Table of Contents

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
About SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Music Composition and Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Remixing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Game Sound Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Sound Production and Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Web Authoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Film and Video Scoring and Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Publishing Music on the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Burning Audio CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Computers, Sound, and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Audio Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
 MIDI Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Starting SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
SONAR Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
SONAR File Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Opening a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Working on a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Windows Taskbar Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Screen Colors and Wallpaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Color Presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Starting to Use SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Installing SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

1 Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Tutorial 1—The Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Opening a Project File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Preparing for Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Playing the Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Restarting the Project Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Changing the Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Muting and Soloing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Changing a Track's Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Playing Music on a Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Tutorial 2—Recording MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Recording a MIDI Track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Saving Your Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Loop Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Punch-In Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Tutorial 3—Recording Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Setting the Sampling Rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Setting the Audio Driver Bit Depth and Recording Bit Depth. . . . . 118
Open a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Setting Up an Audio Track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Checking the Input Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Recording Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Listening to the Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Recording Another Take . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Input Monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Loop and Punch-In Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Recording Multiple Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

2 Table of Contents
Tutorial 4—Editing MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Transposing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Copying Clips with Drag and Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Editing Notes in the Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Slip-editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
Drawing MIDI Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Converting MIDI to Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130
Tutorial 5—Editing Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
Opening the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
Importing a Wave File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
Moving and Looping the Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Slip-editing a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134
Automatic Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
Bouncing Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Tutorial 6—Using Groove Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Adding Groove Clips to a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Looping Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
Changing the Pitch of Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
Changing the Tempo of Your Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
Creating Your Own Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
Tutorial 7—Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Adding Real-time Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Automating an Individual Effect’s Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Grouping Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Automating Your Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
Exporting an MP3 File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
Tutorial 8—Using Soft Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Inserting Cakewalk TTS-1 into a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
Playing MIDI Tracks through a Soft Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
Tutorial 9—Drum Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
Create a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
Creating a Drum Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
Create a Drum Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
Map Drum Notes to Different Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
Tutorial 10—Cyclone Soft Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
Cyclone Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
Adding Files to a Pad Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163
Setting a Pad’s Volume and Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
Playing Cyclone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
Editing Loops in the Loop Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166

Table of Contents 3
 2 Controlling Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
The Now Time and How to Use It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
The Now Time Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
The Track View Now Time Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Displaying the Now Time in Large Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Other Ways to Set the Now Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Time Ruler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Controlling Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Handling Stuck Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Looping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Using the Large Transport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Track-by-Track Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
The Playback State Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Silencing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Soloing Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Inverting the Phase of a Track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Changing Tracks’ Mono/Stereo Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Changing Track Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Setting Up Output Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Assigning Tracks to Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Choosing the Instrument Sound (Bank and Patch) . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Adding Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Adjusting Volume and Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Configurable Panning Laws. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Adjusting Volume Trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Assigning a MIDI Channel (Chn) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Adjusting the Key/Transposing a Track (Key+) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Adjusting the Note Velocity (Vel+) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Adjusting the Time Alignment of a MIDI Track (Time+). . . . . . . . . 211
Other MIDI Playback Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Controlling Live MIDI Playback—MIDI Echo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Local Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Playing Files in Batch Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
The Play List View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Video Playback, Import, and Export. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Inserting and Playing Back Videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Exporting Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Optimizing Video Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Using the Video Thumbnails Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Video Playback on a FireWire DV Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Exporting a Project to a FireWire DV Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

4 Table of Contents
 Synchronizing External Video Playback to Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
Locating Missing Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
The Find Missing Audio File Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
Restoring Missing Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232
Managing Shared and External Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233

3 Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236
Using Per-Project Audio Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236
Creating a New Project File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237
Setting the Meter and Key Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238
Setting the Metronome and Tempo Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
Setting the Audio Sampling Rate and Bit Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
Setting the MIDI Timing Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243
Preparing to Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
Recording Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
Choosing an Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
Arming Tracks for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248
Auto Arming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249
Recording Music from a MIDI Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249
Input Quantizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250
Recording Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
Tuning an Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254
Confidence Recording and Waveform Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256
Input Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256
The Audio Engine Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261
Loop Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261
Punch Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263
Step Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266
Step Record Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273
Step Pattern Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274
Recording Specific Ports and Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276
Input Filtering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278
Importing Music and Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278
Importing Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279
Importing Audio CD Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280
Importing Material from Another SONAR Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281
Importing OMF Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282
Importing MIDI Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284
Saving Your Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285

Table of Contents 5
 Using File Versioning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Labeling Your Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
File Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

4 Arranging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Arranging Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Changing the Order of Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Inserting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Configuring the Display of Tracks in the Track View . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Copying Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Erasing Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Track Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Track Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Configuring Track View Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Arranging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Displaying Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Using the Navigator View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Opening Views by Double-clicking Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Selecting Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Moving and Copying Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Locking Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Nudge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Nudge Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Working with Partial Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Markers and the snap grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Showing Gridlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Defining and Using the Snap Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Snap Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Creating and Using Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Working with Linked Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Splitting and Combining Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Take Management and Comping Takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Clip Muting with the Default Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Clip Muting with the Alternate Style. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Toggling a Clip’s Mute Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Audition (Selection Playback) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Isolating (Clip Soloing). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Track Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Adding Effects in the Track View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

6 Table of Contents
Changing Tempos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .348
Using the Tempo Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349
Using the Tempo Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .351
Using the Tempo View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .353
Undo, Redo, and the Undo History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .357
Slip-editing (Non-destructive Editing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .359
Using Slip-editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .359
Slip-editing Multiple Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .362
Fades and Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .362
Using Fades and Crossfades in Real Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .362

5 AudioSnap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Enabling AudioSnap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .370
The AudioSnap Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .371
Transient Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .374
Displaying Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .374
Disabling and Enabling Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375
Marker Appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .376
Editing Markers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .377
The Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380
Keyboard Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .381
Aligning Clips to New Tempo Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .381
Aligning Project Tempo to a Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .382
Extract Timing Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384
Quantizing Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .387
Groove Quantize and Quantize to Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .389
Aligning MIDI with Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .394
Copying Audio Rhythms as MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .394
Slip-stretching Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .395
Adding Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .396

6 Using Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

The Loop Construction View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .397
Loop Construction Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .398
The Loop Explorer View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .403
Folders Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .404
Contents List Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .405
Working with Loops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .405
Working with Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .406

Table of Contents 7
 How Groove Clips Work in SONAR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Using Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Creating and Editing Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408
Editing Slices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
Saving Groove Clips as Wave Files/ACIDized Wave Files . . . . . . 413
Using Pitch Markers in the Track View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
MIDI Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Exporting, and Importing MIDI Groove Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Importing Project5 Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

7 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Event Inspector Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
The Piano Roll View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Note Map Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Drum Grid Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Notes Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Controller Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Track List Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
Opening the View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View. . . . . . . . . . . 427
Note Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View Only) . . . . . . . . . . 429
Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Selecting Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Editing Notes with the Draw Tool and the Select Tool . . . . . . . . . 433
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Adding Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
Selecting Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Editing Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
The Inline Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
Displaying the Inline Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
The MIDI Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Displaying Notes and Controllers in the Inline Piano Roll View. . . 448
Selecting and Editing Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
Copying and Pasting MIDI Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
Transposing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Inserting Time or Measures into a Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Stretching and Shrinking Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
Reversing Notes in a Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Adding Crescendos and Decrescendos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

8 Table of Contents
Changing the Timing of a Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .460
Quantizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .461
Fit Improvisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .470
Snap to Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .472
Searching for Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .476
Event Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .477
Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and
Automation Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .482
The Event List View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .486
Event List Buttons and Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .487
Selecting Events in the Event List View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .490
Event List Display Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .491
Editing Events and Event Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .491
Additional Event Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .493
MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .495
MIDI Effects Presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .496
Quantizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .496
Adding Echo/Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .497
Filtering Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .498
Adding Arpeggio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .499
Analyzing Chords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .501
Changing Velocities with the Velocity Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .502
Transposing MIDI Notes with the Transpose MIDI Effect. . . . . . . .503

8 Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

The Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .505
Creating and Editing a Drum Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .506
The Drum Map Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .506
Working in the Drum Map Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .508
The Map Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .509
Saving a Drum Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .510
Using Drum Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .510
Assigning a MIDI Track to a Drum Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .510
Opening a Drum Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .511
Displaying Tracks in the Drum Grid Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .511
Velocity Tails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .512
Editing Note Velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .513
Previewing a Mapped Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .514
The Note Map Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .514
Changing Mapped-note Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .515

Table of Contents 9
 The Drum Grid Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516
Grid Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517
The Pattern Brush Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517
How the Pattern Brush Tool Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Creating Custom Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520

9 Editing Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523

Digital Audio Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Basic Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Example—A Guitar String . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
Recording a Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
The Decibel Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Managing Audio Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Basic Audio Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532
Editing Clip Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Moving, Copying, Pasting and Deleting Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Audio Scaling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Splitting Audio Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
Bouncing to Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Scrubbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Basic Audio Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Using the Normalize and Gain Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Reversing Audio Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
Advanced Audio Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
Removing Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
Removing DC Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
Applying Fades and Crossfades Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
Audio Effects (Audio Plug-ins) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
Applying Audio Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
Directly Applying Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551

10 Software Synthesizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553

Synth Rack View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
Synth Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
Inserting Soft Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556
Opening a Soft Synth’s Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
Synth Rack Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560
Playing a Soft Synth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561

10 Table of Contents
Muting and Soloing Soft Synth Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .564
Multi-port Soft Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .564
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .565
Using the Assignable Controls Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .567
Automating Controls from the Synth Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .567
Displaying Synth Rack Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .568
Remote Control of the Synth Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .568
Drawing Soft Synth Automation in the Clips Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . .568
Soft Synth MIDI Output Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .569
Recording a Soft Synth’s MIDI Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .570
ReWire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .571
ReWire Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .571
Inserting a ReWire Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .572
Routing MIDI Data to ReWire Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .575
Mixing Down ReWire Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .575
Automating ReWire Instruments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .575
ReWire Troubleshooting Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .576
Stand-alone Synths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .577
Playing a Stand-alone Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .577
Recording a Stand-alone Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .578

11 Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
Preparing to Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .582
Configuring the Console and Track Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .585
Mixing MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .588
Mixing a MIDI Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .588
Converting MIDI to Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .589
Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .591
Sidechaining Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .593
Routing and Mixing Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .593
Stereo Buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .595
Surround Buses (Producer Edition Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .596
Main Outs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .597
Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .598
What the Meters Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .599
Hiding and Showing Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .599
Changing the Meters’ Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .600
Segmented and Non-segmented Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .602
Changing the Meters’ Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .603
Peak Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .604

Table of Contents 11
 Waveform Preview for Buses and Synth Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605
Freeze Tracks and Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607
Using Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611
Effects Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612
How to Use Real-Time Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612
Presets and Property Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615
Effects on Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618
Organizing Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620
VST Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620
V-Vocal Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622
Using V-Vocal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624
Playing Back V-Vocal Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627
Pitch Editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627
Editing Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632
Editing Formants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632
Editing Dynamics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
Context Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
Using the Per-track EQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637
Applying Audio Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639
Applying MIDI Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640
Using Control Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640
Quick Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644
Using Remote Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646
Using the Learn Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648
Bouncing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649
Preparing to Create an Audio CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651
Preparing Audio for Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652
Exporting OMF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660
Dithering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661

12 Surround Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663

Surround Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663
Configuring SONAR for Surround Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
Using Surround Format Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664
Choosing a Surround Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667
Surround Buses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668
Routing in Surround. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669
Downmixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670

12 Table of Contents
Panning in Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .672
Controlling Surround Panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .673
Automating Surround Panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .679
Joystick Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .679
Surround Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .680
Bass Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .681
Surround Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .682
The SurroundBridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .683
Effect Property Pages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .683
Effect Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .684
How to Patch and Configure Surround Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .684
Importing Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .686
Exporting Surround Mixes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .687

13 Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
Quick Automation Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .690
The Automation Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .691
Automation Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .692
Automation Read and Automation Write Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . .693
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . .694
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .696
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .698
Dotted Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .701
Using the Envelope Draw Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .701
Drawing Envelopes on Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .703
Showing or Hiding Envelopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .704
Deleting Envelopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .705
Copying and Pasting Envelopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .706
Resetting Envelopes and Nodes to Current or Neutral Values . . .707
Envelope Mode and Offset Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .708
Converting MIDI Envelopes to Shapes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .710
Snapshots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .711
Adding Nodes at a Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .712
Automating Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .713
Automating Individual Effects Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .713
Recording Automation Data from an External Controller . . . . . . . .714
Reassigning Envelopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .716
The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .716
Automated Muting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .718

Table of Contents 13
 14 Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721
Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722
Floating Views and Dual Monitor Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725
Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
Template Example: Three MIDI Instruments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728
Key Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729
Importing Key Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732
Exporting Key Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732

15 Notation and Lyrics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735

The Staff View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735
Opening the Staff View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737
Staff Pane Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738
The Staff Pane Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738
The Fretboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739
Fretboard Popup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741
Basic Musical Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742
Inserting Notes on the Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742
Inserting Notes with the Fretboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744
Selecting Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744
Moving, Copying, and Deleting Notes on the Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . 745
Moving Notes from within the Fretboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746
Auditioning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747
Changing Note Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747
Deglitch Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
Working with Triplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
Beaming of Rests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750
Changing the Way Notes Are Displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750
Using Enharmonic Spellings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751
MIDI Channels and the Fretboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
Chords and Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754
Adding Chord Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755
Adding Expression Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759
Adding Hairpin Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 760
Adding Pedal Marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
Tablature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762
Tablature Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763
Changing Fretboard Texture and Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764
Quick TAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765
Regenerate TAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765
Entering Notes from the TAB Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766

14 Table of Contents
 Single Note Editing from the TAB Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .767
Editing Chords or Groups of Notes from the TAB Staff . . . . . . . . .767
Editing Notes and Chords from the Fretboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .768
Working with Percussion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .769
Setting Up a Percussion Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .770
Setting Up a Percussion Staff or Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .770
Ghost Strokes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .772
Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .773
The Meter/Key View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .775
What Is Meter? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .775
What Is Key? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .776
Opening the Meter/Key View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .777
Adding and Editing Meter/Key Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .777
Music Notation for Non-concert-key
Instruments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .779
Working with Lyrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .780
Adding and Editing Lyrics in the Staff View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .781
Opening the Lyrics View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .782
Adding and Editing Lyrics in the Lyrics View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .783

16 Instrument Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785

Assigning Instruments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .786
Importing Instrument Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .788
Creating Instrument Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .789
Creating and Editing Patch Name and Other Lists. . . . . . . . . . . . .793
Copying Name Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .795
Assigning the Bank Select Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .795
Assigning Patch Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .797
Assigning Note Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .799
Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .801
SONAR Flags in Instrument Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .802
Instrument Definition Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .803
Why Use Instrument Definitions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .803
What Can They Do and Not Do? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .803
Where Do Instrument Definitions Come From? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .804
Start of Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .804

17 System Exclusive Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809

What Is System Exclusive?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .810
Sysx Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .810

Table of Contents 15
 Using the System Exclusive View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811
Sending Sysx Banks at Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812
Importing, Creating, and Dumping Sysx Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813
More about Dump Request Macros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 815
Editing Sysx Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816
Sysx View Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
Send . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
Send All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
Receive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
Clear Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818
Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818
Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818
Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818
Edit Bytes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818
Load Bank and Save Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819
Transmitting Banks During Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819
Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 820
Sysx Echo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 821
Sysx .INI File Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 821
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822

18 Synchronizing Your Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825

Synchronization Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825
Choosing Clock Sources: SONAR as Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 827
MIDI Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828
SONAR as the Slave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829
SONAR as the Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830
Using MIDI Sync with Drum Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831
Troubleshooting MIDI Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831
SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832
Playing Digital Audio under SMPTE/MTC Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836
SMPTE/MTC Sync and Full Chase Lock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 837
Troubleshooting SMPTE/MTC Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 838
MIDI Machine Control (MMC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 839

19 Audio File Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841

The Project Files Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841
Project Files and Bundle Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843
Audio Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844

16 Table of Contents
 Global Audio Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .845
Per-project Audio Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .845
Imported Audio Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .847
Backing Up Projects with Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .848
Deleting Unused Audio Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .850

20 Improving Audio Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 853

System Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .853
The Wave Profiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .853
Enabling and Disabling Audio Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .855
Sampling Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .856
Bit Depths, and Float Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .857
Bit Depths for Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .858
Bit Depths for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .859
Bit Depths for Importing Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .859
Bit Depths for Exporting Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .860
Bit Depths for Rendering Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .860
Preparing Higher-quality Audio for CD Burning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .861
SONAR Project File Compatibility Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .862
Improving Performance with Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .862
Getting the Most Out of Your PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .863
Mixing Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .866
ASIO Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .866
Queue Buffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .867
Status Bar/CPU Meter/Disk Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .867
24-bit Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .868
Dropouts and Other Audio Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .870
Optimized Picture Cache Redrawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .880

21 External Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 883

Edirol PCR Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .884
Connecting and Disconnecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .886
ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .888
Using the ACT MIDI Controller Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .889
Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .890
Assigning Controls on Your Controller/Surface to Cells in the ACT
MIDI Property Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .891
Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .892
Loading Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .892
Assigning Faders and Knobs to Control SONAR Parameters . . . .893

Table of Contents 17
 Controlling Different Tracks or Groups of Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897
The Cakewalk Generic Surface Property Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898
The WAI Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 904
ACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906
OPT Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908
Working with StudioWare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908
StudioWare Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 909
Using Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 910
Grouping Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 913
Recording Control Movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915
Control Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 918
StudioWare Panel Drawing Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919

22 Using Cal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921

Running CAL Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921
Sample CAL Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921
SPLIT NOTE TO TRACKS.CAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 922
SPLIT CHANNEL TO TRACKS.CAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 922
RANDOM TIME.CAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 922
THIN CONTROLLER DATA.CAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923
THIN CHANNEL AFTERTOUCH.CAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923
THIN PITCH WHEEL.CAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923
MAJOR CHORD.CAL, MINOR CHORD.CAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923

23 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925
Audio dropouts or crash when playing back large files at maximum
latency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 926
When I Play a File, I Don’t Hear Anything . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 926
I Can’t Record from My MIDI Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 928
When I Play a File Containing Audio, the Audio Portion Doesn’t Play. 929
I Can’t Record Any Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930
The Music Is Playing Back with the Wrong Instrument Sounds. . . . . . 931
My Keyboard Doubles Every Note I Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 932
I Don’t See the Clips Pane in the Track View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 932
Why Can’t SONAR Find My Audio Files? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933
Why Do I Get Errors from the Wave Profiler? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933
My Track or Bus Fader is Maximized, But There’s No Sound or Level 933
How Do I Use SONAR to Access All the Sounds on My

18 Table of Contents
 MIDI Instrument? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .934
I Hear an Echo When I Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .935
Dropouts Happen in High Bit-depth or High Sample Rate Audio . . . . .936
Patching an Effect into SONAR Causes a Dropout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .936
I Can’t Open My Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .936
Audio Distorts at Greater than 16 Bits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .937
No Sound from My Soft Synth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .937
My Pro Audio 9 Files Sound Louder/Softer When I Open Them in SONAR938
SONAR Can’t Find the Wavetable Synth or MPU401. . . . . . . . . . . . . .939
I Get an Error Message When I Change a Project to 24-bit Audio . . . .939
Bouncing Tracks Takes a Long Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .939
The GUI is not Smooth During Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .940

24 Hardware Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941

Connect Your MIDI Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .941
Set Up to Record Digital Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .944

25 Initialization Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 949

Initialization Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .949
Initialization File Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .950
CAKEWALK.INI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .951
TTSSEQ.INI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .959
AUD.INI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .963

26 MIDI Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 971

Timebases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .972
Supported MIDI File Meta-Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .972
Features Not Supported by MIDI Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .973
Other MIDI File Handling Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .973
Special Handling of GM, GS, and XG MIDI Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . .974
If You Have Problems Playing MIDI Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .974
If You Plan to Publish Your Songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .975

27 New Features in SONAR 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977

Step Sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .979
Step Sequencer Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .980
Flexible Piano Roll Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .994
The PRV Tool Configuration Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .995

Table of Contents 19
 Default PRV Tool Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1003
Piano Roll View Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006
Multiple Automation Controller Lanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1007
Piano Roll Microscope Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1011
Note Event Colors Based on Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1015
Hiding Events in Muted Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1015
Adjust Velocity without Changing the Display Type . . . . . . . . . . 1016
Select Controllers within Note Duration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1017
Show Velocity on Selected Notes (Optional). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1018
Selection Sensitive Velocity Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1019
Note/Controller Painting (freehand). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1020
Note/Controller Painting (linear) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1020
Controller/Velocity Painting (freehand) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1020
Controller/Velocity Painting (linear) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1021
Note Split . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1021
Note Glue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1022
Drag-Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1023
MIDI Event Mute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1024
New Erase Tool Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1025
Note Hit Testing Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1026
Velocity Audition Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1027
V-Vocal Pitch-to-MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1027
MIDI Activity Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1028
Dimension LE Synth with Garritan Pocket Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . 1028
Rapture LE Synth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1029
DropZone Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1030
Z3TA+ Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1030
Rename Synths in the Synth Rack View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1031
Delete Synth Safeguards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1031
Reload Instrument Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1032
Sidechaining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1032
Sidechainable Sonitus Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1034
Sidechainable Vintage Channel VC-64 Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1035
Audio I/O Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1036
LP-64 EQ Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1038
LP-64 Multiband Compressor Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1039
External Insert Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1040
Copying EQ Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1044
Dim Solo Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1045

20 Table of Contents
Allow Playback with No Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1047
Reduce GUI Updates to Improve Playback Performance. . . . . . . . . .1047
Real-time Bounce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1048
Modification to Track Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1050
64-bit timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1051
Sony Wave-64 Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1052
New Audio File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1054
New Import Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1054
New Export Formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1055
Encoding Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1055
Preview Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1059
Integrated Audio CD Ripping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1059
Cakewalk Publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1060
Burning Audio CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1061
Revert Clip(s) to Original Time Stamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1062
Import Audio / MIDI Files from Clips Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1062
File Recovery Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1063

28 Cyclone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1067
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1067
Cyclone Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1068
Pad Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1069
Pad Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1070
Loop Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1072
Loop View and Key Map View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1073
Pad Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1074
Slice Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1074
Using Cyclone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1074
Controlling Individual Pads—Volume, Pan, Mute, Solo, Sync, Looping,
and Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1078
Mixing Down Cyclone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1079
Loop Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1079
Keyboard Shortcuts in Cyclone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1080
Undo and Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1081

29 Menu Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1083

File-New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1083
File-Open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1083
File-Revert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1083

Table of Contents 21
 File-Close . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1083
File-Save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1084
File-Save As. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1084
File-Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1084
File-Project Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1085
File-Import-Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1085
File-Import-Audio CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1085
File-Import-Video File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1086
File-Import-MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1086
File-Export-Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1086
File-Export-Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1086
File-Export-MIDI Groove Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087
File-Export-OMF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087
File-Export-Track Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087
File-Print. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087
File-Print Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087
File-Print Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087
File-Send . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1088
File-Recent File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1088
File-Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1088
Edit-Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1088
Edit-Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1088
Edit-History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1088
Edit-Select-All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1089
Edit-Select-None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1089
Edit-Select-By Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1089
Edit-Select-By Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1089
Edit-Select-From = Now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1090
Edit-Select-Thru = Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1090
Edit-Select-From = Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1090
Edit-Select-Thru = End. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1090
Edit-Select-Select Track Envelopes with Selected Clips . . . . . . . . . . 1090
Edit-Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1091
Edit-Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1091
Edit-Paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1092
Edit-Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1092

22 Table of Contents
Edit-Bounce to Clip(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1092
Edit-Bounce to Track(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1093
Edit-Groove Clip Looping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1093
Edit-Create V-Vocal Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1093
Edit-Clip Mute/Unmute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1093
Edit-Isolate Clip(s) in Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1093
Edit-Split . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1094
Edit-Apply Trimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1094
Edit-Revert Clip(s) to Original Time Stamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1094
Edit-Clip Lock-Lock Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1094
Edit-Clip Lock-Lock Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1094
Edit-Convert MIDI to Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1094
Process-Audio-Remove Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1095
Process-Audio-Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1095
Process-Audio-Normalize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1095
Process-Audio-Remove DC Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1095
Process-Audio-Fade/Envelope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1096
Process-Audio-Crossfade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1096
Process-Audio-Reverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1097
Process-Apply Audio Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1097
Process-Apply MIDI Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1097
Process-Audio Fx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1098
Process-Audio Fx-Plug-in Layouts-Manage Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . .1098
Process-MIDI Fx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1098
Process-Deglitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1099
Process-Slide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1099
Process-Nudge-Left 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1099
Process-Nudge-Right 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1099
Process-Nudge-Left 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1099
Process-Nudge-Right 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1100
Process-Nudge-Left 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1100
Process-Nudge-Right 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1100
Process-Nudge-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1100
Process-Nudge-Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1101
Process-Nudge-Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1101
Process-Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1101

Table of Contents 23
 Process-Groove Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1102
Process-AudioSnap Pallette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1102
Process-Interpolate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1102
Process-Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1102
Process-Run CAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1103
Process-Retrograde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1103
Process-Transpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1104
Process-Scale Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1104
Process-Fade Selected Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1105
Process-Fit to Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1105
Process-Fit Improvisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1105
Views-Piano Roll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1106
Views-Step Sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1106
Views-Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1106
Views-Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1107
Views-Loop Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1107
Views-Lyrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1107
Views-Loop Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1108
Views-V-Vocal Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1108
Views-Track View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1108
Views-Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1108
Views-Synth Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1109
Views-Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1109
Views-Big Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1109
Views-Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1109
Views-Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1110
Views-Meter/Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1110
Views-Sysx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1110
Views-Navigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1110
Views-Surround Panner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1110
Views-Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1111
Views-Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1111
Views-Show Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1111
Views-Enable Tabbing in Open Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1111
Insert-Bank/Patch Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1112
Insert-Meter/Key Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1112

24 Table of Contents
Insert-Tempo Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1112
Insert-Time/Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1112
Insert-Marker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1113
Insert-Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1113
Insert-Audio Track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1113
Insert-MIDI Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1113
Insert-Multiple Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1113
Insert-Track Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1113
Insert-Insert from Track Template-More Track Templates . . . . . . . . .1114
Insert-Insert from Track Template-Import Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1114
Insert-Stereo Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1114
Insert-Surround Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1114
Insert-Series of Tempos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1114
Insert-Soft Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1115
Insert-Rewire Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1115
Transport-Play. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1115
Transport-Audition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1115
Transport-Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1116
Transport-Rewind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1116
Transport-Stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1116
Transport-Stop Audio / Transport-Run Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1116
Transport-Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1117
Transport-Step Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1117
Transport-Toggle Step Record Activate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1117
Transport-Loop and Auto Shuttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1117
Transport-Record Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1118
Transport-Reject Loop Take . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1118
Transport-Update Patch Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1118
Transport-Tempo Ratio 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1118
Transport-Tempo Ratio 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1119
Transport-Tempo Ratio 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1119
Transport-Set Timecode at Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1119
Transport-Set Measure Beat at Now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1119
Go-Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1119
Go-From . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1120
Go-Thru. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1120

Table of Contents 25
 Go-Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1120
Go-End. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1120
Go-Previous Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1121
Go-Next Measure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1121
Go-Previous Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1121
Go-Next Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1121
Go-Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1122
Go-Search Next . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1122
Go-Go to Track Peak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1122
Tracks-Property-Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1122
Tracks-Property-Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1122
Tracks-Property-Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1123
Tracks-Property-Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1123
Tracks-Property-Key+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1123
Tracks-Property-Vel+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1123
Tracks-Property-Time+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1123
Tracks-Property-Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1124
Tracks-Property-Patch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1124
Tracks-Property-Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1124
Tracks-Property-Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1125
Tracks-Property-Icon-Load Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1125
Tracks-Property-Icon-Reset Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1125
Tracks-Mute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1125
Tracks-Archive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1125
Tracks-Show Automated Mute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1126
Tracks-Solo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1126
Tracks-Automation Read Enable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1126
Tracks-Automation Write Enable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1126
Tracks-Arm for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127
Tracks-Input Monitor/Echo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127
Tracks-Freeze-Freeze Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127
Tracks-Freeze-Quick Freeze Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127
Tracks-Freeze-Unfreeze Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127
Tracks-Freeze-Quick Unfreeze Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127
Tracks-Freeze-Freeze Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1128
Tracks-Freeze-Quick Freeze Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1128

26 Table of Contents
Tracks-Freeze-Unfreeze Synth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1128
Tracks-Freeze-Quick Unfreeze Synth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1128
Tracks-Freeze-Freeze Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1128
Tracks-Clone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1128
Tracks-Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1129
Tracks-Wipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1129
Tracks-Hide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1129
Tracks-Show Record Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1129
Tracks-Show Playback Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1129
Tracks-Layers-Show Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1130
Tracks-Layers-Remove Empty Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1130
Tracks-Layers-Rebuild Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1130
Tracks-Sort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1130
Tracks-Inline PRV-PRV Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1130
Tracks-Inline PRV-PRV Tool-Select/Draw/Erase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1130
Tracks-Inline PRV-Fit Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1131
Tracks-Inline PRV-Show Velocity Tails. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1131
Tracks-Inline PRV-Show/Hide Continuous Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1131
Tracks-Inline PRV-Show/Hide Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1132
Tracks-Inline PRV-Display All Continuous Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1132
Tracks-Snap to Scale-Enable/Disable Snap to Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . .1132
Tracks-Snap to Scale-Root Note-[name of root note] . . . . . . . . . . . . .1132
Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-[name of scale] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1132
Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-Scale Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1133
Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-Snap Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1133
Tracks-Input Quantize-Enable/Disable Input Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . .1133
Tracks-Input Quantize-Quantize Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1133
Tools-Burn Audio CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1133
Tools-Cakewalk Publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1134
Tools-Consolidate Project Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1135
Tools-Clean Audio Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1135
Tools-Change Audio Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1135
Options-MIDI Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1135
Options-Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1136
Options-Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1137
Options-Audio Meter Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1137

Table of Contents 27
 Options-Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1137
Options-Global Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1138
Options-Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1138
Options-Icons-Show Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1138
Options-Icons-Track View-Show Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1138
Options-Icons-Track View-Large Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1138
Options-Icons-Track View-Small Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1138
Options-Icons-Track View-Show in Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1138
Options-Icons-Track View-Show Custom in Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139
Options-Icons-Track View-Show in Strip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139
Options-Icons-Track Inspector-Show Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139
Options-Icons-Track Inspector-Show Large Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139
Options-Icons-Track Inspector-Show Small Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139
Options-Icons-Console-Show Icons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139
Options-Icons-Console-Show Large Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139
Options-Icons-Console-Show Small Icons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1140
Options-Icons-Synth Rack-Show Large Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1140
Options-SoundFonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1140
Options-Key Bindings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1141
Options-Initialization File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1141
Options-Non-Destructive MIDI Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1141
Options-Time Ruler Format-M:B:T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1141
Options-Time Ruler Format-H:M:S:F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1142
Options-Time Ruler Format-Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1142
Options-Menu Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1142
Options-Menu Layouts-[name of layout] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1142
Options-Drum Map Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1142
Options-Controllers/Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1142
Options-ACT Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143
Options-PRV Tool Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143
Window-Cascade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143
Window-Tile in Rows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143
Window-Tile in Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143
Window-Arrange Icons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1143
Help-Help Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1144
Help-View README.RTF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1144

28 Table of Contents
Help-Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1144
Help-Tip of the Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1144
Help-Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1144
Help-SONAR on the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1161
Help-Register Online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1161
Help-Time Trial Activator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1162
Help-Cakewalk Problem Reporter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1162
Help-About SONAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1162
Delete Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1162
Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1162
Remove From Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1162
Set Start = Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1163
Set End = Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1163
Insert Audio Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1163
Insert MIDI Track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1163
Hide Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1164
Set Snap-to = Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1164
90 dB Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1164
78 dB Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1164
60 dB Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1165
42 dB Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1165
24 dB Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1165
12 dB Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1165
Set As Current Track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1165
Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1165
View Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1166
Set Loop Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1166
Select Loop Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1166
Set Punch Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1166
Loop On/Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1166
Set Punch Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1166
Select All Siblings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1167
Unlink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1167
Select Punch Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1167
Snap Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1167
Set Snap Offset to Now Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1167

Table of Contents 29
 Envelope-Create Track Envelope-Volume. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1167
Envelope-Create Track Envelope-Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1168
Jump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1168
Linear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1168
Fast Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1168
Slow Curve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1168
Drag and Drop Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1169
Clip Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1169
Track Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1169
Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1169
Regenerate Tablature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1169
Export to ASCII TAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1169
Note Length-Whole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1169
Note Length-Half . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170
Note Length-Quarter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170
Note Length-Eighth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170
Note Length-Sixteenth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170
Note Length-Thirty second. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170
Note Length-Dotted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170
Note Length-Triplet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170
Mirror Fretboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1171
Rosewood Hi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1171
Rosewood Lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1171
Ebony Hi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1171
Ebony Lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1171
Maple Hi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1171
Maple Lo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1171
Show Previous Track(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172
Show Next Track(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172
Animate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172
Insert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172
Delete. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172
Original Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172
Stretch to Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1173
Preserve Aspect Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1173
Integral Stretch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1173

30 Table of Contents
Full Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1173
Time Display Format-M:B:T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1173
Time Display Format-SMPTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1174
Time Display Format-Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1174
Time Display Format-None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1174
Time Display Format-Font. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1174
Background Color-Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1174
Background Color-White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1174
Video Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1175
Add Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1175
Reset Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1175
Delete Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1175
Note. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1175
Key Aftertouch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1175
Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1175
Patch Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1176
Channel Aftertouch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1176
Pitch Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1176
RPN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1176
NRPN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1176
Sysx Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1176
Sysx Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1177
Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1177
Lyric. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1177
MCI Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1177
Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1177
Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1177
Hairpin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1178
Chord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1178
Event Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1178
Lock Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1178
Enable Floating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1179
Show Entire Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1179
Zoom tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1179
Fast Zoom Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1179
Previous Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1179

Table of Contents 31
 Show All Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1179
Track Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1180
Record Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1180
Playback Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1180
Output Bus Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1180
Record Meter Options-Peak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1180
Record Meter Options-RMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1180
Record Meter Options-Peak + RMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1181
Record Meter Options-Show Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1181
Record Meter Options-Hold Peaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1181
Record Meter Options-Lock Peaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1181
Playback Meter Options-Peak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1181
Playback Meter Options-RMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1181
Playback Meter Options-Peak + RMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1182
Playback Meter Options-Show Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1182
Playback Meter Options-Hold Peaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1182
Playback Meter Options-Lock Peaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1182
Output Bus Meter Options-Peak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1182
Output Bus Meter Options-RMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1182
Output Bus Meter Options-Peak + RMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1183
Output Bus Meter Options-Show Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1183
Output Bus Meter Options-Hold Peaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1183
Output Bus Meter Options-Lock Peaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1183
Playback Meter Options-Pre Fader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1183
Output Bus Meter Options-Pre Fader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1183
Playback Meter Options-Post Fader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1183
Output Bus Meter Options-Post Fader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1184
Output Bus Meter Options-Pre Fader Post FX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1184
Default Fade-In Curve-Linear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1184
Default Fade-In Curve-Fast Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1184
Default Fade-In Curve-Slow Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1184
Default Fade-Out Curve-Linear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1184
Default Fade-Out Curve-Fast Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1185
Default Fade-Out Curve-Slow Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1185
Default Crossfade Curves-Linear Out - Linear In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1185
Default Crossfade Curves-Fast Out - Fast In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1185

32 Table of Contents
Default Crossfade Curves-Slow Out - Slow In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1185
Default Crossfade Curves-Fast Out - Slow In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1185
Default Crossfade Curves-Slow Out - Fast In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1186
Default Crossfade Curves-Linear Out - Fast In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1186
Default Crossfade Curves-Linear Out - Slow In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1186
Default Crossfade Curves-Fast Out - Linear In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1186
Default Crossfade Curves-Slow Out - Linear In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1187
Percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1187
dB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1187
Zoom Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1187
Show and Fit Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1187
Fit Tracks to Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1187
Fit Tracks and Buses to Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1187
Show only Selected Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1188
Hide Selected Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1188
Show All Tracks and Buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1188
Undo View Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1188
Redo View Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1188
Show All Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1188
Hide All Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1188
Show Volume Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1188
Show Pan Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1189
Show Bus Send Envelopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1189
Show Plug-in Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1189
Show Automated Mute Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1189
Show MIDI Envelopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1189
Create Track Envelopes Using Linear Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1189
Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1189
Use Pattern Velocities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1190
Use Pattern Polyphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1190
Use Note Duration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1190
Auto Erase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1190
Quarter Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1190
Quarter Note Triplet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1190
Eighth Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1191
Eighth Note Triplet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1191

Table of Contents 33
 Sixteenth Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1191
Sixteenth Note Triplet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1191
32nd Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1191
32nd Note Triplet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1191
64th Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1191
Follow Snap Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1192
Show/Hide Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1192
Vertical FX Bins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1192
Envelope Draw Tool-Freehand Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1192
Envelope Draw Tool-Sine Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1192
Envelope Draw Tool-Triangle Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1192
Envelope Draw Tool-Square Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1192
Envelope Draw Tool-Saw Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1193
Envelope Draw Tool-Random Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1193
Save As Track Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1193
V-Vocal-Create V-Vocal Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1193
V-Vocal-Remove V-Vocal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1193
V-Vocal-Bypass All V-Vocal Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1193
V-Vocal-Bypass/Unbypass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1193
V-Vocal-V-Vocal Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1194
Pick Tracks Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1194
Snap to Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1194
Select Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1194
Erase Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1194
Draw Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1194
Scrub tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1194
Unlink Step Sequencer Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1194
Convert MIDI Clip(s) To Step Sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1195
Convert to Mono . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1195
Open Clip Effects Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1195

30 Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197

MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1199
MIDI Channels, Interfaces, Inputs, and Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1200
MIDI Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1203
MIDI Files, Projects, Tracks, and Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1204
Controlling Which Sounds You Hear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1207

34 Table of Contents
Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1209
Audio Playback in Cakewalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1210
Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1212
Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1214
Track-by-Track Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1216
Audio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1217
Connecting an Instrument, Home Stereo, or Microphone to your
Sound Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1217
Choosing Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1224
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1227
Consumer and Professional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1227
How do I know if I have a hardware conflict? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1228
Installation and Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1229

31 Dialog Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1235

About SONAR dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1235
Apply Audio Effects dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1235
Apply MIDI Effects dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1236
Assign Instruments dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1236
Assign Series of Inputs dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1238
Audio CD Burner dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1238
Audio Meter Settings dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1240
Audio Mixdown Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1241
Audio Options dialog—General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1242
Audio Options dialog—Advanced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1245
Audio Options dialog—Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1249
Audio Options dialog—Driver Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1249
AudioSnap Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1250
Automation Read/Write Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1251
Auto-Send Sysx dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1251
AVI Encoder Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1252
Bank Name dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1254
Bank Output dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1254
Bank/Patch Change dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1254
Bounce to Track(s) dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1255
Change Audio Format dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1258
Chord Fret Number dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1259
Chord Properties dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1259

Table of Contents 35
 Choose Track Type dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1259
Chromatic Tuner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1259
Clean Audio Folder dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1260
Clip Properties dialog—General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1261
Clip Properties dialog—Audio Stretching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1263
Clip Properties dialog—Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1267
Clone Track(s) dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1267
Clip View Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1268
Complete Registration dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1269
Configure Colors dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1271
Controller/Surface Settings dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1291
Controllers/Surfaces dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1291
Convert MIDI To Shapes dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1292
Convert MIDI Clip(s) To Step Sequencer dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1293
Copy dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1293
Create Fx Envelopes dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1294
Crossfade dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1295
Ctrl Surface Settings dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1296
Customize Toolbars dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1296
Cut dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1297
Define Groove dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1298
Define Instruments and Names dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1298
Deglitch dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1299
Delay dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1299
Delete dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1300
Delete dialog (with multiple selection) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1301
Drag and Drop Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1301
Drum Map Manager dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1302
Dump Request Macro needs your input—Channel/Unit Number . . . 1303
Dump Request Macro needs your input--Patch/Voice/Config Number1303
Duration dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1303
Edit Node dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1304
Edit System Exclusive Bytes dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1304
Event Filter dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1305
Event Filter Select Some/Search/Replace dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1305
Event Manager dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1307

36 Table of Contents
Export Audio dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1308
Export Color Set dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1312
Export MIDI Groove Clip dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1313
Export OMF dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1314
Expression Text Properties dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1315
Export Track Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1315
Fade/Envelope dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1315
Fade Selected Clips dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1316
File Info dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1317
File Statistics dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1317
File Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1318
Find Missing Audio File dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1318
Fit to Time dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1319
Folder Properties dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1320
Freeze Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1321
Gain dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1321
Global Options dialog—General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1322
Global Options dialog—Autosave and Versioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1325
Global Options dialog—Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1326
Global Options dialog—MIDI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1327
Global Options dialog—Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1328
Global Options dialog—Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1331
Global Options dialog—Nudge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1332
Global Options dialog—Audio Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1333
Global Options dialog—VST Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1334
Go dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1335
Groove Quantize dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1336
Group Attributes dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1338
Group Manager dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1338
Hairpin Properties dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1340
Import Audio dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1341
Import Audio CD Tracks dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1342
Import Color Set dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1343
Import Instrument Definitions dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1344
Import MIDI dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1344
Import Video File dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1345

Table of Contents 37
 Initialization File Settings dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1347
Input Quantize dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1348
Insert Pitch Change dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1349
Insert Series of Controllers dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1350
Insert Series of Tempos dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1350
Insert Soft Synth Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1351
Insert Time/Measures dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1353
Insert Tracks dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1354
Interpolate and Event Filter dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1354
Key Bindings dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1355
Kind of Event dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1357
Length dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1357
Loop/Auto Shuttle dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1358
Lyric Properties dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1359
Map Properties dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1359
Marker dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1360
Markers dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1361
Measure Beat/Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1361
Menu Editor dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1361
Meter/Key Signature dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1362
Microsoft Media Format Encode Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1362
MIDI Devices dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1363
MIDI Envelope dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1365
MIDI Event Type dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1365
MIDI Input Presets dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1365
Migrate Cakewalk Preferences dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1366
Missing Plug-ins dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1367
MP3 Export Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1367
New Global Layout dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1369
New Project File dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1369
No MIDI Inputs—SONAR dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1370
No MIDI Outputs—SONAR dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1370
Normalize dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1370
Note Names Dialog dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1371
Note Properties dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1371
Online Registration dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1372

38 Table of Contents
Open dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1372
Open Groove File dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1372
Paste dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1373
Patch Browser dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1375
Pattern Velocity dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1376
Pedal Properties dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1376
Percent Done dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1377
Percussion Notation Key dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1377
Pick Track(s) dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1378
Print dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1378
Print Preview dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1379
Print Setup dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1380
Project Files dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1380
Project Options dialog—Clock tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1382
Project Options dialog—Metronome tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1383
Project Options dialog—MIDI Out tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1384
Project Options dialog—Sync tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1385
Project Options dialog—Surround tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1386
PRV Tool Configuration dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1389
Quantize dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1396
Fast Zoom Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1398
Reassign Envelopes dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1398
Receive System Exclusive dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1399
Record Options dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1399
Regenerate Tablature dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1400
Remote Control dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1402
Remove DC Offset dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1404
Remove Silence dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1404
Rename Existing Layout dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1406
Rename Toolbar dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1406
Retain Cakewalk Preferences dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1406
Revert dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1407
Safe Mode dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1407
Save As dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1407
Scale Defaults dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1409
Scale Manager dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1410

Table of Contents 39
 Scale Velocity dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1411
Search for Missing Audio dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1412
Select By Time dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1412
Select Fretboard Track dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1412
Set Timecode at Now Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1413
Slide dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1413
Snap Scale Settings dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1414
Snap to Grid dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1414
SONAR Quick Start dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1416
Sort Tracks dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1417
SoundFont Banks dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1418
SoundFont Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1420
Split Clips dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1420
Staff View Layout dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1421
Staff View Print Configure dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1422
Step Record dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1423
Step Size dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1425
SurroundBridge Plug-in Linker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1425
Sysx Bank Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1426
Tablature Settings dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1426
Tempo dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1428
Tip of the Day dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1428
Toolbars dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1429
Track Bank dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1429
Track Channel dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1429
Track Inputs dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1430
Track Key+ dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1430
Track Manager dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1431
Track Name dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1431
Track Outputs dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1431
Track Pan dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1432
Track Patch dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1432
Track Properties dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1433
Track Template Import Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1434
Track Time+ dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1435
Track Vel+ dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1435

40 Table of Contents
Track Volume dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1436
Transpose dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1436
Undo History dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1437
Unlink Clips dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1438
Unpack Bundle dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1439
Unpack OMF dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1439
Unreadable Files dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1440
Video Export dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1441
Video Properties dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1441
Widget Tab Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1443
Window Layouts dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1444
Windows Media Format Encode Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1445
WMV Encoder Options dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1446

32 View Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1447

Track View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1447
SONAR Empty View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1457
Piano Roll View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1457
Piano Roll View Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1458
Note Map Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1461
Drum Grid Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1461
Notes Pane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1462
Controller pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1462
Track List pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1462
Step Sequencer View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1462
Step Sequencer Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1464
Event List View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1470
Staff View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1471
The Staff View Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1472
Synth Rack View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1475
Lyrics view. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1478
Console View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1478
Video View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1484
Tempo View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1486
Meter/Key View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1488
Markers View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1488
SYSX View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1489
Big Time View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1489

Table of Contents 41
 Loop Construction view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1489
Loop Explorer View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1494
Tree View Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1494
Contents List Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1495
Navigator View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1495
Play List View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1495
Surround Panner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1496

Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1499

Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1519

42 Table of Contents
Getting Started
If you want to get up and running quickly, see the following topics:
Tutorials—A set of tutorials tailored to learning specific tasks in
SONAR. If you are new to Cakewalk products, you may want to start
at Tutorial 1. If you have used previous versions of Cakewalk, or you
want to do a specific task, choose from the following tutorials:
• Tutorial 1—The Basics
• Tutorial 2—Recording MIDI
• Tutorial 3—Recording Digital Audio
• Tutorial 4—Editing MIDI
• Tutorial 5—Editing Audio
• Tutorial 6—Using Groove Clips
• Tutorial 7—Mixing
• Tutorial 8—Using Soft Synths
• Tutorial 9—Drum Maps
• Tutorial 10—Cyclone Soft Synth
Glossary—A list of defined terms.
Introduction—An overview of SONAR’s features and functionality.
Troubleshooting—Answers to some frequently asked questions.
New Features in SONAR 7—Descriptions of new features in
SONAR 7.

1-43
1-44
Introduction
SONAR is a professional tool for authoring sound and music on your personal computer.
It’s 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 professional-quality work rapidly and efficiently.
SONAR is more than an integrated MIDI and digital audio authoring software package—
it’s 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, StudioWare, MFX MIDI plug-ins, and MIDI Machine
Control (MMC) of external MIDI gear, SONAR can handle your most demanding projects.

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.
Next topic: Music Composition and Exploration.

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.
Next topic: Remixing.

Remixing
SONAR’s 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 project’s tempo and
key before dragging and dropping them onto a track.
Next topic: Game Sound Development.

Game Sound Development

There’s 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.
Next topic: Sound Production and Engineering.

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.
Next topic: Web Authoring.

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 project—musical composition,

46 Introduction
About SONAR
audio clip, commercial spot, jingle with voice-over—can be stored in a web-
compatible format with a few simple mouse clicks.
Next topic: Film and Video Scoring and Production.

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 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 very
quickly and easily. In addition, SONAR’s support for video files gives you
convenient synchronized access to digitized video, making film and video
scoring easier than ever.
Next topic: Publishing Music on the Internet.

Publishing Music on the Internet

Cakewalk Publisher allows you to easily present and share your music
online. With Cakewalk Publisher, you can create a customized streaming
music player with a playlist of your music, upload it to your personal or
band's website, and embed it in any other website. You can also update
your playlist with album art, links (URLs), and artist, track, & album
information.
Next topic: Burning Audio CDs.

Burning Audio CDs

SONAR has integrated Audio CD burning, which allows you to write your
audio tracks to an audio CD that can be played in any standard CD player.
Next topic: Flexibility.

Flexibility
SONAR works the way you want to work—you 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. There are
custom software modules to support specialized audio devices from Roland
and Yamaha. SONAR’s unique StudioWare technology provides software
interfaces for common studio hardware.
Next topic: SONAR Basics.

Introduction 47
About 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.
Next topic: MIDI.

MIDI
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 computer’s MIDI interface. To record MIDI in
SONAR, you have to have a MIDI cable connecting the MIDI OUT port on
your MIDI instrument to a MIDI IN port on either your sound card or your
MIDI interface. You must also make sure that you have installed the
software MIDI driver that came with your sound card or 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 that enable working with 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

48 Introduction
Computers, Sound, and Music
• 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 sound 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.
Next topic: Digital Audio.

Digital Audio
Digital audio (frequently referred to here as just “audio”) is a simple way to
record and play sounds of any type. It works like a tape recorder—you
record something, then later play it back. Digital audio stores the sound as a
long series of numbers. To record audio in SONAR, you have to have an
audio cable connecting the audio output of your electronic instrument to the
audio input on your sound card or audio hardware. If you’re recording
vocals or an acoustic instrument, you need to connect a microphone to the
audio input on your sound card or audio hardware.
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.

Introduction 49
Computers, Sound, and Music
 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.
Next topic: Setup

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 distributor’s page at www.cakewalk.com/
Dealers/International.asp to get the telephone number of your local
distributor. You’ll 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 (joystick connector), such as the one
available in Cakewalk’s 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 the online help
topic “Hardware Setup.”

50 Introduction
Setup
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.
User Accounts
Previous versions of SONAR required a user to have Windows
Administrator status. This is no longer the case. Any level of user can now
install and run SONAR. Only one copy of SONAR per machine is necessary
for multiple users to run SONAR with each user’s personal settings.
There is now also a new folder structure for personal settings (presets, .ini
files, etc.). Each user account gets its own Application Data folder (this
folder is called App Data in Vista). The first time SONAR is launched under
a new user account, a new application data folder is created for that
account, and all the data in the C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Cakewalk folder is copied to the new user account’s
application data folder—C:\Documents and Settings\<user
name>\Application Data\Cakewalk. For Vista users the folders are
C:\Progarm Data\Cakewalk and C:\Users\<user
name>\AppData\Roaming\Cakewalk.
Data in the Program FIles folder will be common to all users.
Next topic: Audio Connections

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 Line 6 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

Introduction 51
Setup
 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/ Description…

output...

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/ Description…

output...

S/PDIF Sony/Philips Digital Interface—capable

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 Interface—up 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.

52 Introduction
Setup
To Connect an Electric Guitar or Keyboard to Your
Computer
• If your sound card has a 1/8 inch input jack (built-in sound cards that
come with your PC usually do), plug your 1/4” mono guitar or audio
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
are connecting a keyboard, the audio cable must go from the
keyboard’s audio out or line out jack to the sound card input jack. 1/8”
stereo adapters are available at consumer electronic supply stores.
Or
• If you use a professional or “prosumer” sound card, there is probably a
1/4 inch input jack on your sound card or audio hardware interface that
you can plug your guitar cable or audio cable into.
To Connect a Microphone to Your Computer
• If your sound card has a 1/8 inch input jack (built-in sound cards that
come with your PC usually do), 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. 1/8” stereo adapters are available at consumer electronic
supply stores.
• If you use a professional or “prosumer” 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 it’s 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.
For a complete description of audio input options, see the online help topic
“Hardware Setup.”
Next topic: MIDI Connections

Introduction 53
Setup
 MIDI Connections
There are three types of MIDI cables in common use. Here’s how to
connect each of the three types:
• USB cable—this is extremely common. Many electronic keyboards and
stand-alone MIDI interfaces use this type of connection. To use this
type of connection, simply plug one end of the USB cable into the USB
jack on your MDI keyboard or stand-alone MIDI interface, and plug the
other end into your computer. If you are using a stand-alone USB MIDI
interface, you then need to connect standard MIDI cables between your
MIDI keyboard and your stand-alone MIDI interface (see the next
procedure, below). If you haven’t already installed the software MIDI
driver that came with your keyboard or interface, make sure you do so.
• Standard MIDI cable—this is also very common. MIDI keyboards
usually have jacks for these cables even if they have a USB
connection. You need two of these cables. To use this type of cable,
use one cable to connect the MIDI OUT jack on your MIDI instrument to
the MIDI IN jack on your stand-alone MIDI interface or sound card, and
one to connect the MIDI IN jack on your MIDI instrument to the MIDI
OUT jack on your stand-alone MIDI interface or sound card. Many
stand-alone MIDI interfaces and audio interfaces use this type of
connector.

Standard MIDI cable—use this if your MIDI interface has standard 5-pin input and output
ports

• Joystick connector—this is becoming less common. This is the type of

connection seen on older SoundBlaster type sound cards. To use this
type of connection, find the end of one of the MIDI cables that is labeled
OUT. Plug this connector into the MIDI IN jack on your electronic
keyboard. The other 5-pin connector on the MIDI cable is labeled IN.
Plug this connector into the MIDI OUT jack on your electronic
keyboard. 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

54 Introduction
Setup
 the MIDI cable, and plug the joystick into the pass-through connector on
the MIDI cable.

Joystick connector—use this if your MIDI interface is the joystick port on your sound card.

A. Insert this MIIDI IN plug into the MIDI OUT port on your MIDI instrument B. Insert
this MIIDI OUT plug into the MIDI IN port on your MIDI instrument C. Insert this plug
into the joystick port on your sound card

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 6
(Studio Edition or Producer Edition)-SONAR 6 (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 starting SONAR, you will see the Quick Start dialog box.

Introduction 55
Starting SONAR
 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 don’t 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:

56 Introduction
Starting SONAR
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.

Audio data directory (WaveData SONAR uses the Data directory and
folder) and Picture Cache Picture Cache directories from the
directory locations 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 card’s DMA, IRQ, or port
address settings.
Wave Profiler detects the make and model of your sound card, which
determine the card’s 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 don’t 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, 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

Introduction 57
Starting SONAR
 and MIDI interfaces). However, sometimes you need to tell SONAR exactly
which devices you want it to use. If you’re 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.
1. Select Options-MIDI Devices. You will see the MIDI Devices dialog
box, which lets you choose instruments on MIDI inputs and outputs.

2. Look at the top window. Notice that it shows devices on MIDI Inputs;
make sure that all devices in this window are checked. If a device isn’t
checked, click on it once to select it for MIDI Input.
3. Look at the window on the bottom. 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. Check one device at a time in the Outputs window and click Move
Selected Devices to Top to change its order. Then check all the devices
that appear in the window to select them for output.

58 Introduction
Starting SONAR
 Tip: Be sure to enable (check) MIDI output devices in the MIDI Devices
dialog (use the Options-MIDI Devices command). If you don’t do this, you
won’t hear any of your MIDI instruments when you play songs in SONAR.
See MIDI Devices dialog.
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 the Options-MIDI Devices
command to enable the new driver in SONAR’s 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. See
the online help topic: Instrument Definitions for more information.

SONAR Basics
SONAR’s 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 you’re a musician, a
project might contain a song, a jingle, or a movement of a symphony. If
you’re 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.

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 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 tracks—one 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.

See:
SONAR File Types
Opening a File
Views
Working on a Project

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.
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:

60 Introduction
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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

.CAKEWALKSTUDIOWARE) SONAR

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.

See:
Working on a 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.

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

A B

I
C

F E D

A. The Track Pane B. The Clips Pane C. Clips D. Splitter bars E. Show/hide bus
pane F. Track/Bus Inspector G. Minimized tracks H. Expanded track I. The Video
Thumbnails Pane

All of the current track’s 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 track’s controls located on the far left side
of the Track view. You can hide or show the Track/Bus Inspector by

62 Introduction
SONAR Basics
pressing i on your keyboard (see Track/Bus Inspector, 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.

The current track’s 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 project’s
tracks.

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 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.
For more information, see Track View and Configuring the Display of
Tracks in the Track View.
Track/Bus Inspector
The Track/Bus Inspector makes it easy to adjust the current track’s (or
bus’s) controls, because it’s a greatly expanded version of the current
track’s controls that is located on the left side of the Track pane.
In addition to the controls that a track or bus displays in the Track view, the
Track/Bus Inspector also contains a built-in 4-band EQ. See the online help
topic “Using the Per-track EQ” for more information.
The following graphic shows most of the Track/Bus Inspector’s controls
(there may not be room to display all of a track’s controls on the Track/Bus
Inspector, depending on the resolution of your monitor):

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

Most controls
can be shown
or hidden.

A F
B G
C H

D I

E J

A. Audio icon B. Output routing C. Track name D. Display menu E. Module menu
F. MIDI icon G. Output routing H. Track name I. Display menu J. Module menu

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

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 To do this… Do this…
Hide or show the Track/Bus Press i on your keyboard.
Inspector

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

Hide or show any of the Track/Bus Click the Display menu or Module menu,
Inspector’s controls and choose options.
Note: you can not display a MIDI track’s
Time + or Key + controls in the Track/Bus
Inspector.

Reassign MIDI controller sliders in a Right-click the slider you want to reassign
MIDI Track’s Fx bin and choose 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
automatable effect select.

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

Bypass the FX bin Right-click the FX bin and choose Bypass

Bin from the popup menu.

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.

66 Introduction
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 A B C D E

A. Audio module B. MIDI module C. MIDI velocity D. Bus out E. Main out F. Show/
hide strip controls buttons G. Widen all strips H. Show/hide for tracks, buses, mains

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.
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

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 patterns using the Pattern Brush tool and play different drum modules from
a single track. For more information, see Piano Roll View.

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.

68 Introduction
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 A B C D E F G H

A. Dynamics and markings B. Time and pitch locator C. Editing tools D. Zoom out
E. Zoom in F. Snap to Grid G. Show/hide track pane H. Fretboard display I. Track
list pane J. Fretboard pane

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. For more information,
see Loop Construction view.

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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. For more
information, see Loop Explorer View.

The Event List view : displays the events in a project individually, so

that you can make changes at a very detailed level. For more information,
see Event List View.

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

70 Introduction
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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. For more
information, see Meter/Key View.

Big Time To display the Now time in a large,

resizable font that you can read more
easily. For more information, see Big
Time View.

Markers To add, move, rename, or delete

labels for parts of your project that
make it easier to move from one point
to another. For more information, see
Markers View.

Lyrics To add and display lyrics for a track.

For more information, see Lyrics view.

Video To display a loaded video file. For

more information, see Video View.

Synth Rack Manage your soft synths

Navigator Manage the Now Time in a project

Surround Panner (Producer Pan a surround track

version only)

Sysx To create, display, store, and edit

System Exclusive MIDI messages
used to control instruments and other
gear that are MIDI capable. For more
information, see SYSX View.

Tempo To view and edit the project's tempo

changes. For more information, see
Tempo View.

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

B
C
D

F
H G

A. Zoom Clips pane out vertically B. Vertical Zoom fader for Clips pane C. Zoom
Clips pane in vertically D. Zoom Bus pane out vertically E. Vertical Zoom fader for
Bus pane F. Zoom in horizontally G. Horizontal zoom fader H. Zoom out horizontally

The Track view toolbar contains the Zoom tool:

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

Tool… How you use it…

Zoom out (Clips pane or Bus Click to zoom out incrementally, or

pane) 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:

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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

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 view’s 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.

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 A B C D

A. Maximize pane B. Scroll left or right to view tabs C. Active view D. Tabs

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 Right-click the view’s tab, and choose Disable
for a view Tabbed from the popup menu.

Enable or disable Use the View-Enable Tabbing for Open

tabbed format for all Views command.
open views

Maximize a tabbed view Click the Maximize/Restore button that’s just

to the left of the tabs.

Restore tabbed view Click the Restore button that’s in the lower
left corner of the view that you’re restoring.

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

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.

74 Introduction
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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 SONAR’s 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.”
X-Ray Windows
The X-Ray Windows feature eliminates the need to constantly minimize,
move, or close windows in order to work in other windows. It works by
decreasing the opacity of the current window enough so that you can see
and work with the window that’s behind the current window. You activate
the feature by pressing a keyboard shortcut (default shortcut is Shift+X)
when the mouse cursor is over a window you want to x-ray. You can choose
to X-Ray whichever window is underneath the mouse cursor, or
automatically X-Ray all FX/synth property pages in one step (note: the
mouse cursor does not need to be over any plug-in property pages).
The X-Ray Windows feature works on the following windows:
• AudioSnap palette
• Synth Rack
• Piano Roll view (when float-enabled)
• Snap To Grid dialog
• Plug-in effects and synths
• Controller/Surface plug-ins
To Select Key Bindings for X-Ray Windows
1. Use the Options-Key Bindings command to open the Key Bindings
dialog.
2. If you want to use currently unassigned keys or key combinations, scroll
through the options in the Key window until the Global Key Assignment
field that is just under the window reads Unassigned. It’s a good idea

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 to find two unassigned options that are next to each other or easy to
remember.
Note: for best results with X-Ray Windows, avoid using Alt key
combinations.
3. Once you’ve decided on two keys or key combinations that you want to
use, select Global Bindings in the Bind Context field, and scroll to the
bottom of the list of commands that are in the window below that field.
4. In the Key window, highlight the key or key combination that you want
to use for the X-Ray command, then highlight X-Ray in the function
column of the list of commands, then click the Bind button to bind them
together.
5. Now highlight the key or key combination that you want to use for the X-
Ray All FX/Synths command, then Highlight X-Ray All FX/Synths in
the function column of the list of commands, then click the Bind button
to bind them together.
6. Click OK to close the dialog.
To Use X-Ray Windows
1. Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog,
and on the General tab, make sure that the Enable X-Ray checkbox is
enabled.
2. Make sure that the view windows you want to X-Ray are in the Floating-
enabled state: to check this, click the view or fx icon that’s in the upper
left corner of a window, and select Enable Floating from the dropdown
menu. If Disable Floating is in the menu, then the Floating option is
already enabled.
Note: all FX/Synth/Control surface property pages are float-enabled by
default.
3. To X-Ray or un-X-Ray a single window, move the mouse cursor over
the window, and press the keyboard shortcut (default is Shift+X) for the
X-Ray command. The window does not need to have focus (does not
need to be the highlighted window).
4. To X-Ray or un-X-Ray all plug-in windows at once, press the key
binding for the X-Ray All FX/Synths command.
Note: if a window has focus, and the window’s Give All Keystrokes To Plug-
in button is enabled, X-Ray keyboard commands won’t work.
To Adjust X-Ray Windows Options

76 Introduction
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1. Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog.
2. On the General tab, you can adust these options:
• Enable X-Ray—enable or disable this checkbox to turn the X-Ray
Windows feature on or off.
• Opacity—adjust this value by typing in a value, or by clicking and
holding the + or - button to adjust the final opacity percentage value
that an X-Rayed window reaches.
• Fade Out Time—adjust this value by typing in a value, or by clicking
and holding the + or - button to adjust the amount of time that an X-
Rayed window takes to reach its final opacity percentage value.
• Fade In Time—adjust this value by clicking and holding the + or -
button to adjust the amount of time that an X-Rayed window takes
to restore its original opacity.
3. Click OK to close the dialog and accept your changes.
To Exclude a Plug-in from X-Ray Capablity
Some plug-ins (very few) use DirectDraw to create their windows. These
windows appear jittery when X-Rayed.
To exclude a plug-in from X-Ray Capablity, follow these steps:
1. Open the Cakewalk Plug-in Manager: use the Tools-Cakewalk Plug-in
Manager command.
2. In the Plug-in Categories window, select the category that the plug-in
you want to exclude is in.
3. In the Registered Plug-ins window, select the plug-in that you want to
exclude.
4. If the plug-in is a DirectX effect or an MFX, write down (or select and
copy) the CLSID value that’s in the CLSID field at the bottom of the
dialog.
5. If the plug-in is a VST or VSTi, write down the VST ID value that’s in the
VST ID field at the bottom of the dialog.
6. Close the Plug-in Manager dialog.
7. Open the XRAYEXCLUDE.INI file that’s in your SONAR program folder
(use Notepad).
8. At the end of the file, find the [EffectProps View] section.
You will see entries such as the following:

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SONAR Basics
 ; Waves SSL EQ Stereo
XRayExclude11=1397510483
XRayExclude12={E451379E-F7E1-4E82-98D9-BEB87AC45E90}
9. Exclude your plug-in by creating a blank line below the last entry in the
[EffectProps View] section, and then typing:
;[name of your plug-in, but withour brackets]
XRayExclude[type the next available number in XRayExclude list, but
without brackets]=[VST ID number, with no brackets, or CLSID number,
with curly braces at start and finish]
For example, if the last entry in the [EffectProps View] section was:
; Waves SSL EQ Stereo
XRayExclude11=1397510483
XRayExclude12={E451379E-F7E1-4E82-98D9-BEB87AC45E90}
And you wanted to exclude the Cakewalk FxDelay from the X-Ray
Windows feature, after creating a blank line you would type:
; Cakewalk FxDelay
XRayExclude13={985DAF67-589F-4B8D-8BBC-D7AD651B9022}
If there was also a VST version of the Cakewalk FxDelay, you would
add another line:
XRayExclude14=[some VST ID number, with no brackets]
10. Save and close the XRAYEXCLUDE.INI file, and restart SONAR to
implement your changes.
Customizable Menus
All main menus and context menus are customizable. You can fine-tune
your workflow by hiding menu items that are rarely used and reordering
commands that you use frequently. You can even design and save menu
layouts specific to different tasks.
Caution: you can move commands completely out of their default menus.
For example, you can move commands out of the Edit menu into the
Process menu. Keep in mind that this manual describes commands by their
original menu locations, so if you’re looking for help about the Process-
Nudge command, and you’ve moved the Nudge command to the Edit
menu, the documentation for this command will still refer to the command
as Process-Nudge. You can always load the default menu layout to
restore the original command structure.

78 Introduction
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 • To open the Menu Editor dialog, choose Options-Menu Editor.
• In the Menu Editor dialog, to choose a menu to edit, select one from the
Menu dropdown list.

To do this… Do this…
Hide items in a menu Click a Menu Item (Ctrl-click to select multiple
items) and press the Hide button.
The hidden command(s) will only be visible in the
submenu that is automatically created at the
bottom of the menu. You can display the
submenu by clicking one of the arrows at the
bottom of the menu.

Show items in a menu Click a Menu Item (Ctrl-click to select multiple

items) and press the Show button.
The command(s) will reappear in its original
location.

Reorder items in a Click and drag Menu Items up or down to change

menu their position in the menu order.
Note that you can click and drag Menu Items in
and out of submenus as well.

Create a new submenu Right-click an item in the Menu Items list and
select Create Submenu. That item will now
appear in its own new submenu.
Or
Select one or more items from the list and press
the Create New button in the Submenus section
of the dialog.

Rename a Menu Item or Right-click a Menu Item or submenu and select

submenu Rename, then enter a new name.
Or
Select a Menu Item and press F2, then enter a
new name.

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 To do this… Do this…
Create a new separator Right-click a Menu Item and select Insert
bar Separator.
The separator bar will appear above the Menu
Item you right-clicked.

Remove a submenu or Right-click the submenu or separator and select

separator bar Remove Submenu or Remove Separator.

Save a new menu Enter a new name into the Menu Layout field and
layout press the Save button.

Delete an existing menu Select the menu layout you wish to delete and
layout press the Delete button

Edit a menu layout Launch the Menu Editor and choose the menu
layout you wish to edit from the dropdown menu,
then make your changes.

Load a different menu Launch the Menu Editor and choose a different
layout Menu Layout from the dropdown menu, then
close the dialog.
OR
Use the Options-Menu Layouts command, and
select a layout from the available options.

Note 1: Keep in mind that the factory default menu layout cannot be
overwritten. If you want to change this layout, save your changes under a
new layout name.
Note 2: If you change your menu layout so much that you can’t find some
commands, you can always load the factory default menu layout.
Altering your menus may affect your menus’ hotkeys, which allow you to
navigate through the application’s menus without using a mouse. You can
view the hotkeys in your menus by pressing Alt and observing the
underlined letters. Pressing the underlined letter on your keyboard will
launch that menu command. In order to ensure you have no duplicates
hotkeys in your customized menu, do the following.
1. Launch the Menu Editor and select the menu or submenu you wish to
check for duplicate hotkeys. Right-click the Menu Item and select
Check Hotkeys. The Menu Editor will then report back if duplicate
hotkeys are found, or if a command has no hotkey at all.

80 Introduction
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 Note: the Check Hotkeys command examines only commands on the
menu that you right-clicked, at the menu level that you right-clicked. It
does not examine submenus of that menu.
2. If missing or duplicate hotkeys are found, right-click again and select
Generate Hotkeys. New non-duplicate hotkeys will be assigned for
each item in that menu or submenu (but only on the menu level where
you right-clicked, not on any submenus of the menu or submenu that
you right-clicked).
Note: Hotkeys are indicated within the Menu Editor by ampersands
(“&”) in each menu item’s name. The ampersand is placed directly
before the letter that represents the menu item’s hotkey. If you wish to
assign hotkeys manually, you can do so by when you rename a hotkey
by placing the ampersand before your preferred hotkey letter for that
command or submenu.
3. If necessary, re-save your layout to preserve these changes.
Customizable Toolbars
You can customize each toolbar in SONAR. You can hide or reorder each
component of a toolbar, or add buttons to a toolbar from other toolbars. You
can create up to three new toolbars from components of other toolbars. You
can also hide or show all toolbars with a single command, and dock
toolbars vertically if you want.
• To choose what toolbars you want to see, use the View-Toolbars
command, and check the toolbars that you want to see in the dialog
box.
• To hide or show all toolbars, use the View-Show Toolbars command.
This command is available in the Key Bindings dialog (Options-Key
Bindings command).
To customize a toolbar:
1. Right-click the toolbar that you want to customize, and choose
Customize from the popup menu to open the Customize Toolbar
dialog.
2. In the Available Toolbar Buttons field, select a component that you want
to see in the toolbar, and click the Add button to move the component to
the Current Toolbar Buttons field.
3. Repeat step 2 for any additional components you would like to display.

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 4. In the Current Toolbar Buttons field, select a component that you do not
want to see in the toolbar, and click the Remove button to move the
component to the Available Toolbar Buttons field.
5. Repeat step 4 for any additional components you would like to remove.
6. If you would like to move a toolbar component to a different location in
the toolbar, select the component in the Current Toolbar Buttons field,
and click the Move Up button or the Move Down button to change the
button’s location in the toolbar.
7. Repeat step 7 for any additional components.
8. If you want to restore the toolbar to its default appearance, click the
Reset button.
9. Click Close when you want to close the dialog.
To create a toolbar:
1. Use the View-Toolbars command, and check one of the User “n”
options.
A toolbar appears, with a default set of controls.
2. Right-click the toolbar, and choose Customize from the popup menu to
open the Customize Toolbar dialog.
3. Customize the toolbar the in the same way as the previous procedure.
To rename a toolbar:
1. Right-click the toolbar, and choose Rename from the popup menu to
open the Rename Toolbar dialog
2. Fill in the New Name field, and click OK.
Now when you open the Toolbars dialog, the name you chose is listed in
the dialog.
To dock or undock a toolbar:
• To dock a toolbar horizontally, drag it to the top or bottom of the
interface.
• To dock a toolbar vertically, drag it to the left or right side of the
interface.
• To undock a toolbar, drag it to the part of the interface where you want
it, or entirely away from the interface.

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Layouts
You may spend a lot of time making sure that all the views are laid out on
the screen just the way you 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.”
Next topic: Working on a Project.

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 you’ll need to record and
play back your project.
Every project has a current time, known as the Now time (see: The Now
Time and How to Use It). 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 Large Transport
toolbar (press F4 to show or hide), which work a lot like the ones on your
tape deck or CD player:

A B

H G F E D C

A. Play B. Record C. Click to move ahead one measure D. Auto-punch toggle

E. Drag Now Time to any desired position F. Click to jump to the end G. Click to
back up one measure H. Click to jump to the beginning

As you work with a project, you can use SONAR’s 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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 Next topic: SONAR File Types.

Windows Taskbar Indicators

When SONAR is running, you’ll 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 Configure 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

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Windows Taskbar Indicators
 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 Configure Colors dialog box.
2. In the Screen Elements window, select the elements that you want to
restore; you can Ctrl-click or Shift-click to select multiple elements.
3. Click the Defaults button.
4. Click OK.
SONAR uses the default colors for all selected screen elements.
To Change the Wallpaper
1. Choose Options-Colors to display the Configure Colors dialog box.
2. Choose the desired wallpaper according to the table:

To do this… Do this…
Use the default Check Default in the Wallpaper list
wallpaper

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.

See also:
Configure Colors dialog
Color Presets

Color Presets
Once you create a color arrangement that you like, you can save it as a
preset, and then load it whenever you want to use that arrangement. You
can also load any of the many factory presets, some of which duplicate the

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 colors of earlier versions of SONAR. You can also import and export color
arrangements in the form of .CLR files so that SONAR users can share color
layouts. And you can back up or export all of your presets with a single
command, and import a group of presets that you or another SONAR user
created.
Note: both single color presets, and collections of presets use the file
extension .CLR, so when you export either the current color arrangement, or
all of your presets at once, give the exported file a name that clearly labels
it as either a single preset, or as a collection of presets.

Configure Colors dialog

Presets menu

Import and Export

buttons

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To Load a Color Preset
1. Open the Configure Colors dialog by using the Options-Colors
command.
2. Click the dropdown arrow on the Presets menu to display the list of
presets, then click the name of the preset you want to load.
To Save a Color Preset
1. Open the Configure Colors dialog by using the Options-Colors
command.
2. Adjust the color settings you want to save.
3. Type a name for your preset in the Presets menu.

4. Click the floppy disk icon that’s next to the Presets menu to save
your preset.
To Export the Current Color Arrangement
1. Open the Configure Colors dialog by using the Options-Colors
command.
2. Arrange or load the color arrangement you want to export.

3. Click the Export Colors button in the Configure Colors

dialog.
The Export Color Set dialog appears.
4. Navigate to the folder where you want to store your new color set file.
5. Type a name for your color set file in the File Name field.
6. Make sure that the Export Current Color Set checkbox is enabled.
7. Click the Save button.
To Import One or More Color Presets
1. Open the Configure Colors dialog by using the Options-Colors
command.

2. Click the Import Colors button in the Configure Colors

dialog.
The Import Color Set dialog appears.
3. Navigate to the folder where the color set file you want to import is. Both
single presets and groups of presets are stored in color set files, which
use the .CLR file extension.

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Screen Colors and Wallpaper
 4. Click the file that you want to import.
5. Click the Open button.
6. If your preset menu in SONAR already contains a preset that is
included in the preset collection file you are importing, SONAR asks
you if you want to overwrite the file. This happens for each file that has
the same name as a preset in the preset collection you are importing.
Click Yes or No for each file in question, or Yes All or No All to either
overwrite or protect all of your current preset files.
To Export All Your Color Presets
1. Open the Configure Colors dialog by using the Options-Colors
command.

2. Click the Export Colors button in the Configure Colors

dialog.
The Export Color Set dialog appears.
3. Navigate to the folder where you want to store your the exported file.
This file will contain all or your color presets.
4. Type a name for your file in the File Name field. Use a file name that
you will recognize as a collection of presets, rather than as a single
color arrangement.
5. Make sure that the Export Color Presets checkbox is enabled.
6. Click the Save button.
Note: a file of color presets can be large, and might take a minute or so to
export.

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 .

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 DVD case.

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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.
To Install SONAR
1. Start your computer.
2. Close any open programs you have running.
3. Place the SONAR installation disc in your disc 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 disc 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 DVD drive), and click OK. This
will reopen the AutoRun window, and you can click Install to start
installation again.
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 DVD.
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 7 (Studio Edition or Producer Edition)-
Uninstall SONAR 7

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90 Introduction
Installing SONAR
Tutorials
The following tutorials will give you some hands-on practice in playing, recording, and
mixing your projects. If you have not already done so, you may want to refer to SONAR
Basics to get the most out of these tutorials.
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 didn’t install these files, insert your
product disc and copy the files to your hard drive.
Tutorials
Tutorial 1—The Basics
Tutorial 2—Recording MIDI
Tutorial 3—Recording Digital Audio
Tutorial 4—Editing MIDI
Tutorial 5—Editing Audio
Tutorial 6—Using Groove Clips
Tutorial 7—Mixing
Tutorial 8—Using Soft Synths
Tutorial 9—Drum Maps
Tutorial 10—Cyclone Soft Synth

Tutorial 1—The 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 at the very least MIDI, Digital
Audio, and in the Introduction chapter. If you have little or no experience
with music software, read the Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software in
the online help. If you have time, also read the Introduction chapter for
basic background information about projects, tracks, clips, the Track view,
and the Console view.
Next Step: Opening a Project File.

Opening a Project File

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.
Next Step: Preparing for Playback

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 sound card 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
project’s MIDI tracks. A software synthesizer is a software program that
produces various sounds through your audio interface or sound card 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.

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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.
Let’s 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.
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. We’ll 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-1’s property page (interface).
5. Click OK.
SONAR opens the TTS-1 interface, and inserts a synth track that has the
Cakewalk TTS-1’s output 1 as an input. Feel free to look over the Cakewalk
TTS-1’s 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 Project’s Tracks
1. In the Track view, click the dropdown arrow in the Output dropdown
menu in a MIDI track to display the track’s Output
menu. MIDI tracks display a MIDI icon just to the right of the track
number:

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 A B

A. MIDI icon B. Restore Strip 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 that’s at the bottom of the Track pane to
display all the controls in the track.
After you click the dropdown arrow in a track’s Output menu, a
dropdown menu appears, containing a list of enabled MIDI outputs.

A B

C.

A. Output menu B. Dropdown arrow to display menu C. Focus rectangle (green

outline)

A.

A. All tab control—click this to display all the track controls. Click the other tabs to
display smaller groups of controls

94 Tutorials
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2. Select the output you want to use for that track—select “Cakewalk TTS-
1 1 Output 1.”
3. For all the other MIDI tracks, you’ll 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 track’s Output menu, and choose the
Cakewalk 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 we’ll 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, check the drivers you want enabled. All
enabled drivers appear with a checkbox filled in. 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
track’s 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.

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 B

A. Output dropdown arrow B. Synth icon

2. From the Output dropdown menu, select the audio output that is
connected to your speakers or headphones.
Let's play the project!
Next Step: Playing the Project.

Playing the Project

Buttons in the Large Transport toolbar, shown in the following picture, can
control most of SONAR’s basic playback functions.
If you don’t see the Large Transport toolbar, then choose Views-Toolbars
and check Transport (Large), or press F4.

A B

H G F E D C

A. Play B. Record C. Click to move ahead by measures D. Auto-punch toggle

E. Drag Now Time to any desired position F. Click to jump to the end G. Click to
back up by measures H. Click to jump to the beginning

To Start Playback
• To play the project, click the Play button , or press the Spacebar.

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Do you hear music? If you don't hear anything, see the online help topic
called Troubleshooting for some troubleshooting tips.
The next several topics describe some playback options to give you a lot
more control over how you want to play back your project. If you want to see
a slightly more advanced tutorial about using software synthesizers, see
Tutorial 8—Using Soft Synths. This tutorial also shows how to convert soft
synth tracks to audio tracks, and then export your project as a wave file.
Exporting each project as a stereo wave file is how you create audio CDs.
After your projects are exported as stereo wave files, you can use your
favorite CD-burning software to make an audio CD from the collection of
wave files.
The Now Time
The Now time is the current time in the project—the 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 dialog—select
Options-Global, click the General tab in the Global Options dialog, and
uncheck the On Stop, Rewind to Now Marker option).

A. Now time B. Now time marker

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.

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 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, choose Views-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 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 don’t see the Markers toolbar, then
choose Views-Toolbars and check Markers.

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 A

F E D C B

A. Open Markers view B. Default Groove clip pitch C. Insert marker D. Next marker
E. Previous marker F. Markers list

The current project contains several markers. Let’s 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.”
Next Step: Restarting the Project Automatically.

Restarting the Project Automatically

Wouldn’t 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
don’t see this toolbar, choose Views-Toolbars and check Loop/Auto
Shuttle.

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 A B C D E

A. Loop On/Off B. Loop start time C. Loop end time D. Set loop to selection time
E. Loop/Auto Shuttle properties

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.

A B

A. Loop Start B. 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

100 Tutorials
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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 (17:01:000).
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.

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.

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

Next Step:

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 Changing the Tempo.

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 don’t see
this toolbar, choose Views-Toolbars and check Tempo.

A B C D E F

A. Drag here to move toolbar to new location B. Tempo C. Insert tempo D. Tempo
ratio 1 E. Tempo ratio 2 F. Tempo ratio 3

Setting the Tempo

Let’s 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 project’s 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.
Next Step: Muting and Soloing Tracks.

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 track’s mute or solo status while your project is playing.
Muting a Track
Frequently you will want to temporarily turn off one or more instruments in
your ensemble. SONAR makes it easy to mute the parts you don’t want to
hear.
For example, suppose that you are practicing the piano part for this project
and want to hear only the other instruments. Let’s 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 aren’t
visible.
Let's try using a different method to mute two tracks simultaneously:

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 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. Use the Tracks-Mute command. 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 MSR-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.
Playing a Track Solo
If you want to hear one track by itself, you could mute all other tracks. But
there’s a quicker way to do it—the 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 exclusive—you solo as many instruments as you like. Notice
that the green SOLO indicator lights up in the Status bar (located at the
bottom of the screen) whenever a track is soloed.
Let’s 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 Tracks-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 Tracks-Solo. As a third option, right-click in a
track strip to bring up the popup menu, and turn off

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the solo from MSR submenu (be sure to right-click in the Track pane, not
the Clips pane).
Note that Mute takes priority over Solo. If both buttons are enabled in a
track, the track does not play.

See also:
Dim Solo Mode
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.
Next Step: Changing a Track's Instrument.

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. Let’s 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. Click the righmost button in the Piano track to restore the track size to
display all of the information for that track. You will see a list of controls
starting with "Omni". The Patch control is directly under 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).

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 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.
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.
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. For many synths, 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 track’s patch in the Track/Bus Inspector (see Track/
Bus Inspector), which is a vertically expanded version of the current track’s
controls at the far left side of the Track view. Click a track to make it the
current track. For example, to change the Piano track’s patch, click the
Patch button in the Piano track’s 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.

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Next Step: Playing Music on a 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
card’s internal synthesizer. For instructions on connecting a keyboard to
your computer, see To Connect an Electric Guitar or Keyboard to Your
Computer. 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, let’s 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
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.

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 Routing MIDI Data to the Keyboard
Let’s 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 Views-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.

See the online help topic “Troubleshooting.”

Go to the next tutorial: Tutorial 2—Recording MIDI.
Back to Tutorials.

Tutorial 2—Recording MIDI

This tutorial teaches you how to record MIDI data with SONAR. You’ll learn
how to:
• Set up the metronome
• Record MIDI tracks
• Use loop recording
• Use punch recording
First Step: Creating a New Project.

Creating a New Project

If you haven’t already done so, the first thing you need to do is create a
project file:

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1. Start SONAR.
2. Choose File-New.
3. In the New Project File dialog box, enter Tutorial2 in the Name field.
4. Select the MIDI tracks template from the template list.
5. Click OK.
SONAR opens a new project named Tutorial2, containing only MIDI tracks.
Next Step: Recording a MIDI Track.

Recording a MIDI Track

Let’s record a new MIDI track in the project.
Setting Up the Metronome
Musicians often use a metronome to keep track of the beat. SONAR’s
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 don’t see
the Metronome toolbar, choose Views-Toolbars and select Metronome.

A B C D E F G H

A. Record count-in B. Measures C. Beats D. Metronome during playback

E. Metronome during record F. Use Audio Metronome G. Use MIDI metronome
H. Metronome settings

Let’s 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 .

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 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.
2. 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,
see the online help topic “Setting Up Output 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

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part so that you're not competing with it while recording. 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 (see
Changing the Tempo with the Tempo Ratio Buttons), 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 don’t 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 Can’t Record from My MIDI
Instrument” in the Troubleshooting section of the online help for some
troubleshooting hints.
Listening to the Recording
Let’s play back your performance on your sound card. For an added
dimension, we’ll open a few other views in the process. Do the following:
1. Display the controls of the track you recorded by clicking its Restore
Strip Size button , or by dragging the Vertical Zoom control that’s
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.

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 2. Click the Output dropdown arrow to display the menu of available
outputs.
3. Select your sound card’s MIDI synthesizer (if you don’t see the outputs
you expect to see, use the Options-MIDI Devices command and
enable the correct outputs—see Preparing for Playback).
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 Views-Piano Roll to open the Piano Roll view.
7. Choose Views-Staff to open the Staff view.
8. Choose Views-Event List to open the Event List view.
9. Choose Window-Tile in Rows to tile the views.
10. To return to the start of the project, click the Rewind button, or press w.

11. Click Play or press the Spacebar.

It’s 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
information—the 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.
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.

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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
for a convenient way to record multiple takes.
Next Step: Saving Your Work.

Saving Your Work

When you have something you’d 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.
3. Click OK.
SONAR saves the project under the new name. From now on, you can click
the Save button to save this project.
Next Step: Loop Recording.

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 close the dialog box.

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 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 track’s Output field to set its output to your sound card's MIDI
synthesizer.
3. Use the track’s channel field to set its channel to an unused channel.
4. Use the track’s Patch field to select any patch.

A E
B
C
D

A. Output menu B. Channel menu C. Bank menu D. Patch menu E. Dropdown

arrow to display menu

As usual, you could set the tracks to play back on your MIDI keyboard
instead by specifying the appropriate output and channel.
Loop Recording
Finally, let's record our takes:

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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.

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 individually.
For more information on Track Layers, see the online help topic “ Take
Management and Comping Takes.”
Next Step: Punch-In Recording.

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.

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 Punch-in recording lets you replace a section of a track. This is how it
works: 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.
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 Views-Toolbars-Record.

A B C D E F G

A. Punch In Time B. Punch Out Time C. Click here to set punch times to the
selection start and end times D. Auto-punch on/off E.Record mode F. Step record
G. Click to open the Record Options dialog box

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!

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 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.

A B

A. Punch In B. Punch Out

Go to the next tutorial: Tutorial 3—Recording Digital Audio.

Back to Tutorials.

Tutorial 3—Recording 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 or Keyboard to Your Computer.
First Step: Setting the Sampling Rate.
• Setting the Sampling Rate
• Setting the Audio Driver Bit Depth and Recording Bit Depth
• Opening a Project File
• Setting Up an Audio Track
• Checking the Input Levels
• Recording Digital Audio
• Listening to the Recording
• Recording Another Take

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 • 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.
Next Step: Setting the Audio Driver Bit Depth and Recording Bit Depth.

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. CD’s use 16 bits. You can possibly get better sound
quality by recording at a higher bit depth and converting to 16 bits when it’s
time to master your project, but keep in mind that 24 bit audio takes 50%
more memory than 16 bit audio, possibly straining your computer’s storage
capability and speed of operation. Your sound card’s documentation could
have some advice on choosing an audio driver bit depth.
You can record audio data at 16 or 24 bits. It usually makes sense to record
and play back at the same bit depth.
To set the audio driver bit depth:
1. 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.

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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.
Next Step: Open a New Project.

Open a New Project

Let’s 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.
Next Step: Setting Up an Audio Track.

Setting Up an Audio Track

Let’s 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 track’s Output field, click the dropdown arrow and select an audio
output from the menu.
3. In the track’s Input field, choose an audio input. Usually you select the
left channel of one of your sound card’s inputs to record a mono track,
or the stereo input to record a stereo track.

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 The Normal template has several audio tracks in it already, which you could
use to record with. You don’t have to insert a new audio track to record with
if your project already has one or more empty audio tracks.
Next Step: Checking the Input Levels.

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 Track 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 bar—whenever 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.
To check the audio input levels:
1. Click the Arm button in your new audio track. The track’s 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 enabled.
If you still don't see any movement of the audio meters, you may have
an audio input problem. I Can’t Record Any Audio.
3. If the input level meter never comes even close to the maximum,
increase the input level by using the Windows mixer or your sound
card’s 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 overload or clip (indicated by red), decrease the input
level.

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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.
SONAR’s meters are extremely adjustable for the kind and range of data
they display. For more information, see the online help topic “Metering.”
Next Step: Recording Digital Audio.

Recording Digital Audio

It's time to record!
1. If you haven’t already set up the metronome, follow the directions in
Setting Up the Metronome 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.
You’ll 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 Views-Options to open the Track View Options dialog box—make
sure Display Clip Names and Display Clip Contents are checked.
Next Step: Listening to the Recording.

Listening to the Recording

Let's play back your performance. Do the following:
1. In the track’s Output field, click the dropdown arrow to display the menu
of available outputs, and select a pair of your sound card’s 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 again—this changes
the track’s meter to a playback meter. The track is disarmed when its
Arm button is not red.

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 4. Click Play .
5. Watch the track’s meter. If the level is not what you want, record your
track again.
Next Step: Recording Another Take.

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 track’s 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.
Next Step: Input Monitoring.

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
track’s Input Echo button , and you can enable or disable input
monitoring on all tracks at once by clicking the Input Echo button that’s on
the Playback State toolbar (to display, use the Views-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

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 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.”
Next Step: Loop and Punch-In Recording.

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.”
Next Step: Recording Multiple Channels.

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 merger—data 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 channels—each 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 you’ve 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.
Go to the next tutorial: Tutorial 4—Editing MIDI.
Back to Tutorials.

Tutorial 4—Editing MIDI

SONAR has too many powerful MIDI features to look at in one tutorial, so
let’s look at some of the most basic features and also cover some exciting
new ones, such as slip-editing and MIDI envelopes.

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 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
First Step: Transposing.

Transposing
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 track—the 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 track’s 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 track’s 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.

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Next Step: Copying Clips with Drag and Drop.

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 button’s 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.
4. 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 OK—
SONAR 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 let’s 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 that’s 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.
Next Step: Editing Notes in the Piano Roll View.

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 Editing Notes in the Piano Roll View
SONAR’s Piano Roll view gives you complete control of individual note
properties. Let’s 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 Roll’s 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, click the dropdown arrow on 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 check box 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.
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.

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 A

C B

A. Beat 1 of Measure 3 B. Drag horizontal zoom C. Drag note from here

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 you’re 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.
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

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 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.
Next Step: Slip-editing.

Slip-editing
Now let’s 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 that’s within the clip. This changes the
rhythmic placement of data without changing the clip’s 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 close the dialog.
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 blue vertical line (clip handle) appears. 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 can’t 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!
Next Step: Drawing MIDI Envelopes.

Drawing MIDI Envelopes

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, let’s create a MIDI volume
envelope.
To Draw and Edit a MIDI Volume Envelope
1. In the Clips pane in the organ track, make sure that the PRV mode
button is off.
2. Right-click in the organ track and choose Envelopes-Create Track
Envelope-Volume (default Ch. 1) from the Clips pane popup menu.
SONAR creates a 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.
3. 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.
4. 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

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 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.
5. At the start of measure nine, add another node.
6. Move the cursor over the newest node until a cross appears under it,
and drag the node downwards until it’s just below the MIDI data that’s
at the start of the clip.

A. Drag second node to here

7. 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.
8. At the start of measure thirteen, add another node and drag it
downward just below the MIDI data at the start of the measure.
9. Right-click the line that’s 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.”
Next Step: Converting MIDI to Audio.

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

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sounds, you can use your sound card’s “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
won’t hear an echo when you’re recording.
3. Mute any tracks that you don’t want to record to the destination track.
4. 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.
5. If you’re 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.
6. 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.
7. In SONAR, rewind to the beginning of your project, click the Record
button, and click the Stop button when you’re 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 don’t hear them and the new audio track at the same time.
Go to the next tutorial: Tutorial 5—Editing Audio.
Back to Tutorials.
See also:
Changing the Timing of a Recording
Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

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 Tutorial 5—Editing Audio
In this tutorial we will be editing a Cakewalk bundle file (file extension .CWB)
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
First Step: Opening the Project.

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 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.
Next Step: Importing a Wave File.

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. Let’s 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 check box, select
Measure from the list of durations and close the dialog.
3. Make sure the Snap to Grid button is enabled.

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4. Right-click the track number and select Insert Audio Track from the
pop-up menu.
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.
8. 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 Time—
measure 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 it’s a Groove clip,
and contains tempo and pitch information. We’ll 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.
Next Step: Moving and Looping the Clips.

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 wouldn’t get a lesson on
how to move clips in SONAR.
Let’s move both clips to the 18th measure of the project.

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 1. Click and drag the maracas clip to measure 18 (the Snap Grid is still set
to Measure).
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. For more about
the Drag and Drop Options dialog, see Drag and Drop Options dialog.
2. 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 let’s 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 a blue line (clip
handle) appears at the edge of the clip and 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.
Next Step: Slip-editing a Clip.

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 doesn’t
affect the crossfade. We’ll 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.
3. When the cursor turns into a rectangle and a blue line appears at the
edge of the clip, click and drag the beginning of the clip until you have
reached the beginning of the waveform.

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 A

A. 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.
Next Step: Automatic Crossfades.

Automatic Crossfades
Let’s combine these two tracks and create a crossfade.
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 don’t 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 “Fades
and Crossfades.”
Next Step: Bouncing Tracks.

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 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.
Let’s 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 track’s 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.
7. 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 don’t consume
memory. Do this by right-clicking each track number and choosing MSR-
Archive from the popup menu.
Go to the next tutorial: Tutorial 6—Using Groove Clips.
Back to Tutorials.

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Tutorial 6—Using 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 project’s 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
First Step: Adding Groove Clips to a Project.

Adding Groove Clips to a Project

There are two ways to add a Groove clip to your project. Let’s 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 don’t see the Markers toolbar, use the
Views-Toolbars command and check Markers).

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 A

A. Click here

5. Click the Rewind button in the Transport toolbar to move the Now Time
to the beginning of the project.
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 project—the clip’s
corners are beveled instead of sharp, indicating that it is a Groove clip.
Before we import another loop, let’s give this track a name. In the track
titlebar, double-click on the track name and enter the name Sound Effect
and press Enter.
Let’s 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
check box, and the duration Measure.
3. In the mode section, select the Move To radio button.
4. 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
View toolbar .
7. Navigate to the Tutorial folder in the directory where you installed
SONAR.

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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 haven’t 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:

Next Step: Looping Groove Clips.

Looping Groove Clips

Here’s where Groove clips get 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.

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 To Loop a Groove Clip
1. Move the cursor over the end of the first Groove clip in Track 2 until a
blue vertical line appears at the edge of the clip and the cursor looks
like this .
2. When the cursor changes and the line appears, 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.
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 close the dialog box.
2. Move your cursor over the beginning of the second clip in Track 2 until
a blue line (clip handle) appears and the cursor 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 that’s in the lower right corner).
Like this:

4. Crop the end of the clip by one quarter measure.

Like this:

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5. 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.

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 You have added Groove clips and edited them. Your project should look
like this:

Let’s listen to what we have. Click the Play button in the Transport toolbar.
Next Step: Changing the Pitch of Groove Clips.

Changing the Pitch of Groove Clips

Now that you have heard what your project sounds like, let’s 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, let’s add some pitch markers.
To Add Pitch Markers
1. Click the Solo button in Track 4 to solo the track.
2. Right-click in the Time Ruler at the beginning of measure 1 and select
Insert Marker from the menu.
The Marker dialog appears.

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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 let’s change the tempo of the project.
Next Step: Changing the Tempo of Your Project.

Changing the Tempo of Your Project

Groove clips follow the project’s 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 project’s 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, let’s
take the next step and learn how to create our own Groove clips.
Next Step: Creating Your 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.

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 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 close the dialog box.

5. Click in the View 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.
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 blue line appears and 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 note’s
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 clip’s 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.

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 Your clip should look something like this:

12. Click the Enable Looping button on the Loop Construction view
toolbar to enable the clip’s 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:

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

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 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.

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. Let’s 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:

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 A

A. Slicing marker B. Slicing marker which should be moved C. Transients

2. 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:

A. Slicing markers which have been edited. Edited slicing markers appear in blue B.
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 “Using Loops.”
Go to the next tutorial: Tutorial 7—Mixing.

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 Go back to Tutorials.

Tutorial 7—Mixing
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 effects—not
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.
Let’s do some more work on TUTORIAL5.CWB, and explore the following
tasks:
• Adding real-time audio effects
• Automating an individual effect’s settings
• Grouping controls
• Automating your mix
• Exporting an MP3 file
First Step: Adding Real-time Audio Effects.

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.
You may have to expand the track vertically to see the FX field.
The effect’s dialog box appears.
2. Choose a preset flange setting from the Presets field.
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 effect’s name
and choosing Delete from the popup menu. Instead of moving the controls
manually, let’s automate them by drawing an envelope in the Clips pane.

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Next Step: Automating an Individual Effect’s Settings.

Automating an Individual Effect’s Settings

Let’s draw an envelope to automate one of the flanger’s 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. Let’s 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 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 track—only nodes and solid lines
represent actual values.
4. Let’s 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.

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 B
A

A. Node B. Node C. 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.
Next Step: Grouping Controls.

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 you’ve 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.

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Next Step: Automating Your Mix.

Automating Your Mix

You can record the fader movements of the mix, which is called
automating them. Let’s automate the volume fader of track 4. To do so:
1. Rewind to the beginning of the project.

2. Make sure the Write Automation button is enabled on track 4.

3. Display the Automation toolbar by using the Views-Toolbars-
Automation command.

4. Make sure that the Enable Automation Playback button in the

Automation toolbar is in the depressed position and lit blue.
5. Start playback, and while your mix is playing back, move the volume
fader on track 4.
6. Stop playback by clicking the Stop button or by pressing the Spacebar.
You’ve now automated the volume fader of track 4 of your project—SONAR
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 let’s
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.
You’ll 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.
You can disable all automation write-enabled controls by clicking the Clear
All Automation Write Enables button in the Automation toolbar.
Next Step: Exporting an MP3 File.

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)

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 • 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.
Let’s 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, it’s easier to
solo these tracks instead of muting all the others.
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 won’t 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 Channel Format field, select one of the following options:
• Mono—All exported tracks are mixed down to a single mono file.
• Stereo—All exported tracks are mixed down to a single stereo file.
• Split Mono—All exported tracks are mixed down to two mono files,
left and right.
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 fields—they should in this
tutorial example), you can ignore this step. Otherwise, in the Separation
field, choose from these options:
• Each Bus to Separate Submix—if 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.

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 • Each Main Out to Separate Submix—if 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.
• All Main Outs to Single Mix—if 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 file—usually, 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 file—for 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.
Next step: Tutorial 8—Using Soft Synths.

Tutorial 8—Using Soft Synths

A software synthesizer is a software program that produces various sounds
through your audio interface (also called a sound card) 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. 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 let’s use it for our
tutorial. Because this soft synth supports the multi-output format, it has
multiple outputs (4). 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 don’t, insert your SONAR CD into your CD drive, install the software

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 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
First Step: Inserting Cakewalk TTS-1 into a Project.

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 project—for 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 play some pre-existing tracks through Cakewalk TTS-1.
4. Select All Synth Audio Outputs because we’re going to use a different
synth track for each of Cakewalk TTS-1’s 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-1’s
property page (interface), and the Synth Rack view, respectively.
6. Click OK.
SONAR inserts 4 synth tracks that each have one of Cakewalk TTS-1’s
outputs as an input (notice that these tracks have the soft synth icon next to
their track numbers), inserts a synth audio track to produce the sound from
the 4 synth tracks, opens the Synth Rack view with Cakewalk TTS-1
displayed in the first row, and opens Cakewalk TTS-1’s property page. Click
a track in the Track view to put the focus on the Track view, and then press
F on your keyboard to fit all the new tracks into view.
Notice that the Output field of each synth 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

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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.
Next step: Playing MIDI Tracks through a Soft Synth

Playing MIDI Tracks through a Soft Synth

Now that you have verified that Cakewalk TTS-1 is installed, let’s 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 track’s
Output field, and choose Cakewalk TTS-1 as an output.
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. You can then press Enter to open the menu, and click the menu
item that you want to select.
3. Let’s 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 don’t see it, use the Views-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 you’ve 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.
Next Step: Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio.

Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio

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

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 You can also do a temporary conversion, called freezing. See Freeze
Tracks and Synths for more information.
To Convert Your Soft Synth Tracks to New Audio
Tracks
1. Mute all tracks that you don’t want to convert; make sure you don’t
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. Let’s 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-Select None command to make sure nothing is selected.
5. Use the Edit-Bounce to Track(s) command.
The Bounce to Track(s) dialog box appears.
6. In the Source Category field, choose Tracks.
7. In the Channel Format field, choose mono if you want mono tracks, and
stereo if you want stereo tracks.
8. 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 track, send all
the MIDI tracks through just one output (Step 3), and select only that
output in the Source/Buses field.
9. In the Mix Enables field, make sure all choices are selected.
10. Click OK.
SONAR creates new audio tracks from the outputs you selected. When
you’re through converting, don’t forget to mute your MIDI tracks so you
won’t 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 don’t want to export; make sure you don’t mute
the synth track(s) that the soft synth is patched into, or the MIDI track(s)
that you are using as a source. If you converted your soft synth tracks

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 to new audio tracks in the previous procedure, mute the new audio
tracks so that you won’t be exporting two copies of each track.
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. If
you want to create a CD from this project, choose RIFF Wave.
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. If you want to create a CD from this project, choose
Entire Mix.
7. Choose a channel format. Don’t choose Split Mono in the Channel
Format field if you want to export a single file. If you want to create a CD
from this project, choose Stereo.
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 Sample Rate field, choose if you want to create a CD, choose
44100.
10. In the Bit Depth field, if you want to create a CD, choose 16.
11. In the Dithering field, choose None for this tutorial. Dithering is an
advanced topic that you can read about in other sections of the manual.
12. In the Mix Enables field, make sure all choices are selected, including
64-bit Engine.
13. 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.

Tutorial 9—Drum Maps

In SONAR drum maps allow you to assign a single MIDI track to multiple
outputs. MIDI drum tracks appear in the Piano Roll view’s Drum Grid pane.
In the Note Map pane you can map pitches to notes in any number of
software or hardware outputs.

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 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.
First step: Create a New Project

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.
Next step: Creating a Drum Map

Creating a Drum Map

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 Choose 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, we’ll 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.

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Go to the next step: Create a Drum Track

Create a Drum Track

You can use any blank MIDI track for your drums. If you don’t 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 Views-
Piano Roll.
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 don’t 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.
Next step: Map Drum Notes to Different Outputs

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Tutorial 9—Drum Maps
 Map Drum Notes to Different Outputs
First, we need to create an output to use, so let’s open Cakewalk TTS-1
and use that soft synth for this part of the tutorial.
To Open Cakewalk TTS-1
1. Select Views-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 don’t 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
Views-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.
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.

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 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 track’s 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 .

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 appropriate channel cell’s

down arrow and select a channel from
the menu that appears.

Change the Out Port setting Click the appropriate Out Port cell’s
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.

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Tutorial 9—Drum Maps
 To do this… Do this…
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 mix
down to an audio file.

Tutorial 10—Cyclone Soft Synth

This tutorial explains how to use Cyclone. You will learn how to open, play
and edit loops as you create a short song.
Next step: Cyclone Overview

Cyclone Overview
Cyclone allows you to trigger individual parts or “slices” of Riff Wave files
and ACIDized files. There are 16 pads, and you can assign a file to each
pad. You can trigger pads with a MIDI file, your mouse or a MIDI keyboard.
You can edit the content and length of each file all while syncing to
SONAR’s tempo changes and pitch markers.
Let’s start by opening Cyclone.
To Open Cyclone
1. Open a new project by selecting File-New.
2. In the New Project File dialog box, enter Tutorial10 in the Name field.
3. Select the Normal template from the template list and click OK.
4. Select Views-Synth Rack.
The Synth Rack appears.

5. In the Synth Rack click the Insert Soft Synths button and select
Cyclone from the menu that appears.
The Insert Soft Synths Options dialog appears.

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Tutorial 10—Cyclone Soft Synth
6. For the purposes of this tutorial, select First Synth Output (Audio) in the
Create These Tracks section, and Synth Property Page in the Open
These Windows section.
7. Click OK.
Cyclone and the Cyclone’s audio output track appear.
Now let’s add some files.
Next step: Adding Files to a Pad Group

Adding Files to a Pad Group

There are several ways to assign a file to a Pad Group.
To Import Files to a Pad Group
1. Click the Load Files button in pad group 1.
The Open dialog appears.
2. Open the Tutorials folder located in the directory where you installed
SONAR.
3. In the Tutorials folder select 100BEAT2.WAV and click Open.
The loop 100BEAT2.WAV appears in the Loop bin and Loop view.
To Import Files to the Loop Bin
1. Click the Load Files button in the Loop Bin.
The Open dialog appears.
2. Open the Tutorials folder located in the directory where you installed
SONAR.
3. In the Tutorials folder select 100FX.WAV and click Open.
The loop 100FX.WAV appears in the Loop bin and the Loop view.
To Drag Files from the Loop Bin to a Pad Group
• Click on 100FX in the Loop bin and drag it onto pad 2.
To Drag Files from Loop Explorer to the Loop Bin
1. Select Views-Loop Explorer.
2. In the Loop Explorer, navigate to the Tutorials folder located in the
directory where you installed SONAR.
3. Click and drag the loop 100ONETWO.WAV onto pad 3.
4. Click and drag the loop 100ORGAN.WAV onto pad 4.

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Tutorial 10—Cyclone Soft Synth
 Click the Preview button to listen to the song so far.
Now let’s make some changes.
Next step: Setting a Pad’s Volume and Pan

Setting a Pad’s Volume and Pan

Now let’s tweak some of the pad groups’ controls.
To Change the Volume and Pan in a Pad Group
1. In pad group two, click on the Volume knob and drag your mouse down
to lower the volume until the volume level indicator is vertical.
2. Repeat step 1 for the Volume knob in pad group 3.
3. In pad group two click the Pan knob and drag the mouse up until it is
panned hard left.
4. In pad group four, click the Pan knob and drag the mouse down until it
is panned hard right.
Click Play to hear all the pad groups together.
Now let’s explore the different ways you can use Cyclone.
Next step: Playing Cyclone

Playing Cyclone
Now that we have added loops and adjusted some of the pad group
controls, let’s use Cyclone as a real-time instrument and as a synth device.
To Play an Existing MIDI Track Through Cyclone
First, we’ll create a MIDI track which will trigger the pads in Cyclone.
1. In the Track view, select an empty MIDI track. If you don’t have a blank
MIDI track, select Insert-MIDI Track.
2. In the MIDI track’s Output field, select Cyclone 1.
3. Select the MIDI track and open the Piano Roll view.
4. In the Piano Roll view, right-click on the Snap to Grid button to open the
Snap to Grid dialog.
5. In the Snap to Grid dialog, click the Musical Time option and select
Measure.
6. In the Mode section of the Snap to Grid dialog, select the Move To
option and click OK.
7. Click the Draw tool button.

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8. Use your mouse to move the Draw tool over the Notes pane in the
Piano Roll view.
9. Enter a C5 note at the beginning.
10. Enter a D5 note at the fifth measure.
11. Enter a E5 note at the beginning.
12. Enter a F5 note at the beginning and fifth measure.
13. Drag the ends of the notes on C5 and E5 until their duration is eight
measures. (If you have Auto Erase enabled, you have to disable it to
drag out the duration of the note. Disable Auto Erase by clicking on the
black arrow to the right of the Draw tool and clicking the Auto Erase
command. The command appears unchecked when disabled.)
14. Drag the end of the D5 note until its duration is four measures (through
measure eight).
15. Drag the ends of the F5 notes until their duration is two measures
(through measures two and six, respectively).
16. Rewind the project and play it back.
17. Experiment by changing the note start times and durations.
You can “play” Cyclone either using your mouse to trigger pads and clicking
them once again to shut them off, or by using an external controller. Let’s try
both.
To Play Cyclone with Your Mouse
As soon as you click on a pad in Cyclone the first loop begins to play.
Simply click pads to turn them on and click on them again to turn them off.
To Play Cyclone with a MIDI Keyboard or Controller
For the purposes of this part of the tutorial we assume you have an external
MIDI controller like a keyboard. If you don’t, just move on to the next part of
the tutorial, “Editing Loops in the Loop Editor” on page 166Editing Loops in
the Loop Editor. There’s plenty more to know about Cyclone!
1. Make sure your MIDI device is hooked up properly.
2. Select the MIDI track that is assigned to Cyclone.
3. On your MIDI keyboard press and hold C5, D5, E5 or F5 (the C, D, E or
F keys in the center of your keyboard.
The appropriate loop plays through Cyclone.
Now let’s create new loops by substituting slices.

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Tutorial 10—Cyclone Soft Synth
 Next step: Editing Loops in the Loop Editor

Editing Loops in the Loop Editor

Each beat of a loop, as it appears in the Loop view or the Pad Editor can be
replaced with a beat from another loop.
To Replace Slices
1. Click the Load Files button in pad 5 and select MARACAS.WAV from the
Tutorials folder.
2. In the Cyclone toolbar, click the Auto Preview button.
3. Select the maracas loop in the Loop Bin.
The maracas loop appears in the Loop view.
4. Click the first slice of the maracas loop in the Loop view. We are going
to use this slice as a substitute for some of the slices in pad 1.
5. Click and drag the first slice of the maracas loop into the Pad Editor
over the slices in the pad 1.
6. Drop the loop on the third slice, a cymbal hit that’s located half-way
through beat 1 of the 100BEAT2.WAV loop.
7. Listen to the other slices in pad 1, and substitute the slice of the
maracas loop for parts of the 100BEAT2.WAV LOOP.
8. Click Play in Cyclone to hear the changes.
There is much more to the Cyclone DXi. For more information, see Using
Cyclone.

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Tutorial 10—Cyclone Soft Synth
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. You can access most of the playback
functions from the Large Transport toolbar.
SONAR’s 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 bar—whenever the audio engine is
running, the Audio Running indicator in the Status bar lights up.
See also:
The Now Time and How to Use It
Using the Large Transport
Controlling Playback
Track-by-Track Playback
Changing Track Settings
Video Playback, Import, and Export
Locating Missing Audio
Controlling Live MIDI Playback—MIDI Echo
Local Control
 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 ResolutionThe other time format is the SMPTE
format, expressed in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames.

A B C

A. The current measure, beat, and tick B. The current time in hours, minutes,
seconds, and frames C. Meter Key Signature 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

168 Controlling Playback

The Now Time and How to Use It
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. It’s not necessary for a project to begin at time zero in
this format—any 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 device’s start time. For more
information, see the online help topic Synchronizing Your Gear
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 Time Ruler in the Track view, Piano Roll view,
or Staff view
• 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.

Controlling Playback 169

The Now Time and How to Use It
 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 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 to adjust the time.
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.
For more information, see The Now Time Marker.

See:
Displaying the Now Time in Large Print
Other Ways to Set the Now Time

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.

170 Controlling Playback

The Now Time and How to Use It
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).
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.

The Track View Now Time Display

The Track view displays the Now Time above the track strips in a large and
configurable format.

Click the display to display the following time formats:

• M:B:T (Measure:Beat:Tick—example: 8:01:000)
• SMPTE (Hours:Minutes:Seconds:Frames—example: 00:00:21:00)
• Frames (example—629), only available if project contains video

Controlling Playback 171

The Now Time and How to Use It
 • Milliseconds (Hours:Minutes:Seconds:Milliseconds—example:
00:00:21:000)
• Samples (example: 926100)
You can also right-click the display, and choose time formats from the
popup menu.
The popup menu also lets you choose the following display options:
• To hide the time display, choose None.
• To show the time display, right-click the empty area and choose one of
the available time formats from the popup menu.
• To choose font, size,color, or resizing options, choose Font... from the
popup menu to open the Font dialog. Enabling the Automatically
Resize to Window option causes the display to automatically shrink
the display to fit the available space.
• To choose alignment options, choose Align-Left, Align-Center, or
Align-Left from the popup menu.
You can also configure the color from the Configure Colors dialog
(Options-Colors; "Track View Header Time Display"). The color is saved
with color presets.
The time display settings are global and persist between sessions.

Displaying the Now Time in Large Print

SONAR can display the Now time in large print so that it’s easier to see
when you are far from your monitor (for example, when you’re at your
keyboard or another instrument) or when several people need to read the
Now time from a distance. Here’s how:
To Display the Big Time View
1. Choose Views-Big Time to display the Big Time view.

2. Change the settings according to the table:

172 Controlling Playback

The Now Time and How to Use It
 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)

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

Controlling Playback 173

The Now Time and How to Use It
 Command... Shortcut... What it does...

Go-Previous Ctrl+PgUp Sets the Now time to the start of

Measure 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.

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.
• Changing the Now time
• Adding loop, punch, and pitch markers—you can right-click in the Time
Ruler to add markers.

174 Controlling Playback

The Now Time and How to Use It
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:F—also called SMPTE)
• Samples
• Milliseconds

A
E
B
C F
D

A. M:B:T B. H:M:S:F C. Samples D. Milleseconds E. Add Musical Snap to transient

snap pool (see AudioSnap) F. Minus and Plus buttons

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.
If there is only one format displayed in the Time Ruler, you can switch the
format by right-clicking in the Time Ruler and selecting the format you
prefer.
To Switch 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 Switch 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 Switch 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.
To Switch the Time Ruler Format to Milliseconds
1. Right-click in the Track view Time Ruler.
2. In the menu that appears, select Time Ruler Format-Milliseconds.

