track, including all of the track properties and all of its clips
and events. Sometimes, you only want to erase, or wipe, the contents of a track, leaving the

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track properties as they are. If you delete or wipe a track by mistake, you can use Edit-Undo
to restore the deleted material.
When you delete or wipe a track, the track information is not placed on the SONAR
clipboard. To remove material from a track and place it on the clipboard, use the Edit-Cut
command instead.

To Delete Tracks
1. Select the tracks you want to delete.
2. Choose Track-Delete.
SONAR deletes the selected tracks. You can also right-click individual tracks and choose
Delete Track from the popup menu.

To Wipe Tracks
1. Select the tracks you want to wipe.
2. Choose Track-Wipe.
SONAR deletes all clips and events from the selected tracks, but leaves the track properties

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intact.

Track Templates
You can create an unlimited number of track templates for quickly recalling your most often
used track settings including the following:
Track type (MIDI or Audio)
Mute, Solo and Record state
Hardware input
Output destination
Bus send settings
Track parameters
Track icons
Effects and their settings
Instrument and Bank/Patch
Track name

To Create a Track Template

1. Select the track or tracks you want to save as a preset.
2. Select File-Export-Track Template from the main menu.
The Save As dialog appears.
3. Enter a name for the template and click Save.

To Insert a Track or Tracks from a Template

Select Insert-Insert From Track Template-[track template name] or select More
Track Templates if you dont see the one you want on the menu.
Or
Right-click in the Tracks pane and select Insert From Track Template-[track
template name] or select More Track Templates.

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 :
This inserts tracks that are exactly like the template. If you dont want to use all of the track
characteristics that are in the template, you can filter the characteristics that you dont want
by selecting Import Filter from the popup menu. This opens the Track Template Import
Options dialog, which allows you to specify what track characteristics you want to import.

Track Icons
Track icons allow you to quickly identify a tracks contents by instrument. You can assign a
new track icon, create your own track icons and save an icon as part of a track template.

To Show or Hide Track Icons

To show or hide Track Icons in all views, use the Options-Icons-Show Icons command.
To show or hide Track Icons in a specific view, use the Options-Icons-Show Icons-
[name of desired view] command.
Or
Right-click a track icon in the desired view, and choose Show Icons from the popup
menu.

To Configure Track View Icons

To show standard track icons in the header of each track in the Track view, use the
Options-Icons-Track View-Show in Header command.
To show custom track icons in the header of each track in the Track view, use the
Options-Icons-Track View-Show Custom In Header command.
To show track icons on the left side of the track controls of each track in the Track view,
use the Options-Icons-Track View-Show In Strip command.

To Change the Size of Track Icons

Right-click a track icon in the desired view, and choose Small Icons or Large Icons
from the popup menu.
Or
Select Options-Icons-[name of desired view]-Small Icons or Large Icons from the
main menu
4. Select Small Icons or Large Icons from the menu that appears.

To Change a Track Icon

1. Right-click on the icon you want to change.
2. Select Load Track Icon from the menu that appears.
3. The Open dialog appears.
4. Select an icon and click Open.

To Reset a Track Icon to its Original Icon

1. Right-click on the icon you want to reset.
2. Select Reset Track Icon from the menu that appears.

To Create a Track Icon

1. Create or edit a graphics file in .bmp format, preferably 128 by 128 pixels.
You can use any image as a track icon. You can use any size image, but for best results
scale the image to 128 pixels square. Images must be in the .bmp format.

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 2. Save the image as a .bmp file in the Track Icons directory in your SONAR program
folder.

Arranging Clips
The Track view provides many ways for you to rearrange, copy, and paste clips to arrange
your music the way you want. The easiest is to select the clips or portions of clips you want to
arrange and then drag and drop them wherever you want. You can drag and drop clips in the
Track view even while playback is in progress. You can also arrange clips via the clipboard
using the Edit-Cut, Edit-Copy, and Edit-Paste commands, which work like those in almost
all Windows programs.
The Snap Grid enables you to move clips to or by an exact amount of time, such as a quarter
note or whole measure. See To Change the Snap Options on page 202.

Displaying Clips
Clips are displayed as rectangles in the Clips pane. Their position and length show you at a
glance their starting times and lengths. You can control four aspects of their appearance:

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ColorBy default, each tracks clips are drawn in a different color. The clip colors
restart at the tenth track. You can customize the default colors of clips in the Colors
dialog or change the color of any individual clip in the Clip Properties dialog.
Note: In audio clips, the waveform changes color, unless no clip contents are displayed.
In MIDI clips, the clip background changes color.
NameYou can also assign each clip a descriptive name, which is displayed in the
upper-left corner of the clip.
ContentsAt your option, clips can be displayed with a graphical representation of the
events in the clip. The effect is slightly different for MIDI and audio information as
shown below:

A MIDI clip shows each event; by looking at the

clips, you can see the notes that are being
played

An audio clip shows

the actual waveform

Controller or automation
data are also displayed

To inspect the clip contents more closely, use the zoom tools to increase the size in which clips
are displayed. Note that displaying the contents of each clip makes your computer work a

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 :little harder. As a result, if your computer has an older, slower CPU you may want to turn off
the display of clip contents.:

Zoom Clips pane out vertically

Vertical Zoom fader for Clips pane

Zoom Clips pane in vertically
Zoom Bus pane out vertically

Vertical Zoom fader for Bus pane

Zoom in horizontally
Zoom out horizontally Horizontal zoom fader

The Track view toolbar contains the Zoom tool:

To Zoom Horizontally
Click the horizontal zoom buttons to zoom in or out by a fixed percentage each time you
click.
Or
Drag the horizontal zoom fader to zoom in or out by the amount you drag.
Or
Hold down the Ctrl key and press the right arrow key (to zoom in) or the left arrow key
(to zoom out).

To Zoom Vertically
Click the vertical zoom buttons to zoom in or out by a fixed percentage each time you
click.
Or
Drag the vertical zoom fader to zoom in or out by the amount you drag.
Or
Hold down the Ctrl key and press the up arrow key (to zoom out) or the down arrow key
(to zoom in).

To Zoom into a Selected Area

Use the Zoom tool to drag-select an area of a clip or clips that you want to zoom to. When
you release the mouse, the area you selected expands to fill the Clips pane window.
Zoom command keyboard shortcuts:

To do this Use this shortcut

Zoom in vertically Ctrl+down arrow

Zoom in horizontally Ctrl+right arrow

Zoom out vertically Ctrl+up arrow

Zoom out horizontally Ctrl+left arrow

Undo Zoom U

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Redo Zoom Shift+U

Turn On Zoom tool (use the Zoom tool Hold down Z

to select the area to zoom to)

Display Now Time in Center of Clips G

Pane

Fit project to window Shift+F

Fit tracks and buses to window F

To Display Clip Names and Contents

1. Right-click in the Clips pane, and choose View Options from the menu.
2. Check the Display Clip Names option to show clip names, or leave it unchecked to hide
them.
3. Check the Display Clip Contents option to show clip contents, or leave it unchecked to

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hide them.
4. Click OK.
SONAR modifies the clips pane to show the information you want.

To Change Clip Names

1. Select the clips you want to rename.
2. Right-click on one of the selected clips and choose Clip Properties. SONAR opens the
Clip Properties dialog box.

3. Enter a name for the selected clips, and click OK.

SONAR renames the selected clips.

To Change Clip Colors

1. Select the clips whose color you want to change.
2. Right-click on one of the selected clips and choose Clip Properties. SONAR opens the
Clip Properties dialog box.

3. Choose a color as follows:

To do this Do this

Use the default color Check the Default Color box

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 : Use a custom color Click the Choose Color button and pick a
color from the Color dialog box

4. Click OK.
SONAR changes the color of the selected clips.

Using the Navigator View

The Navigator view displays a large part of your project so you can see an overview of your
song. The Navigator view is a floating version of the Navigator pane found at the top of the
Track view.

Track Rectangle
The Track Rectangle appears as a green rectangle within the Navigator view. The Track
Rectangle indicates the section of your project which appears in the Clips pane of the Track
view. You can move the Track Rectangle or change its size.

To Move the Track Rectangle

1. Position your cursor inside the Track Rectangle until the icon changes to look like this:

.
2. Click and drag the rectangle where you want and release.

To Change the Size of the Track Rectangle

1. Click one of the nodes on the rectangle border.
2. Drag to change the rectangle size.

To Change the Now Time in the Navigator view

1. Hold down the Ctrl key.
2. Click where you want the Now Time to be.

Double-clicking Clips
By default, double-clicking a MIDI clip in the Clips pane opens a Piano Roll view for that
track, and double-clicking an Audio clip opens the Loop Construction view for that track. You
can set the type of view opened when a clip is double-clicked. For example, you may want to
open MIDI tracks in a Staff view rather than in a Piano Roll view.

To Set the View Opened by Double-clicking

1. Right-click in the Clips pane and choose View Options.
2. Select the types of view opened by double-clicking MIDI and audio clips.
3. Click OK.

Selecting Clips
Before you move, copy, edit, or delete clips you need to select them. There are several ways to
select whole clips, as shown in the table:

To do this Do this

Select a single clip Click on the clip in the Clips pane.

Select several clips at once Drag a rectangle around the clips.

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Select all the clips in a track Click on the track number in the Track view.

Select a portion of one or more clips Press and hold the Alt key and drag across the clips.
The Snap to Grid setting determines the size portion
you can select.

Add clips to the selection Hold the Shift key and either click on the clips or drag a
rectangle around the clips.

Add or remove clips from the selection Hold the Ctrl key and either click on the clips or drag a
rectangle around the clips.

Add or remove all clips in a track from the Hold the Ctrl key and click on the track number.
selection

Moving and Copying Clips

You can copy or move clips using drag-and-drop editing or the Cut, Copy, and Paste
commands. If you copy or move clips into tracks that contain existing material, you need to

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let SONAR know how to combine the two.
You have these options:

Option How it works

Blend Old and New Events in the copied or moved clip are placed into a new clip that
overlaps with the existing clip. This is the same effect as sound-
on-sound recording.

Replace Old with New Events in the copied or moved clip are placed into a new clip,
and any overlapping events in the existing clip are erased. This is
the same effect as overwrite recording.

Slide Over to Make Room The existing clips are shifted in time to make room for the new
clips, so they will not overlap. If you check the Align to Measures
option, shifted clips are always aligned to measure boundaries;
otherwise, the clips are placed end to end.

When you use the Edit-Paste command to add information to a track that contains existing
material, there is one final option you can choose.

Option What it means

Paste as New Clips New clips are created containing the events on the
clipboard, exactly as described in the preceding
table.

Paste into Existing Clips (MIDI clips only) The events on the clipboard are merged into any
existing clips that occupy the same region of time.
This means you will never end up with clips that
overlap.

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Note that if you copy or move clips to new, empty tracks, you dont have to worry
about these settings. In this case, the track properties that go with the clips are
automatically applied to the new track.
When you use drag-and-drop editing:
You can set the above options every time you perform an edit, or you can set
them once and have the same settings carry over automatically. Check or
uncheck the Ask This Every Time box in the Drag and Drop Options dialog
to indicate your preference. Open the Drag and Drop Options dialog by right-
clicking in the Clips pane and choosing Drag and Drop Options from the
popup menu.
If you drag to the edge of the Clips pane, it will scroll automatically in the
direction you drag.
If you change your mind while dragging clips, press the Escape key to cancel
the operation.
SONAR also lets you move and copy clips between projects.

To Move Clips Using Drag and Drop

1. Select the clips you want to move.
2. If you want to move the clips by an exact amount of time, enable the Snap
Grid (see To Change the Snap Options on page 202).
3. Position the mouse over one of the selected clips.
4. Press and hold down the left mouse button. A rectangle is displayed around
the selected clips.
5. Drag the clips to their new location, and release the mouse button.
6. If necessary, choose the options you want from the Drag and Drop Options
dialog box (use Options-Global and open the Editing tab, or right-click in
the Clips Pane and select Drag & Drop Options from the menu that
appears), and click OK.

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SONAR moves the clips to their new location.

Note:
Moving an audio clip (other than a Groove clip) to a part of your project that
has a different tempo changes the size of the clip.

To Move Clips Using Cut and Paste

1. Select the clips you want to move.
2. Choose Edit-Cut to display the Cut dialog box.

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3. Choose the options you want and click OK. SONAR cuts the clips from the project and
places them on the Windows clipboard.
4. Click in the Track pane to set the current track to be the one where clips should be
pasted.
5. Set the Now time to be the time at which the clips should be pasted.
6. Choose Edit-Paste to display the Paste dialog box.

7. Choose the options you want and click OK.

SONAR places the clips in their new location.

To Move a Clip to a Specific Start Time

1. Select the clip you want to move.

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 :2. Right-click on the selected clip and choose Clip Properties. SONAR opens the Clip
Properties dialog box.
3. Enter a new start time, or use the spinners or keyboard to change the start time.
4. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR moves the clip to the start time you chose.

To Copy Clips Using Drag and Drop

1. Select the clips you want to copy.
2. Enable the Snap Grid, if desired.
3. Position the mouse over one of the selected clips.
4. Press and hold the Ctrl key and click and hold the left mouse button. A rectangle is
displayed around the selected clips.
5. Drag the clips to the new location, and release the mouse button.
6. If necessary, choose the options you want from the Drag and Drop Options dialog box,
and click OK.
SONAR copies the clips to their new location.

To Copy Clips Using Copy and Paste

1. Select the clips you want to copy.
2. Choose Edit-Copy to display the Copy dialog box.
3. Choose the options you want and click OK. SONAR copies the clips to the Windows
clipboard.
4. Click in the Track pane to set the current track to be the one where clips should be
pasted.
5. Set the Now time to be the time the clips should be pasted.
6. Choose Edit-Paste to display the Paste dialog box.
7. Choose the options you want and click OK.
SONAR copies the clips to their new location.

To Delete Clips
1. Select the clips you want to delete.
2. Do one of the following:
Choose Edit-Delete, which brings up a dialog boxchoose options and click OK.
Press the Delete key.
SONAR deletes the selected clips.

Nudge
Nudging is moving a clip or a MIDI note by a small amount to the left or right or up and
down. There are three customizable settings for the Nudge feature. You can also nudge clips
(in the Track view) or notes (in the Piano Roll view) up or down, and you can use keyboard
shortcuts (see To Nudge a Clip Using Keyboard Shortcuts on page 200).

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Nudge Settings
The Nudge tab in the Global Options dialog allows you to set the three Nudge settings.

To Nudge a Clip Left or Right

Use the following procedure to nudge a clip.
1. Select the clip you want to nudge.
2. Select Process-Nudge Left(1-3) from the menu to move the clip left or Process-Nudge
Right(1-3) to move the clip right.
The amount the clip or note moves is determined by the settings in the Nudge tab of the
Global Options dialog.

To Nudge a Clip Up and Down

Use the following procedure to nudge a clip (in the Track view) or MIDI note (in the Piano
Roll view) up or down.
1. Select the clip or note you want to nudge.
2. Select Process-Nudge-Up to move the clip or note up or Process-Nudge-Down to

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move a clip or note down.
Clips move up or down one track at a time. Notes move up or down one pitch at a time.

To Change Nudge Settings

1. Select Process-Nudge-Settings to open the Nudge tab in the Global Options dialog
box.
2. In one of the three Nudge groups, select one of the following:
Musical TimeSelect a note length setting.

Absolute TimeSelect one of the following absolute time options and a number in
the first field

Absolute time setting Description

Seconds Whole seconds.

Milliseconds Thousands of a second.

Frames Number of frames. The default frame count is 30

frames per second. The number of frames varies
depending on the setting in the Project Options
dialogs clock tab.

Samples A very small amount of time. For CD-quality audio

there are 44,100 samples per second, so a value of 1
here would not move a clip by a perceptible amount.

Ticks The number of ticks per quarter note varies depending

on the setting in the Project Options dialogs clock tab.
The default setting is 960.

Follow Snap SettingsMoves the clip or note by the current snap setting.

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 : To Nudge a Clip Using Keyboard Shortcuts
1. Select the clip you want to nudge.
2. If necessary, turn on Num Lock (press the Num Lock key on your keyboard).
3. Press the appropriate Num Key.
Left 1NumPad 1
Right 1NumPad 3
Left 2NumPad 4
Right 2NumPad 6
Left 3NumPad 7
Right 3NumPad 9
UpNumPad 8
DownNumPad 2

Working with Partial Clips

SONAR lets you select, copy, move, and delete portions of a project even if they do not match
clip boundaries. There are two ways to do this:
Directly select portions of one or more clips.
Select a range of times and one or more tracks. SONAR automatically selects the
portions of clips that are in both the selected time range and the selected tracks.
You can then copy, move, or delete the material the same way you do with whole clips.
When you select portions of a clip, SONAR may round off the start and end times of your
selection based on the Snap Grid. For more information, see Defining and Using the Snap
Grid on page 201.

To Select a Portion of a Clip

1. Press and hold the Alt key.
2. Drag the mouse across part of a clip.
SONAR highlights the selected portion of the clip. You can edit this portion of the clip using
all the normal editing commands.

To Select a Portion of Several Clips

1. Press and hold the Alt key.
2. Drag the mouse across part of several clips in adjacent tracks.
SONAR highlights the selected portions of all the clips. You can edit these portions of clips
using all the normal editing commands.

To Select Partial Clips Using Time Ranges and Tracks

1. Select a range of time in one of the following ways:
Drag the mouse in the Time Ruler.
Click between two markers to select the time between the markers.
Use the F9 and F10 keys to set the beginning and end selection times.
Select a clip (SONAR selects the range of time covered by the clip).

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 Choose Edit-Select-By Time, enter the start and end time, and click OK.
2. Select one or more tracks by clicking, Shift-clicking, or Ctrl-clicking on the track
numbers in the Track view.
3. To adjust the start and end time of the selection, hold the Shift key while clicking on the
Time Ruler.
The relevant portions of clips in the selected tracks are highlighted. You can edit these
portions of clips using all the normal editing commands.

To Clear the Partial Clip Selection

You can clear the time-restricted selection in any of the following ways:
Click in an empty area of the Clips pane to completely clear the selection.
Choose Edit-Select-None or press Ctrl+Shift+A to completely clear the selection.
Click on a single clip in the Clips pane to clear the time selection and select the clip.

Markers and the Snap Grid

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SONAR has a collection of features you can use to simplify and speed the work you do
arranging your projects. Here are a few of the most important things you can do:
Show gridlines on measure boundaries in the Track view.
Define and use the Snap Grid to make drag-and-drop editing more accurate.
Create markers to identify and work with key time points in your project.

Showing Gridlines
Displaying gridlines, or vertical rules, in the Clips pane of the Track view makes it easy to
see at a glance how clips align with each other, how they align with measure boundaries, and
when they start and end.

To Show or Hide Gridlines

1. Right-click in the Clips pane and choose View-Options from the popup menu.

2. To show gridlines, check the Display Vertical Rules box. To hide gridlines, make sure the
Display Vertical Rules box is not checked.
3. Click OK.
SONAR displays the Track view as you requested.

Defining and Using the Snap Grid

SONAR lets you define a snap grid that makes it easier to arrange clips, select time ranges,
and control envelope shape drawing. To use the Snap Grid, enable the snap feature and set

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an interval, such as a whole note, half note, or quarter note; a marker; an event; the start or
end of a clip; or a user-defined number of frames, seconds or samples. From then on, when
you move or copy clips or markers, items will be snapped to the nearest point on the Snap
Grid. The Musical Time and Absolute Time options also apply when you perform a selection
using the Time Ruler,
You can also use the Snap Grid to move clips by a certain interval, rather than snap them to
the interval. Moving by an interval can be useful during drag-and-drop operations, if your
events are not exactly aligned with measure or note boundaries.
The Snap Grid in each view is independent. For example, you can enable the Snap Grid in
the Track view without enabling it in the Piano Roll or Staff views. You can also enable the
Snap Grid in several different views, with different grid intervals in each one.
In the Clips pane, the Snap Grid in the Inline Piano Roll view is independent from the Snap
Grid in Clips view. When you open the Snap To Grid dialog in the Clips pane, the dialog has
separate tabs for Clips view and Inline Piano Roll view (called PRV mode in the dialog).

To Enable or Disable the Snap Grid

1. Press N to toggle the Snap to Grid button on or off.
Or

1. To enable the Snap to Grid, click the Snap to Grid combo button .
2. To disable the Snap to Grid, click the Snap to Grid combo button once again.

To Change the Snap Options

1. Click the down arrow in the Snap to Grid combo button or right-click on the Time
Ruler and select Snap Properties from the popup menu to display the Snap to Grid
dialog box.

2. If you want to set the Snap Grid in the Inline Piano Roll view, click the PRV Mode tab; if
you want to set the Snap Grid in Clips view, click the Clips tab.
3. Select one of the following options:
Musical Timenote intervals (whole, half, etc.)
Eventsany data in a clip
Markersany marker in a project
Clip Boundariesthe start or end of any clip
Absolute Timea number of samples, frames, or seconds set by you

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4. If you selected Musical Time or Absolute Time, select Move To to align selections and
clips to the grid, or Move By to move clips by the grid interval.
5. Click OK.
All time selections and drag-and-drop editing operations use the new Snap Grid interval.

Snap Offsets
Snap offsets allow you to set a point other than the beginning of a clip as the snap point
used by the Snap to Grid. A snap offset is the number of samples from the beginning of the
clip. Snap offsets affect all edits that obey the Snap to Grid setting. Once the snap offset is
added, you can set the Timer Ruler to SMPTE or MBT time.
Note: You cannot set a snap offset for a Groove clip.

Creating a Snap Offset

Use the following to add a snap offset to a clip:
1. Locate the place in the clip where you want to put the snap offset, and set the Now Time
to that location. Use the Scrub tool if necessary.

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2. Right-click on the clip and select Set Snap Offset to Now Time from the menu that
appears.
Edits to that clip, when the Snap to Grid button is depressed, now snap to the snap offset
rather than the beginning of the clip.

Deleting a Snap Offset

1. Right-click on the clip and select Clip Properties from the menu that appears.
2. In the Snap Offset field enter 0 (zero) and click OK.

Creating and Using Markers

Markers are a way of associating a name with a time point in your project. You use markers
to name sections of a project, to mark hit points in a film score, or simply to provide a
shortcut for working with any time point in a project. Markers make it easy to:
Jump to a specific time point in a project
Select a portion of a project
Enter a time in any dialog box, by pressing F5 and choosing the marker you want
You can see and work with markers in four ways:
They are displayed in the Time Ruler at the top of the Track, Staff, and Piano Roll view.
The Markers toolbar lets you add markers and jump to specific marker locations.
The Markers view displays all markers and lets you add, edit, and delete markers.
You can press F11 while playback is in progress to add a marker on the fly.
The time associated with a marker can be expressed in musical time or as a locked SMPTE
time. If a marker has a musical time (measures, beats, and ticks), the marker stays at that
musical time regardless of changes in tempo. If a marker has a locked SMPTE time (hours,
minutes, seconds, and frames), the marker stays at the same time even when the tempo is
changed. Locked markers are useful for projects that require you to sync the music or sound
with film scores or multimedia presentations. See To Add a Marker on page 204.
SONAR takes the current Snap Grid settings into account when you move or copy markers.
For example, if the Snap Grid is set to even measure boundaries, any time you move or copy

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a marker, the marker will be snapped to the beginning of the nearest measure. You are
allowed to have any number of markers at a single time point.
To display the Markers view, choose View-Markers or click on the Views toolbar. From
the Markers view, you can use the File-Print and File-Print Preview commands to print a
listing of markers.

You can add markers while playback is stopped or while playback is in progress (on the fly).
When you add a marker while playback is stopped, you can enter a name for the marker and
either use the Now time or enter a different time. When you add a marker on the fly, the
marker is named automatically and assigned the Now time. Using the Markers view, you can
edit the names and times whenever you want.

To Add a Marker
1. Open the Markers dialog in one of the following ways:

Click in the Markers toolbar.

Press F11.
Choose Insert-Marker.

Click in the Markers view.

Ctrl-click in the marker section of the Time Ruler.
Right-click in the Time Ruler and select Insert Marker.
SONAR displays the Marker dialog box.

2. Enter a name for the marker in the Name box.

3. The time is set to the Now time. If you want, use the spinners to change the time or type
in a new marker time.
4. Check the Locked to SMPTE box if you want to lock the marker to the SMPTE time.
5. Click OK.
SONAR adds the marker and displays it in the Time Ruler, the Markers view, and the
Markers toolbar.

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To Add a Marker on the Fly
Click in the Markers toolbar, or Press F11.
SONAR adds a marker at the Now time and displays it in the Time Ruler, the Markers view,
and the Markers toolbar.

To Edit a Marker
1. Either right-click on the marker in the Time Ruler, or choose a marker in the Markers
view and click . SONAR displays the Marker dialog box.

2. Change the marker name, time, or other settings as desired.

3. Click OK.
SONAR updates the marker in the Time Ruler and the Markers view.

To Copy a Marker
1. Press and hold the Ctrl key.
2. Drag a marker in the Time Ruler of the Track view, Staff view, Tempo view, or Piano
Roll view. SONAR displays the Marker dialog box.

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3. Enter the desired marker settings and click OK.
SONAR copies the marker and displays it in the Time Ruler and the Markers view. You can
also cut and paste markers directly from the Markers view.

To Lock or Unlock Several Markers

1. In the Markers view, select one or more markers. Use the Ctrl and Shift keys if
necessary to modify the selection.

2. Select or deselect .

SONAR updates the markers.

To Move a Marker
Drag the marker in the Time Ruler.
SONAR updates the marker time and shows it at the new location.

To Delete a Marker
1. Press and hold the left mouse button while pointing to a marker in the Time Ruler.
2. Press Delete, and release the mouse button.
SONAR deletes the marker. You can use Edit-Undo if you make a mistake.

To Delete Markers from the Markers View

1. In the Markers view, select one or more markers. Use the Ctrl and Shift keys if
necessary to modify the selection.

2. Click or press Delete.

SONAR deletes the selected markers. You can use Undo if you make a mistake.

To Jump to a Marker
There are many different ways to jump to a specific marker:
Choose a marker from the dropdown list in the Markers toolbar to jump to that marker.
Click the Now time in the Position toolbar, press F5 to display a list of markers, choose
the marker you want, and click OK.

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 : Press F5 twice to display a list of markers, choose the marker you want, and click OK.
Click on a marker in the Markers view to set the Now time to that marker.
Click or in the Markers toolbar to jump to the next or previous marker.
Choose Go-Next Marker or Go-Previous Marker to jump to the next or previous
marker.

To Select a Time Range Using Markers

You can select a range of times by clicking in the marker section of the Time Ruler:
Click to the left of the first marker to select the time between the start of the project and
the first marker.
Click to the right of the last marker to select the time between the marker and the end
of the project.
Click between two markers to select the time between the markers.
If looping is enabled, click to the right of the Loop Start marker to select the loop region
If punch recording is enabled, click to the right of the Punch In marker to select the
punch region

Tip:
If you press Tab or right-click while holding down the left mouse button over
the markers, you can toggle through which of the overlaid markers you'd like
to move.
For example, if the Now Time marker, a regular Marker, a Loop point, and a
Punch point are all at measure 5, pressing Tab (while holding down the left
mouse button) toggles through T (Now Time), M (regular), L (Loop), and P
(Punch). If you want to change the regular marker, simply drag the mouse
when M is displayed; if you want to adjust the position of the Loop point, tab
through to L, and so on.

Working with Linked Clips

SONAR makes it easy to repeat a pattern over and over using a feature called linked clips.
Linked clips always have the same contents, name, and display color. Any change you make
to the internal contents of one of the clips, such as adding or editing notes or effects,
automatically applies to all of them. Any number of clips may be linked with each other.
To create linked clips, copy the clips and when pasting, check the linked clips option in the
Paste dialog box or the Drag and Drop Options dialog box. Linked clips are displayed with a
dotted border, so they are easy to spot. You can also identify linked clips using the Clip
Properties dialog box or the Select All Siblings (available in the Clips pane popup menu)

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command.You can easily unlink linked clips, and then edit them individually. You have two
options when unlinking linked clips:

Option How it works

New linked group The clips you selected will still be linked to each
other, but wont be linked to any clips that are not
selected

Independent Every selected clip will be completely independent

Once you have unlinked linked clips, you cannot re-link them except by using Edit-Undo.
If you attempt to copy only a portion of a linked clip, the copy will not be linked to the
original. Copies of a clip can be linked to the original only when you select and copy the
entire clip.

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To Make Linked Copies of a Clip Using Drag and Drop
1. Right-click in the Clips pane and choose Drag & Drop Options to display the Drag and
Drop Options dialog box.
2. Check the option labeled Copy Entire Clips as Linked Clips.
3. Click OK.
4. Select the clips you want to copy.
5. Position the mouse over one of the selected clips.
6. Press and hold down the Ctrl key.
7. Press and hold down the left mouse button. A rectangle is displayed around the selected
clips.
8. Drag the clips to their new location, and release the mouse button.
9. If necessary, confirm the options in the Drag and Drop Options dialog box, and click OK.
SONAR creates copies of the selected clips that are linked to the originals. Any change you
make to one of the clips is applied to all linked clips, including the original clip.

To Make Linked Copies of a Clip Using Copy and Paste

1. Select the clips you want to copy.
2. Choose Edit-Copy to display the Copy dialog box.
3. Choose options as desired and click OK. SONAR copies the clips to the Windows
clipboard.
4. Click in the Track pane to set the current track to be the one where clips should be
pasted.
5. Set the Now time to be the time at which the clips should be pasted.
6. Choose Edit-Paste to display the Paste dialog box.
7. In the Paste dialog, choose one of two options:
Linked RepetitionsIf you choose this option, only the new copies of the original
clip are linked together. Edits you make to the new copies do not affect the original,
and vice versa.

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 : Link to Original Clip(s)If you choose this option, the new copies and the original
clip are linked together. Edits you make to any of the linked clips, including the
original, affect all other linked clips in the group.
8. Choose the other options you want and click OK.
SONAR creates copies of the selected clips that are linked in the way you chose.

To Unlink Linked Clips

1. In the Clips pane, select the clips you want to unlink.
2. Right-click on any selected clip and choose Unlink from the popup menu. SONAR
displays the Unlink Clips dialog box.
3. Choose the unlink option you want, and click OK.
SONAR unlinks the clips and updates the Clips pane accordingly. From now on, any changes
you make to one of the clips are applied only to remaining linked clips, if any.

To Select the Clips That Are Linked to Another Clip

1. Select one or more clips in the Track view.
2. Right-click on any selected clip and choose Select All Siblings from the popup menu.
SONAR selects any clip that is linked to one of the currently selected clips.

Splitting and Combining Clips

SONAR provides several commands that are used to split and combine clips. Specifically, you
can:
Split a clip into several smaller clips
Create a new clip from a selected portion of an existing clip
Combine adjacent or overlapping clips into a single, longer clip
The following table summarizes the commands you can use:

To do this Use this command Notes

Split clips into parts Edit-Split Works on all selected clips. You
can also press the s key to split all
selected clips at the Now Time.

Combine several clips into Edit-Bounce to Clip(s) If the selected clips are in
one separate tracks, one clip is
created for each track. All clip
automation is applied destructively
to the new clip.

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Note:
Combining a stereo and mono clip always produces a stereo clip.

The Split command lets you split clips four different ways:

Option How it works

Split at Time Splits selected clips at a specific point in time. By

default, the split occurs at the Now time, but you
can choose any time you want.

Split Repeatedly Splits selected clips at regular intervals, beginning

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at a specified time, with a specified duration. For
example, you could split a long clip into 4-bar clips
starting at measure 5.

Split at Markers Splits selected clips at any marker location. This

option is available only if your project has markers.

Split when Silent Removes silent stretches of one measure or

more from selected clips. The presence in a
measure of any eventincluding those that make
no sound, such as a patch change or lyric event
will cause that measure to be retained.

While the Split command works for both MIDI and audio clips, for audio clips, the Split
command provides sample accurate editing and snap-to-zero capability.
Note that the Edit-Undo and Edit-Redo commands work with all three of these editing
commands.

To Split Clips into Smaller Clips

1. Select the clips you want to split.
2. Right-click on any selected clip, and choose Split from the popup menu. SONAR shows
the Split dialog box or press the S key to split the clip(s) at the Now Time.
3. Choose the Split option you want to use, and enter the settings you want to use.
4. Click OK.
Or
1. Select the clips you want to split.
2. Set the Now Time to the time you want to split the clips.
3. Press the s key.
SONAR splits the selected clips according to your instructions.

To Combine Clips
1. Select the clips you want to combine (the clips must be on the same track).

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 : 2. Right-click on of the clips and select Bounce to Clip(s) from the popup
menu.
SONAR combines the selected clips into a single, new clip.

Take Management and Comping Takes

By default, SONAR stacks any overlapping clips on top of each other, but you can
choose to display them in separate layers (lanes) in the same track. When you
store clips in separate layers, its easy to mute and solo them individually and
eventually come up with a composite take, with only the best clips playing back.
You can also mute and solo whole layers.
When you use loop recording, you can store all your takes in the same track, and
then use the Mute tool or Audition (Selection Playback) to hear only the ones you
want.
If you enable a tracks Show Layers option, SONAR stores the tracks clips in
separate layers whenever any of the following happens:
You use loop recording in Sound on Sound mode, and choose to store takes in
a single track.
You record over some pre-existing data while in Sound on Sound mode.
You enable the Track-Show Layers menu option for a track that contains at
least one overlapping clip.
Note 1: you can create as many layers as you want.
Note 2: a multi-layer layer track has only one set of track automation envelopes.
For step-by-step instructions, see the following procedures:

To Enable or Disable the Multi-layer Option

For single tracks, you can right-click the Track Scale, and choose Show
Layers from the popup menu, or use the Layers-Show Layers command on
the Track pane right-click menu, or click the Track Layers On/Off button.

Track Layers On/Off button

Track Scale before showing

layers

For multiple tracks, select the tracks you want to configure by Ctrl-clicking
the track number of each track, and use the Track-Layers-Show Layers
menu option.
When the option is first enabled, SONAR moves all overlapping clips in the
affected tracks to separate layers, and displays mute and solo buttons on the
Track Scale for each layer.

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 Mute and solo buttons
for layers

After the option is enabled, you can move clips on top of each other without creating new
layers. To move overlapping clips back into separate layers, use the Rebuild command (see
below).
Note 1: if you want to move a clip to the exact same time placement in an adjacent layer,
hold the Shift key down while you drag.
Note 2: if the Automatic Crossfades button is enabled, SONAR adds a crossfade between any
newly overlapped clips that are on the same layer.

To Mute or Unmute One or More Layers

On the Track Scale, click the M button thats at the same vertical level as the layer you
want to mute or unmute. You can drag across mutiple mute buttons to mute or unmute

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multiple layers.
Note: if you mute a layer and then disable the Show Layers feature, the Track Scale displays
a small blue indicator to show that a hidden layer is muted:

Hidden layer mute

indicator

To Solo or Unsolo a Layer

On the Track Scale, click the S button thats at the same vertical level as the layer you
want to solo. You can solo one layer at a time.
Note: if you solo a layer and then disable the Show Layers feature, the Track Scale displays
a small yellow indicator to show that a hidden layer is soloed:

Hidden layer solo

indicator

To Rebuild Layers
To rebuild layers (move overlapping clips to separate layers) in a single-track, right-
click the Track Scale and choose Rebuild Layers from the popup menu.
For multiple tracks, select the tracks you want to rebuild, and use the Track-Layers-
Rebuild Layers command.

To Remove Empty Layers

To remove empty layers in a single-track, right-click the Track Scale and choose
Remove Empty Layers from the popup menu.
For multiple tracks, select the tracks you want to compact, and use the Track-Layers-

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 : Remove Empty Layers command.

To Add an Empty Layer to a Track

Right-click the Track Scale at the position where you want the new layer, and choose
Insert Layer from the popup menu.

To Delete a Layer from a Track

Right-click the Track Scale at the position where you want to delete a layer, and choose
Delete Layer from the popup menu.

To Select a Layer
Right-click the Track Scale at the same vertical position where the desired layer is, and
choose Select Layer from the popup menu. You can de-select the layer by clicking an
empty area of the Clips pane.

To Loop Record Multiple Takes into Separate Track Layers

1. Use the Transport-Record Options command to open the Record Options dialog.
2. Under the Recording Mode options, choose Sound on Sound (Blend).
3. Under Loop Recording, choose Store Takes in a Single Track, and click OK.
4. Make sure that the armed track has its Show Layers option enabled.
5. Set your loop boundaries and start recording multiple passes through the looped area.
6. Stop recording.
When you finish recording, SONAR displays all your takes in separate layers in the
recording track.

To Crop Overlapping Clips to Eliminate Overlap

1. In a multi-layer track, move either the Select tool or the Mute tool between two
overlapping clips until the cursor turns into the overlap cropping tool.

Overlap
cropping
tool

2. In the space between the clips, click the spot where you want the first clip to end and the
second one to begin. SONAR crops both clips so that they no longer overlap.

Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing)

Together with multi-layer tracks, clip muting and isolating (clip soloing) make it easy to
build a composite take from multiple takes.
With the new Mute tool , thats in the Track view toolbar, SONAR offers two styles of
clip muting:
Default styleafter you activate the Mute tool, you can drag through time ranges to
mute all or part of a clip: dragging through the bottom half of a clip mutes the time
range you drag through; dragging through the top half of a clip unmutes the range you
drag through. The default setting in the Mute tool dropdown menu produces this
behavior (youll see a checkmark next to Mute Time Ranges under Click+Drag
Behavior). If you want to temporarily switch to the Alternate style (see below), hold
down the Alt key while you click.

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 Alternate styleuse the Mute tool to mute or unmute entire clips by clicking clips
instead of dragging through time regions. A clip that is completely muted displays the
Mute icon in its upper left corner. You can choose this behavior by choosing Mute
Entire Clips under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool dropdown menu. If you
decide you want to temporarily switch to the Default style, hold down the Alt key while
you drag.
In addition, you can also play back only selected data if you want by pressing the Shift key
and the Spacebar at the same time.

Clip Muting with the Default Style

When you choose Mute Time Ranges under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool
dropdown menu, you can use the following procedures to mute all or parts of clips. This is the
default behavior.

To Enable or Disable the Mute Tool

Click the tool or press K on your keyboard. The Mute tool turns blue when it is enabled.

To Mute a Time Range Using Default Style

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1. Make sure that Mute Time Ranges under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool
dropdown menu has a check mark.
2. If you want to mute a precise amount of time, enable the Snap to Grid button and set its
menu to an appropriate value.
3. Using the Mute tool, drag inside the lower half of a clip.
SONAR mutes the area you dragged through and displays the muted waveform or MIDI
data as a dotted line.

Muted area of clip

To Unmute a Time Range Using Default Style

1. Make sure that Mute Time Ranges under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool
dropdown menu has a check mark.
2. Using the Mute tool, click inside the upper half of a clip in the muted area.

To Mute or Unumute an Entire Clip Using Default Style

1. Make sure that Mute Time Ranges under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool
dropdown menu has a check mark.
2. Using the Mute tool, Alt-click anywhere in the clip (hold down the Alt key while you
click).
When a clip is currently muted, SONAR displays the Mute icon in the upper left corner of the
clip.

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Mute icon

Note: if the clip youre muting or unmuting with this method already has one or more muted
time ranges, these time ranges remain muted while you Alt-click the clip, so you dont lose
any precise mute edits youve performed. To completely unmute the clip in the picture
below, first Alt-click the clip to remove the Mute icon, and then drag through the upper half
of the clip in the muted area(s).

Clip Muting with the Alternate Style

When you choose Mute Entire Clips under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool
dropdown menu, you can use the following procedures to mute all or parts of clips. This is the
alternate style.

To Enable or Disable the Mute Tool

Click the Mute tool or press K on your keyboard. The Mute tool turns blue when it is
enabled.

To Mute or Unumute an Entire Clip Using Alternate Style

1. Make sure that Mute Entire Clips under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool
dropdown menu has a check mark.
2. Using the Mute tool, click anywhere in the clip.
SONAR displays the Mute icon in the upper left corner of a muted clip.
Note: if the clip youre muting or unmuting with this method already has one or more muted
time ranges, these time ranges remain muted while you Alt-click the clip, so you dont lose
any precise mute edits youve performed.

To Mute a Time Range Using Alternate Style

1. Make sure that Mute Entire Clips under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool
dropdown menu has a check mark.
2. If you want to mute a precise amount of time, enable the Snap to Grid button and set its
menu to an appropriate value.
3. Using the Mute tool, Alt-drag inside the lower half of a clip.
SONAR mutes the area you dragged through and displays the muted waveform or MIDI data
as a dotted line.

To Unmute a Time Range Using Alternate Style

1. Make sure that Mute Entire Clips under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool
dropdown menu has a check mark.

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2. Using the Mute tool, Alt-click inside the upper half of a clip in the muted area.
You can mute or unmute a clip without using the Mute tool if you want. Pressing Q on your
keyboard toggles the mute status of all selected clips. Any muted time ranges remain muted.

Audition (Selection Playback)

The Transport-Audition command plays back only selected clips and/or time ranges.
To use the command, hold down the Shift key and then press the Spacebar. Only the selected
data plays back.

Isolating (Clip Soloing)

Isolating works by muting all the clips in a track in the same time region except the ones
that you want to hear. Just like clip muting, isolating has two styles:
Default styleafter you activate the Mute tool, you can Ctrl-drag through time ranges
to isolate all or part of a clip. The default setting in the Mute tool dropdown menu
produces this behavior (youll see a checkmark next to Mute Time Ranges under
Click+Drag Behavior). If you want to temporarily switch to the Alternate style (see

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below), hold down the Alt key along with the Ctrl key, and click whole clips instead of
dragging through regions.
Alternate styleuse the Mute tool to isolate entire clips by Ctrl-clicking clips instead of
dragging through time regions. You can choose this behavior by choosing Mute Entire
Clips under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool dropdown menu. If you decide you
want to temporarily switch to the Default style, hold down the Alt key along with the
Ctrl key, and drag through the regions you want isolated.

To Isolate a Region with the Default Style

1. Make sure that Mute Time Ranges under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool
dropdown menu has a check mark.
2. Using the Mute tool, hold down the Ctrl key and drag through the region of a clip or
clips that you want isolated (soloed).
Any overlapping regions become muted. To de-isolate the isolated region, release the Ctrl
key, and drag through the upper half of any muted regions.
If you want to temporarily switch to the Alternate style of isolating (see procedure below),
hold down the Alt key along with the Ctrl key, and click whole clips instead of dragging
through regions.

To Isolate Clips with the Alternate Style

1. Choose Mute Entire Clips under Click+Drag Behavior in the Mute tool dropdown
menu.
2. Using the Mute tool, hold down the Ctrl key and click the clips that you want isolated.
Any overlapping clips become muted. To de-isolate the isolated clips, release the Ctrl key, and
click any muted clips.
If you want to temporarily switch to the Default style of isolating, hold down the Alt key
along with the Ctrl key, and drag through the regions you want isolated.

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Track Folders
A track folder contains tracks in the Track pane of the Track view. Track folders make larger
projects much easier to manageyou can group different types of tracks in their own folder:
vocals, soft synths, ReWire instruments, drums, etc.
The main characteristics of a track folder are:
You can edit all the tracks in the folder as if you were editing a single trackespecially
valuable for drum tracks. The track folder displays a composite clip in the Clips pane of
all the clips in the folder. Selecting a time range in the composite clip selects data in all
the enclosed tracks in the same time range; now you can edit all the tracks in the folder
by editing the selected area of the composite clip.
You can hide tracks in a folder, freeing up space on your screen.
A folder can contain any type of trackyou can put MIDI, audio, and synth tracks in the
same folder.
You can archive, mute, solo, arm, or input monitor all the tracks in a folder with one
clickjust click the A, M, S, R, or Input Echo button on the track folder.

Track folderclick here to select all A, M, S, R, and Input Echo buttons Selected area of
data in track folder composite clip
Open/Close
folder
Track folder info Composite
clip
Description box

The tracks in a
track folder are
indented

To Create a Track Folder

Right-click in the Track pane of the Track view, and choose Insert Track Folder from
the popup menu.
Or
Use the Insert-Track Folder menu command.
Or
Right-click a track thats not in a track folder and select Move to Folder-New Track
Folder from the popup menu.
A new track folder appears in the Track pane.

To Add a Track to a Track Folder

In the Track view, move the mouse cursor just to the right of the track number of a pre-
existing track until the cursor turns into a black, double-ended arrow, and then click
and drag the tracks titlebar onto the track folder. Release the mouse.
Or
Insert a track when a track within a track folder has focus.

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 Or
Right-click a track thats not in a track folder and select Move to Folder-Track Folder
n from the popup menu.
Or
Select the tracks you want to add to the folder, right-click on the folder and select Add
Track(s) to Folder from the menu that appears.
The added track appears in the track folder, and is indented a little to show that its inside
the track folder.

To Remove a Track from a Track Folder

In the Track view, move the cursor just to the right of the track number of a track until
the cursor turns into a black, double-ended arrow, and then click and drag the tracks
titlebar out of the Track Folder. Release the mouse.
Or
Right-click the track and select Remove From Folder from the popup menu.

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To Add Multiple Tracks to a Track Folder
1. Select the tracks you want to add.
2. Right-click a selected track and choose Move to Folder-Track Folder n from the
popup menu.

To Remove Multiple Tracks from a Track Folder

1. Select the tracks you want to remove.
2. Right-click a selected track and choose Remove From Folder from the popup menu.

To Delete a Track Folder

1. In the Track view, right-click and select Delete Track Folder from the menu that
appears.
2. SONAR asks you if you want to delete all the tracks in the folder along with the track
folderclick Yes or No.
SONAR deletes the track folder. If you didnt choose to delete the tracks in the track folders,
SONAR moves these tracks to the top level.

To Open or Close a Track Folder

Click the folder icon thats just left of the track folders name.

To Select or Deselect all the Tracks in a Track Folder

Click just to the left of the folder icon.

To Rename a Track Folder

Double-click the track folders name, type a new name, and press Enter.
Or
Right-click the track folder, choose Folder Properties from the popup menu, type a
name in the Name field of the Folder Properties dialog, and click OK.

To Add a Description to a Track Folder

Double-click the Description box, type a description, and press Enter.
Or
Right-click the track folder, choose Folder Properties from the popup menu, type a

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 : description in the Description field of the Folder Properties dialog, and click OK.

To Select all Clips in a Time Range

Hold down the Alt key while dragging a selection on the composite clip.
Now you can edit, move, cut and paste all the selected clips by editing the selected part of the
composite clip.

Adding Effects in the Track View

You can add both MIDI and audio effects directly from the Track view. SONAR adds these
effects in real-time, preserving your tracks original data.

To Add Effects in the Track View

1. Right-click in the FX bin of the track you want to add effects to. You may have to click
the FX tab or the All tab thats at the bottom of the Track pane to display the FX bin,
and also expand the track pane a little.

Right-click here to add an effect.

An effects popup menu appears. SONAR displays MIDI effects if you are editing a MIDI
track, and audio effects for an audio track.
2. Select an effect from the menu.
The name of the effect appears in the Effects bin and the effects property page appears.
To delete the effect, right-click the effect name and choose Delete from the popup menu.
3. Set the effects parameters or choose a preset.
Play your track and listen to the effect(s).

Note:
If you use the same effects for more than one track, its more efficient to add
the effects to a bus. See To Patch a Track Through a Bus on page 377

Changing Tempos
Your project can incorporate all kinds of tempo changes, including step changes from one
tempo to another, gradual increases (accelerandos) or decreases (ritardandos), and almost

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any other type of change you can imagine. The tempo changes you add to your project become
part of the project and are saved with the project file.
You can add tempo changes to your project in the following ways:
Using the Tempo toolbar
Using the Insert-Tempo Change and Insert-Series of Tempos commands
By drawing tempo changes graphically in the Tempo view
Inserting tempo changes in the Tempo views Tempo List pane
The Process-Fit to Time and Process-Fit Improvisation commands can also be used to
introduce tempo changes into your work file. For more information, see Stretching and
Shrinking Events on page 265 and Fit Improvisation on page 278.
When you change the tempo of a project that contains audio, SONAR allows you to stretch or
shrink audio clips when you have converted them to Groove clips and have enabled the
Follow Project Pitch option in the Loop Construction view. Otherwise, the MIDI tracks will
speed up or slow down while the audio tracks will play at the same speed. For more
information about Groove clips, see Working with Groove Clips on page 234. Audio clips
that are not Groove clips change in size when moved to a part of your project that has a

English
different tempo.
Sometimes you dont want to adjust the speed of your audio. Here are some examples:
If your project contains background music and a voice-over, you might want to change
the tempo of the background music without altering the voice-over.
If youre trying to modify the speed of some MIDI tracks to match a sampled drum
groove, you want to leave the audio unchanged.
When you change the tempo of your project, clips having stretching enabled change tempo
along with the project, while those that do not have stretching enabled do not. For more
information on stretch-enabling clips, see Enable Stretching on page 228.
Tempos set when the clock source is set to MIDI Sync do not have any effect, because SONAR
follows the external tempo. For more information, see Chapter 18, Synchronizing Your Gear.

Using the Tempo Toolbar

The Tempo toolbar displays the current tempo and lets you change the tempo as shown
below:
Click to insert a tempo change

Click to enter a new Tempo ratio

tempo buttons

When you enter a new tempo directly in the toolbar, you change the most recent tempo
setting in the project.
The tempo ratio buttons temporarily change the speed of playback, without affecting the
actual tempo that is stored with your project (see Note, below). During playback, the tempo is
multiplied by the current tempo ratio. By default, the three tempo ratios are 0.50 (half
speed), 1.00 (normal speed), and 2.00 (double speed). You can change the tempo ratios that
are associated with each button.

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Note: Tempo ratios can only be used in projects that contain no audio tracks and cannot be
used when using any form of synchronization. For more information, see Chapter 18,
Synchronizing Your Gear.

To Change the Current Tempo in the Tempo Toolbar

1. Enable Groove clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo
changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and
choosing Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu. Each clip that has Groove clip
Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command
disables Groove clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove clip Looping enabled.
2. Click the current tempo in the Tempo toolbar.
3. Type a new value and press Enter, or use the spinners to change the tempo value.
SONAR changes the current tempo to the desired value.

To Set the Tempo Ratio

You can set the tempo ratio in several ways (remember, this function is not available if you
have audio clips in your project):
Click one of the tempo ratio buttons.
Choose Transport-Tempo Ratio 1, 2, or 3.
Press Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, or Ctrl+3.
SONAR changes the speed of playback.

To Change the Tempo Ratio

1. Shift-click one of the tempo ratio buttons to display the Tempo Ratio dialog box.

2. Enter a new value for the tempo ratio.

3. Click OK.
From now on, that tempo ratio button uses the ratio you entered.

Using the Tempo Commands

The Insert-Tempo Change and Insert-Series of Tempos commands can be used to change
the existing tempo of a project or to introduce one or more tempo changes at various points in
a project. You can enter tempo values directly, introduce smooth increase or decreases in
tempo, or even use your mouse to tap out the tempo you want for some portion of a project.

To Insert a Tempo Change

1. Enable Groove clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo
changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and
choosing Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu. Each clip that has Groove clip
Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command
disables Groove clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove clip Looping enabled.

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2. Click in the toolbar or choose Insert-Tempo Change to display the Tempo dialog
box.

3. Check the Insert a New Tempo box.

4. Enter a new tempo in one of the following ways:

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Type a value in the Tempo field.
Click the arrows to change the value.
Tap a new tempo in the space indicated in the dialog box.
5. Enter a starting time for the new tempo.
6. Click OK.
SONAR inserts a tempo change at the designated time.

To Insert a Series of Tempos

1. Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo
changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and
choosing Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu. Each clip that has Groove clip
looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command
disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.
2. Choose Insert-Series of Tempos to display the Insert Series of Tempos dialog box.

3. Enter a starting tempo, ending tempo, and step size.

4. Enter a starting and ending time for the series of tempo changes.
5. Click OK.
SONAR erases any existing tempo changes between the starting and ending time, and
inserts a series of tempo changes that change smoothly between the starting and ending
time. This command never inserts more than one tempo change on the same clock tick. Audio

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clips which you want to follow tempo changes can also be converted to Groove clips in the
Loop Construction view.

To Modify the Most Recent Tempo Change

1. Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo
changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and
choosing Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip
Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command
disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.
2. Choose Insert-Tempo Change to display the Tempo dialog box.
3. Check the Change the Most Recent Tempo box.
4. Enter a new tempo in one of the following ways:
Type a value in the Tempo field.
Click the arrows to change the value.
Tap a new tempo in the space indicated in the dialog box.
5. Click OK.
SONAR changes the most recent tempo to the new value.

Using the Tempo View

The Tempo view provides a graphic display of the tempo. In the Tempo view you can use your
mouse to draw tempo changes directly onto the graph. Choose View-Tempo or click on
the toolbar to display the Tempo view
The Tempo view provides both a graphic display of the tempo and a list of all tempo changes
in your project. In the graphical display you can use your mouse to draw tempo changes
directly onto the graph. In the tempo list, you can insert, edit, and delete individual tempo
changes. Choose View-Tempo or click on the toolbar to display the Tempo view. Click the
Tempo List button to display or hide the tempo list.

If an entire project has a single tempo, the graph shows a straight horizontal line, and a
single tempo in the list.

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The graph has several tools you can use to add or modify tempo changes:

Tool Name What its for

Select Drat the Select tool in either the Tempo list or graphic display to
select tempos to edit

Draw Draw a custom curve indicating changes in tempo

Line Draw a straight line indicating a steady increase or decrease in

tempo

Erase Eliminate tempo changes already in place for some portion of a

project

Snap Grid Controls how often you can insert tempo changesfor
example, every measure, every eighth note, every 3 samples,
etc.

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If you make a mistake using any of these tools, you can use Edit-Undo to correct the error.
When you use the Draw tool, the speed with which you drag the mouse determines the
density of tempo events. To insert a larger number of relatively small tempo changes, move
the mouse slowly. To insert a smaller number of relatively large tempo changes, drag the
mouse quickly.
The Tempo List Pane has its own tools for editing tempo changes:

Tool Name What its for

Insert Tempo Insert a new tempo change

Delete Tempo Delete a tempo change

Tempo Properties Edit a tempo change

To Insert a Tempo Change in the Tempo View

1. Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo
changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and
choosing Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip
Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command
disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2. Select the or the tool.

3. Click in the Tempo view at any desired time point and tempo level.
SONAR introduces a tempo change at the indicated point.

To Steadily Increase or Decrease the Tempo in the Tempo View

1. Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo
changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and
choosing Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip
Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command
disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

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2. Select the tool.
3. Drag a line in the graph from the starting time and tempo to the ending time and
tempo.
SONAR introduces a linear series of tempo changes.

To Draw a Series of Tempo Changes in the Tempo View

1. Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo
changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and
choosing Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip
Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command
disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2. Select the tool.

3. Drag the cursor across the graph, adjusting the tempo level as you move left to right.
SONAR introduces a series of tempo changes.

To Erase Tempo Changes in the Tempo View

1. Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo
changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and
choosing Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip
Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command
disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2. Select the tool.

3. Drag the mouse over the graph to highlight the region you want to erase.
4. Release the mouse button.
SONAR deletes all tempo changes in the area you marked. The last tempo setting prior to
the erased region is now in effect in that region.

To Insert a Tempo Change in the Tempo List in the Tempo View

1. Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo
changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and
choosing Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip
Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command
disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2. Click the Tempo List button to display or hide the tempo list.
3. Select any tempo change in the list.

4. Click Insert Tempo to open the Tempo dialog box.

5. Set the tempo, time, and other properties.
6. Click OK.
SONAR inserts the new tempo into the list.

To Edit a Tempo Change in the Tempo View

1. Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo
changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and
choosing Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip

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 Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command
disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2. Click the Tempo List button to display or hide the tempo list.
3. In the tempo list, select the tempo change to be edited.

4. Click Tempo Properties or double-click the tempo change to open the Tempo dialog
box.
5. Edit the tempo properties as desired.
6. Click OK.

To Delete a Tempo Change from the Tempo List in the Tempo View
1. Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo
changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and
choosing Groove-Clip Looping from the popup menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip
Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command
disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

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2. Click the Tempo List button to display or hide the tempo list.
3. In the tempo list, select the tempo change to be deleted.

4. Click Delete Tempo , or press Delete.

SONAR deletes the selected tempo change. You cannot delete the first tempo in the list.

Undo, Redo, and the Undo History

SONAR provides very powerful Undo and Redo commands that let you move forward or
backward through any portion of an editing session. Every project has its own independent
undo history. This means you can return to any open project and use the Undo and Redo
commands, even if youve spent the last hour working on a different project. The undo history
of a project is lost when you close the project.
Remembering everything that is necessary to undo the changes you have made can use a lot
of memory. If a change you are about to make requires too much memory and cannot be
undone, you will be advised that the operation is too big to undo later and asked if you want
to go ahead anyway. If you do choose to perform the operation, you will not be able to undo it.
Therefore, you may want to save your project first.

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The Edit-History command displays a complete history of the commands and actions you
can undo for the current project. The Undo History dialog box looks like this:

Most recent change

Click to clear the undo

Earliest change history

Adjust the number of

steps you can undo

The History command is grayed out until you make a change to the current project that can
be undone.
The History list is updated every time you make a change to a project. For example, if you
insert a new note into a project using the Piano Roll view, that action is added to the History
list. This entry remains on the listeven if you undo the changeso that you can redo the
change later on. If you delete the note, this change is added to the History list.
You can click the Clear button in the Undo History dialog box to erase the undo history for
the current project and free up some memory. If SONAR is low on memory, it may offer to
erase the History list.
To revert to an earlier version of a project, highlight the entry in the History list that
represents the point to which youd like to return, and click OK. SONAR performs the
necessary undo or redo actions to take you to that point. Once you edit the project (for
example, by inserting a note), the History list is truncated at that point. Then, as you do
further work, the History list grows again. Any events occurring before the event you
highlighted remain on the list.
By default, SONAR keeps a history of up to 128 editing actions for each open project. Once
that limit is reached, each new action pushes out the oldest item from the History list. You
can raise or lower that number in the Undo History dialog box.

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 6
Using Loops

Loops are short digital audio clips which are often designed to be repeated over and over or
looped, although some loops, called one-shots, are intended to play just once. Groove clips,
often used as loops, are digital audio clips that know their tempo and pitch information.
Groove clips automatically respond to changes in a projects tempo and can have their root

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note pitch adjusted using pitch markers. In SONAR, you can import ACID loops, or digital
audio clips and convert them to Groove clips. You can also record your own audio and create
Groove clips. To download more Groove clips and loops, visit www.cakewalk.com.

Note:
Groove clips and ACIDized loops are loaded into RAM, and can take up a lot of
memory. Once theyre loaded though, copying them does not increase the
amount of memory they take up.

In This Chapter
The Loop Construction View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
The Loop Explorer View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Working with Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Working with Groove Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
MIDI Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Importing Project5 Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
 :
The Loop Construction View
The Loop Construction view is where you create and edit Groove clips.

The Loop Construction view toolbar has tools for editing slicing markers and controls for previewing
loops.

Loop Construction Controls

The following is a list of the tools and controls in the Loop Construction view, followed by a description:

Save Loop as WAV

This button opens the Save As dialog. The clip in the Loop Construction view is saved as a Groove Clip/
Wave file that has tempo and pitch information stored in it, and can be opened in SONAR or ACID.
For more information, see Saving Groove Clips as Wave Files/ACIDized Wave Files on page 238.

Enable Looping
The Enable Looping button allows a clip to be looped by dragging in the Track view. Loop-enabled clips
follow changes in the project tempo. Click the Enable Looping button to loop clips in the Track view by
dragging the left or right side of a clip with your mouse. When you loop-enable a clip it automatically
snaps to the nearest beat boundary (at 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 etc. beats). SONAR calculates the appropriate beat
number. Change the number in the Beats in Clip field if you want to change the total number of beats in
the clip.

Enable Stretching
The Enable Stretching button allows a clip to follow a projects tempo as it changes. It instructs SONAR
to stretch or shrink the clip to fit the projects tempo. SONAR uses the Original BPM parameters to
make the change.

Beats in Clip
The number of beats in the clip.

Original BPM
The tempo at which the clip was recorded.

Follow Project Pitch

The Follow Project Pitch option transposes the loop, if necessary, to the project pitch which you can set
in the Markers toolbar. A loop recorded in the key of C, used in a project with a default project pitch of
A, would be transposed down three semitones if the Follow Project Pitch checkbox was checked. You can

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also insert markers in the Time Ruler which change the project pitch. These markers, called pitch
markers affect only Groove clips with Follow Project Pitch enabled.

Root Note
The Root Note represents the key in which the loop was originally recorded. The Follow Project Pitch
feature uses this information, when checked, to transpose the loop to match the projects default project
pitch and pitch markers.

Pitch (coarse)
You can set the transposition of a clip, independent from the project pitch, using the Pitch (Coarse) field.
A positive number transposes the clip up by that number of semitones. A negative number transposes
the clip down by that number of semitones. Remember that, if the Follow Project Pitch option is
checked, the clip follows the projects pitch. Any transposition changes to the pitch with this option
checked are changes to the project pitch, not the clip pitch.
An example: The project key is C. The clip key is D. If the Follow Project Pitch is enabled, the clip is
transposed down by two semitones. A value entered into the Pitch (coarse) field adjusts the pitch from
C. If you enter -1 the pitch would be transposed down by one additional semi tone to B.
Another example: The clip pitch is E. The desired clip pitch is D. If the Follow Project Pitch option is not

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enabled, and a value of -2 is entered in the Pitch (coarse) field, the clip is transposed down two
semitones to D from the original pitch of E.

Pitch (fine)
The Pitch (fine) field allows you to make tuning adjustments or to transpose the pitch of a clip up to 50
cents. There are 100 cents in one semi tone. A Pitch (fine) setting of 1 adjusts the pitch up one
hundredth of a semi tone. The Pitch (fine) option can fine tune a slightly out of tune clip so that it is in
pitch with the remaining clips in a project.

Slices Menu
The Slices menu sets the resolution for the creation of markers, or the slicing of the looped clip. This
menu uses note lengths, so the settings are:
Whole notes
Half notes
Quarter notes
Eighth notes
Sixteenth notes
Thirty-second notes
The automatic markers appear at the note resolutions according to the slider setting. At the eighth note
setting, there are eight markers per measure.
This control works well for slicing audio that has more subtle changes in volume with few dramatic
transients.
The markers in a loop clip preserve the timing of the audio at that moment. Too few or too many
markers can cause unwanted artifacts when a loop clip is stretched.

Trans Detect (%)

The Trans Detect control senses transients in your audio clip and assigns a marker at the beginning
and end of each one it finds. As the you increase the sensitivity (by using larger numbers) smaller
transients are detected and the number of markers increases.

Stop Preview
Stops loop preview playback.

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Preview Loops
Plays the current loop repeatedly. Use the Stop Preview control to stop playback.

Enable Slice Auto-Preview

Plays a slice when you click on it.

Click Auto-Preview Loop

Repeatedly plays a selected slice.

Preview Bus
Select the main out through which you want to listen to the clip.

Properties
The Properties button opens the Clip Properties dialog.

Select
Use the Select tool to move markers in the Markers bar.

Erase
Use the Erase tool to delete markers in the Markers bar.

Default All Markers

The Default All Markers tool restores all automatically generated markers to the original position and
enables all those that were disabled. Manually created markers remain as is.

Previous Slice
Moves slice selection to the previous slice. Click on a slice to select it.

Next Slice
Moves slice selection to the next slice. Click on a slice to select it.

Show/Hide Gain Envelope

Clicking this button shows or hides the clips gain envelope. Each slice of the clip has its own segment of
the envelope, which you can adjust by dragging the segment up or down.

Show/Hide Pan Envelope

Clicking this button shows or hides the clips pan envelope. Each slice of the clip has its own segment of
the envelope, which you can adjust by dragging the segment up or down.

Show/Hide Pitch Envelope

Clicking this button shows or hides the clips pitch envelope. Each slice of the clip has its own segment
of the envelope, which you can adjust by dragging the segment up or down.

Slice Gain
Changes the selected slices gain.

Slice Pan
Adjusts the selected slices pan. Negative is left and positive is right.

Slice Pitch
Adjusts the selected slices pitch. The first field is in half steps, the second field is in cents.

Slicing Markers
There are two types of slicing markers in the Loop Construction view: automatic and manual.
Automatic markers appear in red and are automatically generated by SONAR when you loop enable a
clip. The one exception to this is if you import an ACIDized wave file into SONAR. ACIDized files
always appear with manual slicing markers. Manual markers appear in purple. If you add a marker or

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 move an automatic marker, it turns purple to show you that it has been edited. For information on
editing slicing markers, see To Edit the Slicing Markers in a Groove Clip on page 237.

Audio Scaling
Audio scaling is the increase or decrease in the size (scale) of the waveform in clip. Audio scaling allows
you to make detailed edits by zooming in on the parts of the waveform closest to the zero crossing
(silence) while preserving the track size. By showing just the quietest parts of a clip, you can make very
precise edits.
The Audio Scale Ruler is located on the far left of the Loop Construction view.

Audio Scale Ruler Clip

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There are three right-click display options in the Audio Scale Ruler:
Percentageshows audio scaling by percentage. For example, if the highest percentage in the
Audio Scale Ruler reads 2.0%, then only the parts of the waveform which are within 2% of the zero
crossing appear in the clip.
dBshows audio scaling by dB. For example, if the highest dB in the Audio Scaling Ruler reads -
36, then only the parts of the waveform which are 36 dB below 0 dB appear in the clip.
Zoom Factorshows audio scaling by a factor. For example, if the Zoom Factor reads 10, then the
waveform is zoomed in by a factor of 10.

The Loop Explorer View

SONARs Loop Explorer view allows you to preview your Wave files before you drag and drop them into
the Track view. If you preview a Groove clip, it plays back at tempo and in the key of your current
project.
You can open the Loop Explorer view in any of the following methods:
Select View-Loop Explorer from the menu.

Click the Loop Explorer icon on the Views toolbar.

Press Alt+1

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The Loop Explorer view toolbar has the following controls:

Tool... Name... What It Does...

Move Up Opens the folder one level above the active folder.

Refresh Refreshes the active folder.

Windows Explorer Opens Windows Explorer at the same directory

being viewed in the Loop Explorer view.

Play Plays the selected media file.

Stop Stops the playback of the selected file.

Auto Preview Automatically preview files when you click on them

in the Loop Explorer view. If the selected file is a
Groove clip, it plays back in the project tempo and
key.

Views Allows you to change the way the files are viewed in
the list view:
Large icons
Small icons
List
Detailsdisplays the file size, date and
when the file was created and last
modified

Preview Bus Select the main out through which you want to listen
to the loop.

Folders Pane
The Folders pane shows all of the available files and folders in the selected drive.

Contents List Pane

The Contents List pane displays the folders and files contained in the active folder.

To Preview a Groove Clip

1. Click the Auto-preview button in the Loop Explorer toolbar.
2. Click on a Wave file in the Content List pane.
Each successive Wave file you select is previewed. You can also select multiple files and play them
simultaneously.
Or
1. Select a Wave file in the Content List pane.
2. Click the Play button in the Loop Explorer toolbar.
3. Click the Stop button to stop playing the selected Wave file.

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 When you preview a Groove clip in the Loop Explorer view, the clip plays in the project key and at the
project tempo.

To Drag a Loop into a Project

1. Click and drag the Wave file from the Loop Explorer view to the Track view.
2. Drop the Wave file in the track and at the time in which you want it in your project. If you drop the
file after the last track in your project, a new track is created for the file.

To Drag Multiple Loops into a Project

1. Select a Wave file and select additional by holding down the Ctrl key and selecting them.
2. Drag the Wave files from the Loop Explorer view to the Track view.
3. Drop the Wave files into the Track view at the time in which you want them in your project.
The Wave files appear on consecutive tracks in the Track view at the time selected.

Working with Loops

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You can make any audio clip into a loop by checking the Enable Looping checkbox in the Clip Properties
dialog. Once looping is enabled, you can drag out loops to create multiple repetitions. There are several
other ways to enable looping:

To Enable or Disable a Clip for Looping

1. Double-click on the clip you want to loop.
The Loop Construction view appears.

2. In the Loop Construction view, click the Enable Looping button .

Or
In the Track view, select a clip and press Ctrl+L or select Edit-Groove Clip Looping.

To Create Repetitions of a Loop

1. Set the Snap value if you want the loop to repeat at precise time boundaries.

2. Move the cursor over the end of the loop-enabled clip until the cursor looks like this .
3. When the cursor changes, click the end or beginning of the clip and drag it to the right (if you are
dragging out from the end) or left (if you are dragging from the beginning).
The clip repeats itself until you stop dragging.

To Create Partial Repetitions of a Loop

1. Move the cursor over the end of the loop-enabled clip until the cursor looks like this .
2. When the cursor changes, click the end or beginning of the clip and drag it to the right (if you are
dragging out from the end) or left (if you are dragging from the beginning).
If the Snap to Grid button is on, you can create a partial loop as small as the Snap to Grid setting
allows. For example, if your Snap to Grid setting is set to quarter notes, you can create partial
repetitions as small as a quarter of a measure.

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Working with Groove Clips
Groove clips are .WAV files that behave similarly to Sonic Foundrys ACIDized loops (SONAR also has
MIDI Groove clipssee MIDI Groove Clips on page 239). Groove clips contain information about the
audio content, including the original tempo, original reference pitch, number of beats in the loop, and
audio transient information.

How Groove Clips Work in SONAR

Groove clips have information saved within them which allow them to adjust to changes in tempo and
pitch. Groove clips can read a projects tempo and tempo changes, and can adjust their root note pitch
when they read pitch markers. You can add pitch markers in the Track views Time Ruler to transpose
the Groove clip. As your project passes over a pitch marker, SONAR transposes your Groove clips based
on the clips root note reference pitch. If you insert no pitch markers in your project, there are no pitch
changes in your Groove clips. The default project pitch is C.

Note:
When working with Groove clips, it is important to know the difference
between key and pitch. Your projects key signature has no effect on Groove
clips. The pitch of your Follow Project Pitch-enabled Groove clips is dictated by
pitch markers in the Time Ruler. If there are no pitch markers in your project,
these Groove clips play at the pitch set in the Markers toolbar (the default is
C).

Note:
Groove clips must be at least one beat in length. If you try to loop-enable a clip
of a shorter duration you may experience distortion or artifacts.

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Using Groove Clips
Groove clips are easy to use because they automatically adjust to your projects pitch markers and
tempo. You can import existing loops or create your own, using the Loop Construction view.

To Import a Groove Clip into Your Project

1. Select a Track in the Track view.
2. Set the Now Time to the place you want the clip to begin.
3. Select File-Import-Audio from the menu.
The Open dialog appears.
4. Navigate to a directory that contains Groove clips and select one.
5. Click Open.
Or
1. Open the Loop Explorer view.
2. Navigate to a directory that contains Groove clips.

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3. Drag and drop a clip into the Track view, or double-click it to insert it at the Now Time.
4. The clip appears on the track and at the time in your project where you drop it, so if you want the
clip on a new track, drop it after the last track in your project.
By default, Groove clips are loop-enabled and transposed to match the projects pitch.

Setting the Default Project Pitch

1. If necessary display the Markers toolbar by selecting View-Toolbars to open the Toolbars dialog.
In the toolbar dialog click Markers and OK.
2. In the Markers toolbar, click the Default Groove Clip Pitch dropdown menu and select a pitch.
Your project now uses the root note of your clips to transpose to the project pitch. Use Pitch markers at
different points in your project to change the pitch. For more information on Pitch markers, see Using
Pitch Markers in the Track View on page 238.

Creating and Editing Groove Clips

Any audio clip can be converted to a Groove clip. Groove clips contain tempo, beat, and pitch
information which SONAR uses to stretch and transpose the clips to match the project. Most Groove
clips are loop-enabled, meaning that you can use the mouse to drag clip repetitions in the Track view.
Groove clips can be either loop-enabled or not, although they usually are. When a Groove clip is loop-
enabled, its edges appear beveled. It is sometimes desirable to create clips that follow the projects
tempo and key, but are not intended to loop. The following is a list of the attributes contained in a
Groove clip:
Beats in clipThe number of quarter notes in a clip. A four measure clip in 4/4 time should have
16 beats. When you enable looping for a clip, SONAR calculates the number of beats in the clip
using an algorithm. This calculation is very often accurate, but in some cases, for instance when
the clip has a very slow or very fast tempo or if the clip has an unusual number of beats, then the
number of beats in a clip may have to be edited manually in the Beats in clip field.
Original tempoThe original tempo of the recording. SONAR uses the original tempo to adjust to
your projects tempo. The original tempo must be specified for stretching clips.
Note: When you loop-enable a clip, SONAR calculates the original tempo of the clip, and unless the
clips length is in exact beat or measure increments, the original tempo that SONAR calculates
may vary from the recorded tempo. These fluctuations are usually quite small and do not affect the
quality of the Groove clip you create.

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:
Reference noteThe original key of the recorded clip. SONAR uses the Reference note when it
transposes Groove clips to match your projects pitch.
These attributes can be edited in the Loop Construction view.

To Set the Number of Beats in a Groove Clip

When you open a clip in the Loop Construction view, SONAR determines the number of beats in the
clip. In some cases the beat value may not be correct. The beats in clip value can only be changed if the
clip is loop enabled.
Do the following to change value in the Beats in Clip field.
Click the plus or minus button to the right of the Beats in clip field until the correct value is
displayed.

To Change the Loop Construction View Time Ruler Display

You can display the Loop Construction view Time Ruler in measures or in samples. To toggle between
the two modes, double click the Time Ruler.

To Set the Tempo of a Groove Clip

When creating a new Groove clip, SONAR sets the clips tempo to the current project tempo. To ensure
proper stretching behavior you must set the value in the Original BPM field to the tempo at which you
recorded the clip. The tempo value of a clip can only be changed if the clip is stretch-enabled.
Do the following to change the value in the Original BPM field.
Click the plus or minus button to the right of the Original BPM field until the correct value is
displayed. For more precise tempos you can double-click in the Original BPM field and enter a
tempo.

To Slice a Clip
1. Double-click on a clip in the Clips pane.
The clip appears in the Loop Construction view.

2. Slice the clip using one or all of the following methods:

To do this Do this

Slice the clip on note divisions Move the Basic Slicing slider to the note
resolution you want. The Basic Slicing sliders
settings range from whole notes to 64th notes.
Selecting quarter notes, for example, would
create four markers per measure.

Slice the clip at transient peaks Move the Transient Detection slider to the right
until the larger transients in the clip are flanked
by markers.

Slice the clip manually Move your mouse to the space above the Time
Ruler and double-click to add a marker. Click
and drag the marker, if necessary, so it aligns
with the beginning or end of a transient.

3. Play your project and adjust the slicing of your clip as necessary.
Note: You can use any or all of these methods to slice a clip. If you adjust both the Slices and Trans
Detect menus, two markers may be placed right next to each other. If these markers are too close, the
markers will automatically merge. Manual markers will not automatically merge.

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To Transpose a Groove Clip to Match Your Projects Pitch
Follow this procedure to force the Groove clip to follow the projects default pitch.
1. Double-click the clip you want to transpose to the projects pitch.
The clip appears in the Loop Construction view.
2. Click the Follow Project Pitch button.

To Transpose a Groove Clip by Semitones

Follow this procedure to transpose a Groove clip by any number of semitones.
1. Double-click the clip you want to transpose to the projects pitch.
The clip appears in the Loop Construction view.
2. If the Follow Project Pitch button is enabled, click it to disable it.
3. In the Pitch (semitones) field, enter the number of semitones you want to transpose the clip by. A
negative number in the Pitch (semitones) field transposes a clip down. A positive number in the
Pitch (semitones) field transposes the clip up.

To Fine Tune a Groove Clip

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Follow this procedure to make slight pitch changes to a clip.
1. Double-click the clip you want to transpose to the projects pitch.
The clip appears in the Loop Construction view.
2. In the Fine Pitch (cents) field, enter the number of cents you want to adjust the pitch. You can
enter a number from -50 (transpose the pitch down by a quarter tone) to 50 (transpose the pitch up
by a quarter tone).

To Edit the Slicing Markers in a Groove Clip

The table below describes how to create and edit the slicing markers in the Loop Construction view.

To do this Do this

Add a slicing marker Move the mouse cursor to the Markers bar, at the
beginning of a transient and double-click.

Delete a slicing marker Select the Eraser tool and click on a marker.

Move a slicing marker Click and drag a marker

Reset slicing markers to original positions Click the Default All Markers button .

For more information on slicing markers, see Slicing Markers on page 230.

Editing Slices
Each slice (space between the slicing markers) can be adjusted in the Loop Construction view. You can
adjust the following slice attributes:
Gain
Pan
Pitch

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To Preview a Groove Clip Slice
1. Double-click on a clip to open the Loop Construction view.
2. Click the Enable Slice Auto-preview button.
3. Click a slice to hear it.

To Adjust a Groove Clip Slice Gain

1. In the Loop Construction view, select the slice on which you want to adjust the gain.
2. In the Slice Gain field, click the plus or minus buttons to change the gain value.
Or
Click between the plus and minus keys until the cursor becomes a double arrow and drag up to
increase the value or down to decrease the value.

To Adjust a Groove Clip Slice Pan

1. In the Loop Construction view, select the slice on which you want to adjust the pan.
2. In the Slice Pan field, click the plus or minus buttons to change the pan value. Negative is Left pan
and positive is right pan.

To Adjust a Groove Clip Slice Pitch (Half Steps)

1. In the Loop Construction view, select the slice on which you want to adjust the pitch.
2. In the first Slice Pitch field, click the plus or minus buttons to change the pitch value.

To Adjust a Groove Clip Slice Pitch (Cents)

1. In the Loop Construction view, select the slice on which you want to adjust the pitch.
2. In the second Slice Pitch field, click the plus or minus buttons to change the pitch value.

To Adjust Slice Gain, Pan and Pitch Using Slice Envelopes

You can change an envelopes gain, pan and/or pitch settings by dragging the envelope up or down in
that slice.

Saving Groove Clips as Wave Files/ACIDized Wave Files

Once you have created a Groove clip in SONAR, you can save the clip as a Groove Clip/Wave file,
compatible with ACIDized wave files.

To Save a Groove Clip as a Riff Wave File/ACIDized Wave File

1. If you have not already done so, create a Groove clip. In the Loop Construction view, click the Save
icon.
The Save As dialog appears.
2. Use the toolbar in the Save As dialog to navigate to the location where you want to save the file.
3. In the File name field, enter a name for the file.
4. Click the Save button.

To Drag and Drop a Groove Clip Into Another Application

You can drag and drop clips from SONAR to another application or to a directory in Windows. When you
drag a file from SONAR, the source file is copied and the copy is placed in the new directory or
application.

Using Pitch Markers in the Track View

Pitch markers change the pitch at which Groove clips sound. All Groove clips in SONAR that have the
Follow Project Pitch option enabled adjust their pitch as they encounter pitch markers in SONAR. If

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 there are no pitch markers, all Groove clips play at the default project pitch, unless the Follow Project
Pitch parameter is disabled.

Pitch marker: Groove Pitch marker: Groove

clips with Follow clips with Follow
Project Pitch enabled Project Pitch enabled
play with the Root play with the Root
Note transposed to C Time Ruler Note transposed to D

To Enable a Clips Follow Project Pitch Option

1. Right-click the clip and choose Clip Properties from the popup menu.
The Clip Properties dialog appears.
2. On the Groove Clips tab, check the Follow Project Pitch checkbox.
3. Make sure that the Reference Note field is correct. When your project reaches a pitch marker,
SONAR transposes each groove clip that has the Follow Project Pitch option enabled by the

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difference between the clips Reference Note and the current Project Pitch.
4. Click OK to close the dialog.

To Change Your Projects Default Pitch

1. Display the Markers toolbar, if its not already displayed, by using the View-Toolbars-Markers
command.
2. In the Default Groove-Clip Pitch dropdown menu at the right end of the toolbar, choose your
projects default pitch.
SONAR transposes each groove clip that has the Follow Project Pitch option enabled by the difference
between the clips Reference Note and the current Project Pitch. Your projects pitch changes wherever
you insert a pitch marker. If you dont insert any pitch markers, your project stays at its default pitch.

To Create a Pitch Marker

1. In the Track view, right-click in the Time Ruler.
2. Select Create a Marker from the menu that appears.
3. The Marker dialog appears.
4. In the Groove Clip Pitch dropdown, select a pitch.
5. Click OK.

To Move a Pitch Marker

Click and drag a pitch marker to a new location on the Time Ruler.

MIDI Groove Clips

MIDI Groove clips are MIDI clips that you can roll out like audio Groove clips, and you can also choose
to have SONAR transpose MIDI Groove clips when your project reaches a pitch marker.
You can change any MIDI clip into a MIDI Groove clip (or back into a regular MIDI clip) by selecting the
clip and using the Edit-Groove Clip Looping command. A MIDI clip that has its Groove clip feature
activated appears with beveled edges in the Clips pane.
Here are some other features of MIDI Groove clips:
You can roll out copies in either direction (just like audio Groove clips). The Snap-to-Grid setting

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determines what beat boundaries (if any) you can roll to.
You can edit individual repetitions without altering any other copies (unlike audio Groove clips).
Note: If you then roll the edge of your MIDI Groove clip back over the area you edited, you will lose
your edits.
All new repetitions are based on the first clip (just like audio Groove clips). However, if you split a
repetition from its original source clip, the repetition becomes independent: if you copy this clip,
SONAR treats it as an original clip.
You can import MIDI Groove clips from the Import MIDI dialog, the Loop Explorer view, and by
dragging and dropping from the Windows Explorer.
You can preview MIDI Groove clips in the Import MIDI dialog.
You can edit MIDI Groove clips wherever you can edit regular MIDI clips.
For step-by-step information, see the following procedures, and also Exporting, and Importing MIDI
Groove Clips on page 241.

To Enable or Disable a MIDI Clips Groove Clip Function

Select the clip and press Ctrl+L.
Or
Select the clip and use the Edit-Groove Clip Looping command.
Or
Right-click the clip and choose Groove Clip Looping from the popup menu.
A MIDI clip that has its Groove clip feature activated appears with beveled edges in the Clips pane.

To Create Repetitions of a MIDI Groove Clip

1. Set the Snap value if you want the clip to repeat at precise time boundaries.

2. Move the cursor over the end or beginning of the clip until the cursor looks like this .When the
cursor changes, click the end or beginning of the clip and drag it to the right (if you are dragging
out from the end) or left (if you are dragging from the beginning).
The clip repeats itself until you stop dragging.

To Transpose a MIDI Groove Clip

1. Select the MIDI Groove clip.
2. Hold down the Alt key, and press the + or - key on your computer keyboard to raise or lower the
clips pitches a half-step at a time. You dont have to stop playback.
Or
1. Right-click the clip and choose Clip Properties from the popup menu.
The Clip Properties dialog appears.
2. On the Groove Clips tab, in the Pitch (semitones) field, choose the number of half-steps you want to
transpose the clip by: choose negative numbers to transpose down, or positive numbers to
transpose up.
Either method transposes the original clip and all repetitions. The original clip displays a positive or
negative number in parentheses showing any transposition value youve added to the clip.
If you use pitch markers to transpose a clip, any transposition value you add to the clip by the above two
methods changes the final pitch by whatever transposition value youve added.

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To Transpose a MIDI Groove Clip with Pitch Markers
Use the same method you use for audio Groove clips: see Using Pitch Markers in the Track View on
page 238.

Exporting, and Importing MIDI Groove Clips

You can not export MIDI Groove clips by saving your project as a Standard MIDI FileStandard MIDI
Files do not contain MIDI Groove clip data, such as transposition value, etc. When you import MIDI
Groove clips, you can preview them in the Import MIDI dialog.
There are two methods for exporting MIDI Groove clips:
Using the File-Export-MIDI Groove Clip command
Dragging a MIDI Groove clip from SONAR to the Windows Explorer
There are three methods for importing MIDI Groove clips:
Using the File-Import-MIDI command
Using the Loop Explorer view

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Dragging a MIDI Groove clip from the Windows Explorer to a MIDI track in SONAR
For step-by-step information, see the following procedures:

To Export MIDI Groove Clips with the File Command

1. Highlight the MIDI Groove clip that you want to export.
2. Use the File-Export-MIDI Groove Clip command.
The Export MIDI dialog appears.
3. Navigate to a folder where you store MIDI Groove clips.
4. Type a name for the clip in the File Name field.
5. Click the Save button.
SONAR exports the MIDI Groove clip, which contains the information displayed in the Clip Properties
dialog, on the Groove-Clips tab, except for the Pitch (semitones) field, which does not get exported.

To Export a MIDI Groove Clip with Drag and Drop

Drag the MIDI Groove clip that you want to export to the folder in the Windows Explorer where
you want to keep it.