Controlling Playback 175

The Now Time and How to Use It
 Additionally, you can add or remove Time Ruler formats using the plus/
minus buttons located just outside the right edge of the Time Ruler.
Note: If only one Time Ruler format is being used, only the plus button is
displayed.
To Add or Remove Time Ruler Formats Using the Plus/
Minus Buttons
• Click the Plus button and select a Time Ruler format from the pop-up
menu.
• Click the Plus button and select a Time Ruler format you would like to
add from the pop-up menu.
• Click the Minus button and select from the pop-up menu to remove an
active Time Ruler format.
• Right-click in the Time Ruler and move the cursor to Time Ruler Format
in the pop-up menu. A list of all Time Ruler formats appears. Active
formats are checked, inactive formats are unchecked.
• Click a checked format to move it down one row.
• Click an unchecked format to replace the topmost displayed format.
Note: Enabling 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 don’t hear any sound, see the online
help topic “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 the online help topic Synchronizing Your Gear.

176 Controlling Playback

Controlling Playback
 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.
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 Click , press the w key, or

project choose Transport-Rewind

Skip to the end of the Click

project

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, it’s 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.

Controlling Playback 177

Controlling Playback
 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. See Initialization Files for more information.
To Clear Stuck Notes
• Choose Transport-Reset, or click on the Large Transport toolbar.

See:
The Transport-Reset command

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

A B

E D

A. Click to turn looping on or off B. Click to copy the selection (From and Thru)
times C. Click to open the Loop/Auto Shuttle dialog box D. Loop End time E. Loop
Start 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.

178 Controlling Playback

Controlling Playback
 A B

A. Loop From B. Loop Thru

To Move a Loop in the Time Ruler

1. Click the yellow bar that connects the two loop markers
The cursor becomes a horizontal double-headed arrow.
2. Drag the loop to the desired location in the Time Ruler.
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

Controlling Playback 179

Controlling Playback
 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.
• 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.

Using the Large Transport

The Large Transport consists of six sections, each of which can be shown
or hidden according to the needs of your project. Right click anywhere in
the Large Transport, and deselect any section from the pop-up menu that
you wish to hide. The six sections are Markers, Record, Transport, Loop,
Tempo and System.

180 Controlling Playback

Controlling Playback
A B C D E F

G
L H
I
K

A. Markers section B. Punch In/Out section C. Transport section D. Loop section E.

Tempo section F. System section G. Click to move ahead one measure H. Auto-
punch toggle I. Drag Now Time to any desired position J. Click to jump to the end K.
Click to back up one measure L. Click to jump to the beginning

The Large Transport toolbar differs from the Transport toolbar in that it
displays a Markers section (numeric keypad), the Now time (which you can
set by entering numbers into the display fields in either MBT or SMPTE
time), a CPU and Disk Cache Performance meter, and the Time/Key
Signature display. The Time/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 Time/Key Signature dialog box. You can
display the Large Transport toolbar by selecting the Views-Toolbars
command to open the Toolbars dialog box, and checking Transport (Large).
You can also display and hide the Large Transport toolbar by pressing F4.
Using the Markers Section
You can store up to 12 markers in the Markers section, making it easy to
navigate through your project. Assign markers to milestones in your project
using the Insert-Marker command or by pressing F11 when the now time is
in the desired location for your marker. When your cursor hovers over a
button in the Markers section, the name you assigned to the marker is
displayed as a tooltip.

Controlling Playback 181

Controlling Playback
 B

A
C

A. Marker buttons B. Record options C. Set punch in time D. Set punch out time
E. Set punch points to selection

To Use the Punch In/Out Section

1. Click the Record Options button .
The Record Options dialog box appears.
2. Select between Blending existing data with new data, or Overwriting
existing data with new data.
3. Select between storing looped takes in a single track or storing looped
takes in individual tracks.
For more information see Loop Recording. You can also set Auto-punch
from the Record Options dialog.To Use Auto-punch in the Punch In/Out
Section
To Use Auto-punch in the Punch In/Out Section
1. Activate Auto-punch by clicking the Set punch points button .
2. Click the Punch In M:B:T meter and enter the Punch In time using the
spinners or keying in the desired M:B:T.
3. Click the Punch Out M:B:T meter and enter the Punch Out time using
the spinners or keying in the desired M:B:T.
4. Set the Now Time far enough ahead of the Punch In point for you to be
ready for it.
5. Click the Record button on the Large Transport or press R on your
keyboard.
SONAR plays the project, and begins recording on the selected track at the
Punch In time you entered, then stops recording at the Punch Out time.

182 Controlling Playback

Controlling Playback
Buttons in the Transport Section
• Rewind

• Stop project
• Play project
• Fast-forward to end of project

• Record .

• Toggle Auto-punch
• Reset MIDI

• Now Time measured inM:B:T, H:M:S:F

• Now Time slider

To Use the Loop Section

1. Clip the Loop On/Off button .
2. Set the Loop Start time in the M:B:T meter either manually or by using
the spinner. Set the Loop End time in the M:B:T meter either manually
or by using the spinner.
You can also set a loop from the Large Transport toolbar by highlighting a
section of your project in the Time Ruler and then clicking the Set Loop
Points to Selection button .
Reading the Key Signature, Time Signature, Tempo and
System Display
The Large Transport displays a variety of information about the project you
are working on, including tempo, key, meter, metronome settings, and CPU
and disk cache performance.

Controlling Playback 183

Controlling Playback
 .
A B

G
B

C
E D

A. Tempo B. CPU performance meter C. Disk cache performance meter D. Time

signature E. Key signature F. Metronome on/off during record G. Metronome on/
off during playback

Track-by-Track Playback
SONAR lets you play back any combination of tracks at one time by
changing each track’s 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 that’s at the bottom of the
SONAR window. For more information on the Status bar, see Status Bar/
CPU Meter/Disk Meter. For more information on the Playback State toolbar,
see The Playback State Toolbar.
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.

184 Controlling Playback

Track-by-Track Playback
Status... What it means...

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.

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.
See:
The Playback State Toolbar
Silencing Tracks
Soloing Tracks
Inverting the Phase of a Track
Changing Tracks’ Mono/Stereo Status

The Playback State Toolbar

To display the Playback State toolbar, use the Views-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

Controlling Playback 185

Track-by-Track Playback
 unmute, solo or unsolo, arm or disarm, and toggle the input echo status of
all tracks.

B C D E F

A. Drag to reposition B. Mute C. Solo D. Arm E. Input echo or MIDI echo

F. Solo Dim

See:
Silencing Tracks
Soloing Tracks

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, don’t place any load on your computer.
Therefore, if there are tracks you want to keep but don’t 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
Tracks-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.

186 Controlling Playback

Track-by-Track Playback
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 Tracks-Mute command.
To Archive or Unarchive Tracks
1. Select one or more tracks in the Track view.
2. Choose Tracks-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 muted—mute 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
Tracks-Solo, or right-click, and choose Solo from the popup menu.

See also:
Dim Solo Mode
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

Controlling Playback 187

Track-by-Track Playback
 • Select all tracks, and then use the Tracks-Solo command.

Inverting the Phase of a Track

A waveform’s 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 track’s 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.
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 Track’s 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 left—This choice means that you manually
selected mono for this track.

188 Controlling Playback

Track-by-Track Playback
 • 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 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. Both kinds of tracks
contain an Automation Read button and an Automation Write button, which
enable or disable automation playback and recording, respectively.
Note 1: You can control all sliders and knobs in the Console and Track
Views by clicking a control, then hover over it with the mouse and
manipulate the mouse wheel. If you move the mouse cursor away from the
slider or knob while using the mouse wheel, you will lose control of the
slider or knob you are adjusting
Note 2:You can hide, reorder, and visually group the controls in tracks and
buses. You can also control how the display tabs at the bottom of the Track
pane function. See Configuring Track View Controls for more information.
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

Controlling Playback 189

Changing Track Settings
 Audio track header controls

A B C D

F
H G

A. Strip selector B. Header icon C. Track name D. Show layers button E. Maximize
track F. Minimize track G. Peak value H. Track number

Audio track interior controls

A B

M
L

K
J
I
H
G

E D C

A. Input echo B. Volume slider C. Send pan D. Send level E. Mono/stereo switch
F. Phase button G. Send enable H. Send destination I. Input trim J. Output
K. Automation Read and Write buttons L. Input M. Pan slider

190 Controlling Playback

Changing Track Settings
 Audio track FX bin, meter, and track scale

A B

A. Currently patched effect B. FX interleave indicator C. Track scale D. 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.

Automation Read and Enable/disable automation playback and recording,

Write buttons respectively

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

Controlling Playback 191

Changing Track Settings
 Parameter... What it means...

Show Layers button Hides or shows track layers.

Minimize/restore track Collapses track to minimum possible height, or restores it to

button the size it was before it was minimized.

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

button the size 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 track’s volume.
For example, let’s say you have four tracks, three tracks
have their volume fader set to 0 dB while the fourth track’s
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.

192 Controlling Playback

Changing Track Settings
Parameter... What it means...

Send Pre/Post switch Pre (pre-fader) means that the Send signal goes to the bus
prior to the track’s 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 track’s 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 track’s plug-ins or soft synths.

Meters The recording and playback levels are displayed in the

Playback and Record meters.

MIDI Track Parameters

The following pictures illustrate MIDI track parameters:

A MIDI track

A
E
B

A. Output menu B. Channel menu C. Bank menu D. Patch menu E. Dropdown

arrow to display menu

Controlling Playback 193

Changing Track Settings
 MIDI track header controls

A B C

F E
G

A. Strip selector B. Track name C. Show layers button D. Maximize track

E. Minimize track F. PRV Mode button G. Header icon H. Track number

MIDI track interior controls

Q P

O
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H N
I
M
J

K L

A. Volume slider B. Trim C. Input D. Output E. Channel F. Bank G. Patch H. Key +

I. MIDI chorus J. Snap to Scale On/Off K. Snap to Scale root note L. Snap to Scale
scale type M. MIDI reverb N. Time + O. Pan slider P. Automation Read and Write
buttons Q. Input Echo button

194 Controlling Playback

Changing Track Settings
 MIDI track FX bin and track scale

A. Track scale B. MIDI FX bin

Here is a summary table of the different MIDI 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.

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.

Automation Read Enable/disable automation playback and recording,

and Write buttons respectively

Controlling Playback 195

Changing Track Settings
 Parameter... What it means...

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

Show Layers Hides or shows track layers.

button

Minimize/restore Collapses track to minimum possible height, or

track button restores it to the size it was before it was minimized.

Maximize/restore Expands track to maximum possible height, or

track button restores it to the size it 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.

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

196 Controlling Playback

Changing Track Settings
Parameter... What it means...

Snap to Scale Displays current scale for Snap to Scale feature

scale type

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

root note

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

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

Change the height of the Mains/ Drag the divider that separates the
Buses pane 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 track’s display. The following
table shows how to customize the appearance of tracks in the Track pane:

Controlling Playback 197

Changing Track Settings
 To do this... Do this...

Hide or show a track Open the Track Manager dialog (press

M), and check or uncheck a track’s
checkbox in the dialog.

Maximize a track Click the Maximize button in the track

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

Minimize a track Click the Minimize button in the track

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

Lock or unlock the height of a Right-click an empty area in the track’s

track controls and choose Lock Height from
the menu.

You can display subsets of the Track pane’s interior controls (the titlebar
controls are always displayed) by selecting one of the tabs located at the
bottom of the Track view. To choose which controls are displayed on each
tab, see To Configure Track and Bus Tabs.
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 Click on the control and move your
Output Level, and Send Pan cursor left or right to adjust values, or
press Enter and type a value.

198 Controlling Playback

Changing Track Settings
Control How to change the setting

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.

Buttons Click to enable or disable

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 Click on control and move your cursor left or
Trim, Chorus and Reverb right to adjust 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.

Controlling Playback 199

Changing Track Settings
 Control How to change the value

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.

Buttons Click to enable or disable

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

Change the value by 10 (for Press the [ or ] key, or right-click on the

Key+, by 12) 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.

You can change the value of a track parameter for several tracks at once
using commands on the Tracks-Property menu. For example, to assign a
group of tracks to the same output, select the tracks you want to assign,
then choose Tracks-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

200 Controlling Playback

Changing Track Settings
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.

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 the online help topic: Hardware Setup.
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

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 order in which your devices appear in a track’s output control may not
match the port numbers that appear on your external multiport MIDI device.

A. These devices are not selected

When you first run SONAR it asks you to select MIDI devices. You may
want to chan ge 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 device—your
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 won’t use those
devices. Also, note that some dedicated audio equipment has specific

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setup requirements. For more information, see the online help topic
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.

See:
MIDI Devices dialog
Creating Friendly Names for MIDI Output and Input
Devices
You may find that a name you make up yourself for a MIDI device is easier
to remember or more descriptive than a device’s original name. The friendly
name for a MIDI device is the name you will see places such as MIDI track
input and output menus, and the Controllers/Surfaces dialog, if you enable
the Use Friendly Names To Represent MIDI Devices checkbox at the
bottom of the MDI Devices dialog.
To make up a friendly name:
1. Choose Options-MIDI Devices to display the MIDI Devices dialog.
2. Double-click the name of a device in the Friendly Name column, type a
new name, and press Enter.
3. Enable the Use Friendly Names To Represent MIDI Devices checkbox
at the bottom of the MDI Devices dialog.
4. Click OK.

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

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 use this feature, the name of the output will change to reflect the instrument
you have chosen.
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 Tracks-Property-Output.
Note: Outputs that are used by the External Insert plug-in (see External
Insert Plug-in) cannot be assigned to track and bus outputs. The only
exceptions are master buses that have other instances of the External
Insert plug-in routed to them.

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 (that’s 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.
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 equipment’s documentation.
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

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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
use—either 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 online help topic The Event List View.
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 Tracks-Property-Bank or
Tracks-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.

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 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.
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.

See:
Patch Browser dialog

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

See:
Audio Effects (Audio Plug-ins)

Adjusting Volume and Pan

The Volume and Pan settings control the initial volume and pan of a track
during playback. Every time 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 (see Configurable Panning
Laws).
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

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pan envelope in the Track view, or by recording automation. For more
information, see the online help topics “Automation”, and “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 instrument’s 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. To
change the volume settings for more than one track at a time, select the
tracks you want to change and choose Tracks-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.
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. To change the pan settings for more than one track at a time, select
the tracks you want to change and choose Tracks-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:

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 • (Default) 0 dB center, sin/cos taper, constant power—this choice
causes a 3 dB boost in a signal that’s 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 power—this choice causes no
boost in a signal that’s 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 power—this choice causes
a 3 dB boost in a signal that’s 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 power—this choice
causes no boost in a signal that’s panned hard left or right, and 3dB
dip in output level in either channel when the signal is center
panned.
• -6dB center, linear taper—this choice causes no boost in a signal
that’s panned hard left or right, and 6dB dip in output level in either
channel when the signal is center panned.
• 0 dB center, balance control—this choice causes no boost in a
signal that’s 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

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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.
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 Tracks-Property-Channel.

Adjusting the Key/Transposing a Track (Key+)

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

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Changing Track Settings
 (such as Bb trumpet). For more information, see the online help topic
“Music Notation for Non-concert-key Instruments.”
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 Tracks-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 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. Here’s 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 (that’s 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 parts—regardless of what track
they’re in—would 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.

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To change the velocity offset for more than one track at a time, select the
tracks you want to change and choose Tracks-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 Tracks-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:

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 Option… How it works…

Zero Controllers When If this option is enabled, SONAR zeroes (resets) the pitch
Play Stops wheel, the 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.

Patch/Controller If this option is enabled, SONAR searches for and sends

Searchback Before Play the most recent patch change, wheel, and pedal events
Starts 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 Playback—MIDI

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 lighter color—press the up and down
arrows on your computer keyboard and watch each track turn lighter in
succession as you change different tracks into the current track (you can
also click any of a track’s 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

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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 track’s 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 track’s 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 track’s
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 Tracks-Input Monitor/Echo command (or click the track’s
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
track’s Input field displays the Inputs 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

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 Keyboards
• Since this is SONAR’s 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 track’s 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 track’s Input field
says Omni.
• If you’ve disabled the default behavior (see next procedure), you must
make sure that the current track’s 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 track’s 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
track’s 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:
• None—this 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 Omni—choosing 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 1-16—choosing this option
causes the track to respond ONLY to whatever MIDI channel you
choose coming from the named MIDI interface input driver.
• Preset—if you’ve created any preset collections of input ports and
channels, you can select one here.
• Manage Presets—if you want to create or edit any preset
collections of input ports and channels, you can select this option
(see following procedure).

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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, you’ll 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 that’s 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 track’s 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 1’s 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 Views-Toolbars-
Playback State command), click the Input Monitor button (last one on
the right).

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Controlling Live MIDI Playback—MIDI Echo
 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 synthesizer’s volume
control up and down from time to time to avoid hearing it play along with
your other modules. If this situation doesn’t 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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Local Control
 SONAR’s 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 projects. Once you’ve 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.

A B

C E

H F

A. Switch to the next song B. Repeat the list C. Add a song D. Drop a song E. Set a
delay F. Display full path G. List of songs H. Enable the play list

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

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Playing Files in Batch Mode
 To do this… Do this…
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 Ctrl-drag the file to a new location

location in the play list in the play list

Remove a song from the Select the song and click or

play list press the Delete key

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

Save As, enter a file name, and
click Save

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.

218 Controlling Playback

Playing Files in Batch Mode
To do this… Do this…
Stop playback Choose Transport-Stop, or press the
Spacebar.

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

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

Show or hide file name Click the button to enable or disable

extensions and folder the display of folders.
names (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 can’t 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
SONAR 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 Using the Video Thumbnails Pane for more information).
You open the Video view by using the Views-Video command. The Video
view displays the Now time (as in the Big Time view) and the video itself.

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 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 view’s 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.

See:
Inserting and Playing Back Videos
Optimizing Video Performance

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 view’s
popup menu.
The Import Video dialog appears.
2. In the Files of Type field, select the kind of video file you’re 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 file’s
audio data.
6. Check the Import As Mono Tracks option if you want to import the file’s
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
project’s 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.

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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 for more information.
To Play a Video File in the Video View
1. Open the Video view by choosing Views-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, (see Using the Video Thumbnails Pane for
more information).
To Delete the Video From the Project
1. Open the Video view by choosing Views-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.
To Enable or Disable Video Playback
1. Open the Video view by choosing Views-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:

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 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

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 dialog’s 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 Synchronization).
To Set the Video Display Format
Right-click in the Video view and choose an option from the Stretch
Options menu:

222 Controlling Playback

Video Playback, Import, and Export
To do this… Do this…
Display the video in its Choose Original Size
original size

Stretch the video to fill the Choose Stretch to Window

Video view

Stretch the video as much Choose Preserve Aspect Ratio

as possible while preserving
the original aspect ratio

Make the video display as Choose Integral Stretch

large as possible, but only
enlarge by integral multiples

Display the video in full Choose Full Screen

screen mode

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:

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 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.
Note: The project’s video file is saved in the project 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.
See also:
Exporting Video
Optimizing Video Performance

Exporting Video
After you’ve 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 you’ve 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 you’re 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.

224 Controlling Playback

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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 you’re creating. Some codecs do not work: click the
Help button in the dialog for help choosing options.
Note: if you’re 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.

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 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

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Video Playback, Import, and Export
 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 you’re 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 you’re processing audio tracks at the same time.
See also:
Using the Video Thumbnails Pane

Using the Video Thumbnails Pane

At the top of the Track view in SONAR 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 you’re playing back a highly compressed movie (not many
keyframes in the file), it can take about a minute to redraw video thumbnails
when you’re 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.

Video Thumbnails pane

A B C

F E D

A. Show/hide frame numbers button B. Show/hide thumbnails button C. Show/hide

video pane button D. Splitter bar E. Frame number F. Video track strip

226 Controlling Playback

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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 that’s 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 Views-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 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

228 Controlling Playback

Video Playback, Import, and Export
 • 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 SONAR’s
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.
4. 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 Format—choose Stereo.
• Sample Rate—choose 48000.
• Bit Depth—choose 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). 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 device’s icon on the Windows taskbar.
2. Launch SONAR and open your video project.
3. In SONAR’s video view (Views-Video command), right-click the Video
view and choose External DV Output-[name of external DV device]
from the popup menu.

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Video Playback, Import, and Export
 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.
If your video does not play back in sync with your audio, see Synchronizing
External Video Playback to Audio.

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 Format—choose Stereo.
• Sample Rate—choose 48000.
• Bit Depth—choose 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.
7. Close the property page, and click the Save button in the Export Video
dialog to start exporting. If you’re printing to a device that uses tape, the
tape stops rolling when the export process is finished.

230 Controlling Playback

Video Playback, Import, and Export
 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. It’s
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.
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.
See:
The Find Missing Audio File Dialog
Restoring Missing Audio Files
Managing Shared and External Files

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:
• Open—Click this button once you have searched for and found the
missing audio file.

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Locating Missing Audio
 • Skip—Click 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 All—Click this button to skip all missing audio files. When you skip
all missing audio files, you project opens without those pieces of
missing audio
• Search—Click this button to begin a search of all available hard drives
for your missing audio file.
• After locating the file Options—You can choose to either move an
audio file to the project’s audio data folder, copy an audio file to the
project’s audio data folder, or leave an audio file in its current folder.
For more information, see Find Missing Audio File dialog.

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 Folder—Use this option if you are sure
that no other projects are referencing this file in its present location.
• Copy file to Project Audio Folder—Use this option if the missing
file is shared with another project and you want to keep all of your
project’s audio files together.
• Reference file from present location—Use this option if you want
to leave the missing file in its current location now that SONAR
knows where it is.
5. Click Open.

232 Controlling Playback

Locating Missing Audio
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 project’s audio data
directory or to link to them in their current (external) location.
Note: External files are defined as any file not in the project’s audio data
folder (or a subfolder within the project’s 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 project’s audio in one
folder (your project’s 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 project’s audio
data directory). There are some exceptions, however. Files that have a
different sampling rate or bit depth are always copied to the project’s 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 project’s 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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Locating Missing Audio
234 Controlling Playback
Locating Missing Audio
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 exactly how 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 the online help topics: The Staff View, The Piano Roll View, and
The Event List View.

See:
Creating a New Project
Preparing to Record
Recording Music from a MIDI Instrument
Recording Audio
Input Monitoring
Loop Recording
Punch Recording
Step Recording
Recording Specific Ports and Channels
Importing Music and Sound
Saving Your Work
 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
See:
Creating a New Project
Setting the Meter and Key Signatures
Setting the Metronome and Tempo Settings
Setting the Audio Sampling Rate and Bit Depth

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 Per-project Audio Folders.

236 Recording
Creating a New Project
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 file’s 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.
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 want to store the new file, and set the
folder where you want to store the new file’s audio.
3. Choose a template from the list.

Recording 237
Creating a New Project
 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 Views-
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 project's 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.
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)
• 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

238 Recording
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To Set the Meter and Key Signature
1. Display the Views toolbar by choosing Views-Toolbars-View.

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

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

The Meter/Key Signature dialog appears.

4. Enter the top and bottom meter values in the Beats per Measure and
Beat Value fields.
5. Choose the key signature from the Key Signature list.
6. Click OK.
You can also set the meter and key signature in the Large Transport toolbar
display, or by using the Insert-Meter/Key Change command.

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.
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

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 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:

A B C D E F G H

A. Record count-in B. Measures C. Beats D. Metronome during playback

E. Metronome during record F. Use Audio Metronome G. Use MIDI metronome
H. Metronome settings

If you don’t see the Metronome toolbar, use the Views-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 .
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.

8. Press w, or click to rewind to the beginning of the piece.

240 Recording
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 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 Check Playback
during playback

Enable the metronome Check Recording

during 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 Check Use MIDI Note and choose
sound 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.

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 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

Each 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.
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.
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 the audio sampling rate or bit depth. If you
import audio from a Wave file or another digital audio file, the sampling rate

242 Recording
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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 44,100Hz/16-bit for a
project that will be mastered to a CD, so that no sample rate conversion is
required.
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.

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 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 Synchronizing Your Gear.

See:
Recording Modes
Choosing an Input
Arming Tracks for Recording
Auto Arming

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:

244 Recording
Preparing to Record
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.

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
track’s 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 don’t 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.

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 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:
• None—this 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 that’s 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 that’s on the MIDI channel you chose,
from the named input driver.
• Preset—if 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 Presets—if 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).
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:
• None—This choice ensures that you do not record to the track in
question.

246 Recording
Preparing to Record
 • 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.
Note: Inputs that are used by the External Insert plug-in (see External Insert
Plug-in) cannot be assigned to track inputs.
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:
• None—This 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.
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:
• None—this 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 that’s 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 that’s on the MIDI channel you chose,
from the named input driver.
• Preset—if 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 Presets—if 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).

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 track’s R
button turn red, but the Clips pane that’s to the right of that track’s 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 track’s Arm button turns red to indicate that the track is armed for
recording.

248 Recording
Preparing to Record
 To Disarm All Tracks at Once
• Click the red Arm label that’s 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 Views-Toolbars command and checking Playback
State in the Toolbars dialog box.

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
you’ve turned off this option on the General tab of the Global Options
dialog—Options-Global command).

4. Click , press the Spacebar, or choose Transport-Stop to stop

recording.

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Recording Music from a MIDI Instrument
 To listen to the new material, set the Now time to the start of the clip and
press the Spacebar or click . If you’re 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 “Troubleshooting” for more
information.

See:
Recording Specific Ports and Channels

Input Quantizing
Input quantizing allows you to automatically quantize MIDI input during
recording. You can see the results immediately, and hear the results as
soon as a track is looped.
Note: input quantizing does not destroy your original recording. If you press
Ctrl+ Z after you finish recording with input quantizing enabled, the
quantized clip is deleted, and the original unquantized clip appears, just as
you recorded it. If you are using loop recording in Sound On Sound mode,
all the quantized clips are deleted.
You control input quantize options for single tracks from the input quantize
controls in MIDI track strips. The input quantize controls appear in Track
strips by default just before the Input field when the All tab is selected (see
picture below). You control input quantize options for multiple tracks from
the Record toolbar, and from the Tracks menu. The toolbar and menu
commands affect selected tracks. If no tracks are selected, they affect ALL
MIDI tracks.

Input Quantize enable/ Input Quantize resolution

disable button menu

You can set the input quantize options for either a single track or for
multiple tracks.

250 Recording
Input Quantizing
To Turn Input Quantizing On or Off
• To turn input quantizing on or off for a single track, click the track’s
Input Quantize enable/disable button.
• To turn input quantizing on or off for selected tracks, select the tracks
that you want to turn on or off, then use the Tracks-Input Quantize-
Enable/Disable Input Quantize command, or click the Enable/Disable
Input Quantize button in the Record toolbar.
• To turn input quantizing on or off for all tracks, make sure no tracks are
selected (or press Ctrl+A to select all tracks), then use the Tracks-
Input Quantize- Enable/Disable Input Quantize command, or click
the Enable/Disable Input Quantize button in the Record toolbar.
To Set the Resolution
• To set the resolution for a single track, click the track’s Input Quantize
resolution menu, and choose a resolution from the dropdown menu that
appears. You can also click Quantize Settings in the resolution menu
to open the Input Quantize dialog, and type a number of ticks in the
Resolution field.
• To set the resolution for selected tracks, select the tracks that you
want to configure, then use the Tracks-Input Quantize- Quantize
Settings command or click the Quantize Settings button in the Record
toolbar to open the Input Quantize dialog. Then choose a value in the
Resolution field, and click OK.
• To set the resolution for all tracks, deselect all tracks (or select all
tracks), then use the Tracks-Input Quantize- Quantize Settings
command or click the Quantize Settings button in the Record toolbar to
open the Input Quantize dialog. Then choose a value in the Resolution
field, and click OK.
Note: to quantize to a custom resolution value, open the Input Quantize
dialog, and type a custom number of ticks in the resolution field.
To Set Options
• To set options for a single track, click the track’s Input Quantize
resolution menu, and choose Quantize Settings to open the Input
Quantize dialog, or right-click the resolution menu. Then choose
options in the dialog, and click OK.
Note: to get explanations of the options in the Input Quantize dialog,
press F1 when the dialog is open.
• To set options for selected tracks, select the tracks that you want to
configure, and use the Tracks-Input Quantize- Quantize Settings

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Input Quantizing
 command or click the Quantize Settings button in the Record toolbar to
open the Input Quantize dialog. Then choose options in the dialog, and
click OK.
• To set options for all tracks, deselect all tracks, then use the Tracks-
Input Quantize- Quantize Settings command or click the Quantize
Settings button in the Record toolbar to open the Input Quantize dialog.
Then choose options in the dialog, and click OK.
Visual Indicators
You will see the following visual indicators when Input Quantizing is
enabled:
• The Enable/Disable Input Quantize button in the Record toolbar
changes.

Enable/Disable Quantize Settings

• The red swath that appears in a track in the area where recording is
taking place changes color. You can choose a color for this in the
Configure Colors dialog (Options-Colors command) by choosing Clips
Pane in the Color Category menu, and changing the entry for Input
Quantize Record Preview Background.

• The Arm button in a track that has Input Quantizing enabled

changes color when it is armed, and displays Q instead of R.
Key Bindings
You can choose key bindings for Input Quantize commands by opening the
Key Bindings dialog (Options-Key Bindings command), choosing Global
Bindings in the Bind Context menu, and scrolling to the Tracks | Input
Quantize commands.
To set key bindings for note resolutions, choose Track View in the Bind
Context menu, and scroll to the Input Quantize Resolution commands.
For more information, see Quantizing.

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

252 Recording
Recording Audio
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 card’s 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 SONAR’s
meters display data: see Metering. To maximize the dynamic range of your
recording, you want to set the levels as high as possible without clipping.
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.
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.

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 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
software’s mixer program and make sure that you have the proper input
enabled for recording.
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 Audio File
Management.

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 is–a 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 track’s Input Monitor button. If you don’t 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.

254 Recording
Recording Audio
 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 you’ve turned off the Display
Waveform Preview option on the General tab of the Global Options
dialog (Options-Global command). If you’ve turned off the option,
SONAR displays a red swath along the area of the Clips pane where
you’re 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 you’re not happy with the recording, use Edit-
Undo to erase the new material.
If you do not see a new clip in the Clips pane, you may have a problem with
audio input. See “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 you’re 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:

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Confidence Recording and Waveform Preview
 • 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 Views-Toolbars-Playback State command).
• The Status bar displays the red Arm message.
While you’re recording, SONAR displays these cues:
• Audio tracks display a waveform preview in the area in the Clips pane
where you’re recording. This is actually a visual record of the record
meter’s 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 envelopes and nodes are drawn in real time as the
automation data is being recorded.
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 you’re 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

256 Recording
Input Monitoring
 button that turn’s that track’s input monitoring on or off.
• Global Input Monitor button—the Playback State toolbar (to display, use
the Views-Toolbars-Playback State command) has the Input Monitor
button on the right end, which turns input monitoring on or off on all
audio tracks with one click.

• Audio Engine button —clicking this button so that it’s 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 you’re
playing through uses the same audio interface (sound card) for both input
and output. Using different audio interfaces for a track’s input and output
can produce distortion during input monitoring.
To understand the echo and feedback problems, let’s 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).

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Input Monitoring
 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.
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 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.

258 Recording
Input Monitoring
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”

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 card—seemingly 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); you’ll 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.

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Input Monitoring
 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, it’s 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 it’s 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 Views-Toolbars-Playback State command), click the
Input Monitor button so that it’s lit up—this 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 your system, only
the echo. If you experience feedback, you have a feedback loop
somewhere in your mixer setup.

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Input Monitoring
The Audio Engine Button
SONAR has a button in the Transport toolbar called the Audio Engine
button . This button lets you turn SONAR’s audio engine off if you’re
getting distortion or feedback and want to cut the sound off. When playback
or recording are in progress, SONAR enables the button automatically—
however, the button appears greyed-out during playback or recording
because you can’t control the button at that time. Whenever the button is
enabled, the Audio Running message lights up on the Status bar that’s 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 that’s just to the right of it instead, or else stop
recording or playback first and then click the Audio Engine button.
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 computer’s 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
that’s 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.
See also:
Input Monitoring

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 261
The Audio Engine Button
 recording lets you start recording and record as many takes as you like, all
in a single step.
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 finish recording, you can use the Edit-Undo command or Ctrl+Z
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.

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.

262 Recording
Loop Recording
 5. If you choose to stack all takes in a single track, choose either Sound
on Sound or Overwrite mode.
If you use single track and Sound on Sound with Track Layers enabled,
checking the Create New Layer on Overlap checkbox will create
another track layer if your new clip overlaps an existing clip.
6. If you stack all takes in a single track, you can audition them later by
using the Track Layers button in the right of the Track pane (each
take will have its own Mute and Solo buttons).
7. 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.

8. Click , or press r, or choose Transport-Record. If your metronome

count-in is turned on, it will play the count-in measure.
9. 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.
10. If you want to erase the most recent take while loop recording is
underway, choose Transport-Reject Loop Take.

11. 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 section—perhaps 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 don’t have to worry about introducing new mistakes elsewhere in the
recording.
To use punch recording, follow these steps:
• Enable punch recording.

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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.
The Record toolbar shows the punch settings, as shown here:

A B C D E F G

A. Punch In Time B. Punch Out Time C. Click here to set punch times to the
selection start and end times D. Auto-punch on/off E.Record mode F. Step record
G. Click to open the Record Options dialog box

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:

A B

A. Punch In B. Punch Out

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. Here’s what this looks like:

264 Recording
Punch Recording
 A B

A. The loop starts and ends here B. The punch 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 dialog—use the Transport-Record Options
command to open the dialog).
5. Set the Now time to a point where you want to start playback.

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).

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Punch Recording
 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. It’s 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 you’re
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

266 Recording
Step Recording
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.
• Change tracks while recording
• Add two step sizes together 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 (see Step Record Keyboard
Shortcuts)
• Make any kind of tuplet
• Create a custom step size lasting any number of ticks (ticks are
divisions of a beat—SONAR 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
• 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 NumPad.
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.

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Step Recording
 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 step—simply 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.
Here’s a picture of Basic mode:

A B C

A. Insertion point location B. Position slider C. Basic/Advanced button D. Step

Record Toggle button to enable/disable step recording E. Click to move insertion
point by step size. F. Total step size display G. Custom tick size field

Here’s a picture of Advanced mode:

268 Recording
Step Recording
 A

D
B

A. Randomize durations field B. Step pattern recording field C. Click to move

insertion point by single beat D. Click to move insertion point by single measure

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).
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.

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Step Recording
 • 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
NumPad.
• 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

270 Recording
Step Recording
 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 you’re finished recording, close the dialog by clicking the X icon
in the upper right corner, or by pressing Shift+F4.
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.

Add two step sizes together See To Add Two Step Sizes Together

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Step Recording
 To do this… Do this…

Link the insertion point to the Enable the Link to Now Time checkbox.
Now Time

Enter notes at an offset Enter a positive or negative number of

distance from the displayed ticks in the Offset field.
insertion 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 Click the Measure Backward button
or forward by one measure.
or the Measure Advance
button.

Use step pattern recording. See Step Pattern Recording

To Add Two Step Sizes Together

1. Choose your first step size. If desired, use any combination of tuplet
and dotted values.
2. Press the + key on the Num Pad.
A plus sign appears after the value in the Step Size “n” Ticks field.
3. Choose your second step size. If desired, use any combination of tuplet
and dotted values.
The total step size appears in the Step Size “n” Ticks field.
4. Press the note on your MIDI keyboard that you want to enter.
The new note appears in your track, and the Now Time moves the distance
of the two combined steps that you entered. To toggle the plus sign on or
off in the Step Size “n” Ticks field, press the + key on the Num Pad. To clear
a large value from the Step Size “n” Ticks field, click a smaller value, or use
a keyboard shortcut for a smaller value.
To Use Other Commands While Step Recording
• 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

272 Recording
Step Recording
 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/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.
See also:
Step Record Keyboard Shortcuts
Step Pattern Recording

Step Record Keyboard Shortcuts

The default keyboard shortcuts for step recording are on the NumPad, so
that you can keep one hand on your MIDI keyboard to play notes with, and
use the other hand on the NumPad 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 Default shortcut…

option…
Whole note NumPad 1

Half note NumPad 2

Quarter note NumPad 4

Eighth note NumPad 8

16th note NumPad 6

32nd note NumPad 3

64th note NumPad 7

Custom step size NumPad 9

Tuplet NumPad /

Dot NumPad *

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Step Recording
 Default setting or Default shortcut…
option…
Double dot Shift+NumPad *

Add next step size to previous NumPad plus key “+”

step size

Toggle the Delete on Back Step NumPad minus key “-”

option

Follow step size Ctrl+Num Lock (does not change Num

Lock state)

Step backward NumPad 0

Step advance NumPad Enter

Beat backward Shift+NumPad 0

Beat advance Shift+NumPad Enter

Measure backward Ctrl+NumPad 0

Measure advance Ctrl+NumPad Enter

Auto Advance NumPad Period “.”

Toggle step recording Shift+ R

See:
Step Pattern Recording

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.

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Step Recording
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 don’t 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 player’s 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 synthesizer’s built-in
sequencer, and you want to record each channel onto a different track.
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.
You can choose MIDI inputs for a track by using either the Inputs field on
each individual track, or by using the Tracks-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), 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 track’s Input field to display
the Input dropdown menu (jump to step 4, below).
Or
1. Use the Tracks-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.

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3. Click the MIDI Inputs button that’s at the bottom of the dialog to open
the MIDI inputs dropdown menu.
4. Choose track inputs from these choices:
• None—this 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 that’s 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 that’s on the MIDI channel you chose,
from the named input driver.
• Preset—if you’ve created any preset collections of input ports and
channels, you can select one here.
• Manage Presets—if 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.
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, you’ll 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.

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 4. Select channels for any other MIDI port that’s 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 track’s 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 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.
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; audio CD tracks and other SONAR project files.

See:

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Importing Audio CD Tracks
Importing Material from Another SONAR Project
Importing MIDI 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)
• 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 project’s 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:

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 • Description—A brief description of the contents of the Broadcast wave.
Limited to 256 characters.
• Originator—The author of the Broadcast wave. This information is
taken from the Author field in the File Info dialog.
• Originator Reference—A unique reference identifier created by
SONAR.
• Origination Date—The date the file was created.
• Origination Time—The time the file was created.
• Time Reference—The SMPTE time stamp for the beginning of
broadcast wave.
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 Audio CD Tracks

The File-Import-Audio CD command lets you import tracks from audio
CD’s into any track of a project.
Audio tracks on a CD always have a bit depth of 16, but you can choose to
import the tracks at a higher bit depth if desired.

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To Import a track from an Audio CD
1. Set the Now time and current track to indicate where the audio should
be placed.
2. Insert an audio CD into the computer’s CD drive.
3. Choose File-Import-Audio CD to display the Import Audio CD Tracks
dialog box.
4. Make sure the correct CD drive is selected in the Target Drive
dropdown list.
5. Choose the audio track you want to import. SONAR displays the length
and size of all audio tracks.
6. Click Play to listen to the audio track before importing.
7. If you wish to import the audio with a different bit depth than the original
audio track, choose the desired bit depth from the Import Bit Depth
dropdown list.
8. Click OK.
SONAR loads the audio data from the audio CD and places it in the
selected track at the Now time.

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.

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 4. Make sure that Events in Tracks is checked. If you don’t 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 you’re 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 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
• Information needed to put the media data in sequence—known as the
Composition

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The OMF file supplies the following data and information:
• Tracks
• Clip positions—an 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 envelopes—OMF 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.
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

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 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.

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 don’t 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.

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 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
Audio File Management.
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 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
Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings for
more information.

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 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. You can also use File Versioning instead of
using Save As. For more information, see To Use File Versioning.
To Change the Auto Save Settings
1. Choose Options-Global and click the Autosave and Versioning tab.
2. To enable Auto Save, set the number of minutes and/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.

Using File Versioning

SONAR can be enabled to keep previously saved versions of your project
in a temporary file. You can revert to any of these saved versions or use the
default of the most recently saved version.

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When file versioning is enabled, SONAR retains a list of previously saved
project files in your project folder. The most recent version retains the
original name of the project. Previously saved versions are saved with a
time stamp following the original project name in order of most recently
saved.
To Use File Versioning
1. Choose Options-Global and click the Autosave and Versioning tab.
2. Check the Enable Versioning Of Project Files check box.
3. Use the spinner to select the number of versions of your project you
would like SONAR to keep.
Note: If you exceed the maximum number of saved file versions selected in
Step 3, the oldest version is discarded.
To Revert to a Previously Saved File
1. Choose File-Revert.
A dialog box appears containing a list of dates and file sizes for all
previously saved versions of the current project.
2. Select the file version you want to work on.
3. Click OK.
Note: If the current project is unsaved at the time you choose File-Revert,
you will be prompted with a warning that reverting the project will cause all
unsaved changes to be lost. When the reverted project is loaded, the
timestamp is stripped off, and the reverted project assumes the project’s
original name.

Labeling Your Projects

SONAR lets you attach subtitles, composer credits, copyright, and other
information to your projects, as shown in the following table:

Label Description

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.

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 Label Description

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.
To Display and Edit Project Information
1. Choose File-Info to display the File Info window.

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2. Edit the information as desired.

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 you’ve 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.

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 Statistic... What it means...

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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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 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 Groove clips, 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.
Arranging Tracks
Track Templates
Track Icons
Arranging Clips
Working with Partial Clips
Markers and the snap grid
Working with Linked Clips
Splitting and Combining Clips
Take Management and Comping Takes
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing)
Track Folders
Adding Effects in the Track View
Changing Tempos
Undo, Redo, and the Undo History
 Slip-editing (Non-destructive Editing)

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… Here’s why…

Rearrange the tracks in the This makes it easier to see and work with a
Track view so that they appear subset of tracks, like the rhythm section, or the
in a different order 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 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 lighter titlebar) is always selected. You can
select additional tracks as shown in the table:

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Arranging Tracks
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 tracks—except the current track—are
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 Hold the Shift key and click the track number
the selection to add it to the selection; hold the Ctrl key and
click the track number to toggle its selection
status.

Changing the Order of Tracks

Configuring the Display of Tracks in the Track View
Inserting Tracks
Copying Tracks
Erasing Tracks

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.
• Use the Tracks-Sort command to rearrange the tracks in order based
on the track name, status, or other setting.

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 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, 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 Tracks-Sort to display the Sort Tracks dialog box.
2. Choose the attribute by which to sort from the Sort By list:

294 Arranging
Arranging Tracks
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.

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.

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Arranging Tracks
 Attribute… How it works…

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 that’s 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.

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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
section’s Track Count field.
• 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
section’s 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 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:

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 Command… Description… Shortcu
t…
Show and Fit This command hides all tracks which are Shift+S
Selection not selected. 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 All currently displayed tracks are adjusted F

Window in size vertically to fit in the Track view,
without scrolling if possible.

Fit Project to This command resizes all tracks both Shift+F

Window vertically and horizontally to fit in the
Tracks view.

Lock Height This command maintains the track’s

height when you use a zoom or fit
command. See To Lock or Unlock the
Height of a Track.

Show Only This command hides all tracks which are H

Selected Tracks not selected. The remaining tracks are
adjusted in size vertically.

Hide Selected Hides all selected tracks. Shift+H

Tracks

Show All Tracks Shows all tracks in your project, including A

these hidden using the Track Manager.

Track Manager Opens the Track manager dialog. For M

more information about the Track
Manager dialog, see Track Manager
dialog.

Undo View This command restores the view to its U

Change previous state. There are up to 16 levels of
undo.

Redo View This command restores the view to the Shift+U

Change state prior to the Undo View Change
command.

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Command… Description… Shortcu
t…
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 track’s 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:

A. 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 track’s height is locked, you can still
drag the track strip’s lower border to adjust the track’s height. After you drag
the border, the altered track height becomes the track’s locked height.

Copying Tracks
When you copy one or more tracks using the Tracks-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 Tracks-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.

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Arranging Tracks
 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 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 Tracks-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 Tracks-Wipe.
SONAR deletes all clips and events from the selected tracks, but leaves the
track properties 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)

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• 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.
Track templates use the file extension .CWX.
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 don’t 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.
This inserts tracks that are exactly like the template. If you don’t want to use
all of the track characteristics that are in the template, you can filter the
characteristics that you don’t 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.
Note: if the template you insert contains buses, using the Edit-Undo
command after you insert the template will remove the new tracks, but not
the new buses. If you don’t want to insert buses, deselect buses in the
Track Template Import Options dialog before you insert a template. You
can delete a bus by right-clicking just left of the bus name, and selecting
Delete Bus from the popup menu.

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 Track Icons
Track icons allow you to quickly identify a track’s 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-
[name of desired view]-Show Icons- command.
Or
• To hide a track icon, right-click a track icon in the desired view, and
choose Show Icons from the popup menu. This option is not available
in Track view headers.
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.
The Open dialog appears.
3. Select an icon and click Open.

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 Or
1. Put the focus on the track you want to change.
2. Use the Tracks-Property-Icon-Load Icon command.
The Open dialog appears.
3. Select an icon and click Open.
Note: the right-click option is not available when you right-click a track icon
in a track header in the Track view. However, you can load a new track icon
into a track header by Alt-clicking the track icon to display the Open dialog,
and then choosing a new icon. You can Alt-click a track icon in any view to
display the Open dialog.
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.
Or
1. Put the focus on the track you want to change.
2. Use the Tracks-Property-Icon-Reset Icon command.
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.
2. Save the image as a .bmp file in the Track Icons directory in your
SONAR program folder.
Track Icon Size(s) and Transparency
You can configure the size of small and large icons in CAKEWALK.INI. By
default, small icons are 32x32 pixels and large icons are 48x48 pixels. Use
the following INI variables to change the default size:
[WinCake]
SmallIconHeight=32
LargeIconHeight=48
If you wish to create custom track icons, we recommend that you author
them as 96x96 pixel 24-bit bitmaps (.BMP).

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Arranging Tracks
 The top left pixel in the BMP determines the transparent color. If you prefer
to not have transparent icons, add the following variable to CAKEWALK.INI:
[WinCake]
IconTopLeftPixelTransparent=0
When transparency is enabled, the global color entry (Options-Colors)
called "Track View Icons Background" determines the background color
("Console Strips Icons background" does the same for the Console view
and Track Inspector).

Configuring Track View Controls

The Track view strips no longer have a special header section:
• The Number, Name, Peak Meter Indicator and Size buttons still have
fixed placements in the top row of the strip.
• All other parameter controls now flow over the full available space in
the entire strip.
As a result:
• The MSR buttons (and the Automation Read/Write) buttons follow the
same layout rules as any other parameter widget.
• The Vertical VU meter spans the full height of the strip. So even when a
strip is minimized, you can still see a 22 pixel high meter.
• The min track height has been slightly increased from 18 to 22 pixels.
• Shift-clicking on the minimize or maximize buttons in a Track view strip
resizes that strip to its default height.
You can hide, reorder, and visually group the controls in tracks and buses.
You can also control how the display tabs at the bottom of the Track pane
function.
Changes you make to tracks affect tracks of the same kind in all projects. In
other words, the way you configure a MIDI track controls the display of all
MIDI tracks in all projects. The way you configure an audio track controls
the way all audio tracks appear in all projects. The way you configure a bus
controls the way buses appear in all projects. Synth audio tracks follow
audio track configuration, and synth MIDI tracks follow MIDI track
configuration.
You can reorder each individual control with the exception of AUX controls:
these all move as a group. For tracks with more than one send, all send
controls move as one.

304 Arranging
Arranging Tracks
To Reorder a Track or Bus Control
1. Hold down the Alt key, and drag the control that you want to move. A
rectangle appears around the control you are dragging.
A small vertical insertion line appears just to the left of the area where
the control will be placed.
2. Release the mouse button at the location where you want the control to
appear.
The control moves to the location where you dropped it.
To Restore the Default Order
• Right-click the kind of track that you want to restore to the default order,
and choose Restore Default Widget Order from the popup menu. If
you want to restore buses to the default order, right-click a bus.
Surround buses are separate from stereo buses.
To Configure Track and Bus Tabs
1. Right-click a tab, and choose Widget Tab Manager from the popup
menu.
The Widget Tab Manager dialog appears.
2. In the Tab Name field, choose the tab that you want to configure, or
choose <new>, and type a name to create a new tab.
3. In each of the four Strip columns (Audio Strip, MIDI Strip, etc.), check all
the controls you want to see on this type of tab in each track or bus type
(Audio track, MIDI track, Bus, Surround Bus).
4. To select all available controls, click Select All Widgets; to select the
default controls, select Restore Tab Defaults (this will delete any new
tabs you’ve created).
5. To configure a different tab, select it in the Tab Name field.
6. Click OK to implement your changes, or Cancel to delete them.
The order that a control (also called a widget) appears in is the same for all
tabs in the same strip type. For example, if the pan control appears first on
the Mix tab of audio tracks, it also appears first on any other tabs for audio
tracks that display the pan control.
To Change the VU Meter to Horizontal or Vertical
Display
• Click the dropdown arrow next to the Show/Hide Meters button ,
and choose either Horizontal Meters or Vertical Meters from the

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 menu.

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.
Displaying Clips
Opening Views by Double-clicking Clips
Selecting Clips
Moving and Copying Clips

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:
• Color—By default, each track’s 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 Configure 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.
• Name—You can also assign each clip a descriptive name, which is
displayed in the upper-left corner of the clip.
• Contents—At your option, clips can be displayed with a graphical
representation of the events in the clip. The effect is slightly different for

306 Arranging
Arranging Clips
 MIDI and audio information.

A. A MIDI clip shows each event; by looking at the clips, you can “see” the notes that
are being played B. An audio clip shows the actual waveform C. 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 little harder. As a result, if your
computer has an older, slower CPU you may want to turn off the display of
clip contents.:

A
B
C

D
E

H G F

A. Zoom Clips pane out vertically B. Vertical Zoom fader for Clips pane C. Zoom
Clips pane in vertically D. Zoom Bus pane out vertically E. Vertical Zoom fader for
Bus pane F. Zoom in horizontally G. Horizontal zoom fader H. Zoom out horizontally

The Track view toolbar contains the Zoom tool:

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 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

Redo Zoom Shift+U

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Arranging Clips
To do this… Use this shortcut…
Turn On Zoom tool (use the Hold down Z
Zoom tool to select the area
to zoom to)

Display Now Time in Center G

of Clips Pane

Fit project to window Shift+F

Fit tracks and buses to F

window

To Zoom Using the Mouse Wheel (Fast Zoom)

• Hold down the Alt key and roll the mouse wheel forward to zoom in,
backward to zoom out.
• Hold down Alt+Shift to intensify mouse wheel zoom effect.
• Hold down Alt+Ctrl to adjust track scale (Track View Clips Pane only)
To Select Fast Zoom Options
1. Select Fast Zoom Options from the Zoom tool dropdown menu.
The Fast Zoom dialog box opens.
2. Select the intensity of the Zoom effect in Zoom Factor by using the
spinners or manually entering a value.
3. Select the vertical and horizontal Zoom focus.
4. Check or uncheck Simultaneous Vertical and Horizontal Zoom.
The default is for Simultaneous Vertical and Horizontal Zoom to be
checked. If you uncheck it, Fast Zoom exhibits the following behaviors.
• Alt+Mouse Wheel zooms vertically
• Alt+Shift+Mouse Wheel zooms faster vertically
• Ctrl+Alt+Mouse Wheel zooms horizontally
• Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Mouse Wheel zooms faster vertically
5. Click OK.
To Display Clip Names and Contents
1. Right-click in the Clips pane, and choose View Options from the menu.

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 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 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

Use a custom color Click the Choose Color button and

pick a color from the Color dialog
box

310 Arranging
Arranging Clips
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.

Opening Views by 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.
To Open a View From a Clip
1. Right-click in the Clips pane, and choose View from the pop-up menu.
2. Choose the type of view you want to work with from the submenu.

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:

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Arranging Clips
 To do this… Do this…

Select a single clip Click on the clip in the Clips pane.

Select several clips at once Drag in a rectangular pattern that touches

each clip.

Select all the clips in a track Click on the track number in the Track
view.

Select a portion of one or more Press and hold the Alt key and drag
clips 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 Hold the Ctrl key and either click on the
selection clips or drag a rectangle around the clips.

Add or remove all clips in a track Hold the Ctrl key and click on the track
from the selection number.

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 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.

312 Arranging
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Option… How it works…

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 The events on the clipboard are
clips only) merged into any existing clips that
occupy the same region of time. This
means you will never end up with clips
that overlap.

Note that if you copy or move clips to new, empty tracks, you don’t 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

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Arranging Clips
 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).
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.

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.

314 Arranging
Arranging Clips
Choose Edit-Cut to display the Cut dialog box

2. Choose the options you want and click OK. SONAR cuts the clips from
the project and places them on the Windows clipboard.
3. Click in the Track pane to set the current track to be the one where clips
should be pasted.
4. Set the Now time to be the time at which the clips should be pasted.
5. Choose Edit-Paste to display the Paste dialog box.

6. Choose the options you want and click OK.

SONAR places the clips in their new location.
To Choose a Specific Start Time and/or Length for a
Clip
1. Select the clip you want to edit.
2. Right-click on the selected clip and choose Clip Properties. SONAR
opens the Clip Properties dialog box.
3. Choose the units you want to use for the new start time and/or length by
clicking one of the radio buttons:

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Arranging Clips
 • M:B:T—click this if you want the clip to begin and end on a specific
measure, beat, or tick.
• Samples—click this is you want the clip to begin and end on a
specific sample.
• H:M:S:F—click this is you want the clip to begin and end on a
specific hour, minute, second, or frame. This is also known as
SMPTE time, and lets you start the clip at an absolute-time-based
(as opposed to musical-time-based) point in your project.
• Seconds—click this is you want the clip to begin and end on a
specific second.
4. Enter a new start time and/or length, or use the spinners or keyboard to
change values.
5. Choose a value in the Time Base field—choose one of the two options
in this section to control what happens to the clip’s start time when you
change the tempo:
• Musical (M:B:T)—if the clip is set to the Musical time base, the
clip’s M:B:T position stays constant, and its Absolute (SMPTE)
position shifts.
• Absolute (SMPTE)—if the clip is set to the Absolute (SMPTE) time
base, its Absolute position stays constant, and its M:B:T position
shifts.
Note: the length of a clip may also change when you change the
tempo—audio clips maintain their absolute (SMPTE) length, while a
MIDI clip will follow the value in the Time Base field. If a MIDI clip is set
to use musical time, the clip maintains its M:B:T length. If a MIDI clip is
set to use absolute time, the clip maintains its absolute length.
6. Click OK when you are done.
SONAR adjusts the clip to the values you chose.
Note: the Snap Offset field is for audio clips only. The value of this field is
the snap offset of the selected clip, in samples. When you set a snap offset
value for a clip, and then drag the clip, the left edge of the clip does not
snap to the current snap resolution--the clip snaps to a point on the clip that
is the distance from the left edge of the clip to the snap offset value. For
example, if you set the snap resolution to move to a measure, and the snap
offset of a clip to 1500 samples, when you drag the clip, instead of the left
edge of the clip moving to a measure line, the spot on the clip that's 1500
samples right of the beginning of the clip moves to the measure line.

316 Arranging
Arranging Clips
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 box—choose options
and click OK.
• Press the Delete key.
SONAR deletes the selected clips.

See:
Splitting and Combining Clips

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Arranging Clips
 Working with Partial Clips
Working with Linked Clips

Locking Clips
You can lock a clip so that it can’t be accidentally modified or deleted. You
can lock the clip’s position and/or its data.
To Lock or Unlock a Clip’s Position and/or Data
1. Right-click the clip, and choose Clip Properties from the popup menu
to open the Clip Properties dialog.
2. In the Clip Properties dialog, click the Lock checkbox.
3. If you’re locking the clip, use the dropdown menu next to the Lock
checkbox to choose what clip attributes you want to lock:
• Position and Data—this choice locks position and data, and
causes a lock icon to appear on the clip .
• Position Only—this choice locks position only, and causes a
yellow lock icon with the clasp unlocked to appear on the clip .
• Data Only—this choice locks data only, and causes a blue lock
icon with the clasp unlocked to appear on the clip .
4. Click OK.
Or
1. Select a clip.
2. Use one of the following commands:
• Edit-Clip Lock-Lock Position—in lock mode, this choice locks
position only, and causes a yellow lock icon with the clasp unlocked
to appear on the clip, If data is already locked, then both position
and data become locked, and a “locked” lock icon appears on the
clip. In unlock mode, if both position and data are locked, and you
unlock position, then the blue “unlocked” lock icon appears on the
clip, meaning that only data is locked.
• Edit-Clip Lock-Lock Data—in lock mode, this choice locks data
only, and causes a blue lock icon with the clasp unlocked to appear
on the clip. If position is already locked, then both position and data
become locked, and a “locked” lock icon appears on the clip. In
unlock mode, if both position and data are locked, and you unlock

318 Arranging
Arranging Clips
 data, then the yellow “unlocked” lock icon appears on the clip,
meaning that only position is locked.
Or
1. Right-click a clip.
2. From the popup menu, choose one of the following commands:
• Clip Lock-Lock Position—in lock mode, this choice locks position
only, and causes a yellow lock icon with the clasp unlocked to
appear on the clip. If data is already locked, then both position and
data become locked, and a “locked” lock icon appears on the clip.
In unlock mode, if both position and data are locked, and you
unlock position, then the blue “unlocked” lock icon appears on the
clip, meaning that only data is locked.
• Clip Lock-Lock Data—in lock mode, this choice locks data only,
and causes a blue lock icon with the clasp unlocked to appear on
the clip. If position is already locked, then both position and data
become locked, and a “locked” lock icon appears on the clip. In
unlock mode, if both position and data are locked, and you unlock
data, then the yellow “unlocked” lock icon appears on the clip,
meaning that only position is locked.
Note: if a clip’s position is locked, and you change tempo, what happens to
the clip’s position depends on what option the Clip Properties Time Base
field is set to: Musical (M:B:T), or Absolute (SMPTE). If the clip is set to the
Musical time base, the clip’s M:B:T position stays constant, and its Absolute
position shifts. If the clip is set to the Absolute time base, its Absolute
position does not move, but its M:B:T position shifts.

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).
See: Nudge Settings

Nudge Settings
The Nudge tab in the Global Options dialog allows you to set the three
Nudge settings.

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Nudge
 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 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 Time—Select a note length setting.
• Absolute Time—Select one of the following absolute time options
and a number in the first field:

Absolute time Description…

setting…

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 dialog’s
clock tab.

320 Arranging
Nudge
 Absolute time Description…
setting…

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 dialog’s clock tab. The
default setting is 960.

• Follow Snap Settings—Moves the clip or note by the current snap

setting.
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 1—NumPad 1
• Right 1—NumPad 3
• Left 2—NumPad 4
• Right 2—NumPad 6
• Left 3—NumPad 7
• Right 3—NumPad 9
• Up—NumPad 8
• Down—NumPad 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

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Working with Partial Clips
 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.
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).
• 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.

322 Arranging
Working with Partial Clips
 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

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.

See:
Showing Gridlines
Defining and Using the Snap Grid
Snap Offsets
Creating and Using Markers

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.

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Markers and the snap grid
 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 to Grid button and set the grid resolution to an
interval of musical time, such as a whole note, half note, or quarter note; a
unit of absolute time: a number of frames, seconds or samples; an event;
the start or end of a clip; a marker; or audio transients. The grid can use
multiple resolutions at the same time, such as a whole note, and audio
transients. When the Snap to Grid button is enabled, if you move or paste
clips or markers, items will be snapped to the nearest point on the snap
grid.
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 data 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).
Magnetic snap—Cakewalk’s snap grid has an option (on by default) called
magnetic snap. This means that when you’re dragging the boundary of an

324 Arranging
Markers and the snap grid
object, you can move the boundary freely until the boundary gets within a
certain number of ticks from the snap target. The closer the object gets to
the snap target, the more strongly the object is pulled to the target. You can
set the strength of magnetic snap to low, medium, high, or off. Note that if
you are zoomed out a certain amount, the time boundary around the snap
target will appear to be quite small, and you might think that the snap grid is
not functioning. If this is the case, zoom in closer to enhance your editing
experience. If you’re dragging a whole clip, magnetic snap is not in effect.
To Enable or Disable the Snap Grid
• To toggle the Snap to Grid button on or off, Press N, or click the
button.
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 open the Snap to Grid dialog in the Track view, the dialog
contains two tabs: one for the Inline Piano Roll view (the PRV Mode
tab), and one for the Clips pane (the Clips tab). Click the tab of the area
that you will be editing in.
3. Select one or more of the following resolution options:
• Musical Time—note intervals (whole, half, etc.)
• Absolute Time—a number of samples, frames, or seconds set by
you (choose the units in the dropdown menu on the right)
• Events—any data in a clip

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Markers and the snap grid
 • Clips—the start or end of any clip
• Markers—any marker in a project
• Audio transients—these are represented by vertical grid lines,
which you can display by using the AudioSnap Palette.
• Snap to Audio Zero Crossings—this option automatically snaps
edited audio clips to the nearest zero crossing of the waveform, the
point at which there is no volume, to minimize the glitches that can
happen when waveforms are spliced together.
4. Select Move To to align data to the grid, or Move By to move data by
the grid resolution.
5. If you want to change the magnetic snap strength, or turn off magnetic
snap, select one of the buttons in the Magnetic Strength section.
6. If you’re using the Snap to Grid dialog in the Track view, you can leave
it open or close it while you edit. If you’re using it in another view, click
OK to close the dialog.
All time selections and drag-and-drop editing operations use the new snap
grid resolution(s).

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.
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.

326 Arranging
Markers and the snap grid
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.
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 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.

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Markers and the snap grid
 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.

328 Arranging
Markers and the snap grid
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.
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.
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.

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Markers and the snap grid
 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.
• 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

330 Arranging
Markers and the snap grid
 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)
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 won’t be
linked to any clips that are not selected

Independent Every selected clip will be completely

independent

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Working with Linked Clips
 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.
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:

332 Arranging
Working with Linked Clips
 • Linked Repetitions—If 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.
• 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:

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Splitting and Combining Clips
 To do this… Use this Notes…
command…

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 Edit-Bounce to If the selected clips are in

clips into one Clip(s) separate tracks, one clip is
created for each track. All
clip automation is applied
destructively to the new
clip.

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 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.

334 Arranging
Splitting and Combining Clips
Option… How it works…

Split when Silent Removes “silent” stretches of one

measure or more from selected clips.
The presence in a measure of any
event—including 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).
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.

Arranging 335
Splitting and Combining Clips
 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, it’s 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 track’s Show Layers option, SONAR stores the track’s 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 Tracks-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.

A. Track Layers On/Off button B. Track Scale before showing layers

336 Arranging
Take Management and Comping Takes
• For multiple tracks, select the tracks you want to configure by Ctrl-
clicking the track number of each track, and use the Tracks-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.

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 that’s at the same vertical level
as the layer you want to mute or unmute. You can drag across multiple
mute buttons to mute or unmute 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:

A. Hidden layer mute indicator

To Solo or Unsolo a Layer

• On the Track Scale, click the S button that’s at the same vertical level
as the layer you want to solo. You can solo one layer at a time.

Arranging 337
Take Management and Comping Takes
 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:

A. 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
Tracks-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
Tracks-Layers-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.

338 Arranging
Take Management and Comping Takes
 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.

A. 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.
See:
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing)

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 , that’s in the Track view toolbar, SONAR offers
two styles of clip muting:
• Default style—after 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

Arranging 339
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing)
 setting in the Mute tool dropdown menu produces this behavior (you’ll
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.
• Alternate style—use 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.

See:
Clip Muting with the Default Style
Clip Muting with the Alternate Style
Isolating (Clip Soloing)
Audition (Selection Playback)

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
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.

340 Arranging
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing)
 A

A. 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 Unmute 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.

A. Mute icon

Note: if the clip you’re 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 don’t lose any precise mute edits you’ve 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).

Arranging 341
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing)
 See:
Clip Muting with the Alternate Style

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 Unmute 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 you’re 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 don’t lose any precise mute edits you’ve 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.

342 Arranging
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing)
2. Using the Mute tool, Alt-click inside the upper half of a clip in the muted
area.

Toggling a Clip’s Mute Status

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.

See:
Audition (Selection Playback)
Isolating (Clip Soloing)

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 style—after 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 (you’ll 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 along with the Ctrl key, and click whole clips instead of
dragging through regions.
• Alternate style—use 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.

Arranging 343
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing)
 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.

Track Folders
A track folder contains tracks in the Track pane of the Track view. Track
folders make larger projects much easier to manage—you 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
track—especially 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 track—you 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 click—just click the A, M, S, R, or Input Echo button on
the track folder.

344 Arranging
Track Folders
 E F G

D
C H
B

A. The tracks in a track folder are indented B. Description box C. Track folder info
D. Open/Close folder E. Track folder—click here to select all data in track folder F.
A, M, S, R, and Input Echo buttons G. Selected area of composite clip H. Composite
clip

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 that’s 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 track’s titlebar onto the track
folder. Release the mouse.
Or
• Insert a track when a track within a track folder has focus.
Or
• Right-click a track that’s not in a track folder and select Move to
Folder-Track Folder “n” from the popup menu.
Or

Arranging 345
Track Folders
 • 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 it’s 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 track’s titlebar out of the Track Folder. Release
the mouse.
Or
• Right-click the track and select Remove From Folder from the popup
menu.
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 folder—click Yes or No.
SONAR deletes the track folder. If you didn’t 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 that’s just left of the track folder’s 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 folder’s name, type a new name, and press
Enter.

346 Arranging
Track Folders
 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 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 track’s 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 that’s at the bottom of the Track
pane to display the FX bin, and also expand the track pane a little.

A. Right-click here to add an effect

Arranging 347
Adding Effects in the Track View
 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 effect’s
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, it’s more efficient
to add the effects to an bus. See To Patch a Track Through a Bus.

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 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 view’s 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 and Fit Improvisation.
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. Audio clips that are not
Groove clips change in size when moved to a part of your project that has a
different tempo.

348 Arranging
Changing Tempos
Sometimes you don’t 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 you’re 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.
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 Synchronizing Your Gear.
See:
Using the Tempo Toolbar
Using the Tempo Commands
Using the Tempo View

Using the Tempo Toolbar

The Tempo toolbar displays the current tempo and lets you change the
tempo as shown below:

C B

A.Click to insert a tempo change B. Tempo ratio buttons C. Click to enter a new
tempo

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).

Arranging 349
Changing Tempos
 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.
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 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.

350 Arranging
Changing Tempos
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.

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:
• 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.

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Changing Tempos
 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 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.

352 Arranging
Changing Tempos
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.

The graph has several tools you can use to add or modify tempo changes:

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Changing Tempos
 Tool… Name… What it’s 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

changes—for example, every measure, every
eighth note, every 3 samples, etc.

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 it’s for…

Insert Tempo Insert a new tempo change

Delete Delete a tempo change

Tempo

Tempo Edit a tempo change

Properties

354 Arranging
Changing Tempos
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.

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.

Arranging 355
Changing Tempos
 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 Looping enabled has
beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command disables

356 Arranging
Changing Tempos
 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.

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 you’ve
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

Arranging 357
Undo, Redo, and the Undo History
 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.
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:

A. Most recent change B. Click to clear the undo history C. 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 list—even
if you undo the change—so 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 you’d 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.

358 Arranging
Undo, Redo, and the Undo History
 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.

Slip-editing (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.

A. Clip handle B. Slip-edit cursor

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.

See also:
Using Slip-editing

Using Slip-editing
SONAR makes it easy to edit audio and MIDI clips by way of prominent clip
handles that appear as your cursor comes close to the edges of clips. The
clip handles are easy to see and are equipped with broad functionality for
fade-ins, fade-outs, and crossfades, as well as non-destructive editing of
the beginning and end of clips.

Arranging 359
Slip-editing (Non-destructive Editing)
 To Slip-edit a Clip
1. Set the Snap to Grid to an appropriate interval.
2. If you’re slip editing an audio clip, right-click the clip to open the Clip
Properties dialog. Select the Audio Stretching tab, make sure the
Enable Looping checkbox is unchecked, and click OK.
3. Move the cursor over the beginning of the clip until the clip handle
appears.
.

A. Clip handle

4. Click and drag the clip handle until the unwanted information has been
removed.

The hidden information in the slip-edited clips remains intact but is not
heard during playback.
To Move Data Without Moving its Clip
1. Hold down Alt+Shift while moving the cursor over the middle of the clip
you wish to edit.

The cursor changes to look like this .

360 Arranging
Slip-editing (Non-destructive Editing)
2. Click and drag the clip to the left or right as desired.

As in the case of slip-editing, the hidden information in the clip remains

intact but is not heard during playback.
To Move Data and the Clip Edge
1. Hold down Alt+Shift and move the cursor to the edge of the clip you
wish to edit.
A clip handle appears at the edge of the clip you are editing.

2. Click and drag the edge of the clip to the desired location.

Arranging 361
Slip-editing (Non-destructive Editing)
 The hidden information in the clip 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.

Slip-editing Multiple 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 the blue clip handle appears.
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). To create
fades and crossfades offline, see Applying Fades and Crossfades Offline.

See:
Using Fades and Crossfades in Real Time

Using Fades and Crossfades in Real Time

You can create real-time fades and crossfades in the Track view’s 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 crossfade’s start time and end times.
You can set the type of fade-in or fade-out you want to use as a default:
• Linear—A straight line, raising or lowering the volume at a steady rate.

362 Arranging
Fades and Crossfades
• Slow Curve—A curved fade which starts to change the volume slowly at
first and then rapidly increasing (fade-in) or decreasing (fade-out) the
volume.
• Fast Curve—A curved fade which starts to change the volume quickly
at first and then rapidly decreasing (fade-out) or increasing (fade-in) the
volume.
To Choose the Fade Type
1. Click the dropdown arrow located at the right of the fade tool
2. Choose fade-in, fade-out, or crossfade from the drop-down menu by
hovering your cursor over the type of fade you want to make.
A second menu of available fade-in, fade-out, and crossfade envelopes
appears.
3. Click the envelope you want as your default.
To Create a Real-time Fade-in in a Clip
1. In the Track view’s Clips pane, move your mouse over the top part of
the beginning of a clip until the cursor looks like this: , and a red line
appears at the edge of the clip.
A filled red triangle appears at the top of the red line indicating the fade
marker is ready to be dragged.

A. Filled red triangle

2. When your cursor changes and the filled red triangle appears, click and
drag to the right until you reach your desired fade-in length.
As you drag your mouse, a fade-in appears on your clip, and the red
line moves with the mouse to mark the end of the fade-in.

Arranging 363
Fades and Crossfades
 To Edit a Fade-in in a Clip
• To move the entire fade-in to a later point in the clip, drag above the
blue horizontal line located a quarter of the way up the blue vertical line
.

A
B

A. Cursor above horizontal blue line B. Horizontal blue line

• To move only the starting point of the fade-in, drag below the horizontal
blue line.

• To delete a fade-in from an audio clip, simply drag the triangular fade
handle to the front edge of the clip.
The filled blue triangle at the top of the clip handle indicates that
dragging the top edge of the clip handle will move the fade along with
the crop. The filled blue rectangle at the bottom of the clip handle
indicates that dragging the bottom of the clip handle will slip edit the
edge, but leave the end of the fade-in where it is.

364 Arranging
Fades and Crossfades
To Create an Automatic Crossfade (Real-time)
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.
6. The two clips now overlap with a crossfade, looking something like this:

A B C D

A. First clip B. Fade-out C. Fade-in D. Second clip E.Crossfade

You can edit fade-ins and fade-outs. You can change the start, end and
position of a fade. The following procedures all demonstrate edits to a fade-
in, but fade-outs work exactly the same.
To Change an Existing Fade
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.

Arranging 365
Fades and Crossfades
 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
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.

Alter Existing Select this option if you wish to change the existing
Times fade lengths. You don’t need to check this option if
you’re creating new fades.

Alter Existing Select this option if you wish to change the existing
Curves fade types. You don’t need to check this option if
you’re creating new fades.

Only Show if Select if you want to apply previous dialog settings

Pressing Shift without opening the dialog. Hold shift when selecting
command to override this option.

4. Click OK to close the dialog.

366 Arranging
Fades and Crossfades
SONAR creates or edits the fade(s) according to the options you chose in
the dialog.

Arranging 367
Fades and Crossfades
368 Arranging
Fades and Crossfades
AudioSnap
The new AudioSnap engine and tempo analysis features give you unprecedented
rhythmic and tempo control over your audio. Employing sophisticated transient detection
technology, the AudioSnap engine automatically analyzes all recorded and imported
audio files for rhythmic content to determine where the beats are in the music. AudioSnap
can be enabled/disabled on a per-clip basis.
AudioSnap is completely non-destructive, similar to Groove clips and V-Vocal clips.
AudioSnap, V-Vocal, and Groove clips are mutually exclusive. Groove clip markers are
typically placed at a zero-crossing point before a transient; AudioSnap markers are placed
where musical changes occur, but may not be exactly at a zero crossing.
AudioSnap is not a single feature, but rather a collection of different tools that can be used
for different tasks. The AudioSnap palette ties it all together in a task-oriented layout.
When AudioSnap is enabled, audio can easily conform to the tempo of the project, and
you can then begin applying a wide array of beat- and tempo- related features, such as:
• Grabbing a beat and moving it manually
• Aligning any audio clip(s) to the project’s tempo
• Quantizing beats within a clip—entire audio clips can be quantized, with no need to
split them up into individual beats beforehand
• Extracting tempo from any audio clip(s) and applying to project tempo
• Applying grooves to audio, and extracting grooves from audio
• Having audio clips follow tempo changes
• Automatically splitting audio clips into individual beats, if desired
• Non-destructively slip-stretching audio clips
• Snapping both audio and MIDI edits to audio beats
The AudioSnap engine makes sessions with live musicians more flexible: you have more
control over the final result—both creative and corrective. You are free to concentrate on
feel and performance, and let AudioSnap handle minor (or major!) rhythmic issues and
last-minute changes.
 You use AudioSnap directly in the Track view Clips pane. Audio stretching
uses iZotope’s high-quality “Radius” algorithm.

See:
Enabling AudioSnap
Transient Markers
The Pool
Aligning Clips to New Tempo Changes
Aligning Project Tempo to a Clip
Extract Timing Tutorial
Quantizing Audio Clips
Groove Quantize and Quantize to Pool

Enabling AudioSnap
AudioSnap commands only work with AudioSnap-enabled clips. Enabling
AudioSnap on a clip doesn’t change the clip or the project in any way—it
only allows AudioSnap editing to be done on the clip.
You can enable or disable AudioSnap on single or multiple clips.
To Enable or Disable AudioSnap
1. If you’re enabling or disabling multiple clips, first select them.
2. Right-click a clip and choose AudioSnap-AudioSnap Enable from the
popup menu.
The clip or clips display the AudioSnap clip icon when AudioSnap is
enabled. The icon has the following states:

Icon style... Description…

Orange Normal/default: AudioSnap is enabled,

but no transients have been stretched

Green border AudioSnap is enabled, and some

audio has been stretched

370 AudioSnap
Enabling AudioSnap
Icon style... Description…

Orange on purple AudioSnap is enabled, and clip is

included in the pool

Arrow Auto Stretch/Follow Tempo is enabled

Combinations of above A clip can have combinations of the

above characteristics

The AudioSnap Palette

The AudioSnap palette appears when you right-click a clip and choose
AudioSnap-AudioSnap Palette from the popup menu, or use the
Process-AudioSnap Palette command (can be also be assigned to a key
binding).
You can also use the AudioSnap toolbar (Views-Toolbars-AudioSnap
command) to access the main AudioSnap buttons in a smaller space.
Except for the AudioSnap enable/disable command, the AudioSnap
palette’s controls apply to the currently selected AudioSnap-enabled audio
clip or clips.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N

A. Enable/Disable AudioSnap B. Show Transients C. Add Transients to Pool

D. Auto Stretch E. Go to Previous Marker F. Go to Next Marker G. Audition Beat
H. Reset I. Insert Marker J. Split Beats into Clips K. Snap to Transients L. Show
Pool M. Show Time (transient location) N. Options

The AudioSnap palette has the following controls:

• Enable/Disable AudioSnap—this button enables or disables AudioSnap
on selected audio clips. When AudioSnap is enabled on a clip, the clip
displays the AudioSnap Clip icon.

AudioSnap 371
Enabling AudioSnap
 • Show transients—this button shows or hides the transient markers on a
selected audio clip or clips.
• Add transients to the Pool—this button adds or deletes the clip’s
transient markers from the Pool. The markers do not have to be visible
to be added to the Pool. See The Pool for more information.
• Auto Stretch—this button enables or disables Auto Stretch: a clip
property that causes the audio clip to automatically follow any new
project tempo changes; the clip will not automatically follow existing
tempo as Groove Clips do.
• Sensitivity—this slider is available when a clip’s transient markers are
showing. The slider disables markers based on their time location. This
clears out unwanted markers to make editing easier. Dragging the
slider to the right creates a bigger time window, based on musical time
values, which preserves markers that are closest to the displayed
musical time value, and disables others. Works on selected clips.
• Threshold—this slider is available when a clip’s transient markers are
showing. The slider disables markers based on their volume. This
clears out unwanted markers to make editing easier. Dragging the
slider to the right creates a bigger volume threshold, which disables
markers that are fall below that threshold. Works on selected clips.
• Go to Previous/Next—these 2 buttons move the Now Time to the
previous or next transient marker in selected clips.
• Audition Beat—this button plays the current transient/beat.
• Reset—this button resets all selected markers to their original location.
• Insert Marker—this button inserts a new marker at the Now Time in all
selected AudioSnap-enabled clips.
• Split Beats into Clips—this button splits a clip at each transient marker
into multiple clips.
• Snap to Transients—this button enables/disables beat snapping. When
you move a marker, magnetic snapping is active regardless of whether
the Track view Snap to Grid is enabled (unless you try to move a
marker onto another marker in the same clip, which isn’t allowed).
• Show Pool—this button hides or shows the Pool lines.
• Show Time—this button hides or shows the display of the project time
at each transient marker on all AudioSnap-enabled clips. You can
change the format that the displayed project time is in (independent of
the rest of the application) by using the dropdown menu that’s on the

372 AudioSnap
Enabling AudioSnap
 side of this button.
• Options—this button opens the AudioSnap Options button. This dialog
has its own help topic, which appears when you click its Help button.
• Align Time Ruler—enabling this button displays the Set Measure/Beat
at Now button, the Extract Timing button, the Expected Pulse menu,
and the Find a Steady Rhythm check box. These tools change the
tempo of your project to fit the selected audio.
• Set Measure/Beat at Now—this button opens the Measure Beat/
Meter dialog, which allows you to change the tempo so that a
certain measure or beat in a measure begins at the current Now
Time. The tempo will ramp up/down from the previous tempo
change in order to arrive at the required tempo.
• Extract Timing—this button changes the tempo so that the
transients in the selected audio will fall on the beats or parts of
beats that you choose in the Expected Pulse Duration menu.
• Expected Pulse Duration—set a value in this menu to specify what
note duration the enabled transient markers are supposed to
represent.
• Find a Steady Rhythm—if the clip has a steady rhythm whose
transients don’t all conform to a certain note duration, select the
note duration that describes the basic pattern, but also enable the
Find a Steady Rhythm check box. For example, if your clip is a bass
drum playing on every beat, but containing a short pickup note
before certain beats, this option can distinguish between the
sounds that are on the beat, and those that are pickups.
• Quantize—this button displays the Quantize button and the Groove
Quantize button.
• Quantize—this button opens the Quantize dialog, which has
options to quantize AudioSnap Beats and Audio Clip Start Times.
• Groove Quantize—this button opens the Groove Quantize dialog,
which has an option to quantize AudioSnap Beats.
• Quantize to Pool—this button displays the Quantize to Pool button, the
Quantize Strength slider, and the Quantize Window slider.
• Quantize to Pool—clicking this button quantizes the selected clips
to the Pool, using the settings from the Max Distance From Pool
menu, the Quantize Strength slider, and the Quantize Window
slider.

AudioSnap 373
Enabling AudioSnap
 • Max Distance From Pool dropdown menu—this value in this menu
determines which notes are affected by the Quantize to Pool
command. For example, if you choose Quarter in the menu, notes
that are farther than a quarter note from a Pool line are not
quantized.
• Quantize Strength—this slider controls quantize strength, which
determines how closely the selected notes move to the Pool
markers.
• Quantize Window—this slider fine tunes the value in the Max
Distance From Pool menu. A window of 100 percent includes all
markers that lie within the Max Distance From Pool value.
• Extract Groove—this button displays the Save As Groove button and
the Copy As MIDI Notes button.
• Save As Groove—this button opens the Define Groove dialog,
which lets you save the groove to a file. The groove can then be
applied to other AudioSnap-enabled clips or MIDI clips.
• Copy As MIDI Notes—this button saves the selected audio as a
MIDI clip, which you can paste from the Clipboard into a MIDI track.
You select the MIDI note that the transients in the audio clip will be
converted to in the AudioSnap Options dialog, which opens when
you click the Options button.

Transient Markers
Transient markers show where the transients of a clip are (areas where the
level increases suddenly), and are used to edit the timing of AudioSnap-
enabled clips.
See:
Displaying Markers.

Displaying Markers
Transient markers appear on audio clips that are AudioSnap-enabled, and
that have the Show Transients button enabled on the AudioSnap palette.
To display transient markers on a clip:
1. Select the clip; display the AudioSnap palette: right-clip the clip, and
choose AudioSnap-AudioSnap Palette from the popup menu.

374 AudioSnap
Transient Markers
2. In the AudioSnap palette, make sure that the Show Transients button is
enabled.
Zooming Out
When you zoom out in the Track view, markers gradually disappear. This
dynamic thinning ensures that the Clips pane never gets overwhelmed with
transient markers. An ellipsis (three dots) is displayed next to any marker
that is adjacent to any hidden markers. The ellipsis basically tells you that
there are more markers than you can currently see—zoom in to see them.

See:
Disabling and Enabling Markers.

Disabling and Enabling Markers

It’s sometimes necessary to disable some of the markers so you can extract
a clearer groove, or snap or quantize data to only the more important
markers. Disabling markers is a way to thin the data so that it creates a
clearer time grid to work with. It also avoids stretching any transients that
you don’t want to stretch as a result of quantizing audio. Disabled markers
are not deleted, but are ignored by all AudioSnap functions. Only the head
of a disabled marker remains visible.
There are three ways to disable/enable the markers in a selected
AudioSnap-enabled clip:
• The Sensitivity slider in the AudioSnap palette—this slider works by
disabling markers based on their time placement. Dragging the slider
to the right creates a larger time boundary, so that markers that fall
between the current time boundary that the slider defines are disabled.
• The Threshold slider in the AudioSnap palette—this slider works by
disabling markers based on their volume. Dragging the slider to the
right creates a larger volume threshold, so that transients that fall below
the current volume threshold that the slider defines are disabled.
• The Marker Menu—you can right-click a marker, and choose either the
Enable or Disable commands from the Marker menu.
If you want to protect a marker from being disabled by the Sensitivity slider
or the Threshold slider, you can right-click the marker and enable the
Promote option from the Marker menu. You can also promote a disabled
marker to ensure that it never becomes enabled by the Sensitivity slider.

AudioSnap 375
Transient Markers
 See:
Marker Appearance.

Marker Appearance
Each transient marker changes its appearance when it is selected, moved,
new, disabled, or has certain other characteristics.
Note: marker colors are configurable. The default colors may be different
from those listed below.
The following table lists the variations in appearance that a marker can
display:

Marker appearance... Description…

Hollow diamond shape; Standard active marker

default color is orange; you
can change the default
colors in the Colors dialog:
Options-Colors command

Blue Selected

Grey; only the head of the Disabled

marker is visible

Max stretch color Any given transient can only be

stretched or shrunk to 25-400% of
original length. The marker head will
dynamically change color to indicate
how close it is to the max stretch
position (red = cannot be stretched any
further).
Note: An important difference between
quantizing MIDI and audio is that two
or more audio transients can never
collapse on top of each other like MIDI
notes can.

376 AudioSnap
Transient Markers
Marker appearance... Description…

Filled diamond shape with Moved marker and stretched audio (a

arrow small arrow within the marker head
indicates in which direction the audio
has been stretched)

Filled diamond shape without Moved marker without stretched audio

arrow

Square shape Promoted marker; a promoted marker

is never disabled by the Sensitivity
slider or the Threshold slider in the
AudioSnap palette.

Pointed square User marker: a manually added

marker

Combinations of above Markers can have multiple

characteristics, for example, promoted
and stretched.

See:
Editing Markers.

Editing Markers
Most AudioSnap commands edit your markers automatically as a result of
an editing operation, but sometimes you’ll get the best results by editing the
markers manually.
You can drag a marker from either the head or the stem of the marker, with
the following results:
To Drag a Marker Without Stretching Audio
• Set a Snap to Grid value, then drag the head of a marker.
Note: you cannot move the head of a marker that has been stretched.

Head
Stem

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 To Drag a Marker and Stretch Audio
• Set a Snap to Grid value, then drag the stem of a marker.
When you drag and drop the stem of a marker, the marker moves to the
place where you drop it, and the audio that is located between the
preceding marker and the following marker stretches.
Note: there is a limit to how far audio can be stretched.
You can find additional marker editing commands on the marker menu.
To Select Markers
• To select a single marker, click it.
• When you double-click a marker, not only does the marker become
selected, but all markers to the right of the marker become selected if
they are located inside the Pool Transient Window. You can set a value
for the Pool Transient Window in the AudioSnap Options dialog.
• To select multiple markers, Ctrl-click them.
• To select all markers in a clip, right-click the clip and choose
AudioSnap-Select-All from the popup menu.
• To deselect all selected markers in a clip, click within the clip
boundaries away from any markers, or right-click the clip and choose
AudioSnap-Select-None from the popup menu.
• To select all markers of a certain type in a clip, right-click the clip and
choose from the following options from the popup menu:
• AudioSnap-Select-Moved
• AudioSnap-Select-Stretched
• AudioSnap-Select-Disabled
• AudioSnap-Select-Enabled
• AudioSnap-Select-Promoted
Selecting all markers of a certain type makes it easy to perform operations
such as resetting only the stretched markers, or promoting only the
disabled markers, etc.
Marker Menu
The marker menu appears when you right-click a marker. The command
you choose from this menu acts on the marker that you right-click, and
most commands also act on any markers that are selected. This menu
has the following commands:

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Command... Description…

Reset Moves a marker back to its original

position

Disable The marker is ignored

Promote By “promoting’ a marker, you can set

emphasis on certain beats and prevent
the marker from becoming disabled
when you adjust the Sensitivity or
Threshold sliders

Delete marker Deletes a marker that you have added;

the command is greyed-out if you right-
click an automatically generated
marker

Snap (stretch) to nearest transient Moves marker to nearest Pool marker

Snap (stretch) backward Moves marker backward to nearest

Pool marker

Snap (stretch) forward Moves marker forward to nearest Pool

marker

Stretch to Moves the marker to the project time

that you enter in the To Time field, and
stretches the audio that is between the
previous and next markers

Move to Moves the marker to the project time

that you enter in the To Time field

Audition Beat Auditions the clip up to the next marker

Split Beat Splits the beat at the marker

AudioSnap Palette Opens the AudioSnap Palette

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 The Pool
The Pool is a collection of transient markers that can be extracted as a
groove, and also function as snap locations. In order to extract a groove, at
least one AudioSnap-enabled clip must belong to the Pool. You add clips to
the Pool by selecting them, and then enabling the Add Transients to the
Pool button in the AudioSnap palette. You can also Ctrl-click a clip’s
AudioSnap icon to either add the clip to the Pool, or remove it.
A transient marker that belongs to the pool is displayed in the Clips pane as
a solid line within the parent track, and as a dotted line outside the parent
track. Hovering the mouse over a dotted line will display a tooltip containing
the parent track and position. You can show or hide the dotted pool lines by
clicking the Show Pool button in the palette.

Pool lines

A. Solid line B. Dotted line C. Tooltip

The Track view Time Ruler can be added to the Pool. To the right of the
Time Ruler is a small button that looks like an AudioSnap clip icon.
Enabling this button adds the current Musical Time snap resolution to the
pool, and also displays dotted pool lines in the Clips pane. This can be
useful as either a basic visual guide, or for adding the Musical Time to an
extracted groove.
To Add a Clip’s Transients to the Pool
• Select the an AudioSnap-enabled clip, and enable the Add Transients
to the Pool button in the palette. You can remove a clip’s transients
from the Pool by disabling the button.
You can also add the AudioSnap clip to the pool from the Clip Properties
dialog, from the Clips pane right-click menu, or by assigning a key binding.

380 AudioSnap
The Pool
 To Hide or Show the Pool
• In the palette, click the Show Pool button . Transient markers on
individual clips do not have to be visible to see the Pool.
To Add the Time Ruler to the Pool
1. In the Snap to Grid dialog, set the Musical Time value to the resolution
you would like to add to the Pool.

2. Enable the Add Musical Snap to Transient Snap Pool button that’s
at the right end of the Track view Time Ruler.

Keyboard Shortcuts
All the AudioSnap features become much more efficient if you use
keyboard shortcuts. You can find the default AudioSnap keyboard shortcuts
in the online help under Help-Keyboard Shortcuts. Look for the
AudioSnap section.

Aligning Clips to New Tempo Changes

The Clip Properties dialog has an option to automatically synchronize
AudioSnap-enabled audio clips to any new tempo changes you add to your
project. The clips must already be synchronized with the current project
tempo(s) for this to work. If you find that the process of synchronizing clips
to the project tempo has introduced an excessive number of tempo
changes, after your clips are synchronized to the project tempo you can
enable the clips’ Auto Stretch option, and then smooth out the project’s
tempo changes in the Tempo view.
If you need to synchronize a clip to project tempo, you have a variety of
options depending on the kind of clip and the amount you need to stretch
the clip. Quantizing works well for small changes. For material with well-
defined transients, you can convert the clip to a Groove clip and bounce the
clip to a new track. You can choose the quality of the bounce algorithm in
the Offline Rendering field of the AudioSnap Options dialog (click the
Options button in the palette to open). Percussion is the best algorithm for
percussive sounds. Slip-stretching also works well for smaller tempo
changes.
Note: simply enabling the Auto Stretch option on a clip will not “align” the
clip to project tempo(s). When you change the tempo of your project, clips
that are Auto Stretch-enabled simply change their tempo by the same
amount as any new tempo changes that affect their location in the project. If

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Keyboard Shortcuts
 an audio clip is not already synchronized to your current project tempo(s),
the Auto Stretch option does no good.
To Align Clips to New Tempo Changes
1. Select all the audio clips in your project (they must already be
synchronized with the project tempo). You can select all audio clips by
using the Edit-Select All command if there are only audio clips in your
project, or you can select them individually by Ctrl-clicking each one.
2. Enable AudioSnap on one of the selected clips (right-click a selected
clip and choose AudioSnap-AudioSnap Enable from the popup
menu). This enables AudioSnap on all selected audio clips.

3. In the AudioSnap palette, enable the Auto Stretch button .

The clips will now automatically follow any future tempo changes you add to
your project, provided that the change in tempo does not force a transient
beyond its stretch limits.
The preceding procedure works on single or multiple audio clips. If you only
have one audio clip that you want to follow tempo changes, you can also
use the Clip Properties dialog:
1. Right-click an audio clip and choose Clip Properties from the popup
menu to open the Clip Properties dialog.
2. On the Audio Stretching tab, in the AudioSnap section, make sure that
the Enable AudioSnap check box is enabled, and then enable the Auto
Stretch (Follow Tempo) check box.
3. Click OK.

Aligning Project Tempo to a Clip

Sometimes you may want to align the tempo to a clip or clips, instead of the
other way around. There are two AudioSnap commands that will help
accomplish this: the Extract Timing command, and the Set Measure/Beat
At Now command.
To Set Tempo with the Extract Timing Command
1. Select the AudioSnap-enabled clip that you want to use to establish
your project tempo, and open the AudioSnap palette.
2. Select the Align Time Ruler button; this displays the Set Measure/Beat
at Now button, and the Extract Timing button.

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3. Next to the Extract Timing button is the Expected Pulse Duration menu.
If your selected clip has a constant rhythm that conforms to a certain
note duration, select that duration in the menu. If the clip has a steady
rhythm whose transients don’t all conform to a certain note duration,
select the note duration that describes the basic pattern, but also
enable the Find a Steady Rhythm check box. For example, if your clip is
a bass drum playing on every beat, but containing a short pickup note
before certain beats, this option can distinguish between the sounds
that are on the beat, and those that are pickups.
4. Click the Extract Timing button.
Your project tempo changes to align with the selected clip. If the downbeats
aren’t aligned properly for the meter your project uses, you can use the
following procedure to set your meter (time signature) and downbeats
correctly. Or you can use the following procedure by itself, to extract timing
and set the downbeats and meter.
To Set Downbeats and Meter with the Set Measure/
Beat At Now Command
1. If the project already contains many tempo changes (as a result of first
trying Extract Timing), first smooth out the tempo changes in the Tempo
view before using Set Measure/Beat at Now. Otherwise you may
experience “Invalid Measure and Beat” error messages.
2. Place the Now time marker at some point just before the first beat of the
song.

3. Click the Go To Next (Transient) button in the palette to move the

Now Time to the next beat that you know is the start of a measure.
4. With the cursor placed on that beat, click the Set Measure/Beat at Now
button in the palette to open the Measure/Beat Meter dialog.
5. Type in the bar/beat number (and optionally Meter/Key), and click OK.
This establishes the position for that measure in the Time Ruler.
6. Repeat steps 2-4, and identify as many downbeats (beat 1's) as
necessary throughout the song. Programmed music may not require
many points since the tempo won't drift, but live recordings of music will
require that many beats be identified. Once you've identified all of the
downbeats, the tempo SONAR follows will be determined by the actual
performance. You may also choose to identify beats within each
measure as well, depending on your needs.

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 Extract Timing Tutorial
Let’s try out the Extract Timing command with one of our tutorial files:
1. Open a new project.
Note: if you’re not working with a new project, it’s very important that
there are not already many tempo changes near the same locations
you plan to add new tempo changes. Either start a new project, or at
least clear the tempo map.
2. Use the File-Import Audio command, and navigate to the Tutorials
folder in the folder where you installed SONAR.
3. Select the AudioSnap1.wav file, and click Open.
The AudioSnap1.wav file appears as an audio clip in Track 1 of your
project at beat 1.
4. Enable AudioSnap on the audio clip: right-click the clip and choose
AudioSnap-AudioSnap Enable from the popup menu.
The AudioSnap icon and transient markers appear on the clip, and the
AudioSnap palette appears.
5. Let’s zoom in a little so we can see all the markers on the clip. Markers
gradually disappear as you zoom out from a clip--markers that aren’t
showing are represented by an ellipsis next to a marker that is showing.

6. The clip has transient markers for every cymbal hit, but if we want to
synchronize the project tempo to this clip, we should disable all the
markers except the ones on the downbeats. Do that by dragging the
Threshold slider in the AudioSnap palette until the markers at softer
transients are disabled.

384 AudioSnap
Extract Timing Tutorial
 Drag the slider so that the clip looks like the above picture. Notice that
only the markers at the loudest transients retain their original
appearance. The disabled markers display only the head of each
marker, and in a different color.
7. Now that only the four markers at the four downbeats in the clip remain,
you can extract the timing, and automatically change your project
tempo to the tempo of the clip: in the AudioSnap palette, select the
Align to Time Ruler radio button, then click the Extract Timing button.

Now the markers line up with the beats in the Time Ruler, and project tempo
should now be approximately 110. When you align project tempo to an
audio clip, the clip is not changed in any way.
Let’s accomplish the same thing using the Set Beat At Now button:
1. Open a new project (steps 1-5 are the same as above.).
2. Use the File-Import Audio command, and navigate to the Tutorials
folder in the folder where you installed SONAR.
3. Select the AudioSnap1.wav file, and click Open.
The AudioSnap1.wav file appears as and audio clip in Track 1 or your
project at beat 1.
4. Enable AudioSnap on the audio clip: right-click the clip and choose
AudioSnap-AudioSnap Enable from the popup menu.

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Extract Timing Tutorial
 The AudioSnap icon and transient markers appear on the clip, and the
AudioSnap palette appears.
5. Let’s zoom in a little so we can see all the markers on the clip.
6. The first marker is already aligned with beat 1 of measure 1. Let’s align
beat 2: click the Go to Next button in the AudioSnap palette three
times to move the Now Time to the fourth transient in the clip:

Fourth transient
marker

7. In the AudioSnap palette, make sure that the Align Time Ruler radio
button is selected, then click the Set Measure/Beat At Now button.
The Measure Beat/Meter dialog appears.
8. Since this is measure 1, we don’t have to change the Measure field, so
in the Beat field, click the + button to change the value to 2, and click
OK.

The fourth transient marker lines up with the beat 2 of the measure. Since
this clip has a well-defined tempo, the rest of the beats line up correctly
also. If they didn’t, you could click the Go to Next button 3 more times to
move the Now Time to the next large transient, click the Set Measure/Beat
At Now button, and fill in 3 in the Beat field, and so on, until your beats line
up correctly. If you check the project tempo, it should be approximately 110.

386 AudioSnap
Extract Timing Tutorial
Quantizing Audio Clips
The Process-Quantize and Process-Groove Quantize commands both
work on AudioSnap-enabled audio clips. The AudioSnap palette has
buttons to issue both commands.
The Quantize dialog has a couple of AudioSnap options that are mutually
exclusive: the AudioSnap Beats option, and the Audio Clip Start Times
option. If the beats in the audio clip you’re quantizing are located a relatively
large distance from the grid that you are quantizing them to, you may find
that the beats have to be stretched so far from their original location that the
sound quality suffers. Instead of quantizing a whole clip, you can split the
clip into smaller pieces by using the Edit-Split command, or into beat-
length pieces by using the Split Beats Into Clips button in the AudioSnap
palette. Once you have smaller pieces to work with, you can quantize the
clip by using the Audio Clip Start Times quantize option to get the start of
the clip or start of each beat aligned with the grid without actually stretching
any audio. If the succeeding beats in your clip don’t line up with your grid,
you can then quantize the clip by using the AudioSnap Beats option, which
will line up the beats in the clip with the grid. This technique works well with
percussive sounds. For some kinds of material, you may want to use cross-
fades on clips that overlap.
When quantizing instruments that were recorded with multiple microphones
(for instance, individual drums on different tracks), phasing problems can
occur when stretching/quantizing beats by various amounts—especially if
there is a lot of microphone bleed. Moving a hi-hat beat can cause problems
if the hi-hat was also picked up by the snare microphone, etc. To avoid this
problem, the Quantize/Groove Quantize command will basically move the
earliest transient within the window to the grid, and all other transients will
be moved to the grid PLUS their offset from the earliest transient. In other
words, all transients that fall within the window size will retain the original
distance between the transients.
To Quantize Audio
1. Select the AudioSnap-enabled clips that you want to quantize.
2. In the AudioSnap palette, click the Quantize radio button, which
displays the Quantize button.
3. Click the Quantize button to open the Quantize dialog.
4. In the Resolution section, choose the duration that you want to quantize
to.

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Quantizing Audio Clips
 5. In the Change section, choose either AudioSnap Beats (if you’re
quantizing the beats within a clip), or Audio Clip Start Times (if you’re
just lining up the beginnings of clips).
6. Set any of the fields in the Options section that you want. The Options
section is described in the online help for the dialog, and also in the
Quantizing section of the Editing MIDI Events and Controllers chapter
in the online help.
7. Click OK.
The beats or clip boundaries that you quantized move to the resolution
boundaries that you chose.
Quantizing Tutorial
Let’s import a couple of audio clips, and fix some minor timing problems
with a kick drum clip:
1. Open a new project, and set the tempo to 130.
2. Use the File-Import Audio command, and navigate to the Tutorials
folder in the folder where you installed SONAR.
3. Select (Ctrl-click) both Hi Hat 16THS 130.WAV, and KICK 8THS 130.WAV,
and click Open.
The two clips appear on separate tracks: Track 1 and Track 2 at beat 1.
4. Play the project, and listen to the timing. The kick drum is a little rushed
on the upbeats.
5. Enable AudioSnap on both clips by selecting them, and then right-
clicking one of the clips and choosing AudioSnap-AudioSnap Enable
from the popup menu.
The AudioSnap icon and transient markers appear on the clips, and the
AudioSnap palette appears.
6. Let’s zoom in a little so we can see all the markers on the clips.
7. Since the kick drum needs to align with the upbeats in the cymbal part,
let’s thin out our markers so that we only see the 8th notes: the kick
drum is OK the way it is, so, with only the cymbal clip selected, drag the
Sensitivity slider to the right until it reads 8th.
Now Ctrl-click the kick drum clip to select it. Your clips should look like
this:

388 AudioSnap
Quantizing Audio Clips
 8. Notice how the second and fourth kick drum markers don’t line up with
the cymbal clip’s markers. Let’s quantize the kick part to a resolution of
8th notes, and see what we get: select only the kick drum clip, and in
the AudioSnap palette, make sure the Quantize radio button is
selected, and click the Quantize button.
The Quantize dialog appears.
9. In the Duration field choose Eighth, make sure the AudioSnap Beats
check box is enabled, and click OK.
The kick drum markers move to eighth-note boundaries, and line up much
better with the cymbal:

Groove Quantize and Quantize to Pool

You can use two kinds of groove quantizing on audio clips: the groove
quantize command aligns transients with a groove that’s on the Clipboard,
and the quantize to pool command aligns transients with the Pool.

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Groove Quantize and Quantize to Pool
 When you use the groove quantize command, you can align a clip with a
pre-existing groove, or you can extract a groove from another clip.
To Extract a Groove
1. Select the clip that you want to extract a groove from.
2. Disable any transient markers that you want to exclude from the groove
(use the two sliders in the palette, or right-click the ones you want to
disable).
3. Add the clip’s markers to the Pool by enabling the Add Transients to
Pool button while the clip is selected.
4. In the AudioSnap palette, click the Extract Groove radio button, which
displays the Save As Groove button.
5. Click the Save As Groove button. The Define Groove dialog appears.
6. In the File field, choose a file to save the pattern in, or type a name to
create a new file.
7. In the Pattern field, type a name for the pattern, and click OK.
To Groove Quantize an Audio Clip
1. Select the AudioSnap-enabled clip that you want to groove quantize.
2. In the AudioSnap palette, click the Quantize radio button, which
displays the Groove Quantize button.
3. Click the Groove Quantize button. The Groove Quantize dialog
appears.
4. In the Groove File field, select the file that the groove pattern you want
to use is saved in.
5. In the Groove Pattern field, select the groove pattern that you want to
use.
6. Select the Resolution value that you want to quantize to.
7. Make sure that the AudioSnap Beats check box is enabled.
8. Click OK.
To Quantize to the Pool
1. Select the AudioSnap-enabled clip or clips that you want to include in
the pool.

390 AudioSnap
Groove Quantize and Quantize to Pool
2. Disable any transient markers that you want to exclude from the Pool
(use the two sliders in the palette, or right-click the ones you want to
disable).

3. Make sure that the Add Transients to the Pool , and Show
Transients buttons are enabled in the palette.
4. Select the clip(s) that you want to quantize to the Pool.
5. In the AudioSnap palette, click the Quantize to Pool radio button, which
displays the Quantize to Pool button.
6. Choose a value in the Max Distance From Pool dropdown: this value
determines which notes are affected by the Quantize to Pool command.
For example, if you choose Quarter in the menu, notes that are farther
than a quarter note from a Pool line are not quantized.
7. Adjust the Quantize Strength and Quantize Window sliders, if
necessary. The Strength setting determines how closely selected notes
move to the resolution value, or “grid.” The Window value fine tunes the
value in the Max Distance From Pool menu. A value of 100 percent
quantizes every note that is within the Max Distance From Pool value.
8. Click the Quantize to Pool button.
The transients in the selected clips are quantized to the Pool.
Quantizing to Pool and Offline Rendering Tutorial
Let’s import two audio clips, and fix some minor timing problems with a bass
clip, and then bounce the bass clip to a new track:
1. Open a new project, and set the tempo to 120.
2. Use the File-Import Audio command, and navigate to the Tutorials
folder in the folder where you installed SONAR.
3. Select (Ctrl-click) both BASS SWING 16THS.WAV, and SWING FEEL 2
BAR.WAV, and click Open.

The two clips appear on separate tracks: Track 1 and Track 2 at beat 1.

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Groove Quantize and Quantize to Pool
 4. Play the project, and listen to the timing. The bass part on beat 4
doesn’t quite sync up with the drums.
5. Enable AudioSnap on both clips by selecting them, and then right-
clicking one of the clips and choosing AudioSnap-AudioSnap Enable
from the popup menu.
The AudioSnap icon and transient markers appear on the clips, and the
AudioSnap palette appears.
6. Select the drum clip, and enable the Add Transients to the Pool button
in the palette.
The Pool markers appear on the drum clip as solid lines, and on the
bass clip as dotted lines. Look at beat 4 in measure 1 to see the minor
timing differences between the bass markers and the drum markers:

392 AudioSnap
Groove Quantize and Quantize to Pool
 A B

A. This transient is a little early B. This transient is a little late

7. We could manually drag the mis-aligned bass markers to align them

with the drum markers, but since there are two of them (and actually,
another one in beat 1), it’s faster to use the Quantize to Pool command.
Select the bass clip, and then select the Quantize to Pool radio button
in the palette.
8. In the Settings section, leave the Max Distance From Pool menu set to
Quarter, then click the Quantize to Pool button.
The bass clip’s markers sync up with the drum clip.
9. Play the two clips. The timing is much better now, but the sound of the
bass clip has changed noticeably because of the stretching. Let’s
bounce the bass clip to a new track, but use a different stretching
algorithm to do it.
10. Click the Options button in the palette to open the AudioSnap Options
dialog.
11. In the Default Stretching Algorithm section, in the Offline Rendering
field, choose iZotope Radius Solo, and click OK.

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 12. Click the track number of the bass track to select the track, and use the
Edit-Bounce to Tracks command to open the Bounce to Tracks
dialog.
13. Fill out the fields the way you want (make sure 64-bit Engine check box
is enabled), and click OK.
A new bass clip appears on the track that you chose in the dialog. Listen to
it, and compare it to the original, stretched bass clip.

Aligning MIDI with Audio

One way to align MIDI with audio is to use the grooves that you extract from
audio clips to quantize MIDI. Another way is available with the new option in
the Snap to Grid dialog. The Snap to Grid dialog now has an Audio
Transients check box, which makes it simple to align MIDI data with
AudioSnap-enabled audio. When you display the Pool, and set the Snap to
Grid dialog to Snap to Landmarks, you can easily drag MIDI events in the
Inline Piano Roll view to align with audio transients.
To Align MIDI with Audio in the Inline Piano Roll View
1. Display the Pool markers that you want to use to align the MIDI events:
select the audio clip(s) whose transient markers you want to use; make
sure that the Add Transients to the Pool , and Show Pool buttons
are enabled in the palette. You can disable any unwanted markers,
or just ignore them when you’re dragging your MIDI data.
2. Display the MIDI data in the Inline Piano Roll view that you want to
align.
3. Open the Snap to Grid dialog (Shift + N is the default shortcut), and on
the PRV Mode tab, enable the Audio Transients check box.
4. Make sure Move To is enabled in the Mode field.
5. Adjust Magnetic Strength if you want. You can turn it off to if you want
to drag your data only to locations on the snap grid.
6. Drag your data to the desired audio transient lines.

Copying Audio Rhythms as MIDI

If you want to double an audio rhythm with a MIDI instrument, or align lyrics
with an audio rhythm, you can copy the audio rhythm as MIDI.

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To Copy an Audio Rhythm as MIDI
1. Select the audio clip whose rhythm you want to copy, and make sure
AudioSnap is enabled.
2. Do any necessary quantizing, and disable any markers that you don’t
want to produce notes in the MIDI clip.
3. In the AudioSnap palette, click the Options button, which opens the
AudioSnap Options dialog.
4. In the MIDI Extraction section, choose the MIDI note that you want the
extracted rhythm to use.
5. Choose a Note Velocities option: either accept the extrapolated
velocities in the audio clip (the Vary With Pulse Level option), or set a
constant velocity for the notes in the Set All To Same Value field, and
click OK.
6. In the AudioSnap palette, click the Extract Groove button, which
displays the Copy As MIDI Notes button.
7. Click the Copy As MIDI Notes button. This copies the audio rhythm to
the Clipboard as a MIDI clip, with the same pitch assigned to each note.
Now you can paste the Clipboard contents into the Clips pane, Piano Roll
view, or Staff view.

Slip-stretching Audio Clips

Slip-stretching is a quick, easy way to stretch a single audio clip.
To Slip-stretch an Audio Clip
1. Set the Snap to Grid to an appropriate setting (turn it off if you don’t
need it, or set a snap value if you do).
2. Hold down the Ctrl key, and drag the right or left end of the clip to the
length that you want.
The clip stretches, and displays a percentage value in the lower right corner
to show how much stretching has occurred.

A. Percentage display

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 Adding Automation
If you have an automation envelope on a track, you can add nodes to the
envelope at Pool lines. This makes it easy to add special processing at
transient locations.
To Add Nodes at Transients
1. Make sure the clip’s markers belong to the Pool.
2. Right-click an automation envelope on the clip, and choose Add Nodes
at Transient Markers from the popup menu.
Now you can easily edit your envelope at transient locations.

396 AudioSnap
Groove Quantize and Quantize to Pool
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 project’s tempo and can
have their root 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. Copying them does not increase the amount of memory they take up, but loading
the initial copy does.
The Loop Construction View
The Loop Explorer View
Working with Loops
Working with Groove Clips
MIDI Groove Clips
Importing Project5 Patterns

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.
See:
Loop Construction Controls
See also:
Working with Loops
Working with Groove Clips
Loop Construction view

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.
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

398 Using Loops

The Loop Construction View
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 project’s tempo as it
changes. It instructs SONAR to stretch or shrink the clip to fit the project’s
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 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 project’s 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 project’s 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 enabled, and a value of “-2” is entered in

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The Loop Construction View
 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.

400 Using Loops

The Loop Construction View
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 output 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 clip’s 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 clip’s 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.

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The Loop Construction View
 Show/Hide Pitch Envelope
Clicking this button shows or hides the clip’s 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 slice’s gain.
Slice Pan
Adjusts the selected slice’s pan. Negative is left and positive is right.
Slice Pitch
Adjusts the selected slice’s 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 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.
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.

402 Using Loops

The Loop Construction View
 A B

A. Audio Scale Ruler B. Clip

There are three right-click display options in the Audio Scale Ruler:
• Percentage—shows 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.
• dB—shows 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 Factor—shows 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

SONAR’s 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 Views-Loop Explorer from the menu.
• Click the Loop Explorer icon on the Views toolbar.
• Press Alt+1
The Loop Explorer view toolbar has the following controls:

Using Loops 403

The Loop Explorer View
 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
• Details—displays the file size, date and
when the file was created and last
modified

Preview Bus Select the output 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.
See also:
To Preview a Groove Clip

404 Using Loops

The Loop Explorer View
 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.
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

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

Using Loops 405

Working with Loops
 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.

Working with Groove Clips

Groove clips are .WAV files that behave similarly to Sonic Foundry’s
ACIDized loops (SONAR also has MIDI Groove clips—see MIDI Groove
Clips). Groove clips contain information about the audio content, including

406 Using Loops

Working with Groove Clips
the original tempo, original reference pitch, number of beats in the loop, and
audio transient information.

See:
How Groove Clips Work in SONAR
Using Groove Clips
Creating and Editing Groove Clips
Using Pitch Markers in the Track View

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 project’s tempo and
tempo changes, and can adjust their root note pitch when they read pitch
markers. You can add pitch markers in the Track view’s Time Ruler to
transpose the Groove clip. As your project passes over a pitch marker,
SONAR transposes your Groove clips based on the clip’s 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 1: When working with Groove clips, it is important to know the
difference between key and pitch. Your project’s 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 2: 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.
See also:
Working with Groove Clips
Using Groove Clips
Creating and Editing Groove Clips

Using Groove Clips

Groove clips are easy to use because they automatically adjust to your
project’s pitch markers and tempo. You can import existing loops or create
your own, using the Loop Construction view.

Using Loops 407

Working with Groove Clips
 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.
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
project’s pitch.
Setting the Default Project Pitch
1. If necessary display the Markers toolbar by selecting Views-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.

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 project’s tempo and

408 Using Loops

Working with Groove Clips
key, but are not intended to loop. The following is a list of the attributes
contained in a Groove clip:
• Beats in clip—The 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 tempo—The original tempo of the recording. SONAR uses the
original tempo to adjust to your project’s 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 clip’s 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.
• Reference note—The original key of the recorded clip. SONAR uses
the Reference note when it transposes Groove clips to match your
project’s pitch.
These attributes can be edited in the Loop Construction view. For more
information about the Loop Construction view, see 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 clip’s tempo to the
current project tempo. To ensure proper stretching behavior you must set

Using Loops 409

Working with Groove Clips
 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 Groove 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 Move the Basic Slicing slider to the
divisions note resolution you want. The
Basic Slicing slider’s settings range
from whole notes to 64th notes.
Selecting quarter notes, for
example, would create four
markers per measure.

Slice the clip at transient Enter a value into the Transient

peaks Detection (Trans Detect %) text
field or use the increment/
decrement buttons. The larger
transients in the clip will be 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

410 Using Loops

Working with Groove Clips
next to each other. If these markers are too close, the markers will
automatically merge. Manual markers will not automatically merge.
To Transpose a Groove Clip to Match Your Project’s
Pitch
Follow this procedure to force the Groove clip to follow the project’s default
pitch.
1. Double-click the clip you want to transpose to the project’s 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 project’s 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
Follow this procedure to make slight pitch changes to a clip.
1. Double-click the clip you want to transpose to the project’s 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.

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Working with Groove Clips
 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 Click the Default All Markers button
positions .

For more information on slicing markers, see Slicing Markers.

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
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.

412 Using Loops

Working with Groove Clips
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 envelope’s 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. See Creating and
Editing Groove Clips.
2. In the Loop Construction view, click the Save icon.
The Save As dialog appears.
3. Use the toolbar in the Save As dialog to navigate to the location where
you want to save the file.
4. In the File name field, enter a name for the file.
5. Click the Save button.

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Working with Groove Clips
 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 there are no pitch
markers, all Groove clips play at the default project pitch, unless the Follow
Project Pitch parameter is disabled.

A C

A. Pitch marker: Groove clips with Follow Project Pitch enabled play with the Root
Note transposed to C B. Time Ruler C. Pitch marker: Groove clips with Follow
Project Pitch enabled play with the Root Note transposed to D

To Enable a Clip’s 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 difference between the
clip’s Reference Note and the current Project Pitch.
4. Click OK to close the dialog.
To Change Your Project’s Default Pitch
1. Display the Markers toolbar, if it’s not already displayed, by using the
Views-Toolbars-Markers command.
2. In the Default Groove-Clip Pitch dropdown menu at the right end of the
toolbar, choose your project’s default pitch.

414 Using Loops

Working with Groove Clips
 SONAR transposes each groove clip that has the Follow Project Pitch
option enabled by the difference between the clip’s Reference Note and the
current Project Pitch. Your project’s pitch changes wherever you insert a
pitch marker. If you don’t 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 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

Using Loops 415

MIDI Groove Clips
 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.
To Enable or Disable a MIDI Clip’s Groove Clip Function
To Create Repetitions of a MIDI Groove Clip
To Transpose a MIDI Groove Clip
To Transpose a MIDI Groove Clip with Pitch Markers
To Enable or Disable a MIDI Clip’s 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 clip’s pitches a half-step at a time. You
don’t have to stop playback.
Or

416 Using Loops

MIDI Groove Clips
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 you’ve 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 you’ve added.
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.
See also:
Exporting, and Importing MIDI Groove Clips

Exporting, and Importing MIDI Groove Clips

You can not export MIDI Groove clips by saving your project as a Standard
MIDI File—Standard 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
• 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.

Using Loops 417

MIDI Groove Clips
 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.
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 import—the File Info field displays the file’s
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 Views-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.

418 Using Loops

MIDI Groove Clips
 • 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 Cakewalk’s 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.

Using Loops 419

Importing Project5 Patterns
420 Using Loops
Importing Project5 Patterns
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. SONAR’s many editing commands can improve the quality of recorded
performances, filter out certain types of events, and modify the tempos and dynamics of
your 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.

See:
The Piano Roll View
The Inline Piano Roll View
Selecting and Editing Events
Changing the Timing of a Recording
Searching for Events
Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data
The Event List View
MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)

Event Inspector Toolbar

The Event Inspector toolbar is available from the View menu by selecting Views-Toolbars
and checking Event Inspector in the Toolbars dialog. The Event Inspector has the
following:
 • Time
• Pitch
• Velocity
• Duration
• Channel
To Display a Note’s 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 Note’s 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 Valid Values…

Inspector
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.

422 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Event Inspector Toolbar
Event Valid Values…
Inspector
Field…
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.
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.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 423

The Piano Roll View
 J

A
B I

C
D

G H

A. Show/Hide MIDI Events menu B. Edit MIDI Event Type menu C. Note Map pane
D. Drum Grid pane E. Notes pane F. Controller pane G. Tooltip shows cursor
position and editing data while you edit an event H. Track List pane I. Selected track
J. Toolbar

See:
Opening the View
Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View Only)
Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll
Note Map Pane
Drum Grid Pane
Notes Pane
Controller Pane
Note Names

424 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

The Piano Roll View
Track List Pane
Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View

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.
See also:
Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane

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, and Adding and Editing
Controllers in the Piano Roll.
See also:
Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane

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.
See also:
Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll

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.
See also:
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll

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 track’s

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 425

The Piano Roll View
 data; mute, solo and arm a track; and show or hide the track’s 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 track’s Show/Hide Track button in the Track List pane so
that the button appears in color.

See also:
Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View

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 Views-
Piano Roll or press Alt+5
• In the Track view, right-click on a track and choose Views-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 tracks—simply 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.

See:
Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View
Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View Only)
Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll

426 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

The Piano Roll View
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll

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 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

Track’s data shown in

Output
Notes pane

Track’s 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.
Tip: Clicking a note will make the note’s 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)

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 427

The Piano Roll View
 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.

See:
Note Names

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 Instrument Definitions.

428 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

The Piano Roll View
 To Change the Active Track’s 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 track’s Inline Piano Roll view (see also Displaying Notes
and Controllers in the Inline Piano Roll View).
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).
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:

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 429

Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View Only)
 • To hide or show notes for all displayed tracks, click Show Notes.
• To hide or show the outline(s) of the clip(s) you’re looking at,
choose Show Clip Outlines.
• To hide or show a controller type for all displayed tracks, click the
name of the controller.
• To hide or show the edit handles on controllers, click Show
Controller Handles.
• To hide or show the velocity columns on all tracks except the active
track, click Show Velocity on Active Track Only.
• To show all controllers in all displayed tracks, click Display All
Continuous Events, or just 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.
4. After you choose an option, the menu closes. You can repeat steps 2
and 3 to choose more options.

See:
Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll

Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano

Roll
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 track’s
Note Duration menu if you’re 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 that’s 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
that’s at the top of the view, and by the vertical grid lines that mark the

430 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
beats in the measure. The Snap 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
• Delete notes with the Erase tool, or by holding the Alt key down while
you use the Draw tool
For step-by-step procedures, see the following topics:
Selecting Notes
Editing Notes with the Draw Tool and the Select Tool
Flexible Piano Roll Tools

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 view’s 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 view’s 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 you’re
working in).

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 431

Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
 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 Set the desired Snap to Grid value

time range. in either the Piano Roll view or the
Inline Piano Roll view (depending
on which view you’re 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 Click on the piano key or drum map
pitch row

Select all notes of several Drag across the keys or drum map
pitches rows

Add to the selection Hold the Shift key while clicking on a

piano key or drum map row

432 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
To do this… Do this…
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.
See:
Editing Notes with the Draw Tool and the Select Tool
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll

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 note’s 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.

A
B

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 433

Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
 A. Draw tool in velocity-edit mode B. Tooltip showing cursor position
C. Velocity column

Tooltips give you a constant readout of the cursor position, how much
you’ve edited the selection, and how many notes you’re 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 note’s original pitch the cursor has moved (1 half-step
higher), and how many notes are in the selection.

When you drag multiple notes, if you enable Polyphonic Note Audition in
the Edit MIDI Event Type dropdown menu, 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 (see Selecting Notes for help). Editing any of the notes in
the selection edits all the selected notes in the same way.

2. Click to select the Draw tool. If the Draw tool button is in Auto-Erase
mode, it looks like this: . If the Draw tool is in Auto-Erase mode, use
the dropdown menu that’s next to it to disable Auto-Erase mode, unless
you want to delete notes.
3. Set the Snap to Grid to the desired value (if you’re 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:

434 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
To do this… Do this…
Change the start time, but Drag the left edge of the note in either
not the duration direction.

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.

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.

Edit velocity See To Edit Velocity.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 435

Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
 To do this… Do this…
Delete notes Enable the Draw tool’s Auto-Erase mode (in
the dropdown menu next to it), and click
notes. When the Draw tool’s Auto-Erase
mode is enabled, a small eraser icon appears
at the bottom of the Draw tool when the Draw
tool approaches notes from below.
Alternatively, click the Erase tool to enable it,
and click each note that you want to delete,
or drag through multiple notes.
Tip: hold the Alt key down to toggle the Draw
tool’s Auto-Erase mode, or to temporarily
turn the Erase tool into the Draw tool.

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 you’re 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
you’re using the Inline Piano Roll view.
4. Set the Snap to Grid to the desired value (if you’re 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 that’s 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 that’s 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.

436 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
To Use the Erase Tool
1. Enable the Erase tool (make it turn blue) by clicking it, or by
pressing e when the Piano Roll view has focus.
2. Click or drag through the notes or controllers you want to delete.
3. To turn the Erase tool into the Draw tool temporarily, hold the Alt key
down.
To Edit Velocity
1. If you want to edit multiple notes at the same time, select them with the
Select tool (see Selecting Notes for help). 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 (this only
happens if you’ve hidden the Controller pane).
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 you’re editing. If you want to hear the
changes in velocity as you make them, enable Velocity Audition in the
Edit MIDI Event Type dropdown menu.
Note 1: 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 velocity level(s).
Note 2: if you prefer to edit velocity in the Controller pane, display the
Controller pane (press C), and use the Draw tool to drag horizontally
through the vertical lines in the Controller pane that represent the velocity of
each note. You can also use the Draw tool or the Select tool to drag the tip
of a vertical line up or down. While you drag, a tooltip displays velocity and
location data.
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.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 437

Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
 2. Set the Snap to Grid to the desired value (if you’re 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 Drag the note left or right
not the duration

Change the pitch Drag the note up or down.

Move selected notes, or a Hold the Shift key down, and move the Select
single note only vertically, or tool over a note so that the cursor displays a
only horizontally horizontal double-ended arrow (if you want to
drag horizontally) or a vertical double-ended
arrow (if you want to drag vertically), and
then move the note(s).

Copy and paste notes Hold the Ctrl key down, and drag notes
horizontally and/or vertically, and release the
mouse at the desired location.

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. For more information, see Velocity, Pitch Wheel, and
Aftertouch.
To Scrub (Audition) Tracks in the Piano Roll View
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.

438 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
 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.
To Audition Notes
• To audition multiple notes, select them, make sure that Polyphonic
Note Audition is selected in the Edit MIDI Event Type dropdown menu,
and move the notes with either the Select tool or the Draw tool. You can
also click one of the selected notes with the Draw tool, if you first move
the Draw tool to the center of a selected note so that the Draw tool
cursor becomes a double-ended vertical arrow.

See:
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll

Adding and Editing Controllers in the

Piano Roll
Controller events (MIDI continuous controllers, pitch wheel, NRPN’s, and
RPN’s) 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 event’s 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 you’re 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.

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 A single controller event

A. Edit handle (also called Controller handle B. 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 tail—uses 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.
• Selected—if a controller event is selected, both the edit handle and the
tail darken in shade the way that selected notes do.

See:
Adding Controllers
Selecting Controllers
Editing Controllers

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, Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View Only),
and Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View.
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.

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Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll
 The MIDI Event Type dialog appears.
2. Choose options from the following fields:
• Type—choose the type of controller you want to add (for example,
choose Control if you want to edit volume).
• Value—this 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.
• Channel—choose 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 you’re 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.
• 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 (see Adding and Editing Controllers in the
Piano Roll for more information).
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.

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 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.

See:
Selecting Controllers
Editing Controllers

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.
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 you’re working in), and select one or
more controller events by using 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.

442 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll
 • 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 you’re 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.

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 • Redraw a series of controller events by dragging a new curve
through the events.
• Delete a single controller event by activating the Erase button, and
clicking a controller’s edit handle. You can override the Erase
button (temporarily reverse its current state) by holding down the
Alt key while you click.

See:
Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View

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 track’s 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 Map’s note names on the track’s MIDI Scale
(see The MIDI Scale 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 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.
The Inline Piano Roll toolbar is part of the Track view toolbar.
See the following two figures:

444 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

The Inline Piano Roll View
 Track strip in PRV mode

C D

B
A

A. Edit MIDI Event Type menu B. Note Duration menu C. Show/Hide MIDI Events
button D. PRV Mode button E. MIDI Scale

Inline Piano Roll toolbar

A B C D E F G H I

A. PRV Select tool B. Draw tool C. Draw tool Auto Erase menu D. Erase tool
E. Show/Hide Notes F. Show/Hide Controllers G. Show/hide velocity tails (on drum-
mapped tacks) H. Fit Content I. PRV Mode

See also:
Displaying the Inline Piano Roll View
The MIDI Scale
Displaying Notes and Controllers in the Inline Piano Roll View
Drawing and editing notes and controllers in the Inline Piano Roll view is the
same in the Piano Roll view, with a few exceptions (noted in the appropriate
topics). The major difference is that you can display and edit multiple tracks
in the Piano Roll view.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 445

The Inline Piano Roll View
 To draw and edit notes and controllers in the Inline Piano Roll view, see
Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll, and Adding and Editing
Controllers in the Piano Roll.

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 Track’s 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. The Inline
Piano Roll toolbar is part of the Track view toolbar.
Or
• Use the Tracks-In-line PRV-PRV Mode command.
See also:
The MIDI Scale
Displaying Notes and Controllers in the Inline Piano Roll View

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 Map’s note names on the
track’s MIDI Scale (in Notes mode).

446 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

The Inline Piano Roll View
MIDI Scale in Notes mode

A. MIDI Scale

To Zoom Vertically with the MIDI Scale

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 Track’s 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 note’s pitch in the MIDI

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 447

The Inline Piano Roll View
 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 Tracks-In-line PRV-Fit Content command.
Or
Click the Fit Content button on the Inline Piano Roll toolbar. The Inline
Piano Roll toolbar is part of the Track view toolbar.
To Change the MIDI Scale’s 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).

See also:
Displaying the Inline Piano Roll View
Displaying Notes and Controllers in the Inline Piano Roll View

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.

448 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

The Inline Piano Roll View
 • To hide or show a controller, click the name of the controller (for
example, click CC: 1-Modulation (Chan: 2)).
• To show all controllers in the current track, click Display All
Continuous Events, or use step 4 below.
• 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 Tracks-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 Tracks-In-line PRV-Show/Hide Continuous Events
command.
Both of these commands override the Show/Hide MIDI Events buttons in
individual tracks.
You can zoom in to or out of individual MIDI Tracks by dragging the MIDI
Scale up or down. See The MIDI Scale for more information.
See also:
Selecting Notes
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll
Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
Adding Controllers
Selecting Controllers
Editing Controllers

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 449

The Inline Piano Roll View
 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.

See:
Transposing
Shifting Events in Time
Stretching and Shrinking Events
Reversing Notes in a Clip
Adding Crescendos and Decrescendos

Copying and Pasting MIDI Data

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.

450 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Selecting and Editing Events
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-
steps—a 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.

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.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 451

Selecting and Editing Events
 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:
• Type—choose 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 scaling—possible 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.
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 to shift material earlier. Note that you
cannot slide any event earlier than 1:01:000. For example, if the current

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Selecting and Editing Events
 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 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 track—markers, meter and key settings, and tempo changes—are
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.

SONAR inserts a blank measure at the Now time.

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Selecting and Editing Events
 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 inside—if that’s the case, use the following method.

454 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Selecting and Editing Events
• 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
delete—you just have to choose whether you want to replace the data
in the deleted area, blend it with the data you’re 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.
The Delete dialog box appears.
5. Click the following checkboxes:
• Events in Tracks
• Delete Hole—if 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 destination—the 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 don’t 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 you’re 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.

456 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

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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:
• Type—choose 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 scaling—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
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.

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 3. Enter the desired end time in the New Thru box. Click Format to switch
between MBT and SMPTE format.
4. Choose one of the following:
• Tempo Map–Choose 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 Times–Choose 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.
• 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.

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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.
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.
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.

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 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.

Changing the Timing of a Recording

When you record a performance, there may be problems you’d 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.
Here’s a summary of when to use each type of command:

Use this To do this...

command...

Quantize Change the timing of the notes you’ve recorded to

fit with the tempo of a project

Fit to Improvisation Change the tempos of a project to fit with the

performance you’ve recorded

These two types of commands are discussed in the following topics.

460 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

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See:
Quantizing
Fit Improvisation

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.
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 Lays a grid over an existing piece of music (the

Quantize groove pattern), and then adjusts the start time,
duration, and velocity of selected notes so that
they line up with the grid

See also:
Drag-Quantize
\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 thirty-second note triplet. You can also specify
resolution in clock ticks. A rule of thumb is to select a resolution that

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 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.
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 you’ve set the
offset to +3 ticks, then a note that is originally near 1:01:000 would be
moved to 1:01:003—three 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

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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.
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.

Swing = 50%

Swing = 66%

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.

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 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.
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 ignored—all

notes are moved toward the nearest reference
event, regardless of how far off the grid they are
located.

Scale Time 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.

464 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

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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.
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.

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 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

Window Sensitivity Enter the window sensitivity value

(percentage)

If Outside Window Choose what should happen to

events outside the window

Only Notes, Lyrics and Check to prevent MIDI controller,

Audio 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

466 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

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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 music—the groove pattern—for 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
• SONAR’s 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.

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.

468 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

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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.
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.

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 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). You’ve recorded a bass line that has exactly the off-beat
rhythmic dynamic you want for the dry piece. You’d 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
aren’t 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

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are very likely to end up with a recording that does not fit onto a fixed tempo
grid.
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 SONAR’s 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. 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 you’re 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

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 event using the Process-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.
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.

A
B

A. Scale menu B. Scale Snap button C. 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

472 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Snap to Scale
 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 Tracks-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 track’s Root Note
menu, and choose a root note from the menu that appears.
• In the Piano Roll view, right-click a track’s 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 track’s 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 track’s 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 Tracks-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 Tracks-Snap to
Scale-Scales command, and select the desired scale from the
submenu.
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

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 473

Snap to Scale
 (you can also use the Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-Scale Manager
command, or the right-click menu in the Piano Roll view’s 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 dots in
the keyboard display, as depressed scale degree buttons, and as scale
degrees in the Scale Degrees field.

A B

A. Keyboard display B. Scale degree buttons

6. When you’re 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

474 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Snap to Scale
 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 scale’s 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.

A B

A. Keyboard display B. Scale degree buttons

5. When you’re 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.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 475

Snap to Scale
 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 Tracks-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 Note—if 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 Note—if 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 Note—if 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:

476 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Searching for Events
These capabilities can help you find problem spots or errors in a project or

Action... Command...

Search through a project to find the first event that Go-Search, Go-Search
has specific attributes, and then search again to find Next
the next such event

Select all the events in a project that have the Edit-Select-By Filter
specified attributes

Modify an existing selection to keep only those Edit-Select-By Filter

events that have the specified attributes

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.

See:
Event Filters

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:
• 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:

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 477

Searching for Events
 A B

A. Check to include this type of event B. Enter the range of values for the events
you want

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

478 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Searching for Events
This event type... Has these parameters...

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.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 479

Searching for Events
 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.
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.

480 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Searching for Events
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. Here’s how to proceed:
1. Select all of Track 1 by clicking on the track number in the Track view.
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.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 481

Searching for Events
 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 Replace- Effect...

range... ment
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 Converts all Es in octave 2 to

Eb2 Eb in the same octave

Pitch From E? to E? From Eb? to Converts all Es in all octaves

Eb? 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)

Duration From 0:01:00 From 0:01:000 Converts all notes that are
to 0:02:000 to 0:01:000 between a 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

482 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data
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 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
• 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 view’s 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 the online help topics
“Automation,” and “Mixing.” For more information about the Event List view,
see The Event List View.

See also:
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll
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

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 483

Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data
 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
you’re playing a guitar sound on your synthesizer, but it sounds lifeless and
dull. That’s partly because a guitar player doesn’t just play notes one after
another—he 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.
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 the online help topic: 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:

484 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data
Message... Parameter Parameter Data value Data value
number number LSB MSB LSB
MSB Controller... Controller... Controller...
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 the online help topic
“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
• 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. You can edit individual note velocities in the Note Properties
dialog box, described in Changing Note Properties.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 485

Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data
 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 Views-Event List

• Select one or more tracks and click in the Views toolbar

• Right-click a clip in the Clips pane and choose Views-Event List from
the popup menu

Event List view F

E

A. Toolbar B. Track C. This event is selected D. Event time E. Event channel F.

Event type

A B C D E F

Event List toolbar

A. Hide different kinds of events buttons B. Event Manager C. Show events outside
slip edit boundary D. Insert E. Delete F. Pick Tracks

486 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

The Event List View
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.
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.

See:
Event List Buttons and Overview
Event List Display Filter
Editing Events and Event Parameters
Additional Event Information

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.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 487

The Event List View
 Short name Type of event... Parameters...
and 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 Pressure amount (0-127), MIDI

aftertouch channel (1-16)

Wheel MIDI pitch wheel Wheel position (-8192 to 8191, where

position the center is 0)

RPN Registered Parameter Parameter number (0-16383),

Number parameter value (0-16383), MIDI
channel (1-16)

NRPN Non-registered Parameter number (0-16383),

Parameter Number parameter value (0-16383), MIDI
channel (1-16)

Sysx Bank System Exclusive data Sysx bank number (0-8191)

bank

Sysx Data System Exclusive data Sysx message up to 255 bytes long
message

Text Text Text

Lyric Lyric Text (a single word or syllable)

488 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

The Event List View
Short name Type of event... Parameters...
and display
button...

MCIcmd Windows Media MCI command text

Control Interface (MCI)
command

Wave Audio Digital audio wave Name, velocity (0-127), and number of
samples

Shape Events Automation graph Change in values, kind of shape, and

segments made up of a length in MBT format.
solid line between two Note: Shape events cannot be edited,
nodes only deleted.

Expression Staff view expression Text of expression mark

marking

Hairpin Staff view dynamics Direction (crescendo or diminuendo)

marking and duration

Chord Staff view chord The name of the chord

symbol

Event List Opens Event Manager Shows or hides various kinds of

Manager dialog box events

Events Out of Slip Events that are outside Note, audio, or controller data
Edit Boundaries of slip-edited
boundaries

Insert Event Inserts a copy of Whatever the highlighted event’s

highlighted event— parameters are
double-click the event’s
Kind parameter to
change it to the kind of
event you want

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 489

The Event List View
 Short name Type of event... Parameters...
and display
button...

Delete Event Deletes the highlighted Whatever the highlighted event’s

event parameters are

Pick Tracks and Left side of button Allows you to pick what tracks the
Show Next/ opens Pick Tracks Event List shows events for
Previous Track dialog; right side of
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 User’s 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.
• See System Exclusive Data, for more information about System
Exclusive banks.
• See Editing Audio, for more information about audio clips.

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.

490 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

The Event List View
To do this... Do this...

Select multiple, contiguous Select the first event, hold the Shift key
events down and click the last event.

Select multiple, contiguous Hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys while
events using the arrow keys pressing the up or down arrows.

Select multiple, non-contiguous Select an event, hold the Ctrl key while
events selecting additional events

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:

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 491

The Event List View
 • 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 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 that’s 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 .

492 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

The Event List View
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.
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 Events—There are three values parameters for note events:
• A pitch, which represents the MIDI key number as a note and an
octave.
• A velocity (0–127), which is how fast the key is struck. Some keyboards
don’t 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.)

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 493

The Event List View
 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 parameter—the 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 Plays the video file VACATION.AVI from the

C:\VIDEOS\VACATION.AVI VIDEOS folder

SET CDAUDIO TIME Plays a specific track from the CD drive

FORMAT TMSF PLAY
CDAUDIO 3

494 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

The Event List View
 This command... Does this...

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:
• Select the MIDI data to be affected.
• Choose the effect you want from the Process-MIDI Effects menu or
from the popup menu’s MIDI Effects menu.
• Set effect parameters (or select a preset if you’ve 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.
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.

See:

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 495

MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)
 MIDI Effects Presets
Quantizing
Adding Echo/Delay
Filtering Events
Adding Arpeggio
Analyzing Chords
Changing Velocities with the Velocity Effect
Transposing MIDI Notes with the Transpose MIDI Effect

MIDI Effects Presets

The MIDI effects dialogs support the use of presets. For information about
presets, see Presets and Property Pages.

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.
The quantize effect parameters are as follows:

Parameter/ Meaning...
Option...

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.

496 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)
Parameter/ Meaning...
Option...

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.

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.
The parameters used to specify the echo/delay effect are as follows:

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 497

MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)
 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.

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.

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.

498 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)
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.

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.

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).

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 499

MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)
 Parameter/Option... Meaning...

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.
3. Set the arpeggiator parameters, as described in the table above.
4. Click OK.
SONAR applies the specified arpeggio effect to the selected data.

500 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)
Analyzing Chords
The Chord Analyzer command analyzes chords. You select the notes to
be analyzed in one of SONAR’s 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:

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.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 501

MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)
 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/ Meaning...
Option...

Set all velocities to X Sets all velocities to the specified value.

Change velocities by Adds a specified increment to all velocities.

X

Scale velocities to X% Multiplies all velocities by a constant factor.

of their current value

Change gradually Creates a smooth velocity change across the

from X to Y selection.

Change gradually Scales velocities by a gradually changing factor.

from X% to Y%

Limit range from X to Brings all velocities into the specified range.
Y

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.

502 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)
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/ Meaning...
Option...

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.

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.

Editing MIDI Events and Controllers 503

MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)
 Parameter/ Meaning...
Option...

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

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.

504 Editing MIDI Events and Controllers

MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)
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.

The Basics
The Note Map Pane
The Drum Grid Pane
Creating and Editing a Drum Map
Using Drum Maps
Tutorial 9—Drum Maps

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
 See:
Assigning a MIDI Track to a Drum Map
Opening a Drum Map
To Preview a Mapped Sound

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.

See:
The Drum Map Manager
The Map Properties Dialog
Saving a 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

506 Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane

Creating and Editing a Drum Map
 A B C D

A. New Drum Map button B. Delete Drum Map button C. Current Drum Map
D. Preset list E. Port/Channel pairs F. Rows G. Click to create a new row

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.
Settings
The Settings section is where you map the following for each In Note
(source):
• In Note—The source MIDI note value.

Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane 507

Creating and Editing a Drum Map
 • Out Note—The MIDI note value that plays on the destination sound
source.
• Name—The user-defined name for the row.
• Chn—The channel on which the note is transmitted.
• Out Port—The 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 Scale—The 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 pairing’s bank and patch
settings.

See:
Working in the Drum Map Manager

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 Press Ctrl+Shift while changing the
rows with the same Channel/ port.
Port

Undo an edit Press the Undo button

508 Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane

Creating and Editing a Drum Map
See:
The Drum Map Manager
Creating and Editing a Drum Map
See:
The Drum Map Manager
Working in the Drum Map Manager

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.

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.

See:
The Drum Map Manager

Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane 509

Creating and Editing a Drum Map
 Working in the Drum Map Manager
Creating and Editing a Drum Map

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.

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.

See:
Assigning a MIDI Track to a Drum Map
Opening a Drum Map
Displaying Tracks in the Drum Grid Pane
Velocity Tails
Editing Note Velocities
To Change the Order of Mapped Notes in the Drum Map Pane

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.

See:

510 Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane

Using Drum Maps
Opening a Drum Map
Displaying Tracks in the Drum Grid Pane
Velocity Tails
Editing Note Velocities
To Change the Order of Mapped Notes in the Drum Map Pane

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.
2. Select the MIDI track you just assigned the drum map to and select
Views-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 Views-Piano Roll.

See:
Assigning a MIDI Track to a Drum Map
Displaying Tracks in the Drum Grid Pane
Velocity Tails
Editing Note Velocities
To Change the Order of Mapped Notes in the Drum Map Pane

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.
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.

Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane 511

Using Drum Maps
 4. Select the tracks you want to view in the Drum Grid Editor and select
Views-Piano Roll.
The Piano Roll view appears with the selected track’s data appearing in the
Drum Grid Editor.

See:
Assigning a MIDI Track to a Drum Map
Opening a Drum Map
Velocity Tails
Editing Note Velocities
To Change the Order of Mapped Notes in the Drum Map Pane

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

• Click the Show/Hide Velocity Tails button in the Piano Roll view
toolbar.
Or
• Press the Y key.

See:
Assigning a MIDI Track to a Drum Map

512 Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane

Using Drum Maps
Opening a Drum Map
Displaying Tracks in the Drum Grid Pane
Editing Note Velocities
To Change the Order of Mapped Notes in the Drum Map Pane

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 note’s velocity
changes from 50 to 25 and the third note’s 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.

See:
Assigning a MIDI Track to a Drum Map
Opening a Drum Map

Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane 513

Using Drum Maps
 Displaying Tracks in the Drum Grid Pane
Velocity Tails
To Change the Order of Mapped Notes in the Drum Map Pane

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.

See:
Assigning a MIDI Track to a Drum Map
Opening a Drum Map
Displaying Tracks in the Drum Grid Pane
Velocity Tails
To Change the Order of Mapped Notes in the Drum Map Pane

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.

514 Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane

The Note Map Pane
Changing Mapped-note Settings

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.
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.

Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane 515

The Note Map Pane
 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.
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.
The Drum Grid pane is for MIDI drum tracks what the Note pane is for other
MIDI tracks. In the Drum Grid pane you can add, delete and edit notes and
note properties. You can edit controllers in this pane if you hide the
Controller pane. You can customize the number of grid lines in the Drum
Grid pane and choose whether or not to show note velocity “tails.”

See:

516 Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane

The Drum Grid Pane
 Event Inspector Toolbar
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll
Velocity Tails
Grid Lines

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.
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.

See:
Piano Roll View
The Pattern Brush Tool

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.

See:
Piano Roll View
How the Pattern Brush Tool Works

Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane 517

The Pattern Brush Tool
 Creating Custom Patterns

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 tool’s dropdown menu. To open the Pattern Brush tool’s
dropdown menu, click the right side of the Pattern Brush tool.
The following table covers the options found in the Pattern Brush tool’s
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 tool’s 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.

518 Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane

The Pattern Brush Tool
4. Click the Pattern Brush tool to select it.

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 tool’s dropdown menu, select the custom pattern
you want to use. If you need to create a custom pattern, see Creating
Custom Patterns.

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 Pattern’s Note Velocities
1. Open a track in the Drum Grid pane.
2. In the Pattern Brush tool’s dropdown menu, select the custom pattern
you want to use. If you need to create a custom pattern, see Creating
Custom Patterns.
3. In the Pattern Brush tool’s dropdown menu, select Use Pattern
Velocities.

4. Click the Pattern Brush tool to select it.

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.
To Use a Custom Pattern’s Pitch Values
1. Open a track in the Drum Grid pane.

Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane 519

The Pattern Brush Tool
 2. In the Pattern Brush tool’s dropdown menu, select the custom pattern
you want to use. If you need to create a custom pattern, see Creating
Custom Patterns.
3. In the Pattern Brush tool’s dropdown menu, select Use Pattern
Polyphony.

4. Click the Pattern Brush tool to select it.

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.

See:
Piano Roll View
How the Pattern Brush Tool Works
Creating Custom Patterns

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.
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.

520 Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane

The Pattern Brush Tool
 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.

See:
Piano Roll View
How the Pattern Brush Tool Works
Creating Custom Patterns

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The Pattern Brush Tool
522 Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane
The Pattern Brush Tool
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 organization of your project’s 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 the online help topic “Mixing.”

See:
Digital Audio Fundamentals
Basic Audio Editing
Basic Audio Processing
Advanced Audio Processing
Applying Fades and Crossfades Offline
Audio Effects (Audio Plug-ins)

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.
 See:
Basic Acoustics
Example—A Guitar String
Waveforms
Recording a Sound
The Decibel Scale
Audio Clips
Managing Audio Data

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.

See:
Digital Audio Fundamentals

Example—A 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)

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Digital Audio Fundamentals
.
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.
The displacement of the string changes as the string vibrates, as shown
here:

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.

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 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 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

526 Editing Audio

Digital Audio Fundamentals
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.

See:
Digital Audio Fundamentals

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:

The waveform of a trumpet blast might look like this:

And the waveform of a spoken word might look like this:

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 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)
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.

528 Editing Audio

Digital Audio Fundamentals
See:
Digital Audio Fundamentals

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 sound’s 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 violin—say 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.
Here is what a clipped waveform might look like:

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 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.

See:
Digital Audio Fundamentals

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)
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.

See:

530 Editing Audio

Digital Audio Fundamentals
Digital Audio Fundamentals

Audio Clips
If you have read Digital Audio Fundamentals, 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.

See:
Digital Audio Fundamentals

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 Audio File Management.
You can export your project in MP3, WMA, or Wave format. You can also
convert your project’s MIDI data to audio and export it to any of the above
formats. For more information, see Preparing Audio for Distribution.

Editing Audio 531

Digital Audio Fundamentals
 See:
Digital Audio Fundamentals

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 Drag a rectangle around

once 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 Press Ctrl and either click the
the selection clips or drag a rectangle
around the clips

Add or remove clips in a Press Ctrl and click the track

track from the selection number

Select clips in a time range Drag in the Time Ruler

Select clips between two Click between the markers

markers

532 Editing Audio

Basic Audio Editing
To do this... Do this...

Remove all selections Click in an empty area

outside of any clip

See:
Editing Clip Properties
Moving, Copying, Pasting and Deleting Audio Clips
Splitting Audio Clips
Bouncing to Clips
Scrubbing

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 clip’s color in the Track view.

To Change an Audio Clip’s Name

1. Right-click the audio clip and choose Clip Properties.

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 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 Clip’s 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.

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.

534 Editing Audio

Basic Audio Editing
The Audio Scale Ruler is located in the vertical splitter bar between the
Clips pane and the Track pane.

A. Track pane B. Clips pane C. 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:
• Percentage—shows 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.
• dB—shows 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 Factor—shows 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.

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 Hold down the Ctrl key, click the
all tracks using your mouse Vertical Zoom Fader and 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:

536 Editing Audio

Basic Audio Editing
To do this... Do 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:

To Scale a Single Track or Bus

To scale a single audio track, follow the instructions in the table below:

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Basic Audio Editing
 To do this... Do this…

Increase/decrease the scale of There are several ways to increase or

individual stereo or mono tracks decrease the size of an individual
track’s or bus’s waveform:
• Press Ctrl+Alt+Up/Down arrows
• Click and drag vertically in the track’s
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 track’s 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.

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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.
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 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 Creates a split after each period of silence
Least which exceeds the number of measures
specified.

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 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 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.
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.

540 Editing Audio

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 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 don’t 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 SONAR’s 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 Enter a preset name and click the
preset 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.

See:
Using the Normalize and Gain Commands
Reversing Audio Data

Using the Normalize and Gain Commands

SONAR provides several commands to boost or cut the volume of audio
data. The Process-Audio-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.
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 the “Automation.”
When increasing or decreasing the volume of audio clips, you should
consider the following points:

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• 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 don’t
like the results, and then try a different setting in the Normalize dialog.
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-

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 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 don’t 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.

See:
Removing Silence

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 doesn’t store
stretches of silence on disk, and thereby conserves disk space. During a

544 Editing Audio

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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.”
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.

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 you’ve 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.

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 Parameter... Meaning...

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 don’t lose the sound’s attack.

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.

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.

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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 only—to 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.

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 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

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 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 Click Reset

original curve

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.
3. Select an envelope from the dropdown list.

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 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.
See Slip-editing (Non-destructive Editing) for information on non-destructive
editing.

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 SONAR’s menus once
they are installed on your system. If you need help when using a plug-in,

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 press the F1 key on your computer keyboard to open the plug-in’s 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 is non-destructive.
This means that the audio clip data itself is not modified, and no new audio
files are created. See “Mixing,” for more information on real-time effects.
Note: Off-line effects may cause your audio clips to grow in length. For
example, when you apply reverb, your clip may need to lengthen to
accommodate the sound of the reverberation. The additional sound that an
effect produces from a clip is called an effects tail.

See:
Applying Audio Effects
Directly Applying Audio Effects

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.

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4. Click OK.
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. Set the effect
parameters, and click OK to start processing.

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552 Editing Audio
Audio Effects (Audio Plug-ins)
Software Synthesizers
SONAR’s Synth Rack view (also referred to as just the Synth Rack) makes inserting a
soft synth or ReWire instrument a one-step process, and makes viewing and configuring
these instruments simple. In the Synth Rack you can insert and delete synths, create
control knobs to control and/or automate parameters, scroll through patches and presets,
mute, solo, freeze, and choose what track to display automation data on. You can easily
control all of your soft synths from one view.
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.
SONAR now seamlessly integrates VST synths. The VST Configuration Wizard runs
automatically on startup, registering all your VST plug-ins. See VST Configuration for
more information.
For more information, see:
Synth Rack View
Inserting Soft Synths
Playing a Soft Synth
Using the Assignable Controls Feature
Synth Tracks
Multi-port Soft Synths
To Remove A Soft Synth from a Track or Bus
Tutorial 8—Using Soft Synths
ReWire Instruments
Playing a Stand-alone Synth
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio
Recording a Stand-alone Synth
 Synth Rack View
Open the Synth Rack view with the Views-Synth Rack command. The
Synth Rack view lets you view, insert, delete, and configure your soft
synths. You can also mute, solo, and freeze 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.

One Row in the Synth Rack

A B C D E F G H I

N M L K

A. Connect/Disconnect synth button B. Synth icon C. Synth name D. Automation

track menu E. Patch menu F. Mute button G. Solo button H. Freeze/Unfreeze button
I. Quick Freeze/Quick Unfreeze button J. Show/Hide Assigned Controls button
K. Assign Controls button L. Write button M. Read button N. Automated knobs

For step by step instructions, see:

Inserting Soft Synths
Playing a Soft Synth
Synth Rack Icons
Recording a Soft Synth’s MIDI Output
Using the Assignable Controls Feature

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Synth Rack View
 Automating Controls from the Synth Rack
To Remove A Soft Synth from a Track or Bus
Freeze Tracks and Synths
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio
Tutorial 8—Using Soft Synths
Multi-port Soft Synths
ReWire Instruments
Playing a Stand-alone Synth
Recording a Stand-alone Synth

Synth Tracks
Using a soft synth introduces a third 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 track’s 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.

A. Synth icon

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Synth Tracks
 For step by step instructions, see:
Inserting Soft Synths
Waveform Preview for Buses and Synth Tracks
Tutorial 8—Using Soft Synths
ReWire Instruments
Freeze Tracks and Synths

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 you’re playing the soft synth with a MIDI controller, the MIDI track
that’s feeding the synth track must have the focus (lighter color). You can
also patch the soft synth into an audio track’s FX bin instead of a synth
track’s Input field.
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 SONAR’s 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 track’s 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.
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.
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

556 Software Synthesizers

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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.
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 Views-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 you’ve previously
unchecked the Ask This Every Time checkbox that’s 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 it’s 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
synth’s 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 track’s Output field to the
soft synth, and set an existing audio track’s Input field to the soft
synth (the audio track will then become a synth track).
• If you want to open the soft synth’s interface from this dialog, check
the Open These Windows: Synth Property Page checkbox.

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 • 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 the synth you’re inserting can create or send MIDI data, and you
want to record or redirect this MIDI data, enable the Enable MIDI
Output checkbox.
• Any automation data you create for this synth is displayed by
default on the Synth track for this synth. If you want to display this
data on a different track, choose the track in the Display
Automation On menu.
• If you create some new knobs on the Synth Rack to control certain
parameters on a particular synth, you can display the same knobs
every time you insert that synth by enabling the Recall Assignable
Controls 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 don’t 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 and insert the synth.
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. See Playing a Soft Synth.
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.
2. Under Soft Synths, choose the name of a soft synth.

558 Software Synthesizers

Inserting Soft Synths
 Two things happen: the soft synth’s interface appears, and the soft
synth’s name appears in the track’s or bus’s FX bin, with a bypass
button next to the name.
3. Set the soft synth’s 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.
You can also play the soft synth in real-time from a MIDI controller. See To
Play a Soft Synth from a MIDI Controller.

See also:
Synth Rack View
Multi-port Soft Synths
Recording a Soft Synth’s MIDI Output
Synth Tracks
Playing a Soft Synth
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio
Muting and Soloing Soft Synth Tracks
To Remove A Soft Synth from a Track or Bus

Opening a Soft Synth’s Property Page

There are several different methods to open a soft synth’s 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.

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Opening a Soft Synth’s Property Page
 • Double-click the name of the soft synth in either a MIDI track’s Output
field or a synth track’s 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).

Synth Rack Icons

Each Synth Rack strip displays a synth icon so that you can easily tell one
synth from another when the rack contains multiple synths.
Icons have the same image format and file location as track icons, and use
the same commands to show or hide the icons. Synth Rack Icons are
enabled in SONAR by default, and the default icon for each synth is
track_icon_dxi_large.bmp. The Synth Rack only displays large format
icons, fixed at 48x48 pixels.
Use the following procedures to manage your synth icons:

To do this... Do this...

To hide Synth Rack icons Right-click an icon in the Synth Rack

and choose Show Synth Icons from
the popup menu.
Or
Use the Options-Icons-Synth Rack-
Show Large Icons command.

To show Synth Rack icons Use the Options-Icons-Synth Rack-

Show Large Icons command.

To load a particular synth icon Right-click the icon in the Synth Rack
that you want to change, and select
Load Synth Icon from the popup
menu.

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Synth Rack Icons
 To do this... Do this...

To reset a particular synth icon to Right-click the icon in the Synth Rack
its original icon that you want to reset, and select
Reset Synth Icon from the popup
menu.

To open a synth’s property page Double-click the synth’s icon in the

Synth Rack.

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 data—the 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.
See Recording a Soft Synth’s MIDI Output for more information.
To Play a Soft Synth with Recorded MIDI Data
1. Insert a soft synth into the project.
2. In the MIDI track that sends its output to the soft synth, choose a MIDI
channel.
3. Open the soft synth’s interface (if it’s not open already) by clicking the
Properties button in the Synth Rack view, or by double-clicking the
name of the soft synth if it’s patched into the FX bin of an audio track.

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 4. Set the soft synth’s parameters (choose sounds, effects, etc.), and drag
its interface out of the way (the soft synth’s 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 that’s 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 card’s outputs. If you don’t, 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 Soft Synths, 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 synth’s interface (if it’s not open already) by clicking the
Properties button in the Synth Rack view, or by double-clicking the
name of the soft synth if it’s patched into the FX bin of an audio track.
Note: You can also open a soft synth’s interface by double-clicking its
name where it appears in a MIDI track’s Out menu or a synth track’s In
menu.
6. Set the soft synth’s 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 that’s next to the Presets field.

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8. Make sure that the MIDI track has the focus (its titlebar is lighter), and
play your MIDI controller.
When you play your MIDI controller you should hear the soft synth through
your sound card’s outputs. If you don’t, make sure you’re 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
• In the synth track that uses the soft synth as an input, choose another
input for the track. If you don’t 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 you’re using a ReWire instrument and not a soft synth, always
close the ReWire instrument’s interface before you delete the
instrument from SONAR, or before you close SONAR.

See:
Playing a Stand-alone Synth
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio
Recording a Stand-alone Synth

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Playing a Soft Synth
 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 track—SONAR 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
synth’s 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.

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 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 copy’s outputs. You can also send all the MIDI tracks out
the same output and synth track if you don’t need separate plug-ins for
each sound, or just want to use the soft synth’s 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

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Muting and Soloing Soft Synth Tracks
 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.
For step by step instructions, see:
Synth Rack View
Synth Tracks
Inserting Soft Synths
Playing a Soft Synth
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio
Muting and Soloing Soft Synth Tracks
To Remove A Soft Synth from a Track or Bus

Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to

Audio
Once your project sounds the way you want it to, it’s extremely easy to
convert your soft synth MIDI tracks to either new audio tracks, or Wave,
MP3, or other exported files.
You can also do a temporary conversion, called freezing. See Freeze
Tracks and Synths for more information.
To Convert Your Soft Synth Tracks to New Audio
Tracks
1. Mute all tracks that you don’t 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 you’ve 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.

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Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio
 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.
SONAR creates new audio tracks from the outputs you selected. When
you’re through converting, don’t forget to mute your MIDI tracks so you
won’t 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 for more information.
To Export Your Soft Synth Tracks as Wave, MP3, or
Other Type Files
1. Mute all tracks that you don’t want to export; make sure you don’t 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
you’re creating—for 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.

See:
Drawing Soft Synth Automation in the Clips Pane
Synth Rack View

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Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio
Using the Assignable Controls Feature
You can create knobs on the Synth Rack to control any of a synth’s
automatable parameters (each knob learns what parameter to control when
you create the knob). This makes it easy to adjust the controls that you use
most often on a particular synth, and also lets you record automation from
the Synth Rack. After you create some control knobs, the next time you
insert the same synth, you can choose to display the same control knobs
that you used previously.
You can also group control knobs on the Synth Rack, and use Remote
Control to move the knobs.
To Create Control Knobs on the Synth Rack
1. In the Synth Rack, open the property page (interface) of the synth that
you want to create knobs for.
2. In that synth’s strip of controls in the Synth Rack, click the Assign
Controls button to enable it.
3. While the Assign Controls button is enabled, click on each control in the
synth’s property page that you want to create a knob for.
4. When you’re finished clicking on controls, click the Assign Controls
button to disable it.
The Synth Rack displays knobs for the controls you selected, with the each
knob’s name displayed below each knob. Now you can adjust some of the
synth’s parameters by moving the appropriate knob in the Synth Rack.
To Hide or Show Control Knobs on the Synth Rack
• In the Synth Rack, click the Show/Hide Assigned Controls button.
The Synth Rack displays knobs for the controls you selected, with the each
knob’s name displayed below each knob. Now you can adjust some of the
synth’s parameters by moving the appropriate knob in the Synth Rack.

See also:
Recording a Soft Synth’s MIDI Output
Automating Controls from the Synth Rack
Displaying Synth Rack Automation

Automating Controls from the Synth

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Using the Assignable Controls Feature
 Rack
Note: Your synth’s manufacturer determines which controls (if any) you can
automate. If your synth does not expose its controls to SONAR, you can not
automate the synth.
Once you create some control knobs on the Synth Rack, you can record
automation from them. Use the same procedure you would use to record
automation of any other SONAR knob or widget. See Recording Individual
Fader or Knob Movements and Displaying Synth Rack Automation for more
information
You can also draw and edit synth automation in the Clips pane. See
Drawing Soft Synth Automation in the Clips Pane for more information.

See also:
Recording a Soft Synth’s MIDI Output

Displaying Synth Rack Automation

You can choose what track you want a synth’s automation to appear in for
editing. Use the Automation Track menu in each strip of controls in the
Synth Rack to choose what track you want to display the synth’s
automation on. You can display the automation from several different
synths on the same track, or put a synth’s automation on a track that is
completely unrelated to the synth if you want.
See Synth Rack View for a picture of the Synth Rack and all its
components.

See also:
Recording a Soft Synth’s MIDI Output
Automating Controls from the Synth Rack

Remote Control of the Synth Rack

Once you create some control knobs on the Synth Rack, you can assign
knobs or sliders on your MIDI controller to control the Synth Rack knobs.
See Using Remote Control for more information.

Drawing Soft Synth Automation in the Clips

568 Software Synthesizers

Automating Controls from the Synth Rack
 Pane
Some synths have controls that you can automate by drawing envelopes in
the Track view.
To Automate a Soft Synth’s Controls in the Clips Pane
1. In the Synth Rack, the Automation Track menu in a particular synth’s
control strip displays the track that this synth’s automation appears in.
Right-click in the Clips pane of this track, and choose Envelopes-
Create Track Envelope-Name of your synth from the popup menu.
The Synth Envelope dialog box appears.
2. Click the checkbox(es) of the parameter(s) you want to draw.
3. Choose a color (optional).
4. 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 also:
Recording a Soft Synth’s MIDI Output
Automating Controls from the Synth Rack
Displaying Synth Rack Automation
Synth Rack View
Synth Tracks
Playing a Soft Synth
To Remove A Soft Synth from a Track or Bus
Playing a Stand-alone Synth
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio
Recording a Stand-alone Synth

Soft Synth MIDI Output Support

Some soft synths produce MIDI output as well as audio output. You can
now record the MIDI output of both VST and DirectX instruments that have
this feature.

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Soft Synth MIDI Output Support
 Recording a Soft Synth’s MIDI Output
SONAR allows you to record the MIDI output of a synth onto another MIDI
track in your project. This can be convenient if your synth creates
arpeggios, drum patterns, or other MIDI data that you wish to edit as a MIDI
clip.
To Enable MIDI Outputs on a Synth
• When inserting a synth from the Insert menu or the Synth Rack, check
the Enable MIDI Output checkbox in the Insert Soft Synth Options
dialog box.
Or
• Right-click a synth name in the Synth Rack to enable or disable Enable
MIDI Output from a popup menu.
The soft synth will now appear as an Input option on all MIDI tracks just like
any hardware inputs.
To Hear a Soft Synth’s MIDI Output Through Another
Track
1. Verify that Enable MIDI Output is enabled for the synth whose MIDI
output you wish to hear through another track.
2. On a new MIDI track in your project, set the Input to the synth whose
MIDI output you wish to hear.
3. Set the Output of that track to another synth or MIDI output used in your
project and enable Input Echo.
4. Play some MIDI data through the synth whose MIDI Output has been
enabled.
The MIDI data sent from that synth will be echoed through the Output of the
new MIDI track.
To Record a Soft Synth’s MIDI Output to a Track
1. Verify that Enable MIDI Output is enabled for the synth whose MIDI
output you wish to record.
2. On a new MIDI track in your project, set the Input to the synth whose
MIDI output you wish to record and arm the track.
3. Click the Record button to start recording.
4. If you’re recording live MIDI input through the synth, place track focus
on the synth’s MIDI track and begin playing your MIDI controller. If

570 Software Synthesizers

Soft Synth MIDI Output Support
 you’re recording pre-existing MIDI data through the synth, record
through the duration of the pre-existing clips.
The MIDI Output of the synth will be recorded to the new MIDI track. You
can then edit the MIDI data and route it to a different MIDI output as you see
fit.
Note: Be careful to avoid creating a MIDI feedback loop. To prevent this,
make sure the Input of a soft synth’s MIDI track is not set to the same
synth’s Output.

ReWire
SONAR 6 can send MIDI events to any object in a ReWire client application
on as many MIDI channels as the client application makes available.

ReWire Instruments
ReWire is a technology for transferring audio data between software
applications in real time—the 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 use as many MIDI channels and devices in each ReWire
application as that application makes available.
• 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 application’s property page, because,
unlike synths, ReWire applications must have their property pages
(interfaces) open in order to function.
• SONAR’s 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

Software Synthesizers 571

ReWire
 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 SONAR’s synth tracks control the ReWire device’s panning.
• You can mix down or bounce ReWire tracks in SONAR the same way
you mix down or bounce synth tracks.
• You can use SONAR’s 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.
For step-by-step procedures, see:
Inserting a ReWire Instrument
To Use Separate Synth Tracks for Each ReWire Device
Automating ReWire Instruments
Mixing Down ReWire Instruments
ReWire Troubleshooting Guide

Inserting a ReWire Instrument

After you install your ReWire applications and reboot your computer, the
names of the ReWire applications appear in SONAR’s Insert menu under
ReWire Devices, and also in the Synth Rack view’s Insert button popup
menu.
To Insert a ReWire Instrument
1. Open a SONAR project. Do not launch your ReWire application.
2. In the SONAR’s Synth Rack view, click the Insert button, and click
ReWire Devices to display the submenu of installed ReWire devices.
OR

572 Software Synthesizers

ReWire
 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
Instrument’s 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 track’s
Input field to the ReWire Instrument, and set an existing MIDI
track’s Output field to the ReWire Instrument. The existing audio
track will then become a synth track.
• If you want to open the ReWire Instrument’s 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 a ReWire 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 don’t 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.

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ReWire
 5. Click OK to close the dialog.
SONAR adds your ReWire devices to the audio and synth track Input
menus and the MIDI track Output and Channel menus, creates any
tracks you requested, adds the ReWire instrument to the Synth Rack
view, and opens the ReWire application’s interface.
6. 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.
7. Click the name of the device you want to use.
8. 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
into—the playback meter lights up as you play the MIDI track that plays
your device.
Now you can use separate effects for each of your ReWire devices.

574 Software Synthesizers

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Note: Always close your ReWire applications before closing SONAR or a
SONAR project.

See also:
Mixing Down ReWire Instruments
Automating ReWire Instruments
ReWire Troubleshooting Guide

Routing MIDI Data to ReWire Instruments

Some ReWire applications can create large numbers of instruments. You
can send a track’s MIDI data to any of these instruments by selecting the
specific instrument in the MIDI channel menu of the relevant track.
To Send MIDI Data to a Specific ReWire Instrument
1. In the SONAR MIDI track that contains the recorded MIDI data you
want to send, make sure that the Output menu is set to the correct
ReWire device.
2. Then use the Ch menu in the same track to choose the instrument you
want to send to. This also works if you just want to use this track to play
your MIDI controller through a particular instrument in the ReWire
application.

Mixing Down ReWire Instruments

To either mix down or bounce ReWire instruments to new audio tracks, use
the same procedures as for synths.

See also:
Automating ReWire Instruments
ReWire Troubleshooting Guide
Inserting a ReWire Instrument

Automating ReWire Instruments

You can automate audio and MIDI tracks that are patched to ReWire
instruments the same ways you can automate any of SONAR’s audio and
MIDI tracks.

See also:

Software Synthesizers 575

ReWire
 Inserting a ReWire Instrument
To Use Separate Synth Tracks for Each ReWire Device
Mixing Down ReWire Instruments
ReWire Troubleshooting Guide
Inserting a ReWire Instrument

ReWire Troubleshooting Guide

The following lists some common issues when you use ReWire with
SONAR:
• SONAR Won’t Close Properly—Always close your ReWire
applications before closing SONAR or a SONAR project.
• Rebirth Won’t Play After I Open Its Property Page—Make sure that
the Loop switch in Rebirth is enabled.
• My ReWire Project Plays at a Different Tempo when Opened from
SONAR—When you open a ReWire project from SONAR, the ReWire
project assumes SONAR’s default tempo, which is 100. Change
SONAR’s tempo to match your ReWire project.
• My MIDI Controller Works in SONAR or my ReWire Application,
but not Both—Choose 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
Application—If 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 SONAR’s 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.

576 Software Synthesizers

ReWire
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 synth’s MIDI driver
appears in SONAR’s MIDI Devices dialog box under Outputs.

See:
Playing a Stand-alone Synth
Recording a Stand-alone Synth

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.
2. In the Outputs field, make sure the name of your stand-alone synth’s
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 synth’s MIDI driver.
5. If your stand-alone synth is multi-timbral, change the track’s 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 haven’t
already.
7. Record some MIDI data in the MIDI track, or play any MIDI controller
that’s 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 card’s outputs. If
you don’t, make sure you’re playing in the right range and that your monitor
speakers or headphones are turned up, and that none of the relevant tracks
are muted.

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 See:
Recording a Stand-alone Synth

Recording a Stand-alone Synth

There are several ways to record a stand-alone synth:
• You can use the synth’s wave capture function, if it has one. See your
synth’s 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 card’s outputs to your sound card’s inputs,
either internally or externally, depending on your sound card’s design.
After you do this, you need to arm an audio track in SONAR and select
one of your sound card’s 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 card’s wave capture or “what-you-hear”
option, if it has one. See the following procedure.
To Record A Stand-alone Synth with your Sound Card’s
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 don’t want to record to the
destination track.
4. If SONAR’s 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.

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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.
8. 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 don’t hear them and the new audio track at the same time.

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Stand-alone Synths
580 Software Synthesizers
Stand-alone Synths
Mixing
SONAR lets you mix your projects with tremendous control and flexibility. The extensive
bussing controls, support for DX and VST plug-ins, built-in EQ’s, automation, remote
control, metering, grouping, and freeze features let you design your own style of mixing,
with your own workflow. (Automation is covered in a separate chapter.)
After you finish mixing a project, you can export the project in a variety of audio file formats
to create a CD master or to publish your work on the Internet. You can choose to include
all real-time effects and control movements in the mixed-down tracks that you export (see
Preparing Audio for Distribution for more information).
See:
Preparing to Mix
Mixing MIDI
Signal Flow
Routing and Mixing Digital Audio
Metering
Using Real-Time Effects
V-Vocal Clips
Using Control Groups
Main Outs
Using Remote Control
Bouncing Tracks
Preparing Audio for Distribution
Freeze Tracks and Synths
 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 Views-Console. The Track view is always open.
Note: You can control all sliders and knobs in the Console and Track Views
by hovering over them with the mouse and manipulating the mouse wheel.

A B C D E

I
H

G F

A. Audio module B. MIDI module C. MIDI velocity D. Bus out E. Main out F. Bus
pane G. Show/hide strip controls buttons H. Widen all strips I. Show/hide for tracks,
buses, mains

Note: The above view does not show EQ. It is pictured below.

582 Mixing
Preparing to Mix
 A B

E DC

A. Gain B. Band Q C. Band select D. EQ type select E. EQ enable F. Frequency

Sound controls in the Console view are grouped in modules. There are
several types of modules:

Module What you can do...

type...

MIDI track Set the track’s 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 track’s 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 track’s 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

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.

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Preparing to Mix
 One module’s 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 module’s volume fader.
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 fader’s
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.
There are four types of modules in the Track view:

Track What you can do...

type...

MIDI track Set the track’s 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 track’s 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 track’s 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.

For information on using the controls in the Track view, see Changing Track
Settings.

584 Mixing
Preparing to Mix
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.

See:
Configuring the Console and Track Views

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
Note: the Console view has additional controls to configure its appearance.
See the online help topic “Console View” for more information.
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.
To Display All the Tracks in a Project
• Click the Zoom tool’s down arrow and select Show All Tracks from
the Zoom tool menu.

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Preparing to Mix
 To Hide Selected Tracks
1. Select the tracks you want to hide.
2. Click the Zoom tool’s 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 tool’s down arrow and select Show Selected Tracks
from the Zoom tool menu.
To Choose the Tracks that are Displayed Using the
Track Manager
3. Click the down arrow next to the Zoom tool and select Track Manager
to open the Track Manager dialog boxIn 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.
4. Click OK.
To Hide a Bus or Track
• Right-click on the module and choose Hide Track or Hide Bus.
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.

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To Change a Meter’s 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 Stereo Bus or Insert Surround 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 bus’s 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 Value-Set Snap-To=Current.
From now on, the control returns to this position when double-clicked.
To Insert a New Track
1. Right-click in the Console view or on the header 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
track’s 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).

See:
Mixing a MIDI Track
Converting MIDI to Audio

Mixing a MIDI Track

You can control the mixing and playback of a MIDI track as follows:

To do this… Do this…
Add a real-time Right-click in the FX bin and select an effect
MIDI effect to the from the list (for more information, see Using
track Real-Time Effects)

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

588 Mixing
Mixing MIDI
To do this… Do this…
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 Click the Arm button

recording

Set the Pan level Adjust the Pan fader

Set the Volume Adjust the Volume fader

level

Select the input Click the input button and choose one from the
list

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 Convert Your Soft Synth Tracks to New Audio Tracks
and To Export Your Soft Synth Tracks as Wave, MP3, or Other Type
Files).
• If your MIDI tracks play back through your sound card’s 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.

Mixing 589
Mixing MIDI
 To Convert a Sound Card’s 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 don’t want to record to the
destination track.
4. If SONAR’s 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 card’s 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 don’t hear them and the new audio track at the same time.

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Mixing MIDI
Signal Flow

Audio clip Hardware Soft Synth

Clip mute

V-Vocal

Clip fades

Input meters (record)

Clip envelopes/Clip Mute
regions

Clip FX bin

Volume

Phase/
Playback Meter (pre fader/pre

Pre fader sends are affected by M-S buttons unless

you change the LinkPFSend AUD.INI
FX bin Send
( )
Volume fader Send pan

Stereo pan or Surround or Hardware

Playback Meter Surround pan Stereo Bus
(post fader)
Post
fader
send
Stereo bus Surround bus

Input volume Input volume

Pre Input pan Pre
fader fader
send Volume send
Volume
Pan

Post Playback meter (post

fader Post
send fader
send
Hardware Outputs

Mixing 591
Signal Flow
 You control the mixing and playback of an audio track as follows:

To do this... Do this...

Add a real-time audio Right-click in the FX bin and select an effect

effect to the track from the list (for more information, see Using
Real-Time Effects)

Remove an effect Select the effect and press Delete or right-click

and select Delete.

Send audio data from Insert a send in the track controls by right-
the track to a bus clicking in the track 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 track’s bus
enable button so that it turns green, and set the
Bus Send Level and Bus Send Pan (for more
information, see Stereo Buses)

Mute the track Click the Mute button

Solo the track Click the Solo button

Arm the track for Click the Arm button

recording

Set the Pan level Adjust the Pan control

Set the Send Pan to be Right-click the Send Pan control and choose
the same as the bus that Follow Track Pan from the popup menu. This
the send feeds into setting is only active when the 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

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Signal Flow
 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).

See also:
Sidechaining Signal Flow
External Insert signal flow

Sidechaining Signal Flow

Track 1 FX Bin

FX Hardware
Track 1 Sidechainable FX Bus
Output
Output Sidechain input

Track 2
Output / Send
Sum

Bus
Output / Send

See also:
Sidechaining
Signal Flow
External Insert signal flow

Routing and Mixing Digital Audio

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
track’s data passes through the track’s send level knob on its way to the
bus. This is shown in the diagram below:

Mixing 593
Signal Flow
 B

C
D

A. Pre-fader: output level to Bus 2 is not affected by the track’s volume fader B. This
track is routed to Aux 1 and Aux 2 C. Bus enable button: must be lit to send track
data to bus D. Post-fader: track’s volume fader controls output level to Bus 1

The audio in each bus is processed by the input gain and pan controls
(main output buses don’t 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 main’s master volume fader.

594 Mixing
Signal Flow
See:
Main Outs
Signal Flow
Stereo Buses

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 track’s 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 In an audio track, press the Bus Send Enable
track to the bus button corresponding to the bus, or choose the
bus as an output for the track. If the track
doesn’t 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 If the bus doesn’t have a Send module, you
another bus 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 it’s green, and
adjust the Bus Send Level and Bus Send Pan.

Set the level of the audio data In an audio track, set the Bus Send Level
sent to the bus corresponding to the bus, or volume fader if
the output is to the bus

Set the pan of the audio data sent Adjust the Bus Send Pan knob
to the 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

Mixing 595
Signal Flow
 To do this... Do this...

Display the waveform of the audio Enable the bus’s Waveform Preview button
that’s flowing through the bus

Add a real-time audio effect to the Right-click in the FX bin and select an effect
bus from the list (for more information, see Using
Real-Time Effects)

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

Set the Send Pan to be the same Right-click the Send Pan control and choose
as the bus that the bus feeds into Follow Bus 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 (Views-Console) or the Track view (Views-
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.)
The name of the effect you have chosen appears in the bus FX bin.
3. Set the effect’s parameters and close it.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for any additional effects you want to use.

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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 bus’s Waveform Preview button . This displays the
waveform of the audio that is flowing through the bus.

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.
Here’s what you can do in a main out module:

Mixing 597
Signal Flow
 To do this... Do this...

Set the output volume Adjust the Volume control

Adjust the left/right Adjust the pan slider that’s on that output
balance 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 computer’s processing
power, especially RMS metering. If you need to free up resources, turning
off metering where you don’t 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.

See:
What the Meters Measure
Hiding and Showing Meters
Changing the Meters’ Display

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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 monitoring—the 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.

Buses The level of the output signal the bus is sending

back from the effects.

See also:
Hiding and Showing Meters
Changing the Meters’ Display

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. The Show/
Hide Meters button in the Track view toolbar hides or shows all the meters
of each kind in the Track view. The dropdown arrow on the Vol button in the
Console view displays the meter menu in the Console view. To show or
hide meters on individual tracks or buses, use the right-click popup menu
that’s available from the title bar of each track or bus.
Note: If you want to conserve the maximum amount of your CPU’s
resources, turn off all metering in both the Track and Console views.

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Metering
 Track view toolbar Console view Vol button

B C

A. Show/Hide All Meters B. Meter Options menu C. Meter Options menu

To Show or Hide all Meters of a Certain Type

• In the Console view, click the dropdown arrow on the Vol button, and
check or uncheck the kind of meters you want to show or hide.
• In the Track view, click the arrow to the right of the Show/Hide Meters
button and check or uncheck the kind of meters you want to show
or hide. To hide all meters, click the Show/Hide Meters button so that it
is not lit.
To Show or Hide Individual Meters on Tracks or Buses
• Right-click the track or bus to display the popup menu, and check or
uncheck the appropriate show meter option.

See also:
What the Meters Measure
Changing the Meters’ Display

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 dropdown arrow
on the Vol 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-

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segmented meters for the Track and/or Console views. Meter colors are
also now customizable in the Configure Colors dialog—use the Options-
Colors command, and choose VU LO Level, VU HI Level, or VU Tick
Marks.
The dropdown menus give you the following display options:

Menu option... What it does...

Horizontal Meters (Track Choose this option to display the Track view meters
view only) horizontally instead of vertically.

Vertical Meters (Track Choose this option to display the Track view meters
view only) vertically instead of horizontally.

Show Numeric Peak Choose this option to display peak values in each track
Values (Track view only) header next to the Input Echo button (see also Peak
Markers)

Show Track Peak See Peak Markers)

Markers (Track view
only)

Show Bus Peak Markers See Peak Markers)

(Track view only)

Reset All Meters If a track clips, its meter shows a red clipping indicator.
Click this button to reset the clipping indicator to its non-
clipping state.

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.

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Metering
 Menu option... What it does...

Pre Fader/Post Fader Choose Pre Fader or Post Fader to measure the playback
(This option is for level either before or after the track’s or bus’ volume fader.
playback and bus
meters only)

Pre Fader/Post FX (This Choose Pre Fader/Post FX to measure the bus volume
option is for the buses before the fader, but after any real-time effects.
only)

-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 (Track Clicking this option hides or shows the dB markings on the
view only) 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.

See also:
What the Meters Measure
Hiding and Showing Meters
Segmented and Non-segmented Meters

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.

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Metering
 A
B

A. segmented meter B. non-segmented meter

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 Configure
Colors dialog—use the Options-Colors command, and choose VU LO
Level, VU HI Level, or VU Tick Marks.
For more information, see Configure Colors dialog.

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.

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Metering
 To do this... Do this...

Increase or decrease meter In the Audio Meter Settings dialog (select

refresh rates Options-Audio Meter Settings to open), adjust
the Refresh rate field. Valid values are from 25 to
250 milliseconds.

Change the decay rate (the In the Audio Meter Settings dialog, adjust the
amount of time the meter display Decay Rate value. Valid values are from 1 to 150
stays at its peak) milliseconds.

Increase or decrease the amount In the Audio Meter Settings dialog, adjust the
of time the meter displays a peak Hold Time value. Valid values are from 0 to 5000
value 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

See also:
Audio Meter Settings dialog

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

604 Mixing
Metering
 playback. 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. Colors for
both Peak Markers and their text fields are configurable in the Configure
Colors dialog (Options-Colors command).

Peak marker

To Hide or Show Peak Markers Globally

• Click the Meter Options dropdown arrow in the Track view toolbar,
and choose Show Track Peak Markers and/or Show Bus Peak
Markers.
To Hide or Show Peak Markers on an Individual Track
or Bus
• Right-click the track or bus, and choose Show Peak Marker from the
popup menu.
To Jump to a Peak Marker
• Right-click the numeric peak display in the track/bus header strip, and
choose Go To Peak from the context menu (see picture below). Doing
so will center the peak location and Now time in the Clips pane. This is
useful because a Peak Marker may be offscreen.

To Hide or Show the Numeric Peak Display

• Click Show Numeric Peak Values in the Meter Options menu.
To Clear Peak Markers From a Track
• Double-click the meter.

Waveform Preview for Buses and Synth

Mixing 605
Waveform Preview for Buses and Synth Tracks
 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 bus’s
or synth track’s 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
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 bus’s 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 track’s Waveform Preview button . This button is also in the
Track Inspector.

606 Mixing
Waveform Preview for Buses and Synth Tracks
 A B

A. Waveform Preview button in Track view B. Waveform Preview

A. 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 Track—bounces the audio in the track to a new audio clip or
clips, applies any effects, and disables the FX bin.
• Unfreeze Track—discards the bounced audio, restores the original
audio to the way it was before the last freeze or quick freeze command,

Mixing 607
Freeze Tracks and Synths
 and enables the FX bin.
• Quick Unfreeze Track—hides 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 Track—only 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 Synth—audio from a soft synth is bounced and placed on the
synth’s track. Output from the synth is disabled, as is the FX bin on the
synth track.
• Unfreeze Synth—discards bounced audio, enables the synth and track
FX bin. Bounced audio is discarded, and will be re-bounced if you
choose Freeze again.
• Quick Unfreeze Synth—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.
• Quick Freeze Synth—only 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 for more information.
To Freeze a Track
1. Right-click on a track.
2. Select Freeze-Freeze Track from the menu that appears.
SONAR bounces the audio in the track to a new audio clip or clips, applies
any effects, and disables the FX bin.

608 Mixing
Freeze Tracks and Synths
To Unfreeze a Track
1. Right-click on a track.
2. Select Freeze-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 Freeze-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 Freeze-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 synth’s MIDI track, and choose Freeze-
Freeze Synth from the menu that appears.
Or

• In the Synth Rack view, click the Freeze/Unfreeze button .

SONAR bounces the synth’s audio data to the synth track. SONAR disables
the synth’s output, and disables the FX bin on the synth track.
Note: If a soft synth has been inserted to an audio track’s FX bin, the
Freeze/Unfreeze button is not present in the Synth Rack view for that synth.
To freeze that synth, right-click the track or the synth’s MIDI track and
choose Freeze-Freeze Synth from the menu that appears.
To Unfreeze a Synth
• Right-click a synth MIDI or audio track, and choose Freeze-Unfreeze
Synth from the menu that appears.
Or

• In the Synth Rack view, click the Freeze/Unfreeze button , and

choose Freeze-Unfreeze Synth from the menu that appears.

Mixing 609
Freeze Tracks and Synths
 SONAR discards bounced audio, enables the synth and the synth audio
track’s 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 Freeze-
Quick Unfreeze Synth from the menu that appears.
Or

• In the Synth Rack view, click the Freeze/Unfreeze button , and

choose Freeze-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 Freeze-Quick Freeze Synth from the menu that appears.
Or

• In the Synth Rack view, click the Freeze/Unfreeze button , and

choose Freeze-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-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.
Tip: All Freeze commands are also available in the Track menu.

610 Mixing
Freeze Tracks and Synths
Using Real-Time Effects
In the Console view and Track view, you can use plug-in effects non-
destructively, in real time (to apply effects offline, see Applying Audio
Effects). You can also hear your plug-in effects in real time on any live
instruments you are recording—just make sure Input Monitoring is enabled
(see Input Monitoring). You can also insert effects directly on clips (see
Effects on Clips).
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:
• Destructive—The 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, or remove
them entirely at any time. Since most effects require complex numeric
calculations, real-time effects processing puts a heavy load on your
computer’s 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.

Mixing 611
Using Real-Time Effects
 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.

See:
Effects Parameters
How to Use Real-Time Effects
Applying Audio Effects
Applying MIDI Effects

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) and Audio Effects (Audio
Plug-ins) 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.

612 Mixing
Using Real-Time Effects
 A

A. An FX bin in a track in the Track view B. An FX bin in a bus in the Track view

A B

A. An FX bin in a track in the Console view B. An FX bin in a bus in the Console

view

Here’s how to insert and configure effects:

Mixing 613
Using Real-Time Effects
 To do this… Do this…

Add a real-time effect to a Right-click in the FX bin of the track or bus you want to
MIDI track, audio track, add the effect to, and select an effect from the popup
synth track or bus. menu.

Change the order in which Drag an effect up or down in the FX bin.

effects are used.

Edit an effect’s Double-click on the effect to open the effect’s dialog

parameters. box.

Move an effect to a Drag the effect to another effects bin.

different bin.

Copy an effect to a Hold down the Ctrl key and drag the effect to another
different bin. effects bin.

Delete an effect. Right-click the name of the effect, and choose Delete
from the popup menu.

Send all keystrokes to a Enable the keystroke button in the plug-in’s property
plug-in that has focus page

Use a preset. See Presets and Property Pages 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:

614 Mixing
Using Real-Time Effects
 A

A. Mono indicator

A. Stereo indicator

A. Surround indicator (in 5.1 mode)

You can change the tick color by using the Options-Colors command, and
choosing Track View Control Background (for the Track view), and Console
Drop-down Controls (for the Console view).
If you’re using the double-precision audio engine, plug-ins that can send
and receive 64-bit data display doubled ticks.

A. Stereo indicator in 64-bit mode

See also Using the Per-track EQ.

Presets and Property Pages

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 you’ll find in certain dialogs.
You manage presets with the Presets window that appears at the top of a
plug-in property page, and the buttons next to the Presets window.

Mixing 615
Using Real-Time Effects
 A B C D

G F E

A. Previous/Next button B. Save button C. The VST button preset controls appear
only on VST plug-ins D. Automation read and write buttons E. Send all keystrokes
to this plug-in button F. Delete button G. Presets menu displays the name of the
current preset

The Presets menu displays presets in the following order:

• Most Recently Used presets—these appear at the top of the Presets
menu, up to 8 in number, and followed by a horizontal line to separate
this section from the next section of the menu.
• VST factory presets—any VST factory presets appear below the Most
Recently Used section, and are also followed by a horizontal separator
line.
• Cakewalk and user presets—these appear at the bottom of the Presets
menu.
The following table tells you how to use presets:

616 Mixing
Using Real-Time Effects
To do this... Do this...

Load a preset Do either of the following:

• Click the dropdown arrow on the right
side of the Presets menu, and click the
name of the preset in the dropdown
menu.
• Click the left or right side of the Prev/Next
button to load the previous or next preset
in the menu. You can click the button
repeatedly to step through the menu.

Save the current settings If you’re using:

as a preset • A VST factory preset—these can not be
deleted or overwritten (the Delete button
appears greyed-out). If you want to
change one of these, double-click the
name, enter a new name, and click the
Save button.
Note: VST presets can be stored by
saving a .fxp file (see below for
instructions).
• A Cakewalk or user preset—either save
these under a new name: double-click the
name, enter a new name, and click the
Save button, or just click the Save button
to overwrite the preset with current
values.

Delete a preset VST factory presets can not be deleted. If

you’re not using a VST factory preset,
simply display the preset name in the
Presets window, and then click the Delete
button.

Load or save a .fxp file Use the Load Preset or Save Preset
commands, respectively, in the VST
button dropdown menu

Load or save a .fxb file Use the Load Bank or Save Bank
commands, respectively, in the VST
button dropdown menu

Mixing 617
Using Real-Time Effects
 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 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.
Plug-in property pages have a couple of other controls not related to
presets:
• Automation read and write buttons—these buttons enable or disable
automation playback and recording for the plug-in’s parameters. See
the online help topic “Automation,” for more information.
• Keystrokes button—enabling this button sends all keystrokes to a
particular instance of a plug-in when the plug-in’s property page has
focus.

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 clip’s FX bin also appears on the General tab of the clip’s 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 boundaries—effects
tails are cut off, unless you slip-edit the end of the clip to leave space.

618 Mixing
Using Real-Time Effects
• 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).

A. FX icon

To Open or Close the FX Bin on a Clip

• To open a clip’s 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 clip’s FX bin, click the X icon that’s in the upper left corner of
the clip’s 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 clips’s
FX bin and choose Bypass Bin from the popup menu.
• To enable or disable an individual effect, click the effect’s 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 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.

Mixing 619
Using Real-Time Effects
 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.

Organizing Plug-ins
Once you have more than a few plug-in effects and/or soft synths installed
on your computer, you might want to organize the way they appear in the
various plug-in and synth menus that you use. The Cakewalk Plug-in
Manager is a powerful tool to organize your plug-in menus. Open the Plug-
in Manager by using the Tools-Cakewalk Plug-in Manager command, and
display the Plug-in Manager’s help file by pressing F1.
Even if you don’t use the Plug-in Manager, SONAR now automatically
organizes all DX and VST plug-ins into a default plug-in menu layout called
Default – All Plug-ins. If you select the Plug-in Layouts-Manage Layouts
option from a plug-in menu, the Plug-in Manager opens and automatically
populates the Plug-in Layout area with the Default Layout, which produces
a solid starting point for customizing layouts.
VST plug-ins are organized in menus according to the file folder structure in
which they reside on your hard disk.

VST Configuration
SONAR automatically scans your VST folders for new plug-ins on startup,
registering any unscanned VST plug-ins so that they become available in
SONAR’s plug-in menus. You can turn off automatic scanning by using the
Options-Global command, and unchecking the Scan For VST Plug-ins On
Startup checkbox that is on the VST Plug-ins tab.
To configure your VST plug-ins manually, use either the VST Plug-ins tab
of the Global Options dialog, or the Cakewalk Plug-in Manager. You can
use the Global Options dialog to set general VST options, such as choosing
which folders to scan, but not specific options on individual plug-ins. Use

620 Mixing
Organizing Plug-ins
the Cakewalk Plug-in Manager to set options on individual plug-ins (use the
Tools-Cakewalk Plug-in Manager command to open the Plug-in
Manager). The following procedures explain how to use the VST Plug-ins
tab of the Global Options dialog. The Cakewalk Plug-in Manager has its
own help.
To Display the Global Options Dialog/VST Plug-ins Tab
• Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog,
and click the VST Plug-ins tab.
To Add a Folder to Scan
1. On the Global Options dialog/VST Plug-ins tab, click the Add button to
open the Browse for Folder dialog.
2. Choose the folder you want to add, and click OK.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to add any additional folders you might want to
scan.
The new folders appear in the VST Scan Folder(s) list, along with any
folders that were already in the list.
To Remove a Folder from the VST Scan Folder(s) List
• On the Global Options dialog/VST Plug-ins tab, in the VST Scan
Folder(s) list, select the folder you want to remove, and click the
Remove button.
To Set Options for All Plug-ins in a Folder
1. On the Global Options dialog/VST Plug-ins tab, in the VST Scan
Folder(s) list, select the folder you want to set options for, then click the
Folder Defaults button.
2. In the dialog that appears, choose from the following options (options
that control properties for individual plug-ins are greyed-out: use the
Cakewalk Plug-in Manager to set those options):
• Enable as plug-in—enable this option if you want to use the plug-
ins in this folder as audio effects.
• Configure as tempo-based effect—if the effects in this folder are
supposed to respond to tempo information (for example, a tempo-
synced delay), and they are not responding, make sure this box is
checked.
• Force stereo operation—if you need to use mono plug-ins in
situations that requires stereo, you can enable this option to run the

Mixing 621
VST Configuration
 plug-ins in stereo mode. This option simply creates two identical
output streams from the plug-ins where only one existed.
• Do not intercept NRPNs—SONAR 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.
3. Click OK to close the dialog.
To Turn Automatic Scanning On or Off
• On the Global Options dialog/VST Plug-ins tab, in the VST Scan
Options section, check or uncheck the Scan For VST Options On
Startup option. The next time you launch SONAR, your VST folders will
either be scanned or not, depending on the option you chose.
To Re-scan Failed Plug-ins
• On the Global Options dialog/VST Plug-ins tab, in the VST Scan
Options section, enable the Re-scan Failed Plug-ins option. The next
time you scan, any plug-ins that did not scan correctly during previous
scans will be re-scanned.
To Re-scan Existing Plug-ins
• On the Global Options dialog/VST Plug-ins tab, in the VST Scan
Options section, enable the Re-scan Existing Plug-ins option. The next
time you scan, any plug-ins that have already been scanned will be re-
scanned, and any new folder default options you have chosen will be
implemented.
To Run a Scan
• On the Global Options dialog/VST Plug-ins tab, in the VST Scan
section, click the Scan VST Folders button.
To Set All VST Plug-ins to Folder Defaults
• On the Global Options dialog/VST Plug-ins tab, in the VST Scan
section, click the Reset All VST Plug-ins button. The next time you
scan, SONAR will set all plug-ins in your VST Scan folders to your
folder default settings.

V-Vocal Clips
V-Vocal is a vocal processor that integrates Roland’s VariPhrase
technology into SONAR Producer. Designed for monophonic sounds,

622 Mixing
V-Vocal Clips
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.
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 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 V-Vocal-V-Vocal Editor from the Clips
pane popup menu. You can also double-click the V-Vocal clip, or create
your own key binding to launch V-Vocal.
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. You can also or create your own key
binding to launch the V-Vocal editor.
Note: offline processing commands such as Process-Normalize and
Process-Gain do not work on a V-Vocal clip.
To Bypass or Unbypass a Single V-Vocal Clip
• Right-click the V-Vocal clip and choose V-Vocal-Bypass/Unbypass
from the Clips pane popup menu.

Mixing 623
V-Vocal Clips
 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 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.
Here’s a description of the interface:

624 Mixing
Using V-Vocal
 A B C D E F G H

I
J
S

R
Q
T
K

P L

O N M

A. Bypass B. Mute C. Solo D. Rewind E. Play/Stop F. AutoScroll G. LoopMode

H. Undo/Redo I. Cent indicator J. Timeline K. Scroll L. Formant control
M. Information view N. Zoom O. Edit mode P. Pitch correction Q. Spread editing
area R. Select pitch correction key S. Tools T. Pitch to MIDI

Description of Interface Components

• Edit mode—select the parameter you want to edit: pitch, time, formant,
or dynamics.
• Zoom—continuous 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.
• AutoScroll—the editing display scrolls when you turn on AutoScroll.
• Formant control—the Pitch Follow knob increases or decreases the
formant according to pitch. The Shift knob increases or decreases the
formant for the entire phrase.

Mixing 625
Using V-Vocal
 • Pitch Correction
• Keyboard and Scale buttons—assign 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 button—use this button to set the rate of pitch correction. This
function can adjust the pitch to the selected notes’ grids by
increasing or decreasing the pitch of the selected region.
• Vibrato—set the depth of the vibrato. If you choose 100%, vibrato
depth is set to zero.
• Sense—this is a sensitivity control for pitch correction for unstable
pitch areas such as portamento. Pitch correction gets stronger if
you increase the value.
• Cent indicator—this indicator shows the pitch correction amount by
cents in realtime (+/- 100 cents).
• Timeline—this gives a graphical display of the playback time in beats.
• Select pitch correction key—set the target notes for the pitch correction.
Each time you click a note, the note’s 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.

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Using V-Vocal
• 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.

See:
Playing Back V-Vocal Clips

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.
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 that’s
at the top of the graph.

See:
Pitch Editing

Pitch Editing
Pitch editing requires that the Pitch button in the edit mode section is
enabled. Here’s a description of the interface in pitch editing mode:

Mixing 627
Using V-Vocal
 • 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.
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.

628 Mixing
Using V-Vocal
• 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:
• Note—controls 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.
• Vibrato—as the value increases, the vibrato depth gets narrower. At a
value of 100, Vibrato is completely eliminated.
• Sense—as 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 artificial. 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.

Mixing 629
Using V-Vocal
 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 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.

630 Mixing
Using V-Vocal
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.
To Fade-in Vibrato
1. Move the Vibrato/LFO tool over the beginning of a vibrato segment.

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.

See:
V-Vocal Pitch-to-MIDI.
Editing Time.

Mixing 631
Using V-Vocal
 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:
• 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.

See:
Editing Formants

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.
Here’s a picture of the V-Vocal interface in formant mode:

632 Mixing
Using V-Vocal
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.
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-

Mixing 633
Using V-Vocal
 clicking the graph, and choosing Views-Pitch from the context menu.

See:
Editing Dynamics

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.

See:
Context Menu

Context Menu
If you right-click the graph, the V-Vocal context menu appears.
The menu has the following commands:
• Undo—use 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.
• Redo—use this command to redo an editing action that was just
cancelled by an Undo command.
• Select All—use this command to select the whole phrase. You can
deselect a selection by clicking away from the waveform.
• View—use this command and the options in its submenu to hide or
show the phrase’s waveform (Wave option on submenu), the pitch
display (Pitch), the formant line (Formant), and the dynamics line
(Dynamics).
• Group Node—deletes nodes in the selected region.
• Pitch Detect Mode—method for redetecting center pitch (the white
horizontal line) of LFO or Vibrato. After you select the region you want
to redetect, choose from these options the following submenus.
• Standard 1—generally, you do not need to select this option,
because it is used to detect pitch as soon as you create a V-Vocal
clip. If you decide to use another method, but change your mind
and want to use this method, you can select this method to
recreate the original data.

634 Mixing
Using V-Vocal
 • Standard 2—this is a general pitch detection setting that often
performs better on styles with deeper vibratos.
• Deep Vibrato—special purpose pitch detection method for phrases
that contain very deep vibratos; this detection method tends to
create longer center pitches, but may detect multiple notes as a
single note.
• Precision—special purpose pitch detection method for very high
resolution pitch detection of phrases; this detection method will
create more accurate center pitches for styles containing fast
variations of pitch. This method, however, may divide a single
vibrato section into multiple pitches.
• LFO Pen Type—select the type of the waves of vibrato added by the
vibrato tool.

See:
Keyboard Shortcuts

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

Zoom tool Z

Undo zoom U

Redo zoom Shift+U

Mixing 635
Using V-Vocal
 Command... Shortcut...

Zoom vertically Ctrl+Up/Down arrow keys

Zoom horizontally Ctrl+Left/Right arrow keys

Fit entire region into Shift+F

display

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

Redo Ctrl+Shift+Z

Cancel drag gesture Esc

Select All Ctrl+A

Select None Ctrl+Shift+A

Return selection to Delete

default settings

Solo track /

636 Mixing
Using V-Vocal
 Command... Shortcut...

Show/hide waveform in Shift+W

Pitch edit mode

Go to/Center cursor G

Scroll up/down Up/Down arrow keys; PageUp/PageDown

Scroll left/right Left/Right arrow keys

Using the Per-track EQ

SONAR has a 4-band EQ patched into each audio track by default. You can
adjust these EQ’s in the Console view and the Track Inspector. You can
hide the EQ, hide its graph (plot), display only one band, or display all four
bands
Here’s a graphic of the EQ and its controls:

Mixing 637
Using the Per-track EQ
 Console view Track or Bus Inspector

B
C

F
G

H I

A. Plot B. Enable EQ C. Choose type of filter, band 4 D. Frequency, Gain, and Q

controls for band 3 E. Enable band 2 F. EQ Plot button G. EQ button H. Display
button I. Module options

Here’s how to use it:

To Show or Hide the EQ in all Audio Tracks
• In the Console view, click the EQ button; in the Track or Bus Inspector,
click the Display button and click EQ.
To Show Either One Band’s Controls or Four Band’s
Controls
• In the Console view, right-click the EQ button and choose options; in

638 Mixing
Using the Per-track EQ
 the Track or Bus Inspector, click the Module Options button, choose EQ
and Plot, and choose options.
To Enable or Disable the EQ in a Track or Bus
• Click the EQ Enable button.
To Enable or Disable a Band
• Click the Enable/Disable Band button that’s at the top of each band’s
controls.
To Choose the Filter Type for Each Band
• Click the filter type menu, and choose a filter type.
To Set Frequency, Gain, and Q for Each Band
• In the Track or Bus Inspector, in the band that you want to configure,
drag the frequency slider, gain slider, or Q slider, respectively, to the left
or right. In the Console view, rotate the buttons that correspond to each
parameter. There are tooltips for each control.
To Hide or Show the Plot (Graph)
• In the Console view, click the Plot button. In the Inspector, click the
Display button, and click Plot.
To Change the Plot Resolution
• In the Console view, right-click the Plot button and choose options. In
the Inspector, click the Module Options button, choose EQ and Plot,
and choose options.
To Open the EQ Interface
• Double-click the Plot.
To Turn Off Bands 5 and 6
• If you are using bands 5 and/or 6, you can turn these bands off by right-
clicking the Plot, and choosing Reset Hidden EQ Parameters.

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).

Mixing 639
Applying Audio Effects
 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.

Applying MIDI Effects

You can destructively apply the MIDI effects in a track’s 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 don’t delete effects after applying them, they continue to be active
during playback, even though they have already been applied.

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:

640 Mixing
Applying MIDI Effects
• 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. Here’s how they work.
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.
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 point—the lowest level for send,
return, and volume levels, and zero for pan controls.
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 reverse—when 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.

Mixing 641
Using Control Groups
 • 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.
Note: By default, the relative gain between grouped controls that affect gain
is preserved. If you prefer the relative position of the controls to be
preserved regardless of the relative gain, there is a checkbox in the Group
Properties dialog that will toggle between these two behaviors.
To Add a Control to a Group
1. Right-click on the control.
2. Choose a group from the Group submenu.
SONAR adds the control to the group. Controls, knobs and faders are
highlighted with the group’s 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 Control’s 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.

642 Mixing
Using Control Groups
2. Choose Absolute or Relative as the group type and click OK.
SONAR uses the type to determine the range of motion for the group’s
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 group’s
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.
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 don’t have to

Mixing 643
Using Control Groups
 designate a group as a custom group to create a custom group—just 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 don’t have to
designate a group as a custom group to create a custom group—just group
some controls and set their starting and ending values.

See also:
Quick Groups

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 Tracks-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.

644 Mixing
Using Control Groups
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.

B
C

D E

A. A track strip selector in the Track view B. A track selector in the Track view C. A
bus strip selector in the Track view D. A track strip selector in the Console view E. 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 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:

Mixing 645
Using Control Groups
 • 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-existing 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).

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.”
SONAR‘s 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

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 • 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 Message effect on sliders

option... on buttons... and knobs...

None No remote control No remote control

Note On The button state is The slider/knob is alternately

toggled maximized and minimized

Note On/Off The button state is The slider/knob is maximized when

toggled when Note On Note On is received, and minimized
is received, and toggled when Note Off is received
again when Note 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

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 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.
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 click the
Automation Write button on the track strip of the track you are recording on,
you can record your external controller’s knob or fader movements. Make
sure the Automation Write button in the Automation toolbar is enabled.
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.

See:
Using the Learn Option

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
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.

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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 you’re 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 tracks—
you 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 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.
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.”

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 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 you’ve 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:
• Tracks—choosing 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.
• Buses—choosing 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 Outputs—choosing 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.

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 • Entire Mix—choosing 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.
10. Select the kind of dithering you want for your bounce, or select None.
• 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. Usually, you also
want to check 64-bit Mix Engine. This option lets you turn on the 64-bit
mix engine temporarily while you bounce your tracks. This produces a
higher-quality bounce without taxing your CPU during the rest of your
session.
Note 1: 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 2: If you don’t check Track Automation, any initial volume and pan
settings in an exported track are ignored and the track’s audio data will
be exported at the level that exists in the track, with pan set to center. If
you don’t 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 that’s next to the
Preset window.
12. Click OK.
SONAR mixes the audio data and a new track or tracks appear in your
project.

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

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 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. Use the Tools-Burn
Audio CD command to burn your tracks to an audio CD.
For step-by-step procedures:
To Export Audio to Wave File Format
Converting MIDI to Audio
To Burn Audio Tracks to an Audio CD
1. Make sure the tracks you wish to burn to CD have been saved as 16-
bit, 44,100 Hz, stereo Wave (.wav) files.
2. Insert a blank CD-R disc in the destination drive.
3. Choose Tools-Burn Audio CD to open the Audio CD Burner dialog
box.
4. Select a destination CD writing drive using the Target Drive dropdown
list.
5. Click Add Track to locate and import the audio Wave files you wish to
burn to CD.
6. Place the tracks in the desired order by using the Move Up and Move
Down buttons.
7. Click Burn CD.
SONAR verifies, performs a layout of the tracks and writes the current track
list to CD medium in the selected drive. After the disk is completed, the disk
is ejected from the drive.

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). The following export formats are supported:

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Format... Definition...

Wave (surround files in The standard digital audio format used under Windows
Wave format are for burning CDs, with a file extension of .WAV
supported by SONAR
Producer only)

Windows Media Advanced Compressed digital audio for streaming over the
Streaming Format Internet, with the file extension .WMA.
(includes 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.

Apple AIFF Audio Interchange File Format, co-developed by Apple

Inc., is most commonly used on Apple Macintosh
computer systems. The file extension is .AIF.

NeXT/Sun Au is the standard audio file format used by Sun, Unix

and Java. The audio in au files can be 8-bit or 16-bit
PCM or compressed with the µLaw, alaw or G729
codecs. The file extension is .AU.

FLAC FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec, which is

somewhat similar to MP3, but lossless. Audio in a
FLAC file is compressed without any loss in
quality.The file extension is .FLAC.

Sound Designer II Sound Designer II is the native format of DigiDesign’s

Sound Designer pro audio software and is also used
natively by Macromedia DECK II and many
applications. SD2 files be mono or interleaved stereo
and the file extension is .SD2.

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 Format... Definition...

Core Audio Format Core Audio Format is a new 64-bit audio format
supported natively in Mac OS X, and is also used
by QuickTime 7. Audio in Core Audio Format files
can be uncompressed PCM or compressed
(such as AAC). The file extension is .CAF.

RAW Rarely used, a RAW file can contain audio in any

codec but is usually used with PCM audio data.

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.
See New Export Formats.
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 don’t select anything, everything’s 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:
• Wave—choose this if you want to export a standard wave file, or if
you’re exporting a surround project in wave format.
• Broadcast Wave (time-stamped)—choose this if you want to create
a Broadcast Wave file (see description below).

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8. In the Source Category field, select one of the following options:
• Tracks—Choosing this option creates a separate file for each track
that you select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Buses—Choosing this option creates a separate file for each bus
that you select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Main Outputs—Choosing this option creates a separate file for
each main output that you select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Entire Mix—Choosing this option creates one file for your entire
mix, unless you’re 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:
• Stereo—All exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a stereo
file or files.
• Mono—All exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a mono file
or files.
• Split Mono—All exported tracks and clips are mixed down to
separate mono files.
• Multichannel—All 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 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 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.

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 Note: If you don’t check Track Automation. any initial volume and pan
settings in an exported track are ignored and the track’s audio data will
be exported at the level that exists in the track, with pan set to center. If
you don’t check Clip Automation, any trim settings are ignored during
export. If you don’t 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 that’s next to the window.
15. Click Export.
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):
• Description—A brief description of the contents of the Broadcast wave.
Limited to 256 characters.
• Originator—The author of the Broadcast wave. This information is
taken from the Author field in the File Info dialog.
• Originator Reference—A unique reference identifier created by
SONAR.
• Origination Date—The date the file was created.
• Origination Time—The time the file was created.
• Time Reference—The 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.

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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:
• Tracks—choosing this option creates a separate file for each track
that you select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Buses—choosing this option creates a separate file for each bus
that you select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Main Outputs—choosing this option creates a separate file for each
main output that you select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Entire Mix—choosing this option creates one file for your entire mix,
unless you’re 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:
• Stereo—All exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a stereo
file or files.
• Mono—All exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a mono file
or files.
• Split Mono—All exported tracks and clips are mixed down to
separate mono files.
• Multichannel—All 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 option is on in the Audio Options dialog box (see
Dithering 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.

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 Note 1: 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 2: If you don’t check Track Automation. any initial volume and pan
settings in an exported track are ignored and the track’s audio data will
be exported at the level that exists in the track, with pan set to center. If
you don’t check Clip Automation, any trim settings are ignored during
export. If you don’t 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 that’s 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.
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:
• Tracks—choosing this option creates a separate file for each track
that you select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Buses—choosing this option creates a separate file for each bus
that you select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.

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 • Main Outputs—choosing this option creates a separate file for each
main output that you select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Entire Mix—choosing 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:
• Stereo—All exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a stereo
file or files.
• Mono—All exported tracks and clips are mixed down to a mono file
or files.
• Split Mono—All 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 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 1: 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 2: If you don’t check Track Automation. any initial volume and pan
settings in an exported track are ignored and the track’s audio data will
be exported at the level that exists in the track, with pan set to center. If
you don’t check Clip Automation, any trim settings are ignored during
export. If you don’t 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 that’s 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.
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.
2. Enter a File Name (maximum 64 characters—SONAR 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

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 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 application’s
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
• Pan
• Automation
• Effects

Dithering
Dithering—whenever an audio signal is converted from a higher-bit
resolution to a lower resolution, it is necessary to apply dither to avoid
introducing undesirable quantization noise or harmonic distortion into the
signal. The purpose of dither is to reduce the resulting distortion by adding
low-level random noise or “dither” to the audio signal. Different
mathematical calculations are used to generate dither, each method has
advantages and disadvantages depending on the particular operation.
SONAR Producer features the Pow-r dithering process, short for Psycho-
acoustically Optimized Wordlength Reduction, which can produce lower-bit
files that sound indistinguishable from higher-bit source files. When this
option is turned on, SONAR uses dithering when you export a higher-bit file
at a lower resolution, or lower the bit depth of a project’s audio files by using
the Tools-Change Audio Format command, or when you “render” audio
(bounce, freeze, or apply effects).

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 SONAR Producer offers five kinds of dithering:
• Rectangular—essentially white noise, no noise shaping.
Advantages: least CPU-intensive, lowest signal-to-noise ratio,
preferable to shaped dither when successive dithering can occur
(e.g. bouncing, freezing). Disadvantages: suffers from
intermodulation distortion, higher perceived loudness than Pow-r
dither.
• Triangular—higher level than rectangular, no noise shaping.
Advantages: low CPU-intensive dither, superior to Rectangular as it
does not suffer from modulation noise effects. Preferable to shaped
(Pow-r) dither when successive dithering can occur (e.g. bouncing,
freezing). Disadvantages: higher perceived loudness than Pow-r
dither.
• Pow-r 1—noise-shaped dither. Advantages: less CPU-intensive
than Pow-r types 2 and 3, lower perceived loudness than
Rectangular or Triangular. Disadvantages: less noise shaping than
Pow-r types 2 and 3, not recommended for operations where dither
will be applied successively (e.g. bounce and freeze).
• Pow-r 2—noise-shaped dither. Advantages: lowest perceived
loudness, highest quality settings, recommended for audio export.
Disadvantages: highest CPU-intensive settings, not recommended
for operations where dither will be applied successively (e.g.
bounce and freeze).
• Pow-r 3—same as Pow-r 2 except 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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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, including Windows Media 9 Pro.
You can use a joystick to control surround panning if you want.
Note: it’s 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 SONAR’s surround functions, start with the Surround
Basics.

See:
Surround Basics
Configuring SONAR for Surround Mixing
Panning in Surround
Surround Metering
Bass Management
Surround Effects
Importing Surround Mixes
Exporting Surround Mixes

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 speakers—this varies from 3.2 all the way to 8.1.
• The angles of the speakers.
• The intended final coding format—this 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.

See:
Configuring SONAR for Surround Mixing

Configuring SONAR for Surround Mixing

This section covers setting up SONAR for surround sound.
Using Surround Format Templates
Choosing a Surround Format
Surround Buses
Routing in Surround
Downmixing

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,

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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)

Sr Side right—directly to the right of the listener

Rs Right Surround

Cs Surround (rear center)

Ls Left Surround

Sl Side Left—directly 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.
A project can include multiple surround buses, but all surround buses in a
project use the same surround format (5.1, 7.1, etc.).

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 The project’s 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)
• 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)

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• 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).

See:
Choosing a Surround Format

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 won’t see a “Surround
Main” output module in the output modules section of the Console view,
because it’s 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

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 “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
parameters—you can change these, but they aren’t 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 that’s to the right of the field. When you want to use
this preset in a project, just choose it from the Presets dropdown menu.
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.

See:
Surround Buses

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

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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.

See:
Routing in Surround

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.

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 Signal Flow Result

Track to hardware output No change

Stereo bus to stereo bus No change

Stereo bus to surround bus or the Stereo left channel is routed to Left
Surround Main 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
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 No change

the Surround Main

To Assign a Track to a Surround Bus or Surround Main

• Click in the track’s output field and select a surround bus, the Surround
Main, or New Surround Bus as an output.

See:
Downmixing

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.
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:

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Downmixing Options
Setting

Center Downmix Level These options determine how much of the center is
(dB) mixed to the left and right.
• -3 dB—Maintains the same level of center channel sound
when you listen in a typically reverberant room
• -4.5 dB—A compromise level between -3dB and -6 dB
• -6 dB—Maintains the same level of center channel sound
when you listen to direct sound without typical room
reverberations
• -INF—Eliminates all of the Center channel signal

Surround Downmix Level The amount of Left Surround and Right Surround mixed
(dB) into the Left and Right channels respectively.
• -3 dB—Maintains the same level of surround
• -6 dB—Reduces the level of surround so that it doesn’t
compete with center channel sound such as dialog
• -INF—Eliminates 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
• -INF—Eliminates 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.

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 5. If you want to export your stereo mix, use the File-Export Audio
command. This command obeys your downmix settings.

See:
Panning in Surround

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:
• Micro—this is found in the Track view.
• Small—this is found on sends.
• Medium—this is the surround panner which is displayed in the Track
Inspector and Console view.
• Large—this is a large surround panner (see Controlling Surround
Panning for a picture) 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.

A. MIcro surround panner in Track view B. Six channel output meter

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 A

A. 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.
See:
Controlling Surround Panning

Controlling Surround Panning

Here are pictures of the large surround panner and medium surround
panner:

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 Large Surround Panner

A. Angle and focus marker B. Width markers C. Right speaker icon

Medium Surround Panner

The large surround panner has some sliders at the bottom that the medium
surround panner doesn’t 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 marker—a small sphere that you can drag in any
direction to both control and display the following two parameters:

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 • Angle—this 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 listener’s right, and 0 to -180 degrees on the
listener’s 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.
• Focus—this 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 markers—these 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/squares—each 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 speaker’s 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 project’s 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 slider—this 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

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 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 Views-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.
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 speaker’s
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
speaker’s output. The square turns green when the speaker is soloed.

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To Change the Width
• In the large surround panner, drag the Width slider.
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).
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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 Shortcut... Function...

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, Fine resolution

etc.)

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

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 See also:
Automating Surround Panning

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 Write Enable from the popup menu.

See:
Surround Metering

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.
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 SONAR’s 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-Controller/Surfaces command.

2. In the Controller/Surfaces dialog, click the Add button , and choose

Joystick Panner in the Controller/Surface field of the Controller/Surface
Settings dialog; click OK.
3. Close the Controller/Surfaces dialog, and display the Controller/
Surfaces toolbar (Views-Toolbars-Controller/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 that’s 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 Controller/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 that’s next to the Presets
window. Whenever you want to load a preset, just select it in the Presets
window.

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),

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 however, surround meters display more channels. For example, a project in
5.1 would have a six-channel meter.

A. Six-channel meter

Each pair of hardware outputs still uses a stereo meter, but you will see the
meters on several pairs of outputs displaying levels, depending on how
many surround channels your project uses.

See:
Bass Management

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 isn’t 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.

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 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.
SONAR’s bass management system allows you to monitor how a surround
project will sound with bass management, so you don’t have to change the
gain to your subwoofer during mixing. SONAR’s 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.

See:
Surround Effects

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).

See:
The SurroundBridge
Effect Property Pages
Effect Presets
How to Patch and Configure Surround Effects

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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 that’s
in the property page of every effect that’s 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 you’re patching by choosing
options on the SurroundBridge tab of the effect’s 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:
Effect Property Pages
Effect Presets
How to Patch and Configure Surround Effects

Effect Property Pages

A single property page controls all instances of an effect that is patched into
a surround bus. The effect’s 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 instance’s parameters by using the controls on the SurroundBridge
tab.

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 See:
Effect Presets
The SurroundBridge

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-
in’s instances to the settings of the preset; selecting a surround preset sets
each instance’s parameters individually, according to the information stored
in the preset.

See:
How to Patch and Configure Surround Effects
The SurroundBridge
Effect Property Pages

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 bus’s 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 effect’s property page is not open, display it by double-clicking the
name of the effect in the surround bus’s FX bin.
2. On the SurroundBridge tab of the effect’s 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

684 Surround Mixing

Surround Effects
Effect Instances
1. In the property page of an effect that’s 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 you’re finished adjusting parameters, click the Unlink Controls
button again so that it’s not red.
Now you can adjust the parameters you adjusted, without automatically
adjusting the same parameters that are on other tabs of the effect’s
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 instance’s parameters, the instance’s
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 relink—if the parameters you want to select are
adjacent, you can Shift-click the first and last ones in the group. If
they’re 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 Instance’s Parameters from Other
Instances
1. In the property page of an effect that’s 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.

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Surround Effects
 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 instance’s parameters, recheck its Controls Linked
to Group checkbox.
To Disable an Instance
• On the SurroundBridge tab of the effect’s property page, uncheck the
Enable checkbox of the plug-in you want to disable. The instance’s 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 instance’s 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 instance’s property tab
does 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 effect’s parameters the way you want them.
2. In the Presets field of the effect’s property page, type a name for the
preset, and click the floppy disk icon that’s just right of the Presets field.
Saving a preset of an effect that’s 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.
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

686 Surround Mixing

Importing Surround Mixes
 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. It’s 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.

See:
Exporting Surround Mixes

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.

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Exporting Surround Mixes
 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 that’s next to the window.
9. Click Export.
SONAR exports your project in the file format you selected.

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Exporting Surround Mixes
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 controls—you can automate
individual controls, faders, and knobs that control the main outs, individual tracks, buses,
individual effects’ parameters (including some plug-in synths), and even individual clips.
Easy to use read and write controls are featured on each automatable component of
SONAR.
You can also group several controls together and automate them all by recording only a
single control’s 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/Disable Automation Playback
button in the Automation toolbar. You can also enable or disable automation by track or
by parameter using the Automation Read button on track strips, buses, effects bins and
soft synths. This is a handy way to turn off automation for a particular section of
parameters while mixing. Display the Automation toolbar by using the Views-Toolbars
command and making sure that the Automation checkbox is checked in the Toolbars
dialog box.

See:
Quick Automation Guide
The Automation Toolbar
Automation Methods
 Automating Effects
Reassigning Envelopes
The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus

Quick Automation Guide

The following table summarizes Console and Track view automation:

What you Parameters you How you can

can can automate... automate them...
automate...

Individual tracks Gain, pan, mute, bus Draw envelopes in the

send gain, bus send Clips pane, record the
balance, MIDI fader movements, or take
controllers, MIDI chorus a snapshot
and reverb, pitch wheel,
channel aftertouch, RPN
and NRPN

Buses Input gain and pan, Draw envelopes in the

output gain and pan Clips pane, 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 Varies with See Drawing Soft Synth

controls the synth Automation in the Clips
Pane and Automating
Controls from the Synth
Rack.

690 Automation
Quick Automation Guide
What you Parameters you How you can
can can automate... automate them...
automate...

Groups of faders Whatever the faders or Record fader movements

or other controls other controls in the
group control

Individual clips Gain and pan for audio Draw envelopes in the
clips, velocity for MIDI Clips pane
clips

In addition, SONAR allows you to copy and paste envelopes between

tracks. The only controls that you can’t automate are the Arm, Solo, Pre/
Post, Interleave (Mono/Stereo selector), Bus Enable, and Phase buttons;
and the Trim fader.
For step-by-step instructions, see:
The Automation Toolbar
Automation Methods
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Drawing Envelopes on Clips
Showing or Hiding Envelopes
Deleting Envelopes
Copying and Pasting Envelopes
Snapshots

The Automation Toolbar

Display the Automation toolbar by using the Views-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:
• Enable/Disable Automation Playback—Click this button to either

Automation 691
The Automation Toolbar
 enable or disable any automation data the project contains.
• Enable/Disable Automation Recording—Click this button to globally
turn on/off the ability to record automation.
• Snapshot—Click 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.
• Clear All Automation Write Enables—Click this button to disarm
every control that is armed for automation recording.
• Envelope/Offset mode—Click this button to toggle between Envelope
mode and Offset mode. For more information on the Envelope and
Offset modes, see Envelope Mode and Offset Mode.
See also:
Automation Methods

Automation Methods
There are several ways to automate controls in the Track and Console
views:
• Recording the movements of individual faders, knobs, or controls—this
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 data—an
envelope is a graph of the change in level of a particular parameter
over time
• Recording automation data from an external controller
• Snapshots
For step-by-step instructions, see:
Automation Read and Automation Write Buttons
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Using the Envelope Draw Tool
Drawing Envelopes on Clips

692 Automation
Automation Methods
Showing or Hiding Envelopes
Deleting Envelopes
Copying and Pasting Envelopes
Snapshots
Automating Individual Effects Parameters
For step-by-step instructions, see:
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Using the Envelope Draw Tool
Drawing Envelopes on Clips
Showing or Hiding Envelopes
Deleting Envelopes
Copying and Pasting Envelopes
Snapshots
Automating Individual Effects Parameters

Automation Read and Automation Write

Buttons
SONAR now has buttons to enable/disable automation playback (the
Automation Read buttons) and automation recording (the Automation Write
buttons) on the following modules:
• Tracks
• Buses
• Plug-in property pages
• Clip effects property pages (Automation Read button only)
In addition, SONAR has right-click commands to enable/disable automation
playback and recording for individual parameters. The read/write buttons
enable or disable automation playback and recording respectively on all the
parameters on an individual track, bus, or plug-in at once. The read/write
commands enable or disable automation playback and recording
respectively on individual parameters of tracks, buses, or plug-ins.

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Automation Methods
 The Automation Read button enables playback of automation envelopes for
all automatable parameters in the track, bus, or plug-in that the button is on,
and is a handy way to temporarily turn off envelopes for a particular track or
bus while mixing.
The Automation Write button replaces the old pre SONAR 6 “automation
arm” property and enables all automatable parameters on a specific audio
track, bus, or plug-in to be recorded.
The Automation Read and the Automation Write buttons are located by
default next to the Mute/Solo/Arm buttons on track and bus strips in the
Track View, on the console strip in the Console View, and below the Mute
and Solo buttons in the Synth Rack. They are also available in Cakewalk
Soft Synth and Cakewalk effects plug-ins. Automation Read and
Automation Write buttons have three states; enabled, disabled, and dim.
Enabled buttons indicate that all associated parameters are read/write
enabled. A dim button indicates that some parameters in the track strip or
plug-in are read or write enabled, while others are not. During automation
recording, you will see the automation preview envelope being drawn in
real time alongside the normal waveform or MIDI preview.

A B

A. Automation Read button B. Automation Write button

Enabling Individual Parameters

You can read-enable or write-enable individual parameters on tracks and
buses by right-clicking them and choosing Automation Read Enable or
Automation Write Enable from the popup menu.
If you right-click an effect in an effect bin, the Read Enable Parameter and
Write Enable Parameter menu choices open dialogs that allow you to
select which parameters you want to enable.
See Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements for more information.