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 :
To Import MIDI Groove Clips with the File Command
1. Move the Now Time to the place where you want to import the clip.
2. Highlight the track you want to import the clip into.
3. Use the File-Import-MIDI command.
The Import MIDI dialog appears,
4. Navigate to a folder where you store MIDI Groove clips. Make sure that the Files of Type field is
set to MIDI File.
5. Highlight the file you want to importthe File Info field displays the files MIDI Groove clip data,
if any.
6. If you want to preview (listen to) the highlighted file, click the Play button in the Import MIDI
dialog. When you decide to import the highlighted file, click the Open button.

To Import MIDI Groove Clips from the Loop Explorer View

1. Make sure that the Snap-to-Grid setting is appropriate for what you want to do.
2. If the Loop Explorer view is not open, use the View-Loop Explorer command to display it.
3. Navigate to a folder where you store MIDI Groove clips.
4. Do either of the following:
Drag the file you want to the track and time where you want it.
Move the Now Time to the place where you want to import the file, highlight the track you
want to import the file into, and double-click the file.

To Import a MIDI Groove Clip with Drag and Drop

1. Make sure that the Snap-to-Grid setting is appropriate for what you want to do.
2. In the Windows Explorer, navigate to a folder where you store MIDI Groove clips.
3. Drag the MIDI Groove clip to the track and time where you want it to go.

Importing Project5 Patterns

Project5 is Cakewalks pattern-based soft synth work station that has its own library (pattern bin) full
of MIDI and audio patterns, stored on disk. If you have Project5 MIDI patterns on your hard disk, you
can import them directly into SONAR.

To Import a Project5 Pattern

1. Move the Now Time to the place where you want to import the pattern.
2. Highlight the track you want to import the pattern into.
3. Use the File-Import-MIDI command.
The Import MIDI dialog appears,
4. Change the Files of Type field to P5 Pattern.
5. Navigate to a folder where you store Project5 MIDI patterns.
6. Highlight the file you want to import.
7. To import the highlighted file, click the Open button.
SONAR imports the pattern to the selected track at the Now Time.

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 7 Editing MIDI Events and
Controllers

SONAR lets you edit the events in your projects in dozens of different ways. The Piano Roll
view lets you add and edit notes, controllers, and automation data interactively, using a
graphic display. SONARs many editing commands can improve the quality of recorded
performances, filter out certain types of events, and modify the tempos and dynamics of your

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projects. The Event List view lets you see and modify every detail of your project. Finally, you
can apply a variety of effects and filters to enhance your MIDI data.
SONAR has many additional commands and features for working with audio. For more
information, see Editing Audio on page 315.

In This Chapter
Event Inspector Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
The Piano Roll View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Selecting and Editing Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Slip Editing MIDI (Non-destructive Editing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Changing the Timing of a Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Searching for Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
The Event List View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
 :
Event Inspector Toolbar
The Event Inspector toolbar is available from the View menu by selecting View-Toolbars and checking
Event Inspector in the Toolbars dialog. The Event Inspector has the following:
Time
Pitch
Velocity
Duration
Channel

To Display a Notes Properties in the Event Inspector Toolbar

Select a note.
If you select multiple notes, the Event Inspector toolbar displays the note value if all selected note
values are the same. If the note values are different, the Event Inspector does not display
anything.

To Change a Notes Properties Using the Event Inspector Toolbar

1. Select a note.
2. In the appropriate Event Inspector toolbar field, change the value. See the table below for a
description of valid value entries for each field in the Event Inspector toolbar.

Event Inspector Valid Values

Field

Time Any valid M:B:T time value. Separate values with a colon or a space. For
example, measure 2, Beat 3, Tick 720 would be written as 2:3:720.

Pitch Note names (C0 through G10) and note numbers (0 through 127) are valid
in this field. Also, you can use a modifier to raise or lower the value by a
number of half-steps. To raise the pitch by 2 half-steps, type +2 and press
enter. To lower the pitch by 2 half-steps, type -2 and press enter.

Velocity A velocity value or modifier value are valid in this field. Valid velocity
values are 0 through 127. Valid modifier values are +/- 0 through 127.

Duration A PPQ value.

Channel 1 through 16.

The Piano Roll View

The Piano Roll view displays all notes and other events from one or more MIDI tracks in a grid format
that looks much like a player piano roll. Notes are displayed as horizontal bars, and drum notes as
diamonds. Pitch runs from bottom to top, with the left vertical margin indicating the pitches as piano
keys or note names. Time is displayed running left to right with vertical measure and beat boundaries.
The Piano Roll view makes it easy to add, edit, and delete notes from a track.
A single-track version of the Piano Roll view is available in each track in the Track view. This view is
called the Inline Piano Roll view, and replaces the Clips pane in any track that you choose to display in
Inline Piano Roll mode.

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 The Piano Roll view consists of the Note Map pane, the Drum Grid pane, the Notes pane, the Controller
pane, the Piano Roll view toolbar, and the Track List pane.

Toolbar

Show/Hide MIDI
Events menu

Edit MIDI Event Type

menu

Note Map pane

Drum Grid pane

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Notes pane

Controller pane

Tooltip shows cursor position Track List pane

and editing data while you edit
an event Selected track

Note Map Pane

This pane displays your drum map settings. You can mute or solo individual pitches, and preview
individual pitch sounds. For more information about the Note Map Pane, see The Note Map Pane on
page 310.

Drum Grid Pane

In the Drum Grid pane you can add, delete, and edit notes and note properties in any MIDI track(s)
assigned to a drum map. You can also edit controllers in this pane if you choose to hide the Controller
pane.
For more information, see The Drum Grid Pane on page 311Adding and Editing Controllers in the
Piano Roll View on page 254.

Notes Pane
In this pane you can add, edit, and delete notes in any MIDI track(s) not assigned to a drum map. You
can also edit controllers in this pane if you choose to hide the Controller pane.

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 :
Controller Pane
This pane displays controller events, which you can edit. You can show or hide this pane by clicking the
Use Controller Pane button that is in the Piano Roll view toolbar, or by pressing C. When the
Controller pane is hidden, all controller events appear in the Notes pane.

Track List Pane

The Track List pane is home to a list of all tracks currently displayed in the Piano Roll view. In this
pane you can enable and disable editing of a tracks data; mute, solo and arm a track; and show or hide
the tracks data in the Notes pane or Drum Grid pane. Track numbers, names and output ports appear
in the Track List pane. You can show or hide the Track List pane by clicking the Show/Hide Track Pane
button in the Piano Roll view toolbar.
If you see an error message saying that you have masked the active track, it means that the active track
is not visible at the moment. To unmask the track click the tracks Show/Hide Track button in the
Track List pane so that the button appears in color.

Opening the View

There are several ways to open the Piano Roll view:
In the Track view, select the track you want to see, then choose View-Piano Roll or press Alt+5
In the Track view, right-click on a track and choose View-Piano Roll from the popup menu
Double-click on a MIDI clip in the Clips pane
Each selected track is displayed. You can always switch to a different track or trackssimply click the
button (or press T) and choose the track you want.
The Piano Roll view lets you edit notes and controllers during playback or recording, in real time. This
means you can loop over a portion of your project and hear any change you make on the next loop. The
Piano Roll view also shows notes on-screen as you record them.
Like the Track view, the Piano Roll view includes zoom tools that let you change the vertical and
horizontal scale of the view. The Piano Roll view also has a Snap to Grid button. For more
information on this feature, see Defining and Using the Snap Grid on page 201.

Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View

You can view as many tracks as you want in the Piano Roll view. When you display several tracks at the
same time in the Piano Roll view, you control which track(s) you can see and/or edit by using the
buttons in the Track List pane. You can show or hide the Track List pane by clicking the Show/Hide
Track Pane button in the Piano Roll view toolbar.
If you want to edit the data in a track, you must make the track you want to edit the current track. The
name of the current track appears highlighted in the Track List pane. To display the Track List pane in

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the Piano Roll view, click the Show/Hide Track List pane button . The following shows three tracks
in the Track List pane:

Track disabled for track editing

Tracks data shown in

Output
Notes pane

Tracks data hidden in Notes pane Current track

Mute
Arm
Solo
Track enabled for track editing

To make a track the current track in the Track List pane, click on the track. When a thin dotted line
surrounds the track, it is the current track.

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Tip: Clicking a note will make the notes parent track the current track.
The following is a list of ways to optimize the multiple track functionality in the Piano Roll view.

Selecting Tracks to View

Use the Pick Tracks combo button to assign tracks to the Track List pane. Click on the left side of
the Pick Tracks combo button to open the Pick Tracks dialog box. Click on a track name to select it.
Hold down the Ctrl key and click more track names to select additional tracks. Click on the right side of
the Pick Tracks combo button to show the Show Previous/Next Tracks popup menu. Selecting Show
Previous Track(s) moves the track or range of tracks down by one track number. Selecting Show Next
Track(s) moves the track or range of tracks up by one track number. For example, if you have tracks 2, 3
and 7 displayed in the Track List pane and you select Show Previous Track(s), the Track List pane
displays tracks 1, 2, and 6.

Display
If the notes of two tracks overlap, the notes of the topmost track in the Track List pane appear over the
notes of the other track. You can move a track up or down by in the Track List pane by clicking and
holding on the track and moving the track to the desired position.
All tracks ending in the same digit (2, 12, 22, etc.) share the same color. The default colors can be
changed using Options-Colors.

The Enable/Disable Track Editing Button

The Enable/Disable Track Editing button sets whether or not you can edit the notes of a track in
the Piano Roll view. When the button appears white, editing is enabled and the track appears in color.
When the button appears gray, editing is disabled and the track appears in gray.
Note: The Enable/Disable Track Editing button only disables the Piano Roll view tools; other editing
commands are still operational.

The Show/Hide Track Button

The Show/Hide Track button controls whether or not a track appears in the Notes pane. The button
appears in color when toggled on, white when off.

The Invert Tracks Button

If you use the Show/Hide Track button to hide any tracks in the Track List pane, you can show all these
tracks and hide the ones that are currently displayed by clicking the Invert Tracks button.

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 Note Names
:
You can change the instrument definition for the active track in the Piano Roll view. Right-click the
piano keys in the Notes pane to open the Note Names dialog where you can use note names that are
defined as part of any instrument definition. For more information about instrument definitions, see
Chapter 16, Using Instrument Definitions.

To Change the Active Tracks Instrument Definition

1. Right-click the left side of the Notes pane (where the piano keys or note names are displayed) to
display the Note Names dialog box.

2. To use the note names from the assigned instrument (the default), click Use the Assigned
Instrument Settings. Click Configure to change the instrument definitions.
3. To override the default setting, click Use These Settings Instead, and choose the note names and
mode you want to work with.
4. Click OK when you are done
The Piano Roll view is updated with the settings you request.

Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View

Only)
The Show/Hide MIDI Events button in the Piano Roll view lets you quickly hide or show any
combination of the data in a MIDI track or in multiple MIDI tracks. This button is independent of the
Show/Hide MIDI Events button in a tracks Inline Piano Roll view (see also Displaying Notes and
Controllers in the Inline Piano Roll View on page 260)).
The Show/Hide MIDI Events button is located in the upper left corner of the Piano Roll view.

To Hide or Show Data in the Piano Roll View

1. If you want to display the data from multiple MIDI tracks, first choose and configure the tracks
from which you want to display data (see Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View on
page 246).

2. Click the dropdown arrow on the Show/Hide MIDI Events button to display the menu of
MIDI data in the current track (the track that is highlighted in the Track List pane, or in the Track
view).
3. Choose from the following menu options:
To hide or show notes for all displayed tracks, click Show Notes.
To display the notes velocity columns in either wide or narrow mode, click Full Width
Velocity.
To hide or show the outline(s) of the clip(s) youre looking at, choose Show Clip Outlines.
To hide or show a controller type for all displayed tracks, click the name of the controller.

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 To show all controllers in all displayed tracks, click Add All Existing Value Types.
4. After you choose an option, the menu closes. You can repeat steps 2 and 3 to choose more options.
5. To hide or show all controllers in all tracks, click the left side of the Edit MIDI Event Type button.
The button turns white when all controllers are hidden, and blue when all controllers are showing.

Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll View

You add notes in the Piano Roll view or Inline Piano Roll view by first choosing a note duration in the
Piano Roll toolbar (or in the current tracks Note Duration menu if youre using the Inline Piano Roll
view), and then clicking in the view with the Draw tool at the pitch location and time location where you
want the note to go. The pitch locations are marked by grey rows for the sharps or flats, and white rows
for naturals. Octaves are labeled on the keyboard display on the left side of the Piano Roll view, and by
the MIDI Scale in the Inline Piano Roll view. You can display different octaves by dragging the vertical
scroll bar thats on the right side of the Piano Roll view, or by dragging the MIDI Scale in the Inline
Piano Roll view. The time locations are marked by the measure numbers in the horizontal time ruler
thats at the top of the view, and by the vertical grid lines that mark the beats in the measure. The Snap

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to Grid menu determines how precisely you can place your notes in time.
You can edit notes by a variety of methods:
Select notes, and then use editing commands from the Edit menu, the Process menu, or the Event
Inspector toolbar
Move single or groups of selected notes with the Select tool
Edit the pitch, location, duration, start time, and velocity of individual or groups of selected notes
with the Draw tool
For step-by-step procedures, see the following topics:

Selecting Notes
There are several ways to select notes in the Piano Roll view and Inline Piano Roll view:
Click and drag in the Piano Roll views Time Ruler to select notes (and other MIDI events) that
start playing within the time range that you select.
In the Inline Piano Roll view, click and drag in the Track views Time Ruler to select notes (and
other MIDI events) that start playing within the time range that you select. This selects data in
the current track, or all selected tracks.
Click notes or drag around them with the Select tool .
In the Piano Roll view only (not the Inline Piano Roll view): click or drag the piano keys to the left
of the Notes pane or the drum map rows in Note Map pane to select all notes of the desired
pitch(es).
In the Inline Piano Roll view: Shift-click or Shift-drag the piano keys on the MIDI Scale to select
all notes of the desired pitch(es).

To Select Notes with the Select Tool

1. Activate the Select tool by clicking it in either the Piano Roll view toolbar or the Inline Piano Roll
toolbar (depending on which view youre working in).

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 2.
:
Select notes as shown in the table:

To do this Do this

Select a single note Click on the note

Select several notes at once Drag a rectangle around the notes you want
to select

Add to the selection Hold the Shift key while selecting notes

Toggle the selection Hold the Ctrl key while selecting notes

Select notes in a certain time range. Set the desired Snap to Grid value in either
the Piano Roll view or the Inline Piano Roll
view (depending on which view youre
working in), and drag in the Time Ruler of the
appropriate view.

Selected notes are highlighted (50% gray mask).

To Select All Notes of Certain Pitches (Piano Roll View Only)

Click the piano keys on the left side of the Notes pane or the drum map rows in the Note Map pane as
shown in the table:

To do this Do this

Select all notes of a single pitch Click on the piano key or drum map row

Select all notes of several pitches Drag across the keys or drum map rows

Add to the selection Hold the Shift key while clicking on a piano key or
drum map row

Toggle the selection Hold the Ctrl key while clicking on a piano key or
drum map row

To Select All Notes of Certain Pitches (Inline Piano Roll View Only)
1. Zoom the MIDI Scale in far enough to see the keys clearly (left-click and drag on the MIDI Scale).
2. Shift-click a piano key to select all the notes of that pitch, or Shift-drag through multiple notes to
select them.
Ctrl-clicking to select multiple non-adjacent notes is not possible in the MIDI Scale.

Editing Notes with the Draw Tool and the Select Tool
You can edit notes in the Piano Roll view and the Inline Piano Roll view with the same methods. The
Draw tool and the Select tool are useful for quick note editing. You can do the same edits with
commands in the Process menu (Length, Slide, Transpose). If you want to edit multiple notes at the
same time, first select them with the Select tool.
MIDI notes display their velocity value as a wide or narrow column. You can drag the column up or
down to edit the notes velocity. Holding the Draw tool over the middle of the note in the upper third of
the note displays a small velocity column on the Draw tool to show that the tool is in the target zone.

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 Draw tool in velocity-edit mode

Tooltip showing cursor position

Velocity column

Tooltips give you a constant readout of the cursor position, how much youve edited the selection, and
how many notes youre editing.
In the picture below, the tooltip lists the current location of the cursor, how far the selection has moved
from its original location (1252 ticks to the right), the current pitch level and MIDI note number of the
cursor (E8 100), how far from the notes original pitch the cursor has moved (1 half-step higher), and
how many notes are in the selection.

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When you drag multiple notes, the Piano Roll view auditions them, so you can hear all of them as they
pass through different pitch levels.

To Edit Notes with the Draw Tool

1. If you want to edit multiple notes at the same time, select them with the Select tool. Editing any of
the notes in the selection edits all the selected notes in the same way.

2. Click to select the Draw tool. (make sure that the Auto-Erase button is not enabled, unless you
want to delete notes).
3. Set the Snap to Grid to the desired value (if youre editing in the Inline Piano Roll view, make sure
you use the PRV tab of the Snap to Grid dialog).

4. Edit notes as described in the table:

To do this Do this

Change the start time, but not the Drag the left edge of the note in either direction.
duration

The start time of the note is moved to the new location.

Change the pitch Drag the middle of the note up or down.

Move the note horizontally Move the cursor just inside the left edge of the note until it
looks like this:

Then drag left or right.

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 :
Change the duration Drag the right edge of the note in either direction.

Copy and paste notes Hold the Ctrl key down, and drag notes so as to either move
them horizontally or change the pitch (see above), and
release the mouse at the desired location.

Add a note See To Draw Notes on page 252.

Edit velocity See To Edit Velocity on page 252.

Delete notes Click the Auto Erase button to enable it, and click each note
that you want to delete, or drag through multiple notes.
When the Auto Erase button is enabled, a small eraser icon
appears at the bottom of the Draw tool when the Draw tool
approaches notes from below.
Tip: press Alt to invoke Auto-mute.

To Draw Notes
1. In the Edit MIDI Event Type menu in the Piano Roll view, or the Inline Piano Roll view (depending
on which view youre working in), select Notes/Velocity.
2. Enable the Draw tool in the Piano Roll toolbar, or the Inline Piano Roll toolbar.
3. Choose a duration for the note by clicking a note-head button in the Piano Roll toolbar, or the Note
Duration menu in the track controls if youre using the Inline Piano Roll view.
4. Set the Snap to Grid to the desired value (if youre editing in the Inline Piano Roll view, make sure
you use the PRV tab of the Snap to Grid dialog).
5. Click in the Notes pane at the pitch and location where you want the note: pitch locations are
marked by grey rows for the sharps or flats, and white rows for naturals. Octaves are labeled on
the keyboard display on the left side of the view (this is called the MIDI Scale in the Inline Piano
Roll view). You can display different octaves by dragging the vertical scroll bar thats on the right
side of the Piano Roll view, or by dragging the MIDI Scale in the Inline Piano Roll view. The time
locations are marked by the measure numbers in the horizontal time ruler thats at the top of each
view. You can display vertical grid lines that mark the beats in the measure by clicking the Show/
Hide Grid button in the Piano Roll view, or by right-clicking the Clips pane (not the Inline
Piano Roll view), choosing View Options from the popup menu, and checking the Display Vertical
Rules checkbox.

To Edit Velocity
1. If you want to edit multiple notes at the same time, select them with the Select tool. Editing any of
the notes in the selection edits all the selected notes in the same way.
2. Make sure Velocity has a checkmark next to it in the Show/Hide MIDI Events menu.
3. Enable the Draw tool.
4. Move the cursor over the upper third of the middle of the note. When you reach the target area, the
Draw tool displays a small velocity column to show that you have enabled velocity editing.
5. Drag up or down to edit velocity. The tooltip shows you the velocity value that the cursor is passing
through, the difference from the original value, and how many notes youre editing.
Note: instead of moving the cursor over the upper third of the note to activate velocity editing, you can
hold down the Ctrl key instead. This allows you to drag the Draw tool horizontally to draw the desired
veloctiy level(s).

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To Edit Notes with the Select Tool
1. If you want to edit multiple notes at the same time, select them with the Select tool. Editing any of
the notes in the selection edits all the selected notes in the same way.
2. Set the Snap to Grid to the desired value (if youre editing in the Inline Piano Roll view, make sure
you use the PRV tab of the Snap to Grid dialog).

3. Edit notes as described in the table:

To do this Do this

Change the start time, but not the Drag the note left or right
duration

Change the pitch Drag the note up or down.

Copy and paste notes Hold the Ctrl key down, and drag notes horizontally and/or
vertically, and release the mouse at the desired location.

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Delete notes Press the Delete key.

To Change Note Properties

1. Right-click a single note to display the Note Properties dialog box.
2. Edit the desired start time, pitch, duration, velocity, or channel.
3. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR updates the note event accordingly. Note that you can also edit note velocity in the Notes pane
and the Event Inspector toolbar. For information on changing note velocities in the Drum Grid Editor,
see Editing Note Velocities on page 309. For more information, see Velocity, Pitch Wheel, and
Aftertouch on page 288.

To Temporarily Turn off the Auto Erase Button

1. Hold down the Alt key.
2. Make the desired edits.
3. Release the Alt key.

To Scrub the Project

1. Click or press B to select the Scrub tool.
2. Press and hold the left mouse button in the Piano Roll view. SONAR displays a vertical line and
plays any notes that are underneath the line.
3. Drag the line to the left or right, at any desired speed.
Note that the Mute, Solo and Arm buttons do not affect Scrub. If the track is hidden, however, you do
not hear notes in that track.

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 :
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll
View
Controller events (MIDI continuous controllers, pitch wheel, NRPNs, and RPNs) appear in either the
Notes Pane or the Controller pane, depending on whether you choose to display the Controller pane or
not. Each controller event has an edit handle at the top, which you can drag to edit, and a tail under the
edit handle, which graphically demonstrates the controller events current value. The tail changes
colors to show whether you can edit a particular type of controller, and also turns dark to show that the
controller event is selected. Controller events appear in different colors so you can differentiate them
when youre displaying multiple controller events, possibly in multiple tracks.
Note: only the current track and current events appear in a solid color. All other tracks and events
appear in de-saturated colors.

A single controller event

Edit handle

Controller tail

To show which events belong to which track, and which ones are the current events (the ones you can
edit), and which events are selected, controller events use the following color patterns:
Controller tailuses the same color as the edit handle when the controller can be edited (in other
words, when the controller is selected in the Edit MIDI Event Type menu). You can automatically
enable a controller type for editing by clicking its edit handle with the Draw tool.
Selectedif a controller event is selected, both the edit handle and the tail darken in shade the
way that selected notes do.

Adding Controllers
When you add a new controller type to a track, the controller type is automatically chosen in the Show/
Hide MIDI Events menu, so that you can see it. For help showing and hiding all the other MIDI data
you may have in your track or tracks, see Displaying Notes and Controllers in the Inline Piano Roll
View on page 260, Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View Only) on page 248, and
Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View on page 246.

To Add Controller Data with the Draw Tool

1. Click the Edit MIDI Event Type menu , and choose New Value Type from the popup
menu.
The MIDI Event Type dialog appears.
2. Choose options from the following fields:
Typechoose the type of controller you want to add (for example, choose Control if you want
to edit volume).

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 Valuethis field is greyed-out if you choose Wheel or ChanAft in the Type field. If you choose
Control, RPN, or NRPN in the Type field, choose which Control, RPN, or NRPN you want to
add. For example, to edit volume, choose 7-Volume in this field if you chose Control in the
Type field.
Channelchoose a MIDI channel for the controller if you want. If your track has a MIDI
channel listed in the Ch field, all MIDI data in your track uses the listed MIDI channel.
3. Click OK to close the dialog.
4. Activate the Draw tool in either the Piano Roll view toolbar or the Inline Piano Roll toolbar
(depending on which view youre working in), and add your controller values by using one of the
following methods:
Depress the mouse at the point where you want your controller messages to start, and drag
the Draw tool to draw the kind of curve you want your controller messages to follow. A tooltip
appears when you depress the mouse, and constantly reports the controller name, channel,
value, and location of the controller value that you are entering. Release the mouse where you
want your curve to end.
Tip: to draw a straight line, hold the Shift key down while you draw.

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To add one controller event at a time, click each place that you want to add a controller value.
A tooltip appears when you click, and reports the controller name, channel, value, and
location of the controller value that you are entering.
The controller events you added appear as vertical lines, each with an edit handle at the top that you
can drag. Each different type of controller event appears with a different color.
When you use the Draw tool, the speed with which you drag the mouse determines the density of
controller events. To insert a larger number of controller events with relatively small changes in value,
move the mouse slowly. To insert a smaller number of controller events with relatively large changes in
value, drag the mouse quickly.

To Insert a Series of Controllers

1. Choose Insert-Series of Controllers to display the Insert Series of Controllers dialog box.
2. Choose the controller type from the Insert list.
3. Choose the controller number or type from the Number list.
4. Use the spinners or enter the desired MIDI channel.
5. Enter a starting and ending value in the Begin and End boxes.
6. Enter a starting and ending time in the From and Thru boxes.
7. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR inserts a series of controller events with values that change smoothly over time from the
starting to the ending value indicated in the dialog box. This command never inserts more than one
event on the same clock tick. If any controllers of the type you have selected already exist in the time
region, SONAR deletes these before inserting the new ones.

Selecting Controllers
To perform many editing procedures on controllers, you first need to select the controller events you
want to edit. A selected controller event turns dark when it is selected. You can select a single controller
event, multiple controller events of the same type, or all controller events.

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To Select Controller Events of the Same Type
1. Click the Edit MIDI Event Type menu , choose the type of event you want to select
from the popup menu.
2. Activate the Select tool in the Piano Roll toolbar or the Inline Piano Roll toolbar (depending on
which view youre working in), and select one or more controller events by usint the following
techniques:
Drag a rectangle around the edit handles of the controller events that you want to select.
Shift-click or Shift-drag to add other controllers to the selection.
Ctrl-click to or Ctrl-drag toggle the selection state of a controller.
Click and drag in the Time Ruler.

Editing Controllers
Each controller value appears with a handle at the top of it, which you can drag vertically with the
Select tool or the Draw tool, or horizontally (Select tool only).
Activate the Select tool or the Draw tool by clicking their respective icons in either the Piano Roll view
toolbar, or the Inline Piano Roll toolbar, depending on which view youre working in.
Tip: you can assign the Inline Piano Roll view tools to key bindings.

To Edit or Delete Controller Events with the Select Tool

1. Select the type of controller events you want to edit by clicking the Edit MIDI Event Type menu
, and choosing the controller type from the popup menu.
The controller events you chose change shade to show that you can edit them.
2. Drag the edit handle of each controller event that you want to edit vertically and/or horizontally. A
tooltip appears when you depress the mouse, and constantly reports the controller name, channel,
value, and location of the controller value that you are editing. Release the mouse where you want
your controller value to be.
3. To delete controller events, select them, and press the Delete key.

To Edit or Delete Controller Events with the Draw Tool

1. Select the type of controller events you want to edit by clicking the Edit MIDI Event Type menu,
and choosing the controller type from the popup menu.
Or
1. Click an edit handle on the type of controller events you want to edit. This automatically chooses
the controller in the Edit MIDI Event Type menu.
The tails of the controller events you choose change to the same color as their edit handles to show
that you can edit them.
2. Edit the controller by using any of the following methods:
To edit a single event, drag an edit handle vertically.
Redraw a series of controller events by dragging a new curve through the events.
Delete a single controller event by activating the Auto Erase button, and clicking a
controllers edit handle. You can override the Auto Erase button (temporarily reverse its
current state) by holding down the Alt key while you click.

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The Inline Piano Roll View
The Inline Piano Roll view lets you edit note and continuous controller events for a single track directly
in the Track view. Clicking the PRV Mode button in a track changes the Clips pane for that track into a
single-track Piano Roll view which displays all the tracks MIDI data, including data from all track
layers. If a track uses a Drum Map, the Inline Piano Roll view for that track displays the Drum Maps
note names on the tracks MIDI Scale (see The MIDI Scale on page 258 for more information).
In this view, you can:
Edit notes and controller events
Edit multiple notes or events
Display multiple controller types simultaneously
Choose which MIDI events you want to display
Use separate Snap to Grid settings in the Clips pane mode and Inline Piano Roll mode
You control the Inline Piano Roll view with controls in the Inline Piano Roll toolbar, the MIDI Scale, and

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four buttons found in the Track strip controls of each track: the PRV Mode button, the Show/Hide MIDI
Events button, the Edit MIDI Event Type button, and the Note Duration button. These three buttons
appear when you enable the PRV Mode button.
To display the Inline Piano Roll toolbar, use the View-Toolbars command, and check the Inline Piano
Roll Toolbar checkbox.
See the following two figures:

Track strip in PRV mode

Show/Hide MIDI Events button PRV Mode button

Note Duration menu

MIDI Scale
Edit MIDI Event Type
menu

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Inline Piano Roll toolbar

Show/Hide Notes

Show/Hide Velocity Tails (on

Draw tool drum-mapped tracks)

Select tool PRV Mode

Auto Erase button Show/Hide Fit Content

Controllers

To draw and edit notes and controllers in the Inline Piano Roll view, see Adding and Editing Notes in
the Piano Roll View on page 249 and Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll View on page
254

Displaying the Inline Piano Roll View

Use the following methods to hide or show the Inline Piano Roll view.

To Hide or Show an Individual Tracks Inline Piano Roll View

In the Track pane, click the PRV mode button of the track that you want to display in Inline Piano
Roll view mode.
or
Double-click a MIDI clip in the Clips pane, if Inline Piano Roll Mode is selected in the MIDI Clips
field of the Clip View Options dialog. To open the Clips View Options dialog, right-click in the Clips
pane, and select View Options from the popup menu.

To Hide or Show All Tracks Inline Piano Roll Views

In the Inline Piano Roll toolbar, click the PRV mode button. To display the Inline Piano Roll
toolbar, use the View-Toolbars command to open the Toolbars dialog, and check the Inline Piano
Roll checkbox.
or
Use the Track-In-line PRV-PRV Mode command.

The MIDI Scale

MIDI tracks have a control called the MIDI Scale. This control displays a vertical ruler labeled with
MIDI values (in 7bit Values mode) or MIDI notes (in Notes mode), giving you a visual guide for editing
notes and controllers. The MIDI Scale is also a vertical zoom control. If a track uses a Drum Map, the
MIDI Scale for that track displays the Drum Maps note names on the tracks MIDI Scale (in Notes
mode).

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MIDI Scale in Notes mode

MIDI Scale

To Zoom Vertically with the MIDI Scale

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1. Put the MIDI Scale into notes mode by right-clicking the MIDI Scale and choosing Notes from the
popup menu.
2. Hold the mouse over the MIDI Scale so that the cursor changes to a small vertical keyboard, and
drag upward to zoom in. The Inline Piano Roll view zooms in.
Note: in Notes mode, if the track is zoomed-out too far, there is not enough room in the MIDI Scale
to display the keyboard. To see the keyboard, you need to zoom in far enough to display the
keyboard.
3. To zoom out, drag downward on the keyboard display.
You can also zoom by using the Track view zoom controls.

To Scroll Vertically with the MIDI Scale

Right-click the MIDI Scale and drag up or down to scroll.

To Fit a Single Tracks Content into its Inline Piano Roll View
Right-click the MIDI Scale and choose Fit Content from the popup menu.
Or
Ctrl-double-click the MIDI Scale.

To Audition and Select Notes

To audition and select a note, Shift-click the notes pitch in the MIDI Scale.
To audition and select all notes within a certain range, Shift-drag through the notes range of
pitches in the MIDI Scale.

To Fit All Tracks Contents into their Inline Piano Roll Views
1. If you only want to use this command on certain tracks, select the tracks first. If no MIDI tracks
are selected, or if all MIDI tracks are selected, the command works on all MIDI tracks.
2. Do one of the following:
Use the Track-In-line PRV-Fit Content command.
Or

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Click the Fit Content button on the Inline Piano Roll toolbar. To display the Inline Piano Roll
toolbar, use the View-Toolbars command to open the Toolbars dialog, and check the Inline Piano
Roll checkbox.

To Change the MIDI Scales Display Mode

Right-click the MIDI Scale to display the popup menu, and choose either 7bit Values (this
displays MIDI values), or Notes (this displays the keyboard).

Displaying Notes and Controllers in the Inline Piano Roll View

Every MIDI track in the Track pane displays a Show/Hide MIDI Events button when the track is in
Inline Piano Roll mode. These buttons work independently in each track, and are also independent from
the Show/Hide MIDI Events button in the Piano Roll view.

To Hide or Show Data in Individual Tracks

1. Click the dropdown arrow on the Show/Hide MIDI Events button to display the menu of
MIDI data in the track.
2. Choose from the following menu options:
To hide or show notes, click Show Notes.
To display the notes velocity columns in either wide or narrow mode, click Full Width
Velocity.
To hide or show a controller, click the name of the controller (for example, click CC: 1-
Modulation (Chan: 2)).
To show all MIDI data in the current track, click Add All Existing Value Types.
To show or hide all the outlines of any clips in the track, click Show Clip Outlines.
3. After you choose an option, the menu closes. You can repeat steps 1 and 2 to choose more options.
4. To hide or show all controllers, click the left side of the Show/Hide MIDI Events button. The
button turns white when all controllers are hidden, and blue when all controllers are showing.

To Hide or Show Notes in All Tracks

Click the Show/Hide Notes button in the Inline Piano Roll toolbar.
or
Use the Track-Show/Hide Notes command.
Both of these commands override the Show/Hide MIDI Events buttons in individual tracks.

To Hide or Show Controllers in All Tracks

Click the Show/Hide Continuous button in the Inline Piano Roll toolbar.
or
Use the Track-In-line PRV-Show/Hide Continuous Events command.
Both of these commands override the Show/Hide MIDI Events buttons in individual tracks.
Drawing and editing notes and controllers in the Inline Piano Roll view is the same in the Piano Roll
view, with a few minor exceptions (noted in the appropriate topics). To draw and edit notes and
controllers in the Inline Piano Roll view, see Selecting Notes on page 249, Editing Notes with the
Draw Tool and the Select Tool on page 250, Selecting Notes on page 249, Editing Notes with the
Draw Tool and the Select Tool on page 250, Adding Controllers on page 254, Selecting Controllers
on page 255, and Editing Controllers on page 256.

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Selecting and Editing Events
SONAR has many editing commands that you can use to modify the events that make up your project.
Here are some of the things you can do:
Transpose events, clips, tracks, or an entire project to a different key
Shift events to an earlier or later time
Stretch or shrink material to a different length
Reverse the notes in a clip to create new arrangements
Modify the note velocities
The following sections describe these editing commands and how to use them. SONAR also has some
special commands you can use to modify or clean up a performance or to search for or select events that
meet certain criteria. For more information, see the following sections of this chapter.

Copying and Pasting MIDI Data

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You can copy and paste both notes and controller data in SONAR.

To Copy and Paste MIDI Data with the Copy/Paste Commands

1. Select the data you want to copy.
2. Use the Edit-Copy command, or press Ctrl+C.
3. Use the Edit-Paste command, or press Ctrl+V.
The Paste dialog appears.
4. Fill in options, and click OK. Click the Help button in the dialog for an explanation of each option.
SONAR pastes the copied data to the desired location.

Transposing
The Process-Transpose command transposes the pitches of selected note events up or down by a fixed
number of steps. It does so by changing the MIDI key numbers of note events. Simply enter the number
of half-stepsa negative number to transpose down, a positive number to transpose up.
SONAR can also perform diatonic transposition, which shifts all the notes up and down the major scale
of the current signature by the designated number of steps. For instance, if you specify an amount of +1
and the key signature is C-major, a C becomes a D (up a whole step), an E becomes an F (up a half step),
and so on. Diatonic transposition assures you that the transposed notes fit with the original key
signature.
As an option, you can choose to transpose selected audio clips along with any selected MIDI clips.
SONAR uses pitch-shifting (a plug in for changing audio pitch) to perform the transposition. You can
transpose audio only a single octave in either direction (-12 to +12), and you cannot transpose audio
when you are using diatonic transposition.

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To Transpose Selected Events
1. Select the tracks, clips, or events you want to transpose.
2. Choose Process-Transpose to display the Transpose dialog box.

3. Use the spinners or enter the number of semi-tones to transpose.

Or
Use the + and - keys on your keypad to go up or down by one or [ and ] to go up or down by octaves.
4. Check Diatonic Math if you want to transpose along the major scale of the current key.
5. Choose Transpose Audio if you want to pitch-shift selected audio clips. If you check this checkbox.
SONAR transposes any selected audio data up or down, but only by half
steps, not diatonically. When this
checkbox is enabled, the following two options become available:
Typechoose the type of audio data you're transposing. Choose options based on the source
material: single voice or instrument versus a group of instruments (ensemble or polyphonic),
and how long you want to wait for processing to finish: better quality can take a long time if
you're processing several tracks.
Formant scalingpossible values range from
2.000 to 2.000 octaves. Formants give a voice its
characteristic sound. You can use the Formant Scaling value to offset the pitch transposition you're applying.
For example, if you're transposing the pitch down, you can raise the formant to try and maintain the
characteristics of the sound..
6. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR transposes the selected events.

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Shifting Events in Time
The Track view lets you move entire clips forward or backward in time by using drag and drop editing
or by changing the start time of selected clips. The Process-Slide command is slightly more flexible
you can use it to shift individual events and markers (or selected events and markers) either forward or
backward in time. This has an effect that is similar to the Time+ parameter in the Track view. However,
the Process-Slide command modifies the time stored with each event, while the Time+ parameter
simply applies a temporary change during playback.
You can also use the Process-Slide command to move markers located within the selection. If you have
selected any locked markers, SONAR will ask whether they should slide, too.

To Shift Events in Time

1. Select the events and/or markers you want to shift.
2. Choose Process-Slide to display the Slide dialog box.
3. Check the types of event you want to slide (events and/or
markers).
4. Enter the number of measures, ticks, seconds, frames or samples to slide. Enter a negative number

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to shift material earlier. Note that you cannot slide any event earlier than 1:01:000. For example, if
the current selection starts at 2:01:000, you cannot slide events earlier by more than one measure.
5. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR shifts the selected events and/or markers. You can also use the Process-Nudge command to
move events. See Nudge on page 198 for more information.

Inserting Time or Measures into a Project

The Insert-Time/Measures command lets you insert any number of blank measures, ticks, seconds, or
frames into a project. You can insert the blank measures (or other period of time) into all tracks or into
one or more selected tracks. If you insert the blank time into the entire project, all events in each
trackmarkers, meter and key settings, and tempo changesare shifted automatically by default. If
you insert the blank time into one or more selected tracks, only the events in those tracks are shifted by
default. You can always choose which types of events should be shifted.

To Insert a Single Blank Measure into a Project

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+A or select Edit-Select-None to make sure that no track or time range is
selected.
2. Set the Now time to the place where you want to insert the measure.
3. Choose Insert-Time/Measures to display the Insert Time/Measures dialog box.

4. Verify that the settings are correct and click OK.

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SONAR inserts a blank measure at the Now time.

To Insert Blank Time or Measures into a Project

1. Select Edit-Select-None to make sure that no track or time range is selected.
2. Select the range of time you want to insert by dragging in the Time Ruler.
3. Choose Insert-Time/Measures to display the Insert Time/Measures dialog box.
4. If necessary, adjust the time at which blank space will be inserted.
5. If necessary, change the length of time to insert by entering a number and choosing the units you
want from the list.
6. Choose the types of events that should be shifted automatically from the Slide list.
7. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR inserts the desired amount of blank time into the project.

To Insert Blank Time or Measures into Selected Tracks

1. Select the range of time you want to insert by dragging in the Time Ruler.
2. Select one or more tracks by Ctrl-clicking on the track numbers.
3. Choose Insert-Time/Measures to display the Insert Time/Measures dialog box.
4. If necessary, adjust the time at which blank space will be inserted.
5. If necessary, change the length of time to insert by entering a number and choosing the units you
want from the list.
6. Choose the types of events that should be shifted automatically from the Slide list.
7. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR inserts the desired amount of blank time into the project.

Deleting Measures or Time from One or More Tracks

There are two methods for deleting time or measures:
If there is any audio or MIDI data in the area you want to delete, you can use the Edit-Delete
command to delete the area that you select. Portions of MIDI clips may have no data in them: they
have boundaries but no dark lines insideif thats the case, use the following method.
If there is no data in the area you want to delete, you can simply drag any clips that come after the
empty area to their proper destinations. You can also use this method if there is data in the area
you want to deleteyou just have to choose whether you want to replace the data in the deleted
area, blend it with the data youre moving, or slide it over to make room.
To delete time when there is audio or MIDI data in the area you want to delete:
1. In the Track view, select the track(s) you want to delete measures or time from by doing one of the
following:
Select a single track by clicking the track number.
Select multiple tracks by Ctrl-clicking the track numbers.
2. Set the Snap to Grid value to the unit of time you want to delete. For example, if you want to delete
whole measures, set the Snap to Grid value to a whole measure.
3. In the Clips pane, select the measures or time you want to delete by dragging in the Time Ruler
located just above the first track.
4. Select Edit-Delete.

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 The Delete dialog box appears.
5. Click the following checkboxes:
Events in Tracks
Delete Holeif you want the data that comes after the hole to retain its same placement in a
measure, check the Shift by Whole Measures option.
6. Click any of the other options you want to delete.
7. Click OK.
SONAR deletes the time or measures you selected.
To delete time when there is no audio or MIDI data in the area you want to delete (or if there is data,
but you like to drag and drop):
1. Set the Snap to Grid value to the unit of time you want to delete. For example, if you want to delete
whole measures, set the Snap to Grid value to a whole measure.
2. In the Track view, select the clips you want to move.

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3. Drag one of the selected clips to its proper destinationthe Drag and Drop Options dialog box
appears.
4. Choose options and click OK.
All the selected clips move by the amount that you dragged the mouse.

Stretching and Shrinking Events

The Process-Length and Process-Fit to Time commands can be used to stretch or shrink a portion of
a project. Process-Length lets you stretch or shrink the selection by a fixed percentage and makes the
adjustment by altering the individual events. A value of 200 percent, for example, stretches the
selection to twice its original length, while a value of 50 percent shrinks the selection to half its original
length.
Process-Fit to Time stretches or shrinks the selection so that it ends at a specific time, expressed in
either measure:beat:tick (MBT) or hours:minutes:seconds:frames (SMPTE) format. This command
gives you a choice of modifying the events or modifying the underlying tempo. This is useful when you
want a portion of a project to have an exact length. The start time of the selection does not change, but
the end time is altered as necessary to fit the required time interval.
Both of these commands offer the option to stretch audio clips along with the MIDI information.
Sometimes you dont want to adjust the speed of your audio.
Here are some examples:
If your project contains background music and a voice-over, you might want to change the tempo of
the background music without altering the voice-over
If youre trying to modify the speed of some MIDI tracks to match a sampled drum groove, you
want to leave the audio unchanged
If your audio consists solely of sound effects, you most likely do not want to adjust them
Audio can be stretched or condensed up to a factor of 4 (e.g., it can be shrunk to as little as 25 percent of
its original length, or expanded to as much as 400 percent of its original length).
You can also use the Process-Length command to alter only the start times or the durations of notes.
For example, changing the durations of notes to 50 percent of their original length can create a staccato
effect.

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To Stretch or Shrink Using Percentages
1. Select the events you want to change.
2. Choose Process-Length to display the Length dialog box.

3. Choose to change the Start Times and/or Durations of selected notes by checking the boxes.
4. If you want to stretch selected audio clips, check the Stretch Audio box. When this checkbox is
enabled, the following two options become available:
Typechoose the type of audio data you're stretching. Choose options based on the source
material: single voice or instrument versus a group of instruments (ensemble or polyphonic),
and how long you want to wait for processing to finish: better quality can take a long time if
you're processing several tracks.
Formant scalingpossible values range from
2.000 to 2.000 octaves. Formants give a voice its
characteristic sound. If you find that changing the length of your audio changes the timbre too much, you
can raise or lower the formant to try and maintain the characteristics of the sound
5. Use the spinners or type in the desired percent change in length.
6. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR modifies the length of selected events.

To Stretch or Shrink to a Specific Length

1. Select the events you want to change.
2. Choose Process-Fit to Time to display the Fit to Time dialog box.

3. Enter the desired end time in the New Thru box. Click Format to switch between MBT and
SMPTE format.

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4. Choose one of the following:
Tempo MapChoose this option if you want the tempo to change but not the duration of notes
and events. For example, if your clip contains quarter notes, and you want those notes to stay
quarter notes even though the elapsed time of the clip changes, choose Tempo Map. SONAR
alters the tempo but not the events in the track.
Event TimesChoose this option if you want the tempo(s) to remain unchanged while note
durations and event start times change.
Important note: This option is unavailable if your selected data includes any
Groove clips.
5. If you want to stretch selected audio clips, check the Stretch Audio box. The following options
become available:
Type (disabled unless Stretch Audio is checked)choose options based on the source material:
single voice or instrument versus a group of instruments (ensemble or polyphonic), and how
long you want to wait for processing to finish: better quality can take a long time if you're
processing several tracks.

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Formant Scaling (disabled unless Stretch Audio is checked)the possible values range from -
2.000 to 2.000 octaves. Formants give a voice its characteristic sound. If you find that
changing the length of your audio changes the timbre too much, you can raise or lower the
formant to try and maintain the characteristics of the sound
6. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR modifies the length of selected events or changes the tempo map, as you requested.

Reversing Notes in a Clip

The Process-Retrograde command reverses the order of events in a selection. If one or more clips are
selected, then the events within each clip are reversed. If several clips are selected from the same track,
then the order of the clips is also reversed. You could use this command, for example, to take a scale or
other long run of notes and reverse the order in which they are played. The Process-Retrograde
command does not reverse the contents of audio clips. It only changes their start times. You can use the
Process-Audio-Reverse command to reverse audio clips.

To Reverse the Sequence of Notes or Other Events

1. Select the notes you want to reverse.
2. Choose Process-Retrograde.
SONAR reverses the order of the selected events.

Adding Crescendos and Decrescendos

The Process-Scale Velocity command lets you create crescendos and decrescendos on those
instruments that respond to MIDI velocity. Most such instruments map changes in velocity to changes
in note loudness. Many synthesizer patches alter the timbre of the sound as well, so that higher
velocities produce brighter, as well as louder, sounds. Changes in velocity also affect the playback of
audio clips.
This command lets you set a starting and ending velocity for the entire time range of the selection.
SONAR scales the velocity of each event to create a smooth linear change in velocity. As an option, you
can enter a starting and ending percentage; existing velocity values are modified by the designated
percentage.

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You can also edit note velocities in the Notes pane of the Piano Roll view, which lets you draw shapes
other than straight line changes. For more information, see Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
View on page 249.

To Scale Velocities
1. Select the events whose velocity data you want to change.
2. Choose Process-Scale Velocity to display the Scale Velocity dialog box.

3. Enter the starting and ending velocity values.

4. Check the Percentages box if the values are percentages.
5. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR alters the velocity of selected events.

Slip Editing MIDI (Non-destructive Editing)

Slip editing allows you to non-destructively hide or reveal the beginning of a clip, the end of a clip, or
both. The hidden material in a clip is not heard during playback. All hidden material remains intact
and can be restored. All Slip Editing movements correspond to the current snap to resolution. For more
information about the snap to grid, see Defining and Using the Snap Grid on page 201.

Slip Editing Modes

Slip editing has three modes:

Trimming
As a default, when slip editing a clip, the clips contents always remains fixed in time. If the first
measure of a clip is hidden using slip editing, the remaining material does not shift forward in time by a
measure. The first measure of the clip is simply muted during playback. Playback of the clip resumes at
the second measure.

Slide-trimming
If you want the clips contents to shift in time, you can move the material in a slip edited clip by using
modifier keys, clicking on the middle of the clip and moving it either right or left.

Scroll-trimming
You can also shift the clips contents in time, in relation to either the beginning or end of the clip itself,
by scroll-trimming.

Using Slip Editing for MIDI Clips

When Slip Editing the beginning of a MIDI clip, if you drag the start of the clip past the beginning of a
note (Note On), the entire note is lost even if it extends into the part of the clip which remains visible.
Only notes completely contained in the slip edited clip remain.
When Slip Editing the end of a MIDI clip, if you drag the end of the clip so it covers part of a note, the
notes duration is trimmed accordingly.

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If you insert a new MIDI event which does not fall within the boundary of a slip-edited clip, a new MIDI
clip, which contains the new MIDI events, is created.

Important:
Adding controller data beyond the slip-edited boundaries of a slip-edited clip
in the Piano Roll view results in the slip-edited data being displayed in the
Piano Roll view. To avoid this, you can use the Apply Trimming command to
destructively edit the clip before adding the controller data.

To Slip-edit a MIDI Clip

1. Make edits according to the following table:

English
To do this... Do this...

Trim the beginning of a clip Move the cursor over the beginning of a clip.
When the cursor changes in appearance to
look like this , click and drag the clip to
the right until you have removed the
unwanted information.

Trim the end of a clip Move the cursor over the beginning of a clip.
When the cursor changes in appearance to
look like this , click and drag the clip to
the left until you have removed the unwanted
information.

Scroll-trimming a clip (Moving the clip Press the Alt+Shift keys while moving the
contents in time while maintaining the clips cursor over the middle of the clip. When the
start and end time) cursor changes to look like this , click
and drag the clip to the left or right as
desired. The contents (MIDI data) in the clip
follow the Snap to Grid resolution, i.e. if your
resolution is set to half note, the contents of
your clip moves in half-note intervals.

Slide-trimming the beginning of a clip Press the Alt+Shift keys and move the cursor
(Moving the start time of the clip and the over the beginning of the clip. When the
clips contents while preserving the end cursor changes to look like this , click
time) and drag the beginning to the desired start
time.

Slide-trimming the end of a clip (Moving the Press the Alt+Shift keys and move the cursor
end time of the clip and the clips contents over the end of the clip. When the cursor
while preserving the clips start time) changes to look like this , click and drag
the end to the desired location.

The hidden information in the slip-edited clips remains intact but is not heard during playback

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To Permanently Delete Slip-edited MIDI Data
1. Select the clips that contain the slip-edited data you want to delete.
2. Select the Edit-Apply Trimming command.
SONAR permanently deletes the slip-edited data from the clips you selected.

Slip-editing Multiple MIDI Clips

You can slip-edit multiple clips at the same time.

To Slip-edit Multiple MIDI Clips at Once

1. Select the clips you want to slip-edit.
2. Move your cursor over the beginning or end range of the selected clips until your cursor changes to
look like this: .
3. Drag the boundary to the desired location and release.

Changing the Timing of a Recording

When you record a performance, there may be problems youd like to correct. For example, the note
timing may not have been as accurate as you would like. Or, you may have recorded without using a
metronome and strayed from the tempo in one direction or another.
SONAR has two types of commands that you can use to modify the timing of a clip. The Quantize
commands alter the timing of the notes in your recording so that they fit a time grid.
The grid can have fixed time intervals or intervals that are based on some existing note pattern. The
Fit to Improvisation command, on the other hand, sets up a series of tempos that fit the material you
have recorded. Heres a summary of when to use each type of command:

Use this To do this...

command...

Quantize Change the timing of the notes youve recorded to fit with the tempo of a project

Fit to Improvisation Change the tempos of a project to fit with the performance youve recorded

These two types of commands are discussed in the following sections.

Quantizing
Quantizing is one of the most important editing functions in SONAR. You use this feature to correct
timing errors you make when recording from a MIDI instrument or to adjust the timing of audio clips.
Very few musicians are capable of performing in perfect time. As you play, you are likely to strike some
notes slightly before or after the beat or to hold some notes slightly longer than you intended. The
Quantize commands can help to correct these types of timing mistakes.

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SONAR has two different quantize commands:

Command... How it works...

Process-Quantize Adjusts the start time and duration of selected notes so that they
line up with a fixed size grid

Process-Groove Quantize Lays a grid over an existing piece of music (the groove pattern),
and then adjusts the start time, duration, and velocity of selected
notes so that they line up with the grid

These commands have quite a few settings, making them very flexible and powerful. In addition, both of
these commands lets you create, save, and re-use presets. This means that once you find the settings
you like, you can save them and then apply them to other projects in a consistent way.

Resolution
The resolution indicates the spacing of the grid. You can use any value from a whole note down to a

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thirty-second note triplet. You can also specify resolution in clock ticks. A rule of thumb is to select a
resolution that matches the smallest note in the region you are quantizing. If you are quantizing a run
of sixteenth notes, use a sixteenth note as the resolution. If you are quantizing a mix of sixteenth and
eighth notes, you should still use a sixteenth note. At the default timebase of 480 PPQ, 480 clock ticks is
equal to quarter-note resolution.
When you use Groove Quantize, SONAR creates a grid at the desired resolution on top of the notes in
the groove. For example, if the groove contains only quarter notes but you choose sixteenth-note
resolution, SONAR builds the grid by dividing the space between each quarter note into four equal
sections. In places where the groove file contains no notes, SONAR builds a fixed grid of the desired
resolution.

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 Offset
:
Normally, the resolution grid is aligned evenly with the start of measures and beats. As an option, you
can shift the grid earlier or later by any desired number of clock ticks. If the resolution is a quarter note
and youve set the offset to +3 ticks, then a note that is originally near 1:01:000 would be moved to
1:01:003three ticks beyond the beat boundary.

Duration
As an option, SONAR can adjust the duration of note events so that each note ends one clock tick before
the start of the nearest resolution-sized note. This ensures that the notes do not overlap, which can
cause problems on some synthesizers. The adjustment may lengthen the duration of some notes and
shorten the duration of others.
When you use Groove Quantize, the duration adjustment compares the note length to the duration of
the sample note in the groove. If no duration information is available, SONAR uses the distance to the
start of the groove event closest to the end of the note.

Velocity
The velocity adjustment, which is only available with the Groove Quantize command, adjusts the note
velocity to the velocity of the corresponding notes in the groove.

Strength
The human ear is tuned to the slight imperfections we hear from most musicians. If you quantize a
project so that all notes are perfectly in position, it may end up sounding mechanical or rigid. To avoid
this, SONAR lets you adjust the strength of the adjustment. A strength of 100 percent indicates that
all notes are moved so that they are in perfect time, while a strength of 50 percent means that all notes
are moved half-way towards the desired position. This lets you tighten up the timing as much as you
want, without going too far.
The Groove Quantize command also lets you control the strength of duration and velocity
adjustments. As you work with this command, you will notice that the note start time has a greater
effect than the duration on the rhythmic feel of the track. For this reason, changing the starting times
(time strength close to 100 percent) has a more noticeable effect than changing durations (duration
strength close to 100 percent). However, there are situations in which you might want to change both to
avoid ending up with notes that overlap or with unwanted rests.

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Swing
Many projects do not have notes positioned on a perfectly even time grid. For example, projects with a
swing feel, though they may be written entirely in eighth notes, are often played more like eighth-note
triplets, with the first note extended and the second one shortened. The swing option lets you distort
the timing grid so each pair of notes is spaced unevenly, giving the quantized material a swing feel.
A swing value of 50 percent (the default) means that the grid points are spaced evenly. A value of 66
percent means that the time between the first and second grid points is twice as long as the time
between the second and third points. The figure below illustrates the effect of the swing setting on the
timing grid:

Swing = 50%

Swing = 66%

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Swing = 33%

Window
When you quantize some portion of a project, you might not want to adjust notes that are very far from
the grid. The window, or sensitivity, setting lets you choose how close to the resolution grid a note
must be located for quantize to move it.
A window of 100 percent includes all notes and guarantees that all notes will be shifted to lie exactly on
the grid. The window extends half the resolution distance before and after the quantization point. A
window of 50 percent extends only a quarter of the way toward the adjacent quantization points.

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When you use Groove Quantize, you can also perform adjustments on out-of-window events. There are
four options:

Option... How it works...

Do Not Change Notes outside the window are not changed.

Quantize to Resolution Notes outside the window are snapped to a regular grid of the
specified resolution.

Move to Nearest The window or sensitivity setting is ignoredall notes are

moved toward the nearest reference event, regardless of how
far off the grid they are located.

Scale Time SONAR finds the two closest events before and after the event
in question that are within the window sensitivity and adjusts any
bracketed out-of-window events so that their relative timing is
the same. This option can uniformly speed up, slow down, or
shift out-of-window events.

Other Settings
If you want, you can restrict the types of events that are affected by the Quantize commands to only
notes, lyrics, and audio clips. If you choose this option, SONAR will not modify other events, like
controllers.

To Use the Quantize Command

1. Select the material you want to quantize using any of the selection tools and commands.
2. Choose Process-Quantize to display the Quantize dialog box.

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3. Choose one of your own presets from the list, or enter the settings you want according to the table:

Setting What to do

Resolution Choose a note size or enter the number of

clock ticks

Change Check the event types and characteristics

you want to change

Options Enter values for Strength, Swing, Window,

and Offset

4. Click Audition if you want to hear how the quantization will sound; press Stop to stop auditioning
the change.
5. Make adjustments as necessary.

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6. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR quantizes the selected MIDI information and audio clips. You can use Undo to restore the
material to its original state.

To Use the Groove Quantize Command

1. Select the track or clip you want to quantize, using any of the selection tools and commands.
2. Choose Process-Groove Quantize to display the Groove Quantize dialog box.

3. Choose a groove file from the Groove File field.

4. Choose a groove pattern from the Groove Pattern field.

5. Use the following fields to configure your pattern:

Setting What to do

Resolution Choose a note size or enter the number of

clock ticks

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Window Sensitivity Enter the window sensitivity value
(percentage)

If Outside Window Choose what should happen to events

outside the window

Only Notes, Lyrics and Audio Check to prevent MIDI controller, aftertouch,
and xRPN data from being adjusted

Stretch Audio Check to stretch audio clips to adjust their

duration

Strength Use the sliders or enter values for Note

strength, Duration strength, and Velocity
strength

6. Click Audition if you want to hear how the quantization will sound; press Stop to stop auditioning
the change.
7. Make adjustments as necessary.
8. Optionally, type a name in the preset field (located at the top of the dialog box) and click the Save
button to save your settings.
9. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR quantizes the selected MIDI information and audio clips. You can use Undo to restore the
material to its original state. If you saved your settings, you can apply them to any pattern you want by
selecting the pattern and choosing a preset from the preset field. To delete a group of settings, select the
group from the preset field and click the Delete button.

Defining a Groove
To use the groove quantize feature, you must create or choose a small snippet of musicthe groove
patternfor SONAR to use as the timing and accent reference. You can use either of the following:
A track, clip, or portion of a clip stored on the Windows clipboard
A groove stored in a SONAR groove file
Any MIDI data that you place onto the Windows clipboard can be used as a groove pattern. With a
carefully defined groove pattern, you can give an old project an entirely new feel. If you like the groove
pattern you have created, you can save it to a groove file.
Groove files can store one or more groove patterns. SONAR supports two types of groove files:
DNA grooves, which contain only timing information but are compatible with some other MIDI
sequencer software products
SONARs native groove format, which stores timing, duration, and velocity information and can
handle longer patterns and longer gaps between quantization points
You can add groove patterns to these files from the Windows clipboard, edit existing patterns, or delete
patterns you do not want to keep. There is no limit to the number of groove patterns that can be stored
in a single file. You can organize your grooves into several files or keep them all together in a single file.
Groove files have an extension of .GRV.
A groove pattern can be as short or long as you like. If the groove pattern is shorter than the material to
be quantized, the pattern will be repeated as many times as necessary.

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To Define a New Groove
1. Select the music that defines the groove using any of the selection tools and commands.
2. Choose Edit-Copy to place the music onto the Windows clipboard.
You can now use the Groove Quantize command with the clipboard as the Groove File.

To Save a Groove Pattern

1. Select the music that defines the groove using any of the selection tools and commands.
2. Choose Edit-Copy to place the music onto the Windows clipboard.
3. Choose Process-Groove Quantize to display the Groove Quantize dialog box.
4. Choose the Clipboard as the groove Groove File.
5. Click the Define button to display the Define Groove dialog box.

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6. Select an existing groove file, or enter the name for a new groove file.
7. Enter a pattern name, or choose an existing pattern to replace.
8. Click OK.
9. If you are replacing a groove, verify that you want to delete the existing version.
10. Click Close when you are done to return to the Groove Quantize dialog box.
SONAR stores the groove in the file and chooses the new groove as the current groove source.

To Copy an Existing Groove

1. Choose Process-Groove Quantize to display the Groove Quantize dialog box.
2. Choose the groove file and groove pattern you want to copy.
3. Click the Define button to display the Define Groove dialog box.
4. Select an existing groove file, or enter the name for a new groove file.
5. Enter a pattern name, or choose an existing pattern to replace.
6. Click OK.
7. If you are replacing a groove, verify that you want to delete the existing version.
8. Click Close when you are done to return to the Groove Quantize dialog box.
SONAR stores the groove on the Windows clipboard and chooses the new groove as the current groove
source.

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To Delete a Groove
1. Choose Process-Groove Quantize to display the Groove Quantize dialog box.
2. Click the Define button to display the Define Groove dialog box.
3. Select the file containing the groove to delete.
4. Select the pattern name of the groove.
5. Click the Delete button, and confirm that you want to delete the groove pattern.
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 for each groove you wish to delete.
7. Click Close when you are done to return to the Groove Quantize dialog box.

Groove Quantize Tips

Here are some tips to help you with groove quantizing:
Aligning sloppy tracks with a good one. Select the portion of the good track that you want to
apply to the sloppy tracks and copy it to the Clipboard. Select the portion of the sloppy tracks you
want to modify. Choose Process-Groove Quantize, choose the Clipboard as the groove source, and click
OK.
Accenting beats in each measure. Create a sample measure containing note events at the desired
accent points. Give the notes on the accented beats a greater velocity and the others a lesser velocity.
Select the measure, copy it to the Clipboard, and then choose Process-Groove Quantize. Set the
velocity strength as high as necessary so that the notes get accented the way you want.
Stealing that feeling. Suppose you have a dry piece that was composed and entered into SONAR with
a rigid sense of timing (for example, using step recording). Youve recorded a bass line that has exactly
the off-beat rhythmic dynamic you want for the dry piece. Youd like to force your other tracks to share
that feel. Copy the bass track to the Clipboard; from the Groove Quantize dialog box, select the
Clipboard as the groove source; choose a resolution value roughly on the order of the duration of the
bass notes and a window of 100 percent. SONAR aligns the melody note events with the nearest bass
notes.
Synchronizing rhythm and solo tracks. If you want to preserve the unique rhythm of each track
but want to synchronize them together in time, try a larger resolution value and a smaller window. For
example, suppose you have one track with a highly stylized drum beat and another track containing a
jazz solo with some very nice runs in it. The drum beats fall primarily on quarter notes, but the solo
consists of runs of fast notes that arent quite sixteenth triplets. Copy the drum track to the Clipboard,
and groove quantize using a quarter-note resolution and a window of perhaps 10 percent. SONAR
aligns the solo notes near the quarter-note drum beats but maintains the feel of the solo during the fast
runs of notes in between.
Correcting off-tempo tracks. Suppose you have both rhythm and melody tracks recorded, but the
melody was played erratically. First, copy the rhythm track to the Windows clipboard. Then use groove
quantize with a whole-note resolution, a window of 25 percent or less, and with the Scale Time option
selected. The Groove Quantize command will synchronize the melody track with the groove source at
roughly measure boundaries, while maintaining the relative timing of the notes in each measure.
Fixing a bad verse. Copy a good verse to the Clipboard. Then change the selected range to cover only
the bad verse. Perform a groove quantize using the Clipboard contents as the groove source. The
rhythms of the two verses then match.

Fit Improvisation
SONAR lets you record music from a MIDI controller without requiring that you use a fixed tempo. In
fact, if you record without using a metronome, you are very likely to end up with a recording that does
not fit onto a fixed tempo grid.

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 The Process-Fit Improvisation command lets you take a recording and create a tempo map (with
measure and beat boundaries) that fits what you played. Your performance is not changed in any way,
even though the note start times and durations are adjusted to fit the new tempo map. This is
important if you later want to use any of SONARs editing features that depend on a proper tempo map
for best results.
To use this command, you must record a reference track containing a single clip that matches your
original track or tracks but has only a single note on each beat boundary. You should make sure that the
reference track has one event for every single beat, with no extra beats or missing beats. The first beat
of the reference track should be at 1:01:000. You can use any editing command to adjust the reference
track.
If you want, you can use other types of events as markers on the reference track, such as a sustain
pedal. Remember, however, that MIDI sustain pedals generate one event when the pedal is pressed and
another when it is released. So if you want to use the sustain pedal for the reference track, keep this in
mind. Click down, up, down, up, for one, two, three, four.
Remember that the better the quality of your reference track, the better job the Fit Improvisation
command can do. You want each of your reference track events to be as close as possible to the beat of
the music. Note that some keyboards transmit aftertouch events when you record your reference track.

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These extra events will prevent Process-Fit Improvisation from working properly. Therefore, you
should delete these events before using this command, or filter them out when recording the reference
track (using Options-Global-MIDI).

To Fit Tempos to an Improvisation

1. Record the reference track.
2. Select the reference track.
3. If necessary, combine all clips in the reference track into a single clip using the Edit-Bounce to
Clip(s) command.
4. Choose Process-Fit Improvisation.
SONAR adds tempo changes as necessary to fit the tempo grid to the reference track. When youre done,
you should mute the reference track, since the reference track events are not rescaled.

Note:
If the resulting tempo grid exceeds 250 beats per minute, you will see an error
message. If this happens, you can shorten the start times of each event using
the Edit-Length command, decrease the tempo to compensate for the change,
and then try again.

Snap to Scale
When Snap to Scale is enabled, any notes that you draw in the Piano Roll view (or Inline Piano Roll
view) stay within the selected scale. Also, any notes that you move with the Select tool stay within the
selected scale. When Snap to Scale is enabled, both Piano Roll views display grey rows at the pitch
levels that are not in the selected scale. Also, both the Select tool and the Draw tool display a tuning
fork icon when you create or modify notes to show that Snap to Scale is enabled.

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You can create custom scales, modify existing ones, and choose how SONAR handles non-scale notes.

To Enable or Disable Snap to Scale for a Single Track

In the Track view, in the track that you want to affect, click the Scale Snap button.

Scale Snap button:

Scale menu
turns blue when
enabled
Root Note menu

Or
In the Piano Roll view, in the Track List pane, right-click the track that you want to affect, and
choose Enable Snap to Scale from the popup menu.

To Momentarily Bypass the Snap to Scale Feature

Hold down both mouse buttons while you edit.

To Enable or Disable Snap to Scale for Multiple Tracks

1. Select the tracks in which you want to enable or disable Snap to Scale.
2. Use the Track-Snap to Scale-Enable/Disable Snap to Scale command.

To Choose a Root Note for a Single Track

Do either of the following:
In the Track view, click the dropdown arrow in a tracks Root Note menu, and choose a root
note from the menu that appears.
In the Piano Roll view, right-click a tracks name in the Track List pane, and choose Root
Note-(name of root note) from the popup menu.

To Choose a Scale for a Single Track

Do either or the following:
In the Track view, click the dropdown arrow in the tracks Scale menu, and choose a scale from
the menu that appears. The scale options in the menu contain both factory-supplied scales
and ones that you create and/or edit.
In the Piano Roll view, right-click a tracks name in the Track List pane, and choose Scales-
(kind of scale)-(name of scale) from the popup menu.

To Choose a Root Note and/or a Scale for Multiple Tracks

1. Select the tracks for which you want to choose root notes and/or scales.
2. To select a root note for the selected tracks, use the Track-Snap to Scale-Root Note command,
and select the desired root note from the submenu.
3. To select a scale for the selected tracks, use the Track-Snap to Scale-Scales command, and
select the desired scale from the submenu.

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To Create a Scale
1. Open the Scale Manager dialog by clicking the dropdown arrow in the Scale menu, and choosing
Scale Manager from the menu that appears (you can also use the Track-Snap to Scale-Scales-
Scale Manager command, or the right-click menu in the Piano Roll views Track List pane).
2. In the Scale Family field, click the scale family that you want your scale to appear under when
your scale appears in the Scale menu.

3. Click the Create New Scale button .

The Scale Manager displays a default name (New Scale n) for the new scale, and automatically
selects C as the root note of the scale.
Note: all scales in the Scale Manager dialog use C as the root note.
4. Edit the name of the new scale by clicking the default name (New Scale n) where it appears at
the very top of the Scale: field, and then typing a new name for the scale.
5. Include or exclude individual notes for the scale by clicking either the keys in the keyboard display,
or by clicking the scale degree buttons under the Scale Degrees field. Included notes appear as blue

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dots in the keyboard display, as depressed scale degree buttons, and as scale degrees in the Scale
Degrees field.

Keyboard display Scale degree buttons

6. When youre through choosing scale degrees, click the Close button to save your changes. If you
want to delete your scale, just highlight it in the Scale: field, and click the Delete button .

To Edit or Delete a Scale

1. Open the Scale Manager dialog (click the dropdown arrow in the Scale menu, and choose Scale
Manager from the menu, or use the Track menu command, or the right-click menu in the Track
List pane of the Piano Roll view).
2. In the Scale Family field, click the scale family that the desired scale is filed under.
3. Select the desired scale by clicking the scales name in the Scale: field. If you want to delete the
scale, click the Delete button .
4. Include or exclude individual notes for the scale by clicking either the keys in the keyboard display,
or by clicking the scale degree buttons under the Scale Degrees field. Included notes appear as blue
dots in the keyboard display, as depressed scale degree buttons, and as scale degrees in the Scale
Degrees field.

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Keyboard display Scale degree buttons

5. When youre through choosing scale degrees, click the Close button to save your changes.

To Restore a Scale or Scales to Factory Settings

1. Open the Scale Manager dialog.
2. If you want to restore a particular scale to factory settings, select it in the Scale: field, click the
Defaults button, and in the Scale Defaults dialog, select Restore Current Scale (if factory), and
click OK.
3. If you have deleted a factory-supplied scale and want to replace it with the original version, click
the Defaults button, and in the Scale Defaults dialog, select Restore Any Missing Scales, and click
OK.
4. If you want to restore all factory-supplied scales to factory settings, click the Defaults button, and
in the Scale Defaults dialog, select Restore All Factory Scales, and click OK.

To Choose How SONAR Handles Non-scale Notes

1. Open the Snap Settings dialog by clicking the dropdown arrow in the Scale menu, and choosing
Snap Settings from the menu that appears. You can also use the Track-Snap to Scale-Scales-
Snap Settings command, or the right-click menu in the Track List pane of the Piano Roll view.
2. Choose one of the following options:
Adjust to Next, Higher Noteif you choose this option, SONAR moves any non-scale note that
you move to the next higher note in the selected scale.
Adjust to Previous, Lower Noteif you choose this option, SONAR moves any non-scale note
that you move to the previous, lower note in the selected scale.
Adjust to Nearest Noteif you choose this option, SONAR moves any non-scale note that you
move to the note that is closest in pitch in the selected scale.

Searching for Events

The events in a project have many different parameters. For example, all MIDI notes have a channel,
starting time, pitch, velocity, and duration. Controllers have a controller number and value. SONAR
makes it simple to find, select, and modify events that have certain values for specific attributes.
Here are some of the things you can do and the commands that you would use to do them:

Action... Command...

Search through a project to find the first event that has specific Go-Search, Go-Search Next
attributes, and then search again to find the next such event

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Select all the events in a project that have the specified attributes Edit-Select-By Filter

Modify an existing selection to keep only those events that have the Edit-Select-By Filter
specified attributes

Replace all events that meet specified attributes with modified Edit-Interpolate
versions of the events

These capabilities can help you find problem spots or errors in a project or make systematic changes to
events that have particular attributes. All of these capabilities rely on the use of an event filter, which
lets you choose the types of events you want to work with and the range of values in which you are
interested.

Event Filters
When you select individual clips, or select portions of clips by dragging the Time Ruler, you
automatically select all the events that fall within the designated time range. Sometimes you need finer
control over which events are selected. For example, you might want to:

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Select the notes that are played in a certain octave, so you can copy them to another track
Select and boost the velocity of notes that have a velocity below a certain threshold
Find the first patch change event on a particular track
Select and change the duration of all notes that occur on the third beat of any measure
The Event Filter dialog box looks like this:

Check to include this type of event Enter the range of values for the events you want

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Different types of events have different parameters, as shown in the table:

This event type... Has these parameters...

Note Pitch, velocity, and duration

Key Aftertouch Pitch and pressure value

Controller Controller number and value

RPN/NRPN RPN/NRPN number and value

Patch Change Bank and patch numbers

Channel Aftertouch Pressure value

Pitch Wheel Value

The event filter only accepts events that meet all the specified ranges. This means that a note event
must fall within the pitch range, the velocity range, and the duration range in order to be included. The
event filter can also be used to accept events that occur in a range of channel numbers, beats, and clock
ticks.
You can choose either to include or exclude the events that meet the specified criteria. To exclude events
within the designated range and select the ones outside the designated range, check the exc checkbox
for that value range.
The event filter can also be used to identify several special event types: audio, System Exclusive events,
Lyrics, MCI commands, envelope shades, and a few others. You do not enter a range of values for these
special events; SONAR finds all events of the types you choose.
The All and None buttons help you set up the event filter the way you want:

Click this button... To do this...

All Set the event filter to include all events. You can then modify the
value ranges to narrow down your search or uncheck the types
of events you want to exclude.

None Set the event filter to not include any events. Starting from a
blank slate, you can check off the types of events you want to
find or select and enter the desired ranges of values.

In any place in the event filter where you would normally enter a pitch string, you can also enter the
pitch by pressing a key on your MIDI keyboard. Also, you can use the question mark in place of the
octave number as a wild card. This lets the event filter accept a single note, regardless of the octave. For
example, the pitch string C? will match a C in any octave.

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Searching for an Event
The Go-Search command is used to find the next event (searching forward from the Now time) that
meets the criteria you lay out in an event filter. Once you have found the first such event, you can find
the next event that meets the criteria using the Go-Search Again command (or by pressing F3).

To Search for an Event

1. Choose Go-Search to display the Event Filter dialog box.
2. Set up the event filter to find the events you want.
3. Click OK.
SONAR finds the next event that meets the criteria and sets the Now time to the start time of that
event. To find the next occurrence, press F3 or choose Go-Search Again.

Selecting Events
The Edit-Select-By Filter command is used to refine a selection by applying an event filter to an initial
selection. You can use this command any number of times to refine the selection even further. Before
using this command, use any of the selection commands and tools to create an initial set of selected
event. You can use the Edit-Select-All command to select all events in the current view.

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The Track view cannot display individual selected events. As a result, the Edit-Select-By Filter
command will not necessarily change the appearance of the Track view. SONAR applies the event filter
rule, but the change is not visible. However, once you change the selection in any way (for example, by
clicking on a track number or by clicking in the Time Ruler), the effects of the event filter are erased. If
you want to use the filter, you must choose Edit-Select-By Filter again and click OK to use the same
filter values.

Note:
The shading of a clip in the Track view indicates how many of the events in
the clip are selected. If the clip is shown in solid black, all events in the clip are
selected. If a portion of a clip is shown in medium gray, all the events in that
time range are selected. If the clip is shown in light gray, only some of the
events in the shaded time range are selected.

To Select Events Using the Event Filter

1. First, select an initial set of tracks, clips, or events.
2. Choose Edit-Select-By Filter to display the Event Filter dialog box.
3. Set up the event filter to find the events you want.
4. Click OK.
SONAR searches the currently selected events and weeds out those that do not meet the requirements
of the event filter.

Example: Splitting Left-Hand and Right-Hand Parts

Suppose you recorded a keyboard riff on Track 1 but want to split the left and right hands apart into
separate tracks so you can edit them separately. Suppose that all the right-hand notes are above C4.
Heres how to proceed:
1. Select all of Track 1 by clicking on the track number in the Track view.

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 2.
:
Choose Edit-Select-By Filter to display the Event Filter dialog box.
3. Click the None button to clear the dialog box.
4. Check the Note checkbox, and enter a minimum value of C4. The maximum should already be set
to C9.
5. Click OK. SONAR selects all the notes from C4 up.
6. Choose Edit-Cut to move the selected notes to the clipboard.
7. Choose Edit-Paste and paste the events to a different track.

Process-Interpolate
The Process-Interpolate command is an extremely flexible way of manipulating the data parameters
of events. It works something like the search-and-replace function in a word processor but with scaling
rather than simple replacement.
This command uses two event filters. The first event filter lets you set up your search criteria. The
second event filter is used to define the replacement value ranges. When an event satisfies the search
criteria, its parameters are scaled between the search ranges and the replacement ranges. This permits
transposition, inversion, key signature changes, and other operations to be accomplished with this one
simple command.
In the second Event Filter dialog box, the checkboxes and value ranges for beats and ticks are ignored.
Only the replacement value ranges for the selected event types are used.
The Process-Interpolate command understands a wild card octave number in the second event filter
to mean, replace the original note with a different note in the original octave. Using octave wild cards
for both the search and replacement event filters lets you, for instance, change all E-flats to E-naturals,
preserving the octave of each note.
A few examples will illustrate some of the many uses of the Process-Interpolate command. These
examples apply to the note event type, though the command can be used on any type of event.

Parameter... Search Replacement Effect...

range... range...

Pitch (key) From C2 to C4 From C4 to C6 Transposes all notes in the search

range up two octaves

Pitch From E2 to E2 From Eb2 to Eb2 Converts all Es in octave 2 to Eb in the

same octave

Pitch From E? to E? From Eb? to Eb? Converts all Es in all octaves to Eb in

the same octave

Pitch From E? to E? From E? to Eb5 Converts all Es to Eb in octave 5

Pitch From C1 to C8 From C8 to C1 Inverts all the notes in the specified

range

Velocity From 0 to 127 From 80 to 127 Compresses the velocity values into a
narrower range

Velocity From 0 to 127 From 127 to 0 Inverts the velocity values (makes
loud notes soft, and soft notes loud)

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 Duration From 0:01:00 to From 0:01:000 to Converts all notes that are between a
0:02:000 0:01:000 quarter note and half note in length,
and makes them all quarter notes

Channel From 1 to 1 From 2 to 2 Changes all events on MIDI channel 1

to MIDI channel 2

Channel From 1 to 16 From 4 to 4 Reassigns all events to MIDI channel

4

Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and

Automation Data
SONAR projects contain a lot more information than the notes and digital audio files that are at the
heart of your work. Controllers, RPNs, and NRPNs (xRPNs, for short) are special types of events used
by MIDI software and hardware to control the details of how MIDI music is played. Automation data

English
are used to adjust volume, pan, and other parameters of MIDI and audio tracks on the fly while
playback is in progress.
SONAR lets you enter or edit controller, xRPN, and automation data in several ways:
Using envelopes in the Track view (see Chapter 13, Automation)
Using the Piano Roll view and Inline Piano Roll view
Using the Insert-Series of Controllers command
Editing controller events in the Event List view
Editing data in the Track views Clips pane or the Piano Roll view gives you great flexibility. You can
examine the controllers in graphical form and edit them even while recording or playback is in progress.
This means you can loop over a portion of your project and hear any change you make on the next loop.
Note: MIDI envelopes you create in the Piano Roll view and MIDI envelopes you create in the Track
view Clips pane are actually separate envelopes, even if they control the same parameter. Both kinds of
envelopes are visible in the Clips pane, and should generally not be used to control the same parameter.
You can convert Piano Roll view envelopes to Track view envelopes by selecting the time range and
tracks that the Piano Roll envelopes occupy, and using the Edit-Convert MIDI To Shapes command.
For more information on automation, see Chapter 13, Automation, and Chapter 11, Mixing and Effects
Patching. For more information about the Event List view, see The Event List View on page 289.

Controllers
Controllers are the MIDI events such as volume, sustain pedal, and pan that you use to change the
sound while you're playing. You can enter controller data from within SONAR, or record them from
external devices such as MIDI keyboards.
Controllers let you control the detail and character of your music. Say youre playing a guitar sound on
your synthesizer, but it sounds lifeless and dull. Thats partly because a guitar player doesnt just play
notes one after anotherhe often bends or slides on the strings to put emotion into his playing. You can
use controllers in the same way, creating bends, volume swells, and other effects that make sounds more
realistic and more fun to listen to.
Your computer can work the controllers on your electronic instrument by sending MIDI Controller
messages. The MIDI specification allows for 128 different types of controllers, many of which are used
for standard purposes. For example, controller 7 is normally used for volume events, and controller 10 is
normally used for pan. Every controller can take on a value ranging from 0 to 127.

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The Piano Roll toolbar contains several dropdown lists that let you choose the controller you want to see
and edit. The contents of these lists depend on the output and channel settings and on the instrument
assigned to that output and channel. Different instruments use controllers in different ways. See
Chapter 16, Using Instrument Definitions.

Note:
SONAR has automatic searchback for all continuous controller data to ensure
that the correct controller values are in effect regardless of where you start
playback. Suppose you start playback halfway through a project. SONAR
searches back from that point to find any earlier controller values that should
still apply.

RPNs and NRPNs

RPNs (Registered Parameter Numbers) and NRPNs (Non-Registered Parameter Numbers) are similar
to controllers, except that both the parameter number and data value can be any number between 0 and
16,383.
When RPNs and NRPNs are transmitted via MIDI or stored in a standard MIDI file, they are converted
into four separate controller messages. SONAR detects incoming xRPN messages from MIDI inputs or
files and reassembles them into a single RPN or NRPN event. This provides the convenience of single
RPN or NRPN events in SONAR plus compatibility with existing files, equipment, and software. The
following table shows the controller numbers SONAR uses for RPN and NRPN events:

Message... Parameter number Parameter number Data value Data value

MSB Controller... LSB Controller... MSB Controller... LSB Controller...

RPN 101 100 6 38

NRPN 99 98 6 38

Automation Data
The Track and Console views allow you to record automation data that define changes in volume, pan
and many other parameters throughout a project. The automation data can include step changes
recorded using the snapshot button or continuous changes recorded while using the knobs, faders, and
buttons.
The Track view allows you to create envelopes to adjust several parameters. For more about
automation, see Chapter 13, Automation.

Velocity, Pitch Wheel, and Aftertouch

SONAR lets you display and edit several other types of data the same way you do controller data. These
data include:
MIDI pitch wheel or pitch-bend messages
MIDI channel aftertouch (ChanAft) values

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 MIDI key aftertouch (KeyAft) values
Remember that note velocity is an attribute of each note and not a completely separate event. You
cannot add or remove velocity events in the Notes pane, but you can use the draw tool to adjust the
velocity values for existing notes. You can also edit velocities with the Edit-Scale Velocities command.
For more information, see Adding Crescendos and Decrescendos on page 267. You can edit individual
note velocities in the Note Properties dialog box, described in Changing Note Properties on page 476.

The Event List View

The Event List view shows events in a list format. You can insert, delete, or modify any kind of event,
including notes, pitch-wheel data, velocity, MIDI controllers, patch changes, Wave files, lyrics, text
strings, MCI commands, System Exclusive meta-events, and more.
There are three ways to open the Event List view:
Select one or more tracks and choose View-Event List
Select one or more tracks and click in the Views toolbar

English
Right-click a clip in the Clips pane and choose View-Event List from the popup menu

Toolbar

Track

This event
is selected

Event time

Event List view Event type

Event channel

Hide different kinds of events buttons Show events outside slip edit boundary

Event Manager Insert Pick Tracks

Event List toolbar Delete

The events in the selected tracks are listed one per line, from top to bottom. As you move the highlight
through the event list, SONAR updates the Now marker (time display). During playback, the event list
scrolls to display the events at the current time. The current event is centered in the Event List during
playback, and the highlight is on the correct event when playback stops. Any time you change the Now
time, the event list is updated and the highlight is moved to the event that will be played next.

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 :
When the Event List view includes more than one track, events are mixed together in chronological
order. For example, if you select tracks 1 and 3 when you open the Event List view, you see a single list
of intermingled events from tracks 1 and 3. You can have any number of Event List views, each
containing any number of tracks, open at the same time. You can change the tracks shown in the Event
List view by clicking the button and choosing the tracks you want.

Event List Buttons and Overview

Each line of the Event List view shows a single event along with all of its parameters. There are many
different types of events. All share the following parameters:
The time of the event, displayed in SMPTE (hours:minutes:seconds:frames) format
The time of the event, displayed in MBT (measures:beats:ticks) format
The event type, or kind of event
The remaining parameters vary by event type. You can hide or show each kind of event by clicking its
button in the Event List toolbar or by checking its checkbox in the Event Manager dialog box. Here is a
summary listing of the parameters that apply to each type of event.

Short name and Type of event... Parameters...

display button...

Note MIDI note Pitch (MIDI key number), velocity (0-127),

duration (beats:ticks or simply ticks), MIDI
channel (1-16)

KeyAft MIDI key aftertouch Pitch (MIDI key number), pressure amount (0-
127), MIDI channel (1-16)

Control MIDI controller change Controller number (0-127), controller value (0-
127), MIDI channel (1-16)

Patch MIDI patch change Bank select method, bank number, number or
name of the patch, MIDI channel (1-16)

ChanAft MIDI channel aftertouch Pressure amount (0-127), MIDI channel (1-16)

Wheel MIDI pitch wheel position Wheel position (-8192 to 8191, where the center
is 0)

RPN Registered Parameter Parameter number (0-16383), parameter value

Number (0-16383), MIDI channel (1-16)

NRPN Non-registered Parameter Parameter number (0-16383), parameter value

Number (0-16383), MIDI channel (1-16)

Sysx Bank System Exclusive data bank Sysx bank number (0-8191)

Sysx Data System Exclusive data Sysx message up to 255 bytes long
message

Text Text Text

Lyric Lyric Text (a single word or syllable)

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MCIcmd Windows Media Control MCI command text
Interface (MCI) command

Wave Audio Digital audio wave Name, velocity (0-127), and number of samples

Shape Events Automation graph segments Change in values, kind of shape, and length in
made up of a solid line MBT format.
between two nodes
Note: Shape events cannot be edited, only
deleted.