Recording Individual Fader or Knob

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Automation Methods
Movements
Recording automation for knobs and faders works in the Track view, the
Console view, and Synth Rack. You can record automation during both
playback and recording operations.
To Record Individual Fader or Knob Movements
1. Do one of the following:
• To write-enable an individual track or bus control, right-click the
fader or control you want to automate and choose Automation
Write Enable from the popup menu.
• To write-enable individual plug-in parameters, right-click the name
of the plug-in in the FX bin, and choose Write Enable Parameter
from the popup menu. This opens a dialog that allows you to
choose which parameters to write-enable.
• To write-enable individual synth parameters, right-click the synth’s
Automation Write button in the Synth Rack, and choose Write
Enable Parameter from the popup menu. This opens a dialog that
allows you to choose which parameters to write-enable.
• To write-enable all parameters in an audio track, bus, synth, or
effect, enable the Automation Write button on the track, bus,
Synth Rack strip, or plug-in property page you are recording
automation for. Enabling the Automation Write button on a track or
bus also write-enables all parameters of any effects on the track or
bus.
2. Start playback or recording.
3. Move the armed parameter control(s).
4. Stop playback or recording.
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 by adding
and dragging nodes. Once you record automation data in a track, the
widget that you automated displays an indicator to show that automation
has been applied. You can also group controls, so that automating one
control automates all the controls in the group.

See also:
The Automation Toolbar
Automated Muting

Automation 695
Automation Methods
 Using Control Groups
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Showing or Hiding Envelopes
Deleting Envelopes
Snapshots

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 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 envelope’s color at the
right side of the menu.
The envelope appears in the Clips pane as a straight, dotted line in the
envelope’s 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 envelope’s vertical
position reflects the current value of the parameter you are editing.

A B

A. Node B. Envelope name and current value C. Envelope value range

696 Automation
Automation Methods
 Note: An automated mute envelope changes the track’s 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 can’t accidentally edit any other data besides the envelope.
The Envelope Editing menu appears.
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:
• Jump—This 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.
• Linear—This choice draws a straight line between the two nodes.
• Fast Curve—This choice draws a curve between the two nodes that
changes value rapidly at first, but more slowly toward the end of the
curve.
• Slow Curve—This 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 that’s at either end of the jump.

Automation 697
Automation Methods
 Make sure the Automation Read button is enabled, 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 track’s 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, SONAR’s gain envelopes
increase a track’s 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.
You can also draw envelopes on MIDI tracks. See Creating and Editing
MIDI Envelopes.

See also:
Dotted Lines
The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus
Automated Muting
Using Control Groups
Deleting Envelopes
Snapshots
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements

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).
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.

698 Automation
Automation Methods
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 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
envelope’s 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 envelope’s vertical
position reflects the current value of the parameter you are editing.

A B

A. Node B. Envelope name and current value C. Envelope value range

Note: An automated mute envelope changes the track’s 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.

Automation 699
Automation Methods
 • 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.
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
node’s 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:
• Jump—This choice causes the envelope to make a ninety degree
jump when 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.
• Linear—This choice draws a straight line between the two nodes.
• Fast Curve—This choice draws a curve between the two nodes
that changes value rapidly at first, but more slowly toward the end
of the curve.
• Slow Curve—This 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 that’s at either end of the jump.

700 Automation
Automation Methods
Make sure the Automation Read button is enabled, 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.
You can also draw envelopes on audio tracks. See Creating and Editing
Audio Envelopes.

See also:
Dotted Lines
The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus
Automated Muting
Using Control Groups
Deleting Envelopes
Snapshots
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements

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.

Using the Envelope Draw Tool

The Envelope Draw tool allows you to draw both freehand and preset
shapes on an existing envelope.

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Automation Methods
 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 you’re 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 you’re 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
cursor’s 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 you’ve finished editing. The shape you
selected appears, repeating according to the Snap to Grid setting.

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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.
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 clip’s 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.
An envelope appears on the clip with a node at each end.

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Automation Methods
 Edit the envelope just as you would a track envelope, using the Select tool,
the Envelope tool, and the Envelope Draw tool.

See also:
The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus
Using the Envelope Draw Tool
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Showing or Hiding Envelopes
Deleting Envelopes
Snapshots
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements

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 that’s 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 that’s 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 it’s currently
hidden), or hide (if it’s currently showing).

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Automation Methods
 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.

See also:
Using Control Groups
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes.
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Deleting Envelopes
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements

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 delete—you
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 it’s listed.
4. Select Clip Automation if it’s listed.
5. Click OK.
SONAR deletes any track and clip envelopes that are in the data you
selected.

See also:
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements

Automation 705
Automation Methods
 Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Drawing Envelopes on Clips
Showing or Hiding Envelopes
Copying and Pasting Envelopes
Snapshots

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 copy—if 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.
To Paste an Envelope
1. Select the track(s) and location (Now Time) you want to paste the data
to.

706 Automation
Automation Methods
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 haven’t 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.

See also:
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Drawing Envelopes on Clips
Showing or Hiding Envelopes
Snapshots

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
1. Move the Now time to where the envelope’s 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.

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Automation Methods
 See also:
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Drawing Envelopes on Clips
Showing or Hiding Envelopes
Copying and Pasting Envelopes
Snapshots

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 mode—In envelope mode, volume and pan faders follow the
project’s automation and do not respond to changes you make in real-time.
Offset mode—In Offset mode, you “offset” the current automation in a
track using a parameter’s 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 that’s next to
Envelope Tool button. Choose Offset from the menu to enable/
disable Offset mode.

• In the Automation toolbar, click the Offset button.

• Press the o key.
In Offset mode, all controls that can be offset appear with a plus sign. For
example Vol+.

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Automation Methods
The following audio controls support both Envelope and Offset modes:

Control Envelope Mode Offset Mode Range

Range

Volume -Infinity to +6dB, default is -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0dB

0dB

Pan 100% L to 100% R, default is 100% L to 100% R, default is C

C

Bus Send -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0 -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0dB

Level dB

Bus Send 100% L to 100% R, default is 100% L to 100% R, default is C

Pan C

Bus Return -Infinity to +6dB, default is -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0dB

Level 0dB

Bus Return 100% L to 100% R, default is 100% L to 100% R, default is C

Balance C

Main Out -Infinity to +6dB, default is -Infinity to +6dB, default is 0dB

Volume 0dB

Main Out 100% L to 100% R, default is 100% L to 100% R, default is C

Balance C

The following MIDI controls support both Envelope and Offset modes:

Control Envelope Mode Offset Mode Range

Range

Volume 0 to 127, default is 101 0 to 127, default is 101

Pan 100% L to 100% R, default is 100% L to 100% R, default is C

C

Chorus 0 to 127, default is 0 -127 to 127, default is 100

Automation 709
Automation Methods
 Control Envelope Mode Offset Mode Range
Range

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.
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.

710 Automation
Automation Methods
 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 you’re 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
Making a snapshot of a single parameter is now a single-click process. A
snapshot is a setting or group of settings that SONAR’s 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 Snapshot of a Single Parameter
1. Move the parameter control to where you want it.
2. Move the Now Time to the location where you want to create the
snapshot.
3. Right-click the control and choose Automation Snapshot in the popup
menu. You don’t have to write-enable the track or bus module.
An indicator will appear on the control to show that automation has
been added, and a node will be added to the control's envelope on the
track.
4. Make sure the appropriate Automation Read button is enabled, 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.
To Create a Snapshot of Multiple Parameters
1. Arm the Parameters that you want to create a snapshot of by doing one
of the following:

Automation 711
Automation Methods
 • Enable the Automation Write button in the tracks and/or buses that
you want to automate. This also write-enables all parameters of
any automatable effects that are in the track or bus. You can click
the Clear All Automation Write-Enabled button in the
Automation toolbar first if you want to make sure that no hidden
tracks or buses are write-enabled.
• Or, disable all write-enabled parameters by clicking the Clear All
Automation Write-Enabled button in the Automation toolbar, and
then right-click each parameter control that you want to arm and
select Automation Write Enable from the popup menu.
• Or, if you want to automate all automatable parameters in a plug-in,
enable the Automation Write button in the effect or synth property
page, or the synth’s strip in the Synth Rack. In the Synth Rack, you
can also move any new parameter knobs you’ve created with the
Parameter Learn function to create automation.
2. Set your armed parameters the way you want them.
3. Move the Now Time to the location where you want to create the
snapshot.

4. Click the Snapshot button in the Automation toolbar to make the

snapshot.
An indicator will appear on the control to show that automation has
been added, and a node will be added to the control's envelope on the
track.
5. Make sure the Automation Read button for the tracks and/or buses you
automated is enabled, 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.
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
appear—two nodes at the From time, and two nodes at the Thru time.

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Automation Methods
 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 envelope—one 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 envelope’s
shape.

Automating Effects
SONAR allows you to automate plug-ins, giving you real-time control over
dozens of effects parameters.

See also:
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes.
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Showing or Hiding Envelopes
Deleting Envelopes
Using Control Groups
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 SONAR’s effects by drawing
envelopes, or recording fader movements, or creating snapshots. You
enable all automatable parameters in an effect when you enable the
Automation Write button in an effect property page.
To record fader movements, see Recording Individual Fader or Knob
Movements.

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Automating Effects
 To Draw Envelopes for an Individual Effect’s
Parameters
1. Patch an automatable effect into the track or bus where you want to
use it, and close the effect’s 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 effect’s envelope dialog box appears, listing all the parameters you
can automate in the Envelope Exists list.
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 that’s in the lower right corner of
the dialog box.
Note: You can change a plug-in envelope’s color whenever you want
by highlighting its name in the effect’s 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.

See also:
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Drawing Envelopes on Clips
Showing or Hiding Envelopes
Copying and Pasting Envelopes
Snapshots

Recording Automation Data from an External

714 Automation
Automating Effects
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, RPN’s, or NRPN’s,
choose a controller (such as Wheel) with which to control your knob or
control (see Remote Control dialog for more information). Also choose
the MIDI channel your controller will be sending the automation data on
(it doesn’t have to be the same channel that the knob or control’s track
plays back on), and click OK.
3. If your controller works by sending SysX information instead, choose
options in the SysX fields (see Remote Control dialog for more
information), and click OK.
4. In either the Track or Console view, write enable the knob or control for
automation that you just configured for remote control.
5. Start playback or recording, 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 disable each
armed control by clicking the Disable Automation Recording 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.

See also:
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Drawing Envelopes on Clips
Showing or Hiding Envelopes

Automation 715
Automating Effects
 Copying and Pasting Envelopes
Snapshots

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.

See also:
Recording Individual Fader or Knob Movements
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes
Drawing Envelopes on Clips
Showing or Hiding Envelopes
Copying and Pasting Envelopes
Snapshots

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:

716 Automation
Reassigning Envelopes
Menu Option... What it Does...

Jump (Envelope This choice causes the envelope to make a ninety

Editing menu only) degree jump 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 This choice draws a straight line between two

Editing menu only) nodes.

Fast Curve This choice draws a curve between the two nodes
(Envelope Editing that changes value rapidly at first, but more slowly
menu only) toward the end of the curve.

Slow Curve This choice draws a curve between two nodes that
(Envelope Editing changes value slowly at first, but more rapidly
menu only) toward the end of the curve

Add Node This choice adds a node, which is a point on the line
(Envelope Editing that you can drag, to the place on the envelope
menu only) where you right-clicked.

Add Nodes at This command creates 2 pairs of envelope nodes,

Selection 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.

Add Nodes at This command adds nodes to an envelope at the

Transient Markers transient markers of any AudioSnap-enabled clips
(Envelope Editing that a track contains.
menu only)

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.

Automation 717
The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus
 Menu Option... What it Does...

Assign Envelope- This choice reassigns the envelope to control the

(name of the parameter that you choose.
parameter you want
to control)

Delete Envelope This choice deletes the envelope.

Automation Read This choice enables automation playback for the

Enabled envelope.

Clear All This choice deletes everything from the envelope

except the first node.

Reset Node (Node This choice resets the node to the parameter’s
Editing menu only) neutral value.

Delete Node (Node This choice deletes the node.

Editing menu only)

Properties (Node This choice opens the Edit Node dialog box, which
Editing menu only) allows you to edit the node’s value and location.

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 track’s Mute button can display the muted or unmuted status of either the
automation envelope or of manual muting. The Tracks-Show Automated
Mute command causes the Mute button on a selected track to show
whether the track’s mute envelope (if any) is in the muted or unmuted
position (the automated mute status). When the command is disabled, the
track’s 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
Tracks-Show Automated Mute command, you can also right-click a Mute
button and choose Switch to Automated Mute from the popup menu.

718 Automation
The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus
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 Button’s Movement
1. Right-click the Mute button you want to automate and choose Switch
to Automated Mute from the popup menu.
2. Make sure the Mute button or its whole track is write-enabled.
3. Start playback or recording, and click the Mute button on and off where
appropriate.
4. Click the Stop button in the transport toolbar or press the spacebar
when the track has been muted in the appropriate places.
SONAR draws an automated mute envelope in the track you recorded on.
Before you listen to your track, make sure that the Enable/Disable
Automation Playback button in the Automation toolbar is enabled.

Automation 719
The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus
720 Automation
The Envelope Editing and Node Editing Menus
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 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.

See also:
Templates
Key Bindings
 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 list—the 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 that’s at the right end of the Window Layouts field, and select
a new folder).
There are two options in Windows Layouts dialog (select Views-Layouts to
open) that control how layouts are used, as described in the following table:

722 Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings

Layouts
Option… Meaning…

Close Old Windows Before If checked, SONAR will close all the
Loading New Ones views of the 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 If checked, the views of a project are
Layout 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.

To Create or Save a Layout

1. Arrange the views for the current project the way you want.
2. Choose Views-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 Views-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.

Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings 723

Layouts
 To Load a Layout
1. Choose Views-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 Views-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.
5. Click Close to exit the Window Layouts dialog box.
To Rename a Layout
1. Choose Views-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 Views-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.

724 Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings

Layouts
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.

See also:
Templates

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.
To Float a View
1. Open the view you want to float.
2. Click the view’s icon located in the upper left corner of the view.

Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings 725

Layouts
 A

A. Piano Roll view icon

3. In the menu that appears, click Enable Floating.

4. Move the view wherever you want.

Templates
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

726 Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings

Templates
• 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
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.

Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings 727

Templates
 SONAR creates the new project and displays it in the Track view.

See also:
Template Example: Three MIDI Instruments
Templates

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
Here’s 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.
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 won’t 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.

728 Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings

Templates
 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.

See also:
Templates

Key Bindings
Key bindings let you associate SONAR commands with keys on both your
MIDI keyboard and your 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)
• Exporting key bindings from SONAR (see Exporting Key Bindings)
• 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 they’re 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

Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings 729

Key Bindings
 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 it’s just as if you had chosen the Process-Quantize command
from the menu.
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 won’t 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. Here’s 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.

730 Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings

Key Bindings
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 haven’t 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.
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 it’s 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.

Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings 731

Key Bindings
 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 disable MIDI key bindings, uncheck the Enable box in the Key Bindings
dialog.

See also:
Importing Key Bindings
Exporting Key Bindings

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 don’t 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.

732 Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings

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.

Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings 733

Key Bindings
734 Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings
Key Bindings
Notation and Lyrics
This section describes three SONAR views that are used to edit the music notation and
lyrics of your project.
• SONAR’s Staff view lets you work with your composition in a standard musical staff,
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 track’s lyrics, and can be used to cue you with the lyrics
during playback or recording.
See:
The Staff View
Basic Musical Editing
Chords and Marks
Tablature
Working with Percussion
Printing
The Meter/Key View
Working with Lyrics

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.

Staff View

A B C D E F G H

A. Notehead tools B. Dynamics and markings C. Time and pitch locator D. Editing
tools E. Zoom F. Snap grid G. Show/hide track pane H. Fretboard display I. Track
list pane J. Fretboard pane

736 Notation and Lyrics

The Staff View
See:
Staff Pane Layout
The Fretboard
Fretboard Popup Menu

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
Views-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.
Displaying Tracks
The Staff view also has a Track List pane that allows you to set a track’s
Mute/Solo/Arm status and to change track focus.
To view the Track List pane:
• Click the show/hide button .
To set track focus:
• In the Track List pane, click the track name.
To mute, solo, or arm a track:
• In the Track List pane, click a track’s M, S, or R buttons, respectively.

Notation and Lyrics 737

The Staff View
 Note: You can right-click in the Track List pane to access Snap to Scale
commands. For more information on this feature, see Snap to Scale.

Staff Pane Layout

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 track—bass or treble—by 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.

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) for more information.

Layout Opens the Staff View Layout dialog box.

Quantize Opens the Quantize dialog box. See

Quantizing for more information.

Groove Quantize Opens the Groove Quantize dialog box. See

Quantizing for more information.

Transpose Opens the Transpose dialog box. See

Transposing for more information.

Slide Opens the Slide dialog box.

738 Notation and Lyrics

The Staff View
Menu command Result

Interpolate Opens the Event Filter Search dialog box. See

Process-Interpolate for more information.

Length Opens the Length dialog box. See Stretching

and Shrinking Events for more information.

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 track’s 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 part’s 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.

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:

Notation and Lyrics 739

The Staff View
 The Fretboard pane shows you this:

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 for information about setting clip
properties.)
To turn the display of the Fretboard on or off, click .

See:
Editing Notes and Chords from the Fretboard
Fretboard Popup Menu
Moving Notes from within the Fretboard
MIDI Channels and the Fretboard
To Display Notes on the Fretboard Using their MIDI Channels
To Edit a Chord Symbol
Tablature Settings
Changing Fretboard Texture and Orientation
Quick TAB
Regenerate TAB
Entering Notes from the TAB Staff
Single Note Editing from the TAB Staff
Editing Chords or Groups of Notes from the TAB Staff

740 Notation and Lyrics

The Staff View
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 Result
command

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 Controls which of the displayed tracks receive the

Track 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.

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.

Notation and Lyrics 741

The Staff View
 Menu Result
command

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.

See:
Inserting Notes on the Staff
Inserting Notes with the Fretboard
Selecting Notes
Moving, Copying, and Deleting Notes on the Staff
Moving Notes from within the Fretboard
Auditioning
Changing Note Properties
Deglitch Dialog
Working with Triplets
Beaming of Rests
Changing the Way Notes Are Displayed
Using Enharmonic Spellings
MIDI Channels and the Fretboard

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

742 Notation and Lyrics

Basic Musical Editing
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.
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 you’re entering
notes).
2. Click the Display Resolution button in the Staff view toolbar and choose
a resolution that’s 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 that’s 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.
6. Click the cursor on the vertical line at the pitch that you want.

Notation and Lyrics 743

Basic Musical Editing
 7. To add a sharp or flat, right-click the note to open the Note Properties
dialog box—in 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, E”4. 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.
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 Click it

symbol

Select several symbols at Click and drag a rectangle around them

once

Add symbols to the Press Shift and either click on the symbols
selection or drag a rectangle around the events

744 Notation and Lyrics

Basic Musical Editing
To do this... Do this...

Add or remove symbols Press Ctrl and either click on the symbols or
from the selection drag a rectangle around the events

Select symbols in a time Click and drag in the Time Ruler

range

Select symbols between two Click between the markers

markers

Remove all selections Click in an empty area

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.
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.

Notation and Lyrics 745

Basic Musical Editing
 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.
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.

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 2. Click the Select tool .
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 example, 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.
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:

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 Property... Meaning...

Time The starting time of the note

Pitch The note’s pitch

Velocity The note’s velocity (0 to 127)

Duration The note’s duration, in ticks or in beats and ticks

Channel The MIDI channel on which the note is played

To Edit a Note’s Properties

1. Right-click the note to open the Note Properties dialog box.

2. Edit the note’s properties, as described in the table.

3. Click OK.
SONAR changes the note’s 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.

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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.
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 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.

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 4. Select the Triplet option .
5. Enter the first note at the desired location in the staff.
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,
you’ll 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
don’t 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:

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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.

On the other hand, if you are entering notes into the Staff view with the

Fill and Trim off

Fill and Trim on

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 requires knowledge regarding what key or scale is being

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 evoked—knowledge 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 note’s enharmonic spelling, use the following table as a
guide:

Accidental... Character.. Example.. Displays as...

. .

Flat b Cb5

Sharp # C#5

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Accidental... Character.. Example.. Displays as...
. .

Double flat “ C”5

Double sharp x Cx5

To Change a Note’s 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 spellings—for example, to change multiple occurrences of Eb5
to D#5, or even all Ebs to D#s. See Process-Interpolate for more
information.

MIDI Channels and the Fretboard

You can display notes on the fretboard based on the note event’s 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) for more information. Displaying notes using this 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.

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 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.

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

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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.

See:
Adding Chord Symbols
Adding Expression Marks
Adding Hairpin Symbols
Adding Pedal Marks

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

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 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.
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 Type the text in square brackets

chord name after the 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.
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 Click the dot repeatedly to cycle

to a dot through the fingers

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 To do this… Do this…
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 Select the chord from the list and click
group 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 Click the Import button and select a
chord library file. Chord 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 marks—from ppp (pianissimo)
for “very, very softly” through fff (fortissimo) for “very, very forcefully”—allow
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
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.

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 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.

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.

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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:
• Time—The beginning time of the hairpin symbol
• Crescendo or Diminuendo
• Duration—Enter 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.
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.

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 You can suppress the display of all pedal marks by deselecting the Show
Pedal Events option in the Staff view's Layout dialog box.
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.

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.

See:

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Tablature Settings
Changing Fretboard Texture and Orientation
Quick TAB
Regenerate TAB
Entering Notes from the TAB Staff
Single Note Editing from the TAB Staff
Editing Chords or Groups of Notes from the TAB Staff
Editing Notes and Chords from the Fretboard

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.

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 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.
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.

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5. If you want to reverse the standard string orientation, in the Orientation
field click Low String on Top (Mirror).
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 version, 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 Views-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.

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 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 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 Views-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.
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

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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.
• 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
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.

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 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, which you
select by clicking the note icons in the Staff view toolbar. You may want
to display the Now Time by choosing Views-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).

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 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.

See:
Setting Up a Percussion Track
Setting Up a Percussion Staff or Line
Ghost Strokes

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 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.
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 the online help topic:
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 track’s clef to a
non-percussion clef, the percussion notation settings will be lost.
The lowest and highest lines on the Percussion clef are E5 and F6,
respectively. The Percussion Line represents E5.

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 By default, percussion staves are given SONAR’s 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 track’s clef to the selected percussion clef.
To Set Up a Track’s 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 Select the sound (or corresponding MIDI
sound to a line or space on note) in the MIDI Note list, select the
the staff intended position in the percussion staff in
the Display As list, then click Bind.

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 To do this… Do this…
Set the notehead and Select the sound in the MIDI Note list, then
articulation mark for a select a Notehead Type and Articulation
percussion sound Symbol. (Only bound sounds can be
assigned a notehead type and articulation
symbol other than the default.)

Control how unbound In the Display As list, click the pitch that you
percussion sounds display want all unbound 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 Click the Save button and enter a preset
preset name.

Clear all bindings Click Zap All.

Select notes in the note lists Click in the MIDI Note or Display As list, then
with a MIDI keyboard strike a key on 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.
The picture below shows two tracks displaying ghost strokes:

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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) 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.
SONAR lets you select a size for your printed score. Engravers have nine
standardized sizes of the five-line staff. The vertical distance between the
lines of each staff is called its rastral size, or measurement. Each rastral
size has a number and is used by publishers for a specific genre of musical
composition.

Notation and Lyrics 773

Printing
 Number.. Trade names... Genre usage...
.

0 Commercial or Public Wire-bound manuscript

1 Giant or English Elementary band and orchestra books;

instruction booklets

2 or 3 Regular, Common, or Sheet music for concertos and classics

Ordinary

4 Peter Folios, works for organ, etc.

5 Large middle Band/wind ensemble music; sheet

music

6 Small middle Chorals; condensed sheet music

7 Cadenza Pocket editions; cues in piano parts;

military marches

8 Pearl Thematic advertisement; ossia

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.
Alternatively, you can choose File-Print and skip the print preview window.

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Printing
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.

See:
What Is Meter?
What Is Key?
Opening the Meter/Key View
Adding and Editing Meter/Key Changes
Music Notation for Non-concert-key Instruments

What Is Meter?
The meter—also known as the time signature—describes 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)
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
timebase—the number of pulses per quarter note (PPQ)—is adjustable,

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 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 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 signatures—seven 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.
• 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 project’s 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.
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.

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Opening the Meter/Key View
To open the Meter/Key view, click or choose Views-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.
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.
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.

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 3. Enter information about the new meter/key change.
4. Click OK.
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 change’s 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.

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3. Edit the meter/key change properties.
4. Click OK.
SONAR changes the properties of the meter/key change.

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 higher—the 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 D—SONAR
automatically adds two sharps to the trumpet track’s key signature—but 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

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 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.
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

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 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).

See:
Adding and Editing Lyrics in the Staff View
Opening the Lyrics View
Adding and Editing Lyrics in the Lyrics View

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 Type a space, tab, or hyphen

move to the next note

Skip over a note Type a space or hyphen

Move back to the previous Press Shift-Tab

note

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 6. Press Enter when you are done.
SONAR displays the new lyrics below the staff.
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 Views-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).

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 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.
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 Type a space or hyphen

move to 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 (Ctrl+X), copy (Ctrl+C), paste (Ctrl+V), and delete
(Delete). When you pause, SONAR will update all lyric events in the track.

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 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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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
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.

See:
Assigning Instruments
Importing Instrument Definitions
Creating Instrument Definitions
To Import Instrument Definitions
To Create a New Instrument
To Rename an Instrument
To Add a Bank or Change the Patch Names for a Bank
To Create and Edit Name Lists
 Creating and Editing Patch Name and Other Lists
Copying Name Lists
Assigning the Bank Select Method
Assigning Patch Names
Assigning Note Names
Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names

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

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synth receiving on channels 11 through 16. In this case, you’d 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.
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 module’s name doesn’t appear in
the list and you don’t want to use General MIDI bank and patch names
for it, see Importing Instrument Definitions.
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.

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 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.
You don’t really clear instrument assignments—you 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.

See also:
Importing Instrument Definitions
Creating Instrument Definitions
To Import Instrument Definitions
To Create a New Instrument
To Rename an Instrument
To Add a Bank or Change the Patch Names for a Bank
To Create and Edit Name Lists

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

788 Instrument Definitions

Importing Instrument Definitions
 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.
The instrument definitions you imported should now appear in the Uses
Instrument list in the Assign Instruments dialog box.

See also:
Creating Instrument Definitions
To Create a New Instrument
To Rename an Instrument
To Add a Bank or Change the Patch Names for a Bank
To Create and Edit Name Lists

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?

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 • 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.
Here’s 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.
You define instruments in the Define Instruments and Names dialog box,
shown below:

A B

A. The Instruments tree B. The Names tree

790 Instrument Definitions

Creating Instrument Definitions
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-
coded—you 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
• 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.

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 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.

See also:
Creating and Editing Patch Name and Other Lists
Copying Name Lists
Assigning the Bank Select Method
Assigning Patch Names
Assigning Note Names
Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names
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.
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.

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Creating Instrument Definitions
2. If you don’t want to save the file in the folder that’s 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.

See also:
Creating and Editing Patch Name and Other Lists
Copying Name Lists
Assigning the Bank Select Method
Assigning Patch Names
Assigning Note Names
Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names

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:

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 To do this… Do this…
Create a new name Duplicate an existing Patch Names or other list by
list 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 Highlight a name and press the Ins key, or right-click
a name list on a name and choose Add Name from the menu.
Then enter the name.

Add a name Highlight the name of a list and press Shift-Insert, or

anywhere in a list right-click on the name of a list and choose Add
Name from the menu. Then enter the name.

Delete names from a Highlight the Names List or Name, and press Del.
list 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.

See also:
Copying Name Lists
Assigning the Bank Select Method
Assigning Patch Names
Assigning Note Names
Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names

794 Instrument Definitions

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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. Here’s 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.

See also:
Assigning the Bank Select Method
Assigning Patch Names
Assigning Note Names
Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names

Assigning the Bank Select Method

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 instrument’s User’s Guide or the manufacturer’s web
site. The four methods are as follows:

Method… Used for…

Normal Instruments that respond to Controller 0 or Controller 32 bank

select messages

Instrument Definitions 795

Creating Instrument Definitions
 Method… Used for…

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. Here’s how
you compute the bank numbers:

Bank select To compute the bank number…

method…

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.

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.

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Creating Instrument Definitions
3. Drag the desired bank select method from the Names tree to the
Instrument tree.

See also:
Creating and Editing Patch Name and Other Lists
Copying Name Lists
Assigning Patch Names
Assigning Note Names
Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names

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 haven’t 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 Definitions 797

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 B

C
A
D

A. There are three defined banks B. Instrument name C. The * indicates that this
patch list is the default D. 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 you’re 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 you’re editing, highlight the bank and patch names list.
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.

See also:
Creating and Editing Patch Name and Other Lists
Copying Name Lists
Assigning the Bank Select Method
Assigning Patch Names

798 Instrument Definitions

Creating Instrument Definitions
Assigning Note Names
Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names

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 haven’t 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:

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.

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Creating Instrument Definitions
 D

E
A

A. This is the name of a note name list B. The * indicates that this note name list is
the default C. Bank D. Instrument name E. Note name lists are defined for three
different 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 you’re editing in the
Instruments tree.
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 you’re 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.

See also:

800 Instrument Definitions

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Creating and Editing Patch Name and Other Lists
Copying Name Lists
Assigning the Bank Select Method
Assigning Patch Names
Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names

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.

B
C
D

A. Instrument name B. Controller name list C. RPN name list D. 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.

See also:
Creating and Editing Patch Name and Other Lists

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Creating Instrument Definitions
 Copying Name Lists
Assigning the Bank Select Method
Assigning Patch Names
Assigning Note Names

SONAR Flags in Instrument Definitions

SONAR has several flags that you can use in instrument definition files for
use with specific instrument definitions.
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
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

802 Instrument Definitions

Creating Instrument Definitions
 when using a digital mixer as a MIDI control surface (and not using the
generic control surface plug-in).

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.
Next topic: Why Use Instrument Definitions?

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 you’re using, instead
of using generic General MIDI patch names. It’s 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 you’re 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
it’s 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 won’t have to remember that you connected the Sound Canvas to the
MOTU MIDI Express output number 5—the name Sound Canvas shows up
as an option in the Output field of each MIDI track in SONAR’s track view.
Also if you have an effects processor or module that’s hard to get to in your
studio, you may find it convenient to control it from SONAR.
Next topic: What Can They Do and Not Do?

What Can They Do and Not Do?

Instrument definitions don’t 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 they’re 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 instrument’s banks,
rather than displaying the same 128 General MIDI names over and over for
each bank of sounds.
Next topic: Where Do Instrument Definitions Come From?

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Instrument Definition Tutorial
 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
Cakewalk’s 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 ROLAND.INS
contains definitions for many Roland modules. The file MISC.INS contains
miscellaneous definitions that might include your instrument if you don’t 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.
Next topic: Start of Tutorial

Start of Tutorial
Let’s 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.
Let’s 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.

804 Instrument Definitions

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Now let’s 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. Let’s 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.
Let’s 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, let’s 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). Let’s look at some of the other Roland XP-10 patch name
lists in the right window of the Define 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.

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 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 Roland’s display screen. You’ll see they are
the same.
5. Let’s substitute the Var #08 list for the Var #01 list that SONAR
currently lists as the XP-10’s 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
that’s directly under it.
• Expand the Patch Names tree in the right window and find the
Roland XP-10 Var #01 list (if 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, but you might find it easier to use the
following method:

806 Instrument Definitions

Instrument Definition Tutorial
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 you’ll 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.
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, let’s 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 want—the numbers
between 0 and 127 that you don’t 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.

Instrument Definitions 807

Instrument Definition Tutorial
808 Instrument Definitions
Instrument Definition Tutorial
System Exclusive Data
SONAR’s 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. The banks are saved in the SONAR project file. Each bank can also be saved as
a .SYX file.

See:
What Is System Exclusive?
Using the System Exclusive View
Sending Sysx Banks at Startup
Importing, Creating, and Dumping Sysx Banks
Transmitting Banks During Playback
Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages
Sysx Echo
Sysx .INI File Settings
Troubleshooting
 What Is System Exclusive?
System Exclusive data is MIDI’s 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 equipment’s configuration and
store them in SONAR’s System Exclusive banks for transmitting back to the
equipment. You may want to do this simply to back up your equipment’s
patches and/or settings, much like backing up your computer’s hard drive in
case something goes wrong. Or you may configure your equipment
differently for each project’s 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.

See:
Sysx Events
Using the System Exclusive View
Sending Sysx Banks at Startup
Transmitting Banks During Playback
Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages
Sysx Echo
Sysx .INI File Settings
Troubleshooting

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
project’s 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

810 System Exclusive Data

What Is System Exclusive?
 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 for more information.

See:
Using the System Exclusive View
Transmitting Banks During Playback
Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages
Sysx Echo
Sending Sysx Banks at Startup
Sysx .INI File Settings
Troubleshooting

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.
For more information, see:
Importing, Creating, and Dumping Sysx Banks

System Exclusive Data 811

Using the System Exclusive View
 Editing Sysx Banks
Sending Sysx Banks at Startup
Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages
Transmitting Banks During Playback
Sysx View Buttons

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.
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).

812 System Exclusive Data

Sending Sysx Banks at Startup
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 (that’s F zero and F seven). See your
instrument’s manual for the messages you can create.
3. When you finish typing the message(s), click OK to close the window.
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 you’re
finished.

System Exclusive Data 813

Importing, Creating, and Dumping Sysx Banks
 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 isn’t, SONAR won’t 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

814 System Exclusive Data

Importing, Creating, and Dumping Sysx Banks
 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.
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 .

See also:
Editing Sysx Banks
Sysx View Buttons

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 don’t get a handshake.
Others do not.

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

System Exclusive Data 815

Importing, Creating, and Dumping Sysx Banks
 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 (that’s F zero and F seven). See your instrument’s
manual for the messages you can create.
3. When you finish editing the message(s), click OK to close the window.
Save your project when you’re finished.

See also:
Importing, Creating, and Dumping Sysx Banks

816 System Exclusive Data

Editing Sysx Banks
 Sysx View Buttons

Sysx View Buttons

Here is a description of the buttons in the Sysx view.
Send
Send All
Receive
Name
Auto
Output
Edit Bytes
Clear Bank
Load Bank and Save Bank

Send
Send transmits the current bank’s System Exclusive message. If nothing
seems to happen, make sure you have correctly set the output. 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 sounds—for example, sound modules that
don’t have keyboards—don’t 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.)

System Exclusive Data 817

Sysx View Buttons
 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 don’t 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 SONAR’s 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 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. You’ll 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.

818 System Exclusive Data

Sysx View Buttons
 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 isn’t 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 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.

System Exclusive Data 819

Transmitting Banks During Playback
 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.
You don’t 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.

See:
Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages
What Is System Exclusive?

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 recording—use a track that’s 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 instrument’s 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

820 System Exclusive Data

Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages
 the Output field of the track is set to the output that the MIDI instrument you
want to send Sysx data to is on.

See also:
Sysx Echo
Troubleshooting

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.

See:
Troubleshooting

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.

System Exclusive Data 821

Sysx Echo
 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 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)

See:
Troubleshooting
What Is System Exclusive?

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

822 System Exclusive Data

Troubleshooting
 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
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.
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 Sysx
.INI File Settings.
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.

System Exclusive Data 823

Troubleshooting
 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 equipment—notably, the GR-1 and GR-50 Guitar
Synthesizers—have 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

See:
What Is System Exclusive?
Using the System Exclusive View
Transmitting Banks During Playback
Real-time Recording of System Exclusive Messages
Sysx Echo
Sysx .INI File Settings
Troubleshooting

824 System Exclusive Data

Troubleshooting
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.
When several pieces of equipment are used together, it’s 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.
See:
Synchronization Overview
Choosing Clock Sources: SONAR as Master
MIDI Synchronization
SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization
MIDI Machine Control (MMC)

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 computer’s sound

card

MIDI Sync The clock on an external MIDI device

 Clock source… Timing is determined by…

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 section 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

826 Synchronizing Your Gear

Synchronization Overview
 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.
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 doesn’t
work. The more prepared you are, the more we can help.

Choosing Clock Sources: SONAR as

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 computer’s 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. You
cannot use the tempo ratio controls when using the audio clock, because
the audio 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. 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.

Synchronizing Your Gear 827

Choosing Clock Sources: SONAR as Master
 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.
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 This message tells slave devices to change the current
(SPP) 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.

828 Synchronizing Your Gear

MIDI Synchronization
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.

See:
SONAR as the Slave
SONAR as the Master
Using MIDI Sync with Drum Machines
Troubleshooting MIDI Sync

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.
From now on, SONAR starts playback and recording only after the
appropriate message is received from the master device.

Synchronizing Your Gear 829

MIDI Synchronization
 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:

Option… What it’s for…

Transmit MIDI Start/ Choosing this option causes SONAR to tell the slave
Continue/Stop/Clock when to start, when to continue, when to stop, and what
timing data to go by (SONAR’s).

Use Start, Never If you are using an external drum machine to repeat a
Continue (greyed out drum pattern or loop, you might always want playback on
unless above option is the drum machine to start at the beginning of the loop.
checked) 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 When this options is checked, SONAR sends an SPP
Position Pointer (SPP) message before 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 Some older MIDI devices take a small amount of time to
Recipient 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.

830 Synchronizing Your Gear

MIDI Synchronization
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.
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 machine’s 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

Synchronizing Your Gear 831

MIDI Synchronization
 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.
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.

832 Synchronizing Your Gear

SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization
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.

25 frames per second 25 FPS Used for PAL/SECAM video, video and some
(EBU timecode) film in countries that use 50 Hz wall electricity.
This is the setting to use when synchronizing to
any European video format.

29.97 frames per 29.97 FPS NDF NTSC non-broadcast and short length video in
second non drop- North America and Japan. Some music
frame 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 29.97 FPS DF NTSC broadcast and long format video in
second drop-frame North America and 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 30 FPS NDF Most music projects and some film in North
non drop-frame America. This is the best choice for any music
project and should be used unless the situation
dictates otherwise.

30 frames per second 30 FPS DF Not a standard type of timecode, used rarely
drop-frame for speed correction and transfer problems in
tape based systems.

Synchronizing Your Gear 833

SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization
 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.
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 they’re connected to
MIDI outputs from your computer or MIDI interface.

2. Click or on SONAR’s Sync toolbar to use the Internal or Audio

clock source (to display the Sync toolbar, use the Views-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 (it’s just below the Transmit MTC checkbox),
choose the frame rate that your project uses (see Frame Rates, 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 SONAR’s 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:

834 Synchronizing Your Gear

SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization
 • Ask first, then switch to clock source and start—this 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 start—SONAR 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 mode—this
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.
When SONAR is the slave, here’s 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.

Synchronizing Your Gear 835

SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization
 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.

See:
Playing Digital Audio under SMPTE/MTC Sync
SMPTE/MTC Sync and Full Chase Lock
Troubleshooting SMPTE/MTC Sync

Playing Digital Audio under SMPTE/MTC Sync

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.

836 Synchronizing Your Gear

SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization
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.

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. Here’s 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

Synchronizing Your Gear 837

SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization
 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 isn’t producing Use utility programs that come with
MIDI Time Code your MIDI 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.

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 Verify and/or repeat the steps in To

correctly Configure SONAR to Sync to SMPTE/
MTC.

Audio playback drifts out of sync Enable the Full Chase Lock option,
with the tape which keeps audio from freewheeling.

838 Synchronizing Your Gear

SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization
 Problem… What to do…

SONAR continues playing for up Some time code readers tolerate

to one full second after the time dropouts of up to one second, without
code stops affecting playback. When you stop the
tape deck, it takes a full second for the
reader to realize that this isn’t merely a
dropout and to signal the end of the
time code to SONAR. This does not
indicate any problem with time code
sync.

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,
SONAR’s 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 owner’s manual or contact

Synchronizing Your Gear 839

MIDI Machine Control (MMC)
 the equipment manufacturer for more information.) If your equipment
behaves erratically with automated punch-in, don’t 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.
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 Master’s 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.

840 Synchronizing Your Gear

MIDI Machine Control (MMC)
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 section covers file management, including backing up
your projects.

See:
Project Files and Bundle Files
Audio Folders
Backing Up Projects with Digital Audio
Deleting Unused Audio Files

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 project’s 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 in—know 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
project’s audio folder.
• The filenames for each audio file your project is referencing
• The combined size the audio data in your project—important 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:
• Global—this 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.
• Local—this 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.
• External—this means that the file is stored in a directory other than
the Global Audio Data directory or in a Local audio data directory.
• Missing—this means that the file is not to be found.

842 Audio File Management

The Project Files Dialog
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 Description... When to Use...

Type...

.CWP Contains MIDI data, project Project files are good for
settings, and pointers to routine projects. You can
audio data in your Data use Project files and back
directory. Project files contain them up as Bundle files
no audio data, so they are at various steps during a
small. Backing up a Project projects development.
file does not back up the
associated audio data.

.CWB Contains all project data, Bundle files are useful for
including all audio data. backing up projects or for
Bundle files are large. transporting a project to
another computer (to
bring it to a friend's
house, for example).

See 64-bit CWB Files.

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.

Audio File Management 843

Project Files and Bundle Files
 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 project’s 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.
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.

See:
Global Audio Folders
Per-project Audio Folders
Imported Audio Files

844 Audio File Management

Audio Folders
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 that’s 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.
Tip: It is safer, but more time-consuming, to first save the 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 Data
directory.

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.

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Audio Folders
 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 project’s audio data.
Note: if you want to use per-project audio folders, but you don’t 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 you’re 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 that’s
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 project’s per-project folder name.
• C:\default directory\project name\Audio. The default directory for
new projects is assigned in the Folders tab of the Global Options
dialog. project name is the project’s 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.

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Audio Folders
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 project’s 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.

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
project’s 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 don’t 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 project’s 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:

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Audio Folders
 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.

See:
Backing Up Projects with Digital Audio

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 project’s audio in its own folder, use
the Consolidate Project Audio command to create a backup copy of all your
project’s 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
If you are using per-project audio folders you can exact copy of your
create a copy of the project folder and its audio project, preserving
subfolder. all clips and
pathname
information.

848 Audio File Management

Backing Up Projects with Digital Audio
Backup Method… Advantages
…
Consolidate Project Audio Allows you to
If your project references audio from multiple create a complete
folders, for example you have a library of loops backup of all
that you share between several projects, you can project audio even
gather all the audio for your project into a single if the audio is in
folder using the Consolidate Project Audio multiple locations.
command. The Consolidate Project Audio Creates a new
command copies every audio file your project folder which you
references into a backup folder beneath the can move or
projects audio data folder. Creating a copy of all delete without fear
your project’s audio may take a lot of disk space. of losing the
original audio files.

Bundle Files Creates a single

A bundle file is a single file that contains all the file for ease of
information—except video—used in a project. A portability.
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 project’s audio folder. If any files are
stored in folders other than the project’s audio folder, you should use
the Consolidate Project Audio command to move all audio to the
project’s audio folder.
4. Close the Project Files dialog once you have confirmed that all audio
files are in the project’s audio folder.
5. Close the project.
6. Using Windows Explorer, copy the project folder and its contents,
including the project’s audio folder, to its backup location (CD-R, CD-

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Backing Up Projects with Digital Audio
 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 project’s 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.

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.

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 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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852 Audio File Management
Deleting Unused Audio Files
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 section covers some
common problems with recording and playback and how to configure your computer and
audio hardware for optimum performance.

See:
System Configuration
Improving Performance with Digital Audio

System Configuration
This section covers optimizing your system configuration to work with SONAR.

See:
The Wave Profiler
Enabling and Disabling Audio Devices
Sampling Rates
Bit Depths, and Float Resolution

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 device’s 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.

854 Improving Audio Performance

System Configuration
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.
• 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 card’s 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.
3. Click OK.

Improving Audio Performance 855

System Configuration
 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. It’s 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 you’ve 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.
To Import Audio That Has a Different Sampling Rate
• Use the File-Import Audio command to import the audio file(s) (this

856 Improving Audio Performance

System Configuration
 converts them to the project sampling rate).

Bit Depths, and Float Resolution

SONAR supports all common bit depths, including 64. SONAR’s 32-bit
mixing provides full floating-point resolution for extended dynamic range,
and precise audio processing. For maximum dynamic range and precision,
you can also choose 64-bit mixing (Audio Options dialog-General tab-64-bit
Double Precision Engine check box). SONAR can import, export, play back,
and render 64-bit float files.
A SONAR project can 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.
Notes about 64-bit files:
• 64-bit files can now be imported at their native 64-bit depth.
• At playback time 64-bit files are streamed at full 64-bit resolution when
the Double Precision engine is turned on.
• At playback time 64-bit files are converted to 32-bit when the Double
Precision engine is turned off.
• 64-bit is a choice in the file import dialog.
• 64-bit is a choice in the Options-Global-Audio Data file bit depth
fields.
• Bounce-to-track now renders at 64-bit if the render bit depth is set to 64.
• You can save and load CWB files containing any combination of 16/24/
32/64 and stereo/mono wave files.
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.

See:

Improving Audio Performance 857

System Configuration
 Bit Depths for Playback
Bit Depths for Recording
Bit Depths for Importing Audio
Bit Depths for Exporting Audio
Bit Depths for Rendering Audio

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 don’t have to convert 16-bit files
to 24 bits to play them with other 24-bit files, saving significant storage
space. If you’re playing 64-bit, 32-bit, or 24-bit files at 16 bits, you can turn
dithering on in the Audio Options dialog to compensate for the truncated
data.
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 don’t need to run the Wave Profiler again (you do
need to relaunch SONAR).
Here’s 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.
Notes:
• 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 card’s documentation to find the optimum setting.
• Some audio devices, especially USB devices that use WDM drivers,
can not operate in 24-bit mode unless a variable in SONAR’s 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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• SONAR 4 does not play back projects that contain files with different bit
depths (SONAR 5 and 6 do), so if you want to open a multiple bit depth
project in SONAR 4, see the following procedure or a conversion
procedure.
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 you’re 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, 32, and 64. At
present, no devices can record at 32-bit or 64-bit resolution, so you don’t
need to choose these options 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 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. You can import files at bit depths as
high as 64. Because SONAR can play projects that contain files of different
bit depths, you don’t have to convert 16-bit files to 24 bits to play them with
other 24-bit files, saving significant storage space.

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 Note: If you are playing back 32-bit or 64-bit audio at high sample rates
(and high latency sizes), the disk I/O buffer size in the Advanced tab of the
Audio Options dialog (Options-Audio command) may need to be
increased to handle this extra disk streaming throughput. A too small disk I/
O buffer size can result in dropouts or clicks during audio playback of such
content. If so try a higher I/O buffer size like 256 or 512.
See Bit Depths, and Float Resolution for more information about 64-bit files.
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.
See also SONAR Project File Compatibility Notes.

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 (or even 64) 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.
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 (these processes are
referred to as rendering). This bit depth is set at 32 by default, which allows
large level changes without clipping, and with greater dynamic range,
especially in soft parts of your music. You can also render at 64 bits for
greatest precision.
To Choose a Rendering Bit Depth
1. Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog.

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System Configuration
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 from 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 M-Audio 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.

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System Configuration
 Now you can burn your exported audio file to CD, using Cakewalk Pyro, or
other software.

SONAR Project File Compatibility Notes

CWB files containing double precision 64-bit floating point files will not open
in SONAR 5 or earlier versions.
Project files saved in SONAR 5 will not open in SONAR 4 if they reference
or include any of the following types of data or information:
• 32 bit audio clips
• Audio clips that are not all of the same bit depth
SONAR 5 project files may contain new features that will be missing if
opened in SONAR 4, including:
• Clip effects and clip automation
• Effects are removed
• Automation envelopes are orphaned
• Groups
• SONAR 5 groups are preserved but will not be completely
functional in SONAR 4
• Controls may be removed from groups
• Groups can’t be added to or changed
• Group names will be truncated.
• SONAR 4 may add extra groups to the project.
Re-saving a SONAR 5 project file in SONAR 4 may permanently remove
the project data described above.

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

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digital audio, including how to get the more tracks of audio, more real-time
effects, lower latency and how to fix audio dropouts.
For more information see:
Getting the Most Out of Your PC
Mixing Latency
Dropouts and Other Audio Problems
Reduce GUI Updates to Improve Playback Performance

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 computer’s 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.
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 If you open and close windows or do lots of
playback editing while playback is in progress, you may
steal CPU cycles that would otherwise be used
for playback.

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 Approach… How it works…

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 for more information.

Mix down or freeze your audio/ If your project contains many different audio/synth
synth tracks 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 The default setting is 64 KB. Yours may work
Advanced tab of the Audio better with 128, 32, or 16. If those values don’t
Options dialog box help, try 256, 512, or move on to another remedy.

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 Dithering subtly improves your mix, but most
Advanced tab of the Audio people can’t hear it. Turn it back on for mastering.
Options dialog box (choose 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.

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Approach… How it works…

Disable the Display Clip Contents Drawing the contents of audio clips in the Clips
options 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, Dropouts and Other Audio Problems.

See:
Mixing Latency

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 Queue Buffers
Status Bar/CPU Meter/Disk Meter

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
SONAR’s 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 optimization yourself.

See:
The Wave Profiler
Status Bar/CPU Meter/Disk Meter

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.

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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: 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 location—The left-most field on the Status bar shows the
location of your mouse cursor.

• Audio Running—Whenever the Audio Engine button in the

Transport toolbar is depressed, the Audio Running indicator lights up.
• Dropout indicator—The 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.
• Mute—Whenever a track is muted, the Mute indicator lights up. You
can click the Mute indicator to unmute all muted tracks.
• Solo—Whenever a track is soloed, the solo indicator lights up. You can
click the Solo indicator to unsolo all soloed tracks.
• Arm—Whenever 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.
• AUTO—Whenever 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

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 • Sample rate and record bit depth—this field lists the project’s sample
rate and the current recording bit depth
• Disk Space—This 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 drive’s total space.
• CPU meter—The 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 meter—The 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 setup’s 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.

See also:
Status Bar/CPU Meter/Disk Meter

24-bit Tips
Here are a few tips for playing back and/or recording at 24-bits:
• Try to play back at 24-bits even if your sound card only operates at 20-
or 18-bits:
Having established the default settings for new files, you must also
specify at what playback bit-depth you want your sound card to use. In
the Audio Options dialog box, set the Audio Driver Bit Depth to the
desired value. Even if your sound card’s highest bit-depth is only 18- or
20-bits, you should try selecting an Audio Driver Bit Depth of 24 first. If
you receive an error message when doing so, try selecting 20. If this
also produces an error message, try selecting 18. In other words, if you
want SONAR to operate your sound card at any bit-depth greater than

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 16-bits, try selecting the highest value possible in the Audio Driver Bit
Depth setting, and work downward from there if you have to.
(If your sound card’s maximum bit-depth is 20-bits and you specify an
Audio Driver Bit Depth of 24 as advised above, audio data will still be
sampled by your sound card in 20-bit samples, but each sample will
automatically be padded with extra 0’s to produce a 24-bit sample,
which will be stored at full 24-bit resolution in your project file.
• Some 24-bit cards require you to configure the order in which data is
streamed:
If necessary, open the Audio Options dialog, click on the Advanced tab.
In the Stream > 16-bit data as option, select one of the following:
• 3 bytes
• 4 bytes, right justified
• 4 bytes, left justified
• 32-bit PCM, right justified
• 32-bit PCM, left justfied
These settings affect how 24-bit audio samples are transferred from the
sound card into the SONAR software, and affect the efficiency of the
transfer. You’ll get the best performance from this card when working at
24-bits if you use the correct setting for your sound card. If you’re not
sure whether your particular sound card requires these settings, consult
the documentation that came with your sound card. You should also
check the web page http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Docs/sound
cardTips.html to see if any information is available there regarding
configuration of your particular sound card in Cakewalk. When in doubt,
leave these settings disabled.
(These settings are only relevant when working with sound cards at >16
bits-per-sample. You can ignore them when operating at normal 16-bit
depth.)
• Using 24-bit depth and/or high sampling rate can be costly:
While using 24-bit audio can improve the sound quality of your
recordings, there are some important drawbacks to keep in mind.
Projects stored at 24-bit depth will require 50% more disk space than
those stored at 16-bits; if you have a large number of audio tracks (and
keep in mind that stereo tracks require twice as much data as mono
tracks!), your audio project file can grow very large and use up lots of
disk space. Also note that recording, playing, and processing 24-bit

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 data utilizes more CPU resources than working with 16-bit data. This
means that for a given computer configuration, you will be able to
record/play/process a smaller number of total simultaneous tracks, and
use a smaller number of simultaneous real-time effects, in a 24-bit
project than you would be able to in a 16-bit project. This is also true
when working at higher sampling rates (i.e., a 24-bit/96khz project
requires substantially more computing resources than a corresponding
16-bit/44.1khz project). Depending on the size of your project and the
configuration of your computer (CPU, RAM, disk), you may need to
reconsider whether working at the higher bit-depth/sampling rate is
justified or even possible.
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.
It’s also worth noting that not all audio projects benefit equally from the use
of higher bit-depth/sampling rates. Most professional sound engineers will
tell you that 24-bit, higher-sampling-rate audio is most beneficial when
working with music that focuses on natural acoustic instruments and/or
vocals recorded with very high-quality microphones. The benefits of 24-bit/
high-sampling-rate recording are less audible when working with highly
synthetic or highly compressed program material, often found in
contemporary popular music. You must make your own judgement about
whether the benefits of higher-capacity audio justify the extra demands it
places on your computer.
Note: Red Book Audio CDs are still 16-bit (44.1 sampling rate), so if your
goal is to burn a CD, you will have to mix down to 16-bit.

Dropouts and Other Audio Problems

If your SONAR application suddenly stops producing audio while in the
midst of recording or playback, you've very likely experienced a "dropout."
Sometimes instead of a dropout, you may experience a "stutter" during
playback (a small section of audio repeats itself once or twice before
normal playback resumes). Or, you may occasionally experience a "glitch"
or "pop" during audio playback (a brief interruption or clicking noise is
heard, but audio playback then continues normally from that point). It is
possible to experience a dropout while working exclusively with MIDI (i.e.,

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no audio data in the project), but this is a different matter and is not covered
here.
All of these audio problems are the result of audio information not being
sent to or received from your sound card fast enough or reliably enough.
During recording, the sound card sends incoming audio data to the sound
card driver, which in turn sends audio data to SONAR to store on hard disk.
When playing back, SONAR reads audio data from the hard disk and feeds
it to the sound card driver, which in turn passes it to the sound card for
audible output. If these activities can't be completed fast enough, or if the
communication between SONAR and the sound card driver is broken in
some way, recording and/or playback will be disturbed.
Causes and Cures
The exact cause of your audio problem will vary depending on the
configuration of your computer and/or the content of the project file you're
working with. The majority of audio problems are caused by one of the
factors listed below. Read each of the topics below, in the order shown, and
follow the recommendations provided:
The CPU is being interrupted by "background" activities having nothing to
do with audio
Cakewalk doesn't properly “recognize” your sound card
The "I/O Buffer Size" may not be well matched to your hard disk
Mixing latency may be set too low
Your hard disk may be excessively fragmented
Your project file may be excessively fragmented
Your sound card's driver may be obsolete
There may be a conflict with your video card or other multimedia streaming
card
Your sound card may have a conflict with another device in your computer
Your project may simply be too "complex" for your computer
Upgrade your computer hardware: More RAM, a faster CPU, and a faster
disk drive
The CPU is being interrupted by "background"
activities having nothing to do with audio
Turn off these other activities, so your CPU can process audio without
interruption:
• Turn off the Microsoft Office FastFind option if present on your system.

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 • Don't use any scheduled background tasks (e.g., tasks which are part
of the Windows Plus package, or which you have scheduled yourself
using the Windows Task Scheduler utility).
• Discontinue use of any networking or communications applications on
your computer. For example, don't run e-mail programs (like Microsoft
Outlook), Web browsers, or AOL client software while you are running
SONAR. These programs send and receive chunks of information over
a modem or a network connection; when one of these data chunks is
sent or received, your CPU may be unexpectedly interrupted from
SONAR audio processing to deal with the modem or network data.
That interruption can disrupt the smooth processing of audio data,
causing a dropout or glitch. If possible, you should disconnect your
computer from a local area network, and/or disconnect from any dial-up
telecommunications while recording or playing back audio in SONAR.
• Turn off your screen saver (if present).
• Turn off the Auto-Notification option for your CD-ROM drive. If it is
turned on, the insertion of a CD-ROM can interrupt audio processing.
To disable it, open the System applet in the Control panel, click on the
Device Manager tab, expand the CD-ROM list entry, double-click on
the listed CD-ROM device, click on the Settings tab, and uncheck the
Auto Insert Notification checkbox.
• Disable any kind of virus scanning program that might be running in the
background. To find out what programs are currently running, press the
Ctrl-Alt-Del keys simultaneously to display the Windows Task Manager;
if you see an anti-Virus program shown on the list of currently running
tasks, select that program and click End Task.
• If SONAR's Auto Save feature is enabled, disable it.
• Remove all programs from the Windows Start Up folder
(\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Start Up).
Cakewalk doesn't properly “recognize” your sound card
Re-run the SONAR Wave Profiler, which will attempt to analyze your sound
card and establish proper settings for it:
• Choose Options-Audio, then click on the General tab. Click on the
Wave Profiler button at the bottom of the dialog box.
• If Wave Profiler offers you the chance to use "default settings" for your
sound card, accept the defaults, close the Options-Audio dialog box,
and check audio playback/recording.
• If problem(s) continue, re-run the Wave Profiler, but this time do not

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 accept any default settings.
• If you decline to use default settings (or if Wave Profiler can't find any
for your sound card), Wave Profiler will analyze your sound card's
capabilities by running some tests and automatically establish
appropriate settings based on the test results.
• If your sound card is listed at http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Docs/
sound cardtips.html, read and follow any special card-specific operating
instructions listed there.
• Re-test audio recording/playback. If problem(s) persist, go to the Next
Step.
The "I/O Buffer Size" may not be well matched to your
hard disk
SONAR may be reading and writing audio data to/from your hard disk in
chunks that are either too large or too small for your particular hard disk's
characteristics.
Select Options-Audio, click the Advanced tab, and try different values in
the I/O Buffer Size textbox until you find a value that works well for your
particular hard disk:
• The default value is 64. Try reducing this value, to 32, then 16. After
each change, close the dialog box (click "OK") and re-test your project's
recording/playback behavior.
• If problem(s) persist, try increasing this value, to 128, then 256, then
512. Again, close the dialog box and re-try your project after each
change.
• If you have an older, slower computer or an older, slower hard disk, you
should try increasing the buffer size; decreasing is not advised on
slower hardware. However, increasing this setting uses more of your
computer's RAM. If you have a smaller amount of RAM in your
computer, increasing the buffer size may not help.
If problem(s) persist, restore this value to its default and continue with the
next step.
Mixing latency may be set too low
SONAR tries to send and receive audio data to/from your sound card with
very a minimal delay (so that any real-time adjustments you make to a
track's volume, pan, or other settings will take effect rapidly). If the latency
setting is set too low, the sound card driver may not be able to keep up with
the SONAR, and audio will be disrupted.

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 Try higher latency settings:
• Select Options-Audio, and click the General tab. Move the Mixing
Latency Buffer Size slider control to the right in small increments until
you see the value to the right of the slider increase; close the dialog
(click "OK") and re-test your project after each increment.
• If problem(s) continue, move the slider control back to its original
position, and try increasing the number in the Buffers in Playback
Queue textbox. (This value starts out at 4; try increasing it to 5, 6, 7, or
8). Close the dialog (click “OK”) and re-test your project after each such
change.
• The total effective latency is displayed below the slider; it is determined
by multiplying the per-buffer latency time (in msec) by the number of
buffers in the playback queue.
• If problem(s) continue, click the Advanced tab in this dialog, and turn off
the WavePipe Accelerator checkbox. Click OK to close the dialog and
re-test your project.
• If problem(s) persist, turn the WavePipe Accelerator checkbox back on,
and continue.
Your hard disk may be excessively fragmented
Audio data can be processed most efficiently if it is arranged in consecutive
physical locations on your hard drive. Over time, the chunks become
distributed at various discontiguous locations on your disk, which makes it
more time consuming for SONAR to access the chunks. This extra access
time can interfere with smooth audio recording and/or playback.
Try defragmenting the hard disk:
• Make sure SONAR, and the Wave data directory are not installed on a
compressed hard disk.
• Defragment your hard disk. If you have more than one hard disk in your
computer, identify the disk which contains the SONAR Data directory
(this is where your projects’ audio clips are stored.) To defragment the
hard disk, exit SONAR first. Then, select Start-Programs-System
Tools-Accessories-Disk Defragmenter. We recommend that you
backup your hard disk before defragmenting it.
Your project file may be excessively fragmented
Audio data can be processed most efficiently if it is arranged in consecutive
physical locations on your hard drive. During normal SONAR usage, a
project's audio data can become fragmented into chunks stored at

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discontiguous locations on your disk. Accessing these discontiguous
chunks can consume extra processing time, which can lead to dropouts.
Try defragmenting your project file:
1. Open the project file that has audio problems.
2. Save it as a Cakewalk Bundle (.CWB) file by selecting Save As from the
File menu and selecting Cakewalk Bundle from the Save As Type drop
down list and clicking the save button.
3. Close the project.
4. Open the Cakewalk Bundle you just closed
Saving then re-opening the bundle file automatically defragments the audio
data used by the project, reducing the chances of a dropout or other audio
problem.
When you are ready to save the file again, you may want to save it as a
normal (.CWP) file. Saving and opening .CWP files takes less time than
saving and opening bundle files.
Your sound card's driver may be obsolete
Obtain and install a new sound card driver (if available):
• Consult your sound card manufacturer's web site (or contact their
Customer Service department) to check for the availability of a later
driver version. If one exists, obtain it and install it on your computer
according to their instructions. With the new driver installed, restart the
computer, then delete the file cw9auddx.ini from your SONAR folder.
Launch SONAR and let it re-profile your audio hardware. When it's
done, re-test your audio recording/playback.
• If problem(s) persist, continue with the next step.
There may be a conflict with your video card or other
multimedia streaming card
Some video drivers contain bugs which can interfere with SONAR's
operation. Or, the driver may be "stealing" excessive CPU time away from
SONAR (some video card vendors, in an attempt to make their cards
operate faster, supply drivers that tie up the computer's bus for relatively
long intervals (so-called “PCI bus contention”). This can interrupt the
smooth flow of audio data between SONAR and the sound card's driver.)
Try to remove the video card conflict as follows:
• Try turning off "hardware acceleration" on your video card (if available).
This may cause more sluggish screen drawing, but may improve the

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 flow of audio data to your sound card, thereby reducing the possibility
of dropouts.
To disable the hardware acceleration on your graphics card: Launch
Control panel (Start-Settings-Control panel). Double-click the Display
icon. Select the Settings tab. Click on the Advanced Properties button.
Select the Performance tab. Move the slider for hardware acceleration
one notch at a time toward ‘none’ and re-test your recording/playback
after each such adjustment. If problem(s) persist, leave the slider at
‘none’ and proceed with the next step.
• Try Using the Windows driver for your specific sound card (instead of
the manufacturer's driver).
• Try using the standard VGA/SVGA drivers provided with Windows
(instead of the drivers provided by the manufacturer).
• Check your video card manufacturer's web site for a later driver
version. If a newer driver is available, download it and install it on your
computer following the manufacturer's instructions.
• If you have an STB Velocity 128 card, and your graphics card was
configured and shipped with a new PC, you may want to check the
PC vendor’s website (instead of STB’s site) to see if they offer a
driver update for the STB card. PC vendors often will customize
drivers to their specific needs and you should use their driver
updates.
• Try reducing the number of colors used by your video card. 16-, 24-, or
32-bit true color display settings can severely hamper real-time audio
performance on some computers; using fewer colors allows your
computer to spend more of its processing time on audio and MIDI.
You can adjust color depth by right-clicking on your Windows desktop,
clicking Properties, clicking on the Settings tab, and selecting a suitable
entry in the Colors listbox. Also, try reducing the display resolution. Re-
test your audio playback/recording with these changes.
• If you have one of the following specific video cards, applying the
following card-specific .INI file settings can reduce PCI bus contention
problems. Be sure to check out http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/
Docs/VideocardTips.html for more information about these and other
popular video cards:
• If you have a Hercules Dynamite 128 card:
Open the SYSTEM.INI file in Notepad (or any text editor). In the
section called [Hercules], check to ensure that this line is present:

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 Optimization=1
(The default is 0; if necessary, edit the value to 1 and save the file.
Restart Windows.
• If you have a Matrox Millenium card:
Open the SYSTEM.INI file in Notepad (or any text editor). In the
section called [mga.drv], add the following line:
Pcichipset=1
Edit the file as necessary, and save the file. Restart Windows.
If you have an early Matrox video card, Disable Use PowerGDI
acceleration:
(Start-Settings-Control panel-Display-MGA Settings-Advanced-
Performance
If you have a later Matrox video card, enable Use Bus Mastering and
Disable use Automatic PCI Busd Retries:
(Start-Settings-Control panel-Display-Settings-PowerDesk
button
• If you have a card based on the S3 chipset (S3, Inc. provides
graphics chips for other manufacturers; consult your card
manufacturer’s website to see if that card is S3-based):

• If problem(s) persist, continue with the next step.

Your sound card may have a conflict with another
device in your computer
Try resolving this device conflict as follows:
• Ensure that your sound card is not sharing IRQs with any other device.
Although some sound cards claim that they work properly on a shared
IRQ, this is usually not the case and it is advisable to avoid such
sharing. To do this, right click on My Computer and select Properties
from the pop-up menu. In the System Properties dialog, click on the
Device Manager tab, then double-click on the Computer icon at the top
of the list. This allows you to look at all the devices on your system and
which IRQs they are using. Scroll through the list until you see your
sound card. Check the IRQ setting to the left of the icon. If there are

Improving Audio Performance 877

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 other devices (such as a video card) that are assigned to the same
IRQ, you should try moving your sound card to a different slot in your
computer. Note that entries which say something like "IRQ Holder for
PCI Steering" do not indicate conflicting devices, and can be ignored.
• Select Options-Audio, click the Drivers tab, and make sure that only
your sound card's input and output drivers are highlighted in both
menus. (If you have more than one sound card installed in your system,
try using only a single sound card and deselecting the other(s). If you
can get audio to record/playback properly on a single sound card, but
you encounter problems using two sound cards simultaneously, there
may be a conflict between the two sound cards. Contact Cakewalk
Technical Support for assistance in this event.)
• If problem(s) continue, another multimedia audio device on your
system (like a built-in sound card or voicemodem) could be interfering
with your sound card's functionality. To see if this is the cause of your
problem(s), you'll have to temporarily disable these other devices. Note
that this may cause other programs which rely on these other devices
to no longer work correctly.
To disable these other device(s), in Windows go to the Control Panel,
and double-click the Multimedia icon. Click the Advanced tab, and click
the plus sign next to Audio Devices. Double-click any audio devices
listed there that AREN'T the sound card, and choose "Do Not Use
Audio Features on This Device". Click OK, and repeat this step for any
non-sound card device, including voicemodems, 'virtual audio devices'
or 'game-compatible devices'. Once the sound card is the only device
left, click OK, and restart the computer. After restarting, delete the file
'cw9auddx.ini' from your Cakewalk folder. Once you've deleted those
files, launch Cakewalk, and let it profile your audio hardware. When it's
done, try playing your audio again.
• If problem(s) continue, try deselecting any MIDI devices which you
might be using. In SONAR, click Options-MIDI Devices and deselect
every MIDI device in both Inputs and Outputs, then when SONAR asks,
select Continue with no MIDI input and Continue with no MIDI output,
and try re-test your audio recording/playback.
• If problem(s) persist, reselect your audio and MIDI devices, and
continue with the next step.
Your project may simply be too "complex" for your
computer
Your computer may not have enough processing power to deal with all of
the tracks, clips, and real-time effects used in your project. You can

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upgrade your computer hardware (see later items, below) or you can
simplify your project’s content so it demands less processing power.
If possible, try reducing the complexity of your project in any of the following
ways:
• Reduce the number of real-time effects used in your project. Instead of
generating the effects in real-time (nondestructively) during playback,
consider applying the effects offline (destructively), before beginning
playback.
• Reduce the number of distinct tracks being played back simultaneously.
Consider “sub-mixing” several of your audio tracks into one track (using
the Edit-Bounce to Tracks command), and then archiving the
individual tracks which were combined in the sub-mix. (Archived tracks
don’t use up any CPU resources during playback, leaving more CPU
resources available to properly play the non-archived tracks.)
• Where possible, record audio using a mono source, rather than a
stereo source. Mono clips require less processing power than stereo
clips.
• Avoid using overlapping audio clips. Where possible, combine/blend
overlapping clips into a single clip, which uses less processing power.
• Thin the amount of MIDI controller data and the number of SysEx
messages in your tracks.
• If you can't reduce your project's complexity, or if problems persist even
after the complexity has been reduced, proceed to the next step.
Upgrade your computer hardware: More RAM, a faster
CPU, and a faster disk drive
If your project makes extensive use of real-time effects (plug-ins), you
should consider upgrading to a faster CPU. If your primary concern is
playing or recording a large number of tracks, a faster CPU will help, but
you may find that adding more RAM, a faster hard disk, and/or an improved
hard disk controller may help even more.
The following are some tips on upgrading your hardware:
Audio problems are often caused by a hard disk which is transferring data
too slowly. The disk could simply be physically incapable of reading and
writing data fast enough, or the disk controller could be causing too much
CPU time to be consumed when transferring audio data to/from the disk.
Consider upgrading your equipment as follows:
• Ensure that your hard drive controller is NOT configured to operate in

Improving Audio Performance 879

Improving Performance with Digital Audio
 “compatibility mode” which can greatly slow data transfer to/from your
hard disk and make it almost impossible to record/play audio in
Cakewalk reliably. To do this, go to the Control Panel and double-click
on the System icon. Click the Performance tab. At the top of the
Performance screen read the entries across from File Systems and
Virtual Memory. They both need to say "32-bit". If they mention MS-
DOS Compatibility Mode, then your computer has a serious problem,
beyond the scope of what a Cakewalk technician can fix. Your
computer is processing the audio data very slowly and Cakewalk will
not work properly until the MS-DOS Compatibility Mode problem is
eliminated. Help is available on the Microsoft Technical Support Web
page at www.microsoft.com/Support. Click on the Support Online link
and search for the phrase "Troubleshooting MS-DOS Compatibility
Mode on Hard Disks." This problem can arise when installing a new
hard disk in your computer; if Windows cannot find a suitable driver for
the disk, it installs a generic driver and operates in Compatibility Mode.
• If you're using a hard disk controller that employs "programmed I/O",
upgrade to a disk controller that uses "bus mastering" instead. (This is
sometimes also known as an UltraDMA IDE Controller). The former
technique relies on the CPU to transfer the data to/from the hard disk,
stealing cycles which the CPU could be sending audio data to/from the
sound card. With the latter technique, the hard disk controller itself is
primarily responsible for transferring the data to/from the hard disk,
relieving the CPU of much of that burden.
• Install a faster hard disk. If you're using an IDE- or E-IDE-type hard
drive, try to find one which has a lower disk access time (e.g., less than
9msec). Use the Win Tune test application available at
www.winmag.com, this diagnostic tool measures your hard drive's
uncached transfer rate.

Optimized Picture Cache Redrawing

There are several options in the .ini files to speed up picture cache
redrawing The biggest improvement will be seen on machines with
multiple processors. Parallel processing can yield a significant boost in
performance.
There is also an option in the Clips Properties dialog to selectively
redraw waveforms for individual clips that may have a corrupt
waveform display (see To Redraw Waveforms).

880 Improving Audio Performance

Improving Performance with Digital Audio
.INI File Picture Cache Options
3 new INI file variables that are used by picture cache generation and
display:
• In AUD.INI:
In the [Aud] section:
EnablePicCacheThreads=1 (default)
This option creates extra background worker threads for the generation
of wave pictures when you load a project. One worker thread is
automatically created per CPU/core. Setting
EnablePicCacheThreads=0 reverts back to only using a single thread
for picture computation.
If you are running a system with multiple CPU's or cores setting this to 1
can greatly speed up the computation of pictures.
Notes:
-These threads are only active while the picture is being computed.
-This option is only applicable on multiprocessor/multicore systems.
Also in the [Aud] section:
ComputePicturesWhilePlaying=1 (default)
This option allows waveform pictures to be computed in the background
while audio playback is in progress. Most modern computers should be
able to handle this load with no problems. Note that work is only done
while new pictures are actually being computed—once the pictures are
finished rendering there is no overhead.
• In CAKEWALK.INI:
In the [WinCake] section:
ProgressiveWavePictures=1 [default]
This option enables progressive display of waveform pictures. When
enabled you will see pictures being displayed in the clips view
dynamically as they are being computed. The waveforms will update in
the background when the application is idle. If the
ComputePicturesWhilePlaying flag is set to 1, waveforms will continue
being displayed progressively even while audio playback is in progress.
This can save time waiting for a complete picture to be finished before
you can see it.

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Improving Performance with Digital Audio
 To Redraw Waveforms
1. Select the clips that you want to redraw.
2. Right-click a selected clip, and choose Clip Properties from the popup
menu to open the Clip Properties dialog.
3. On the Audio Files tab, click the Recompute Picture(s) button. A dialog
appears, asking if you want to recompute the pictures on the selected
clips.
4. Click Yes.

882 Improving Audio Performance

Improving Performance with Digital Audio
External Devices
SONAR can be controlled by a wide range of MIDI controllers and external MIDI devices.
SONAR also contains two generic controller/surface plug-ins (the ACT MIDI Controller
plug-in, and the Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in), which allow you to use almost any
MIDI controller or controller/surface with SONAR. You can also control certain external
devices from SONAR by using StudioWare or OPT (Open Plug-in Technology) panels.
SONAR allows you to control soft synths as well as effect plug-ins. Active Controller
Technology (ACT) allows you to control any plug-in that has focus, using the same widget
mappings for each instance of the same plug-in (note: some older plug-ins do not support
ACT). You can also choose to lock a particular controller/surface to a particular instance of
a plug-in.
To keep track of your mappings, SONAR displays different-colored markers on each track
and/or bus to show you which controller/surface is currently controlling that particular
module. These visual markers on tracks and buses are called the WAI display (Where
Am I).
SONAR includes preset mappings for popular controllers/surfaces and MIDI controllers
such as the Edirol PCR series. If SONAR does not currently include preset mappings for
your controller/surface, you can create mappings by using the built-in ACT MIDI Controller
Plug-in or Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in.

See:
Edirol PCR Controllers
Connecting and Disconnecting
ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in
Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
The WAI Display
ACT
OPT Panels
Working with StudioWare
 Edirol PCR Controllers
SONAR has a custom controller/surface plug-in that allow an Edirol PCR
controller to control SONAR track, bus, and plug-in parameters (both
effects and synths). This includes support for ACT (Active Controller
Technology), which lets you use your controller to adjust plug-in
parameters on whatever plug-in currently has focus.
Using your Edirol PCR to control SONAR is as easy as:
1. Enabling the Edirol MIDI drivers in SONAR
2. Choosing the correct Edirol In Port in SONAR’s Controller/Surfaces
dialog
3. Loading the correct memory preset in your Edirol PCR.
To Enable Edirol MIDI Input Drivers
1. Use the Options-MIDI Devices command to open the MIDI Devices
dialog.
2. In the Inputs pane on the left side of the dialog, make sure that the MIDI
Input driver or drivers that your controller/surface uses are enabled
(highlighted).
If you have installed the drivers for your PCR from the installation CD
you got with your controller, you can use the following table to choose
the input drivers:

Edirol PCR Choose these input drivers...

model...

PCR-30/50/80, PCR- EDIROL PCR MIDI In

M30/M50/M80, PCR-M1 EDIROL PCR1
EDIROL PCR2*

PCR-A30 EDIROL PCR-A MIDI In

EDIROL PCR-A 1
EDIROL PCR-A 2*

884 External Devices

Edirol PCR Controllers
Edirol PCR Choose these input drivers...
model...

PCR-1 EDIROL PCR-1 MIDI In

EDIROL PCR-1 1
EDIROL PCR-1 2*

* See note, below.

If you are using the generic drivers that come with the Windows XP
operating system, the driver names for all PCR models will be:
• USB Audio Device
• USB Audio Device [2]
• USB Audio Device [3]*
3. Click OK.
To Connect an Edirol PCR to SONAR
1. Follow your controller/surface’s instructions for physically connecting
your PCR to your computer.
2. In SONAR, use the Options-Controllers/Surfaces command to open
the Controllers/Surfaces dialog.

3. Click the Add Controller/Surface button , which opens the Controller/

Surface Settings dialog.
4. In the Controller/Surface field of the Controller/Surface Settings dialog,
select Edirol PCR-M30.
5. In the Input Port and Output Port fields, select which MIDI input and
output ports the controller/surface uses.
Note: You may need to read the documentation for your controller/
surface to find out which MIDI input driver your controller/surface uses
to control software applications (see asterisks above). If your controller/
surface includes a MIDI keyboard, your controller/surface might use
one MIDI input driver for the controller/surface functions (use this
driver), and a different MIDI input driver to send MIDI notes and pitch
bend data to the application (the piano keyboard functions).
6. Click OK to close the Controller/Surface Settings dialog.

External Devices 885

Edirol PCR Controllers
 7. In the Controllers/Surfaces dialog, make sure that the WAI Display
check boxes and the ACT Indicators check boxes are enabled, and
click Close.
To Load the Correct Edirol PCR Memory Preset
1. Press the Memory button on your Edirol PCR.
2. Use the INC and/or DEC buttons to enter “1”, which is the correct
preset to control SONAR (only when you are using the default PCR
factory presets).
3. Press the Enter button on your PCR.
Now that your controller/surface is connected, you can see which tracks
and/or buses are being controlled by it by looking at the colored markings
(the WAI display: see The WAI Display for more information) in SONAR’s
interface. Open your controller/surface’s property page by double-clicking
the WAI display, or by clicking the Controller/Surface Properties button
on the Controllers/Surfaces toolbar (use the Views-Toolbars-Controllers/
Surfaces command), or by choosing the controller/surface from the Tools
menu.
Once the Edirol property page is open, press F1 on your computer
keyboard to open the help file for the property page.

See:
The WAI Display
ACT

Connecting and Disconnecting

If you are not using an Edirol PCR controller, use the following procedures
to connect or disconnect your controller/surface:
To Enable MIDI Input and Output Drivers
1. Use the Options-MIDI Devices command to open the MIDI Devices
dialog.
2. In the Inputs pane on the left side of the dialog, make sure that the MIDI
Input driver or drivers that your controller/surface uses are enabled
(highlighted).
3. If you have a bi-directional controller/surface (one that both sends and
receives data in order to control a software application), also make sure

886 External Devices

Connecting and Disconnecting
 that the MIDI Output driver or drivers that the controller/surface uses
are enabled in the Outputs pane on the right side of the dialog.
4. Click OK.
To Connect a Controller/Surface to SONAR
1. Follow your controller/surface’s instructions for physically connecting
your controller/surface to your computer (you may need to close
SONAR first).
2. In SONAR, use the Options-Controllers/Surfaces command to open
the Controllers/Surfaces dialog.

3. Click the Add Controller/Surface button , which opens the Controller/

Surface Settings dialog.
4. In the Controller/Surface field of the Controller/Surface Settings dialog,
find the name of your controller/surface, and select it. However, if you
want to use Active Controller Technology, or if your controller/surface is
not listed, select either the Cakewalk Generic Surface or the ACT MIDI
Controller (note: the Cakewalk Generic Surface plug-in is not bi-
directional).
5. In the Input Port and Output Port fields, select which MIDI input and
output ports the controller/surface uses.
Note: You may need to read the documentation for your controller/
surface to find out which MIDI input driver your controller/surface uses
to control software applications. If your controller/surface includes a
MIDI keyboard, your controller/surface might use one MIDI input driver
for the controller/surface functions, and a different MIDI input driver to
send MIDI notes and pitch bend data to the application (the piano
keyboard functions).
6. Click OK to close the Controller/Surface Settings dialog.
7. In the Controllers/Surfaces dialog, make sure that both the ACT and
WAI check boxes are enabled, and click Close.
Important: If your controller/surface needs to be in a certain mode, or have
a certain memory preset loaded in order to control a software application,
put your controller/surface in the proper mode or load the required memory
preset now.
Now that your controller/surface is connected, you can see which tracks
and/or buses are being controlled by it by looking at the colored markings

External Devices 887

Connecting and Disconnecting
 (the WAI display, (see The WAI Display for more information) in SONAR’s
interface.
If you selected the ACT MIDI Controller plug-in or the Cakewalk Generic
Surface plug-in for your controller/surface, you can load a default set of
mappings by opening the property page for either plug-in, and selecting the
name of your controller/surface from the Presets window in the property
page.

See also:
To Use ACT with the ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in
To Disconnect a Controller/Surface from SONAR
1. Use the Options-Controllers/Surfaces command to open the
Controllers/Surfaces dialog.
2. In the controller/surface column, click the name of the controller/surface
that you want to disconnect.

3. Click the Delete button , which deletes the name of the controller/
surface that you selected.
4. Click Close.

See:
ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in
Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
The WAI Display
ACT

ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in

The ACT MIDI Controller plug-in can be configured to support any generic
MIDI controller (controller/surface), such as the JL Cooper FaderMaster,
Peavey PC-1600, and Kenton Control Freak. Generic controllers/surfaces
typically have 8-16 strips of faders/knobs/buttons, are non-motorized, and
can often be configured to transmit any MIDI message (continuous
controllers, NRPNs, Sysx, etc.). The ACT MIDI Controller supports ACT.
After you have connected your controller/surface, and selected the ACT
MIDI Controller plug-in in the Controllers/Surfaces dialog (see Connecting

888 External Devices

ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in
and Disconnecting if necessary), open the ACT MIDI Controller property
page, and select a preset for your controller/surface (load the default
mappings).
To Open the ACT MIDI Controller Property Page
1. In the Controllers/Surfaces toolbar (Views-Toolbars-Controllers/
Surfaces command), make sure that ACT MIDI Controller appears in
the dropdown menu. If you can’t find it in the dropdown menu, you need
to add it in the Controllers/Surfaces dialog (see Connecting and
Disconnecting if necessary).

2. Click the Properties button that is in the Controllers/Surfaces

toolbar. You can also double-click the WAI display of the ACT MIDI
Controller plug-in.
Note: except for the buttons on the right end of the toolbar, the toolbar is for
display purposes only. To enable another controller/surface, use the
Options-Controllers/Surfaces command. To change the bank of tracks
that the controller/surface controls, use the buttons on the controller/surface
itself (or drag the WAI display). Use the dropdown menu on the toolbar to
choose what controller/surface the toolbar displays information for. Click the
Properties button in the toolbar to display the property page (interface)
of the currently displayed controller/surface.

See also:
To Use ACT with the ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in
Using the ACT MIDI Controller Property Page

Using the ACT MIDI Controller Property Page

The ACT MIDI Controller property page gives you a wide range of options
to control track, bus, and plug-in parameters.
You can press F1 when the property page is open to get a description of all
the fields and controls.
To Load Default Mappings
• In the Presets window, select the name of your controller/surface. If
your controller/surface does not have a preset, select the Default
preset (available in SONAR 6.02), and see Assigning Controls on Your
Controller/Surface to Cells in the ACT MIDI Property Page.
Important: after you load the preset for your controller/surface, look at the
Comments field on the Options tab of the ACT MIDI Controller property

External Devices 889

ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in
 page. The Comments field will usually list the factory memory preset that
your controller/surface must be using to use the ACT MIDI Controller plug-
in. Make sure that you have loaded the correct memory preset in your
controller/surface’s memory.
To Edit Default Mappings
• On the Options tab, in the Rotaries, Sliders, or Buttons fields, choose
the Bank of parameter mappings that you want to edit, then select a
new parameter for that Bank. For example, if in the Rotaries field, you
select Bank 4, and the parameter field next to the Bank field now reads
Send 2 Pan, you could select Send 2 Vol instead. If you then click the
Controllers tab, and select Bank 4 in the Bank menu that’s in the
rotaries row, the rotary knobs will now control Send 2 Volume on all the
tracks currently under control. If you have at least 2 Sends in each
track, the rotary fields on the Controllers tab will now display the name
and current level of each Send 2 in the controlled tracks.
You can restore the default parameter assignments by clicking the
Defaults button.
If you want to choose a different knob or other control to control a
specific cell in the property page (the MIDI Learn function), see
Assigning Controls on Your Controller/Surface to Cells in the ACT MIDI
Property Page.

See:
Presets

Presets
After you have carefully configured the ACT MIDI Controller property page
to work with your controller/surface, you will likely want to save the
configuration as a preset.
To Save a Preset
• Type a name in the Presets window, then click the Save (floppy disk)
button.

See:
Assigning Controls on Your Controller/Surface to Cells in the ACT MIDI
Property Page

890 External Devices

ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in
Assigning Controls on Your Controller/Surface
to Cells in the ACT MIDI Property Page
Each cell or field on the Controllers tab of the ACT MIDI Controller property
page lists the SONAR or plug-in parameter that is currently controlled by
that cell. However, if your controller/surface does not have a preset, no
knobs or sliders on your controller/surface will be assigned to that cell, or
the knobs may be assigned in a pattern that you don’t prefer.
If your controller/surface does not have a preset, or if you want to change
the knobs and sliders that control specific cells in the ACT MIDI Controller
property page, use the MIDI Learn function to assign knobs and sliders to
cells:
To Assign Controls on Your Controller/Surface to Cells
in the ACT MIDI Controller Property Page
1. Click the cell on the Controllers tab of the ACT MIDI Controller property
page that you want to control with a specific knob or control on your
controller/surface. You can assign knobs to cells that do not currently
list any SONAR or plug-in parameter.
The cell displays the MIDI Learn message.
2. Move the control on your controller/surface that you want to use to
control that cell. This assigns the control to the cell.
3. You can edit the cell label by clicking the label and entering a new name
in the Edit Label dialog. This way you can immediately see which knobs
or sliders on your controller/surface are controlling which cell in the ACT
MIDI Controller property page.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for all the cells you want to control. Remember, you
can assign controls to cells that do not currently list any SONAR or
plug-in parameters.
5. When you are finished assigning controls to cells, save your work as a
preset: choose a preset or type a new name in the Presets window, and
click the Save button (floppy disk icon) that’s next to the Presets
window.

See also:
To Use ACT with the ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in

External Devices 891

ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in
 Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
The Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in supports both ACT and WAI. See
The WAI Display, and ACT for more information.
After you have connected your controller/surface (including loading the
correct memory preset in your controller/surface’s memory), and selected
the Cakewalk Generic Surface plug-in in the Controllers/Surfaces dialog
(see Connecting and Disconnecting if necessary), open the Cakewalk
Generic Surface property page.
To Open the Cakewalk Generic Surface Property Page
1. In the Controllers/Surfaces toolbar (Views-Toolbars-Controllers/
Surfaces command), make sure that Cakewalk Generic Surface
appears in the dropdown menu. If Cakewalk Generic Surface is not
available in the dropdown menu, see Connecting and Disconnecting.

2. Click the Properties button that is in the Controllers/Surfaces

toolbar. You can also double-click the WAI display of the Cakewalk
Generic Surface plug-in.

See:
Loading Presets

Loading Presets
SONAR contains preset mappings for most controllers/surfaces. Before
creating a set of mappings from scratch, load one of the preset mappings
for your controller/surface and see if you like it. Even if the preset doesn’t
meet all of your needs, it is usually a good base for creating your own
presets.
Note: to use ACT with the Cakewalk Generic Surface property page, you
need to first assign the knobs and controls on your controller/surface to
radio buttons 1-9 and A-G in the ACT Controls section of the property page,
and save these assignments as a new preset. See To Use ACT with the
Cakewalk Generic Surface.
To Load a Preset
1. At the top of the Cakewalk Generic Surface property page, in the
Presets window, click the dropdown arrow that is at the right edge of
the Presets window to display the menu of built-in presets.

892 External Devices

Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
2. Find the name of your controller/surface. There may be several
versions of presets for your controller/surface, if your controller/surface
has multiple presets.
3. Click one of the versions. If there are no versions for your controller/
surface, see Assigning Faders and Knobs to Control SONAR
Parameters.
Try out the available presets for your controller/surface. If you want to edit
one of them, first save it under a new name: type a new name for it in the
Presets window, and then click the Save button that’s next to the Presets
window.

See:
Assigning Faders and Knobs to Control SONAR Parameters
ACT

Assigning Faders and Knobs to Control SONAR

Parameters
The Cakewalk Generic Surface property page has separate sections that
control track parameters (the Track Parameters section), plug-in
parameters (the ACT Controls section), and global parameters (the Global
Parameters section).
To Configure Track Parameters
1. In the Cakewalk Generic Surface property page, in the Use ACT or
Strip Params fields, make sure that either the ACT Enable check box is
disabled, or that the Both check box is enabled. If the Both check box is
enabled, your controller/surface is controlling both track and plug-in
parameters.
2. In the Configure Strip Number field, use the dropdown menu to choose
which track strip in the current bank of tracks you want to configure (the
number of tracks in the current bank is listed in the Number of Track
Strips field).
3. If you want to change how many tracks are in a single bank, enter a
new number in the Number of Track Strips field.
4. Click the radio button of the Parameter that you want to configure
(choose from Parameters 1-16).
5. Use the dropdown menu next to the parameter you clicked to choose
exactly what parameter you want to configure.

External Devices 893

Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
 6. Move the control on your controller/surface that you want to use to
control this parameter.
7. Click the Learn button in the dialog. The MIDI message that the control
you moved sent out appears in the MIDI Message for the Current
SONAR Parameter section.
8. You can edit how SONAR interprets this particular message if you
want. See MIDI Message Interpretation for more information.
9. Repeat steps 4-8 if you want to configure more parameters for this
track strip, or choose a new track strip in the Configure Strip Number
field, and then repeat steps 4-8
When you’ve finished your edits, either type a name for this group of
settings in the Presets window and click the Save button
(recommended), or just click the Save button to overwrite the current
preset. You can then reload this collection of track settings any time you
want to by choosing the name of the preset that you saved in the Presets
window.
To Use ACT with the Cakewalk Generic Surface
1. Make sure you have completed the following preliminary steps:
• Successfully connected your controller/surface to SONAR (if
necessary, see Connecting and Disconnecting)
• Opened the Cakewalk Generic Surface property page (if
necessary, see To Open the Cakewalk Generic Surface Property
Page)
2. In the ACT Controls section of the Cakewalk Generic Surface property
page are radio buttons 1-9 and A-G. These buttons control plug-in
parameters in the active effect or synth plug-in. You first need to assign
a knob or control on your controller/surface to each one of these radio
buttons. Do this by clicking a radio button, moving a knob or control on
your controller/surface, and then clicking the Learn button in the
Cakewalk Generic Surface property page. You can check what MIDI
message you’ve assigned to each button by clicking a button and then
reading the value in the MIDI Message for Current SONAR Parameter
section. If the None radio button is highlighted after you click an ACT
Controls radio button, you have not assigned a control to that ACT
Controls radio button. When you finish, save your assignments as a
preset.
3. Next, in the Cakewalk Generic Surface property page, in the Use ACT
or Strip Params fields, make sure that either the ACT Enable check box

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 is enabled, or that the Both check box is enabled. If the Both check box
is enabled, your controller/surface is controlling both track parameters
and plug-in parameters.
4. In SONAR, put the focus on the plug-in effect or synth -that you want to
configure: either click its property page, or click its name in an FX bin.
The name of the plug-in appears in the Context field in the Cakewalk
Generic Surface property page.

5. Enable the Learn button on the Controllers/Surfaces toolbar.

6. In the property page of the plug-in that you want to control, click the
parameters that you want to control.
7. Move the sliders/knobs on your controller/surface that you want to use
to control the parameters with, in the same order that you clicked the
parameters (you can reverse steps 6 and 7).
8. Disable the Learn button on the Controllers/Surfaces toolbar.
9. A dialog appears, asking if you want to keep your assignments. Click
Yes or No.
As soon as you disable the Learn button, any plug-in mappings that you
keep are saved globally, and will be the same in every project for a
particular plug-in. Now your controller/surface can control whatever soft
synth or effect currently has focus. If you want to control only a single
instance of a plug-in, regardless of which plug-in has focus, enable the Lock
Context check box. For more information about ACT, see ACT.
You can save Track parameter mappings and knob/radio button mappings
in the Presets window that is at the top of the Cakewalk Generic Surface
property page.
Assigning Forward and Rewind Buttons
The Forward and Rewind assignments are special cases in the Cakewalk
Generic Surface property page. When you click select either of these
parameters, notice that Literally/Toggle field becomes greyed-out, and the
On/Off fields become available. This is because the Forward and Rewind
commands both require two different MIDI messages to function: one MIDI
message to turn the operation on, and a different message to turn the
operation off. This kind of operation is best assigned to a button that sends
out one MIDI message when you hold or push it down, and a different MIDI
message when you let the button up. The property page can usually fill in
the On field and the Off field correctly if you push the desired button a few
times and then click the Learn button. But it helps if you know exactly what

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 MIDI messages the desired button sends out. That way, you can fill in the
correct trigger values in the On and Off fields if the displayed values are
incorrect.
Conserving Knobs and Buttons
There are a few tricks you can use if you’re running out of buttons, or if your
controller/surface only has a couple of buttons on each strip, and you want
to control more parameters on each track:
• Assign a two-way knob or button to control two different parameters—If
a knob sends out one MIDI message when it’s turned to the right and a
different MIDI message when it’s turned to the left, you could use it to
control 2 toggle-type parameters, such as solo and arm. For example, if
a knob sends out NRPN # 5000 with a data value of 1 when you turn it
to the right and a data value of 16383 when you turn it to the left, you
could use a Trigger Value of 1 to turn the Arm button on and off, and a
Trigger Value of 16383 to turn the Solo button on and off. That way,
each time you turn the knob to the right, the Arm button turns on or off.
Each time you turn the knob left, the Solo button turns on or off.
• Assign a two-way knob to control a continuous parameter—If your
fader is assigned to control Volume, you can use a two-way knob to
control Pan or some other continuous parameter such as Send 1 Level.
For example, if a knob sends out NRPN # 5000 with a data value of 1
when you turn it to the right and a data value of 16383 when you turn it
to the left, you could use a value of 1 in the Increment/Decrement Plus
+ field, and a value of 16383 in the Increment/Decrement Minus - field.
That way, each time you turn the knob to the right, the Pan parameter
(or whatever parameter you want) increases by 1. Each time you turn
the knob to the left, the parameter decreases by 1. The parameter
continues to increase if you keep turning the knob to the right, and
decreases similarly if you keep turning the knob to the left.
• Use multiple strips to control one track at a time—Assign as many
knobs and faders as you want to control lots of parameters on only one
track (leave the Configure Strip Number field set to 1 while you’re
assigning faders and knobs). Then assign a couple of buttons to Move
1 Left and Move 1 Right, so you can shift your controller/surface one
track at a time.

See also:
Controlling Different Tracks or Groups of Tracks

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Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
Controlling Different Tracks or Groups of
Tracks
The Cakewalk Generic Surface plug-in can control anywhere from 1-32
tracks simultaneously, as specified by whatever number you fill in the
Number of Track Strips field in the Cakewalk Generic Surface property
page. There is always at least one track being controlled, referred to as the
Base Track. The Number of Track Strips value refers to the base track plus
‘n’ number of additional tracks. The toolbar automatically updates to display
the range of tracks (1-8, 2-9, 9-16, etc.) that your control surface currently
controls.
If multiple controller/surfaces are enabled, the Controllers/Surfaces toolbar
lets you select which controller/surface to display track information for.
The currently controlled tracks are displayed in the Controllers/Surfaces
toolbar. Go to Views-Toolbars, and select Controllers/Surfaces if the
toolbar is not already displayed. It is important to understand that this
toolbar is for display purposes only—it gets information from the Cakewalk
Generic Surface plug-in (or any other active controller/surface plug-in), but
the toolbar cannot update, or send information to the Cakewalk Generic
Surface plug-in. Changing which tracks are controlled must be done with
the Move 1 Left, Move 1 Right, Move Bank Left, or Move Bank Right
parameters, or by clicking the BaseTrack buttons that are at the top of the
Cakewalk Generic Surface property page.
Note: If you don’t have any buttons left over to assign to the Move 1 or
Move Bank parameters, you can click the right or left buttons in the
BaseTrack section of the Cakewalk Generic Surface property page to move
the Base Track to the right or left by one track. The buttons are located so
that you can resize the property page to just show the buttons and the
Presets field.
To Control the Next Track or Bank of Tracks
1. In the Cakewalk Generic Surface property page under Global
Parameters, select Move 1 Right to control the next higher-numbered
track, or Move Bank Right to control the next higher-numbered bank of
tracks.
2. Move (twice) the button or knob that you want to use to shift the
controller/surface to the next higher-numbered track or bank (for
example, from track 1 to track 2, or from tracks 1-8 to tracks 9-16).
3. Click the Learn button.

External Devices 897

Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
 The property page reads the type of MIDI message and displays the
characteristics in the appropriate fields.
4. Press the Tab key to accept the data.
5. Move the button or knob again and watch the display in the Controllers/
Surfaces toolbar to see if the current tracks shift by the appropriate
number.
Repeat this procedure, but use a different knob, and select Move 1 Left or
Move Bank Left so that you can move the current track or bank to a lower-
numbered one.

See also:
The Cakewalk Generic Surface Property Page

The Cakewalk Generic Surface Property Page

The Cakewalk Generic Surface property page appears when you click the
Properties button in the Controllers/Surfaces toolbar (Views-Toolbars-
Controllers/Surfaces command) while Cakewalk Generic Surface
appears in the dropdown menu in the toolbar. The Cakewalk Generic
Control controller/surface plug-in must be enabled first, however (see
Connecting and Disconnecting, if necessary).
The property page has several sections, as described below:
BaseTrack
This section contains 2 buttons on either side of a number field. You can
click the buttons to move the Base Track to a higher-numbered track (right
button) or lower-numbered track (left button). The Base Track is the first
track in the bank of tracks that your controller/surface is currently
controlling. You define how many tracks are in a bank by entering a number
in the Number of Track Strips field. The number can be from 1 to 32,
inclusive. The property page is designed so that you can minimize it (by
dragging the border) to show only the BaseTrack buttons and Preset
window, so you can click the buttons while you’re working. The buttons are
an alternative way to change the Base Track if you haven’t assigned any
buttons on your controller/surface to do that. The Move 1 and Move Bank
fields are what you use to assign those functions.
Track Parameters
This section lists the particular track strip you are assigning controls for, the
number of strips that make up a bank of tracks, and the various track
parameters you can control with the faders and knobs on your controller/

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Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
surface. You can assign the following different track parameters (they are
listed in the dropdown menu next to each Parameter “n” field):
• Volume
• Pan
• Mute
• Solo
• Record Arm
• Write Enable
• Phase
• Send “n” Level (“n”=1-16; depending on number of active buses; Send
1 Level=Reverb for MIDI tracks, Send 2 Level=Chorus for MIDI tracks)
• Send “n” Pan (“n”=1-16)
• Send “n” Enable (“n”=1-16)
• Send “n” Pre/Post (“n”=1-6)
Use ACT or Strip Params
This section lets you decide whether your controller/surface is controlling
track parameters, plug-in parameters, or both.
Note: it’s possible to use the same control on your controller/surface to
control both a track parameter and a plug-in parameter. It’s not usually a
good idea to control both at the same time.
This section has the following controls:
• ACT Enable radio button—lets you assign a control on your controller/
surface to enable or disable the ACT Enable check box. Radio buttons
are used with Learn mode.
• ACT Enable check box—when this check box is enabled (and not
greyed-out), your controller/surface controls plug-in parameters only.
• Both check box—when this check box is enabled, your controller/
surface controls both track and plug-in parameters. When neither the
Both check box nor the ACT Enable check box are enabled, your
controller/surface controls track parameters only. In Both mode, you
typically allocate some physical controls to control Track parameters,
while other physical controls are allocated to control plug-in
parameters.

External Devices 899

Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
 ACT Controls
This section let's you assign buttons and knobs to control plug-ins. This
section has the following controls:
• Lock Context radio button—lets you assign a control on your controller/
surface to enable or disable the Lock Context check box.
• Lock Context check box—when this check box is enabled, your
controller/surface controls only the particular instance of the particular
plug-in that had focus when you enabled this check box.
• Context field—displays the name of the plug-in that currently has focus,
unless the Lock Context check box is enabled.
• Physical Control Type—this field lets you tell SONAR what kind of
control you are using for the selected parameter. For example, if the
parameter you’re controlling is an On/Off type of parameter, like a
power button, it would be a good idea to use a button or switch on your
controller instead of a slider.
• Radio buttons 1-9 and A-G—each of these 16 radio buttons lets you
map up to 16 plug-in parameters to controls on your controller/surface.
The name of each of the 16 plug-in parameters that are currently being
controlled are listed in order next to each radio button. To use these
buttons, you must first assign a control on your controller/surface to
each one of these buttons. See .
MIDI Message for the Current SONAR Parameter
This section is where you can choose a specific kind of MIDI message to
control whatever parameter is selected in the Track Parameters, ACT
Controls (including the ACT Enable check box), or Global Parameters
sections. Most of the time you don’t need to choose, because the Learn
button fills in the fields automatically.
Choose from the following options:
• None—Click this button to disable control of the selected parameter.
• Learn—If you don't know the exact MIDI message that a fader/knob/
button transmits, you can simply move the fader/knob/button a couple
of times, and then click Learn to automatically fill in the correct MIDI
message.
• Controller—With this button enabled and a Controller number entered
in the number field, SONAR moves the selected parameter whenever it
receives this specific controller message from your controller/surface
on the specified channel.
• Channel—The MIDI channel the controller/surface uses for the MIDI

900 External Devices

Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
 Message that is controlling the current parameter.
• NRPN—With this button enabled and a NRPN number entered in the
number field, SONAR moves the selected parameter whenever it
receives this specific NRPN message from your controller/surface on
the specified channel.
• Trigger Value—For triggered actions (mute, solo, play, stop, etc.),
specify the Controller, NRPN or RPN value that will trigger the current
parameter.
• RPN—With this button enabled and a RPN number entered in the
number field, SONAR moves the selected parameter whenever it
receives this specific RPN message from your controller/surface on the
specified channel.
• Note—You can use a Note On message to trigger a parameter or
action. The number field next to the radio button displays the note
number, and the Trigger Value field displays the velocity the note must
use to trigger the desired parameter. If you use a MIDI keyboard for this
field, you can enter zero in the Trigger Value field, and the property
page will then use the Note Off signal as a trigger, instead of the Note
On.
• Wheel—You can use a pitch wheel to trigger a parameter. In this case,
the Trigger Value field uses a range of numbers from 0 to 16383.
Continuous parameters such as Pan or Volume are the best choices for
a pitch wheel (except for the fact that the wheel usually returns to its
original position when you let go of it), but you can use a wheel to
control toggle-type parameters by entering 0 or 16383 in the Trigger
Value field. That way, you’ll trigger the desired parameter when the
wheel reaches its maximum or minimum position.
• Sysx Single Byte—Selecting this option tells SONAR that the significant
data (the variable, or parameter value) in the incoming Sysx message is
in the form of a single byte. The Sysx Single Byte option has the
following structure: F0 ? VV ? F7. The pre string should be F0 ?, where
you must include the F0 byte, and the post string should be ? F7, where
you must include the F7 byte.
• Sysx High Byte First—Selecting this option tells SONAR that the
significant data in the incoming Sysx message is in the form of two
bytes, with the high byte first. The Sysx High Byte First option has the
following structure: F0 ? HI LO ? F7.
• Sysx Low Byte First—Selecting this option tells SONAR that the
significant data in the incoming Sysx message is in the form of two

External Devices 901

Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
 bytes, with the low byte first. The Sysx Low Byte First option has the
following structure: F0 ? LO HI ? F7.
• Starts With—Fill in the string that your controller/surface sends in Sysx
messages that precedes the significant data.
• Ends With—Fill in the string that your controller/surface sends in Sysx
messages that follows the significant data.
• Sysx Trigger—Triggered targets (play, mute, solo, etc.) are enacted by
using a Sysx trigger, where the user simply types the entire Sysx
message F0 ?? F7 that will trigger the action.
• Trigger Message—The exact Sysx message, in the form of F0 ? ? F7,
for the Sysx Trigger option.
Note: The Sysx Single Byte, Sysx High Byte First, and Sysx Low Byte First
options assume that the Sysx message will be interpreted as a value to
control continuous parameters such as Volume, extracted from somewhere
in the middle of the message. That is why those three options are
unavailable for “triggered” targets, like play, record, mute, solo, move 1 left,
move 1 right, etc.
MIDI Message Interpretation
A special interpretation of a MIDI message is commonly used in the
following two cases:
• Literally/Toggle—The property page interprets almost all MIDI
messages as either literal values or toggle-type values, so most of the
time this button is checked. A fader usually sends out a stream of
different messages that are different for each position of the fader. The
values of these messages are used “literally” to make timely changes in
a continuous parameter such as Volume. The other common
interpretation of a MIDI message is that it is meant to “toggle” a control
such as a Mute button on and off. The property page interprets almost
all MIDI messages as one of these two types of message.
• Increment/Decrement—This option is valuable if you want to use a
button or knob that can only send two different values to control a
continuous parameter, such as Pan or Volume (see Conserving Knobs
and Buttons).
• Plus+—The value that causes the desired parameter to increase
by 1.
• Minus-—The value that causes the desired parameter to decrease
by 1.

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Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
• On/Off—This option is currently only used with the Forward >> and
Rewind << shuttle actions. You should only assign buttons to these
functions if each button sends a different MIDI message when it is
released from the message it sends when it is pushed. The On field
displays the value the button sends when you push it, and the Off field
displays the value the button sends when you release it.
Global Parameters
This section let's you assign buttons and knobs to control SONAR’s
transport. The parameters you can control are:
• Play
• Stop
• Forward >>
• Rewind <<
• Record
• Write Automation
• Jog <- (previous measure)
• Jog -> (next measure)
• Move 1 Left—This parameter changes the currently-controlled track to
the next lower-numbered track.
• Move Bank Left—This parameter changes the currently-controlled bank
of tracks to the next lower-numbered bank of tracks.
• Move 1 Right—This parameter changes the currently-controlled track to
the next higher-numbered track.
• Move Bank Right—This parameter changes the currently-controlled
bank of tracks to the next higher-numbered bank of tracks.
Presets
After you have carefully configured the Cakewalk Generic Surface property
page to work with your control surface, you will likely want to save the
configuration as a preset.
To Save a Preset
• Type a name in the Preset box, then click the Save (floppy disk) button.

External Devices 903

Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in
 The WAI Display
The WAI display (short for Where Am I) is a group of colored markers to
show you which tracks and/or buses are currently being controlled by which
controller/surface. Each controller/surface uses different colored markers.
In the following picture controller/surface 1 (blue markers) is controlling
tracks 2-5, and controller/surface 2 (red markers) is controlling tracks 7-14.
You can drag the markers to different groups of tracks to change which
tracks each controller/surface is controlling. You can also double-click the
markers to open the property page of that particular controller/surface.

A. WAI markers B. WAI strip

If multiple controller/surfaces overlap, the narrowest strip range appears on

top of the widest strip range.

904 External Devices

The WAI Display
 B
A

A. Red markers B. Blue markers

The following table describes how you can use WAI markers:

To do this... Do this…

Change the group of tracks or Drag the WAI markers from one group
buses that a controller/surface of tracks to another group, or from one
controls group of buses to another group.
Or
Right-click in the WAI strip, and
choose Move-[name of controller/
surface]-here from the popup menu.

Open the property page of a Double-click the WAI markers for that
controller/surface controller/surface.

Show or hide the WAI markers in In the Controllers/Surfaces dialog

the Track view and/or Console (Options-Controllers/Surfaces
view command), in the WAI Display section,
enable or disable the Track view and/
or Console view check boxes.

Show or hide the WAI markers for In the Controllers/Surfaces dialog

a specific controller/surface (Options-Controllers/Surfaces
command), in the WAI column just to
the right of the name of the controller/
surface, enable or disable the check
box.

External Devices 905

The WAI Display
 To do this... Do this…

Change the color of the WAI In the Controllers/Surfaces dialog

markers for a specific controller/ (Options-Controllers/Surfaces
surface command), in the WAI color column
just to the right of the name of the
controller/surface, choose a new color
from the dropdown menu.

See:
ACT

ACT
Active Controller Technology (ACT) allows you to control whatever plug-in
effect or soft synth currently has focus. The controller/surface mappings for
a particular plug-in work the same on each instance of that plug-in,
whenever that instance has focus. You can change the focus to a particular
plug-in by clicking either the plug-in’s interface, or its name in an FX bin.
SONAR has built-in mappings for all relatively recent SONAR plug-ins,
however some older plug-ins such as the TTS-1 do not support ACT.
Note: if you’re not using an Edirol PCR controller/surface, using ACT at this
date means using either the ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in, or the Cakewalk
Generic Surface Plug-in. The ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in has presets for
most popular controller/surfaces that include built-in links between the
knobs and controls on a given controller/surface and the cells on the
Controllers tab of the ACT MIDI Controller property page. If you’re not using
one of the factory presets (or there isn’t one for your controller/surface) OR
if you’re using the Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in, you need to establish
some links between the knobs and controls on your controller/surface, and
either the cells in the ACT MIDI Controller property page or the radio
buttons in the Cakewalk Generic Surface Plug-in property page. To do
either of these, see Assigning Controls on Your Controller/Surface to Cells
in the ACT MIDI Property Page, or To Use ACT with the Cakewalk Generic
Surface.
To Use ACT with the ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in
1. Make sure you have completed the following preliminary steps:

906 External Devices

ACT
 • Successfully connected your controller/surface to SONAR (if
necessary, see Connecting and Disconnecting)
• Opened the ACT MIDI Controller property page (if necessary, see
To Open the ACT MIDI Controller Property Page)
• Selected a preset from the ACT MIDI Controller property page
Presets menu, either a factory preset for your controller/surface, or
a self-created preset (if there is no preset, seeAssigning Controls
on Your Controller/Surface to Cells in the ACT MIDI Property
Page).
2. Enable ACT in the ACT MIDI Controller property page by enabling the
Active Controller Technology Enable check box. The ACT MIDI
Controller can enable this check box from the controller/surface itself.
3. Put the focus on the plug-in that you want to control.
The name of the plug-in appears in the Active Controller Technology
field of your controller/surface’s property page, and the current
mappings appear above the knob and slider fields in the controller/
surface property page.
4. Adjust the plug-in’s parameters by moving the controls on your
controller/surface (if you’re using a self-created preset for the first time,
you may have to create your own ACT Mappings before you can do this
step—see the following procedure).
5. If you want to control only this instance of the plug-in with your
controller/surface, enable the Lock check box in the ACT MIDI
Controller property page, or enable the ACT Lock button in the
Controllers/Surfaces toolbar.
6. If you are not locking the controller/surface to a single instance of a
plug-in, put the focus on another plug-in, if desired, and adjust its
parameters.
To Edit the Default ACT Mappings
1. Enable ACT in the ACT MIDI Controller property page by enabling the
Active Controller Technology Enable check box.

2. Enable the Learn button on the Controllers/Surfaces toolbar.

3. Open the property page of the plug-in that you want to control.
4. Click the parameters in the property page that you want to control.

External Devices 907

ACT
 5. Move the sliders/knobs on your controller/surface that you want to use
to control the parameters with, in the same order that you clicked the
parameters (you can reverse steps 4 and 5).
6. Disable the Learn button on the Controllers/Surfaces toolbar.
7. A dialog asks if you want to keep your assignments. Click Yes or No.
Any assignments you keep are saved automatically as soon as you disable
the Learn button. These assignments are global, so they are the same for
every project.

OPT Panels
OPT stands for Open Plug-in Technology. If you have a Yamaha sound
module that uses OPT panels, you can open the panels directly from
SONAR, edit your sounds, and save them as presets.
To Open an OPT Panel
1. Make sure your Yamaha module is connected to your computer and
turned on.
2. Use the Views-OPT Panel command to display the submenu of
installed OPT panels, and click the name of the OPT panel you want to
display.
The OPT panel appears.
3. If you want to edit a preset you’ve previously created, choose the
preset from the Presets window; otherwise type a name for your new
preset in the Presets window.
4. Edit your sound (each OPT panel has its own help file).
5. Click the floppy disk icon that’s next to the Presets window to save your
edited sound.

Working with StudioWare

StudioWare panels are software interfaces to external MIDI devices such
as samplers, keyboards, automatable mixers, and effects units. These
interfaces allow you to manipulate the controls on any external MIDI device
from graphical controls on your screen. The changes you make to these
controls can even be recorded and then played back as part of your project.

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OPT Panels
SONAR includes a wide variety of StudioWare panels for popular MIDI
devices, with new panels constantly under development here at Cakewalk,
by equipment manufacturers, and by SONAR users. Check the Cakewalk
web site (www.cakewalk.com) from time to time for new and updated
StudioWare panels.

StudioWare Panels
SONAR comes with a variety of StudioWare panels. Some are designed to
control a specific external MIDI device, while others are useful with a variety
of devices. Here is a listing of some of the panels that are included with
SONAR:

Panel name... What it’s for...

Line 6 POD Provides control for the Line 6 POD 2.0/Pro

amp modeler.

Line 6 POD Provides control for the Line 6 Bass POD amp
modeler.

Fender Cyber Twin Provides control for the Fender Cyber Twin amp
modeler.

ART SQX20 Provides control for the ART SGX 2000 Express
guitar preamp/processor

AWE Controls the wavetable synthesizer on

SoundBlaster AWE sound cards

EMU Orbit Provides basic control of the EMU’s Orbit

synthesizer

General MIDI Provides parameters and control for any

General MIDI compatible synthesizer

Mackie OTTO 1604 Fader and Mute control designed for the Mackie
1604 mixer

MMC MIDI Machine Control panel, providing track

arming and transport control for any device that
responds to MMC commands

External Devices 909

Working with StudioWare
 Panel name... What it’s for...

Novation Bass Station Panel for controlling the settings of the Novation
BS1 BassStation

Novation Bass Station Panel for controlling the settings of the Novation
Rack BSR1 BassStation rack version

Novation Panel for controlling the settings of the Novation

DrumStationRack DRM- DrumStation
1

Novation Super Bass Panel for controlling the settings of the Novation
Station Rack SuperBassStation rack version

Roland GS Control panel providing parameter manipulation

for any GS-compatible synth

Roland VS-880 Provides parameter and transport control for the

Roland VS-880 digital audio workstation

Tascam RC-808 Control Interface modeled after the Tascam RC-

808 remote control unit, used with the DA-38,
DA-88, and DA-98 multitrack recorders

Yamaha ProMix 01 Provides parameter control for the Yamaha

ProMix digital mixer

Yamaha 03D Provides parameter control for the Yamaha 03D

digital mixer

Roland UA-100 Provides parameter control for the Roland UA-

100 audio canvas

To Open a StudioWare Panel

1. Choose File-Open to display the Open File dialog box.
2. Choose StudioWare from the Files of Type list.
3. Choose a StudioWare file and click Open.
SONAR opens and displays the StudioWare panel.

Using Panels
Every StudioWare panel is made up of a collection of controls and other
information displays. The controls are software representations of the

910 External Devices

Working with StudioWare
knobs, buttons, and sliders on an external MIDI device. By moving the
controls on the screen, you adjust the controls on the external MIDI device.
If you want, you can also configure the StudioWare panel so that moving
the controls on the external device adjusts the controls on your computer
screen. Some StudioWare panels contain controls that perform other
functions within SONAR, such as changing track parameters or running
CAL programs.
Because StudioWare panels can be used to control many different types of
devices, and because each and every panel can be tailored for a specific
application and hardware environment, it is impossible to explain here all
the different ways to use a particular panel. Instead, this section tells you
how to use the different types of controls and how to record the changes
you make to each control as part of your project.
There are three types of controls in most StudioWare panels: buttons,
knobs, and sliders. In addition, panels may contain LED indicators, level
meters, text, and bitmap images. The appearance of controls and other
displays may vary greatly from panel to panel. They may be of very different
sizes, and they may be designed with custom styles, bitmaps, and colors. In
addition, sliders and meters may be laid out either horizontally or vertically.

MMC

External Devices 911

Working with StudioWare
 General MIDI

There are a variety of ways to adjust the values of buttons, sliders, and
knobs:

To change Do this…
this…

The status of a Click on the button

button

The value of a slider Click on the desired slider position to move the
slider to that position, or drag the slider to the
desired position

The value of a knob Click along the outer edge of the knob to move the
knob to that position, or drag the outer edge of the
knob in a circular motion to set the desired position

To change the value of a knob or slider using the keyboard, you must first
select the control:
• To select a control that has a numeric value display or label, click on
the value or the label.
• To select a control without a numeric value display, click on the control,
being careful to click at the current control position. If you do not click at
the current control position, the control will change values as a result of

912 External Devices

Working with StudioWare
 the mouse click.
To adjust a knob or slider using the keyboard:
• Press the - and + keys to decrease or increase the value of the selected
control by the smallest amount
• Press the [ and ] keys to decrease or increase the value of the selected
control by steps of 10

Grouping Controls
SONAR lets you create groups of StudioWare controls. When several
controls are in a single group, you can move a single control and have the
remaining controls in the group adjust automatically. This is useful for many
different mixing and crossfade applications.
When you create a group of controls, each control in the group has a
starting and an ending value. Here’s how these values are used:
• When you move any control in the group to its starting value, all
controls in the group are set to their starting value
• When you move any control in the group to its ending value, all controls
in the group are set to their ending value
• When you position any control in the group somewhere between its
starting and ending value, all controls in the group are set to the same
relative position between their starting and ending value
The initial range for each control is set based on the position of the controls
at the time you group them.
You can adjust the range for any individual control, even if it is part of a
group, simply by holding the Shift key while you move the control. When
you adjust an individual control by holding the Shift key, its maximum or
minimum is adjusted, depending on whether the entire group is closer to its
minimum or maximum value.
To Create a Group of Controls
1. Select any control by clicking on it with the mouse.
2. Hold down the Ctrl key and click on one or more additional controls.
SONAR creates a group from the selected controls.
To Remove Controls from a Group
1. Hold down the Ctrl key and click on any control in the group.
SONAR removes the control from the group.

External Devices 913

Working with StudioWare
 To Adjust a Single Control in a Group
1. Hold down the Shift key and drag the control to a new value.
The range for the control is adjusted so that its current position corresponds
with the current position of other controls in the group.
Example: To Set Two Faders for a Crossfade
1. Move the two faders to their midpoint.
2. Click on the first fader, and then Ctrl-click on the second to create a
group.
3. Move both faders to their highest position.
4. Shift-drag the second fader to its lowest position.
5. Drag the first fader to its lowest position.
6. Shift-drag the second fader to its highest position.
These two controls are now grouped so that they move in opposite
directions.
The minimum and maximum values of the faders look like this:

Fader... Starting Ending

value... value...

#1 0 127

#2 127 0

To set faders that are always the same distance apart, set the ranges
something like this:

Fader... Starting Ending

value... value...

#1 0 63

#2 64 127

914 External Devices

Working with StudioWare
 To set faders to move over different ranges of values, set them something
like this:

Fader... Starting Ending

value... value...

#1 0 127

#2 0 100

Recording Control Movements

You can move the controls in a StudioWare panel while playing back a
project to adjust the levels or other MIDI activity that the panel is designed
to accommodate. In addition, you can record changes that you make to the
controls in a panel so that these changes become a part of your project.
Recording changes so that they play back automatically is known as
automation.
There are two general approaches to recording control movements, as
indicated in the following table:

Approach... How it works...

Snapshot You set all the controls to the values

you want, and then create a snapshot
of these settings at a particular Now
time. When you play back the project
later, all the controls will snap back to
these settings when you reach the
appropriate Now time.

Real-time recording You move controls in any way you like,

recording the series of changes you
make so they become part of your
project. When you play back the
project later, the controls move exactly
as you recorded them.

External Devices 915

Working with StudioWare
 The first 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.
The latter approach is most useful when you want to create smooth
transitions from one section to another. For example, you could slowly add
modulation to a MIDI piano or move the faders on a digital mixing console.
Once you record these changes, they will play back along with your project
automatically.
StudioWare lets you record and re-record automation data as many times
as necessary. When you record new movements for a control, any old
events for that control are replaced by the newer ones. Movements of other
controls are unaffected. You can re-record moves again and again until
you’ve got the movement exactly the way you want it. You can also edit
automation data using the Notes pane in the Piano Roll view.
There are three tools in the StudioWare toolbar that are used to control
recording and automation:

Icon... Tool... What it’s for...

Update Makes the controls in the panel

update automatically during
playback or when MIDI data is
received by the panel

Snapshot Records a snapshot of the

current position of all controls

Record Activates real-time recording of

all control movements

Most StudioWare panels are designed to both send and receive MIDI data.
This means two things:
• If you move the controls on your external MIDI device, the StudioWare
panel will be notified of the changes
• When you play back a project containing automation data, the
StudioWare panel is notified of the automation changes
The Update button in the StudioWare toolbar indicates whether these
changes are played back visually on the StudioWare panel. Press this

916 External Devices

Working with StudioWare
button to make sure that automation parameters and changes made on the
external MIDI device are displayed in the StudioWare panel. Turn this
option off if you do not want to see these changes.
If you are recording a snapshot while playback is in progress, you should
probably disable Update. Otherwise, some of the controls may move as a
result of previously recorded automation events, even while you are trying
to position them correctly.
When you are recording real-time control movements, you probably want
Update enabled, so that the controls will show the events that have already
been recorded.
If you record automation data on a track that contains linked clips, SONAR
automatically unlinks the clips so that the automation data do not apply to
other instances of the linked clip. As an example, suppose you have four
repetitions of a particular riff, stored in four linked clips that play in
sequence. When you record a fade-out over these four clips, SONAR
automatically splits the clips into four independent clips, each with
automation data representing some portion of the fade.
If you record a snapshot of control positions on a track that contains linked
clips, the clips remain linked, and the snapshot applies to all copies of the
linked clip.
If you are not happy with the automation data you recorded, you can always
use the Edit-Undo command to remove it.
The automation data you record using a StudioWare panel can be
displayed and edited using either the Notes pane in the Piano Roll view or
the Event List view. For more information on the Controller pane, see
“Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data” on page 482Controllers,
RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data. For more information on the Event
List view, see “The Event List View” on page 486The Event List View.
To Record a Snapshot While Playback Is Stopped
1. Set the Now time to the point in the project where you want the settings
to take effect.
2. Move the controls to the settings you desire.

3. Click .
SONARHome Studio records a snapshot of the current control settings.
If the Now time is the very beginning of the project, then the snapshot will
change the track parameters to match the controls in the panel instead of
recording automation events.

External Devices 917

Working with StudioWare
 To Record a Snapshot While Playback Is in Progress
1. Make sure the button in the StudioWare toolbar is not pressed so
that Update is disabled.
2. Change the Now time to a few bars or seconds before the time you
wish to take the snapshot.
3. Start playback.
4. When you have reached the appropriate time, click on the Snapshot
button.
SONARHome Studio records a snapshot of the current control settings.
To Record Control Changes in Real Time
1. Make sure the button in the StudioWare toolbar is pressed so that
Update is enabled.

2. Make sure the button in the StudioWare toolbar is pressed so that

recording is enabled.
3. Set the Now time to a few bars or seconds before the time at which you
want to record control movements.

4. Click or press the Space bar to start playback. (Note: Do not press
the Record button in the Transport toolbar!)
5. Adjust the controls as you wish while playback is in progress. Each time
you adjust a control, the Record tool is activated.

6. When you are done, click or press the Space bar to stop playback.

7. Click the button in the StudioWare toolbar to turn off real-time

recording.
SONARHome Studio records the control changes that you entered while
playback was in progress.

Control Settings
The controls in a StudioWare panel are designed to send and receive
various types of MIDI information. This information can be transmitted to
two possible destinations:
• A specific track in your project
• A MIDI output

918 External Devices

Working with StudioWare
When you want to record the movements of controls within a panel, you
must make sure that MIDI data from the control are directed to a MIDI track.

StudioWare Panel Drawing Speed

Some StudioWare panels use bitmap graphics to enhance their
appearance. These graphics can slow down the speed with which a panel is
displayed on some slower PCs. You can turn off these bitmap graphics by
adding this line to the [WinCake] section of the CAKEWALK.INI file, as follows.
PanelsShowWidgetBitmaps=0
To turn bitmap graphics on again, change the entry to:
PanelsShowWidgetBitmaps=1
For more information about the cakewalk.ini file, see the online help topic:
Initialization Files.

External Devices 919

Working with StudioWare
920 External Devices
Working with StudioWare
Using Cal
Cakewalk Application Language (CAL) is an event-processing language that you use to
extend SONAR™ with custom editing commands.

See:
Running CAL Programs
Sample CAL Files

Running CAL Programs

To interrupt a CAL program while it is running, press the Esc (Escape) key. Press OK to
confirm that you want to interrupt the CAL program. As a rule, you shouldn’t interrupt a
CAL program in this way unless you suspect it is stuck in an infinite loop.
To Open a CAL Program
1. Select the MIDI data you want to edit.
2. Choose Process-Run CAL.
The Open dialog box appears.
3. Navigate to the folder that contains the CAL program you want to run.
4. Choose the file you want to open and click Open.
The CAL program you chose runs and modifies the selected MIDI data.

Sample CAL Files

The following is a description of the sample CAL programs that come with SONAR. You
can use these programs as is or modify them to suit your own needs.

See:
 SPLIT NOTE TO TRACKS.CAL
SPLIT CHANNEL TO TRACKS.CAL
RANDOM TIME.CAL
THIN CONTROLLER DATA.CAL
THIN CHANNEL AFTERTOUCH.CAL
THIN PITCH WHEEL.CAL
MAJOR CHORD.CAL, MINOR CHORD.CAL

SPLIT NOTE TO TRACKS.CAL

This program splits individual notes to separate tracks. It is useful if you
have one drum track but want to split each drum to a separate track (for
more flexible editing).

SPLIT CHANNEL TO TRACKS.CAL

This program splits a track by channel into 16 new tracks. This can be
useful for Type 0 MIDI files, which may have data recorded on many
channels but only one track.
To use the program
1. Select only one track.
2. Set the From and Thru markers for any part of the track (you don’t have
to split the whole track).
3. Run the SPLIT CHANNEL TO TRACKS.CAL program.
SONAR displays a dialog box.
4. Select the first track for the 16 split-channel tracks (preferably, the first
of 16 blank tracks).
5. Click OK.

RANDOM TIME.CAL
This program randomizes event starting times. It asks you for a number of
ticks. The program then changes each event time by an amount that is
randomly between plus or minus one-half the number of ticks that you
supply.
For example, if you type the number 4, each event time will have -2, -1, 0,
1, or 2 added to it.

922 Using Cal

Sample CAL Files
THIN CONTROLLER DATA.CAL
This thins continuous Controller data. It prompts you for two numbers.
• The number of the Controller that you want to thin. For example, MIDI
assigns the Volume controller to number 7.
• A thinning factor. For example, if you specify the number 3, the program
deletes every third Controller event of the kind you’ve specified.
This program never deletes Controllers with the values 0, 64, or 127,
because the goal is to thin the data without destroying the fundamental
shape of it.

THIN CHANNEL AFTERTOUCH.CAL

This works almost exactly like the previous program, but it thins channel
aftertouch (ChanAft) events. It asks you for the thinning factor.

THIN PITCH WHEEL.CAL

This works almost exactly like the previous two programs, but it thins pitch-
wheel events. It asks you for the thinning factor.
This program never deletes wheel events with these special values:
-8192, 0, and 8191.

MAJOR CHORD.CAL, MINOR CHORD.CAL

These two CAL programs and the three other chord-building CAL programs
that come with SONAR build chords using existing events in the track(s) as
chord roots.
For instance, if you select a single note as the region and run
MAJOR_CHORD.CAL, two notes are added above the original note. The
resulting chord is a major triad.
Normally, you’ll use these programs on a region containing a single note.
You can, however, apply these to tracks containing many notes. Each
original note will become the root of a chord.

Using Cal 923

Sample CAL Files
924 Using Cal
Sample CAL Files
Troubleshooting
If you’re having a problem with SONAR, don’t panic. This chapter lists some common
problems and how to solve them.
If you don’t find an answer here, there are two other important places to look for help:
• Check the ReadMe file that came with your software. It contains additional information
that wasn’t available when this User’s Guide was printed. To view the Readme file,
select Help-View README.RTF.
• Visit our website at www.cakewalk.com, where you’ll find answers to frequently asked
questions, tech support documents, program patches and updates, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Audio dropouts or crash when playing back large files at maximum latency
When I Play a File, I Don’t Hear Anything
I Can’t Record from My MIDI Instrument
When I Play a File Containing Audio, the Audio Portion Doesn’t Play
I Can’t Record Any Audio
The Music Is Playing Back with the Wrong Instrument Sounds
My Keyboard Doubles Every Note I Play
I Don’t See the Clips Pane in the Track View
Why Can’t SONAR Find My Audio Files?
Why Do I Get Errors from the Wave Profiler?
My Track or Bus Fader is Maximized, But There’s No Sound or Level
How Do I Use SONAR to Access All the Sounds on My MIDI Instrument?
I Hear an Echo When I Record
Dropouts Happen in High Bit-depth or High Sample Rate Audio
Patching an Effect into SONAR Causes a Dropout
I Can’t Open My Project
 Audio Distorts at Greater than 16 Bits
No Sound from My Soft Synth
My Pro Audio 9 Files Sound Louder/Softer When I Open Them in SONAR
SONAR Can’t Find the Wavetable Synth or MPU401
I Get an Error Message When I Change a Project to 24-bit Audio
Bouncing Tracks Takes a Long Time
The GUI is not Smooth During Playback

Audio dropouts or crash when playing

back large files at maximum latency
Symptom: after several seconds of playback the audio begins to cut out,
although the transport appears to keep rolling. If the project file is loaded
with several plug-ins you may experience a crash.
Solution: if you ever set the Buffers Size field on the General tab of the
Audio Options dialog so that the buffer size exceeds the disk buffer size,
audio won't play properly. If you want latency that high you must also
increase the disk buffer size: in the Audio Options dialog, on the Advanced
tab, try increasing the I/O Buffer Size (KB) field by blocks of 128 KB.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

When I Play a File, I Don’t Hear Anything

Open a project (.CWP) and click the Play button. If you don’t hear any music,
try the following suggestions:

Possible problem… What to do…

Your speakers aren’t connected Make sure your speakers are on and
properly or the volume is turned the volume is turned up.
down.

926 Troubleshooting
Possible problem… What to do…

Your sound card isn’t hooked up See if other programs play sound
correctly. 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 don’t have Bank and Patch Check the Bank and Patch settings
settings in your MIDI track for each track. Make sure that each
track has a Bank and Patch assigned
to it.

You don’t 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 doesn’t work, try choosing
different output devices, one at a
time, to see if any of them produces
sound.

Your sound card or MIDI interface Make sure you have installed and
is not set up correctly. tested each card according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.

You may have too many MIDI Make sure you only install the drivers
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.

Troubleshooting 927
 Possible problem… What to do…

Your MIDI driver is incorrect or Make sure that the driver you have
outdated. 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 Make sure the driver’s IRQ and port
incorrectly. 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.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

I Can’t 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.

928 Troubleshooting
 Possible problem… What to do…

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 Make sure that 1) you have chosen
record. 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.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

When I Play a File Containing Audio, the

Audio Portion Doesn’t 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 aren’t connected Make sure your speakers are

properly, or the volume is turned connected properly and the volume
down. is turned up.

Troubleshooting 929
 Possible problem… What to do…

Your sound card isn’t hooked up Run the Microsoft Sound Recorder
correctly. (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 Double-click on the yellow speaker

on your software mixer. icon in 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 Check the output assignment for
the wrong output. your audio tracks in the Track pane.

SONAR doesn’t recognize your Choose Options-Audio, click the

sound card. 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.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

I Can’t Record Any Audio

If you are unable to record audio through your sound card, try the following
suggestions:

930 Troubleshooting
 Possible problem… What to do…

The track is not set up to Make sure that the input for the track you
receive audio input. are recording (in the Track view) is set to
an Audio input before recording.

The software mixer is not set Double-click on the speaker icon in the
up properly. Windows task 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.

Your sound card isn’t hooked Try recording audio using the Microsoft
up correctly. Sound 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 Make sure that 1) you have chosen an
to record. 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 don’t work, check our website for additional

suggestions or contact technical support.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

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

Troubleshooting 931
 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.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

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 you’ve 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.
It’s 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 you’ve 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.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

I Don’t 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. Here’s how to solve the problem:

932 Troubleshooting
 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.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

Why Can’t 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 don’t 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 Audio File
Management.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

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.

My Track or Bus Fader is Maximized,

Troubleshooting 933
 But There’s 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 track’s 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 you’re 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 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 don’t want them to affect your levels.

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.

934 Troubleshooting
 7. Click on the instrument in the Uses Instrument list.
8. Click OK when you are done.
If your manufacturer or instrument doesn’t 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 the online help topic: Instrument Definitions.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

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 that’s coming
through your sound card. If you choose this method, you won’t 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
track’s Input Echo button so that it is in the off position:
To mute your sound card’s 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.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

Troubleshooting 935
 Dropouts Happen in High Bit-depth or
High Sample Rate Audio
If you are hearing consistent dropouts/clicks in your audio and if your
project contains high bit depth (32/64 bit) or high sample rate audio (88.2K
or higher), it may be indicative of a too small I/O buffer size. If so try a
higher I/O buffer size like 256 or 512. If audio problems persist, reset to 128
and try a different remedy.
Use the Options-Audio command to open the Audio Options dialog, click
the Advanced tab, and in the I/O Buffer Size (KB) field, enter 256 or 512.

Patching an Effect into SONAR Causes

a Dropout
You may have simply reached the maximum number of tracks and effects
your CPU can handle. However, if your CPU meter doesn’t appear to be
maxed out, or other plug-ins seem to work, you may need to address the
problem by editing a line in the AUD.INI file.
Using Notepad, open the AUD.INI located in the directory where you
installed SONAR. The default value of the ExtraStreamBufs variable is 0.
Try changing that value to 1, saving AUD.INI and patching in the effect that
caused the dropout. If it still causes a dropout, try changing the value in
ExtraStreamBufs to 2. Continue to double the value in this variable until you
reach 32 (4, 8, 16, 32). If a value of 32 does not fix the problem, it is time to
try something else. See Dropouts and Other Audio Problems for more
information about potential reasons for dropouts.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

I Can’t Open My Project

Your project may have become corrupted. 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.

936 Troubleshooting
 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.

See:
File Recovery Mode

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.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

No Sound from My Soft Synth

Use the following table to troubleshoot problems hearing a synth in SONAR
:

Possible problem… What to do…

Synth doesn’t sound when a • Make sure you select a MIDI channel in the MIDI
recorded MIDI track is sent to track’s Output field; you may also need to select a
it. 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 synth’s patch.

Synth patched into a main out • Make sure that at least one audio track is configured
or bus doesn’t sound. to send data to that bus.
• Make sure that the Audio Engine button in the
Transport toolbar is depressed.

Troubleshooting 937
 Possible problem… What to do…

Soft synth doesn’t sound • Make sure that the Audio Engine button in the
when you play a MIDI Transport toolbar is depressed.
controller. • 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
that at least one audio track is configured to send
data to that bus.
• Make sure you’re playing in the right range for the
soft synth’s patch.

I hear more than one sound • Make sure your MIDI controller is set to local off.
when I play a soft synth.

More Frequently Asked Questions.

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 can’t tell precisely what dB scale was used to produce the file
you’re opening. If the volume sounds incorrect:
1. Open SONAR’s 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.
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 SONAR’s AUD.INI file back to what it originally was, and
re-save the file.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

938 Troubleshooting
SONAR Can’t 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.

I Get an 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 SONAR’s 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 AUD.INI.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

Bouncing Tracks Takes a Long Time

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

Troubleshooting 939
 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 AUD.INI.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

The GUI is not Smooth During Playback

If the GUI does not update smoothly during playback, press the Pause key
to make sure you didn’t inadvertently put SONAR in CPU conservation
mode.
For more information, see Reduce GUI Updates to Improve Playback
Performance.
More Frequently Asked Questions.

940 Troubleshooting
Hardware Setup
This appendix contains additional details on configuring your equipment for use with
SONAR.

See:
Connect Your MIDI Equipment
Set Up to Record Digital Audio

Connect Your MIDI Equipment

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
doesn’t seem to be responding, we’ll probably suggest that you reconnect things in one of
the ways listed below before we explore the problem further. Also be sure to check the
Troubleshooting chapter 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 Doesn’t 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 jacks—In, Out, and Thru—then 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 computer’s joystick port.
• Connect the In cable to your instrument’s MIDI Out jack.
• Connect the Out cable to your instrument’s MIDI In jack.
Here’s a checklist:

Connect this... To this...

Master keyboard Out MIDI interface In

MIDI interface Out Master keyboard In

Master keyboard Thru Another MIDI module’s In

That MIDI module’s Thru Yet another MIDI module’s In

Continue the sequence, repeating the last connection for each of your
sound modules.

942 Hardware Setup

Connect Your MIDI Equipment
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 interface’s Thru to the first module’s In.
You can then chain subsequent modules onto the first module, as
described earlier.
If Your Keyboard Doesn’t Have a MIDI Thru Jack
If your keyboard has only two MIDI jacks—In and Out—or if you have only
one keyboard, use the following diagrams instead:

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

Hardware Setup 943

Connect Your MIDI Equipment
 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.

Set Up to Record Digital Audio

In general, the inputs of sound cards take 1/8” stereo mini-jacks. Sound
cards usually have two inputs—one 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 doesn’t), 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 don’t hear audio tracks, or if you can’t easily control the audio volume in
SONAR, go to Start-Programs-Accessories-Entertainment-Volume
Control and check the settings there. See your sound card’s
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:

944 Hardware Setup

Set Up to Record Digital Audio
The 1/8” jack should be plugged into the sound card’s mic input, although
plugging into the line input may also work.
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 card’s input, as shown in the following
diagram:

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 rack’s signal. To do this, use a mixer
between the rack’s 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 amplifier’s direct output to the sound card,
you should base your setup on this example.
Microphone Direct-In
Microphones can be plugged into the sound card’s 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.

Hardware Setup 945

Set Up to Record Digital Audio
 Home Stereo, CD Player, Radio Tuner, Preamp Output
The output of a stereo component can be connected to the sound card’s
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 computer’s internal CD player, and it does not have its
audio outs connected internally to the sound card, run a cable from the CD
player’s Headphone jack to the card’s Line In jack. If there is no Headphone
jack, you’ll need to use an external CD player.
Mixer
You can connect a mixer to the sound card with a setup of the following
kind:

946 Hardware Setup

Set Up to Record Digital Audio
Note: If your mixer has buses, use them! This helps to avoid feedback.

Hardware Setup 947

Set Up to Record Digital Audio
948 Hardware Setup
Set Up to Record Digital Audio
Initialization Files
Many Windows applications, as well as Windows itself, use files to store information about
your preferences and configuration. Often applications store values to these files when
you make selections in the program using menus or dialog boxes. However, you can also
change these files directly. In some cases, there is no way to change the settings in the
application, and changing the file directly is the only way.

See:
Initialization Files
Initialization File Format
Variables in the [Options] Section
Variables in the [MIDI Input Devices] Section
Variables in the [MIDI Output Devices] Section
Variables in AUD.INI

Initialization Files
This appendix documents three initialization files, which are stored in the SONAR program
folder (by default, C:\Program Files\Cakewalk\SONAR [version]
• CAKEWALK.INI

• TTSSEQ.INI

• AUD.INI

To view and edit the CAKEWALK.INI file, choose Options-Initialization File. Use the
Windows Notepad to open and alter any of the three files. There are several other .INI files
in the SONAR folder, but you should not attempt to edit or modify these files in any way.
Changes to these other files could cause SONAR to stop operating properly.
Before making any changes to any of the .ini files, you should make a backup copy in
case you make a mistake. After you have made your changes, save the file and close
 Notepad. SONAR reads the settings in these files only when it first starts
up. Therefore, if you change any settings while SONAR is running, you
should exit and restart SONAR in order for the changes to take effect.

See:
Initialization File Format
Variables in the [Options] Section
Variables in the [MIDI Input Devices] Section
Variables in the [MIDI Output Devices] Section
Variables in AUD.INI
CAKEWALK.INI
TTSSEQ.INI
AUD.INI

Initialization File Format

Initialization files all follow a common format. They are divided into sections
whose names appear in the file in brackets, like this:
[Section Name]
Within each section, variables are of the form:
<variable name>=<value>

For example, the DrawPlayingAudio variable belongs in the [Wincake]

section in CAKEWALK.INI, and determines whether the audio waveform is
redrawn or not when the display is scrolling during playback. If the value is
0 (FALSE), then the waveforms are not redrawn. If the value is 1 (TRUE),
then waveforms are redrawn. To redraw waveforms when scrolling during
playback, the entry in the file looks like this:
[Wincake]
DrawPlayingAudio=1

The variable names contain no spaces. They are not case sensitive.

950 Initialization Files

Initialization File Format
See:
CAKEWALK.INI
TTSSEQ.INI
AUD.INI

CAKEWALK.INI
Many of the items in CAKEWALK.INI are set using SONAR menus and dialog
boxes. However, some items can be changed only by using the Options-
Initialization File command or by directly editing this file using the
Windows Notepad.
CAKEWALK.INI is divided into different sections. Unless otherwise noted
below, all entries should appear in the section that starts with the line:
[Wincake]

For example, if you want to add the line PanicStrength=1 to CAKEWALK.INI,

you should put it on the line under [Wincake], like this:
[Wincake]
PanicStrength=1

The following section lists the different variables you can change in
CAKEWALK.INI.

Initialization Files 951

Initialization File Format
952 Initialization Files
Initialization File Format
Variable... Type... Default value... What it does…

JogPosTimer=<millisecond There are two variables that control

s> (default=120) the behavior of using a control
PauseOnJog=<0 or 1> surface jog wheel to change
(default=0; off) SONAR’s Now time:
JogPosTimer is the period of the
now time throttle. When a jog
message comes in, SONAR sets the
transport time immediately but will
not set the transport time again for
this length of time. During the time,
SONAR just remembers the latest
jog time received.
PauseOnJog is the main switch. 1
does a pause and invokes the
throttle timer. 0 just sends the now
time with no pause and no throttle
timer. If 0, the setting of
JogPauseTimer is "don't care."
For example:
[Wincake]
JogPosTimer=120
PauseOnJog=0

Initialization Files 953

Initialization File Format
 Variable... Type... Default value... What it does…

WavePreviewSampleFreq Integer 1 By default, waveform previews take

uency=<1-10> a meter sample for each meter
frame. The default interval between
meter frames is 40 milliseconds. The
‘WavePreviewSampleFrequency’
CAKEWALK.INI variable lets you
specify how frequently samples are
taken. The value can be an integer
between 1 and 10, and represents
the number of frames to sample. It
goes in the [Wincake] section of
CAKEWALK.INI. For example:
WavePreviewSampleFrequency=1
With the default value (1), every
meter frame gets written to the
history file. With higher values (2-
10), frames will be skipped, causing
fewer history frames to be written to
the history file. Higher values may
be desirable if the waveform
previews are affecting playback
performance.

954 Initialization Files

Initialization File Format
Variable... Type... Default value... What it does…

WavePreviewInputBuffers Integer 4 This variable allows control of the

=<1-4> ) number of Waveform preview input
buffers. The input buffers allow more
efficient access to the recorded
meter history on disk, and greatly
speeds up performance access to
previews while zooming and
scrolling the clips view when
waveform preview is active. You can
control the actual number of history
page buffers with this variable. This
value is an integer and the minimum
value is 1 and the default is 4
buffers. 2-4 buffers should be
sufficient for most usage scenarios.
Each buffer consumes approx32K
per preview track. Lower values
consume less memory but may
cause more disk access when
scrolling or zooming large projects
when preview is active.

DrawPlayingAudio=< 0 or Boolean 0 (disable) This line controls whether the audio

1> waveform is redrawn or not when
the display is scrolling during
playback. By setting the value to 1,
you can force the Track view to
always redisplay audio data, even
during playback. This is
recommended only for very fast
machines.

HyphenDir=<drive:path Path <installation This determines the location of the

name> directory>\ttshyph.dll Hyphenator extension DLL used by
SONAR, and is written during
installation. This should never need
to be changed.

PanelsShowWidgetBitmap Boolean 1 (enable) This line controls whether SONAR

s= <0 or 1> hides (n=0) or shows (n=1) all
widget bitmaps while in Use mode
(except those in Image widgets).

Initialization Files 955

Initialization File Format
 Variable... Type... Default value... What it does…

PanicStrength=<0 or 1> Boolean 0 (controller 123 only) The Panic/Reset button stops
playback and turns off any stuck
notes. There are two ways a MIDI
note can be turned off: By a note-off
message (n=1) or by MIDI controller
number 123 (all notes off). By
default, Panic uses controller 123
only (n=0).

StaffViewChanSeparateVo Boolean 1 (enable) This line specifies whether or not

ices= SONAR should treat channels
<0 or 1> assigned to each note as separate
voices. This is useful if you want to
force note stems up or down for
different voices.

TVWidgetsStickInHeader= Boolean 0 By default, Track view controls

<0 or 1> (widgets) will only appear in the
track header bar if the track is
minimized and there is enough room
to display at least one control.
When TRUE (value=1) widgets stay
in the header bar regardless of the
height of a track.
Note: the following controls will
never appear in the track header
bar: Send widgets, Meters, and
Vertical FX Bin.

VelocitySolidWidth=<1..4> Integer 1 By default, note velocity tails are

displayed as 1 pixel wide solid
vertical lines in the Piano Roll view.
To make the velocity tails wider (2-4
pixels wide), add the following line to
CAKEWALK.INI in the WinCake
section:
VelocitySolidWidth=<pixel size; 1-4>
For example:
VelocitySolidWidth=2

956 Initialization Files

Initialization File Format
Variable... Type... Default value... What it does…

VelocityAutoshrinkWidth=< Boolean 0 If you set this to 1, solid velocity tails

0 or 1> will become narrower by one pixel if
the vertical zoom is such that notes
are less than 5 pixels high. For
example, with:
[Wincake]
VelocitySolidWidth=2
VelocityAutoshrinkWidth=1
you get bigger velocity tails (ala
SONAR 4) when the notes are big
enough to edit, but really thin
velocities tails when the notes are
too small to edit.

VelocityAsBargraph=<0 or Boolean 0 By default, note velocity tails are

1> displayed as thin vertical lines in the
Piano Roll view, and the color is the
same as note events. If “Notes/
Velocity” is not the current edit type,
this color will be slightly lightened.
To override this and use bar graph
indicators for velocity tails, add the
following line to the WinCake
section:
VelocityAsBargraph=1

VelocityBargraphFullWidth Boolean 0 When displaying velocity tails as bar

=<0 or 1> graphs (see above), you can specify
whether the velocity tails should be
fixed at 3 pixels wide (default), or
extend the full width of the note
event. To display full-width velocity
tails, add the following line to the
WinCake section:
VelocityBargraphFullWidth=1

Initialization Files 957

Initialization File Format
 Variable... Type... Default value... What it does…

PRVUseForegroundColor= Boolean 1 The Piano Roll view and Inline Piano

<0 or 1> Roll note event colors are based on
the track color. By default, note
events use a track’s foreground
(data) color instead of the
background (clip) color.
To override this and use background
colors instead, add the following line
to the WinCake section:
PRVUseForegroundColor=0

PRVColorizeVelocity=<0 Boolean 1 By default, note events in the Piano

or 1> Roll are colorized based on velocity.
Darker colors indicate higher
velocityes.
To override this and use the static
track color instead, add the following
line to the WinCake section:
PRVColorizeVelocity=0

MicroscopeHZoomThresh Integer 8 By default, the Microscope mode

old=<1..20> begins horizontal magnification
when a 32nd note is narrower than 8
pixels. This line lets you specify the
horizontal zoom threshold (1-20
pixels).

MicroscopeHZoomMax=<2 Integer 3.0 This line specifies the highest

.0 - 8.0> horizontal magnification that will
result when using Microscope mode.

ShowClipShadow=<0 or Boolean 0 By default, a drop shadow is not

1> displayed on clips in the Track view.
To always display a drop shadow on
clips, add this to the [Wincake]
section: ShowClipShadow=1

958 Initialization Files

Initialization File Format
Variable... Type... Default value... What it does…

PauseDuringSave=<0 or Boolean 0 By default, when saving a project file

1> f during playback, SONAR saves the
file asynchronously while playback
continues. While this is not a
problem with most projects, complex
projects under high CPU load
conditions (particularly while running
under low latency) may take longer
to save than if the transport was not
playing.
Setting PauseDuringSave to a value
of 1 in the [Wincake] section
changes the default behavior and
pauses playback temporarily for the
duration of the file save. This allows
the file save to proceed as fast as
possible before playback resumes.

StaffViewPreScanMeasure Integer 16 (measures) This line specifies how far back (in
s measures) SONAR should search
= <num> for long elements in order to display
them in the Staff view. If a long
element does not start within the
specified time, then it will not be
displayed in the Staff view (although
it will print).

ToolTempFileDir= Path <Windows TEMP This line specifies where to store

<drive:path name> directory> temporary .WAV files when
launching a third party wave editor
from the Tools menu.

TTSSEQ.INI
The TTSESSEQ.INI file can only be changed using Windows Notepad.

Initialization Files 959

Initialization File Format
 Variables in the [Options] Section

Variable... Type. Default What it does…

.. value...

MfxLookAhead=<ticks> 960*4 Defines how much extra MIDI data is

sent to MFX plug-ins, so that they have
extra room to quantize events into the
future. Lower values mean MFX plug-ins
can work more "just in time." Example:
MfxLookAhead=480.

SendResetsToSoftSynths=<0 Boolea 0 This variable controls (globally) whether

or 1> n SONAR sends MIDI controller resets to
DXi’s.
This variable should be set in the
[OPTIONS] section. Legal values are:
0 (default): Resets are not sent to DXi’s
1: SONAR will send MIDI controller
resets to DXi’s. This is what SONAR
already does for hardware synths. For
example:
If you are freezing synth tracks that have
MIDI controller messages, setting this
variable to TRUE (1) will ensure that
synths will have their MIDI controllers
reset before a freeze operation.

GeneralMidiSMFs=<0 or 1> Boolea 1 (enable) This line controls whether or not SONAR
n creates a General MIDI setup measure
when loading Standard MIDI Files.

LyricTrack=<num> Integer 3 (track 4) This line specifies which track is to

contain lyrics from Type 0 Standard
MIDI files. A zero means track 1, a 1
means track 2, and so on.

SendLocalOff=<0 or 1> Boolea 1 (enable) This line determines whether or not

n SONAR should send a Local Control
OFF message during startup.

960 Initialization Files

Initialization File Format
Variable... Type. Default What it does…
.. value...

SendLocalOn=<0 or 1> Boolea 0 (disable) This line determines whether or not

n SONAR should send a Local Control ON
message at exit.

IgnoreMidiInTimeStamps=<0 Boolea 0 (disable) This line determines whether or not

or 1> n SONAR ignores any MIDI time stamping
that a MIDI driver does. If you’re
experiencing increasing delays between
the time you play a MIDI note on a
controller and the time you hear SONAR
echo it, setting this line to 1 may help.
Also, if you find that SONAR is recording
MIDI data at a different time from when
the data was played, setting this line to 1
may help. If the MIDI driver is using a
different clock from SONAR, the time
discrepancy increases the longer that
the MIDI driver is open, so you need to
tell SONAR to ignore the timestamp that
the MIDI driver adds to the data (set the
value to 1).

SysxDelayAfterF7=<0 or 1> Boolea 1 (enable) This setting causes SONAR to delay

n Sysx transmission for a certain amount
of time if it encounters an F7 in a Sysx
bank. This gives some instruments a
required amount of delay time that is
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 (see below).
The possible values are 0 and 1. Their
significance is as follows:
0: no delay
1: delay between each Sysx string (F0
… F7)

SysxSendDelayMsecs=<num Integer 60 This setting causes SONAR to delay a

> specified number of milliseconds if it
encounters an F7 in a Sysx bank.

Initialization Files 961

Initialization File Format
 Variable... Type. Default What it does…
.. value...

SysxSendPacketSize=<num> Integer 1024 This line specifies the number of bytes

between Sysx transmit delays. Sysx
bytes are transmitted in packets, with a
1/18 second delay between each
packet. Setting this value smaller will
help slower MIDI devices (synthesizers,
etc.) avoid overflowing their internal
buffers.

UseCableMetaEvents=<0 or Boolea 1 (enable) This line specifies whether or not

1> n SONAR should use nonstandard
“Cable” meta-events for storing Sysx
bank output number into Standard MIDI
files (by default, n=1).

Variables in the [MIDI Input Devices] Section

Variable... Type. Default What it does…

.. value...

MaxInPort=<num> Integer 15 (16 outputs) This variable determines the

maximum number of MIDI inputs. The
value is 0 based, so a value of 15
means that the limit is 16 outputs.

Variables in the [MIDI Output Devices] Section

Variable... Type. Default What it does…

.. value...

MaxOutPort<num> Integer 15 (16 outputs) This variable determines the

maximum number of MIDI outputs.
The value is 0 based, so a value of 15
means that the limit is 16 outputs.

962 Initialization Files

Initialization File Format
AUD.INI
The AUD.INI file can only be changed using the Windows Notepad.

Initialization Files 963

Initialization File Format
 Variables in AUD.INI

Variable... Type... Default What it does…

Value...

MeterFrameSizeMS=<10- Integer 40 Meters in SONAR show peak

200> (or RMS) values at a given
instant in time. The actual peak
value displayed by a meter is
the highest peak recorded in an
interval of time referred to as a
"Meter Frame." The default size
for a meter frame is 40
milliseconds, which is an
accuracy of 25 FPS. The
‘MeterFrameSizeMS’ variable
allows you to change the size of
this interval. It goes in the
[Wave] section. For example:
[Wave]
MeterFramSizeMS=40
Setting this value to a lower
value will make the meters
record peak info for smaller
time slices. However this can
also increase the metering CPU
and memory cost.
Note: although SONAR doesn’t
enforce a fixed value range, the
recommended range should be
between 10 and 200
milliseconds.

PicCacheMB=<size in MB> Integer 20 This variable specifies the

maximum size of the picture
cache. The picture cache is
located in the directory
specified by the
PictureDir=<path> variable
(defaults to <Cakewalk
Folder>\Picture Cache).

964 Initialization Files

Initialization File Format
Variable... Type... Default What it does…
Value...

PictureDir=<drive:path name> Path <Cakewalk This line specifies where to

directory>\Pictur store the picture cache.
e Cache

FlushWriteBeforeRead=<1 or Integer 0 The default setting causes

0> SONAR to perform disk reads
(for audio playback) before
attempting any disk writes (for
audio recording). Overriding
this value by setting it to 1
causes SONAR to attempt disk
writes first. This yields the best
results when you are attempting
to record a large number of
tracks at high latency.

FlushMultiple=<0 or 1> integer 1 This variable determines how

SONAR performs writes to disk
in cases where multiple inputs
are being recorded
simultaneously. The default
setting causes SONAR to write
all the data for all inputs all at
once, and then wait for the
entire set of writes to complete.
Overriding this value by setting
it to 0 causes SONAR to
perform each input’s write
separately, and wait for each
individual write to complete
before proceeding to the next
one.

ExtraPluginBufs<0 to no upper integer 0 It instructs SONAR to set aside

limit> extra audio data buffers, to
accommodate plug-ins which
do large amount of internal
buffering and therefore "keep"
data buffers to themselves.
Recommended maximum
setting of 64 or 128.

Initialization Files 965

Initialization File Format
 Variable... Type... Default What it does…
Value...

Use24BitExtensible=<0 or 1> Boolean 0 This line goes in the section of

the Aud.ini file under [name of
your sound card (‘n’ in , ‘n’ out)
]. If you get an error message
when you try to change the
audio driver bit depth to 24, try
setting this line to 1. Most USB
audio devices that use WDM
drivers need this line set to 1.

966 Initialization Files

Initialization File Format
Variable... Type... Default What it does…
Value...

GapDezipperUsec=<0-1000> Integer 500 The audio engine will now

render a smooth fade in
whenever audio playback is
interrupted and there is a abrupt
transition in gain. The purpose
of doing this is to dezipper
(smooth out) the gain transition
due to the discontinuity. For
example, if you click on the time
ruler to jump to a new time
location during playback, the
engine will smoothly render the
transition to the new gain level
as a fade in. This smoothing
also takes place whenever
playback gapping occurs. You
can control the fade in time via
the GapDezipperUsec variable,
which is expressed in
microseconds per dB and
controls the speed of the fade in
to the new gain value. (default =
500 microseconds. i.e. the fade
will take 500 microseconds per
change in dB at the transition
point). You may increase or
shorten the time of the fade by
increasing or decreasing this
value. The normal legal value
range for this variable is 0 to
1000 microseconds.
This variable should be set in
the [Wave] section. A value of
zero turns off dezippering on
gapping completely.

Initialization Files 967

Initialization File Format
 Variable... Type... Default What it does…
Value...

MixDezipperUsec=<0-1000> Integer 50 This variable is similar to

GapDezipperUsec except that it
controls how the mixer itself
renders abrupt gain transitions
due to envelopes in the project.
This variable is expressed in
microseconds per dB and
controls the speed of the fade in
to the new gain value (default =
50 microseconds). The normal
legal value range for this
variable is 0 to 1000
microseconds.
This variable should be set in
the [Wave] section. *
IMPORTANT: Changing the
value of this variable will affect
how envelopes are rendered by
the mixer and may cause your
mixes to sound slightly
different. Setting
MixDezipperUsec too low can
cause clicks while rendering
abrupt gain changes due to
envelopes.

AllowOfflineRenderMixThread Boolean 1 A value of 1 (default) allows

s=<0 or 1> multiprocessing during fast
bounce when multiprocessing is
enabled in SONAR. Set to 0 to
temporarily disable multi-
threaded mixing mixing during a
fast bounce operation.

968 Initialization Files

Initialization File Format
Variable... Type... Default What it does…
Value...

LinkPFSendMute=<0 or 1> Boolean 0 If this is set TRUE, pre fader

sends on both tracks and buses
are automatically muted when
the track/bus is muted. Also if
another track is soloed the pre
fader sends on other tracks will
be muted.
This basically conforms to pre
SONAR 4 behavior.

Initialization Files 969

Initialization File Format
 Variable... Type... Default What it does…
Value...

DefaultEqPosition=<0 or 1> Boolean 0 The integrated channel EQ is

(Producer Edition only) pre FX bin by default, but you
can change the position of any
channel EQ by right-clicking the
EQ plot and choosing the
desired position from the
context menu.
The ‘DefaultEqPosition’ AUD.INI
variable lets you specify the
default EQ position for all new
tracks/buses. This variable lives
in the [Aud] section of AUD.INI,
and legal values are: 0 (pre FX)
or 1 (post FX).

BounceBufSizeMsec=< 0 to Integer 0 This is a line in the Wave

350> section of the AUD.INI file that
sets the buffer size for bouncing
tracks. 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. If you find that
bouncing tracks, especially with
certain soft synths, takes a very
long time, you can set this 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.
Note: on larger projects, setting
this variable to a large value
can cause out-of-memory
errors.

970 Initialization Files

Initialization File Format
MIDI Files
The Standard MIDI file format is a file interchange format defined by the MIDI
Manufacturers Association (MMA). The purpose of the format is to allow for the exchange
of MIDI data between different programs. Any program that can read and write MIDI files
has a common language with which to talk to other MIDI software. The compact size of
MIDI music files makes them particularly useful for delivering music online.
SONAR™ can open standard MIDI files, and can save your projects in standard MIDI file
formats. Note that only the MIDI portion of your projects is saved in a standard MIDI file. If
your projects contain digital audio, the audio portion of the project will be lost when you
save it to a standard MIDI file.
Note: If you load a standard MIDI file into SONAR, SONAR strips out any initial volume
and pan settings and sets the volume and pan controls for any affected tracks to those
values. Initial volume and pan settings in a standard MIDI file are those that occur within
the first measure. Any affected volume and pan controls will show the initial values that
SONAR loaded from the standard MIDI file. Any volume and pan controls that are not
affected, in other words that don’t have initial values stored in the file, will show their
current values in parentheses. These controls are disabled until you move one of them
and therefore give it a value, at which point the control becomes enabled and the
parentheses disappear. If you save a file as a standard MIDI file, SONAR saves the
values of all enabled controls as initial values. However, as a project plays, SONAR’s
controls do not display MIDI controller values that change throughout the track—SONAR’s
controls only display automation values, i.e. shapes. If you want SONAR’s controls to
display MIDI controller values throughout the project, use the Edit-Convert MIDI to
Shapes command.
SONAR supports two different MIDI file formats, MIDI Format 0 and MIDI Format 1.
Format 0 MIDI files contain a single track, with all events stored in that track. Format 1
MIDI files can store up to 7256 tracks, just like SONAR project files. When you load a MIDI
Format 0 file, SONAR splits it into 16 separate tracks, based on the MIDI channels
assigned to each event. When you save a project to a MIDI Format 0 file, SONAR
collapses MIDI information from all of its tracks into one single track.
 SONAR also lets you save and load files in the RIFF MIDI file format. This
is a standard Resource Interchange File Format specification that
encapsulates a Standard MIDI File of either format 0 or format 1. These
files typically have an extension of .rmi.
A disadvantage of MIDI files is that the way the file sounds on playback
varies based upon the sound reproduction hardware you are using. The
same project sounds very different on two different synthesizers or two
different sound cards. Another problem is that the Standard MIDI File
specification leaves some details open to interpretation by software and
hardware manufacturers.
To Save a Project as a Standard MIDI File or RIFF MIDI
File
1. Choose File-Save As to display the Save As dialog box.
2. Choose the desired format from the Save as Type list.
3. Enter a file name and click Save.

See:
Timebases
Supported MIDI File Meta-Events
Features Not Supported by MIDI Files
Other MIDI File Handling Notes
Special Handling of GM, GS, and XG MIDI Files
If You Have Problems Playing MIDI Files
If You Plan to Publish Your Songs

Timebases
MIDI files can be expressed in any of a number of timebases (ppq
resolutions). It is likely that most MIDI files you will encounter use a
common timebase, such as 96 or 120. Although SONAR supports many
timebases, it is possible that a MIDI file may use a timebase that SONAR
does not support. In that case, the times will be converted into whatever
timebase is currently the default.

Supported MIDI File Meta-Events

MIDI files can contain meta-events. The types of meta-events that SONAR
supports are listed in the following table:

972 MIDI Files

MIDI File Meta-event… How it is represented in
SONAR…

Meter and key signature Meter/key signature map entry

Tempo Tempo change

General text Track name

General text in the conductor Markers view markers

track of a Format 1 file

Track name Track name

Port number (format 1) Port assignments are maintained. Only

available when the Write Cable Meta
Events to MIDI Files (Output Select)

Features Not Supported by MIDI Files

While the MIDI file format is very flexible and extensive, it cannot store the
following parameters that are part of a standard project file: key offset,
velocity offset, time offset, and forced channel.
When you save a project to a MIDI file, most of these parameters are
applied to the individual events. For instance, if you have assigned track 1
to channel 10 in the Track view, SONAR will write the MIDI file so that every
event on track 1 has a channel number of 10. When you subsequently load
the MIDI file all of those Track view parameters will have vanished. But the
music will sound the same, because SONAR has made these changes to
the events themselves.

Other MIDI File Handling Notes

Here are a few specific points about how SONAR works with MIDI files:
• SONAR places Lyric events found in Format 0 MIDI files into Track 4, in
accordance with conventions used by karaoke players.
• SONAR inserts any Text or Lyric events found at time 0 in a track into
the Comments field in the File Info dialog box, unless the Text or Lyric
event is preceded by a Note event.
• SONAR automatically enables the Zero Controllers when Play Stops

MIDI Files 973

 option (available through the Options-Project command, on the MIDI
Out tab) whenever a MIDI file is loaded.
• If a general MIDI file contains a copyright notice, the File Info window
will be displayed automatically when the file is opened.

Special Handling of GM, GS, and XG MIDI Files

General MIDI compatibility of a song file is indicated by the presence of a
special System Exclusive message at the beginning of the song. When
SONAR finds a GM, GS or XG reset message, it assumes that you would
like to work within the GM Score Production guidelines. This causes
SONAR to use special timing for program change information when writing
MIDI Files, and allows it to search more aggressively for track parameters
when reading MIDI files. The result is that it is easier than ever to create
and use General MIDI song files with SONAR.
SONAR does not enforce or even verify compliance with the GM guidelines
for your music data. But SONAR does comply with them when generating
events that represent track parameters. If necessary, SONAR will insert
blank setup measures at the start of your song. This makes space for
certain events to be inserted at the correct times at the start of each track:
bank changes, patch changes, volume, and pan. This means that you can
use SONAR’s track parameters for these settings when composing songs:
When you save your work as a MIDI File, SONAR will place these events in
the track at the specific clock ticks recommended by the guidelines.
You can tell SONAR to follow the GM guidelines by loading the “Turn GM
System On” Sysx bank in the Sysx View (gmsystem.syx in your Cakewalk
directory), and then either inserting a sysx event at time 1:1:0 or using the
Auto setting for that bank.
When loading a GM file, each track’s bank, patch, volume and pan
parameters are lifted from the data stream and placed in SONAR’s Track
view for you to see and edit onscreen. The GM mode ensures that all
patches, banks and controllers are placed at specified times throughout a
setup measure when you save a MIDI file. This ensures that all setup
information can be digested by your synthesizer before it starts playback. If
you don't have a setup measure in your project, SONAR will insert one for
you.
If there is no GM, GS, or XG reset System Exclusive message present at
the start of your project, SONAR will not operate in this GM mode.

If You Have Problems Playing MIDI Files

A MIDI file can cause playback problems if all of the following are true:

974 MIDI Files

• The MIDI file is a GM-compatible Standard MIDI Format 1
• All patches, banks and/or controllers are stored in one track
• All related note events are stored in a different track
When SONAR loads such a file, it may try to optimize the program changes,
causing incorrect selection of synthesizer voices during playback (the GM,
GS, and XG specifications all recommend the use of Standard MIDI Format
0 for distribution of music data, which would make this problem irrelevant). If
you encounter this problem, simply re-select your instruments and re-save
the file.

If You Plan to Publish Your Songs

If you plan to publish your own songs, we encourage you to follow the
General MIDI authoring guidelines. These guidelines are quite detailed
about the exact layout of many types of song data, and a complete
discussion of them can be found on the World Wide Web at www.midi.org.
However, SONAR can help you to conform with the GM guidelines if you
follow these practices:
• Always save your master copy of any work in progress in SONAR
project (.CWP) file format. When you are ready to publish your work, use
the File-Save As command to create a Standard MIDI Format 0 file.
• All of the major publishing guidelines recommend that you use
Standard MIDI File Format 0 instead of Format 1. Some sequencers
cannot read the more complex Format 1 files, particularly sequencers
embedded in some types of hardware such as karaoke players.
• Load the “Turn GM System On” system exclusive bank (gmsystem.syx in
your Cakewalk directory) in the Sysx view, and set the bank to Auto
Send. This message will not only re-initialize a General MIDI compatible
sound module to a known state, but will also tell SONAR to generate
GM setup measures for your program changes when you save the
project in Standard MIDI Format. See Variables in the [Options] Section
for information on disabling setup measure.
• For best results, you should always place program changes and other
MIDI messages in the same tracks as the notes they affect. This keeps
the data for each track together as a single unit, and avoids problems
that might occur when SONAR cannot easily correlate the program
changes with the note events.

MIDI Files 975

976 MIDI Files
New Features in SONAR 7
SONAR 7 has many new features (some features are in SONAR Producer only). The
following is a list and description of each new feature.

MIDI Enhancements:
Step Sequencer
Flexible Piano Roll Tools
Piano Roll View Enhancements:
Multiple Automation Controller Lanes
Piano Roll Microscope Mode
Note Event Colors Based on Velocity
Hiding Events in Muted Clips
Adjust Velocity without Changing the Display Type
Select Controllers within Note Duration
Show Velocity on Selected Notes (Optional)
Selection Sensitive Velocity Drawing
Note/Controller Painting (freehand)
Note/Controller Painting (linear)
Controller/Velocity Painting (freehand)
Controller/Velocity Painting (linear)
Note Split
Note Glue
Drag-Quantize
MIDI Event Mute
New Erase Tool Behavior
 Note Hit Testing Improvements
Velocity Audition Options
V-Vocal Pitch-to-MIDI
MIDI Activity Indicators

New Instruments & Instrument Enhancements:

Dimension LE Synth with Garritan Pocket Orchestra
Rapture LE Synth
DropZone Synth
Z3TA+ Synth
Rename Synths in the Synth Rack View
Delete Synth Safeguards
Reload Instrument Definitions

Mixing, Bussing & Playback Enhancements:

Sidechaining
Sidechainable Sonitus Plug-ins
Sidechainable Vintage Channel VC-64 Plug-in
Audio I/O Assignment
LP-64 EQ Plug-in
LP-64 Multiband Compressor Plug-in
External Insert Plug-in
Copying EQ Settings
Dim Solo Mode
Allow Playback with No Data
Reduce GUI Updates to Improve Playback Performance

Export & Delivery Enhancements:

Real-time Bounce
Modification to Track Export

978 New Features in SONAR 7

 64-bit timeline
Sony Wave-64 Support
New Audio File Formats
Preview Bus
Integrated Audio CD Ripping
Cakewalk Publisher
Burning Audio CDs

Miscellaneous Updates:
Revert Clip(s) to Original Time Stamp
Import Audio / MIDI Files from Clips Pane
File Recovery Mode

Step Sequencer
SONAR 7 introduces a new step sequencer that makes it easy to create
and work with patterns.
Many step sequencers use a Piano Roll grid-style interface. SONAR
already has a very powerful Piano Roll view with similar MIDI editing
functionality, so the purpose of the new Step Sequencer is to provide a very
different method for working with patterns.
The Step Sequencer is ideally suited for drum programming and is tightly
integrated with drum maps (see Step Sequencer Clips and Drum Maps).

See:
Step Sequencer Interface
Toolbar
Notes Pane
Controllers Pane
Keyboard Shortcuts
Step Sequencer Clips and Drum Maps
To Create a New Pattern

New Features in SONAR 7 979

Step Sequencer
 To Edit an Existing Pattern
To Open the Step Sequencer
To Reorder a Row
To Insert a Row
To Delete a Row
To Enable a Note
To Disable a Note
To Clear All Steps
To Merge/Unmerge Notes
To Edit A Note’s Velocity
To Unlink Copied Step Sequencer Clips
To Edit the Drum Map Properties of a Note
To Convert a MIDI Clip(s) to a Step Sequencer Clip(s)

Step Sequencer Interface

The Step Sequencer interface consists of three sections:
• Toolbar
• Notes Pane
• Controllers Pane

980 New Features in SONAR 7

Step Sequencer
 A B C D E F G

H
I
J

K L M N O P Q R S

A. Pattern Length (beats per measure and steps per beat) B. Fit to Quarters
C. Transport and Position D. Monphonic/Polyphonic Mode toggle E. Articulation
(hold) F. Swing G. Portamento H. Note name (click to audition pitch, double-click to
edit Drum Map properties) I. Insert/Delete Row J. Event Type picker K. Show/hide
Controllers pane L. Note number M. Mute and Solo N. Velocity Offset O. Velocity
Scale P. Disabled Note Q. Enabled Note (double-click to edit velocity) R. Current
step (yellow) S. Controller events T. Toolbar section U. Beat Counter V. Notes pane
W. Controllers pane

Toolbar

The Step Sequencer toolbar consists of the following controls:

Pattern Length—The pattern length is determined by the following
settings:
• Beats per Measure—This setting specifies the number of beats
per measure. The value range is 1-64 and the default value is 4
beats. Changes are undoable.

New Features in SONAR 7 981

Step Sequencer
 • Steps per Beat—This setting specifies the number of steps per
beat. The value range is 1-16 and the default value is 4 steps.
Changes are undoable.
Fit to Quarters—Fit to Quarters will force the pattern duration to fit the
specified number of quarter notes.
Note: When you adjust the Fit to Quarters value, the clip duration may
change depending on whether or not the clip has been rolled out to
expose additional pattern iterations:
• If the clip has a single pattern iteration—When you change the
Fit to Quarters value (number of quarter notes), the clip duration
will continue to equal the length of one pattern iteration. That is, the
clip will not be rolled out.
• If the clip has multiple pattern iterations—When you change the
Fit to Quarters value (number of quarter notes), the new clip
duration will either equal the old clip duration or the length of the
new pattern, whichever is greater.
Transport (Play/Stop)—The Transport button is used to start/stop the Step
Sequencer when SONAR’s main transport is idle.
Position Indicator—The Position indicator shows the current measure and
beat position in the step sequencer.
Monophonic/Polyphonic Mode Toggle—This button toggles between
Monophonic mode and Polyphonic mode, which affects the behavior when
entering new notes. In Monophonic mode, only one note (row) may be
assigned for each step. Monophonic mode is useful for sequencing melodic
lines. When you click in a column to enter a new note, any existing notes in
the same column will be removed automatically in Monophonic mode. In
Polyphonic mode, you can enter multiple notes in the same column.
Articulation—The Articulation knob controls how long each note is held.
The value range is 0-100% and the default value is 100% (hold each note
for its full duration).
Swing—The Swing knob controls the amount of swing that is applied to the
sequence. The value range is 0-100% and the default value is 50% (no
swing).
A swing value of 50% (the default) means that the beats are spaced evenly.
A value of 66% means that the time between the first and second beats is
twice as long as the time between the second and third beats.
Portamento On/Off Toggle—This button is used to enable/disable
portamento, which applies a smooth slide between two pitches. When

982 New Features in SONAR 7

Step Sequencer
enabled, a Controller 65 (Portamento) event is inserted at the start of the
clip. Portamento only applies if your sound source (soft synth or external
MIDI device) supports Portamento.
Portamento Time—This knob adjusts the rate at which Portamento slides
the pitch between two notes (the time it takes for the next note to reach its
pitch). The value range is 0-127 and the default value is 0 (slowest rate).
Insert Row—Click this button to insert a new row above the selected row.
This command is undoable.
Delete Row—Click this button to delete the selected row. This command is
undoable.
Show/Hide Controller Pane—This button opens and closes the
Controllers pane (see Controllers Pane).
Notes Pane

The Notes pane consists of the following controls:

Rows—Each row represents a specific pitch. Similar to the Drum Editor in
the Piano Roll view (in some ways, you can think of a row as a different way
of looking at the Drum Map Manager dialog), the controls for each row are
located at the left side of the row and has the following controls:
• Note Name—This control shows the name of the note to which the
row is mapped. Click the note name to audition the pitch. Double-
click to show the Drum Map properties for that note.
Note: If the row’s pitch has not been mapped in the drum map, double-
clicking the note name will open the Drum Map Manager (see The
Drum Map Manager), which allows you to create a new drum map.
When the Drum Map Manger is closed, the new drum map is
automatically assigned to the MIDI track.
• Note Number—Use this control to specify the row’s input note.
• Mute—This button mutes the row/note/pitch.
• Solo—This button solos the row/note/pitch.

New Features in SONAR 7 983

Step Sequencer
 • Velocity Offset—Use this control to apply a velocity offset to a
pitch. The value range is -127 to +127 and the default value is 0.
• Velocity Scale—This control sets a level of compression or
expansion for a pitch. The value range is 0.10 - 2.00 and the default
value is 1.00 (no compression or expansion). A value below 1.00 is
compression and a value above 1.00 is expansion.
• Note Cells (steps)—Notes are enabled by left-clicking in a cell and
disabled by right-clicking. Double-click a cell to edit the velocity for
that note. A note’s velocity is displayed inside the cell. Ctrl-click
between two adjacent notes to merge the notes together.
Ctrl+right-click to unmerge notes. Active steps are highlighted
during playback,
You can insert, delete and reorder rows. The current row is outlined to
indicate which row has focus. See To Reorder a Row, To Insert a Row and
To Delete a Row.
Beat Counter—The Beat Counter is displayed above the step grid and
each “light” in the counter represents a step. Each beat is displayed in an
alternate color and the current step is highlighted during playback.
Scroll Bars—Horizontal and vertical scroll bars make it easy to navigate
around a sequence that contains many rows or steps.
Controllers Pane

The Controllers pane in the Step Sequencer is similar to the Controllers

pane in the Piano Roll view and allows you to include Controller, Pitch
Wheel, Channel Aftertouch, RPN and NRPN events in your sequences.
To open the Controllers pane, click the Open/Close Controllers Pane button
in the Step Sequencer toolbar.
For more information on working with controller events, see Adding and
Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll.
Keyboard Shortcuts
You can use the keyboard to navigate around the Step Sequencer interface
and adjust settings. A focus rectangle indicates the step/control that is
selected.

984 New Features in SONAR 7

Step Sequencer
Key... Action...

Alt+Shift+5 Open the Step Sequencer View

Insert Insert a new row above the selected row

Delete Delete the active row

Left arrow Move focus to the previous control

Right arrow Move focus to the next control

Up arrow When there are multiple strips, move focus to the same
control on the previous row

Down arrow When there are multiple strips, move focus to the same
control on the next row

Ctrl+Left When focus is on a control in the steps pane, move

focus to the strips pane

Ctrl+Right When focus is on a control in the strips pane, move

focus to the steps pane

Ctrl+Up When focus is either on the steps or strips pane, move

focus to the toolbar

Ctrl+Down When focus is on the toolbar, move focus to the strips

pane

Enter When focus is on steps, toggle step or tie on/off; for

buttons, turn on/off

Shift+Enter When focus is on a step, allow velocity adjustment

+ / - (plus and minus) For spinner controls, increase/decrease value; fine

adjust for knobs

[ / ] (square brackets) Coarse adjust for knobs

Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar Toggles the Audition (Play) button for the view

Tab When focus is on the steps pane, move focus to the

next enabled note on the same row

New Features in SONAR 7 985

Step Sequencer
 Key... Action...

Shift+Tab When focus is on the steps pane, move focus to the

previous enabled note on the same row

Alt+Left Shift the active row's steps by 1 step and wrap first step
to the end

Alt+Right Shift the active row's steps by 1 step and wrap the last
step to the beginning

Note: You can also use a mouse wheel to adjust the value of the control
that has focus. When adjusting note velocities, hold down the Shift key for
fine control.
Step Sequencer Clips and Drum Maps
When you create a sequence in the Step Sequencer, SONAR creates a
new Step Sequencer clip.
A Step Sequencer clip shows the first iteration of the sequence/pattern and
all Step Sequencer clips can be identified by a small Step Sequencer clip
icon in the top left corner of the clip. Step sequencer clips are somewhat
similar to MIDI Groove clips; you can drag the left and right edges of a Step
Sequencer clip to show additional iterations of the sequence pattern.
The Step Sequencer operates via drum maps. If the MIDI track is not
already assigned to a drum map, the track will be assigned to a default
pass-through drum map when the Step Sequencer clip is created. If you
load an existing drum map, the Step Sequencer will automatically create a
row for each pitch that is assigned in the drum map.
As you can see in the following image, the Drum Editor in the Piano Roll
view, the Step Sequencer and the Drum Map Properties dialog are all
interconnected:

986 New Features in SONAR 7

Step Sequencer
A

C B

A. Note Name B. Notes C. Mute, Solo, Velocity Offset and Velocity Scale are
separate for the drum map and step sequencer

A change made in the Drum Map Manager dialog will affect the Step
Sequencer and vice versa.
Note: Mute, Solo, Velocity Offset and Velocity Scale are separate for the
drum map and step sequencer.

See:
Using Drum Maps
To Create a New Pattern
1. Click the MIDI track in which you want to create the new pattern. The
MIDI track then becomes the active track. Make sure that no MIDI clips
are selected.
2. Select Views-Step Sequencer.
The Step Sequencer window appears and SONAR creates a new Step
Sequencer clip in the active track.

New Features in SONAR 7 987

Step Sequencer
 To Edit an Existing Pattern
Do one of the following:
• Select the Step Sequencer clip that you wish to edit in the Step
Sequencer and select Views-Step Sequencer.
• Double-click the Step Sequencer clip.
The Step Sequencer window appears.
Note: A step sequencer clip can only be edited in the Step Sequencer view
and not in any other MIDI editing views.
To Open the Step Sequencer
1. Do one of the following:
• To edit an existing pattern—Select the Step Sequencer clip that
you wish to edit in the Step Sequencer.
• To create a new pattern—Click the MIDI track in which you want
to create the new pattern. The track then becomes the active track.
Make sure that no MIDI clips are selected.
2. Do one of the following:
• Select Views-Step Sequencer.
• Press Alt+Shift+5.
The Step Sequencer window appears.
Note 1: You can also open an existing pattern in the Step Sequencer by
double-clicking an existing Step Sequencer clip.
Note 2: The Views-Step Sequencer command is disabled if multiple Step
Sequencer clips are selected.
To Reorder a Row
1. Click the background area for the row that you wish to reorder and keep
the mouse button pressed.
Tip: the easiest area to click is to the left of the note name.
2. Drag the mouse up or down to reorder the row.
The row is outlined in order to show its current position. The yellow
outline indicates the row that will be dragged and the red outline
indicates where it will go when you release the mouse button.
3. Release the mouse button when the row has been moved to the
desired position.

988 New Features in SONAR 7

Step Sequencer
A

A. Click here and drag up/down to reorder a row

To Insert a Row
Do one of the following:

• Click the Insert Row button .

• Press the Insert key.
Or
1. Right-click in the blank space between two rows where you wish to
insert a new row.
A popup menu appears.
2. Select Insert Row from the popup menu.
A new row is inserted.

A. Right-click here to show the popup menu

To Delete a Row
Do one of the following:

• Click the Delete Row button .

• Press the Delete key.
Or
1. Right-click in the blank space in the row that you wish to delete.
A popup menu appears.

New Features in SONAR 7 989

Step Sequencer
 2. Select Delete Row from the popup menu.
The row is deleted.

A. Right-click here to show the popup menu

To Enable a Note
Do one of the following:
• To enable a single note—click on the note that you wish to enable.
• To enable multiple notes of the same pitch—click on the first note
that you wish to enable and drag across all other notes you wish to
enable.
The note(s) is enabled.
SONAR creates a new Step Sequencer clip when you enable the first note
in an empty pattern.

A. Click an empty step to enable the note

To Disable a Note
Do one of the following:
• To disable a single note—right-click on the note that you wish to
disable.
• To disable multiple notes of the same pitch—right-click on the first
note that you wish to disable and drag across all other notes that you
wish to disable.
The note(s) is disabled.

990 New Features in SONAR 7

Step Sequencer
 A

A. Right-click a note to disable the step

To Clear All Steps

To clear all steps in the pattern:
1. Right-click in the blank space below any row.
A popup menu appears.
2. Select Clear All from the popup menu.
All steps are cleared.

A. Right-click here to show the popup menu

To Merge/Unmerge Notes
Do one of the following:
• Merge two adjacent notes—Ctrl-click between the two notes.
• Unmerge two adjacent notes—Ctrl+right-click between the two notes.
• Merge/unmerge multiple adjacent notes—Ctrl-click/right-click
between the first two notes and drag across all other notes you wish to
merge/unmerge.

New Features in SONAR 7 991

Step Sequencer
 D

A B B C

A. Unmerged note B. Merged notes C. Ctrl-click here to merge notes D. Ctrl+right-

click here to unmerge notes

To Edit A Note’s Velocity

Do one of the following:
• Double-click a note and enter the desired velocity value.
• Click a note to give it focus and use a mouse wheel to adjust the
velocity value. Hold down the Shift key for fine control.
The note’s velocity value is shown inside the note cell (step).
To Unlink Copied Step Sequencer Clips
When you copy step sequencer clips, all copies are linked to each other.
This means that any further edits to any of the clips will be automatically
reflected in all other linked sibling clips.
If you wish to edit one instance of a step sequencer clip without affecting
any other clips, you must first unlink the clip you wish to edit:
1. Right-click the step sequencer clip in the Clips pane to show the Clips
pane context menu.
2. Select Unlink Step Sequencer Clips from the context menu (hover the
mouse over the bottom of the context menu in order to show any
“hidden” commands).
The clip is now unlinked from the other clips.
Tip: If you frequently need to unlink step sequencer clips, assign the
Unlink Step Sequencer Clips to a key binding (see Key Bindings).
To Edit the Drum Map Properties of a Note
1. Double-click the note name of any row to open the Map Properties
dialog.
The Map Properties dialog appears.

992 New Features in SONAR 7

Step Sequencer
2. Configure the drum map properties as desired. For more information,
see The Map Properties Dialog.
Clicking on another row in the Step Sequencer window will update the Map
Properties to display information for the new row.

A. Double-click the note name to open the Map Properties dialog

See:
The Map Properties Dialog
To Convert a MIDI Clip(s) to a Step Sequencer Clip(s)
You can convert any existing MIDI clip into a step sequencer clip:
1. Select the MIDI clip(s) you wish to convert to a step sequencer clip(s).
2. Right-click the selected clip and choose Convert MIDI Clip(s) to Step
Sequencer from the Clips pane context menu (hover the mouse over
the bottom of the context menu in order to show any “hidden”
commands).
The Convert MIDI Clip(s) to Step Sequencer dialog appears.
3. Specify the desired resolution value and click OK.
Note: The resolution value should correspond to the shortest note
value that you expect. For example, if you specify Sixteenth notes, you
will get four steps per beat. The choices are:
• Quarter (1 step per beat)
• Eigth (2 steps per beat)
• Eigth Triplet (3 steps per beat)
• Sixteenth (4 steps per beat)
• Sixteenth Triplet (6 steps per beat)
• 32nd (8 steps per beat)
• 32nd Triplet (12 steps per beat)

New Features in SONAR 7 993

Step Sequencer
 When converting a MIDI clip to a Step Sequencer clip, the resulting clip will
essentially be a quantized version of the original clip. The start of the clips
will be the same and the first notes will be the same. The only thing that will
possibly be different is the length of the clip (due to quantizing) and the
notes in it may be moved slightly so they fit into the steps.
If a MIDI Groove clip contains any variations between different iterations,
each unique iteration will be converted to a separate Step Sequencer clip.

See:
MIDI Groove Clips

Flexible Piano Roll Tools

SONAR 7 introduces several changes to the Piano Roll tool behavior in
order to reduce the need to continuously switch tools during normal
operation.
Like earlier versions of SONAR, SONAR 7 has three different Piano Roll
mouse tools. However, the three tools are no longer hard-coded to Select,
Draw and Erase. Each tool can be customized to perform any available
mouse action. There can be as much or as little overlap in functionality as
you want between the tools.
Don’t care for some of SONAR’s default Piano Roll tool behaviors? No
problem, simply re-assign the tools to suit your preferred editing style.
There are approximately 20 different mouse actions that the Piano Roll
tools can perform, such as selecting, drawing, erasing, slip-editing,
transposing, etc. It’s difficult to make a single tool that can perform all of
these actions, so SONAR allows you to customize the Piano Roll tools to
suit your own editing requirements.
There are three mouse buttons (left, middle and right) and three modifier
keys (Ctrl, Shift and Alt) that can be used in any combination. Your custom
Piano Roll tool assignments can be saved as presets and apply to both the
Piano Roll view and the inline Piano Roll.

See:
The PRV Tool Configuration Dialog
To Configure a Mouse Action

994 New Features in SONAR 7

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
Mouse Location
Tool Action
Default PRV Tool Assignments

The PRV Tool Configuration Dialog

You use the PRV Tool Configuration dialog to configure the Piano Roll
tools. In order to assign a specific action to a Piano Roll tool, you must
specify the following:

• Piano Roll tool—specify “PRV Tool 1” ( ), “PRV Tool 2” ( ) or

“PRV Tool 3” ( ).
• Mouse button—specify the left, middle or right mouse button.
• Keyboard modifier key(s) (optional)—specify the Ctrl, Shift or Alt key,
or any combination of the three.
• Mouse location (context)—specify one of the seven clickable mouse
locations (see Mouse Location).
• Tool action—specify one of the many available mouse actions (see
Tool Action).
The objective is to map each of the contexts (mouse locations) to a tool
action.

New Features in SONAR 7 995

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
 A

C
B

E
F

A. Tool B. Context C. Keys D. Mouse Button E. Mouse Location F. Tool Action

See:
Tool
Mouse Button
Keys
Mouse Location
Tool Action
To Configure a Mouse Action
Default PRV Tool Assignments
Tool
The Tool combobox lists the three Piano Roll tools:

• PRV Tool 1—This tool corresponds to the Select tool ( ) in the Piano
Roll toolbar.

• PRV Tool 2—This tool corresponds to the Draw tool ( ) in the Piano
Roll toolbar.

996 New Features in SONAR 7

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
• PRV Tool 3—This tool corresponds to the Erase tool ( ) in the Piano
Roll toolbar.

See:
To Edit Notes with the Draw Tool
To Edit Notes with the Select Tool
To Use the Erase Tool
Mouse Button
In previous versions of SONAR, only the left mouse button was used by the
Piano Roll tools. SONAR 7 now allows you to assign the following mouse
buttons:
• Left
• Middle (if available)
• Right
Keys
In addition to a mouse button, you can optionally configure a mouse action
to also use any combination of the following keys:
• Ctrl
• Shift
• Alt
Note: Because Windows has a long-established standard of using Ctrl-drag
for copy operations, there is a potential conflict when using the Ctrl key to
program actions that involve moving events. Therefore, the Ctrl key
requires some special attention:
If the Ctrl key is part of a context for a move action, copying will be
disabled if the Ctrl key is pressed.
Mouse Location
Each Piano Roll tool can perform various actions depending on where you
click. The following is a list of the seven clickable mouse locations with
regard to events:
• Controller—click the handle (top part) of a Controller event.
• Note Slip Start (left edge)—click the left edge of a Note event.
• Note Time Adjust—click near left edge of a Note event, slightly to the

New Features in SONAR 7 997

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
 right of the Note Slip Start zone.
• Note Pitch Adjust—click the center part of a Note event.
• Note Slip End (right edge)—click the right edge of a Note event.
• Note Velocity Adjust—click the top part of a Note event.
• Nowhere—click anywhere outside a Note event or Controller event.
A diagram displays the possible mouse locations in regards to Note events
and Controller events:

G
A

BC D E

A. Controller B. Note Slip Start C. Note Time Adjust D. Note Pitch Adjust E. Note
Slip End F. Note Velocity Adjust G. Nowhere

The Note event in the previous diagram has dotted lines that outline the
various hit zones on Note events as possible context locations. It also
shows a single value (controller) event as another context location. Clicking
outside the Note event and value event is referred to as the “Nowhere”
context location.
Tool Action
Below is a list of all possible Piano Roll mouse tool actions. Depending on
the mouse location (context), only a subset of these actions may be
available.
Note: As described in the “Mouse Move” column in the following table, a
tool action may behave differently depending on where it is used in the
Piano Roll view. The Piano Roll view has three different environments:
• Note-only grid—this refers to the Notes pane when the Controllers
pane is shown (see Notes Pane).
• Value-only grid—this refers to the Controllers pane (see Controller
Pane).

998 New Features in SONAR 7

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
 • Mixed grid—this refers to the Notes pane when both Note events
and Controller events are displayed together (the Controllers pane
is hidden).

Action... Mouse Down... Mouse Move... Mouse Up...

No Action n/a n/a n/a

Insert/Move Note/ Add Note/Controller Move inserted Commit edit

Controller to edit buffer Note/Controller buffer.
horizontally and
vertically

Paint Notes/ Add Note/Controller Insert additional Commit edit

Controllers to edit buffer events at mouse buffer.
See Note/ position. For notes,
Controller Painting use snap as
(freehand) interval between
and duration of
notes. For
Controllers, use
snap as interval
between.

Paint Notes/ Add Note/Controller Insert additional Commit edit

Controllers Linear to edit buffer events at mouse buffer.
See Note/ position in straight
Controller Painting line from where
(linear) mouse was
originally clicked.

Paint Controllers/ Add Controller to In note grid, paint Commit edit

Velocities edit buffer existing velocities buffer.
See Controller/ as mouse passes
Velocity Painting through notes. In
(freehand) value grid, do same
as Paint Notes/
Controllers

New Features in SONAR 7 999

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
 Action... Mouse Down... Mouse Move... Mouse Up...

Paint Controllers/ Add Controller to In note grid, paint Commit edit

Velocities Linear edit buffer existing velocities buffer.
See Controller/ linearly from
Velocity Painting original mouse click
(linear) point. In value grid,
do same as Paint
Notes/Controllers
Linear.

Lasso Selection Begin lasso drag Continue lasso Select all

rectangle events within
lasso rectangle.
Obey Ctrl/Shift
as standard
modifiers.

Erase Sweep Mark any hit event Mark notes that are Commit edit
See New Erase as deleted hit in both pitch and buffer.
Tool Behavior time for deletion.
Mark Controllers
that are crossed in
time for deletion

Move Notes/ n/a Move selected Commit edit

Controllers notes/Controllers buffer
horizontally (in
time) and vertically

Move Notes/ n/a Move selected Commit edit

Controllers (Vert) notes/Controllers buffer
vertically only

Move Notes/ n/a Move selected Commit edit

Controllers (Time) notes/Controllers in buffer
time only
(horizontally)

Sel and Move Select any hit Move selected Commit edit
Notes/Controllers event. Obey Shift/ notes/Controllers buffer
Ctrl as standard horizontally (in
modifiers time) and vertically

1000 New Features in SONAR 7

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
Action... Mouse Down... Mouse Move... Mouse Up...

Sel and Move Select any hit Move selected Commit edit
Notes/Controllers event. Obey Shift/ notes/Controllers buffer
(Vert) Ctrl as standard vertically only
modifiers

Sel and Move Select any hit Move selected Commit edit
Notes/Controllers event. Obey Shift/ notes/Controllers in buffer
(Time) Ctrl as standard time only
modifiers (horizontally)

Note Slip Start n/a Adjust start time Commit edit

Adjust and duration of buffer
selected notes.
Obey snap settings

Note Slip End n/a Adjust duration of Commit edit

Adjust selected notes. buffer
Obey snap settings

Note Velocity n/a Adjust velocity of Commit edit

Adjust selected notes buffer

Note Split Split hit note in to n/a Commit edit

See Note Split two notes at mouse buffer.
time. Obey snap
settings

Note Glue Add any hit note to Add any notes hit to Make one long
See Note Glue the edit buffer edit buffer if same note out of
pitch as clicked notes in edit
note buffer. Commit
edit buffer.

Drag Quantize Add Note/Controller Move mouse Commit edit

See Drag- to edit buffer upward to move buffer.
Quantize selected events
toward quantize
target times.
Move mouse
downward to move
selected events
away from quantize
target times.

New Features in SONAR 7 1001

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
 Action... Mouse Down... Mouse Move... Mouse Up...

Event Mute Add Note/Controller Mute any hit event. Commit edit
See MIDI Event to edit buffer buffer
Mute

Context Menu n/a n/a Show context

menu

To Configure a Mouse Action

1. Select Options-PRV Tool Configuration to open the PRV Tool
Configuration dialog.
The PRV Tool Configuration dialog appears.
2. In the Tools combobox, choose the Piano Roll tool you wish to assign
(PRV Tool 1, PRV Tool 2 or PRV Tool 3).
3. Do one of the following:
• Hold down the key(s) you wish to use (if any) and click with the
desired mouse button directly on a context (mouse location) in the
diagram. The appropriate Key and Mouse Button checkboxes and
radio buttons will be automatically checked.
• In the diagram, click on one of the seven contexts (mouse
locations) you wish to assign, then select the Mouse Button and
Key settings you wish to use.
The clicked mouse location is indicated in the diagram and the Mouse
Location box shows the name of the clicked mouse location.
4. In the Tool Action combobox, select the desired action (for a
description of each action, see Tool Action).
Note: The possible actions will vary depending on the clicked mouse
location.
5. Click OK to close the PRV Tool Configuration dialog.

See:
The PRV Tool Configuration Dialog

1002 New Features in SONAR 7

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
Default PRV Tool Assignments
By default, SONAR 7’s PRV tools are configured to behave in similar
fashion to the Draw, Select and Erase tools in SONAR 6.
When using the default tool assignments, the Alt modifier key generally
swaps the behavior of the Draw and Select tools, allowing you to perform
most common edit operations without having to actually switch tools.
Note: Some of the new tool actions, such as Note Split and Event Mute, are
assigned by default to the middle mouse button. If your mouse does not
have a middle button, you may want to reassign these actions to another
button (see To Configure a Mouse Action).
Below is a list of each tool’s default assignments.

New Features in SONAR 7 1003

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
 PRV Tool 1 (Select ) Default Settings

Location... Mouse Key(s)... Action...

Button...

Nowhere Left Lasso Selection

Note (all zones) Left Select and Move Notes

Controller Left Select and Move

Controllers

Controller Left Alt Move Notes/Controllers

Nowhere Left Alt Insert/Move Note/

Controller

Note (Slip Start) Left Alt Note Slip Start Adjust

Note (Time Adjust) Left Alt Move Notes (Time)

Note (Pich Adjust) Left Alt Move Notes (Vertically)

Note (Slip End) Left Alt Note Slip End Adjust

Note (Velocity Adjust) Left Alt Note Velocity Adjust

Note (all zones) Middle Ctrl Drag-Quantize

Controller Middle Ctrl Drag-Quantize

Note (all zones) Middle Shift Event Mute

Controller Middle Shift Event Mute

Note (all zones) Middle Note Split

Note Middle Alt Note Glue

1004 New Features in SONAR 7

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
 PRV Tool 2 (Draw ) Default Settings

Location... Mouse Button... Key(s)... Action...

Nowhere Left Insert/Move Note/

Controller

Note (Slip Left Note Slip Start Adjust

Start)

Note (Time Left Move Notes (Time)

Adjust)

Note (Pich Left Move Notes (Vertically)

Adjust)

Note (Slip Left Note Slip End Adjust

End)

Note (Velocity Left Note Velocity Adjust

Adjust)

Controller Left Move Controllers

Nowhere Left Ctrl Paint Notes/Controllers

Free

Nowhere Left Ctrl+Shift Paint Notes/Controllers

Linear

Nowhere Left Alt Lasso Selection

Note Left Alt Select and Move Notes

Controller Left Alt Select and Move

Controllers

Nowhere Middle Erase Sweep

Note Middle Erase Sweep

Controller Middle Erase Sweep

New Features in SONAR 7 1005

Flexible Piano Roll Tools
 PRV Tool 3 (Erase ) Default Settings

Location... Mouse Button... Key(s)... Action...

Nowhere Left Erase Sweep

Note Left Erase Sweep

Controller Left Erase Sweep

Piano Roll View Enhancements

SONAR 7 introduces various enhancements to the Piano Roll view to
improve workflow and efficiency.

See:
Multiple Automation Controller Lanes
Piano Roll Microscope Mode
Note Event Colors Based on Velocity
Hiding Events in Muted Clips
Adjust Velocity without Changing the Display Type
Select Controllers within Note Duration
Show Velocity on Selected Notes (Optional)
Selection Sensitive Velocity Drawing
Note/Controller Painting (freehand)
Note/Controller Painting (linear)
Controller/Velocity Painting (freehand)
Controller/Velocity Painting (linear)
Note Split
Note Glue
Drag-Quantize

1006 New Features in SONAR 7

Piano Roll View Enhancements
MIDI Event Mute
New Erase Tool Behavior
Note Hit Testing Improvements
Velocity Audition Options

Multiple Automation Controller Lanes

In previous versions of SONAR, velocities and controller events were
always superimposed in the same pane in the Piano Roll view. This is often
desirable, but there may be times when it is more convenient to see each
controller type in its own lane.
In SONAR 7, the Controller pane in the multi-track Piano Roll view (not the
inline Piano Roll) is now split up into multiple lanes—one lane for each
unique event type in the track.
You can freely create new lanes to display and edit MIDI data such as
velocity, modulation, pitch bend and CCs (Continuous Controllers) and
events can be moved and copied between lanes.

G H

D E F

A. Velocity lane B. Wheel lane C. CC92 lane D. Add new lane E. Remove lane
F. “Active” lane (darker shade) G. Scale pane H. Controller pane

See:
Working with MIDI Data Lanes.

New Features in SONAR 7 1007

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 To Create a New Lane.
To Delete a Lane.
To Assign an Event Type to a Lane.
To Copy Events Between Lanes.
To Move Events Between Lanes.
Working with MIDI Data Lanes
The Controller pane allows you to display and edit non-note MIDI data,
such as velocity, modulation, pitch bend and continuous controllers (CCs),
in multiple lanes at the bottom of the Piano Roll view.
When you open the Piano Roll view, SONAR will automatically create a
separate MIDI data lane for each unique data type that is present in the
selected track(s).
When you click on a lane—either in the controller pane or in the scale
pane—that lane becomes “active” and turns a slightly darker shade. The
significance is that the active lane is the one that becomes controlled by the
Event Type pickers in the top left corner of the Piano Roll view.
Each lane can be configured to show one or more event types.

A B
C

A. The Event Type pickers apply to the active lane B. Show/Hide MIDI Events
picker C. MIDI Event Type picker.

See:
To Assign an Event Type to a Lane.
To Create a New Lane
1. In the multi-track Piano Roll view, make sure the Controllers pane is
shown at the bottom. If it is not displayed, do one of the following:

• Click the Use Controller Pane button in the Piano Roll view
toolbar.
• Press C.

1008 New Features in SONAR 7

Piano Roll View Enhancements
2. Do one of the following:
• Click the Plus button in the bottom left corner of any existing
lane.
• Press Shift+L.
A new lane is inserted below the lane that was clicked (or below the
active lane if you pressed Shift+L). SONAR will try to automatically
assign the lane to any event type that exists in the track, provided the
event type is not already assigned to another lane.
To Delete a Lane
To delete an existing lane, click the Minus button in the bottom left corner
of the lane.
If there is only one lane that is opened, this command will close the
Controller Pane.
Note: Deleting a lane does not delete any MIDI events from the track.
To Assign an Event Type to a Lane
Use the MIDI Event Type drop-down lists in the Piano Roll to select which
MIDI data type you want to display and edit in the active lane.
1. Click the lane you wish to assign to a specific event type.
The lane appears darker than other lanes to indicate that it is the active
lane.

2. Click the MIDI Event Type picker .

The MIDI Event Type pop-up menu appears.
3. Do one of the following:
• To specify a new event type that doesn’t already exist in the track,
choose New Value Type and select the desired event type in the
MIDI Event Type dialog.
• To specify an event type that already exists in the track, select the
event type from the MIDI Event Type pop-up menu.
The name of the current edit type is displayed in the lane.

See:
Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View Only)

New Features in SONAR 7 1009

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 To Show/Hide Multiple Event Types in a Lane
1. Click the lane in which you wish to display multiple event types.
The lane appears darker than other lanes to indicate that it is the active
lane.
2. Click the small drop-down arrow in Show/Hide MIDI Event Type picker
.
The Show/Hide MIDI Event pop-up menu appears.
3. Select the event type you wish to show/hide in the lane.
Visible event types appear checked and hidden event types appear
unchecked.
Note: the event types you wish to display must already exist in the
track before you can choose them from the Show/Hide MIDI Events
picker.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for any additional event types you wish to show/hide
in the active lane.

See:
Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View Only)
To Copy Events Between Lanes
When you copy events from one lane to another lane, the MIDI data is
transformed to match the edit type in the target lane.
1. Select the event types you wish to copy to another lane. See Selecting
Controllers for more information.
2. In the Scale pane, right-click the lane you wish to copy the selected
events to.
The lane context menu appears.
3. Click Copy selected events to this lane.
The selected events are copied to the destination track.
Note: it is impossible to copy selected events to a lane that has an edit
type of Velocity; the type of event to transform to would be Note and the
pitch could not be specified in this case. In this case, the Copy
selected events to this lane menu command will be disabled and
appear grayed out.

1010 New Features in SONAR 7

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 A

A. Scale pane B. Right-click the lane in the scale pane

To Move Events Between Lanes

When you move events from one lane to another lane, the MIDI data is
transformed to match the edit type in the target lane.
1. Select the event types you wish to move to another lane. See Selecting
Controllers for more information.
2. In the Scale pane, right-click the lane you wish to move the selected
events to.
The lane context menu appears.
3. Click Move selected events to this lane.
The selected events are moved to the destination track.
Note: it is impossible to move selected events to a lane that has an edit
type of Velocity; the type of event to transform to would be Note and the
pitch could not be specified in this case. In this case, the Move
selected events to this lane menu command will be disabled and
appear grayed out.

Piano Roll Microscope Mode

The new Piano Roll Microscope mode makes it much easier to edit MIDI
data without constantly needing to change zoom settings. This is especially
useful in the inline Piano Roll where track heights are typically sized such
that MIDI notes become very small.

New Features in SONAR 7 1011

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 When Microscope mode is enabled, a transparent rounded square
centered on the mouse cursor shows a zoomed in region of the Piano Roll
data underneath it:

Only the work area under the mouse is zoomed in while the rest of the data
retains its normal size.
Here is an example of dense MIDI data that is difficult to edit at the current
zoom level:

With Microscope mode turned on, the area under the mouse looks like this:

Microscope mode also works with Drum Maps:

1012 New Features in SONAR 7

Piano Roll View Enhancements
To Enable/Disable Microscope Mode
To enable/disable Microscope mode, do one of the following:

• Click the Microscope Enable button in either the Piano Roll view
toolbar or the inline Piano Roll toolbar in the Track view.
• Choose Options-PRV Tool Configuration and toggle the Microscope
checkbox.
How Microscope Mode Works
Position—The Microscope is always centered on the mouse position.
Size—The size of the Microscope is configurable. The default diameter is
100 pixels. See Configuring Microscope Mode Options for more
information.
Transparency—The Microscope maintains a certain level of transparency
so that the real-sized data can always be seen.
Zoom Factor (vertical)—The amount of vertical zoom varies with the
existing zoom level of the data. Generally, the note height under the
microscope has a minimum height of 8 pixels and scales up from there
depending on the existing zoom of the data. The microscope data will
always be bigger than the original regardless of how far it is zoomed in.
Zoom Factor (horizontal/time)—The microscope will provide some
horizontal magnification when the view zoom is such that notes become
very narrow.
Tip: Use Fast Zoom in combination with Microscope mode if you wish to
quickly zoom around the current mouse position. See To Zoom Using the
Mouse Wheel (Fast Zoom) for more details.
Configuring Microscope Mode Options
There are several settings that let you configure the size and zoom level of
the microscope.
To Configure Microscope Mode Options

New Features in SONAR 7 1013

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 To configure the Microscope mode settings, choose Options-PRV Tool
Configuration to open the PRV Tool Configuration dialog.

The following options are available:

Microscope—Use this checkbox to enable/disable Microscope mode
(enabled by default).
Diagonal Size—Use this numeric entry box to specify the diameter size in
pixels of the microscope. The valid range is 20-250 and the default value is
100.
Show When Note Height Less Than—Microscope mode will only be
enabled if the note heights (in pixels) are equal or less than this number.
The valid range is 2-20 and the default value is 6.
Magnifying Time—Use this checkbox to enable/disable horizontal
magnification when the Piano Roll view zoom is such that notes become
very narrow.
In addition to these options, there are some other parameters that can be
configured by adding the following INI variables to the WinCake section of
cakewalk.ini (see CAKEWALK.INI):

1014 New Features in SONAR 7

Piano Roll View Enhancements
Variable... Type.. Default What it does…
. value...

MicroscopeHZoomThreshold=<1. Integer 8 By default, the

.20> Microscope mode begins
horizontal magnification
when a 32nd note is
narrower than 8 pixels.
This line lets you specify
the horizontal zoom
threshold (1-20 pixels).

MicroscopeHZoomMax=<2.0 - Integer 3.0 This line specifies the

8.0> highest horizontal
magnification that will
result when using
Microscope mode.

Note Event Colors Based on Velocity

By default, note events in the Piano Roll are colorized based on velocity.
Darker shades of the basic track color indicate higher velocities. Lighter
shades of the basic track color indicate lower velocities.
This behavior can be bypassed by adding the following INI variable to the
WinCake section of cakewalk.ini (see CAKEWALK.INI):
PRVColorizeVelocity=0

Hiding Events in Muted Clips

By default, events in muted MIDI clips are shown in the Piano Roll view.
SONAR 7 provides an option to exclude muted clips from displaying in the
Piano Roll view.
To Show/Hide Events in Muted Clips
1. In the Piano Roll view or inline Piano Roll, click the small dropdown
arrow in the Show/Hide MIDI Events button .
2. Choose Hide Muted Clips from the popup menu.
The state of the Hide Muted Clips option is saved with the project, and the
settings are separate for the Piano Roll view and the inline Piano Roll.

New Features in SONAR 7 1015

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 See:
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing)

Adjust Velocity without Changing the Display

Type
In previous versions of SONAR, clicking on the Velocity section of a note
event would automatically switch the current Edit Type to “Velocity” and
also make velocity tails visible. This is normally not desirable since you may
frequently want to adjust velocities while primarily working with a different
edit type (Controllers, etc.).
Because Velocity is really an attribute of another event type (Note), SONAR
7 now treats Velocity differently than other controller events. This allows
you to configure the visibility of continuous controllers (CCs, xRPNs, etc.)
and still perform an occasional velocity edit without the need to revert back
to the previous display and edit settings.
Example:

1. CC7 is the current Edit Type and note velocity tails are hidden.

2. When clicking the Velocity section of a note event, the Edit Type remains CC7
and only the dragged velocity is temporarily shown.

1016 New Features in SONAR 7

Piano Roll View Enhancements
3. When the mouse button is released, the Edit Type remains CC7 and velocity tails
remain hidden.

Select Controllers within Note Duration

When editing MIDI data it is often necessary to align the timing of Controller
events with that of Note events. For example, Sustain Pedal (CC64) events
need to move along with the notes they are supposed to sustain, and Pitch
Wheel events need to move along with the notes whose pitch they are
supposed to modify.
When the Select Controllers within Note Duration mode is enabled,
selecting a Note event or a range of Note events will also automatically
select any Controller events that exist within the time range of the Note
event(s).
Note events can be selected by clicking the notes or by lasso-selecting the
notes. For more information, see Selecting Notes.
The following rules apply when multiple Note / Controller event types are
selected:
• Dragging a Note event vertically will not affect the selected Controller
event(s).
• Dragging a Note event in time (horizontally) will also drag the Controller
event(s) along with it in time.
• Dragging Controller events vertically will not affect the selected Note
event(s).
• Dragging Controller events in time will also drag Note events along with
them in time.
• If multiple Controller types are selected, only the type you click on can
be dragged vertically. The rest will only move in time (horizontally).
To Enable/Disable ‘Select Controllers within Note

New Features in SONAR 7 1017

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 Duration’
Click the Select Controllers within Note Duration button in either the
Piano Roll view toolbar or the inline Piano Roll toolbar in the Track view.
The toolbar button lights up when enabled.
Note: the state of the Select Controllers within Note Duration mode is
global and applies to both the Piano Roll view and inline Piano Roll.

Show Velocity on Selected Notes (Optional)

SONAR 7 introduces an option to show velocities for selected Note events.
This new option makes it easier to see and edit velocities when many Note
events are present. It also makes it easier to change the velocity for
individual Note events that are stacked (such as chords).
If there is no selection, velocities are shown for all Note events.

To Only Show Velocity for Selected Note Events

1. In the Piano Roll view or inline Piano Roll, click the small dropdown
arrow in the Show/Hide MIDI Events button .
2. Choose Show Velocity on Selected Notes from the popup menu.
The state of the Show Velocity on Selected Notes option is saved with the
project, and the setting is separate for the Piano Roll view and inline Piano
Roll.

See:
Editing Notes with the Draw Tool and the Select Tool

1018 New Features in SONAR 7

Piano Roll View Enhancements
Selection Sensitive Velocity Drawing
To make it easier to edit the velocities of only certain Note events, SONAR
7 introduces new behavior that determines which Note events are eligible to
be edited.
If any Note events are selected, velocity painting will only affect those
selected Note events. If no Note events are selected, then velocity painting
will affect all Note events.

Example 1. Painting velocity when some Note events are selected. Only those Note
events are changed.

Example 2. Painting velocity when no Note events are selected. All Note events are
changed.

See:
Editing Notes with the Draw Tool and the Select Tool

New Features in SONAR 7 1019

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 Note/Controller Painting (freehand)
Paint Notes/Controllers Free is one of the programmable mouse “Actions”,
which can be assigned to any mouse button and key combination. For more
information, see Flexible Piano Roll Tools.
When you use the Paint Notes/Controllers Free action, events are painted
from the mouse click position to the current mouse position. The start time
and duration of events are determined by the Snap to Grid resolution if
snap is enabled or by the current default note duration if Snap to Grid is
disabled.

See:
To Configure a Mouse Action

Note/Controller Painting (linear)

Paint Notes/Controllers Linear is one of the programmable mouse
“Actions”, which can be assigned to any mouse button and key
combination. For more information, see Flexible Piano Roll Tools.
When you use the Paint Notes/Controllers Linear action, events are painted
in a straight line from the mouse click position to the current mouse
position. The start time and duration of events are determined by the Snap
to Grid resolution if snap is enabled or by the current default note duration if
Snap to Grid is disabled.

See:
To Configure a Mouse Action

Controller/Velocity Painting (freehand)

Paint Controllers/Velocities Free is one of the programmable mouse
“Actions”, which can be assigned to any mouse button and key
combination. For more information, see Flexible Piano Roll Tools.
When you use the Paint Controllers/Velocities Free action, Controller
events of the current edit type are painted from the mouse click position to
the current mouse position. Controller events are painted at the snap
positions if Snap to Grid is enabled. If Snap to Grid is disabled, Controller
events will be placed anywhere in time. Regardless of the Snap to Grid
state, Controller events are only inserted where there is a change in value.

1020 New Features in SONAR 7

Piano Roll View Enhancements
When painting velocities in the Notes pane, existing velocities are updated
as the mouse passes through Note events. When painting velocities in the
Controllers pane, the behavior is the same as the Paint Notes/Controllers
Free action.

See:
To Configure a Mouse Action

Controller/Velocity Painting (linear)

Paint Controllers/Velocities Linear is one of the programmable mouse
“Actions”, which can be assigned to any mouse button and key
combination. For more information, see Flexible Piano Roll Tools.
When you use the Paint Controllers/Velocities Linear action, Controller
events of the current edit type are painted linearly from the mouse click
position to the current mouse position. Controller events are painted at the
snap positions if Snap to Grid is enabled. If Snap to Grid is disabled,
Controller events will be placed anywhere in time. Regardless of the Snap
to Grid state, Controller evetns are only inserted where there is a change in
value.
When painting velocities in the Notes pane, velocities are updated as the
mouse passes through Note events. When painting velocities in the
Controllers pane, the behavior is the same as the Paint Notes/Controllers
Linear action.

See:
To Configure a Mouse Action

Note Split
SONAR now allows you to click on a Note event to split it into two separate
Note events. The split occurs at the mouse position where the Note event is
clicked.
Note Split is one of the programmable mouse “Actions”, which can be
assigned to any mouse button and key combination. By default, Note Split
is assigned to the middle mouse button when using the Select tool. For
more information, see Flexible Piano Roll Tools.
Note: The Note Split action only works on one note at a time.

New Features in SONAR 7 1021

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 To Split a Note
1. In the Piano Roll view or inline Piano Roll, click the Select button to
enable the Select tool.
2. Click the middle mouse button at the exact position you wish to split a
Note event.
The Note event is split into two separate Note events at the mouse
position.
Note: these instructions apply to the default mouse assignments and will
not apply if you have re-assigned the Note Split mouse action to different
settings (see Flexible Piano Roll Tools. If your mouse does not have a
middle button, you may want to reassign Note Split to another button.

Note Glue
SONAR now allows you to glue multiple Note events together so they form
a single Note event.
The Note events you glue together don't have to be consecutive—you can
skip some Note events if you like, but only Note events of the same pitch
can be glued together.
Note Glue is one of the programmable mouse “Actions”, which can be
assigned to any mouse button and key combination. By default, Note Glue
is assigned to Alt+middle-click when using the Select tool. For more
information, see Flexible Piano Roll Tools.
To Glue Notes Together
1. In the Piano Roll view or inline Piano Roll, click the Select button to
enable the Select tool.
2. Hold down the Alt key and click with the middle mouse button on an
empty area or on the first Note event you wish to glue.
3. While still holding down the Alt key and middle mouse button, drag
across the Note events you wish to glue together.
The first Note event encountered will become the anchor pitch. Any
other Note events encountered on that same pitch will be glued
together when the mouse button is released, forming a single note
event.
The Note events that will be glued together turn red when the mouse
crosses them.

1022 New Features in SONAR 7

Piano Roll View Enhancements
Note: these instructions apply to the default mouse assignments and will
not apply if you have re-assigned the Note Glue mouse action to different
settings (see Flexible Piano Roll Tools. If your mouse does not have a
middle button, you may want to reassign Note Glue to another button.

Drag-Quantize
SONAR 7 now makes it very easy to quantize individual Note events (or
other MIDI events) without having to use the Process-Quantize command.
Drag Quantize works by clicking on an event (or one of many selected
events), and moving the mouse up and down. The up direction moves the
events toward the quantize target times; downward motion moves them
away from the quantize target times. You immediately see the data being
moved towards the target in real-time as you adjust the mouse position.
Drag Quantize is one of the programmable mouse “Actions”, which can be
assigned to any mouse button and key combination. By default, Drag
Quantize is assigned to Ctrl+middle-click when using the Select tool. For
more information, see Flexible Piano Roll Tools.
Drag Quantize Strength
The quantize strength is continuously variable based on mouse dragging
and the results are visible in real-time. It is even possible to have “negative”
strength, which allows you to un-quantize events (move them away from
the target quantize time).
As you drag the mouse up or down, a dynamic tooltip shows the current
quantize strength (-100% to +100%). A “deadband” around 0% allows the
Drag Quantize tool to easily position the selected MIDI events at their
original position.
Drag Quantize Resolution
The quantize resolution is determined by the current Snap to Grid resolution
if snapping is enabled (see Defining and Using the Snap Grid). If Snap to
Grid is disabled, SONAR will analyze the selected events and automatically
determine a suitable resolution.
To Drag-Quantize MIDI Events
1. Select the MIDI events you wish to quantize (see Selecting Notes and
Selecting Controllers).

2. In the Piano Roll view or inline Piano Roll, click the Select button to
enable the Select tool.
3. Hold down the Ctrl key and click the middle mouse button on any of the
selected events and do one of the following:

New Features in SONAR 7 1023

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 • Move the mouse upward to move the selected events toward the
quantize target times.
• Move the mouse downward to move the selected events away from
the quantize target times.
As you drag the mouse up or down, a dynamic tooltip shows the current
quantize strength (-100% to +100%).
Note: these instructions apply to the default mouse assignments and will
not apply if you have re-assigned the Drag Quantize mouse action to
different settings (see Flexible Piano Roll Tools. If your mouse does not
have a middle button, you may want to reassign Drag Quantize to another
button.

MIDI Event Mute

Previous versions of SONAR allowed you to mute entire MIDI clips or
regions of MIDI clips. SONAR 7 goes further by allowing you to mute
individual Note events directly in the Piano Roll view or inline Piano Roll.
Muted events are excluded from rendering during playback and MIDI
meters do not light up for muted events.
Event Mute is one of the programmable mouse “Actions”, which can be
assigned to any mouse button and key combination. By default, Event Mute
is assigned to Shift+middle-click when using the Select tool. For more
information, see Flexible Piano Roll Tools.
Muted events are shown using a variation of the “Clip Mute” color but only
the outline of the events are shown. In the following example, the first four
Note events are Event-Muted. The last four Note events are muted using
the Mute tool on the clip. The Note events in the middle are not muted at all.

A B C

A. Event-Muted (hollow; the note outline uses the Clip Mute color) B. Unmuted
events (track color) C. Muted using the Mute tool on the clip (Clip Mute color)

1024 New Features in SONAR 7

Piano Roll View Enhancements
To Mute/Unmute Note/Controller Events
1. In the Piano Roll view or inline Piano Roll, click the Select button to
enable the Select tool.
2. Hold down the Shift key and do one of the following:
• To mute/unmute only a single Note or Controller event—click
the middle mouse button on the Note/Controller event you want to
mute/unmute and release the mouse button.
• To mute/unmute multiple Note or Controller events—click the
middle mouse button on any Note/Controller event you want to
mute/unmute and drag the mouse over all other events you also
want to mute/unmute, then release the mouse button.
When dragging over multiple events, the events are temporarily drawn
in a different color. All touched events will automatically inherit the
opposite mute state of the first event you click, regardless of their
current mute state. That is, all touched events are set to the opposite
mute state of the first event.
You can choose to abort the mute/unmute operation by pressing Esc
before you release the mouse button.
Note: these instructions apply to the default mouse assignments and will
not apply if you have re-assigned the Event Mute mouse action to different
settings (see Flexible Piano Roll Tools. If your mouse does not have a
middle button, you may want to reassign Event Mute to another button.

See:
Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip Soloing)
Silencing Tracks
Flexible Piano Roll Tools

New Erase Tool Behavior

SONAR 7 features an improved Erase tool that marks events for deletion
instead of automatically deleting them. When you touch events with the
Erase tool, the events are not actually deleted until you release the mouse
button.
Events that are marked for deletion are temporarily drawn in a different
color. You can choose to abort the delete operation by pressing Esc before
you release the mouse button.

New Features in SONAR 7 1025

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 Note Hit Testing Improvements
Note events are painted in chronological order. Note events that are later in
time will be at a higher z-order (toward the top) than earlier Note events. As
a result, the end time of a Note event may be obscured by a later Note
event.

Example 1. Two overlapping Note events. It is not clear where the first Note event
ends.

Example 2. The same two overlapping Note events shown as different pitches.

In previous versions of SONAR it could be difficult to edit overlapping Note

events because it was impossible to alter the end time of the earlier Note
event without temporarily moving the later Note event out of the way.
In SONAR7, when multiple Note events exist at the mouse location,
SONAR will prioritize the best candidate Note event by comparing the
mouse location’s proximity to the left and right edges of each Note event.
When the best candidate is found among the overlapping Note events,
SONAR will temporarily show the full duration of that candidate Note event
while the mouse is hovering over it. This allows you to alter the right edge of
the earlier Note event without having to temporarily move the later Note
event out of the way.

1026 New Features in SONAR 7

Piano Roll View Enhancements
 Example 3. In SONAR 7, the full duration of the earlier Note event is shown when
hovering the mouse near the end of the Note event.

Velocity Audition Options

The Velocity Audition and Polyphonic Velocity Audition options have been
moved to a more convenient location in the PRV Tool Configuration dialog.
These two options were previously available in the Edit MIDI Event Type
dropdown menu in the Piano Roll view and inline Piano Roll.

See:
To Edit Velocity
PRV Tool Configuration dialog

V-Vocal Pitch-to-MIDI
V-Vocal is now able to convert pitch to MIDI. V-Vocal data can be dragged
from V-Vocal and dropped onto a MIDI track in SONAR’s Clips pane.
Pitch to MIDI Settings
To open the Pitch to MIDI Settings dialog, right-click in the V-Vocal Edit
pane and select Pitch to MIDI Settings from the popup menu.
There are two parameters that affect the generated MIDI data.
Pitch Bend Range—This setting is used to specify the pitch bend range to
use when converting fine pitch changes to MIDI. The Pitch Bend Range
value is specified in semitones and the range is 1-24. The default value is 2
semitones.
Time Resolution (ticks)—This setting is used to specify the tick interval
between pitch bend events. The choices are 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120,
and the default value is 20 ticks.
Use Pitch Bend—This setting specifies whether or not the converted MIDI
data will include Pitch Wheel events.