Expression Staff view expression marking Text of expression mark

Hairpin Staff view dynamics marking Direction (crescendo or diminuendo) and duration

Chord Staff view chord symbol The name of the chord

Event List Manager Opens Event Manager dialog Shows or hides various kinds of events
box

English
Events Out of Slip Edit Events that are outside of slip- Note, audio, or controller data
Boundaries edited boundaries

Insert Event Inserts a copy of highlighted Whatever the highlighted events parameters are
eventdouble-click the
events Kind parameter to
change it to the kind of event
you want

Delete Event Deletes the highlighted event Whatever the highlighted events parameters are

Pick Tracks and Show Left side of button opens Pick Allows you to pick what tracks the Event List
Next/Previous Track Tracks dialog; right side of shows events for
button opens Next Track/
Previous Track dropdown
menu

Here are some notes about events and their parameters:

The Channel parameter in the Track view can force an event to play on a different MIDI channel
from the one shown in the event list.
Pedal marks entered in the Staff view are displayed in the Event List view as controller events
(64).
Many keyboards do not support key aftertouch and channel aftertouch. Consult the Users Guide
for your keyboard for more information.
When you double-click the value of a patch event, SONAR displays the Bank/Patch Change dialog
box. For more information about bank and patch changes, To Insert a Bank/Patch Change on
page 126.
See Chapter 17, Using System Exclusive Data, for more information about System Exclusive
banks.
See Chapter 9, Editing Audio, for more information about audio clips.

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Selecting Events in the Event List View
The following table describes how to select events in the Event List view:

To do this... Do this...

Select a single event Click on the event.

Select multiple, contiguous events Select the first event, hold the Shift key down and
click the last event.

Select multiple, contiguous events using the Hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys while pressing
arrow keys the up or down arrows.

Select multiple, non-contiguous events Select an event, hold the Ctrl key while selecting
additional events

Additional information about note events and MCIcmd events appears later in this chapter.

Event List Display Filter

You can configure the Event List view to display different event types, as described in the following
table:

To do this... Do this...

Hide events of a certain type Select the event type in the toolbar, in the Event
List view popup menu, or in the Event Manager. To
display a type of event, deselect it.

Open the Event Manager Choose Event Manager from the popup menu, or
click .

Show or hide slip-edited events As a default, if you slip edit the boundaries of a
clip, all events outside those boundaries are
hidden in the Event List view. If you want to see
these events, click this button .
Note: You can not edit slip-edited material in the
Event List view.

Editing Events and Event Parameters

The Event List view lets you add, delete, or change events one by one. You can also print the list of
events or audition the events one at a time to see how they sound.
You can change the parameters of any event by moving the rectangular highlight to the cell you want to
change and doing one of the following:
Type a new value and then press Enter
Press the - and + keys on the numeric keypad to decrease or increase values by a small amount
Press the [ and ] keys to decrease or increase values by a larger amount
Click and hold the mouse button, and then drag the mouse up or down to change the value by a

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 small amount
Click and hold both mouse buttons, and then drag the mouse up or down to change the value by a
larger amount
Double-click a cell, and then enter or choose a new value
If you change the time of an event, it may also change its position in the event list. The Event List view
follows that event to its new location.
If you try to change the event type (kind of event), SONAR lets you choose the kind of event you want
from a dialog box. When you change one kind of MIDI event into another kind of MIDI event, SONAR
preserves the parameters as fully as possible.
Note: Shape events cannot be edited, only deleted.

To Insert a New Event

1. Move the highlight (use the mouse or arrow keys) to the point at which you want to insert an event.

2. Press Insert, or click . SONAR makes a copy of the highlighted event.

3. Change the event to the kind of event you need by double-clicking the name of the event thats

English
listed in the Kind column. The Kind of Event dialog box appears.
4. Choose what kind of event you want and click OK. SONAR changes the highlighted event to the
kind you chose.
5. Edit the event time and other parameter values as required.
If the Event List is initially empty, pressing the Insert key creates a default note event.

To Delete an Event
1. Move the highlight (use the mouse or arrow keys) to the event you want to delete.

2. Press Delete, or click .

SONAR deletes the event.

To Delete Several Events

1. Select the events you want to delete by clicking, dragging, or Ctrl or Shift-clicking in the first
column of the Event List view.
2. Choose Edit-Cut.
SONAR deletes the selected events.

To Print the Event List

1. Choose File-Print Preview to display a preview of the printed event listing.
2. Click the Zoom button (or just click the page) to zoom in and out, and use the Page Up and Page
Down keys to review the pages.
3. Click Print to print the event list, or click Close to close the Preview window without printing.

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To Play Events Step by Step
1. Using the keyboard, hold the Ctrl and Shift keys and press the Spacebar to play the currently
highlighted event. If the event is a note event, it plays until you release the Spacebar.
2. When you release the Spacebar, the highlight moves to the next event.
3. Continue pressing the Spacebar to play events one by one.
4. To edit the last event you heard, release the Shift key.
The highlight moves back to the last event you heard, so you can make changes. You can also audition a
single event using the mouse. Ctrl-click on an event to play the event. If the event is a note or Wave
event, it plays until you release the mouse button.

Additional Event Information

Note EventsThere are three values parameters for note events:
A pitch, which represents the MIDI key number as a note and an octave.
A velocity (0127), which is how fast the key is struck. Some keyboards dont transmit or receive
velocity messages.
A duration, which is how long the note lasts. This amount is shown in beats:ticks format. (If the
note lasts less then one beat, then only the number of ticks is shown.)
Note names may also represent percussion instruments, and lists of such note names are sometimes
associated with a particular percussion patch. The note C3, for example, may really be kick drum. If a
patch is associated with a percussion note name list, the name of the percussion instrument appears in
Event List view rather than a note and an octave from the piano keyboard.
SONAR uses the following notation to display flats and sharps in this and other views:

Character... Meaning...

b flat

# sharp

" double flat

x double sharp

MCIcmd Events
Media Control Interface (MCI) commands are special events that let you control other multimedia
hardware and software (e.g., CD-ROM drives, laserdiscs, sound cards, animations, video) during
playback. MCI commands are part of the multimedia extensions in Windows. MCIcmd events have one
parameterthe command line text of the MCI command. Here are some examples:

This command... Does this...

PLAY C:\TRAIN.WAV Plays the Wave file TRAIN.WAV

PLAY C:\VIDEOS\VACATION.AVI Plays the video file VACATION.AVI from the VIDEOS folder

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 SET CDAUDIO TIME FORMAT Plays a specific track from the CD drive
TMSF PLAY CDAUDIO 3

STOP CDAUDIO Stops the CD from playing

While MCI commands can be used to play Wave files, these files are played at their normal speed and
are not necessarily synchronized with MIDI or other audio data. By contrast, Wave audio clips are
played in lock-step synchronization with MIDI and other audio data.
For complete documentation of Windows MCI commands, search for MCI on the Microsoft World Wide
Web site (www.microsoft.com).

MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)

SONAR provides the ability to use plug-in MIDI effects. Using plug-in effects is similar to using the
MIDI processing commands off-line. The overall procedure is as follows:

English
Select the MIDI data to be affected.
Choose the effect you want from the Process-MIDI Effects menu or from the popup menus MIDI
Effects menu.
Set effect parameters (or select a preset if youve made one for this purpose).
Click Audition to preview the music with the effect applied.
Click OK to apply the effect to the selected MIDI data.
If you're not happy with the result, choose Edit-Undo before doing any additional work.
MIDI effects can be applied to whole or partial clips. For example, you can apply an echo to just one
note.
MIDI effects can also be applied to MIDI tracks in real time (during playback) in the Track and Console
views. Unlike any of the processing described so far, using effects in real time is non-destructive. This
means that the MIDI data itself is not modified. See Mixing and Effects Patching on page 363 for more
information on real-time effects.

Note:
Offline effects may cause your MIDI events to grow in size. For example, when
you apply echo, the clip may need to grow to accommodate the tail end of the
echo.

MIDI Effects Presets

The MIDI effects dialogs support the use of presets. For information about presets, see Presets on
page 389.

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 Quantizing
:
The Quantize command moves events to (or towards) an evenly-spaced timing grid. The Quantize
effect is similar to the Process-MIDI Effects-Cakewalk FX-Quantize command. For more
information, see Other Settings on page 274.
The quantize effect parameters are as follows:

Parameter/Option... Meaning...

Start Times Quantize event start times.

Durations Quantize event durations.

Resolution The spacing of the grid used for quantization.

Tuplet Specify the resolution as a tuplet note, for example 5 notes in the
time of 4.

Strength (%) The strength of the adjustments. 100% indicates perfect

quantization; otherwise, the command moves the notes only part
way towards the desired position.

Swing (%) The distortion of timing used to produce a swing feel. A value of
50% indicates a straight rendition; negative and positive values
produce distortion of the timing grid. For more information about
swing, see Swing on page 273.

Window (%) The sensitivity of quantization. A value of 100% causes all notes
to be quantized. Lower values cause the effect not to quantize
notes that are far from the timing grid.

Offset (Ticks) The offset of the quantization grid from the start of measure
boundaries. A value of 0 indicates perfect alignment. Values less
than 0 shift the grid points earlier; values greater than 0 shift the
grid later.

Randomize Causes a random time offset to be added to or subtracted from

each new event time. You must also specify the maximum offset,
as a percentage of the quantization resolution.

To Quantize MIDI Data

1. Select the data to be affected.
2. Choose Process-Quantize to open the Quantize dialog box.
3. Set the quantization parameters, as described in the table above.
4. Click OK.
SONAR applies the specified quantization to the selected data.

Adding Echo/Delay
The Echo Delay command creates a series of repeating echoes of each note. The echo notes can
decrease or increase in velocity, and can be transposed from the original by regular intervals.

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The parameters used to specify the echo/delay effect are as follows:

Parameter/ Meaning...
Option...

Decay (%) The reduction in velocity with each echo. A value greater than 100% indicates
an increase in velocity.

No. Echoes The number of echo notes for each original note. If the velocity reaches 0 before
the specified number of echoes, the effect generates no more echo notes.

Delay The delay between successive echo notes.

Delay Units The units used to specify the delay. You may specify delay in ticks, in
milliseconds, or as a note duration.

Tap The delay you specify by tapping the control with the mouse.

English
Swing (%) The distortion of timing used to produce a swing feel to the echo. A value of 0%
indicates a straight rendition; negative and positive values produce distortion of
the timing grid. For more information about swing, see Swing on page 273.

Pitch (Steps) The number of steps to transpose each echo note from the previous. You can
specify a Diatonic or Chromatic scale.

To Apply Echo/Delay to MIDI Data

1. Select the data to be affected.
2. Choose MIDI Effects-Cakewalk FX-Echo Delay from the Process menu or from the popup
menu to open the Echo Delay dialog box.
3. Set the echo/delay parameters, as described in the table above.
4. Click OK.
SONAR applies the specified echo effect to the selected data.

Filtering Events
The Event Filter command lets you remove events from the MIDI data, keeping or passing through
only those events that you specify. The Event Filter effect works almost identically to the event filter
used by the Edit-Select-By Filter command. For more information, see Event Filters on page 283.

To Apply an Event Filter to MIDI Data

1. Select the data to be affected.
2. Choose MIDI Effects-Cakewalk-FX MIDI Event Filter from the Process menu or from the
popup menu to open the Event Filter dialog box.
3. Set the event filter parameters.
4. Click OK.
SONAR applies the specified event filter to the selected data, removing all those events that do not
meet the filter criteria.

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Adding Arpeggio
The Arpeggiator command applies an arpeggio to its input and plays it back in real time. You can
make it arpeggiate with a swing feel, or straight and staccato or legato, vary its speed and direction,
and specify its range.
The parameters used to specify the arpeggiator effect are as follows:

Parameter/Option... Meaning...

Swing (%) The distortion of timing used to produce a swing feel. A value of 0%
indicates a straight rendition; negative and positive values produce
distortion of the timing grid. For more information on swing, see
Swing on page 273.

Rate The delay between successive notes.

Units The units used to specify the delay. You may specify delay in ticks, in
milliseconds, or as a note duration.

Legato (%) The smoothness of the notes of the arpeggio. 1 percent plays each
notes and releases it instantly. 99 percent plays each note up to the
start of the next note.

Path The direction of the arpeggio. Options are Up, Up (arpeggios go up),
Up, Down (arpeggios go up, then down), Down, Down (arpeggios go
down), Down, Up (arpeggios go down, then up).

Play thru The disposition of the notes you play to specify the arpeggio. Checked
plays the original notes. Unchecked filters out the original notes.

Specify output range The range over which the arpeggio plays. Checked specifies that the
arpeggiator repeats notes at each octave over the entire specified
range. Unchecked specifies that the arpeggiator includes only the
notes you actually play.

Lowest note The MIDI number of the lowest note of the arpeggio. Numbers run
from 0 to 127.

Span (Notes) The number of half-steps in the range. Numbers run from 12 to 127.

Use chord control The chord you specify. Checked specifies that the arpeggiator infers
the chord from the notes played in the range. It identifies the chord in
the Chord recognized box and uses it to play arpeggios for notes
outside the range.

Lowest note The MIDI number of the lowest note the arpeggiator uses for chord
recognition (0 to 126).

Span (Notes) The number of half-steps in the range. Numbers run from 1 to 127.

Chord recognized The chord the Arpeggiator recognizes and plays.

To Apply the Arpeggiator to MIDI Data

1. Select the data to be affected.
2. Choose MIDI Effects-Cakewalk FX-Arpeggiator from the Process menu or from the popup
menu to open the Arpeggiator dialog box.

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3. Set the arpeggiator parameters, as described in the table above.
4. Click OK.
SONAR applies the specified arpeggio effect to the selected data.

Analyzing Chords
The Chord Analyzer command analyzes chords. You select the notes to be analyzed in one of SONARs
windows, then open the Chord analyzer and press the Audition button. The chord appears on the MIDI
display and the staff, and its name with possible alternatives appears in the Chords recognized box.
You can play the notes on your MIDI input device and have the Chord Analyzer identify the chords in
real time. You do not have to set to playback.
You can open the Chord Analyzer in the Track and Console views, press Playback and have the Chord
Analyzer identify the chords in real time
The Chord Analyzer has a single parameter:

English
Parameter/ Meaning...
Option...

Analysis window The frequency with which the Chord Analyzer samples the
chord. Lower numbers (smaller intervals) are more accurate,
but require more computation.

To Analyze a Chord
1. Select the notes to be analyzed.
2. Choose MIDI Effects-Cakewalk FX-Chord Analyzer from the Process menu or from the popup
menu to open the Transpose dialog box.
3. Click the Audition key.
SONAR displays the chord and its name.
To clear the display, press the Clear button.
Note: When analyzing chords you may see chords being displayed before you hear them. You can reduce
the amount of time these chords appear ahead of playback. To do so, open the MIDI tab in the Global
Options dialog (Options-Global) and enter a lower value in the Prepare Using N Milliseconds Buffer
option. Excessively low values may cause glitches during playback, so it is best to gradually reduce the
value in this option until the desired result is achieved.

Changing Velocities with the Velocity Effect

The Velocity effect lets you adjust velocities of MIDI notes. You can set velocity values, set scale values,
add specific or random offsets, create smooth transitions, and limit the velocity range.
The velocity effect options are as follows:

Parameter/Option... Meaning...

Set all velocities to X Sets all velocities to the specified value.

Change velocities by X Adds a specified increment to all velocities.

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 :
Scale velocities to X% of Multiplies all velocities by a constant factor.
their current value

Change gradually from X to Creates a smooth velocity change across the selection.
Y

Change gradually from X% Scales velocities by a gradually changing factor.

to Y%

Limit range from X to Y Brings all velocities into the specified range.

Randomize by +/- X Adds or subtracts a random offset from each velocity. You must
also specify the maximum offset. You can select this option in
addition to one of the previous options.

Tendency The tendency of the random offset to be lower or higher, on a

scale from -10 to 10.

To Change Note Velocities

1. Select the data to be affected.
2. Choose MIDI Effects-Cakewalk FX-Velocity from the Process menu or from the popup menu to
open the Velocity dialog box.
3. Select options as described in the table above.
4. Click OK.
SONAR changes note velocities according to the specified options.

Transposing MIDI Notes with the Transpose MIDI Effect

The Process-MIDI Effects-Cakewalk FX-Transpose command is a flexible transposition feature. You
can perform simple chromatic or diatonic transpositions, transpose from one key to another, or define
your own custom transposition.

The transpose options are as follows:

Parameter/Option... Meaning...

Interval Specifies chromatic transposition. Transposes notes by the

specified number of steps.

Diatonic Specifies diatonic transposition. Transposes notes by the

specified number of scale steps within the specified scale.

Key/Scale Specifies transposition from one scale and key to another.

Custom Map Specifies custom transposition as defined by the map.

Offset For Interval transposition, the number of steps for the

transposition.
For Diatonic Transposition, the number of scale degrees for the
transposition.
For Key/Scale transposition, a number of octaves added to each
note after transposition.

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Key For Diatonic transposition, the key in which the transposition is
made.

From, To For Key/Scale transposition, the starting and ending key and
scale.

Transposition Map A table of pitch mappings for the specified transposition. You can
select to show the pitches as note names or as note numbers.
For Diatonic and Key/Scale transpositions, pitches not in the
starting (from) key are indented.
To Change a pitch mapping, click on a From pitch and select a To
pitch with the popup slider. If you change a pitch mapping, the
transposition type is automatically set to Custom Map.

Constrain to Scale For Diatonic and Key/Scale transpositions, forces all non-scale
notes to be transposed to the nearest appropriate scale tone.

To Transpose MIDI Data

English
1. Select the data to be affected.
2. Choose MIDI Effects-Cakewalk FX-Transpose from the Process menu or from the popup menu
to open the Transpose dialog box.
3. Set the transposition options as described in the table above.
4. Click OK.
SONAR transposes the selected data according to the options you specified.

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 :

302
 8 Drum Maps and the
Drum Grid Pane

There are several panes in the Piano Roll view designed for use with MIDI drum tracks: the
Note Map pane which lists the original pitch values and the mapped values for each note,
and the Drum Grid pane which displays your drum tracks (any track assigned to a drum
map) and where you can edit your drum tracks.

In This Chapter
English
The Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Creating and Editing a Drum Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Using Drum Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
The Note Map Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
The Drum Grid Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
The Pattern Brush Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
 The Basics
:
Drum maps are virtual MIDI ports that you create and edit. Drum maps give you total control over all
the MIDI drum sounds you have access to either in the form of software (soft synths) or hardware
(external MIDI sound modules).
Drum maps in SONAR allow you to do the following:
Re-map note events, for example, map a General MIDI drum kit to a non-General MIDI drum kit.
Create a custom drum kit from several MIDI devices (soft synths, hardware synths) and play it
from a single MIDI track if desired.
Use the Drum Grid Editor to show only the drum sounds you want to see.
Sort drum sounds to suit your needs.
Mute and solo individual drum sounds

Creating and Editing a Drum Map

You can create a drum map by either modifying an existing drum map or by creating a new drum map.

The Drum Map Manager

In the Drum Map Manager dialog you can create and save drum maps for use with hardware or
software synths and samplers. You can customize drum maps to select specific sounds on any of your
available sound sources.

To Open the Drum Map Manager Dialog

You can open the Drum Map manager in one of the following ways:
Select Options-Drum Map Manager from the menu
Or
Click on the Output field of your MIDI drum track and select Drum Map Manager

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 New Drum Delete Drum
Map button Map button Current Drum Map Preset list

Click to
create a
new row

Rows

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Port/Channel
pairs

Drum Maps Used in Current Project

This field displays all the currently available drum maps. click the New button to create a new
drum map and Delete to delete a drum map. Select a drum map to display the drum mappings
in the Drum Map Manager. All drum maps in this field are saved with the current project.

Presets
Presets can be used to populate the fields in the Drum Map Manager. This field is also used to save new
drum maps by entering a name in the field and clicking the save button.

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 Settings
:
The Settings section is where you map the following for each In Note (source):
In NoteThe source MIDI note value.
Out NoteThe MIDI note value that plays on the destination sound source.
NameThe user-defined name for the row.
ChnThe channel on which the note is transmitted.
Out PortThe hardware output port or software virtual output port to which you are sending the
note.
Vel+Apply a velocity offset setting to an individual mapped pitch.
V ScaleThe V Scale value sets a level of compression or expansion. A value below 100% is
compression. A value above 100% is expansion. The Vel+ setting allows for gain make-up.

Ports and Channels

This section lists each unique Port and Channel pairing. This allows you to make quick global changes
that Port and Channel pairings bank and patch settings.

Working in the Drum Map Manager

The following table lists several ways of editing settings in the Drum Map Manager.

To do this Do this

Audition a row Select the row and press Shift+Spacebar

Sort rows Drag and drop a row to a new location

Select multiple rows Click a row, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting
additional rows

Change the Output Port for all rows with Press Ctrl+Shift while changing the port.
the same Channel/Port

Undo an edit Press the Undo button

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The Map Properties Dialog
The Map Properties dialog lets you change all the settings for an individual mapped note in your drum
map. The settings in the Map Properties dialog are the same as a single row in the Drum Map Manager.
If you want to edit more than one drum note pitch mapping, click the Map Mgr button to open the Drum
Map Manager dialog.

English
To Open the Map Properties Dialog
Double-click on a row in the Note Map pane.
Or
Right-click on a row in the Note Map pane and select Map Properties from the menu that
appears.

Saving a Drum Map

Use the following procedure to save a new or modified drum map.
1. In the Drum Map Manager, enter a name for the new drum map in the Preset field.

2. Click the Save button .

Drum map presets are saved and available for all projects. Drum maps are saved on a per-project basis.

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Using Drum Maps
The following topics cover using drum-mapped tracks, including how to display drum tracks in the
Drum Grid pane and how to edit note velocities.

Assigning a MIDI Track to a Drum Map

Use the following procedure to assign a MIDI track to a drum map:

To Assign a MIDI Track to a Drum Map

1. Display the Track view if it is minimized.
2. In the track you want to assign to a drum map, click the Output dropdown and select a drum map
from the options in the menu that appears.

Opening a Drum Map

Use the following procedure to open a drum map in the Drum pane:

To Open a Drum Map

1. In the Track view, assign the drum map you want to open to a MIDI track. See Assigning a MIDI
Track to a Drum Map on page 308.
2. Select the MIDI track you just assigned the drum map to and select View-Piano Roll.

To Open All Tracks Assigned to a Drum Map

1. Select a single track assigned to the drum map.
2. Hold down Ctrl+Shift while selecting View-Piano Roll.

Displaying Tracks in the Drum Grid Pane

Use the following procedure to display a drum track or tracks in the Drum Grid pane.

To Display Tracks in the Drum Grid Pane

1. Create a drum map if you have not already done so. See Creating and Editing a Drum Map on
page 304.
2. Change the focus to the Track view.
3. In the track(s) you want to view in the Drum Grid Editor, select a drum map from the Output
dropdown menu.
4. Select the tracks you want to view in the Drum Grid Editor and select View-Piano Roll.
The Piano Roll view appears with the selected tracks data appearing in the Drum Grid Editor.

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Velocity Tails
In the Drum Grid pane, you have the option of showing the velocity of each note as a series of bars. The
higher the bars, the higher the velocity value.

Notes with velocity showing

Notes without velocity showing

To Display Velocity Tails in the Drum Grid Pane

English
Click the Show/Hide Velocity Tails button in the Piano Roll view toolbar.
Or
Press the Y key.

Editing Note Velocities

In the Drum Map Editor you can display note velocities as a series of horizontal bars behind the note.
Click the Show/Hide Velocity Tails button to display note velocities.

To Edit a Note Velocity in the Drum Grid Pane

1. Click the Draw tool button .
2. Move your cursor over the velocity tail you want to edit until the cursor changes to look like this:

3. Click and drag the velocity tail. Drag it up to increase the velocity. Drag it down to decrease the
velocity.

To Edit Multiple Note Velocities in the Drum Grid Editor

When you edit multiple notes that have different initial velocities, the velocities are adjusted on a
relative basis, so if you reduce a velocity by 50%, all other selected notes have their velocities reduced by
the same percentage. For example: you select three notes. The first has a velocity of 100, the second a
velocity of 50, and the third a velocity of 30. You click and drag the velocity of the first note down to 50.
The second notes velocity changes from 50 to 25 and the third notes velocity changes from 30 to 15.
1. Select the notes you want to change the velocity of.

2. Click the Draw tool button .

3. Move your cursor over one of the selected notes.
4. Hold down the Shift key.
5. Click and drag the velocity tail. Drag it up to increase the velocity. Drag it down to decrease the
velocity.

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Previewing a Mapped Sound
Use the following procedure to hear the drum sound you have mapped a note to.

To Preview a Mapped Sound

In the Note Map pane, click on the name of the sound you want to hear.

The Note Map Pane

The Note Map pane displays the current drum map. In the Note Map pane each row represents a pitch.
The Note In pitch is the recorded pitch. You map the recorded pitch to whatever pitch you want using
the Note Out pitch setting. You can also change the name of the mapped note and mute or solo the
mapped note.

Changing Mapped-note Settings

You can change the following settings in the Note Map pane:
Mapped-note name
Note Out
Mute
Solo

To Change the Name Setting

The name of a mapped note in the Note Map pane is a user-assigned variable. Make it descriptive for
easy reference. To change the Name setting, use the following procedure:
1. In the Note Map pane, double-click on the appropriate row.
The Map Properties dialog appears.
2. In the Map Properties dialog, enter a new name in the Name field and press the Enter key.

To Change the Note Out Setting

The Note Out setting is the actual note you hear when the Note In value is played. To change the Note
Out setting, use the following procedure:
1. In the Note Map pane, double-click on the appropriate row.
The Map Properties dialog appears.

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 2. In the Map Properties dialog, enter a new value in the Note Out field and press the Enter key, or
use the +/- buttons to change the value and press the Enter key.

To Change Multiple Note Out Settings

1. Open the Drum Map Manager.
2. In the Drum Map Manager, select a contiguous range of rows by selecting the first in the range,
and holding down the Shift key while selecting the last in the range.
Or
Select a non-contiguous range by selecting one row and holding down the Ctrl key while selecting
additional rows.
3. Hold down both the Ctrl and Shift keys while selecting a new Output in the Output column.

To Mute or Solo a Mapped Note

The Mute and Solo controls in the Note Map pane allow you to mute or solo an individual mapped note.
To mute or solo a mapped note, use the following procedure:
In the Note Map pane, click the Mute or Solo button in the appropriate row.

English
Or
Right-click on the row you want to mute or solo and select Mute or Solo from the menu that
appears.

To Display the Note In and Note Out Values By Their Pitch Name
You have the option of showing the Note In and Note Out values by their pitch names. To do so, use the
following procedure:
Right-click on any row in the Note Map pane and select the Display Pitch Names command from
the menu that appears.

To Change the Order of Mapped Notes in the Drum Map Pane

Use the following procedure to change the order of mapped notes in the Note Map pane.
1. Move your cursor over the row you want to move in the Note Map pane.

2. When your cursor changes to look like this , click and drag the row to the place you want it to be
and release the mouse button.

The Drum Grid Pane

The Drum Grid pane is where you edit your drum tracks. The Drum Grid pane is the top pane in the
Piano Roll view and opens automatically when you open a MIDI drum track.

Grid Lines
The Drum Grid pane is divided into a time grid. You can set the resolution of the grid lines from 1/4 note
to 1/64 note, or to follow the current snap grid setting.
The Show/Hide Grid Lines combo button toggles on and off the grid lines in the Drum Grid pane
and sets the grid line resolution.

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 :
To Turn on Grid Lines in the Drum Map Pane
Click the Show/Hide Grid Lines combo button in the Piano Roll view toolbar.
Or
Press the I key.

To Set the Drum Map Pane Grid Line Resolution

Click the down arrow on the Show/Hide Grid Lines combo button and select an option from
the menu that appears.

The Pattern Brush Tool

The Pattern Brush tool , on the Piano Roll View toolbar, allows you to insert multiple notes using
your mouse, either following a pattern used in an existing MIDI file or at the current note duration
setting.

How the Pattern Brush Tool Works

When you select the Pattern Brush tool you can click and drag in the Drum Grid pane (also works in the
Note pane) to produce a series of notes. Which notes appear in the Drum Grid depends on the settings
you make in the Pattern Brush tools dropdown menu. To open the Pattern Brush tools dropdown
menu, click the right side of the Pattern Brush tool.

The following table covers the options found in the Pattern Brush tools dropdown menu:

Option Description

Velocity Select this option to open the Pattern Velocity dialog. The value
you enter in this dialog sets the default velocity for all notes
entered using the Pattern Brush tool unless you select Use
Pattern Velocities.

Use Pattern Velocities Select this option to use the note velocities used in the custom
pattern file you are using. If you are using the Note Duration
option, this option is not available.

Use Pattern Polyphony Select this option to use the pitch values from the custom pattern
file you are using. If you are using the Note Duration option, this
option is not available. When using this option, the vertical
position of your mouse does not affect the note pitches draw; that
information is read from the pattern.

Note Duration This option uses the current note duration setting in the Piano Roll
View toolbar as the interval between notes.

To Paint Notes Using the Pattern Brush Tool

1. Open a track in the Drum Grid pane or the Note pane.
2. In the Pattern Brush tools dropdown menu, select Note Duration.
3. In the Piano Roll View toolbar, select a note duration. This value is the interval between notes
when using the Pattern Brush tool.

4. Click the Pattern Brush tool to select it.

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 Your cursor should appear like this when in the Drum Grid pane.
5. Click where you want to begin placing notes and drag until you have inserted all the notes you
want.
6. Release the mouse button.
SONAR creates a series of notes, at equal intervals.

To Paint a Custom Pattern of Notes Using the Pattern Brush Tool

1. Open a track in the Drum Grid pane.
2. In the Pattern Brush tools dropdown menu, select the custom pattern you want to use. If you need
to create a custom pattern, see Creating Custom Patterns on page 313.

3. Click the Pattern Brush tool to select it.

Your cursor should appear like this when in the Drum Grid pane.
4. Click where you want to begin placing notes and drag until you have inserted all the notes you
want.

English
5. Release the mouse button.

To Use a Custom Patterns Note Velocities

1. Open a track in the Drum Grid pane.
2. In the Pattern Brush tools dropdown menu, select the custom pattern you want to use. In the
Pattern Brush tools dropdown menu, select Use Pattern Velocities.

3. Click the Pattern Brush tool to select it.

Your cursor should appear like this when in the Drum Grid pane.
4. Click where you want to begin placing notes and drag until you have inserted all the notes you
want.
5. Release the mouse button.

To Use a Custom Patterns Pitch Values

1. Open a track in the Drum Grid pane.
2. In the Pattern Brush tools dropdown menu, select the custom pattern you want to use. In the
Pattern Brush tools dropdown menu, select Use Pattern Polyphony.

3. Click the Pattern Brush tool to select it.

Your cursor should appear like this when in the Drum Grid pane.
4. Click where you want to begin placing notes and drag until you have inserted all the notes you
want.
5. Release the mouse button.

Creating Custom Patterns

You can create custom patterns and use the Pattern Brush tool to quickly paint them into the Drum
Grid pane. Use the following procedure to create a custom pattern.

To Create a Custom Pattern

1. Create a new file, or open an existing MIDI file or pattern file that you want to edit.

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 2.
:
Right-click in the Time Ruler where you want the pattern to start and select Insert Marker from
the menu that appears.
The Marker dialog appears.
3. Enter the name you want to use for the first pattern and click OK.
4. In a MIDI track, enter a pattern of notes.
5. If you want to create a second pattern, repeat steps 2 through 4.
6. Create as many patterns as you want, ending the last pattern with a marker called end.
7. Save the file as a MIDI file (.MID) in the Pattern Brush Patterns folder in the directory where you
installed SONAR.
Note: You can change the default directory where SONAR looks for patterns in the Folders tab of
the Global Options dialog.
You may need to re-start SONAR to see the new patterns in the dropdown menu next to the Pattern
Brush. The name you gave the file appears with an arrow next to it. Move your mouse over it to see a
subdirectory which contains each of the patterns you created.

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 9
Editing Audio

The Track view lets you edit and arrange audio clips. You can perform basic tasks such as
cut, copy, paste, and move; apply simple audio processing such as gain change, fades, and
equalization; and use sophisticated audio effects such as stereo chorus and reverb. The Track
view lets you see your audio clips on a timeline, arranged by track, to help you visualize the

English
organization of your projects audio data.
Most audio processing commands and audio effects can be used from the Event List view as
well, by selecting one or more audio clips, then choosing the desired command from the
Process-Audio or Process-Audio Effects menu. Plug-in effects can also be applied to audio
data non-destructively, in real time, in both the Console and Track views. For more
information, see Chapter 11, Mixing and Effects Patching.

In This Chapter
Digital Audio Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Basic Audio Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Basic Audio Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Advanced Audio Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Slip-editing Audio (Non-destructive Editing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Fades and Crossfades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Audio Effects (Audio Plug-ins) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
 :
Digital Audio Fundamentals
Digital audio is a numeric representation of sound; it is sound stored as numbers. In order to
understand what the numbers mean, you need to start with the basic principles of acoustics, the
science of sound.

Basic Acoustics
Sound is produced when molecules in the air are disturbed by some type of motion produced by a
vibrating object. This object, which might be a guitar string, human vocal cord, or a garbage can, is set
into motion because energy is applied to it. The guitar string is struck by a pick or finger, while the
garbage can is hit perhaps by a hammer, but the basic result is the same: they both begin to vibrate.
The rate and amount of vibration is critical to our perception of the sound. If it is not fast enough or
strong enough, we won't hear it. But if the vibration occurs at least twenty times a second and the
molecules in the air are moved enough, then we will hear sound.

ExampleA Guitar String

To understand the process better, let's take a closer look at a guitar string.
When a finger picks a guitar string, the entire string starts to move back and forth at a certain rate.
This rate is called the frequency of the vibration. Because a single back and forth motion is called a
cycle, we use a measure of frequency called cycles per second, or cps. This measure is also known as
Hertz, abbreviated Hz. Often the frequency of vibration of an object is very fast, so we can also express
the frequency in thousands of cycles per second, or kilohertz (abbreviated kHz).

The actual distance the string moves is called its displacement. This is proportional to how hard the
string is plucked. A greater displacement results in a louder sound.

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The displacement of the string changes as the string vibrates, as shown here:

English
The segment marked A represents the string as it is pulled back by the pick; B shows it moving back
towards its resting point, C represents the string moving through the resting point and onward to its
outer limit; then D has it moving back towards the point of rest. This pattern repeats continuously
until the friction of the molecules in the air gradually slows the string to a stop. As the string vibrates,
it causes the molecules of air around it to vibrate as well. The vibrations are passed along through the
air as sound waves. When the vibrations enter your ear, they make your eardrum vibrate, and you
hear a sound. Likewise, if the vibrating air hits a microphone, it causes the microphone to vibrate and
send out electrical signals.
In order for us humans to hear the sound, the frequency of the vibration must be at least 20 Hz. The
highest frequency sound we can hear is theoretically 20 kHz, but, in reality, it's probably closer to 15 or
17 kHz. Other animals, and microphones, have different hearing ranges.
If the simple back-and-forth motion of the string was the only phenomenon involved in creating a
sound, then all stringed instruments would probably sound much the same. We know this is not true, of
course; the laws of physics are not quite so simple. In fact, the string vibrates not only at its entire
length, but at one-half its length, one-third, one-fourth, one-fifth, and so on. These additional vibrations
(overtones) occur at a rate faster than the rate of the original vibration (the fundamental
frequency), but are usually weaker in strength. Our ear doesn't hear each frequency of vibration
individually, however. If it if did, we would hear a multinote chord every time a single string were

317
 :
played. Rather, all these vibrations are added together to form a complex or composite sound that our
ear perceives as a single tone.

Fundamental
frequency (1f)
100% amplitude

2x fundamental (2f)
50% amplitude

3x fundamental (3f)
33% amplitude

4x fundamental (4f)
25% amplitude

5x fundamental (5f)
20% amplitude

This composite waveform still doesn't account for the uniqueness of the sound of different instruments.
For example, stringed instruments usually have a resonator. In the case of the guitar, the resonator is
the big block of hollow wood to which the string is attached (the guitar body). This has a major impact
on the sound we perceive when a guitar is played because it enhances or amplifies some of the
vibrations produced by the string and diminishes or attenuates others. The ultimate effect of all the
vibrations occurring simultaneously, being altered by the resonator, adds up to the sound we know as
guitar.

Waveforms
A sound wave can be represented in many different ways: as a mathematical formula, as a series of
numbers, or graphically as a waveform. A waveform displays the size, or amplitude, of the vibration
as a function of time. For example, the waveform of the sound of the plucked guitar string might look
like this:

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The waveform of a trumpet blast might look like this:

And the waveform of a spoken word might look like this:

English
The three waveforms shown above are quite different from one another, both in appearance and sound.
Each has its own characteristic shape, or envelope, and each has its own complex combination of
frequency components, which can change across the duration of the sound.
The center line of a waveform is the zero line; it corresponds to the rest position (displacement of 0) of
the original vibrating object. (A waveform for perfect silence would be a horizontal line at zero.) Back
and forth motions of the vibrating object translate to upward (positive) and downward (negative)

319
 :
excursions of waveform amplitude. For example, a close-up of a portion of the guitar waveform might
look like this:

The waveform crosses the zero line twice during each complete vibration. These zero-crossings are
important in digital audio processing; they are good places to cut waveforms apart and splice them
together. If waveforms are cut or spliced at other locations, clicks and pops can occur. The maximum
amplitude of the waveform in each vibration is also important: it determines the strength of the
vibration, and thus the loudness of the sound.

Recording a Sound
To record digital audio, your computer monitors the electrical signal generated by a microphone (or
some other electroacoustical device). Because the signal is caused by a sound, the signal strength varies
in direct proportion to the sounds waveform. The computer measures and saves the strength of the
electrical signal from the microphone, thus recording the waveform.
There are two important aspects of this measuring process. First is the sampling rate, the rate at
which the computer saves measurements of the signal strength. It is a known fact of physics that you
must measure, or sample, the signal at a rate at least twice that of the highest frequency you wish to
capture. For example, suppose you want to record a moderately high note on a violinsay the A whose
fundamental frequency is 440 Hz and all overtones up to five times the fundamental. The highest
frequency you want to capture is 2,200 Hz, so you need to measure the electrical signal from the
microphone at least 4,400 times per second.
Since humans can hear frequencies well above 10 kHz, most sound cards and digital recording systems
are capable of sampling at much higher rates than that. Typical sampling rates used by modern
musicians and audio engineers are 22 kHz, 44.1 kHz, and 48 kHz. The 44.1 kHz rate is called CD-
quality, since it is the rate used by audio compact discs.
The other important aspect of the measuring process is the sampling resolution. The sampling
resolution determines how accurately the amplitude of each sample is measured. At present, the music
industry has settled on a system that provides 65,536 different values to assign to the amplitude of a
waveform at any given instant. Thus, each sample saved by your computer requires 2 bytes (16 bits) to
store, since it takes 2 bytes to store a number from 32,768 to 32,767. The scaling of the electrical input
signal level to amplitude value is determined by your audio hardware and by the position of your input
level control.
What if the amplitude of the sampled signal gets too high, such that a 16-bit number is not large
enough to represent it? What typically happens is that the signal is clipped, cut off at the maximum
value.

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Here is what a clipped waveform might look like:

Clipping is not usually desirable and may have unpleasant audible effects. Sudden irregularities in the
waveform of any type can cause clicks, pops, and distortion of the original sound.

The Decibel Scale

In acoustics, the decibel (dB) scale is a scale for measuring the relative loudness of two sounds. For
example, environmental noise is often measured as follows:
L = 20 log (p/p0)

English
where L is the sound pressure level (in dB), p is the sound pressure amplitude, and p0 is a reference
amplitude of 20 micropascals (less than one billionth of atmospheric pressure). On this scale, a barely
audible sound (p = p0) has a sound pressure level of 0 dB, normal conversation (p = 1,000*p0) is at a
level of around 60 dB, and a jet engine at close range (p = 1,000,000*p0) is at a level of around 120 dB.
Similar decibel scales are used in other branches of science and engineering to measure electrical power
levels and other signal levels, always with respect to some reference level.
In SONAR, decibels are used in several places:
To indicate volume levels of audio tracks in the Track view and Console view
To indicate the effects of filters and equalizers
The reference level (0 dB) usually corresponds to the current loudness of the sound. A positive change in
decibels makes the sound louder; a negative change makes the sound quieter.

Audio Clips
If you have read from the beginning of the chapter, you should have a good idea of what is contained in
a SONAR audio clip. An audio clip contains a long series of numbers, or samples, representing the
fluctuating amplitude of a waveform. Audio clips are typically quite large, hundreds of kilobytes to
many megabytes in size. By comparison, a MIDI event takes only a few bytes to store.
The Track view lets you see your audio waveforms in great detail; you can zoom in until you see the
individual samples.
You should also now be aware of some things to watch out for when editing your audio data. First, if you
cut audio clips apart or splice them together, you should do so at zero-crossings in the waveform (places
where the amplitude is zero), in order to avoid sudden changes in amplitude that may cause clicks and
pops. Second, you should beware of clipping. Clipping of the audio waveform can occur if you record a
signal at too high a record level, or if you apply audio processing or effects that increase the waveform
amplitude too much. If you accidentally cause the waveform to clip, you should undo the command and
try again with different parameters.
Clipping can also occur in other situations, for example, if you try to play or mix several loud audio
tracks together, the aggregate signal strength may at times exceed the clipping limit, and the output
signal will be distorted. To correct the problem, you can create a volume envelope to reduce the level in
loud audio clips or reduce the track volume in the Console or Track views.

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Managing Audio Data
Because of the great size of audio data, SONAR uses an intelligent scheme for storing audio clips on
disk to conserve disk space and minimize the time it takes to load and save data. Audio data is not
stored directly in your project file, but rather in separate files in a special directory. For more
information, see System Configuration on page 548.
You can export your project in MP3, WMA, or Wave format. You can also convert your projects MIDI
data to audio and export it to any of the above formats. For more information, see Preparing Audio for
Distribution on page 413.

Basic Audio Editing

The Track view lets you perform basic editing tasks such as cut, copy, paste, delete, drag-and-drop, split,
and bounce. You can drag fade-ins and fade-outs onto a clip using your mouse or you can set complex
envelopes on both clips and tracks. You can use envelopes to change settings for gain (volume), pan,
mute, bus send level and bus send pan. The Scrub tool lets you audition portions of audio by dragging
the mouse.
Use the Select tool to make selections.
Here is a summary of the ways in which you can select audio clips:

To do this... Do this...

Select a single clip Click the clip

Select several clips at once Drag a rectangle around them

Select part of a clip Press Alt and drag over a portion of the clip

Add clips to the selection Press Shift and either click the clips or drag a
rectangle around the clips

Add or remove clips from the selection Press Ctrl and either click the clips or drag a
rectangle around the clips

Add or remove clips in a track from the Press Ctrl and click the track number
selection

Select clips in a time range Drag in the Time Ruler

Select clips between two markers Click between the markers

Remove all selections Click in an empty area outside of any clip

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Editing Clip Properties
Audio clips have several properties that you can change:

Property... Description...

Name The name of a clip is used in the Track view and Event List
view. You can assign any name to help you remember the
contents of the clip.

Start The start determines when the sample is played.

Length The length indicates the size of the clip.

Snap Offset A value that represents the number of samples into the clip at
which the clip snaps to.

Display Color The clips color in the Track view.

English
To Change an Audio Clips Name
1. Right-click the audio clip and choose Clip Properties.

2. Type a new name in the Name box.

3. Click OK.
The new clip name appears in the upper left corner of the clip.

To Change a Clips Start

1. Right-click an audio clip and choose Clip Properties.
2. Enter a new starting time in the Start field.
3. Click OK.
The Track view displays the clip at the new starting time.

Moving, Copying, Pasting and Deleting Audio Clips

Clips can be cut, copied, pasted, and deleted with Edit menu commands, or moved and copied with
drag-and-drop techniques. For more information, see Arranging on page 183.

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Audio Scaling
Audio scaling is the increase or decrease in the size (scale) of the waveform in a track or bus. Audio
scaling allows you to make detailed edits by zooming in on the parts of the waveform closest to the zero
crossing (silence) while preserving the track or bus size. By showing just the quietest parts of a clip, you
can make very precise edits. You can also zoom out on the waveform.
You can change the audio scale using keyboard shortcuts or the Audio Scale Ruler.
The Audio Scale Ruler is located in the vertical splitter bar between the Clips pane and the Track pane.
Track pane

Clips pane

Audio Scale Ruler

Note: the Audio Scale Ruler does not appear on multi-layered tracks.
There are three display options in the Audio Scale Ruler:
Percentageshows audio scaling by percentage. For example, if the highest percentage in the
Audio Scale Ruler reads 2.0%, then only the parts of the waveform which are within 2% of the zero
crossing appear in the clip.
dBshows audio scaling by dB. For example, if the highest dB in the Audio Scaling Ruler reads -
36, then only the parts of the waveform which are 36 dB below 0 dB appear in the clip.
Zoom Factorshows audio scaling by a factor. For example, if the Zoom Factor reads 10, then the
waveform is zoomed in by a factor of 10.
Note: The Audio Scale Ruler display reflects the type of audio clip directly beneath it. If it is a stereo
waveform, the Audio Scale Ruler appears in stereo (one for each channel). If it is a mono clip it appears
in mono. Also, the Audio Scale Ruler only displays numbers when it is above a certain height. If you
cannot see the Audio Scale Ruler, increase the size of your track or bus.

To Change the Audio Scale Display Option

1. Right-click on the Audio Scale Ruler in any track.
A menu appears. The current display option is checked.
2. Select an option from the menu.

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To Scale All Audio Tracks Together
To scale all audio tracks together, follow the instructions in the table below:

To do this... Do this...

Increase the scale for all tracks Press Alt+Up Arrow.

Or
Hold down the Ctrl key and click the Vertical Zoom In
button. When you hold down the Ctrl key and position
your cursor over the Vertical Zoom In button, your cursor
looks like this:

Decrease the scale for all tracks Press Alt+Down Arrow.

English
Or
Hold down the Ctrl key and click the Vertical Zoom Out
button. When you hold down the Ctrl key and position
your cursor over the Vertical Zoom Out button, your cursor
looks like this:

Increase/Decrease the scale for all Hold down the Ctrl key, click the Vertical Zoom Fader and
tracks using your mouse drag the fader up or down. When you hold down the Ctrl
key and position your cursor over the Vertical Zoom fader,
your cursor looks like this:

Increase to maximum scale Hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys and click the Vertical
Zoom In button. When you hold down the Shift and Ctrl
keys and position your cursor over the Vertical Zoom In
button, your cursor looks like this:

Decrease to minimum scale Hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys and click the Vertical
Zoom Out button. When you hold down the Shift and Ctrl
keys and position your cursor over the Vertical Zoom Out
button, your cursor looks like this:

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To Scale a Single Track or Bus
To scale a single audio track, follow the instructions in the table below:

To do this... Do this...

Increase/decrease the scale of There are several ways to increase or decrease the size of an
individual stereo or mono tracks individual tracks or buss waveform:
Press Ctrl+Alt+Up/Down arrows
Click and drag vertically in the tracks Audio Scale
Ruler.
When you click and drag in the Audio Scale ruler of a
track, your cursor looks like this:

Select the Zoom tool, hold the Shift key and drag
around the clip you want to zoom in on.

Restore a track to minimum scale Double-click in the tracks Audio Scale Ruler.

To Undo Audio Scaling

Press the U key.

To Scale a Single Track or Bus Using the Audio Scale Ruler

In the track in which you want to change the audio scale, click in the Audio Scale Ruler and drag.
Drag up to increase the audio scaling. Drag down to decrease the audio scaling.

To Show or Hide the Audio Scale Ruler

1. Right-click in the Clips pane.
2. Select View Options from the menu that appears.
The Track View Options dialog appears.
3. In the Track View Options dialog, click the Show Audio Scale checkbox and click OK.

Splitting Audio Clips

You can split long audio clips into shorter ones. This lets you extract and rearrange individual sounds,
adjust timing and alignment, and apply effects selectively. Audio clips can be split using the Scissors
tool in the Track view or with the Split command.

To Split Clips with the Scissors Tool

1. If necessary, zoom-in in the Track view and use the Scrub tool to determine where you want to
make a split.
2. If you want the split to be made on a note or measure boundary, a marker, or by an event, open the
Snap to Grid dialog, make the appropriate settings and click the Snap to Grid button to turn on the
Snap to Grid.
3. Click the Scissors tool button on the Track view toolbar.

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4. Click once to make a single split, or to make two splits, click where you want the first split, drag
within a clip and release to make a second split.

To Split Clips with the Split Command

1. Select the clip you want to split.
2. Right-click the selected clip and select Split from the menu.
The Split Clips dialog appears.

3. In the Split Clips dialog, select from the following options.

Option... Description...

Split At Time Specify the time at which you want to split the clip and the
time format.

Split Repeatedly Specify the first measure at which you want to split the
clip in the Starting At Measure field and the intervals at

English
which you want to split the clip in the And Again Every
field.

Split At Each Marker Creates a split in the clip at every marker.

Split When Silent For At Least Creates a split after each period of silence which exceeds
the number of measures specified.

SONAR splits the audio clip according to your specifications. Each new clip has the same name as the
original clip.
Note: A shortcut to split a selected clip is to move the Now time to where you want to split it, and press
s on your computer keyboard.

Bouncing to Clips
Individual audio clips in the same track can be combined into a single clip with the Bounce to Clip(s)
command.
Note 1: Like any clips, slip-edited clips can be combined with other clips using the Bounce to Clip(s)
command. When a slip-edited clip is combined with another clip, any slip-edited data (audio clips or
MIDI events that are cropped from view) is overwritten.
Note 2: You control the bit depth of all rendering operations (bouncing, freezing, applying effects) on the
Audio Data tab of the Global Options dialog (Options-Global command) in the Render Bit Depth field.
The default value of 32 is the best for most situations. See Bit Depths for Rendering Audio on page
552 for more information.

To Bounce to Clips
1. Select the clips to be combined in the Track view.
2. Choose Edit-Bounce to Clip(s).
The clips are combined into a single clip. Empty space between clips is filled with silence in the new clip.
All clip automation from the source clips is applied to the new clip.

To Bounce Multiple Audio Clips to a New Track

1. Select the clips to be combined in the Track view.

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 2.
:
Choose Edit-Bounce to Track(s).
The Bounce to Track(s) dialog appears.
3. Select the track you want to bounce to in the Destination field.
4. Select other options in the Mixdown Audio/Bounce to Track(s) dialog and click OK.
The clips are combined into a single clip on the destination track. Empty space between clips is filled
with silence in the new clip.

Scrubbing
You can use the Scrub tool to locate or audition a particular sound or passage as you drag the mouse.
You can scrub a single audio track by dragging over that track or all tracks by dragging in the Time
Ruler.
Note: The Scrub tool is not affected by current Mute and Solo settings of a track.

To Audition Audio with the Scrub Tool

1. Click the Scrub tool .

2. Click and drag the pointer over an audio track.

Tip:
To hear the clips in all audio tracks, drag with the Scrub tool in the horizontal
ruler.

Basic Audio Processing

Audio processing commands let you modify audio data according to some rule or algorithm. The rule can
be as simple as reversing the audio data or boosting it by a certain factor, or as complex as performing a
Fourier analysis and selectively amplifying or attenuating sounds at certain frequencies.
Audio processing commands can work on whole, partial and non-contiguous clips. For example, suppose
you want to make certain words in a vocal passage softer. You can create a volume envelope and use it to
lower the volume, non-destructively in just the section of the track containing those words. You could
also use the Process-Audio-Gain command to lower the volume destructively.
You should listen to the results of your work after each audio processing command. If you dont like
what you hear, you can use Edit-Undo to restore your audio data to its previous state.
Many of the dialog boxes associated with SONARs audio processing and effects commands have two
important features: Audition and Presets.
The Audition button is used to audition the processed audio data. When you click Audition, SONAR
processes the first few seconds of your data, then plays it repeatedly until you click Stop. This helps you
to get an idea of whether the settings in the dialog box are producing the desired effect.
The audition duration is three seconds by default. You can change this value by choosing Options-
Global, selecting the General tab and changing Audition Commands for ( ) Seconds.

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Presets are a way to store dialog settings so that you can apply the exact same processing or effect again
in the future. The following table tells you how to use presets in the effects dialog boxes.

To do this... Do this...

Save the current settings as a preset Enter a preset name and click the Save button

Use a preset Select the preset from the dropdown list

Delete a preset Select the preset, then click the Delete button

Many audio processing and effects presets are supplied with SONAR.

Using the Normalize and Gain Commands

SONAR provides several commands to boost or cut the volume of audio data. The Process-Audio-

English
Normalize command, and the Process-Audio-Gain commands are used to control the volume of
selected audio data, in decibels. For more information on the decibel scale, see The Decibel Scale on
page 321. The Normalize command normalizes the audio data: it boosts the volume until the
maximum amplitude is reached somewhere in the data. By normalizing the data, you achieve the
maximum possible volume without distortion or clipping. The Gain command lets you edit the volume,
phase, and stereo interleave of selected audio data. You can also use this command to remove center
material from a clip (good for removing vocals).
Like all the audio processing commands, these commands work by modifying the waveform data. You
can achieve volume changes non-destructively using automation. For more information, see Chapter 13,
Automation.
When increasing or decreasing the volume of audio clips, you should consider the following points:
Normalize raises the noise floor; that is, while it increases the volume of the signal, it also boosts
the noise it contains. (This is true when you raise the volume by other means, too.)
Due to the nature and limitations of digital audio, the sum of all audio signals played together
cannot exceed the waveform amplitude limit. Even though no individual clip is clipped, the
combination may cause distortion.
If the selection contains any loud signals, Normalize may not seem to have any effect. This is because
the volume increase is determined by the loudest audio in the selection. If an audio clip contains
segments that are too quiet and others that are loud, you should probably split off the quiet segments
into separate clips and then normalize those.

To Normalize Audio Data

1. Select the audio data to be affected.
2. Choose Process-Audio-Normalize from the menu.
The Normalize dialog appears.
3. Drag the Normalize Level slider to the approximate level you think is appropriate.
4. Click OK to process the selected audio.
Listen to the edited data. You can use the Edit-Undo command if you dont like the results, and then
try a different setting in the Normalize dialog.

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To Use the Gain Command
1. Select the audio data you want to edit.
2. Use the Process-Audio-Gain command to open the Gain dialog.
3. If you only want to change the overall volume of the selection, move the New Left Channel-From
Left slider and the New Right Channel-From Right sliders by a similar amount. You can press the
Audition button to try out your edits.
4. If you want to switch the two channels, reverse all four sliders from their present positions.

5. If you want to invert the left channel phase, click the Invert left-channel phase button . If you
want to invert the right-channel phase, click the Invert right-channel phase button in the New
Right Channel section.
6. If you want to remove center material (usually where the vocal track is), set the New Left Channel-
From Left slider and the New Right Channel-From Right slider to 100%, and set the New Left
Channel-From Right slider and the New Right Channel-From Left slider to -100% (negative 100%).
7. Press the Audition button if you want to audition your edits.
8. Click OK to process the selected audio.
Listen to the edited data in your mix. You can use the Edit-Undo command if you dont like the results,
and then try different settings in the Gain dialog.

Reversing Audio Data

By reversing audio data, you can make it play backwards. You may wish to do this to obtain unusual
sounds for special effects.
The Reverse command does not reverse the musical position of audio data. Use the Process-
Retrograde command to invert the order of clips in time.

To Reverse Audio Data

1. Select the audio data to be affected.
2. Choose Process-Audio-Reverse from the menu.
SONAR reverses the selected audio data.

Advanced Audio Processing

SONAR provides a number of advanced audio processing commands for power users. Among these are
commands to remove silent sections of audio from the data and to apply fades, and crossfades.

Removing Silence
The Remove Silence command detects sections of audio that fall below a given loudness threshold, and
replaces those sections with absolute silence. Remove Silence gives you the option of actually deleting
the silent sections from the selected audio clips, splitting long audio clips into a greater number of
shorter audio clips.
SONAR treats passages of absolute silence intelligently. It doesnt store stretches of silence on disk, and
thereby conserves disk space. During a passage of absolute silence, SONAR sends no signal to the
digital output port; this results in cleaner audio playback. Remove Silence is great for cleaning up
your final audio mix, because it can mute all audio tracks in which the live performers were laying
out.

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Using Remove Silence to split long audio clips into smaller ones opens a variety of creative
possibilities.
The parameters in the Remove Silence dialog box are used to specify exactly what you mean by silence.
More precisely, Remove Silence employs what is called a digital noise gate. The gate is a type of filter,
it passes data through, or stops it from passing through, according to certain criteria. Parameters in the
dialog box specify the conditions under which the gate is opened and under which it closes again.
The digital noise gate parameters are described in the following table.

Parameter... Meaning...

Open Level (dB) The loudness threshold for opening the noise gate. The gate
officially opens when loudness rises above this level, although
it can open earlier because of the Attack Time.

Close Level (dB) The loudness threshold for closing the noise gate. The gate
officially closes when loudness falls below this level, although
it can stay open later because of the Release Time.

English
Attack Time (ms) The value in this field is the interval of time after the volume
reaches the Open Level for the gate to fully open. Opening the
gate gradually produces a fade-in effect instead of an instant
on-off sound.

Hold Time (ms) The minimum time for the gate to stay open. Hold Time is
useful when youve set high open and close levels, for
example, when your source signal is very loud. Noise gates
set this way tend to react to repeated percussive passages
(such as drum rolls) by repeatedly opening and closing; this
can sound unpleasant. By setting a hold time, you can ensure
that the gate stays open long enough during percussive
passages.

Release Time (ms) The amount of time after the Close Level is reached that the
gate actually closes. This lets the tail end of sounds pass
through without being clipped.

Look Ahead (ms) The value in this field causes the gate to open slightly before
the sound reaches the Open Level so you dont lose the
sounds attack.

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To Remove Silence
1. Select the audio data to be affected.
2. Choose Process-Audio-Remove Silence to open the Remove Silence dialog box.

3. Set the digital noise gate parameters as described in the table above.
4. Check the Split Clips box to delete the silent sections of audio.
5. Click OK to remove silence from the selected data.
SONAR processes the audio as directed.

Extracting Timing
The Extract Timing command creates MIDI notes and (optionally) tempo changes based on rhythmic
peaks in audio.
The Extract Timing command first analyzes the audio for pulsessudden percussive changes in
volume. Then, from each pulse's position and intensity, Extract Timing synthesizes new timing
information, in the form of note events or tempo changes.
This command offers exciting ways to get your MIDI data to "groove" along with audio rhythm tracks.
For example, using Extract Timing you can:
Generate MIDI notes that play along with a rhythm, retaining all the accents in the rhythm track
Create templates for the Process-Groove Quantize command, so that your MIDI tracks play with
the same feel as your audio rhythm track
Adjust the tempo and feel of an existing sequence to match that of a new rhythm track
Record a new MIDI sequence on top of an audio rhythm track, letting the audio track determine
the tempo map for the song
Extract Timing works in two steps: Pulse Analysis and Timing Synthesis. In the first step, the selected
audio is scanned for sudden percussive attacks. You must adjust the Pulse Analysis parameters, then
click Audition to see the results and decide if the pulses are satisfactory. The Pulse Analysis parameters
are as follows:

Parameter/Option Meaning

Preset field Use this field to choose and enter presets. Click the
Save button to save any group of new settings after
you enter a name in the Preset field. Click the Delete
button to delete any selected group from the Preset
field.

Trigger Level (db) The loudness of audio needed to trigger a new pulse.

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Minimum Length (ms) The minimum allowable amount of time between
pulses. If you are working with dynamic source
material, and Extract Timing seems to generate
clusters of pulses that seem incorrect, you should
experiment with increasing the value of this parameter.

Find a Steady Rhythm Tells SONAR to look for a steady rhythm among all the
pulses it finds. For example, if you're analyzing a drum
track that consists of a steady beat on the snare and
kick-drum, but which also has some syncopated
accents, you can use this option to ignore the
syncopation and retain only the backbeat.

In the second step, you set the Timing Synthesis parameters to determine how the pulses are converted
to musically meaningful data. The Timing Synthesis parameters are as follows:

Parameter/Option Meaning

English
Insert Tempo Changes Tells SONAR to insert tempo changes in the appropriate places in
your song to ensure that the sequence plays in time with the rhythm
track. Remember to also set the Expected Pulse Duration, because it
defines the metronome markings for all tempo changes.

Expected Pulse Duration The musical time value for each pulse that was found. For example, if
you're analyzing a drum beat that has steady eighth notes on the high-
hat, you should set this value to Eighth for the correct tempo changes
to be inserted.

Convert Pulses to MIDI Note Tells SONAR to create a MIDI note event for each pulse that was
found. The Note Velocities parameter lets you select which velocity
will be used

Note Velocities The velocity of generated MIDI notes. You can either select Vary With
Pulse Level to adjust velocity to the dynamic structure of the original
source material, or select Set All To Same Value to assign each
inserted MIDI note a specified velocity.

When using Extract Timing, keep in mind the following:

It knows nothing about the musical context of the audio.
It does not know, and cannot figure out, the approximate tempo of the audio, the feel, or the time
signature.
It only knows how to listen for sudden changes in volume. You must guide it with your own knowledge
about the music.

To Extract Timing from Audio Data

1. Select the audio data to be analyzed.
2. Choose Process-Audio-Extract Timing to open the Extract Timing dialog box.
3. Set the Pulse Analysis parameters as described in the table above, or choose a preset from the
preset field.
4. Click Audition to get visual feedback in the Clips pane, so you can be sure the pulses are aligned to
your liking. If not, readjust the parameters and try again.

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 5.
:
Set the Timing Synthesis parameters as described in the table above.
6. Click OK.
The generated events are automatically placed on the Clipboard. You can paste them to a new track, or
use them directly in another command (such as Groove Quantize).

Removing DC Offset
Some models of audio hardware produce a DC offset while recording, which is caused by electrical
mismatches between the audio hardware and the input device or instrument. Although imperceptible,
DC offset may cause problems in further stages of sound processing.
Note: An easy way to spot DC offset is to zoom in to a silent section of your sound file. If the silent
waveform matches the centerline in the waveform display, your file does not contain DC offset.

To Remove DC Offset From Existing Audio

1. Select the audio data and choose Process-Audio-Remove DC Offset. This launches the Remove
DC Offset dialog.
2. Choose from the following options, and click OK:
DC Offset Threshold (dB)you can set a minimum dB threshold. If the analyzed DC offset is
below this value, no removal takes place.
Analyze Left Channel (dB) and Right Channel (dB)this field displays the DC offset
separately for the left and right channels. Press the Audition button to update the display.
Compute DC Offset from first 5 seconds onlyto speed processing, select the Compute DC
offset from first 5 seconds only checkbox. Only the first five seconds of a sound file will be
analyzed when measuring the DC offset. The only time that five seconds is not sufficient is if
a long fade-in or mute has been applied at the beginning of the file.

To Remove DC Offset During Recording

1. Use the Process-Audio-Remove DC Offset command to open the Remove DC Offset dialog.
2. In the DC Offset Threshold (dB) field, set a minimum dB threshold, and click OK to close the
dialog. If the analyzed DC offset is below this value, no removal takes place.
3. Open the Audio Options dialog (Options-Audio command), and on the Advanced tab, enable the
Remove DC Offset During Recording checkbox, and click OK.
This option filters out DC Offset according to the threshold value that you set in the Remove DC Offset
dialog.

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Slip-editing Audio (Non-destructive Editing)
Slip editing allows you to non-destructively hide or reveal the beginning of a clip, the end of a clip, or
both. The hidden material in a clip is not heard during playback. All hidden material remains intact
and can be restored. All slip editing movements correspond to the current snap to resolution. For more
information about the snap to grid, see Defining and Using the Snap Grid on page 201.

Important:
Like any clips, slip-edited clips can be combined with other clips using the
Bounce to Clip(s) command and slip-edited clips in a track can be mixed
down to another track. When a slip-edited clip is combined with another clip or
an effect is applied to a clip using the Edit-Apply Audio Effects command,
any slip-edited data (audio clips or MIDI events that are cropped from view) is
overwritten.

English
Slip-editing Modes
Slip-editing has three modes:

Trimming
As a default, when slip-editing a clip, the clips contents always remains fixed in time. If the first
measure of a clip is hidden using slip-editing, the remaining material does not shift forward in time by
a measure. The first measure of the clip is simply muted during playback. Playback of the clip resumes
at the second measure.

Scroll-trimming
If you want the clips contents to shift in time, you can preserve move the material in a slip-edited clip
by using modifier keys, clicking the middle of the clip, and moving it either right or left.

Slide-trimming
You can also shift the clips contents in time, in relation to either the beginning or end of the clip itself,
by slide-trimming.

Using Slip-editing
Use the following procedures to slip-edit clips.

To Slip-edit an Audio Clip

1. Right-click on the clip you want to slip-edit.
2. Select Clip-Properties from the menu.
The Clip Properties dialog appears.
3. Select the Action tab.
4. Make sure the Enable Looping checkbox is unchecked.
5. Click OK.

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 6.
:
Make edits according to the following table:

To do this... Do this...

Trim the beginning of a clip Move the cursor over the beginning of a
clip. When the cursor changes in
appearance to look like this , click and
drag the clip to the right until you have
removed the unwanted information.

Clip before slip-editing The same clip with the

first two beats of the
measure slip-edited

Trim the end of a clip Move the cursor over the beginning of a
clip. When the cursor changes in
appearance to look like this , click and
drag the clip to the left until you have
removed the unwanted information.

Clip before slip editing The same clip with the

last quarter measure
slip-edited

Scroll-trimming a clip (Moving the clip Press the Alt+Shift keys while moving the
contents in time while maintaining the clips cursor over the middle of the clip. When the
start and end time) cursor changes to look like this , click
and drag the clip to the left or right as
desired. The contents (audio data) in the
clip follow the Snap to Grid resolution, i.e. if
your resolution is set to half note, the
contents of your clip moves in half-note
intervals.

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 The same clip with the
Clip before scroll-trimming
clip shifted by 3 beats

Slide-trimming the beginning of a clip Press the Alt+Shift keys and move the
(Moving the start time of the clip and the cursor over the beginning of the clip. When
clips contents while preserving the end the cursor changes to look like this ,
time) click and drag the beginning to the desired
start time.

English
Clip before slide-trimming The same clip with the clip
slide-trimmed by 2 beats

Slide-trimming the end of a clip (Moving the Press the Alt+Shift keys and move the
end time of the clip and the clips contents cursor over the end of the clip. When the
while preserving the clips start time) cursor changes to look like this , click
and drag the end to the desired location.

The same clip with the clip shift-

Clip before slide-trimming cropped by 2 beats

The hidden information in the slip edited clips remains intact but is not heard during playback

To Permanently Delete Slip-edited Data

1. Select the clips that contain the slip-edited data you want to delete.
2. Select the Edit-Apply Trimming command.
SONAR permanently deletes the slip-edited data from the clips you selected.

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Slip-editing Multiple Audio Clips
You can slip-edit multiple clips at the same time.

To Slip-edit Multiple Clips at Once

1. Make sure all clips are not loop-enabled.
2. Select the clips you want to slip-edit.
3. Move your cursor over the beginning or end range of the selected clips until your cursor changes to
look like this: .
4. Drag the boundary to the desired location and release.

Fades and Crossfades

Fades are a gradual increase or decrease in volume at the beginning (fade-in) or end (fade-out) of a clip.
A crossfade is when one clip fades out while another fades in. There are two ways to create fades and
crossfades in SONAR: offline (destructive) and real-time (non-destructive).

Using Fades and Crossfades in Real Time

You can create real-time fades and crossfades in the Track views Clips pane. Real-time fades and
crossfades do not change the data in the clip. SONAR reads the fade-in, fade-out or crossfade in the clip
and adjusts the gain accordingly. You can edit the crossfades start time and end times.
You can set the type of fade-in or fade-out you want to use as a default:
LinearA straight line, raising or lowering the volume at a steady rate.
Slow CurveA curved fade which starts to change the volume slowly at first and then rapidly
increasing (fade-in) or decreasing (fade-out) the volume.
Fast CurveA curved fade which starts to change the volume quickly at first and then rapidly
decreasing (fade-out) or increasing (fade-in) the volume.

The following crossfade combinations are possible:

Crossfade combination... Looks like this...

Linear out/Linear in

Linear out/Slow Curve in

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 Linear out/Fast Curve in

Slow Curve out/Linear in

Slow Curve out/Slow Curve in

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Slow Curve out/Fast Curve in

Fast Curve out/Linear in

Fast Curve out/Slow Curve in

Fast Curve out/Fast Curve in

To Create a Real-time Fade-in in an Audio Clip

Use the following procedure to create a fade-in in an audio clip:
1. In the Track views Clips pane, move your mouse over the top part of the beginning of a clip until
the cursor looks like this: .
2. When your cursor changes, click and drag to the right until you reach your desired fade-in length.

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As you drag your mouse a fade-in appears on your clip.

To Create a Real-time Fade-out in an Audio Clip

Use the following procedure to create a fade-out in an audio clip:
1. In the Track views Clips pane, move your mouse over the top part of the end of a clip until the
cursor looks like this: .
2. When your cursor changes, click and drag to the left until you reach your desired fade-out length.
As you drag your mouse a fade-out appears on your clip.

To Create an Automatic Crossfade (Real-time)

Use the following procedure to create a crossfade between two audio clips:
1. In the Track view, click the Enable/Disable Automatic Crossfades combo button located next to the
Snap to Grid button or press the x key.
2. Click the down arrow on the Enable/Disable Automatic Crossfades combo button, select Default
Crossfade Curves and select a crossfade curve.
3. Select and drag an audio clip so that it overlaps another audio clip. You should overlap the clips by
the length you want the crossfade.
4. When you have the clip positioned where you want it, release the mouse button to drop the clip.
The Drag and Drop Options dialog appears.
5. In the Drag and Drop Options dialog, check the Blend Old With New checkbox and click OK.

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6. The two clips now overlap with a crossfade, looking something like this:

Fade-out

First clip Fade-in

Second clip

Crossfade

You can edit fade-ins and fade-outs. You can change the start, end and position of a fade. The following

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procedures all demonstrate edits to a fade-in, but fade-outs work exactly the same.

To Edit the Start Time of a Fade While Maintaining the End Time of the Fade
Changing the start time of a fade-in is essentially slip editing the beginning of the clip. The beginning of
the fade-in can not be separated from the beginning of the clip. Use this procedure to change the start
time of the fade-in while maintaining the current end time of the fade:
1. In the Clips pane, move your cursor over the bottom part of the beginning of a clip which has a
fade-in.

2. When your cursor looks like this , click and drag the beginning of the fade-in (and the clip) to
the desired location and release.
Fade-in end time unchanged

Fade-in before being edited Fade-in after being edited

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To Edit the Start Time of a Fade While Maintaining the Length of the Fade
Use this procedure to change the start time of the fade-in while maintaining the length of the fade:
1. In the Clips pane, move your cursor over the middle part of the beginning of a clip which has a
fade-in.

2. When your cursor looks like this , click and drag the beginning of the fade-in (and the clip) to
the desired location and release.
Fade-in end time changed

Fade-in before being edited Fade-in after being edited

To Change an Existing Fade

Use the following procedure to change an existing fade on a clip:
1. Move your cursor over the beginning of a fade-out or the end of a fade-in, until your cursor looks
like this: .
2. Right-click to and select the desired fade type from the menu that appears.

To Change an Existing Crossfade

Use the following procedure to change an existing crossfade:
1. Move your cursor over the region where the crossfade is.
2. Right-click and select the desired crossfade from the menu that appears.

To Edit or Create Fades from the Process Menu

You can edit the length and type of fade-ins and/or fade-outs on one or more clips using the Process-
Fade Selected Clips command, or create fades from scratch.
1. Select the clip or clips in which you want to create or edit fade-ins and/or fade-outs.
2. Select Process-Fade Selected Clips.
The Fade Selected Clips dialog appears.

3. Adjust parameters according to the following table:

Parameter... Description...

Fade In (mS) Select the number of milliseconds you want the fade-in to last.

Fade Out (mS) Select the number of milliseconds you want the fade-out to last.

Fade In Curve Choose a fade-in type. Options are linear, slow or fast curve.

Fade Out Curve Choose a fade-out type. Options are linear, slow or fast curve.

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 Alter Existing Times Select this option if you wish to change the existing fade lengths. You
dont need to check this option if youre creating new fades.

Alter Existing Curves Select this option if you wish to change the existing fade types. You
dont need to check this option if youre creating new fades.

Only Show if Pressing Select if you want to apply previous dialog settings without opening
Shift the dialog. Hold shift when selecting command to override this
option.

4. Click OK to close the dialog.

SONAR creates or edits the fade(s) according to the options you chose in the dialog.

Applying Fades and Crossfades Offline

SONAR provides several commands for applying gradual volume changes to audio data. The first
command, Fade/Envelope, lets you fade-in or fade-out, and lets you choose an envelope, a curve that
governs the rate of the fade. The starting envelope can be linear (straight line), exponential, or inverse

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exponential. You can change the shape of the envelope before applying the fade.
The envelope in the Fade/Envelope dialog box is made of one or more connected line segments (the
linear curves are a single segment, the exponential curves consist of nine segments each). Although the
endpoints of the curve are fixed, you can move the intermediate points, and create new intermediate
points, to change the shape of the curve.

To do this... Do this...

Move a point Click and drag it to a new location

Insert a new point Click on the line between existing points

Remove a point Drag it onto the next point

Restart from the original curve Click Reset

The second command, Crossfade, lets you create a smooth transition from one audio clip to another, by
fading two overlapping audio clips simultaneously (one fades out, the other fades in). As with Fade/
Envelope, you can choose from three different starting curves and change the shape of the curve.

To Apply a Fade to Audio Data

1. Select the audio data to be affected.
2. Choose Process-Audio-Fade/Envelope to open the Fade/Envelope dialog box.

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 3.
:
Select an envelope from the dropdown list.

4. If desired, manipulate the curve as described in the table above.

5. Click OK.
SONAR applies the fade to the selected audio data.

To Crossfade Two Overlapping Clips

1. Select two overlapping audio clips. They need not be on the same track, but they must overlap in
time for the command to have any effect.
2. Choose Process-Audio-Crossfade to open the Crossfade dialog box.
3. Select an envelope from the dropdown list.

4. If desired, manipulate the curve as described in the table above. You can manipulate only the curve
pertaining to the first of the two overlapping clips; the second curve is automatically adjusted so
that the two curves constantly add up to 100%.
5. Click OK.
SONAR applies the two fades to the selected data.

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Audio Effects (Audio Plug-ins)
SONAR provides the ability to use plug-in audio effects. Some audio plug-in effects are supplied with
SONAR. Others can be purchased from third-party software manufacturers, and appear automatically
in SONARs menus once they are installed on your system. If you need help when using a plug-in, press
the F1 key on your computer keyboard to open the plug-ins help file. Please note that third-party plug-
ins may not have a help file.
This section describes the effects that are included with SONAR.
Using plug-in effects is similar to using the audio processing commands off-line. The overall procedure
is as follows:
In the Track view, right-click the FX bin and select an effect from the popup menu.
Set effect parameters (or select a preset).
Listen to the track and adjust parameters based on what you hear.
You can add audio effects, like MIDI effects, to audio tracks in real time (during playback) in the
Console and Track views. Unlike some of the audio processing discussed so far, using effects in real time

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is non-destructive. This means that the audio clip data itself is not modified, and no new audio files are
created. See Mixing and Effects Patching on page 363, for more information on real-time effects.

Note:
Offline effects may cause your audio clips to grow in size. For example, when
you apply reverb, your clip may need to grow to accommodate the tail end of
an echo.

Applying Audio Effects

From the Console and Track views you can destructively apply audio effects for one or more tracks.
When you are pleased with the audio effects you have patched into a track, you can apply the effects to
the track. Destructively applying effects to a track saves resources, allowing you to include additional
tracks and/or effects.

To Apply Audio Effects

Add one or more audio effects to one or more tracks in either the Track view or the Console view, and
then:
1. In the Track view, select the tracks you want to be affected.
2. Select Process-Apply Audio Effects from the menu.
3. If desired, select the option to delete the effects after applying them.
4. Click OK.

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If you do not delete the effects from each track after applying them, they remain active.

Note:
Applying effects can be undone, but the effects are not then re-patched in the FX
bin.

Directly Applying Audio Effects

You can also directly apply an audio effect to an audio clip. Right-click the clip and select an effect from
the Process Effect menu. The dialog box for each plug-in effect has a Mixing tab that provides three
options for processing the data.

Option... Meaning...

Process In-Place, Mono to Mono Audio is processed clip-by-clip, in mono format. The
processed output of the plug-in replaces the original clip's
data, in-place. (If the plug-in produces only stereo output,
SONAR automatically converts the audio to mono.)
This option is best for effects like Time/Pitch Stretching.

Process In-Place, Creating Audio is fed into the plug-in, clip-by-clip, in mono format. A
Stereo Output Tracks new stereo track is inserted beneath the selected track, and
the stereo output of the plug-in is placed into this stereo
track. (If the plug-in produces only mono output, SONAR
automatically converts it to stereo.)
If you check Keep Original Data, SONAR won't delete the
original audio data. This lets you create stereo wet-only
tracks for finer mixing control. If you leave Keep Original
Data unchecked, the processed data will replace the original
audio clips.

Create a Send Submix All selected audio tracks are mixed down into a stereo
submix. This stereo submix is fed into the plug-in, in stereo.
The stereo output of the plug-in is placed into a new stereo
track at the destination you choose.
If you check Keep Original Data, SONAR won't delete the
original audio data. If you leave it unchecked, the processed
data will replace the original audio clips.

Shifting Pitch
The Cakewalk-Pitch Shifter raises or lowers the pitch of an audio signal, while leaving the duration
of the audio clip unchanged. The pitch shift parameters are as follows:

Parameter/ Meaning...
Option...

Pitch The amount by which the pitch is changed, in semitones

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Dry Mix (%) The volume of the original, unprocessed signal passed to the
output

Wet Mix (%) The volume of the processed signal passed to the output

Feedback Mix (%) The amount of pitch-shifted signal that is fed into a delay line

Delay Time (ms) The length of the delay in milliseconds

Mod. Depth (ms) The amount the delay time will vary

To Apply Pitch Shift to Audio Data

1. Select the audio data to be affected.
2. Choose Process-Audio Effects-Cakewalk-Pitch Shifter to open the Cakewalk FX Pitch Shifter
dialog box.
3. Set the pitch shift parameters, as described in the table above.

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4. Click OK.
SONAR applies the pitch shift to the selected data.
This is a fast pitch shifter that uses minimal computation time. The Cakewalk Time/Pitch Stretch
command, described below, can produce higher quality output, but requires a lot more computational
time.

Stretching Time and Pitch

The Cakewalk-Time/Pitch Stretch command lengthens or shortens audio data, and raises or lowers
pitch. Time and pitch can be stretched independently. You can use this effect to stretch or compress
audio while preserving pitch, or to change pitch while preserving duration, or both. Time/Pitch Stretch
is not available in real-time. For real-time time and pitch stretching, use Groove clips. For more
information, see Chapter 6, Using Loops.
The time/pitch stretch parameters are as follows:

Parameter/Option... Meaning...

Time (%) The new length of the audio clip, as a percentage of the length
of the original clip.

Pitch The amount by which the pitch is changed, in semitones.

Source Material The type of audio data. Selecting an option sets recommended
values for the Block Rate, Overlap Ratio, Crossfade Ratio,
Accuracy, and Algorithm parameters.

Block Rate (Hz) Used to calculate the size of the data blocks processed by
Time/Pitch Stretch. Lower values lead to larger block sizes. If
the material to be processed is generally less percussive or
lower in pitch, using a lower block rate will make the algorithm
operate more efficiently.

Overlap Ratio The amount of overlap between consecutive blocks.

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Crossfade Ratio The crossfade amount for the blocks.

Accuracy The accuracy of the calculations. Normal is good for most

sounds. High accuracy gives slightly better quality, but takes
longer to process.

Algorithm The algorithm used for pitch stretching. The MPEX algorithm is
the default. Select Normal if you want to use the same
algorithm used by previous versions of SONAR.

The Time and Pitch parameters can be set by typing numbers in the appropriate boxes, or by dragging
the sliders or the crosshair in the graph. Holding Shift while dragging the crosshair snaps the crosshair
to the nearest axis: X (time), Y (pitch), or the diagonal (equal time and pitch). Diagonal values on the
graph can be processed very quickly and with very high quality, but have the trade-off that changing
pitch does not preserve duration, and vice versa.
For the most natural-sounding results, choose low settings; transpose by no more than a third or a
fourth. Higher values, though, can be used for special effects.

To Apply Time/Pitch Stretch to Audio Data

1. Select the audio data to be affected.
2. Choose Audio Effects-Cakewalk-Time/Pitch Stretch from the Process menu or from the popup
menu to open the Cakewalk FX Time/Pitch Stretch dialog box.
3. Set the time/pitch stretch parameters, as described in the table above.
4. Click OK.
SONAR applies the time/pitch stretch to the selected data.

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 10 Working with Software
Synthesizers

SONARs Synth Rack view makes inserting a soft synth or ReWire instrument a one-step
process, and makes viewing and configuring these instruments simple. SONAR also supports
multi-port synths, which allow you to use different synth tracks and effects for each patch
or group of patches in a multi-timbral, multi-port synth.

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SONAR now seamlessly integrates VST plug-ins. The VST Configuration Wizard runs
automatically on startup, registering all your VST plug-ins. See The VST Configuration
Wizard on page 403 for more information.

In This Chapter
Synth Rack View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Synth Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
ReWire Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Stand-alone Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
 Synth Rack View
:
Open the Synth Rack view with the View-Synth Rack command. The Synth Rack view lets you view,
insert, delete, and configure your soft synths. You can also mute and solo any or all of them from this
view. Each time you insert a soft synth into your project, a new row appears in the Synth Rack view
with the name of the soft synth and its current preset. You can select different presets from the view.
You can insert as many copies of the same soft synth as you like; each new copy appears in a new row
and has the same name, but has a higher number after the name (ReWire soft synths can only have one
copy open). The new higher-numbered name also appears on the menus of synth track inputs and MIDI
track outputs.

Insert button

Currently inserted
synths

There is much more information about the Synth Rack view in the online help. Press F1 when the
Synth Rack view is open and on top to display the appropriate help topic.

Synth Tracks
Using a soft synth introduces a new kind of track to your project alongside audio and MIDI tracks. A
synth track functions much like an audio track, but with a few differences:
A synth tracks input is always a synth or a ReWire device, which means you cannot record audio
or enable input monitoring from another source on that track.
A synth track can display a waveform preview of its output. When you enable this display function
by clicking the button on the track strip, the amplitude of a synth track's audio signal is
graphed in real time as a waveform.
Synth tracks are distinguished by the synth icon to the right of the track number.

Synth track icon

Inserting Soft Synths

In order to play a soft synth from a MIDI controller or with recorded MIDI data, you need to have at
least one synth track that lists the soft synth in its Input field, and at least one MIDI track that lists the
soft synth in its Output field. The data from the MIDI track feeds the synth track and plays the soft
synth. If youre playing the soft synth with a MIDI controller, the MIDI track thats feeding the synth
track must have the focus (gold or tan color). You can also patch the soft synth into an audio tracks FX
bin instead of a synth tracks Input field.

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To add a soft synth to the audio and synth tracks Input menus (drop-downs) and the MIDI tracks
Output menus, you have to insert each soft synth that you want to use into each project. There are two
basic ways to insert soft synths in SONAR:
1. You can insert soft synths from the Synth Rack view or with the Insert-Soft Synths command. If
you use this method, you can choose to have SONAR create the necessary synth and MIDI tracks,
and patch them together correctly. If you want to use multiple synth tracks to take advantage of
SONARs support for the multi-output soft synth format, you need to create and patch additional
MIDI tracks manually to feed the additional synth tracks.
2. You can insert soft synths into FX bins of individual audio tracks. If you use this method, you need
to set a MIDI tracks Output field to the name of the soft synth you inserted. Then you can record
MIDI data in the MIDI track to play the soft synth with.

Multi-port Soft Synths

A multi-port soft synth allows you the option of using a different synth track for every output that the
soft synth has. This allows you to use different plug-in effects for each sound (or in some cases, group of
sounds) that a soft synth produces. For example, if a soft synth can produce 16 sounds at the same time,
and has 4 outputs, you can send any of the 16 sounds out through any of 4 different outputs, giving you

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a choice of 4 different plug-in configurations for that soft synth. You would use 4 different synth tracks:
one for each output. If a soft synth can produce 8 sounds at the same time, and has 8 outputs, you could
use 8 synth tracks and 8 plug-in configurations. If you need more plug-in configurations or just more
sounds, you can insert more copies of the same soft synth, using new synth tracks for all of the new
copys outputs. You can also send all the MIDI tracks out the same output and synth track if you dont
need separate plug-ins for each sound, or just want to use the soft synths internal effects.
The Insert Soft Synth Options dialog gives you the option of automatically creating a separate synth
track for each audio output that the soft synth has, or creating just one synth track for Output 1 of that
particular soft synth. Each new copy (also called an instance) of a soft synth is considered to be a
separate instrument, and appears in a separate row in the Synth Rack view, with a number after its
name representing which copy it is.

Inserting a Soft Synth

The procedure for inserting multi-output and single-output soft synths is basically the same. There are
just more tracks possibly involved when you insert a multi-output soft synth.
There are several places where you can insert a soft synth into your project:
Preferred method 1You can insert the soft synth into the project from the Synth Rack view. This
method lets you use all of a multi-port soft synths outputs, if you want to. This method gives you
the options of automatically creating a matched combination of a synth and MIDI track, creating
just a synth track with the soft synth patched as a track input, creating no new tracks, and
creating separate synth tracks for each of the soft synths outputs.
Preferred method 2You can insert the soft synth by using the Insert-Soft Synths command,
which gives you the same insertion and output options as the Synth Rack view.
Alternate methodYou can insert the soft synth into the FX bin of an audio track or bus. You must
then change the Output field of a MIDI track to the name of the soft synth you inserted in order to
play the audio track or bus with data from the MIDI track. If you insert a multi-output soft synth
with this method, you can only use the first output of the soft synth.
You can insert more than one copy (also called an instance) of the same soft synth. Each new copy has
the same name as the previous copy except for having a higher number after the name. Every copy
appears in a separate row in the drop-down menus of synth and audio track inputs and MIDI track
outputs.

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To Insert a Soft Synth from the Synth Rack View or Menu
1. If you want to use the Synth Rack view, open the Synth Rack view with the View-Synth Rack

command, and click the Insert button to display the popup menu of installed soft synths.
2. If you want to use the menu command, use the Insert-Soft Synths command to display the popup
menu of installed soft synths.
3. In the popup menu, click the name of the soft synth you want to insert.
The Insert Soft Synth Options dialog appears, unless youve previously unchecked the Ask This
Every Time checkbox thats in the dialog. If you have, SONAR inserts the soft synth according to
the preferences you set the last time you used the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog. If you need to
open the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog when its hidden, click the Insert Soft Synth Options
button in the Synth Rack view toolbar.
4. Choose options from the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog according to the following:
If you want to create a MIDI track that uses the soft synth as an output, check the Create
These Tracks: MIDI Source checkbox.
If you want to create a single synth track that acts as an output for Output 1 of the soft synth,
check the Create These Tracks: First Synth Audio Output checkbox.
If you want to create separate synth tracks for each of the soft synths outputs, check the
Create These Tracks: All Synth Audio Outputs checkbox.
If you want to use existing MIDI and audio tracks to play the soft synth, uncheck all of the
Create These Tracks options. SONAR adds the soft synth to the audio track input and MIDI
track output menus. You need to set an existing MIDI tracks Output field to the soft synth,
and set an existing audio tracks Input field to the soft synth (the audio track will then become
a synth track).
If you want to open the soft synths interface from this dialog, check the Open These Windows:
Synth Property Page checkbox.
If you opened this dialog from the Insert menu and want to open the Synth Rack view, check
the Open These Windows: Synth Rack View checkbox.
If you want to open this dialog every time you use the Insert-Soft Synths command, or click
the Insert button in the Synth Rack view and choose a synth from the popup menu, check the
Ask This Every Time option. If you always insert soft synths in the same way, you can
uncheck this option so you dont have to deal with the dialog each time. To open the dialog
when the option is unchecked, click the Insert Soft Synth Options button in the Synth
Rack view toolbar.
5. Click OK, if you havent already.
SONAR adds the soft synth to the audio track input and MIDI track output menus, and creates any new
tracks that you requested. The new tracks already have the correct inputs and outputs patched. Now
you can record MIDI data in the soft synth MIDI tracks, and/or play the soft synth from a MIDI
keyboard or controller.

To Insert a Soft Synth in an FX Bin

1. In either the Track or Console view, right-click the FX bin of an unused audio track or bus.
Note: If you patch a soft synth into a bus that has no audio track assigned to it, the soft synth does
not sound. Always use a bus that has at least one audio track sending data to it.
The plug-in menu appears.

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2. Under Soft Synths, choose the name of a soft synth.
Two things happen: the soft synths interface appears, and the soft synths name appears in the
tracks or buss FX bin, with a bypass button next to the name.
3. Set the soft synths parameters (choose sounds, effects, etc.), and drag its interface out of the way.
4. Click the Output field of a MIDI track to display the output menu.
5. Select the name of the soft synth that you patched into the audio track or bus.
6. If the soft synth is multi-timbral, choose a MIDI channel for the MIDI track.
7. Also in the MIDI track, select a bank and patch.
Now you can record some MIDI data into the MIDI track to play the soft synth with. See To Play a Soft
Synth with Recorded MIDI Data on page 354.
You can also play the soft synth in real-time from a MIDI controller. See To Play a Soft Synth from a
MIDI Controller on page 354.

Opening a Soft Synths Property Page

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There are several different methods to open a soft synths property page (interface):
When you insert the soft synth from the Insert menu or Synth Rack view, check the Open These
Windows: Synth Property Page checkbox in the Insert soft synth Synth Options dialog.
Double-click the name of the soft synth in either a MIDI tracks Output field or a synth tracks
Input field.
Double-click the row in the Synth Rack view that displays the soft synth.
Double-click the name of the soft synth in an FX bin.
Click one of the rows in the Synth Rack view to select it, and then click the Properties button in the
Synth Rack toolbar (or press c).

Playing a Soft Synth

There are several ways to play a soft synth:
You can record MIDI data and use the soft synth as a playback device.
Note: WDM or ASIO drivers do not improve performance when you play back recorded MIDI
datathe improvement comes only when you play a soft synth in real time from an external MIDI
controller or keyboard.
You can play the soft synth in real time from a MIDI controller or keyboard. To avoid excessive
latency, your sound card must be using a WDM or ASIO driver. Also, you must set mixing latency
to the lowest achievable level (probably less than 10 msec.), which you do by using the Options-
Audio command to open the Audio Options dialog box, and dragging the Buffer Size slider on the
General tab.
Some soft synths that use the DXi 2 format can send MIDI data, sometimes including MIDI notes,
from their interfaces to SONAR. For example, some soft synths have MIDI keyboards built into
their interfaces that you can click to send note on/off messages.
Note: By default, SONAR does not echo any MIDI input or automation data that a soft synth
sends to any track, but can record this data in any armed MIDI track whose Output field is set to
that particular soft synth. If you do want to echo soft synth input to any MIDI track that has the
focus, open the Global Options dialog (Options-Global command), and on the MIDI tab, check the
Echo Soft Synth Input to All MIDI Tracks option. This option also makes it possible to move the
controls in one soft synths interface and change the settings in some other soft synths interface, if

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the focus is on the MIDI track thats patched to the second soft synth. It also makes it possible to
record notes or automation data from the soft synth to any armed MIDI track.

To Play a Soft Synth with Recorded MIDI Data

1. Insert a soft synth into the project (see Inserting a Soft Synth on page 351, if necessary).
2. In the MIDI track that sends its output to the soft synth, choose a MIDI channel.
3. Open the soft synths interface (if its not open already) by clicking the Properties button in the
Synth Rack view, or by double-clicking the name of the soft synth if its patched into the FX bin of
an audio track.
4. Set the soft synths parameters (choose sounds, effects, etc.), and drag its interface out of the way
(the soft synths interface does not have to be open for the soft synth to sound).
5. If you want to save your soft synth settings, type a name in the Presets field, and click the Disk
icon thats next to the Presets field.
6. Record some MIDI data into the MIDI track.
When you play back the recorded MIDI data, you should hear the soft synth through your sound cards
outputs. If you dont, make sure your data is in the right range; a bank, patch, and channel are selected;
your monitor speakers or headphones are turned up; and that none of the relevant tracks are muted.
You can add effects to each of the synth tracks. You can also add MIDI effects to your soft synth MIDI
tracks.

To Play a Soft Synth from a MIDI Controller

1. Make sure your controller is set to local off.

2. Make sure that the Audio Engine button in the Transport toolbar is depressed.

3. Insert a soft synth into your project (see Inserting a Soft Synth on page 351, if necessary).
Note: If you patch a soft synth into a bus that has no audio track assigned to it, the soft synth does
not sound. Always use a bus that has at least one audio track sending data to it.
4. In the MIDI track that sends its output to the soft synth, choose a MIDI channel.
5. Open the soft synths interface (if its not open already) by clicking the Properties button in the
Synth Rack view, or by double-clicking the name of the soft synth if its patched into the FX bin of
an audio track.
Note: You can also open a soft synths interface by double-clicking its name where it appears in a
MIDI tracks Out menu or a synth tracks In menu.
6. Set the soft synths parameters (choose sounds, effects, etc.), and drag its interface out of the way.
7. If you want to save your soft synth settings, type a name in the Presets field, and click the Disk
icon thats next to the Presets field.
8. Make sure that the MIDI track has the focus (its titlebar is gold), and play your MIDI controller.
When you play your MIDI controller you should hear the soft synth through your sound cards outputs.
If you dont, make sure youre playing in the right range; a bank, patch, and channel are selected; your
monitor speakers or headphones are turned up; your controller is attached to your MIDI interface; and
that none of the relevant tracks are muted.

To Remove A Soft Synth from a Track or Bus

If your soft synth is patched into the FX bin of an audio track or bus, right-click the name of the
soft synth, and choose Delete from the popup menu.
Or

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 In the synth track that uses the soft synth as an input, choose another input for the track. If you
dont select another soft synth as an input, the synth track becomes a regular audio track.

To Remove a Soft Synth from a Project

If your soft synth is patched into the FX bin of an audio track or bus, right-click the name of the
soft synth, and choose Delete from the popup menu.
If your soft synth is patched into the Input field of a synth track, go to the Synth Rack view, click
the name of the soft synth to select it, and then click the Delete button. SONAR deletes the soft
synth strip from the Synth Rack view and sets the inputs and MIDI outputs of all affected tracks to
the next lower-numbered option. SONAR does not delete the affected tracks.
Note: If youre using a ReWire instrument and not a soft synth, always close the ReWire
instruments interface before you delete the instrument from SONAR, or close SONAR.

Muting and Soloing Soft Synth Tracks

SONAR automatically places any synth and MIDI tracks that use soft synths into a group that makes
muting and soloing the tracks easy:
To mute or solo a MIDI track that is patched to a synth track, simply mute or solo the MIDI

English
trackSONAR automatically mutes or solos the correct synth track. If another MIDI track uses
the synth track as an output, SONAR leaves the synth track unmuted.
To mute or solo all the MIDI tracks that are patched to a specific soft synth, simply mute or solo
the synth track that the MIDI tracks are patched into.SONAR automatically mutes or solos all
the correct MIDI tracks.
Or
Click the M or S buttons (mute and solo, respectively) next to the soft synths name in the Synth
Rack view. This mutes or solos all the tracks associated with this instance of the soft synth.
You can use the mute and solo buttons in the Track view, Synth Rack view, or Console view.

Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio

Once your project sounds the way you want it to, its extremely easy to convert your soft synth MIDI
tracks to either new audio tracks, or Wave, MP3, or other exported files.

To Convert Your Soft Synth Tracks to New Audio Tracks

1. Mute all tracks that you dont want to convert.
2. Use the Edit-Bounce to Track(s) command.
The Bounce to Track(s) dialog box appears.
3. In the Destination field, choose a new or pre-existing track to put the new audio data on.
4. If youve saved presets from previous bounce operations, you can choose a preset from the Preset
field.
5. In the Source Category field, choose Tracks.
6. In the Channel Format field, choose mono if you want a mono track, stereo if you want a stereo
track, and split mono if you want to create separate mono tracks.
7. In the Source/Buses field, choose the output bus(es) that the soft synth tracks are using (usually
the main outputs).
8. In the Mix Enables field, make sure all choices are selected.
9. Click OK.

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SONAR creates new audio tracks from the outputs you selected. When youre through converting, dont
forget to mute your MIDI tracks so you wont hear them and the new audio track(s) at the same time.
Note: you control the bit depth of all rendering operations (bouncing, freezing, applying effects) on the
Audio Data tab of the Global Options dialog (Options-Global command) in the Render Bit Depth field.
The default value of 32 is the best for most situations. See Bit Depths for Rendering Audio on page
552 for more information.

To Export Your Soft Synth Tracks as Wave, MP3, or Other Type Files
1. Mute all tracks that you dont want to export; make sure you dont mute the synth track or the
audio track that the soft synth is patched into, or the MIDI track(s) that you are using as a source.
2. Use the File-Export-Audio command.
The Export Audio dialog box appears.
3. In the Look in field, choose the location where you want the new, exported file to be.
4. Type a file name in the File name field.
5. Choose the type of file, the format, and the bit depth of the new file youre creatingfor MP3 use
16 bits.
6. In the Mix Enables field, make sure all choices are selected.
7. Click OK.
SONAR creates a new audio file of the type you specified. Find the file in the folder you specified, and
double-click it to listen to it.

Automating a Soft Synths Controls

Some synths have controls that you can automate by drawing envelopes in either the Track view or
Piano Roll view. Some synths allow you to record the movements of their faders and other control knobs.
Your synths manufacturer determines which controls (if any) you can automate.
Note: By default, you can only record MIDI or automation data sent by a synth into a MIDI track whose
Output field is set to that particular synth. If you do want to record synth input to any MIDI track that
is armed, check the Echo Soft Synth Input to All MIDI Tracks option on the MIDI tab of the Global
Options dialog (Options-Global command).

To Record MIDI Input from a Soft Synths Interface

1. If you want to be able to record on any armed MIDI track, make sure that the Echo Soft Synth
Input to All MIDI Tracks option on the MIDI tab of the Global Options dialog (Options-Global
command) is enabled. Otherwise, you can only record on a MIDI track whose Output field is set to
the synth youre recording from.
2. Arm one or more MIDI tracks.
3. Set the record mode (Transport-Record Options command). If you want to record different knobs
on different takes, use Sound on Sound mode.
4. Open the synths interface and, if necessary, use its setup menu to enable recording the synths
fader movements.
5. Move the Now time to the place where you want to record.
6. Click the Record button to start recording.
7. Move the synths controls in the way you want them to move. Some or all of the controls may not be
capable of sending MIDI data to be recorded.
8. Click the Stop button.

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 SONAR records the fader or knob movements. Check the Output fields of the MIDI tracks you recorded
into and play back the track.

To Automate a Soft Synths Controls in the Track View

1. In a MIDI track that uses the synth as an output, right-click in the Clips pane and choose
Envelopes-Create-MIDI from the popup menu.
The MIDI Envelope dialog box appears.
2. In the Type field, select Control, RPN, or NRPN.
3. In the Value field, click the drop-down arrow to see the menu of automatable controls, RPNs, or
NRPNs that this synth has, and select the one you want to automate.
4. In the Channel field, select the channel of the patch in your synth that you want to control.
5. Click OK.
SONAR draws an envelope for the parameter that you chose. You can edit the envelope to make the
parameter behave as you want it to. See To Draw MIDI Envelopes in the Track View on page 444.

To Automate a Soft Synths Controls in the Piano Roll View

English
1. Select a MIDI track that uses the synth as an output and open the Piano Roll view.
2. In the Controller pane in the Piano Roll, select Control, RPN, or NRPN.
3. In the Value menu below the Controller menu, click the drop-down arrow to see the menu of
automatable controls, RPNs, or NRPNs that this synth has, and select the one you want to
automate.
4. In the Controller pane at the bottom of the Piano Roll view, use the Draw tool to draw a graph of
the desired controller values.
Note: MIDI controllers in the Piano Roll Notes pane and MIDI envelopes in the Track view Clips pane
are actually separate data, even if they control the same parameter. Both kinds of data are visible in the
Clips pane, and should generally not be used to control the same parameter. You can convert Piano Roll
view controller data to Track view envelopes by selecting the time range and tracks that the Piano Roll
controller data occupies, and using the Edit-Convert MIDI To Shapes command.

ReWire Instruments
ReWire is a technology for transferring audio data between software applications in real timethe
software equivalent of a multi-channel audio cable. ReWire is built on the following cornerstones:
Real-time audio streaming between applications
Sample accurate synchronization
Common transport functionality
SONAR supports the ReWire 2.0 format, but with some differences. SONAR interacts with ReWire
applications in the following ways:
You can insert one instance of a ReWire application into each SONAR project. You can insert as
many different ReWire applications into a project as your computer can handle.
You can use a maximum of 16 devices or instruments for each ReWire application.
To use a MIDI controller with both SONAR and your ReWire application, you need to enable
separate MIDI In ports in both applications. If your MIDI interface only has one input, decide
which application you want to use your controller in, enable the MIDI In port in that application,
and disable it in the other application.

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:
You can insert ReWire devices into SONAR projects from the Synth Rack view or Insert menu, and
you can tell SONAR to create the necessary synth tracks and one MIDI track at that time. You can
also tell SONAR to open the ReWire applications property page, because, unlike synths, ReWire
applications must have their property pages (interfaces) open in order to function.
SONARs tempo, transport, and loop points are linked to the ReWire application. Activating or
changing any of these settings in the ReWire application(s) changes the same setting in SONAR.
and vice versa. If you have several applications open and you make a change in one of them, it may
be necessary to put the focus on the other application(s) to update their interfaces.
You cannot send patch or bank changes from SONAR to the ReWire application. All other track
property controls in SONAR control the ReWire device, except the pan controls on MIDI tracks.
The pan controls on SONARs synth tracks control the ReWire devices panning.
You can mix down or bounce ReWire tracks in SONAR the same way you mix down or bounce
synth tracks (see Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio on page 355).
You can use SONARs automation functions on both synth and MIDI tracks that the ReWire
application uses.
Muting or soloing a synth track that a ReWire device uses automatically mutes or solos the MIDI
track that feeds that synth track. Muting or soloing a MIDI track that a ReWire device uses will
mute or solo the corresponding synth track only if there is only one MIDI track feeding that synth
track.
You must always close your ReWire application(s) before you close SONAR. Some ReWire
applications prevent SONAR from closing properly if the ReWire applications are still open.

Inserting a ReWire Instrument

After you install your ReWire applications and reboot your computer, the names of the ReWire
applications appear in SONARs Insert menu under ReWire Devices, and also in the Synth Rack views
Insert button popup menu.

To Insert a ReWire Instrument

1. Open a SONAR project. Do not launch your ReWire application.
2. In the SONARs Synth Rack view, click the Insert button, and click ReWire Devices to display the
submenu of installed ReWire devices.
OR
Use the Insert-ReWire Devices command to display the submenu of installed ReWire devices.
3. Click the name of the ReWire device you want to insert.
The Insert Soft Synth Options dialog appears.
4. Choose options from the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog according to the following:
If you want to create a MIDI track that uses the ReWire Instrument as an output, check the
Create These Tracks: MIDI Source checkbox.
If you want to create a single synth track that acts as an output for Output 1 of the ReWire
Instrument, check the Create These Tracks: First Synth Audio Output checkbox.
If you want to create separate synth tracks for each of the ReWire Instruments outputs, check
the Create These Tracks: All Synth Audio Outputs checkbox.
If you want to use existing MIDI and audio tracks to play the ReWire Instrument, uncheck all
of the Create These Tracks options. SONAR adds the ReWire Instrument to the audio track
input and MIDI track output menus. You need to set an existing audio tracks Input field to

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 the ReWire Instrument, and set an existing MIDI tracks Output field to the ReWire
Instrument. The existing audio track will then become a synth track.
If you want to open the ReWire Instruments interface from this dialog, check the Open These
Windows: Synth Property Page checkbox (always check this option: ReWire Instruments
do not sound unless their property pages are open).
If you opened this dialog from the Insert menu and want to open the Synth Rack view, check
the Open These Windows: Synth Rack View checkbox.
If you want to open this dialog every time you use the Insert-ReWire Instrument command,
or click the Insert button in the Synth Rack view and choose aReWire instrument from the
popup menu, check the Ask This Every Time option. If you always insert ReWire Instruments
in the same way, you can uncheck this option so you dont have to deal with the dialog each
time. To open the dialog when the option is unchecked, click the Insert Soft Synth Options
button in the Synth Rack view toolbar.
5. Click OK to close the dialog.
SONAR adds your ReWire devices to the audio and synth track Input menus and the MIDI track

English
Output and Channel menus, creates any tracks you requested, adds the ReWire instrument to the
Synth Rack view, and opens the ReWire applications interface.
6. If you get an error message about a MIDI Input problem from your ReWire application, click OK
and then use SONARs Options-MIDI Devices command to open the MIDI Devices dialog and
select the MIDI In port to want to use to record into SONAR. Use your ReWire applications menus
to choose a different MIDI In port for your ReWire application. If your MIDI interface only has one
input, you have to decide whether you want to use your MIDI controller in SONAR or in your
ReWire application. If you want to use your controller in your ReWire application, deselect your
MIDI In port in SONARs MIDI Devices dialog, and select that input in your ReWire application.
7. In the MIDI track whose output is the ReWire synth track, click the drop-down arrow in the
Channel field to display the names of the available ReWire devices in your ReWire instrument.
8. Click the name of the device you want to use.
9. Make sure that the synth track you want to hear the ReWire instrument through has the
appropriate ReWire channel listed in its Input field.
Now you can record MIDI data in the MIDI track and hear it through the synth track. If you want to
use different synth tracks for each ReWire device, see the following procedure.
Note: Always close your ReWire applications before closing a SONAR project.

To Use Separate Synth Tracks for Each ReWire Device

1. Open SONAR, insert a ReWire instrument, and choose All Synth Audio Outputs option in the
Create These Tracks field of the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog. Make sure you choose to open
the Synth window, and click OK.
SONAR inserts the ReWire instrument and creates multiple synth tracks.
2. In your ReWire application, assign the devices you want to use to the outputs or channels you want
to use. For example, in Propellerheads Reason, you use the back panel of the mixer to drag cables
from a device to the output channel you want to use for that instrument.
3. In SONAR, set the Output field of a MIDI track to the name of your ReWire application, and set
the Channel field to the name of the ReWire device you want to play with this track.
4. Record some MIDI data in the track and play it. Find the synth track whose Input field lists the
output channel you patched your device intothe playback meter lights up as you play the MIDI
track that plays your device.

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Now you can use separate effects for each of your ReWire devices.
Note: Always close your ReWire applications before closing SONAR or a SONAR project.

Mixing Down ReWire Instruments

To either mix down or bounce ReWire instruments to new audio tracks, use the same procedures as for
synths.
For more information, see Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio on page 355

Automating ReWire Instruments

You can automate audio and MIDI tracks that are patched to ReWire instruments the same ways you
can automate any of SONARs audio and MIDI tracks.
For more information, see Chapter 13, Automation.

ReWire Troubleshooting Guide

The following lists some common issues when you use ReWire with SONAR:
SONAR Wont Close ProperlyAlways close your ReWire applications before closing SONAR or
a SONAR project.
Rebirth Wont Play After I Open Its Property PageMake sure that the Loop switch in
Rebirth is enabled.
My ReWire Project Plays at a Different Tempo when Opened from SONARWhen you
open a ReWire project from SONAR, the ReWire project assumes SONARs default tempo, which is
100. Change SONARs tempo to match your ReWire project.
My MIDI Controller Works in SONAR or my ReWire Application, but not BothChoose
different MIDI In ports for both SONAR and your ReWire application. Do this in SONAR by using
the Options-MIDI Devices command, and highlighting the MIDI In port you want to use in
SONAR. If you only have one MIDI In port on your MIDI interface or sound card, enable that input
in either SONAR or your ReWire application, and disable that input in the other application.
I Get a MIDI Input Error Message When I Open a ReWire ApplicationIf you only have
one MIDI Input port on your MIDI interface, you probably have that one reserved for SONAR,
leaving none for your ReWire application. If you would rather use your MIDI controller in the
ReWire application instead of SONAR, you can deselect your MIDI input port in SONARs MIDI
Devices dialog (Options-MIDI Devices command), and then select that MIDI Input from
whatever menu your ReWire application has for that purpose. If you have multiple inputs on your
MIDI interface, simply select different ones for SONAR and your ReWire application.

Stand-alone Synths
Some soft synths can be run independently of SONAR and do not need to be inserted to the Synth Rack
or an FX bin to use. After you install this kind of synth and restart your computer, the name of the
synths MIDI driver appears in SONARs MIDI Devices dialog box under Outputs.

Playing a Stand-alone Synth

SONAR plays this kind of synth by seeing it as additional MIDI outputs in both the MIDI Devices
dialog box and in MIDI tracks output fields.

To Play a Stand-alone Synth

1. Use the Options-MIDI Devices command to open the MIDI Devices dialog box.

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2. In the Outputs field, make sure the name of your stand-alone synths MIDI driver is highlighted,
and click OK.
3. Click the Output field of an unused MIDI track to display the output menu.
4. Select the name of the stand-alone synths MIDI driver.
5. If your stand-alone synth is multi-timbral, change the tracks MIDI channel to the same one that
the synth uses for the sound you want to hear.
6. Select a bank and patch on your stand-alone synth, if you havent already.
7. Record some MIDI data in the MIDI track, or play any MIDI controller thats an input for the
MIDI track.
When you play your MIDI controller or play back the recorded MIDI data, you should hear the stand-
alone synth through your sound cards outputs. If you dont, make sure youre playing in the right range
and that your monitor speakers or headphones are turned up, and that none of the relevant tracks are
muted.

Recording a Stand-alone Synth

English
There are several ways to record a stand-alone synth:
You can use the synths wave capture function, if it has one. See your synths documentation for a
procedure. Make a note of where the resulting captured Wave file is stored, and then you can
import the file into SONAR by using the File-Import-Audio command.
You can connect your sound cards outputs to your sound cards inputs, either internally or
externally, depending on your sound cards design. After you do this, you need to arm an audio
track in SONAR and select one of your sound cards wave drivers as an input. Start recording, and
make sure the MIDI track that is routed to the synth is playing back.
You can use your sound cards wave capture or what-you-hear option, if it has one. See the
following procedure.

To Record A Stand-alone Synth with your Sound Cards Wave Capture

Function
1. Pick a destination audio track and set the Input field to Stereo.
Note: If you have more than one sound card installed, select the one that your stand-alone synth
uses as an output.
2. Arm the destination track.
3. Mute or archive any tracks that you dont want to record to the destination track.
4. If SONARs metronome is set to use any software synth to produce a click, disable the metronome
during recording option in the Project Options dialog box. To do this, select Options-Project to
open the Project Options dialog box, select the Metronome tab and uncheck Recording in the
General section.
5. Open your sound card's mixer device. This is normally done by double-clicking the speaker icon on
the Windows taskbar, or by choosing Start-Programs-Accessories- Multimedia-Volume
Control-Options-Properties.
Note: Some sound cards, such as the SoundBlaster Live, have their own proprietary mixer. If
yours has one, please use it instead.
6. Click Adjust Volume For Recording, and make sure all boxes below are checked.
7. Click OK, and locate the slider marked MIDI, Synth, Mixed Input, or What You Hear. Check the
Select box at the bottom, then close the window.

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:
In SONAR, click the Record button.
SONAR records all the MIDI tracks that are assigned to the stand-alone synth as a stereo audio
track.
After you finish recording, mute the MIDI tracks that you just recorded so you dont hear them and the
new audio track at the same time.

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 11 Mixing and Effects
Patching

This chapter describes SONAR as a live digital mixer that gives you full track-by-track
control over recording and playback of your project. You can mix in either the Track view or
the Console view.

English
The Console view has a 4-band EQ patched to every audio track (Producer Edition only). The
Console view and the Track view support automation, which lets you record and play back
volume and pan changes, and other track parameters. For more information on automation,
see Chapter 13, Automation.

In This Chapter
Preparing to Mix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Mixing MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Routing and Mixing Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Freeze Tracks and Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
V-Vocal Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Using V-Vocal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
Using Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Using Control Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
Using Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Bouncing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411
Preparing Audio for Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
 :
SONAR lets you mix together the digital audio portions of a project, including all real-time effects and
control movements, to a stereo track or stereo pair of audio tracks. You can use the mixed-down tracks
to create a CD master or to publish your work on the internet.

Preparing to Mix
The Console and Track views contain all the controls you need to mix your project. To open the Console
view click the Console view button or choose View-Console. The Track view is always open.

The Console View

Audio module

MIDI module

Synth module

Mute/Solo/Arm
buttons

Volume fader

Track icon

MIDI, audio and synth modules Bus modules Main Out module

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Sound controls in the Console view are grouped in modules. There are several types of modules:

Module type... What you can do...

MIDI track Set the tracks output, channel, bank, and patch; set the input; mute,
solo, and arm the track; set channel volume, panning, chorus, and
reverb levels; add real-time effects

Audio track Set the tracks output (bus or Main out destination); choose an input;
monitor input levels; mute, solo, and arm the track; set track volume and
panning; add real-time effects; send audio data to buses or main outs.

Synth track Set the tracks output (bus or Main out destination); set the input; mute
and solo the track; set track volume and panning; add real-time effects;
send audio data to buses or main outs.

Bus Receive input from one or more audio tracks, add real-time effects, and
send the results to a main out or another bus

English
Main outs Monitor output levels using meters and control the stereo volume of
audio to an output on your audio interface. To adjust both the left and
right volume levels at the same time, use the Link button for that
module.

One modules name is always outlined with a white line. This corresponds to the track with the focus.
You can change the focus by clicking to the right of the modules volume fader.

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The Console view contains several different types of controls. Heres how they are used:

Click a button to enable/disable it

Drag sliders left and right
Click drop-down menus to select
options
Click and drag up/down on knobs

Drag the
volume fader
up or down

You can adjust Console view controls in the following ways:

Click on the center of the knob and drag the mouse up or down to adjust the knob
Click and drag a fader up or down
Double-click the center of the knob to return it to its snap-to position
Volume and pan faders also have snap-to positions; double-click a faders knob to return the fader to its
snap-to value.
The controls and effects patch points all have tool tips associated with them. To see a description of a
particular control or effect, simply rest the cursor over the item for a few seconds.

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 The Track View

The Track pane The Clips pane

Expanded Clips
track

Minimized
tracks

English
Track icon

Track/Bus Inspector Show/Hide Bus pane Splitter bars The Bus pane

There are four types of modules in the Track view:

Track type... What you can do...

MIDI track Set the tracks output, channel, bank, and patch; set the input; mute, solo,
and arm the track; set channel volume, panning, chorus, and reverb levels;
add real-time effects.

Audio track Set the tracks output; set the input and monitor input levels; mute, solo, and
arm the track; set track volume and panning; add real-time effects; send
audio data to buses or main outs.

Synth track Set the tracks output; set the input; mute and solo the track; enable a
waveform preview; set track volume and panning; add real-time effects; send
audio data to buses or main outs.

Bus Receive input from one or more audio tracks, add real-time effects, and send
the results to a main out or another bus.

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The Track view contains several different types of controls. Heres how they are used:

Click and drag left or right to change values

Right-click and
select from a
menu of effects

Click to
enable or
disable

Click to toggle
from Pre to Post

Click the small white arrow to open a menu of options

For information on using the controls in the Track view, see Changing Track Settings on page 115.
Volume, pan, bus send level and bus send pan also have snap-to positions; double-click the control to
return it to its snap-to value.
The controls and effects patch points all have tool tips associated with them. To see a description of a
particular control or effect, simply rest the cursor over the item for a few seconds.

Configuring the Console and Track Views

The Console and Track view can be reconfigured in a variety of ways. You can:
Choose the tracks that you want to see
Adjust the display of audio meters and clip indicators
Change the number of buses
Set control snap-to positions
Insert new tracks
Name tracks and buses
Meters are helpful in determining the relative volumes of your audio tracks and in detecting and
preventing overload. By default, the Console view displays output level meters in main out modules at
all times, and displays record level meters in individual tracks whenever they are armed and have an
audio input. The display of meters, however, can place a considerable load on your computer. Showing
only the peak indicators, or hiding the meters entirely, can reduce the load on your computer. This may
increase the number of audio tracks and real-time effects you can play back at one time.
In the Track view there are several ways to configure which tracks are displayed.

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To Display All the Tracks in a Project
Click the Zoom tools down arrow and select Show All Tracks from the Zoom tool menu.

To Hide Selected Tracks

1. Select the tracks you want to hide.
2. Click the Zoom tools down arrow and select Hide Selected Tracks from the Zoom tool menu.

To Display Only Selected Tracks

1. Select the tracks you want to display.
2. Click the Zoom tools down arrow and select Show Selected Tracks from the Zoom tool menu.

To Choose the Tracks that are Displayed Using the Track Manager
1. Click the down arrow next to the Zoom tool and select Track Manager to open the Track Manager
dialog box. You can also press m when in the Track or Console view to access this dialog box.

English
2. In the list, check those tracks you would like displayed in the view in which you are working, and
uncheck the rest. You can use Shift-click, Control-click, or the quick select buttons to select
multiple modules; press the Spacebar to check or uncheck all the selected modules at once. Please
note that the track display selections you make in the Track view do not affect those in the Console
view and vice versa.
3. Click OK.

To Hide a Bus or Track

Right-click on the module and choose Hide Track or Hide Bus.

To Narrow a Module (Console view only)

1. Right-click in the space next to the modules volume fader.
2. Select Narrow Strip from the menu that appears.

To Narrow or Widen all Modules in the Console View

Click the Narrow/Widen All Strips button .

To Display Meters in the Console View

Click the Show Meters button .

To Customize the Meter Display in the Console View

You can choose which meters you want to display in the Console view. Hiding meters helps to conserve
CPU cycles, potentially giving you more power for real-time plug-ins or simultaneous tracks.

1. Click the down arrow next to the Show Meters button .

2. Select Track Record Meters, Track Playback Meters, Bus Meters or Mains Meters from the
menu that appears.

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To Show or Hide Meters in the Track View
Click the Show/Hide Meters button to display all meters or click on the arrow to the right of
the Show/Hide Meters button to display only the meters you want to see or to customize the
appearance of your meters.

Option What it does

Record meters Displays record meters for any armed track.

Playback meters Displays playback meters.

Output bus meters Displays meters in buses

For more information about metering options, see Changing the Meters Display on page 380.

To Change a Meters Range

Right-click on the meter and choose a new range.

To Add a Bus
1. Right-click in the Bus pane (to add a bus at the end of the current buses) or over an existing bus (to
add a bus before it).
2. Select Insert Bus from the menu that appears.
A bus appears in the Bus pane.

To Delete a Bus
1. Right-click in the Bus pane over an existing bus.
2. Select Delete Bus from the menu that appears.
The bus is deleted from the Bus pane.
Note: If you have any track or bus routed through the bus you delete, the signal will be rerouted to the
deleted buss output.

To Create a Bus Send in a Track

1. Right-click in an empty part of the Track pane (Track view) or a track module (Console view).
2. Select Insert Send for a list of buses available.
3. Select a bus from the list.

To Set the Snap-to Position of a Knob or Fader

1. Set the control to the desired position.
2. Right-click on the control and choose Set Snap-To=Current.
From now on, the control returns to this position when double-clicked.

To Insert a New Track

1. Right-click on an empty area in the Console view or on the title bar of a track in the Track view.
2. Choose Insert Audio Track or Insert MIDI Track.
SONAR adds a new track to the project.

To Rename a Track or Bus

1. In the Console view, click on the module name. In the Track view double-click on the Track name.
2. Type a new name.

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 3. Press Enter.
If you rename a track, the new name is copied to the Track view. If no name has been assigned to a
track, the Console view and Track view display the tracks number.

To Link Left/Right Faders in a Console View Module

1. In the module whose faders you want to link, adjust the volume of each fader to the appropriate
level.

2. Click the Link button .

Mixing MIDI
SONAR gives you many tools to control your MIDI mix. When your MIDI tracks sound the way you
want them to, there are several ways to convert them to audio (see Converting MIDI to Audio on page
372).

Mixing a MIDI Track

English
You can control the mixing and playback of a MIDI track as follows:

To do this... Do this...

Add a real-time MIDI effect to the Right-click in theFX bin and select an effect from the list (for
track more information, Using Real-Time Effects later in the
chapter)

Remove an effect Select the effect and press Delete or right-click and select
Delete.

Select the output Click the Output control and choose one from the list

Select the channel Click the Channel button and choose one from the list

Select the bank Click the Bank button and choose one from the list

Select the patch Click the Patch button and choose one from the list

Set the Chorus level Adjust the Chorus slider

Set the Reverb level Adjust the Reverb slider

Mute the track Click the Mute button

Solo the track Click the Solo button

Arm the track for recording Click the Arm button

Set the Pan level Adjust the Pan fader

Set the Volume level Adjust the Volume fader

Select the input Click the input button and choose one from the list

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When moving the Volume fader, the Value box in the toolbar displays the level from a scale of 0
(minimum) to 127 (maximum). When you move the Pan slider, the Value box displays the pan value on
a scale that ranges from 100% Left to 100% Right with center represented by a C.

Converting MIDI to Audio

The following options cover three basic MIDI setups:
If your MIDI tracks play back through a soft synth, use either the File-Export-Audio or Edit-
Bounce to Track(s) commands (see the procedures in To Export Your Soft Synth Tracks as Wave,
MP3, or Other Type Files on page 356, and To Convert Your Soft Synth Tracks to New Audio
Tracks on page 355).
If your MIDI tracks play back through your sound cards synthesizer, see the procedure below.
If your MIDI tracks play back through external MIDI modules, simply connect their analog
outputs to the inputs on your sound card, and record to new audio tracks.

To Convert a Sound Cards Synth Tracks to a Stereo Audio Track

1. Pick a destination audio track and set the Input field to Stereo-(name of your sound card).
Note: If you have more than one sound card installed, select the one that your synth uses as an
output.
2. Arm the destination track.
3. Mute or archive any tracks that you dont want to record to the destination track.
4. If SONARs metronome is set to use any software synth to produce a click, disable the metronome
during recording option in the Project Options dialog box. To do this, select Options-Project to
open the Project Options dialog box, select the Metronome tab and uncheck Recording in the
General section.
5. Open your sound card's mixer device. This is normally done by double-clicking the speaker icon on
the Windows taskbar, or by choosing Start-Programs-Accessories- Multimedia-Volume
Control-Options-Properties.
6. Open the sound cards recording control window (the command is probably Options-Properties-
Adjust Volume For Recording) and make sure all boxes below Adjust Volume For Recording
are checked.
7. Click OK, and locate the slider marked MIDI, Synth, Mixed Input, or What You Hear. Check the
Select box at the bottom, then close the window.
8. In SONAR, click the Record button.
SONAR records all the MIDI tracks that are assigned to the sound card synth as a stereo audio track.
After you finish recording, mute the MIDI tracks that you just recorded so you dont hear them and the
new audio track at the same time.

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Signal Flow
The following graphic shows an audio tracks signal flow:

Audio clip
Hardware input Soft Synth input

Clip mute

V-Vocal

Clip fades

Input meters (record)

Clip envelopes

English
Clip FX bin

Volume Trim

Phase/Interleave
Playback Meter (pre fader/pre FX)

Send level
Pre fader

FX bin Send pan

Post fader
Surround or Hardware out
Volume fader Stereo Bus
Playback Meter
(post fader) Mute button

Stereo bus Surround bus

Pan
Playback meter (post fader)

Hardware Outputs

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You control the mixing and playback of an audio track as follows:

To do this... Do this...

Add a real-time audio effect to Right-click in the FX bin and select an effect from the list (for
the track more information, see Using Real-Time Effects later in the
chapter)

Remove an effect Select the effect and press Delete or right-click and select
Delete.

Send audio data from the track Insert a send in the track controls by right-clicking in the track
to a bus controls and selecting Insert-Send-[name of bus you want
the data to go to]. Click the FX tab at the bottom of the Track
pane, and then click the tracks bus enable button so that it
turns green, and set the Bus Send Level and Bus Send Pan
(for more information, see Stereo Buses on page 376)

Mute the track Click the Mute button

Solo the track Click the Solo button

Arm the track for recording Click the Arm button

Set the Pan level Adjust the Pan control

Set the Send Pan to be the Right-click the Send Pan control and choose Follow Track
same as the bus that the send Pan from the popup menu. This setting is only active when the
feeds into send has the same interleave as the bus that the send feeds
into, and is set to "Post Fader." If enabled, the Send Pan
control no longer affects the output.

Set the Volume level Adjust the Volume fader

Select the output Click the dropdown arrow in the Output field and choose one
from the list

Select the input Click the dropdown arrow in the Input field and choose one
from the list

SONAR displays volume in dB (decibels). When adjusting the volume or bus send level controls, a value
of 0 dB indicates full signal strength; positive values, up to 6 dB, indicate a signal gain; negative values
indicate an attenuated signal. When you move the Pan control, the Value box displays the pan value on
a scale that ranges from 100%L (hard left) 100%R (hard right).

Routing and Mixing Digital Audio

Audio clips in each track are processed by any real-time audio effects you have patched in place, passed
through the track pan control and volume fader, and then sent to the designated bus and/or main out, in
stereo.

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This is shown in the picture below:

Bus Send level

Bus send on/off button Pre/Post fader button

Phase button

Pan control

Volume fader

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Output

Any audio track can be tapped, before or after the track volume control, and sent to one or more buses.
A bus can tap any number of audio tracks. Each tracks data passes through the tracks send level knob
on its way to the bus. This is shown in the diagram below:

This track is routed to

Bus 1 and 2

Post-fader: tracks volume fader

controls output level to Bus 1
Pre-fader: output level to Bus 2 is
not affected by the tracks volume
fader

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The audio in each bus is processed by the input gain and pan controls (main output buses dont have
these controls), then processed by any real-time effects you have patched, sent through the bus output
level and pan controls, and then sent to the designated main out, in stereo. You can also insert a send
control on a bus, and send the bus signal to another bus, or route the output of a bus to another bus.
At each main out, all audio data from audio tracks and buses that were routed to that main are mixed
together. Finally, the data passes through each mains master volume fader

Stereo Buses
Buses are useful for mixing together different audio tracks (in stereo) and applying effects to the mix.
You can mix the tracks at different volume levels by adjusting each tracks bus send level. Buses output
to either other buses or to a main out.
You control the bus as follows:

To do this... Do this...

Send audio data from an audio track to the In an audio track, press the Bus Send Enable button
bus corresponding to the bus, or choose the bus as an output for
the track. If the track doesnt have a Send module, you can
insert one by right-clicking the track and choosing Insert-
Send-[name of bus you want the data to go to].

Send audio data from a bus to another bus If the bus doesnt have a Send module, you can insert one
by right-clicking the bus and choosing Insert-Send-[name
of bus you want the data to go to]. Then click the Bus
Send Enable button so that its green, and adjust the Bus
Send Level and Bus Send Pan.

Set the level of the audio data sent to the In an audio track, set the Bus Send Level corresponding to
bus the bus, or volume fader if the output is to the bus

Set the pan of the audio data sent to the Adjust the Bus Send Pan knob
bus

Set the input level to the bus Adjust the Input gain on the bus itself

Set the input panning to the bus Adjust the Input pan on the bus itself

Display the waveform of the audio thats Enable the buss Waveform Preview button
flowing through the bus

Add a real-time audio effect to the bus Right-click in the FX bin and select an effect from the list (for
more information, see Using Real-Time Effects on page
386)

Remove an effect Select the effect and press Delete, or right-click and choose
Delete

Set the output level Adjust the Output volume

Set the output panning Adjust the Pan setting

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Set the Send Pan to be the same as the Right-click the Send Pan control and choose Follow Bus
bus that the bus feeds into Pan from the popup menu. This setting is only active when
the send has the same interleave as the bus it feeds into,
and is set to "Post Fader." If enabled, the Send Pan control
no longer affects the output.

Select the output Click the Output button and choose one from the list

Surround Buses (Producer Edition Only)

Surround buses are useful for mixing and adding effects to create a surround mix.

To Patch a Track Through a Bus

1. Open the Console view (View-Console) or the Track view (View-Track).
2. If you want to add effects to the bus, right-click in the FX bin of a bus (if it is not in use already)
and choose an effect from the effects popup menu. (If you are working in the Track view, you may
first need to display the Bus pane by clicking the Show/Hide Bus Pane button located at the
bottom of the Track view.)

English
The name of the effect you have chosen appears in the bus FX bin.
3. Set the effects parameters and close it.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for any additional effects you want to use.
5. In a track module that you want to patch through the bus, do the following:
Drag the Bus Send Level control for the bus to the approximate level you want.
Drag the Bus Send pan to the approximate setting you want.
Click the Bus Enable button for the appropriate bus.
6. Repeat step 5 for all the tracks you want to patch through the bus.
7. In the bus, adjust the Input Gain and Output volume controls to the approximate level you want.
8. In the bus, drag the Input pan and Output pan controls to the approximate positions you want.
9. Play your tracks and adjust the Send Level controls, the pan controls, etc.

To Mute or Solo a Bus

Each bus has a Mute button and a Solo button. These controls act like the Mute and Solo buttons in a
track, but they affect all the signal routed through the bus.
1. Open the Track view or the Console view.
2. Click the Mute or Solo button in the bus you want to mute or solo.

To Display the Audio Waveform of a Bus

Enable the buss Waveform Preview button . This displays the waveform of the audio that is
flowing through the bus.

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 Main Outs
:
Each enabled hardware channel has a main out channel strip in the Console view. Main outs are the
final destination for all of your audio in SONAR. Main outs accept input from both tracks and buses.
Main outs contains a left channel and a right channel, but only one volume fader. You control the left/
right balance of each main out with the balance slider.
Heres what you can do in a main out module:

To do this... Do this...

Set the output volume Adjust the Volume control

Adjust the left/right balance Adjust the pan slider thats on that output module

Metering
The Console and Track views both have meters to measure playback level, record level, bus output
level, and main output level. The Track view also has bus return meters. You can configure the meters
differently in each view, if you want.
The responsiveness of your record meters (which also measure input monitoring) is dependent upon the
latency setting in the Audio Options dialog and the settings in the Audio Meter Settings dialog. With
higher latency settings the meters may appear sluggish.
There are three basic things you should know about meters:
What the meters measure
How to show or hide different kinds of meters
How to choose display options for each kind of meter
Note: Metering uses significant amounts of your computers processing power, especially RMS
metering. If you need to free up resources, turning off metering where you dont absolutely need it helps.
Using peak metering on tracks and peak plus RMS metering on the main out is a good option. To
disable all metering, turn off metering in both the Track view and Console view.

What the Meters Measure

The following table summarizes what each kind of meter measures:

Kind of meter... What it measures...

Record The level of the instrument listed as an input for the track you
are monitoringthe track must be armed to enable the meter

Playback A playback meter measures the playback level of any pre-

existing data in the track you are monitoring, either before or
after the track faders, depending on what display options you
choose

Main outs The level of the signal output by each main out.

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Buses The level of the output signal the bus is sending back from the
effects.

Hiding and Showing Meters

The display and configuration of the meters in the Track view is independent of the meters in the
Console view, and vice versa. Buttons in the Track view and Console view toolbars hide or show all the
meters of each kind in each view. To show or hide meters on individual tracks or buses, use the right-
click popup menu thats available from the title bar of each track or bus.
Note: If you want to conserve the maximum amount of your CPUs resources, turn off all metering in
both the Track and Console views.

Track view toolbar Console view Show Meters button and menu

Show/Hide All Meters

English
Meter Options menu

To Show or Hide all Record Meters

In the Console view, click the Show Meters button. This button hides or shows all the meters in the
Console view.
In the Track view, click the arrow to the right of the Show/Hide Meters button and select
Record Meters from the menu that appears.

To Show or Hide Individual Record Meters in the Track View

Right-click the title bar of a track to display the track popup menu and click the Show Record
Meter option to show or hide the record meter for that track.

To Show or Hide All Playback Meters

In the Console view, click the dropdown menu to the right of the Show Meters button and select
Track Playback Meters from the menu that appears.
In the Track view, click the arrow to the right of the Show/Hide Meters button and select
Playback Meters from the menu that appears.

To Show or Hide Individual Playback Meters in the Track View

Right-click the title bar of a track to display the track popup menu and click the Show Playback
Meter option to show or hide the playback meter for that track.

To Show or Hide All Main and Bus Meters in the Track View
In the Track view, click the arrow to the right of the Show/Hide Meters button and select
Output Bus Meters from the menu that appears.

To Show or Hide All Bus Meters in the Console View

In the Console view, click the dropdown menu to the right of the Show Meters button and select
Bus Meters from the menu that appears.

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To Show or Hide All Main Meters in the Console View
In the Console view, click the dropdown menu to the right of the Show Meters button and select
Main Meters from the menu that appears.

To Show or Hide Individual Bus Meters in the Track View

In the Track view, right-click the title bar of a main or bus to display the popup menu and click the
Show Meter option to show or hide the meter for that bus.

Changing the Meters Display

You control the range and kind of units that the various meters display in the Track and Console views.
The display of meters in each of the two views is independent of the display in the other view. In the
Track view, you can access all meter options from the Show/Hide All Meters button. In the Console
view, you can access all meter options from the Meter Options button.
You also have the option of using segmented or non-segmented meters in the Track and Console views.
The Audio Meter Settings dialog (Options- Audio Meter Settings command) lets you choose
segmented or non-segmented meters for the Track and/or Console views. Meter colors are also now
customizable in the Colors dialoguse the Options-Colors command, and choose VU LO Level, VU HI
Level, or VU Tick Marks.

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The dropdown menus give you the following display options:

Menu option... What it does...

Peak Choosing this option causes the meter to display the highest amplitude in
the signal that occurs in a complete cycle of a frequency.

RMS Choosing this option causes the meter to display more of an average of the
amplitudes that occur in a complete cycle of a frequency. RMS, or Root-
Mean-Square, is a little over seventy percent of peak level.

Peak + RMS Choosing this option causes the meter to display both the RMS and peak
levels. The RMS level is displayed by the solid bar on the left side of the
meter, and the peak level is displayed as a small line that follows the RMS
level just to the right of it.

Pre Fader/Post Fader (This Choose Pre Fader or Post Fader to measure the playback level either
option is for playback and bus before or after the tracks or bus volume fader.
meters only)

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Pre Fader/Post FX (This option Choose Pre Fader/Post FX to measure the bus volume before the fader, but
is for the buses only) after any real-time effects.

-12 dB....-90 dB Choosing one of these numbers sets the scale of the meter to a certain
range of dB. For example, choosing -90 dB sets the range of measurement
of that meter to 90 dB.
Note: You can also change the scale of a meter by right-clicking the meter
to display a popup menu and choosing a new dB range.

Show Labels Clicking this option hides or shows the dB markings on the meter. Hiding
the markings shrinks the meter significantly, saving space.

Hold Peaks Choosing this option causes the meter to display a small vertical line (the
peak marker) that shows the peak level and then decays until a new peak is
reached.

Lock Peaks Choosing this option causes the meter to lock the peak marker at the
highest level, until a higher level occurs.

Segmented and Non-segmented Meters

You can display meters as segmented (the default) or non-segmented meters. Non-segmented meters
have the advantage of taking up less room in a track strip.

segmented meter non-segmented meter

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The Audio Meter Settings dialog (Options- Audio Meter Settings command) lets you choose
segmented or non-segmented meters for the Track and/or Console views.
You can customize the colors of non-segmented meters in the Colors dialoguse the Options-Colors
command, and choose VU LO Level, VU HI Level, or VU Tick Marks.

Changing the Meters Performance

There are two major factors that determine the performance of meters in SONAR. One is audio latency
which you can adjust, within the limits of your audio hardware drivers, in the General tab of the Audio
Options dialog. The second is the settings in the Audio Meter Settings dialog.
SONAR has configurable meter ballistics that allow you to adjust the rise and fall times of both the
RMS and Peak Meters. Out of the box, SONAR ships with industry-standard settings that mimic meter
ballistics for common hardware consoles.
The following table covers how to adjust your meter settings to meet your needs.

To do this... Do this...

Increase or decrease meter refresh rates In the Audio Meter Settings dialog (select Options-Audio
Meter Settings to open), adjust the Refresh rate field. Valid
values are from 25 to 250 milliseconds.

Change the decay rate (the amount of time In the Audio Meter Settings dialog, adjust the Decay Rate
the meter display stays at its peak) value. Valid values are from 1 to 150 milliseconds.

Increase or decrease the amount of time the In the Audio Meter Settings dialog, adjust the Hold Time value.
meter displays a peak value Valid values are from 0 to 5000 milliseconds.

Adjust rise and fall times In the Audio Meter Settings dialog, adjust the Rise or Fall
settings for RMS or Peak. Valid Rise values are from 0 to 1000
milliseconds. Valid Fall values are from 0 to 2500 milliseconds.

Here are the default values for the various settings:

Refresh Rate = 40 msec
Peak Hold Decay Rate = 50 msec
Peak Hold Hold Time = 750 msec
RMS Rise = 300 msec
RMS Fall = 300 msec
Peak Rise = 0 msec
Peak Fall = 1000 msec

Peak Markers
Buses and audio tracks have a feature called Peak Markers. A Peak Marker in each audio track or bus
moves along in the Clips pane just behind the Now Time cursor displaying the highest peak found
during playback. You can hide or show Peak Markers on a global basis by clicking the Meter Options
dropdown arrow in the Track view toolbar and clicking Show Track Peak Markers and/or Show
Bus Peak Markers. You can hide or show Peak Markers on an individual track or bus by right-clicking

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 the track or bus and clicking Show Peak Marker from the popup menu. Colors for both Peak Markers
and their text fields are configurable in the Colors dialog (Options-Colors command).

Peak marker

Because a Peak Marker may be offscreen, you can jump to a peak marker by right-clicking the numeric
peak display in the track/bus header strip and choosing Go To Peak from the context menu (see picture
below). Doing so will center the peak location and Now time in the Clips pane.

English
Peak Markers appear in two different colors: one color if the peak is below 0 dB, and a different color if
the peak is above 0dB. By default, peaks below 0dB will be green, and peaks above 0dB will be red. The
Peak Marker colors are configurable from the Colors dialog.

Waveform Preview for Buses and Synth Tracks

You can choose to display a waveform for the audio output of a bus or synth track. When you enable the
display function, the amplitude of a buss or synth tracks audio signal is graphed in real time as a
waveform. The waveform turns red wherever clipping is occurring. Waveform preview allows you to
visualize a mix and verify levels over the duration of a project, easily detecting peaks and other level
problems that may require attention. You can choose to display Peak Markers if you want to (see Peak
Markers on page 382 for more information). If you change the volume of the audio signal and replay
the project, the waveform changes to reflect the new bus or synth track volume.
Each bus or synth track has a Waveform Preview button, which allows you to enable/disable waveforms
display on an individual basis. By default, each button is turned off.
You can change the color of the waveform preview by choosing a color for Waveform Preview in the
Configure Colors dialog (Options-Colors command).

To Enable/Disable Waveform Preview on a Bus or Synth Track

For buses, find the desired bus in the Bus pane of the Track view, and click the buss Waveform
Preview button . This button is also in the Bus Inspector.
For synth tracks, find the desired synth track in the Track view, and click the tracks Waveform
Preview button . This button is also in the Track Inspector.

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Waveform Preview button in Waveform Preview
Track view

Waveform Preview button in Bus Inspector

Freeze Tracks and Synths

The Freeze feature allows you to temporarily bounce your track, including soft synths and effects, to
reduce the amount of CPU power needed. The Freeze feature also works for synths patched in the
Synth Rack.
The following are the available commands for track freezing:
Freeze Trackbounces the audio in the track to a new audio clip or clips, applies any effects, and
disables the FX bin.
Unfreeze Trackdiscards the bounced audio, restores the original audio to the way it was before
the last freeze or quick freeze command, and enables the FX bin.
Quick Unfreeze Trackhides and mutes the bounced audio, restores the original audio to the way
it was before the last freeze or quick freeze command, and enables the FX bin. Bounced audio is
retained, however, and toggling between Quick Freeze and Quick Unfreeze should be
instantaneous.
Quick Freeze Trackonly available after a Quick Unfreeze, the Quick Freeze function redisplays
and unmutes the bounced audio instantaneously and disables the FX bin.
The following are the available commands for synth freezing:
Freeze Synthaudio from a soft synth is bounced and placed on the synths track. Output from the
synth is disabled, as is the FX bin on the synth track.
Unfreeze Synthdiscards bounced audio, enables the synth and track FX bin. Bounced audio is
discarded, and will be re-bounced if you choose Freeze again.

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 Quick Unfreeze Synthhides and mutes the bounced audio, enables the synth and track FX bin.
Bounced audio is retained, and toggling between Quick Freeze and Quick Unfreeze should be
instantaneous.
Quick Freeze Synthonly available after a Quick Unfreeze, the Quick Freeze function redisplays
and unmutes the bounced audio instantaneously, disables the synth, and any effects on the synth
track.
Note 1: An Unfreeze or Quick Unfreeze command restores the audio on a track to the way it was before
the last Freeze or Quick Freeze command. Any editing you do to a frozen track is discarded when you
Unfreeze or Quick Unfreeze the track.
Note 2: You control the bit depth of all rendering operations (bouncing, freezing, applying effects) on the
Audio Data tab of the Global Options dialog (Options-Global command) in the Render Bit Depth field.
The default value of 32 is the best for most situations. See Bit Depths for Rendering Audio on page
552 for more information.

To Freeze a Track
1. Right-click on a track.
2. Select Freeze Track from the menu that appears.

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SONAR bounces the audio in the track to a new audio clip or clips, applies any effects, and disables the
FX bin.

To Unfreeze a Track
1. Right-click on a track.
2. Select Unfreeze Track from the menu that appears.
SONAR discards the bounced audio, restores the original audio, and enables the FX bin. Audio will be
re-bounced if Freeze is chosen again.

To Do a Quick Unfreeze of a Track

1. Right-click on a frozen track.
2. Select Quick Unfreeze Track from the menu that appears.
SONAR hides and mutes the bounced audio, restores the original audio, and enables the FX bin.
Bounced audio is retained, however, and toggling between Quick Freeze and Quick Unfreeze should be
instantaneous.

To Quick Freeze a Track

1. Right-click on a track that you did a Quick Unfreeze on.
2. Select Quick Freeze Track from the menu that appears.
Only available after a Quick Unfreeze, the Quick Freeze function redisplays and unmutes the bounced
audio instantaneously

To Freeze a Soft Synth

Right-click a synth track or a synths MIDI track, and choose Freeze Synth from the menu that
appears.
Or
In the Synth Rack view, click the Freeze/Unfreeze button .
SONAR bounces the synths audio data to the synth track. SONAR disables the synths output, and
disables the FX bin on the synth track.

To Unfreeze a Synth
Right-click a synth MIDI or audio track, and choose Unfreeze Synth from the menu that appears.

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 Or
:
In the Synth Rack view, click the Freeze/Unfreeze button , and choose Unfreeze Synth from
the menu that appears.
SONAR discards bounced audio, enables the synth and the synth audio tracks FX bin. SONAR will be
re-bounce the audio if you choose Freeze again.

To Do a Quick Unfreeze of a Synth

Right-click a frozen synth MIDI or audio track, and choose Quick Unfreeze Synth from the menu
that appears.
Or
In the Synth Rack view, click the Freeze/Unfreeze button , and choose Quick Unfreeze Synth
from the menu that appears.
SONAR hides and mutes the bounced audio, enables the synth and track FX bin. Bounced audio is
retained, and toggling between Quick Freeze and Quick Unfreeze should be instantaneous.

To Quick Freeze a Synth

Right-click a quick unfrozen synth track or synth MIDI track, and choose Quick Freeze Synth
from the menu that appears.
Or
In the Synth Rack view, click the Freeze/Unfreeze button , and choose Quick Freeze Synth
from the menu that appears.
Only available after a Quick Unfreeze, the Quick Freeze command redisplays and unmutes the bounced
audio instantaneously, disables the synth, and any effects on the synth track.

To Set Freeze Options

1. Right-click an audio or synth track, and choose Freeze Options from the menu that appears.
Or

1. In the Synth Rack view, click the Freeze/Unfreeze button , and choose Freeze Options from
the menu that appears.
2. Choose options in the Freeze Options dialog. For help choosing options, click the Help button in the
dialog.

Using Real-Time Effects

In the Console view and Track view, you can use plug-in effects non-destructively, in real time. You can
also hear your plug-in effects in real time on any live instruments you are recordingjust make sure
Input Monitoring is enabled (see Input Monitoring on page 159). You can also insert effects directly on
clips (see
For example, suppose you want to add a reverb effect to an audio track containing a recorded violin solo.
You could do it in two different ways:
DestructiveThe digital audio data itself is modified. Although this may be exactly what you
want, it does limit your options. If you want to modify the effect parameters slightly or to remove
the effect and try a different effect, you must use the Undo command, or revert to a saved copy of
the original data.
Non-destructive (real-time)The digital audio data in your track is not changed but simply altered
on the fly during playback. This means you can experiment with effects parameters, bypass effects,

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 or remove them entirely at any time. Since most effects require complex numeric calculations, real-
time effects processing puts a heavy load on your computers CPU. If you use too many effects, the
CPU will not be able to keep up and playback will sound choppy and disconnected.
You can also apply real-time audio effects to a submix in a bus. For example, rather than patching
separate reverb effects in each of several guitar tracks, you can mix the guitar tracks together in a bus
and apply a single reverb effect to the submix. This makes much more efficient use of CPU time.
Patching effects on a bus also opens up new creative possibilities.
There are several reasons why you might want to apply effects offline (destructively):
If you want to apply more effects than your CPU can handle, applying some of the effects offline
will reduce CPU usage during playback.
If you want to apply effects to an individual audio clip, rather than the whole track, it is simpler to
do so using offline effects.
The File-Export-Audio command, allows you to apply real-time effects when you export, so you do not
need to apply your effects destructively or use the Edit-Bounce to Track(s) command to prepare the
tracks beforehand. For information about exporting audio, see Preparing Audio for Distribution on
page 413.

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All plug-in effects and soft synths have a Preset window you can use to save and recall your favorite
settings for those plug-ins.

Effects Parameters
Each effect in an effects patch point has its own independent set of parameter values. For example, you
can apply a short reverb in one track and a long reverb in another track. The dialog boxes for real-time
effects contain the same parameters as the offline effects, though there are a few differences:
You can adjust the parameters while playback is in progress, so there is no need for an Audition
button.
For Audio effects, because mixing is handled through the Track view or Console view, there is no
Mixing tab.
You do not need to click OK for the effect to be applied.
Refer to the sections MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins) on page 295 and Audio Effects (Audio Plug-ins)
on page 345 for descriptions of the effects and their parameters.

How to Use Real-Time Effects

You can patch effects into the tracks and buses in both the Track view and Console view. After you
patch one or more effects into an FX bin, you can reorder the effects, delete them, or add new ones.

An FX bin in a track in the Track view

An FX bin in a bus in the Track

view

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An FX bin in a track in An FX bin in a bus in the
the Console view Console view

Heres how to insert and configure effects:

To do this Do this

Add a real-time effect to a MIDI Right-click in the FX bin of the track or bus you want to add the effect to,
track, audio track, synth track or and select an effect from the popup menu.
bus.

Change the order in which effects Drag an effect up or down in the FX bin.
are used.

Edit an effects parameters. Double-click on the effect to open the effects dialog box.

Move an effect to a different bin. Drag the effect to another effects bin.

Copy an effect to a different bin. Hold down the Ctrl key and drag the effect to another effects bin.

Delete an effect. Right-click the name of the effect, and choose Delete from the popup
menu.

Use a preset. See Presets on page 389 for more information.

When you place an effect in an FX bin, an abbreviated name is used to describe the effect. Sometimes
the limited space makes it impossible to identify the effect. If this occurs, simply rest the cursor over the
effect for a second or two, and a tooltip will pop up to display the full name of the effect.
Effects in FX bins display ticks that tell you whether the effect is outputting a mono, stereo, or
surround signal:

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 Mono indicator

Stereo indicator

Surround indicator (in 5.1 mode)

Presets
Presets are a way to store property page settings so that you can recall the exact same group of settings
again in the future. Effects and soft synths use presets, and so do some other functions youll find in

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certain dialogs.
You manage presets with the Presets window, and the buttons to the right of it. To the right of the
Presets window are the Most Recently Used menu, which displays the presets you have used recently,
the Save button, and the Delete button.

Save button

Delete button

Name of current preset Most Recently Used

preset menu

The following table tells you how to use presets:

To do this... Do this...

Save the current settings as a preset Enter a preset name and click the Save button.

Use a preset Select the preset from the dropdown menu.

Use a recently-used preset Select the preset from the Most Recently Used
preset menu (holds up to 8 presets; deletes the
oldest when over the limit).

Delete a preset Select the name of the preset, then click the
Delete button.

The Presets window also has a feature called Preset Dirty Flags. A Preset Dirty Flag is an asterisk that
appears next to the name of the preset. The asterisk tells you that you changed and saved this
particular preset in another project, and the settings in the current project are different from the saved
version. If you re-save the preset in the current project with the current settings, the asterisk

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 :
disappears, but will reappear in the other project, showing you that the displayed settings in that
project are different from the last saved version of the preset. If you want to get rid of the asterisk in all
projects, save the preset in each project with the exact same settings.

Effects on Clips
Both audio and MIDI clips now contain full-featured FX bins. You can insert real-time effects on clips,
in both MIDI and audio tracks. Each clip that you insert an effect on displays its own FX bin, that you
can use to manage the effects on that clip.
The characteristics of clip-based effects are:
Splitting a clip copies the effect(s) onto both clips.
You can copy or move clip-based effects from one clip to another, and to or from the FX bin on a
track.
A clips FX bin also appears on the General tab of the clips Clip Properties dialog (to open: right-
click the clip and choose Clip Properties from the popup menu).
Note: you cannot drag effects to or from the Clip Properties dialog.
You can patch an effect onto multiple clips at the same time by first selecting the clips.
Audio effects can be automated by using clip envelopes.
The Edit-Bounce to Clip(s) command follows clip boundarieseffects tails are cut off, unless you
slip-edit the end of the clip to leave space.
Freezing a track or synth will also freeze the per-clip FX bins.

To Insert an Effect on a Clip or Clips

1. If you want to insert an effect onto multiple clips, select the clips.
2. Right-clip a clip that you want to insert an effect onto.
The Clips pane context menu appears.
3. Choose Insert Effect-[Audio or MIDI]-[name of desired effect].
The FX icon appears on the clip(s) after you insert the effect (see picture, below).

FX icon

To Open or Close the FX Bin on a Clip

To open a clips FX bin, click the FX icon, or right-click the FX icon and select Open Clip Effects
Bin from the popup menu.
To close a clips FX bin, click the X icon thats in the upper left corner of the clips FX bin, or click
anywhere outside of the FX bin.

To Delete, Bypass, Move, Copy, or Re-order a Clip Effect

To delete an effect, right-click the effect name and choose Delete from the popup menu.
To bypass or un-bypass all the effects on a clip, right-click in the clipss FX bin and choose Bypass
Bin from the popup menu.
To enable or disable an individual effect, click the effects green on/off switch.
To move an effect to another FX bin (on a track or a clip), drag the name of the effect to the other

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 FX bin.
To copy an effect to another FX bin (on a track or a clip), hold the Ctrl key down, and then drag the
name of the effect to the other FX bin.
To change the order of an effect in an FX bin, drag the name of the effect up or down to the desired
place in the effects chain.

To Apply Inserted Clip Effects

1. If you want to apply the inserted effects on more than one clip, select them.
2. If you want to leave room at the end of any clips for effects tails, slip-edit the ends of the clips to
leave some empty space.
3. Use the Edit-Bounce to Clip(s) command.
After the progress bar disappears, the bounced clips appear with new waveforms to reflect the effects
processing. The inserted clip effects are removed from the bounced clips automatically.

V-Vocal Clips

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V-Vocal is a vocal processor that integrates Rolands VariPhrase technology into SONAR Producer.
Designed for monophonic sounds, especially vocals, V-Vocal does pitch correction on notes and phrases,
edits formants, adds vibrato if you want, and can also correct timing.
Access V-Vocal by selecting audio data, and then inserting an instance of V-Vocal. This creates a
monophonic V-Vocal clip, which means that the selected audio data is copied to create the V-Vocal clip,
while the original audio data is muted and left unchanged.
The following procedures explain how to manage V-Vocal clips. For information about using V-Vocal, see
Using V-Vocal on page 392.

To Create a V-Vocal Clip

1. Select the audio data you want to use.
2. Use the Edit-Create V-Vocal Region command, or right-click the clip and choose Roland V-
Vocal-Create V-Vocal Clip from the Clips pane popup menu.
SONAR copies the selected audio data, inserts an instance of V-Vocal on the copied data, and displays
the new V-Vocal clip (the copied audio data that contains an instance of V-Vocal) where the selected
audio data was, and opens the V-Vocal interface. The V-Vocal icon appears on the V-Vocal
clip. The original audio data is muted. No track data is moved or otherwise modified by creating a V-
Vocal clip. You can drag the V-Vocal clip away from the original audio data if you want.

To Open a V-Vocal Interface

If the V-Vocal interface of the clip you want to edit is not open, right-click the V-Vocal clip and
choose Roland V-Vocal-V-Vocal Editor from the Clips pane popup menu. You can also double-
click the V-Vocal clip.

To Move, Edit, or Copy a V-Vocal Clip

Use standard editing commands (nudge, drag-and-drop, slip-edit, etc.) to move, edit, or copy the
clip. When you move a V-Vocal clip, the original audio clip is revealed underneath it. You can
unmute the original clip by using the Mute tool.
Note: offline processing commands such as Process-Normalize and Process-Gain do not work on a V-
Vocal clip.

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To Bypass or Unbypass a Single V-Vocal Clip
Right-click the V-Vocal clip and choose Roland V-Vocal-Bypass/Unbypass from the Clips pane
popup menu.
When you bypass a V-Vocal clip, you hear the original audio data that makes up the V-Vocal clip without
hearing any V-Vocal processing. When Bypass is enabled, the Bypass button in the V-Vocal interface
appears red.

To Bypass or Unbypass All V-Vocal Clips in a Track

Right-click a V-Vocal clip and choose Roland V-Vocal-Bypass All V-Vocal Clips from the Clips
pane popup menu.

To Delete a V-Vocal Clip

Select a V-Vocal clip (the orange clip with the V-Vocal icon, not the original audio clip) and use the
Edit-Delete command, or press Delete on your keyboard.
Note: V-Vocal commands can also be accessed by clicking the V icon in the V-Vocal clip .

Using V-Vocal
V-Vocal is a vocal processor that does pitch correction on notes and phrases, corrects timing, edits
formants and dynamics, and can add vibrato.
The following topics describe using the V-Vocal interface to process audio data. For information about
inserting and managing V-Vocal in SONAR, see V-Vocal Clips on page 391.
Heres a description of the interface:

Rewind AutoScroll

Mute Solo Play/Stop LoopMode Undo/Redo

Bypass

Cent indicator

Timeline

Tools

Select pitch
correction key

Spread editing
area Scroll

Formant
Pitch correction control

Edit mode Zoom Information view

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Description of Interface Components
Edit modeselect the parameter you want to edit: pitch, time, formant, or dynamics.
Zoomcontinuous horizontal or vertical zooming by dragging the center vertically or horizontally.
If you drag the center while pressing the Shift key, you can restrict the zoom direction to horizontal
or vertical. Zoom In or Out incrementally by clicking any of the four arrows. Double-clicking the
center shows the overall clip.
AutoScrollthe editing display scrolls when you turn on AutoScroll.
Formant controlthe Pitch Follow knob increases or decreases the formant according to pitch. The
Shift knob increases or decreases the formant for the entire phrase.
Pitch Correction
Keyboard and Scale buttonsassign the target notes with the keyboard button; each key has
a bypass button (B) located under or over the key. The Scale button lets you assign the target
notes by scale: click the Scale button, click Maj or Min, and click a note on the keyboard
button to choose the root of the scale.
Note buttonuse this button to set the rate of pitch correction. This function can adjust the

English
pitch to the selected notes grids by increasing or decreasing the pitch of the selected region.
Vibratoset the depth of the vibrato. If you choose 100%, vibrato depth is set to zero.
Sensethis is a sensitivity control for pitch correction for unstable pitch areas such as
portamento. Pitch correction gets stronger if you increase the value.
Cent indicatorthis indicator shows the pitch correction amount by cents in realtime (+/- 100
cents).
Timelinethis gives a graphical display of the playback time in beats.
Select pitch correction keyset the target notes for the pitch correction. Each time you click a note,
the notes color is changed to red, grey, or blue in turn. Meaning of each color is as follows:
Blue: selected
Gray: not selected
Red: Bypassed
Arrow tool for selecting the editing region, and for increasing or decreasing the pitch of the
selected region.
Line tool for drawing Pitch, Formant, and Dynamics with straight lines.
Pen tool for drawing Pitch, Formant, and Dynamics freehand.
Vibrato/LFO tool for adding and editing Vibrato or LFO at the selected region.
Eraser for resetting the selected region to its initial value.
Hand tool for scrolling the display. If you drag in the editing area while pressing the Ctrl key,
you can zoom.
Rectangle zoom for selecting an area to zoom in to. Drag a border around the area you want
to zoom to. Overall area is displayed by double clicking.

Playing Back V-Vocal Clips

You can play back V-Vocal clips by clicking the buttons at the top of the V-Vocal interface. Besides
playing the V-Vocal clip, you can mute it, solo it, loop it, and rewind it. Clicking in the time ruler at the
top of the graph moves the playback time.

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To Play a V-Vocal Clip
To play a V-Vocal clip, click the play button in the V-Vocal interface, or press the Spacebar.
To stop playback, press the Spacebar, or click the Stop button.
To mute the track that the V-Vocal clip is in, click the M button in the V-Vocal interface.
To Solo the track that the V-Vocal clip is in, click the S button in the V-Vocal interface.
To rewind the V-Vocal clip, click the rewind button in the V-Vocal interface.
To loop the V-Vocal clip, click the loop mode button in the V-Vocal interface.
To set the playback time for the V-Vocal clip, click in the timeline thats at the top of the graph.

Pitch Editing
Pitch editing requires that the Pitch button in the edit mode section is enabled. Heres a description of
the interface in pitch editing mode:

The yellow line is the edited Pitch curve and this line is the actual sounding pitch.
The red line is the original Pitch curve and this line cannot be edited.
The green dot is a Node. Nodes are automatically assigned to the start and end of the edited
region. You can select the specific region between the nodes if you click the yellow line between the
nodes.
The white horizontal line is called Center Pitch. Center Pitch is used as a baseline for increasing or
decreasing vibrato or for pitch correction.

To Change the Pitch of a Selected Region

1. Use the Arrow tool to select the part of the yellow line that you want to transpose (make sure that
the Pitch button in the edit mode section is enabled).
The selected region turns blue to show that it is selected.
2. Drag the yellow line up or down.

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 Nodes appear automatically when you shift pitch.
Tips:
Ctrl-dragging snaps the pitch to the pitch correction grid. Shift dragging moves the pitch by 100
cent increments.
You can also edit pitch by dragging a node up or down.
You can undo each edit you do by pressing Ctrl+Z. You can use this command repeatedly to undo
multiple edits.

About Pitch Correction

The key for making manipulated sound more natural is using the parameters in the Pitch Correction
section: Note, Vibrato and Sense. Functions for each parameter are as follows:
Notecontrols the ratio of pitch shifting to the nearest scale note. With a value of 100, each
section is completely shifting to the nearest scale note.
Vibratoas the value increases, the vibrato depth gets narrower. At a value of 100, Vibrato is
completely eliminated.

English
Senseas the value increases, the range of affecting pitch correction gets wider.
If you set all of above parameters to a value of 100, you will get a "robot voice-type sound.
Current default values are:
Note: 100
Vibrato: 50
Sense: 100
This setup is a bit too artifical. If you want to make the sound more natural, we suggest the following
setup:
Note: 70-100; be careful of intonation.
Vibrato: 0-20; try 0, if you'd like to keep the original.
Sense: 20-30; please adjust to fit the data.
The above suggestion is just one example. Different types of audio might require different settings.
In addition, try adjusting the Pitch Follow parameter in the Formant Control section as follows:
Set the value close to 100 if you'd like to do subtle pitch correction.
Set close to 0 if you'd like drastic rephrasing.

To Draw Freehand Pitch Changes

1. Click the Pen tool.
2. Draw a shape on the graph.

To Draw Straight Line Pitch Changes

1. Click the Line tool.
2. Draw a line on the graph.

To Correct Pitch
1. Select the region you want to correct by using the Arrow tool.
2. Select the notes that you want the selected region to become by clicking notes on the Keyboard
button. The selected notes should be light blue. The deselected notes are dark blue. When you click

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the Correct button, the selected area conforms to the light blue notes on the keyboard. You can also
click the note names in the Select Pitch Correction field to select notes. Note that light blue note
names are selected, grey note names are not selected, and red note names are bypassed.
Note: to display different octaves, drag the vertical scroll bar that is at the right side of the graph
up or down.
3. Set the amount of pitch correction you want by adjusting the Note knob. 100 cents is equal to a
half-step. Between 70 and 100 is a good place to start.
4. If the selected region has any unstable pitch areas such as portamento, you can adjust the Sense
knob, which adjusts pitch correction sensitivity. Pitch correction gets stronger if you increase the
value. 30 is a good starting point. If the selection has vibrato, try 0 to 30.
5. Click the Correct button. The pitch in the selected region moves to the target pitches (the light blue
notes on the keyboard).

To Conform Pitches to a Scale

1. Use the Arrow tool to select the region where you want to correct pitches.
2. Click the Scale button so that it is enabled (light blue).
3. Click a Maj or Min button to select a major or minor scale, respectively.
4. Click a note on the Keyboard button to select the root note of the scale.
The notes of the scale you selected turn light blue on the Keyboard button.
5. Click the Correct button.
The selected area conforms to the light blue notes on the keyboard.

To Restore Original Pitch

Use the Eraser tool to drag over a region. The region you drag over returns to original pitch.

To Add Vibrato
1. Click the Vibrato/LFO tool.
2. Move the cursor to the place where you want the vibrato to start.

The cursor displays a vibrato icon when it is ready to add new vibrato: .
3. Drag to the right for the length of the vibrato segment that you want to add.

To Edit Vibrato
1. Move the Vibrato/LFO tool over the vibrato segment that you want to edit.

The cursor displays a double-arrow icon when it is ready to edit vibrato: .

2. Drag the vibrato segment vertically to edit amplitude, or horizontally to edit frequency.
Tips:
Holding the Ctrl key down while you drag restricts vibrato editing to amplitude only.
Holding the Shift key down while you drag restricts vibrato editing to frequency only.
You can create a robot voice effect by keeping the amplitude flat.

To Fade-in Vibrato
1. Move the Vibrato/LFO tool over the beginning of a vibrato segment.

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 The cursor displays a fade-in icon when it is ready to add a fade-in: .
2. Drag the vibrato segment to the right for the length of the fade-in that you want to add.

Editing Time
To edit timing with V-Vocal, the Time button in the edit mode section must be enabled.

To Edit Time
1. Make sure the Time button is enabled.
2. Move the Arrow tool near the vertical center of the graph until the cursor changes to the double
arrow, and click at each point where you want to preserve the original timing. A vertical green line
appears at each point that you click.
3. Now add new green lines between the existing ones.
4. Drag the new lines to the left or right to compress or expand each region.
Tips:

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Hold down the Ctrl key while you move lines to move all the following lines by an equal amount.
To erase lines, drag a region with the eraser. Timing reverts to its original condition in the areas
where you erase lines.

Editing Formants
A rough definition of formants is that they are vowel sounds. To edit formants with V-Vocal, the
Formant button in the edit mode section must be enabled.
Heres a picture of the V-Vocal interface in formant mode:

The red line in the graph is the formant line. The red dots on the line are nodes.

To Shift the Formant of a Region

1. Use the Arrow tool to select the region you want to shift.
2. Drag the red line in the region up or down.

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When you drag the red line, nodes are automatically created at the start and end of the selected region.
You can drag the nodes to create different shapes.
Tips:
Double-clicking the red line in a selected region adds nodes to the place where you click, and also to
the start and end of the selected region.
You can do freehand editing with the Pen tool.
You can add an LFO to a selected region by dragging the red line up or down with the Vibrato tool.
Dragging left or right modifies the LFO frequency.
You can reset segments of the red line by dragging with the Eraser.
You can increase or decrease the formant for the entire phrase by adjusting the Shift knob.

To Link the Formant Line to the Pitch Line

To increase or decrease the formant relative to pitch, adjust the Pitch Follow knob. You can view
pitch at the same time as formants by right-clicking the graph, and choosing View-Pitch from the
context menu.

Editing Dynamics
The basic procedures for editing dynamics with V-Vocal are the same as for formant editing, except that
dynamics are represented by a yellow line, and you must have the Dynamics button enabled in the edit
mode section.

Context Menu
If you right-click the graph, the V-Vocal context menu appears.
The menu has the following commands:
Undouse this command to undo your last editing action. You can use this command repeatedly to
undo a series of editing actions, starting with the latest.
Redouse this command to redo an editing action that was just cancelled by an Undo command.
Select Alluse this command to select the whole phrase. You can deselect a selection by clicking
away from the waveform.
Viewuse this command and the options in its submenu to hide or show the phrases waveform
(Wave option on submenu), the pitch display (Pitch), the formant line (Formant), and the
dynamics line (Dynamics).
Group Nodedeletes nodes in the selected region.
Pitch Detect Modemethod for redetecting center pitch (the white horizontal line) of LFO or
Vibrato. After you select the region you want to redetect, choose the following submenus.
Standard 1standard setting
Standard 2standard setting
Enkafor phrases that contain deep vibrato.
KeroKerofor vivid detection, although it's difficult to detect the center pitch of deep
vibrato.
LFO Pen Typeselect the type of the waves of vibrato added by the vibrato tool.

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Keyboard Shortcuts
The following table lists the V-Vocal keyboard shortcuts:

Command... Shortcut...

Arrow tool S

Line tool L , or hold down Shift while using the Pen tool

Pen tool D

Vibrato/LFO tool V

Erase tool E

Hand tool H

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Zoom tool Z

Undo zoom U

Redo zoom Shift+U

Zoom vertically Ctrl+Up/Down arrow keys

Zoom horizontally Ctrl+Left/Right arrow keys

Fit entire region into display Shift+F

Fit content vertically F

Pitch edit mode 1

Time edit mode 2

Formant edit mode 3

Dynamics edit mode 4

Cycle through all modes Shift+Left/Right arrow keys

Play/Stop Spacebar

Rewind W

Bypass B

AutoScroll A

Loop on/off \

Undo Ctrl+Z

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 Redo
: Ctrl+Shift+Z

Cancel drag gesture Esc

Select All Ctrl+A

Select None Ctrl+Shift+A

Return selection to default Delete

settings

Solo track /

Show/hide waveform in Pitch Shift+W

edit mode

Go to/Center cursor G

Scroll up/down Up/Down arrow keys; PageUp/PageDown

Scroll left/right Left/Right arrow keys

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Using the Per-track EQ (Producer Edition Only)
Each audio track in the Console view in the Producer version of SONAR has a 4-band EQ patched into
it by default. You can hide the EQ, hide its graph (plot), display only one band, or display all four bands
Heres a graphic of the EQ and its controls:

Plot
Frequency, Gain, and Q
controls for band n

Enable band

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Choose type of filter

Enable EQ

Show/hide Plot button

Show/hide Bands

Heres how to use it:

To Hide the EQ in all Audio Tracks

In the Console view, click the EQ button so that its not lit: .

To Show One Bands Controls

In the Console view, click the EQ button so that its yellow: .

To Show All Four Bands Controls

In the Console view, click the EQ button so that its blue: .

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To Choose What Band Youre Controlling When Only One Band is Showing
Click the Band menu thats at the bottom of the EQ display, and choose the band number you want
to control.

To Enable or Disable the EQ

Click the Enable/Disable button thats next to the Band menu: .

To Choose the Filter Type for Each Band

Click the filter type menu thats just above the Band menu, and choose a filter type.

To Enable or Disable a Band

Click the Enable/Disable button thats on the left side of the band type menu.

To Set Frequency, Gain, and Q for Each Band

In the band that you want to configure, drag the frequency slider (f icon), gain slider (triangle icon),
or Q slider (Q icon), respectively, to the left or right. The value is displayed just to the right of each
icon, and the plot (graph) changes as you drag.

To Hide or Show the Plot (Graph)

Click the Plot button.

To Open the EQ Interface

Double-click the Plot.

Applying Audio Effects

You can destructively apply audio effects for one or more tracks. When you are pleased with the audio
effects you have patched into a track, you can apply the effects to the track. Applying effects to a track
saves resources, allowing you to include additional tracks and/or effects

Note:
When applied effects are undone, they are not re-patched in the FX bin(s).