New Features in SONAR 7 1027

V-Vocal Pitch-to-MIDI
 To Convert Pitch-to-MIDI
Click the Pitch to MIDI button and drag onto a MIDI track in SONAR’s
Clips pane.
A MIDI representation of the post-correction V-Vocal audio data is copied to
the MIDI track.

See:
Using V-Vocal

MIDI Activity Indicators

Each MIDI track displays a MIDI playback meter in the Track view and
Console view. The MIDI meter consists of two sections:
• MIDI Activity Indicator—The MIDI Activity Indicator lights up
whenever a MIDI event is encountered in the track.
• MIDI Velocity Meter—The MIDI Velocity Meter shows the greatest
current note velocity encountered during playback.

A A

B
B

A. MIDI Activity Indicator B. MIDI Velocity Meter

Audio and MIDI meters can be either vertical or horizontal. For more
information, see Changing the Meters’ Display.

Dimension LE Synth with Garritan

1028 New Features in SONAR 7

MIDI Activity Indicators
Pocket Orchestra
This special version of the Dimension Pro synth features over 400 sound
programs, ranging from real bass, organ and electric piano samples to
cutting-edge synth sounds and rhythmic grooves. It also includes the
special edition of the Garritan Pocket Orchestra, which has been
programmed specifically for Dimension LE and features orchestral
instrument libraries of unrivaled quality that include strings, brass,
woodwinds, keyboards, and percussion sounds.
Dimension LE is powered by Cakewalk's Expression Engine providing
several types of synthesis capabilities including multi-sample rendering,
wavetable synthesis, waveguide synthesis as well as REX playback and
manipulation.

For more information, see the Dimension LE online help.

Rapture LE Synth
Combining power, elegance, control, and unbeatable sounds, Rapture is
one of the most exciting synthesizers available. Capable of producing rich,
hypnotic, and rhythmic basses, leads, and pads, Rapture is perfect for
performing and designing the modern synthesized sounds igniting today’s
pop, dance, and electronic music.

New Features in SONAR 7 1029

Rapture LE Synth
 For more information, see the Rapture LE online help.

DropZone Synth
There’s no easier way to add your own style to a track. Just drag and drop a
sample into DropZone, and make it part of your beat. It is the ideal synth for
creating remixes or for building the perfect hook for your song. DropZone
includes real instrument sounds, drums, vocals, REX-format loops and
more.

For more information, see the DropZone online help.

Z3TA+ Synth
Note: the Z3TA+ synth is only available in SONAR Producer Edition.
Z3TA+ is an award-winning analog-style synthesizer with incredible sound
shaping capabilities. The exclusive bandlimited Waveshaping technology
makes Z3TA+ one the best and most respected synths in the industry.

1030 New Features in SONAR 7

DropZone Synth
 Whether you’re looking for lush, warm pads, slowly evolving atmospheres,
searing leads or sparkling FM sounds, Z3TA+ delivers the goods, and
includes hundreds of professional presets.

For more information, see the Z3TA+ online help.

Rename Synths in the Synth Rack View

It is now possible to rename synth in the Synth Rack view. This is especially
useful if you use many instances of a particular synth and you need to
distinguish each instance.
To Rename a Synth
Do one of the following:
• Double click the Name field of the synth you wish to rename.
• Press F2 key to rename the selected synth.
Note: Since SONAR now allows you to rename synths, the “D” shortcut is
no longer used to delete the current synth. This change makes it less likely
that you will accidentally delete a synth when typing in the Synth Rack view.

Delete Synth Safeguards

Since SONAR now allows you to rename synths, the “D” shortcut is no
longer used to delete the current synth. This change makes it less likely that
you will accidentally delete a synth when typing in the Synth Rack view.
When deleting a synth in the Synth Rack view, SONAR will now show a
confirmation message, allowing you to accept or cancel the delete
operation.

New Features in SONAR 7 1031

Rename Synths in the Synth Rack View
 Reload Instrument Definitions
Users of MIDI librarian programs need the ability to update SONAR’s
instrument definitions in real-time, without having to close and restart
SONAR.
When the Reset (Panic) button is pressed, SONAR now closes and
reopens the instrument manager to reload settings from Master.ins and
INSTRMAP.INI.
Any changes made to patch names or other instrument definitions are
reflected immediately.

See:
Instrument Definitions

Sidechaining
SONAR 7 now supports multi-input plug-ins, which are typically sidechain
plug-ins that have two inputs: a primary input and a sidechain input.
When SONAR detects such a plug-in in an FX bin, a virtual output port is
created for each extra input exposed by the plug-in. Audio track, Bus and
Send outputs can be routed to sidechain inputs.
Sidechaining is typically used with compressors to limit one signal
depending on the signal level of another. Common applications are to
reduce the level of a bass guitar when there is a kick drum, or to reduce the
level of music whenever a speaker talks (often used for background music
in radio- and television programs). There are of course many more
applications that are not mentioned here.
SONAR 7 includes the following plug-ins that support sidechaining:
• Boost 11 (Producer Edition only)
• Sonitus Compressor
• Sonitus Gate
• Vintage Channel VC-64 (Producer Edition only)

1032 New Features in SONAR 7

Reload Instrument Definitions
Sidechaining Signal Flow

Track 1 FX Bin

FX Hardware
Track 1 Sidechainable FX Bus
Output
Output Sidechain input

Track 2
Output / Send
Sum

Bus
Output / Send

See also:
Signal Flow
To Assign a Track/Bus/Send Output to a Sidechain Input
1. Insert the sidechain-capable plug-in in a track or bus FX bin (see
Adding Effects).
The sidechain input is exposed in the list of available output
destinations in all Track/Bus/Send Output controls (except for outputs
that would result in a feedback loop).
2. Assign the desired audio track, bus or Send output to the plug-in’s
sidechain input. For more information, see Assigning Tracks to Outputs.
Note: All sources that are sent to a sidechain input will be mixed down
prior to being sent to the sidechain.

Sidechain Plug-ins in Clip FX Bins and Surround Bus FX Bins:

Sidechain inputs are not exposed by plug-ins that are inserted in clip FX
bins and surround bus FX bins. You can insert any multi-input plug-in into a
clip FX bin or surround bus FX bin, but the sidechain inputs on these plug-
ins will not be active. The plug-in will function as a normal plug-in and only
receive input on its primary input.

New Features in SONAR 7 1033

Sidechaining
 See:
Real-time Bounce
Sidechainable Sonitus Plug-ins
Sidechainable Vintage Channel VC-64 Plug-in
Signal Flow
Bouncing Audio with Sidechain Plug-ins
In order to render a sidechain input as part of a mix when bouncing audio,
you must select all tracks that contribute to the sidechain input.

See:
Bouncing/Freezing with Sidechain Plug-ins
Bouncing Audio with Sidechain Plug-ins
Bouncing Tracks
Bouncing to Clips
Freeze and Sidechain Inputs
Freeze does not consider sidechain inputs because Freeze only works on a
single audio track at a time. To mix down sidechain inputs, use standard
bounce with all sidechain sources selected in the mix.

See:
Bouncing/Freezing with Sidechain Plug-ins
Freeze and Sidechain Inputs
Freeze Tracks and Synths
Bouncing Tracks
Bouncing to Clips

Sidechainable Sonitus Plug-ins

Both the Sonitus Compressor and Gate plug-ins now support sidechaining
(see Sidechaining). When the Sonitus Compressor or Gate plug-in is
inserted in a project, you can assign audio track, bus and send outputs to
its sidechain input.

1034 New Features in SONAR 7

Sidechainable Sonitus Plug-ins
Sidechainable Vintage Channel VC-64
Plug-in
Note: the Vintage Channel VC-64 plug-in is only available in SONAR
Producer Edition.
The Vintage Channel VC-64 plug-in now supports sidechaining (see
Sidechaining). When an instance of Vintage Channel VC-64 is inserted in a
project, you can assign audio track, bus and send outputs to its sidechain
input.
Each Compressor and EQ can be configured to listen to the sidechain input.
The sidechain signal is always applied to the last input(s) of the VC-64.
Sidechain Controls
The VC-64 has three buttons that affect sidechaining:
Key (for each compressor)—Enabling sidechaining on one of the
compressors will send the sidechain input(s) to the level detector of that
compressor. This function compresses the signal based on the sidechain
level rather than the primary input level.
Listen—Enable to listen to the compressor’s sidechain signal instead of the
ordinary output.
Key (for each EQ)—Enabling sidechaining on one of the equalizers will
replace its normal input (according to its routing) with the sidechain signal.
Note 1: When you enable Key on one of the compressors, the internal
compressor sidechain (detector chain) is fed from the external sidechain
inputs. When you enable Listen you will hear what's on the compressor’s
sidechain regardless if this comes from the external sidechain inputs or not.
If you want to hear the external sidechain you must enable both Key and
Listen on one of the compressors.
Note 2: If Listen is enabled on both compressors only the sidechain of
Compressor 2 will be heard.

New Features in SONAR 7 1035

Sidechainable Vintage Channel VC-64 Plug-in
 C

A B

A. Sidechain Listen B. Enable/disable sidechaining for the current Compressor

C. Enable/disable sidechaining for the current EQ

For more information, see the Vintage Channel VC-64 online help.

Audio I/O Assignment

SONAR 7 makes it faster and more convenient to assign multiple audio
input or output ports simultaneously.
To Assign the Same Audio Input Port to Multiple Tracks
1. In the Track view, select the tracks whose audio input port you wish to
assign.
2. Click the small dropdown arrow in any selected track’s Input control
.
The input port menu appears.
3. Choose Selected Track Inputs from the context menu.
The Track Inputs dialog opens with the selected tracks initially
highlighted. You can modify the track selection from within the Track
Inputs dialog. For more information, see Track Inputs dialog.
Note: The Selected Track Inputs command is essentially a shortcut
for the Tracks-Property-Inputs command.
4. Select the desired audio input port and click OK.

1036 New Features in SONAR 7

Audio I/O Assignment
 The audio input port is assigned to all selected audio tracks.
To Assign Different Audio Input Ports to Multiple
Tracks
1. In the Track view, select the tracks whose audio input port you wish to
assign.
2. Click the small dropdown arrow in the first selected track’s Input control
.
The input port menu appears.
3. Choose Selected Track Input Series from the context menu.
The Assign Series of Inputs dialog opens, which lets you choose the
first input port in the series.

4. Select the audio input port that should be assigned to the first selected
track and click OK.
SONAR will assign consecutive mono input ports to the selected audio
tracks, beginning with the track that was clicked in step 2. If a left or
right input is selected, then mono inputs will be assigned. If a stereo
input is selected, then stereo inputs will be assigned.
To Assign the Same Audio Output Port to Multiple
Tracks
1. In the Track view, select the tracks whose audio output port you wish to
assign.
2. Click the small dropdown arrow in any selected track’s Output control
.
The output port menu appears.
3. Choose Selected Track Outputs from the context menu.
The Track Outputs dialog opens.

New Features in SONAR 7 1037

Audio I/O Assignment
 Note: The Selected Track Outputs command is essentially a shortcut
for the Tracks-Property-Outputs command.
4. Select the desired audio output port and click OK.
The audio output port is assigned to all selected audio tracks.
To Assign the Same Audio Output Port to All Stereo
Buses
1. In the Track view, click the small dropdown arrow in any stereo bus’
Output control .
The output port menu appears.
Note: Surround buses are ignored.
2. Choose Set All Bus Outputs from the context menu.
The output port submenu appears.
3. Select the desired audio output port.
The audio output port is assigned to all stereo buses
Note: Only hardware main outputs may be assigned, not other buses.

LP-64 EQ Plug-in
Note: the LP-64 EQ plug-in is only available in SONAR Producer Edition.
Unlike traditional equalizers, LP-64 EQ provides highly accurate control of
tonal balance while maintaining a linear-phase shift at all frequencies,
regardless of the gain settings. Phase-shifting in typical equalizers means
that audio material is shifted in time in a frequency-dependent way.
Alignment of low and high frequencies may have changed with respect to
one another and to the original audio material. In other words, the sound is
literally “pulled apart” in time, often resulting in loss of sonic clarity and
crispness. With LP-64 EQ linear-phase processing, the integrity of your
audio is maintained for all frequencies, at all times—no unintended
coloration, cancellations, comb filtering, or muddy transients. When a host
application, such as SONAR, compensates for the plug-in’s overall latency,
the resulting linear-phase output is referred to as “zero-phase”.
LP-64 EQ is well suited for critical mastering projects.

1038 New Features in SONAR 7

LP-64 EQ Plug-in
 For more information, see the LP-64 EQ online help.

LP-64 Multiband Compressor Plug-in

Note: the LP-64 Multiband Compressor plug-in is only available in SONAR
Producer Edition.
The LP-64 Multiband Compressor consists of four high-quality
compressors, each operating on a single adjustable frequency band.
Unlike typical limiters, the filters that split up the frequency bands in the
LP-64 Multiband Compressor plug-in are of the Linear Phase variety. This
allows you to split up the spectrum into bands and then sum them back
together with no phase errors or colorations.
Most typical limiters color the sound even if they are doing nothing, because
the splitting/re-combining of the bands is done with IIR (Infinite impulse
response) filters with phase shift.

For more information, see the LP-64 Multiband Compressor online help.

New Features in SONAR 7 1039

LP-64 Multiband Compressor Plug-in
 External Insert Plug-in
SONAR 7 includes a new plug-in called External Insert, which can be
inserted in any audio FX bin.
The purpose of this plug-in is to route audio to and from existing I/O ports in
SONAR, allowing an external audio device to be effectively patched into
any FX bin. This allows you to seamlessly incorporate your favorite
outboard gear in a SONAR project.
The External Insert plug-in is able to measure and automatically
compensate for the round-trip delay through your audio hardware (the time
it takes for the audio to exit you computer, be processed by your external
audio hardware and finally returned to the computer).
External Insert Interface
The left-hand side contains the hardware/external Send controls and the
right-hand side contains the hardware/external Return controls.
Send Stereo Mode buttons:
• L (Left)—This toggle enables/disables the left channel send output
(enabled by default).
• R (Right)—This toggle enables/disables the right channel send output
(enabled by default).
• Mono—This toggle sums the stereo signal to make it dual-mono so the
send output has the same audio on the left and right channels.
Send Level—This is a +/- 24dB trim to the level that is passed to the
external send. This parameter is automatable.
Send VU Meter—This meter shows the signal level being delivered to the
external send. Since this is feeding a sound card output, it is important to
avoid clipping at this stage.
Send Port Picker—This control lets you choose an audio output that
currently has nothing routed to it. This is the port that you should connect to
the input(s) of your external gear. All output ports that are already used in
the project are excluded (except for master buses that have other instances
of the External Insert plug-in routed to them).
Note: Output ports that are used by the External Insert plug-in are
excluded from all track and bus Output controls.
Return Phase Control—This control flips the phase of the signal being
returned to the external return input. This parameter is automatable.

1040 New Features in SONAR 7

External Insert Plug-in
Return Level—This is a +/- 24dB trim to the level that is passed from the
external send. This parameter is automatable.
Return VU Meter—This meter shows the signal level entering the external
return.
Return Port Picker—This control lets you choose any available hardware
input. This is the port you that you should connect to the output(s) of your
external gear. All input ports that are already used in the project are
excluded
Note: Input ports that are used by the External Insert plug-in are
excluded from all track and bus Input controls.
Delay Measurement—This control shows the last measured round-trip
delay through your audio hardware. Click the control to initiate a new
measurement.
Manual Delay Offset—The center control displays and resets the manual
delay offset. The buttons to the left decrease the manual offset by 1 or
10 milliseconds. The buttons to the right increase the manual offset by
1 or 10 milliseconds. All delay buttons are disabled during
playback.
Note 1: Time-based effects such as reverb and delay can artificially
increase the latency measurement. Before manually measuring the delay,
you may want to bypass the external gear (if Bypass is supported by your
external gear).
Note 2: The delay is automatically re-measured if the Audio Buffer size is
changed in the Audio Options dialog or if ports are changed.

New Features in SONAR 7 1041

External Insert Plug-in
 J I K

A E
B F
C G
D H

A. Send Stereo Mode (Left, Right, Mono) B. Send Level C. Send VU Meter D. Send
Port E. Return Phase F. Return Level G. Return VU Meter H. Return Port I. Delay
Measurement J. Send section K. Return section

External Insert signal flow

External Insert plug-in

Track/Bus output Bus

(mono or stereo)
Hardware input Hardware output
Return Send

Out In
External FX

Automatable Parameters
The External Insert plug-in exposes the following automatable parameters:
• Send Gain
• Return Gain
• Phase Invert

1042 New Features in SONAR 7

External Insert Plug-in
• Left Mute
• Right Mute
• Mono

See:
Automating Effects
To Use an External Effect in a SONAR Project
1. Make sure your external gear is connected to your audio interface and
turned on.
The external gear’s audio input must be connected to one of your audio
interface’s output ports and the external gear’s audio output must be
connected to one of your audio interface’s input ports.
2. Right-click an FX bin and select External Insert from the popup menu.
The External Insert property page appears.
3. Click the Send Port control and choose the audio port that is connected
to your external gear’s audio input.
4. Click the Return Port control and choose the audio port that is
connected to your external gear’s audio output.
5. Click the Delay Measurement control to measure the round-trip delay
through your audio hardware.
Note: Time-based effects such as reverb and delay can artificially
increase the latency measurement. Before manually measuring the
delay, you may want to bypass the external gear (if Bypass is supported
by your external gear).
6. Play back the project and adjust the Send and Return levels to obtain
the desired mix. You may also need to adjust levels on your external
gear.
Tip: The Send and Return levels, Phase and I/O port settings can be saved
as a preset. If you frequently use a specific external effect, save the settings
as a preset that can be quickly recalled in other projects.
Note: If you bounce audio in a project that uses the External Insert plug-in,
the bounce operation must be performed in real-time. For more information,
see Real-time Bounce.

New Features in SONAR 7 1043

External Insert Plug-in
 Loading a Project that uses the External Insert Plug-in
When you load a project with the External Insert plug-in (or select a preset
in the External Insert interface), SONAR checks to see if the exact same
ports are assigned as when the project was saved. SONAR’s port
assignments can change if you load the project on a different hardware
configuration or change driver models. If there is any discrepancy between
the port assignments that were saved and the ports that are used in the
current configuration, the ports are set to “None”. Doing so avoids
accidentally loading projects and having audio routed in an unexpected
way.
Bouncing Audio that Uses the External Insert Plug-in
If you bounce audio in a project that uses the External Insert plug-in, the
bounce operation must be performed in real-time.
When bouncing audio data, SONAR will automatically detect the presence
of any External Insert plug-ins (see External Insert Plug-in) in tracks or
buses, and disallow the bounce operation if the “Fast Bounce” mix option is
enabled.
If you need to bounce audio in a project that contains any External Insert
plug-ins, you have two choices:
• Disable Fast Bounce in the mixdown settings.
• Bypass all active External Insert plug-in's before bouncing.

See:
Real-time Bounce

Copying EQ Settings
SONAR 7 lets you easily copy EQ settings from one track/bus (source) to
another track/bus (target) when using the integrated per-channel EQ in the
Console View.
To Copy EQ Settings
1. Ctrl-click on the source EQ plot area and hold down the left mouse
button.
2. While still holding down the Ctrl key and left mouse button, drag the
mouse cursor over the EQ plot area on the target track.
3. Release the left mouse button and Ctrl key.

1044 New Features in SONAR 7

Copying EQ Settings
 The EQ settings are copied from the source track/bus to the target track/
bus. The target EQ will automatically be enabled if it was not already
enabled.
This command is undoable, so you can quickly and easily revert to a track/
bus’ previous EQ settings.
Note: You can only copy settings from an EQ that is enabled.

Before copy After copy

A B C

A. Hold down the Ctrl key and left-click in the source EQ plot B. While still holding
down the Ctrl key and left mouse button, drag the mouse cursor to the target EQ plot
and release the mouse button C. The source EQ plot is copied to the target EQ plot

Dim Solo Mode

Normally when you solo a track/bus in SONAR, the tracks or buses which
are not soloed are essentially muted. Dim Solo is a mode in which non-
soloed audio tracks/buses are still audible but at a reduced level. The
default gain reduction is -6dB, but can also be configured for -12dB and -
18dB.
Dim Solo is useful when you want to focus on a specific track but you still
want to edit/mix the track in context with the entire mix. This allows you to
hear all tracks while the soloed track stands out from non-soloed tracks.
Note: Dim Solo mode only applies to audio tracks and buses, not MIDI
tracks.
To Enable/Disable Dim Solo
When Dim Solo is enabled, non-soloed audio tracks will play at a reduced
gain rather than 0 gain (mute).
To enable/disable Dim Solo mode, do one of the following:

New Features in SONAR 7 1045

Dim Solo Mode
 • Click the Dim Solo button in the Playback State toolbar. The button
lights up when enabled. For more information, see The Playback State
Toolbar.

A. Dim Solo enable/disable toggle

• Assign Dim Solo Mode to a key binding and use the key binding to
enable/disable Dim Solo mode.
The Dim Solo Mode function is listed in the Global Bindings context.
For more information, see Key Bindings.

The Dim Solo enable/disable state is saved with each project.

To Configure Dim Solo Level
When Dim Solo mode is enabled, the amount of gain reduction applied to
non-soloed tracks or buses is specified in the Audio Options dialog.
1. Select Options-Audio to open the Audio Options dialog and click the
General tab.
2. Set the Dim Solo Gain setting to either -6dB, -12dB or -18dB and click
OK.
The Dim Solo dB setting is saved with each project.

See:
Soloing Tracks
The Playback State Toolbar
Audio Options dialog—General

1046 New Features in SONAR 7

Dim Solo Mode
 Key Bindings

Allow Playback with No Data

SONAR is now able to start playback even if there is no data in a project.
This is useful in various cases, such as:
• If you need to trigger playback of external devices.
• If you need to continue playback beyond the end of the project, for
example, to allow MIDI notes and sustains to decay naturally and not
end abruptly.
Stop at Project End Option
The Stop at Project End global option determines whether or not playback
is allowed beyond the last event in a project. This option is enabled by
default.
When enabled (default setting):
• Playback will not engage if there is no data present in the project at all.
• Playback will stop when no more data is present going forward.
When disabled:
• Playback will engage if there is no data present in the project at all.
• Playback will continue past the end of a project until the user manually
stops playback.
To Allow Playback With No Data
Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog, and
on the General tab, make sure that the Stop at Project End checkbox is
not checked.

Reduce GUI Updates to Improve

Playback Performance
SONAR 7 introduces a new CPU conservation mode that reduces the
number of GUI updates with no effect on actual playback quality and
rendering. This maximizes CPU resources for the audio engine and can be
useful while playing projects that consume a lot of CPU, to help avoid
dropouts.

New Features in SONAR 7 1047

Allow Playback with No Data
 Like the Scroll Lock key, the Pause key now works as a special GUI
throttle toggle key. When the Pause key is pressed, SONAR runs in a CPU
conservation mode by reducing the frequency of GUI updates. For
example, VU meter updates, Now position pointer and progress updates
will appear to update less frequently.
During CPU conservation mode, the UI is only updated once per second.
This mode can also be helpful to conserve CPU while doing a real-time
bounce (see Real-time Bounce).
Note: There is no indicator in SONAR when CPU conservation mode is
active, and most computer keyboards do not show the state of the Pause
button. If the GUI does not update smoothly and you did not intentionally
enable CPU conservation mode, press the Pause key to make sure you
didn’t inadvertently put SONAR in CPU conservation mode.

Real-time Bounce
SONAR 7 introduces a few changes to how the Bounce command works in
regards to the “Fast Bounce” Mix Enable setting. These changes were
primarily made in order to be able to render tracks/buses containing the
External Insert plug-in, but may be beneficial in other situations as well.
When Fast Bounce is Enabled
When Fast Bounce is enabled, the bounce operation is performed by
streaming audio as fast as possible through all mixers and buses in the
project. During a fast bounce operation, all hardware outputs are
temporarily disabled and the bounce is performed silently.
Note: There is no sonic degradation by performing a fast bounce since it
uses the same operation that is performed during normal playback.
There are a few limitations to the Fast Bounce operation:
• You cannot perform a fast bounce if the audio contains any External
Insert plug-ins. Since the External Insert plug-in is typically used to
receive audio from external hardware, SONAR’s audio output must be
sent to the external hardware in real-time. SONAR will display an error
message if you attempt to bounce audio that is routed to the External
Insert plug-in.
• Certain software instruments, such as samplers, cannot process audio
faster than real-time and will produce glitches when operated in fast
bounce mode.
• Some hardware-based DSP effects have trouble with fast bounce.

1048 New Features in SONAR 7

Real-time Bounce
When Fast Bounce is Disabled
When Fast Bounce is disabled, the bounce is performed in real-time by
actually playing back the project audibly in similar fashion to standard
playback. In real-time bounce mode, all audio hardware inputs and outputs
are active in order to allow I/O to external hardware inserts.
If you manually stop playback during the bounce operation, SONAR will
prompt you if you want to keep or cancel the bounce.
Audible Bounce
When Fast Bounce is disabled, the real-time bounce operation can be
performed either silently or audibly.
The following dialogs have a new Audible Bounce option:
• Bounce to Track(s) dialog
• Export Audio dialog
• Export Video mix options
• Apply Audio Effects dialog
• Freeze Options dialog
When Audible Bounce is unchecked, no audio output will be heard during
the bounce process. When in real-time bounce mode (Fast Bounce
unchecked) and Audible Bounce is enabled, you can hear the output of the
mixdown.
Note: Depending on the gainstages used in the project and the mixdown
options selected–such as bouncing with source category assigned to
Tracks, or with mute/solo or automation disabled in the bounce settings or
while freezing tracks–the output may be louder or softer than during normal
playback. Please be sure to turn down the master output level before using
real-time audible bounce under these scenarios to avoid the possibility of
speaker damage.
Improve Real-Time Bounce Performance
When performing a real-time bounce operation, you can use the Pause
button as a toggle to temporarily reduce the frequency of GUI updates. This
maximizes CPU resources for the audio engine and can be useful while
playing projects that consume a lot of CPU, to help avoid dropouts.
For more information, see Reduce GUI Updates to Improve Playback
Performance.

New Features in SONAR 7 1049

Real-time Bounce
 Bouncing/Freezing with Sidechain Plug-ins
Sidechain inputs are not automatically included when you bounce a
selection. If you want to bounce the output of a single track that contains a
sidechain plug-in, the easiest solution is to also select all tracks that
contribute to the plug-in’s sidechain input, and do a bounce with Fast
Bounce disabled and the Source Category set to “Tracks”.
Note: Freezing a track with sidechain inputs will not include the sidechain
input. If you need to free up CPU on a track that includes a sidechain, use
the bounce command with all sidechain sources explicitly selected in the
mix.

See:
Sidechaining
External Insert Plug-in
Bouncing Tracks
Bouncing to Clips

Modification to Track Export

Exporting Tracks with No Selection
In SONAR 6 and earlier, when you bounce (mix down) audio with no
selection, SONAR will assume you want to bounce the entire duration of
the project. This is the desired behavior for most applications, except when
the source category is set to Tracks.
When the source category is Tracks and you bounce or export audio,
SONAR 6 (and earlier versions) bounces the contents of each track to a
separate wave file and all wave files are extended to the exact duration of
the longest track in the project. This is undesirable for a few reasons,
including:
• If you have a track with just a small clip on it, a lot of disk space is
wasted by adding silence at the beginning and/or end of the wave file.
• If you are working on a CD mastering project where each track is a
separate song to be eventually burned to a CD, exporting the project
with the source category set to Tracks won’t quite give you the desired
results. Since all tracks will be of the same duration, the songs won’t
integrate properly with SONAR’s new CD burning option.

1050 New Features in SONAR 7

Modification to Track Export
 New Behavior in SONAR 7
If the source category is Tracks when you bounce or export audio with no
selection in SONAR 7, each wave file will be exactly the same duration as
the original source track.
Note: There is no change to the behavior when you export with a selection.
In that case the selection is honored.

64-bit timeline
SONAR 7 introduces a 64-bit timeline, which allows you to have very long
project durations with high sample rates.
All audio events in a project have a specific sample position on the timeline.
Since the value of the sample position is proportionate to the sample rate of
the project, the maximum permissible duration of a project will vary based
on the project’s sample rate.
The table below compares the maximum project duration at various sample
rates in SONAR 6 and SONAR 7.

Sample Rate... SONAR 6... SONAR 7...

44,100 Hz 13.52 hours 2,420,680,071 days

48,000 Hz 12.42 hours 2,223,999,815 days

88,200 Hz 6.76 hours 1,210,340,035 days

96,000 Hz 6.21 hours 1,111,999,907 days

192,000 Hz 3.10 hours 555,999,953 days

Max # of measures 9,999 559,240

New Features in SONAR 7 1051

64-bit timeline
 Wave file I/O in previous versions of SONAR was based on the RIFF file
format, which references samples using a 32-bit timeline.
As you can see, using a 32-bit timeline at large sample rates provides just a
few hours worth of time before the 32-bit sample timeline limit is reached.
While this might not be an issue for typical projects, it is a big problem for
users who use SONAR for post production, video or even those who import
Broadcast waves. Often a Broadcast Wave file might be inserted at a large
sample offset if it originated from a system that was using a large SMPTE
offset.
SONAR 7 addresses these issues by switching to a 64-bit sample timeline
and fully supporting the Sony Wave-64 wave file format (see Sony Wave-64
Support).

Sony Wave-64 Support

Previous versions of SONAR wrote wave files based on the RIFF wave file
format. The RIFF format has an inherent file size limitation of 2GB.
SONAR 7 fully supports reading and writing to the Sony Wave-64 format,
which has a limit of 8,388,608 terabytes!
SONAR 7 only creates Wave-64 file when needed. The Wave-64 format
allows an application to dynamically switch from classic RIFF WAVE to
Wave-64 format even if the data was originally created as a RIFF wave file.
SONAR detects when a file will exceed 2GB and will dynamically switch to
the new Wave-64 format.
The table below shows the maximum duration for a stereo WAVE file
before we hit the 2GB limit, as well as the max duration for a stereo Wave-
64 file before we hit the 8,388,608 terabyte limit.

Sample Rate... Bit Depth... RIFF-Wave... Sony Wave-64...

44,100 Hz 16 3.38 hours 14,524,080,431 days

44,100 Hz 32 1.69 hours 7,262,040,215 days

44,100 Hz 64 50.7 minutes 3,631,020,108 days

192,000 Hz 16 46 minutes 3,335,999,724 days

1052 New Features in SONAR 7

Sony Wave-64 Support
Sample Rate... Bit Depth... RIFF-Wave... Sony Wave-64...

192,000 Hz 32 23.3 minutes 1,667,999,862 days

192,000 Hz 64 11.65 minutes 833,999,931 days

When Wave-64 Files are Created

Wave-64 files are created behind the scenes automatically under the
following usage scenarios:
• When the number of samples recorded exceeds the file size limit of a
32-bit RIFF WAV file (approximately 2GB file size).
• When you export, bounce or freeze tracks or clips and the resultant
wave size exceeds 2GB.
• When you destructively process audio effects on a SONAR 7 clip
whose duration exceeds 2GB.
• When you import audio and choose a wave file that exceeds 2GB in
size (this could be a Wave-64 file).
• When you save a CWB file and the size of any chunk in the CWB file
exceeds 2GB, the entire CWB is saved in the new Wave-64 format.
Note: 64-bit CWB files are incompatible with previous versions of
SONAR.
64-bit CWB Files
CWB files are RIFF files with multiple WAVE chunks. Therefore, CWB files
in previous versions of SONAR were subject to the same file size limitations
of normal RIFF Wav files. This could potentially result in a CWB file that
failed to save because a chunk was too large.
SONAR 7 will automatically use the Wave-64 format if a CWB file exceeds
2GB.
Note: 64-bit CWB files are incompatible with previous versions of SONAR.
New Wave-64 File Extension
Wave-64 files have a “.w64” extension associated with them. Whenever a
Wave-64 file is written, SONAR saves it with an extension of w64.
The following file-open dialogs or wave browsers have been changed to
include this new type as a valid wave file source.
• File-Import-Audio.
• Loop Explorer view file filter (you can now load w64 format files as

New Features in SONAR 7 1053

Sony Wave-64 Support
 loops).
• File-Export-Audio
CWP file persistence for 64-bit sample offsets
The SONAR project file format now supports writing 64-bit sample offsets
for regions and clips. When a project containing 64-bit sample times is
detected, saving that project automatically rewrites it in this new format.
Note: Projects that contain 64-bit sample times are incompatible with
SONAR 6 and earlier.

New Audio File Formats

SONAR 7 can import and export several new audio formats.

See:
New Import Formats
New Export Formats

New Import Formats

• Sony Wave64 (*.w64)—The Sony Wave64 file format is similar to the
RIFF format, but is a true 64-bit file format designed to overcome the
size limitations of the RIFF format.
For more information, see Sony Wave-64 Support.
• Apple AIFF (*.aif, *.aifc, *.aiff)—Audio Interchange File Format, co-
developed by Apple Inc., is most commonly used on Apple Macintosh
computer systems.
• NeXT/Sun (*.au, *.snd)—Au is the standard audio file format used by
Sun, Unix and Java. The audio in au files can be 8-bit or 16-bit PCM or
compressed with the µLaw, alaw or G729 codecs.
• FLAC (*.flac)—FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec, which is
somewhat similar to MP3, but lossless. Audio in a FLAC file is
compressed without any loss in quality.
• Sound Designer II (*.sd2)—Sound Designer II is the native format of
DigiDesign’s Sound Designer pro audio software and is also used
natively by Macromedia DECK II and many applications. SD2 files can
be mono or interleaved stereo.
• Core Audio Format (*.caf)—Core Audio Format is a new 64-bit audio

1054 New Features in SONAR 7

New Audio File Formats
 format supported natively in Mac OS X, and is also used by QuickTime
7. Audio in Core Audio Format files can be uncompressed PCM or
compressed (such as AAC).
Note: 24-bit AIFF and Next/Sun files are imported as 32-bit floating point
files. This is a lossless conversion.
See Importing Audio CD Tracks.

New Export Formats

• Sony Wave64 (*.w64)—The Sony Wave64 file format is similar to the
RIFF format, but is a true 64-bit file format designed to overcome the
size limitations of the RIFF format.
For more information, see Sony Wave-64 Support.
• Apple AIFF (*.aif)—Audio Interchange File Format, co-developed by
Apple Inc., is most commonly used on Apple Macintosh computer
systems.
• NeXT/Sun (*.au)—Au is the standard audio file format used by Sun,
Unix and Java. The audio in au files can be 8-bit or 16-bit PCM or
compressed with the µLaw, alaw or G729 codecs.
• FLAC (*.flac)—FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec, which is
somewhat similar to MP3, but lossless. Audio in a FLAC file is
compressed without any loss in quality.
• Sound Designer II (*.sd2)—Sound Designer II is the native format of
DigiDesign’s Sound Designer pro audio software and is also used
natively by Macromedia DECK II and many applications. SD2 files can
be mono or interleaved stereo.
• Core Audio Format (*.caf)—Core Audio Format is a new 64-bit audio
format supported natively in Mac OS X, and is also used by QuickTime
7. Audio in Core Audio Format files can be uncompressed PCM or
compressed (such as AAC).
• RAW (*.raw)—Rarely used, a RAW file can contain audio in any codec
but is usually used with PCM audio data.
See Preparing Audio for Distribution.

Encoding Options
After clicking the Export button, an additional dialog will appear showing
Extra Encoding Options. These options typically determine the bit depth,
endian-ness (the byte ordering in memory used to represent the data), and
an encoding type within the major file format.

New Features in SONAR 7 1055

New Audio File Formats
 Here is the master list of subformats now supported in SONAR 7:
AIFF (Apple/SGI) (extension “aiff”)
• Signed 8 bit PCM
• Signed 16 bit PCM
• Signed 24 bit PCM
• Signed 32 bit PCM
• Unsigned 8 bit PCM
• 32 bit float
• 64 bit float
• U-Law
• A-Law
• IMA ADPCM
• GSM 6.10
• 12 bit DWVW
• 16 bit DWVW
• 24 bit DWVW
AIFF (Apple/SGI) (extension “aif”)
• Signed 8 bit PCM
• Signed 16 bit PCM
• Signed 24 bit PCM
• Signed 32 bit PCM
• Unsigned 8 bit PCM
• 32 bit float
• 64 bit float
• U-Law

1056 New Features in SONAR 7

New Audio File Formats
• A-Law
• IMA ADPCM
• GSM 6.10
• 12 bit DWVW
• 16 bit DWVW
• 24 bit DWVW
AU (Sun/NeXT) (extension “au”)
• Signed 8 bit PCM
• Signed 16 bit PCM
• Signed 24 bit PCM
• Signed 32 bit PCM
• 32 bit float
• 64 bit float
• U-Law
• A-Law
• 32kbs G721 ADPCM
• 24kbs G723 ADPCM
CAF (Apple Core Audio File) (extension “caf”)
• Signed 8 bit PCM
• Signed 16 bit PCM
• Signed 24 bit PCM
• Signed 32 bit PCM
• 32 bit float
• 64 bit float
• U-Law
• A-Law
FLAC (FLAC Lossless Audio Codec) (extension “flac”)
• Signed 8 bit PCM
• Signed 16 bit PCM
• Signed 24 bit PCM

New Features in SONAR 7 1057

New Audio File Formats
 RAW (Headerless audio file) (extension “raw”)
• Signed 8 bit PCM
• Signed 16 bit PCM
• Signed 24 bit PCM
• Signed 32 bit PCM
• Unsigned 8 bit PCM
• 32 bit float
• 64 bit float
• U-Law
• A-Law
SD2 (Sound Designer II) (extension “sd2”)
• Signed 8 bit PCM
• Signed 16 bit PCM
• Signed 24 bit PCM
W64 (Sony Wave-64) (extension “w64”)
• Signed 16 bit PCM
• Signed 24 bit PCM
• Signed 32 bit PCM
• Unsigned 8 bit PCM
• 32 bit float
• 64 bit float
• U-Law
• A-Law
• IMA ADPCM
• Microsoft ADPCM
• GSM 6.10
WAV (Microsoft) (extension “wav”)
• Signed 16 bit PCM
• Signed 24 bit PCM
• Signed 32 bit PCM
• Unsigned 8 bit PCM

1058 New Features in SONAR 7

New Audio File Formats
 • 32 bit float
• 64 bit float
• U-Law
• A-Law
• IMA ADPCM
• Microsoft ADPCM
• GSM 6.10
• 32kbs G721 ADPCM

Preview Bus
Files in the Import Audio dialog box may now be selected and previewed in
any existing bus in SONAR.
To Preview a File
1. Select the desired output bus in the Preview bus combo box
2. Click on the file in the file explorer pane
3. Click the Play button.
4. During playback, the Play button becomes a Stop button. Click Stop to
stop playback.

See:
To Import an Audio File

Integrated Audio CD Ripping

The File-Import-Audio CD command lets you import tracks from audio
CD’s into any track of a project. Any number of CD tracks can be imported.
For each track selected, a new Audio track is created in the project.

New Features in SONAR 7 1059

Preview Bus
 The File-Import-Audio CD command supports CD Audio Track files
(extension .cda).
Audio tracks on a CD always have a bit depth of 16, but you can choose to
import the tracks at a higher bit depth if desired.

See:
Importing Audio CD Tracks

Cakewalk Publisher
You can use Publisher to create a customized streaming music player with
a playlist of your music, upload the player to your personal or band's web
site, and embed it in any other web site. You can also update your playlist
with album art, links (URLs), and artist, track, & album information.
Publisher works by connecting to your web host's FTP account (usually
provided when you sign up with a web hosting company and create a web
site) and uploading files to a location of your choosing. Once these files are
successfully transferred to your web site, Publisher generates a simple
HTML tag that you can paste into any other web site to embed and display
your audio player. For those familiar with it, the process is similar to
selecting images that are originally hosted on one web site and displaying
them on a different web site.

1060 New Features in SONAR 7

Cakewalk Publisher
 To Start Cakewalk Publisher
There are three ways to start Cakewalk Publisher:
• Click Tools-Cakewalk Publisher.
• When exporting audio as an MP3 file, enable the “Add to Cakewalk
Publisher” checkbox in the Export Audio dialog.
• Click Start-Programs-Cakewalk-Publisher-Cakewalk Publisher.
For more information about Cakewalk Publisher, see the Cakewalk
Publisher online help and Add to Cakewalk Publisher.

Burning Audio CDs

SONAR has integrated Audio CD burning, which allows you to write your
audio tracks to an audio CD that can be played in any standard CD player.
The Tools-Burn Audio CD command lets you burn your tracks to an audio
CD that you can play in any standard CD player.
For more information about the Tools-Burn Audio CD command, see
Audio CD Burner dialog and the Cakewalk Publisher online help

New Features in SONAR 7 1061

Burning Audio CDs
 Revert Clip(s) to Original Time Stamp
All audio and MIDI clips in SONAR have a new Original Time property,
which stores the original SMPTE time stamp associated with a clip. The
Original Time clip property is based on absolute time, not tempo. This
allows you to freely re-arrange clips and later revert them back to their
original time.
SONAR automatically assigns the Original Time property during import or
immediately after record. When an audio clip containing a SMPTE time
stamp is imported into SONAR (such as a Broadcast Wave file), the
Original Time field is populated with this time stamp. When opening
previous SONAR projects, existing clips will be populated with their current
time.
Note: The Original Time property can not be edited. If a clip is bounced to a
new clip, the Original Time stamp will not propagate to the new clip.

A B

A. Original Time property B. Click to revert clip to the original time stamp

To Revert Clip(s) to Original Time Stamp

To revert selected clips to their original SMPTE time stamp, do one of the
following:
• Choose Edit-Revert Clip(s) to Original Time Stamp.
• Right-click a clip and choose Revert Clip(s) to Original Time Stamp
from the context menu.
• Open the Clip Properties dialog and click Revert. See Clip Properties
dialog—General.

Import Audio / MIDI Files from Clips

1062 New Features in SONAR 7

Revert Clip(s) to Original Time Stamp
Pane
It is now possible to import audio and MIDI files via the Clips pane context
menu. Imported files are inserted at the Now time.
To Import Audio/MIDI Files
1. In the Clips pane, right-click the track to which you want to import an
audio or MIDI file.
The Clips pane context menu appears.
2. Do one of the following:
• Select Import Audio to import an audio file.
• Select Import MIDI to import a MIDI file.

See:
Importing Music and Sound
The File-Import-Audio CD command opens the Import Audio CD Tracks
dialog. Use this command to import an audio CD track (extension .cda) into
your project.
For more information about CD ripping, see Import Audio CD Tracks dialog.

File Recovery Mode

SONAR 5 introduced a special diagnostic mode called Safe Mode to fix
problems with project files that would not open. Safe mode is activated
when you open a file while the Shift key is pressed. SONAR 7 significantly
enhances this functionality. To reflect this change in behaviour, Safe Mode
is now referred to as File Recovery Mode.
In certain rare circumstances, on attempting to open a project file you may
see the following error message:
"This file you are trying to open is not compatible with this version of
SONAR".
This message indicates that SONAR detected errors in the project file and
was unable to open it. This normally indicates that your project file has data
corruption.
Data corruption on a DAW can occur due to various reasons, a few of which
are listed below:

New Features in SONAR 7 1063

File Recovery Mode
 • Your hard drive might suffer data loss.
• Windows delayed writes might fail leading to data corruption.
• Many hard disks have a "write through cache" buffer for efficiency.
Occasionally this write through buffer might not get flushed due to a
driver error or system crash. In such cases data might not be flushed to
your hard driver causing corrupt files (SONAR requests Windows to
flush this buffer after a file save operation).
• A plugin can corrupt the SONAR's memory space causing invalid data
to be written to disk when the project is saved.
• During a file save the system can crash. In such situations you will have
a truncated file on disk.
You save a "recovery file" through SONAR's crash exception dialog. When
a crash occurs in SONAR you are presented with this dialog allowing you to
attempt to save a recovery file. While this works most of the time,
occasionally SONAR may be in a compromised state due to memory
corruption. Under these circumstances, saving a file might cause a crash or
the file might contain invalid data.
In general, the best insurance against the data corruption scenarios above
is to follow standard safe computing practices to guard against data loss
(keep regular backups, use autosave with versioning, etc). However,
occasionally you may be faced with a situation where you do not have a
backup copy of a critical project that now fails to open.
SONAR's File Recovery Mode offers a means to help recover data from
damaged project files.
To Use File Recovery Mode
Do one of the following:
• 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.
What does File Recovery Mode do?
File Recovery Mode applies the following behavior when opening a project
file:
• Opens only the Track view, skipping all other opened views in the
project including effects windows, Console View etc.
• 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

1064 New Features in SONAR 7

File Recovery Mode
 others.
Important: if you choose to not open a plug-in, that plug-in is stripped
out of the project, so resaving the file will cause a loss of any project
specific settings for that plug-in.
• Ignores various strict error checks that would normally prevent a file
from loading (only applies when the original project fails to load
normally).
• Detects corrupt data and skips over "chunks" that are found to be
invalid. E.g., if a track/event is detected to contain invalid data, SONAR
will attempt to skip over that track/event and proceed to load the next
track/event (only applies when the original project fails to load
normally).
In many cases, File Recovery Mode may be able to open damaged projects
with minimal data loss. However, the level of success depends on the
nature and extent of the data corruption, so the results are not predictable.
As a result of this, after opening a damaged project in File Recovery Mode,
you must carefully observe whether your settings have been retained or if
the project exhibits other problems. If you notice problems you shoud copy
and paste the critical data from the recovered file into a brand new empty
project to start clean.
Important: Since File Recovery Mode ignores many critical error checks
while loading a file, depending on the nature of the data corruption in the
file, it is possible that opening a file with File Recovery Mode might cause
SONAR to crash or become unresponsive. Please ensure that you save all
your current work and close all open projects before attempting to open a
file with File Recovery Mode.
After loading a file with File Recovery Mode, it is recommended that you
resave the file—preferably with a new name—and then shut down and
restart SONAR before proceeding.

New Features in SONAR 7 1065

File Recovery Mode
1066 New Features in SONAR 7
File Recovery Mode
Cyclone
Overview
Using Cyclone

Overview
Click on the links below to learn more about Cyclone.
 Trash
button Play button
Pad
Export Stop button
Sound Pad Group
Bank Auto Preview button

Import Volume knob

Sound
Bank

Pan knob
loops

Sync button

Loop button
Key Map
view tab

Track
handles

selected Tracks
pad

Cyclone Toolbar
Pad Groups
Pad Inspector
Loop View and Key Map View
Pad Editor
Slice Inspector

Cyclone Toolbar
The following graphic shows each of Cyclone’s toolbar buttons:

1068 Cyclone
Overview
 Export
Sound
Bank Preview
Import
Sound Auto Preview
Bank

Trash Stop

The following table describes each of Cyclone’s buttons:

Button... Description...

Import Sound Opens the Open dialog so you can load an existing Sound
Bank Bank.

Export Sound Opens the Save As dialog to save the current settings as a
Bank Sound Bank (.CYC).

Trash Clears the contents of the project.

Preview Plays the selected pads or slices.

Stop Stops playback.

Auto Preview When Auto Preview is on, you can preview the sound of a
slice by clicking a slice in the Loop view or an event by
clicking an event in the Pad Editor. Also, you can click and
drag a slice over events in the Pad Editor, releasing the
mouse button when you hear the event you want to replace.

Pad Groups
The following graphic shows a close-up of a Cyclone pad group:

Cyclone 1069
Overview
 Volume
Pan
Pad

Load Loop

Mute Sync
Solo

A Pad Group in Cyclone has the following controls:

Control... Description...

Pad The trigger for playing a loop.

Volume knob Adjusts the volume of the Pad Group. The volume value is
displayed in the Pad Inspector.

Pan knob Adjusts the pan of the Pad Group. The pan value is
displayed in the Pad Inspector.

File Load button Opens the Open dialog where you can navigate to the
directory or directories where you store your files.

Mute button Mutes the playback of the Pad Group.

Solo button When selected, only that Pad Group plays.

Sync button Synchronizes the playback of the Pad Group to SONAR.

When selected, the Pad Group follows SONAR’s tempo and
pitch.

Loop button When selected, the playback of the Pad Group repeats
continuously.

Pad Inspector
The Pad Inspector has additional pad group controls:

1070 Cyclone
Overview
 Select an
audio output

Click to enable
tails for current
track
Click to toggle on/
Click to force off Latch mode
Cyclone to follow
SONAR’s Pitch
markers

In the Pad Inspector there are the following controls:

Control… Description…
Output You can select from one of 16 audio outputs or use the
Mix Only setting to use the Master out.

MIDI In You can set which MIDI channel the pad group
responds to. Each pad group could have a unique MIDI
Input channel.

Pad Root This setting is read from the file when it is imported. The
first loop sets the Pad Root value for each additional
loop.

Velocity—Low The minimum velocity value that triggers the pad group.

Velocity—High The maximum velocity value that triggers the pad group.

Key Map—Unity The MIDI note value at which the loop plays at the Pad
Root pitch. This value is assigned to a loop when it is
imported. You can change the Unity value in the Pad
Inspector or in the Key Map view.

Cyclone 1071
Overview
 Control… Description…
Key Map—Low The lowest MIDI note value that triggers the pad group.
Both the Low and High not values transpose the pitch of
the loop if they are different from the Unity note value.
The transposition is relative to the Unity note. The
played pitch of the loop is not same as the MIDI note
that triggers it unless the Unity note and the Pad Root
note are the same.

Key Map—High The highest MIDI note value that triggers the pad group.

Tails The tails feature extends the “tail” or decay of a slice

which may otherwise have ended prematurely, drowned
out by the next slice. This is particularly useful when you
substitute a longer slice with a shorter one leaving room
for a tail to sound.

Latch The Latch option gives you a second mode for triggering
pads. In Latch mode, a Groove Clip plays continuously
when triggered until it is triggered again. With Latch
mode disabled, a pad only plays as long as the key or
mouse button is held and stops when you release. If you
want to set all pads to the same Latch state, hold down
the Shift key while setting the Latch for any one pad.

Pitch Markers This option forces Cyclone to follow SONAR’s Pitch

markers. When a Pitch marker is encountered, the loop
is transposed by the same number of semi-tones as the
pitch change in SONAR.

Loop Bin
The Loop bin, located right below the Cyclone toolbar, is where you can
place loops you want to use in Cyclone. From the Loop bin you can drag
and drop loops onto a Pad or into the Pad Editor.

1072 Cyclone
Overview
 Click to delete selected loop

Click to load a loop

Current Loop

Loops

Loop View and Key Map View

The Loop view displays the content of the loop you have selected in the
Loop bin. If the loop is an ACIDized loop, the loop’s transient markers
separate the file’s slices. From the Loop view, you can drag a slice onto an
event in the Pad Editor.

Click to
open the
Key Map
view

Loop View Slices

The Key Map view shares the same space in Cyclone as the Loop view.
You toggle between the two views by clicking on one of the tabs to the left
of whichever view is displayed. The keyboard in the Key Map view shows
the Unity note (in orange) and the range of notes that trigger the pad group
(in blue). Drag the Unity note to change its value. Drag the white triangles to
extend the range of MIDI note values that trigger the pad group.

Cyclone 1073
Overview
 Key Map Low Key Map High

Curren
t Loop

Unity note -- plays

loop at the Pad Root Key Map range appears in blue
pitch
Key Map View

Pad Editor
The Pad Editor displays up to 16 “tracks,” one for each pad in Cyclone.
Each track has the same number as the pad it represents. Each track is
made up of events. An event represents a slice of a ACIDized loop, or in the
case of standard wave files, it represents the entire file. Each track in the
Pad Editor can be made up of slices from any number of different files.
Each track in the Pad Editor terminates with a Track Handle. A Track
Handle marks the point at which the track loops back to the beginning. You
can move Track Handles using the mouse to any point in the Pad Editor,
shortening or lengthening the length of the track.

Slice Inspector
The Slice Inspector has pitch, gain and pan offset controls. You can change
the pitch of the slices in a loop to change the melody of the loop. If you want
to edit multiple slices at the same time, select multiple slices by Shift-
selecting them and adjust the controls you want.

Using Cyclone
Cyclone is a multi-output synth, and you launch it the same way you launch
other synth’s: by inserting it into a SONAR project. There are two basic
ways to insert synths in SONAR:
• You can insert 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 audio and MIDI tracks, and patch them
together correctly. If you want to use multiple audio tracks to take
advantage of SONAR’s multi-output support, you need to create and
patch additional MIDI tracks manually to feed the additional audio
tracks.

1074 Cyclone
Using Cyclone
• You can insert synths into Fx bins of individual audio tracks. If you use
this method, you need to set a MIDI track’s Output field to the name of
the synth you inserted. Then you can record MIDI data in the MIDI track
to play the synth with. This method does not allow you to use multiple
outputs.
For step by step instructions, see Inserting Soft SynthsMulti-port Soft
SynthsConverting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio.
Inserting Soft Synths
Synth Rack View
Multi-port Soft Synths
Playing a Soft Synth
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio
Muting and Soloing Soft Synth Tracks
To Remove A Soft Synth from a Track or Bus
Note: This documentation refers to any audio data that you can import into
Cyclone as loops, referring to ACIDized loops and standard Wave files.
To Load Loops into Cyclone
• Click the folder icon that’s on the Loop bin to display the Open dialog.
Select a loop and click Open. Cyclone loads the loop into the Loop bin.
OR
• Click a folder icon that’s on a particular Pad that you want to load a loop
into. When the Open dialog appears, select a loop and click Open.
Cyclone loads the loop into both the Pad where you clicked the folder
icon and the Loop bin.
OR
• Drag a loop into Cyclone from SONAR‘s Clips pane or Loop Explorer
view.
Note: ACIDized and Riff Wave files imported into Cyclone can not be
more than 64 beats long. Regular wave files are limited to 30 seconds.
Cyclone does not support 8-bit files.
To Audition Loops
• Select a loop in the Loop bin, and then click Cyclone’s Play button.
To Play Loops
1. Assign a loop to a pad or pads (see To Assign a Loop to a Pad).

Cyclone 1075
Using Cyclone
 2. Select the pad or pads you want to play by clicking on them.
3. Click the Preview button to play the selected pads.
If the Loop button for that pad is depressed the loop plays indefinitely;
you can stop it by clicking the Pad again.
If the Loop button is not depressed, the loop stops when it reaches the
end of its original length. You can stop it before then by clicking the
Pad.
You can also trigger the Pads with a MIDI controller, or with recorded MIDI
data.
To Play a Loop in Latch Mode
1. Assign a loop to a Pad (see To Assign a Loop to a Pad).
2. In the Pad Editor, select the track you want to loop in Latch mode.
3. In the Pad Inspector, click the Latch control to enable it. The Latch
control indicator appears green when enabled.
4. Click the mouse on the pad to start the loop playing.
5. Click the mouse on the pad again to stop playing.
The loop stops playing as soon as you release the mouse button.
To Assign a Loop to a Pad
• Drag a loop from the Loop bin to a Pad.
OR
• Click a folder icon that’s on a particular Pad that you want to load a loop
into. When the Open dialog appears, select a loop and click Open.
Cyclone loads the loop into both the Pad where you clicked the folder
icon and the Loop bin.
OR
• Drag a loop onto a Pad from SONAR‘s Clips pane or Loop Explorer
view.
You can assign one loop per Pad.
To Synchronize a Loop to Cakewalk’s Tempo
• Click the Sync button that’s on the Pad that the loop is assigned to. The
Sync button lights up when it’s engaged.
To Set a Loop to Follow Cakewalk’s Pitch Markers
1. In the Pad Editor, select the track you want to follow pitch markers.

1076 Cyclone
Using Cyclone
2. In the Pad Inspector, click the Pitch Markers control. The Pitch Markers
control appears green when enabled.
To Assign MIDI Keys to a Pad
1. Click the Pad that you want to trigger.
2. Click the Keyboard button in the Loop view to display the Key Map
view.
The blue keys between the Pitch Range markers show what MIDI keys
trigger the Pad. The yellow key is the Root Note, which triggers the loop
at its original pitch.
3. Drag the edge of the Pitch Range (the blue keys within the white
triangle markers) to change the range of notes that trigger the loop. If
the loop’s pitch changing function is turned on, each MIDI key in the
trigger range transposes the loop by the trigger note’s distance from the
Root Note.
4. Drag the yellow key to change the Root Note. The Root note does not
have to be in the trigger range.
5. In the MIDI Chn field, choose the MIDI channel that the MIDI notes will
use to trigger this pad with.
You can assign the same key ranges to all the Pads if you want. You can
assign different velocity ranges to each pad, also.
To Assign a Velocity Range to a Pad
1. Click the Pad that you want to assign a velocity range to.
2. Click the Keyboard button in the Loop view to display the Key Map
view.
3. In the Velocity Low field, fill in the lowest velocity that you want to trigger
the Pad with.
4. In the Velocity High field, fill in the highest velocity that you want to
trigger the Pad with.
Now the Pad only plays its loop when the Pad receives a MIDI note within
its velocity range.
To Play a Pad with Recorded MIDI Data
1. Record some MIDI data into a SONAR MIDI track.
2. In the MIDI track’s Output field, choose Cyclone. Cyclone must have
been already inserted into the project in order for it to appear as a
choice in the Output field.

Cyclone 1077
Using Cyclone
 3. In the MIDI track’s Ch field, choose the number of the Cyclone Pad that
you want to trigger with this MIDI track.

Controlling Individual Pads—Volume, Pan,

Mute, Solo, Sync, Looping, and Content
Each Pad has the following controls:
• Volume knob—turn to adjust.
• Pan knob—turn to adjust.
• Folder icon—click this to import a loop to an individual Pad.
• Mute button—click this to mute or unmute the loop that’s assigned to an
individual Pad.
• Solo button—click this to solo or un-solo the loop that’s assigned to an
individual Pad.
• Sync button—click this to synchronize (or unsynchronize) the Pad’s
loop to SONAR‘s pitch and tempo.
• Loop button—click this to cause or prevent the Pad’s loop from
repeating indefinitely between its track length markers that are in the
Pad Editor.
To Export a Sound Bank
1. Click the Export Sound Bank button in the Cyclone toolbar.
The Save As dialog appears.
2. Navigate to the directory where you want to save the Sound Bank.
3. Enter a name for the Sound Bank.
4. Click OK.
Cyclone saves your Sound Bank. All wave files assigned to pads are
saved. You can choose that Sound Bank in any Cyclone project SONAR
automatically saves your current Cyclone settings, so you do not need to
save a Sound Bank unless you want to use these settings in a different
project.
To Import a Sound Bank
1. Click the Import Sound Bank button on the Cyclone toolbar.
The Open dialog appears.
2. Navigate to the directory where you saved your Sound Bank, select it
and click OK.

1078 Cyclone
Using Cyclone
Cyclone loads the loops and associated settings that make up the Sound
Bank you loaded.
To Clear the Contents of a Project
• Click the Trash icon in the Cyclone toolbar.
Cyclone deletes all loops from your project.

Mixing Down Cyclone

You mix down a Cyclone session the same ways you mix down any synth.
For step-by-step instructions, see Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to
Audio.

Loop Editing
Clicking a loop in the Loop bin displays that loop in the Loop view. The Loop
view displays the selected loop as a series of slices that separate the
transients in the loop. When the Auto-preview button is depressed, you can
click each of the slices to hear it. If the loop is assigned to a Pad, the slices
also appear in the Pad Editor as a series of events, which you can also
click to hear. Clicking an event in the Pad Editor also highlights the
corresponding slice in the Loop view.
You can drag slices from the Loop view to any position in any track in the
Pad Editor in order to add data to a Pad, or replace an already-existing
event If you can drag a slice along a series of events in the Pad Editor, if the
Auto-preview button is depressed, each event sounds as you drag across it,
enabling you to hear events before you decide to replace them.
To Add or Replace Parts of a Loop
1. In the Loop bin, click the loop that you want to use as source material.
2. Make sure that the Auto-preview button is on.
3. Drag the slice that you want to use from the Loop view to the slice or
empty space in the Pad Editor that you want to place the slice.
4. If you dragged to an area that’s to the right of the Track Length marker,
drag the marker to the right until it’s to the right of the new slice.
To Change the Length of a Track
• Drag the Track Length marker to the right or left to lengthen or shorten
the track, respectively. You can include empty space in your track. If
you depress the Loop button for that Pad (track), the track loops
continuously between the beginning of the track and the Track Length
marker.

Cyclone 1079
Using Cyclone
 To Set the Number of Divisions for a Slice
You can set the number of divisions in each slice. This controls how exact
the placement of your slices is within the Pad Editor. Each division
represents a place where a slice can “snap to” or begin.
1. In the Pad Editor, click the down arrow next to the Snap field.
2. From the dropdown menu that appears, select one of the following:
• None
• 1/beat
• 2/beat
• 3/beat
• 4/beat
• 8/beat
• 12/beat
• 16/beat
The number of divisions per beat in Cyclone is set.

Keyboard Shortcuts in Cyclone

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts in Cyclone and explains
what they do:

Keyboard Description…
Shortcut…
Shift selecting Hold the Shift key to select multiple slices in the Pad
Editor.

Shift drag Hold the Shift key while dragging to maintain a

slice’s time.

Ctrl drag Hold the Ctrl key while dragging to copy a slice.

Shift Ctrl drag Hold the Shift and Ctrl keys simultaneously while
dragging to copy the slice and maintain the slice’s
time.

1080 Cyclone
Using Cyclone
Keyboard Description…
Shortcut…
Left and Right arrows Turn on Auto Preview, select a slice in the Loop view
or Pad Editor, and use the left and right arrow keys
to listen to individual beats.

Undo and Redo

You can undo any edit you make in Cyclone. If you decide, after you have
used Undo, that you want the edit after all, you can Redo the edit. The
number of edits you can Undo and Redo in Cyclone is unlimited.
To Undo an Edit
Press the Ctrl+Z keys.
To Redo an Edit
Press the Shift+Ctrl+Z keys.

Cyclone 1081
Using Cyclone
1082 Cyclone
Using Cyclone
Menu Reference
Use the Contents or Search tabs to find the menu command topic you are looking for.

File-New
The File-New command opens the New Project File dialog box where you choose a
template for a new file. See New Project File dialog for more information.

See also:
To Create a New Project File

File-Open
The File-Open command opens the Open dialog box. Use the Open dialog to open an
existing project. See Open dialog for more information.

File-Revert
The File-Revert command opens the Revert dialog, which allows you to load an earlier
version of the current file. To use the Revert feature, file versioning must be enabled in the
Global Options dialog on the Autosave and Versioning tab.

File-Close
The File-Close command closes the current project. If multiple projects are open, the
project with focus is closed.
 File-Save
The File-Save command saves the current project. If multiple projects are
open, the project with the focus is saved.
For more information, see Saving Your Work.

File-Save As
The File-Save As command opens the Save As dialog where you can save
a project with the name, directory, and format you specify. The formats
available are:
• Normal—Also known as a Project file (extension .CWP)
• Bundle—Contains all the audio and MIDI data (extension .CWB)
• Template—Save project settings so you can use them with new
projects (extension .CWT)
• MIDI Format 0—Standard MIDI File that has all channels merged into
one track.
• MIDI Format 1—Standard MIDI File that keeps each channel on a
separate track.
• Riff MIDI Format 0—Riff MIDI File of Format 0.
• Riff MIDI Format 1—Riff MIDI File of Format 1.

See also:
Saving Your Work
Labeling Your Projects
To Display and Edit Project Information
File Statistics

File-Info
The File-Info command opens the File Info dialog box where you can enter
information about your project, including author, title and copyright. For
more information, see File Info dialog.

1084 Menu Reference

File-Save
File-Project Audio Files
The File-Project Audio Files command opens the Project Files dialog. For
information, see Project Files dialog.

File-Import-Audio
The File-Import-Audio command lets you import digital audio information
stored in wave file format into any track (or, for stereo, two tracks) of a
project.
The File-Import-Audio command supports the following digital audio file
types:
• Wave (extension .wav)
• MPEG (extensions .MPEG, .MPG, .MP2, and .MP3)
• Windows Media files (extension .WMA)
• Apple AIFF (extensions .AIF and .AIFF)
• MS Streaming Format (extension .AMS)
• Audio files (extensions .AU and .SND)
The sampling rate for a project is set based on your default sampling rate. 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 project’s sampling rate.

See:
Importing Audio CD Tracks

File-Import-Audio CD
The File-Import-Audio CD command lets you import tracks from audio
CD’s into any track of a project. Any number of CD tracks can be imported.
For each track selected, a new Audio track is created in the project.
The File-Import-Audio CD command supports CD Audio Track files
(extension .cda).
Audio tracks on a CD always have a bit depth of 16, but you can choose to
import the tracks at a higher bit depth if desired.
See:

Menu Reference 1085

File-Project Audio Files
 Importing Audio CD Tracks

File-Import-Video File
SONAR's File-Import-Video File command lets you include an AVI,
MPEG, or QuickTime video in your project. This video is shown in real time
as your project plays. The Video view displays the current 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.

See:
Video Playback, Import, and Export

File-Import-MIDI
The File-Import-MIDI command opens the Import MIDI dialog. You must
first select a MIDI track to make the command available. This dialog lets
you import MIDI files and Project5 patterns.
For more information, see Exporting, and Importing MIDI Groove Clips.

File-Export-Audio
The File-Export-Audio command lets you save and export your projects
as MP3 files and other types of formats.
For more information about the File-Export-Audio command, see
Preparing Audio for Distribution.

See also:
Routing and Mixing Digital Audio

File-Export-Video
Use the File-Export-Video command to combine the audio data and any
video data in your SONAR project into an .avi file, Windows Media Video

1086 Menu Reference

File-Import-Video File
 file, or QuickTime file. The audio in your project is mixed down automatically
and saved with the video in the new file.
For more information about video files, see Video Playback, Import, and
Export and Preparing Audio for Distribution.

File-Export-MIDI Groove Clip

The File-Export-MIDI Groove Clip command opens the Export MIDI
Groove Clip dialog. You must first select a MIDI Groove Clip to make the
command available.
For more information, see Exporting, and Importing MIDI Groove Clips.

File-Export-OMF
SONAR's File-Export-OMF command opens the Export OMF dialog.

File-Export-Track Template
This command opens the Export Track Template dialog. Use this command
to save a track template using the currently selected track as a template.
For more information about track presets, see Track Templates.

File-Print
The File-Print command opens your system’s Print dialog box.

File-Print Preview
The File-Print Preview command opens the SONAR Print window, where
you can view your document before you print it.

File-Print Setup
The File-Print Setup command opens your system’s Print Setup dialog
box.

Menu Reference 1087

File-Export-MIDI Groove Clip
 File-Send
The File-Send command opens a blank e-mail message and attaches the
current project.
Note: If you send a project file (extension .CWP) and your project contains
audio data, the audio data is not attached along with the project file. If you
want to send a project that contains both MIDI and audio data, use the
bundle file format (extension .CWB). For more information, see Saving Your
Work.

File-Recent File
The recent file list at the bottom of the File menu lets you choose any file
you have opened recently. Choosing a file in the list opens it immediately.

File-Exit
The File-Exit command closes SONAR. If you have made any changes
since the last time you saved any of the open projects, SONAR prompts
you to save the changes.

Edit-Undo
The Edit-Undo command reverses your last action. Successive Undoes
cancel preceding actions in reverse order. To redo the action, see Edit-
Redo.

Edit-Redo
The Edit-Redo command cancels a just-previous Undo command.

Edit-History
The Edit-History command opens the Undo History dialog which displays
a history of your editing actions. You can set how many editing actions you
want the Undo History dialog to store by changing the number in the
Maximum Undo Steps field. The default value is 128.
See:

1088 Menu Reference

File-Send
 Undo, Redo, and the Undo History

Edit-Select-All
The Edit-Select-All command selects everything in all open views. Any
action affects all selected objects.
See:
Selecting and Editing Events

Edit-Select-None
The Edit-Select-None command cancels all selections, with the result that
nothing is selected.
See:
Selecting and Editing Events

Edit-Select-By Filter
The Edit-Select-By Filter command lets you change a selection to keep
only events with the criteria you specify.
For more information, see Searching for Events.
See also:
Selecting and Editing Events
Event Filter Select Some/Search/Replace dialog

Edit-Select-By Time
The Edit-Select-By Time command lets you specify times from which and
through which SONAR selects.
To select partial clips by time, see To Select Partial Clips Using Time
Ranges and Tracks.
See also:
Select By Time dialog

Menu Reference 1089

Edit-Select-All
 Edit-Select-From = Now
The Edit-Select-From = Now command lets you specify the Now time as
the time from which a selection extends.
The From and Thru times you select appear in the Select toolbar in the
From and Thru fields. If you select a whole measure, the Thru time is the
start of the next measure, which actually makes it a “to” time and not a
“through” time.

Edit-Select-Thru = Now
The Edit-Select-Thru = Now command lets you specify the Now time as
the time through which a selection extends.
The From and Thru times you select appear in the Select toolbar in the
From and Thru fields. If you select a whole measure, the Thru time is the
start of the next measure, which actually makes it a “to” time and not a
“through” time.

Edit-Select-From = Start
The Edit-Select-From = Start command lets you specify the start of a
piece as the time from which a selection extends.
The From and Thru times you select appear in the Select toolbar in the
From and Thru fields. If you select a whole measure, the Thru time is the
start of the next measure, which actually makes it a “to” time and not a
“through” time.

Edit-Select-Thru = End
The Edit-Select-Thru = End command lets you specify the end of a piece
as the time through which a selection extends.
The From and Thru times you select appear in the Select toolbar in the
From and Thru fields. If you select a whole measure, the Thru time is the
start of the next measure, which actually makes it a “to” time and not a
“through” time.

Edit-Select-Select Track Envelopes

1090 Menu Reference

Edit-Select-From = Now
with Selected Clips
Clicking the dropdown arrow that’s on the right side of the Select tool button
in the Track view toolbar pops up a menu to select track envelopes. When
you enable this function, the menu option has a checkmark next to it. That
means when you select a clip in the Clips pane, any track envelopes in that
track get selected too.

Edit-Cut
The Edit-Cut command lets you remove from the project and put on the
clipboard any selected objects. You can specify the kinds of objects to cut in
the Cut dialog.
You can paste the contents of the clipboard elsewhere.
See Edit-Paste.
See also:
Moving and Copying Clips
Erasing Tracks

Edit-Copy
The Edit-Copy command lets you put on the clipboard any selected
objects. You can specify the kinds of objects to copy in the Copy dialog.
You can paste the contents of the clipboard elsewhere. See Edit-Paste.
To remove rather than copy objects, see Edit-Cut.
To make copies of linked clips, see Splitting and Combining Clips.
See also:
Moving and Copying Clips
Working with Partial Clips
Importing MIDI Files

Menu Reference 1091

Edit-Cut
 Edit-Paste
The Edit-Paste command lets you put the contents of the clipboard into
any appropriate place in your project. You can specify what, where, and
how to paste in the Paste dialog.
To put data on the clipboard, see or Edit-Cut, Edit-Copy.
See also:
Moving and Copying Clips
Importing Material from Another SONAR Project
Importing MIDI Files

Edit-Delete
The Edit-Delete command removes selected objects from the project. It
doesn't put them on the clipboard, so they can not be subsequently pasted.
You can specify the kinds of objects to remove in the Delete dialog.
For more information, see To Delete Clips.
See also:
Moving and Copying Clips
Working with Partial Clips
Deleting Measures or Time from One or More Tracks

Edit-Bounce to Clip(s)
The Edit-Bounce to Clip(s) command lets you combine selected audio
clips into a single clip.
Note: 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 or MIDI events that are
cropped from view) is overwritten.
For more information, see Splitting and Combining Clips, and Bouncing to
Clips.
See also:
Splitting and Combining Clips
Splitting and Combining Clips

1092 Menu Reference

Edit-Paste
 Bouncing to Clips

Edit-Bounce to Track(s)
The Edit-Bounce to Tracks command lets you combine one or more audio
tracks into a submix.
For more information about the Edit-Bounce to Tracks command, see
Bouncing Tracks.

Edit-Groove Clip Looping

The Edit-Groove-Clip Looping command enables a selected audio clip’s
looping capabilities. When you enable these capabilities, you can make
unlimited copies of the clip by dragging its start or end points to the left or
right, respectively. When a clip’s looping capabilities are enabled, the clip’s
corners are beveled instead of sharp. If the clip’s looping capabilities are
already enabled, the same command turns them off.
For more information, see Using Loops.

Edit-Create V-Vocal Clip

This command creates a V-Vocal clip on top of selected audio data.
For more information about V-Vocal clips, see V-Vocal Clips.

Edit-Clip Mute/Unmute
This command mutes or unmutes all selected clips.

Edit-Isolate Clip(s) in Layer

The Edit-Isolate Clip(s) in Layer command solos selected clips in any
tracks that are showing layers (Tracks-Layers-Show Layers command).
“Isolating” (clip soloing) mutes any clips in a track that overlap the soloed
clips, but does not mute clips in other tracks. To unsolo the clips, use the
Mute tool to unmute the muted clips.

Menu Reference 1093

Edit-Bounce to Track(s)
 Edit-Split
The Edit-Split command opens the Split Clips dialog, which allows you to
split a selected clip into smaller clips. The command, which is also available
from the Clips pane right-click menu, is greyed-out if no clips are selected.

Edit-Apply Trimming
Using the Edit-Apply Trimming command permanently deletes any data
from a selected clip that is hidden by a slip editing edit.
For step-by-step instructions, see To Permanently Delete Slip-edited Data.

Edit-Revert Clip(s) to Original Time

Stamp
The Edit-Revert Clip(s) to Original Time Stamp command moves all
selected clips back to their original SMPTE time position.

Edit-Clip Lock-Lock Position

Using the Edit-Clip Lock-Lock Position command locks or unlocks a
clip’s position.
For more information, see Locking Clips.

Edit-Clip Lock-Lock Data

Using the Edit-Clip Lock-Lock Data command locks or unlocks a clip’s
data.
For more information, see Locking Clips.

Edit-Convert MIDI to Shapes

Using the Edit-Convert MIDI To Shapes command opens the Convert
MIDI To Shapes dialog. This command lets you convert a controller
envelope created in the Piano Roll view to a Track view envelope, or shape.
Note: If two clips overlap, the command converts the controller envelopes
in both clips, in whatever parts of the clips lie in the selected time range.

1094 Menu Reference

Edit-Split
 For step-by-step instructions, see Converting MIDI Envelopes to Shapes.

Process-Audio-Remove Silence
The Process-Audio-Remove Silence command detects sections of audio
that fall below a given loudness threshold, and replaces those sections with
absolute silence.
See also:
Removing Silence

Process-Audio-Gain
The Process-Audio-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.
See Using the Normalize and Gain Commands for more information.
See also:
Basic Audio Processing

Process-Audio-Normalize
The Process-Audio-Normalize command lets you increase the volume of
the selected clips or tracks to the maximum level possible before clipping.
For more information, see To Normalize Audio Data.
See also:
Basic Audio Processing

Process-Audio-Remove DC Offset
The Process-Audio-Remove DC Offset command lets you remove
artifacts from audio files caused by DC offset.
For more information, see Removing DC Offset.

Menu Reference 1095

Process-Audio-Remove Silence
 Process-Audio-Fade/Envelope
The Process-Audio-Fade/Envelope command lets you specify accurately
the shape of a fade for a selection, clip, or track. You can specify one of the
following curves, which the Fade/Envelope dialog displays for you:
• Exponential Fade In
• Exponential Fade Out
• Inverse Exponential Fade In
• Inverse Exponential Fade Out
• Linear Fade In
• Linear Fade Out
Alternately you can manipulate any curve in the dialog box to look exactly
as you want.
See also:
To Apply a Fade to Audio Data

Process-Audio-Crossfade
The Process-Audio-Crossfade command lets you specify accurately the
shape of a crossfade for two overlapping audio clips. You can specify one
of the following curves, which the Crossfade dialog displays for you:
• Exponential Crossfade
• Inverse Exponential Crossfade
• Linear Crossfade
Alternately you can manipulate any curve in the dialog box to look exactly
as you want.
For more information, see To Crossfade Two Overlapping Clips.
See also:
Fades and Crossfades

1096 Menu Reference

Process-Audio-Fade/Envelope
Process-Audio-Reverse
The Process-Audio-Reverse command reverses audio data, making it
play backwards. You may wish to do this to obtain unusual sounds for
special effects.

See also:
Reversing Audio Data

Process-Apply Audio Effects

The Process-Apply Audio Effects command (which is greyed-out if you’re
not currently using any audio effects) opens the Apply Audio Effects dialog
box. Applying an audio effect means that the audio data that you apply the
effect to is permanently altered to sound like it would if it was flowing
through an effects processor in real time. Applying an effect saves a lot of
your processor’s power for other tasks that must be done in real time.
Clicking OK in this dialog box applies any audio effects that are patched into
track inserts. but does not apply effects that are patched into a bus. You can
also check the Delete the effects from the track inserts checkbox to
remove the real-time effects from the track inserts after you apply them, so
the audio data does not receive a double dose of the same effects.

See:
Applying Audio Effects

Process-Apply MIDI Effects

The Process-Apply MIDI Effects command opens the Apply MIDI Effects
dialog box, which allows you to apply any MIDI effects that are patched into
a track to all selected data in that track. Applying a MIDI effect means that
the MIDI data that you apply the effect to is permanently altered to sound
like it would if it was flowing through an effects processor in real time. You
can leave the Delete the effects from the track inserts checkbox checked
to remove the real-time MIDI effects from the track inserts after you apply
them, so the track data does not receive a double dose of the same effects.

Menu Reference 1097

Process-Audio-Reverse
 See:
Applying MIDI Effects
MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins)

Process-Audio Fx
The Process-Audio Fx-(name of effects vendor) commands display
submenus of all audio effects available to you.

See also:
Applying Audio Effects

Process-Audio Fx-Plug-in Layouts-

Manage Layouts
The Process-Audio Fx-Plug-in Layouts-Manage Layouts command
opens the Cakewalk Plug-in Manager. The Plug-in Manager dialog has its
own help file, which appears when you click its Help button.

Process-MIDI Fx
The Process-MIDI Fx-(name of effects vendor) commands display
submenus of all MIDI effects available to you.
See:
Adding Arpeggio
Analyzing Chords
Adding Echo/Delay
Filtering Events
Quantizing
Transposing MIDI Notes with the Transpose MIDI Effect
Changing Velocities with the Velocity Effect

1098 Menu Reference

Process-Audio Fx
Process-Deglitch
The Process-Deglitch command opens the Deglitch dialog.
See also:
To Use the Deglitch Filter

Process-Slide
The Process-Slide command opens the Slide dialog. You can move a
selected track and/or its markers by a set amount of measures, ticks,
seconds or frames. Positive numbers move the track to the right (forward)
and negative numbers move the track to the left (backward).

See also:
Shifting Events in Time

Process-Nudge-Left 1
The Process-Nudge-Left 1 command moves a selected clip to the left by
any of three increments that you set in the Nudge 1 section in the Nudge
tab of the Global Option dialog. You can assign a hotkey shortcut for this
command.
For more information, see Nudge.

Process-Nudge-Right 1
The Process-Nudge-Right 1 command moves a selected clip to the right
by any of three increments that you set in the Nudge 1 section in the Nudge
tab of the Global Option dialog. You can assign a hotkey shortcut for this
command.
For more information, see Nudge.

Process-Nudge-Left 2
The Process-Nudge-Left 2 command moves a selected clip to the left by
any of three increments that you set in the Nudge 2section in the Nudge tab

Menu Reference 1099

Process-Deglitch
 of the Global Option dialog. You can assign a hotkey shortcut for this
command.
For more information, see Nudge.

Process-Nudge-Right 2
The Process-Nudge-Right 2 command moves a selected clip to the right
by any of three increments that you set in the Nudge 2section in the Nudge
tab of the Global Option dialog. You can assign a hotkey shortcut for this
command.
For more information, see Nudge.

Process-Nudge-Left 3
The Process-Nudge-Left 3 command moves a selected clip to the left by
any of three increments that you set in the Nudge 3 section in the Nudge
tab of the Global Option dialog. You can assign a hotkey shortcut for this
command.
For more information, see Nudge.

Process-Nudge-Right 3
The Process-Nudge-Right 3 command moves a selected clip to the right
by any of three increments that you set in the Nudge 3 section in the Nudge
tab of the Global Option dialog. You can assign a hotkey shortcut for this
command.
For more information, see Nudge.

Process-Nudge-Up
The Process-Nudge-Up command moves a selected clip up a track at a
time in the Track view or a note up a pitch at a time in the Piano Roll view.
For more information, see Nudge.

1100 Menu Reference

Process-Nudge-Right 2
Process-Nudge-Down
The Process-Nudge-Down command moves a selected clip down a track
at a time in the Track view or a note down a pitch at a time in the Piano Roll
view.
For more information, see Nudge.

Process-Nudge-Settings
This command opens the Nudge tab of the Global Options dialog box where
you can customize the three Nudge settings.
For more information, see Nudge.

Process-Quantize
The Process-Quantize command opens the Quantize dialog.
This command adjusts the start time and duration of selected notes so that
they line up with a fixed size grid. In the Quantize dialog, you can adjust the
resolution of the grid (note size) and specify which track properties you want
to allow the command to change.
For step by step instructions:
To Use the Quantize Command
To Use the Groove Quantize Command
To Define a New Groove
To Save a Groove Pattern
To Copy an Existing Groove
To Delete a Groove
Groove Quantize Tips
See also:
Changing the Timing of a Recording
Drag-Quantize

Menu Reference 1101

Process-Nudge-Down
 Process-Groove Quantize
The Process-Groove Quantize command opens the Groove Quantize
dialog.
This command adjusts the start time and duration of selected notes using a
music piece as a pattern. In the Quantize dialog, you assign the groove
pattern you want to use (extension .GRV), adjust the resolution of the grid
(note size) and specify which track properties you want to allow the
command to change.

See also:
Groove Quantize Tips
Changing the Timing of a Recording

Process-AudioSnap Pallette
The Process-AudioSnap Pallette command opens the AudioSnap
Pallette, which allows you to set AudioSnap options.
For more information, see AudioSnap.

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.

See:
Searching for Events

Process-Length
The Process-Length command 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

1102 Menu Reference

Process-Groove Quantize
 its original length, while a value of 50 percent shrinks the selection to half its
original length.
This command offers the option to stretch audio clips along with the MIDI
information. Sometimes you don't want to adjust the speed of your audio.
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).

See also:
Stretching and Shrinking Events

Process-Run CAL
The Process-Run CAL command enables you to run CAL programs.
Cakewalk Application Language (CAL) is an event-processing language
that you use to extend SONAR with custom editing commands.
You can write your own CAL program and use or edit CAL programs that
other people have written. CAL files are stored on disk in files with an
extension of .CAL.

See Also:
Running CAL Programs

Process-Retrograde
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.

See also:
Reversing Notes in a Clip

Menu Reference 1103

Process-Run CAL
 Process-Transpose
The Process-Transpose command transposes the pitches of note events
up or down by a fixed number of half-steps. It does so by changing the MIDI
key numbers of note events and by pitch-shifting audio clips. Simply enter
the number of half-steps in the Amount field of the Transpose dialog box--a
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 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.
See also:
Transposing MIDI Notes with the Transpose MIDI Effect

Process-Scale Velocity
The Process-Scale Velocity command lets you create crescendos
(volume swells) 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.
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 Controllers in the Piano Roll.

1104 Menu Reference

Process-Transpose
Process-Fade Selected Clips
The Process-Fade Selected Clips command opens the Fade Selected
Clips dialog, which allows you to create or edit fades on selected clips.
For more information, see Fades and Crossfades.

Process-Fit to Time
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 to alter 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.
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).
For more information, see To Stretch or Shrink to a Specific Length.
Stretching and Shrinking Events.

Process-Fit Improvisation
SONAR lets you record music from a MIDI controller without requiring that
you use a fixed tempo. But 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.
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 thought the note
start times and durations are adjusted to fit the new tempo map.
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.
See also;

Menu Reference 1105

Process-Fade Selected Clips
 To Fit Tempos to an Improvisation

Views-Piano Roll
Open the Piano Roll view with the Views-Piano Roll command, or by
clicking the Piano Roll view button in the Views toolbar. The Piano Roll view
displays all MIDI notes and events from one or more 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 and controller data from a track.

See also:
The Piano Roll View

Views-Step Sequencer
Open the Step Sequencer by using the Views-Step Sequencer command
or by double-clicking on a Step Sequencer clip.
If an existing Step Sequencer clip is selected, the Views-Step Sequencer
command will open the selected Step Sequencer clip. If no Step Sequencer
slip is selected, the Views-Step Sequencer command will create a new
Step Sequencer clip.
The Views-Step Sequencer command is disabled if multiple Step
Sequencer clips are selected.

See:
Step Sequencer

Views-Event List
Open the Event List view with the Views-Event List command, or by
clicking the Event List view button in the Views toolbar. 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

1106 Menu Reference

Views-Piano Roll
 changes, wave files, lyrics, text strings, MCI commands, System Exclusive
meta-events, and more.

See:
The Event List View

Views-Staff
Open the Staff view by using the Views-Staff command, or by clicking the
Staff view button in the Views toolbar. The Staff view contains the Staff
pane and the Fretboard. The Staff pane displays MIDI note events as
musical notation, and the Fretboard displays MIDI notes as markers on a
guitar fretboard. The Staff view provides many features that make it
possible for you to compose, edit, and print music.
For more information, see The Staff View.

Views-Loop Construction
Open the Loop Construction view by selecting Views-Loop Construction
from the menu. The Loop Construction view allows you to create Groove
clips and enable looping of clips.
See Loop Construction view for more information.

See also:
Using Groove Clips
Creating and Editing Groove Clips

Views-Lyrics
Open the Lyrics view by using the Views-Lyrics command, or by clicking
the Lyrics view button in the Views toolbar. The Lyric view lets you edit a
track's lyrics. You can use it to cue yourself or your group with the lyrics
during playback and recording. For more information on the Lyrics view, see
Lyrics view.

See also:

Menu Reference 1107

Views-Staff
 Working with Lyrics

Views-Loop Explorer
Select Views-Loop Explorer to open the Explorer view.
You can preview and import files using the Explorer view, without having to
leave your work environment. For more information, see Loop Explorer
View.

See also:
The Loop Explorer View

Views-V-Vocal Editor
Select Views-V-Vocal Editor to open the V-Vocal interface.
V-Vocal is a vocal processor that corrects pitch, formants, timing, and can
add vibrato.

See also:
Using V-Vocal

Views-Track View
The Views-Track View command displays the Track view.

See also:
Track View

Views-Console
To open the Console view, click the Console view button in the Views
toolbar, or use the Views-Console command.
The Console view contains all the controls you need to mix your project. For
more information on the Console view, see Console View.

1108 Menu Reference

Views-Loop Explorer
 See also:
Preparing to Mix

Views-Synth Rack
Use the Views-Synth Rack command to open the Synth Rack. For more
information, see Synth Rack View.

Views-Video
Open the Video view by using the Views-Video command, or by clicking
the Video view button in the Views toolbar. The Video view lets you load
digitized video files and play them back with your project. For more
information on the Video view, see Video View.

Views-Big Time
Open the Big Time view by using the Views-Big Time command, or by
clicking the Big Time view button in the Views toolbar. The Big Time view
lets you see the Now time from a distance while recording. For more
information on the Big Time view, see Big Time View.
See also:
Displaying the Now Time in Large Print

Views-Markers
Open the Markers view with the Views-Markers command, or by clicking
the Markers view button in the Views toolbar. The Markers view lets you
add, move, rename, or delete marker (labels) for places in your song. The
markers make it easier to move from one point to another. For more
information on the Markers view, see Markers View.
See Creating and Using Markers.

Menu Reference 1109

Views-Synth Rack
 Views-Tempo
Open the Tempo view by using the Views-Tempo command or by clicking
the Tempo view button in the Views toolbar. 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. For more information on the
Tempo view, see Tempo View.
See Using the Tempo Toolbar.

Views-Meter/Key
Open the Meter/Key view by using the Views-Meter Key command or by
clicking the Meter/Key view button in the Views toolbar. The Meter/Key view
lets you set and change the meter and key signature for any project or part
of a project, over all its tracks. For more information on the Meter/Key view,
see Meter/Key View.
See The Meter/Key View.

Views-Sysx
Open the Sysx view by using the Views-Sysx command, or by clicking the
Sysx view button in the Views toolbar. The Sysx view gives you 256 banks
to hold MIDI System Exclusive messages. For more information on the
SYSX view, see SYSX View.
See Using the System Exclusive View.

Views-Navigator
Open the Navigator view by using the Views-Navigator command. The
Navigator view gives you an overview of your entire project.

Views-Surround Panner
Open the Surround Panner by using the Views-Surround Panner
command. The Surround Panner allows you to control the output levels for
each of your outputs. For more information, see Panning in Surround.

1110 Menu Reference

Views-Tempo
Views-Layouts
The Views-Layouts command allows you to save and load layouts.
SONAR stores the layout of all of a project’s views in the project file when
you save the project. By default, SONAR restores the layout of all the views
when you open the file.
In addition, you can save the current layout in a separate list--the 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.

See:
See also:
To Update a Layout
To Load a Layout
To Delete a Layout
To Rename a Layout
To Set Layout Options

Views-Toolbars
The Views-Toolbars command lets you select which toolbars are displayed
and also the style of display for the toolbars.
To display a toolbar, click the checkbox next to its name.
To display toolbars with an upraised appearance similar to a button in the
up position, make sure the Flat Style box is unchecked.

Views-Show Toolbars
The Views-Show Toolbars command hides or shows all toobars at once.

Views-Enable Tabbing in Open Views

This command toggles the display of views other than the Track and
Console views between floating and docked in the Bus pane of the Track

Menu Reference 1111

Views-Layouts
 view. When docked in the Bus pane of the Track view, each view has a tab
that allows you to display that view.

Insert-Bank/Patch Change
Use the Insert-Bank/Patch command to insert a patch change and/or a
bank change.

See:
To Insert a Bank/Patch Change
Choosing the Instrument Sound (Bank and Patch)

Insert-Meter/Key Change
Use the Insert-Meter/Key Change command to insert a meter change and/
or a key change.
See Adding and Editing Meter/Key Changes.

Insert-Tempo Change
The Insert-Tempo Change command opens the Tempo dialog.
For more information, see Changing Tempos.

See:
To Insert a Tempo Change.
Changing Tempos

Insert-Time/Measures
Use the Insert-Time/Measures command to insert blank measures at a
specified location.
See Inserting Time or Measures into a Project.

1112 Menu Reference

Insert-Bank/Patch Change
Insert-Marker
Use the Insert-Marker command to insert a marker at a specified location.

See:
To Add a Marker

Insert-Controllers
Select Insert-Controllers from the menu to open the Insert Series of
Controllers dialog.
This command lets you change controller event values smoothly over a
specified time range.
See Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll.

Insert-Audio Track
The Insert-Audio Track command, which you can also find by right-clicking
a track title bar in the Track view, inserts an audio track above the track on
which you right-click.

Insert-MIDI Track
The Insert-MIDI Track command, which you can also find by right-clicking
a track title bar in the Track view, inserts a MIDI track above the track on
which you right-click.

Insert-Multiple Tracks
The Insert-Multiple Tracks command allows you to insert multiple audio
and/or MIDI tracks, and set some track properties for the inserted tracks.

Insert-Track Folder
The Insert-Track Folder command, which you can also find by right-
clicking a track title bar in the Track view, inserts a track folder above the
track on which you right-click.

Menu Reference 1113

Insert-Marker
 For more information, see Track Folders.

Insert-Insert from Track Template-More

Track Templates
The Insert From Track Template-More Track Templates command
opens the Import Track Templates dialog. For more information about track
templates, see Track Templates.

Insert-Insert from Track Template-

Import Filter
The Insert From Track Template-Import Filter command opens the Track
Template Import Options dialog. For more information about track
templates, see Track Templates.

Insert-Stereo Bus
The Insert-Stereo Bus command, which you can also find by right-clicking
an empty area of the Bus pane in the Track view or Console view, inserts a
stereo bus into the empty space of the Bus pane.

Insert-Surround Bus
The Insert-Surround Bus command, which you can also find by right-
clicking an empty area of the Bus pane in the Track view or Console view,
inserts a surround bus into the empty space of the Bus pane.
For more information, see Surround Buses.

Insert-Series of Tempos
The Insert-Series of Tempos command lets you change tempo smoothly
over a specified time range by inserting a series of tempo changes.
See To Insert a Series of Tempos.

1114 Menu Reference

Insert-Insert from Track Template-More Track Templates
Insert-Soft Synths
The Insert-Soft Synths command displays a submenu of all installed soft
synths. Clicking the name of one of the synths either displays the Insert
Synth Options dialog, or inserts a synth into your project if you unchecked
the dialog’s Ask This Every Time option previously.

See:
Inserting Soft Synths

Insert-Rewire Device
The Insert-Rewire Device command displays a submenu of all installed
Rewire soft synths. Clicking the name of one of the soft synths either
displays the Insert Synth Options dialog, or inserts s soft synth into your
project if you unchecked the dialog’s Ask This Every Time option previously.

See:
ReWire Instruments

Transport-Play
The Transport-Play command starts playback.

See:
Controlling Playback

Transport-Audition
The Transport-Audition command plays back only selected clips and/or
time regions.
To use the command, hold down the Shift key and then press the
Spacebar. Only the selected data plays back.

Menu Reference 1115

Insert-Soft Synths
 Transport-Record
The Transport-Record command starts recording.

See also:
Preparing to Record
Recording Music from a MIDI Instrument
Recording Audio

Transport-Rewind
The Transport-Rewind command rewinds to the start of the project.

See:
Controlling Playback

Transport-Stop
The Transport-Stop command stops playback or recording.

See:
Controlling Playback

Transport-Stop Audio / Transport-Run

Audio
The Transport-Stop Audio command stops SONAR’s audio engine from
running, which disables input monitoring temporarily. After you use the
command, it changes into the Transport-Run Audio command.
For more information, see Input Monitoring.

1116 Menu Reference

Transport-Record
Transport-Reset
The Transport-Reset command stops all MIDI notes from playing and
clears stuck notes.

See:
Handling Stuck Notes

Transport-Step Record
The Transport-Step Record command opens the Step Record dialog box.
Step recording lets you specify step size and note duration so you can
record things that are hard to play a step at a time.

See:
Step Recording

Transport-Toggle Step Record Activate

The Transport-Step Record Activate command enables or disables the
Step Record dialog box so that you can use keyboard shortcuts for non-
step recording commands.

See:
Step Recording

Transport-Loop and Auto Shuttle

The Transport-Loop and Auto Shuttle command lets you specify start
and stop times for looping and whether you want the loop to start over
again.

See:
Looping

Menu Reference 1117

Transport-Reset
 Transport-Record Options
The Transport-Record Options command specifies how SONAR records
clips into tracks already holding other clips. The command also lets you
specify whether to record takes in sequential tracks or stacked in a single
track.
Note: SONAR saves the recording options you choose with each project,
so you can save a different recording mode with each of your projects.

See:
To Choose a Recording Mode

Transport-Reject Loop Take

The Transport-Reject Loop Take command erases the most recent take
during loop recording.
Note: This command is only available for MIDI recording.

See:
To Use Loop Recording

Transport-Update Patch Cache

The Transport-Update Patch Cache command is enabled only if you're
using one or more sound cards which require "patch caching". After making
changes to your song which result in patch change events being added,
changed, or deleted, you may need to choose Transport-Update Patch
Cache to force the sound card to load the required sounds from disk
storage.

Transport-Tempo Ratio 1
The Transport-Tempo Ratio 1 command changes the speed of playback.

See:
Using the Tempo Toolbar

1118 Menu Reference

Transport-Record Options
Transport-Tempo Ratio 2
The Transport-Tempo Ratio 2 command changes the speed of playback.

See:
Using the Tempo Toolbar

Transport-Tempo Ratio 3
The Transport-Tempo Ratio 3 command changes the speed of playback.

See:
Using the Tempo Toolbar

Transport-Set Timecode at Now

The Transport-Set Timecode at Now command opens the Set Timecode
at Now Time dialog, which allows you to move the SMPTE time 00:00:00:00
to the current Now time. If you enter a value in the dialog, the SMPTE value
that you enter is set to the current Now time.

Transport-Set Measure Beat at Now

The Transport-Set Measure Beat at Now command opens the Measure
Beat-Meter dialog, which allows you to shift the Time Ruler so that the beat
of the measure that you choose in the dialog appears at the Now Time.

See:
Measure Beat/Meter

Go-Time
The Go-Time command lets you set a new Now time.

See:

Menu Reference 1119

Transport-Tempo Ratio 2
 To Change the Now Time

Go-From
The Go-From command sets the Now time to the From time.

See:
The Now Time and How to Use It

Go-Thru
The Go-Thru command sets the Now time to the From time.

See:
The Now Time and How to Use It

Go-Beginning
The Go-Beginning command sets the Now time to the beginning of the
project.

See:
The Now Time and How to Use It

Go-End
The Go-End command sets the Now time to the end of the project.

See:
The Now Time and How to Use It

1120 Menu Reference

Go-From
Go-Previous Measure
The Go-Previous Measure command sets the Now time to the beginning
of the previous measure.

See:
The Now Time and How to Use It

Go-Next Measure
The Go-Next Measure command sets the Now time to the beginning of the
next measure.

See:
The Now Time and How to Use It

Go-Previous Marker
The Go-Previous Marker command sets the Now time to the previous
marker.

See:
The Now Time and How to Use It
Creating and Using Markers

Go-Next Marker
The Go-Next Marker command sets the Now time to the next marker.

See:
The Now Time and How to Use It
Creating and Using Markers

Menu Reference 1121

Go-Previous Measure
 Go-Search
The Go-Search command lets you find the next event (searching forward
from the Now time) that meets criteria you specify in the Event Filter-Search
dialog box (see Event Filter Select Some/Search/Replace dialog).
For more information about the Go-Search command, see Searching for
Events.

Go-Search Next
This command lets you find the next event using the criteria for your
previous search command.
For more information about the Go-Search Next command, see Searching
for Events.

Go-Go to Track Peak

Because a Peak Marker may be offscreen, you can jump to a peak marker
by using the Go-Go To Track Peak command. Doing so will center the
peak location and Now time in the Clips pane
For more information, see Peak Markers.

Tracks-Property-Name
The Tracks-Property-Name command lets you assign a name to a track
for easy reference.
For more information about the Tracks-Property-Name command, see
Track Name dialog.

Tracks-Property-Outputs
The Tracks-Property-Outputs command lets you assign an output, either
MIDI or audio, for your track to play back through.
For more information about the Tracks-Property-Outputs command, see
Setting Up Output Devices, and Assigning Tracks to Outputs.

1122 Menu Reference

Go-Search
Tracks-Property-Inputs
The Tracks-Property-Inputs command lets you specify input sources for
all of your project’s tracks for recording purposes.
For more information about the Tracks-Property-Inputs command, see
Choosing an Input, and Changing Track Settings.

Tracks-Property-Channel
The Tracks-Property-Channel command specifies the MIDI channel
through which the track plays its data.
For more information about the Tracks-Property-Channel command, see
Assigning a MIDI Channel (Chn), and Changing Track Settings.

Tracks-Property-Key+
The Tracks-Property-Key+ command lets you specify how many half-
steps the notes in a MIDI track should be transposed on playback. 12 half-
steps make an octave. The Key+ command does not alter the data in a
track, but causes it to play back in a different key.
For more information about the Tracks-Property-Key+ command, see
Adjusting the Key/Transposing a Track (Key+).

Tracks-Property-Vel+
The Tracks-Property-Vel+ command lets you designate the change in
velocity (volume) to be applied to notes in this track on playback, ranging
from -127 to +127. The Vel+ command does not alter the data in a track, but
causes it to play back with different velocities.
For more information about the Tracks-Property-Vel+ command, see
Adjusting the Note Velocity (Vel+).

Tracks-Property-Time+
The Tracks-Property-Time+ command lets you apply an offset to the start
time of the events in the track. The Time+ command does not alter the data
in a track, but causes it to play back at an earlier or later time.

Menu Reference 1123

Tracks-Property-Inputs
 For more information about the Tracks-Property-Time+ command, see
Adjusting the Time Alignment of a MIDI Track (Time+).

Tracks-Property-Bank
The Tracks-Property-Bank command lets you choose the bank, or set of
patch names, available for this track.
For more information about the Tracks-Property-Bank command, see
Choosing the Instrument Sound (Bank and Patch).

Tracks-Property-Patch
The Tracks-Property-Patch command lets you choose the patch, or MIDI
instrument sound, to use for playback.
For more information about the Tracks-Property-Patch command, see
Choosing the Instrument Sound (Bank and Patch).

Tracks-Property-Volume
The Tracks-Property-Volume command lets you specify the starting
volume level for the track, ranging from -INF (silent) to 6 dB (maximum
volume).
The Volume setting controls the initial volume of a track during playback.
Every time you start playback, SONAR sets the volume to this initial level.
In some projects you want the volume of a track to change while playback
is in progress. You can accomplish this using the Track, Console, Piano
Roll, or Event List views. For more information, see Mixing.
Note: Not all keyboards and synthesizers respond to volume change
messages. Check the manual that came with your keyboard or synthesizer
for more information.
For more information about the Tracks-Property-Volume command, see
Adjusting Volume and Pan.

1124 Menu Reference

Tracks-Property-Bank
Tracks-Property-Pan
The Tracks-Property-Pan command lets you specify the stereo distribution
of the output, ranging from 100% L (hard left) to 100% R (hard right), with a
value of C indicating sound that is centered left-to-right.
The Pan setting controls the initial pan of a track during playback. Every
time you start playback, SONAR sets the pan to this initial level.
For more information about the Tracks-Property-Pan command, see
Adjusting Volume and Pan.

Tracks-Property-Icon-Load Icon
The Tracks-Property-Icon-Load Icon command opens the Open dialog,
which displays folders of track icons. You can select an icon from the dialog
to load into the current track.
For more information about track icons, see Track Icons.

Tracks-Property-Icon-Reset Icon
The Tracks-Property-Icon-Reset Icon command resets the track icon in
the current track to the track’s original icon.
For more information about track icons, see Track Icons.

Tracks-Mute
The Tracks-Mute command silences the specified track for playback.
For more information about the Tracks-Mute command, see Track-by-
Track Playback and Silencing Tracks.

Tracks-Archive
The Tracks-Archive command silences the specified track for playback
and removes its data from RAM. You must stop playback to change a
track's archive status.
For more information about the Tracks-Archive command, see Track-by-
Track Playback and Silencing Tracks.

Menu Reference 1125

Tracks-Property-Pan
 Tracks-Show Automated Mute
The Tracks-Show Automated Mute command causes the Mute button on
a selected track to show whether the track’s mute envelope (if any) is in the
muted or unmuted position (the automated mute status). When the
command is disabled, the track’s 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 envelope icon
through the M:

Tracks-Solo
The Tracks-Solo command solos the specified track, meaning it plays
while all other tracks do not. Each track set to solo plays back.
For more information about the Tracks-Solo command, see Track-by-
Track Playback and Soloing Tracks.

See also:
Dim Solo Mode

Tracks-Automation Read Enable

The Tracks-Automation Read Enable command turns on and off the
ability to read automation data on playback.
For more information about the Tracks-Automation Read Enable command,
see Automation.

Tracks-Automation Write Enable

The Tracks-Automation Write Enable command turns on and off the
ability to record automation data.
For more information about the Tracks-Automation Read Enable command,
see Automation.

1126 Menu Reference

Tracks-Show Automated Mute
Tracks-Arm for Recording
The Tracks-Arm for Recording command arms or disarms all selected
tracks for recording.
For more information about the Tracks-Arm for Recording command, see
Arming Tracks for Recording and Auto Arming.

Tracks-Input Monitor/Echo
Toggles on or off the Input Monitor or MIDI Echo for the selected track.

Tracks-Freeze-Freeze Track
This command freezes all selected tracks. For more information on the
Freeze feature, see Freeze Tracks and Synths.

Tracks-Freeze-Quick Freeze Track

This command is only available if you’ve already performed the Freeze
Track command on the track and subsequently performed a Quick
Unfreeze on it. This command returns to the same frozen state as the initial
Freeze Track command. For more information on the Freeze feature, see
Freeze Tracks and Synths.

Tracks-Freeze-Unfreeze Track
This command unfreezes all selected tracks. For more information on the
Freeze feature, see Freeze Tracks and Synths.

Tracks-Freeze-Quick Unfreeze Track

This command returns the track to an unfrozen state and preserves the
Freeze data which then can be recalled using the Quick Freeze command.
For more information on the Freeze feature, see Freeze Tracks and Synths.

Menu Reference 1127

Tracks-Arm for Recording
 Tracks-Freeze-Freeze Synth
This command freezes all selected synth tracks (both the MIDI track where
the synth lives and the audio output track). For more information on the
Freeze feature, see Freeze Tracks and Synths.

Tracks-Freeze-Quick Freeze Synth

This command is only available if you’ve already performed the Freeze
Synth command and subsequently performed a Quick Unfreeze on it. This
command returns to the same frozen state as the initial Freeze Synth
command. For more information on the Freeze feature, see Freeze Tracks
and Synths.

Tracks-Freeze-Unfreeze Synth
This command unfreezes all selected synth tracks (both the MIDI track
where the synth lives and the audio output track). For more information on
the Freeze feature, see Freeze Tracks and Synths.

Tracks-Freeze-Quick Unfreeze Synth

This command returns the synth tracks to an unfrozen state and preserves
the Freeze data which then can be recalled using the Quick Freeze
command. For more information on the Freeze feature, see Freeze Tracks
and Synths.

Tracks-Freeze-Freeze Options
This command opens the Freeze Options dialog box.

Tracks-Clone
The Tracks-Clone command copies one or more tracks. You can choose
to include events, properties, sends, and/or effects in the copied track(s).
You can specify a destination.
For more information about the Tracks-Clone command, see Copying
Tracks.

1128 Menu Reference

Tracks-Freeze-Freeze Synth
Tracks-Delete
The Tracks-Delete command deletes one or more tracks entirely, including
all its track properties and all its clips and events. SONAR does not put
deleted information on the clipboard for later copying.
For more information about the Tracks-Delete command, see Erasing
Tracks.

Tracks-Wipe
The Tracks-Wipe command deletes track contents but leaves track
properties intact. SONAR does not put wiped information on the clipboard
for later copying.
For more information about the Tracks-Wipe command, see Erasing
Tracks.

Tracks-Hide
The Tracks-Hide command, which is also available from the Clips pane
popup menu, hides all selected tracks. To display them again, press M on
your keyboard to open the Track Manager dialog, which is located in the
Track view toolbar.

Tracks-Show Record Meter

The Tracks-Show Record Meter command displays record meters in all
armed audio tracks. The command is greyed-out if any tracks currently
show record meters. You can hide or display meters on individual tracks by
right-clicking them and choosing options from the popup menu.

Tracks-Show Playback Meter

The Tracks-Show Playback Meter command displays playback meters in
all audio tracks. The command is greyed-out if any tracks currently show
playback meters. You can hide or display meters on individual tracks by
right-clicking them and choosing options from the popup menu.

Menu Reference 1129

Tracks-Delete
 Tracks-Layers-Show Layers
The Tracks-Layers-Show Layers command displays any overlapping
clips that a track contains in separate lanes in the track.
For more information, see Take Management and Comping Takes.

Tracks-Layers-Remove Empty Layers

The Tracks-Layers-Remove Empty Layers command removes empty
layers in a track.
For more information, see Take Management and Comping Takes.

Tracks-Layers-Rebuild Layers
The Tracks-Layers-Rebuild Layers command moves overlapping clips to
separate layers in selected tracks.
For more information, see Take Management and Comping Takes.

Tracks-Sort
The Tracks-Sort command lets you arrange tracks in order according to
any of several criteria.
For more information about rearranging tracks, see To Sort the Tracks, To
Drag a Track to a New Position, and To Insert a Single Track.

Tracks-Inline PRV-PRV Mode

The Tracks-Inline PRV-PRV Mode command puts all MIDI tracks into or
out of PRV mode (Inline Piano Roll View mode).
For more information about PRV mode, see The Inline Piano Roll View.

Tracks-Inline PRV-PRV Tool-Select/

1130 Menu Reference

Tracks-Layers-Show Layers
Draw/Erase
The Tracks-Inline PRV-PRV Tool Select/Draw/Erase commands allow
you to activate the Select tool, the Draw tool, or the Erase button in the
Inline Piano Roll view toolbar.
For more information about using the Inline Piano Roll view, see The Inline
Piano Roll View.

Tracks-Inline PRV-Fit Content

The Tracks-Inline PRV-Fit Content command fits all displayed MIDI
content in any tracks that are in PRV mode into the visible area of each
Inline Piano Roll view.
For more information about using the Inline Piano Roll view, see The Inline
Piano Roll View.

Tracks-Inline PRV-Show Velocity Tails

The Tracks-Inline PRV-Show Velocity Tails command shows or hides the
velocity tails on MIDI notes in all tracks that are in PRV mode (Inline Piano
Roll mode), and that are using Drum Maps.
For more information about using the Inline Piano Roll view, see The Inline
Piano Roll View.

Tracks-Inline PRV-Show/Hide
Continuous Events
The Tracks-Inline PRV-Show/Hide Continuous Events command hides
or shows continuous events (MIDI cc’s, NRPN’s, RPN’s, wheel) in all tracks
that are in PRV mode (Inline Piano Roll mode), but takes into account each
event type’s individual show/hide status.
For more information about using the Inline Piano Roll view, see The Inline
Piano Roll View.

Menu Reference 1131

Tracks-Inline PRV-Fit Content
 Tracks-Inline PRV-Show/Hide Notes
The Tracks-Inline PRV-Show/Hide Notes command hides or shows notes
in all tracks that are in PRV mode (Inline Piano Roll mode).
For more information about using the Inline Piano Roll view, see The Inline
Piano Roll View.

Tracks-Inline PRV-Display All

Continuous Events
The Tracks-Inline PRV-Display All Continuous Events command
displays all continuous events in all tracks that are in PRV mode (Inline
Piano Roll mode), regardless of the events’ previous show/hide conditions.
For more information about using the Inline Piano Roll view, see The Inline
Piano Roll View.

Tracks-Snap to Scale-Enable/Disable
Snap to Scale
The Tracks-Snap to Scale-Enable/Disable Snap To Scale command
enables or disables the Snap to Scale function on selected tracks.
For more information, see Snap to Scale.

Tracks-Snap to Scale-Root Note-[name

of root note]
The Tracks-Snap to Scale-Root Note-[name of root note] command sets
the root note of the selected scale on selected tracks.
For more information, see Snap to Scale.

Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-[name of
scale]
The Tracks-Snap to Scale-Root Note-[name of scale] command sets the
scale for the Snap to Scale function on selected tracks.

1132 Menu Reference

Tracks-Inline PRV-Show/Hide Notes
 For more information, see Snap to Scale.

Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-Scale
Manager
The Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-Scale Manager command opens the
Scale Manager dialog.
For more information, see Snap to Scale.

Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-Snap
Settings
The Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-Snap Settings command opens the
Snap Scale Settings dialog.
For more information, see Snap to Scale.

Tracks-Input Quantize-Enable/Disable
Input Quantize
The Tracks-Input Quantize-Enable/Disable Input Quantize command
enables or disables the input quantize feature on all selected MIDI tracks.
For more information about input quantizing, see Input Quantizing.

Tracks-Input Quantize-Quantize
Settings
The Tracks-Input Quantize-Quantize Settings command opens the Input
Quantize dialog.
For more information about input quantizing, see Input Quantizing.

Tools-Burn Audio CD
The Tools-Burn Audio CD command lets you burn your tracks to an audio
CD that you can play in any standard CD player.

Menu Reference 1133

Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-Scale Manager
 For more information about the Tools-Burn Audio CD command, see
Audio CD Burner dialog and the Cakewalk Publisher online help.