To Apply Multiple Audio Effects Offline

1. Add one or more audio effects to one or more tracks in either the Track view or the Console view.
2. In the Track view, select the tracks or clips you want to be affected.
3. Select Process-Apply Audio Effects.
The Apply Audio Effects dialog appears.
4. If desired, select the option to delete the effects after applying them.
5. Click OK.
If you do not delete the effects after applying them, they remain active.

CPU Usage of Audio Effects

The number of real-time audio effects that your computer can handle depends on the number of audio
tracks in your project, the number and type of effects you want to use, and the type and speed of your
CPU. Certain effects are more CPU-intensive than others, and enabling certain settings (such as using
equalization within the Stereo Reverb) increases CPU usage for those effects.

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Applying MIDI Effects
You can destructively apply the MIDI effects in a tracks patch point. This makes it easy for you to
experiment with MIDI effects before you commit to them on a more permanent basis.

To Apply MIDI Effects Destructively

1. In the Track view, select the tracks or clips to be affected.
2. Select Process-Apply MIDI Effects.
3. If desired, select the option to delete the effects after applying them.
4. Click OK.
If you dont delete effects after applying them, they continue to be active during playback, even though
they have already been applied.

The VST Configuration Wizard

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SONAR seamlessly integrates VST plug-ins. The VST Configuration Wizard runs automatically on
startup, registering all your VST plug-ins (you can choose to not run the wizard by using the Options-
Global command, and unchecking Scan For VST Plug-ins On Startup).
If for any reason, SONAR cant find a certain plug-in that you want to register, you can run the Wizard
manually, and navigate to the folder where the desired plug-in is. You can also run the Wizard if you
want to edit a plug-ins properties.

To Run the VST Configuration Wizard

1. Use the Tools-VST Configuration Wizard command.
The Wizard interface appears.
2. If the correct folder is not listed in the folder window, click the Add button to navigate to the
folder(s) you want to scan, and click OK to close the Browse for Folder dialog.
3. If you dont want to scan any of the listed folders, select them, and click the Remove button.
4. Select the folder(s) that you want to scan, and click Next.
The Wizard scans the selected folder(s) and lists the VST plug-ins that it finds on the Plug-in
Configuration page.
5. If you want to edit the Properties of a plug-in, select it and click the Properties button, edit the VST
Plug-in dialog, and click OK to close the dialog. Heres some information about the options:
Enable as plug-inenable this option if you want to use the plug-in as an audio effect.
Configure as synthenable this option if you want to use the plug-in as a soft synth.
Configure as tempo-based effectif the effect is supposed to respond to tempo information
(for example, a tempo-synced delay), and it is not responding, make sure this box is checked.
Force stereo operationsome host applications assign a single, mono track to carry a VST
plug-in's output. Checking this option forces the host to use two mono tracks or a single stereo
track.
Enable Delay Compensationusually, you will leave this checkbox the way you found it. The
VST Configuration Wizard contains a delay compensator, which the Wizard turns on and off
automatically for each individual plug-in (only a few plug-ins need it). If your plug-in needs
extra time to process the audio data, the plug-in sends a message to the VST Configuration

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Wizard, and the VST Configuration Wizard relays the message to the host program so it can
synchronize playback time to the delayed output from the plug-in.
Do not intercept NRPNsthe wizard uses NRPNs to run automation of your VST plug-ins.
However, some instruments have their own implementation of this process, so checking this
box passes the NRPNs directly to the instrument, allowing it to manage its own automation.
Editor sizethe X field lets you choose the width of the plug-in's property page (in pixels), and
the Y field lets you choose the height of the page.
6. Click Next to close the dialog, and enjoy your plug-ins.

Using Control Groups

SONAR lets you link faders, knobs, or buttons in the Track and Console views into groups. Groups are
collections of controls whose movements are linked together. For example:
Two volume faders or controls can be grouped so that when you increase or decrease the volume of
one track, the volume of the other track changes in exactly the same way.
Four mute buttons can be grouped so that when you click on the mute button to mute track 1,
tracks 1 and 2 are muted and tracks 3 and 4 are un-muted.
The Console view and Track view identify controls, knobs and faders that are grouped using a colored
group indicator that is displayed on the controls in each group. The controls in group A are displayed
with a red indicator, the controls in group B with a green indicator, and so on. Controls, faders and
knobs can be grouped together.
When you group buttons together, the way they work is based on their position when you create the
group:
Buttons that are in the same position when grouped will turn on and off together at all times.
Buttons that are in opposite positions when grouped will always remain in opposite positions.
When you group buttons with knobs or faders, the button turns on/off when the knob or fader reaches
its halfway point.
You have several additional options. There are three general types of groups: absolute, relative, and
custom. Heres how they work.

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 Absolute
The range of motion in all controls in the group is identical. When you move one control in the group, all
other controls in the group move the same amount in the same direction. The controls do not necessarily
need to start at the same level. Here are two examples:
Example 1

The controls are grouped in this position The first controls raised to maximum The first control is lowered to minimum

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Example 2

The controls are grouped in this position The first control is raised to maximum The fourth control is lowered to minimum

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 Relative
:
The range of motion for controls in the group is not the same. All controls in the group have the same
value at one pointthe lowest level for send, return, and volume levels, and zero for pan controls. Here
are two examples:

Example 1

The volume controls are The first control is raised to The first control is lowered
grouped in this position maximum volume to zero volume

Example 2

The pan controls are grouped in The first control is panned to The first control is panned to the
this position center right

Custom
Sometimes you want to define a more complex relationship between the controls in a group. For
example:
You want two controls two operate in reversewhen one fader drops, the other increases (cross
fade).
You want two volume faders grouped so that they are locked together at maximum level, but drop
at different rates.
You want two faders to be locked together with the same range of motion, but a third fader grouped
with them to have a different range of motion.
Custom groups let you set the range of motion for each control in the group by entering a starting and
ending value. As any one control in the group is moved from its starting position to its ending position,
the other controls in the group exercise their full range of motion.
When you have defined a custom group, you can adjust the starting and ending position of each control
using the Group Settings dialog box or using popup menus on the controls in the group.

To Add a Control to a Group

1. Right-click on the control.
2. Choose a group from the Group submenu.

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SONAR adds the control to the group. Controls, knobs and faders are highlighted with the groups color
indicator.

To Remove a Control from Its Group

1. Right-click on the control.
2. Choose Remove From Group from the menu.
SONAR removes the control from the group and displays the control with the neutral color indicator.

To Remove All Controls from a Group

Right-click a control in the group, and choose Clear Group from the popup menu.

To Override a Controls Grouping

Hold down the Ctrl key while moving the control.
The control remains part of the group and functions as such once the Ctrl key is lifted.

To Set the Group Type to Relative or Absolute

1. Right-click on any control in the group and choose Group Manager to display the Group Manager
dialog.

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2. Choose Absolute or Relative as the group type and click OK.
SONAR uses the type to determine the range of motion for the groups controls.

To Create a Custom Group

1. Right-click on any control in the group and choose Group Manager to display the Group Manager
dialog.
2. Choose Custom as the group type. The starting and ending values for each control are displayed.
3. To change the starting or ending value for a control, click on the control in the list and enter new
values in the Start and End box.
4. To swap the starting and ending value, click the Swap button.
5. Click Close when you are done.
SONAR uses the type to determine the range of motion for the groups controls.

To Adjust the Start Value of a Control

1. Set the control to the desired starting value.
2. Right-click on the control.
3. Choose Set Start = Current.

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SONAR sets the start value of the control.
The Set Start = Current and Set End = Current commands set the range of motion that a grouped
control moves through as the other members of the group move through their starting and ending
values. You dont have to designate a group as a custom group to create a custom groupjust group
some controls and set their starting and ending values.

To Adjust the End Value of a Control

1. Set the control to the desired ending value.
2. Right click on the control.
3. Choose Set End = Current.
SONAR sets the end value of the control.
The Set Start = Current and Set End = Current commands set the range of motion that a grouped
control moves through as the other members of the group move through their starting and ending
values. You dont have to designate a group as a custom group to create a custom groupjust group
some controls and set their starting and ending values.

Quick Groups
You can create a temporary group (a Quick Group) of track or bus controls by clicking the strip selector
on each track or bus that you want to group. Similar or identical controls in the grouped tracks or buses
will then move synchronously when you adjust them. For example, if you made a Quick Group of an
audio track and a MIDI track, and then dragged the volume fader in the MIDI track, the volume fader
in the audio track would move in similar fashion. If you dragged the Velocity Trim fader in the MIDI
track, the Volume Trim fader in the audio track would move also.
Note: not all controls can be Quick Grouped or Grouped. Controls such as Input, Output, and Effects
Send Selector on Audio tracks as well as the Input, Output, Channel, Bank, Patch, Time+ and Key+
controls on MIDI tracks cannot be grouped (they can have identical values set though by using the
Track-Property-[name of property] command).
The additional attributes of Quick Groups are:
Only one Quick Group can exist at a time.
If a control is part of a Quick Group and a permanent group, the Quick Group takes precedence.
Track and bus controls cannot be in the same Quick Group.
Strip selectors are located in the upper left corner of a track or bus number in the Track view, and are
located in the upper left corner of a track or bus name in the Console view. Traditional track selection
(selecting a track and all its recorded MIDI or audio data) is still performed by clicking the track
number, but not in the upper left corner.

A track strip selector in the

Track view

A track selector in the Track view

A bus strip selector in the Track view

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 A track strip selector in the
Console view

A bus strip selector in the Console view

You can make part of a Quick Group into a permanent group by right-clicking a grouped control, and
using the Group-Save command from the popup menu. This creates a group of whatever kind of

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control you right-clicked from all the tracks or buses in the Quick Group. For example, if you have a
Quick Group made of three audio tracks, you could right-click the volume fader of one of the tracks, and
save the group. This would create a permanent group of the volume faders in the three audio tracks.

To Create a Quick Group

Highlight the track strip or bus strip selectors of the tracks or buses you want to group by using
any of the following methods:
Ctrl-click strip selectors if they are not adjacent.
Click one strip selector, then shift-click another strip selector to select all tracks or buses that
are between them.
Ctrl-click any strip selector that you want to de-select.
Double-click a strip selector to select all tracks or buses.

To Remove all Controls from a Quick Group

Click a strip selector that is in or out of the group.
Or
Right-click a control in the group, and choose Clear Group from the popup menu.

To Make a Quick Group a Permanent Group

1. In a pre-exisiting Quick Group, right-click the kind of control that you want to group (for example,
volume) to open the popup menu.
2. Use the Group-Save command from the popup menu.
The Group Attributes dialog appears.
3. Choose a Group name and color, and click OK.
If you right-click a control to display the popup menu again, the name of your new group appears in the
Group menu. You can add other controls to the group by right-clicking a control, and choosing the group
from the popup menu.
You can choose the default color for Quick Groups in the Configure Colors dialog (Options-Colors
command).

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Using Remote Control
This section explains how to assign knobs or sliders on a MIDI controller to control specific parameters
on specific tracks. If you have a control surface with groups of faders such as a Tascam US-428 or CM
Labs MotorMix, see the online help topic Working with External Devices.
SONARs Remote Control function lets you use a MIDI device to remotely control knobs, buttons, and
sliders in the Track and Console views. For example, you can:
Use a key on your keyboard to temporarily mute a track
Work the send level in a bus with your pitch bend wheel
Set the main volume levels with NRPN messages
Prevent SONAR from sending any controller messages to your MIDI device.
Record automation from an external controller
If you set up remote control for a grouped control, the remote control works all controls in the group.
The type of MIDI message used to work a control is selected in the Remote Control dialog box. The
options are as follows:

Message Message effect on Message effect on sliders and

option... buttons... knobs...

None No remote control No remote control

Note On The button state is toggled The slider/knob is alternately maximized and
minimized

Note On/Off The button state is toggled The slider/knob is maximized when Note On is
when Note On is received, received, and minimized when Note Off is
and toggled again when Note received
Off is received

Controller Not applicable The slider/knob value is set to the controller

value

Wheel Not applicable The slider/knob value is set to the wheel value,
with the values mapped from their original
range of 8,192 to 8,191 to a range of 0 to 127

RPN Not applicable The slider/knob value is set to the RPN value,
with the values mapped from their original
range of 0 to 16,383 to a range of 0 to 127

NRPN Not applicable The slider/knob value is set to the NRPN

value, with the values mapped from their
original range of 0 to 16,383 to a range of 0 to
127

To Set Up Remote Control for a Knob, Button, or Fader

1. Right-click on the control and choose Remote Control from the popup menu.
2. Choose the remote control type, as described in the table above.
3. Set the note or controller number if applicable.

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 4. Set the MIDI Channel field to the channel that your controller sends out.
5. Click OK.
You can now work the control from your MIDI device. If you arm the control for automation and click
the Record Automation button in the SONAR Transport, you can record your external controllers knob
or fader movements.

To Disable Remote Control

Right-click on the control and choose Disable Remote Control from the popup menu.

To Prevent SONAR from Sending Controller Data to Your MIDI Device

Right-click each knob or fader in SONAR that is sending unwanted controller data to your MIDI
device and choose Disable Control from the popup menu.

Using the Learn Option

The Learn option in the Remote Control dialog allows you to bind a parameter in SONAR to a knob or
fader on your controller.

To Bind a Control Using the Learn Option

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1. Right-click on the parameter you want to arm in either the Track view or Console view and select
Remote Control from the popup menu.
2. Move a knob or fader on your controller.
3. Click the Learn button in the Remote Control dialog and click OK.
The control in SONAR is now bound to the knob or fader on your controller.

Bouncing Tracks
The Edit-Bounce to Track(s) command lets you combine one or more audio tracks into a submix. A
submix can be a mono track, a stereo track or several mono tracks that contain the mixture of the
original tracks, preserving the volume, pan, and effects for each track. If youre bouncing tracks that are
routed to a surround bus (SONAR Producer only), you can bounce them to as many mono tracks as you
have surround channels, by choosing the Split Mono option in the Channel Format field of the Bounce to
Tracks dialog, and also choosing a surround bus in the Source Category field. After their creation, the
submix tracks are just like any other tracksyou can edit them, add effects, copy them to another
project, etc. The original, unmixed audio tracks are not deleted, so you can archive them and recover
them later, or continue using them as before.
Note: you control the bit depth of all rendering operations (bouncing, freezing, applying effects) on the
Audio Data tab of the Global Options dialog (Options-Global command) in the Render Bit Depth field.
The default value of 32 is the best for most situations. See Bit Depths for Rendering Audio on page
552 for more information.
The Edit-Bounce to Track(s) command operates completely offline, meaning you can mix down tracks
that may be too complex for your machine to actually play in real time.
Here are some reasons to use Edit-Bounce to Track(s):
Your mix is so complex that real-time playback is impossible. Edit-Bounce to Track(s) produces
the correct mix, and store the result in a new track or tracks.
You require more CPU time for your real-time effects. With Edit-Bounce to Track(s), you can
premix some of your tracks with real-time effects applied, saving CPU time during playback.
If you mix down to tracks that already have data, the new events are placed in the track, but do not
overwrite existing material.

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To Mix Down (Bounce) Audio Tracks
1. Set all volume, pan, effects, and automation settings just as you want them.
2. Select the tracks or clips you want to mix down.
3. If you are using effects on the tracks and want to mix the effects down at this time, select the whole
length of the longest track or clip plus an extra measure for the reverb or effects tail.
4. Choose Edit-Bounce to Track(s) to open the Bounce to Track(s) dialog.

5. Select the first destination track for the mixdown.

6. If youve saved a preset configuration for the Bounce to Tracks dialog, select it now in the Preset
window.
7. In the Source Category field, select the source you want to use for your bounced track(s) from the
following options:
Trackschoosing this option creates new separate tracks for each track you highlight in the
Source Buses/Tracks field. Each track you highlight will produce a new mono track, stereo
track, or two new mono tracks (the Split Mono option), depending on what you choose in the
Channel Format field.
Buseschoosing this option creates new separate tracks for each bus you highlight in the
Source Buses/Tracks field. Each bus you highlight will produce a new mono track, stereo
track, or two to eight new mono tracks (the Split Mono option), depending on whether the bus
is a stereo or surround bus, and depending on what you choose in the Channel Format field.
Main Outputschoosing this option creates new separate tracks for each main output you
highlight in the Source Buses/Tracks field. Each main output you highlight will produce a
new mono track, stereo track, or two to eight new mono tracks (the Split Mono option),
depending on whether the output is a stereo output or the Surround Main, and depending on
what you choose in the Channel Format field.
Entire Mixchoosing this option bounces your entire mix down to a new mono track, stereo
track, or two to eight new mono tracks (the Split Mono option), depending on whether the
output is a stereo output or the Surround Main, and depending on what you choose in the
Channel Format field.
8. Select a channel format: the kind of track(s) you want to create with your bounce.
9. Select source buses or tracks.

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 10. In the Mix Enables field, choose the elements you want to include in the mixdown. If you want to
exclude muted tracks and/or include only soloed tracks, make sure Track Mute/Solo is checked.
Make sure Fast Bounce is checked, otherwise the bounce process will take as long as it takes to
play your selected track data in real time.
Note: If you have patched a synth into a track or bus, make sure you check Track FX to include
synths that are patched into tracks, and check Bus FX to include synths that are patched into
buses.
Note: If you dont check Track Automation, any initial volume and pan settings in an exported
track are ignored and the tracks audio data will be exported at the level that exists in the track,
with pan set to center. If you dont check Clip Automation, any trim settings are ignored during
export.
11. If you want to save your settings as a preset, type a name for them in the Preset window, and then
click the floppy disk icon thats next to the Preset window.
12. Click OK.
SONAR mixes the audio data and a new track or tracks appear in your project.

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Preparing to Create an Audio CD
You can create an audio CD from any wave file or files (extension .WAV) of up to either 74 or 80 minutes
(depending on the recordable CD media you have). If your projects are audio only, you can simply mix
down to a stereo wave file. If your projects contain MIDI, you must first convert the MIDI tracks to
audio tracks. Once you have all the stereo wave files you want to include on your CD, you are ready to
burn a CD. Most CD burners come with CD burning software, if yours did not, you will need to buy CD
burning software, like Cakewalks Pyro. To download a free demo of Pyro, visit the Cakewalk website.

Preparing Audio for Distribution

The File-Export Audio command exports your project as a new file or files that you can burn to a CD,
or distribute via the Web or e-mail. In addition, SONAR Producer allows you to export surround-
encoded files (see Exporting Surround Mixes on page 438). The following export formats are
supported:

Format... Definition...

Wave (surround files in Wave The standard digital audio format used under Windows for burning
format are supported by SONAR CDs, with a file extension of .WAV
Producer only)

Windows Media Advanced Compressed digital audio for streaming over the Internet, with the file
Streaming Format (includes extension .WMA.
Windows Media Pro; surround
files are supported by SONAR
Producer only)

MP3 Highly compressed digital audio designed for quick downloads via the
Internet, with the file extension .MP3. The MP3 encoder that comes
with SONAR is a trial version which will time-out. The full version is
available for download at www.cakewalk.com.

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 OMF
: The Open Media Format, created by AVID Technology, is designed to
port a project to other applications or platforms. OMF files preserve
tracks, clip positions, slip edits and some other project attributes
depending on which application is writing or reading the OMF file.

If your audio hardware is configured for stereo playback, Wave files are created in stereo; if your audio
hardware is configured for monophonic playback, the Wave file is created in mono.

To Export Audio to Wave File Format

1. Set all volume, pan, effects, and automation settings just as you want them.
2. If you only want to mix down parts of tracks, select those clips now. If you dont select anything,
everythings selected.
3. If you are using effects on the tracks and want to mix the effects down at this time, select the whole
length of the longest track or clip plus extra time for the reverb or effects tail.
4. Choose File-Export-Audio to open the Export Audio dialog box.
5. Select a destination folder using the Look In field.
6. Enter a file name.
7. Choose one of the following from the Files of type dropdown list:
Riff Wavechoose this if you want to export a standard wave file, or if youre exporting a
surround project in wave format.
Broadcast Wavechoose this if you want to create a Broadcast Wave file (see description
below).
8. In the Source Category field, select one of the following options:
TracksChoosing this option creates a separate file for each track that you select in the
Source Buses/Tracks field.
BusesChoosing this option creates a separate file for each bus that you select in the Source
Buses/Tracks field.
Main OutputsChoosing this option creates a separate file for each main output that you
select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
Entire MixChoosing this option creates one file for your entire mix, unless youre exporting
a surround mix with Split Mono selected in the Channel Format field.
9. In the Source Buses/Tracks field, choose the buses or tracks you want to use as a source to create
your mix. If you chose Tracks in the Source Category field, only tracks will show up as choices in
this field.
10. In the Channel Format field, select one of the following options:
StereoAll exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a stereo file or files.
MonoAll exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a mono file or files.
Split MonoAll exported tracks and clips are mixed down to separate mono files.
MultichannelAll exported tracks are mixed down to a multichannel wave file or files.
11. Choose the sample rate that you want your exported file to be.
12. Select the bit depth that you want the exported file to use. If your source file is 16 and you export to
24, you get more precision for any audio effects in the mix (and a larger file). If your source file is

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 24 and you export to 16, you lose some sound definition, but you get some of it back if the Dithering
option is on in the Audio Options dialog box (see Dithering on page 419 for more information).
13. In the Mix Enables field, choose the elements you want to include in the mixdown. If you want to
exclude muted tracks and/or include only soloed tracks, make sure Track Mute/Solo is checked.
Note: If you have patched a synth into a track or bus, make sure you check Track FX to include
synths that are patched into tracks, and check Bus Returns to include synths that are patched into
buses.
Note: If you dont check Track Automation. any initial volume and pan settings in an exported
track are ignored and the tracks audio data will be exported at the level that exists in the track,
with pan set to center. If you dont check Clip Automation, any trim settings are ignored during
export. If you dont check Master Automation, any volume and balance settings at the main outs
are ignored.
14. If you want to save the settings you created in the Export Audio dialog, type a name for them in the
Preset window and then click the floppy disk icon thats next to the window.
15. Click Export.

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The audio is exported to the Wave file or files.
If you chose Broadcast Wave as the export format, the following information is stored in the file(s):
DescriptionA brief description of the contents of the Broadcast wave. Limited to 256 characters.
OriginatorThe author of the Broadcast wave. This information is taken from the Author field in
the File Info dialog.
Originator ReferenceA unique reference identifier created by SONAR.
Origination DateThe date the file was created.
Origination TimeThe time the file was created.
Time ReferenceThe SMPTE time stamp for the beginning of broadcast wave.

To Export a Project in Windows Media Format

1. Set all volume, pan, effects, and automation settings just as you want them.
2. If you only want to mix down parts of tracks, select those clips now.
3. If you are using effects on the tracks and want to mix the effects down at this time, select the whole
length of the longest track or clip plus extra time for the reverb or effects tail.
4. Choose File-Export-Audio to open the Export Audio dialog box.
5. Select a destination folder using the Look In field.
6. Enter a file name.
7. Choose Windows Media Advanced Streaming Format from the Files of type dropdown list.
8. In the Source Category field, select one of the following options:
Trackschoosing this option creates a separate file for each track that you select in the
Source Buses/Tracks field.
Buseschoosing this option creates a separate file for each bus that you select in the Source
Buses/Tracks field.
Main Outputschoosing this option creates a separate file for each main output that you
select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.

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 Entire Mixchoosing this option creates one file for your entire mix, unless youre exporting a
surround mix with Split Mono selected in the Channel Format field.
9. In the Source Buses/Tracks field, choose the buses or tracks you want to use as a source to create
your mix. If you chose Tracks in the Source Category field, only tracks will show up as choices in
this field.
10. In the Channel Format field, select one of the following options:
StereoAll exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a stereo file or files.
MonoAll exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a mono file or files.
Split MonoAll exported tracks and clips are mixed down to separate mono files.
MultichannelAll exported tracks are mixed down to a multichannel WMA file or files.
11. Choose the sample rate that you want your exported file to be.
12. Select the bit depth that you want the exported file to use. If your source file is 16 and you export to
24, you get more precision for any audio effects in the mix (and a larger file). If your source file is
24 and you export to 16, you lose some sound definition, but you get some of it back if the Dithering

English
option is on in the Audio Options dialog box (see Dithering on page 419 for more information).
13. In the Mix Enables field, choose the elements you want to include in the mixdown. If you want to
exclude muted tracks and/or include only soloed tracks, make sure Track Mute/Solo is checked.
Note: If you have patched a synth into a track or bus, make sure you check Track FX to include
synths that are patched into tracks, and check Bus Returns to include synths that are patched into
buses.
Note: If you dont check Track Automation. any initial volume and pan settings in an exported
track are ignored and the tracks audio data will be exported at the level that exists in the track,
with pan set to center. If you dont check Clip Automation, any trim settings are ignored during
export. If you dont check Master Automation, any volume and balance settings at the main outs
are ignored.
14. If you want to save the settings you created in the Export Audio dialog, type a name for them in the
Preset window and then click the floppy disk icon thats next to the window.
15. Click Export.
The Windows Media Format Encode Options dialog appears.
16. Select options and click OK.
The audio is compacted and exported to a file or files with the extension .WMA.

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To Export a Project in MP3 Format
1. Set all volume, pan, effects, and automation settings just as you want them.
2. If you only want to mix down parts of tracks, select those clips now.
3. If you are using effects on the tracks and want to mix the effects down at this time, select the whole
length of the longest track or clip plus an extra measure for the reverb or effects tail.
4. Choose File-Export-Audio to open the Export Audio dialog box.
5. Select a destination folder using the Look In field.
6. Enter a file name.
7. Choose MP3 from the Files of type dropdown list.
8. In the Source Category field, select one of the following options:
Trackschoosing this option creates a separate file for each track that you select in the
Source Buses/Tracks field.
Buseschoosing this option creates a separate file for each bus that you select in the Source
Buses/Tracks field.

English
Main Outputschoosing this option creates a separate file for each main output that you
select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
Entire Mixchoosing this option creates one file for your entire mix.
9. In the Source Buses/Tracks field, choose the buses or tracks you want to use as a source to create
your mix. If you chose Tracks in the Source Category field, only tracks will show up as choices in
this field.
10. In the Channel Format field, select one of the following options:
StereoAll exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a stereo file or files.
MonoAll exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a mono file or files.
Split MonoAll exported tracks and clips are mixed down to separate mono files.
11. Choose the sample rate that you want your exported file to be.
12. In the Bit Depth field, select 16. If your source file is 24 and you export to 16, you lose some sound
definition, but you get some of it back if the Dithering option is on in the Audio Options dialog box
(see Dithering on page 419 for more information).
13. In the Mix Enables field, choose the elements you want to include in the mixdown. If you want to
exclude muted tracks and/or include only soloed tracks, make sure Track Mute/Solo is checked.
Note: If you have patched a synth into a track or bus, make sure you check Track FX to include
synths that are patched into tracks, and check Bus Returns to include synths that are patched into
buses.
Note: If you dont check Track Automation. any initial volume and pan settings in an exported
track are ignored and the tracks audio data will be exported at the level that exists in the track,
with pan set to center. If you dont check Clip Automation, any trim settings are ignored during
export. If you dont check Master Automation, any volume and balance settings at the main outs
are ignored.
14. If you want to save the settings you created in the Export Audio dialog, type a name for them in the
Preset window and then click the floppy disk icon thats next to the window.
15. Click Export.
The Cakewalk MP3 Encoder dialog appears.

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16. Choose options and click OK.
The audio is compacted and exported to a file or files with the extension .MP3.

Exporting OMF Files

OMF (Open Media Format) files are designed for cross-platform compatibility. For more information
about the OMF format, see Importing OMF Projects on page 176.
If you plan to export a SONAR project to another program that can read OMF files, it pays to consider
three things before you start your SONAR project:
Sample rate and audio bit depth of the target system
Number of tracks the target system can handle
SONAR and most other audio programs do not include video in the OMF file

To Export a Project as an OMF File

1. Select File-Export-OMF.
The Export OMF dialog appears.

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2. Enter a File Name (maximum 64 charactersSONAR limits name length for ISO CDR
compatibility), and in the Save As Type field, choose OMF Version 1 or 2. Most applications expect
Version 2, but check with your engineer.
3. Audio Packaging: usually you should choose Embed Audio Within OMF, which includes the audio
data in the OMF file. But you should check with your engineer.
4. Split Stereo Tracks Into Dual Mono: see what your engineer wants. If exporting a 24-bit project to
a Pro Tools system, enable "Split Stereo Tracks Into Dual Mono," as some Pro Tools systems do not
support 24-bit interleaved stereo files.
5. Include Archived Tracks: you can choose to include archived tracks in your exported file.
6. Mix Each Groove Clip As A Separate Clip: if you have several Groove Clips in a track SONAR
exports them as one clip unless you check this option. If you check this option, SONAR has to do a
separate export operation for each Groove Clip in the track, which is very time-consuming. If you
only have one Groove Clip in a track, and you have rolled out numerous repetitions of the clip,
SONAR exports a single clip that is the length of the original clip and all the repetitions, which is
not a time-consuming operation.
7. Audio Format: ask your engineer what format the studio uses, Windows (RIFF Wave) or Mac
(AIFC).
8. Click the Save button.
9. SONAR exports the project as an OMF file. In the Save as Type field, select the OMF version you
want to save the project as. Version 1 is compatible with older applications. See your target
applications documentation for information on which version it supports.
Note: OMF files save the following:
Tracks
Clip positions
Slip edits
Fades and crossfades (as destructive edits)
The following information is discarded:
Volume

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 Pan
Automation
Effects

Dithering
Dithering is a process you can use when you convert a higher bit-depth file to 16 bits. SONAR features
the Pow-r dithering process, short for Psycho-acoustically Optimized Wordlength Reduction, which can
produce 16-bit files that sound indistinguishable from 24-bit source files. Dithering adds a small
amount of noise to the 16-bit file to approximate the sounds that were lost when the other bits were
removed. When this option is turned on, SONAR uses dithering when you export a higher-bit file at 16
bits, or change the bit depth of a projects audio files to 16 from a higher bit depth (the Tools-Change
Audio Format command).
SONAR offers four kinds of dithering:
Rectangularbasically white noise, and the least CPU-intensive, this type of dither
is more audible than the Pow-r dither types, but works well with loud projects, or
ones that use distortion.

English
Pow-r 1adds a fairly consistent amount of noise below 10k, then quickly
increases. Good for compressed music with few quiet sections.

Pow-r 2adds a little less noise than Pow-r 1 until around 9k, then increases fairly
rapidly. More CPU-intensive than Pow-r 1.

Pow-r 3adds the least amount of noise in the most audible range, then jumps up
at about 8k and again above 10k. Good for classical music or any music that has a
wide range of volume. Most CPU-intensive and transparent of all choices.

To Choose Dithering Options

1. Open the Audio Options dialog (Options-Audio command).
2. On the Advanced tab, under Playback and Recording, choose the kind of dithering you want in the
Dithering field.
3. Click OK.

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420
English
 12
Surround Mixing

SONAR Producer fully supports surround mixing (SONAR Studio can open surround
projects created in Producer, converting them to stereo). SONAR (Producer) can create
finished surround mixes in all popular surround formats, includinfg Windows Media 9 Pro.
You can use a joystick to control surround panning if you want.

English
Note: its always advisable to know the required sampling rate and audio driver bit depth for
the target medium that your surround project will be used in. That way you can work in the
correct format from the start, without having to convert later. You can set these parameters
in the Audio Options dialog (Options-Audio command).
To get a complete understanding of SONARs surround functions, start with the Surround
Basics on page 422.

In This Chapter
Surround Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Configuring SONAR for Surround Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
Panning in Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
Joystick Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
Surround Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Bass Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Surround Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Importing Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Exporting Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
 Surround Basics
:
Surround sound is a common name for various techniques for positioning audio in reference to the
listener. Whereas regular stereo is limited to left/right positioning, within a relatively narrow field,
surround sound opens possibilities of positioning an audio source anywhere around the listener.
Surround sound comes in many formats. The differences between the formats are in three areas:
The number of speakersthis varies from 3/2 all the way to 10.2 and beyond.
The angles of the speakers.
The intended final coding formatthis depends on the media the audio will be "stored" on: film,
broadcast video or DVD, for example.
The most common format is 5.1, which consists of five full-range channels and a low-frequency effects
(LFE) channel (the .1 in 5.1 is the LFE or sub channel). The five full-range channels are reproduced by
left, right, and center speakers positioned in front of the listener (L, R, and C for short), and left and
right surround speakers positioned behind the listener (Ls and Rs for short). The LFE channel can be
routed to the main speakers or to a subwoofer that can be positioned almost anywhere.
The center channel is typically used to lock dialog or sounds to a video screen. The LFE channel is
generally routed to a subwoofer to enhance low audio frequencies for effects such as explosions or
crashes. Audio in this channel is limited to a range of approximately 25 Hz to 120 Hz.

Configuring SONAR for Surround Mixing

This section covers setting up SONAR for surround sound.

Using Surround Format Templates

A Surround Format template specifies the number of speakers and the order in which the speakers are
arranged.
There are several different surround formats, including LCRS, 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1, with 5.1 being most
common. The number after the decimal point refers to the number of Low Frequency Effect (LFE)
speakers. However, there are even different flavors of 5.1. The different flavors specify in which order
the speakers are arranged, and the speaker angles. For example:

Surround Format Speaker Order

5.1 SMPTE/ITU L, R, C, LFE, Ls, Rs

5.1 Music Alternative L, R, Ls, Rs, C, LFE

5.1 Film Alternative L, C, R, Ls, Rs, LFE

The speaker positions, moving clockwise from center, are identified as:

Label Speaker

C Center (directly in front of listener)

Rc Right of Center

R Right (standard Stereo placement)

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Sr Side rightdirectly to the right of the listener

Rs Right Surround

Cs Surround (rear center)

Ls Left Surround

Sl Side Leftdirectly to the left of the listener

L Left (standard Stereo placement)

Lc Left of center

LFE Low Frequency Effect speaker(s)placed according to

room acoustics

To mix in surround sound in SONAR, you must insert at least one surround bus.

English
A project can include multiple surround buses, but all surround buses in a project use the same
surround format (5.1, 7.1, etc.).
The projects surround format is based on one of the following Surround Format templates:
2.0
2.1
LCR
LRC+LFE
LRS
LFS+LFE
Matrix UHJ
QUAD
4.1 (SMPTE/ITU)
Quad+LFE
PanAmbio 4.1
LCRS
Surround (SMPTE/ITU)
Surround Media
LCRS+LFE
5.1 (Standard 3/2)
5.1 (Film/Alternative)
5.1 (Music/Alternative)
5.1 (SMPTE/ITU)
6.0 (Hexagon)
6.0 (Film/Alternative)

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:
6.0 (Music/Alternative)
6.1 (Film/Alternative)
6.1 (Music/Alternative)
6.1 (SMPTE/ITU)
7.0 (Heptagon)
7.0 (Film/Alternative)
7.0 (Music/Alternative)
7.1 (Film/Alternative)
7.1 (Music/Alternative)
7.1 (SMPTE/ITU)
8.0 (Octagon)
8.0 (Film/Alternative)
8.0 (Music/Alternative)
8.1 (Film/Alternative)
8.1 (Music/Alternative)
8.1 (SMPTE/ITU)
5.1 (SMPTE/ITU) is the default template.
The Surround Format templates are hard-coded, and cannot be deleted. However, you can freely assign
any enabled audio output port to any surround channel, and save the configuration as a preset.
Surround settings are per project. Surround speaker assignments default to unique audio output
channels when you choose a new template.
You configure your surround settings in the Project Options dialog on the Surround tab (use the
Options-Project command and click the Surround tab).

Choosing a Surround Format

Using the Options-Project command and clicking the Surround tab displays several fields of surround
options. Choosing a surround format sets the number of speakers your project is using, and lets you
choose a specific sound card output for each speaker. Here you can also choose parameters for bass
management, and for downmixing, which means converting a surround mix into a stereo mix.
The group of sound card outputs that you choose on the Surround tab of the Project Options dialog
make up the Surround Main. The Surround Main becomes a choice on the Outputs menus of tracks
and buses as soon as you insert a surround bus into your project. You wont see a Surround Main
output module in the output modules section of the Console view, because its just a term for the group
of sound card outputs you choose for surround mixing. The pan control on any track or bus that outputs
to the Surround Main controls which hardware outputs receive the signal that the track or bus sends
to the Surround Main.
SONAR saves the surround settings you choose on the Surround tab of the Project Options dialog with
your project, including your downmixing parameters. If you have some particular settings you might
use again, you can save a group of settings as a preset (except for downmixing parametersyou can
change these, but they arent saved in presets). To save a group of settings as a preset, type a name in
the Presets field and then click the Disk icon thats to the right of the field. When you want to use this
preset in a project, just choose it from the Presets dropdown menu.

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To Choose a Surround Format and Set Sound Card Outputs
1. Use the Options-Project command.
The Project Options dialog appears.
2. Click the Surround tab.
3. Select a format from the Surround Format dropdown.
The diagram to the right of the Surround Format menu changes to illustrate the speaker
placement of the format that you chose.
4. In the Output column, assign each channel to a sound card output.
Note: Consumer-grade sound cards, such as Audigy or SoundBlaster, typically reserve output 4 for
the LFE channel. Check your sound card manual for details.
5. Click OK.
Note: Take a moment to make sure your speakers are correctly hooked up to the corresponding outputs
before you attempt any playback. See the diagram in the Project Options dialog for the speaker setup. If
you are not sure what the abbreviations for the speaker names are, see Surround Basics on page 422.

English
Surround Buses
You have to have at least one surround bus in your project to use surround sound. A surround bus
differs from a stereo bus in that it simply has more channels. For example, if a project is set to 7.1, then
the bus has 8 channels: 7 directional channels and one LFE channel.

To Insert a Surround Bus

1. In the Bus Pane of the Track view or the Console view, right-click to display a popup menu of bus
options.
2. Select Insert Surround Bus from the popup menu.
Or
Use the Insert-Surround Bus menu command.

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 :
Routing in Surround
Tracks can send output to a surround bus, the Surround Main, or a hardware output. If a track is
routed to a surround bus or the Surround Main, it has surround meters and a surround panner. You can
route any track or bus to another bus, the Surround Main or a hardware out. However, you are
prevented from creating a signal loop by routing the signal back into a bus that is already in the signal
flow. The following table lists how each of these routing options affects the signal:

Signal Flow Result

Track to stereo bus No change

Mono track to surround bus Mono signal is routed to both Left and Right
channels of surround format. You can change the
routing to other surround channels by using the
surround panner on the track.

Stereo track to surround bus Stereo left channel is routed to Left channel of
surround format; stereo right channel is routed to
Right channel of surround format. You can change
the routing to other surround channels by using
the surround panner on the track.

Track to hardware output No change

Stereo bus to stereo bus No change

Stereo bus to surround bus or the Surround Stereo left channel is routed to Left channel of
Main surround format; stereo right channel is routed to
Right channel of surround format. You can change
the routing to other surround channels by using
the surround panner on the stereo bus.

Stereo bus to hardware output No change

Surround bus to stereo bus Surround channels are downmixed to stereo

Surround bus to surround bus or the No change

Surround Main

To Assign a Track to a Surround Bus or Surround Main

Click in the tracks output field and select a surround bus, the Surround Main, or New Surround
Bus as an output.

Downmixing
Downmixing is a way of previewing your surround project in stereo only. There are various cases where
surround is not available and it may be that someone plays your project in stereo only. A radio broadcast
is a good example. Downmixing is a valuable tool for determining if your project will sound good in
stereo. However, you can export your project in stereo, and SONAR uses your downmix settings to
create your exported file.

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The following table lists the downmixing settings in the Surround tab of the Project Options dialog and
gives a brief description of what the setting does. You can also manually enter other values besides
these preset ones:

Downmixing Setting Options

Center Downmix Level (dB) These options determine how much of the center is mixed to the left and
right.
-3 dBMaintains the same level of center channel sound
when you listen in a typically reverberant room
-4.5 dBA compromise level between -3dB and -6 dB
-6 dBMaintains the same level of center channel sound
when you listen to direct sound without typical room
reverberations
-INFEliminates all of the Center channel signal

English
Surround Downmix Level (dB) The amount of Left Surround and Right Surround mixed into the Left and
Right channels respectively.
-3 dBMaintains the same level of surround
-6 dBReduces the level of surround so that it doesnt
compete with center channel sound such as dialog
-INFEliminates all of the Surround channel signal

LFE Level (dB) The amount of the LFE channel mixed into the Left and Right channels
respectively.
-12 (or type in a value)Lets you choose the level of LFE
in the stereo mix
-INFEliminates all LFE

To Downmix a Project
1. If you do not have a stereo bus in your project, create one by right-clicking in the Bus pane in the
Track view or Console view and selecting Insert Stereo Bus from the menu that appears.
2. Open the Project Options dialog (Options-Project command), select a center downmix level and a
surround downmix level in the Surround tab, and click OK.
3. In each of the surround buses, assign the output to a stereo bus.
4. Listen to your project through the stereo bus, and make any final adjustments to the stereo mix by
changing the values in the Surround tab of the Project Options dialog.
5. If you want to export your stereo mix, use the File-Export Audio command. This command obeys
your downmix settings.

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 :
Panning in Surround
Unlike stereo panning which sends sound to left and right speakers, surround panning means sending
sound to multiple speakers at points along a circle.
When a track/bus/send is assigned to a surround bus, the Pan control turns into a multi-dimensional
surround panner. The surround panner comes in four sizes:
Microthis is found in the Track view.
Smallthis is found on sends.
Mediumthis is the surround panner which is displayed in the Track Inspector and Console view.
Largethis is a large surround panner (see Controlling Surround Panning on page 429) which
has additional controls, and appears when you right-click a surround panner and choose Open
Surround Panner from the popup menu, or double-click outside the surround panner circle, or
press Enter when the panner has focus.

MIcro surround panner in Track view Six channel output meter

Medium surround panner in Console

view

The small and large panners are always synchronized; the large panner simply provides increased
resolution when you adjust the surround pan position.
Note 1: Surround panning is not available for tracks/sends that are routed to non-surround buses.
Note 2: If the track/bus/send is reassigned to a stereo bus, any surround automation will be orphaned,
but will automatically reconnect if the track/bus/send is later assigned back to a surround bus.

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Controlling Surround Panning
Here are pictures of the large surround panner and medium surround panner:

Large Surround Panner

Angle and focus

marker

Right speaker icon

Width markers

English
Medium Surround Panner

The large surround panner has some sliders at the bottom that the medium surround panner doesnt
have, except for the LFE Send slider, which the medium panner has. Except for the sliders, the large
and medium surround panners have the following controls:
Angle and Focus markera small sphere that you can drag in any direction to both control and
display the following two parameters:
Anglethis is the perceived angle of the sound source as it differs from the position directly
in front of the listener. The scale is 0 to 180 degrees on the listeners right, and 0 to -180
degrees on the listeners left. 0 means the sound is coming from directly in front of the listener,
and plus or minus 180 degrees means that the sound is coming from directly behind the
listener.

429

:
Focusthis is the perceived distance of the sound source from the center of the circle on a
scale of 0 to 100, 0 meaning the center of the circle, and 100 meaning the perimeter.
Width markersthese are two smaller spheres equidistant from the Angle and Focus marker.
Their distance from each other and from the front of the circle shows the Width value (see
definition below). You can also drag the Width markers to control Angle and Focus.
Speaker icons/squareseach surround channel is represented by a speaker icon in the large
panner, and a white square in the small panner. The large panner also has a corresponding volume
level in dB directly in front of each icon. The position of each speaker icon shows you each speakers
position in the surround mix. Clicking a speaker icon or square mutes the corresponding channel,
causing the icon or square to become grey. Double-clicking the icon solos its channel, turning the
icon green.
Angle slider (large panner only)this slider both displays and controls the angle value.
Focus slider (large panner only)this slider both displays and controls the focus value.
Width slider (large panner only)this slider both displays and controls the width value. Width is
a measure of how wide an area the sound seems to be coming from on a scale of 0 to 360 degrees. At
0 and 360 degrees, the sound seems to all come from a single speaker. At 180 degrees the sound
seems to come from directly opposite sides. The default angle matches the projects left and right
channel angle. For example, in 5.1 SMPTE/ITU surround, the default width is 60 degrees.
Front/Rear Balance slider (large panner only)abbreviated as FrntRrBl, this slider adjusts the
front and rear balance. Drag it to the left to reduce the level from the front speakers, or drag it to
the right to reduce rear level.
LFE sliderthis slider both displays and controls the level of sound sent to the LFE channel.
LFE Only button (large panner only)this button mutes all channels except the LFE channel.

To Open the Large Surround Panner

Right-click the small surround panner or the pan control in a track, and choose Open Surround
Panner from the popup menu.
Or
Select a track, and either use the View-Surround Panner command, or click the Surround
Panner button in the Views toolbar.
Or
Double-click outside the Surround Panner circle.
Or
Press Enter when the panner has focus.

To Change the Angle

In either the large or small surround panner, drag the Angle and Focus marker to the left or right.
Or
In the large surround panner, drag the Angle slider.

To Change the Focus

In either the large or small surround panner, drag the Angle and Focus marker toward or away
from the center.
Or
In the large surround panner, drag the Focus slider.

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To Mute a Surround Speaker
In the large surround panner, click a speaker icon to mute its output. The speaker icon turns grey
when the speaker is muted.
Or
In the small surround panner, click a white square to mute a speakers output. The square turns
grey when the speaker is muted.

To Solo a Surround Speaker

In the large surround panner, double-click a speaker icon to solo its output. The speaker icon turns
green when the speaker is soloed.
Or
In the small surround panner, double-click a white square to solo a speakers output. The square
turns green when the speaker is soloed.

To Change the Width

In the large surround panner, drag the Width slider.

English
To Change the Front/Rear Balance
In the large surround panner, drag the FrntRrBl slider left to reduce front level, or right to reduce
rear level.

To Change the LFE Send Level

In either the large or small surround panner, drag the LFE slider.
Note: double-clicking any surround panner control will reset the control to its default value, which for
the LFE control is -INF.

To Solo or Unsolo the LFE Channel

In the large surround panner, click the LFE Solo button.

To Isolate a Signal in One Speaker

In the large surround panner, drag the Width slider to 0, the Focus slider to 100, and then drag the
Angle slider until the sphere icon is directly in front of the correct speaker.
Or
Press the desired Numeric Keypad key that represents the speaker position (7=L, 8=C, 9=R, see
Keyboard Shortcuts on page 431).

To Group Panner Controls

In the large surround panner, right-click each slider that you want to add to the group, and choose
Group-n from the popup menu.
Now you can move a single slider, and all sliders in that same group move synchronously.
Note: if you group sliders that are in the same surround panner, you can no longer move the markers
that represent those sliders values. You can only move a grouped marker by moving its associated
slider.

Keyboard Shortcuts
The following shortcuts allow you to control a surround panner from the keyboard:

Shortcut... Function...

Alt+drag Constrains to angle

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 Alt+Shift+drag
: Constrains to angle at 100% focus

Ctrl+Shift+drag Constrains to focus only

Shift+click Sets panner point to the point that you click (large
and medium panners only)

Shift+drag controls (Angle, Width, etc.) Fine resolution

Up/Down cursor keys Move to next/previous widget in surround panner

Left/Right cursor keys Move to next/previous panner in same track

Ctrl+up/down Move to surround panner in another track

Ctrl+NumPad 0-9 Speaker mutes

NumPad 0-9 Jump to speaker angle at 100% focus

NumPad assignments:
0 = n/a
1 = Ls
2 = Cs
3 = Rs
4 = Sl
5 = centers the panner
6 = Sr
7=L
8=C
9=R
/ = Lc
* = Rc

Automating Surround Panning

You can arm or disarm for automation all the controls in a surround panner by clicking any control in
the surround panner (except LFE Solo), and choosing Arm for Automation from the popup menu.

Joystick Support
SONAR Producer allows you to use a joystick to control surround panning. A force-feedback joystick
such as the Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback 2 joystick can add a tactile element to mixing
sessions, and add button control to some SONAR transport and/or menu commands with the extra
buttons on the joystick module.

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The joystick will grab the current pan position/sphere anytime you pull the trigger button (the "firing"
button under your index finger). When recording automation, you write new automation every time you
pull the trigger button.
Various joystick buttons can be used to:
Control SONARs transport
Switch focus to adjacent tracks/sends
Solo/unsolo current channel
Open/close the large surround panner window

To Connect the Joystick to SONAR Producer

1. Use the Options-Control Surfaces command.

2. In the Control Surfaces dialog, click the Add button , and choose Joystick Panner in the Control
Surfaces field of the Control Surface Settings dialog; click OK.
3. Close the Control Surfaces dialog, and display the Control Surfaces toolbar (View-Toolbars-
Control Surfaces command).

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4. On the left side of the toolbar, choose Joystick Panner in the dropdown menu, and then click the

Properties button thats on the right side of the toolbar.

5. In the Joystick Panner dialog, select button 1 in the Buttons field, and then select Engage Pan
Mode in the Button Actions field.
6. Now select Button 2, and select Engage Pan Nav Mode in the Button Actions field.
7. Select any other buttons your joystick has (one at a time), and connect them to any transport or
menu commands you want in the Button Actions field; close the Joystick Panner dialog.
Now when you hold down button 1 (the trigger button), the joystick controls the surround panner on
the current track or send. When the pan/sphere is in the desired position, let button 1 up to hold the
position. When you hold down button 2, move the joystick vertically to change the current track, and
horizontally to change to a different send control. The window on the right side of the Control Surfaces
toolbar displays the names of the current track and send. Use any other buttons you configured to
control other SONAR Producer functions.
You can save your button assignments as a preset by typing a name for the current group of settings in
the Presets window in the Joystick Panner dialog, and then clicking the floppy disk icon thats next to
the Presets window. Whenever you want to load a preset, just select it in the Presets window.

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Surround Metering
Meters in tracks routed to surround buses or the Surround Main, and meters in surround buses work
the same as stereo meters (see Metering on page 378), however, surround meters display more
channels. For example, a project in 5.1 would have a six-channel meter.

Six-channel meter

Bass Management
A bass management system takes all the frequencies below a certain frequency (normally 80Hz) from
the main channels, and the signal from the LFE channel, and mixes them together into the speaker
that is best equipped to handle them. This is usually a subwoofer, but sometimes the left and right front
speakers are used if a subwoofer isnt available. The reason why this is done is to make use of the
subwoofer for more than the occasional low frequency effect, since the subwoofer is there anyway, and to
lower the effective response of the system to about 25 Hz.
When you encode to Dolby Digital, the LFE channel gets a +10dB gain on playback from Dolby's
decoder. This gives you the option of delivering some really powerful deep bass during playback, like in
that earthquake sound effect in your recording. Consider also that this +10 dB of low bass can be added
to any low bass that came out of the other 5 channels from redirection, so you realistically can deliver a
sound from the subwoofer that is more than +20dB above the sound from any other speaker.
What this means during mixing is that you would have to turn the analog gain to your subwoofer up 10
dB relative to the other 5 speakers, so that you hear the sound as it will be played back in home theater
systems that use bass management, and you will get your levels set right in the mix.
SONARs bass management system allows you to monitor how a surround project will sound with bass
management, so you dont have to change the gain to your subwoofer during mixing. SONARs bass
management system only applies to monitoring, and is ignored when you export your file.

To Monitor With Bass Management

1. If necessary, open the project you want to use bass management with.
2. Select Options-Project from the SONAR menu.
The Project Options dialog appears.
3. Click the Surround tab.
4. Check the Monitor with Bass Management option.
5. Select an option in the Low Pass Cutoff (Hz) dropdown, and click OK.

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Surround Effects
SONAR lets you use your existing stereo or mono effects as surround effects. SONAR does this through
the SurroundBridge, which automatically sets up your existing mono & stereo plug-ins so you can patch
them into surround buses (buses, not tracks).

The SurroundBridge
The SurroundBridge automatically loads enough instances of a plug-in to handle all your surround
channels. For example, if you patch a stereo effect into a surround bus that uses 5.1 SMPTE/ITU
panning, the SurroundBridge automatically assigns the Left and Right channels of the bus to instance 1
of the plug-in, assigns the Left Surround and Right Surround channels to instance 2, the Center
channel to instance 3, and the LFE channel to instance 4. If you patch a mono effect into a surround
bus, the SurroundBridge assigns each channel to a single instance of the mono effect, which would
create six instances of the effect on a 5.1 surround bus. You can view and edit these assignments on the
SurroundBridge tab thats in the property page of every effect thats patched into a surround bus. For
example, if you want a certain effect on the Left Surround channel of a surround bus, but not on the
Right Surround channel, you can assign these two channels to different instances of the effect youre

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patching by choosing options on the SurroundBridge tab of the effects property page.
The SurroundBridge also links the automatable parameters of each instance so that when you change a
parameter in one instance, you automatically change the same parameter in all the other instances. You
can unlink parameters individually, or per-instance (see How to Patch and Configure Surround
Effects on page 435).

Effect Property Pages

A single property page controls all instances of an effect that is patched into a surround bus. The effects
property page displays a different tab for each instance of the effect. By default, when you change an
automatable parameter on one tab of the property page, that change is duplicated on all the tabs of the
property page. However, you can unlink individual parameters from the other tabs by clicking the
Unlink Controls button in the effect property page, and while the button is enabled (red), move the
parameter you want to unlink, and then click the Unlink Controls button again to disable it. Now you
can change that parameter on one tab without changing the same parameter on the other tabs. You can
also link or unlink all of an instances parameters by using the controls on the SurroundBridge tab.

Effect Presets
You can use existing (non-surround) effects presets when you patch an effect to a surround bus
selecting a non-surround preset sets all of a plug-ins instances to the settings of the preset; selecting a
surround preset sets each instances parameters individually, according to the information stored in the
preset.

How to Patch and Configure Surround Effects

For step-by-step instructions, see the following procedures.

To Patch an Effect Into a Surround Bus

Right-click the FX bin of a surround bus and choose a mono or stereo effect from the popup menu.
The SurroundBridge patches multiple instances of the effect you chose into the buss FX bin (however,
only one effect appears in the bin), with default assignments of surround channels to plug-in instances.

To Change Channel Assignments for a Patched Effect

1. If the effects property page is not open, display it by double-clicking the name of the effect in the
surround buss FX bin.

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:
On the SurroundBridge tab of the effects property page, use the dropdown menus in the Left Input
and Right Input columns to assign individual surround channels to instances of the effect.
Your assignments take effect immediately, and the names of the tabs in the property page change to
reflect the new assignments.

To Unlink Individual Effect Parameters from Other Effect Instances

1. In the property page of an effect thats patched into a surround bus, click the Unlink Controls
button so that it turns red.
2. Make some adjustments to the automatable parameters you want to unlink (non-automatable
parameters are not linked together). You can select parameters on any tab. SONAR will
automatically capture which controls you change and unlink them from the corresponding controls
for the other surround channels.
3. When youre finished adjusting parameters, click the Unlink Controls button again so that its not
red.
Now you can adjust the parameters you adjusted, without automatically adjusting the same
parameters that are on other tabs of the effects property page. As long as the Unlink Controls button is
not red, all other controls will remain linked.
A list of the parameters that you unlinked appears in the Unlinked Controls field on the
SurroundBridge tab, with the instance number listed in the Plug-in # column of the Unlinked Controls
field.
If you unlinked some but not all of an instances parameters, the instances checkbox in the Controls
Linked to Group column appears grey, with a check.
To view a list of the automatable parameters in a particular effect, uncheck one of the Controls Linked
to Group checkboxes on the SurroundBridge tab, and read the list in the Unlinked Controls field.

To Relink Individual Effect Parameters to Other Effect Instances

1. In the Unlinked Controls field on the SurroundBridge tab, select the parameters you want to
relinkif the parameters you want to select are adjacent, you can Shift-click the first and last ones
in the group. If theyre not adjacent, you can Ctrl-click them individually.
2. Click the Relink Controls button.
The parameters you relinked are removed from the list.

To Unlink All of an Instances Parameters from Other Instances

1. In the property page of an effect thats patched into a surround bus, click the SurroundBridge tab.
2. Find the instance you want to unlink in the Plug-in # column, and uncheck its Controls Linked to
Group checkbox.
The parameters you unlinked appear in the Unlinked Controls field, with the instance number listed in
the Plug-in # column of the Unlinked Controls field.
Note: to relink all of an instances parameters, recheck its Controls Linked to Group checkbox.

To Disable an Instance
On the SurroundBridge tab of the effects property page, uncheck the Enable checkbox of the plug-
in you want to disable. The instances tab becomes greyed-out when you do this. You can re-enable
the instance by rechecking the checkbox.
The Enable checkbox is a separate bypass system from the Bypass button that is on the instances
individual property tab. Disabling an instance by using the Enable checkbox lightens the CPU load by
taking the instance out of the processing path. The Bypass button on the instances property tab does

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 not change color when you click the Enable checkbox, because it is a separate system. The Bypass
button is automatable in some plug-ins.

To Save a Preset
1. Set the effects parameters the way you want them.
2. In the Presets field of the effects property page, type a name for the preset, and click the floppy
disk icon thats just right of the Presets field.
Saving a preset of an effect thats patched into a surround bus creates a surround preset, which includes
channel assignments and parameter linkage settings.

Importing Surround Mixes

SONAR imports multi-channel (surround) files as a group of mono files. If the files contain information
that labels the speaker location of each channel in the file, SONAR copies these labels to the clips in
your audio tracks, but does not pan the tracks according to these labels. This is because you may not
have your SONAR project set to the same multi-channel format as the imported project.

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You can import the following types of multi-channel files:
Multi-channel PCM wave files (.WAV)
Dolby AC3 encoded files. (.AC3)these are encoded for Dolby surround. You will need to install an
AC3 decoder filter such as this one: http://ac3filter.sourceforge.net in order to be able to decode
these files in SONAR. Important: After installing the above AC3 codec, go to Control Panel and
launch the "AC3 Filter" control panel applet. From there you can set up the default speaker output
for this filter to 5.1 channels. Until you do this it will only stream in stereo. Also check the sample
rate of the imported file. Its recommended that you set your project sample rate to whatever the
file uses before importing. Otherwise the import process will go through a time consuming
resampling pass for each channel.
Windows Media Pro

To Import a Surround Multi-channel File

1. Use the File-Import-Audio command to open the Import Audio dialog.
2. Select a file of a supported file type.
3. Check Import As Mono Tracks.
4. Click Open.
SONAR imports each channel to a separate mono track.
Tip: You can also rip the soundtrack from a video file by opening the video file directly from the Import
Audio dialog.

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Exporting Surround Mixes
You can export your surround mixes as multi-channel PCM wave files, or as Windows Media Pro files.

To Export a Surround Multi-channel File

1. Use the File-Export-Audio command to open the Export Audio dialog.
2. Type a name for your file.
3. In the Files of Type field, choose one of the following:
If you want to create a multi-channel wave file, choose RIFF Wave.
If you want to create a multi-channel Windows Media file, choose Windows Media Advanced
Streaming Format.
4. In the Source Category field, choose Buses, Main Outputs, or Entire Mix.
5. Choose the bus or buses in the Source Buses/Tracks field that you want to export your mix from.
6. Choose Multichannel in the Channel Format field.
7. Choose any other options you want such as Sample Rate and Bit Depth.
8. If you want to save the settings you created in the Export Audio dialog, type a name for them in the
Preset window and then click the floppy disk icon thats next to the window.
9. Click Export.
SONAR exports your project in the file format you selected.

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 13
Automation

Automation means to record the movement of a fader, knob, or other control so that the next
time you play your project, that control moves automatically. SONAR allows you to
graphically automate much more than just volume and pan controlsyou can automate
individual controls, faders, and knobs that control the main outs, individual tracks, buses,

English
individual effects parameters (including some plug-in synths), and even individual clips. You
can also group several controls together and automate them all by recording only a single
controls movements. You can draw freehand and geometric automation curves with the
Envelope Draw tool. All automatable controls are in the Console view and the Track view
(including the Clips pane), however, you can also graphically automate MIDI controllers from
the Piano Roll view in addition to the Console and Track views. You can enable or disable all
automation by clicking the Enable Automation Playback button in the Automation
toolbar. Display the Automation toolbar by using the View-Toolbars command and making
sure that the Automation checkbox is checked in the Toolbars dialog box.

In This Chapter
Quick Automation Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
The Automation Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Automation Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Automating Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
Reassigning Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
 :
Quick Automation Guide
The following table summarizes Console and Track view automation:

What you can Parameters you can How you can automate
automate... automate... them...

Individual tracks Gain, pan, mute, bus send Draw envelopes in the Clips pane,
gain, bus send balance, MIDI record the fader movements, or
controllers, MIDI chorus and take a snapshot
reverb, pitch wheel, channel
aftertouch, RPN and NRPN

Buses Input gain and pan, output gain Draw envelopes in the Clips pane,
and pan record the fader movements, or
take a snapshot

Individual effects Varies with the effect Draw envelopes in the Clips pane,
record the fader movements, or
take a snapshot

Soft Synth controls Varies with the synth See Automating a Soft Synths
Controls on page 356

Groups of faders or Whatever the faders or other Record fader movements

other controls controls in the group control

Individual clips Gain and pan for audio clips, Draw envelopes in the Clips pane
velocity for MIDI clips

In addition, SONAR allows you to copy and paste envelopes between tracks. The only controls that you
cant automate are the Arm, Solo, Pre/Post, Interleave (Mono/Stereo selector), Bus Enable, and Phase
buttons; and the Trim fader.

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The Automation Toolbar
Display the Automation toolbar by using the View-Toolbars command to open the Toolbars dialog box,
and making sure that the Automation checkbox is checked. If you slide the cursor over each button or
field in the toolbar, tooltips pop up to tell you each function. The Automation toolbar gives you quick
access to some powerful automation controls:
Snapshot buttonClick this button to take a snapshot of all controls at a particular Now time.
When you play back your project, when your project reaches the Now time where you took the
snapshot, all controls snap to the positions they held when you took the snapshot.
Disarm All Automation Controls buttonClick this button to disarm every control that is
armed for automation recording.
Enable Automation Playback buttonClick this button to either enable or disable any
automation data the project contains.
Envelope/Offset mode buttonClick this button to toggle between Envelope mode and Offset
mode.

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Automation Methods
There are several ways to automate controls in the Track and Console views:
Recording the movements of individual faders, knobs, or controlsthis method includes any knob,
slider, or control except the Solo, Arm, Phase, Interleave, Vol Trim, Bus Enable, Pre/Post buttons,
bank, patch, channel, key+, time+, input and output.
Drawing envelopes in the Clips pane for audio and/or MIDI dataan envelope is a graph of the
change in level of a particular parameter over time
Recording automation data from an external controller
Snapshots

Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements

This method works in both the Track view and Console view. Arming a parameter for automation and
clicking the Record Automation button starts automation recording and plays your project while
you record automation. You can only record or erase automation data when you click the Record
Automation button. SONAR does not record any automation data until you depress the mouse over the
control that you armed. SONAR stops recording when you release the mouse.

To Record Individual Fader or Knob Movements

1. Right-click the fader or control you want to automate.
The Automation popup menu appears (if the control is automatable).
2. Choose Arm for Automation from the popup menu.
SONAR highlights the control with a red outline and turns on the red Auto label in the Status bar
at the bottom of the SONAR window.

3. Click the Record Automation button thats in the Transport toolbar to start recording, and
move the armed control the way you want it to move.
4. Stop recording by clicking the Stop button, or by pressing the Spacebar.

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 5.
:
Make sure that the Enable Automation Playback button in the Automation toolbar is
depressed; rewind the project, play it, and listen to the results.
6. Do one of the following:
Rewind the project and re-record the automation data.
OR
If you are happy with the result, right-click the armed control and deselect Arm for
Automation from the menu.
After you record the automation data, SONAR draws a graph of it (an envelope) in the Clips pane,
which you can edit with the mouse (see the rest of this chapter).
You can also group controls, so that automating one control automates all the controls in the group.

Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes

You can create audio envelopes for both audio tracks and buses. Drawing an envelope for audio data
overwrites any preexisting envelope for the same parameter that occurs at the same time in the same
track or bus.
After you create an envelope, you can edit it with the following procedure, but you can also edit by using
the Envelope Draw tool to draw freehand or preset shapes. See Using the Envelope Draw Tool on page
446 for more information.

To Create and Edit Audio Envelopes with the Select or Envelope Tools
1. Right-click in the Clips pane in the track (or bus) you want to automate.
The Clips pane popup menu appears.
2. From the menu, choose Envelopes-Create Track Envelope-(name of the control you want to
automate). Notice the envelopes color at the right side of the menu.
The envelope appears in the Clips pane as a straight, dotted line in the envelopes individual color,
with a node (very small circle) at the beginning. When you move the cursor over the envelope, a
vertical, double-ended arrow appears under it with the name and current value of the envelope in
a box next to the cursor. The envelopes vertical position reflects the current value of the parameter
you are editing.

Node Envelope name and current value

Envelope value range

Note: An automated mute envelope changes the tracks mute status whenever the envelope
crosses the middle of its value range.

3. Using either the Select or Envelope tools, move the cursor over the envelope until a
vertical, double-ended arrow appears under it (notice that the name and current value of the
envelope appear in a box next to the cursor), and right-click the envelope. If you use the Envelope
tool, you cant accidentally edit any other data besides the envelope.
The Envelope Editing menu appears.

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4. Choose Add Node from the menu.
A node appears on the envelope.
Note: A shortcut to add a node is to double-click the envelope.
5. Move the cursor over the node until a cross appears under it, and drag the node in any direction
you want.
6. Double-click the envelope to add another node.
7. Drag the new node in any direction you want and release the mouse.
8. Move the cursor over the segment of the envelope that lies between the two nodes until the double-
ended arrow appears, and right-click the envelope to open the Envelope Editing menu.
9. Choose one of the following shapes from the Envelope Editing menu:
JumpThis choice causes the envelope to make a ninety degree jump where the envelope
reaches the second node. SONAR displays jumps with a dotted line, meaning that there is
automation data at the nodes where the dotted line begins and ends, but not where the line
itself is.

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LinearThis choice draws a straight line between the two nodes.
Fast CurveThis choice draws a curve between the two nodes that changes value rapidly at
first, but more slowly toward the end of the curve.
Slow CurveThis choice draws a curve between the two nodes that changes value slowly at
first, but more rapidly toward the end of the curve.
SONAR adds a shape between the nodes. You can drag any shape except a jump up or down and it
maintains its curve or angle. To edit a jump, drag the node thats at either end of the jump.
Play the project and listen to the results. You can undo any step by using the Edit-Undo command
(Ctrl+Z) directly after that step. You can drag the nodes in any direction you want. You can play back
your project with or without the automation data by clicking the Enable Automation Playback button
in the Automation toolbar.
Note: When you add a gain envelope to a track in SONAR, you increase the tracks level post-effects,
or after the effects processors. Some hardware mixers call this level volume, because it is post-effects,
but other mixers refer to this as gain. Either way, SONARs gain envelopes increase a tracks level
after the effects processors in the signal chain.
When you add multiple envelopes to a track or bus, you can choose which envelopes you want to display.
See Showing or Hiding Envelopes on page 447.
You can also draw envelopes on MIDI tracks. See Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes on page 444.

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Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
This method is only available in the Clips pane. You can also draw MIDI controller data in the Piano
Roll view, but the technique is different (see Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll View on
page 254).
Note 1: MIDI envelopes you create in the Piano Roll Notes pane and MIDI envelopes you create in the
Track view Clips pane are actually separate envelopes, even if they control the same parameter. Both
kinds of envelopes are visible in the Clips pane, and should generally not be used to control the same
parameter. You can convert Piano Roll view envelopes to Track view envelopes by selecting the time
range and tracks that the Piano Roll envelopes occupy, and using the Edit-Convert MIDI To Shapes
command.
Note 2: After you create an envelope, you can edit it by adding nodes and choosing shapes for the line
segments that are between nodes (see the following procedure), but you can also edit by using the
Envelope Draw tool to draw freehand or preset shapes. See Using the Envelope Draw Tool on page 446
for more information.

To Draw MIDI Envelopes in the Track View

1. Right-click in the Clips pane in the track you want to automate.
The Clips pane popup menu appears.
2. If you want to create an envelope to control volume, pan, chorus, reverb, or automated mute,
choose Envelopes-Create Track Envelope and choose one of those items from the menu.
The envelope appears in the Clips pane as a straight, dotted line in the envelopes individual color,
with a node (very small circle) at the beginning. When you move the cursor over the envelope, a
vertical, double-ended arrow appears under it with the name and current value of the envelope in
a box next to the cursor. The envelopes vertical position reflects the current value of the parameter
you are editing.

Node Envelope name and current value

Envelope value range

Note: An automated mute envelope changes the tracks mute status whenever the envelope
crosses the middle of its value range.
3. If you want to create an envelope to control any other MIDI controller, choose Envelopes-Create
Track Envelope-MIDI....
The MIDI Envelope dialog box appears:
In the Type field, choose what kind of MIDI event you want to control with your envelope.
In the Value field, choose the name of the controller you want to edit.
In the Channel field, choose the MIDI channel that you want the envelope to send data on,
and click OK.
SONAR creates the envelope you chose.
4. Move the cursor over the envelope until a vertical, double-ended arrow appears under it, and right-
click the envelope.

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 The Envelope Editing menu appears.
5. Choose Add Node from the menu.
A node (very small rectangle) appears on the envelope.
Note: A shortcut to create a node is to double-click the envelope.
6. Move the cursor over the node until a cross appears under it, and drag the node in any direction
you want.
When you release the mouse, the envelope changes to follow the nodes new position.
7. Double-click the envelope to add another node.
8. Drag the new node in any direction you want and release the mouse.
9. Move the cursor over the segment of the envelope that lies between the two nodes until the double-
ended arrow appears, and right-click the envelope to open the Envelope Editing menu.
10. Choose one of the following shapes from the envelope editing menu:
JumpThis choice causes the envelope to make a ninety degree jump when the envelope

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reaches the second node. SONAR displays jumps with a dotted line, meaning that there is
automation data at the nodes where the dotted line begins and ends, but not where the line
itself is.
LinearThis choice draws a straight line between the two nodes.
Fast CurveThis choice draws a curve between the two nodes that changes value rapidly at
first, but more slowly toward the end of the curve.
Slow CurveThis choice draws a curve between the two nodes that changes value slowly at
first, but more rapidly toward the end of the curve.
SONAR adds a shape between the nodes. You can drag any shape except a jump up or down and it
maintains its curve or angle. To edit a jump, drag the node thats at either end of the jump.
Play your track and listen to the results. You can undo any step by using the Edit-Undo command
(Ctrl+Z) directly after that step. You can play back your project with or without the automation data by
clicking the Enable Automation Playback button in the Automation toolbar.
When you add multiple envelopes to a track, you can choose which envelopes you want to display. See
Showing or Hiding Envelopes on page 447.
You can also draw envelopes on audio tracks. See Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes on page 442.

Dotted Lines
The dotted line in an envelope shows two things:
There is no automation data at the time in a track where the dotted line is.
The value of the last piece of automation data that exists before the dotted line is represented by
the vertical level of the dotted line.
You can move an automated control while your project plays, and if you move it during a time where
that control has a dotted line in its envelope, the control will stay where you move it. As soon as the
Now time reaches a node or solid line, the control snaps to the value of the node or solid line.

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Using the Envelope Draw Tool
The Envelope Draw tool allows you to draw both freehand and preset shapes on an existing envelope.

To Draw Freehand
1. Activate the envelope you want to edit (click it with the Envelope tool ).

2. Enable the Envelope Draw tool: click in the Track view toolbar.
3. Click the dropdown arrow on the side of the Envelope Draw tool, and select Freehand from the
menu.
4. Click and hold the mouse button in the Clips pane at the place where you want to edit the
envelope. Drag to the right or left to draw the desired shape, and release the mouse when youre
finished.

To Draw a Preset Shape

1. Activate the envelope you want to edit (click it with the Envelope tool ).

2. Enable the Envelope Draw tool: click in the Track view toolbar.
3. Set the Snap to Grid to the desired length of each cycle of the shape you want to draw. For example,
if you want to draw sine curves, and you want each complete sine curve to last one beat, set the
Snap to Grid to a value of Quarter. If the Snap to Grid is disabled, the default cycle is one measure.
4. Click the dropdown arrow on the side of the Envelope Draw tool, and select the kind of shape you
want to draw. After you select a shape, both the Envelope Draw tool and the cursor display the
kind of shape you selected.
5. Click and hold the mouse button in the Clips pane at the place where you want to edit the
envelope. The place where you click also sets the vertical midpoint of the shape youre creating.
6. Drag up or down to set the vertical range of the envelope, and then drag to the right or left to set
the length of your edit. As you drag, the cursors vertical distance from the midpoint (the point
where you originally clicked) determines the amplitude of the graph. To create a series of identical
shapes, hold the Shift key down while you drag. To gradually increase or decrease the amplitude,
gradually move the cursor farther from or closer to the midpoint.
7. Release the mouse when youve finished editing. The shape you selected appears, repeating
according to the Snap to Grid setting.

To Halve or Double the Shape Cycle Frequency

To halve the cycle frequency (for example, if snap resolution = quarter note, make each cycle a half
note), hold down the Ctrl key while you draw.
To double the cycle frequency (for example, if snap resolution = quarter note, make each cycle an
eighth note), hold down the Alt key while you draw.

To Invert the Phase of a Pattern

You can invert the phase of the pattern by dragging the cursor below the zero-line/center (where
you initially clicked to start the pattern).

To Toggle Between the Envelope Tool and the Envelope Draw Tool
When the mouse button is NOT pressed, hold down the Alt key to momentarily switch between the
two tools.

To Stretch a Shape
1. Select the nodes in the part of the shape that you want to stretch: use the Envelope tool to drag
around the part of the shape you want to select. Nodes turn white when they are selected.

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2. Drag one of the selected nodes in the direction that you want to move the selected area. Stretching
stops if any selected node bumps into an adjacent unselected node.

Drawing Envelopes on Clips

You can also draw envelopes on audio clips, but only for gain, pan, and any automatable effects that are
inserted on the clips. On MIDI clips, you can draw velocity envelopes. If there is already a track-level
envelope on the clip, the clip envelope data merges with the track envelope data.
Note: The Trim value of a track is actually a clip parameter, not a track parameter. SONAR applies clip
volume settings, including Trim, to a clip before the clips audio data reaches any plug-in effects. Effects
can sound very different when their incoming data changes volume, even if the final volume is
unchanged.

To Draw Envelopes on Clips

1. Right-click the clip that you want to draw the envelope on.
The Clips pane popup menu appears.
2. Choose Envelopes-Clip-(Gain or Pan or Velocity) from the menu.

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An envelope appears on the clip with a node at each end.
Edit the envelope just as you would a track envelope, using the Select tool, the Envelope tool, and the
Envelope Draw tool.

Showing or Hiding Envelopes

You can choose to show or hide any or all envelopes in a track or bus.

To Show or Hide All Envelopes

1. In the Track view toolbar, click the drop-down arrow thats next to the Envelope tool to
display the Envelope Options menu.
2. Choose either Show All Envelopes or Hide All Envelopes.

To Show All of One Kind of Envelope

1. In the Track view toolbar, click the drop-down arrow thats next to the Envelope tool to
display the Envelope Options menu.
2. Choose the kind of envelope that you want to show.

To Show or Hide Individual Envelopes

1. Right-click the Clips pane in the track that contains the envelope(s) that you want to show or hide.
The Clips pane popup menu appears.
2. Choose Envelopes-Show Track Envelopes.
A menu of all the envelopes in the track appears. A checkmark appears to the left of each envelope
that is currently showing.
3. Click the name of one envelope that you want to show (if its currently hidden), or hide (if its
currently showing).
SONAR hides or displays the envelope.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 for each envelope that you want to show or hide.
You can also hide, but not show, individual envelopes by right-clicking an envelope and choosing Hide
Envelope from the Envelope Editing menu.

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Deleting Envelopes
To Delete a Single Envelope
1. Move the cursor over the envelope until a vertical, double-ended arrow appears under it, and right-
click the envelope.
The Envelope Editing menu appears.
2. Choose Delete Envelope from the menu.
SONAR deletes the envelope.

To Delete Several or All Envelopes

1. Select the data that contains the envelopes you want to deleteyou can select parts of tracks, one
or more whole tracks, or all tracks.
2. Use the Edit-Cut command to open the Cut dialog box.
3. Select Track/Bus Automation if its listed.
4. Select Clip Automation if its listed.
5. Click OK.
SONAR deletes any track and clip envelopes that are in the data you selected.

Copying and Pasting Envelopes

You can copy and paste envelopes or parts of envelopes between tracks and clips. You cannot, however,
copy and paste a clip envelope without also copying and pasting the audio or MIDI data that is in that
clip. If you paste a clip envelope into a track without the clip that it came from, the clip envelope
becomes a track envelope.

To Copy an Envelope
1. In the Track view or the Clips pane, select the track or clip that has the envelope you want to copy.
If you want to copy all the automation data in the track, select the whole track. If you want to
select only a clip, but want to select any track envelopes in that track, click the dropdown arrow
next to the Select tool , and make sure that the Select Track Envelopes With Selected
Clips option has a checkmark next to it.
2. Press Ctrl+C or use the Edit-Copy command.
The Copy dialog box appears.
3. Choose Clip Automation and/or Track/Bus Automation.
Note: If the Track/Bus Automation field is greyed-out, you must re-select a part of the clip that
contains either a node or a solid line (shape). A dotted line by itself is not an envelope and can not
be copied.
4. Choose any other kinds of data you want to copyif you only want to copy the automation data,
choose only Track/Bus Automation and/or Clip Automation.
5. Click OK.
SONAR copies the data you selected to the clipboard.

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To Paste an Envelope
1. Select the track(s) and location (Now Time) you want to paste the data to.
2. Press Ctrl+V or use the Edit-Paste command.
The Paste dialog box appears.
3. Choose a track and location to paste to, if you havent already.
4. Click OK.
SONAR pastes the automation data and any other types of data you chose in the Copy dialog box into
the track and location you selected.

Resetting Envelopes and Nodes to Current or Neutral Values

You can reset an envelope so that it becomes a horizontal line at the current value of the parameter it
controls, which eliminates any curves or jumps from the envelope. You can reset a node so that it jumps
to the neutral value of the parameter it controls. For example, the neutral value of the pan parameter is
C, or 0%.

To Reset an Envelope to the Current Value

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1. Move the Now time to where the envelopes value is to your liking.
2. Right-click the envelope to display the Envelope Editing menu.
3. Choose Clear All from the menu.
SONAR resets the envelope to the current value.

To Reset a Node to a Neutral Value

Do either of the following:
Double-click the node.
Move the cursor over the node until it a cross appears under it, right-click the node, and choose
Reset Node from the popup menu.
The node jumps to the neutral value for the parameter it controls.

Envelope Mode and Offset Mode

There are two modes which control how your volume faders, pan faders, bus send faders, and bus send
pan faders behave during playback. The two modes are Envelope mode and Offset mode.
Envelope modeIn envelope mode, volume and pan faders follow the projects automation and do not
respond to changes you make in real-time.
Offset modeIn Offset mode, you offset the current automation in a track using a parameters
controls. For example, if a pan envelope is set to hard left (100% left) and you adjust the pan in offset
mode to 100% right, then the pan parameter is now set to hard right. Setting the pan in offset mode to
50% right would set the pan to the center.
Note: Any position that you set a fader to in Offset mode remains in effect when you switch back to
Envelope mode. For example, if you set a volume fader to -INF while in Offset mode, switch to Envelope
mode and drag the fader to its maximum level, you will not hear anything.

To Turn On Offset Mode

There are several ways to turn on Offset mode in SONAR:
In the Track view toolbar, click the drop-down arrow thats next to Envelope Tool button.
Choose Offset from the menu to enable/disable Offset mode.
In the Automation toolbar, click the Offset button.

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Press the o key.
In Offset mode, all controls that can be offset appear with a plus sign. For example Vol+.
The following audio controls support both Envelope and Offset modes:

Control Envelope Mode Range Offset Mode Range

Volume -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0dB -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0dB

Pan 100% L to 100% R, default is C 100% L to 100% R, default is C

Bus Send Level -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0 dB -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0dB

Bus Send Pan 100% L to 100% R, default is C 100% L to 100% R, default is C

Bus Return Level -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0dB -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0dB

Bus Return 100% L to 100% R, default is C 100% L to 100% R, default is C

Balance

Main Out Volume -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0dB -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0dB

Main Out Balance 100% L to 100% R, default is C 100% L to 100% R, default is C

The following MIDI controls support both Envelope and Offset modes:

Control Envelope Mode Range Offset Mode Range

Volume 0 to 127, default is 101 0 to 127, default is 101

Pan 100% L to 100% R, default is C 100% L to 100% R, default is C

Chorus 0 to 127, default is 0 -127 to 127, default is 100

Reverb 0 to 127, default is 0 -127 to 127, default is 100

To Open Non-SONAR Envelope Display on a Percentage Scale

You can globally configure the placement of 0 dB for your envelopes in the Clips pane. The default
placement in the Clips pane of 0 dB is roughly 1/3 from the top of the clip. You can change the position
of 0 dB in all envelopes to the middle of the clip.
There are several advantages when using the Envelope Display on a Percentage Scale option:
It makes it easier to tell if there have been any changes.
There is a finer resolution around 0 dB.
Note: In Envelope mode, newly created volume clips appear at the same dB value as the current Vol
setting. For example, if the Vol setting is +3 dB, a newly created volume envelope appears above the
middle of the clip.

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To Display Envelopes on a Percentage Scale
1. Select Options-Global to open the Global Options dialog.
2. In the General tab, click the Display Envelopes on Percentage Scale checkbox.
3. Click OK.

Converting MIDI Envelopes to Shapes

MIDI controllers you edit in the Piano Roll view and MIDI envelopes you create in the Track view Clips
pane are actually separate data, even if they control the same parameter. Both kinds of envelopes are
visible in the Clips pane, and should generally not be used to control the same parameter. You can
convert Piano Roll view envelopes to Track view envelopes by selecting the time range and tracks that
the Piano Roll envelopes occupy, and using the Edit-Convert MIDI To Shapes command.

To Convert MIDI Controller Envelopes to Shapes

1. In the Clips pane, select the time range and track(s) that contain the controller data you want to
convert.
2. Use the Edit-Convert MIDI To Shapes command.

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The Convert MIDI To Shapes dialog box appears.
3. In the Type field, select the type of controller you want to convert.
4. In the Value field, select the controller number of the controller you want to convert. For example,
if youre converting a volume envelope to a shape, select 7.
5. In the Channel field, select the channel of the controller you want to convert, and click OK.
SONAR converts the Piano Roll view controller envelope you selected to a Track view shape that
controls the same parameter.
Note: If two clips overlap, the Edit-Convert MIDI To Shapes command converts the controller
envelopes in both clips, in whatever parts of the clips lie in the selected time range.

Snapshots
A snapshot is a group of settings that SONARs controls snap to when your project reaches a certain
Now Time. You set all the controls to the values you want, and then create a snapshot of these settings
at a particular Now Time. This approach is useful, for example, when your project contains a variety of
distinct sections and you want to make a sudden change in one or more settings between the sections.

To Create a Snapshoft
1. Move the Now Time to the location where you want to create the snapshot.
2. Make sure that the Automation toolbar is visibleuse the View-Toolbars command and make
sure that the Automation checkbox is checked.
3. Set all controls the way you want them to be at this particular location in the project.
4. Arm the controls whose positions you want to record by right-clicking each one and making sure
the Arm for Automation command has a checkmark next to it in the automation popup menu.

5. Click the Snapshot button in the Automation toolbar.

SONAR records the positions of all armed controls.

6. Play your project and listen to the results. You can undo the snapshot by using the Undo
command, or by taking another snapshot at the same Now Time.

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Disarm all controls by clicking the Disarm All Automation Controls button in the Automation
toolbar, or by clicking the red AUTO indicator in the Status bar.
You can play back your project with or without the automation data by clicking the Enable Automation
Playback button in the Automation toolbar.

Adding Nodes at a Selection

One of the most common automation tasks is to raise or lower an envelope over a specific time range.
The Add Nodes at Selection command simplifies this task: simply make a time selection, right-click
the desired envelope, and choose Add Nodes at Selection. Two pairs of nodes appeartwo nodes at
the From time, and two nodes at the Thru time.
Each pair of nodes is only 2 milliseconds apart by default, so each pair looks like a single node, but if
you drag the envelope segment between the two pairs up or down, you can see all four nodes.

To Add Nodes at Selection

1. Make a time selection.
2. Right-click the desired envelope within the selected time range.
The Envelope Editing menu appears.
3. Choose Add Nodes at Selection from the menu.
Two pairs of nodes appear on the envelopeone pair at the start of the selected time range, and one
pair at the end. Now you can drag the selected envelope segment up or down, and maintain the
envelopes shape.

Automating Effects
SONAR allows you to automate plug-ins, giving you real-time control over dozens of effects parameters.
Note: When using automatable effects, the CPU meter may fluctuate rapidly within a few percentage
points. This is normal behavior.

Automating Individual Effects Parameters

You can automate the parameters of some of SONARs effects by drawing envelopes, or recording fader
movements, or creating snapshots.

To Record Fader or Knob Movements for an Individual Effects Parameters

1. Patch an automatable effect into the track or bus where you want to use it, and close the effects
dialog box when it appears.
2. In the track or bus where you patched the effect, right-click the name of the effect and select Arm
Parameter from the popup menu (if the effect is not automatable, that choice is greyed-out on the
menu).
The effects envelope dialog box appears, listing all the parameters you can arm in the Param
Armed list.
3. Check all the parameters you want to automate at this time (caution: its difficult to move more
than one control when you are recording) and click OK.
4. Double-click the effects name to open its dialog box; make sure that the dialog box does not block
SONARs transport controls.

5. Start recording by clicking the Record Automation button thats in the Transport toolbar, and
move the knobs or faders that control the relevant parameters.

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6. When you finish moving the knobs and faders, click the Stop button in the Transport toolbar.
Play back the track and listen to the result. Then you can either re-record the automation or disarm the
parameters. You can disarm all armed parameters at once by clicking the red AUTO indicator thats in
the Status bar at the bottom of the SONAR window, or by clicking the Disarm All Automation Controls
button thats in the Automation toolbar.

To Draw Envelopes for an Individual Effects Parameters

1. Patch an automatable effect into the track or bus where you want to use it, and close the effects
dialog box when it appears.
2. Right-click in the Clips pane in the track (or bus) where you patched the effect.
The Clips pane or Bus pane popup menu appears.
3. If you opened the Clips pane popup menu, choose Envelopes-Create Track Envelope-(name of
the effect you patched). If you opened the Bus pane popup menu, choose Create Bus Envelope-
(name of the effect you patched).
The effects envelope dialog box appears, listing all the parameters you can automate in the
Envelope Exists list.

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4. Check all the parameters you want to create envelopes for; as you check each envelope choice, you
can choose a color for the envelope by clicking the Choose Color button thats in the lower right
corner of the dialog box.
Note: You can change a plug-in envelopes color whenever you want by highlighting its name in the
effects envelope dialog box and clicking the Choose Color button.
5. Click OK.
All the envelopes that you checked appear in the track or bus you were working in. You can edit them
just like any other envelopes.

Recording Groups of Faders and/or Knobs

You can group various faders, knobs, and other controls together so that when you record the
movements of one fader or knob, all the controls in the group move.

To Record Groups of Faders and/or Knobs

1. Group the controls (faders, knobs, etc.) that you want to record by right-clicking each control and
choosing Group-(letter name of the group) from the popup menumake sure you add them to
the same group.
2. Arm each control in the group by right-clicking each one and choosing Arm for Automation from
the popup menu.
3. Click the Record Automation button and move one of the controls in the group.
4. When youre through recording your automation data, click the Stop button in the Transport
toolbar.
Listen to your project and either re-record the automation, or disarm each armed control by right-
clicking each one and choosing Arm for Automation from the popup menu, or by clicking the Disarm
All Automation Controls button in the Automation toolbar.

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Recording Automation Data from an External Controller
You can record automation data from an external controller or a MIDI keyboard.

To Record Automation Data from an External Controller

1. In either the Track view or Console view, right-click the control or knob that you want to control
externally, and choose Remote Control from the popup menu.
The Remote Control dialog box appears.
2. If your controller sends standard MIDI messages, RPNs, or NRPNs, choose a controller (such as
Wheel) with which to control your knob or control. Also choose the MIDI channel your controller
will be sending the automation data on (it doesnt have to be the same channel that the knob or
controls track plays back on), and click OK.
3. If your controller works by sending SysX information instead, choose options in the SysX fields,
and click OK.
4. In either the Track or Console view, arm the knob or control for automation that you just
configured for remote control.
5. Click the Record Automation button and move the slider or wheel that you selected on your
external controller.
6. When you finish recording the automation, click the Stop button in the Transport toolbar.
Listen to your project and either re-record the automation, or disarm each armed control by clicking the
Disarm All Automation Controls button in the Automation toolbar. You can disable remote control by
right-clicking the relevant knob or fader and choosing Disable Remote Control from the popup menu.

Reassigning Envelopes
You can reassign an envelope to control a different parameter from the one it originally controlled. For
example, you can reassign a volume envelope to control pan.

To Reassign an Envelope
1. Move the cursor over the envelope until the cursor changes to a double-ended arrow, and right-click
the envelope.
The Envelope Editing menu appears.
2. Choose Assign Envelope-(name of the parameter you want the envelope to control).
The envelope changes color to reflect its new parameter assignment.

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The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus
The Envelope Editing menu appears when you move the cursor over an envelope until a double-ended
arrow appears under it, and right-click the envelope. The Node Editing menu is almost identical,
and appears when you move the cursor over a node until a cross appears under it and right-click.
The menus contain the following options:

Menu Option... What it Does...

Jump (Envelope Editing This choice causes the envelope to make a ninety degree jump
menu only) between two nodes. SONAR displays jumps with a dotted line,
meaning that there is automation data at the nodes where the
dotted line begins and ends, but not where the dotted line itself is.

Linear (Envelope Editing This choice draws a straight line between two nodes.
menu only)

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Fast Curve (Envelope This choice draws a curve between the two nodes that changes
Editing menu only) value rapidly at first, but more slowly toward the end of the curve.

Slow Curve (Envelope This choice draws a curve between two nodes that changes value
Editing menu only) slowly at first, but more rapidly toward the end of the curve

Add Node (Envelope This choice adds a node, which is a point on the line that you can
Editing menu only) drag, to the place on the envelope where you right-clicked.

Add Nodes at Selection This command creates 2 pairs of envelope nodes, one at the
beginning of the current selection, and one at the end. Each pair of
nodes is only 2 mSec apart. You can easily adjust the selected part
of the envelope by dragging the selected envelope segment up or
down. See Adding Nodes at a Selection on page 452.

Hide Envelope This choice hides the envelope that you right-clicked. You can re-
display the envelope by right-clicking in the same track and
choosing Envelopes-Show Track Envelopes-(name of the
envelope you want to show) from the Clips pane popup menu.

Assign Envelope-(name This choice reassigns the envelope to control the parameter that
of the parameter you you choose.
want to control)

Delete Envelope This choice deletes the envelope.

Clear All This choice deletes everything from the envelope except the first
node.

Reset Node (Node This choice resets the node to the parameters neutral value.
Editing menu only)

Delete Node (Node This choice deletes the node.

Editing menu only)

Properties (Node Editing This choice opens the Edit Node dialog box, which allows you to
menu only) edit the nodes value and location.

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Automated Muting
The Mute buttons in the Track view and Console view work in two ways:
You can record or draw automation for each Mute button, and the automation data
controls the buttons.
You can click a Mute button while playback is in progress and manually override any
automation data for that button.
A tracks Mute button can display the muted or unmuted status of either the automation
envelope or of manual muting. The Track-Show Automated Mute command causes the
Mute button on a selected track to show whether the tracks mute envelope (if any) is in the
muted or unmuted position (the automated mute status). When the command is disabled, the
tracks Mute button shows whether you have depressed the Mute button manually or not
(the manual mute status). When the command is enabled, the Mute button displays an
armed fader next to the M: . Besides the Track-Show Automated Mute command, you
can also right-click a Mute button and choose Switch to Automated Mute from the popup
menu.

To Draw a Mute Envelope

1. In the Clips pane, right-click in the track you want to mute, and choose Envelopes-
Create Track Envelope-Automated Mute from the Clips pane popup menu.
An envelope appears at the bottom of the track.
2. Add nodes to the envelope and edit it so that the envelope is more than 50% of its
maximum height wherever you want the track muted.

To Record a Mute Buttons Movement

1. Right-click the Mute button you want to automate and choose Arm for Automation
from the popup menu.
2. Click the Automation Record button, click the Mute button on and off where
appropriate, and stop recording.
SONAR draws an automated mute envelope in the track you recorded on.

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 14 Layouts, Templates
and Key Bindings

A layout is the current arrangement of all the views that pertain to a particular project. The
layout of each project is stored automatically as part of every project file. In addition, you can
save the current layout or load any saved layout and apply it to the current project. You
might want to create a layout so you can easily arrange the views in a convenient size and

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position on the screen.
A template is a special file that is used as a pattern to create similar project files. You might
create a template file that defines a particular musical ensemble (say, a string quartet) or a
particular studio configuration (MIDI instruments, audio outputs, and so on). Templates
make it fast and easy to create and configure new projects.
Note that toolbars are not part of a file layout or template. The toolbar arrangement you
choose is stored automatically from session to session.
A key binding lets you associate SONAR commands with keys on your MIDI or computer
keyboard. This makes it easy for you to access specific features more quickly and efficiently.
You can even assign saved layouts to key bindings for quick access.

In This Chapter
Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Key Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
 Layouts
:

The layout of the views that are displayed for a project is stored automatically in the project file when
you save the project. By default, the layout of all the views is restored when the file is opened. You can
automatically arrange all open views so that they are all visible by using the Window-Tile in Rows
command.
In addition, you can save the current layout in a separate listthe global layout list. Once you have
saved the layout in this list, you can apply it to any open project. The global layout list can contain as
many layouts as you want. Layouts in the list can be updated, renamed, and deleted.
Layouts are stored in a folder on your hard disk. To change the default folder for layouts, choose
Options-Global, click the Folders tab, and type the name of a different folder in the Window Layouts
field (or click the browse button thats at the right end of the Window Layouts field, and select a new
folder).

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There are two options in Windows Layouts dialog (select View-Layouts to open) that control how
layouts are used, as described in the following table:

Option Meaning

Close Old Windows Before Loading New If checked, SONAR will close all the views of the
Ones current project before applying the layout. If you
leave this option unchecked, existing views
remain open and additional views are created
according to the settings in the layout.

When Opening a File, Load Its Layout If checked, the views of a project are
automatically arranged according to the stored
layout when the project file is opened. If this
option is not checked, only the Track view (and
File Info view, if applicable) are displayed when
the project file is opened.

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To Create or Save a Layout
1. Arrange the views for the current project the way you want.
2. Choose View-Layouts to display the Window Layouts dialog box.
3. Click Add to display the New Global Layout dialog box.
4. Enter a name for the layout, and click OK. The layout is added to the list.
5. Click Close to exit the Window Layouts dialog box.

To Update a Layout
1. Arrange the views for the current project the way you want.
2. Choose View-Layouts to display the Window Layouts dialog box.
3. Choose the layout you want to update from the list.
4. Click Add to display the New Global Layout dialog box.
5. Leave the layout name unchanged, and click OK.
6. Click OK to confirm that you want to update the layout.
7. Click Close to exit the Window Layouts dialog box.

To Load a Layout
1. Choose View-Layouts to display the Window Layouts dialog box.
2. Choose the layout you want from the list.
3. Click Load.
Views of the current project are arranged according to the layout settings.

To Delete a Layout
1. Choose View-Layouts to display the Window Layouts dialog box.
2. Choose the layout you want to delete from the list.
3. Click Delete.
4. Click OK to confirm that you want to delete the layout. The layout is removed from the list.

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Click Close to exit the Window Layouts dialog box.

To Rename a Layout
1. Choose View-Layouts to display the Window Layouts dialog box.
2. Choose the layout you want to rename from the list.
3. Click Rename to display the Rename Existing Layout dialog box.
4. Enter a new name for the layout, and click OK. The layout is renamed in the list.
5. Click Close to exit the Window Layouts dialog box.

To Set Layout Options

1. Choose View-Layouts to display the Window Layouts dialog box.
2. Check the options you want.
3. Click Close.

To Load a Layout with a Keyboard Command

1. Use the Options-Key Bindings command to open the Key Bindings dialog box.
2. In the Type of Keys field, click either Computer or MIDI. If you click MIDI, also make sure the
Enabled checkbox is checked.
3. If you selected MIDI in the Type of Keys field, under MIDI Shift Options select either Key or
Controller, and select a value for whichever one you pick.
4. Under Bindings, scroll through the Key field and select the key that you want to trigger the layout
command with.
5. In the Function field, scroll down towards the end of the list, and under Global Layouts, click the
name of the layout you want to assign to the key you selected.
6. When both the Key and the Function are highlighted in their respective fields. click the Bind
button to bind them together.
7. Click OK.
Now you can load the layout you selected by pressing the MIDI keys or computer keys that you bound to
that particular layout. You can bind as many layouts as you have available key combinations.

Floating Views and Dual Monitor Support

SONAR supports dual monitors and allows you to float most of your views to a second monitor giving
you more options when working and increasing the number of views that you can have open at one time.
Important: Dual monitor support requires that you have a video card that supports dual monitors.
Follow your hardware manufacturers instructions for using dual monitors.
You can float views in SONAR without having a second monitor. Floating a view allows you to move it
out of SONAR, over the SONAR toolbars and menus for example, giving you added flexibility when
using SONAR with other applications. All views except the Track view can be floated.

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 To Float a View
1. Open the view you want to float.
2. Click the views icon located in the upper left corner of the view.

Piano Roll view icon

3. In the menu that appears, click Enable Floating.

4. Move the view wherever you want.

Templates

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Template files make it easy to create new projects with certain predefined settings. To create a template
file, create a new project file and arrange the project settings the way you want, then save the project as
a template file. Template files have a file extension of .CWT. When you create a new project, you can use
the template as the basis for the new project. SONAR looks for template files in a particular folder on
your hard disk. By default, this folder is the program folder. To change the template directory, choose
Options-Global and click the Folders tab.
Every time you start SONAR, a new, empty project is displayed. If you want, you can determine the
settings for this default project by creating and saving a special template file, called NORMAL.CWT. If you
create or update the NORMAL.CWT file, SONAR will display this template automatically when the
program is started.
As a rule, any parameter that is saved in a project file is also saved in a template file. Following are
some useful parameters that are saved in template files:
Track configuration and track parameters
Timebase
Sysx banks
File information and comments
Tempo settings
Meter and key settings
Clock and synchronization information
MIDI data
MIDI In/Out/Thru settings
MIDI metronome settings
Selection start and end times
Record mode and punch-in times
Drum maps
Audio data
Automation

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 :
The following parameters are saved globally and are not stored in template or project files:
Initialization file parameters
Big Time font settings
MIDI device settings
Instrument definitions
Autosave options
Key bindings
Color settings

To Create a Template
1. Create a new file using the File-New command.
2. Add tracks.
3. Set one or more parameters to be the way you want.
4. Choose File-Save As to display the Save As dialog box.
5. Choose Template from the Save as Type list.
6. Enter a template file name and click Save.
SONAR saves the template file.

To Create a New Project from a Template

1. Choose File-New to display the New Project File dialog box. The list contains the names of all
existing templates.
2. Choose a template from the list.
3. Click OK.
SONAR creates the new project and displays it in the Track view.

Template Example: Three MIDI Instruments

Suppose that your system has only a single MIDI output but you own three different synthesizers:
One synthesizer set to receive on channels 1 through 8
A general MIDI synthesizer module set to receive data on all 16 channels
A drum machine set to receive on MIDI channel 10
Heres how you can use a template to make it easy to create new projects that are already configured for
the instruments you own.

To Create the Example Template File

1. Choose File-New to create a new project file.
2. Insert 16 MIDI tracks.
3. In the Ch dropdown menu of track 10, enter 10. The drum machine responds to channel 10. For
consistency, the drums can be placed on track 10.
4. The second synthesizer responds to channels 1 through 8. These can be placed on tracks 1 through
8. For each track, enter the corresponding channel number using the Ch dropdown menu for each
track. You should now have tracks 1 through 8 set to channels 1 through 8.

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 5. The third synthesizer can respond to 16 MIDI channels, but the only channels left are 9 and 11
through 16. Enter these numbers in the corresponding tracks. You will need to mute the unused
channels on the third synthesizer (1 through 8 and 10) so they wont play. These are assigned to the
drum machine and the second synthesizer.
6. Name each track and set any track parameters, such as starting patch, volumes, panning, reverb,
chorus, and transposition.
7. If you like, configure other parameters needed in your projects, such as auto-send Sysx banks,
tempo settings, window positions, and comments.
8. Choose File-Save, and save the file as a template named MY3SYNTHS.
Now, each time you want to start working on a new project, you can simply load your template and start
recording.

Key Bindings
Key bindings let you associate SONAR commands with keys on both your MIDI keyboard and your

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computer keyboard. This makes it easy for you to access specific features more quickly and efficiently.
In addition, SONAR supports:
Importing key bindings from other popular sequencer programs (see Importing Key Bindings on
page 465)
Exporting key bindings from SONAR (see Exporting Key Bindings on page 465)
Use of any single key as a key binding (number keys on the number pad are separate keys from the
other number keys)
Changing the key bindings for commands that were previously hardwired, including hotkey
commands in the various views
Note: The Spacebar is now globally bound to the Play/stop button, so that when you have a plug-in
window open, you can still start and stop playback with the Spacebar.
Any one or two of the Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys can be used in combination with other keys. Preset key
combinations appear in bold, with the command that theyre currently assigned to listed at the bottom
of the Key Bindings dialog.
Rather than tie up all the notes on your MIDI keyboard with key bindings, SONAR lets you define a key
binding shift key on your MIDI keyboard that indicates when you want to use a key binding. For
example, you could designate the lowest note on your MIDI keyboard as the key binding shift key, and
then assign different notes to specific commands (for example, C4 to Process-Quantize, C5 to Process-
Groove Quantize, and so on). If you press the C4 key by itself, the note plays normally. If you press the
C4 key in combination with the lowest key on your keyboard (the key binding shift key), then its just as
if you had chosen the Process-Quantize command from the menu.

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 :
You can choose one of two options to define the key binding shift key:
MIDI key (typically, the very lowest or highest key on your MIDI keyboard)
Controller event (typically, one of the pedals)
If you use a MIDI key as the key binding shift key, then you lose the ability to play that note by itself.
When you play the note, SONAR assumes you are about to choose one of the key bindings you have
created and ignores the note. If this is ever a problem, you can disable MIDI key bindings without
canceling the key assignments and then re-enable the MIDI key bindings later on.
You can use a key binding to execute a command only when that command is possible. For example, the
File-Save command is disabled when no projects are open. If you have assigned the Ctrl+F2 key
combination to the File-Save command, it wont do anything when no projects are open.
You can use MIDI key bindings and computer keyboard key bindings at the same time.
You use the Options-Key Bindings command to set up and manage your key bindings. Heres how:

To Create a Key Binding Using the Computer Keyboard

1. Choose Options-Key Bindings to display the Key Bindings dialog.
2. Check Computer in the Type of Keys list.
3. To quickly scroll to the key or key combination you want, click the Locate Key button, and then
press the key or keys you want to use.
4. Highlight the key combination you want to use in the Key list. Keys on the number pad appear as
Num n. If a key or combination is already bound to a global command by default, the name of the
key appears in bold text, and the command it is bound to appears at the bottom of the Key
Bindings dialog under Global Key Assignment. Binding a key or combination to a command and
clicking OK overwrites any default binding for that key or combination.
5. In the Bind Context menu, select the context in which you want to use the key binding.
6. Highlight the command you want to assign from the Function list.
7. Click Bind to bind the key combination to the command.
SONAR places an asterisk next to the key(s) that you chose, and draws a line from the highlighted
key(s) to the command that the key(s) will trigger. Any keys that are assigned to commands have
asterisks next to them. Any commands that have keys assigned to them list the keys in the
Computer column and/or the MIDI column.
8. Repeat steps 3 through 7 for all the keys you want to bind.
9. If you want to save these key bindings for other sessions, make sure that the Save Changes for
Next Session checkbox is checked.
10. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR assigns the key(s) you chose.

To Create a Key Binding Using a MIDI Keyboard

1. Choose Options-Key Bindings to display the Key Bindings dialog.
2. Check MIDI in the Type of Keys list.
3. Check the Enable box to make sure MIDI key bindings are enabled.
4. If you havent already done so, create a key binding shift key by doing one of the following:
Check Key under MIDI Shift Options, and enter the name of the key you want to use.
Check Controller under MIDI Shift Options, and choose the controller you want from the list.

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5. Highlight the key you want to bind from the Key list (if you click inside the Key window to put the
focus on it, you can then play a note on your MIDI keyboard, and the note automatically becomes
highlighted in the Key window).
6. Select the command you want to bind from the Function list.
7. Click the Bind button.
SONAR places an asterisk next to the Key that you chose, and draws a line from the highlighted
key to the command that its bound to. Any keys that are assigned to commands have asterisks
next to them. Any commands that have keys assigned to them list the keys in the Computer
column and/or the MIDI column.
8. Repeat steps 5 through 7 for all the keys you want to bind.
9. If you want to save these key bindings for other sessions, make sure that the Save Changes for
Next Session checkbox is checked.
10. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR assigns the key(s) you chose.

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To disable MIDI key bindings, uncheck the Enable box in the Key Bindings dialog.

Importing Key Bindings

SONAR can use key bindings from other sequencer applications. Clicking the Import button in the Key
Bindings dialog allows you to choose a new set of key bindings. After you import new key bindings, you
can edit and save them the way you do with the default key bindings.

To Import Key Bindings

1. Choose Options-Key Bindings to display the Key Bindings dialog.
2. Click the Import button to open the Import Key Bindings dialog.
3. Navigate to the SONAR program folder (you dont have to store them there).
4. Choose a key bindings file from the choices in the program folder. Key bindings files use the file
extension .KBN.
5. Click Open.
SONAR loads the key bindings you chose.

Exporting Key Bindings

Clicking the Export button in the Key Bindings dialog allows you to export the current set of key
bindings, so that they are available when you want to switch key bindings.

To Export Key Bindings

1. Choose Options-Key Bindings to display the Key Bindings dialog.
2. Click the Export button to open the Export Key Bindings dialog.
3. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the key bindings.
4. Type a name for the key bindings.
5. Click Save.
SONAR saves the key bindings, and adds the file extension .KBN to the filename.

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466
 15 Working with Notation
and Lyrics

This chapter describes three SONAR views that are used to edit the music notation and
lyrics of your project.
SONARs Staff view lets you work with your composition in a standard musical staff,

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guitar tablature and a virtual guitar fretboard. You can add, move, and delete notes
with your mouse or with your computer keyboard. You can add chord names, guitar
chord grids, expression marks, hairpin symbols, pedal marks, and lyrics. And you can
print professional-quality notation of a complete arrangement or individual parts, with
up to 24 staves per page.
The Meter/Key view lets you view, insert, and edit meter and key changes at any
measure boundary in the project.
The Lyrics view lets you edit a tracks lyrics, and can be used to cue you with the lyrics
during playback or recording.

In This Chapter
The Staff View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
Basic Musical Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
Chords and Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Tablature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
The Meter/Key View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
Working with Lyrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
 The Staff View
:
The Staff view is composed of a Staff pane and a Fretboard.
When you first open the Staff view, you may see only the Staff and not the Fretboard. Resize the Staff
view by dragging its edges until you can see everything easily. When you save your file, whatever size
the Staff view is will be the way it appears the next time you open the file.
The Staff pane displays MIDI note events as musical notation. For some musicians, this may be the
most familiar and comfortable view in which to work. The Staff pane provides many features that make
it easy for you to compose, edit, and print music.
For guitar players who are new to musical notation, the Fretboard represents the notes in the Staff
pane as they would appear on a six-string guitar neck in standard tuning. The number of strings and
the tuning are configurable. All notes that appear in the Staff pane at the Now time are shown in the
Fretboard. If you enter notes in the Staff at the Now time, they appear on the Fretboard. Likewise, you
can enter notes into the Staff at the Now time by clicking the guitar strings on the fretboard. Notes and
chords shown in the Fretboard can be easily edited by dragging them up and down the guitar strings.

Time and
Editing tools Zoom Snap grid Fretboard display button Notehead tools Dynamics and markings
pitch locater

Fretboard pane

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Opening the Staff View
There are three ways to open the Staff view:
In the Track view, select the MIDI tracks you want to see, then click the Staff View button .
In the Track view, select the MIDI tracks you want to see, then choose View-Staff.
Right-click on a track in the Clips pane and choose Views-Staff from the menu.
You can always change the tracks that are displayed: click the Pick Tracks button and select the
tracks you want. You can display one or more tracks.
The Staff view lets you edit, delete, copy, and move notes during playback or recording, in real time.
This means you can loop over a portion of your project and hear any change you make on the next loop.
You can freeze the Staff view from automatic scrolling during playback by pressing the Scroll Lock key.
Like many other views, the Staff view includes zoom tools that let you change the vertical and
horizontal scale of the view. The Staff view also has a Snap to Grid button. For more information
on this feature, see Defining and Using the Snap Grid on page 201.

Staff Pane Layout

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The Staff pane can display up to 24 staves of standard and percussion notation. When you open the
Staff pane, SONAR automatically picks a clef for each trackbass or trebleby looking at the range of
pitches in the track. If a track has notes that fall into both clefs, or no notes at all, SONAR
automatically splits the track into two staves, treble and bass. You can change the assignment of clefs
with the Staff View Layout dialog box.
When you split a track into treble and bass staves, you must select a split point. Notes at or above the
split are placed into a treble staff, notes below the split are placed into a bass staff.
A wide variety of editing options for notes, layout, and MIDI effects are available from the Staff Pane
Right-Click menu.
Percussion settings are discussed in the section Setting Up a Percussion Track on page 492.

The Staff Pane Right-Click Menu

The Staff pane Right-Click menu offers the following editing options:

Menu command Result

MIDI Effects Opens the MIDI Effects submenu. See MIDI Effects (MIDI
Plug-ins) on page 295 for more information.

Layout Opens the Staff View Layout dialog box.

Regenerate Tablature Opens the Regenerate Tablature dialog box. Regenerate

TAB on page 489 for more information.

Export to ASCII TAB Saves the track in TAB format with the extension .TXT.

Quantize Opens the Quantize dialog box. See Quantizing on page

296 for more information.

Groove Quantize Opens the Groove Quantize dialog box. See Quantizing on
page 296 for more information.

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 Transpose
: Opens the Transpose dialog box. See Transposing on page
261 for more information.

Slide Opens the Slide dialog box.

Interpolate Opens the Event Filter Search dialog box. See Process-
Interpolate on page 286 for more information.

Length Opens the Length dialog box. See Stretching and Shrinking
Events on page 265 for more information.

Scale Velocity Opens the Scale Velocity dialog box. See Adding
Crescendos and Decrescendos on page 267 for more
information.

Retrograde Reverses the order of selected events and clips.

Deglitch Opens the Deglitch dialog box. See Deglitch Dialog on

page 477 for more information.

Fit to Time Opens the Fit to time dialog box. See Stretching and
Shrinking Events on page 265 for more information.

Fit Improvisation See Fit Improvisation on page 278.

To Change the Staff Pane Layout

1. Click the Staff View Layout button to open the Staff View Layout dialog box.
2. Select a track from the list (if the track you want to edit is not in the list, click the Pick Tracks
button in the Staff view toolbar and select it). The Clef option shows the tracks clef.
3. Select a new clef from the list.
4. If you select Treble/Bass, select a Split point.
5. If you select one of the Percussion options, click Percussion Settings to set up the appearance of
percussion notes.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 for other tracks.
7. Click Close when you are done.
SONAR displays tracks using the new staff settings.

Tip:
If a piano parts left-hand and right-hand parts overlap, a split point will not correctly
separate the two parts into treble and bass staves. You may prefer to put the two
parts into two separate tracks.

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The Fretboard
The Fretboard shows you the notes located at the Now time in the Staff pane, laid out on a virtual
guitar fretboard. For example, if the Staff pane shows you this:

The Fretboard pane shows you this:

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The Fretboard stays in sync with the Now Time during playback and recording, and stays in sync with
the scrub time during scrubbing. The color of each note on the Fretboard is the same as the color of the
corresponding clip in the Track view. (See Arranging Clips on page 191 for information about setting
clip properties.)
To turn the display of the Fretboard on or off, click .

Fretboard Popup Menu

When you right-click the Fretboard in the Staff view, the Fretboard popup menu appears, giving you
choices for note editing, Staff view layout, and Fretboard appearance.

Menu command Result

Select Changes your cursor to the Select tool.

Draw Changes your cursor to the Draw tool.

Erase Changes your cursor to the Erase tool.

Scrub Changes your cursor to the Scrub tool.

Layout Opens the Staff View Layout dialog box.

Select Fretboard Track Controls which of the displayed tracks receive the notes you enter
on the Fretboard.

Export to ASCII TAB Saves the track in ASCII TAB format with the extension .TXT.

Mirror Fretboard Inverts Fretboard so highest-sounding string appears at the

bottom.

Rosewood Hi Fretboard appears in rosewood with high screen resolution.

Rosewood Lo Fretboard appears in rosewood with low screen resolution.

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 Ebony Hi
: Fretboard appears in ebony with high screen resolution.

Ebony Lo Fretboard appears in ebony with low screen resolution.

Maple Hi Fretboard appears in maple with high screen resolution.

Maple Lo Fretboard appears in maple with low screen resolution.

Basic Musical Editing

The Staff view's tools let you edit a project by manipulating the elements of standard music notation.
Using these tools, you can create and edit notes, pedal marks, expression marks, hairpins, and lyrics.

Inserting Notes on the Staff

You can add notes to your composition with simple point-and-click techniques. To help with your
composing, SONAR gives you audio feedback as you place each note.
You can insert notes anywhere in the Staff pane, but inserting them at the Now time gives you control
over the exact time you want to insert to. The Shift-Right/Left Arrow command moves the Now Time
forward or backward by the amount of the note duration you choose. Six buttons let you select a note
duration ranging from a whole note to a 32nd note. Buttons to the right of the notehead buttons let you
select dotted note or triplet modifiers. The Ctrl+Right Arrow/Ctrl+Left Arrow commands pages you
through the track, sounding each note as the cursor passes over it. You can also page through the track
by clicking the Play-Next button or the Play-Previous button that are in the Staff view toolbar.
Note: You cannot insert notes whose durations are less than the value in the Display Resolution field,
which is located in the top level of the Staff view toolbar.
You may want to pick a different snap-to grid value for a particular note. For example, if you want to
insert a half note in the last quarter note position in a measure (in order to get two tied quarter notes),
you must set the snap resolution to a quarter note. SONAR will automatically convert the half note to
two tied quarter notes. The same method can be used to insert a syncopated note, such as a quarter note
at an eighth note position.
You may also wish to disable the Fill Durations and Trim Durations options before you enter
notes on the staff. This will allow you to see the true durations of all the notes you enter. These options
are discussed in Changing the Way Notes Are Displayed on page 478.

To Insert a Note on the Staff

1. Disable the Fill Durations and Trim Durations buttons in the Staff view toolbar, if desired (this is
usually the best way when youre entering notes).
2. Click the Display Resolution button in the Staff view toolbar and choose a resolution thats as
small or slightly smaller than the smallest note you plan to enter.

3. Click the Draw tool .

4. In the second row of the Staff view toolbar, select a note duration, and a modifier (dot or triplet) if
desired. You cannot insert a note thats shorter in length than the note in the Display Resolution
field.
5. Move the Now time to the location where you want the new note by pressing Shift-Right arrow or
Shift-Left arrow. Notice the vertical line that marks the Now time in the Staff pane. The line
moves by the duration of the note you selected to enter.

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6. Click the cursor on the vertical line at the pitch that you want.
7. To add a sharp or flat, right-click the note to open the Note Properties dialog boxin the Pitch
field, use the + or - buttons to raise or lower the pitch, and click OK. You can type enharmonic
spellings into the Pitch field, such as C#5, E4. and Fx6. The double quotation mark produces a
double flat, and the x produces a double sharp.
SONAR places the new note in the staff. If desired, drag the note horizontally or vertically to a new time
or pitch.

Inserting Notes with the Fretboard

You can also enter notes onto the staff from the fretboard using the mouse. You always enter notes into
the staff at the Now time.

To Insert Notes on the Fretboard with the Mouse

1. Click in the Time Ruler to set the Now time.

2. Click to select the Draw tool.

3. Select a note duration, and a modifier (dot or triplet) if desired.

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4. Click on the guitar strings in the fretboard to enter notes. You can enter up to six simultaneous
notes (one per string).
5. Advance the Now Time by the current note duration using the right arrow key while holding down
the shift key. This allows you to quickly enter a series of notes.

Selecting Notes
Use the Selection tool to make selections. Selection methods in the Staff view are similar to those in
other views. Here is a summary:

To do this... Do this...

Select a note or other symbol Click it

Select several symbols at once Click and drag a rectangle around them

Add symbols to the selection Press Shift and either click on the symbols or drag a
rectangle around the events

Add or remove symbols from the Press Ctrl and either click on the symbols or drag a
selection rectangle around the events

Select symbols in a time range Click and drag in the Time Ruler

Select symbols between two Click between the markers

markers

Remove all selections Click in an empty area

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Note:
Tied notes must be selected together, since the series is really just a single
MIDI note. To select tied notes, you must click or drag a rectangle around the
first note of the series.

Moving, Copying, and Deleting Notes on the Staff

Selections can be cut, copied, pasted, and deleted with Edit menu commands. The techniques are
similar to those used in other views. Selections can also be dragged and dropped to copy or move them.
To keep track of your current position while dragging, you can keep an eye on the time and pitch locator
in the upper-right corner of the Staff view.
Notes can be dragged horizontally, to a new time, or vertically, to a new pitch or staff. When you drag a
note up or down to a new pitch, the note normally snaps to the notes in the current key signature
(diatonic scale). This makes it easy to drag notes quickly among pitches that are in the current key.
If you need to transpose more than a few notes, use the Process-Transpose command. For more
information, see Transposing on page 261.

To Move a Single Note in the Staff View

1. Click the Select tool or the Draw tool .
2. Click the note to be moved.
3. Drag the note to a new time, pitch, or staff.
SONAR moves the note to the new location.

To Move Several Notes in the Staff View

1. Click the Select tool .
2. Select the notes to be moved.
3. Click one of the selected notes.
4. Drag the notes to a new time, pitch, or staff.
SONAR moves the notes to the new location.

To Copy One or More Notes in the Staff View

1. Click the Select tool .
2. Select the notes to be copied.
3. Press and hold the Ctrl key.
4. Drag the notes to a new time, pitch, or staff.
SONAR inserts copies of the notes at the new location.

To Erase Notes with the Eraser

1. Click the Erase tool .
2. Click any notehead to erase the note.
3. To erase several notes, click and drag the eraser.

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Any notes whose notehead is touched by the eraser will be deleted.

Moving Notes from within the Fretboard

You can drag notes displayed in the fretboard horizontally along each string to change their pitch. They
always change in the chromatic scale. You can not drag notes from one string to another.

To Change the Pitch of a Single Note in the Fretboard

1. Click in the Time Ruler to set the Now time to the time of the note you want to change.

2. Click the Select tool or the Draw tool .

3. Drag the note along the string to a new fret.
SONAR moves the note to the new pitch.

To Change the Pitch of a Chord in the Fretboard

1. Click in the Time Ruler to set the Now time to the time of the chord you want to change.

2. Click the Select tool .

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3. While pressing Shift, click each of the notes you would like to change.
4. While continuing to press Shift, drag the notes along the strings.
SONAR moves the notes you selected to the new pitches.

Tip:
You can also move the Now time pointer to the exact note by using the Step Play
buttons.

Auditioning
Sometimes it is useful to listen to your music slowly, note-by-note, rather than at full speed. For exam-
ple, you may need to locate a bad note, or you may be trying to learn the correct fingering for a difficult
passage.
The Staff view has two features that let you audition your composition at reduced speed: Scrub and
Step Play. The Scrub tool lets you drag a vertical bar over the staff, playing the notes as it goes. You can
scrub backward or forward at any speed. Step Play lets you step through the project note by note, in
either direction.

To Audition with the Scrub Tool

1. Click the Scrub tool .
2. Drag the mouse horizontally through the Staff pane to play the notes.
SONAR plays any notes the scrub line passes over.

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 :
To Play Notes with Step Play
1. Set the Now time by clicking in the Time Ruler.
2. Step through the music as follows:

To do this Do this

Step forward Click , or press Ctrl+right arrow

Step backward Click , or press Ctrl+left arrow

Changing Note Properties

The Staff view lets you edit all the MIDI parameters for a note, including those not normally portrayed
by standard musical notation. Note properties are as follows:

Property... Meaning...

Time The starting time of the note

Pitch The notes pitch

Velocity The notes velocity (0 to 127)

Duration The notes duration, in ticks or in beats and ticks

Channel The MIDI channel on which the note is played

Fret The fret at which the note is played on the neck

String The string on which the note is played

To Edit a Notes Properties

1. Right-click the note to open the Note Properties dialog box.

2. Edit the notes properties, as described in the table.

3. Click OK.

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SONAR changes the notes parameters and redraws the note if necessary.

Deglitch Dialog
When recording MIDI guitar, even the best players occasionally play unintended notes. The Deglitch
feature allows you to filter out the softest, shortest, and highest notes in the file.
There are three filters in the Deglitch dialog:

Pitch
With the Pitch filter you can set the maximum pitch allowed in the track. If a MIDI event has a higher
pitch than the maximum you set, it is removed.

Velocity
With the Velocity filter you can set a minimum velocity allowed in the track. If a MIDI event has a lower
velocity than the one you set, it is removed.

Duration
With the Duration filter you can set a minimum note duration for the track in either ticks or
milliseconds. If a MIDI event has a shorter duration than the one you set, it is removed.

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To Use the Deglitch Filter
1. Select a track or a section of track.
2. Select Process-Deglitch from the menu.
The Deglitch dialog box appears.
3. Check each of the filters you want to use.
4. Enter the parameters (maximum or minimum values) you want for each of the filters you are
using.
5. Click OK.
If you are not happy with the result, select Edit/Undo from the menu to restore the original MIDI track.

Working with Triplets

The Staff view places certain limitations on the use of triplets. The limitations are:
Triplets must occur in full sets of three.
All three steps in a triplet must be notes (no rests) of the same basic duration.
There can be no ties in or out of, or within the triplet.
In most cases, the Staff view can recognize triplets in MIDI data. However, the slight timing
inaccuracies inherent in live performances can complicate the detection of triplets. If working from
performance data, you may find it useful to quantize the notes closer to exact triplet positions using the
Process-Quantize command. See Quantizing on page 296 for details.

To Enter a Triplet
1. Turn on the Snap to Time option.

2. Click the Draw tool .

3. Click the appropriate notehead button.

4. Select the Triplet option .

5. Enter the first note at the desired location in the staff.

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SONAR inserts all three triplet notes at the same pitch. You can then drag the second and third notes to
their correct pitch locations.

Beaming of Rests
The Staff view supports beaming of rests, a practice that is popular with rhythmically complex music.
Beam lengths are extended to include rests that are integral parts of the beamed group of notes. Short
stems, called stemlets, extend from the beam toward the rest. This makes the rhythms easier to read,
because the beat boundaries are made clear.

To Enable Beaming of Rests

1. Click Layout button to open the Staff View Layout dialog box.
2. Select the Beam Rests option.
3. Click OK.
Thereafter, the Staff view beams rests as though they were notes.

Changing the Way Notes Are Displayed

Unlike musical notation programs, SONAR uses the MIDI events themselves as the permanent
representation of the music; thus, the Staff view is only an interpretation of a MIDI performance.
MIDI notes do not always correspond exactly to notes on a staff. Whereas a staff defines precise grid-
like starting times and durations for notes, a MIDI note can start at any arbitrary time during the
project, and last for any length of time. If you record a performance from a MIDI keyboard, for example,
youll find that some notes may start slightly before the beat, and some a little after, and that the notes
end a little late or a little early. Although these slight imperfections are what gives a performance its
human quality, you dont necessarily want to see all these imperfections notated with excruciating
precision.
The Staff view has two options you can select to affect the way MIDI notes are displayed on the staff:

Option... Purpose...

Fill Durations Visually rounds up note durations to the next beat or the next
note, whichever comes first.

Trim Durations Visually rounds down note durations if they extend a little way
past the start of the next note.

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Heres what the Staff view looks like with and without these options:

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Fill and Trim off

Fill and Trim on

On the other hand, if you are entering notes into the Staff view with the mouse, Fill and Trim Durations
may produce confusing results. For example, with Fill Durations, an inserted eighth note in 4/4 time
would look like a quarter note until you insert another eighth note immediately following it. It is
recommended that you turn off the Fill Durations and Trim Durations options when entering notes;
these options are more appropriate for looking at notes you recorded via a performance.

Using Enharmonic Spellings

Any musical note can be referred to by several different names. For example, C#3 and Db3 identify the
same pitch, as do G#4 and Ab4. The most appropriate name depends upon the current key signature,
but can also depend on musical context.
SONAR uses a set of rules to automatically add accidentals (sharps, flats and naturals) to notes based
on the current key signature. These rules cover the most common musical situations and usually lead to
pleasing results. However, there is no guaranteed right way to resolve accidentals. Doing so ultimately

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requires knowledge regarding what key or scale is being evokedknowledge that only the composer
possesses. For example, if a modulation is being prepared, then the new key signature has not yet been
completely established, and the harmony has already begun to shift. In fact, there may not even be a
scale in a diatonic sense: chromatic scales, for instance, are supposed to sharp on the way up and flat on
the way down. Because no set of rules will suffice for all situations, the composer needs the ability to
override any default choice.
Notes in SONAR normally do not have a forced enharmonic spelling. This means that they will
automatically change to match the default for a new key signature. If you specify spelling that matches
the default choice, SONAR will drop any forced spelling and switch back to default behavior. Otherwise,
the forced spelling is remembered for that note, and will not change to follow the key signature. If you
change the pitch of a note by some other means (for instance, by dragging it up or down), it will lose any
forced spelling, because it very likely no longer applies to the new pitch. Enharmonic spelling overrides
for each note are saved in the project file.
When you type a notes enharmonic spelling, use the following table as a guide:

Accidental... Character... Example... Displays as...

Flat b Cb5

Sharp # C#5

Double flat C5

Double sharp x Cx5

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To Change a Notes Enharmonic Spelling
1. Right-click the note to open the Note Properties dialog box.
2. In the Pitch textbox, type a new spelling for the note.
3. Click OK.
SONAR displays the note with the new enharmonic spelling.
You can change enharmonic spellings in other views, such as the Event List view, by similarly typing a
new spelling wherever the note pitch is displayed as a text string.
You can also use the Process-Interpolate command to change enharmonic spellingsfor example, to
change multiple occurrences of Eb5 to D#5, or even all Ebs to D#s. See Process-Interpolate on page
286 for more information.

MIDI Channels and the Fretboard

You can display notes on the fretboard based on the note events MIDI channel. (Do not confuse this
with the Track MIDI channel.) A single track can hold events on many different MIDI channels. See
Assigning a MIDI Channel (Chn) on page 128 for more information. Displaying notes using this

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method is 100% accurate because each string is represented by an individual MIDI channel. For
example, String 1 = MIDI channel 11, String 2 = MIDI channel 12, etc.

To Display Notes on the Fretboard Using their MIDI Channels

1. Set your MIDI Guitar to transmit on 6 consecutive channels. This is often referred to as MONO
mode. Refer to your MIDI Guitar device documentation for more information.
2. Select and Arm a track.
3. If you want the data from all 6 strings to be recorded to a single track, set the Input to OMNI. If
you want each string on a separate track, you need to set up each individual track to record on the
corresponding MIDI channel. The GT-30 Guitar Synthesizer template is designed to do this, so you
may want to open that from the Quick Start Menu or from the File menu. To use the File menu
method, choose File-Open and choose Cakewalk Template from the Files of type field. Then choose
the Roland GT-30 Guitar Synthesizer template.
4. Open the Staff view.

5. Click the Staff View Layout button .

6. Click Define.
7. In the Method field, click MIDI Channel.
8. In the 1st Channel field, set SONAR to transmit on the same series of MIDI channels that you
chose in step 1. Select 1 for 1-6, 2 for 2-7, etc.
MIDI guitar devices can transmit in MONO using a different series of MIDI channels, but SONAR
needs to be listening to the same channels in order to properly display the MIDI guitar input.
9. Click Close.
10. Click OK.
SONAR displays notes on the Fretboard based on their MIDI channels.
If you are planning to record or input notes from a MIDI guitar synth or MIDI converter, you need to set
this up on the instrument. In the case of the Roland GT-30, for example, you set it to send on MIDI
Channel 11, MONO. This sends out each corresponding string on channels 11-16.

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 Chords and Marks
:
The Staff view lets you add and edit chord symbols, dynamic markings, hairpin symbols, and pedal
events. Like notes, these symbols are placed in the score with the Draw tool. They can be selected, cut,
copied, pasted, deleted, and dragged and dropped. With the exception of pedal marks, though, these
symbols have no audible effect; they serve only to enhance and clarify the printed score.

Adding Chord Symbols

The Staff view lets you enter chord symbols above the staff. You can enter both ordinary chord names
and guitar chord symbols, which display both the chord name and fingering. SONAR has a large
number of predefined chords from which you can choose. You can also define and save your own chords.
If a track is split into treble/bass staves, chords are allowed only above the upper (treble) staff.
SONAR stores its library of chords in the file CHORDS.LIW. The chords in the library are sorted into
groups. You can add and remove chords from the library, create new groups (i.e., for alternative guitar
tunings), and add chords from a different library file.
You edit chords in the Chord Properties dialog box. Chord properties are shown in the following table:

Property... Meaning...

Time The time of the chord, in measure, beat, and tick (MBT) format

Name The name of the chord

Group The chord group

The Chord Properties dialog box also lets you draw guitar chord grids and manage the chord library.
You can suppress the display of all guitar chord diagrams by deselecting the Show Chord Grids option
in the Staff view's Layout dialog box. With this option disabled, only chord text appears.

To Add a Chord Symbol

1. Click the Draw tool .

2. Select the Chord tool .

3. Position the pointer above the staff (the pointer changes to a pencil when you are in a legal
position).
4. Click to place a chord symbol.
SONAR inserts a copy of the most recently added chord (by default, C). You can then edit the symbol to
display the chord you want.

To Move a Chord Symbol

1. Click the Draw tool .
2. Drag the chord symbol to a new location.

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To Edit a Chord Symbol
1. Right-click the symbol to open the Chord Properties dialog box.

2. Edit information about the chord according to the table:

To do this Do this

Move a chord in time Change the Time property.

Give the chord a new name Select a chord from the dropdown list, or type
a new name. Use # for sharp and b for flat.

Add descriptive text to the chord Type the text in square brackets after the
name chord name. The text does not appear in the
Staff view.

See a different set of chords Select a group from the list. This option only
applies if you have created a custom chord
library.

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3. If desired, select a group from the list and/or create a guitar chord grid.

4. Click OK.
The Staff view displays the chord with the new properties, moving it to a new time if necessary.

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To Add a Guitar Chord Grid
1. Right-click the chord symbol to open the Chord Properties dialog box.

2. Follow the instructions in the table:

To do this Do this

Display a blank chord grid Click New Grid

Place a dot on the grid Select the finger number (1-4, or T for
Thumb), then click the grid at the appropriate
string and fret location

Assign an open string Select O, then click on the string

Assign a muted string Select X, then click on the string

Change the finger assigned to a dot Click the dot repeatedly to cycle through the
fingers

Insert a fret designation Click to the right of the grid and enter the
number of the index finger fret in the Chord
Fret Number dialog box

Play the chord (Audition) Click Play

Remove the chord grid Click Remove Grid

3. Click OK.
The Staff view displays the chord with the new guitar chord grid.

To Manage the Chord Library

1. Right-click the chord symbol to open the Chord Properties dialog box.

2. Follow the instructions in the table:

To do this Do this

Add a chord to the library Select a group, enter a name in the Name box,
enter a guitar grid (if desired), and click Save.

Delete a chord from the current group Select the chord from the list and click Delete.

Add a new group Type a name for the group in the Group textbox and
click Save.

Delete a group Select a group from the list and click Delete.

Merge chords from an external chord Click the Import button and select a file. Chord
library libraries have the extension .LIW.

3. Click OK.
SONAR saves the chord library with the changes you made.

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Adding Expression Marks
Expression marks tell a performer how to interpret the notes and durations on the page. They provide a
necessary supplement to simple notation, in which notes have only pitch and duration, but no hint of
how loudly, softly, or smoothly, they are to be played. Dynamic marksfrom ppp (pianississimo) for
very, very softly through fff (fortississimo) for very, very forcefullyallow notation to convey volume
instructions. Expression marks are also needed to specify other aspects of performance, such as
whether a passage is to be played legato or staccato. Finally, expression marks can be used to convey to
the performer the composer's suggestions or requirements as to how a passage should be interpreted. In
such cases the language used can leave much to the imagination, as in with majesty or abrasively.
Expression marks do not change the underlying MIDI data. They only provide information to the reader
on how a piece should be performed.
If the track is split into treble/bass staves, expression marks are allowed only below the treble staff.
When entering an expression mark, you can leave a dangling hyphen at the end of an expression mark
to insert automatic spaced hyphens until the next expression mark. For example:
cresc. - - - ff

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It is often desirable to terminate such a series of hyphens with a blank expression mark. For example:
accel. - - -
Expression text is italicized in the Staff view. Standard dynamic markings also appear bold.

To Add an Expression Mark

1. Click the Draw tool .

2. Select the Expression tool .

3. Position the pointer below the lowest note in the staff. (The pointer changes to a pencil when you
are in a legal position.)
4. Click to open an insertion box.
5. Type the expression mark text. Press Esc to abort the operation.
6. Press Enter, or press Tab or Shift-Tab to move to the next or previous mark, respectively.
SONAR inserts the new expression mark below the staff.

To Edit an Expression Mark

1. Right-click the expression mark to open the Expression Text Properties dialog box.

2. Edit the time and text of the expression mark as desired.

3. Click OK.
The Staff view displays the expression mark with the new text, including moving it to a new time if
necessary. You can also use the Draw tool and click on an expression mark directly to change its text.

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Adding Hairpin Symbols
Some musical phrases vary dynamically, increasing or decreasing in loudness for dramatic effect.
SONAR lets you insert traditional crescendo and diminuendo hairpin symbols that convey this
information to a performer, as shown here:

If the track is split into treble/bass staves, hairpin symbols are allowed only below the treble staff.

To Add a Hairpin Symbol

1. Click the Draw tool .

2. Select the Hairpin tool .

3. Position the pointer below the staff (the pointer changes to a pencil when you are in a legal
position).
4. Click to place a hairpin symbol.
SONAR inserts a copy of the most recently added hairpin symbol, which you can edit as desired.

To Edit a Hairpin Symbol

1. Right-click on the hairpin symbol you want to edit.
The Hairpin Properties dialog appears.
2. Change any of the following parameters:
TimeThe beginning time of the hairpin symbol
Crescendo or Diminuendo
DurationEnter the number of beats followed by a colon (for example 4: for one measure in 4/
4 time) or a PPQ number value.

Adding Pedal Marks

Pedal marks traditionally indicate where the sustain pedal of a piano is to be pressed and for how long.
With SONAR, you can achieve the same effect by inserting a pair of symbols indicating when the
sustain pedal controller is to be turned on (down) and when it is to be turned off (up). Unlike chord
symbols, expression marks, and hairpin symbols, each pedal symbol corresponds to a MIDI event. The
other symbols are purely ornamental, intended to provide a composer with a way to communicate
suggestions or requirements to performers.

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Pedal event parameters are as follows:

Parameters... Meaning...

Time The time of the event, in measures, beats, and ticks (MBT).

Channel The MIDI channel on which the event will be sent.

Value The event value. A value of 127 depresses the pedal, a value of 0
raises it. (Some advanced synthesizers support values between 0 and
127 for partial pedaling.)

If the track is split into treble/bass staves, pedal marks are allowed only below the bass staff.
You can suppress the display of all pedal marks by deselecting the Show Pedal Events option in the
Staff view's Layout dialog box.

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To Add a Pedal Mark
1. Click the Draw tool .

2. Select the Pedal tool .

3. Position the pointer below the staff (the pointer changes to a pencil when you are in a legal
position).
4. Click to place a pedal mark.
SONAR inserts a pair of pedal symbols (a pedal down and a pedal up). You can click and drag either
symbol to a new time.

To Edit a Pedal Event

1. Right-click the pedal symbol (pedal down or pedal up) to open the Pedal Event Parameters dialog
box.

2. Edit the pedal event parameters, as described in the table above.

3. Click OK.
SONAR changes the pedal event parameters, including moving the symbol to a new time if necessary.

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 Tablature
:
The Staff view can display guitar or bass MIDI tracks as tablature. You can generate and edit tablature
or enter notes on either the fretboard or on the tablature staff to create a new track. You can export
tablature to an ASCII file for printing or distribution on the Web.

Tablature Settings
Both the Staff View Layout dialog box and the Tablature Settings dialog box create tablature settings
for a whole track at a time. To modify tablature for selected parts of a track, select part of a track and
use the Regenerate command.
In the Staff View Layout dialog box you can choose a preset style of tablature by choosing from the
Preset popup menu, or you can define your own style by clicking the Define button in the Staff View
Layout dialog box to open the Tablature Settings dialog box.

To Define a Tablature Style

1. In the Staff View Layout dialog box, click the name of the track you want to define tablature for.
2. Click the Define button (lower right corner).
The Tablature Settings dialog box appears.
3. Click the Tablature tab and choose a tablature method from the Method dropdown list. There are
three methods to determine how the TAB is displayed:
Floating - which allows the notes to spread over the entire fretboard
Fixed - This specifies where on the neck these notes should be played. When Fixed is selected
the Finger span and Lowest fret fields are used together to define the "box" where the notes
are displayed. The Finger span parameter determines how many consecutive frets will be
used to display the note. For example, if Finger span is set to 4, then SONAR will attempt to
place all the notes within those 4 frets. The Lowest Fret then determines where on the
fretboard the notes will be displayed within the Finger span. The red box in the fretboard
display changes to reflect the settings in these two parameters.
MIDI Channel - This uses the event's MIDI channel to determine which string the note
should be displayed on. When MIDI Channel is selected, the user chooses which series of
MIDI Channels should be considered. This is useful for MIDI Guitarists that record parts in
MONO mode, where each string transmits on a different MIDI channel. (Values: 1 - 11).
Selecting "1" in the 1st Channel field will cause it to use MIDI channels 1 - 6, selecting 2, 2 - 7,
and so on.)
Note: Select the Skip Channel 10 option if you are using a Yamaha G50 or other device which
reserves channel 10.
4. Type a number into the Number of Frets field. This determines how many frets the guitar has that
the tab is based on.
5. In the String Tuning fields, choose the instrument from the dropdown list and number of strings
from the Number of Strings field.
The open string pitches for the instrument you choose automatically appear in the string number
fields below the dropdown list.
6. Customize any of the open string pitches by using the "+" or "-" buttons on the string number fields.
7. Save your settings by typing a name into the Preset field at the top of the dialog box and clicking
the disk icon next to it. You can remove presets from the list by clicking the X button next to the
disk icon.

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The next time you want to use these settings for a track, choose your Preset in the Staff View Layout
dialog box from the Presets dropdown list.

Changing Fretboard Texture and Orientation

You can change fretboard texture and orientation (high string on top or bottom of neck) in the Staff
View Layout dialog box, or by right-clicking the Fretboard.

To Change the Fretboard Texture and Orientation

1. Open the Staff View Layout dialog box.
2. Click the Define button (lower right corner).
The Tablature Settings dialog box appears.
3. Click the Fretboard tab.
4. In the Texture field, choose a texture from the dropdown list.
5. If you want to reverse the standard string orientation, in the Orientation field click Low String on
Top (Mirror).

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6. Click OK.
The Fretboard changes to reflect your choices.

Quick TAB
SONAR quickly creates a tablature based on standard fingering patterns. After you try the quick ver-
sion, you can customize the tablature to your liking.

To Create a Quick TAB

1. Open a file that contains a MIDI guitar track.
2. In the Track view, select the track number of the track you want to display tablature for.
3. Select View-Staff.
The Staff view appears, displaying a fretboard and the notation of your MIDI track. To see
everything, you may need to resize the Staff view by dragging the top border upward a few inches.
4. From the Staff view toolbar, click the dropdown arrow on the Staff View Layout button to display
the tablature dropdown list.
5. Choose Quick TAB from the dropdown list.
A tablature grid appears, displaying the fret numbers for all the notes in the track.
6. From the File menu, choose Save. Saving your file saves TAB settings for each track you generated
TABs for.
Press the Spacebar to play your file. Notice that the Fretboard displays the name of each note above the
string and fret you would play it on as the note plays.

Regenerate TAB
The Regenerate TAB command works on selected regions in a track to modify the fingering according
to the method you choose. The TAB display by default uses the 'floating' algorithm which allows the
notes to spread over the entire fretboard. By choosing the "fixed" algorithm instead, you can designate a
specific finger span and lowest fret which causes the TAB of a selected region to be displayed within this
range. This usually creates a more compact fingering system.
The Regenerate TAB command gives you a third choice for displaying tablature MIDI channel. This
uses the event's MIDI channel to determine which string the note should be displayed on. When MIDI

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Channel is selected, the user chooses which series of MIDI Channels should be considered. This is
useful for MIDI Guitarists that record parts in MONO mode, where each string transmits on a different
MIDI channel.

To Regenerate TAB
1. In the Staff view, use the Select tool to drag a rectangle around the notes or TAB numbers you
want to change.
2. In the Staff view toolbar, click the dropdown arrow on the Staff View Layout button to display the
tablature dropdown list.
3. Choose Regenerate TAB to open the Regenerate Tablature dialog box.
4. Select Fixed from the Method field and fill in values for Finger Span (usually 4), Lowest Fret, and
Number of Frets (usually 21).
5. Click OK.
SONAR regenerates a TAB based on your specifications. If notes are out of the range you specified,
SONAR displays them as close to that range as possible.

Entering Notes from the TAB Staff

You can enter notes or chords directly from the TAB staff.

To Enter Notes from the TAB Staff

1. Open the Staff View, and choose Quick TAB from the tablature dropdown menu.
2. Press Ctrl+Home to move the Now Time to the start of the project. You may want to display the
Now Time by choosing View-Big Time.
3. Choose the desired note duration (keyboard shortcut: press 1 for whole note, 2 for half, 3 for a 32nd
note, 4 for quarter, 6 for a 16th note, 8 for an 8th note).
4. Click the Draw tool.
5. Enter a note by clicking a line in the TAB staff.

6. Without letting go of the mouse, click and drag the cursor up to set the fret number.

Tip:
You can move ahead in the track by pressing Shift-Right Arrow, and move back in
the track using the Shift-Left Arrow. The Now Time moves by the amount of the
note duration you choose in the Staff toolbar.

Single Note Editing from the TAB Staff

SONAR enables you to edit single notes from the TAB staff in several ways:
With the Draw tool selected, drag fret numbers up or down. When you reach the desired fret
number, release the mouse.
With the Draw tool selected, move a note to a different string by holding down the Alt key while
you drag the fret number to a different line. If the note you are moving won't play on the string you
are dragging it to, you won't be able to move it.

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 Right-click the fret you want to edit. A list of fret numbers appears. Select the one you want, and
the fret you right-clicked changes to the fret number you selected.

Editing Chords or Groups of Notes from the TAB Staff

To edit chords or groups of notes in the TAB staff, first select which notes you want to edit, and then
drag them to new pitches or strings.

To Edit Chords or Groups of Notes from the TAB Staff

1. Click the Select tool in the Staff view toolbar.
2. In the TAB staff, drag a rectangle around the chord or group of notes you want to edit, and release
the mouse.
3. Drag the fret numbers you selected up or down by the amount you want.
4. You can drag the notes to different strings by holding down the Alt button while you drag. If the
notes you are moving won't play on the strings you are dragging them to, you won't be able to move
them.

To Export to an ASCII TAB File

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1. Select the track you want to export.
2. Open the Staff view.
3. In the Staff view, click the Export to ASCII TAB button.
The Save As dialog appears.
4. Enter a file name in the File name field.
5. Click OK.
SONAR saves the track with the file extension .TXT.

Editing Notes and Chords from the Fretboard

You can transpose single notes or chords from the Fretboard.

To Transpose Single Notes

1. Move the Now Time to the note you want to edit by pressing Shift-Right/Left Arrow. You may need
to change the note duration by clicking one of the note icons in the Staff view toolbar.
2. Use the Select tool to drag the note left or right on the fretboard.

To Transpose Chords
1. Move the Now Time to display the chord you want to transpose.
2. Shift-select all the notes in the chord.
3. Shift-drag the chord to a new position and release the mouse.

Entering Notes from the Fretboard

If you prefer to work with the Fretboard instead of a musical staff, Cakewalk makes it easy to enter
notes from the Fretboard. You can enter single notes or chords by clicking the string and fret of the note
you want to enter at the Now Time position.
1. Display the track you want to add notes to in the Staff view.
2. In the Staff view toolbar, click the Draw tool.
Now the cursor appears as a pencil when you move it over the Staff or Fretboard.
3. Move the Now Time to where you want to start entering notes by pressing Shift-Right Arrow or
Shift-Left Arrow. Each press of the arrow moves the Now Time by the amount of the note duration,

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which you select by clicking the note icons in the Staff view toolbar. You may want to display the
Now Time by choosing View-Big Time.
4. Enter a note by clicking the string and fret where you would play the note.
The note appears on the Fretboard, in the Staff, and in the TAB if you have generated one (you can
generate a Quick TAB by choosing Quick TAB from the tablature dropdown menu that you open
by clicking the dropdown arrow on the Staff View Layout button).
5. If you are entering a chord, continue clicking notes at the same Now Time. To move ahead, press
Shift-Right Arrow and click a new note duration, if desired.
You can delete a note right after you enter it by pressing Ctrl+Z, or at any time by clicking the Eraser
tool and clicking the note in the notation or TAB staffs.
Cakewalk gives you several options to play and hear the notes in your track:
Scrubbing enables you to click each note in the Fretboard and hear it play. Select the Scrub tool
and click the note.
Scrub strumming enables you to strum chords by dragging the Scrub tool through a chord. With
the Scrub tool selected, drag through a chord on the Fretboard from below it or above it and back
and forth.
Ctrl+Right Arrow/Ctrl+Left Arrow moves the cursor through the track, playing each note as it
reaches it.

Working with Percussion

The Staff view can display percussion tracks on a five-line percussion staff or on a single percussion
line. The staff usually displays notes for a drum set or multiple percussion instruments; the line is used
to display notes for a single instrument (although it need not be so).
SONAR lets you control the appearance of percussion staffs in considerable detail. You can display
percussion notes using several different types of noteheads and articulation symbols, and you can map
any percussion sound to any position on the percussion staff (in a percussion track, each MIDI note
value designates a different percussion instrument; mapping lets you display any instrument in any
position on the staff, regardless of the underlying MIDI note value). You can save your settings as a
preset, and use them again on other tracks and in other projects. SONAR supplies a standard preset
based on the General MIDI percussion standard and popularly accepted percussion staff positions and
noteheads.

Setting Up a Percussion Track

Before you use the percussion capabilities of the Staff view, your percussion track should be set up
correctly. This will allow you to hear the proper sounds when placing notes and during playback, and
will allow you to see the correct percussion instrument names rather than generic note names in the
Piano Roll view, Event List view, and Percussion Notation dialog box.

To Set Up a Percussion Track

1. Right-click on the track in the Track pane and choose Track Properties to open the Track
Properties dialog box.
2. Assign the output and channel for your percussion instrument. For example, if the output is
assigned to a sound card that supports General MIDI, use channel 10.
3. Click Instruments to open the Assign Instruments dialog box.

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4. Make sure that the output/channel combination used by your track is assigned to a percussion
instrument definition. For example, channel 10 of a General MIDI output should be assigned to the
General MIDI Drums instrument definition.
5. Click OK in both dialog boxes.
SONAR shows the new track output and channel in the Track view, and will use the proper percussion
instrument names in the Piano Roll view, Event List view, and Percussion Notation dialog box.
For more information about instrument definitions, see Chapter 16, Using Instrument Definitions.

Setting Up a Percussion Staff or Line

The first time you display a percussion track in the Staff view, SONAR picks a default percussion clef
for the track. Tracks with only one note value are assigned the Percussion Line clef. Tracks with
multiple note values are assigned the Percussion Staff clef.
If you want to change a Percussion Staff to a Percussion Line or vice versa, or if you want to change
another type of staff to a percussion staff, you can do so in the Staff View Layout dialog box. If you
change a tracks clef to a non-percussion clef, the percussion notation settings will be lost.

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The lowest and highest lines on the Percussion clef are E5 and F6, respectively. The Percussion Line
represents E5.
By default, percussion staves are given SONARs default note bindings and notehead assignments. If
you want to use your own notation, or if you want to set up the appearance of a percussion line, you
need to use the Percussion Notation Key dialog box. In this dialog box, the percussion sounds and staff
positions that are bound have an asterisk near their names. When you select a bound percussion sound,
a line joins the sound to its staff position. Each percussion sound can be bound only to a single position,
but each position may be bound to several sounds. You can use different notehead types and articulation
symbols to visually distinguish the sounds.

To Assign a Percussion Staff or Line to a Track

1. Click the Staff View Layout button to open the Staff View Layout dialog box.
2. Select your percussion track from the list.
3. Select Percussion Staff or Percussion Line from the Clef dropdown list.
4. Click Percussion Settings to set up the appearance of percussion notes (see below).
5. Click Close.
SONAR changes the tracks clef to the selected percussion clef.

To Set Up a Tracks Percussion Notation Key

1. Click the Staff View Layout button to open the Staff View Layout dialog box.
2. Select your percussion track from the list.
3. Click Percussion Settings to open the Percussion Notation Key dialog box.
4. Set up the percussion notation key according to the following table:

To do this Do this

Map (bind) a percussion sound to a line Select the sound (or corresponding MIDI note) in the MIDI
or space on the staff Note list, select the intended position in the percussion staff in
the Display As list, then click Bind.

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Set the notehead and articulation mark Select the sound in the MIDI Note list, then select a Notehead
for a percussion sound Type and Articulation Symbol. (Only bound sounds can be
assigned a notehead type and articulation symbol other than
the default.)

Control how unbound percussion In the Display As list, click the pitch that you want all unbound
sounds display notes to display as. Then select a Notehead Type and
Articulation Symbol, then click the Default note button to
apply your changes.

Remove a binding Select the percussion sound in the MIDI Note list, then click
Unbind. Unbound notes are displayed in the default position.

Load a preset Select the preset from the Preset list.

Save your settings as a preset Click the Save button and enter a preset name.

Clear all bindings Click Zap All.

Select notes in the note lists with a MIDI Click in the MIDI Note or Display As list, then strike a key on
keyboard your keyboard.

5. Click OK to close the Percussion Notation Key dialog box.

6. Click Close to close the Staff View Layout dialog box.
The Staff view shows the percussion clef with the note bindings and noteheads you assigned.

Ghost Strokes
In percussion notation, parentheses around a note mean that it is a ghost stroke, played very lightly
and barely heard. SONAR supports ghost strokes by displaying parentheses around any percussion
note event with velocity less than 32 (a fixed, arbitrary threshold). If necessary, you can adjust the Vel+
parameter of the track and the velocities of the individual notes to effectively move this threshold
without changing the way the note sounds.

Printing
The Staff view provides printing support of standard musical notation in nine staff sizes. The Staff view
prints general project information from the File Info dialog box (see Labeling Your Projects on page
180) at the beginning of the score, including the song's title (or file name), subtitle (dedication), playing
instructions, author/composer, and copyright. In addition, SONAR identifies the tracks by number and
name, and numbers each measure and each page.

To Print a Score
1. Make sure the Staff view is the current window.
2. Choose File-Print Preview.
3. If you want, click Zoom, or click in the music, to zoom the view in and out.
4. Click the Configure button to select a rastral size.
5. When zoomed out, you can press Page Up and Page Down to navigate between pages.
6. Click Print.
SONAR displays the Windows Print dialog box, from which you can set up your printer and print the
score.

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 Alternatively, you can choose File-Print and skip the print preview window.

The Meter/Key View

The Meter/Key view lets you enter meter and key changes at measure boundaries. Meter and key
changes affect all tracks.

What Is Meter?
The meteralso known as the time signaturedescribes how to divide time into rhythmic pulses.
When you set the meter, you are specifying the number of beats per measure and the note value of each
beat. Common meters include:
2/4 (two beats per measure, quarter note gets a beat)
4/4 (four beats per measure, quarter note gets a beat)
3/4 (three beats per measure, quarter note gets a beat)
6/8 (six beats per measure, eighth note gets a beat)

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The top number of a meter is the number of beats per measure, and can be from 1 through 99. The
bottom number of a meter is the value of each beat; you can pick from a list of values ranging from a
whole note to a thirty-second note.
The meter affects several things in SONAR:
Metronome accents
How measure, beat, and tick (MBT) times are calculated and displayed
How the Staff view is drawn
While SONAR in general allows meters to have up to 99 beats per measure, the Staff view cannot
display such measures. You will receive an error message if you try to use the Staff view with meters
exceeding its limit.
Internally, SONAR stores times as raw ticks or clock pulses. The timebasethe number of pulses per
quarter note (PPQ)is adjustable, from 48 to 960 PPQ. If you are using a timebase of 120 PPQ and the
project file is in 4/4 time, then a whole measure equals 480 ticks. See Setting the MIDI Timing
Resolution on page 152 for more information about the timebase.
Usually the easiest approach to working with meter changes is to set all of them up before doing any
recording. Use the Meter/Key view or the Insert-Meter/Key Change command to add meter changes at
the desired measures.

What Is Key?
In musical terms, a key is a system of related notes based on the tonic (the base pitch) of a major or
minor scale. A key signature is a group of sharps or flats placed immediately to the right of the clef sign.
The key signature tells a performer that certain notes are to be systematically raised or lowered.
There are fifteen different key signaturesseven with sharps, seven with flats, and one without either.
The fifteen key signatures correspond to fifteen different major scales, and to fifteen different minor
scales (for example, the key signature for C major is the same as for A minor).
The key signature affects several things in SONAR:
The key signature controls how SONAR displays notes. In the Event List view and some dialog
boxes, SONAR converts the MIDI pitch number to labels like Db (D-flat in the key of C).
The Staff view uses the key signature to display notation correctly.

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:
How the notes are transposed when the Diatonic option is enabled.
The key signature affects only how SONAR displays pitches for you. Changing the key signature does
not affect the MIDI key number (pitch) stored with each note. To actually transpose pitches, use the
Transpose command or edit notes individually by using the Piano Roll, Event List, or Staff views.
Note: Groove clips are not affected by changes to your projects key. Groove clips follow the default
project pitch value, located on the Markers toolbar, and Pitch markers in the Time Ruler. For more
information, see Using Pitch Markers in the Track View on page 238.
Frequently you use only one key signature for an entire project, but SONAR supports multiple key
signatures and multiple meter changes in a project. The default key is C. You can change these defaults
by creating your own default template file. For more information, see Templates on page 461.

Opening the Meter/Key View

To open the Meter/Key view, click or choose View-Meter/Key.
The Meter/Key view displays a list of meter/key changes in the project. There is always an entry for
measure 1, because there must always be a meter and key signature for the project. The default meter
is 4/4 and the default key is C. You can change these defaults by creating your own default template file.
For more information, see Templates on page 461.
Each meter/key change has the following properties:

Property... Meaning...

At Measure The measure where the meter/key change takes place.

Beats per Measure The number of beats per measure, the upper number in the time
signature.

Beat Value The note length of a beat, the lower number in the time signature.
2 corresponds to a half note, 4 to a quarter note, 8 to an eighth
note, etc.

Key Signature The key signature.

Adding and Editing Meter/Key Changes

The Meter/Key view displays a list of all the meter/key changes in the project. You can add, delete, or
edit meter/key changes by clicking the buttons at the top of the view. You can also insert meter/key
changes into the project with the Insert-Meter/Key Change command.

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To Add a Meter/Key Change
1. Open the Meter/Key view.

2. Click Add , or choose Insert-Meter/Key Change, to open the Meter/Key Signature dialog box.

3. Enter information about the new meter/key change.

4. Click OK.

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SONAR inserts the meter/key change into the project. The meter/key change will appear in the Staff
view at the appropriate measure.

To Delete a Meter/Key Change

1. Select the meter/key change to be deleted from the list.
2. Select additional meter/key changes by using Shift-click and Ctrl-click.

3. Click Delete .
SONAR removes the meter/key change from the project. You cannot delete the first meter/key change
from measure 1 of a project.

To Move a Meter/Key Change

1. Select the meter/key change to be moved.

2. Click Add .
3. Edit the Measure parameter to the meter/key changes new measure.
4. Click OK.
5. Select the original meter/key change again.

6. Click Delete .
SONAR removes the original meter/key change and inserts a copy of it at the new measure.

To Edit a Meter/Key Change

1. Select the meter/key change to be edited.

2. Click Change to open the Meter/Key Signature dialog box.

3. Edit the meter/key change properties.
4. Click OK.
SONAR changes the properties of the meter/key change.

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Music Notation for Non-concert-key
Instruments
For historical reasons, certain musical instruments are traditionally notated in a transposed key rather
than the actual key. For example, a normal (Bb) trumpet part is written in the key one whole step
higher than the actual concert key, and an Eb alto sax part is written a major sixth higher. Musicians
have traditionally learned to read and refer to the notes they play using the proper transposition
interval for their instrument.
SONAR supports these non-concert instrumental keys through use of the Key+ control in the Track
view. Simply enter or record the notes into the instrument's track transposed as the musician would
expect them, and then set the proper transposition interval in the Key+ control to make it play in the
correct key. For example, a Bb trumpet track should have all its notes a whole note higher than concert
pitch, and should have Key+ set to -2 to transpose it two chromatic steps back down. Remember, not all
trumpets are Bb instruments!

To Notate a Bb Trumpet Part

1. Record or enter the notes using the pitches that the musician who will be reading the part needs to
see. For example, if the non-transposing instruments are playing in the key of C, a Bb trumpet
player needs to see the notes a whole step higherthe key of D. The instrument itself sounds a
whole step lower than concert pitch, so when a Bb trumpet plays in the key of D, it sounds in the
key of C.
Now that the pitches appear the way that the trumpet player needs to see them, the problem is
that when you play your project, the MIDI notes in the trumpet track sound a whole step too high.
2. In the Track view, force SONAR to play the trumpet track a whole step lower by entering -2
(negative 2) in the Key+ field and pressing Enter.
Now the trumpet part in the Staff view appears in the key of DSONAR automatically adds two sharps
to the trumpet tracks key signaturebut the track sounds in the key of C because you entered -2 in the
Key+ field (you may need to close the Staff view and reopen it to see the new key signature). The Staff
view automatically transposes the key signature for each track according to the track's Key+ value.
Multiple tracks appear and can be printed as an orchestral score, with the proper different key
signatures for each track.
Note that this Key+ information is saved in SONAR .CWP files, but not in standard MIDI files. If you
save a file as a MIDI file, the Key+ transposition will be applied to each note event, so that the file will
sound the same, but the Key+ information will be lost. If you're reading in a MIDI file, you can easily set
up the non-concert instrument tracks and then save the file as a normal project file. First set the Key+
offset to reflect the non-concert instrument's key signature. Then, use Transpose to compensate for the
Key+ offset.

Working with Lyrics

SONAR lets you create, edit, and display lyrics, the words and syllables associated with notes in a
track. Lyrics can be the words to a song, the text of a vocal passage, a narration to be read along with
the music, cues of some type, or text totally unrelated to the music. Each word or syllable in the lyrics
must be associated with a note in a MIDI track. Each MIDI track can have its own lyrics.
Although lyrics can logically be associated with digital audio data, you cannot actually place lyrics in an
audio track. If you want to create lyrics for an audio track, you must create an auxiliary MIDI track to
hold the lyrics.

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You can enter and edit lyrics in several ways:
Using the Lyrics tool in the Staff view
Using the Lyrics view
Inserting lyric events in the Event List view
The Staff view is usually the preferred location for entering lyrics, since you can see the notes with
which the lyrics are associated. The Lyrics view can also be used for entering or editing lyrics, but its
main strength is that it can display lyrics in a larger, more readable format. You might use the Lyrics
view to display song lyrics during recording and playback, so performers can see the words and sing
along. You can make the font size in the Lyrics view as large as desired, so that the lyrics can be read at
a distance from the monitor. During playback, the current line in the lyrics is enclosed in a box and the
current word is highlighted.
Lyric events are similar to text events. Like any other event, they occur at a particular time. They
contain text, just like general-purpose text events, but generally they contain only a single word (or
syllable of a word). As events, Lyrics can be edited in the Event List view (see The Event List View on
page 289).

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Adding and Editing Lyrics in the Staff View
The Staff view displays lyrics below their associated track. If the track is split into treble/bass staves,
lyrics are aligned with notes in both staves, but are displayed below the treble staff.
When a lyric word or syllable spans multiple notes, a trailing underline or series of regularly spaced
hyphens is automatically drawn, following conventional lyric notation practice.

To Add Lyrics to a Track

1. Click the Draw tool .

2. Select the Lyrics tool .

3. Position the pointer below the staff, under the first note to be assigned lyrics. (The pointer changes
to a pencil when you are in a legal position.)
4. Click to open an insertion box.
5. Follow the instructions in the table:

To do this Do this

Enter a word or syllable Type it in the insertion box

End the word or syllable and move Type a space, tab, or hyphen
to the next note

Skip over a note Type a space or hyphen

Move back to the previous note Press Shift-Tab

6. Press Enter when you are done.

SONAR displays the new lyrics below the staff.

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To Edit Lyrics
1. Click the Draw tool .
2. Click the word you want to change.
3. Edit the word as desired.
4. Press Enter.
SONAR replaces the old word with the new one.

Opening the Lyrics View

There are three ways to open the Lyrics view:
In the Track view, select the track whose lyrics you want to see, then click
In the Track view, select the track whose lyrics you want to see, then choose View-Lyrics
Right-click a clip in the Clips pane and choose Lyrics from the menu
The Pick Track button opens a dialog box where you can select the track whose lyrics you want to
see. Select the desired track, then click OK.
To select a font for the display, use one of the following:

Option/Button... Purpose...

Selects the first font. By default, this is a small font useful for
editing.

Selects the second font. By default, this is a larger font useful for
reading lyrics at a distance.

Opens a dialog where you can select a font. The selected font is
then assigned as Font A or B (depending on which is currently
selected).

Adding and Editing Lyrics in the Lyrics View

Lyrics appear in the Lyrics view as a stream of syllables, each one associated with a note in the track. In
this context, a syllable is any continuous string of characters, without a hyphen. For example, love,
desire, and infatuation are all syllables; each one would be associated with a single note. If you want
to break a word into multiple syllables, you must hyphenate the word. For example, de-sire would
map onto two notes, since it is now two syllables long.
When you enter the lyrics, you can mark the syllables the way you want, or you can simply type the text
in normally and use automatic hyphenation to break the text into syllables. This means that you can
add lyrics to a project by copying and pasting them from another application (such as a word processor),
and then hyphenate them automatically.
To extend a single syllable over more than one note, you can use extra hyphens, separated by spaces.
For example, in Oh-say can you see, the Oh is extended over two notes. If a track contains no lyrics
yet, the display will show only a series of hyphens (one for each note in the track).
If you enter more syllables than there are notes in the track, SONAR assigns the extra lyrics times at
quarter note intervals.

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To Enter Lyrics in the Lyrics View
1. Click in the upper left corner of the view to position the cursor at the start of the text.

2. Follow the instructions in the table:

To do this Do this

Enter a word or syllable Type it

End a word or syllable and move to Type a space or hyphen

the next note

Break a line for easier Press Enter

viewing

To Edit Lyrics in the Lyrics View

Editing in the Lyrics view follows standard Windows conventions for cursor movement, selection, cut

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(Ctrl+X), copy (Ctrl+C), paste (Ctrl+V), and delete (Delete). When you pause, SONAR will update all
lyric events in the track.

To Hyphenate the Lyrics

1. If you want, select a portion of the lyric text. If you do not select any text, all the lyrics will be
hyphenated.
2. Click the Hyphenate button.
SONAR hyphenates the lyrics.

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 16 Using Instrument
Definitions

Instrument definitions are a powerful feature of SONAR that makes it easier for you to find
the banks, patches, and controllers of your MIDI instruments. An instrument definition is a
file that contains the names of the banks, patches, note names, bank select method, and
controllers of an instrument. Instrument definitions for many popular MIDI instruments are

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included with SONAR or are available on the Cakewalk web site (www.cakewalk.com). If an
instrument definition is not available for your instrument, and you are familiar with MIDI
and how it works, you can use SONAR to create your own instrument definition.
Most MIDI instruments available today are General MIDI (GM) compatible, which means
that they come with the standard set of sounds or patches defined by the GM standard.
SONAR initially assumes that your MIDI instruments are GM compatible. The names of
patches and controllers that you initially see displayed throughout SONAR are drawn from
the GM specification.
At the same time, many MIDI instruments provide additional sounds and controllers beyond
those required by the GM standard. In addition, some older MIDI instruments are not GM
compatible. If you are using one of these instruments with SONAR, you can use instrument
definitions to make sure that the names of banks, patches, and controllers that you see in
SONAR are the same ones you see on the display screens of your MIDI keyboards and
modules.

In This Chapter
Assigning Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
Importing Instrument Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Creating Instrument Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506
Instrument Definition Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
 :
Assigning Instruments
SONAR lets you assign a MIDI instrument definition to each available MIDI output and channel. The
assignments you make determine the MIDI bank names, patch names, note names, and controller
names that you see during your SONAR session.
Suppose that you have a Roland GS-compatible synthesizer attached to MIDI output 1. By assigning all
16 channels of MIDI output 1 to the Roland GS instrument definition, you ensure that the bank, patch,
note, and controller name lists you see displayed in SONAR are the same ones that you see on the
display screen of your synthesizer.
Often, you want to assign a different instrument to channel 10, which is usually used for percussion.
For example, you might assign the Roland GS instrument definition to channels 1 through 9 and 11
through 16, but you would most likely want to assign the Roland GS Drumsets instrument definition to
channel 10. That way, any SONAR tracks you assign to channel 10 on that output use the names of
drum sets for patch names, and drum notation in the Piano Roll view. If you have several MIDI outputs,
with a different MIDI module attached to each one, you would normally assign a different instrument
definition to each MIDI output.
For convenience, you can assign a block of channels to one instrument and then change the assignment
of one or more of those channels without changing the others. For example, you can highlight all 16
channels of the first MIDI output and assign them to the Roland GS instrument definition. Then, you
can highlight channel 10 of that same MIDI output and assign it to the Roland GS Drumset instrument
definition. Channels 1 through 9 and 11 through 16 on the first MIDI output will stay assigned to
Roland GS.
If you only have one MIDI output, but have several MIDI modules attached to it, you can assign a few
channels to each module. For example, you might have a Roland synth receiving on MIDI channels 1
through 9, a Roland drum machine receiving on channel 10, and a basic GM-compatible synth receiving
on channels 11 through 16. In this case, youd use three different instrument definitions for your one
and only MIDI output.

To Assign Instrument Definitions to MIDI Outputs and Channels

1. Choose Options-Instruments to display the Assign Instruments dialog box.

2. Select one or more MIDI outputs and channels from the Output/Channel list (use Shift-click and
Ctrl-click to select multiple outputs and channels). You can also drag through a bunch of channels
to select them. For example, if you want to assign the first 16 MIDI channels on output 1 to a
certain MIDI module, drag through the first 16 items in the Output/Channel list to select them.

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 3. Choose the instrument definition to which the selected outputs and channels should be assigned
from the Uses Instrument list. A black line connects the two lists. If your MIDI modules name
doesnt appear in the list and you dont want to use General MIDI bank and patch names for it, see
Importing Instrument Definitions on page 505.
4. To save these changes permanently, check the Save Changes for Next Session box.
5. Click OK to apply your changes.
From now on, the bank, patch, controller, and note names from the assigned instrument definition are
used throughout SONAR on any track that uses one of the output/channel combinations you selected in
the Output/Channel list.

To Clear Instrument Assignments

1. Choose Options-Instruments to display the Assign Instruments dialog box.
2. Select the MIDI outputs and channels whose assignments you want to remove from the Output/
Channel list.
3. Choose <default> from the Uses Instrument list. A black line connects the two lists.
4. Click OK when you are done.

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You dont really clear instrument assignmentsyou reassign them to use the default (General MIDI)
instrument definition. After you reassign the output/channel combinations, the default (GM) bank,
patch, controller, and note names are used throughout SONAR on any track that uses one of the output/
channel combinations you reassigned in the Output/Channel list.

Importing Instrument Definitions

When you install SONAR, a few common instrument definitions are already set up for you and ready to
use. SONAR also includes several hundred additional instrument definitions that you can import.
These instrument definitions are stored in text files in your SONAR folder, organized largely by
manufacturer. For example, all the instrument definitions for Roland gear are stored in the ROLAND.INS
file; all the instrument definitions for Yamaha gear are stored in the YAMAHA.INS file. The MISC.INS file
contains miscellaneous instrument definitions.
If SONAR does not include an instrument definition for your MIDI instrument, you can find additional
and updated instrument definitions on the Downloads section of the Cakewalk website
(www.cakewalk.com). Simply download the files to your SONAR folder, unzip if necessary, and import
the instrument definitions as described below.
When you import an instrument definition, it is added to the master instrument definition file
MASTER.INS. The contents of this file determines the list of instruments that appear in the Assign
Instruments dialog box.