Tools-Cakewalk Publisher
Use the Tools-Cakewalk Publisher command to present and share your
music online.
Using Publisher, you can create a customized streaming music player with
a playlist of your music, upload it to your personal or band's website, and
embed it in any other website. You can also update your playlist with album
art, links (URLs), and artist, track, & album information.
Publisher works by connecting to your web host's FTP account (usually
provided when you sign up with a webhosting company and create a
website) and uploading files to a location of your choosing. Once these files
are successfully transferred to your website, Publisher generates a simple
HTML tag that you can paste into any other website to embed and display
your audio player. For those familiar with it, the process is similar to
displaying images hosted on one site in another.

For more information about the Tools-Cakewalk Publisher command, see

the Cakewalk Publisher online help.

1134 Menu Reference

Tools-Cakewalk Publisher
Tools-Consolidate Project Audio
The Tools-Consolidate Project Audio command copies all the audio used
by the current project into a subfolder of the project’s audio folder. Use this
command to create a backup of your project’s audio.
For more information:
Backing Up Projects with Digital Audio

Tools-Clean Audio Folder

Use the Tools-Clean Audio Folder command to delete digital audio files
from an audio data directory that are no longer used by any of your projects.
You should use this command from time to time to free up disk space.
Important: Make sure that all of your important project (.CWP and .WRK)
files are stored in your local hard disk(s) before using this command. If your
project files are stored elsewhere, such as a floppy drive, removable drive,
or network drive, you risk accidentally deleting important audio files that are
associated with your projects.
Note: The Cakewalk Audio Finder (CWAFTool) is a more advanced utility
for finding and removing unused projects and audio files. This utility can be
installed from the AutoRun menu of the SONAR CD. If you have an older
version of SONAR you can download the SONAR Audio Finder from the
SONAR Website at www.cakewalk.com.
For more information about the Tools-Clean Audio Folder command, see
To Delete Unused Audio Files.

Tools-Change Audio Format

Use the Tools-Change Audio Format command if you want to rewrite the
audio in a project to a different bit depth. Your sound card must be capable
of playing the project at the new bit depth.
For more information about the Tools-Change Audio Format command,
see Change Audio Format dialog.

Options-MIDI Devices
The output setting for a track determines which piece of hardware will be
used to produce the sound stored in your project. The Options-MIDI

Menu Reference 1135

Tools-Consolidate Project Audio
 Devices command opens the MIDI Devices dialog box, which lets you
choose the MIDI outputs you want to use.
For more information about setting up MIDI devices, see To Choose MIDI
Devices and Setting Up Output Devices.

Options-Instruments
This command lets you choose one or more port/channel configurations
and assign an instrument to it or them.
SONAR lets you assign a MIDI instrument definition to each available MIDI
port 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 port 1. By assigning all 16 channels of MIDI port 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 ones that match 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. If you have several MIDI ports, with a different
instrument attached to each one, you would normally assign a different
instrument to each MIDI port.
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 port and assign them to the Roland GS instrument definition.
Then, you can highlight channel 10 of the first MIDI port and assign it to the
Roland GS Drumset instrument definition. Channels 1 through 9 and 11
through 16 on the first MIDI port will stay assigned to Roland GS.
You might also want to split channels to different instruments if you have
several instruments attached to a single MIDI port. For example, you might
have a Roland synth receiving on MIDI channels 1-9, a Roland drum
machine receiving on channel 10, and a basic GM-compatible synth
receiving on channels 11 through 16. In this case, you'd use three different
instrument definitions for your one and only MIDI port.
Assign Instruments dialog

1136 Menu Reference

Options-Instruments
Options-Audio
The Options-Audio command opens the Audio Options dialog box (see
below), which contains all the necessary controls to completely configure
your audio setup. SONAR configures all of these options automatically, but
allows you to customize them to a great degree.
For more information about configuring your audio system, see System
Configuration.
For more information about the various tabs or pages in the Audio Options
dialog box, see:
Audio Options dialog—General
Audio Options dialog—Advanced
Audio Options dialog—Drivers
Audio Options dialog—Driver Profiles

Options-Audio Meter Settings

The Options-Audio Meter Settings command opens the Audio Meter
Settings dialog, which allows you to adjust the rise and fall times of both the
RMS and Peak Meters. These settings control meter ballistics globally for
all types of meters in SONAR. You can also choose to display segmented
or non-segmented meters from this dialog.
For more information, see For more information, see Configure Colors
dialog., and Segmented and Non-segmented Meters.

Options-Project
The Options-Project command gives you access to options you might
want to set for a particular project.
For more information about the Options-Project command, see Setting the
MIDI Timing Resolution, Setting the Metronome and Tempo Settings, and
Synchronizing Your Gear.

Menu Reference 1137

Options-Audio
 Options-Global Options
The Options-Global command gives you access to many options you
might want to set for all your projects, including settings that affect
appearance, MIDI and audio functions, and auto-save.
For more information about the Options-Global command, see these
global options topics: Global Options dialog—General, Global Options
dialog—Timecode, Global Options dialog—MIDI, Global Options dialog—
Folders, Global Options dialog—Editing, Global Options dialog—Nudge,
and Global Options dialog—Audio Data.

Options-Colors
The Options-Colors command lets you choose and change the colors for
most things that SONAR displays.
For more information about the Options-Colors command, see Screen
Colors and Wallpaper.

Options-Icons-Show Icons
This global command hides or shows icons in all applicable views.

Options-Icons-Track View-Show Icons

This command hides or shows icons in the Track view, if the global
command to show icons is not enabled.

Options-Icons-Track View-Large Icons

This command displays icons in the Track view in large format.

Options-Icons-Track View-Small Icons

This command displays icons in the Track view in small format.

Options-Icons-Track View-Show in

1138 Menu Reference

Options-Global Options
Header
This command hides or shows icons in the Track view in the headers of
each track.

Options-Icons-Track View-Show Custom

in Header
This command hides or shows custom icons in the Track view headers
instead of the default icons.

Options-Icons-Track View-Show in Strip

This command hides or shows icons in the track strips of the Track view.

Options-Icons-Track Inspector-Show
Icons
This command hides or shows icons in the Track Inspector.

Options-Icons-Track Inspector-Show
Large Icons
This command displays icons in the Track Inspector in large format.

Options-Icons-Track Inspector-Show
Small Icons
This command displays icons in the Track Inspector in small format.

Options-Icons-Console-Show Icons
This command hides or shows icons in the Console view.

Options-Icons-Console-Show Large

Menu Reference 1139

Options-Icons-Track View-Show Custom in Header
 Icons
This command displays icons in the Console view in large format.

Options-Icons-Console-Show Small
Icons
This command displays icons in the Console view in small format.

Options-Icons-Synth Rack-Show Large

Icons
This command hides or shows icons in the Synth Rack in large format.

Options-SoundFonts
The Options-SoundFonts command lets you import SoundFont banks.
SoundFont files contain data for patches. They are available from vendors
and you can create them using the Vienna editor from Creative. To use
SoundFonts, you must have a Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live, AWE 32 or
AWE 64 sound card and have the SoundFont Management System
installed (supplied with SoundBlaster Live). When SONAR opens a WRK or
MID file, it looks for a SF2 file in the same folder with the same base name.
If one exists, SONAR uses it. Use the Locations button to specify folder (or
folders, separate multiple folders with semicolons) where SONAR should
look. Use the Attach button in the SoundFont Banks dialog box to override
this behavior and specify a different SoundFont file to use with the song.
Bank 0 is reserved for the Standard GM sound set, but user banks can be
attached to banks 1 through 255. SONAR saves SoundFont file names in
(WRK) files, but not in Standard MIDI (MID) files. In order to use an
attached SoundFont, you must select your SoundFont device as an output
and assign a MIDI track to that output. You must also force an output
channel for the track and choose a SoundFont bank and patch for the MIDI
track.

1140 Menu Reference

Options-Icons-Console-Show Small Icons
Options-Key Bindings
Key bindings let you connect SONAR commands to keys on your MIDI or
computer keyboard. This makes it easy for you to access specific features
more quickly and efficiently.
The Options-Key Bindings command opens the Key Bindings dialog box,
which lets you specify which keys and key combinations to use for specific
SONAR commands and files.
For more information about the Options-Key Bindings command, see Key
Bindings.

Options-Initialization File
The Options-Initialization File command lets you edit SONAR initialization
files. Many Windows applications, as well as Windows itself, use files to
store information about your preferences and configuration. Often
applications store values to these files when you make selections in the
program using menus or dialog boxes. However, you can also change
these files directly. In some cases, there is no way to change the settings in
the application, and changing the file directly is the only way.
For more information about the Options-Initialization File command, see
Initialization Files.

Options-Non-Destructive MIDI Editing

This command, off by default, makes all MIDI editing non-destructive. When
toggled on, this command forces deleted data to be retained even though it
is not visible.

Options-Time Ruler Format-M:B:T

The Options-Time Ruler Format-M:B:T command, which is also available
from the Clips pane popup menu, changes the unit of measurement in the
time ruler to MBT units.

Menu Reference 1141

Options-Key Bindings
 Options-Time Ruler Format-H:M:S:F
The Options-Time Ruler Format-H:M:S:F: command, which is also
available from the Clips pane popup menu, changes the unit of
measurement in the time ruler to H:M:S:F units.

Options-Time Ruler Format-Samples

The Options-Time Ruler Format-Samples command, which is also
available from the Clips pane popup menu, changes the unit of
measurement in the time ruler to samples.

Options-Menu Editor
The Options-Menu Editor command opens the Menu Editor dialog, which
allows you to customize the layout of your menus. For more information,
see Customizable Menus.

Options-Menu Layouts-[name of layout]

The Options-Menu Layouts-[name of layout] command sets the current
layout to the layout that you choose from the options in this menu. For more
information, see Customizable Menus.

Options-Drum Map Manager

The Options-Drum Map Manager command opens the Drum Map
Manager dialog, which allows you to create and edit drum maps. For more
information, see Drum Map Manager dialog.

Options-Controllers/Surfaces
The Options-Controllers/Surfaces command opens the Controllers/
Surfaces dialog, which allows you to enable or disable specific controllers/
surfaces, and choose their MIDI inputs and outputs.
For more information, see:
External Devices
Controllers/Surfaces dialog

1142 Menu Reference

Options-Time Ruler Format-H:M:S:F
Options-ACT Learn
The Options-ACT Learn command enables or disables the Learn button
on the Controller/Surfaces toolbar.
For more information, see:
External Devices
Controllers/Surfaces dialog

Options-PRV Tool Configuration

The Options-PRV Tool Configuration command opens the PRV Tool
Configuration dialog, which allows you to customize the behavior of the
Piano Roll tools.
For more information, see PRV Tool Configuration dialog.

Window-Cascade
The Window-Cascade command lets you arrange multiple opened
windows in an overlapped fashion.

Window-Tile in Rows
The Window-Tile in Rows command arranges multiple opened windows
from top to bottom down the screen.

Window-Tile in Columns
The Window-Tile in Columns command arranges multiple opened
windows from side to side across the screen.

Window-Arrange Icons
Use the Window-Arrange Icons command to arrange the icons for
minimized windows at the bottom of the main window.

Menu Reference 1143

Options-ACT Learn
 Help-Help Topics
Use the Help-Help Topics command to open the entire help system. You
can look for topics in the table of contents, in the index, and in the finder.

Help-View README.RTF
The Help-View README.RTF command tells you all about the current
version of SONAR.

Help-Quick Start
The Help-Quick Start command gives you access to a number of ways to
get started.
For more information about the Help-Quick Start command, see SONAR
Quick Start dialog.

Help-Tip of the Day

The Help-Tip of the Day command opens a series of tips and shortcuts for
doing various functions in SONAR.

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
Note: A plus sign (+) indicates that both keys must be held down at the
same time. For example, Ctrl+F6.

Menu Commands

Command Shortcut

File-Open Ctrl+O

File-Save Ctrl+S

Edit-Undo Ctrl+Z

Edit-Redo Ctrl+Shift+Z

1144 Menu Reference

Help-Help Topics
Menu Commands

Command Shortcut

Edit-Select-All Ctrl+A

Edit-Select-None Ctrl+Shift+A

Edit-Cut Ctrl+X

Edit-Copy Ctrl+C

Edit-Paste Ctrl+V

Edit-Groove Clip Looping Ctrl+L

Edit-Clip Mute/Unmute Q

Edit-Isolate Clip(s) in Shift+1

Layer

Edit-Delete Delete key

Insert-Marker F11

Transport-Play Spacebar

Transport-Record R

Transport-Rewind W

Transport-Stop Spacebar

Transport-Tempo Ratio 1 Ctrl+1

Transport-Tempo Ratio 2 Ctrl+2

Transport-Tempo Ratio 3 Ctrl+3

Go-Time F5

Go-From F7

Go-Thru F8

Go-Beginning Ctrl+Home

Go-End Ctrl+End

Go-Previous Measure Ctrl+PageUp

Go-Next Measure Ctrl+PageDown

Menu Reference 1145

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
 Menu Commands

Command Shortcut

Go-Previous Marker Ctrl+Shift+PageUp

Go-Next Marker Ctrl+Shift+PageDown

Go-Search Next F3

Tools-Run CAL Ctrl+F1

Track View

Command Shortcut
Show/Hide Large Transport F4

Solo/un-solo current track /

Help F1

Close Window Ctrl+F4

Insert track (same kind as Insert

current track; if no tracks
exist, opens the Choose
Track Type dialog box)

Open the Track Manager M

Show/hide Bus pane Shift+B

Toggle Envelope/Offset O
Mode

Select current track , (comma key)

Show and fit selection Shift+S

Fit tracks to window F

Fit project to window Shift+F

Show only selected tracks H

Hide selected tracks Shift+H

1146 Menu Reference

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
Track View

Command Shortcut
Show all tracks A

Undo view change U

Redo view change Shift+U

Snap enable/disable N

Open Snap dialog Shift+N

Activate Zoom tool Z

Fast Zoom In Ctrl+=

Fast Zoom Out Ctrl+-

Decrease track height Ctrl+Up arrow

Increase track height Ctrl+Down arrow

Zoom in horizontally Ctrl+Right arrow

Zoom out horizontally Ctrl+Left arrow

Zoom all tracks in vertically Ctrl+Down arrow

Zoom all tracks out vertically Ctrl+Up arrow

Zoom out on all audio Alt+Down arrow

waveforms

Zoom in on current track’s Alt+Ctrl+Up arrow

audio waveforms

Zoom out on current track’s Alt+Ctrl+Down

audio waveforms arrow

Zoom current track in Ctrl+Shift+Down

vertically arrow

Zoom current track out Ctrl+Shift+Up arrow

vertically

Zoom in on all audio Alt+Up arrow

waveforms

Menu Reference 1147

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
 Track View

Command Shortcut
Increase current track height Ctrl+Shift+Down
arrow

Decrease current track Ctrl+Shift+Up arrow

height

Scale audio waveform in all Alt+up/Down arrow

audio tracks

Scale audio waveform in Ctrl+Alt+up/Down

current audio track arrow

Lasso zoom scale audio clip/ Shift+Z (while

waveform selecting a clip)

Scissors tool C

Center Now time G

Puts focus in Track pane Shift+Up arrow

Puts focus in Bus pane Shift+Down arrow

Scroll Track view up or down Page Up or Page

Down

Move between same Up or Down arrow

controls in different tracks

Move between controls in Left or Right arrow

same track

Moves to the previous or Shift+Left arrow or

next tab in Track pane (All, Shift+Right arrow
Mix, FX, I/O), or between
views in tabs

Raise or lower the pitch of a Alt+ or Alt- (use the

loop-enabled clip + or - keys on the
NumPad)

Activate Select tool T

Activate Scrub tool B

Activate Envelope Edit tool E

1148 Menu Reference

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
Track View

Command Shortcut
Loop enable/disable Ctrl+L
selected clip

Split selected clips at Now S

time

Auto crossfade X

Toggle on/off “sticky” Now Ctrl+Spacebar

Time (Now Time returns to
Now Time Marker on stop)

Toggle display of the Track I

Inspector

Open/close current track Ctrl+F

folder

Mute tool on/off K

Show/hide Navigator pane D

Show/hide Video Thumbnail L

pane

Nudge left 1 NumPad 1

Nudge right 1 NumPad 3

Nudge left 2 NumPad 4

Nudge right 2 NumPad 6

Nudge left 3 NumPad 7

Nudge right 3 NumPad 9

Nudge up NumPad 8

Nudge down NumPad 2

Menu Reference 1149

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
 V-Vocal Editor

Command Shortcut
Open V-Vocal Editor Ctrl+Shift+V

Create V-Vocal Clip Shift+V

Note: All V-Vocal shortcuts in the Editor itself

are listed in the V-Vocal help file.

Piano Roll View

Command Shortcut
Select tool S

Draw tool D
Note: you can draw
straight lines with the Draw
tool by holding the Shift key
down before and while you
draw.

Pattern Brush Tool Q

Scrub tool B

Enter a Whole Note 1

Enter a Half Note 2

Enter a Quarter Note 4

Enter an Eighth Note 8

Enter a Sixteenth Note 6

Enter a Thirty-second Note 3

Dotted Note .

Triplet P

Snap enable/disable N

1150 Menu Reference

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
Piano Roll View

Command Shortcut
Open Snap dialog Shift+N

Pick Track T

Show/Hide Track Pane H

Show/Hide the Controller C

pane

All Tracks A

No Tracks K

Invert Tracks V

Insert new MIDI data lane Shift+L

Show/Hide velocity tails in Y

the Drum pane

Show/Hide Grid lines I

Show/Hide durations in the O

Drum pane

Zoom tool Z

Scroll up/down Up or Down

arrow keys

Scroll left/right Left or Right

arrow keys

Zoom in vertically Ctrl+Down

arrow

Zoom out vertically Ctrl+Up arrow

Undo Zoom U

Menu Reference 1151

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
 Step Sequencer View

Command Shortcut
Open the Step Sequencer View Alt+Shift+5

Insert a new row above the selected row Insert

Delete the active row Delete

Move focus to the previous control Left arrow

Move focus to the next control Right arrow

When there are multiple strips, move focus to the Up arrow

same control on the previous row

When there are multiple strips, move focus to the Down arrow
same control on the next row

When focus is on a control in the steps pane, move Ctrl+Left arrow

focus to the strips pane

When focus is on a control in the strips pane, move Ctrl+Right arrow

focus to the steps pane

When focus is either on the steps or strips pane, Ctrl+Up arrow

move focus to the toolbar

When focus is on the toolbar, move focus to the Ctrl+Down arrow

strips pane

When focus is on steps, toggle step or tie on/off; for Enter

buttons, turn on/off

When focus is on a step, allow velocity adjustment Shift+Enter

For spinner controls, increase/decrease value; fine + / - (plus and minus)

adjust for knobs

Coarse adjust for knobs [ / ] (square brackets)

Toggles the Audition (Play) button for the view Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar

When focus is on the steps pane, move focus to Tab

the next enabled note on the same row

1152 Menu Reference

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
Step Sequencer View

Command Shortcut
When focus is on the steps pane, move focus to Shift+Tab
the previous enabled note on the same row

Shift the active row's steps by 1 step and wrap first Alt+Left arrow
step to the end

Shift the active row's steps by 1 step and wrap the Alt+Right arrow
last step to the beginning

Staff View

Command Shortcut
Select tool S

Draw tool D

Erase tool E

Scrub tool B

Lyric Y

Chord C

Expression I

Hairpin H

Pedal A

Snap enable/disable N

Fill Durations F

Trim Durations M

Layout L

Pick Track T

Whole note 1

Half note 2

Menu Reference 1153

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
 Staff View

Command Shortcut
Quarter note 4

Eighth note 8

Sixteenth note 6

Thirty-second note 3

Dotted .

Triplet P

Scroll left/right Arrow keys

Play Previous Note Ctrl+Left arrow

Play Next Note Ctrl+Right arrow

Open Snap dialog Shift+N

Export to ASCII TAB X

Show/Hide Fretboard V
view

AudioSnap

Command Shortcut
AudioSnap Enable F12

AudioSnap Add Transients To Ctrl+F12

Pool

AudioSnap Show Transient Shift+F12

Markers

AudioSnap Go to Next Tab

Transient Marker

AudioSnap Go to Previous Shift+Tab

Transient Marker

Set Measure Beat at Now Ctrl+M

1154 Menu Reference

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
AudioSnap

Command Shortcut
AudioSnap Auto Stretch Alt+F12
(Follow Tempo)

AudioSnap Insert Marker Ctrl+Alt+I

AudioSnap Reset Selected Ctrl+Alt+R

Transient Marker(s)

AudioSnap Delete Inserted Ctrl+Alt+Backspace

Marker

AudioSnap Disable Marker Ctrl+Alt+D

AudioSnap Promote Marker Ctrl+Alt+P

AudioSnap Snap to Transients Ctrl+Alt+N

AudioSnap Audition Beat Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar

AudioSnap Show Palette Shift+A

AudioSnap Show Transient Ctrl+Alt+F12

Pool

AudioSnap Select All Markers Alt+Shift+A

AudioSnap Clear Selection Alt+Shift+C

AudioSnap Select Moved Alt+Shift+M

Markers

AudioSnap Select Stretched Alt+Shift+S

Markers

AudioSnap Select Disabled Alt+Shift+D

Markers

AudioSnap Select Enabled Alt+Shift+E

Markers

AudioSnap Select Promoted Alt+Shift+P

Markers

Menu Reference 1155

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
 Event List View

Command Shortcut
Filter (hide) Note events N

Filter Key Aftertouch F

events

Filter Controller events C

Filter Patch Change A

events

Filter Channel Aftertouch F

Events

Filter Pitch Wheel events B

Filter RPN events Z

Filter NRPN events P

Filter Sysx Bank events S

Filter Sysx Data events Y

Filter Text events X

Filter Lyric events L

Filter MCI Command M

events

Filter Audio events U

Filter Shape events H

Filter Expression events E

Filter Hairpin events I

Filter Chord events O

Event Manager V

Insert event Insert

Delete event Delete

1156 Menu Reference

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
Event List View

Command Shortcut
Play single event Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar

Pick Tracks T

Console View

Command Shortcut
Move between controls Tab

Delete an effect Delete

Change values (small) + and -

Change values (large) [ and ]

Open Module manager M

Toggle Envelope/Offset O
Mode

Loop Construction View

Command Shortcut
Save loop to wave file F

Enable looping L

Enable stretching T

Follow project pitch P

Preview loop Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar

Stop preview Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar

Select tool S

Erase marker tool E

Menu Reference 1157

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
 Loop Construction View

Command Shortcut
Default all markers M

Enable Slice Auto- A

Preview

Slice Auto-Preview Loop Shift+A

Clip Properties C

Move to Previous Slice PageUp

Move to Next Slice PageDown

Show/Hide Gain Envelope G

Show/Hide Pan Envelope N

Show/Hide Pitch K
Envelope

Loop Explorer View

Command Shortcut
Preview file Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar

Stop preview Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar

Synth Rack View

Command Shortcut
Close view Alt+F4

Move to next or previous synth Down Arrow or Up

Arrow

Toggle connection for current Pause/Break

synth

1158 Menu Reference

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
Synth Rack View

Command Shortcut
Increment or decrement current + or -
preset

Increment or decrement current ] or [

preset by 10

Navigate between synths Up/Down arrows

Change preset for current soft + or -

synth

Insert A

Rename synth F2

Properties P

Open Insert Soft Synth Options O

dialog

Freeze F

Unfreeze U

Quick Unfreeze T

Mute current soft synth M

Solo current soft synth S

All Views

Command Shortcut
Close Window Ctrl+F4

Next Window Ctrl+F6

Display the Track view Alt+0 (but not on the

NumPad)

Open the Loop Explorer view Alt+1

Menu Reference 1159

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
 All Views

Command Shortcut
Open the Loop Construction Alt+2
view

Open the Console view Alt+3

Open the Event List view Alt+4

Open the Piano Roll view Alt+5

Open the Step Sequencer view Alt+Shift+5

Open the Video view Alt+6

Open the Staff view Alt+7

Open the Synth Rack view Alt+8

Open the Tempo view Alt+9

Surround Panner (large)

Command Shortcut
Constrains to angle Alt+drag

Constrains to angle at 100% Alt+Shift+drag

focus

Constrains to focus only Ctrl+Shift+drag

Sets panner point to the point Shift+click

that you click (large and
medium panners only)

Fine resolution Shift+drag controls

(Angle, Width, etc.)

Move to next/previous widget in Up/Down cursor keys

surround panner

Move to next/previous panner Left/Right cursor keys

in same track

1160 Menu Reference

Help-Keyboard Shortcuts
Surround Panner (large)

Command Shortcut
Move to surround panner in Ctrl+up/down
another track

Speaker mutes Ctrl+NumPad 0-9

Jump to speaker angle at 100% NumPad 0-9

focus

n/a NumPad 0

Ls NumPad 1

Cs NumPad 2

Rs NumPad 3

Sl NumPad 4

n/a NumPad 5

Sr NumPad 6

L NumPad 7

C NumPad 8

R NumPad 9

Lc /

Rc *

Help-SONAR on the Web

The Help-SONAR on the Web command opens your web browser to the
SONAR Web page. This page has information about upgrades, patches
and offers.

Help-Register Online
The Help-Register Online command opens Cakewalk's online form so you
can register your new product.

Menu Reference 1161

Help-SONAR on the Web
 Help-Time Trial Activator
The Help-Time Trial Activator command opens the Time Trial Activator
dialog. If you have an evaluation version of SONAR and need to extend the
evaluation period, this dialog allows you to enter the activation code that a
Cakewalk representative can give you.

Help-Cakewalk Problem Reporter

The Cakewalk Problem Reporter is a tool that gathers general information
about your computer and specific facts about the current open project file.
These log files may be used by Cakewalk Technical Support when detailed
system info is required to resolve a problem on your computer.

Help-About SONAR
The Help-About SONAR command displays copyright, version number of
the product, and your licensing information.

Delete Track
This command, which you find by right-clicking a track name or number in
the Track view, removes the track on which you right-click.

Group
This command, which you find by right-clicking a fader, button, or knob in
the Track or Console views, lets you group faders, knobs, or buttons so
they work together in ways you specify.
For more information about grouping controls, see Using Control Groups.

Remove From Group

This command, which you find by right-clicking a fader, button, or knob in
the Track or Console views, lets you remove a control or button from its
group.
For more information about grouping controls, see Using Control Groups.

1162 Menu Reference

Help-Time Trial Activator
Set Start = Current
This command, which you find by right-clicking a fader, button, or knob in
the Track or Console views, lets you adjust the start value of a control. This
command, together with the Set End = Current command, only functions
when you use custom grouping. These two commands set the range that a
grouped control moves through when the members of its group move
through their starting and ending values. This makes it easy to group
controls so that they move in similar or opposite motion and at similar or
different rates of speed.
For more information about grouping controls, see To Adjust the Start Value
of a Control, and Using Control Groups.

Set End = Current

This command, which you find by right-clicking a fader, button, or knob in
the Track or Console views, lets you adjust the end value of a control. This
command, together with the Set Start = Current command, only functions
when you use custom grouping. These two commands set the range that a
grouped control moves through when the members of its group move
through their starting and ending values. This makes it easy to group
controls so that they move in similar or opposite motion and at similar or
different rates of speed.
For more information about grouping controls, see To Adjust the End Value
of a Control, and Using Control Groups.

Insert Audio Track

This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Console view in the
grey area to the right of the final module, or in the Track pane context menu
in the Track view, adds a new digital audio track.
For more information about configuring tracks, see Configuring the Console
and Track Views.

Insert MIDI Track

This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Console view in the
grey area to the right of the final module, adds a MIDI track to the console.

Menu Reference 1163

Set Start = Current
 For more information about adding tracks, see Changing Track Settings.

Hide Module
This command allows you to hide track and bus modules in the Console
view. You find the command by right-clicking in the Console view in three
different areas:
• For track modules, right-click in the grey area above a track’s Phase
button.
• For buses, right-click in the grey area between the Send and Return
knobs.
To redisplay modules, see To Choose the Tracks that are Displayed Using
the Track Manager, and Configuring the Console and Track Views.

Set Snap-to = Current

This command, which you find by right-clicking a fader or knob in the
Console or Track views, sets the snap-to position of that fader or knob to its
current value. When you double-click a fader or knob, it jumps to its snap-to
position.
For more information about the Console view, see Preparing to Mix.

90 dB Range
This command, which you find by right-clicking any audio meter in the
Track view or Console view, changes the range that the meter measures to
90 dB.
For more information about meters, see Metering.

78 dB Range
This command, which you find by right-clicking any audio meter in the
Track view or Console view, changes the range that the meter measures to
78dB.
For more information about meters, see Metering.

1164 Menu Reference

Hide Module
60 dB Range
This command, which you find by right-clicking any audio meter in the Track
view or Console view, changes the range that the meter measures to 60 dB.
For more information about meters, see Metering.

42 dB Range
This command, which you find by right-clicking any audio meter in the Track
view or Console view, changes the range that the meter measures to 42 dB.
For more information about meters, see Metering.

24 dB Range
This command, which you find by right-clicking any audio meter in the Track
view or Console view, changes the range that the meter measures to 24 dB.
For more information about meters, see Metering.

12 dB Range
This command, which you find by right-clicking any audio meter in the Track
view or Console view, changes the range that the meter measures to 12 dB.
For more information about meters, see Metering.

Set As Current Track

This command, which you find by right-clicking the grey area of a MIDI or
audio track in the Console view, changes the track you clicked to the
current track. This makes that track the object of any track editing
commands you give, such as Mute, Solo, Kill, etc.
For more information about the Console view, see Preparing to Mix.

Delete
This command, which you find by right-clicking the name of an effect in the
Console view, deletes that effect from its patch point.

Menu Reference 1165

60 dB Range
 For more information about effects, see Audio Effects (Audio Plug-ins) and
MIDI Effects (MIDI Plug-ins).

View Options
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Clips pane, lets you
set display options for the Clips pane.
For more information about view options, see Displaying Clips, and To
Display Clip Names and Contents.

Set Loop Points

This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Time Ruler, sets the
Loop From time to the start time of the selection, and the Loop Thru time to
the end time of the selection.
For more information about looping, see Looping.

Select Loop Region

This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Time Ruler, sets the
selection start and end times to the Loop From and Loop Thru times.
For more information about looping, see Looping.

Set Punch Points

This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Time Ruler, sets the
Punch In time to the start time of the selection, and the Punch Out time to
the end time of the selection.
For more information about punch recording, see Punch Recording.

Loop On/Off
Click to enable/disable playback looping.

Set Punch Points

Sets the borders of a selected area as punch points.

1166 Menu Reference

View Options
Select All Siblings
This command selects all clips that are linked to this clip.

Unlink
This command opens the Unlink Clips dialog.

Select Punch Region

This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Time Ruler, sets the
selection start and end times to the Punch In and Punch Out times.
For more information about punch recording, see Punch Recording.

Snap Properties
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Time Ruler, lets you
set snap options in the Snap to Grid dialog.
For more information about setting snap options, see Defining and Using
the Snap Grid.

Set Snap Offset to Now Time

This command sets the snap offset at the Now Time. A snap offset is a
value, in samples, at which the Snap Grid uses to align the clip. Clips
without a snap offset always align at the very beginning of a clip. For more
information, see Snap Offsets.

Envelope-Create Track Envelope-

Volume
This command creates a volume envelope in the track you have right-
clicked in. After you have created an envelope, you can create nodes and
edit them to create changes in volume as the track plays. For more
information, see Quick Automation Guide.

Menu Reference 1167

Select All Siblings
 Envelope-Create Track Envelope-Pan
This command creates a pan envelope in the track you have right-clicked
in. After you have created an envelope, you can create nodes and edit them
to create changes in pan as the track plays. For more information, see
Quick Automation Guide.

Jump
This command causes an automation envelope to make a 90 degree “jump”
when it reaches the next node.
See:
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes

Linear
This command draws a straight line between two nodes.
See:
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes

Fast Curve
This command creates a curve between nodes which changes rapidly at
first, and slower as it nears the second node.
See:
Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes

Slow Curve
This command creates a curve between two nodes which changes slowly
at first, then rapidly as it nears the second node.
See:

1168 Menu Reference

Envelope-Create Track Envelope-Pan
 Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes

Drag and Drop Options

The Drag and Drop Options command opens the Drag and Drop Options
dialog.

Clip Properties
This command opens the Clip Properties dialog. For more information, see
Clip Properties dialog—General and Clip Properties dialog—Audio
Stretching.

Track Properties
This command opens the Track Properties dialog.

Layout
The Layout command, accessed by right clicking in the Staff pane, opens
the Staff View Layout dialog.

Regenerate Tablature
The Regenerate Tablature command generates a new TAB staff in the Staff
pane.

Export to ASCII TAB

This command opens the Save As dialog where you can set the name and
location for an ASCII text file of a track’s tablature.

Note Length-Whole
This command, also available on the Staff view’s toolbar, changes selected
notes to Whole notes or creates new notes as Whole notes.

Menu Reference 1169

Drag and Drop Options
 Note Length-Half
This command, also available on the Staff view’s toolbar, changes selected
notes to Half notes or creates new notes as Half notes.

Note Length-Quarter
This command, also available on the Staff view’s toolbar, changes selected
notes to Quarter notes or creates new notes as Quarter notes.

Note Length-Eighth
This command, also available on the Staff view’s toolbar, changes selected
notes to Eighth notes or creates new notes as Eighth notes.

Note Length-Sixteenth
This command, also available on the Staff view’s toolbar, changes selected
notes to Sixteenth notes or creates new notes as Sixteenth notes.

Note Length-Thirty second

This command, also available on the Staff view’s toolbar, changes selected
notes to Thirty second notes or creates new notes as Thirty second notes.

Note Length-Dotted
This command, also available on the Staff view’s toolbar, changes selected
notes to dotted notes or creates new notes as dotted notes.

Note Length-Triplet
This command, also available on the Staff view’s toolbar, changes selected
notes to Triplets or creates new notes as Triplets.

1170 Menu Reference

Note Length-Half
Mirror Fretboard
This command displays the Staff view’s fretboard with low strings at the top
and high strings at the bottom.

Rosewood Hi
This command changes the fretboard to appear as if made of rosewood
with high resolution.

Rosewood Lo
This command changes the fretboard to appear as if made of rosewood in
low resolution.

Ebony Hi
This command changes the fretboard to appear as if made of ebony in high
resolution.

Ebony Lo
This command changes the fretboard to appear as if made of ebony in low
resolution.

Maple Hi
This command changes the fretboard to appear as if made of maple in high
resolution.

Maple Lo
This command changes the fretboard to appear as if made of maple in low
resolution.

Menu Reference 1171

Mirror Fretboard
 Show Previous Track(s)
This command displays the previous track or group of tracks.

Show Next Track(s)

This command displays the next track or group of tracks.

Animate
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, enables
or disables video playback. Disabling video playback frees your computer
to process more audio data, if your project has too much data to process
efficiently.
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Insert
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, inserts a
video file into a project.
See also:
Video Playback, Import, and Export

Delete
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, deletes a
video file from a project.
For more information about deleting video files, see To Delete the Video
From the Project.
See also:
Video Playback, Import, and Export

Original Size
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, displays
the video in its original size.

1172 Menu Reference

Show Previous Track(s)
 For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Stretch to Window
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, stretches
the video to fill the Video view.
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Preserve Aspect Ratio

This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, stretches
the video as much as possible while preserving the original aspect ratio.
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Integral Stretch
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, stretches
the video as much as possible, but only enlarges it by whole-number
multiples.
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Full Screen
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, stretches
the video to fill the screen.
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Time Display Format-M:B:T

This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, changes
the video view’s time display to MBT (measure:beat:tick).
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Menu Reference 1173

Stretch to Window
 Time Display Format-SMPTE
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, changes
the video view’s time display to SMPTE.
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Time Display Format-Frames

This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, changes
the video view’s time display to frame.
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Time Display Format-None

This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, hides the
video view’s time display.
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Time Display Format-Font

This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, lets you
choose the font for the video view’s time display.
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Background Color-Black
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, changes
the background color of the Video view to black.
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

Background Color-White
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, changes
the background color of the Video view to white.
For more information about video, see Video Playback, Import, and Export.

1174 Menu Reference

Time Display Format-SMPTE
Video Properties
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Video view, opens the
Video Properties dialog, where you can set the trim-in and trim-out times,
and read the video file’s statistics.

Add Node
This command, which you find by right-clicking an envelope in the Track
view, adds a node to the envelope that you clicked.
For more information about envelopes, see Automation.

Reset Node
This command returns a node to its default value. For example a pan node
would return to 0% C.

Delete Node
This command deletes the node over which you have right-clicked.

Note
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all note events.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Key Aftertouch
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all key aftertouch events.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Controller
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all controller events.

Menu Reference 1175

Video Properties
 For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Patch Change
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all patch change events.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Channel Aftertouch
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all channel aftertouch events.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Pitch Wheel
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all pitch wheel events.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

RPN
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all RPN events.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

NRPN
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all NRPN events.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Sysx Bank
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all Sysx banks.

1176 Menu Reference

Patch Change
 For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Sysx Data
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all Sysx data.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Text
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all text events.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Lyric
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all lyric events.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

MCI Command
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all MCI commands.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Audio
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all audio clips.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Expression
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all expression events.

Menu Reference 1177

Sysx Data
 For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Hairpin
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all hairpin events.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Chord
This command, which you find by right-clicking in the Event List view, hides
all chord events.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Event Manager
To open the Event Manager dialog:
• Right-click in the Event List view and choose Event Manager from the
popup menu.

• Click the Event Manager button in the Event List view

In the Event Manager you select which types of event to display in the
Event List view. Check the events you want to see in the Events List view.
For more information about the Event List view, see Event List View.

Lock Contents
This command forces SONAR to open a new instance of the current view
(the view you are locking) rather than using the current view. This allows
you to keep multiple copies of the same view open at one time.
See:
Locking Views

1178 Menu Reference

Hairpin
Enable Floating
This command allows you to “float” a view (move it beyond the boundaries
of SONAR. This is especially useful when using dual monitors.
See:
Floating Views

Show Entire Project

This command adjusts the vertical track heights to fit all tracks in your
project in the Track view.
For more information about displaying tracks, see Configuring the Console
and Track Views.

Zoom tool
This command enables the Zoom tool feature.
For more information about the Zoom tool feature, see Displaying Clips.
For more information about displaying tracks, see Configuring the Console
and Track Views.

Fast Zoom Options

This command shows options for changing the mouse’s zoom behavior. For
more information about Fast Zoom, see To Zoom Using the Mouse Wheel
(Fast Zoom).

Previous Zoom
This command returns the Track view to the previous zoom level.
For more information about displaying tracks, see Configuring the Console
and Track Views.

Show All Tracks

This command shows all tracks in the current project.

Menu Reference 1179

Enable Floating
 For more information about displaying tracks, see Configuring the Console
and Track Views.

Track Manager
This command opens the Track Manager dialog.
For more information about the Track Manager dialog, see Track Manager
dialog.
For more information about displaying tracks, see Configuring the Console
and Track Views.

Record Meters
When selected with a checkmark record meters are displayed. When
unchecked, record meters are not displayed.

Playback Meters
When selected with a checkmark playback meters are displayed. When
unchecked, playback meters are not displayed.

Output Bus Meters

When selected with a checkmark output bus meters are displayed. When
unchecked, output bus meters are not displayed.

Record Meter Options-Peak

Available in the Playback Meter Options, Record Meter Options, and Mains
Meter Options submenus, this command sets the meter to Peak.
For more information about Peak meter display, see Metering.

Record Meter Options-RMS

Available in the Playback Meter Options, Record Meter Options, and Mains
Meter Options submenus, this command sets the meter to RMS.
For more information about RMS meter display, see Metering.

1180 Menu Reference

Track Manager
Record Meter Options-Peak + RMS
Available in the Playback Meter Options, Record Meter Options, and Mains
Meter Options submenus, this command sets the meter to Peak + RMS.
For more information about Peak + RMS meter display, see Metering.

Record Meter Options-Show Labels

This command toggles on/off the meter labels.

Record Meter Options-Hold Peaks

This command causes a meter to hold the most recent peak for a short
time. The peak volume level recorded by the meter is marked by a small
white line which remains for a moment if lock peaks is not checked or until
the end of playback or recording if Lock Peaks is checked.

Record Meter Options-Lock Peaks

This command when checked and the Hold Peaks is also checked causes
the peak to be locked at its highest point on the meter until the end of
playback or recording.

Playback Meter Options-Peak

Available in the Playback Meter Options, Record Meter Options, and Mains
Meter Options submenus, this command sets the meter to show peaks.
For more information about Peak meter display, see Metering.

Playback Meter Options-RMS

Available in the Playback Meter Options, Record Meter Options, and Mains
Meter Options submenus, this command sets the meter to RMS.
For more information about RMS meter display, see Metering.

Menu Reference 1181

Record Meter Options-Peak + RMS
 Playback Meter Options-Peak + RMS
Available in the Playback Meter Options, Record Meter Options, and Mains
Meter Options submenus, this command sets the meter to Peak + RMS.
For more information about Peak + RMS meter display, see Metering.

Playback Meter Options-Show Labels

This command toggles on/off the meter labels.

Playback Meter Options-Hold Peaks

This command causes a meter to hold the most recent peak for a short
time. The peak volume level recorded by the meter is marked by a small
white line which remains for a moment if lock peaks is not checked or until
the end of playback or recording if Lock Peaks is checked.

Playback Meter Options-Lock Peaks

This command when checked and the Hold Peaks is also checked causes
the peak to be locked at its highest point on the meter until the end of
playback or recording.

Output Bus Meter Options-Peak

Available in the Playback Meter Options, Record Meter Options, and Mains
Meter Options submenus, this command sets the meter to show peaks.
For more information about Peak meter display, see Metering.

Output Bus Meter Options-RMS

Available in the Playback Meter Options, Record Meter Options, and Mains
Meter Options submenus, this command sets the meter to RMS.
For more information about RMS meter display, see Metering.

1182 Menu Reference

Playback Meter Options-Peak + RMS
Output Bus Meter Options-Peak + RMS
Available in the Playback Meter Options, Record Meter Options, and Mains
Meter Options submenus, this command sets the meter to Peak + RMS.
For more information about Peak + RMS meter display, see Metering.

Output Bus Meter Options-Show Labels

This command toggles on/off the meter labels.

Output Bus Meter Options-Hold Peaks

This command causes a meter to hold the most recent peak for a short
time. The peak volume level recorded by the meter is marked by a small
white line which remains for a moment if lock peaks is not checked or until
the end of playback or recording if Lock Peaks is checked.

Output Bus Meter Options-Lock Peaks

This command when checked and the Hold Peaks is also checked causes
the peak to be locked at its highest point on the meter until the end of
playback or recording.

Playback Meter Options-Pre Fader

This command sets the meter to measure the volume level in the signal
path prior to entering the fader.

Output Bus Meter Options-Pre Fader

This command sets the meter to measure the volume level in the signal
path prior to entering the fader.

Playback Meter Options-Post Fader

This command sets the meter to measure the volume level in the signal
path after exiting the fader.

Menu Reference 1183

Output Bus Meter Options-Peak + RMS
 Output Bus Meter Options-Post Fader
This command sets the meter to measure the volume level in the signal
path after exiting the fader.

Output Bus Meter Options-Pre Fader

Post FX
This command sets the meter to measure the volume level in the signal
path after the effects bin and prior to the fader.

Default Fade-In Curve-Linear

This command sets as a default a linear, or steady fade-in curve when
dragging the beginning of a clip.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Fade-In Curve-Fast Curve

This command sets as a default a fast fade-in curve when dragging the
beginning of a clip.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Fade-In Curve-Slow Curve

This command sets as a default a slow fade-in curve when dragging the
beginning of a clip.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Fade-Out Curve-Linear

This command sets as a default a linear, or steady fade-out curve when
dragging the end of a clip.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

1184 Menu Reference

Output Bus Meter Options-Post Fader
Default Fade-Out Curve-Fast Curve
This command sets as a default a fast fade-out curve when dragging the
end of a clip.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Fade-Out Curve-Slow Curve

This command sets as a default a slow fade-out curve when dragging the
end of a clip.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Crossfade Curves-Linear Out -

Linear In
This command sets as default a crossfade in which the first clip fades out at
a steady rate and the second clip fades in at a steady rate.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Crossfade Curves-Fast Out -

Fast In
This command sets as default a crossfade in which the first clip fades out
fast and the second clip fades in fast.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Crossfade Curves-Slow Out -

Slow In
This command sets as default a crossfade in which the first clip fades out
slowly and the second clip fades in slowly.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Crossfade Curves-Fast Out -

Menu Reference 1185

Default Fade-Out Curve-Fast Curve
 Slow In
This command sets as default a crossfade in which the first clip fades out
fast and the second clip fades in slowly.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Crossfade Curves-Slow Out -

Fast In
This command sets as default a crossfade in which the first clip fades out
slowly and the second clip fades in fast.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Crossfade Curves-Linear Out -

Fast In
This command sets as default a crossfade in which the first clip fades out at
a steady rate and the second clip fades in fast.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Crossfade Curves-Linear Out -

Slow In
This command sets as default a crossfade in which the first clip fades out at
a steady rate and the second clip fades in slowly.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Default Crossfade Curves-Fast Out -

Linear In
This command sets as default a crossfade in which the first clip fades out
fast and the second clip fades in at a steady rate.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

1186 Menu Reference

Default Crossfade Curves-Slow Out - Fast In
Default Crossfade Curves-Slow Out -
Linear In
This command sets as default a crossfade in which the first clip fades out
slowly and the second clip fades in at a steady rate.
For more information about crossfades, see Fades and Crossfades.

Percentage
This command sets the Audio Scaling ruler to display the percentage of the
waveform being shown.

dB
This command sets the Audio Scaling ruler to display the dB level of the
waveform being shown.

Zoom Factor
This command sets the Audio Scaling ruler to display the zoom factor (a
multiple of the default zoom level, i.e. a zoom factor of 10 shows the
waveform at 10 times the detail) of the waveform being shown.

Show and Fit Selection

This command zooms vertically and horizontally in the Track view to fit just
the selected clips.

Fit Tracks to Window

This command resizes all shown tracks to fit into the Track view window.

Fit Tracks and Buses to Window

This command fits your entire project, or as many tracks as possible, into
the Track view.

Menu Reference 1187

Default Crossfade Curves-Slow Out - Linear In
 Show only Selected Tracks
Hides all tracks which are not selected.

Hide Selected Tracks

Hides all selected tracks.

Show All Tracks and Buses

Shows all tracks and buses in your project.

Undo View Change

Reverts the following parameters to their previous state:
• Individual track sizes
• Height factors
• Scaling
There are 16 levels of undo for this command.

Redo View Change

Negates the last Undo View Change command.

Show All Envelopes

Shows all track and clip envelopes in your project.

Hide All Envelopes

Hides all track and clip envelopes in your project.

Show Volume Envelopes

Shows all volume envelopes in your project.

1188 Menu Reference

Show only Selected Tracks
Show Pan Envelopes
Shows all pan envelopes in your project.

Show Bus Send Envelopes

Shows all bus send envelopes in your project.

Show Plug-in Envelopes

Shows all effects envelopes in your project.

Show Automated Mute Envelopes

Shows all automated mute envelopes in your project.

Show MIDI Envelopes

Shows all MIDI envelopes in your project.

Create Track Envelopes Using Linear

Shapes
This command, when checked, causes newly inserted envelopes to have a
node at both the beginning and end of the track. If unchecked, an envelope
appears as a dotted line with no active nodes.

Velocity
The Velocity command opens the Velocity dialog where you can set the
default velocity value for each note entered using the Pattern Brush. If the
Use Pattern Velocities command is checked, this value is not used. For
more information about the Use Pattern Velocities command, see Use
Pattern Velocities.

Menu Reference 1189

Show Pan Envelopes
 Use Pattern Velocities
When the Use Pattern Velocities command is checked, the Pattern Brush
creates notes using the actual velocity values saved in the current pattern
file. For more information about pattern files and the Pattern Brush, see The
Pattern Brush Tool.

Use Pattern Polyphony

When the Use Pattern Polyphony command is checked, the Pattern Brush
creates notes using the actual pitch values saved in the current pattern file,
regardless of where the mouse is in the Drum Grid pane. For more
information about pattern files and the Pattern Brush, see The Pattern
Brush Tool.

Use Note Duration

When the Use Note Duration command is checked, the Pattern Brush uses
the current note duration setting in the Piano Roll View toolbar as the
interval between notes. For more information about pattern files and the
Pattern Brush, see The Pattern Brush Tool.

Auto Erase
When the Auto Erase command is checked, the Draw tool can create new
notes by clicking where there are no existing notes and can delete current
notes by clicking on them.

Quarter Note
An option in the Show/Hide Grid button, the Quarter Note option creates
grid lines in the Drum Grid pane at quarter note intervals.

Quarter Note Triplet

An option in the Show/Hide Grid button, the Quarter Note Triplet option
creates grid lines in the Drum Grid pane at quarter note triplet intervals
(three lines per half note).

1190 Menu Reference

Use Pattern Velocities
Eighth Note
An option in the Show/Hide Grid button, the Eighth Note option creates grid
lines in the Drum Grid pane at eighth note intervals.

Eighth Note Triplet

An option in the Show/Hide Grid button, the Eighth Note option creates grid
lines in the Drum Grid pane at eighth note triplet intervals (three lines per
quarter note).

Sixteenth Note
An option in the Show/Hide Grid button, the Sixteenth Note option creates
grid lines in the Drum Grid pane at sixteenth note intervals.

Sixteenth Note Triplet

An option in the Show/Hide Grid button, the Sixteenth Note option creates
grid lines in the Drum Grid pane at sixteenth note triplet intervals (three
lines per eighth note).

32nd Note
An option in the Show/Hide Grid button, the 32nd Note option creates grid
lines in the Drum Grid pane at 32nd note intervals.

32nd Note Triplet

An option in the Show/Hide Grid button, the 32nd Note option creates grid
lines in the Drum Grid pane at 16th note triplet intervals (three lines per
32nd note).

64th Note
An option in the Show/Hide Grid button, the 64th Note option creates grid
lines in the Drum Grid pane at 64th note intervals.

Menu Reference 1191

Eighth Note
 Follow Snap Resolution
An option in the Show/Hide Grid button, the Follow Snap Resolution
command sets the grid lines to match the current Snap to Grid setting.

Show/Hide Inspector
Toggles on or off the Track/Bus Inspector. The keyboard shortcut for this
command is I.

Vertical FX Bins
Creates a vertical FX bin in the Track view. FX bins are vertical when this
command is checked.

Envelope Draw Tool-Freehand Mode

Use the Envelope Draw tool in Freehand mode to edit envelopes by
drawing freehand shapes.

Envelope Draw Tool-Sine Mode

Use the Envelope Draw tool in Sine mode to edit envelopes by drawing sine
shapes.

Envelope Draw Tool-Triangle Mode

Use the Envelope Draw tool in Triangle mode to edit envelopes by drawing
triangle shapes.

Envelope Draw Tool-Square Mode

Use the Envelope Draw tool in Square mode to edit envelopes by drawing
square shapes.

1192 Menu Reference

Follow Snap Resolution
Envelope Draw Tool-Saw Mode
Use the Envelope Draw tool in Saw mode to edit envelopes by drawing
triangle shapes.

Envelope Draw Tool-Random Mode

Use the Envelope Draw tool in Random mode to edit envelopes by drawing
random shapes.

Save As Track Template

This command is available from the track context menu by right-clicking on
a track. This command opens the Export Track Template dialog. Use this
command to save a track template using the currently selected track as a
template. For more information about track templates, see Track
Templates.

V-Vocal-Create V-Vocal Clip

This command creates a V-Vocal clip on top of selected audio data.
For more information about V-Vocal clips, see V-Vocal Clips.

V-Vocal-Remove V-Vocal
This command removes the V-Vocal processor from the V-Vocal clip.
For more information about V-Vocal clips, see V-Vocal Clips.

V-Vocal-Bypass All V-Vocal Clips

This command bypasses or unbypasses all V-Vocal clips in a single track.
For more information about V-Vocal clips, see V-Vocal Clips.

V-Vocal-Bypass/Unbypass
This command bypasses or unbypasses all V-Vocal clips in a single track.

Menu Reference 1193

Envelope Draw Tool-Saw Mode
 For more information about V-Vocal clips, see V-Vocal Clips.

V-Vocal-V-Vocal Editor
This command opens the V-Vocal interface.
For more information about V-Vocal clips, see V-Vocal Clips.

Pick Tracks Menu

Use this menu to choose what tracks you want to display.

Snap to Grid
Click this button to turn Snap to Grid on or off. Use the dropdown menu that
is next to it to set the Snap to Grid options.

Select Tool
Use this to select data.

Erase Tool
Use this to erase data.

Draw Tool
Use this to draw data or events.

Scrub tool
Plays all displayed tracks as you drag the cursor forward or backward.

Unlink Step Sequencer Clips

This command unlinks the selected step sequencer clips, allowing each clip
to be edited separately from each other.

1194 Menu Reference

V-Vocal-V-Vocal Editor
 See:
To Unlink Copied Step Sequencer Clips

Convert MIDI Clip(s) To Step Sequencer

This command lets you convert any selected MIDI clip to a step sequncer
clip.
See:
To Convert a MIDI Clip(s) to a Step Sequencer Clip(s)

Convert to Mono
This command lets you convert any selected stereo audio clip(s) to mono.

Open Clip Effects Bin

This command opens the clip effects bin.

See:
Effects on Clips

Menu Reference 1195

Convert MIDI Clip(s) To Step Sequencer
1196 Menu Reference
Open Clip Effects Bin
Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software
If you have little or no experience using music software to play and record music, this
guide is for you. This guide explains the terms and concepts you need to know to use
music software. You can get much more help in every Cakewalk program by using the
Help menu, or by pressing F1 when you have any view or dialog box open. All Cakewalk
programs have very basic tutorials in the Online Help that cover recording and playback.
To view these tutorials, open the Help menu, click Help Topics, and look for topics called
Getting Started or Tutorials.
Note: the graphics in this document are from different varieties of Cakewalk software,
including older versions.
The basic way that you use a computer to record and play sound is this: your computer
has a circuit board in it called a sound card, which converts the sound from an electric
instrument or microphone into a long string of numbers, which a computer stores and then
converts back into sound when you want to play the recording. Almost every computer
comes with a sound card which is good enough to make very good, but not fully
professional-level recordings.
The sound card has inputs and outputs on it, which you can see by looking at the back of
your computer.

Inputs and
outputs
Joystick port
 To record, for example, an electric guitar into the computer, you plug one
end of your guitar cable into your guitar, and plug the other end into the Line
input of your sound card. Then you would click the Record button in your
Cakewalk software, start playing your instrument, and then click the Stop
button (or press the Spacebar). The Line input has a little icon next to it,
which is very hard to recognize, so it usually helps to look at the
documentation that came with your sound card or computer. A guitar cable
has a plug on it that is 1/4 inch wide (diameter), and the Line input on low-
priced sound cards is 1/8 inch wide. You need to connect your guitar cable
to a 1/8 inch adapter in order to plug it into most sound cards. These
adapters are inexpensive and are available at most electronics supply
stores.

1/4” to 1/8” adapter

If you want to record an acoustic instrument or vocal, you would use a

microphone. You connect the microphone’s cable to the adapter and plug
the adapter into the Mic input of the sound card. You can get a better
sound, however, by plugging the microphone cable into a preamp, or a
mixer with a preamp, and plugging the outputs of the mixer or preamp into
the Line input of the sound card, instead of the Mic input. You would then
need an adapter to connect the two outputs (left and right) of the mixer or
preamp to the 1/8 inch Line input. Ask the store where you buy your
preamp or mixer what kind of adapter you need to connect to a sound card
that has 1/8 inch inputs.
Professional-quality sound cards do not use 1/8 inch inputs, so you do not
need one of these adapters to use a professional-grade sound card.
To play back the music, you need to connect powered speakers or
headphones to the output of the sound card, which on new computers is
usually painted green. Then you click the Rewind button (or press w) in
your Cakewalk software, and then click the Play button (or press the
Spacebar) to play back what you recorded.
Music software uses two different formats to play and record sound—MIDI
and Audio. Knowing the differences between the two formats is essential
for using most music software. However, some Cakewalk programs, such
as Guitar Tracks Pro, do not use MIDI.
For more information, see:

1198 Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software

 MIDI
Audio
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers

MIDI
Besides introducing MIDI in this section, we’ll explain the following MIDI
topics:
• MIDI Channels, Interfaces, Inputs, and Outputs
• MIDI Drivers
• MIDI Files, Projects, Tracks, and Clips
• Controlling Which Sounds You Hear
Short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, MIDI is a system that lets an
electronic instrument or computer control other instruments. MIDI is largely
a set of commands, called MIDI messages, that cause an electronic
instrument to play specific sounds at specific times, and also to play those
sounds in the style that you dictate. A MIDI instrument functions very much
like a player piano, only instead of using a roll of paper with holes punched
in it, a MIDI instrument needs a software program or other MIDI instrument
to turn its notes on and off. When you record MIDI, you don’t record the
sound of the instrument you’re recording—you record the commands that
play that instrument in the way you want it to be played. For example, when
you press a key on a MIDI keyboard while your Cakewalk software is
recording, the software just records the fact that a certain note was pressed
and then released—the software doesn’t record the actual sound of the
note. When you play back the recording, the software takes control of your
MIDI instrument and turns the note on and then off at the same time in the
song that you did. MIDI notes can be read and displayed by a music
notation program. Digital audio, the sound format used by CDs, Wave files,
and MP3s, can not. After you record your MIDI data you can use Cakewalk
to convert the MIDI data into digital audio so that you can create CDs,
MP3s, or Windows Media files.
MIDI has advantages and disadvantages when compared to digital audio.
MIDI files are much smaller than audio files, since MIDI data is only made
up of the commands to play instruments, instead of the actual sound of the
instruments themselves. You can usually copy one or more MIDI files onto
a floppy disk. You can easily email MIDI files. You can save a MIDI file in a
format called a Standard MIDI File, and then open it and use it in many

Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software 1199

MIDI
 different programs. You can record MIDI music as slowly as you want, and
then change the tempo in your software to play it back at any tempo you
want. Audio files, however, can only play back at approximately the same
tempo they were recorded at without drastically altering the sound quality.
It’s easy to edit and transpose MIDI files, since they are so small and you’re
just editing commands, not actual sound. MIDI files can be printed out as
standard musical notation or lead sheets. It can be harder to make MIDI
music sound as natural as audio. If you don’t record MIDI music in real
time, it can sound mechanical. Some MIDI instruments, especially some of
the acoustic-sounding instruments such as brass, strings, and guitars that
you find on the built-in synthesizers of low-priced sound cards, sound
artificial. However, percussive sounds usually sound quite good on MIDI
instruments, and are much easier to record than a real drum set. You can
also play back MIDI data through any number of hardware or software
samplers that use recordings (samples) of any instrument you can imagine
as sound sources.
For more information, see:
MIDI Channels, Interfaces, Inputs, and Outputs
MIDI Drivers
MIDI Files, Projects, Tracks, and Clips
Controlling Which Sounds You Hear
MIDI
Audio
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers

MIDI Channels, Interfaces, Inputs, and Outputs

Most MIDI instruments can play at least 16 different sounds at the same
time—instruments that can play more than one sound at a time are called
multi-timbral (pronounced multi-tambral). In order to control which sounds
respond to which commands, MIDI messages are marked with a channel
number from 1 to 16. That way a MIDI sound module, such as a drum
machine, can tell which messages are meant for which of the sounds it is
capable of playing. Each instrument has a limit to the number of notes it can
play at one time, counting all the notes it is playing on all the sounds it is
using combined. That number is usually between 32 and 128, and is called
polyphony.
You need some way to get MIDI messages into and out of your computer,
so a MIDI system needs a piece of hardware called a MIDI interface, which

1200 Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software

MIDI
can be a stand-alone module connected to your computer’s parallel, serial,
or USB port; an internal module installed in a slot inside your computer; or
can be part of your sound card (the sound cards that come with most
computers frequently use the joystick port as an input and output for MIDI
data). Your computer sends MIDI messages to your MIDI interface, which
then sends them on to your MIDI instruments. That’s how MIDI software
plays MIDI instruments. A MIDI interface contains inputs and outputs,
labeled MIDI IN and MIDI OUT, which you connect MIDI cables to so you
can send MIDI messages to and from MIDI instruments. MIDI instruments
can be stand-alone synthesizers or can be built into your sound card. Most
inexpensive sound cards have internal synthesizers that can make at least
128 different sounds (if you’re using a synthesizer that’s built into your
sound card, you don’t have to connect that to the sound card, since the
connections are internal to the sound card).

Joystick connector—use this if your MIDI interface is the joystick

port on your sound card.

A. Insert this MIIDI IN plug into the MIDI OUT port on your MIDI instrument B. Insert
this MIIDI OUT plug into the MIDI IN port on your MIDI instrument C. Insert this plug
into the joystick port on your sound card

Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software 1201

MIDI
 Standard MIDI cable—use this if your MIID interface has standard
5-pin input and output ports

A. Connect one end to an OUT on your MIDI interface B. Connect the other end to
an IN on your MIDI instrument

MIDI instruments have inputs and outputs labeled MIDI IN and MIDI OUT.
You connect a MIDI cable from one of your MIDI interface’s MIDI OUTs to a
MIDI IN on an instrument. You also connect a MIDI cable from the MIDI
OUT on one of your MIDI instruments to the MIDI IN on your MIDI interface.
The instrument that you connect to the MIDI IN of your interface is called a
controller, and typically has a piano-style keyboard for sending note on/off
messages, pitch and modulation wheels, and perhaps some sliders on it for
sending other MIDI messages to the interface. You can also get MIDI
converter modules that turn guitars, drums, and other instruments into
controllers. You can use a controller to record yourself playing in real time.
When you play your controller, the MIDI messages go to the interface, then
into your computer, and then back to the interface and to a specific MIDI
instrument that’s connected to the interface. You choose what instrument
the messages come back to by using the software. This process of a
computer sending back out the MIDI messages that it just received is called
echoing. By using echoing, you can play one MIDI instrument, but cause
other MIDI instruments to play. Your controller usually has a setting on it
called Local On/Off. When your controller is connected to your interface,
you need to set the Local On/Off setting to Local Off. That’s because if your
software is set to send MIDI messages back to your controller, when you
play a note on your controller, it is sent to the computer, and then back to
the controller again through its MIDI IN, causing it to play two notes every
time you play one note on it. When your controller is set to Local Off, it
won’t play a note on the controller when you press a key, but only when the
Note On message comes back from the computer, which happens
instantaneously. Remember to set it back to Local On if you’re going to use
the controller separate from the computer.

1202 Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software

MIDI
MIDI instruments have a third port called a MIDI THRU port. This port
passes through MIDI messages without changing them in any way. You can
chain MIDI instruments together by connecting the MIDI THRU port on one
MIDI instrument to the MIDI IN port on another instrument, with several
instruments chained together that way. If you had a MIDI interface that had
8 outputs, and you chained 3 instruments together on each of those outputs
by using the MIDI THRU ports, you would be able to play 24 instruments at
one time.
For more information, see:
MIDI Drivers
MIDI Files, Projects, Tracks, and Clips
Controlling Which Sounds You Hear
MIDI
Audio
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI Channels, Interfaces, Inputs, and Outputs

MIDI Drivers
Your MIDI interface needs a driver to function. A driver is a small software
program that controls input and output for a peripheral device. To use a
MIDI interface in Cakewalk, you need to make sure that your interface’s
driver is installed, and that you have told Cakewalk to use it. That way,
Cakewalk knows to use the driver and to list all of your interface’s inputs
and outputs in the proper menus. If your MIDI interface is part of your sound
card, you probably installed its driver when you installed the sound card.
You can check this in Cakewalk by using the Options-MIDI Devices
command to open the MIDI Devices dialog. In the Outputs list, see if the
name of your MIDI interface is listed. It should be called something like SB
Live MIDI Out. Make sure it is highlighted. In the Inputs list, you should see
something like SB Live MIDI In. Make sure this is highlighted and click OK.
If you don’t see the name of your interface listed, you need to install its
driver from the CD, floppy disk, or Web site that your interface’s
documentation recommends.
After you have installed the driver and restarted your PC, you need to tell
Cakewalk to use this particular driver. Use the Options-MIDI Devices
command to open the MIDI Devices dialog. In the Outputs list, make sure
that the name of your interface’s driver is highlighted. If it isn’t, click it to
highlight it. If your interface has more than one output, make sure you

Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software 1203

MIDI
 highlight the names of all the outputs. The order of the outputs in the list
determines what output numbers Cakewalk gives to each output. So even if
an output on your interface has a label that says 1 or A, if it is not first in the
list in the MIDI Devices dialog, it will not be labeled 1 in Cakewalk. You can
change the order in the list by temporarily deselecting all the outputs except
the one you want to move to the top, and then clicking the Move Selected
Devices To Top button that’s at the bottom of the dialog. Then make sure
you reselect the other outputs you want to use.
For more information, see:
MIDI Files, Projects, Tracks, and Clips
Controlling Which Sounds You Hear
MIDI
Audio
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI Channels, Interfaces, Inputs, and Outputs
MIDI Drivers

MIDI Files, Projects, Tracks, and Clips

In Cakewalk programs, the file that you use to store usually a single song’s
data is called a project. This is the file you use to record, play back, and
edit your song. The file extension for a project is .WRK in older Cakewalk
programs and .CWP in newer ones. Projects that use only the MIDI format
(no digital audio) can be saved in a format called a Standard MIDI File, and
can then be played back in any program or machine that plays MIDI files.
These files have the extension .MID.
The MIDI messages within a project are usually separated into smaller
containers called tracks, and even smaller containers called clips, which
are sections of a track. You usually use tracks to separate the MIDI
messages that are intended to play one kind of sound from the MIDI
messages that play other sounds. You usually assign each track to its own
MIDI channel. A typical MIDI project might have separate tracks for drums,
bass, and piano. In this example, you might assign the bass track to
Channel 2, and the piano track to Channel 5. Then you would set your MIDI
sound module to play a bass sound on Channel 2, and a piano sound on
Channel 5. Instead of manually setting your MIDI modules to play these
sounds, you can send Program Change messages to tell your sound
module what sounds to play on what channels (see Controlling Which
Sounds You Hear). You usually assign drum tracks to Channel 10.

1204 Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software

MIDI
 Because you stored the MIDI messages that are assigned to each sound on
separate tracks, you can then control and edit the stored MIDI messages
that go to one sound without changing the messages that are sent to other
sounds.

Cakewalk Track view

MIDI messages recorded

in Tracks 3,4, and 5

Tracks 1
through 6

Buses

Track pane Show//Hide Bus Clips pane Vertical Zoom

pane button fader—drag to
change track
height

Notice that when you record any data into a track, that Cakewalk displays a
visual representation of the track’s data in the Clips pane. In the above
picture, Tracks 1, 2, and 6 are still empty, while Tracks 3, 4, and 5 contain
recorded data. Also notice that Track 3 is a different color from the other
tracks, meaning that it has the focus, and will make the bass sound when
you play your MIDI keyboard (controller). If you click one of the other MIDI
tracks to change the focus, the sound that’s selected for that track will
sound when you play your controller.

Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software 1205

MIDI
 Track 3 zoomed in to expose track property fields

Track 3’s volume

MIDI instrument that Track 3 is playing

MIDI channel of Track 3

Patch name of Track 3

Transpose field

In the above picture, we zoomed in far enough by dragging the Vertical

Zoom fader (see previous picture) to expose the track property fields for
each track. Use these to choose what MIDI channel each track is sending
its messages out on, what sound (patch) the track is sending the messages
to, how loud the overall track volume is, what MIDI instrument you’re
sending the track’s data to, and several other property choices. Notice that
the track’s number and its MIDI channel are not the same. Track numbers
and MIDI channels have nothing to do with each other, although you
may want to keep them the same in a small project to make remembering
them easier. We could have sent Track 3’s MIDI messages out on any
channel we wanted, just by selecting a different number in the Ch field.
Notice the MIDI cable logo just in front of the track name; the audio track
above it has a different logo to identify it as an audio track. The audio track
has different track property fields from the MIDI track (notice there’s no Ch
field).
For more information, see:
Controlling Which Sounds You Hear
MIDI
Audio
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI Channels, Interfaces, Inputs, and Outputs
MIDI Drivers
MIDI Files, Projects, Tracks, and Clips

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MIDI
Controlling Which Sounds You Hear
Because each MIDI instrument can probably play many different sounds at
the same time, you need a way to tell each instrument which tracks are
meant for which sounds. You do this by assigning a MIDI channel to each
track, and by assigning a specific sound, called a patch or program, to
each track.
Because there are only 16 MIDI channels, and each instrument can
probably play 16 different sounds at the same time, you need a way to
create more MIDI channels to make sure that instruments play only the
notes that are specifically meant for them. The way a MIDI program gets
around this limitation is by assigning an output number to each group of
16 MIDI channels. For example, if your MIDI interface has 8 outputs, you
might set your first 16 tracks to use output 1, the next 16 tracks to use
output 2, and so on. The MIDI messages on the first 16 tracks would only
be sent out through the cable that comes out of the first output port, the
messages from the next 16 tracks would only come out of output 2, and so
on. So if your MIDI interface has 8 outputs, you effectively have 128 MIDI
channels to work with. Of course, the way you choose what output you want
to send a track’s data out of is determined by what instrument is connected
to that output. So, even if you only had a keyboard track and a drum track in
your project, and your favorite keyboard instrument was connected to
output 1 of your MIDI interface and your drum machine was connected to
output 2, you would assign the keyboard track to use output 1 and the drum
track to use output 2.
In the picture below, notice that the two tracks both use Channel 2. But
these are not the same channel! The tracks are assigned to different
outputs, so the MIDI messages in these two tracks will be sent to different
instruments. The bass track will send its data out on Channel 2 of Output 2.
The piano track will send its data out on Channel 2 of Output 1.

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MIDI
 Output
MIDI channel

Output

MIDI channel

If your interface only has one output, and you chain several instruments to
that output by using the MIDI THRU ports on the instruments, you can use
the individual instruments’ own control panels to choose what MIDI
channels they will respond to. That way, an instrument can ignore any
notes or other messages that are meant for a different instrument on the
chain. This setting is usually called MIDI Receive, and might be
abbreviated on an instrument’s control panel as MIDI RX.
Since most projects have several tracks in them, and each track is usually
assigned to a different sound, how do you control what sound you hear
when you press a key on your MIDI controller? In Cakewalk programs,
one of your tracks is always a tan color, because it has the focus. Whatever
track you click grabs the focus, and the sound that’s selected for that track
will sound when you play your keyboard.
For more information, see:
Audio
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI Channels, Interfaces, Inputs, and Outputs
MIDI Drivers
MIDI Files, Projects, Tracks, and Clips
Controlling Which Sounds You Hear
MIDI

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MIDI
Audio
The audio format works by converting any sound that’s recorded into a long
series of numbers, storing and usually editing the numbers, and then
converting the numbers back into sound.
When you record sound using this format, the microphone you use causes
the voltage in its cable to change rapidly as the mic’s diaphragm vibrates.
These rapid changes in voltage are measured and recorded by an analog-
to-digital converter, and these measurements make up what we call
digital audio. To convert digital audio back into sound, a digital-to-analog
converter uses the stored numbers to cause the voltage in a cable to
change rapidly, and this voltage then moves the diaphragm in a
loudspeaker in a similar way to the way that the microphone’s diaphragm
moved originally (unless the numbers have been edited to produce a more
desirable sound). These converters, commonly referred to as A to D or A/D,
and D to A or D/A, are part of your computer’s sound card. Better sound
cards usually keep their converters in a separate box that’s not in the
computer itself, because the computer’s fan and disk drives add noise to
the sound card’s signal.
Digital audio works like cartoon animation. In a cartoon, a series of still
photographs is displayed rapidly in sequence to make it look as if the
objects in the photographs are moving. When digital audio is converted
back into sound, the voltage is changed at regular intervals to simulate
continuous sound. To make high-quality sound, the original voltage during
recording has to be measured, or “sampled,” at rapid enough intervals to
fool your ears into hearing continuous sound. Audio CDs use a sampling
rate of 44,100 per second. To store and edit so many numbers places a big
load on most PCs, much bigger than the processing of MIDI data causes.
For more information, see:
Audio Playback in Cakewalk
Tracks
Clips
Track-by-Track Playback
Connecting an Instrument, Home Stereo, or Microphone to your Sound
Card
Choosing Inputs
Audio Recording
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers

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Audio
 Audio
MIDI

Audio Playback in Cakewalk

To use digital audio in Cakewalk, you first have to make sure that your
sound card and its driver are properly installed. For information about
sound card and driver installation, see your sound card’s documentation,
and also Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers.
After you’ve successfully tested your sound card and driver, you should
play back one of the sample files that came with your Cakewalk software.
To play back a sample file, use the File-Open command, navigate to a
folder that has bundle files in it (they have the extension .BUN or .CWB),
select a bundle file, and click Open. After the file loads, make sure that your
speakers are turned on, and play the file by pressing the Spacebar. You
also can stop the file’s playback by pressing the Spacebar again. You
should hear something. You can rewind the file by pressing w, or by clicking
the rewind button in the Transport toolbar.
If you don’t hear anything, here are several steps to take:

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Audio
Playback Troubleshooting Table

Possible problem... What to do...

The volume setting is turned If your sound card only has one stereo output,
down on your software mixer, your sound card probably responds to the
or wave playback is muted. Windows Mixer. If your sound card has more
than one stereo output, it might not respond to
the Windows Mixer—launch your sound
card’s own mixer software if it has it, and
make sure all volume settings are turned up
and nothing is muted.
To open the Windows Mixer—double-click the
Speaker icon that’s on your Windows taskbar
to open the Play Control dialog. If you
don’t see the Speaker icon on your taskbar,
you can open the Windows Mixer by using the
Start-Programs-Accessories-
Entertainment-Volume Control command.
Make sure that both the Wave Direct Sound
slider and the Play Control slider are turned
up, and that none of the Mute or Mute All
checkboxes at the bottom of the dialog are
checked.

Your speakers aren't Make sure your speakers are on and the
connected properly, or the volume is turned up.
volume is turned down.

Your sound card isn't hooked Run the Microsoft Sound Recorder (Start-
up correctly. 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 it is properly
installed and configured.

Your tracks’ initial volume See Track-by-Track Playback.

settings are too low, or the
tracks are muted.

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Audio
 Possible problem... What to do...
Your audio tracks are Check the playback device assignment for an
assigned to the wrong audio track by clicking the track’s Output
playback device. button or Out field. If the name of your sound
card (the one you have connected to an amp
and speakers) is not selected on the popup
menu, select it. If it’s not listed, use the
Options-Audio command to open the Audio
Options dialog. In the Audio Options dialog
box, make sure the name of your sound card
is highlighted on the Drivers tab under Output
Drivers, and also on the General tab under
Playback Timing Master.
If you don’t see anything resembling the
name of your sound card, anywhere, see the
next step.

Cakewalk doesn't recognize Choose Options-Audio, click the General

your sound card. tab, and then click the Wave Profiler button to
test your audio hardware. Then try playing the
file again.

For more information, see:

Tracks
Clips
Track-by-Track Playback
Connecting an Instrument, Home Stereo, or Microphone to your Sound
Card
Choosing Inputs
Audio Recording
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI

Tracks
A track is represented by a horizontal strip in the Track view that has a
name and number on the left side (each track is also represented by a
vertical module in the Console view). A track is a container you usually use
to keep the sound from each instrument separate from the others—you
usually keep the sound from each instrument on a separate track.

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Audio
In the following picture, you can see the visual results of recording the first 3
notes of “Three Blind Mice” as audio in Track 1, and as MIDI in Track 2.

Three Blind Mice

Name of Track 1

Three Blind Mice

Notice that the graph (or picture, Cakewalk stores these picture files in the
Picture Cache folder in the Cakewalk Projects folder) of the audio data
follows the natural decay in loudness of a sound after each note is struck.
This is as expected since the pictures represent the actual sound that is
recorded. The MIDI track’s graph is much simpler, since it only represents
commands to turn a certain note on for a certain time period, then turn
another note on, etc. We zoomed in on these two tracks far enough to
expose all the track property fields, such as Volume, Pan, Input, Output,
etc. Notice the different logos left of the track names that distinguish audio
tracks from MIDI tracks. Notice the data in the audio track’s Out field: A.
This is the name of the output driver that this particular sound card uses. If
your sound card only has one pair of outputs (or one stereo output), you
don’t have to change anything in the Out field. Cakewalk fills it in
automatically as soon as Cakewalk finishes running the Wave Profiler. If
your sound card has more than one pair of outputs, or you have more than
one sound card installed and enabled on your computer, you can use this
field to choose what pair of outputs you want to hear a specific track played
back through.
For more information, see:
Clips

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Audio
 Track-by-Track Playback
Connecting an Instrument, Home Stereo, or Microphone to your Sound
Card
Choosing Inputs
Audio Recording
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI

Clips
A clip is a portion of the audio or MIDI data in a track that is bounded by a
vertical line on each end of the clip. You can click a clip to select it—a
selected clip becomes highlighted. After you select a clip, you can copy it,
drag it to a new location, delete it, or use any command in the Edit menu to
alter it. A clip can be any size. A clip that is an exact number of beats or
measures and is suitable for repetition, such as a drum pattern, is
frequently called a loop. Clips are also sometimes called events. A track
can have no clips (no data at all), one clip (all the track’s data is in one clip),
or many clips. Having lots of clips in a track increases processing time for
your computer.
In the following picture, the Scissors tool in the Track view toolbar was used
to separate the audio in Track 1 into three clips. You can activate the
Scissors tool by pressing c on your keyboard, at which time the cursor turns
into a small scissors icon. You can press c again to deactivate it, or press t
to activate the Select tool, which is the default Track view tool. After you
activate the Scissors tool you can click the track data at the points where
you want to split it into clips. If your Cakewalk version doesn’t have the
Scissors tool, you can use the Edit-Split command, or right-click a clip and
choose Split from the Clips pane popup menu.

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Audio
 Clips

You can rearrange the sound in both audio and MIDI tracks by dragging
and/or copying clips. The precision of the clips’ movement is governed by
the Snap to Grid button , which you can configure by right-clicking it or
by clicking the dropdown arrow that’s next to it. In the following picture, the
clips in Track 1 have been moved around to reverse their order, so instead
of the first three notes of Three Blind Mice, we now have Mice Blind Three.

Mice Blind Three

For more information, see:

Track-by-Track Playback
Connecting an Instrument, Home Stereo, or Microphone to your Sound
Card
Choosing Inputs
Audio Recording
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI

Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software 1215

Audio
 Track-by-Track Playback
You can change a track’s volume by dragging its volume fader (see picture
below). You can silence a track by clicking its Mute button (any button you
click lights up when it’s enabled). You can also silence all other tracks
besides one if you click a track’s Solo button. You can click either of these
buttons while a project is playing, and you can mute or solo as many tracks
as you want. You can also silence a track by archiving it, but you have to
stop playback to archive or un-archive a track. To archive or un-archive a
track, click the track’s number to select it, and use the Tracks-Archive
command. Archiving a track removes its data from your computer’s
memory (RAM), freeing up more memory for other tracks that you may be
working on.

Mute button Solo button Arm button

Track volume fader—

drag left or right to
change

Archived track

The following table summarizes muting, soloing, and archiving:

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.

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Audio
Track status... What it means...

Soloed Only those tracks that are designated as solo tracks

are played; all others are muted.

If a track is both muted and soloed, it does not play. Mute has precedence.
For more information, see:
Audio Recording
Connecting an Instrument, Home Stereo, or Microphone to your Sound
Card
Choosing Inputs
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI

Audio Recording
If your sound card and driver are properly installed, recording audio data is
mostly a matter of accomplishing two tasks:
• Connecting an instrument, home stereo, or microphone to an input on
your sound card
• Choosing that same input in Cakewalk, your sound card’s software,
and/or Windows
For more information, see:
Connecting an Instrument, Home Stereo, or Microphone to your Sound
Card
Choosing Inputs
Audio Recording
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI

Connecting an Instrument, Home Stereo, or

Microphone to your Sound Card
You need a cable with the correct plug on the end of it to connect an
instrument or mic to your sound card. Low-priced sound cards usually have
1/8 inch analog jacks (inputs) marked Mic and Line, and might have a digital
input marked S/PDIF. The Line input is the correct one for most electronic

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Audio
 instruments such as electric guitars. The Mic input is calibrated to accept
the input from microphones (however, you can usually get a better recorded
sound by plugging a mic into a preamp or mixer with preamp, and plugging
the preamp or mixer into the Line input). The S/PDIF input is the one to use
for digital audio sources such as samplers and some CD players. Guitar
cables usually have a 1/4 inch plug on the end, so to connect an electric
guitar to a 1/8 inch jack, you need a 1/4 inch-to-1/8 inch adapter, which is
readily available at electronics supply stores. If you’re not sure what kind of
inputs your sound card has, you can actually measure their width
(diameter).
If you have a more professional-grade sound card, the input jacks will
probably be 1/4 inch, and you might also have some XLR inputs for low-
impedance microphones, and S/PDIF and possibly AES/EBU connections
for digital input and output. If your microphone cable has an XLR plug on
the end of it (an XLR plug has 3 pins sticking out of it), and your sound card
only has 1/4 inch input jacks, you need to put an XLR-to-1/4 inch adapter
on the end of your microphone cable.
The following table summarizes the possible sound card inputs, types of
cables required, and the inputs to plug into:

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Audio
Type of Cables and Inputs to plug into...
sound card adapters needed...
inputs...

1/8 inch MIc and For most electric Plug instruments into the Line
Line instruments: 1/4 inch input; plug microphones into the
balanced cable Mic input. Alternatively, plug
connected to 1/4 inch-to- mics into preamps, and plug
1/8 inch adapter. For preamps into Line inputs.
mics that have an XLR
plug on their cable: XLR-
to-1/4 inch adapter
connected to 1/4 inch-to-
1/8 inch adapter.

1/4 inch Left and No adapter required for Plug both instruments and mics
Right normal electric into the Left or Right input of a
instrument cable. For pair of inputs. If your instrument
mics that have an XLR has stereo pickups and a stereo
plug on their cable: XLR- cable, you can plug the cable
to-1/4 inch adapter. into both the Left and Right
inputs.

1/4 inch Left and No adapters required Plug instruments into the 1/4
Right, XLR Left inch Left, Right, or both inputs.
and Right Plug a mic into the XLR Left or
XLR Right input.

S/PDIF (Sony/ No adapters required. Connect your digital source

Phillips Digital Use a a 75 ohm coaxial (probably a sampler or CD
Interface) video cable, or special S/ player with digital outputs) to
PDIF cable. Do not use your sound card’s S/PDIF input
standard stereo using a 75 ohm coaxial video
component cables. cable, or special S/PDIF cable.
See To Record Through the S/
PDIF Input.

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:

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Audio
 To sound card microphone input (mono)

1/4” instrument cable

1/4” to 1/8” adapter

The 1/8” plug should be plugged into the sound card’s Line input, although
plugging into the Mic input will also work. If you use the Line input, make
sure you have selected Line-In on the Windows Record Control dialog
(Windows Mixer). If you use the Mic input, select Microphone. To open the
Windows Mixer—double-click the Speaker icon that’s on your Windows
taskbar to open the Play Control dialog. In the Play Control dialog, use
the Options-Properties command, select Recording (under Adjust volume
for), make sure Line-In and Microphone are checked, and click OK. In the
Record Control dialog, click the Select checkbox in either the Line-In or
Microphone column, make sure the sliders are in the upper half of their
range, and click OK. If you don’t see the Speaker icon on your taskbar, you
can open the Windows Mixer by using the Start-Programs-Accessories-
Entertainment-Volume Control command.
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 card’s input, as shown in the following
diagram:

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Audio
 Rack effects units
Rack FX
Rack FX
Rack FX To sound card line input (stereo)
Rack FX
RCA to 1/8” adapter (stereo)
1/4” instrument cable
1/4” to RCA adapter (x2)

This diagram assumes that the output of the rack is at line level (consult
your rack’s documentation). If it is at pro level instead (+4 dB), and your
sound card does not accept a +4 db input, you will need to attenuate (lower)
the F/X rack’s signal. To do this, use a mixer between the rack’s 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 amplifier’s direct output to the sound card,
you should base your setup on this example.
Microphone Direct-In
Microphones can be plugged into the sound card’s Mic input. Some
inexpensive microphones are made especially for use with sound cards and
come equipped with 1/8” plugs. However, better quality microphones take
better quality cables, which do not terminate in 1/8” plugs. The diagram
below illustrates how to connect a microphone that terminates in a 1/4” plug
to a 1/8” input:

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Audio
 Microphone
To sound card microphone input (mono)

XLR to 1/4” microphone cable

1/4” to 1/8” adapter

Home Stereo, CD Player, Radio Tuner, Preamp Output

The output of a stereo component can be connected to the sound card’s
Line input, 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 plugs. In the following diagram, a stereo component
is connected to the Y-adapter using standard RCA cables:

STEREO

RCA / left
ADAPTER 1/8” stereo sound card
RCA / right line in
Y-adapter:
2x RAC to 1/8” stereo

Internal CD Player
If you are using your computer’s internal CD player, and it does not have its
audio output cable connected internally to the sound card, run a cable from
the CD player’s Headphone jack to the card’s Line input. If there is no
Headphone jack, you’ll need to use an external CD player.
Mixer
You can connect a mixer to the sound card with a setup of the following
kind:

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Audio
 From sound card line
output tto inputs #1 & 2
From Aux Bus #1 & 2
to sound card line input

Stereo Amplifier

Main mixer outs to power amp

1/4” instrument cable to input #3

Let’s trace the signal flow in the above picture:

1. Your pre-recorded tracks flow out of the sound card’s outputs into mixer
inputs #1 and 2.
2. Both the pre-recorded tracks and the live guitar’s sound flow into the
main mixer outs, where you can hear them (monitor them) through the
stereo amplifier and speakers.
3. If you turn up the bus send #1 on the guitar input (mixer input #3), the
guitar sound flows into a sound card line input out of bus #1. You could
turn up the bus send #2 control on the guitar input if you wanted to use
that instead, since both buses #1 and #2 are patched into the sound
card’s line input. You could also use both bus sends at the same time to
double the guitar’s mono signal if you wanted (not the usual way to
record).
4. Since you’re already hearing the guitar through the main outputs, you
probably don’t want to hear its signal again coming back through the
sound card’s outputs, so mute the sound card’s line-in on its Play
Control page of its mixer software (not its Record Control page—you
want to record the line-in, but not play it back).
5. If you plug other instruments into other inputs, you can send them into
your sound card’s line input by turning up bus send #1 and/or #2 on
each of the mixer’s channels.

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Audio
 6. If the guitar in the above picture had a stereo pickup and stereo cable,
you could plug the left plug on the cable into input #3 and turn up bus
send #1, and plug the right plug into input #4, and turn up bus send #2
on that input. You would then be sending a stereo signal from the guitar
through buses #1 and #2 to the sound card’s line input.
7. In the above setup, do not turn up the bus sends on inputs #1 or #2
(where the sound card’s line outputs connect to the mixer)—this
creates a feedback loop, feeding the sound card’s outputs back into its
inputs through the buses.
For more information, see:
Choosing Inputs
Audio Recording
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI

Choosing Inputs
After you’ve connected your instrument or other sound source to your
sound card, you need to tell your sound card’s software, Cakewalk, and
possibly the Windows Mixer which input you’re recording through. If you’re
recording through the S/PDIF input, the procedure is a little different (see
To Record Through the S/PDIF Input).
If your sound card only has one pair of inputs (one stereo Line input,
usually, or Line and Mic inputs that can’t be used simultaneously), then
your sound card probably responds to the Windows Mixer.
Use the following procedure to record a track using the Windows Mixer.
To Record with Cakewalk and the Windows Mixer
1. Open the Windows Mixer—double-click the Speaker icon that’s on your
Windows taskbar to open the Play Control dialog. If you don’t see
the Speaker icon on your taskbar, you can open the Windows Mixer by
using the Start-Programs-Accessories-Entertainment-Volume
Control command.
2. In the Play Control dialog, use the Options-Properties command, and
select Recording (under Adjust Volume For).
3. Under Adjust Volume For, make sure Line-In and Microphone are
checked, and click OK.
The Record Control dialog appears.

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Audio
4. If you’re recording through the Line input, click the Select checkbox
that’s at the bottom of the Line-In column, and make sure that the
volume slider in that column is in the upper half of its range (if you’re
recording through the Mic input, do the same actions in the Microphone
column). Minimize the Windows Mixer window.
5. In Cakewalk’s Track view, use the In field in a track you want to record
in to select the input you’re using—select either the Left input of your
sound card to record in mono or the Stereo input to record in stereo.
6. Arm the track for recording (click its R button so that it’s red), and play
your instrument. You should see the Record Meter at the bottom of the
track’s property fields light up. If the meter doesn’t move, see the table
immediately following this procedure.
7. Adjust your instrument’s volume, and/or the volume slider in the Record
Control dialog so that the level in the Record meter almost reaches the
red zone when you play your loudest notes.
8. Record some sound by pressing r to start recording, and pressing the
Spacebar when you’re finished. You can rewind by pressing w.
After you stop recording, you should see a picture of your audio data in the
Clips pane of the track you’re recording in. Don’t forget to disarm the track
and save your project if you want to keep what you recorded.
If you don’t see any movement in the track’s record meter when you play
your instrument, try some of the following:

Possible problem... Solution...

You have chosen a Right input of your Click the armed track’s Input button and
sound card as an input, but your choose the opposite input from the
instrument is plugged into a Left input. currently selected one. If that doesn’t
help, try selecting the Stereo input.

Your instrument is plugged into a Try choosing different-numbered Inputs

different-numbered input from the one until the meter starts to move.
you selected as an input.

Your instrument is not turned up or its Turn up the instrument and try different
cable is bad. cables.

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Audio
 Possible problem... Solution...

You’re using an adapter that doesn’t Try moving the adapter in or out slightly,
quite fit the sound card input. and make sure the cable is plugged all
the way into it.

If your sound card has multiple inputs and has its own mixer software, you
probably don’t need to select inputs in the Windows Mixer. To record
through the analog inputs on your sound card, you probably only need to
set your sound card’s clock to internal, and in Cakewalk’s Track view,
choose the correct number of the inputs you’re connected to in the In field
of the track you’re recording.
To record through the digital input (S/PDIF), see the following procedure.
To Record Through the S/PDIF Input
1. Connect the instrument or CD player you want to record from to your
sound card’s S/PDIF input using a 75 ohm coaxial video cable or
special S/PDIF cable. You may need to turn off the power on your
computer, sound card, and sound source first. See your sound card’s
documentation.
2. Use your sound card’s mixer software to set its clock to external or S/
PDIF.
3. Leave Cakewalk’s clock setting at the default choice, which is Audio.
You can choose clock settings by using the Options-Project command
and clicking the Clock tab.
4. Arm a track, test the input level and adjust input volume, and record
your track.
5. When you’re finished recording, set your sound card’s clock back to
internal, and listen to your recording.
There’s one more type of audio connection you may find on occasion called
AES/EBU, which stands for Audio Engineering Society/European
Broadcasting Union, and is the highest bandwidth digital audio connection.
An AES/EBU connection can use cables longer than 33 feet, which is the
limit for S/PDIF cables. If your sound source has an AES/EBU connection,
you can use your sound card’s S/PDIF jacks to send data to and from the
AES/EBU jacks by purchasing an inexpensive converter, such as the Hosa
CDL-313 (www.hosatech.com).
For more information, see:

1226 Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software

Audio
 Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
Audio
MIDI

Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and

Drivers
There are many different brands of sound cards on the market today. This
section aims to help you get the best out of yours.
See:
Consumer and Professional

Consumer and Professional

There are many sound cards to choose from. Nearly every PC comes with
one. Some are nationally known brands and others are proprietary sound
cards that are made specifically for a single manufacturer. These sound
cards are called “consumer” cards. They are designed to handle the
general multimedia tasks most PC users have, like playing CDs or MP3s,
using your PC as a telephone, or playing computer games. Most consumer
sound cards fit the bill nicely for the average PC user. They can play and
record both audio and MIDI, but there are certain limitations which are
relevant for Cakewalk users. The following list covers the characteristics of
most consumer sound cards. This list is very general and does not
necessarily reflect every sound card that comes bundled with a PC.
Consumer grade sound card characteristics:
• Number of inputs and outputs—Consumer cards nearly always have
two inputs, mic and line in, and one output. Usually, these inputs and
outputs are stereo, meaning there is a left and right channel.
• Type of inputs and outputs—Consumer cards almost always have
eighth inch jacks, requiring an adaptor to use with standard quarter inch
cables (guitar cables, patch cables, etc.).
• Simultaneous recording and playback—Some older consumer sound
cards aren’t capable of simultaneous recording and playback. These
cards are called half-duplex. Cards that are capable of simultaneous
recording a playback are called full-duplex.
• 16-bit, 44100 resolution—Consumer cards are only capable of 16-bit
audio and a sampling rate of 44.1 KHz. While these settings are at CD

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Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
 quality, Cakewalk software is capable of 24-bit audio at a sampling rate
of up to 96 KHz.
• Internal—Consumer sound cards are installed in PCI slots (or ISA for
older sound cards) on your PC’s motherboard. While professional
sound cards are also frequently installed in PCI slots, some provide a
“breakout box” which houses the analog to digital (A to D) and digital to
analog (D to A) converters, keeping them away from the internal noise
a PC generates (fans, hard drives, etc.).
Professional sound card characteristics:
• Multiple inputs and outputs—Many professional sound cards have
multiple inputs and/or outputs. Some have analog and digital inputs or
outputs for use with ADATs and digital mixers.
• Type of inputs and outputs—Professional sound cards use quarter inch
(mono or TRS), XLR or RCA inputs rather than the eighth inch jacks
found on consumer grade sound cards. Some cards also have digital
inputs and/or outputs like S/PDIF and ADAT.
• Higher bit-depths and sampling rates—Most newer professional sound
cards allow you to record at 20, 22 or 24-bit, and at a sampling rate of
up to 96 KHz.
• Onboard DSP—Some sound cards have effects processors for things
like reverb and delay built into the sound card. These can take a big
load off of your computer.
• High quality A to D and D to A converters (Analog to Digital and Digital
to Analog)—The quality of your recordings ultimately depends on the
quality of sound that you initially record. Professional sound cards have
higher-quality components that convert the sound into and back out of
the digital format.
See:
How do I know if I have a hardware conflict?

How do I know if I have a hardware conflict?

If you have a hardware conflict, you may see the following:
• one or more devices not working properly
• one or more devices not showing up in Device Manager
• your system crashing every time you use the device(s)
See:

1228 Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software

Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
Installation and Drivers
WDM and MME
IRQs
Cakewalk and Audio Hardware

Installation and Drivers

When you install a sound card, you are installing both the hardware and
software called a driver. The sound card driver is what allows your
operating system and your sound card to communicate. This section is
aimed at preventing problems when installing both your sound card and its
driver.
Installing a Sound Card
Follow your sound card’s documentation for installing the sound card in
your PC. If you are installing a PCI card, or any hardware that requires you
to open the cover of your PC, be careful to discharge any static electricity
you are carrying by touching the metal casing of your PC before handling
the sound card itself. Static electricity can damage a sound card’s circuitry.
Installing a Driver on Windows 98 and Windows Me
You sound card should come with software, too. Some manufacturers
provide a driver setup program that takes you through the driver installation.
Always use the manufacturer’s software installation program if one is
provided. If one is not provided, follow this procedure:
1. Click the Start button and select Settings-Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel, double-click on Add New Hardware.
3. In the Add New Hardware wizard, click the next button.
4. Select No when the Add New Hardware wizard asks you “Do you want
Windows to search for your new hardware?”
5. From the list of Hardware types, select Sound, Video and Game
Controllers, and click the Next button.
6. Select Have Disk.
7. If the driver is on a CD-ROM or a diskette, place it in the appropriate
drive.
8. In the Open dialog, use the Browse button to navigate to where the
driver is located and select it.
9. Click OK.

Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software 1229

Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
 10. Click Finish.
11. In the Driver Set Up dialog, select the hardware settings that match
what the multimedia device is physically set to, and click OK.
12. Click Yes to restart your computer.
Installing a Driver on Windows 2000 and Windows XP
You sound card should come with software, too. Some manufacturers
provide a driver setup program that takes you through the driver installation.
Always use the manufacturer’s software installation program if one is
provided. If one is not provided, follow this procedure:
1. Click the Start button and select Settings-Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel, double-click on Add New Hardware.
The Add/Remove Hardware Wizard dialog appears.
3. Click Next.
4. Select Add/Troubleshoot a Device and click Next.
The system searches then asks you to select from a list of devices.
5. Select Add a New Device and click Next.
6. Select No, I Want to Select the Hardware from a List and click Next.
7. In the list of hardware types, select Sound, Video and Game
Controllers and click Next.
8. Click Have Disk.
The Install From Disk dialog appears.
9. Using the Browse button, navigate to the directory where the sound
card driver is located (CD-ROM, diskette, hard disk, etc.) and click OK.
The Locate a File dialog appears.
10. Select the driver file you want to use for your sound card and click
Open.
The Install From Disk dialog appears again.
11. Click OK.
The Add/Remove Hardware Wizard dialog appears again.
12. Select the your hardware model from the list in the Models field and
click Next.
13. Click Next to start installation.

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Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
14. Click Finish.
WDM and MME
In most situations, the newer WDM (Windows Driver Model) sound card
drivers that most sound card vendors are creating are a much better choice
than the older MME (Multi-Media Extensions) drivers. If your sound card
vendor has a WDM driver, it’s usually a good idea use it. The following table
compares their characteristics:

WDM… MME…

Lower latency Usually higher latency

Works with Windows 2000, ME, Works with Windows 98, and ME. Some
98 SE, but not 98 Gold MME drivers may work with Windows 2000.

Not every sound card vendor has MME drivers are widely available.
produced a WDM driver. Note: If you use two or more sound cards at
the same time, and not all of them have
WDM drivers, you must force the WDM
drivers to function as MME drivers. Do this in
the Audio Options dialog box (except in GT
Pro) on the Advanced tab by checking the
Always Use MME Interface Even When
WDM Drivers Are Available checkbox.
In GT Pro, see the README document that
came with your software.

IRQs
An IRQ (Interrupt Request) is an assigned location where the CPU expects
to be interrupted by a device when it has completed a task. There are 16
IRQs on a PC. Usually, three or four are taken by the system, leaving 12 or
13 for other devices, like printers, USB devices, hard disks, floppy disk
drives, keyboard and sound card. Some of these devices can share an IRQ
with other devices, but for the most part this is not a good thing, and for a
sound card which can use a lot of CPU power, it can be a real problem. IRQ
conflicts can cause your system to freeze or fail to boot up properly, or the
system may fail to recognize your sound card. Sometimes the problem only
reveals itself when you attempt to use the device that is sharing an IRQ.

Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software 1231

Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
 Checking IRQ Settings in Windows 98 and Windows Me
If your computer is running Windows 98 or Windows Me, use this
procedure:
1. Right-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and select
Properties from the menu that appears.
The System Properties dialog appears.
2. Click the Device Manager tab.
3. In the Device Manager section, click on the Computer entry at the very
top and click the Properties button.
The Computer Properties dialog appears.
4. If necessary, click the Interrupt request (IRQ) radio button.
The IRQ settings appear.
Look for your sound card in the Hardware Using the Setting column. Check
all other devices to determine if other devices are sharing an IRQ with your
sound card (Note: IRQ Holder for PCI Steering is not a device, and does
not cause a conflict). If your sound card shares an IRQ with another device,
and you are experiencing problems with your sound card, see IRQ
Conflicts.
Checking IRQ Settings in Windows 2000 and Windows
XP
If your computer is running Windows 2000, use this procedure:
1. Right-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and select
Properties from the menu that appears.
The System Properties dialog appears.
2. Click the Hardware tab.
3. In the Hardware section, click the Device Manager button.
The Device Manager dialog appears.
4. In the Device Manager dialog, click the View button and select View
Resource by Type.
5. Expand the Interrupt request (IRQ) entry to expand it.
The IRQ settings appear.
Look for your sound card in the Hardware Using the Setting column. Check
all other devices to determine if other devices are sharing an IRQ with your
sound card (Note: IRQ Holder for PCI Steering is not a device, and does

1232 Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software

Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
not cause a conflict). If your sound card shares an IRQ with another device,
and you are experiencing problems with your sound card, see IRQ
Conflicts.
IRQ Conflicts
Newer motherboards often use something called ACPI (Advanced
Configuration and Power Interface) which controls IRQ settings, in effect
overriding the motherboard IRQ settings. ACPI, just like Plug and Play, can
sometimes lead to shared IRQs and problems with your sound card.
Checking for ACPI on Your System:
1. Look at your IRQ settings. If you don’t know how, see Checking IRQ
Settings in Windows 98 and Windows Me or Checking IRQ Settings in
Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
2. Look for an entry that says “ACPI.”
Resolving IRQ Conflicts on a Non-ACPI System
The easiest way to resolve a conflict may be to remove the piece of
hardware that is conflicting with your sound card. Of course, this is not
always possible, but if you have a modem, network card, or some other
hardware device that you do not use, removing it (and its driver) may free
up an IRQ for your sound card.
Sometimes you can change a sound card’s IRQ setting by physically
moving the card to another PCI/ISA slot, or by moving several hardware
devices to new slots. To do this, uninstall the hardware you want to move,
along with its driver, put the hardware devices in their new slots and
reinstall their drivers. Once you have completed this, check the IRQ settings
again.
If moving or removing hardware did not help, you may be able to use the
system BIOS to change an IRQ setting. To see if your BIOS allows you to
make changes to your systems IRQ settings, consult your motherboard’s
documentation.
Resolving IRQ Conflicts on an ACPI System
If you are experiencing an IRQ conflict on an ACPI system, you may want to
turn off ACPI. This varies depending on your OS, BIOS and motherboard.
Consult your PC manufacturer’s documentation or technical support for
instructions on how to do this.
Cakewalk and Audio Hardware
The following tips will help you get the most out of your sound card and
Cakewalk software:

Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software 1233

Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
 • Use Cakewalk’s Wave Profiler anytime your install a new sound
card—Wave Profiler determines the correct settings for your sound
card.
• Read the documentation for your sound card—You can save
yourself a lot of time by learning about your hardware before you try to
use it. Many sound cards have their own control panels which allow you
to customize the card’s settings.
For more information, see:
Audio
MIDI
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
Audio Playback in CakewalkTracks
Tracks
Clips
Track-by-Track Playback
Connecting an Instrument, Home Stereo, or Microphone to your Sound
Card
Choosing Inputs
Audio Recording

1234 Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software

Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
Dialog Reference
Use the Contents tab, Index or Search tab to find the dialog you are looking for.

About SONAR dialog

When you use the Help-About SONAR command, the Cakewalk logo appears, with the
version number of your Cakewalk product listed below it.

Apply Audio Effects dialog

This dialog gives you several options when applying audio effects:
Delete the effects from the track effects bin—This option lets you either keep your
effects patched in the selected track(s) after the effects have been applied, or delete the
effect from the track(s).
Fast bounce—This option is normally enabled but should be disabled if the track you are
bouncing contains the External Insert plug-in (see External Insert Plug-in). If you bounce
audio that uses the External Insert plug-in, the bounce operation must be performed in
real-time.
Audible bounce—The Audible bounce option is only available when in real-time bounce
mode (when Fast bounce is unchecked). When Audible bounce is unchecked, no audio
output will be heard during the bounce process. When in real-time bounce mode (Fast
bounce unchecked) and Audible bounce is enabled, you can hear the output of the
mixdown.
Note: Depending on the gainstages used in the project and the mixdown options
selected–such as bouncing with source category assigned to Tracks, or with mute/
solo or automation disabled in the bounce settings or while freezing tracks–the output
may be louder or softer than during normal playback. Please be sure to turn down the
master output level before using real-time audible bounce under these scenarios to
avoid the possibility of speaker damage.
 Apply MIDI Effects dialog
When you select Apply MIDI Effects from the Process menu, the Apply
MIDI Effects dialog box appears. This dialog box lets you select options for
applying MIDI effects to selected MIDI data. You can choose to delete the
effect from the patch point after it is applied, so that it will not be reapplied
on playback.

See also:
Applying MIDI Effects

Assign Instruments dialog

The Options-Instruments command opens the Assign Instruments dialog
box. This command lets you choose one or more output/channel
configurations and assign an instrument to it or them.
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 Music Creator SONAR are the
ones that match 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. If you have several MIDI outputs, with a different
instrument attached to each one, you would normally assign a different
instrument 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 the first 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.

1236 Dialog Reference

Apply MIDI Effects dialog
You might also want to split channels to different instruments if you have
several instruments attached to a single MIDI output. For example, you
might have a Roland synth receiving on MIDI channels 1-9, a Roland drum
machine receiving on channel 10, and a basic GM-compatible synth
receiving on channels 11 through 16. In this case, you'd use three different
instrument definitions for your one and only MIDI output.
The Assign Instruments dialog box has the following fields:
Output/Channel
This field lists all your MIDI outputs and all the channels for each output.
Highlight the output/channel combination you want to assign an instrument
definition to. You can select several output/channel combinations at the
same time (for example, all 16 channels of a output) by Ctrl-clicking or Shift-
clicking.
Uses Instrument
This field lists all the instrument definitions that are currently stored by
SONAR. Selecting one binds it to any output/channel combinations that are
selected in the Output/Channel field.
Save Changes for Next Session
Click this checkbox if you want to reuse any new combinations you made
the next time you open SONAR.
Define button
Clicking this button opens the Define Instruments and Names dialog box,
which allows you to define your own MIDI instruments, if they are not MIDI
standard.

For step by step instructions, see:

Dialog Reference 1237

Assign Instruments dialog
 To Assign Instrument Definitions to MIDI Outputs and Channels
To Clear Instrument Assignments
To Create a New Instrument

Assign Series of Inputs dialog

The Selected Track Input Series command in the Track view Input control
dropdown menu opens the Assign Series of Inputs dialog.
Use this command to assign a series of consecutive mono input ports to the
selected audio tracks.
The First Input to Assign combobox lets you specify the audio input port
that should be assigned to the first selected track. If a left or right input is
selected, then mono inputs will be assigned. If a stereo input is selected,
then stereo inputs will be assigned.

See:
To Assign Different Audio Input Ports to Multiple Tracks

Audio CD Burner dialog

The Tools-Burn Audio CD command opens the Audio CD Burner dialog.
Use this command to burn your tracks to an audio CD. Tracks must meet
the following criteria:
• All audio tracks must be stereo Wave files (extension .wav).
• Sample rate must be 44,100 Hz.
• Bit depth must be 16.
The Audio CD Burner dialog has the following controls:
• Track List—the main area of the window is the track list. The tracks

1238 Dialog Reference

Assign Series of Inputs dialog
 comprise the sounds that will be written (burned) to an audio CD. Each
track is contained on its own line.
• Add Track—browse to your local file system and add a new track to the
list. All Audio Tracks must be stereo .wav files with a sample rate of
44,100 Hz, and a bit depth of 16. New tracks will go at the end of the
list but can be moved anywhere. After a track is added, its size is
added to the Space Used field, and subtracted from the Space
Available field.
• Move Up / Down—move the selected item(s) up or down in the track list
order.
• Delete Track—remove a track from the list.
• Target Drive—the Target Drive specifies the CD writing device to be
used. The program scans your system to locate all available CD writing
devices. Click on the arrow next to the drive letter to refresh the Target
Drive. This process will verify if a blank CD has been placed in the
drive. Once the blank CD has been verified, the available CD capacity
is listed below the Track List.
• Burn CD—verifies, performs a layout of the tracks and writes the
current track list to CD medium in the selected drive. After the disk is
completed, the disk is ejected from the drive.
• Test Burn—verifies, performs a layout of the tracks and simulates
burning the current track list to CD.
• Cancel Burn—this button appears when either Burn CD or Test Burn
has been selected. It causes the current operation to be aborted.

Dialog Reference 1239

Audio CD Burner dialog
 Audio Meter Settings dialog
SONAR’s meters are extremely adjustable. The Audio Meter Settings
dialog allows you to adjust the rise and fall times of both the RMS and Peak
Meters. These settings control meter ballistics globally for all types of
meters in SONAR.
The following is a description of each option:
Refresh Rate (msec)
This field determines how often the meters are updated. Valid values range
from 25 msec (forty times per second) to 250 msec (four times per second).
Peak Hold
• Decay Rate (msec/dB)—When Hold Peaks is enabled (see Changing
the Meters’ Display), this setting describes how fast the peaks fall after
the established Hold Time.
• Hold Time (msecec)—When Hold Peaks is enabled (see Changing the
Meters’ Display), this setting describes for how long peaks will sit still
before dropping
Rise/Fall Times (times to change 20dB)
• RMS
• Rise (msecec)—the time it takes for an RMS meter to register a 20dB
rise in signal.

1240 Dialog Reference

Audio Meter Settings dialog
 • Fall (msecec)—the time it takes for an RMS meter to register a 20dB
fall in signal.

• Peak
• Rise (msecec)—the time it takes for a Peak meter to register a 20dB rise
in signal.

• Fall (msecec)—the time it takes for a Peak meter to register a 20dB fall
in signal.

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
Segmented Meters
The Track View and Console View checkboxes let you display the meters in
segmented fashion in the respective views.
For more information, see Metering.

Audio Mixdown Options dialog

Clicking the Mixdown Options button in the Export Video dialog opens the
Audio Mixdown options dialog. This dialog lets you control the
characteristics of the audio file you export when you export a video from
SONAR.
This dialog has the following fields:
• Preset—You can name and save a preset which includes the source
bus and all mix enable selections.
• Channel Format—choose Mono, Stereo, or Multichannel.
• Sample Rate—choose the sample rate that you want your exported
audio to use.
• Bit Depth—choose the bit depth that you want your exported audio to
use.

Dialog Reference 1241

Audio Mixdown Options dialog
 • Dithering—choose between five available types of dithering.
• Source Bus(es)—choose the bus or sound card driver you want to use
to export your audio file.
• Mix Enables—choose all the different audio components you want to
include in your exported audio file. You usually include everything. If
you include either Track FX or Bus FX, it’s a good idea to add an extra
measure to the end of your project to contain any reverb tails that your
effects produce. Checking Fast Bounce causes the audio export
process to go as fast as possible, as opposed to exporting in real-time.
The Audible bounce option is only available when in real-time bounce
mode (when Fast Bounce is unchecked). When Audible bounce is
unchecked, no audio output will be heard during the bounce process.
When in real-time bounce mode (Fast Bounce unchecked) and Audible
bounce is enabled, you can hear the output of the mixdown.
Note: Depending on the gainstages used in the project and the
mixdown options selected–such as bouncing with source category
assigned to Tracks, or with mute/solo or automation disabled in the
bounce settings or while freezing tracks–the output may be louder or
softer than during normal playback. Please be sure to turn down the
master output level before using real-time audible bounce under these
scenarios to avoid the possibility of speaker damage.

Audio Options dialog—General

The Options-Audio command opens the Audio Options dialog box.
Choose the General tab to control the following options:
Playback Timing Master and Record Timing Master
These two options determine which sound cards should control timing for
the song, if you’re using multiple wave drivers for playback or recording.
Note that if you’ve got two wave drivers, but all audio tracks are playing on
only one wave driver, then that driver will be the timing master no matter
what you choose.
Every sound card’s 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. Multiple wave drivers on the same card will
not have sync problems.

1242 Dialog Reference

Audio Options dialog—General
Audio Driver Bit Depth
Determines the number of bits per sample used for communicating with the
audio hardware for playback. Your audio hardware must be capable of
supporting the setting you supply here. In SONAR™, choose between 16,
18, 20, 22 and 24. In most cases, even if your hardware is "advertised" as
being 18 or 20 bit, you will want to set this value to 24 for optimum
performance.
Note: Using an audio driver bit depth that is greater than 16 means you also
need to choose a preferred setting in the Stream >16 Bit Data As field on
the Driver Profiles tab of this dialog box.
Double-precision Engine
Enabling this checkbox chooses 64-bit (double-precision) mixing in SONAR
throughout the entire signal path. This includes dithering and plug-ins.
SONAR will send and receive 64-bit data to and from all plug-ins that
accept 64-bit data. If a plug-in requires 32-bit data, SONAR will send and
receive 32-bit data.
Stereo Panning Law
Use this menu to choose a panning law for the current project and new
projects. The current project’s panning law is also displayed in the File Stats
window, which appears when you open the File Info dialog (File-Info
command), and click the File Stats button.
Determines the mathematical formula used to control panning. The choices
are:
• (Default) 0 dB center, sin/cos taper, constant power—this choice
causes a 3 dB boost in a signal that’s 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 power——this choice causes no
boost in a signal that’s 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 power—this choice causes a 3
dB boost in a signal that’s 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 power——this choice causes
no boost in a signal that’s panned hard left or right, and 3dB dip in
output level in either channel when the signal is center panned.
• -6dB center, linear taper——this choice causes no boost in a signal
that’s panned hard left or right, and 6dB dip in output level in either
channel when the signal is center panned.