To Import Instrument Definitions

1. Choose Options-Instruments to display the Assign Instruments dialog box.
2. Click Define to display the Define Instruments and Names dialog box.
3. Click Import to display the Import Instrument Definitions dialog box.
4. Choose the file that contains instrument definitions for your manufacturer, and click Open.
SONAR displays a list of all the instrument definitions in the file.
5. Choose one or more instruments from the list, and click OK.
6. Click Close to close the Define Instruments and Names dialog box.

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The instrument definitions you imported should now appear in the Uses Instrument list in the Assign
Instruments dialog box.

Creating Instrument Definitions

SONAR lets you create and edit instrument definitions. To create an instrument definition, you must
answer these types of questions:
What are the names of the patches in each bank?
Which note names should be used for each patch?
What are the names of the MIDI Controllers for this instrument?
Which RPN and NRPNs are available on the instrument?
Which Bank Select method does the instrument use?
To collect this information, you need the MIDI documentation for your instrument.
Heres a general outline of the steps you must follow to create an instrument definition:
Create a new instrument in the Instrument tree.
Create any new name lists in the Names tree that are required for the instrument.
Drag name lists and possibly a bank select method to the new instrument from the Names tree.
Close the Define Instruments and Names dialog box.
For detailed instructions, see To Create a New Instrument on page 507.
You define instruments in the Define Instruments and Names dialog box, shown below:

The Instruments tree The Names tree

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The Define Instruments and Names dialog box contains two trees:
The Instruments tree in the left half of the dialog box lists all defined instruments and their
characteristics
The Names tree in the right half of the dialog box shows all the resources you use to define an
instrument
You expand or collapse the folders and lists in each tree by clicking on the + or key shown to the left of
each item. You can also right-click on an item and choose Expand or Collapse from the menu, or
double-click on an item to expand or collapse it.
To define an instrument, you drag resources from the Names tree to the name of an instrument on the
Instruments tree. Each resource is color-codedyou can only drag a Names list to an Instrument tree
branch of the same color. For example, you can only drag a list from the Patch Names folder in the
Names tree to a Patch Names for Banks folder in the Instruments tree.
There are six components to an instrument definition:
Method for bank selection
Patch names, such as Piano and Bass

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Note names, which are most frequently used to name drum notes, such as kick or snare
Controller names, like volume and pan
Names for Registered Parameter Numbers (RPNs)
Names for Non-Registered Parameter Numbers (NRPNs)
The instrument definitions organize all names (patches, notes, controllers, RPNs, and NRPNs) into
lists. You may be able to define a new instrument using existing name lists. For example, two models of
synthesizers made by a particular manufacturer may have identical patch name lists but use different
NRPNs. In this case, you can use the same patch name lists for both instruments, but you would need to
use a different NRPN list (or perhaps create a new NRPN list) for the second synth.
If you want your changes to be remembered the next time you run SONAR, make sure the Save
Changes For Next Session option in the Assign Instruments dialog box is checked before clicking OK.
Otherwise, to make only temporary changes, be sure to remove the check from that option.

To Create a New Instrument

1. In the Define Instruments and Names dialog box, right-click the word Instruments at the top of
the Instrument tree, and choose Add Instrument from the popup menu.
2. Type a name for the new instrument and press Enter.
The new instrument is provided with default settings for all of its characteristics.

To Rename an Instrument
1. In the Define Instruments and Names dialog box, right-click an Instrument name in the
Instrument tree and choose Edit from the popup menu.
2. Type the new name and press Enter.

To Delete an Instrument
1. In the Define Instruments and Names dialog box, right-click an Instrument name in the
Instrument tree and choose Delete from the menu.
2. Confirm that you want to delete the instrument.

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To Save an Instrument Definition
1. Click Close to close the Define Instruments and Names dialog box.
2. Click OK.
SONAR saves the instrument definition in the MASTER.INS file.

To Export an Instrument Definition

1. In the Define Instruments and Names dialog box, right-click an Instrument name in the
Instrument tree and choose Export from the menu to display the Export Instrument Definition
dialog box.
2. If you dont want to save the file in the folder thats listed in the Save In field, navigate to the folder
in which you do want to save the file.
3. Enter a file name and click Save.
SONAR saves the file, with the filename extension .INS.
Note: Exporting instrument definitions allows you to share them with other SONAR users.

Creating and Editing Patch Name and Other Lists

You can create and edit the various lists in the Names tree that make up each instrument definition.
Patch name, note name, and controller name lists can contain up to 128 entries, numbered 0 through
127. RPN and NRPN name lists can contain up to 16,384 entries, numbered 0 through 16,383.

To Create and Edit Name Lists

To create, edit, or work with name lists, go to the Names tree of the Define Instruments and Names
dialog box, and follow the directions in the following table:

To do this Do this

Create a new name list Duplicate an existing Patch Names or other list by doing one of the
following: expand the folder that contains the name list, highlight the
name list and press the Ins (Insert) key; highlight the folder and press
Shift-Insert; or right-click any folder or name list and choose Add
Names List from the menu.
Then type a name for the list and press Enter.

Delete a name list Highlight the names list and press the Del (Delete) key; or right-click on
the name list and choose Delete from the menu. You will see a warning
if the list is used by any instrument definition. If you delete the list
anyway, the instrument definition will change automatically.

Add the next item in a name Highlight a name and press the Ins key, or right-click on a name and
list choose Add Name from the menu. Then enter the name.

Add a name anywhere in a list Highlight the name of a list and press Shift-Insert, or right-click on the
name of a list and choose Add Name from the menu. Then enter the
name.

Delete names from a list Highlight the Names List or Name, and press Del. You can also right-
click, then choose Delete.

Edit a name in a list Highlight the name or name list and press F2, or right-click and choose
Edit from the menu. Then enter the new name.

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Copying Name Lists
You can easily create new lists that are similar to other lists. For example, suppose you want to create a
new patch name list called NewList that is almost identical to the General MIDI patch list, but with one
or two small changes. Heres how you proceed:
Create a new patch name list in the Patch Names folder of the Names tree called, for example,
NewList.
Drag the new list onto the General MIDI list in the Names tree. You will be asked if you want to
base NewList on the General MIDI list.
Click OK. NewList will now be listed under the General MIDI branch. Any patch names that exist
in the General MIDI list apply to NewList, too.
Add new patch names to NewList. These names will override those in the list on which NewList is
based.
If you change your mind about NewList and want to make it a stand-alone, separate list, simply drag it
to the Patch Names root folder.

Assigning the Bank Select Method

English
Your synthesizer uses one of four bank select methods to switch back and forth between banks of
sounds. To find the method used for your instrument, check the instruments Users Guide or the
manufacturers web site. The four methods are as follows:

Method Used for

Normal Instruments that respond to Controller 0 or Controller 32 bank select messages

Controller 0 only Instruments that only respond to Controller 0 bank select messages

Controller 32 only Instruments that only respond to Controller 32 bank select messages

Patch 100..127 Instruments that let you change banks by sending patch changes between 100
and 127

The bank select method you choose affects the bank numbers that you assign to each patch list, as
described in the following section. Heres how you compute the bank numbers:

Bank select method To compute the bank number

Normal Take the value of Controller 0, multiply it by 128, and add the value of
Controller 32 to derive the bank number.
Note: A synthesizer manufacturer may refer to Controller 0 as the MSB
(Most Significant Byte) and to Controller 32 as the LSB (Least Significant
Byte).

Controller 0 only The value of Controller 0 is the bank number.

Controller 32 only The value of Controller 32 is the bank number.

Patch 100..127 Take the patch number and subtract 100 to derive the bank number.

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 :
Here is an example of the Normal bank select method. According to the documentation for the Roland
JV-1080 synthesizer, the PR-A Bank has a Controller 0 value of 81 and a Controller 32 value of 0. You
compute the bank number that you enter in the instrument definition as follows: (81 x 128) + 0 =
10,368.

To Change the Bank Select Method

1. Highlight and expand the instrument in the Instrument tree.
2. Expand the Bank Select Method branch in the Names tree.
3. Drag the desired bank select method from the Names tree to the Instrument tree.

Assigning Patch Names

A MIDI instrument can have up to 16,384 banks of 128 patches each. Patches can have names, like
Piano for patch number 0, Bass for patch number 1, and so on. Normally, each bank contains a
different set of patches, so each bank needs a separate patch name list. Most synthesizers start with a
patch number of 0.
You can assign a patch name list to each bank. You can also assign a default patch name list to the
instrument, which is used for all banks for which you havent assigned a specific list. The previous
section describes how to compute the bank numbers to which each patch name list is assigned.
Each bank can also be assigned a special Drum flag, which indicates that all patches in that bank
contain drum sounds. If you set this flag, the Piano Roll view will display drum notes as diamonds, and
the Staff view will use percussion notation.

To See the Assignment of Patch Name Lists to Banks

1. Expand the instrument definition by clicking the + sign next to the instrument name.
2. Expand the Patch Names for Banks folder by clicking the + sign. The list expands to show the bank
numbers and the patch name list that is assigned to each bank.

Instrument name The * indicates that this patch list is

the default

There are three defined

banks

This is the name of a patch

name list

To Add a Bank or Change the Patch Names for a Bank

1. Drag a patch name list from the Names tree to the Patch Names for Banks folder of the instrument
youre editing in the Instrument tree.
2. Enter a bank number, or enter 1 to indicate that this list of patch names should be used as the
default.
SONAR displays the updated banks and patch name lists. If necessary, SONAR adds a new bank to the
instrument definition.

To Remove a Bank or Patch Name List

1. In the Instrument tree in the Patch Names for Banks folder of the instrument youre editing,
highlight the bank and patch names list.

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2. Press the Del key, or right-click on the bank name and choose Delete from the popup menu.

To Set or Clear the Drum Flag

Right-click on the bank in the Instrument tree, and choose Drums from the popup menu.

Assigning Note Names

Each patch may have a list of up to 128 names for notes. Usually, note names are labels for percussion
instruments. For example, the pitch C3 may really be Kick Drum, and D3 may be Snare. Because a
drum machine may provide different drum kits for each patch, SONAR lets you specify a different list of
note names for each patch. The Piano Roll and Event List views show you these note names.
You can assign a note name list to each patch. You can also assign a default note name list to the
instrument, which is used for all patches for which you havent assigned a specific note name list.
Each patch can also be assigned a special Drum flag, which indicates that this patch contains drum
sounds. If you set this flag, the Piano Roll view will display drum notes as diamonds, and the Staff view
will use percussion notation.
There are several standard note name lists provided with SONAR:

English
Note name list Contents

0..127 The numbers 0 through 127

Diatonic The default MIDI note names (like C4, E5, and so on)

General MIDI Drums The default instrument names for the General MIDI drum patch

To See the Assignment of Note Name Lists to Patches

1. Expand the instrument definition by clicking the + sign next to the instrument name.
2. Expand the Patch Names for Banks folder by clicking the + sign.
3. Continue expanding the tree by clicking the + sign, until the tree is fully expanded.

Instrument name

Bank
The * indicates that this
note name list is the default
Note name lists are
This is the name of a defined for three different
note name list patches

To Change the Note Names for a Patch

1. Drag a note name list from the Names tree onto the Note Names for Patches folder of the
instrument and bank youre editing in the Instruments tree.

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 2.
:
Enter the patch number that should use these note names, or enter 1 to indicate that this list of
note names should be used as the default.
SONAR displays the updated patch and note name lists. If necessary, SONAR
adds a new patch to the instrument definition.

To Remove a Note Name List

1. In the Instrument tree in the Note Names for Patches folder of the instrument youre editing,
highlight the name of the note names list (for example, diatonic).
2. Press the Del key, or right-click on the note name list and choose Delete from the popup menu.

To Set or Clear the Drum Flag

Right-click on the patch in the Instrument tree, and choose Drums from the menu.

Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names

SONAR lets each instrument have its own lists of controller names, RPN names, and NRPN names.
There is always exactly one list of each type per instrument.

To See the Controller, RPN, and NRPN Name Lists

1. Expand the instrument definition by clicking the + sign next to the instrument name.

Instrument name

Controller name list

RPN name list
NRPN name list

To Change the Controller, RPN, or NRPN Name List

1. In the Names tree, expand the branch containing the Controller name lists, RPN name lists, or
NRPN name lists.
2. Drag the desired name list from the Names tree onto the corresponding branch of the Instrument
tree.
SONAR displays the updated Controller, RPN, or NRPN name lists.

UsesNotesAsControllers=n
Some MIDI devices, certain mixers for example, use MIDI Note events instead of Continuous Controller
events for automation. It is often desirable to treat the Note events as Controller events in order for
them to obey the Zero Controllers When Play Stops and Patch/Controller Searchback Before Play
Starts settings.
You can enter this variable in any instrument definition by using a text editor, such as Windows
Notepad. The variable should be entered directly below an instrument definition. For example:
[Mackie OTTO-1604]
UsesNotesAsControllers=1
Control=Mackie OTTO-1604

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 Patch[*]=Mackie OTTO-1604
Key[*,*]=Mackie OTTO-1604

NoControllerReset=n
Any port/channel using an instrument definition that has a NoControllerReset flag set to 1 does not
receive a "zero controller" message upon stop. You can enter this variable in any instrument definition
by using a text editor, such as Windows Notepad. The variable should be entered directly below an
instrument definition. For example:
[Yamaha Promix 01 Control Chan]
NoControllerReset=1
Control=Yamaha Promix 01 Control Chan
Patch[*]=Yamaha Pro Mix 01
This parameter should be used when it is undesirable to zero/reset controllers when playback stop, such
as when using an external effects processor that uses MIDI controllers for real-time parameter control,
or when using a digital mixer as a MIDI control surface (and not using the generic control surface plug-
in).

English
Instrument Definition Tutorial
The following tutorial takes you through the process of setting up an instrument definition for a Roland
keyboard so that the bank and patch names, including any self-created sounds, read the same in
SONAR as they do on the display screen of your keyboard instrument.

Why Use Instrument Definitions?

The main reason to import or create an instrument definition is so you can use patch names that are
specific to the MIDI module youre using, instead of using generic General MIDI patch names. Its much
easier to find a particular sound on a MIDI module when the actual names of the patches in the current
bank of sounds pop up on a list, instead of just the numbers 0 to 127, or General MIDI names like
Trumpet. Of course, if youre only using General MIDI modules, General MIDI patch names might be
all you need. You can also rename each MIDI output with the name of the MIDI module its connected
to. For example, it might be more meaningful to name a MIDI output Roland Sound Canvas instead of
MOTU MIDI Express 5. That way, you wont have to remember that you connected the Sound Canvas to
the MOTU MIDI Express output number 5the name Sound Canvas shows up as an option in the
Output field of each MIDI track in SONARs track view. Also if you have an effects processor or module
thats hard to get to in your studio, you may find it convenient to control it from SONAR.

What Can They Do and Not Do?

Instrument definitions dont increase the number of sounds or the capabilities of your modules, they
just make it easier to find and remember the sounds and/or MIDI controllers you want to use, if theyre
not all generic General MIDI items. After you define an instrument, SONAR displays the names that
you choose for the sounds in each of that instruments banks, rather than displaying the same 128
General MIDI names over and over for each bank of sounds.

Where Do Instrument Definitions Come From?

The patch names and other characteristics of each particular MIDI module are supplied by the
manufacturer, and are contained in an instrument definition file, which is a text file written in a format
SONAR can read. Many of these files come with SONAR, and many more are available at Cakewalks
website, and also at lilchips.com. Instrument definition files have the extension .INS and can contain a
definition for only one instrument, or definitions for several instruments. For example, the file

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 ROLAND.INS
: contains definitions for many Roland modules. The file MISC.INS contains miscellaneous
definitions that might include your instrument if you dont see a specific file for it. You can find these
files in your SONAR folder. The file MASTER.INS contains all the instrument definitions currently loaded
into SONAR, and determines the list of instruments that appears in the Assign Instruments dialog box.

Start of Tutorial
Lets say you have a Roland XP-10 and you want SONAR to display all of its patch names from all of its
banks, including any self-created sounds you add to it.
Lets start by importing the names of the built-in banks and patches that the XP-10 has.

To Import a Roland Instrument Definition

1. Choose Options-Instruments to display the Assign Instruments dialog box.
2. Click Define to display the Define Instruments and Names dialog box.
3. Click Import to display the Import Instrument Definitions dialog box.
4. Choose the file that contains instrument definitions for your manufacturer, which in this case is
the ROLAND.INS file, and click Open. SONAR displays a list of all the instrument definitions in the
file.
5. Scroll down the list, select the Roland XP-10, and click OK.
6. Click Close to close the Define Instruments and Names dialog box.
The instrument definition you imported should now appear in the Uses Instrument list in the Assign
Instruments dialog box.
When you import an instrument definition, it is added to the master instrument definition file
MASTER.INS. The contents of this file determines the list of instruments that appear in the Assign
Instruments dialog box.
Now lets assign the XP-10 definition to some channels on a MIDI output:

To Assign the Roland XP-10 Bank and Patch Names to a MIDI Output
1. Choose Options-Instruments to display the Assign Instruments dialog box.
2. Lets assign all 16 MIDI channels on output 1 to use the XP-10 bank and patch names:
Drag through the first 16 items in the Port/Channel list to select them.
From the Uses Instrument list, click Roland XP-10. A black line connects the two lists.
3. To save these changes permanently, enable the Save Changes for Next Session option.
4. Click OK to apply your changes.
From now on, any track that uses any of channels 1 to 16 on output 1 displays bank and patch names
from the XP-10.
To check this, assign a MIDI track in a project to Ch 1, assign the Output field to 1-Roland XP-10, and
then examine the dropdown lists in the Bank and Patch fields of the track. You should see bank and
patch names that are specific to the Roland XP-10.
Lets check some of our bank and patch lists to see if they match up with what we see on the screen of
the XP-10. On the XP-10, lets look at the Vari 1 bank: if we look at tone (tone means the same as patch)
#005 in the Vari 1 bank on the XP-10, we see that it is called Detuned EP1. If we change the bank on a
MIDI track to 128-Roland XP-10 Var #01, and look at the menu of patches in the Pch field, we see that
there is no name listed for patch #004 (Roland numbers its patches from 1 to 128; SONAR numbers
patches from 0 to 127, so patch #004 in SONAR is the same patch number as patch #005 on the Roland).
Lets look at some of the other Roland XP-10 patch name lists in the right window of the Define

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Instruments and Names dialog box to see if another one has the right patch names in it, and rename it
Var #01.

To Substitute and Rename a Patch List

1. Use the Options-Instruments command to open the Assign Instruments dialog box, and click the
Define button to open the Define Instruments and Names dialog box.
2. In the Names Tree window on the right, click the + sign on the Patches folder to expand the tree of
patch name lists.
3. Scroll down to the Roland XP-10 Var #08 list and click its + sign to expand it.
4. Compare the names on the Var #08 list with the patch names of the Vari 1 instruments on the
Rolands display screen. Youll see they are the same.
5. Lets substitute the Var #08 list for the Var #01 list that SONAR currently lists as the XP-10s
second bank, which has a bank change number of 128:
In the Instruments tree in the left window, click the Roland XP-10 entry to expand it, and
then expand the Patch Names for Banks list thats directly under it.
Expand the Patch Names tree in the right window and find the Roland XP-10 Var #01 list (if

English
there is one) and right-click it to display the popup menu.
Choose Edit from the popup menu, and change the name from Roland XP-10 Var #01 to
Roland XP-10 Var #011.
In the same tree find the Roland XP-10 Var #08 list and change the name from Roland XP-10
Var #08 to Roland XP-10 Var #01.
Drag the newly renamed list from the Patch Names tree in the right window to the Patch
Names for Banks tree in the left window.
In the Bank Number dialog box, enter 128, and click OK.
6. Click the Close button to close the Define Instruments and Names dialog box and click OK to close
the Assign Instruments and Names dialog box.
Examine the new bank and patch data in a track that uses 1-Roland XP-10 as an output. In the Bnk
field, select 128 Roland XP-10 Var #01, then look at the dropdown list of patches in the Pch field. The
list should now have the same names that the Roland keyboard uses for its Vari 1 bank.
The Roland XP-10, like most MIDI keyboards, allows you to create your own sounds and store them in
one or more User banks. You can create patch name lists in SONAR that are the same as the names you
gave to each of your own sounds.

Checking Bank Numbers

You can calculate bank numbers by using the methods described in Assigning the Bank Select Method
on page 509, but you might find it easier to use the following method:

To Check the Bank Numbers

1. Set up a MIDI track to record from your MIDI keyboard or module.
2. Click the Record button to start recording, and change banks on your keyboard.
3. Stop recording, and open the Event List view.
4. The bank change you recorded is displayed in the Event List view in this way: in the Data column
youll see what kind of bank change method your keyboard uses (probably Normal), and in the
column to the right of that data is the number of the bank you changed to.
When we changed the Roland XP-10 to the User 1 bank, we recorded a bank number of 8192.

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To Create a Patch Name List for Your Own Sounds
1. You could create a new list by copying and renaming an existing list (right-click a list and choose
New Patch Name List from the popup menu), but since the instrument definition we imported for
the XP-10 includes a list called Roland XP-10 User Tone 1, lets just edit that one: in the Names
Tree window on the right, right-click the Roland XP-10 User Tone 1 list and choose Add Patch
Name from the popup menu.
A new patch field appears, with the text 0 = 0 inside.
2. Replace the first number in the patch field with the number of a patch you stored in User Bank 1
on the Roland.
3. Replace the second number in the patch field with the name you made up for the patch you just
gave a number to, and press Enter.
4. Assign names to as many patch numbers as you wantthe numbers between 0 and 127 that you
dont assign any names to show up in the Track view Patch menu just as patch numbers with no
other names.
5. When you finish assigning names, drag your edited patch list to the Roland XP-10 Patch Names for
Banks tree in the left window.
6. Enter 8192 as the bank number, which we know is the correct bank number from the previous
procedure.
7. Click the Close button to close the Define Instruments and Names dialog box and click OK to close
the Assign Instruments and Names dialog box.
Now you can select the 8192-Roland XP-10 User Tone 1 bank in the Bank field of a MIDI track, and
then examine the patch list in the Patch menu: you should see the patch list that you just created.

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 17 Using System
Exclusive Data

SONARs System Exclusive (Sysx) librarian provides you with 8192 banks in which to hold
MIDI System Exclusive messages. A bank is a storage area plus some associated
parameters such as a destination output and an optional description. Each bank can hold
any number of messages; the amount of data it can hold is limited only by available memory.

English
The banks are saved in the SONAR project file. Each bank can also be saved as a .SYX file.

In This Chapter
What Is System Exclusive? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Using the System Exclusive View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Sending Sysx Banks at Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Importing, Creating, and Dumping Sysx Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
Editing Sysx Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
Sysx View Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Transmitting Banks During Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Sysx Echo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Sysx .INI File Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
 :
What Is System Exclusive?
System Exclusive data is MIDIs way of letting each synthesizer manufacturer transmit private data
about its products. A System Exclusive message has a manufacturer ID; the rest of the message is
completely proprietary and varies for each manufacturer, even for each of its products. SONAR does not
understand what this data means; it simply can hold onto it for you. You can take snapshots of your
equipments configuration and store them in SONARs System Exclusive banks for transmitting back to
the equipment. You may want to do this simply to back up your equipments patches and/or settings,
much like backing up your computers hard drive in case something goes wrong. Or you may configure
your equipment differently for each projects requirements, which is why storing System Exclusive
banks with each SONAR project file can be useful. Of course, for merely backing up your equipment,
you can have a project containing only System Exclusive data and no notes.

Sysx Events
SONAR provides two distinct kinds of Sysx events: Sysx Bank and Sysx Data.
Sysx Bank: You can use Sysx Bank events to transmit one of the projects 8192 banks of System
Exclusive data. These banks can be recorded, viewed, and edited in the Sysx view, and each bank
can contain one or more very large System Exclusive messages. Sysx Banks may also be marked
Auto, so that they are sent when the file is loaded rather than during the start of playback.
Sysx Data: You can also use Sysx Data events, which can each contain a single System Exclusive
message up to 255 bytes long. You can view the message bytes in the Event List view.
Sysx Data events can be recorded in real time. See Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages
on page 524 for more information.

Using the System Exclusive View

The System Exclusive view has a list box for a maximum of 256 Sysx banks, plus a toolbar of buttons.
Most of the buttons affect whatever bank you have selected in the list. Certain buttons will be disabled
if the selected bank is empty. To open the System Exclusive view, choose the Sysx command from the
View menu, or click the Sysx view icon in the Views toolbar.
SONAR stores Sysx messages as either Sysx banks or Sysx data. The main difference is in the number
of bytes in the message, and also that Sysx data is only visible in the Event List view as SysxData
events. A Sysx data message can have up to 255 bytes in it. You can send Sysx data to an instrument
without interrupting playback (depending on the speed of your computer and the number of bytes in the
message), however, sending a Sysx bank stops playback until all of the Sysx bank is transmitted. Sysx
banks are usually sent to your instrument when you load your work file. SONAR asks you each time
you load a project file if you want to send any existing Sysx banks the file contains that are marked for
auto-sending. Clicking the Auto Send Bank button in the Sysx view toolbar marks or unmarks a
selected bank for auto-sending.

Sending Sysx Banks at Startup

You can tell SONAR to send certain Sysx banks to your instrument(s) each time you open the project
file that the banks are in.

To Send Sysx Banks at Startup

1. In the Sysx view, select a bank that you want to send to an instrument when you open the current
project.
SONAR highlights the bank you select.

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 2. Click the Auto Send Bank button .

A checkmark appears next to the bank name in the Auto column to show that the bank is marked
for auto-sending.
3. While the bank is still highlighted, click the Output button to open the Sysx Bank Output dialog.
4. Enter the number of the output you want to send this bank out through, and click OK.
The output number you entered appears next to the selected bank in the Output column.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for each bank you want to send, and save your project.
The next time you open a project, SONAR asks you if you want to send any Sysx banks in the project
that are marked for auto-sending. If you click OK, SONAR sends the bank(s).
If you want SONAR to send auto-send banks every time you open a project without asking you, uncheck
the checkbox in the Auto-Send Sysx dialog that says Ask this question every time. If you decide later
that you want to be asked, use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog, click
the General tab, and check the checkbox that says Ask Before Sending System Exclusive (When
Opening Projects).

English
Importing, Creating, and Dumping Sysx Banks
There are several ways to get a sysx bank into SONAR:
You can import (load) an external .SYX file.
You can edit an empty bank to create a new bank from scratch.
You can dump a bank into SONAR from the synthesizer itself.

To Import a Sysx Bank into a Project

1. In the Sysx view, select an empty bank to import the new bank into (unless you want to add to or
overwrite an existing bank).

2. Click the Load Bank from File button .

The Open dialog appears.

3. If necessary, navigate to the folder that contains your .SYX files, select the one you want to import,
and click Open.
The file appears as a new bank in the row you selected in the Sysx view. If you want SONAR to send
this bank every time you open this project, make sure the bank is selected (highlighted), and click the
Auto Send Bank button . A checkmark appears in the Auto column next to all auto-send-enabled
banks.

To Create a Sysx Bank

1. In the Sysx view, select an empty bank, and click the Edit Data button (or double-click the
empty bank).
The Edit System Exclusive Bytes window appears.
2. Type your message(s). Each message you add to the window must begin with F0 and end with F7
(thats F zero and F seven). See your instruments manual for the messages you can create.
3. When you finish typing the message(s), click OK to close the window.

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After you close the editing window, your new bank appears in the Sysx view. Use the buttons in the
toolbar to name it, give it an output number, and mark it for auto-sending, if you want. Save your
project when youre finished.

To Dump a Sysx Bank into SONAR

1. Choose Options-Global and click the MIDI tab, and make sure that the System Exclusive item is
checked. If it isnt, SONAR wont receive System Exclusive messages.
2. In the Sysx view, select an empty bank to dump the new bank into (unless you want to add to or
overwrite an existing bank).

3. Click the Receive Bank button (or press c on your computer keyboard).
The Receive System Exclusive dialog appears, which contains a list of Dump Request Macros
(DRMs). Each DRM has a name that describes the synthesizer the DRM controls and the type of
data that the DRM asks the synthesizer to send.
4. Do one of the following:
If the name of your instrument and the kind of data you want to store in SONAR appears in
the list, select your choice and click OK.
If your instrument and the type of data you want to record are not in the list, select You start
dump on instrument, click OK, and press whatever button on your synthesizer that starts a
Sysx bank dump. The You start dump on instrument option is not really a Dump Request
Macro. It tells SONAR that you will initiate a dump (or multiple dumps) from the front panel
of the synthesizer.
5. The DRM may prompt you for additional information, which you should supply.
Patch number: DRMs that are written to request an individual patch or configuration give
you this prompt, so you can specify the one you want to have dumped.

Channel/unit number: Most synthesizers have a Sysx channel or unit number. This covers
the situation in which you own two of the exact same synthesizer, and want to do Sysx with
each independently. Your synthesizer manual should describe the factory-set number.

When your instrument starts sending the bank, the Sysx Receive window counts the bytes as
SONAR receives them. If the count stays at zero for more than a couple of seconds, something is
wrong. The synthesizer may not be hooked up to the MIDI interface in both directions, or you may
have answered a DRM prompt incorrectly. Click Cancel. If any data were received, you will see the
number of bytes in the bank list.

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 6. Once the bytes received count stops increasing, you can click Done to tell SONAR to stop receiving.
However, if your synthesizer also displays a message when the instrument is finished sending a
bank, wait until that message says the transmission is finished before you click Done.
The currently selected bank now holds the received Sysx data. At this point, you may want to give the
bank a descriptive name by selecting it and clicking .

Note:
The SONAR librarian may not support synthesizers that require handshaking
dump protocols. Some of these synthesizers have a backup protocol where they
will do a normal dump if they dont get a handshake. Others do not.

English
More about Dump Request Macros
DRMs are defined in your DRM.INI file in the [Dump Request Macros] section. You may add your own
DRMs or modify the ones that we have provided. Use the Windows Notepad to edit the file. Comments
in the DRM.INI file itself describe how to write DRMs. The specific Sysx messages can be found in the
instrument manual, or they can be obtained by contacting the manufacturer. Remember that a DRM
must start with F0 and end with F7.
Sometimes you will find that the byte size is different when you use a DRM, as opposed to initiating the
dump from the instrument. It is possible the instrument is dumping some additional information when
you initiate the dump from the instrument, but you should be able to use either method without any
problems.
When you press the Receive button in the Sysx window, you may pick from a list of Dump Request
Macros. These are short System Exclusive messages sent to a synthesizer to make it dump (send back)
System Exclusive data. DRMs are defined in your CAKEWALK.INI file in the [Dump Request Macros]
section. You may add your own DRMs or modify the ones that we have provided. Use the Windows
Notepad to edit the file.
Please note that many of the DRMs included with SONAR have been donated by customers who are
using the particular equipment. In some cases, we have not been able to test those DRMs because we do
not have access to that equipment. We redistribute such DRMs on an as-is basis. Additional user-
supplied DRMs may be available on the Cakewalk website (www.cakewalk.com).

Editing Sysx Banks

Editing a Sysx bank is very similar to creating one.

To Edit a Sysx Bank

1. In the Sysx view, select the bank you want to edit, and click the Edit Data button (or double-
click the selected bank).
The Edit System Exclusive Bytes window appears.
2. Edit your message(s). Each message in the window must begin with F0 and end with F7 (thats F
zero and F seven). See your instruments manual for the messages you can create.
3. When you finish editing the message(s), click OK to close the window.

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Save your project when youre finished.

Sysx View Buttons

Here is a description of the buttons in the Sysx view.

Send
Send transmits the current banks System Exclusive message. If nothing seems to happen, make sure
you have correctly set the output (see later in this chapter). This button is disabled if the current bank
is empty. The shortcut key is s.

Send All
Send All transmits all non-empty banks. The shortcut key is l.

Receive
Receive dumps data from a synthesizer into the bank. If the bank contains data, SONAR asks you
whether you want the new data to overwrite the existing data or be appended to it. The shortcut key is
c.
When receiving dumps, remember to connect both the MIDI In and Out ports of the synthesizer to the
MIDI interface. Also, make sure that your instruments are set up to receive and/or transmit Sysx.
Synthesizers that you normally use only to play soundsfor example, sound modules that dont have
keyboardsdont need to be hooked up in both directions except for receiving dumps, so it is easy to
forget this. (If you will only be sending Sysx messages to the device, the normal one-direction hookup is
sufficient.)

Clear Bank
This deletes the selected bank. The shortcut key is d.

Name
You may enter a description for a bank by clicking this button. Names are saved only in .CWP and .CWB
files. The shortcut key is n.

Auto
The Auto option tells SONAR to transmit that bank every time it loads the project file. You might use
this option for banks that contain System Exclusive messages that load a set of sounds for a synthesizer
at or before the start of a project.
Before transmitting, SONAR asks your permission. This is a safety feature for loading a file you have
received from someone else; if it happens to contain data for your synthesizer(s), you might lose your
patches and configuration information. However, if you dont want to be asked, choose Options-Global,
click the General tab, and uncheck the box labeled Ask Before Sending Sysx. The shortcut key is a.

Output
Each bank is transmitted to a particular MIDI output, just as a track is. Click this button to change the
output. The shortcut key is p.

Edit Bytes
Although SONARs Sysx features are designed mainly to store System Exclusive data for you, you can
edit the bytes of shorter messages in hex format (many of the more popular synthesizers have special

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 patch-editing programs available that let you edit data using sliders and other tools rather than raw
hex data).
When you select a bank and click the Edit Bytes button, SONAR converts the binary data into a text
representation and pops up the Edit System Exclusive Bytes dialog box, in which you can edit the text.
If you make changes and click OK to keep them, SONAR tries to convert the text back into binary
format. Youll get an error message if the text does not begin with an F0 and end with an F7, which are
the System Exclusive begin and end bytes.
SONAR may not be able to convert the data to text format. The text representation requires three to
four times more memory than the data itself, and the Edit System Exclusive Bytes dialog box can
contain roughly as much text as Notepad. The shortcut key is e.

Load Bank and Save Bank

You can import banks from and save banks to files with the file extension .SYX. If you try to import to a
bank that isnt empty, SONAR asks if you want to append or replace. The Load and Save buttons work
only with .SYX, not SONAR project files or MIDI files.
You may also use this feature to copy a Sysx bank between two SONAR project files. Save the bank into

English
a file, load the other SONAR project file, then load the bank again. This is also a good way to copy one
bank to another in the same project file. The shortcut keys are o and v respectively.

To Export a Sysx Bank to Another Project

1. In the Sysx view, select the bank you want to export.

2. Click the Save Bank button .

The Save As dialog appears.
3. Navigate to the folder in which you want to store the file.
4. Enter a file name and click OK.
SONAR saves the file in the location you specified, with the extension .SYX.
5. Open the project to which you want to import the bank and select an empty bank in the Sysx view
(unless you want to add the file to an existing bank).
6. Click the Load Bank from File button to open the Open dialog.
7. Navigate to the desired folder, select the .SYX file you want to import, and click Open.
SONAR loads the selected bank into the current project.

Transmitting Banks During Playback

SONAR has a special meta-event, Sysx Bank, that lets you play a System Exclusive bank at a specified
time in your project. You can use a Sysx meta-event to send any of the 8192 available Sysx banks at any
time in a sequence. To do this, you have to insert a new event in the Event List using the Insert key on
the PC keyboard. Next you have to double-click Event Kind and change it to System Exclusive. In the
Values column, select the bank (0-8191) that you want to send.
MIDI is a serial data transmission, meaning it can do only one thing at a time. If you try to upload a
huge sampler dump during a fast drum solo, playback will noticeably lurch. MIDI must complete the
System Exclusive message before it can resume playback. The Sysx meta-event is appropriate only for
very short System Exclusive messages. The exact length depends on various factors, such as the speed
of your computer but as a rule of thumb, 100 bytes is a likely maximum, and even that may often be too
large.

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You dont need to use Sysx meta-events for sending System Exclusive information at the beginning of
your project. Instead, use the Auto option for System Exclusive banks. Banks that are marked Auto are
transmitted automatically by SONAR when it loads the project file they are stored in. Use the Sysx
meta-event only when you need to send a Sysx Bank during the middle of the project.

Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages

You can record short System Exclusive messages in real time. These will end up in the track as the new
Sysx Data types of events, which can hold System Exclusive messages up to 255 bytes long. Before you
record any Sysx messages, choose Options-Global, click the MIDI tab, and make sure that System
Exclusive is checked.

To Record Sysx Messages in Real Time

1. Arm a MIDI track for recordinguse a track thats uses the output you want to send the Sysx data
out through.
2. Press the Record button or press r to start recording.
3. Move the button or fader on your MIDI instrument that sends Sysx data.
4. Stop recording.
SONAR records your instruments Sysx data as a Sysx Data event. Open up the Event List view for the
track you recorded on to view the data. When you play back the MIDI track that the Sysx Data event is
on, make sure that the Output field of the track is set to the output that the MIDI instrument you want
to send Sysx data to is on.

Sysx Echo
You can configure SONAR to echo received System Exclusive messages to output devices.

To Echo Sysx Messages

1. Choose Options-Global.
2. Select the MIDI tab.
3. Check the Echo System Exclusive option.
4. Click OK.
SONAR echoes received Sysx data according to the echo settings on the MIDI Input tab of the Project
Options dialog box.

Sysx .INI File Settings

The TTSSEQ.INI initialization file contains settings that govern the sending and receiving of System
Exclusive information. If you are experiencing difficulties using Sysx, you will probably be able to
correct the problem by adjusting these settings.
The options described below occur in the [Options] section of the TTSSEQ.INI file. You can edit this file
using the Windows Notepad. Every time you add or change one or more lines in TTSSEQ.INI, you must
restart SONAR in order for the change to take effect.

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 SysxSendDelayMsecs=n
This setting causes SONAR to delay n milliseconds if it encounters an F7 in a System Exclusive bank,
but only if the line SysxDelayAfterF7=n is not zero. The line SysxDelayAfterF7=n enables a delay
between Sysx messages, while the line SysxSendDelayMsecs=n sets the size of the delay.
n = 60 Default value (in milliseconds)

SysxDelayAfterF7=n
This setting causes SONAR to delay Sysx transmission for a certain amount of time if it encounters an
F7 in a System Exclusive bank. This gives some instruments the required amount of breathing time
necessary to process the Sysx transmission. The default delay is 1/18 of a second, but can be changed by
also adding the SysxSendDelayMsecs=n line, where n is the number of milliseconds that the delay lasts.
The possible values of n in the line SysxDelayAfterF7=n are 0 and 1. Their significance is as follows:
n = 0 No delay
n = 1 Delay between each Sysx message

SysxSendPacketSize=n
System Exclusive bytes are transmitted in packets, with a 1/18-second default delay between each

English
packet. Setting this value to a smaller number will help slower synthesizers avoid overflowing their
internal buffers. This line sets the number of bytes between each Sysx transmit delay.
n = 1024 Default value (in bytes)

Troubleshooting
SONAR Is Not Receiving Sysx Messages
Make sure all your devices are connected correctly.
Make sure you have the right MIDI Input selected by using the Options-MIDI Devices command.
Make sure that your instrument is set up to transmit System Exclusive data.

Sysx Bank Names Don't Show When I Open a File

Sysx bank names are only saved in .CWP and .CWB files (not in .MID files).

SONAR Doesn't Include a DRM for My Instrument

If there is no Dump Request Macro (DRM) for your instrument, you should select You start dump on
instrument, then initiate the Sysx dump from the instrument. Once the bytes received count stops
increasing, click Done to tell SONAR to stop receiving. The currently selected bank now holds the
received Sysx data. You can rename the bank if you want by selecting the bank and clicking the Name
button.
You can also add a DRM for any unlisted instrument. For more information on how to do this, read the
section More about Dump Request Macros on page 521 earlier in this chapter.

Synthesizers Reporting MIDI Data Errors

Some synthesizers will report data errors when you try to send Sysx information to them. This usually
happens when SONAR sends data at a rate too fast for the synthesizer to keep up. You can use the
SysxSendPacketSize=number setting in TTSSEQ.INI to make SONAR transmit Sysx data more slowly, as
described in Sysx .INI File Settings.
Try setting the number to 64. If that does not solve the problem, try successively smaller values. If 64
works, you may try larger values until it stops working; go back to the largest value that worked and
you will have the fastest transmission rate that the problematic synthesizer can keep up with.

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My Equipment Is Not receiving Sysx from SONAR
Make sure the instrument is set up to receive System Exclusive messages. In the Sysx View, make sure
the right output is selected. Verify that the Sysx message originally transmitted from the same kind of
instrument. An instrument will not recognize Sysx messages from a different make or model of
instrument.
Finally, try adjusting the parameters in the TTSSEQ.INI file, as described earlier in this chapter.

Timing Requirements When Receiving Sysx

Some MIDI devices have special timing requirements when receiving System Exclusive transmissions.
If your equipment has problems receiving System Exclusive data from SONAR, you might need to
introduce some small delays to allow the equipment to digest the information it is receiving.
The line in TTSSEQ.INI that reads SysxDelayAfterF7=n enables SONAR to introduce a delay between
each Sysx message so that the instrument has some time to respond to the message. Setting n to be 1
enables the delay. The line SysxSendDelayMsecs=n lets you control how many milliseconds the delay is,
where n is the number of milliseconds that the delay lasts.

Roland Equipment
Some Roland equipmentnotably, the GR-1 and GR-50 Guitar Synthesizershave problems receiving
Sysx packets in fast succession. You must use the setting SysxDelayAfterF7 = 1 with these devices.

Ensoniq Instruments
Successfully sending Sysx messages to most Ensoniq instruments requires that you add the following
three lines to the [Options] section of TTSSEQ.INI:
SysxDelayAfterF7=1 Enables delay
SysxSendDelayMsecs=200 Sets delay time to 200 milliseconds
SysxSendPacketSize=65535 Increases packet size to 64k

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 18 Synchronizing Your
Gear

Your computer is often used with other equipment: sound cards, MIDI equipment, and
digital tape decks or other digital recording tools. All these devices can have their own built-
in clocks or timing mechanisms.

English
When several pieces of equipment are used together, its important that they operate in
synchronization. For this to happen, all the equipment must rely on the same source of clock
or timing information. SONAR lets you use many different types of synchronization so that
you can get your work done quickly and efficiently.

In This Chapter
Synchronization Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
Choosing Clock Sources When SONAR is the Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
MIDI Synchronization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532
MIDI Machine Control (MMC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
 :
Synchronization Overview
SONAR supports several different types of synchronization, which rely on a variety of different clock
sources:

Clock source Timing is determined by

Internal The clock on the computer motherboard

Audio The clock on the computers sound card

MIDI Sync The clock on an external MIDI device

SMPTE/MIDI Time Code (MTC) A time code signal (in SMPTE or some other
format) recorded on some external medium or
generated and sent by SONAR

When you use either the internal or audio clock, SONAR can control other MIDI devices using MIDI
Sync. In this case, SONAR is the master device and the other MIDI devices are the slaves.
When MIDI Sync is the clock source, SONAR operates either in response to incoming MIDI messages or
as the sender. In this case, SONAR can be either the master or the slave. Note that audio playback is
not supported when using MIDI Sync with SONAR as the slave.
When SMPTE/MIDI Time Code (SMPTE/MTC) is the source of timing information, SONAR operates in
response to incoming MTC messages. These messages could be generated by:
An external MIDI device that is capable of generating MIDI Time Code (like the Roland VS880)
A MIDI interface that is converting other time code signals (like SMPTE, EBU, or film time code)
into MIDI Time Code
When you use some of these synchronization options, some SONAR commands work differently. This
chapter describes each of the synchronization options, how and why each is useful, and the effect each
option has on other features and commands.
The Sync toolbar lets you change back and forth quickly between the different clock settings:

You can also choose the sync mode as follows:

1. Choose Options-Project, and click the Clock tab.
2. Choose the desired clock source from the Clock list.
3. Click OK.
The clock source and the type of synchronization that is used are options that are stored as part of your
project files. For example, one of your projects might be set up to use the internal clock; a second might
use the Audio clock and MIDI Sync with SONAR as the master timing source; and another might use
SMPTE/MTC Sync as the clock source.

528
 Many technical support requests concern synchronization problems, which are among the hardest to
diagnose and duplicate over the phone. If you experience problems, before you call, perform as much
experimentation and gather as much information as possible about what does and doesnt work. The
more prepared you are, the more we can help.

Choosing Clock Sources When SONAR is the Master

When SONAR is used alone, or with an external device that does not have its own clock or timing
signal, you use one of two clock sources: Internal or Audio.
When the clock source is set to Internal, SONAR uses the clock built into the computer or the
computers MIDI interface as its timing source. If your projects contain only MIDI (no audio), this is the
most efficient method of playback.
If your projects contain MIDI and audio, or only audio, you should set the clock source to Audio. This
lets the sound card clock determine the correct speed for audio playback and automatically
synchronizes MIDI playback to match the audio. For more information, see System Configuration on
page 548. You cannot use the tempo ratio controls when using the audio clock, because the audio

English
playback speed is determined by the audio clock.
When either of these clock sources is used, you can also configure SONAR to drive other MIDI devices
using MIDI Synchronization. For more information, see MIDI Synchronization on page 529. If you
need to send MIDI Time Code (MTC), SONAR will send this data regardless of the clock setting.

To Use the Internal Clock Source

1. Click on the Sync toolbar.
OR
1. Choose Options-Project, and click the Clock tab.
2. Check the Internal box.
3. Click OK.

To Use the Audio Clock Source

1. Click on the Sync toolbar.
OR
Choose Options-Project, and click the Clock tab.
2. Check the Audio box.
3. Click OK.

MIDI Synchronization
MIDI Synchronization, or MIDI Sync, is usually used to synchronize SONAR with drum machines,
stand-alone MIDI hardware sequencers, and sequencers built into MIDI keyboards. SONAR can slave
to MIDI Sync, and can send MIDI Sync on multiple output ports.
When MIDI devices are synched, the master device sends messages to all other devices to start and stop
playback and to keep all the devices in sync. To change the tempo of a project, you adjust the tempo on
the master device. The playback tempo on all slave devices is then set automatically.

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The following MIDI messages are sent by the master device to support MIDI Sync:

Message How it is used

Start This message tells slave devices to start playing from the beginning of the
currently loaded sequence.

Stop This message tells slave devices to stop playback.

Continue This message tells slave devices to continue playing from the current
location in the currently loaded sequence.

Song Position Pointer (SPP) This message tells slave devices to change the current location to the
designated point in the project. SONAR normally issues an SPP message
immediately prior to any Start or Continue message.

Clock The master sends clock messages to each slave device at the rate of 24
per quarter note. The slave devices use these messages to establish the
tempo and stay in sync.

When you start playback on the master MIDI device, for example, it sends a Start message to all slave
devices, announcing that playback has started. If the slave devices are set up correctly, they receive the
message and start playing back with the master device. When SONAR is set up as the master device,
you can enable or disable these messages.

SONAR as the Slave

When SONAR is slaved to an external MIDI device, the following changes occur:
When you click the Play or Record button, a message (Waiting for MIDI Sync) is displayed in the
status bar. When you start your external device, SONAR will follow.
If you change the tempo using an external device, the SMPTE time code display in SONAR will be
incorrect.
SONAR will not transmit MIDI Start, Continue, Stop, and Clock messages.
Digital audio will play back, but not necessarily in sync.

To Use MIDI Sync with SONAR as the Slave

1. Configure the external MIDI device you want to use as the master device to transmit MIDI Sync.
2. Configure external slave devices to receive MIDI Sync.
3. Choose Options-MIDI Devices to display the MIDI Devices dialog box.
4. Make sure that your MIDI interface is highlighted in the Inputs list, and click OK.

5. Click on the Sync toolbar to use the MIDI Sync clock source.

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From now on, SONAR starts playback and recording only after the appropriate message is received
from the master device.

Tip:
Make sure the Status bar is displayed when using MIDI Sync. Otherwise, you
will not be able to see the MIDI Sync status messages. To display the Status
bar, choose Options-Global and click the General tab. Then check the Show
Status Bar box.

SONAR as the Master

There are several options, found on the Sync tab of the Project Options dialog box, which you can use
when SONAR is the MIDI Sync master device:

English
Option What its for

Transmit MIDI Start/Continue/ Choosing this option causes SONAR to tell the slave when to start, when
Stop/Clock to continue, when to stop, and what timing data to go by (SONARs).

Use Start, Never Continue If you are using an external drum machine to repeat a drum pattern or
(greyed out unless above option loop, you might always want playback on the drum machine to start at the
is checked) beginning of the loop. When this option is chosen, SONAR sends a Start
message to all slave devices when playback is started, even if you are in
the middle of a project. (Normally, SONAR would send a Continue
message if playback starts from the middle of a project.)

Transmit MIDI Song Position When this options is checked, SONAR sends an SPP message before
Pointer (SPP) starting or continuing playback. If you are using a drum machine as
described previously, you might want to disable this option.

Locate Delay for SPP Recipient Some older MIDI devices take a small amount of time to respond to SPP
messages. This option causes SONAR to delay briefly after sending an
SPP message, to give the slave device time to respond. The delay is in 1/
18ths of a second. Enter 1 for a 1/18th second delay, 2 for 2/18ths of a
second, or 18 for a full second delay.

MIDI Sync Output Ports Choose the outputs that your slave devices are connected to.

To Use MIDI Sync with SONAR as the Master

1. Configure your external MIDI devices to receive MIDI Sync.

2. Click or on the Sync toolbar to use the Internal or Audio clock source.
3. Choose Options-Project, and click the Sync tab.
4. Check the Transmit MIDI Start/Continue/Stop/Clock box.
5. For most applications, check the Transmit MIDI Song Position Pointer box.
6. If you are using a drum machine to play patterns or loops, check the Use Start, Never Continue
option and disable the Transmit MIDI Song Position Pointer option.

531
 7.
:
In the MIDI Sync Output Ports field, check off the output ports that you want to send the sync
signal out of.
8. Click OK.
From now on, the transport controls in SONAR control playback on the external MIDI devices.

Using MIDI Sync with Drum Machines

The most flexible way to use a MIDI drum machine is to record the notes it generates into SONAR, then
use that machine as a MIDI playback device. This lets you edit, cut, paste, and copy your drum parts
like any other clip. You can use MIDI Sync to record the notes from the drum machine into SONAR as
follows:
1. Use the drum machines pattern-composing facilities to compose your drum part.
2. Configure the drum machine to be a slave device that receives MIDI Sync messages.
3. Configure SONAR to send MIDI Stop/Start/Continue/SPP messages.
4. Record the drum part from SONAR. The drum machine starts automatically when recording
begins and stops automatically when you press Stop.
5. Switch the drum machine out of MIDI Sync mode so that it acts simply as a sound-producing
module.

Troubleshooting MIDI Sync

If you experience problems with MIDI Sync when SONAR is the master device, verify that your
external devices are configured correctly to respond to MIDI Sync. Most devices have a Clock option
that should be set to External or MIDI.
If SONAR does not respond to MIDI Sync as a slave device, verify that your external devices are
configured correctly to transmit MIDI Sync. Remember that only one external device can be used as the
master clock source.

SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization

SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Sync (SMPTE/MTC) is another method of synchronization that lets SONAR
act as a master or slave to external devices. SONAR can send or receive SMPTE/MTC messages to or
from external devices that can generate or receive MTC. SONAR can send MTC on multiple output
ports simultaneously.
SMPTE/MTC is a position and timing reference that indicates the current location in the project and
how quickly the project should be playing. Time code labels the position in a project in hours, minutes,
seconds, and frames. The speed of playback is indicated by a frame rate.
Time code is recorded onto tape using a device called a time code generator. The process of recording a
time code signal onto a track is called striping. Normally, the start of a tape stripe has a particular
time, expressed in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. For example, the tape stripe might start at
00:00:00:00, 01:00:00:00, or any other time. The material recorded on the tape usually starts anywhere
from 10 seconds to several minutes after the start of the time code. Sometimes, the tape stripe starts at
a time like 00:59:50:00, and the material starts 10 seconds later, at 01:00:00:00.
When you create a new SONAR project, by default the project is configured so that the beginning of bar
1 is synchronized with a time code of 00:00:00:00. If the starting point of the material on your tape or
external project is not 0, you need to enter an offset to tell SONAR the time code that corresponds to the
start of the project.

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To Enter an Offset
1. Select Options-Project.
The Project Options dialog appears.
2. Click on the Clock tab.
3. In the Clock tab, enter an offset in the SMPTE/MTC Offset field. To enter an offset of 15 seconds,
type 0,0,15 and hit enter. The SMPTE/MTC Offset value should now be 00:00:15:00 or 15 seconds.

Frame Rates
Seven time code frame rates are supported in SONAR, which are normally used for the following types
of applications:

External Cakewalk Description

Timecodes Setting

24 frames per second 24 FPS Used for theatrical film worldwide. Any film in North America
or Japan uses this setting.

English
25 frames per second 25 FPS Used for PAL/SECAM video, video and some film in
(EBU timecode) countries that use 50 Hz wall electricity. This is the setting to
use when synchronizing to any European video format.

29.97 frames per second non 29.97 FPS NDF NTSC non-broadcast and short length video in North
drop-frame America and Japan. Some music projects. This setting
synchronizes the video perfectly with SONAR, but the
sequencer position displayed in the Now Time and Big Time
displays will gradually drift and become incorrect over long
periods of time. The audio and MIDI synchronization to the
external device will not be affected by this discrepancy.

29.97 frames per second 29.97 FPS DF NTSC broadcast and long format video in North America and
drop-frame Japan. This setting synchronizes the video perfectly with
SONAR, but the sequencer position displayed in the Now
Time and Big Time displays will gradually drift and become
incorrect over long periods of time. The audio and MIDI
synchronization to the external device will not be affected by
this discrepancy.

30 frames per second non 30 FPS NDF Most music projects and some film in North America. This is
drop-frame the best choice for any music project and should be used
unless the situation dictates otherwise.

30 frames per second drop- 30 FPS DF Not a standard type of timecode, used rarely for speed
frame correction and transfer problems in tape based systems.

For more information on frame rate time formats, see the documentation for your time code hardware.
Refer to the documentation for your MIDI interface or external MIDI device for additional information
about SMPTE/MTC.

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To Use SONAR as the Master MTC Generator
1. Configure the clocks on each external device that you want to synchronize to receive SMPTE/MTC.
Make sure theyre connected to MIDI outputs from your computer or MIDI interface.

2. Click or on SONARs Sync toolbar to use the Internal or Audio clock source (to display the
Sync toolbar, use the View-Toolbars-Sync command).
3. Use the Options-Project command to open the Project Options dialog.
4. On the Sync tab, check the Transmit MTC checkbox (you can also click the Transmit MTC button
on the Sync toolbar).
5. In the Frame Rate field (its just below the Transmit MTC checkbox), choose the frame rate that
your project uses (see Frame Rates on page 533, if necessary).
6. In the MTC Output Ports field, check off the outputs that you want to send MTC on (the outputs
your external devices are connected to).
7. Click OK.
SONAR saves your sync and MTC output port settings with your project. However, output ports are
saved by their number only, not their name. Their number is determined by the order in which they
appear in the MIDI Devices dialog under Outputs (Options-MIDI Devices command). If you change
the order of devices in this dialog, the MTC output ports in your project will retain the same numbers,
but those numbers will now refer to different outputs. Also, if you reduce the number of highlighted
outputs in the MIDI Devices dialog, and the MTC ports you chose have higher numbers than what are
currently highlighted in the MIDI Devices dialog, SONAR does not substitute new port numbers. Also,
SONAR does not send MTC if SONARs Tempo Ratio buttons are set to any value other than 1.

To Configure SONAR to Sync to SMPTE/MTC

1. Click the SMPTE/MTC mode button in the Sync toolbar.
2. Select Options-Global and click on the Timecode tab.
3. Select one of the following options:
Ask first, then switch to clock source and startthis option prompts SONAR to alert you
when it detects a SMPTE/MTC signal, asks if you want to sync to the incoming signal, and if
you respond that you do, switches the clock source and starts to receive the signal.
Always switch the clock source and startSONAR automatically switches to the clock source
of the incoming signal and begins to receive the signal.
Do not switch clock source, but start if in SMPTE/MTC modethis option automatically syncs
to the incoming signal if SONAR is in SMPTE/MTC mode.
Note: The final option, Never switch clock source, never start, should never be used if you are
attempting to sync to an external clock source.
4. Click OK.
5. Choose Options-Project, and click the Clock tab.
6. Choose the frame rate and time offset that are appropriate for your source material.
7. Click OK to close the dialog box.
8. Choose Options-MIDI Devices to display the MIDI Devices dialog box.
9. Make sure that your MIDI interface is highlighted in the Inputs list. If your interface also has a
Sync driver, highlight that as well, then click OK.

534
When SONAR is the slave, heres how things work:
SONAR monitors for a SMPTE/MTC signal. You are able to perform other action in SONAR while
waiting for the signal.
Start playback on the external device. It takes about two seconds for SONAR to lock from the time
it receives time code input.
If the time code is earlier than the start of the project (based on the time code offset), another
message (Chasing) is displayed in the status bar. When the time code reaches the start of the
project, SONAR starts to play in sync.
If the time code is at or after the start of the project, SONAR starts playback as soon as it locks to
the time code.
When the external device stops (or when the time code ends), SONAR will stop.
Note: If you want SONAR to switch its clock source to SMPTE/MTC automatically when SONAR
receives a SMPTE/MTC signal, you can choose this option on the Timecode tab of the Global Options
dialog.

Playing Digital Audio under SMPTE/MTC Sync

English
SONAR gives you two choices for controlling audio playback when using time SMPTE/MTC Sync:

Option How it works

Trigger and freewheel Audio event playback is started (or triggered) at the exact time
code, but then the audio plays at its own internal rate (or
freewheels). When audio freewheels, it can gradually drift from
the time code due to variations in the time code signal.

Full chase lock The speed of audio event playback is continually adjusted to stay
in sync with the time code. If the external clock drifts or changes
rate, SONAR adjusts the audio playback speed to stay in sync.
This adjustment may introduce slight pitch changes, but those
changes will be negligible if the external clock is reasonably
steady.

Some digital sound cards (such as the Frontier Design Wavecenter or the Antex Studio Card) have
external clock inputs. If you are using one of these cards, and an external clock source like a digital tape
deck is the master timing source for the project, choose the Trigger and Freewheel option. The clock
input on the audio card guarantees that there is no drift between the time code and audio playback.

To Set the Audio Playback Option

1. Choose Options-Audio, and click the Advanced tab.
2. Check the desired option from the Synchronization list.
3. Click OK.
Audio playback under time code sync is handled according to the setting you chose.

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SMPTE/MTC Sync and Full Chase Lock
When using SMPTE/MTC Sync with full chase lock, the first time you play any
audio the pitch may fluctuate wildly for up to 30 seconds. Also, you may
occasionally note the pitch of the audio sounding consistently high or low pitch.
A simple analogy makes this behavior easy to understand: Synchronizing audio to
SMPTE/MTC is a lot like trying to get even and stay neck-and-neck with another
car on the freeway. If the car is ahead of you, you need to drive faster to catch up
to it. If it's behind you, you have to slow until the car catches up to you. Once the
two cars are neck-and-neck, you can simply keep going at the same speed, unless
the other car changes its speed. If the other car speeds or slows, you must speed or
slow too.
The first time you play audio under SMPTE/MTC Sync, the audio clock has to get
even with the external clock. This could mean racing ahead, which raises the
pitch of the audio, or stepping on the brakes, which lowers the pitch of the audio.
These fluctuations continue until SONAR matches its playback speed to the
external clock, which usually takes no more than 30 seconds. The stable playback
speed, by the way, may be slightly faster or slower than the normal audio
playback speed, resulting in a slight change in the pitch of the audio. Heres the
best way to address this problem:
Start each new SONAR session by playing some audio under SMPTE/MTC
Sync.
Let the audio play for 30 seconds or until all audio pitch fluctuations stop.
Once this procedure is complete, SONAR knows the difference in rates between
the external time code and the audio clock on your sound card. For the rest of the
session, SONAR will start playback closely in sync, without any drastic pitch
changes.
If the external timing source were 100 percent stable, the audio would stay in
sync with the external clock. Unfortunately, no timing source is perfect.
Therefore, every once in a while after playback has started, SONAR may need to
vary the playback speed by a tiny amount to stay even with the time code. If the
time code signal is unstable (as might be the case from an analog source), these
variations can cause noticeable changes in audio pitch, which can in turn cause
audible audio distortion.

Troubleshooting SMPTE/MTC Sync

The most common problems with SMPTE/MTC Sync, and ways to correct or avoid
them, are shown in the following table:

Problem What to do

The tape is striped incorrectly Check the tape stripe using your time code
generator and, if necessary, restripe the tape.

The MIDI interface isnt producing MIDI Use utility programs that come with your MIDI
Time Code interface to make sure that the time code stripe is
being received (sometimes you must enable a
Time Code Sync option). Check the MIDI interface
settings to make sure that MIDI Time Code is
being generated.

536
 The frame rate is set incorrectly The frame rate on the stripe must match the frame
rate you set in SONAR.

The offset is set incorrectly The offset you enter in SONAR must match the
start time of recorded material on the tape.

SONAR is not configured correctly Verify and/or repeat the steps in To Configure
SONAR to Sync to SMPTE/MTC on page 534.

Audio playback drifts out of sync with the Enable the Full Chase Lock option, which keeps
tape audio from freewheeling.

SONAR continues playing for up to one full Some time code readers tolerate dropouts of up to
second after the time code stops one second, without affecting playback. When you
stop the tape deck, it takes a full second for the
reader to realize that this isnt merely a dropout
and to signal the end of the time code to SONAR.
This does not indicate any problem with time code
sync.

English
MIDI Machine Control (MMC)
MIDI Machine Control (MMC) is a protocol that controls an MMC-equipped remote device via MIDI.
SONAR lets you use MMC to start and stop playback and recording on remote MIDI devices such as
tape decks, video recorders, and even other software packages. If you have several MMC-controllable
devices in your studio, assign each a unique Unit ID so that MMC commands can be addressed to a
particular device.
MMC is very powerful when used with MIDI Time Code sync. For example, suppose you have an MMC-
equipped digital tape deck that generates time code and want to use the tape deck as the timing master
for a project. You can set up your equipment and software so that the transport controls in SONAR send
MMC messages to the tape deck, which in turn starts and stops playback in SONAR via SMPTE/MTC
Sync. In this configuration, SONARs transport buttons (Play, Record, and Stop) are simply remote
control substitutes for the buttons on your tape deck. In this type of configuration, you must choose one
MMC-controllable device as the time code master.
When MMC is enabled, press Play to start playback on all connected MMC devices, and press Stop to
stop all connected devices. If you press Record while playback is underway, all connected MMC devices
(e.g., tape decks) begin recording on any armed tracks. If you stop recording (without stopping
playback), SONAR instruct the tape decks to punch out. You must arm and disarm tracks on the tape
deck; you cannot do this from SONAR.
If you have established punch-in/out points using the Transport-Record Options command, SONAR
will attempt to preprogram the punch-in and punch-out times. However, your equipment must
recognize the MMC event command for this feature to work. (Consult the owners manual or contact the
equipment manufacturer for more information.) If your equipment behaves erratically with automated
punch-in, dont attempt to use it when those pieces of equipment are connected.
SONAR instructs MMC devices to locate the current project position only when playback or recording is
started. This prevents excessive wear on the motors and tape heads of the devices.

537
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To Configure MIDI Machine Control
1. Choose Options-Project, and click the Clock tab.
2. Select SMPTE/MTC as the clock source.
3. Click the MIDI Out tab.
4. Check the Transmit MMC box.
5. Enter the ID of the master timing device in the Time Code Masters Unit ID box.
6. Click OK.
MMC is now enabled.

To Disable MIDI Machine Control

1. Choose Options-Project, and click the MIDI Out tab.
2. Make sure the Transmit MMC box is not checked, and click OK.
MMC is disabled.

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 19 Audio File
Management

Project files in SONAR do not contain the digital audio itself. A SONAR project file (.CWP)
references the audio contained in the project, so care must be taken when backing up your
digital audio projects. This chapter covers file management, including backing up your
projects.

English
In This Chapter
The Project Files Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Project Files and Bundle Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Audio Folders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Backing Up Projects with Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
Deleting Unused Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
 :
The Project Files Dialog
SONAR projects, extension .CWP, contain all your project information with the exception of your digital
audio data. This data is stored in a separate folder or folders. You can opt to save the audio data for all
of your projects in a single audio folder, or create multiple folders.
The Project Files dialog lists all of your projects audio files and their location. This dialog is a valuable
tool for managing your audio files. Access the dialog by opening a project and choosing File-Project
Audio Files.

How to use the Project Files Dialog

The Project Files dialog has important information, including:
Exactly which folders all of your audio files are saved inknow at a glance if you can backup your
project by copying the audio folder and the .CWP file or if you need to do a Save As to round up files
not in your projects audio folder.
The filenames for each audio file your project is referencing
The combined size the audio data in your projectimportant if you are going to backup your
project
The bit depth of every audio file in your project, including a display o the lowest and highest in the
Min/Max Bit Depth field
The location status of each audio file, which could be any of the following:
Globalthis means that the file is stored in the Global Audio Data directory. The Global
Audio Data directory can be changed in the Audio Data tab of the Global Options dialog.
Localthis means that the file is stored in the local wave data directory, a per-project data
directory which is a subdirectory in the directory where the project file is stored.
Externalthis means that the file is stored in a directory other than the Global Audio Data
directory or in a Local audio data directory.
Missingthis means that the file is not to be found.

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Project Files and Bundle Files
SONAR project files contain various project settings, any MIDI data, and references which "point" to
audio clip data. The audio data (and video data) itself is not saved in a project file. To save audio as well,
save your project as a Bundle file (extension .CWB). Bundle files contain everything that a project file
contains in addition to the digital audio. Bundle files are useful for backing up projects and for burning
onto removable media, like a blank CD or DVD.
The following are descriptions of both file types:

File Type... Description... When to Use...

.CWP Contains MIDI data, project settings, Project files are good for routine
and pointers to audio data in your projects. You can use Project
Data directory. Project files contain no files and back them up as Bundle
audio data, so they are small. Backing files at various steps during a
up a Project file does not back up the projects development.
associated audio data.

English
.CWB Contains all project data, including all Bundle files are useful for
audio data. Bundle files are large. backing up projects or for
transporting a project to another
computer (to bring it to a friend's
house, for example).

Note: Due to Windows limitations, bundle files (.CWB) are limited to a size of 2 GB.

To Create a Bundle File

1. Choose File-Save As to display the Save As dialog box.
2. Choose Bundle from the Save as Type list.
3. Enter a file name and click OK.
SONAR compacts all the audio and merges it with the remaining project data in a bundle file.

To Unpack a Bundle File

1. Choose File-Open to display the Open dialog box.

2. Choose a file with a .CWB extension.

3. Click Open
If you have the Per-project Audio Folders option enabled in the Global Options dialog, the Unpack
Bundle dialog appears. If this option is not enabled, the bundle file opens and all audio data is
stored in the Global Audio Folder.
4. If you want to store the project in its own folder do the following in the Unpack Bundle dialog:
Enter a project filename in the Project Name field.
Use the browse button to the right of the Location field to select a destination folder for the
project, or to create a new folder, enter a new folder pathname in the Location field.
Use the browse button to the right of the Audio Path field to select a destination folder for the
projects audio data, or to create a new folder, enter a new folder pathname in the Audio Path
field.
OR
If you want to store the project in the Cakewalk Projects folder, and its audio in the Global Audio
Folder, uncheck the Store Project Audio in its Own Folder option.

541
 5.
:
Click OK.

Audio Folders
By default, SONAR stores audio data separately from the rest of your projects, as wave files placed into
a special folder called the Global Audio Folder, the location of which is listed in the Global Audio
Folder field on the Audio Data tab in the Global Options dialog. You can also create audio folders on a
per-project basis.
Important Note: Previous versions of Cakewalk used a folder called the WaveData folder, located in
the product directory.

Global Audio Folders

You can change the location of the Global Audio Folder. This may be necessary if, for example, your hard
disk is full and you want to move all audio data storage to a different hard disk. We strongly recommend
that you do not change the location of the Global Audio Folder unless absolutely necessary.
If your original Global Audio Folder contains any audio files with the extension .WAV, you must
manually move these files to the new Global Audio Folder using the Windows Explorer, or open the
project and use the Missing Audio dialog to find and move the missing files.

To Change the Global Audio Folder

1. Choose Options-Global and click the Audio Data tab.
2. Enter the pathname of the new Global Audio Folder in the Global Audio Folder field, or click the
browse button thats at the right end of the Global Audio Folder field to browse to the new
directory.
3. Click OK when you are done.
4. Use the Windows Explorer or some other program to move all audio files from the old Global Audio
Folder to the new Global Audio Folder.
All new audio files will be stored in the new Global Audio Folder, unless you decide to use per-project
audio.
It is safer, but more time-consuming, to first save all projects as bundle files, change the Global Audio
Folder, then open the bundle files. This ensures that all of the audio data is properly moved to the new
Global Audio Folder.

Per-project Audio Folders

You have the option of using a single audio data folder or using different audio data folders for each
project. By default SONAR stores audio data in per-project audio folders, but you can use the Global
Audio Folder if you want. If you want to change the default behavior, use the following procedure:

To Enable or Disable the Per-project Audio Folder Option

1. Select Options-Global.
The Global Options dialog appears.
2. Select the Audio Data tab.
3. In the Per-Project Audio section, check or uncheck the Use Per-Project Audio Folders option.
4. Click OK to apply the change.
If you enable the per-project audio folder option, the New Project File allows you to choose the directory
where you want to store the new project and a subdirectory where you want to store the projects audio
data.

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Note: if you want to use per-project audio folders, but you dont want to choose a folder and fill out the
New Project File dialog every time you open a new project, you can choose to load the Normal template
file every time you use the File-New command. This way you can start using the project right away.
While youre recording, new audio data is stored in the Global Audio Folder. When you save the file, you
can choose to store the audio in a per-project folder, or leave the audio in the Global Audio Folder. To use
this option, enable the Autoload Normal.tpl on Startup checkbox thats under the Use Per-Project Audio
Folders option in the Global Options dialog Audio Data tab.

To Create a New Project Using Per-project Audio

1. Select File-New.
The New Project File dialog appears.
2. Enter a filename in the Name field
The Location and Audio Path directories are automatically updated in the following format:
C:\default directory\project name. The default directory for new projects is assigned in the
Folders tab of the Global Options dialog. project name is the projects per-project folder name.
C:\default directory\project name\Audio. The default directory for new projects is assigned in

English
the Folders tab of the Global Options dialog. project name is the projects per-project folder
name, and Audio is the subfolder where your audio data will be stored.
3. If you want, rename the Location and/or Audio Path directories.
4. Click OK.

To Save an Existing Project Using Per-project Audio

You may have older files that are not using per-project audio folders. If you want to save these files
using a per-project audio folder, use the following procedure:
1. Make sure that per-project audio folders is enabled in the Global Options dialog.
2. Open the project whose audio you want to store using per-project audio.
3. Select File-Save As.
The Save As dialog appears.
4. If you want, change the name of your project.
5. In the Project Path field, enter the new directory where you want to save the project, or use the
Browse button to the right of the field to navigate to an existing directory.
6. Check the Copy all audio with project option.
7. Click Save.
8. SONAR copies the project to the directory specified in the Project Path field and stores all the
projects audio in the directory specified in the Audio Path field.
Note: After you use the above procedure, you have two versions of the same project.

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Imported Audio Files
By default, SONAR will make a copy of any audio data imported using the File-Import-Audio
command and place the imported audio into the projects audio folder. You can configure SONAR to
simply reference audio from its current location if, for example, you want to import large quantities of
audio data into a project and dont want to consume time and disk space by making copies of the files.
Copies are always made if the imported audio does not match the current projects sampling rate (and if
you edit any of the imported audio data). Automatic handling of imported files is enabled by default. Do
not disable this option unless you are prepared to manage the audio files individually. Creating backups
of your projects is very easy if all your audio is stored in a single, per-project directory.

To Change Handling of Imported Files

Use the following procedure to allow or disallow file sharing between projects:
1. Choose Options-Global and click the Audio Data tab.
2. Check the Always Copy Imported Audio Files option to create copies of all imported audio clips as a
default.
Or
Uncheck Always Copy Imported Audio Files option to reference imported audio from its current
location.
Note: You can override this setting when importing audio by checking or unchecking the Copy
Audio to Project Folder option in the Import Audio dialog.
3. Click OK when you are done.
Imported files will be handled based on the settings you have chosen.

Backing Up Projects with Digital Audio

There are several ways to back up your projects in SONAR. You can use per-project audio folders to
keep all a projects audio in its own folder, use the Consolidate Project Audio command to create a
backup copy of all your projects audio, or you can save a project as a bundle file (.CWB).
The following table lists several backup methods:

Backup Method Advantages

Per-project Audio Folders This method is an exact

copy of your project,
If you are using per-project audio folders you can create a copy of
preserving all clips and
the project folder and its audio subfolder.
pathname information.

Consolidate Project Audio Allows you to create a

complete backup of all
If your project references audio from multiple folders, for example
project audio even if the
you have a library of loops that you share between several projects,
audio is in multiple
you can gather all the audio for your project into a single folder
locations. Creates a new
using the Consolidate Project Audio command. The Consolidate
folder which you can move
Project Audio command copies every audio file your project
or delete without fear of
references into a backup folder beneath the projects audio data
losing the original audio
folder. Creating a copy of all your projects audio may take a lot of
files.
disk space.

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Bundle Files Creates a single file for
ease of portability.
A bundle file is a single file that contains all the information
except videoused in a project. A bundle file includes everything
that is stored in a normal project file, plus all the digital audio that is
used in the project.

To Backup Projects Using Per-Project Audio Folders

Use this procedure to create a backup of a project that has its own project folder.
1. Open the project you want to backup.
2. Select File-Project Audio Files.
The Project Files dialog appears.
3. In the Project Files dialog, check the Path column to make sure that every audio file is stored in the
projects audio folder. If any files are stored in folders other than the projects audio folder, you
should use the Consolidate Project Audio command to move all audio to the projects audio
folder.

English
4. Close the Project Files dialog once you have confirmed that all audio files are in the projects audio
folder.
5. Close the project.
6. Using Windows Explorer, copy the project folder and its contents, including the projects audio
folder, to its backup location (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, Zip or Jaz drive, another hard
drive, network drive, etc.).
You have now created a copy of your project. It is a good idea to open the project once you have backed it
up to confirm that all audio loads properly.

To Create a Backup Using the Consolidate Project Audio Command

Use this procedure to backup a project that has multiple audio folders:
1. Open the project you want to backup.
2. Select Tools-Consolidate Project Audio.
3. A message box appears listing the destination folder for your audio backup.
4. Click OK to confirm.
5. Using Windows Explorer, copy the project, the backup folder and all its contents, including the
projects audio folder, to its backup location (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, Zip or Jaz drive,
another hard drive, network drive, etc.). The Consolidate Project Audio command only
copies the audio in your project, so make sure you copy the project (.CWP) along with the
backup folder.
6. Once you have copied the backup folder you can delete it to free up disk space.

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Deleting Unused Audio Files
The Tools-Clean Audio Folder command is used to delete digital audio files in an audio folder if they
are no longer used by any of your projects. You should use this command from time to time to free up
disk space.
This command searches your entire system for project files, and then compiles a list of all the audio files
in a specified folder that are not in use by any of these projects. You can then choose to delete these
audio files. Make sure that all of your important project (.CWP, .WRK) files are stored on your local hard
disk(s) before using this command. If your project files are stored elsewhere (removable media, etc.),
then you risk accidentally deleting important audio files that are associated with your projects.
If you are using another utility program that protects you from accidentally deleting important files
(such as Norton Protect), you may need to disable that program. Otherwise, the next time you use the
Tools-Clean Audio Folder command you may once again find these not-quite-deleted files.

To Delete Unused Audio Files

1. Make sure all project files that contain audio are immediately accessible on a hard disk.
2. Choose Tools-Clean Audio Folder to display the Clean Audio Folder dialog box.
3. Click the Browse button to the right of the Audio Path field and navigate to the folder you want to
search for unused audio files.
4. If you want to search all subfolders of the folder you chose in the Audio Path field, click the
Recursive option.
5. Click the Find button. SONAR searches the selected directory for audio files that appear to be
unused by any existing projects, and displays the names of these files in the list.
SONAR searches the entire system for project files. Audio files in the folder or folders you decide to
search which do not belong to any of the projects on your system appear in the Clean Audio Folder
dialog. If any corrupted or unreadable project files exist on your system, the Unreadable Files
dialog appears. It is very important that you restore any unreadable files from a backup before
continuing, otherwise you risk data loss.

6. Follow the instructions in the table:

To do this Do this

Listen to a file Highlight the file name in the list and click Play

Delete a file Highlight the file name in the list and click
Delete

Delete all files Click Delete All, and click Yes to confirm

7. Click Close when you are done.

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 20 Improving Audio
Performance

Digital audio presents several challenges: it is large, using enormous amounts of disk space,
especially at higher sampling rates and bit-depths, and it is CPU-intensive. Added to this
mix is the wide variety of audio hardware available today. This chapter covers some common
problems with recording and playback and how to configure your computer and audio

English
hardware for optimum performance.

In This Chapter
System Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
Sampling Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
Bit Depths, and Float Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
Improving Performance with Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
 :
System Configuration
This section covers optimizing your system configuration to work with SONAR.

The Wave Profiler

The Wave Profiler is a utility that analyzes the sound cards in your computer and determines the best
DMA (Direct Memory Access) settings for communicating with SONAR. These DMA settings are
displayed in samples, at the sample rates and bit depths your sound card supports. The Wave Profiler
also sets a value in milliseconds for the Buffer Slider, which controls mixing latency. The Wave Profiler
is unnecessary if you are using an ASIO driver.
The DMA settings are used to ensure that a project that contains both MIDI and digital audio plays
back in tight synchronization. If SONAR is not configured properly with your audio devices DMA
settings, MIDI and digital audio material may not play back correctly.
Note to users of previous Cakewalk products: The DMA settings in versions of Cakewalk prior to
SONAR 1.0 were displayed in bytes rather than samples. Using your previous DMA settings in SONAR
will not work. Try the settings that wave profiler displays, and if you are not satisfied, only then
attempt to optimize your settings.
The Wave Profiler utility runs automatically the first time you run SONAR. The wave profiler
determines the best DMA settings for the supported bit depths and sample rates of your sound card.
Note: It is possible to load a 48 kHz project when you are using a sound card that does not support 48
kHz. SONAR does not warn you when you do this. Your project may crash, or it may appear to record
audio when your project is not actually recording.
All of your audio settings are listed in the Audio Options dialog box, which you open with the Options-
Audio command. The following list summarizes all the settings that the Wave Profiler sets. You can
override all of them except what audio drivers are listed in the Drivers tab:
Input and output drivers
DMA buffer sizes (in samples)
Mixing latency
If you experience MIDI and audio synchronization problems during playback, before contacting
technical support, run the Wave Profiler and try the default settings.

To Manually Run the Wave Profiler

1. Choose Options-Audio to open the Audio Options dialog box, and click the General tab.
2. Click Wave Profiler.
The Wave Profiler examines each of your sound cards in turn, makes default settings in the Audio
Options dialog, and displays the name of each sound card and the sample rates that each card supports.

Enabling and Disabling Audio Devices

Your computer may have several installed devices like FAX modems and software synthesizers that
Windows recognizes as sound cards containing audio drivers. You do not want to use these devices for
audio input or output. If they are listed as audio drivers in the Audio Options dialog box, you need to
disable them.

To Enable or Disable an Audio Device

1. Choose Options-Audio to open the Audio Options dialog box and click the Drivers tab.
2. In the Input Drivers and Output Drivers fields, do one or both of the following:
To enable an audio device, click the name of the device so that it is highlighted.

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 To disable an audio device, click the name of the device so that it is not highlighted.
3. Click OK.
Disabling a device in the Audio Options dialog box usually prevents conflicts with other audio devices.
Occasionally you may need to disable a device in the Windows Control Panel.
SONAR also allows you to choose the sound card whose clock should be used to control recording and
playback timing (if you only have one sound card, SONAR automatically uses it). Every sound cards
clock crystal is slightly different, which causes minor differences in the actual playback rate on each
card. These differences may lead to slight synchronization problems if you use one card for recording
and a different one for playback. Generally, you should choose your highest quality sound card for both
recording and playback timing. Note that while some multichannel sound cards have multiple drivers,
most sound cards have only a single audio driver.

To Select Playback and Record Timing Masters

1. Choose Options-Audio to open the Audio Options dialog box and click the General tab.
2. In the Playback Timing Master and Record Timing Master fields, select which sound cards you
want to control playback and record timing, respectively.

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3. Click OK.
While you must choose a playback timing master, you can route audio output through any number of
devices at once. For example, suppose your computer has both a high-end audio card and a basic built-in
sound card. You should choose the high-end sound card as the record and playback timing master.
However, using the buses in the Console or Track views, you could create a headphone or monitor mix
and route it through the built-in sound card.

Sampling Rates
SONAR supports all common sampling rates. Only one sampling rate is allowed per project. Its usually
better not to change the sampling rate of a project, because this involves exporting your tracks one at a
time, and then importing them at the new sampling rate. During this process you lose clip boundaries,
envelopes, and other separate data that is mixed into the exported tracks.

To Set the Sampling Rate for New Projects

1. Open the Audio Options dialog (Options-Audio command), and on the General tab, change the
Sampling Rate field to the desired number. You can choose from the available options, or enter any
number that your hardware supports.
2. Click OK.

To Change the Sampling Rate of a Project

1. Select an audio track and use the File-Export Audio command to open the Export Audio dialog.
2. Select the options you want, and click Export to export the track.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for all the audio tracks you want to convert.
4. After youve exported all the tracks you want to convert, open the Audio Options dialog (Options-
Audio command), and on the General tab, change the Sampling Rate field to the desired number.
5. Use the File-New command to open a new project.
6. Use the File-Import Audio command to open the Import Audio dialog.
7. Select the audio files you just exported (hold down the Ctrl key while you click each one), and click
Open to import the files.
SONAR imports the selected files at the new sampling rate.

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To Import Audio That Has a Different Sampling Rate
Use the File-Import Audio command to import the audio file(s) (this converts them to the project
sampling rate).

Bit Depths, and Float Resolution

SONAR supports all common bit depths. SONARs 32-bit capability provides full floating-point
resolution for extended dynamic range, and more precise audio processing. You can also choose 64-bit
resolution (Audio Options dialog-General tab-Mixing Engine button) for maximum dyanamic range and
precision.
A SONAR project can now contain files of different bit depths. You can specify different bit depths for
playing back, recording, importing, exporting, and rendering audio (bouncing, freezing, applying
effects). To play back or record at a specific bit depth, your sound card must support that bit depth.

To Find the Bit Depth of Clips in a Project

Right-click a clip, choose Clip Properties from the popup menu, and examine the Audio files tab.
Or
Use the File-Project Audio Files command to open the Project Files dialog, and examine the Bit
Depth column.
The following topics show you how and why to choose bit depths for various operations.

Bit Depths for Playback

Most sound cards can play audio at 16-bit or 24-bit resolution, with a few sound cards supporting 18-bit
and 20-bit resolution. When your project contains files with different bit depths SONAR plays them at
the bit depth that your sound card is currently set to. Because SONAR can play projects that contain
files of different bit depths, you dont have to convert 16-bit files to 24 bits to play them with other 24-bit
files, saving significant storage space. If youre playing 32-bit files or 24-bit files at 16 bits, you can turn
dithering on in the Audio Options dialog to compensate for the truncated data.
Note: SONAR 4 does not play back projects that contain files with different bit depths, so if you want to
open a multiple bit depth project in SONAR 4, see To Rewrite Audio Files at Different Bit Depths on
page 551 for a conversion procedure.
When you first install SONAR, the Wave Profiler profiles your sound card at all the bit depths that the
sound card supports, so when you change the playback bit depth, you dont need to run the Wave
Profiler again (you do need to relaunch SONAR).
Heres how to change the playback bit depth for a project:

To Change Playback Bit Depth

1. Use the Options-Audio command to open the Audio Options dialog.
2. On the General tab, choose the bit depth you want to use in the Audio Driver Bit Depth field.
3. Click OK.
Note 1: if you choose to play back at greater than 16 bits, you may need to pick a bit format for your
data on the Driver Profiles tab of the Audio Options dialog box in the Stream > 16 Bit Data As field. You
may need to consult your sound cards documentation to find the optimum setting.
Note 2: some audio devices, especially USB devices that use WDM drivers, can not operate in 24-bit
mode unless a variable in SONARs AUD.INI file is set to 1. The variable is Use24BitExtensible=<0 or 1>,
which goes in the [name of your audio device (n in, n out)] section of the AUD.INI file.

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To Rewrite Audio Files at Different Bit Depths
1. Use the Tools-Change Audio Format command to open the Change Audio Format dialog.
2. Choose a new bit depth in the New Bit Depth field.
3. If youre changing to 16 bits, you can check or uncheck the Apply Dither checkbox. Dithering
means to add a certain audio signal to 16 bit audio to make it sound more like it did as a higher-bit
signal.
4. Click OK.
SONAR rewrites the audio tracks in your project at the new bit depth.

Bit Depths for Recording

You can choose the bit depth of newly-recorded files in SONAR, and you can change this value at any
time. The Status Bar shows the project sampling rate and the current record bit depth setting.
The choices for the recording bit depth setting are 16, 24, and 32. At present, no devices can record at
32-bit resolution, so you dont need to choose this option yet. 24-bit files give greater dynamic range
than 16-bit files, so 24 is a good choice for music that gets very soft, as well as loud. 16-bit recording is

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efficient for many recording projects, especially louder projects.

To Choose a Recording Bit Depth

1. Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog.
2. On the Audio Data tab, under File Bit Depths, change the Record Bit Depth field to the desired
number.
3. Click OK.

Bit Depths for Importing Audio

You can choose the bit depth of imported files in SONAR, and you can also import files at their current
bit depth. If a file uses 32 bits, importing it at 32 bits makes sense because you can choose to do your
audio processing in SONAR at 32 bits, to preserve the precision of any audio processing that was done
to the files. You dont have to choose 32 bits as an import option though, because SONAR will import
files at whatever their current bit depth is if you choose the Original option in the Import Bit Depth
field. Because SONAR can play projects that contain files of different bit depths, you dont have to
convert 16-bit files to 24 bits to play them with other 24-bit files, saving significant storage space.

To Choose an Importing Bit Depth

1. Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog.
2. On the Audio Data tab, under File Bit Depths, change the Import Bit Depth field to the desired
number. You can choose the Original option to import the files at their current bit depth.
3. Click OK.
This process changes the default import bit depth, which appears in the Import Audio dialog. You can
override this value for one import process at a time by changing the value in the Import Audio dialog.

Bit Depths for Exporting Audio

You can choose the bit depth of exported files from SONAR. Unless you are burning a CD or DVD, or are
concerned about storage space, you can export files at 32 bits to preserve the precision of any audio
processing that was done to the files.

To Choose an Exporting Bit Depth

1. Use the File-Export-Audio command to open the Export Audio dialog.
2. In the Bit Depth field, select the desired number.

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 3.
:
Choose other options and click OK.

Bit Depths for Rendering Audio

You can choose the bit depth that SONAR uses for such operations as bouncing tracks, freezing tracks,
and applying effects. This bit depth is set at 32 by default, which is a good place to leave it. With 32-bit
resolution (floating point), you can drastically change dynamic levels of your original files without
clipping, and with greater dynamic range, especially in soft parts of your music.

To Choose a Rendering Bit Depth

1. Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog.
2. On the Audio Data tab, under File Bit Depths, change the Render Bit Depth field to the desired
number.
3. Click OK.

Preparing Higher-quality Audio for CD Burning

If your project uses a different sampling rate than 44,100, or contains files that are not 16-bit, use this
procedure to prepare your project for CD-burning:

To Prepare Higher-quality Audio for CD Burning

1. Use the File-Export Audio command to open the Export Audio dialog. Choose RIFF Wave in the
Files of Type field, Export to Stereo File(s) in the Format field, and 16 in the Bit Depth field.
2. After exporting the audio, close SONAR and open up your sound card control panel (for Midiman
cards, usually the Delta Control Panel, for Echo Audio, usually the Echo Console, for MOTU it's
the 324 console, etc.) Once the control panel is open, change the setting for your sampling rate to
44.1 kHz.
3. Next launch SONAR and use the Options-Audio command to open the Audio Options dialog. In
the General section change the Audio Driver Bit Depth to 16. Change Default Settings for New
Projects to 44100 Hz for the Sampling Rate.
4. After making these adjustments, click the Wave Profiler button in the Audio Options dialog. In
some instances, with certain audio hardware configurations you may be prompted with an audio
driver error dialog during this process. This is nothing to be concerned about. You will have to exit
SONAR, re-launch, verify the settings you made in the Audio Options dialog, and click the Wave
Profiler button again. When you can successfully run the Wave Profiler without an audio driver
error, proceed to the next step.
5. Create a new project (File-New command). The Normal option is fine for this.
6. Import the mixed down audio by using the File-Import Audio command.
7. Confirm the bit depth and sample rate of the imported audio by using the File-Info command, and
clicking File Stats. The File Stats dialog lists the correct sample rate and bit depth.
8. Final step: use the File-Export Audio command. Be sure to select 16 for the Bit Depth and
uncheck all Mix Enables.
Now you can burn your exported audio file to CD, using Cakewalk Pyro, or other software.

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Improving Performance with Digital Audio
When a project contains many tracks of digital audio or when many real-time effects are in use, your
computer may have difficulty keeping up during playback. When this occurs, you'll hear portions of the
audio drop out, stutter, or pop. Or maybe your project responds slowly to real-time effects and volume
changes. In an extreme case audio playback may stop altogether. If you experience a dropout, a dialog
appears with suggestions for fixing the problem. This section covers performance issues specific to
digital audio, including how to get the more tracks of audio, more real-time effects, lower latency and
how to fix audio dropouts.

Getting the Most Out of Your PC

The maximum number of audio tracks you can expect to play on your computer depends on the audio
sample rate, the speed of your hard disk, and the speed of your computers CPU.
The effect of your CPU on audio track throughput is much more difficult to quantify. Throughput is
affected by the type of chip, clock speed, the number and type of real-time effects in use, cache size and
settings, and many other factors.

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There are a variety of things you can do to increase the number of audio tracks and effects you can play
on your computer, as outlined in the following table:

Approach How it works

Avoid compressed disks If you use DoubleSpace, Stacker, or some other disk
compression system, it will slow down playback of audio
tremendously. Configure your system so that the Data directory
is on a hard disk that is not compressed.

Exit other programs The more programs you have open, the more CPU cycles you
are taking away from your project. Exit any programs
unnecessary to the task at hand.

Refrain from other activity during playback If you open and close windows or do lots of editing while
playback is in progress, you may steal CPU cycles that would
otherwise be used for playback.

Apply some audio effects offline If you are happy with your real-time effects, consider using the
Process-Apply Audio Effects command to apply those effects
offline. Then remove those effects from real-time use and free
up lots of CPU power.

Archive unused audio tracks Audio tracks that are muted continue to place a load on your
processor. To lessen the burden and free up cycles to handle
more audio, archive all unused audio tracks. See To Archive or
Unarchive Tracks on page 114 for more information.

Mix down or freeze your audio tracks If your project contains many different audio tracks or many real-
time effects, you can use the Edit-Bounce to Track(s)
command or the Track-Freeze-Freeze Track command to
reduce all of this content to an audio track or tracks with no
active effects.

Change I/O Buffer Size on the Advanced The default setting is 64 KB. Yours may work better with 128,
tab of the Audio Options dialog box 32, or 16. If those values dont help, try 256, 512, or move on to
another remedy.

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Defragment your hard disk If your hard disk is fragmented, playback of audio will be slower.
Use the Disk Defragmenter to correct the situation.

Turn off dithering on the Advanced tab of Dithering subtly improves your mix, but most people cant hear
the Audio Options dialog box (choose it. Turn it back on for mastering.
None in the Dithering field).

Enable read and write caching By default, SONAR bypasses all disk caching, which typically
results in better performance with audio data. If your computer
has an older IDE disk controller, or a disk controller that does
not use DMA transfers, enabling caching may improve
SONAR's audio performance. Note: Changes to these settings
only take effect when you restart SONAR. Choose Options-
Audio and click the Advanced tab to change the Enable Read
Caching and Enable Write Caching settings.

Disable the Display Clip Contents options Drawing the contents of audio clips in the Clips pane uses some
CPU cycles. If you are using a slow machine, you may want to
disable this feature. To do so, right-click in the Clips pane,
choose View Options, and disable the Display Clip Contents
option.

Digital Audio Files and Storage

Digital audio requires a large amount of disk storage. The table below shows the disk space
requirements in megabytes for a single minute of digital audio in mono and stereo at various
sampling rates:

Sampling rate 16 bit 24 bit

11 kHz Mono 1.3 MB per minute 1.9 MB per minute

11 kHz Stereo 2.5 MB per minute 3.8 MB per minute

22 kHz Mono 2.8 MB per minute 3.8 MB per minute

22 kHz Stereo 5.0 MB per minute 7.6 MB per minute

44.1 kHz Mono 5.0 MB per minute 7.6 MB per minute

44.1 kHz Stereo 10.1 MB per minute 15.1 MB per minute

48 kHz Mono 5.5 MB per minute 7.6 MB per minute

48 kHz Stereo 11.0 MB per minute 16.5 MB per minute

96 kHz Mono 11.2 MB per minute 16.5 MB per minute

96 kHz Stereo 22.0 MB per minute 33.0 MB per minute

For more information, consult the online help topic, Dropouts and Other Audio Problems.

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Mixing Latency
SONAR has a slider in the Audio Options dialog box, on the General tab, to set mixing latency. Mixing
latency is the amount of time SONAR allocates to prepare a buffer full of audio data for playback.
Lower latency settings add processing time because of the need to refill the smaller data buffers more
often. You may need to use the slider to increase mixing latency under the following conditions:
You use lots of real-time effects, and you hear dropouts. Check the CPU meter for high readings;
try increasing the latency.
Your sound card does not function well at lower latency. Some sound cards just do not function well
at lower latency settings. Even though SONARs CPU meter and Dropout indicator report no
problems, if you hear dropouts try increasing the mixing latency.
Sound cards differ in the precision of their timing, what size audio buffers they require, and other
characteristics. SONAR has a utility called the Wave Profiler that can usually automatically detect the
type of sound card that you have installed and configure its settings for best performance. If your sound
card is a well-known model, you can usually use SONAR without having to change many audio settings.
However, if you experience synchronization problems between MIDI and digital audio, like to use
different sample rates and bit depths, or want to experiment with mixing latency, you need to do some

English
optimization yourself.

ASIO Drivers
SONAR supports ASIO drivers. You are limited to a single sound card when using an ASIO driver.

To Use an ASIO Driver

Use the following procedure to enable SONAR for use with an ASIO driver.
1. Select Options-Audio to open the Audio Options dialog.
2. In the Audio Options dialog, click the Advanced tab.
3. In the Playback and Recording section, select ASIO from the Driver Mode dropdown menu.
4. Restart SONAR.

Queue Buffers
SONAR allows you to set the number of queue buffers in the Audio Options dialog box, in the General
tab. A higher number of queue buffers will take longer to fill, and therefore cause an increase in latency.
A lower number of queue buffers decreases latency, but may cause dropouts. The default setting is 2.
For more information, see the online help topics: Mixing Latency, and Dropouts and Other Audio
Problems.

Status Bar/CPU Meter/Disk Meter

SONAR has several tools to help you identify and correct audio problems, including the CPU meter, the
Disk meter, and the Dropout indicator. These tools are all located on the Status bar, which is at the
bottom of the screen. The Status bar also contains a measurement of available hard disk space. If you do
not see the Status bar, go to Options-Global, select the General tab, and make sure Show Status
Bar is selected. The Status bar contains the following fields, reading from left to right:
Cursor locationThe left-most field on the Status bar shows the location of your mouse cursor.
Audio RunningWhenever the Audio Engine button in the Transport toolbar is depressed,
the Audio Running indicator lights up.
Dropout indicatorThe Dropout indicator is in the same field as the Audio Running indicator. The
Dropout indicator displays the word Dropout whenever your project requires more resources than
your CPU, main memory, and disk can supply.

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MuteWhenever a track is muted, the Mute indicator lights up. You can click the Mute indicator
to unmute all muted tracks.
SoloWhenever a track is soloed, the solo indicator lights up. You can click the Solo indicator to
unsolo all soloed tracks.
ArmWhenever a track is armed for recording audio or MIDI data, the red Arm indicator lights
up. This indicator is in the same field as the red Aut indicator. You can click the Arm indicator to
disarm all armed tracks.
AUTOWhenever any control is armed for automation recording, the red Aut indicator lights up.
This indicator is in the same field as the red Arm indicator. You can click the Aut indicator to
disarm all armed tracks
Sample rate and record bit depththis field lists the projects sample rate and the current
recording bit depth
Disk SpaceThis field shows how many megabytes of disk space you have left on the hard drive
where your wave data directory is. It also shows this amount of space as a percentage of that
drives total space.
CPU meterThe CPU meter displays the time it takes to process a buffer full of audio data as a
percentage of the maximum time available to process that data and maintain uninterrupted
playback. There is some tolerance built into the meter, so it's very possible that it will exceed 100%
at times (more so during recording than playback). When the meter exceeds 100%, it displays the
word "Overload."
Disk meterThe Disk meter measures how much of the available time SONAR is using to perform
input/output functions on your hard disk. The size of your setups I/O buffer (listed in the Audio
Options dialog box, in the Advanced tab) determines how much time is allowed to perform disk
operations and maintain uninterrupted playback. When SONAR performs disk operations, the
Disk meter jumps up in value and shows the percentage of the allowed time SONAR is taking to
complete each cycle of disk Input/Output.
Note: If you experience a dropout or your CPU or Disk meters are reading high, there are steps you
can take to improve your audio performance. For more information, see Dropouts and Other Audio
Problems in the online help. Some plug-ins do not function well at a 96 kHz sampling rate.
Using an audio bit depth of 24 can enhance the performance of some plug-ins, but raising the sampling
rate to 96 kHz does not offer much improvement, and can cause some plug-ins to add unintended
artifacts to the sound. Using a 24-bit, 44.1 kHz setup for your audio provides plenty of enhanced
performance for plug-ins that can take advantage of it, without risking the problems that 96 kHz audio
causes with some plug-ins.

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 A Appendix A:
Troubleshooting

If youre having a problem with SONAR, dont panic. This appendix lists some common
problems and how to solve them.
If you dont find an answer here, there are two other important places to look for help:

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Check the ReadMe file that came with your software. It contains additional information
that wasnt available when this Users Guide was printed. To view the Readme file,
select Help-View README.RTF.
Visit our website at www.cakewalk.com, where youll find answers to frequently asked
questions, tech support documents, program patches and updates, and more.

When I Play a File, I Dont Hear Anything

Open a project (.CWP) and click the Play button. If you dont hear any music, try the following
suggestions:

Possible problem What to do

Your speakers arent connected properly or Make sure your speakers are on and the volume
the volume is turned down. is turned up.

Your sound card isnt hooked up correctly. See if other programs play sound correctly
through your speakers. A good program to try is
the Media Player (Start-Programs-
Accessories-Entertainment-Windows Media
Player). If other programs do not work, check
your sound card documentation to make sure
the card is properly installed and configured.

You dont have Bank and Patch settings in Check the Bank and Patch settings for each
your MIDI track track. Make sure that each track has a Bank and
Patch assigned to it.

You dont have an Output setting Check Output settings for each track. Make sure
that each MIDI track is assigned to a MIDI output
which is connected to a MIDI device capable of
playback. Make sure each audio track is
assigned to an output that is connected to your
speaker system.
 No MIDI output device is selected. Choose Options-MIDI Devices, and check the
Output device list. Make sure that your computer
sound card is highlighted and at the top of the
list. If this doesnt work, try choosing different
output devices, one at a time, to see if any of
them produces sound.

Your sound card or MIDI interface is not set Make sure you have installed and tested each
up correctly. card according to the manufacturers
instructions.

You may have too many MIDI drivers. Make sure you only install the drivers that you
need, and remove any old or unused drivers. To
access the driver list, choose Start-Settings-
Control Panel, then double-click Multimedia
and click on the Advanced tab.

Your MIDI driver is incorrect or outdated. Make sure that the driver you have installed is
the correct driver for your hardware. Also try
downloading and installing the latest driver
release from your hardware manufacturer.

Your MIDI driver is configured incorrectly. Make sure the drivers IRQ and port address
settings match the physical settings on the card.

If none of these suggestions works, check our website for additional suggestions or contact
technical support.

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I Cant Record from My MIDI Instrument
If you are unable to record music from your electronic keyboard, synthesizer, or other MIDI
instrument, first test to see if you are able to play back a project through the keyboard. Then
try the following:

Possible problem What to do

No MIDI input device is selected. Choose Options-MIDI Devices, and check the
Input device list. Make sure that the MIDI input
on your computer sound card is highlighted.

Your MIDI cables are reversed. Make sure that the MIDI Out plug is connected
to the MIDI In jack on your keyboard and that
the MIDI In plug is connected to the MIDI Out
jack on your keyboard.

SONAR is not receiving MIDI data. Check the MIDI Input/Output Activity monitor
on the Windows Status bar. Check to see if
the left LED is flashing red. If not, then SONAR
is not receiving MIDI data. Check you
connections and try again.

You have not set up SONAR to record. Make sure that 1) you have chosen an input for
the track; 2) you have armed the track for
recording; and 3) you have pressed the Record
button, and not the Play button.

If none of these suggestions works, check our web site for additional suggestions or contact
technical support.

Espaol

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 When I Play a File Containing Audio, the Audio
Portion Doesnt Play
Open a bundle file (.CWB) and click the Play button. Do you hear the audio tracks in the
project (there may be MIDI tracks in the bundle file, so you must mute them). If not, try the
following:

Possible problem What to do

Your speakers arent connected properly, or the Make sure your speakers are connected
volume is turned down. properly and the volume is turned up.

Your sound card isnt hooked up correctly. Run the Microsoft Sound Recorder (Start-
Programs-Accessories-Entertainment-
Sound Recorder). Open any wave file and
see if it plays sound correctly through your
speakers. If not, check your sound card
documentation to make sure the card is
properly installed and configured.

The volume setting is turned down on your Double-click on the yellow speaker icon in
software mixer. the Windows task bar to display the mixer,
and make sure all the volume settings are
turned up and that none are muted.

Your audio tracks are assigned to the wrong Check the output assignment for your audio
output. tracks in the Track pane.

SONAR doesnt recognize your sound card. Choose Options-Audio, click the General
tab, and then click the Wave Profiler button
to test your audio hardware. Then, re-open
the bundle file and try again.

If none of these suggestions works, check our website for additional suggestions or contact
technical support.

I Cant Record Any Audio

If you are unable to record audio through your sound card, try the following suggestions:

Possible problem What to do

The track is not set up to receive audio Make sure that the input for the track you are
input. recording (in the Track view) is set to an Audio input
before recording.

The software mixer is not set up Double-click on the speaker icon in the Windows task
properly. bar to display the mixer. Choose Options-
Properties, select Adjust Volume for Recording, and
click OK. Make sure the appropriate Select boxes
have checkmarks and the input volume is turned up.

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 Your sound card isnt hooked up Try recording audio using the Microsoft Sound
correctly. Recorder (Start-Programs-Accessories-
Entertainment-Sound Recorder). If it fails, check
your sound card documentation to make sure it is
properly installed and configured.

You have not set up SONAR to record. Make sure that 1) you have chosen an input for the
track; 2) you have armed the track for recording; and
3) you have pressed the Record button, and not the
Play button.

If these suggestions dont work, check our website for additional suggestions or contact
technical support.

My Track or Bus Fader is Maximized, But

Theres No Sound or Level
SONAR has two modes that govern how fader levels function: Envelope Mode and Offset
Mode. In Envelope Mode, any envelopes in the track or bus control the level, and ignore any
movements you make to the fader. In Offset mode, any envelopes in the track or bus add
their level to any level that the fader contributes. For example, the level you see in the Vol
field of a tracks properties combines with the levels that any volume envelope in that track
produces as the track plays. When you switch back to Envelope mode, any level that the Vol
field displays while in Offset mode continues to combine with any envelope in the track, but
does not show in the Vol field while youre in Envelope mode. So, if you have a large negative
value such as -INF in the Vol field, even though the volume envelope is at its maximum level,
the sum of the two values is still inaudible because the negative value is so large.
Whenever you have mysterious levels in a track or bus, click the Envelope/Offset Mode
button that is in the Automation toolbar to switch modes (or press o in the Track or

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Console views), and then look in the track or bus property fields to see what values show.
Change the values to neutral ones if you dont want them to affect your levels.

The Music Is Playing Back with the Wrong

Instrument Sounds
If the tracks in your project are assigned to the same MIDI output and channel, the same
sound will be used for all of them. To fix this problem, simply assign each track to a different
channel (using the Channel control in the Track view), and then choose the sound (or patch)
you want to use for each one. If you are playing songs through your MIDI keyboard or
synthesizer, you need to 1) check that your instrument is able to receive MIDI data on
multiple channels, and 2) configure your instrument to play a different patch on each
channel (this is called Multi Mode on many instruments). See the documentation for your
instrument for more information.
Another possibility is that you are playing back a GM (General MIDI)-authored MIDI file on
a non-GM compatible device.

561
 How Do I Use SONAR to Access All the Sounds
on My MIDI Instrument?
SONAR is normally set up to access the 128 sounds that are part of the General MIDI
standard. SONAR also includes custom instrument definitions that match the sounds on
many popular instruments. To use a custom instrument definition:
1. Choose Options-Instruments to display the Assign Instruments dialog box.
2. Click the Define button to display the Define Instruments and Names dialog box.
3. Click Import, and then choose the file for the manufacturer of your instrument.
4. Choose your instrument from the list and click OK.
5. Click Close to return to the Assign Instruments dialog box.
6. Select from the Output/Channel list all the outputs and channels that are being sent to
that instrument.
7. Click on the instrument in the Uses Instrument list.
8. Click OK when you are done.
If your manufacturer or instrument doesnt appear, check our web site to see if an updated
instrument definition is available. You can also create your own instrument definition. For
more information on instrument definitions, see Chapter 16, Using Instrument Definitions.

My Keyboard Doubles Every Note I Play

When your keyboard doubles the notes, each note seems heavier or thicker than usual, as if
two notes of the same pitch are emitted when you press the key. Also, you may find that you
can play only half as many notes at one time before some of the held notes drop out.
This can occur when MIDI echo is enabled. The keyboard plays the note for the key youve
pressed. At the same time, the note is sent through the MIDI interface and echoed back to
the keyboard, where it is played a second time.
The best way to resolve the problem is to disable Local Control on the keyboard, following the
instructions that came with the keyboard. This stops the keyboard from playing
independently. The keys you play still produce sound on the keyboard because they are
echoed back by the MIDI interface. In many cases, SONAR disables local control
automatically when the program is started, but this is not always possible.
Its also possible that your keyboard is transmitting information on two channels at once. To
see if this is so, create a new project and record two notes from the keyboard. Then look at
what youve recorded in the Event list view. If you see four notes displayed instead of two,
then your keyboard is transmitting on two channels. See the documentation for your
keyboard to learn how to correct the problem.

I Dont See the Clips Pane in the Track View

The splitter bar may be so far to the right that the Track pane fills the entire Track view.
Heres how to solve the problem:

562
 1. Place your cursor over the splitter bar. It is located on the far right side of the Track
view, just to the left of the vertical scroll bar. When you place the cursor over the splitter
it changes to a double-headed arrow.
2. Click and drag the splitter bar to the left. You should be all set.

Why Cant SONAR Find My Audio Files?

SONAR looks for all audio data in a certain directory or folder, called the Data Directory, in
Cakewalk Projects (or the WaveData Directory in previous versions of Cakewalk products). If
you have renamed or moved either SONAR or the Data Directory, SONAR may not be able to
find your audio files. If you know where the audio files are stored, choose Options-Audio,
click Advanced and enter the full path name of the directory in the Data Directory box. If you
dont know where the audio data are stored, choose Start-Find-Files or Folders and search
for files named *.WAV.
For more information about the wavedata folder, see Chapter 19, Audio File Management.

I Get an a Error Message When I Change a

Project to 24-bit Audio
Some audio devices, especially USB devices that use WDM drivers, can not operate in 24-bit
mode unless a variable in SONARs AUD.INI file is set to 1. The variable is
Use24BitExtensible=<0 or 1>, which goes in the [name of your audio device (n in, n out)]
section.
For more information, see the Initialization File topics in the online help.

Bouncing Tracks Takes a Long Time

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By default, SONAR uses a buffer for bouncing tracks that is the same size as the Mixing
Latency value that you set in the Audio Options dialog. But with some projects, especially
ones that use certain soft synths, the bounce buffer needs to have its own value. You can set
the value in the AUD.INI file with the BounceBufSizeMsec=0 line in the Wave section. At a
value of 0, the bounce buffer is the same size as the Mixing Latency value that you set in the
Audio Options dialog. You can set the bounce value to 100, or some value between 0 and 350
so that the bounce buffer will use a more efficient size for bouncing, which has different
requirements from normal playback latency.
For more information, see the Initialization File topics in the online help.

563
 Why Do I Get Errors from the Wave Profiler?
Audio devices such as voice modems or speakerphone devices can cause an error message
when running the Wave Profiler. Sometimes these errors are harmless; on other occasions
you need to disable the voice modem or speaker-phone device before running the Wave
Profiler. To do so:
1. Choose Options-Audio and click the Drivers tab.
2. Make sure that the voice modem or speaker-phone device is not selected in both the
Input and Output device lists.
3. Click OK.
4. Choose Options-Audio, click the General tab, and run the Wave Profiler again.

I Hear an Echo When I Record

If you have input monitoring enabled, when you play an instrument that is plugged into your
sound card, you hear the direct signal that goes straight through your sound card, and an
instant later you hear the sound that is processed by SONAR, including any plug-in effects
you may be using. Only the processed sound is recorded.
You can eliminate the echo in either of two ways:
Mute the direct signal so you only hear the sound that is processed by SONAR. If you
choose this method, you may hear too much of a lag between the time you play your
instrument and the time you hear it, depending on the latency of your system (using
WDM audio drivers is a great way to achieve lower latency).
Disable input monitoring so you only hear the raw signal thats coming through your
sound card. If you choose this method, you wont hear any plug-in effects you may be
using.
To disable input monitoring:
On the track where you want to disable input monitoring, click the tracks Input Echo
button so that it is in the off position:
To mute your sound cards direct sound:
1. Open the software mixer that controls your sound card. If your sound card uses the
Windows mixer, open the mixer by using the Start-Programs-Accessories-
Entertainment-Volume Control command, or by double-clicking the speaker icon on
the Windows taskbar.
2. In the Play Control window of the mixer, check the Mute checkbox in the Line-In
column, or in the column of whatever jack your instrument is plugged into, and close the
mixer window.

Audio Distorts at Greater than 16 Bits

There are several settings in the Audio Options dialog box (Options-Audio command) you
need to set before using audio formats greater than 16. See System Configuration on page
548.

564
No Sound from My Soft Synth
Use the following table to troubleshoot problems hearing a synth in SONAR:

Possible problem What to do

Synth doesnt sound when a recorded Make sure you select a MIDI channel in the MIDI
MIDI track is sent to it. tracks Output field; you may also need to select a
Patch and Bank.
Make sure that neither the MIDI track nor the audio
track that contains the synth are muted.
Make sure the MIDI notes are in the right range for
the synths patch.

Synth patched into a main out or bus Make sure that at least one audio track is configured
doesnt sound. to send data to that bus.
Make sure that the Audio Engine button in the
Transport toolbar is depressed.

Soft synth doesnt sound when you Make sure that the Audio Engine button in the
play a MIDI controller. Transport toolbar is depressed.
Make sure that the MIDI track that has the focus lists
the soft synth in its Output field.
If you patched the soft synth into an audio track,
make sure that track is not muted.
If you patched the soft synth into a bus, make sure

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that at least one audio track is configured to send
data to that bus.
Make sure youre playing in the right range for the
soft synths patch.

I hear more than one sound when I Make sure your MIDI controller is set to local off.
play a soft synth.

My Pro Audio 9 Files Sound Louder/Softer

When I Open Them in SONAR
Pro Audio 9 has a setting in the Audio Options dialog box called MIDI Volume Mapping. This
setting determines how many dB that a movement of a volume fader produces. This setting
is not stored in each project file, so SONAR cant tell precisely what dB scale was used to
produce the file youre opening. If the volume sounds incorrect:
1. Open SONARs AUD.INI file (find it in your SONAR folder and double-click it).
2. Change the line that says VolMethod= N. If N=1, change N to 0; if N=0, change N to 1.
3. Save the file and close it.

565
 4. Reopen the Pro Audio file in SONAR. If the volume sounds correct, save the file in
Sonar.
If other Pro Audio 9 files were opening correctly in SONAR, change the VoMethod=N line in
SONARs AUD.INI file back to what it originally was, and re-save the file.

I Cant Open My Project

Your project may have become corrupted, or SONAR is attempting to use a plug-in that is not
longer on your system. You can attempt to open the project using Safe Mode.

To Use Safe Mode

If you are opening a file from the Most Recently Used files list in the File menu, hold
down the Shift key while selecting file name.
If you are opening the file from the Open dialog, select the file in the dialog and hold
down the Shift key while clicking the OK button.
Safe Mode does the following:
Opens only the Track view.
Prompts you if you want to open the plug-ins saved with your project. Each plug-in
gets a prompt, so you can open some and not open others.

SONAR Cant Find the Wavetable Synth or

MPU401
Follow this procedure:
1. Open the Audio Options dialog (Options-Audio command), and on the Advanced tab,
check the Always Use MME Interface, Even When WDM Drivers Are Available option.
2. Click OK to close the dialog.
3. Close SONAR and reopen it.
4. Use the Options-MIDI Devices command to open the MIDI Devices dialog.
5. Highlight the Wavetable synth and/or the MPU401 (or whatever synth your sound card
contains).
6. Click OK to close the dialog.
Now your sound card synth and/or the MPU401 should appear in the drop-down menus of
the Output fields of your MIDI tracks.

566
 B Appendix B:
Hardware Setup

This appendix contains additional details on configuring your equipment for use with
SONAR.

Connect Your MIDI Equipment

English
If you are using a MIDI interface (such as an MPU-401 or Sound Blaster MIDI option) with
an external MIDI keyboard, you need to connect the equipment using MIDI cables.
It is possible to connect your equipment in some rather complex ways that may cause
problems. If you call for technical support with a problem concerning equipment that doesnt
seem to be responding, well probably suggest that you reconnect things in one of the ways
listed below before we explore the problem further. Also be sure to check Appendix A:
Troubleshooting, before calling us.
There are two methods that fit many circumstances. The one you choose depends on whether
your keyboard has:
All three types of MIDI jacks: In, Out, and Thru
Only two types of MIDI jacks: In and Out
If you have only one keyboard, read the If Your Keyboard Doesnt Have a MIDI Thru Jack
section (regardless of whether you have MIDI Thru or not).
 If Your Keyboard Has a MIDI Thru Jack
If your keyboard has three MIDI jacksIn, Out, and Thruthen use the following diagram.

If you are using a 15-pin joystick adapter cable that splits into two MIDI cables:
Connect the 15-pin jack to your computers joystick port.
Connect the In cable to your instruments MIDI Out jack.
Connect the Out cable to your instruments MIDI In jack.
Heres a checklist:

Connect this... To this...

Master keyboard Out MIDI interface In

MIDI interface Out Master keyboard In

Master keyboard Thru Another MIDI modules In

That MIDI modules Thru Yet another MIDI modules In

Continue the sequence, repeating the last connection for each of your sound modules.
Each MIDI device should be set to a unique MIDI channel or range of channels to avoid note-
doubling. Refer to the manuals for your MIDI devices for information on how to set their
MIDI channels.
Your MIDI interface may have a Thru jack as well as In and Out jacks. If your master
keyboard lacks MIDI Thru, you can add more MIDI modules to your setup by connecting the
MIDI interfaces Thru to the first modules In. You can then chain subsequent modules onto
the first module, as described earlier.

568
If your master keyboard now seems to double notes (they sound thicker), or if you can play
only one half as many notes at once, first make sure that no MIDI channel is being used by
more than one of your MIDI devices. If no MIDI channel is assigned to duplicate devices and
you hear doubling or only half as many notes as you should, see My Keyboard Doubles
Every Note I Play on page 562.

If Your Keyboard Doesnt Have a MIDI Thru Jack

If your keyboard has only two MIDI jacksIn and Outor if you have only one keyboard,
use the following diagrams instead:

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Each MIDI device should be set to a unique MIDI channel or range of channels to avoid note-
doubling. Refer to the manuals for your MIDI devices for information on how to set their
MIDI channels.
If your master keyboard now seems to double notes (they sound thicker), or if you can play
only one half as many at once, first make sure that no MIDI channel is being used by more
than one of your MIDI devices. If no MIDI channel is assigned to duplicate devices and you
hear doubling or only half as many notes as you should, see My Keyboard Doubles Every
Note I Play on page 562.

569
 Set Up to Record Digital Audio
In general, the inputs of sound cards take 1/8 stereo mini-jacks. Sound cards usually have
two inputsone for line level inputs and the other for microphones (at mic level). The line
level input is stereo; the mic input could be either stereo or mono. If your final output does
not terminate in a 1/8 jack (and it probably doesnt), you will need an adapter to plug it into
your sound card.
Most sound cards use the Windows Volume Control to adjust the master input and output
volumes and to control which recording inputs are active. If you dont hear audio tracks, or if
you cant easily control the audio volume in SONAR, go to Start-Programs-Accessories-
Entertainment-Volume Control and check the settings there. See your sound cards
documentation for more.

Electric Guitar Direct-In

You can connect an electric guitar directly to your sound card using a 1/4 mono to 1/8 stereo
adapter. The following diagram shows this setup:

The 1/8 jack should be plugged into the sound cards mic input, although plugging into the
line input may also work.

570
Electric Guitar Through Effects Rack
You can also plug an electric guitar into an effects rack, then send the output of the rack to
the sound cards input, as shown in the following diagram:

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This diagram assumes that the output of the rack is at line level. If it is at pro level instead
(+4 dB), and your card does not accept a +4 db input, you will need to attenuate (lower) the F/
X racks signal. To do this, use a mixer between the racks output and the Y-adapter. If the
rack has only a mono output, a 1/4 mono to 1/8 stereo adapter should be used instead of a Y-
adapter.
If you want to connect a guitar amplifiers direct output to the sound card, you should base
your setup on this example.

571
 Microphone Direct-In
Microphones can be plugged into the sound cards mic input. Some inexpensive microphones
are made especially for use with sound cards and come equipped with 1/8 jacks. However,
better quality microphones take better quality cables, which do not terminate in 1/8 jacks.
The diagram below illustrates how to connect a microphone that terminates in a 1/4 jack:

Home Stereo, CD Player, Radio Tuner, Preamp Output

The output of a stereo component can be connected to the sound cards line in, using a dual
RCA to 1/8 stereo mini Y-adapter. Many portable cassette players come with this kind of
adapter, or even with a single cable with all the necessary jacks. In the following diagram, a
stereo component is connected to the Y-adapter using standard RCA cables:

Internal CD Player
If you are using your computers internal CD player, and it does not have its audio outs
connected internally to the sound card, run a cable from the CD players Headphone jack to
the cards Line In jack. If there is no Headphone jack, youll need to use an external CD
player.

572
Mixer
You can connect a mixer to the sound card with a setup of the following kind:

Note:
If your mixer has buses, use them! This helps avoid feedback.

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573
574
 Appendix C: New
C
Features in SONAR 5

SONAR 5 has many new features (some features are in SONAR Producer only). The
following is a list of each new feature, and a brief description.

English
V-Vocal
The new V-Vocal feature integrates Rolands VariPhrase technology directly into SONAR
Producer. V-Vocal is a vocal processor that not only does pitch and formant correction on
notes and phrases, but can correct timing. It also has a unique vibrato function. See V-Vocal
Clips on page 391 and Using V-Vocal on page 392 for more information.

Integrated VST Support

SONAR now seamlessly integrates VST plug-ins. The VST Configuration Wizard runs
automatically on startup, registering all your VST plug-ins. See The VST Configuration
Wizard on page 403 for more information.

Inline Piano Roll View

The new Inline Piano Roll view lets you edit note and controller events directly in the Track
view.
See The Inline Piano Roll View on page 257 for more information.

Streamlined Piano Roll View

The Piano Roll view has a new look: you can choose to combine the Controller pane with the
Notes pane, allowing more visual synchronization and more editing room for both kinds of
data.
Individual controller events now have edit handles, and you control what controllers you can
edit with the new Edit MIDI Event Type menu. You control the display of controllers and
notes with the new Show/Hide MIDI Events menu. Notes display their velocity values as
columns that you can drag up or down with the Draw tool. You can edit mutiple selected
events at the same time. Tooltips appear when you edit with the Select or Draw tools,
displaying the position of the cursor, and other helpful information.
 For more information, see Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View Only) on page
248, Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll View on page 254, and Adding and
Editing Notes in the Piano Roll View on page 249.

Improved MIDI Step Recording

Step recording now gives you immediate visual feedback of what youve recorded, has
streamlined and configurable shortcuts, does unlimited backstep deleting, lets you use other
commands while step recording, supports all kinds of tuplets, lets you change tracks while
recording, and more.
Tip: with the new keyboard shortcuts, you can leave your left hand on your MIDI keyboard
to enter notes with, and control most step recording functions with your right hand on the
Num Pad.
See Step Recording on page 166 for more information.

64-bit Audio Engine

You can now choose 64-bit (double-precision) mixing in SONAR 5 throughout the entire
signal path. This includes dithering and plug-ins. SONAR 5 sends and receives 64-bit data to
and from all plug-ins that accept 64-bit data. If a plug-in requires 32-bit data, SONAR 5
sends and receives 32-bit data. To activate 64-bit mixing, use the Options-Audio command
to open the Audio Options dialog, and on the General tab, enable the 64-bit double precision
engine checkbox.

Video Output to FireWire Devices

You can now stream video from SONAR to an external FireWire DV device. This feature is
useful for viewing video on an external monitor during playback. If you connect a DV
recording device, you can export video projects with audio onto that DV device, using a
software DV transport from within SONAR. For more information, see Video Playback on a
FireWire DV Device on page 141, and Exporting a Project to a FireWire DV Device on page
142.

Grouping Enhancements
You can now create temporary Quick Groups of track or bus controls by clicking the new strip
selector on each track or bus that you want to group. All similar or identical controls in a
Quick Group (for example, the volume controls on an audio and MIDI track in a group), will
then move synchronously when you adjust them. See Quick Groups on page 408 for more
information.
There is also a new control that lets you manage the attributes of multiple groups of controls.
See the online help topic Group Manager dialog for more information.

Per/Clip Effects Bins

Clips now have full-featured effects bins. You can now insert real-time effects directly on
clips, both MIDI and audio. See Effects on Clips on page 390 for more information.

576
Float File Support and Multiple Bit Depths
You can now play files of different bit depths in the same project. You can choose bit depths
for playback, recording, importing, exporting, and processing (bouncing, freezing, applying
effects). 32-bit support for these functions gives you full floating-point resolution for greater
dynamic range and more precise editing. See Bit Depths, and Float Resolution on page 550
for more information.

Track Layer Enhancements

Track layers can now contain both overlapping and non-overlapping clips, so that you can
keep clips from the same take on the same layer, even if the clips overlap.
You can now mute and solo layers, select layers, eliminate empty layers, and more. See Take
Management and Comping Takes on page 210 for more information.

Waveform Preview for Buses and Synth Tracks

You can now see a buss or synth tracks waveform, giving you visual feedback of levels. For
more information, see Waveform Preview for Buses and Synth Tracks on page 383.

Peak Markers
Buses, synth tracks, and audio tracks have a feature called Peak Markers. A Peak Marker in
each audio track or bus moves along in the Clips pane just behind the Now Time cursor
displaying the highest peak found during playback. See Peak Markers on page 382 for more
information.

Audio Scaling in Buses

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You can now scale your waveforms in buses as well as audio tracks. For more information on
Audio Scaling, see Audio Scaling on page 324.

Cloning Multiple Tracks

You can now clone (copy) more than one track at a time. For more information, see Copying
Tracks on page 188.

Fade Options
You can now edit fade-ins and fade-outs for multiple clips at the same time. For more
information, see To Edit or Create Fades from the Process Menu on page 342.

OMF Enhancements
You can now choose a sample rate and bit depth when you import OMF projects. See
Importing OMF Projects on page 176 for more information.

577
 Lock Track Height
You can now lock a tracks height so that the height stays the same when you use a zoom or
fit command. See To Lock or Unlock the Height of a Track on page 188 for more
information.

Insert Multiple Tracks

You can now insert multiple tracks, both audio and MIDI, with one command. You can set
output properties for the tracks at the same time. For more information, see Inserting
Tracks on page 186.

Automation Enhancements
The Automation feature now supports drawing envelopes in many new shapes: freehand,
sine, triangle, square, saw, and random. See Using the Envelope Draw Tool on page 446 for
more information.

Snap to Scale
When the Snap to Scale button is enabled, any notes that you draw in the Piano Roll view (or
Inline Piano Roll view) stay within the selected scale. Also, any notes that you move with the
Select tool stay within the selected scale. You can create custom scales, modify existing ones,
and choose what happens to non-scale notes. See Snap to Scale on page 279 for more
information.

Remove DC Offset
Some models of audio hardware produce a DC offset while recording, which is caused by
electrical mismatches between the audio hardware and the input device or instrument. See
Removing DC Offset on page 334 for information.

New Normalize and Gain Commands

The new Gain command can adjust stereo channels independently, switch channels, invert
the phase of one or both channels, and produce any amount of possible gain or cut values.
The new Normalize command gives you the option of normalizing to the volume level you
choose, instead of just the maximum possible.
See Using the Normalize and Gain Commands on page 329 for more information.

MIDI Scale/Zoom Control

Each MIDI track in the Track pane now has a vertical ruler marked with MIDI values or
notes, to give you a visual reference for editing MIDI, especially in the new Inline Piano Roll
view. The MIDI Scale also allows you to zoom in on individual tracks. See The MIDI Scale
on page 258 for more information.

578
Audio Meter Enhancements
You now have the option of using segmented or non-segmented meters in the Track and
Console views. Meter colors are also now customizable in the Colors dialog. See Segmented
and Non-segmented Meters on page 381 for more information.

Enhanced Preset Management

The Presets window that appears at the top of plug-ins and some dialogs now has two new
features: a Most Recently Used menu, and a Preset Dirty Flag. See Presets on page 389 for
more information.

Interleave Indicator in FX Bins

Effects in FX bins now display ticks that tell you whether the effect is outputting a mono,
stereo, or surround signal. See How to Use Real-Time Effects on page 387.

Track Templates
By using track templates, you can quickly recall your most often used track settings. See
Track Templates on page 189.

Track Icons
Track icons allow you to quickly identify a tracks contents by instrument. You can assign a
new track icon, create your own track icons and save an icon as part of a track template. See
Track Icons on page 190.

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Tabbed Views
You can now display tabs at the bottom of the Track view to toggle through the different
views that you may have open. See Docking Views on page 46.

Add Nodes at Selection Command

One of the most common automation tasks is to raise or lower an envelope over a specific
time range. The new Add Nodes at Selection vastly simplifies this task. See Adding Nodes
at a Selection on page 452 for more information.

Round Envelope Nodes

Envelope nodes in SONAR 5 are circles instead of squares. This improves the visibility and
appearance of envelopes, especially when zoomed-out.

579
580
 Index

Symbols Amplitude 318, 320

.CWB files 179 Anchor points, see Snap offsets 203
size limitation of 541 Apply Trimming 270, 337
.CWP files 35 Archive 114
.CWT files 461 Archiving tracks 114
.MID files 179 Arm 155
.SYX files 517, 523 Arm for Automation 441
.TPL files 461 ASCII TAB
exporting to 491
saving as 491
Numerics ASIO drivers
24-bit problems 563 enabling 555
64-bit audio engine 576 Audigy card
96 kHz audio and plug-ins 556 LFE channel 425
Audio
auditioning with scrub tool 328
A basic editing 322
ACID files digital 28, 316
saving a loop as 238 distortion 157
ACIDized files editing tutorial 81
tutorial 84 effects 345
ACIDized loops 234 exporting 413
saving a Groove clip as 238 finding missing 143
Acidized loops
importing 175
memory usage 227
metronome 148
Acoustics 316
mixing 374
Add Node 443 plug-ins 345
Adjusting timing of notes See Quantizing recording See Recording audio
Aftertouch 288 routing 374
See also Channel Aftertouch scrubbing 328
AIFF 175
 under SMPTE/MTC Sync 536 Audio folders 542
where it is stored 542 per-project 542
Audio 152, 548 Audio hardware
Audio CD Wave Profiler 548
how to create 413 Audio performance
Audio clips 321 improving 547
Audio processing
Bounce to Clip(s) 327
playing backward 330
changing name off 323
removing silence 330332
changing start time of 323
See also Volume
combining 327328 Audio recording
copying 323 tutorial 71
deleting 323 Audio scaling 324
moving 323 Loop Construction view 231
pasting 323 Audio tracks
properties of 323 parameters 115
splitting 326, 327 Audition 215
to turn off automatic display of 159 Auditioning notes 251
Audio data
Auto arming 156
applying a fade to 343
Auto punch 153
backing up 544
See also Punch recording
deleting unused files of 546 Auto save
distributing 413 changing settings 179
imported files 544 Auto Send banks 522
improving performance with 553 Auto-Erase
playback problems 560 toggle off 253
recording problems 560 Auto-load Normal.tpl 543
reversing 330 Automatic crossfades 338
time/pitch stretch in 348 Automatic MIDI echo
Audio effects turning off 132
controlling 374 Automating effects 452
CPU usage of 402 Automation
mixing 346 adding nodes at selection 452
pitch stretching 346, 347348 automated muting 456
shifting pitch 346 automating a soft synths controls 356
time stretching 346, 347348 automating groups of controls 453
See also Mixing; Reverb converting Piano Roll envelopes to Track
Audio engine button 162 view envelopes 287, 444, 451
Audio events copying and pasting envelopes 448
editing 323 deleting envelopes 448
size of 345 dotted lines 445
Audio files drawing audio envelopes in the Track
managing 539 view 442

582
 drawing envelopes on clips 447 adding to an improvised track See Fit
Improvisation
Enable Automation Playback button 439
Batch mode
Envelope tool 442
playing back files in 133
faders and knobs in Console view 441
Beat Value 496
jump 443
Beats per Measure 496
methods 441
Beats, accenting 278
quick guide 440
reassigning envelopes to other Beginning 108
parameters 454 Big Time view 44
Record Automation button 441 displaying 107
recording automation from an external font settings 107
controller 454 Bit depth
recording individual fader or knob setting 152
movements 441 Bit depths
resetting envelopes to default values 449 multiple in project 550
shapes 443 Block Rate 347
showing or hiding envelopes 447 Bounce to Clip(s) 327
snapshots 451 Bounce to Track(s)
surround panning 432 combining tracks using 327
the envelope and node editing menus 455 Bounce to tracks
toolbar 441 how to 412
using 439 Bouncing tracks 411
Automation curves 443 takes too long 563
Automation Data 287, 288 Broadcast wave files
Automation toolbar 441 description of 415
AVI files how to export 414
importing 136 Bundle files
creating 541
opening 541
B size limit of 541
Backing up your work
unpacking 541
audio data 544
Burning a CD 413
bundle files 179 Bus
using per-project audio folders 544 choosing a default bus for inserted tracks
Banks 120, 125126 186
assigning a bank select method 509510 no level despite fader volume 561
assigning patch names to 510511 Bus pane
assigning to a track 126 docking views in 46
load 523 Buses 41, 376, 377
parameters 290 sending audio data to 374
save 523
Sysx 517, 518
Bar lines

583
C arranging 191198, 201
Cakewalk FX Stereo Reverb 296, 347 arranging audio 315
audio 321
Cakewalk Pitch Shifter 346
changing colors of 193
Cakewalk Time/Pitch Stretch 347348
combining 208210, 327
CD
copying 195
creating 413
copying using copy and paste 198
quality 320
copying using drag and drop 198
sampling rate 151
CD burning crossfading 344
preparing audio with higher bit and/or cutting and pasting 197
sample rates 549 deleting 198
preparing higher resolution audio for CD displaying 191, 193
burning 552 displaying contents 193
CD player
displaying names 193
connecting to 572
drag and drop editing 196
Center material
effects on 390
removing 330
envelopes 447
ChanAft event 290
groove clips 227
Change audio format 551
linked 206208
Channel 120, 128, 287
moving 195198
assigning instruments to 504505 moving to a specific start time 197
note property 476 pasting as new 195
pedal event parameter 487 pasting into existing 195
Chn parameter 129 performance effects of 554
Chord
properties 193, 198
analyzing 299
renaming 193
Chord event 291
reversing notes in 261, 267
Chord Grid 484 selecting 38, 194
Chord Library 484 selecting partial 38
Chord Symbols 482484 splitting 208
Chords 291, 482484 splitting options 209
editing from the fretboard 491 trimming non-destructively 268, 335
properties of 482 Clips pane
Clean Audio Folder 546 not visible 562
Clock
Clear All 449
sources 528529
Clip muting 212
Clone 188
Clip muting with the alternate style 214
Cloning tracks 188
Clip muting with the default style 213
Color
Clip properties 323 screen 4849
Clip soloing 212, 215 Colors 48
Clips 35

584
Combining clips 208 Credits 180
Comping takes 210 Crescendos 267268, 486
Confidence recording 159 creating using Process-Scale Velocity 267
Connecting Cropping overlapping clips 212
electric guitar 30 Crossfade 338
microphone 31 changing the curve types in 342
Console view
curve types 338
adjusting knobs in 366
Crossfade 343
automating controls in 441
Crossfade Ratio 348
choosing inputs in 154, 155
Crossfades
controls 366
applying offline 343
linking controls in 404408
automatic 340
modules 365
non-destructive 338
mute and solo in 113
Current track 131
overview 41 Current track MIDI echo
Consolidate Project Audio 545 turning off 132
Contollers pane 246 Curves
Control event 290 types in fades and crossfades 338
Control groups 404 Cycle 316
absolute 405, 407 Cycles per second 316
custom 406, 407
editing 403, 406 D
relative 406407 Data
See also Automation Data
sysx 517526
Controllers 284, 287, 290
Data directory 542
assigning, to instruments 512
dB
inserting a series 255
audio scaling by 231, 324
numbers 288 DC offset
parameters 290 removing 334
Convert MIDI to shapes procedure 451 Decibel scale 321
Converting bit depths 551 Decrescendos 267
Converting MIDI to audio 372 creating using Process-Scale Velocity
Converting sample rates and bit depths 549 Velocity 267
Converting soft synth tracks to audio 355 Default bus
setting 187
Copying tracks 188
setting for inserted tracks 186
Copyright 180
Default pitch
Count-in 148 changing a projects 239
CPS (cycles per second) 316 Defining instruments 35
CPU meter 555 Deglitch filter 477
CPU performance 402, 553 using 477

585
Delay editing 304
adding 296 opening 308
Delete 189 saving 307
Digital audio recording See Recording audio the basics 304
Digital audio See Audio
tutorial 99
Digital distortion 157
Dual monitor support 460
Diminuendo 486
Dump Request Macros (DRM) 520, 521
Dirty flag
Duration
in presets 389
Fill 478
Disk meter 555
note 272, 294
Disks
note property 476
caching 554
parameter 290
compressed 553
time 478
fragmented 554
storage requirements 554
Displacement 316 E
Dithering 419 Echo
adding 296
during rewrite procedure 551
eliminating during recording 564
DMA settings 33, 548
Edit-Apply Trimiming
Docking views 46
deleting slip-edited data using 270, 337
Dotted lines 445 Edit-Bounce to Clip(s)
Doubled notes 133 combining clips using 208, 327
Double-precision mix engine 576 Edit-Bounce to Track(s)
Downmixing 426 mixing down tracks using 411
Drag and Drop 207 Edit-Convert MIDI To Shapes 287, 444, 451
Drivers Edit-Copy
using ASIO 555 arranging clips using 191
Drum editing 303 copying envelopes using 448
importing tracks from other projects with
Drum Grid pane 311
176
changing grid line display in 311 Edit-Cut 189, 191, 197, 293, 448
displaying tracks in 308 Edit-Delete
displaying velocity tails in 309 deleting clips using 198
editing note velocities in 309 deleting measures using 264
Drum machines 532 deleting time using 264
Drum Map Manager Edit-Groove Clip Looping
opening 304 enabling Groove clip looping using 233
working in 306 Edit-History 225
Drum Map Manager 304 Editing
Drum maps slip editing 268, 335
assigning a MIDI track to 308 Editing audio
creating 304 tutorial 81

586
Editing MIDI drawing audio envelopes in the Track
tutorial 75 view 442
Edit-Paste drawing envelopes on clips 447
arranging clips using 191 resetting to default values 449
importing tracks from a project using 176 showing or hiding envelopes 447
pasting envelopes using 449 Envelopes-Track 442
Edit-Redo 152 EQ
Edit-Select-By Time 201 per-track 401
Edit-Select-None 201 Errors
Edit-Split timing 270
splitting clips using 208 Wave Profiler 564
Event
Edit-Undo 152, 189
Effects deleting 293
adding 127 inserting new 293
adding in the Track view 218 searching for a 285
adding to clips in real time 390 Event filters 283, 283287
audio 345 selecting events using 285
automating 452 setting up 284
CPU usage of 402 Event inspector toolbar 244
increasing number of 553 Event List view 44, 243, 289295
MIDI 295 multiple tracks in 290
mono/stereo/surround indicator 388 note names in 511
presets 389 opening 289
real-time audio 386 Pitch parameter 290
relinking surround parameters 436 Event Parameters
unlinking surround parameters 436 editing 292
Event types
Effects with surround sound 435
Electric Guitar filtering 174
Events
connecting 30
audio 295
Enable Automation Playback button 439
channel aftertouch 284
End 108
controller 284
Ensoniq instruments 526
editing 261, 292
Envelope Display on a Percentage Scale 450 Key aftertouch 284
Envelope Draw tool 446 MCIcmd 294295
Envelope mode 449 note 284, 294
troubleshooting 561 out-of-window 274
Envelope tool 442 parameters 284, 286287
Envelopes patch 291
copying and pasting 448 patch change 284
deleting 448 pitch wheel 284
searching a song for 282

587
 searching for 282 File Info window 180
selecting 285 File menu
shifting in time 263 Open 36
shifting the time of 130 File-Close 179
shrink using percentages 266 File-Export-Audio 356, 372, 414, 415, 417
step by step playback 294 File-Export-OMF 418
stretch using percentages 266 File-Import-Audio 175, 235, 544
stretching and shrinking 265 File-Info 180
transposing selected 262 File-New 146, 147, 462
xRPN 284
File-Open 146
Exporting
File-Print 181, 494
audio 413, 414
MP3s 417 File-Print Preview 181, 494
projects as OMF files 418 File-Project Audio Files 545
Windows Media Format files 415 Files
Exporting key bindings 465 .WAV 413
audio 175
Exporting MIDI Groove clips 241
bundle 134
Exporting surround mixes 438
bundle, creating 541
Exporting video 138
digital audio 547
Expression event 291
groove 276
Expression marks 291, 485 importing MIDI 178
editing 485 instrument definitions 505514
Extract Timing 332 managing audio 539
MIDI 134
F project 134
Fade sequencing, for playback 133
changing curve type of 342 statistics 181
Fade/Envelope 343344 StudioWare 36
Faders 404 SYSX.INI 524

Fades 338 using MCI commands to play 295

Wave 413
FAQs 557
File-Save 178, 179
FAX modems 548
File File-Save As 178
opening 36 Fill Durations 478
File extensions Find Missing Audio dialog 143
.CWB 179 Finding missing audio 143
.CWP 35 FireWire
.CWT 461 exporting video to a FireWire device 142
.MID 179 video playback on 141
.SYX 517, 523 Fit Improvisation 270

588
Fit to Time 219 Next Marker 205
Float file support 550 Next Measure 108
Floating a view 461 Previous Marker 205
Floating views 460 Previous Measure 108
dual monitor support 47 Search 282, 285
Follow Bus Pan 377 Search Next 282
Thru 108
Follow Track Pan 374
Forums Time 107
Cakewalk xxiv Gridlines, displaying 201
Freezing tracks and synths 384 Groove clips 35, 227
Frequency 316 creating 235
fundamental 317 dragging into project 233
Fretboard editing 235
changing appearance 489 editing slices 237
displaying 471 following project pitch 237
hiding 471 how they work 234
Fretboard pane See Fretboard importing into project 235
From 107 MIDI 239
Front/rear balance slider 430 previewing in Loop Explorer view 232
Full chase lock 535 tutorial 84
FX bin using 235
mono/stereo/surround indicator 388 what they are 234
FX bins working with 234
vertical display 188 Groove Pattern 275
copying 277
G defining 277
Gain command 329 deleting 278
saving 277
Game sound 26
Groove Quantize 271, 272
Ghost strokes 494
using 275
Global 146, 328
Groove Quantize
Global Audio Folder 542 correcting a bad verse with 278
Global Audio folder Grooves See Groove Pattern
changing 542 Group 406
Global Options
chord property 482
autosave 179
Group Manager 407
default folder 458, 461
Grouped controls
MIDI filter tab 174
automating 453
Go menu
Grouping controls
Beginning 108
Quick Groups 408
End 108
Grouping controls, faders, or knobs 404
From 107

589
Grouping surround panner controls 431 auditioning and selecting notes 259
Guitar zooming 258
adding chord grid 484 Input 120
recording separate strings 173 Input Echo button 131
Guitar, electric
Input filtering 174
connecting 570571 Input levels
checking 157
H Input Monitoring
Hairpin event 291 turning on or off for all tracks 133
Input monitoring 159
Hairpin symbols 482, 486
disabling 564
adding 486
eliminating echo from 162
Hardware setup 567
Height of tracks enabling 162
Inputs
locking 188
Help choosing in Console view 154, 155
online xxiv selecting 374
Help menu setting source of 153
Quick Start 32 Insert menu
Help, online xxiv Series of Controllers 255
Series of Tempos 219, 221
Hertz 316
Tempo Change 219
History 226
Time/Measures 263
Home Stereo
Insert menuTempo Change 220
connecting to 572
Hz 316 Insert New Tracks button 186
Insert-Bank/Patch Change 126
Inserting a send in a bus 376
I Inserting a send in a track
Icons Sends
track icons 190 inserting in a track 374
Importing
Inserting tracks 186
audio files 175
Insert-Meter/Key Change 496
from a Cakewalk project 176178
Insert-Meter/Key Changes 147
music 175181
Insert-Time Measures 264
Importing different sampling rates 550
Instrument Definition Tutorial 513
Importing key bindings 465
Instrument definitions 503
Importing MIDI Groove clips 241
creating 506512
Importing OMF 176
exporting 508
Importing surround mixes 437
importing 505514
Inline Piano Roll toobar
name lists 508
displaying 257
saving 508
Inline Piano Roll view 257
Instrument sound

590
 choosing an 125 Keyboard
parameter 120 connecting MIDI 2931
track settings 115 Local Control setting 133
wrong, on playback 561 notes doubling on 562
See also Instruments parameters 291
Instruments patches 125126
accessing all sounds on 562 recording accompaniments 173
assigning, to outputs 504505 Kilohertz 316
bank assignments 509510
defining 506508
deleting 507
L
non-concert key 129, 498 Large Transport toolbar 106
patch names for 510511 Latency 555
problems recording from MIDI 559 Layering synths
recording from MIDI 156 live playback 132
Instruments 504 Layers in tracks 210
Interface Layouts 47, 457, 458460
picture and description 392 creating 459
Interleave indicator deleting 459
FX bins 388 loading 459
Interpolate 130, 283, 286, 481 options 460
Interrupt request (IRQ) settings 33 renaming 460
Isolating 215 updating 459
Lead sheets See Notation and Lyrics
Length 265
J LFE channel on consumer-grade sound
Joystick support 432 cardsr 425
Jump 443 LFE Send level
default value 431
K Linked clips 206
creating 206
Key 495496
unlinking 207
adjusting 129
Live MIDI playback
aftertouch 284
controlling 131
signature 147148, 495496
Load Bank 523
Key Bindings 460
Local Control 133
Key bindings 463
Lock track height 188
creating using MIDI keyboard 464
Locking views 47
exporting 465
Loop and Auto Shuttle 111
importing 465
Loop Construction view 43, 228
Key+ 120
Loop Explorer view 44, 231
KeyAft event 290

591
Loop recording 163 jump to 205
using 163 locking/unlocking 205
Loop/Auto Shuttle moving 205
settings 111 pitch 238
toolbar 111 setting Now time with 108
Looping setting time range with 206
delays 131 snap-to grid 201
enabling loops for 233 using 203
setting up 110112 Markers view 44
using punch-in while 166 Marks 482
Loops 227
expression 485
ACIDized 234 Masked the active track error message 246
converting to Groove clips 235
MBT (measure, beat and tick number) 104,
creating repetitions of 233
265, 487
dragging into project 233
MBT time
enabling looping of 233
entering 105
Groove clip tutorial 84
MCI (Media Control Interface) command
previewing in Loop Explorer view 232
291, 294295
working with 233
MCI cmd event 291
Lyric event 290
Measure
Lyrics 498501
inserting a blank 263
hyphenating 501 Measures
in Lyrics View 500501 inserting 263
in Staff View 499500 Menu 398
Lyrics view 44 Meter 147, 495
adding lyrics in 499 Meter ballistics 382
editing lyrics in 499 Meter display 369
syllable 500
changing 369
Meter/Key 147
M changes 147, 496497
Mapped note view 44, 496
changing the mapping of 310 Meter/Key view 44
muting and soloing 311 Metering 378
Markers 47, 201 changing the display of meters 380
adding 204 showing and hiding meters 379
adding on the fly 205 what the meters measure 378
copying 205 Meters
creating 203206 changing color and segmentation option
deleting 205 380
deleting from the Markers view 205 choosing colors for non-segmented meters
editing 205 382

592
 configuring display of 380 playback settings 115131
improving performance 382 recording music from 156
playback and record 368 routing data 123
segmented 381 setting up in and out devices 33
Metronome 148 synchronization 529
audio 148 synchronization status messages 531
changing settings 150 time code 528
setting for new project 149 timing resolution 152
setting the 148150 See also Controllers
MIDI controllers
using 148
Microphone converting to shapes (track envelopes)
connecting 31, 572 287, 444, 451
MIDI MIDI data
advantages of 27 applying an event filter to 297
as remote control 410 applying echo/delay to 297
assigning a channel 128 applying the arpeggiator to 298
bank selection 125 quantizing 296
channel parameter 290 MIDI Devices 33, 124, 530
channels 290 MIDI Devices command 534
choosing devices 124 MIDI drivers
connecting keyboard 2931 changing 34
MIDI Echo
converting MIDI to audio 372
turning on or off for all tracks 133
devices 123, 124, 534
MIDI echo
editing tutorial 75
controlling 131
equipment connection 567569
Input Echo button 131
how it works 27
multi-channels on one track 132
importing files 178
MIDI effects 295
input and echo controls 133
presets 295
key aftertouch 289
MIDI equipment, connecting 567
machine control (MMC) 537538
MIDI files
messages
importing 178
controlling 110
MIDI Groove clips 239
filtering 174
creating repetitions 240
mixing 371372
enabling groove function 240
note parameters 476
exporting and importing 241
notes 478
in Loop Explorer view 242
Omni 153
previewing in the Import MIDI dialog
output devices 123124
242
outputs 123124 transposing 240
pitch wheel 288 using pitch markers 241
pitch-bend 288 MIDI In and Out devices

593
 driver changes 34 creating 95
MIDI input filtering 174 MP3 files, creating and exporting 417
MIDI input presets MPEG Video, importing 135
creating and editing 132, 174 MPEX time/pitch stretch algorithm 348
MIDI keyboard MPU401
multiple performers on multiple tracks cant find 566
133 MRU menu
playing multiple tracks from 132
presets 389
MIDI notes
MTC
editing using Note Inspector toolbar 244
sending and receiving 532
MIDI playback
Multi-channel MIDI recording 173
live on multiple tracks 133
Multi-MIDI input 131
MIDI Scale 258
Multi-port soft synths 351
MIDI Sync 529
Musical Editing
status messages 531
rests 478
troubleshooting 532 Mute
with drum machine 532 automating 456
MIDI System Exclusive messages 517 Mute 113, 114
MIDI THRU jack 568 Mute 113
MIDI Time Code Mute button
sending and receiving 532 showing automated mute status 456
MIDI track parameters
Mute buttons, grouping 404
Input 117
Muting a soft synth 355
Outputs 117
Muting clips 212
Pan 117
track name 116
track number 116 N
Mixer Name, of a track 116
connecting to 573 Navigator view
Mixing
changing display of Clips pane using 194
controlling 374
using 194
MIDI 371372 New track
tracks 553 adding 186
tutorial 92 Newsgroups, Cakewalk xxiv
Mixing audio effects 346 Next Marker 205
options 346 Next Measure 108
Modules 365 Nodes
Mono to Mono 346 adding to a selected envelope segment
Mono/Stereo buttons 114 452
Most Recently Used menu Non-destructive editing 268, 335
presets 389 Normal template 146
MP3 Normalize 329

594
Normalize command 329 selecting and editing 253
Notation selecting in Piano Roll view 249
editing 472, 481 size of 275
non-concert key 498 stuck 110, 130
Notation and Lyrics 467 transposing 129
Note events 290 using enharmonic spellings 479481
transposing pitch of 261, 262 Now Time
Note Map pane 310 rewind on stop 107
previewing mapped sound in 310 Now time 47, 104, 108
Note names changing 105
of patches 511512 keyboard shortcuts 107
Note pane 245 large print 107
Note velocities NRPN (Non-Registered Parameter Number)
editing in the Drum Grid pane 309 287, 288, 290
Note velocity 261 assigning, to instruments 512
adjusting 129130 event 290
changing with Velocity MIDI effect 300 Nudge 198
compressing 286 moving clips left or right 199
displaying 288 moving clips up or down 199
inverting 286 settings 199
Notes 290
changing display of 478479 O
changing timing of 270
Offset mode 449
doubling 562
OMF
drawing in Piano Roll view 252
exporting to 418
duration of 272
importing 176
editing 474475
project data discarded when saved as 418
editing from the fretboard 491
project data preserved in 418
editing on the TAB staff 490
saving projects as 418
editing velocity in Piano Roll view 252 OMF files
editing with the Draw tool 250, 251 exporting 418
editing with the Select tool 253 Online Help xxiv
editing, in real time 469 Options menu
erasing 253 Audio 152, 548
inserting 472 Colors 48
inserting with the fretboard 473 Drum Map Manager 304
percussion 492 Global 146, 328
properties of 476 Instruments 504
reversing 267 Key Bindings 460
selecting 249, 473 MIDI Devices 33, 124, 530
selecting all of certain pitches 250 Project 150, 152

595
Outputs 120 Patch/Controller Searchback Before Play
assigning tracks to 125 Starts 131
MIDI 124 Patches
setting 123 downloading 557
Overlap Ratio 347 Pattern Brush tool 312
Overlapping clips creating custom patterns for 313
cropping to eliminate overlap 212 how it works 312
Overload 157 painting a custom pattern with 313
Overtones 317 painting notes using 312
Pattern-based Step Recording 172
Patterns
P importing from Project5 242
Pan 119 Peak Markers 382
adjusting 127 Pedal events 482
envelopes 447 editing 487
setting 374 parameters 487
track settings 119 Pedal marks
Pane 245 adding 486
Pane, Staff 468 Percentage
Panning audio scaling by 231, 324
follow bus pan 377 Percussion
Follow Track Pan 374 channel 130
Panning in surround 428 ghost strokes 494
Panning laws line 493494
changing 128 staff 493494
Parameters Percussion track
effects 387 setting up 492
events 284, 286287 Performance
global 462 CPU, with FX effects 402
pedal events 487 improving audio 547
pitch 346 maximizing disk and CPU 553
template file 461462 Per-project audio folders 542
Per-track EQ
Time/Pitch stretch 347348
See also Events using 401
Partial clips Phase
selecting 38 inverting a tracks 114
Patch 120, 125126, 290 Piano Roll envelopes
converting to Track view envelopes 287,
assigning note names to 511512
444, 451
assigning to a track 126
Piano Roll toolbar 288
event 290
Piano Roll View
names 510511
inline version 257
numbers 284

596
Piano Roll view 42, 243, 244 stopping 110
Controllers pane 246 track-by-track 112114
Drum Grid pane 245 transmitting banks 523
editing notes in using Note Inspector Playback loop
toolbar 244 cancelling 112
Note and Controllers pane 245 setting up 111
Note Map pane 245 Playback of V-Vocal clips 393
note names in 510 Playback State toolbar 113
opening 246 playing 353
overview 42 Plug-ins
Track List pane 246 audio 345
Piano Roll view envelopes MIDI 295
converting to Track view shapes 451 using presets 389
Pitch
Plug-ins and 96 kHz audio 556
changing a MIDI notes 253 Polarity
enabling Groove clips to follow 237 inverting a tracks 114
fluctuating 536 Polyphonic auditioning or dragged notes
note property 476 251
selecting 249 Port Address settings 33
shifting 346 Ports
stretching 346, 347348 assigning instruments to 504505
Pitch markers Pow-r dithering 419
creating 239
PPQ, see timebase 152
MIDI Groove clips and 241 Preamp output
moving 239 connecting to 572
transposing Groove clips with 238 Preferences
using 238 migrating from previous version of
Pitch wheel 288 Cakewalk 32
parameters 290 Preferred interleave 114
Play 110 Presets
Play List 134, 135 dirty flag 389
for plug-ins 389
to play files from 135
Pressure value 284
Playback 548549
Previewing MIDI Groove clips
audio drop-out during 553
in Import MIDI dialog 242
controlling 109, 371, 374, 535
Previous Marker 205
controlling using transport toolbar 47
Previous Measure 108
incorrect 548549
Printing
problems 549, 557558
event list 293
settings, MIDI 115131
markers 204
speed 532
project information 181
starting 110
scores 494495

597
Process-Apply Audio Effects opening 32, 36
applying realtime audio effects using 345 saving 179
Process-Apply MIDI Effects views 458
apply realtime MIDI effects using 403 Project 150, 152
Process-Audio-Apply Audio Effects
Project file 35
apply multiple realtime effects using 402
Process-Audio-Crossfade creating new 146
creating a destructive crossfade using Project Files dialog 540
344 using 540
Process-Audio-Extract Timing Project information
calculating tempo of audio using 333 diplaying 181
Process-Audio-Fade/Envelope editing 181
creating a destructive fade using 343 Project Options 528
Process-Audio-Normalize 329 metronome 148
Process-Audio-Remove Silence 332 MIDI out 130
Process-Audio-Reverse sync to SMPTE/MTC 534
playing audio backwards using 330 time base 152
Process-Deglitch Project pitch
filtering MIDI data with 477 changing the default pitch 239
Process-Fit Improvisation 219, 278279 Project5
Process-Fit to Time 265 importing patterns from 242
Process-Fit to Time 219 Project5 patterns
Process-Groove Quantize importing 242
using 275 Projects
Process-Interpolate 286 working on 47
Process-Length Property-Bank 126
shrinking events using 265 Property-Channel 129
stretching events using 265 Property-Inputs 173
Process-Quantize Property-Key+ 129
using 274 Property-Pan 128
Process-Retrograde
Property-Patch 126
reversing MIDI notes using 267
Property-Time+ 130
Process-Scale Velocity 267
Process-Slide Property-Vel+ 130
shifting MIDI events in time using 263 Property-Volume 127
Project Punch recording 164
creating a 145 looping 166
definition of 35 using 164
importing material from another 176,
176178
Q
information 180181
Quantize
inserting measures into 263264
effect 296
labeling 180181

598
 offset option 275 eliminating echo 564
synchronizing rhythm and solo tracks erasing 158
with 278 inputs 153
using 274 loop 163164, 165166
Window setting 273 MIDI 156
Quantize 270, 477 modes 153
Queue buffers 555 problems 559, 560
Quick freeze 384 punch-in 164166
Quick Groups 408 specifying MIDI ports and channels to
Quick TAB record by 173
creating 489 step 166172
Quick unfreeze 384 step-pattern 172
QuickTime video, importing 135 using confidence recording during 159
volume 156
Recording a soft synth 355
R Recording Digital Audio
Radio tuner tutorial 71
connecting to 572 Recording fader movements 441
Record 156, 158, 163, 164, 166 Recording MIDI
Record tutorial 64
audio 158 Recording modes
MIDI 156 Auto Punch 153
Record Mode 153, 537 Overwrite 153
Record Options 164, 166 Sound on sound 153
Record Options 153 Redo 225226
Recording Reject Loop Take 164, 166
Arming tracks for 155 Reject Loop Take 164
arming tracks for 155 Relink surround effect 436
audio 156
Remote control 410
choosing an input 153
Remove Silence
definition
Attack time 331
troubleshooting 560
Remove Silence 330
automation 441
digital noise gate parameters 331
background noise in 157
Reset 110
changing timing of 270, 278
Resolution, quantizing parameter 271
channel-by-channel 173
Rests, beaming of 478
checking input levels 157
checking levels 156 Retrograde 267
confidence 159 Reverse 267, 330
controlling using Transport toolbar 47 Rewind 110
converting MIDI to audio 372 ReWire
digital audio See Recording audio automating ReWire instruments 360

599
 inserting a ReWire instrument 358 film and video 26
mixing down and bouncing ReWire Screen colors 4849
instruments 360 Scrub tool 253, 328
to use separate audio tracks 359
auditioning with 322
troubleshooting guide 360
Search 282, 285
ReWire instruments 357
Search Again 285
Riff Wave files
Search Nex 282
saving a Groove clip as 238
RPN (Registered Parameter Numbers) Select All Siblings 206, 208
event 290 Select by Filter 283
RPNs (Registered Parameter Numbers) Select by Filter 283, 285
287, 288, 290 Select by Time 201
assigning, to instruments 512 Select None 201
Selection playback 215
S Sends
inserting in a bus 376
Safe Mode 566
Sensitivity setting
Sample rate
quantizing parameter 273
definition 320
Series of Controllers 255
setting 150, 152
Series of Controllers
Sample rates 549
inserting 255
converting 549 Series of Tempos 220, 221
setting for new projects 549
inserting 219, 221
Sampling rate
Set End=Current 408
setting 152
Sampling rates Set Start=Current 407
importing audio at different rates 550 Settings
migrating from previous version of
Sampling resolution 320
Cakewalk 32
Save Bank 523
Shapes 443
Save options 178
Show Automated Mute 456
bundle file 179
Show layers 210
Standard MIDI 179
Signal flow diagram 373
Saving
Silence
projects as OMF files 418
removing 330332
Saving a project 179
Silencing tracks 113114
Scale Velocity 130, 268
Slaving to SMPTE/MTC 534
Scales
constraining edited notes to 279 Slide 263
Scissors tool Slip editing 268, 335
splitting clips with 326 modes 268, 335
Scores, printing 494495 scroll-trimming 268, 335
Scoring slide trimming 268, 335

600
 trimming 268, 335 recording a hardware-emulating synth
multiple clips 270, 338 361
to permanently delete slip-edited data removing from a track 354
270, 337 Solo 114
using 268, 335 Soloing a soft synth 355
Slip-editing Soloing clips 212, 215
multiple clips 338 SONAR
SMPTE 104, 265 as master 531532
SMPTE Synchronization as slave 530531
frame rate 532 basics 35
SMPTE time features of 2527
adjusting 137 installing 28
SMPTE/MTC Sync 532537 sync to SMPTE/MTC 534
controlling audio with 535 uninstalling 29
digital audio under 535 using 49
troubleshooting 536537 Songs
with full chase lock 536 quantizing 273
Snap Grid See Snap to Grid title 180
Snap offsets 203 Sort 185
Snap to Grid 201203 Sound card
enabling and disabling 202 built-in 549
Snap to Scale 279 high-end 549
bypassing momentarily 280 Sound controls 365366
Snapshots Source Material 347
creating 451 Split 209, 327
Soft synth property pages (interfaces) Splitting clips 208
how to open 353
using Scissors tool 326
Soft Synths
Staff pane 468
inserting into a project 351
changing layout of 470
multi-port 351
Staff view 291, 467, 468
tutorial 96
Soft synths 353 changing layout of 469
editing lyrics in 500501
automating controls 356
opening 469
converting soft synth tracks to audio 355
overview 43
muting and soloing 355
Staff, percussion 492494
removing from a project 355
soft synths Start time 253
recording output 355 Status bar 555
Software synthesizers Step Record 172
and WDM drivers 353 Step Record 168
overview 349 Step Recording 166
playing a soft synth 353
Pattern option 172

601
 using 168 editing Sysx banks 521
using Advanced mode 170 events 518
using pattern-based 172 importing, creating, and dumping sysx
Stop 110, 156, 158, 164, 166 banks 519
Strength, quantizing parameter 272, 275 ini file settings 524
Receive 522
Striping 532
recording Sysx messages in real time 524
Stuck note, stopping 110
sending sysx banks at startup 518
Surround effects 435
Sysx echo 524
Surround front/rear balance slider 430
Sysx view buttons 522
Surround Main 424 to export a Sysx bank to another project
Surround mix parameters 523
saving as presets 424 transmitting banks during playback 523
Surround mixes transmitting before playback 522
exporting 438 transmitting during playback 523
importing 437 troubleshooting 525
Surround mixing 421 using the system exclusive view 518
Surround panner controls
Sysx Bank 518
grouping 431
Sysx Bank events 290, 518
Surround panning 428
Sysx Banks
automating 432 transmitting, during playback 523
SurroundBridge 435 Sysx banks
Swing 273, 275 auto send 522
Synchronization 527538 deleting 522
problems 548549 Edit Bytes 522
SMPTE/MTC sync 532 naming 522
status messages 531 output 522
types of 528529 Receive 522
Synth Rack 351 Send 522
Synth Rack view 350 Send All 522
Synth Tracks 350 Sysx Data 518
Synthesizer in Event list 290
patches 125126 Sysx Data events 518
software 548 Sysx view 44, 517
with handshaking dump protocols 521 opening 518
System Exclusive See Sysx purpose of 44
System sounds
using 518523
turning off 109
Sysx 517526
T
Dump Request Macros 521 TAB
defined 518 saving as ASCII text 491

602
Tabbed views 46 chord property 482
Tablature event 265
defining a style 488 inserting blank 263264
editing 490 MBT 104, 105
exporting as an ASCII text file 491 note property 476
generating 489 pedal event parameter 487
Quick TAB 489 SMPTE 104, 105
regenerating 489 stretching 346, 347348
saving as an ASCII text file 491 See also Markers; Now time
settings 488 Time
Take management 210 setting Now Time using 107
Time Display Format
Taskbar indicators 48
setting 137
Technical support xxiv
Time offset (Time+) parameter 120, 130
Templates 457, 461463
Time ranges 201
creating 462
selecting 38
track templates 189
Time Ruler 108
Tempo
Loop Construction view 236
changing 218, 220, 270
setting to display SMPTE 109
correcting 278
Time ruler
decreasing steadily 223
setting to display HMSF 109
drawing tempo changes 222
Time signature 495
editing a change 224
setting 147, 148
erasing changes 224
Time+ 120
error 279
Time/Measures 263
increasing steadily 223
Time/Pitch Stretch
inserting a change 220, 223
Pitch parameter 347
inserting a series 221
Time/Pitch Stretch 347
modifying the most recent change 222
Timebase 152, 495
ratio 220
setting for new project 149 setting 152
Timer Ruler
setting the 148150
setting to display MBT 109
settings 148
Timing
view 222224
aligning 278
Tempo Change 219, 220
errors 270
Tempo commands
extracting from audio 332
using 220
resolution 152
Tempo view 45 Tools menu
Text 290 Clean Audio Folder 546
Text event 290 Consolidate Project Audio 545
Thru 108 Tooltips
Time appear when editing MIDI events 251

603
Track Track templates 189
current 131 Track view 3638, 183
layers 210 adding effects in 127, 218
locking height of 188 bank settings in 125
Show Automated Mute 456 clips pane not visible in 562
Track folders 216 keyboard shortcuts in 37
Track icons 190 patch settings in 125
Track input 120 Track/Bus Inspector 38
Track menu Tracks 563
Archive 114
adding lyrics to 499500
Clone 188
aligning 278
Delete 189
archiving 114, 553
Mute 113
arming 155, 374
Property-Bank 126
arranging 184
Property-Channel 129
assigning input channels and ports 173
Property-Inputs 173
assigning to outputs 125
Property-Key+ 129
bouncing 411
Property-Pan 128
changing the order of 184
Property-Patch 126 changing velocity of
Property-Time+ 130 cloning 188
Property-Vel+ 130 copying 184
Property-Volume 127 copying or cloning 188
Solo 114 correcting off-tempo 278
Sort 185 deleting 184
Wipe 189 dragging to a new position 185
Track name 116, 119 editing properties of 123
Track number 119 erasing 188
Track output 120 increasing number of 368, 553
Track outputs 120 inserting blank 186
Track pane inserting single or multiple 186
changing values in 122 maximum number of audio 553
resizing 120 mixing 553
Track Properties multi-lane 210
Key+ 129 muting 113, 374
output 123, 125 output devices of 123124
Track See Tracks parameters of 119123
Track status
patch change in 126
archive 112
percussion 492494
mute 112
recording in separate 173
normal 112
re-ordering 184186
solo 112
selecting several adjacent 184

604
 selecting single 184 notes 129
setting channels for 129 parameter 120
setting key offset of 129 Trigger and freewheel 535
setting time offset of 130 Trim Durations 478
silencing 113114 Triplets 477
soloing 114, 374 Troubleshooting 557
sort by archived 185 I cant open my project 566
sort by channel 185 MIDI Sync 532
sort by muted 185 no volume despite maximum envelope
sort by name 185 level 561
sort by port 185 SMPTE/MTC Sync 536537
sort by selected 185 Sysx 525526
sort by size 185 Sysx data 525526
sorting 185186 Wavetable synth and/or MPU401 missing
synchronizing 278 566
time alignment of 130 Tutorial
track folders 216 Instrument Definition 513
Tutorial 1
transposing 129
The Basics 52
unarchiving 114
Tutorial 2
unmuting 113
Recording MIDI 64
viewing multiple in Piano Roll 246 Tutorial 3
volume control of 127 Recording Digital Audio
wiping 189 tutorial 71
See also Recording; Track Properties Tutorial 4
Transport Editing MIDI 75
Record Options 153 Tutorial 5
Reject Loop Take 164 Editing Audio 81
Transport menu Tutorial 6
Loop and Auto Shuttle 111 Using Groove clips 84
Play 110 Tutorial 7
Record 156, 158 Mixing 92
Reset 110 Tutorial 8
Rewind 110 Drum maps 99
Step Record 168 Tutorial 9
Step Record 172 Using Soft Synths 96
Stop 110
Transport toolbar 47 U
Large 106 Unarchiving tracks 114
Transpose Undo 225
using MIDI Transpose effect 300
Undo History 225226
Transpose 129, 261262, 474
Unfreeze 384
Transposing 261262

605
Uninstalling SONAR 29 allowing multiple instances of the same
Unlink surround effect 436 47
docking in bus pane 46
Updates 557
USB audio Event List 289
24 bit problems 563 floating 47, 460, 461
Fretboard 468
Loop Construction 228
V Loop Explorer 231
Vel+ 120, 129130 Lyrics 44, 467, 500
Velocity 284, 294, 476 Markers 44
adjusting note 129130 Meter/Key 44, 467, 495497
compressing 286 PianoRoll 244
Ctrl-key editing 252 Play List 134
data display 288 Staff 468
inverting 286 Synth Rack 350
note 129130, 272, 294 Sysx 44, 518523
note property 476 Tempo 45, 222
parameter 120, 290 Video 136
setting 267268 Vocal track
See also Note velocity removing 330
Velocity tails Volume
displaying in the Drum Grid pane 309 adjusting 127
Vertical FX bins 188 changing audio data 344
Video envelopes 447
deleting from a project 136 faders 404
disabling playback of 137 output 378
enabling playback of 137 recording 156157
exporting 138 setting 374
inserting in a project 136 track settings 119
setting start time 138 VST Configuration Wizard 403
setting trim time 138 VST support
synchronizing external video to audio integrated 403
143 V-Vocal
Video display format
context menu 398
setting 138
Dynamics editing 398
Video playback
Formant editing 397
stuttering problem 136
Pitch editing 394
Video Playback, Import, and Export 135
Time editing 397
Video thumbnails 139
undoing edits 395
View options
V-Vocal keyboard shortcuts 399
display clip names 193
Views 3647

606
W audio scaling by 231, 324
Zooming
Wallpaper 4849
configuring the display of tracks in the
Wave Audio event 291 Track view 187
Wave Device Profiler 548549 entire project 187
errors 564 Zooming in the Inline Piano Roll view 258
Wave files
creating and exporting 414
how to export 414
importing 175
Wave Profiler
using 33
Waveform
zooming in on 324
Waveform preview
on buses and synth tracks 383
turning off 159
Waveforms 318320
clipped 321
to not display while recording 159
Wavetable synth
troubleshooting 566
Wet Mix 347
Wheel event 290
Window
Sensitivity 273, 274
Windows
system sounds, turning off 109
Window-Tile in Rows 458
Wipe 189
World Wide Web xxiv
authoring 26
Cakewalk site xxiv
publishing audio on 413

Z
Zero Controllers When Play Stops 130
Zero-crossings 320
Zoom
keyboard shortcuts 45
Zoom Controls 45
Zoom factor

607
608
TWELVE TONE SYSTEMS, INC.
d/b/a CAKEWALK
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