Dialog Reference 1243

Audio Options dialog—General
 • 0 dB center, balance control——this choice causes no boost in a signal
that’s panned hard left or right, and no dip in output level in either
channel when the signal is center panned.
Dim Solo Gain
Dim Solo is a mode in which non-soloed audio tracks/buses are still audible
but at a reduced level. The default gain reduction is -6dB, but can also be
configured for -12dB and -18dB.

See:
Dim Solo Mode
Default Settings for New Projects
• The Sampling Rate drop-down list allows you to enter or select an
audio sampling rate for a new .cwp file. Once any audio has been
added to a .cwp file — either by recording audio or by using the File-
Import-Audio command—you can’t change the sampling rate for that
.cwp file. Therefore, you should choose the sampling rate immediately
after choosing File-New to start a new song.
You can choose one of the following sampling rates: 11025 Hz, 22050
Hz, 44100 Hz, 48000 Hz, 88200, 96000, 176400 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.
Mixing Latency (MME and WDM drivers only)
• The Buffers in Playback Queue values determine the buffer
characteristics for transfers to and from the audio drivers. Lowering this
value improves audio latency, though making it too low makes your
system more susceptible to stuttering or dropouts
• The Buffer Size Slider enables you to set mixing latency manually,
overriding the value set by the Wave Device Profiler. Lower numbers
increase the risk of audio problems. WDM sound card drivers offer

1244 Dialog Reference

Audio Options dialog—General
 lower latency than the older MME type.
Wave Profiler (MME and WDM drivers only)
Wave Profiler attempts to detect the make and model of your sound card,
which determine the card’s DMA (Direct Memory Access) settings. Once
Wave Profiler identifies the card, it displays the results and asks whether
you want to use the default settings for that card or to override them:
If Wave Profiler has identified your card correctly, you may accept the
default settings. Otherwise, Wave Profiler will run a series of tests to
attempt to determine the correct DMA settings. Usually this process is
successful; however, if it is not, you will need to enter the correct settings in
the Device Profiles tab of the Audio Options dialog box.
To determine the correct settings, consult your sound card documentation.
Our web site, at www.cakewalk.com, contains the latest DMA settings for
commonly used sound cards.
The Wave Profiler utility runs automatically the first time you run SONAR.
You need not run it again unless you install a new sound card or an updated
driver for your current sound card.
Wave Profiler will not analyze the card at the 48 kHz sampling rate. It
assumes that 48 kHz settings are the same as 44 kHz settings. If your
sound card doesn’t sync to 48kHz, you may need to enter the settings
manually.
ASIO Panel (ASIO drivers only)
This button opens a dialog where you can set the buffer size for your ASIO
driver and change the driver configuration. See your sound card’s
documentation for more information.
For more information, see:
Improving Audio Performance

Audio Options dialog—Advanced

The Options-Audio command opens the Audio Options dialog box.
Choose the Advanced tab to control the following options:
File System
• Enable Read Caching and Enable Write Caching—Choosing either of
these options lets SONAR use the Windows disk cache while reading
or writing audio data. SONAR will usually perform best with all caching
disabled, which is the default setting. If your computer has an older IDE

Dialog Reference 1245

Audio Options dialog—Advanced
 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.
• I/O Buffer Size—This value determines the buffer characteristics for
transfers to and from the disk. Changing this value does not affect
audio latency, but will affect the disk throughput for audio tracks. The
default setting is 128. A higher value causes more audio to be buffered
from the disk ahead of the playback cursor. If you are hearing
consistent dropouts/clicks in your audio and if your project contains
high bit depth (32/64 bit) or high sample rate audio (88.2K or higher), it
may be indicative of a too small I/O buffer size. If so try a higher I/O
buffer size like 256 or 512. If audio problems persist, reset to 128 and
try a different remedy.
Also, if you are playing a large file, and using maximum latency, a too-small
I/O buffer size may cause dropouts or crashes. Try increasing the buffer size
by blocks of 128.

Playback and Recording

• Driver Mode dropdown menu—Select from WDM/KS, ASIO or MME.
Consult your hardware documentation to determine which driver your
hardware uses. WDM/KS drivers are the latest available and typically
have very low latency. MME is an older driver type and has higher
latencies. ASIO drivers also offer lower latency. Your hardware may
have all three driver options. If so, you should try WDM first.
• Dithering—whenever an audio signal is converted from a higher-bit
resolution to a lower resolution, it is necessary to apply dither to avoid
introducing undesirable quantization noise or harmonic distortion into
the signal. The purpose of dither is to reduce the resulting distortion by
adding low-level random noise or “dither” to the audio signal. Different
mathematical calculations are used to generate dither, each method
has advantages and disadvantages depending on the particular
operation. SONAR features the Pow-r dithering process, short for
Psycho-acoustically Optimized Wordlength Reduction, which can
produce lower-bit files that sound indistinguishable from higher-bit
source files. When this option is turned on, SONAR uses dithering
when you export a higher-bit file at a lower resolution, or lower the bit
depth of a project’s audio files by using the Tools-Change Audio
Format command, or when you “render” audio (bounce, freeze, or
apply effects).
This option is turned on whenever the Dithering field has a value other
than None. You can choose bit depths for recording, importing, and

1246 Dialog Reference

Audio Options dialog—Advanced
 rendering (bouncing, freezing, and applying effects) on the Audio Data tab
of the Global Options dialog (opens with Options-Global
File-Export-Audio

Pow-r types 2 and 3, lower perceived loudness than Rectangular or

Triangular. Disadvantages: less noise shaping than Pow-r types 2 and
3, not recommended for operations where dither will be applied
successively (e.g. bounce and freeze).

• Pow-r 2—noise-shaped dither. Advantages: lowest perceived loudness,

highest quality settings, recommended for audio export. Disadvantages:
highest CPU-intensive settings, not recommended for operations where
dither will be applied successively (e.g. bounce and freeze).

• Pow-r 3—same as Pow-r 2 except most CPU-intensive and transparent

of all choices.

• Share Drivers With Other Programs—This option allows other software

to access device drivers. When this option is checked, other software
can access device drivers when SONAR is not the focus of Windows.
• Use Multiprocessing Engine—This option is grayed out unless you
have a multiprocessor computer. If you have a multiprocessor
computer, check this option if you want SONAR to use both processors
at all times. If you do not check this option, SONAR still uses the
second processor for some tasks.
• Use MMCSS (Windows Vista)—This option is grayed out unless you
use Windows Vista. This option gives real-time applications such as
SONAR higher priority for resource scheduling (thread scheduling)
under Windows Vista (leave it checked).
• Play Effect Tails After Stopping—When checked, this option causes

Dialog Reference 1247

Audio Options dialog—Advanced
 any effect with a “tail” (reverb, delay, etc.) to finish playing when
playback is stopped.
• Always Open All Devices—With this option checked, SONAR opens all
enabled stereo pairs of audio outputs as soon as you press play or turn
on the audio engine. Any pairs that don’t have any tracks feeding them
stream silence, but are still ready for use. So if you then change a
track's output assignment on the fly SONAR doesn’t have to reopen a
device, which can cause gaps in playback.
• Remove DC Offset During Record—With this option enabled, SONAR
filters out any DC Offset disturbances that may be present during
recording. See Removing DC Offset for more information.
Synchronization
SONAR gives you two choices for synchronizing your audio tracks to
SMPTE or MIDI Time Code:
• Trigger and Freewheel—With this option audio playback starts (or
triggers) at the exact timecode, but then the audio plays at its own
internal rate. The audio can gradually drift away from SMPTE time due
to variations in the timecode signal.
• Full Chase Lock—With this option the speed of audio playback is
continuously adjusted to stay with the timecode.
• Timing Offset (msec)—With this option, used for making very fine
adjustments to the audio/MIDI synchronization of your project, you can
offset the audio in your project by a number of milliseconds. A positive
value delays audio by that amount. A negative value delays MIDI by
that amount.
Record Latency Adjustment (samples)
If you loop an audio output back into an audio input, and re-record a track
this way, the audio doesn’t line up. For some sound cards, it is off quite
significantly. This record latency adjustment is a compensation for that
delay.
You can do an approximate measurement of the delay by turning on
samples as the resolution unit in the Time Ruler, and comparing the original
track with the re-recorded track. Then you can enter a value in the Manual
Offset field to compensate.
If you use ASIO mode, enter 0 in the Manual Offset field and leave the
Reported Input Latency checkbox checked (this check box only appears in
ASIO mode). This will line up audio in most cases. If you think you can
tweak it closer, use the Manual Offset field.

1248 Dialog Reference

Audio Options dialog—Advanced
 In ASIO mode, the current active ASIO device (remember ASIO can only
have one active at a time) reports its "Input Latency." You can't edit this
value. This supposedly accounts for buffer size, A/D Conversion latency,
etc. The checkbox allows you to use this reported value. It is checked by
default. In any case, the amount entered into the Manual Offset field will be
combined (added to) the reported value if you have it checked.

Audio Options dialog—Drivers

The Options-Audio command opens the Audio Options dialog box.
Choose the Drivers tab to display a two-column list of available drivers, and
selectively enable them by clicking the corresponding check box. You can
change the driver name by clicking the name in the first column and typing
in your preferred name, or friendly name, for the driver.
Input Drivers
These control recording.
Output Drivers
These control playback.
Use Friendly Names to Represent Audio Drivers
If you enable this check box, the Input and Output menus in audio tracks
and buses will use whatever friendly names you’ve created for your Input
and Output drivers. Friendly driver names are global, not per-project.
For more information, see:
Improving Audio Performance

Audio Options dialog—Driver Profiles

The Options-Audio command opens the Audio Options dialog box.
Choose the Driver Profiles tab to view the sound card buffer settings that
the Wave Profiler has come up with. The various fields show the following
data: This tab only appears when in MME or WDM/KS driver mode.
Show Profile for
This field shows the name of the sound card driver that the displayed
settings are for.
Stream > 16 bit data as
Sound cards that handle audio formats greater than 16 bits have a
preferred format for the data, the variations of which you can see by clicking

Dialog Reference 1249

Audio Options dialog—Drivers
 the dropdown arrow in this field. Consult your sound card’s documentation
to choose the optimum setting.
DMA Buffer Sizes
These fields list the buffer characteristics for each sound card that the
Wave Device profiler has come up with. In general, it is better not to change
these settings without consulting SONAR technical support.
For more information, see:
Improving Audio Performance

AudioSnap Options
This dialog appears when you click the Options button in the AudioSnap
Palette.
This dialog has the following fields:
Quantize
• Pool Transient Window (ms)—when you double-click a marker, not
only does the marker become selected, but all markers to the right of
the marker become selected if they are located less than this field’s
value away from the original marker.
MIDI Extraction
• Convert to MIDI Note—this field lets you choose what MIDI note all the
transients in the clip will be converted to.
• Note Velocities
• Vary with Pulse Level—this option causes the velocities of the notes in
the MIDI clip to vary with the level of the transients in the audio clip.

• Set All to Same Value—this field lets you enter a velocity that all the
MIDI notes in the clip will use.

Split Beats
• Auto Fade Split Clips—enabling this check box causes a cross fade to
be added to all split clips, using a fade length in milliseconds that you
set in the ms field in this section.
Default Stretch Algorithm
• Online—this choice determines what stretch algorighm is used during
real-time playback. The Percussion options works better than the
Groove Clip option on percussive material, especially if the stretching is
by more than a few beats per minute.

1250 Dialog Reference

AudioSnap Options
 • Offline Rendering—this dropdown menu lets you choose the algorithm
that is used when you export or freeze stretched audio. The choices in
the dropdown menu are:
• Groove clip—this choice works faster, using less processing power.

• iZotope Radius Mix—this is better for clips containing polyphonic,

stereo data.

• iZotope Radius Solo—this is better for clips containing monophonic,

solo instruments.

• Percussion—this is the best choice for percussion sounds.

Automation Read/Write Parameters

This dialog appears when you right-click the name of a plug-in in an FX bin
and choose Read Enable Parameter or Write Enable Parameter from the
popup menu.
This dialog has the following fields:
Parameter Read Enabled
Parameter “n” check box—the enabled check boxes in this list show what
parameters of the plug-in are automation read-enabled. You can check or
uncheck each of these check boxes.
Parameter Write Enabled
Parameter “n” check box—the enabled check boxes in this list show what
parameters of the plug-in are automation write-enabled. You can check or
uncheck each of these check boxes.
Enable All
Click this button to enable all check boxes.
Disable All
Click this button to disable all check boxes.

Auto-Send Sysx dialog

The Auto-Send Sysx dialog box appears when you open a project that
contains Sysx data. The dialog box lets you choose whether to send the
System Exclusive data to your MIDI instrument at that time. If you don’t
want to, click Cancel. You can send the data later, if you choose to, by
using the Sysx view.

Dialog Reference 1251

Automation Read/Write Parameters
 See also:
Using the System Exclusive View

AVI Encoder Options dialog

Clicking the Encoding Options button in the Video dialog opens the AVI
Encoder Options dialog. This dialog lists the AVI video and audio codecs
(compression-decompression programs) that are currently installed on your
computer. The AVI Encoder Options dialog has the following fields:
Video Codec
Choose a compression format, but note the following:
• Not all compression codecs listed may necessarily be compatible while
re-compressing video through "Export to AVI." If an incompatible
compression codec is selected an error message may be displayed
during the export.
• If No Compression is selected, the video retains its original
compression.
• The following video compression codecs have been found to be
compatible. Different codecs provide varying degrees of compression
performance.
• MJPEG Compressor

• DV Video Encoder

• Indeo Video 5.04

• Intel I.263

• Cinepak Codec by Radius

• Microsoft Video 1

• Microsoft RLE

• These codecs have been found not to work:

• H.261

• H.263

• Intel 4:2:0 Video V2.50

• MSScreen 9 encoder

• MSScreen encoder

1252 Dialog Reference

AVI Encoder Options dialog
 • WMVideo Encoder DMO

• WM9Video Encoder DMO

Audio Codec
Note: if you’re exporting an AVI file to either a 24-bit audio format or to a
multi-channel (surround sound) format, set the Audio Codec to No
Compression.
The following audio compression codecs have been found to be compatible
(you may see different codecs installed on your system):
• CCITT - A Law
• CCITT - U Law
• DSP Group TrueSpeech
• PCM (this is the standard uncompressed format for wav files)
• GSM 6.10
• IMA ADPCM
Keyframe Rate
This field is greyed-out if you choose the Default Codec in the Video field.
Note: 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 File-Export-Video and specify more frequent keyframes. Choose a
suitable video compressor such as "Indeo Video 5.04" 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.
Data Rate
This field is greyed-out if you choose the Default Codec in the Video field. If
you are compressing a file to be played over the Internet, use a data rate
that doesn’t exceed the capacity of the media players you expect will be
used to play your file.
Quality
Lower quality values provide faster transmission and vice versa.
Change AVI settings
Checking this box causes another dialog box to appear after you click the
Save button. This is the Properties dialog box that allows you finer control

Dialog Reference 1253

AVI Encoder Options dialog
 over the configuration of the AVI file you are creating. The available
parameters are Microsoft Direct Show settings.

Bank Name dialog

When you select a bank in the Sysx view and click the Name button, the
Bank Name dialog box appears. This dialog box lets you specify the name
of the bank you selected. A bank must contain some Sysx data before you
can name it.
See also:
Using the System Exclusive View

Bank Output dialog

When you select a bank in the Sysx view and click the Output button, the
Bank Output dialog box appears. This dialog box lets you specify which
MIDI output you want the bank transmitted to. This is useful when you have
MIDI playback modules connected to several different ports of your MIDI
interface and you want to control which module receives a particular Sysx
message.
See also:
Using the System Exclusive View

Bank/Patch Change dialog

Select Insert-Bank/Patch Change to open the Bank Patch Change dialog
box.
The output and channel of the selected track appear in the upper left
corner.
Bank Select Method:
Choose from one of the following MIDI standard protocols:
• Normal
• Controller 0
• Controller 32
• Patch 100...127
For more information see Assigning the Bank Select Method.

1254 Dialog Reference

Bank Name dialog
 Bank:
Select the Bank you want to use.
Patch:
Select the Patch you want to use.
If you want to use the Patch Browser dialog, click the Patch Browser icon.

See also:
To Insert a Bank/Patch Change
Choosing the Instrument Sound (Bank and Patch)

Bounce to Track(s) dialog

Select Edit-Bounce to Track(s) to open the Bounce to Track(s) dialog box.
This command lets you process the effects and/or automation together with
the audio data in tracks to create one or several new tracks in order to
lighten the load on your computer. Once you’ve bounced the tracks, you
can archive or delete the source tracks to free up your computer’s
resources.
Note 1: If you select any data in your project, only that data is included
when you choose to bounce tracks. Alternatively, you can mute tracks you
don’t want to include in the mixdown, and then check Track Mute/Solo in
the Mix Enables field so that SONAR uses that information as a guide when
picking what tracks to include in the bounce. If a project is using any effects
that add a "tail" to the end of an audio track, such as reverb or delay, then
you should make sure that you select extra time in the time ruler (duration
needed to hear the tail) at the end of the current selection before using the
Edit-Bounce to Track(s) command. This ensures that the "tail" is included
in the audio mixdown.
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 for render bit depth is 32. 64 can be selected to preserve the
greater mixing and rendering precision that the 64 bit double precision mix
engine provides. Values of 16 and 24 can also be selected. See Bit Depths
for Rendering Audio for more information.
The dialog box has the following fields:

Dialog Reference 1255

Bounce to Track(s) dialog
 Destination
Assign the track to which you want to mixdown. If you are creating more
than one track of audio, the destination track must be the first of
consecutive blank or unwanted tracks.
Preset
You can create a preset out of your bounce settings, in case you use the
same settings regularly. When the dialog box is set the way you want it,
type a name in the Preset window and click the floppy disk icon that’s next
to it to save the preset.
Source Category
Select one of the following options:
• Tracks—Creates a new track or tracks (the Split Mono option in the
Channel Format field) for each track that you select in the Source
Buses/Tracks field.
• Buses—Creates a new track or tracks (the Split Mono option in the
Channel Format field) for each bus that you select in the Source Buses/
Tracks field.
• Main Outputs—Creates a new track or tracks (the Split Mono option in
the Channel Format field) for each Main Output that you select in the
Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Entire Mix—Creates a new track or tracks (the Split Mono option in the
Channel Format field) from your entire mix.
Source Bus(es)/Track(s)
Choose the buses or tracks you want to use as a source to create your
tracks. If you chose Tracks in the Source Category field, only tracks will
show up as choices in this field.
Channel Format
Select from one of the following options:
• Mono—creates a separate mono track for each track or bus selected in
the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Stereo—creates a separate stereo track for each track or bus selected
in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Split Mono—creates separate mono tracks for each track or bus
selected in the Source Buses/Tracks field. If the selected track or bus is
stereo, the selected track or bus will produce two new tracks. If the
selected bus is a surround bus, the selected bus produces as many
mono tracks as the bus has channels.

1256 Dialog Reference

Bounce to Track(s) dialog
Dithering
Select from five available dithering types.
• Rectangular
• Triangular
• Pow-r 1
• Pow-r 2
• Pow-r 3
For more information, see Dithering
Mix Enables
As default, each of the Mix Enables options is checked, meaning that your
mixdown will sound the same as playback. You can check or uncheck each
of the following settings to include or exclude them from the mix:
• Track Mute/Solo—If you check this option, tracks that are currently
muted are not mixed down. Also with this option checked, if any tracks
are soloed, only those tracks are included in the mixdown.
• Bus Mute/Solo—If you check this option, buses that are currently muted
are not mixed down. Also with this option, if any buses are soloed, only
the buses soloed are included in the mixdown.
• Track Automation—If you don’t check this option, any volume and pan
automation, including initial volume and pan settings, is ignored
when creating the new track(s). The amplitude of the raw data in the
tracks is used, and the pan is C, or centered.
• Clip Automation—If you don’t check this option, any clip automation,
including any trim settings, is ignored when creating the new track(s).
• Bus Automation
• FX Automation
• Track FX—If you don’t check this option, any effects patched into
various tracks’ patch points, including any plug-in synthesizers
patched into track fx patch points, are ignored when creating the
new track(s).
• Bus FX—If you don’t check this option, any effects patched into buses,
including any plug-in synthesizers patched into buses, are ignored
when creating the new track(s).
• Fast Bounce—When checked, SONAR bounces to tracks as fast as
your computer will allow. If unchecked, bouncing to tracks happens in

Dialog Reference 1257

Bounce to Track(s) dialog
 real time. Uncheck this option if you are using a synth that only works in
real time. This option is checked by default.
• Audible Bounce—The Audible Bounce option is only available when in
real-time bounce mode (when Fast Bounce is unchecked). When
Audible Bounce is unchecked, no audio output will be heard during the
bounce process. When in real-time bounce mode (Fast Bounce
unchecked) and Audible Bounce is enabled, you can hear the output of
the mixdown.
Note: Depending on the gainstages used in the project and the
mixdown options selected–such as bouncing with source category
assigned to Tracks, or with mute/solo or automation disabled in the
bounce settings or while freezing tracks–the output may be louder or
softer than during normal playback. Please be sure to turn down the
master output level before using real-time audible bounce under these
scenarios to avoid the possibility of speaker damage.
• 64-bit Engine—This option lets you turn on the 64-bit mix engine
temporarily while you bounce your tracks. This produces a higher-
quality bounce without taxing your CPU during the rest of your session.
For more information, see:
To Mix Down (Bounce) Audio Tracks
To Convert Your Soft Synth Tracks to New Audio Tracks

Change Audio Format dialog

Use the Tools-Change Audio Format command if you want to rewrite the
audio in a project to a different bit depth. Your sound card must be capable
of playing the project at the new bit depth,
The Change Audio Format dialog box has the following fields:
New Bit Depth
Choose 16, 24, 32, or 64, depending on what audio format you want for this
project.
Dither
This choice is available when you are converting to a lower bit-depth.
Dithering means to add a certain audio signal to lower-bit audio to make it
sound more like it did as a higher-bit signal.
For more information, see Bit Depths, and Float Resolution; Improving
Audio Performance; and Dithering.

1258 Dialog Reference

Change Audio Format dialog
Chord Fret Number dialog
When you right-click a chord symbol in the Staff view, the Chord Properties
dialog box appears. If there is a grid in the dialog box and you click to the
right of it, the Chord Fret Number dialog box appears. This dialog box lets
you enter a fret number to label the fret where the index finger goes (Finger
1). Create your grid and finger positions first, then label the index finger fret.

See also:
Adding Chord Symbols

Chord Properties dialog

In the Staff view, right-click a guitar chord or chord symbol to open the
Chord Properties dialog box. This dialog box lets you edit the guitar chord.

See also:
Adding Chord Symbols

Choose Track Type dialog

Using the Insert key in the Track view inserts a new track of the same type
as the current track, unless you use it in an empty project that has no tracks
yet. In that case, the Choose Track Type dialog box appears, offering you
the choice to insert either an audio or MIDI track.

See also:
Arranging

Chromatic Tuner
The Tuner view helps you to tune your instrument by analyzing any input
signal from the sound card and displaying the pitch on a meter.
Note: The tuner only works with audio hardware that supports 16-bit audio
and a 44.1 sample rate.

Dialog Reference 1259

Chord Fret Number dialog
 See:
Tuning an Instrument

Clean Audio Folder dialog

The Tools-Clean Audio Folder command opens the Clean Audio Folder
dialog box. Use this command to delete digital audio files from an audio
data folder that are no longer used by any of your projects. You should use
this command from time to time to free up disk space.
Important: Make sure that all of your important project (.CWP and .WRK)
files are stored in your local hard disk(s) before using this command. If your
project files are stored elsewhere, such as a floppy drive, removable drive,
or network drive, you risk accidentally deleting important audio files that are
associated with your projects.
Note: The Cakewalk Audio Finder (CWAFTool) is a more advanced utility
for finding and removing unused projects and audio files. This utility can be
installed from the AutoRun menu of the SONAR CD. If you have an older
version of Cakewalk, you can download the Cakewalk Audio Finder from
the Cakewalk Website.
Under Windows, deleted files are normally placed in the Recycle Bin. As a
result, you should empty the Recycle Bin after using the Clean Audio
Folder command, or the unused files will still physically remain on your
hard disk.
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 Clean Audio Folder
command you may once again find these not-quite deleted files.
The Clean Audio Folder dialog box has the following fields:
Audio Path
Specify the directory in which you want to search for audio files.
Recurse
When checked, SONAR searches for audio files in all folders within the
Audio Path directory.
File window
The file window lists all the unused audio files that SONAR finds.

1260 Dialog Reference

Clean Audio Folder dialog
 Find button
Click this button to find all unused audio files and list them in the file
window.
Play button
Click this button to play the audio file that is highlighted in the file window.
Delete button
Click this button to delete the audio file that is highlighted in the file window.
Delete All button
Click this button to delete all the audio files that are listed in the file window.
For more information, see:
To Delete Unused Audio Files

Clip Properties dialog—General

In the Clips pane, when you right-click a clip and choose Properties from
the popup menu, the Clip Properties dialog box appears, which you use to
set and view the properties of the clip you clicked.
The Clip Properties General tab has the following fields:
Name
Use this field to type a new name for the selected clip, if you want to.
Start
Use this field to move the selected clip forward or backward in the track by
setting a new start time.
Length
This field displays the length of the selected clip.
Snap Offset (for audio clips only)
The value of this field is the snap offset of the selected clip, in samples.
When you set a snap offset value for a clip, and then drag the clip, the left
edge of the clip does not snap to the current snap resolution—the clip
snaps to a point on the clip that is the distance from the left edge of the clip
to the snap offset value. For example, if you set the snap resolution to move
to a measure, and the snap offset of a clip to 1500 samples, when you drag
the clip, instead of the left edge of the clip moving to a measure line, the
spot on the clip that’s 1500 samples right of the beginning of the clip moves
to the measure line.

Dialog Reference 1261

Clip Properties dialog—General
 M:B:T
Enable this button to display the clip’s Start and Length properties in M:B:T
(Measure: Beat:Tick) format.
Samples
Enable this button to display the clip’s Start and Length properties in
number of samples format.
H:M:S:F
Enable this button to display the clip’s Start and Length properties in
H:M:S:F (Hour: Minute:Second:Frame) format.
Seconds
Enable this button to display the clip’s Start and Length properties in
number of seconds format.
Original Time
The Original Time property stores and shows the original SMPTE time
stamp associated with the clip. This is the SMPTE time stamp at which the
clip was recorded or imported into the project. The Original Time property
can not be edited.
Revert
If a clip has been moved from its original position, you can click Revert to
move the clip back to its original SMPTE time location.
Time Base
Choose one of the two options in this section to control what happens to a
locked clip when you change the tempo:
• Musical (M:B:T)—if the clip is set to the Musical time base, the clip’s
M:B:T position stays constant, and its Absolute position shifts.
• Absolute—if the clip is set to the Absolute time base, its Absolute
position stays constant, and its M:B:T position shifts.
Clip Mute
Check this to mute the clip.
Lock
Check this to lock the clip’s data and/or position. Use the dropdown menu
that’s next to this checkbox to choose options.
Enable Automation Read
Check this is you want the clip to respond to clip envelopes.

1262 Dialog Reference

Clip Properties dialog—General
 Clips Linked to this Clip
This field tells you how many clips are linked to this clip.
Foreground Color
This field sets the waveform color of the selected clip, which you can
change by clicking the Choose Color button, which opens the Color dialog
box.
Background Color
This field sets the clip background color of the selected clip, which you can
change by clicking the Choose Color button, which opens the Color dialog
box.
Use Default Track Colors
Checking this option returns selected clip’s color to the default as set in the
Color dialog.
Clip Effects
When you insert an effect onto a clip, the clip’s FX bin appears in the Clip
Effects field.

See also:
Arranging Clips
Effects on Clips

Clip Properties dialog—Audio Stretching

You have two different (and independent) ways to stretch clips: by using
either Groove clips or AudioSnap. Groove Clip markers are typically placed
at a zero-crossing point before a transient; AudioSnap markers are placed
directly on a transient. The AudioSnap feature can extract tempo from a
clip. Groove Clip stretching is preferred for more extreme stretching. There
are numerous other differences between the two features (see Working with
Groove Clips, and AudioSnap).
The Audio Stretching tab has a section of options for Groove Clips, and a
separate section for AudioSnap, described as follows:
Groove Clips
Both MIDI and audio clips can be set to act as groove clips. The options you
see in this dialog for audio clips are different from the options for MIDI clips.

Dialog Reference 1263

Clip Properties dialog—Audio Stretching
 The Groove Clips section of the Audio Stretching tab has the following
options:
• Enable Looping—checking the Enable Looping checkbox allows you to
loop clips in the Track view by dragging the right side of a clip with your
mouse. When Enable Looping is not checked, you are able to slip edit
the clip. For more information about slip editing, see Applying Fades
and Crossfades Offline.
• Stretch to Project Tempo [audio clips only]—the Stretch to Project
Tempo checkbox instructs SONAR to stretch or shrink the clip to fit the
project’s tempo. SONAR uses the Beats in Clip and Original Tempo
parameters are used to make the change.
• Beats in Clip—the number of beats (quarter notes) in the clip.
• Original Tempo [audio clips only]—the tempo at which the clip was
recorded.
• Follow Project Pitch—the Follow Project Pitch option transposes the
loop, if necessary, to the key of the project. A loop recorded in the key
of A, used in a project in the key of C, would be transposed up three
semitones if the Follow Project Pitch checkbox was checked.
• Reference Note—the Reference Note represents the key in which the
loop was recorded. The Follow Project Pitch feature uses this
information, when checked, to transpose the loop to match the project’s
key.
• Pitch (semitones)—you can set the transposition of a clip, independent
from the project pitch, using the Pitch (semitones) 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 project’s pitch, so any transposition changes you make
using this option 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 option is checked, the clip is transposed down by two semitones. A
value entered into the Pitch (semitone) field adjusts the pitch from C. If you
enter “-1” the pitch would be transposed down by one additional semitone to
B.

Another example: The clip pitch is E. The desired clip pitch is D. If the
Follow Project Pitch option is not checked, and a value of “-2” is
entered in the Pitch (semitones) field, the clip is transposed down two
semitones to D from the original pitch of E.

1264 Dialog Reference

Clip Properties dialog—Audio Stretching
• Fine Pitch (cents) [audio clips only]—the Fine Pitch (cents) 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 semitone. A Fine Pitch setting of
“1” adjusts the pitch up one hundredth of a semitone. The Fine Pitch
option can “fine tune” a slightly out of tune clip so that it is in pitch with
the remaining clips in a project.
For more information, see:
Working with Loops
Working with Groove Clips
Creating and Editing Groove Clips
AudioSnap
The AudioSnap section of the Audio Stretching tab has the following
options:
• Enable AudioSnap—enabling this checkbox enables the clip’s
AudioSnap feature, which makes the following options available:
• Show Transients—enabling this checkbox displays the clip’s transients.

• Add Transients to Pool—enabling this checkbox displays vertical grid

lines at the beginning of each of the clip’s transients, extending
vertically across the Clips pane.

• Auto Stretch (Follow Tempo)—enabling this checkbox causes the clip to

automatically follow any project tempo changes.

• Enable Time Stretching—this check box is greyed-out if the Auto

Stretch (Follow Tempo) check box is enabled, but is available whether
or not the clip is AudioSnap-enabled. You can use this check box and
related fields to stretch the clip by either a percentage amount , or to a
new Duration, or to a new Thru Time. If you set one field, and Tab out of
the field, the other 2 fields update automatically.
• Stretch Amount (%)—choose by what percentage you want to stretch
the clip.

• New Duration—choose what duration you want to stretch the clip to.

• New Thru Time—choose by Thru Time you want to stretch the clip to.

• Online Algorithm—choose the algorithm you want to use to stretch the

clip:

Dialog Reference 1265

Clip Properties dialog—Audio Stretching
 Algorithm... Description…

Default This means the algorithm that is

listed in the Online field of the
AudioSnap Options dialog.

Groove clip This choice works faster, using

less processing power.

Percussion This is the best choice for

percussive sounds.

• Offline Algorithm—choose the algorithm you want to use to stretch the

clip:

Algorithm... Description…

Default This means the algorithm that is

listed in the Offline Rendering field
of the AudioSnap Options dialog.

Same as Online Uses the same choice as the

Online field.

iZotope Radius Mix This is better for clips containing

polyphonic, stereo data.

iZotope Radius This is better for clips containing

Solo monophonic, solo instruments.

iZotope Radius This is better for clips containing

Solo (Bass) solo bass instruments.

iZotope Radius This is better for clips containing

Solo (Vocal) solo vocals

For more information, see AudioSnap.

1266 Dialog Reference

Clip Properties dialog—Audio Stretching
Clip Properties dialog—Audio Files
The Audio Files tab of the Clip Properties dialog lists:
• The audio file(s) that make up the selected clip
• The pathname(s) the files are stored under
• The bit depth of the clip
Recompute Picture(s)
Click Recompute Picture(s) to redraw waveforms for individual clips that
may have a corrupt waveform display.

Clone Track(s) dialog

The Tracks-Clone command opens the Clone dialog box. Use this
command to copy a track or tracks to a new track or tracks. The Clone
dialog box has the following fields:
Selected Tracks
This field lists the tracks that are currently selected.
Clone Tracks
• Clone Events—check this checkbox if you want to copy the MIDI and
audio clips in the selected track(s).
• Link to Original Clip(s)—check this checkbox if you want the clips in
the new track(s) to become linked clips with the identical clips in the
original track(s).

• Clone Properties—check this checkbox if you want to copy the

properties of the highlighted track(s), such as the name, output,
channel, etc.
• Clone Effects—check this checkbox if you want the new track(s) to use
the same real-time effects that are patched into the original track.
• Clone Sends—check this checkbox if you want the new track(s) to use
the same sends that are patched into the original track(s).
• Repetitions—the number of tracks you want to create from the selected
track(s).
• Starting Track—the track at which your cloned track(s) appear. Existing
tracks are moved down to make room, not overwritten.

Dialog Reference 1267

Clip Properties dialog—Audio Files
 See also:
Copying Tracks

Clip View Options dialog

If you right-click in the Clips pane and choose View Options from the
popup menu, the Clip View Options dialog box appears, which you use to
control the appearance and behavior of the Clips pane.
The Clip View Options dialog box has the following fields:
Display Track Separators
Enabling this option causes SONAR to display a horizontal line in the Clips
pane between each track.
Display Vertical Rules
Enabling this option causes SONAR to display vertical lines in the Clips
pane that are one measure apart.
Display Clip Names
If you name any of your clips, enabling this option causes SONAR to
display the names.
Display Clip Contents
Enabling this option causes SONAR to display a graphical depiction of the
audio or MIDI data that the track contains, including automation data.
Left Click Sets Now
Enabling this option allows you to set the Now Time by left-clicking a
location in the Clips pane.
Right Click Sets Now
Enabling this option allows you to set the Now Time by right-clicking a
location in the Clips pane.
Double-click to Open View
Double-clicking a clip in the Clips pane automatically opens another view to
edit the clip in, You can choose what view you want to open for both MIDI
and audio clips in these two menus:
• MIDI Clips—Choose what view opens when you double-click a MIDI
clip.
• Audio Clips—Choose what view opens when you double-click an audio
clip.

1268 Dialog Reference

Clip View Options dialog
 Show Audio Scale
Check this option to display the Audio Scale Ruler in the splitter bar
between the Clips pane and the Track pane.
See Also:
Displaying Clips

Complete Registration dialog

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 distributor’s page at:
http://www.cakewalk.com/Dealers/International.asp
to get the telephone number of your local distributor, or use the table below:
You’ll need to supply your serial number, your name, and a valid email
address. In return for this information, we’ll 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.
Cakewalk is committed to protecting the privacy of all information provided
by our users. You can read the Cakewalk Privacy Policy below.
Privacy Policy
If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy, you may contact us at
the following address:
Cakewalk
Attention: Privacy Policy
268 Summer St
Boston, MA 02210

Dialog Reference 1269

Complete Registration dialog
 Country/Distributor Phone number Fax number

Brazil/Roland Brasil Ltda. (55) 11 4615 5666 (55) 11 4615 5699

Canada/Thinkware Canada (888) 284-4659 (416) 842-3834

Denmark/Roland Scandinavia (+45) 3916 6200 (+45) 3916 6222

Eastern Europe (Slovakia, Serbia and +36 23 338041 +36 23 338087

Montenegro, Ukraine, Macedonia,
Croatia, Bosnia, Romania, Bulgaria,
Moldova, Czech Republic, Hungary
and Poland)/Roland East Europe Ltd.

Finland/Roland Scandinavia +358 (0)9 682 40 20 +358 (0)6 82 05 20

France/Edirol Europe 0 810 000 371

Germany/Edirol Europe 0700-33476520

Italy/Edirol Italia (+39) 02 93778344

Norway/Roland Scandinavia (+47) 22 73 25 08 (+47) 22 73 00 74

Portugal/Roland Portugal, S. A. (+351) 22 608 00 60 (+351) 22 608 00 75

Spain/Roland Electronics de Espa–a, (34) 93-308-1000 (34) 93-307-4503

S.A.

Sweden/Roland Scandinavia +46 (0)8-702 00 20 +46 (0)8-643 74 05

UK, Scotland, Wales & Ireland/Edirol 0870 350 1515

Europe

Australia/Intelliware Australia Pty. Ltd. (02) 9981 8088 (02) 9981 3968

Japan/Edirol Corporation 81-53-439-1144 81-53-439-1099

If your local distributor is not listed, please call 1.617.423.9004 between 9

AM and 8 PM Eastern Standard Time.

1270 Dialog Reference

Complete Registration dialog
Configure Colors dialog
The Options-Colors command opens the Configure Colors dialog box,
which allows you to choose colors for most items that SONAR displays.
You can create lots of different color schemes and save each one as a
Preset. After you create a color scheme that you like, type a name for it in
the Presets window, and then click the floppy disk icon to save the preset.
When you want to load the preset, just select it in the Presets window. To
delete a preset, select it and then click the Delete button (the button with the
“X” icon).
The Configure Colors dialog box has the following fields:
Color Category
This list shows different areas where color can be adjusted. Choosing one
of these categories helps filter out screen elements you may not wish to
deal with at the moment. The categories also provide a convenient way to
adjust brightness, hue, and saturation of a related collection of screen
elements without hunting through a long list.
Screen Element
This list shows all the items in SONAR you can set the color of. Highlight the
one you want to change. You can change multiple Elements simultaneously
by Ctrl-Clicking or Ctrl-Dragging.
Follow System Color
This field lets you choose the same color for a highlighted item in the
Screen Element list that Microsoft Windows uses for certain screen
elements. For example, because Windows usually uses black for button
text, if you highlight Window Background in the Screen Element list and
then click Button Text in the Follow System Color field, all the window
backgrounds in SONAR turn black (or whatever color you have set up for
button text in your Windows preferences).
Note: if you set any other screen element to the same color as Window
background, you’ll make that screen element invisible!
Use Specific Color
Choosing this option instead of the Follow System Color option allows you
to pick a specific color for the highlighted item in the Screen Element list.
Click the Choose Color button to open the Color dialog box, click the color
you want, and click OK. The highlighted item in the Screen Element list
changes to the color you chose.

Dialog Reference 1271

Configure Colors dialog
 Brightness Slider
This control increases or decreases the luminance of the selected color,
making it either more bright or more dull in appearance.
Hue Slider
This control determines the color type, such as red, green or blue.
Saturation Slider
This control increases or decreases the vibrancy of the selected color. A
lower saturation value will input more “grayness” to the color, making it
appear more faded.
Reset Button
Pressing the Reset Button resets the Brightness, Hue, and Saturation
sliders to default values.
Save Changes for Next Session
Check this checkbox if you want SONAR to use any new color assignments
the next time you open SONAR.
Wallpaper
The options in this field allow you to set the color and design of SONAR’s
background area. The options are:
• Default—Choosing this option causes SONAR to use its original color
and design for the background.
• None—Choosing this option causes SONAR to use a flat, grey color for
the background.
• Custom—Choosing this option opens the Wallpaper Bitmap dialog box,
which allows you to choose a graphics file (bitmap) to use as the
background.
Defaults button
Clicking this button restores all of SONAR’s color settings to their original
values.
Import button
This button opens the Import Color Set dialog, which allows you to import a
color arrangement, or a group of presets.
Export button
This button opens the Export Color Set dialog, which allows you to export a
color arrangement, or a group of presets.
The table below identifies each of the screen elements in SONAR:

1272 Dialog Reference

Configure Colors dialog
Screen element… Explanation…

Window background Background color for the entire

program window

Window text Text color

Rules in the Tempo view Vertical lines in the Tempo view used
to mark time intervals

Major Rules Major lines used to mark larger

intervals of time

Beat Rules Color of the Beat rule lines

Grid Rules Color of the Grid rule lines

Values Color of selected events and tempo

changes in the Tempo view

Drawing Colors used to show your drawing in

the Piano Roll and Tempo views

Erasing Color used to show your erasing in

the Tempo views

Markers Color of markers in time rulers

Pitch Markers Color of pitch markers in the Time

Ruler

Loop Markers Color of loop point markers

Punch Record Markers Color of punch recording markers

Now Time Marker Color of the Now Time Marker in the

Track view

Time Ruler Background Color of the area behind the Time

Ruler markings

Track View Time Ruler Digits Color of the Time Ruler markings

Dialog Reference 1273

Configure Colors dialog
 Screen element… Explanation…

Time Ruler Tick Marks Color of the Time Ruler beat and
measure lines

AudioSnap Pool Lines The color of the vertical lines in the

Track view that show tranisient
locations

Musical Snap Pool Lines

Clip Fades Color for the fade line and fade

shading

Clip Zero Amplitude Lines Color for the line that marks a silent
volume level for a clip

Snap Offset Markers Color of the Snap offset markers

Clip Gain Envelope Color of the Gain envelopes in clips

Clip Pan Envelope Color of the Pan envelopes in clips

Clip Velocity Envelope Color of velocity envelopes in clips

Selected Clip Color of clips that are currently

selected

Muted MIDI Clip Data Color of the MIDI data in a muted area
of a clip. Also used for the outline of
event muted notes in the Piano Roll.

Folder Clip Background Color of an area of a folder clip where

there is no data

Folder Clip Text Color of text label on a folder clip

Folder Line Color of the line on the left side of the

Track pane connecting a track folder
to the tracks that are contained in the
folder

Record Preview Clip Background The background color in the Clips

pane of an armed track

1274 Dialog Reference

Configure Colors dialog
Screen element… Explanation…

Recording Waveform Previews Color of the waveform in a clip during

preview while recording

Bus Waveform Preview Color of the waveform that a bus’s or

synth track’s output generates

Waveform Preview (>= 0dB) Color of the waveform in a clip during

preview while recording if the
amplitude is greater than or equal to
0dB

Frozen Track Background The background color of a frozen

track in the Clips pane

V-Vocal Clip Background The color of a V-Vocal clip.

Audio Tracks 1, 11, Foreground color of all audio tracks

21...Foreground that end in the number “1” (1, 11, 21,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 1, 11, Background color of all audio tracks

21...Background that end in the number “1” (1, 11, 21,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 2, 12, Foreground color of all audio tracks

22...Foreground that end in the number “2” (2, 12, 22,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 2, 12, Background color of all audio tracks

22...Background that end in the number “2” (2, 12, 22,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 3, 13, Foreground color of all audio tracks

23...Foreground that end in the number “3” (3, 13, 23,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 3, 13, Background color of all audio tracks

23...Background that end in the number “3” (3, 13, 23,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 4, 14, Foreground color of all audio tracks

24...Foreground that end in the number “4” (4, 14, 24,
etc.)

Dialog Reference 1275

Configure Colors dialog
 Screen element… Explanation…

Audio Tracks 4, 14, Background color of all audio tracks

24...Background that end in the number “4” (4, 14, 24,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 5, 15, Foreground color of all audio tracks

25...Foreground that end in the number “5” (5, 15, 25,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 5, 15, Background color of all audio tracks

25...Background that end in the number “5” (5, 15, 25,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 6, 16, Foreground color of all audio tracks

26...Foreground that end in the number “6” (6, 16, 26,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 6, 16, Background color of all audio tracks

26...Background that end in the number “6” (6, 16, 26,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 7, 17, Foreground color of all audio tracks

27...Foreground that end in the number “7” (7, 17, 27,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 7, 17, Background color of all audio tracks

27...Background that end in the number “7” (7, 17, 27,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 8, 18, Foreground color of all audio tracks

28...Foreground that end in the number “8” (8, 18, 28,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 8, 18, Background color of all audio tracks

28...Background that end in the number “8” (8, 18, 28,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 9, 19, Foreground color of all audio tracks

29...Foreground that end in the number “9” (9, 19, 29,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 9, 19, Background color of all audio tracks

29...Background that end in the number “9” (9, 19, 29,
etc.)

1276 Dialog Reference

Configure Colors dialog
Screen element… Explanation…

Audio Tracks 10, 20, Foreground color of all audio tracks

30...Foreground that end in the number “0” (10, 20, 30,
etc.)

Audio Tracks 10, 20, Background color of all audio tracks

30...Background that end in the number “0” (10, 20, 30,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 1, 11, 21...Foreground Foreground color of all MIDI tracks

that end in the number “1” (1, 11, 21,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 1, 11, Background color of all MIDI tracks

21...Background that end in the number “1” (1, 11, 21,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 2, 12, 22...Foreground Foreground color of all MIDI tracks

that end in the number “2” (2, 12, 22,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 2, 12, Background color of all MIDI tracks

22...Background that end in the number “2” (2, 12, 22,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 3, 13, 23...Foreground Foreground color of all MIDI tracks

that end in the number “3” (3, 13, 23,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 3, 13, Background color of all MIDI tracks

23...Background that end in the number “3” (3, 13, 23,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 4, 14, 24...Foreground Foreground color of all MIDI tracks

that end in the number “4” (4, 14, 24,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 4, 14, Background color of all MIDI tracks

24...Background that end in the number “4” (4, 14, 24,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 5, 15, 25...Foreground Foreground color of all MIDI tracks

that end in the number “5” (5, 15, 25,
etc.)

Dialog Reference 1277

Configure Colors dialog
 Screen element… Explanation…

MIDI Tracks 5, 15, Background color of all MIDI tracks

25...Background that end in the number “5” (5, 15, 25,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 6, 16, Foreground color of all MIDI tracks

26...Foreground. that end in the number “6” (6, 16, 26,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 6, 16, Background color of all MIDI tracks

26...Background that end in the number “6” (6, 16, 26,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 7, 17, 27...Foreground Foreground color of all MIDI tracks

that end in the number “7” (7, 17, 27,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 7, 17, Background color of all MIDI tracks

27...Background that end in the number “7” (7, 17, 27,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 8, 18, 28...Foreground Foreground color of all MIDI tracks

that end in the number “8” (8, 18, 28,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 8, 18, Background color of all MIDI tracks

28...Background that end in the number “8” (8, 18, 28,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 9, 19, 29...Foreground Foreground color of all MIDI tracks

that end in the number “9” (9, 19, 29,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 9, 19, Background color of all MIDI tracks

29...Background that end in the number “9” (9, 19, 29,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 10, 20, Foreground color of all MIDI tracks

30...Foreground that end in the number “0” (10, 20, 30,
etc.)

MIDI Tracks 10, 20, Background color of all MIDI tracks

30...Background that end in the number “0” (10, 20, 30,
etc.)

1278 Dialog Reference

Configure Colors dialog
Screen element… Explanation…

Track View Active Outline Color of the border around the active
pane in the Track view: if the Bus
pane is active, it displays this color; if
the Track pane is active, it displays
this color.

Track View Clips Pane Color of the Clips pane’s background.

Background

Clips Pane Ellipse Color of dots which appear where

there are no clips in the Clips pane

Active Track Sets the color of the track that has the
focus

Selected Track Sets the color of any selected tracks

Strip Selection Sets the color of any selected strip

selector

Track View Control Icon Sets the color of the icons that label
the various controls in a track

Partially selected Track Folder Color just to the left of the folder icon
that indicates whether all the tracks in
the folder are selected, or just some
of them

Partially selected strips in Track Color on the upper left corner of the
Folder folder icon that indicates whether all
the strips in the folder are selected, or
just some of them

Track View Track Header Tint Color of a track’s header bar

Track View Header Control Outline Color outline around track header
controls

Track View Track Header Peak Color of the text on the right end of a
Text track’s title bar that displays the peak
level that the track’s audio meter
measures

Dialog Reference 1279

Configure Colors dialog
 Screen element… Explanation…

Track View Header Warning Text Color of the text described above
when the track’s level is in danger of
clipping

Peak Marker (< 0 dB) The color of the Peak Marker when
amplitude peaks are less than 0dB

Peak Marker (>= 0 dB) The color of the Peak Marker when
amplitude peaks are greater than or
equal to 0dB

Peak Marker Text The color of the text on the Peak

Marker

Track view Header Track Number Color of the track number in the track
header

Track View Audio Track Name Color of the background for audio
Background tracks in the track name field

Track View Audio Track Name Color of text of audio tracks in the
Text track name field

Track View MIDI Track Name Color of the background in MIDI

Background tracks

Track View MIDI Track Name Text Color of the text for MIDI tracks in the
track name field

Track View Synth Track Name Color of the background for synth
Background tracks in the track name field

Track View Synth Track Name Color of the text for synth tracks in the
Text track name field

Track View Bus Track Name Color of the background for buses in
Background the bus name field

Track View Bus Name Text Color of the text for buses in the bus
name field

Track View Track Folder Name Color of the background for track
Background folders in the folder name field

1280 Dialog Reference

Configure Colors dialog
Screen element… Explanation…

Track View Track Folder Name Color of the text for track folders in the
Text folder name field

Track View Strip Background Background color outside the control

fields in a track

Track View Control Background Background color inside the control

fields in a track

Track View Control Text and Color of the text in Track view controls
Values

Track View Disabled Control Text Color of disabled controls in a track

Track View Control Outline Color of the control outlines

Track View Control Borders Color of Track view control’s borders

Track View Current Control Outline Color of current Track view control
outlines

Track View Strip Under Color of empty space in the Track

pane

Track View Volume Control / Sets the color of this parameter’s

Envelope automation envelope

Track View Pan Control / Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s
automation envelope

Track View MIDI Chorus Control / Sets the color of this parameter’s
Envelope automation envelope

Track View MIDI Reverb Control / Sets the color of this parameter’s
Envelope automation envelope

Track View Trim Control Sets the color of the background in

the trim control field

Track View Bus Input Pan Control Color of bus input pan control

Quick Group Sets the color that appears on

controls that are part of a Quick
Group

Dialog Reference 1281

Configure Colors dialog
 Screen element… Explanation…

Track View Track Icons Sets the color surrounding a Track

Background Icon in the Track view

Track View Mute Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Surround Angle Envelope Color of automation envelope for

surround angle

Surround Focus Envelope Color of automation envelope for

surround focus

Surround LFE Send Control/ Color of automation envelope for LFE

Envelope send control

Surround Width Envelope Color of automation envelope for

surround width

Front/Rear Balance Envelope Color of automation envelope for

surround front/rear balance

Track View Bus Send Level 1, 9 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Level 2, 10 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Level 3, 11 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send 4, 12 Level Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Level 5, 13 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Level 6, 14 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Level 7, 15 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Level 8, 16 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

1282 Dialog Reference

Configure Colors dialog
Screen element… Explanation…

Track View Bus Send Pan 1, 9 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Pan 2, 10 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Pan 3, 11 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Pan 4, 12 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Pan 5, 13 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Pan 6, 14 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Pan 7, 15 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Track View Bus Send Pan 8, 16 Sets the color of this parameter’s
Control / Envelope automation envelope

Bus Send Angle 1, 9 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Angle 2, 10 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Angle 3, 11 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Angle 4, 12 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Angle 5, 13 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Angle 6, 14 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Angle 7, 15 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Dialog Reference 1283

Configure Colors dialog
 Screen element… Explanation…

Bus Send Angle 8, 16 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Focus1, 9 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Focus 2, 10 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Focus 3, 11 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Focus 4, 12 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Focus 5, 13 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Focus 6, 14 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Focus 7, 15 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Focus 8, 16 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send LFE 1, 9 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send LFE 2, 10 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send LFE 3, 11 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send LFE 4, 12 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send LFE 5, 13 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send LFE 6, 14 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

1284 Dialog Reference

Configure Colors dialog
Screen element… Explanation…

Bus Send LFE 7, 15 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send LFE 8, 16 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Width 1, 9 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Width 2, 10 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Width 3, 11 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Width 4, 12 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Width 5, 13 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Width 6, 14 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Width 7, 15 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Width 8, 16 Envelope Sets the color of this parameter’s

automation envelope

Bus Send Front/Rear Balance 1, 9 Sets the color of this parameter’s

Envelope automation envelope

Bus Send Front/Rear Balance 2, Sets the color of this parameter’s

10 Envelope automation envelope

Bus Send Front/Rear Balance 3, Sets the color of this parameter’s

11 Envelope automation envelope

Bus Send Front/Rear Balance 4, Sets the color of this parameter’s

12 Envelope automation envelope

Bus Send Front/Rear Balance 5, Sets the color of this parameter’s

13 Envelope automation envelope

Dialog Reference 1285

Configure Colors dialog
 Screen element… Explanation…

Bus Send Front/Rear Balance 6, Sets the color of this parameter’s

14 Envelope automation envelope

Bus Send Front/Rear Balance 7, Sets the color of this parameter’s

15 Envelope automation envelope

Bus Send Front/Rear Balance 8, Sets the color of this parameter’s

16 Envelope automation envelope

Event List Note Events Color of note events in the Event List
view

Event List KeyAft Events Color of key aftertouch events in the

Event List view

Event List Control Events Color of controller events in the Event

List view

Event List Patch Events Color of patch events in the Event List
view

Event List ChanAft Events Color of channel aftertouch events in

the Event List view

Event List Wheel Events Color of pitch wheel events in the

Event List view

Event List Sysx Events Color of System Exclusive events in

the Event List view

Event List Special Events Color of other, special events in the

Event List view

Track View MIDI Chorus Control / Sets the color of this parameter’s
Envelope automation envelope

Track View MIDI Reverb Control / Sets the color of this parameter’s
Envelope automation envelope

Note that is on Color of currently playing notes

Events Color of selected events in the Piano

Roll view

1286 Dialog Reference

Configure Colors dialog
Screen element… Explanation…

Navigator Background Color of background in Navigator

pane and view

Navigator Track Rectangle Color of the Navigator pane triangle

that shows what the part of the Clips
pane is currently displayed

Toolbar Background * Color of the empty space surrounding

toolbars (* means you have to restart
the application to see the new color)

Toolbar Background-In Views * Color of empty space surrounding

toolbars in views

Toolbar LCD Text * Color of numbers or text in variable

fields of toolbars

Toolbar LCD Background * Background color of variable fields in

toolbars

Toolbar Static Text * Color of toolbar text in non-variable

fields

Console View Label Text Color of the Console view label

Console View Control Text Color of Console view text

Console View Slider Color of Console view slider

PRV Drag Contents The color that a MIDI event becomes

while you’re dragging the event

Snap to Scale Excluded Rows Color of pitch rows in Piano Roll view
(or Inline PRV) that become
unavailable when Snap to Scale is
enabled.

Continuous Event 1 The color of the first type of

continuous event entered into the
Piano Roll or Inline Piano Roll view

Continuous Event 2 The color of the second type of

continuous event entered into the
Piano Roll or Inline Piano Roll view

Dialog Reference 1287

Configure Colors dialog
 Screen element… Explanation…

Continuous Event 3 The color of the third type of

continuous event entered into the
Piano Roll or Inline Piano Roll view

Continuous Event 4 The color of the fourth type of

continuous event entered into the
Piano Roll or Inline Piano Roll view

Continuous Event 5 The color of the fifth type of

continuous event entered into the
Piano Roll or Inline Piano Roll view

Continuous Event 6 The color of the sixth type of

continuous event entered into the
Piano Roll or Inline Piano Roll view

Continuous Event 7 The color of the seventh type of

continuous event entered into the
Piano Roll or Inline Piano Roll view

Continuous Event 8 The color of the eighth type of

continuous event entered into the
Piano Roll or Inline Piano Roll view

VU Lo level Sets the color of the lower portion of a

non-segmented meter.

VU Hi level Sets the color of the higher portion of

a non-segmented meter.

VU Tick Marks Sets the color of the numbers and

calibration lines of a non-segmented
meter.

Enable/Disable Toggles Sets the color of the enable/disable

checkbox on effects and other objects
that have an on/off switch

Console View FX Bin Color of effects bin in Console view

Console FX Bin Text Color of text in Console View’s FX bin

Console View Control Text and Color of text on Console View’s

Values controls

1288 Dialog Reference

Configure Colors dialog
Screen element… Explanation…

Console View Slider Color of Console view fields

controlled by sliders

Console View Slider Background Color of border area of Console view

fields controlled by sliders

Console Dropdown Controls Color of dropdown menus in Console

view

Console View Strip Background Color of empty space in Console view

Console View Blank Background Color of space between Track pane

and Bus pane in Console view

Console Strip Track Icons Color of space surrounding Track

Background Icons in Console view

Console Audio Track Name Color of background of audio track

Background names in Console view

Console Audio Track Name Text Color of text of audio track names in
Console view

Console MIDI Track Name Color of background of MIDI track

Background names in Console view

Console MIDI Track Name Text Color of text of MIDI track names in
Console view

Console Synth Track Name Color of background of Synth track

Background names in Console view

Console Synth Track Name Text Color of text of Synth track names in
Console view

Console Bus Name Background Color of background of Bus names in

Console view

Console Bus Name Text Color of text of Bus names in Console

view

Console Main Output Name Text Color of text of Main Output names in
Console view

Dialog Reference 1289

Configure Colors dialog
 Screen element… Explanation…

Console EQ Plot Grid Color of grid lines in per-channel EQ

plot in Console view

Console EQ Plot Graph Color of EQ curve in Console view’s

per-channel EQ plot

Synth Rack Text Color of text in the Synth Rack

Synth Rack Parameter Background color around parameter

Background controls in the Synth Rack

Synth Rack Focus Border color around the space in the

Synth Rack that has the focus

Dialog Box Banner Text Color of the headings that separate

different parts of a dialog page

Dialog Banner Background Color of the background behind a

dialog banner heading

First Connected Control Surface Highlight color of any SONAR

controls being controlled by the first
control surface listed in the Control
Surfaces dialog.

Second Connected Control Highlight color of any SONAR

Surface controls being controlled by the
second control surface listed in the
Control Surfaces dialog.

Third Connected Control Surface Highlight color of any SONAR

controls being controlled by the third
control surface listed in the Control
Surfaces dialog.

Fourth Connected Control Surface Highlight color of any SONAR

controls being controlled by the fourth
control surface listed in the Control
Surfaces dialog.

Font for Control Surface Channel Color of text in control surface

Display channel display

For more information, see:

1290 Dialog Reference

Configure Colors dialog
 Screen Colors and Wallpaper

Controller/Surface Settings dialog

The Control Surface Settings dialog opens when you click the Add button
in the Control Surfaces dialog. The Control Surface Settings dialog also
opens when you select a control surface from the Connected Controllers/
Surfaces list in the Controller/Surfaces dialog, and then click the Property
Page button that’s in the Control Surfaces dialog.
The Control Surface Settings dialog has the following fields:
• Control Surface—use this field to select the control surface that you
want to add to the Connected Controller/Surfaces list (this option is
greyed-out if you open the dialog with the Property Page button).
• Input Port—use this field to select the MIDI port that the control surface
will use to send MIDI control data to SONAR.
• Output Port—use this field to select the MIDI port that the control
surface will use to receive MIDI control data from SONAR.
For more information, see:
Controllers/Surfaces dialog
External Devices

Controllers/Surfaces dialog
Using the Options-Control Surfaces command opens the Control
Surfaces dialog. This dialog allows you to enable as many control surfaces
as you want to control SONAR with, and configure the control surfaces’
interfaces.
This dialog also has controls to configure the WAI display (Where Am I
display) and ACT indicators.
The Control Surfaces dialog has the following fields and buttons:
Connected Controllers/Surfaces List
This is a list of all the control surfaces that are currently active and enabled
in your project. The list has the following columns:
• Controller/Surface column—this column lists the names of all the
control surfaces that are currently active and enabled in your project.
• In Port and Out Port columns—these columns list MIDI input and MIDI

Dialog Reference 1291

Controller/Surface Settings dialog
 output drivers that each control surface uses to communicate with
SONAR. You can click the dropdown arrow next to the name of each
one to select a different driver.
• ACT column—this column contains a check box for each enabled
control surface that allows you to use ACT with each controller/surface.
The property page for each controller/surface also has a checkbox to
enable ACT, and this checkbox must also be enabled in order to use
ACT.
• WAI column—this column contains a check box for each enabled
control surface that allows you to show or hide the WAI markers for
each individual surface.
• WAI color column—this column contains a dropdown menu for each
enabled control surface that allows you to change the color of the WAI
markers for each individual surface.
Add Button
Clicking this button opens the Controller/Surface Settings dialog, which lets
you to add another control surface to the list.
Delete Button
Clicking this button deletes and disables a selected control surface from the
list. You can re-enable it by clicking the Add button and selecting it from the
drop-down menu.
WAI Display
These check boxes show or hide the WAI markers in the Track view and/or
the Console view.
For more information, see:
External Devices
Controller/Surface Settings dialog

Convert MIDI To Shapes dialog

Using the Edit-Convert MIDI To Shapes command opens the Convert
MIDI To Shapes dialog box. This command lets you convert a controller
envelope created in the Piano Roll view to a Track view envelope, or shape.
Note: If two clips overlap, the command converts the controller envelopes
in both clips, in whatever parts of the clips lie in the selected time range.

1292 Dialog Reference

Convert MIDI To Shapes dialog
 See:
Converting MIDI Envelopes to Shapes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes

Convert MIDI Clip(s) To Step Sequencer

dialog
The Convert MIDI Clip(s) to Step Sequencer Clips pane context menu
command opens the Convert MIDI Clip(s) to Step Sequencer dialog. This
command lets you convert any selected MIDI clip to a step sequncer clip.

See:
To Convert a MIDI Clip(s) to a Step Sequencer Clip(s)

Copy dialog
The Edit-Copy command opens the Copy dialog box. which lets you put on
the clipboard any selected objects. You can paste the contents of the
clipboard elsewhere. See Paste dialog.
To remove rather than copy objects, see Cut dialog.
To make copies of linked clips, see Splitting and Combining Clips.
The Copy dialog box has the following fields:
Events in Tracks
If you check this checkbox, SONAR copies all events in the selected object.
Clip Automation
If you check this checkbox, SONAR copies all clip automation in the
selection.
Track/Bus Automation
If you check this checkbox, SONAR copies all Track and Bus automation
from the selection.
Tempo Changes
If you check this checkbox, SONAR copies all tempo changes in the
selected object.

Dialog Reference 1293

Convert MIDI Clip(s) To Step Sequencer dialog
 Meter/Key Changes
If you check this checkbox, SONAR copies all meter and key changes in
the selected object.
Markers
If you check this checkbox, SONAR copies all markers in the selected
object.

See also:
Moving and Copying Clips
Working with Partial Clips
Importing Material from Another SONAR Project
Importing MIDI Files

Create Fx Envelopes dialog

If you have already patched an automatable effect into a track, you can
right-click in the Clips pane and choose Envelopes-Create-(name of the
effect you patched) to open a dialog box containing a list of the effect’s
automatable parameters. You can create or delete an envelope for each
parameter by checking or unchecking its checkbox.
If you patched the effect into a bus, you can open the same dialog box by
clicking in the Bus pane and choosing Create-(name of the effect you
patched).
The dialog box has the following fields:
Envelope Exists list
This is a list of all the automatable parameters for this effect—the ones with
checkmarks already have envelopes. You can create new envelopes by
checking more checkboxes, or delete existing ones by unchecking
checkboxes.
Choose Color button
Click this button to choose colors for any envelopes whose names are
highlighted and checked in the list. When you highlight the name of a
checked envelope in the Envelope Exists list, the current color of that
envelope appears above the Choose Color button; click the Choose Color
button and choose a new color for the highlighted envelope. If you want the
same color for several different envelopes, you can highlight as many

1294 Dialog Reference

Create Fx Envelopes dialog
 names at one time as you want by dragging through them, Shift-clicking
them, or Ctrl-clicking them.
For more information, see:
Automating Effects

Crossfade dialog
The Process-Audio-Crossfade command lets you specify accurately the
shape of a crossfade for a selection, clip, or track. This is a destructive
edit—it permanently alters the data that you apply it to. To apply a
nondestructive volume change to selected data, see Drawing Envelopes on
Clips, and Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes.
The Process-Audio-Fade/Envelope command opens the Crossfade
dialog box, which has the following fields:
Name
This field contains a dropdown menu of different graphical shapes for the
crossfade volume. The options are:
• Exponential Crossfade—This option causes the selected audio to
change volume rapidly at first, but much slower toward the end of the
crossfade.
• Inverse Exponential Crossfade—This option causes the selected audio
to change volume slowly at first, but much faster toward the end of the
crossfade.
• Linear Crossfade—This option causes the selected audio to change
volume at a constant rate throughout the crossfade.
Crossfade graph
The crossfade graph illustrates any type of crossfade you choose in the
Name field, but you can also drag points on the graph to create any shape
you want.
Reset button
Click this button to reset the crossfade graph to the shape that is selected in
the Name field.
For step by step directions, see Fades and Crossfades.

Dialog Reference 1295

Crossfade dialog
 Ctrl Surface Settings dialog
The Ctrl Surface Settings dialog appears when you click the Property Page
button in the Control Surfaces dialog. This dialog allows you to choose
inputs and outputs for the selected control surface.
The Ctrl Surface Settings dialog has the following fields:
• Control Surface—This field lists the control surface you are choosing
inputs and outputs for.
• Input Port—Click the name of the input port you want to use.
• Output Port—Click the name of the output port you want to use.
For more information, see:
External Devices

Customize Toolbars dialog

The Customize Toolbars dialog appears when you right-click a toolbar, and
choose Customize from the popup menu.
The Customize Toolbars dialog has the following fields:
• Available Toolbar Buttons menu—This menu lists the buttons on all
toolbars, and a separator that you can add between buttons. Click an
item in the menu, and then click the Add button to add the item to the
current toolbar.
• Add button—click this to add the highlighted item in the Available
Toolbar Buttons menu to the Current Toolbar Buttons menu.
• Remove button—click this to remove the highlighted item in the Current
Toolbar Buttons menu from the Current Toolbar Buttons menu.
• Current Toolbar Buttons menu—This menu lists the buttons and
separators that are on the current toolbar.
• Reset button—click this to reset the current toolbar to its default
number and arrangement of buttons.
• Move Up button—click this to move a highlighted item toward the top of
the Current Toolbar Buttons menu.
• Move Down button—click this to move a highlighted item toward the
bottom of the Current Toolbar Buttons menu.

1296 Dialog Reference

Ctrl Surface Settings dialog
Cut dialog
The Edit-Cut command opens the Cut dialog box, which lets you remove
from the project and put on the clipboard any selected objects. You can
paste the contents of the clipboard elsewhere. See Paste dialog.
The Cut dialog box has the following fields:
Events in Tracks
If you check this checkbox, SONAR removes every event in the selected
object.
Clip Automation
If you check this checkbox, SONAR removes all clip automation in the
selection.
Track/Bus Automation
If you check this checkbox, SONAR removes all Track and Bus automation
from the selection.
Tempo Changes
If you check this checkbox, SONAR removes all tempo changes in the
selected object.
Meter/Key Changes
If you check this checkbox, SONAR removes all meter and key changes in
the selected object.
Markers
If you check this checkbox, SONAR removes all markers in the selected
object.
Delete Hole
If you check this checkbox, SONAR removes the space in the track where
the object was. SONAR moves all objects after the deleted object forward in
time by the length of the deleted object. Checking the Shift By Whole
Measures option causes SONAR to move the following clips forward, but
only as far as the nearest whole measure.
For more information, see Moving and Copying Clips.
See also:
Erasing Tracks

Dialog Reference 1297

Cut dialog
 Define Groove dialog
When you use the Process-Groove Quantize command, the Groove
Quantize dialog box appears, which contains the Define Button. Clicking
the Define button opens the Define Groove dialog box. which you use to
save new groove patterns.
The Define Groove dialog box has the following fields:
Groove Source
This field lists the file that contains the currently loaded groove, along with
the attributes.
Groove Library File
• File—Use this field to select or type a filename, so you can save the
current groove in a certain file.
• Pattern—Use this field to select or type a pattern name, so you can
save the current groove with a name you choose. If you try to save to a
pre-existing pattern name, SONAR asks if you want to overwrite
(erase) that pattern.
Delete button
Click this button if you want to delete the groove pattern that is listed in the
Pattern field.
See also:
To Save a Groove Pattern
Changing the Timing of a Recording

Define Instruments and Names dialog

When you use the Options-Instruments command, the Assign
Instruments dialog box appears, which contains the Define button. Clicking
this button opens the Define Instruments and Names dialog box, which has
the following fields.:
The Define Instruments and Names dialog box contains two trees:
The Instruments Tree
The Instruments tree occupies the left side of the dialog box and lists all
defined instruments and their characteristics
The Names Tree
The Names tree shows all the resources you use to define an instrument.

1298 Dialog Reference

Define Groove dialog
 To define an instrument, you drag resources from the Names tree to the
appropriate branches on the Instruments tree. Each resource is color-
coded—for example, you can only drag a Names list to an Instrument tree
branch of the same color.

See also:
Creating Instrument Definitions
Assigning Instruments
Importing Instrument Definitions

Deglitch dialog
The Process-Deglitch command opens the Deglitch dialog box. When
recording MIDI guitar, even the best players occasionally play unintended
notes. The Deglitch feature allows you to filter out many of these
unintended notes.
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.
For step by step instructions, see To Use the Deglitch Filter.

Delay dialog
Using the File-Open command to open a Play List opens the Play List view,
which has a Delay button.
Clicking the Delay button opens the Delay dialog box, which lets you specify
a different kind of delay before the start of each song.

Dialog Reference 1299

Deglitch dialog
 The Delay dialog box has these fields:
No Delay
Click this option to cause the song to start immediately following the
previous song.
Wait for Key Press
Click this option to cause the song to start only after you press a key on
your computer.
Wait for “N” Seconds
Click this option to cause the song to start only after a period of seconds,
the number of which you fill in this field.

Delete dialog
The Edit-Delete command opens the Delete dialog box, which allows you
to remove selected objects from the project. It doesn't put them on the
clipboard, so they can not be subsequently pasted. You can specify the
following objects to remove:
Events in Tracks
Removes all events in the selected clip(s).
Clip Automation
Removes any clip envelopes in the selected clip(s).
Track/Bus Automation
Removes any track or bus automation from the selected clip(s).
Tempo Changes
Removes all tempo changes in the selected clip(s).
Meter/Key Changes
Removes all meter and key changes in the selected clip(s).
Markers
Removes all markers in the selected clip(s).
You have the following options in the Delete dialog:
Delete Hole
If selected, the Delete Hole option removes the space in the track where the
clip(s) had been. All clips after the deleted clip(s) are moved forward in time
by the length of the deleted clip(s). Checking the Shift by Whole Measures

1300 Dialog Reference

Delete dialog
 option causes SONAR to move the following clips forward, but only as far
as the nearest whole measure.
For more information, see To Delete Clips.

Delete dialog (with multiple selection)

If you have both a track and an effect selected, the Delete dialog appears
with the following options:
Current Selection
Check this box if you want to delete the current track or clip selection.
Current Effect
Check this box if you want to delete the selected effect.

Drag and Drop Options dialog

If you right-click in the Clips pane and choose Drag and Drop Options from
the popup menu, the Drag and Drop dialog box appears, which you use to
control how clips behave when you drag them.
The Drag and Drop dialog box has the following fields:
Copy Entire Clips as Linked Clips
Choosing this option means that when you copy an entire clip and paste it,
the new clip is a linked clip with the clip that you copied it from.
What to do with existing material
The fields in this section deal with the situation that occurs when you try to
drag some data to a place in a track that already has some data.
• Blend Old and New—Choosing this option tells SONAR to mix the new
data with the old, with the following option:
• Replace Old with New—Choosing this option tells SONAR to delete the
old data, with the following option:
• Delete Whole Measures—Choosing this option tells SONAR to delete
the old data up to the next measure line, regardless of whether the new
data fills the space up to the next measure.

• Slide Over Old to Make Room—Choosing this option tells SONAR to

slide the old data either forward or backward in the track to make room
for the new data. with the following option:
• Align to Measures—Choosing this option tells SONAR to slide the old

Dialog Reference 1301

Delete dialog (with multiple selection)
 data up to the next measure line, regardless of whether the new data
fills the space up to the next measure.

Ask This Every Time

Choosing this option causes the Drag and Drop Options dialog box to open
every time you drag some data.

See also:
Moving and Copying Clips
Splitting and Combining Clips

Drum Map Manager dialog

In the Drum Map Manager dialog you can create and save drum maps for
use with hardware or software samplers. You can customize drum maps to
select specific sounds on any of your samplers.
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.
Source/Destination
The Source/Destination section is where you map the following for each In
Note (source):
• In Note—The source MIDI note value.
• Out Note—The MIDI note value that plays on the destination sampler.
• Name—The user-defined name for the row.
• Channel—The channel on which the note is transmitted. There is an
option to follow the track’s Channel setting.
• Out Port—The 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.

1302 Dialog Reference

Drum Map Manager dialog
 • V Scale—The V Scale value sets a level of compression or expansion.
A value below 100% is compression. A value above 100% is
expansion.
Port/Channel Pairs
This section lists each unique Port and Channel pairing. This allows you to
make quick global changes that Port and Channel pairing’s bank and patch
settings.

Dump Request Macro needs your

input—Channel/Unit Number
When you click the Receive button in the Sysx view, and choose to receive
sysx data from a synthesizer your system has trouble identifying, the Dump
Request Macro needs your input dialog box appears. This dialog box, which
appears if the system needs more information and you have two or more of
the same synthesizer, lets you specify which channel or unit number you
want dumped.
See also:
Using the System Exclusive View

Dump Request Macro needs your input--

Patch/Voice/Config Number
When you click the Receive button in the Sysx view, and choose to receive
sysx data from a synthesizer your system has trouble identifying, the Dump
Request Macro needs your input dialog box appears. This dialog box, which
appears if the system needs more information, lets you specify which patch,
voice, or config number you want dumped.
See also:
Using the System Exclusive View

Duration dialog
When you use the Transport-Step Record command, the Step Record
dialog box appears, which contains two Other buttons. Clicking the one on
the Duration side of the dialog box opens the Duration dialog box. In the

Dialog Reference 1303

Dump Request Macro needs your input—Channel/Unit Number
 Duration field, enter the actual duration of the note you want to enter in
ticks.

See also:
Step Recording

Edit Node dialog

Open the Edit Node dialog by right-clicking on a node and selecting
Properties from the menu that appears.
Level
The node’s value (% left or right pan, for example). Change the level by
using the + or - keys to the left of the Level field or by clicking and dragging
up or down.
Time
The node’s time location in the track.
Select from the following time measurement options:
• M:B:T
• Samples
• H:M:S:F
• Seconds
Then change the value in the Time field as desired. Change the level
by using the + or - keys to the left of the Level field or by clicking and
dragging up or down.

Edit System Exclusive Bytes dialog

When you select a bank in the Sysx view and click the Edit button, the Edit
System Exclusive Bytes dialog box appears. This dialog box lets you edit
your bytes in hex.
See also:
Using the System Exclusive View

1304 Dialog Reference

Edit Node dialog
Event Filter dialog
If you want information about the Event Filter - Search dialog box, see
Event Filter Select Some/Search/Replace dialog.

See Also:
Searching for Events
Event Filters
Selecting Events

Event Filter Select Some/Search/

Replace dialog
• Edit-Select-By Filter opens the Event Filter-Select Some dialog box.
Use this command to select events of a specific nature that you specify
in the dialog box. You can then edit all the events with any editing
command.
• Process-Interpolate opens the Event Filter-Search dialog box, which
opens the Event Filter-Replace dialog box when you click OK. Use this
command to select and replace events of a specific nature with events
of a different nature that you specify in the Event Filter-Replace dialog
box.
• Go-Search opens the Event Filter-Search dialog box. Use this
command to find the first instance of an event. Pressing F3 finds the
next instance of the event. Pressing F3 repeatedly continues finding
the next event until you reach the last one.
The Event Filter dialog box contains these fields:
The Save Presets Dropdown List
After you choose all your selection criteria, type a name for them in the text
box and click the disk icon to save them. You can reuse each set of
selection criteria by choosing the appropriate name from the dropdown list.
Use the X button next to the disk icon to remove selected items from the list.
Include
Click the Include checkbox for each row of data types you want to include in
your selection.

Dialog Reference 1305

Event Filter dialog
 Note
Click the Note checkbox to search for notes of a specific type. You can
specify pitch, velocity and duration data to narrow your search. Click any of
the exc checkboxes to exclude data from your search. For example, if you
click the exc checkbox under Key, you can exclude notes within the pitch
range specified in the Min and Max fields.
KeyAft
Click KeyAft to include key aftertouch data in your selection. Choose the
ranges of keys and pressure values you want to include (or exclude, by
checking either of the exc checkboxes).
Control
Click the Control checkbox to include any or all of the standard controllers.
Set ranges for which controllers and values you want to include or exclude.
RPN
Click RPN to include registered parameter controllers in your selection.
Consult your sound module’s documentation to see what RPN’s it responds
to.
NRPN
Click NRPN to include non-registered parameter controllers in your
selection. Consult your sound module’s documentation to see what NRPN’s
it responds to.
Patch
Click Patch to include bank and patch data in your selection. You can set a
range of banks and/or patches to include or exclude.
ChanAft
Click ChanAft to include channel aftertouch (aftertouch that applies to a
whole MIDI channel, not just individual keys) in your selection. Set a range
of pressure values to include or exclude.
Wheel
Click Wheel to include pitch wheel data in your selection. Set a range of
values to include or exclude.
All Non-Special Events
Set ranges in these fields to limit your selection to specific MIDI channels,
beats, or ticks.

1306 Dialog Reference

Event Filter Select Some/Search/Replace dialog
 “Special Events”
Click any of the checkboxes in these fields to include instances of the
following kinds of data in your selection (no ranges can be set for these
events):
• Audio–include audio data in your selection.
• Shape—include shapes in your selection.
• Text—include text boxes in the event list in your selection.
• Expression—include expression marks in your selection.
• SysxBank–include system exclusive bank events.
• Lyric–include lyrics in your selection.
• Chord–include chord symbols in your selection.
• SysxData– include system exclusive data events.
• MCI–include Media Control Interface commands
• Hairpin–include crescendo or decrescendo marks in your selection.
All
Clicking the All button places a checkmark into all checkboxes in the dialog
box.
None
Clicking the None button clears the checkmark from all checkboxes in the
dialog box.
See Also:
Searching for Events

Event Manager dialog

You can open the Event Manager dialog box in two ways:
• Right-click in the Event List view and choose Event Manager from the
popup menu.
• Click the Event Manager button in the Event List view
Use the Event Manager dialog box to select which types of events to
display in the Event List view. The Event Manager dialog box has the
following fields:

Dialog Reference 1307

Event Manager dialog
 MIDI
Check the different kinds of MIDI events you want to display.
Special
Check the different kinds of special events you want to display.
Notation
Check the different kinds of notation events you want to display.
All/None buttons
Click an All/None button under the column of event types that you want to
display all of or none of. Clicking the button toggles the display between
each extreme.

See also:
Event Filters
Selecting Events
The Event List View

Export Audio dialog

Select File-Export-Audio to open the Export Audio dialog box. This
command lets you export your projects as Wave, MP3 files, and other types
of formats.
Note: If you select any data in your project, only that data is included when
you choose to export audio. Alternatively, you can mute tracks or buses
you don’t want to include in the mixdown, and then check Track Mute/Solo
or Bus Mute/Solo in the Mix Enables field so that SONAR uses that
information as a guide when picking what data to include in the exported
file. If a project is using any effects that add a "tail" to the end of an audio
track, such as reverb or delay, then you should make sure that you select
extra time in the time ruler at the end of the current selection before using
the File-Export Audio command. This ensures that the "tail" is included in
the audio mixdown.
The dialog has the following fields:
Look in
Shows the folder to which you are exporting your audio. Browse your
available drives to choose a different directory.
Below the Look in field is a list of the selected folder's contents.

1308 Dialog Reference

Export Audio dialog
File name
Enter a name for the file you are creating.
Files of type
Select from one of the following export formats:
• Wave—The standard digital audio format used under Windows and for
CD’s, with a file extension of .wav.
• Broadcast Wave (time-stamped)—A wave file with the following
embedded information:
• Description—A brief description of the contents of the Broadcast
wave. Limited to 256 characters.
• Originator—The author of the Broadcast wave. This information is
taken from the Author field in the File Info dialog.
• Originator Reference—A unique reference identifier created by
SONAR.
• Origination Date—The date the file was created.
• Origination Time—The time the file was created.
• Time Reference—The SMPTE time stamp for the beginning of
broadcast wave.
• Windows Media Advanced Streaming Format—The Microsoft
Corporation's compressed audio format, with the file extension of .wma.
If you choose Windows Media Advanced Streaming Format you will be
prompted for more information about the file by the Microsoft Audio
Encode Options dialog.
• MP3—The mpeg-3 format, with the file extension .mp3.
• Various surround formats—if you have installed any 3rd-party surround
encoders, you will see them listed here.
Preset
You can create a preset for a mixdown. A preset contains all the settings
within the Bounce Settings fields and also includes the File Type.
Source Category
Select one of the following options:
• Tracks—This option creates a separate file or group of files (the Split
Mono option in the Channel Format field) for each track that you select
in the Source Buses/Tracks field.

Dialog Reference 1309

Export Audio dialog
 • Buses—This option creates a separate file or group of files (the Split
Mono option in the Channel Format field) for each bus that you select in
the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Main Outputs—This option creates a separate file or group of files (the
Split Mono option in the Channel Format field) for each main out that
you select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Entire Mix—This option creates a file or group of files (the Split Mono
option in the Channel Format field) for your entire mix.
Channel Format
Select from one of the following options:
• Mono—All exported tracks are mixed down to a mono file or separate
mono files, depending on how many tracks or buses you select in the
Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Stereo—All exported tracks are mixed down to a stereo file or separate
stereo files., depending on how many tracks or buses you select in the
Source Buses/Tracks field
• Split Mono—All exported tracks are mixed down to a group of mono
files, or separate groups of mono files, depending on how many tracks
or buses you select in the Source Buses/Tracks field.
• Multichannel—All exported tracks in a Surround project are mixed
down to a multichannel file containing the number of channels listed on
the Surround tab of the Project Options dialog.
Source Buses/Tracks
• Select the tracks or buses that supply the audio data you want to export
If you chose Tracks in the Source Category field, only tracks will show
up as choices in this field.
Sample Rate
Set the sample rate for the file. CD audio uses 44100 kHz.
Bit Depth
Set the bit depth for the file. CD audio uses 16 bit. If you don’t have
Dithering turned on, this is a good time to turn it on.
Dithering
Whenever an audio signal is converted from a higher-bit resolution to a
lower resolution, it is necessary to apply dither to avoid introducing
undesirable quantization noise or harmonic distortion into the signal. You
can select from four available dithering types.

1310 Dialog Reference

Export Audio dialog
• Rectangular
• Triangular
• Pow-r 1
• Pow-r 2
• Pow-r 3
For more information see Dithering.
Mix Enables
As default, each of the Mix Enables options is checked, meaning that your
mixdown will sound the same as playback. You can check or uncheck each
of the following items to include or exclude them from your mix:
• Track Mute/Solo—If you check this option, tracks that are currently
muted are not mixed down. Also with this option checked, if any tracks
are soloed, only those tracks are included in the mixdown.
• Bus Mute/Solo—If you check this option, buses that are currently muted
are not mixed down. Also with this option checked, if any buses are
soloed, only those bus outputs are included in the mixdown.
• Track Automation—If you don’t check this option, any volume and pan
automation, including initial volume and pan settings, is ignored
when creating the new file(s). The amplitude of the raw data in the
tracks is used, and the pan is C, or centered.
• Clip Automation—If you don’t check this option, any clip automation,
including any trim settings, is ignored when creating the new file(s).
• Bus Automation
• FX Automation
• Track FX—If you don’t check this option, any effects patched into
various tracks’ patch points, including any plug-in synthesizers
patched into track fx patch points, are ignored when creating the
new file(s).
• Bus FX—If you don’t check this option any effects in buses are ignored
when creating the audio file.
• Fast Bounce—When checked SONAR exports audio as fast as your
computer allows. If unchecked, SONAR exports audio in realtime.
Uncheck this option if you are using a synth that works only in realtime.
This option is checked by default.
• Audible bounce—The Audible bounce option is only available when in
real-time bounce mode (when Fast Bounce is unchecked). When

Dialog Reference 1311

Export Audio dialog
 Audible bounce is unchecked, no audio output will be heard during the
bounce process. When in real-time bounce mode (Fast Bounce
unchecked) and Audible bounce is enabled, you can hear the output of
the mixdown.
Note: Depending on the gainstages used in the project and the
mixdown options selected–such as bouncing with source category
assigned to Tracks, or with mute/solo or automation disabled in the
bounce settings or while freezing tracks–the output may be louder or
softer than during normal playback. Please be sure to turn down the
master output level before using real-time audible bounce under these
scenarios to avoid the possibility of speaker damage.
• 64-bit Engine—If you don’t usually run SONAR in 64-bit mode in order
to save CPU, you can turn 64-bit mode on when you export audio by
enabling this check box. Remember to turn it off after you export your
audio, if you don’t want to use it during tracking or mixing.
Add to Audio CD Track List
Check Add to Audio CD Track List option when you export audio as a 16-
bit, 44,100 Hz stereo Wave file (.wav). The Audio CD Burner dialog
appears with the Wave file pre-loaded in the Track List.
Add to Cakewalk Publisher
Check the Add to Cakewalk Publisher option when you export audio as an
MP3 file. Publisher launches automatically and the MP3 file is pre-loaded.
For more information, see:
Mixing
To Mix Down (Bounce) Audio Tracks
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio

Export Color Set dialog

The Export Color Set dialog appears when you click the Export button in the
Configure Colors dialog.
This dialog has the following fields:
Save in
Select the directory in which you want SONAR to store the file that you
want to export.

1312 Dialog Reference

Export Color Set dialog
 file and folder window
This large window under the Save in field lists the files and folders that are
inside the current folder.
File name
Type or select the filename you want to open.
Save as type
Select the type of file you want to open.
Export Current Color Set
Enable this checkbox if you want to export the current color arrangement as
a color set file (.CLR).
Export Color Preset
Enable this checkbox if you want to export all the presets in the Presets
menu as a color set file (.CLR).

Export MIDI Groove Clip dialog

The File-Export-MIDI Groove Clip command opens the Export MIDI
Groove Clip dialog. You must first select a MIDI Groove clip before the
command becomes available.
The Export MIDI Groove Clip dialog has the following fields:
Save In
Use this field to navigate to the folder where you want to store the MIDI
Groove clip.
File Name
Type a name in this field for the file you’re saving (exporting).
Save as Type
The only option in this field is MIDI Groove Clip (.mid).
File Info
For your exported MIDI clip, this field lists the MIDI Groove clip
characteristics that the clip contains, such as Beats in Clip, Follow Project
Pitch, and Reference Note.
For more information, see Exporting, and Importing MIDI Groove Clips.

Dialog Reference 1313

Export MIDI Groove Clip dialog
 Export OMF dialog
Select File-Export-OMF to open the Export OMF dialog.
This command lets you save and export your projects OMF files. The dialog
box has the following fields:
Save in
Shows the folder to which you are exporting your project. Browse your
available drives to choose a different directory.
Below the Save in field is a list of the selected folder's contents.
File name
Enter a name for the file you are creating.
File of type
Select from one of the following OMF file formats:
• OMF version 1—Compatible with older applications.
• OMF version 2—Compatible with newer applications.
Audio Packaging
• Embed Audio Within OMF—Saves all audio in the OMF file.
• Reference Audio Externally—Saves all audio in a subdirectory of the
directory where you save the OMF file.
Audio Format
• Write RIFF Wave—Export audio as WAV files.
• Write AIFC—Export audio as AIF files.
Split Stereo Tracks to Dual Mono
Check this option to save stereo tracks as a pair of mono tracks.
Include Archived Tracks
Check this option to export tracks in the project that are currently archived.
Mix Each Groove Clip as a Separate Clip
Check this option to save each Groove clip as a separate clip. This option
may increase the length of time it takes to export the project as an OMF file
if there are many Groove clips in the project.

1314 Dialog Reference

Export OMF dialog
Expression Text Properties dialog
In the Staff view, when you right-click on a text expression, such as a ff
marking, the Expression Text Properties dialog box appears.
This dialog box lets you edit the text and location of your expression text.
See also:
Adding Expression Marks

Export Track Template

The File-Export-Track Template and Save As Track Template
commands open the Export Track Preset dialog. You must first select a
track before the command becomes available.
The Export Track Template dialog has the following fields:
Save In
Use this field to navigate to the folder where you want to store the track
template.
File Name
Type a name in this field for the template you want to save (export).
Save as Type
The only option in this field is Track Template Files (.CWX).

Fade/Envelope dialog
The Process-Audio-Fade/Envelope command lets you specify accurately
the shape of a fade for a selection, clip, or track. This is a destructive edit—
it permanent alters the data that you apply it to. To apply a nondestructive
volume change to selected data, see Drawing Envelopes on Clips.
The Process-Audio-Fade/Envelope command opens the Fade/Envelope
dialog box, which has the following fields:
Name—Use this field to choose the kind of fade you want to apply to the
selected data, from the following choices:
• Exponential Fade In
• Exponential Fade Out
• Inverse Exponential Fade In

Dialog Reference 1315

Expression Text Properties dialog
 • Inverse Exponential Fade Out
• Linear Fade In
• Linear Fade Out
Fade graph—This graph shows a visual representation of the type of fade
you choose in the Name field. The graph changes as you drag the line or
curve in different directions.
Reset button—Click this button to restore the graph to the shape of the
fade that’s listed in the Name field.
For step by step directions, see Fades and Crossfades.

Fade Selected Clips dialog

The Process-Fade Selected Clips command opens the Fade Selected
Clips dialog where you can create or edit one or more clip fades.
The Fade Selected Clips dialog has the following options:
Fade In
The number of milliseconds the fade-in lasts.
Fade Out
The number of milliseconds the fade-out lasts.
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.
Alter Existing Times
Select this option if you wish to change the existing fade lengths. You don’t
have to enable this if you’re creating a new fade.
Alter Existing Curves
Select this option if you wish to change the existing fade types. You don’t
have to enable this if you’re creating a new fade.
Only Show if Pressing Shift
Select if you want to apply previous dialog settings without opening the
dialog. Hold shift when selecting command to override.

1316 Dialog Reference

Fade Selected Clips dialog
File Info dialog
The File-Info command opens the File Info dialog box. In the File Info
dialog box, you can document the following information for your project:
Title
Your song’s title.
Subtitle
Your song’s subtitle.
Instructions
Specific instructions about for playing your song.
Author
The author of the song.
Copyright
Applicable copyright information.
Keywords
Put keywords describing the song here for future reference.
Project Description Text Box
Project description or other information.
See also: File Statistics dialog.

File Statistics 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.

Dialog Reference 1317

File Info dialog
 Statistic... What it means...

Editing time The total time you’ve 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 bit depth of digital audio.

Pan Law The project’s current pan law setting.

File version The SONAR version number.

File Options dialog

The Options button in the Save As dialog opens the File Options dialog.
Check the Mark for Microsoft Media Player checkbox if you plan to use your
MIDI files for use with the Microsoft Media Player.

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:
Open—Click this button once you have searched for and found the missing
audio file.
Skip—Click this button to move to the next missing file. When you skip and
audio file your project opens without that piece of missing audio.

1318 Dialog Reference

File Options dialog
 Skip All—Click this button to skip all missing audio files. When you skip all
missing audio files, you project opens without those pieces of missing
audio.
Search—Click this button to begin a search of all available hard drives for
your missing audio file.
After locating the file Options—You can choose to either move an audio
file to the project’s audio data folder, copy an audio file to the project’s audio
data folder, or leave an audio file in its current folder.

Fit to Time dialog

The Process-Fit to Time command opens the Fit to Time dialog box, which
you can use to stretch or shrink a 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 to alter 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.
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).
The Fit to Time dialog box has the following fields:
Original Time Span
This field lists the beginning location of the selection (the From value), and
the ending location of the selection (the Thru value). You can toggle
between MBT format and SMPTE format by clicking the Format button.
Adjust to End at New Time
Enter a value into the New Thru field of the new location where you want
the selection to end.
Modify by Changing
Choose how you want to change the selection to change its duration.
Usually, you change the Tempo Map; this method preserves the note
durations and bar lines of your project. Choose from these options:
• Tempo Map—Choose this option to change only the tempo(s) of the
selection, leaving note durations and their relationships to bar lines
unchanged.

Dialog Reference 1319

Fit to Time dialog
 • Event Times—Choose this option to change the starting and ending
times of all events in the selection, leaving the tempo(s) unchanged.
This option is not available if any selected data contains a Groove clip.
• Stretch Audio—Choose this option to cause any audio data in the
selection to stretch or shrink to fit the new end time. This option has no
effect on Groove clips.
• Type (disabled unless Stretch Audio is checked)— (this is a SONAR
Producer feature only) 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 Scaling (disabled unless Stretch Audio is checked)— (this is a

SONAR Producer feature only) 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.

Format button
Click the format button to toggle between display in MBT time and SMPTE
time formats.

See also:
To Stretch or Shrink to a Specific Length
Stretching and Shrinking Events
Working with Groove Clips

Folder Properties dialog

Right-clicking a the title bar of a track folder and choosing Folder Options
opens the Folder Properties dialog, which has the following fields:
Name
This field, which you can edit, lists the name of the track folder.
Member Tracks
This field lists the number and kind of tracks that are in the track folder.
Total Events
This field lists the number of events in all the included tracks.

1320 Dialog Reference

Folder Properties dialog
 Description
You can type a description of the track folder in this field, and edit the
description later if you want.

Freeze Options dialog

The Freeze Options dialog has the following options:
Fast Bounce
When checked, SONAR bounces to tracks as fast as your computer will
allow. If unchecked, bouncing to tracks happens in real time. Uncheck this
option if you are using a synth that only works in real time. This option is
checked by default.
Hide MIDI Tracks
Check this box if you want the MIDI tracks associated with your synth to be
hidden when the synth is frozen.
Single Bounce Per Track
Check this if you want to create a single clip for all the bounced audio. If you
don’t check this, each separate clip on a track creates a separate clip when
you freeze the track.
Remove Silence
If you checked the previous option, you can check this box and adjust
settings in the Remove Silence dialog to remove silence in a frozen track.
Checking this option will create separate clips from a single clip that has
areas of silence in it.
Freeze Tail Duration n seconds
This value allows for a reverb or delay tail (the reverberations or signal
delay that continue once the source has stopped). Set this value at a high
enough value to allow for any delay or reverb or other effect that you may
have patched into a track.

Gain dialog
The Process-Audio-Gain command opens the Gain dialog.
This dialog lets you precisely control the gain, phase, and stereo interleave
of selected audio data. This dialog has the following controls:
• New Left Channel-From Left slider—Drag the From Left slider to
determine the amount of the original left channel that will be mixed to

Dialog Reference 1321

Freeze Options dialog
 the new file (range = -INF to 18.0dB).
Note

• New Left Channel-From Right slider—Drag the From Right slider to

determine the amount of the original right channel that will be mixed to
the new file (range = -INF to 18.0dB).
• Invert left channel phase—Enable the Invert left-channel phase button
if you want to reverse the phase of the new left-channel mix.
• New Right Channel-From Left slider—Drag the From Left slider to
determine the amount of the original left channel that will be mixed to
the new file (range = -INF to 18.0dB).
• New Right Channel-From Right slider—Drag the From Right slider to
determine the amount of the original right channel that will be mixed to
the new file (range = -INF to 18.0dB).
• Invert right channel phase—Enable the Invert right-channel phase
button if you want to reverse the phase of the new right-channel mix.
• Audition button—click this button to audition a few seconds of your new
settings.
• Preset window—use this window and the Save and Delete buttons that
are next to it to save and manage any Gain presets you decide to store.

Global Options dialog—General

Using the Options-Global command opens the Global Options dialog box.
Clicking the General tab gives you access to options you might want to set
for all your projects.
Fill in or check the following fields:
Scan for VST Plug-ins on Startup
Checking this option causes SONAR to search for unregistered VST plug-
ins on startup. If you prefer to run the VST Configuration Wizard manually,
you can disable this option.
Show Tooltips
Checking this option causes SONAR to show tooltips. Tooltips are small
text names or explanations that appear when you hold the mouse over a
tool.

1322 Dialog Reference

Global Options dialog—General
Show Status Bar
Checking this option causes SONAR to show the Status bar, which displays
whether any tracks are muted, soloed, or armed for recording or
automation, and also contains the CPU and Disk meters.
Show MIDI Activity on Windows Taskbar
Check this option to display the MIDI Input/Output Activity icon on the
Windows taskbar.
Display All Times as SMPTE
This option, when checked, forces all time displays to appear in SMPTE
time regardless of the setting you have in the Time Ruler.
Display Left on Top for MIDI Pan Envelopes
When checked left is at the top of a clip for MIDI pan envelopes.
Display Envelopes on a Percentage Scale
This option, when checked, causes new envelopes to be placed in the clip
based on a range where 0 dB is in the middle of the clip. If the current
volume is other than 0 dB, a new envelope is created at that location. For
example a new envelope created at 6 dB would appear at the very top of
the clip where a new envelope created at -20 dB would appear near the
bottom of the clip.
Display Waveform Preview While Recording
This option (on by default), causes SONAR to draw a preview waveform of
any audio data that you record while you are recording it. If you turn this
option off, SONAR creates a red swath in the Clips pane in the area you are
recording, while you are recording.
Load Non-SONAR Files in Offset Mode
This option causes SMF, MID, RMI, WRK and BUN files to open in Offset mode.
For more information about Offset mode, see Envelope Mode and Offset
Mode.
Create Default Drum Map for Non-SONAR Files
This option ensures that when you load a Standard MIDI File, you won’t
have to create a drum map from scratch—SONAR creates a basic one for
you.
Allow Only One Open Project at a Time
If you check this checkbox, when you open a new project SONAR will close
any project that is already open and ask if you want to save any changes.

Dialog Reference 1323

Global Options dialog—General
 Allow MIDI Recording without an Armed Track
By default, SONAR requires you to arm a track before recording.
Ask before Sending System Exclusive (When Opening
Projects)
If you check this option and then open a project that contains sysx data,
SONAR asks you before sending the sysx data.
Always use Sysx Banks for MIDI Files (Instead of Sysx
Data)
If you check this option, SONAR puts any sysx data contained in imported
MIDI files into sysx banks instead of a stream of sysxdata events (except
for auto-send data, which is sent before playback). These banks show up in
the Event list as bank events. If you don’t check this option, imported sysx
data remains as sysx data events if it is up to 255 bytes, and is put into
banks if it is 256 or more bytes.
Write Cable Meta Events to MIDI Files (Output Select)
If you select this option, SONAR can change the default output that a
following (upcoming) sysx bank is sent to. The output select number is also
inserted into the front of each track of a format 1 MIDI file to specify the
output number.
Always Echo Current MIDI Track
This option is on by default, and means that incoming MIDI data will always
be echoed through the current track, even if the track’s Input Echo button is
in the Off position.
On Stop, Rewind to Now Marker
When this checkbox is enabled, the Now Time jumps back to the Now Time
Marker whenever playback stops.
Set Now Time With Full Restart
When this option is checked, when you change the Now Time during
playback, the Transport comes to a full stop, and then restarts playback.
This stops the sound for a brief moment, but makes synchronization
(especially with video) more robust.
Stop at Project End
When this option is checked, playback will automatically stop after the last
event in the project is reached. When this option is unchecked, playback
will continue beyond the end of the project and playback can also be started
in an empty project.

1324 Dialog Reference

Global Options dialog—General
 Unload Synth On Disconnect (Releases Memory)
When this option is checked you can freeze a soft synth or disconnect the
synth in the Synth Rack view and free up the memory that the synth was
using. With some synths this can be a lot of memory, especially with synths
that use samples. Of course, if you remove the synth from your computer’s
memory, reconnecting or unfreezing the synth will take the same amount of
time that it did when you originally loaded the synth.
Base Octave for Pitches
There is no industry standard for numbering octaves. By default, SONAR
calls MIDI note 0 (the lowest possible note) C0. The Yamaha FB-01, for
example, shows MIDI note 0 as C-2 (C negative 2). To match SONAR to
that standard, set Base Octave to –2.
Audition Audio Commands for “N” Seconds
When you apply an edit or effect to an audio clip, SONAR lets you audition
that edit for “N” seconds: the value you fill into this field.
Enable X-Ray
Enable this checkbox to turn on the X-Ray Windows feature, which allows
you to see through plug-in windows and certain view windows to work in the
window behind the current window. You use the X-Ray Windows feature by
pressing a hotkey while the mouse is over an X-Rayable window.
In addition to choosing hotkeys (with the Options-Key Bindings
command), you can set these X-Ray Windows options:
• Opacity—choose how transparent you want the X-Rayed window to
become when it is X-Rayed.
• Fade Out Time (Milliseconds)—choose how fast you want the X-Rayed
window to reach its maximum transparency.
• Fade In Time (Milliseconds)—choose how fast you want the X-Rayed
window to restore its normal state.

Global Options dialog—Autosave and

Versioning
Using the Options-Global command opens the Global Options dialog box.
Clicking the Auto-save and Versioning tab gives you access to the following
options:
Auto-save Every "N" Minutes or "N" Changes
Choose how many minutes or edits between automatic saves.

Dialog Reference 1325

Global Options dialog—Autosave and Versioning
 Enable Versioning of Project (.CWP) Files
Checking this checkbox causes SONAR to save successive versions of a
project with the date the project was saved in the file name. The most
recent version has no date in the name.
• Number of versions to keep—if you enable the versioning option, you
can use this field to choose how many versions to keep. When the
maximum number of files is reached, the oldest file is deleted.

Global Options dialog—Timecode

Using the Options-Global command opens the Global Options dialog box.
Clicking the Timecode tab gives you access to options you might want to
set for all your projects.
Fill in or check the following fields:
When SMPTE/MTC timecode is detected
This option tells SONAR what to do when it detects SMPTE/MTC timecode.
Choose from the following:
• Ask first, then switch to clock source and start—this 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 start—SONAR
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 mode—
this option automatically syncs to the incoming signal if SONAR is
in SMPTE/MTC mode.
• Never switch clock source, never start—SONAR does nothing
when incoming SMPTE/MTC timecode is detected.
Note

When clock source is set to SMPTE/MTC or MIDI Sync,

pressing play in SONAR will:
This option tells SONAR what to do when you press play in SMPTE/MTC or
MIDI Sync mode:
Switch current clock source and start playback

1326 Dialog Reference

Global Options dialog—Timecode
 Maintain current clock source and wait for time

For more information, see:

Synchronization Overview

Global Options dialog—MIDI

Using the Options-Global command opens the Global Options dialog box.
Clicking the MIDI tab gives you access to options you might want to set for
all your projects.
The MIDI tab has the following sections:
Record
Use the fields in this section to choose what MIDI events you want to
record. Choose any or all of these options:
• Notes
• Key Aftertouch
• Controller events
• Patch Changes
• Channel Aftertouch
• Pitch Wheel
• System Exclusive data

Options-Project

Playback
Prepare Using N Millisecond Buffers—This option lets you specify how far
in advance SONAR prepares MIDI data during playback. The default is 500
milliseconds.

Dialog Reference 1327

Global Options dialog—MIDI
 If playback stops prematurely, you may try larger values (although you
should also check the buffer options in Options-Audio, Advanced tab).
If you are using MIDI effects, you may want to try smaller values—for
example, 100 milliseconds. Doing so means that, if you change a property
for a MIDI effect, there will be less delay before you hear the new value take
effect.
For more information, see:
MIDI Track Parameters
Recording Music from a MIDI Instrument

Global Options dialog—Folders

Using the Options-Global command opens the Global Options dialog box.
Clicking the Folders tab gives you access to options you might want to set
for all your projects.
This tab lets you specify folders for all your different kinds of SONAR files.
The default locations for all of these file types usually work well. However, if
you find that this folder gets cluttered, changing the locations of the file
types listed on this tab won’t hurt anything, as long as you remember where
you put things.
Note: The only folder location you have to be careful with (and it isn’t listed
on the Folders tab) is the Audio Data folder, which SONAR creates in the
main application folder when you install it. SONAR stores all audio data that
is associated with project files in this folder. If you move this folder, SONAR
can not find the audio data for projects you have already recorded. To tell
SONAR where you moved the folder, fill in the location in the Global Audio
Folder field on the Audio Data tab of the Global Options dialog.
You can change the folder for a file type by typing a new path name in the
particular file type’s window on the Folders tab, or by clicking the browse
button that’s located at the end of the file type’s window and navigating to
the folder that you want to store that file type in. You can set different
locations for the following filetypes:
Project Files (.CWP, .MID, CWB)
.CWP and .CWB files are your standard SONAR project files. The default
directory for your project files is Cakewalk Projects, located in the root
directory. .MID files are Standard MIDI Files and can be put anywhere you
like.

1328 Dialog Reference

Global Options dialog—Folders
Track Templates
These files store your most commonly used track settings, including track
type (MIDI or audio), effects and their settings, hardware input, bus send
settings, and a variety of other track-related parameters. The default
directory is the Track Templates folder located in the main SONAR
application folder, but you can choose a different location.
Track Icons
These files store standard or customized icons. The default directory is the
Track Icons folder located in the main SONAR application folder, but you
can choose a different location.
Templates (.CWT)
These files store your favorite setups for window arrangement and
instrument combinations. The default directory for template files is the
Sample Content folder located in the main SONAR application folder. They
have the file extension .CWT.
CAL Files
These are small programs written in Cakewalk Application Language, that
perform specialized MIDI editing. The default directory for CAL files is the
Sample Content folder located in the main SONAR application folder. They
have the file extension .CAL.
Window Layouts
You can save or apply (load) various arrangements of views that you create
by using the Views-Layouts command. Naming and saving a layout
creates a file called (file name)CakewalkWindowLayout, where you supply
a file name. The file has the extension .CAK, but the extension is only visible
if you look at the file’s Properties. The default directory is the Sample
Content folder located in the main SONAR application folder, but you can
choose a different location.
Wave Files
These files are the standard Windows audio files that you can import into
and export out of SONAR. They have the file extension .WAV. The default
directory for wave files is the Sample Content folder located in the main
SONAR application folder, but you can choose a different location.
Video Files
You can import .AVI, ,MPG, and QuickTime video files into SONAR. The
default directory for video files is the Sample Content folder located in the
main SONAR application folder, but you can choose a different location.

Dialog Reference 1329

Global Options dialog—Folders
 Sysx Files (.SYX)
When you create and save a .SYX file. The default directory for sysx files is
the Sample Content folder located in the main SONAR application folder,
but you can choose a different location.
Play List (.SET)
When you create and save a .SET file. The default directory for play list files
is the Sample Content folder located in the main SONAR application folder,
but you can choose a different location.
Groove Quantize (.GRV)
When you create and save a .GRV file. The default directory for groove
quantize files is the Sample Content folder located in the main SONAR
application folder, but you can choose a different location.
StudioWare
The default directory for StudioWare files is the Sample Content folder
located in the main SONAR application folder, but you can choose a
different location. The file name for a a StudioWare file is (file name)
CakewalkStudioWare. The file name has the extension .CAK, but the
extension is only visible if you look at the file’s Properties.
Patterns
Used by the Pattern Brush tool in the Piano Roll view, patterns can be
painted into the drum map grid and can include rhythm, pitch and velocity
data. The default directory for pattern files is the Pattern Brush Patterns
folder located in the main SONAR application folder.
For more information about the Pattern Brush, see The Pattern Brush Tool.
Drum Maps
You can create drum maps to redirect any number of MIDI drum tracks to
internal (software) and external (hardware) synthesizers or samplers. The
default directory for drum map files is the Drum Maps folder located in the
main SONAR application folder.
For more information about drum maps, see Drum Maps and the Drum Grid
Pane.
Plug-in Layouts
You can create menu layouts for your plug-ins by using the Plug-in
Manager (Tools-SONAR Plug-in Manager command). The default
directory for plug-in menu layouts is the Plug-in Menu Layouts folder
located in the main SONAR application folder.

1330 Dialog Reference

Global Options dialog—Folders
Global Options dialog—Editing
Using the Options-Global command and clicking the Editing tab gives you
access to editing options you might want to set for all your projects.
This tab lets you specify two things:
• How you want drag and drop to work (see drag and drop options below)
• Whether you want SONAR to automatically add a crossfade between
two audio clips that overlap (see general options below)
Drag and Drop options:
Choose from the following drag and drop options:
Copy Entire Clips as Linked Clips—When you copy an entire clip,
choosing this option causes the new clip and the clip that you copied it from
to be linked clips.
What to do with existing material—The fields in this section deal with the
situation that occurs when you try to drag some data to a place in a track
that already has some data.
• Blend Old and New—Choosing this option tells SONAR to mix the new
data with the old, with the following option:
• Replace Old with New—Choosing this option tells SONAR to delete the
old data, with the following option:

• Slide Over Old to Make Room—Choosing this option tells SONAR to

slide the old data either forward or backward in the track to make room
for the new data. with the following option:

Ask This Every Time

Choosing this option causes the Drag and Drop Options dialog box to
appear every time you drag some data.
General options
Choose from these general editing options:

Dialog Reference 1331

Global Options dialog—Editing
 Crossfade Audio clips upon overlap—Choosing this option tells SONAR
to automatically smooth out any volume differences between overlapping
audio clips, nondestructively. If you choose this option to drag clips, and
then disable it to drag some other clips, the clips with the crossfades retain
their crossfades.

See Also:
Moving and Copying Clips
Fades and Crossfades

Global Options dialog—Nudge

There are three sets of Nudge settings. All are the same. The following is a
description of the settings.
• Musical Time—Select a note length setting.
• Absolute Time—Select one of the following absolute time options and
a number in the first field:

Absolute time Description…

setting…

Seconds Whole seconds.

Milliseconds Thousands of a second.

Frames Number of frames. There are 30 frames

per second.

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 dialog’s clock tab. The
default setting is 960.

1332 Dialog Reference

Global Options dialog—Nudge
 • Follow Snap Settings—Moves the clip or note by the current snap
setting.
For more information, see Nudge.

Global Options dialog—Audio Data

Using the Options-Global command and clicking the Audio Data tab gives
you access to the following options.
Global Audio Folder
The Global Audio Folder is where audio files are stored for all projects when
per-project audio is not turned on. It is also used to store audio for older,
non-per-project audio projects, as well as a temporary folder for unpacked
bundle files and to store audio for as yet unnamed projects.
Picture Folder
This folder contains the waveform images for all audio files in all your
projects.
All Projects—Always copy imported audio files
When checked this option forces SONAR to always copy all imported audio
files to your audio data directory. If you want to keep all your audio files in
one location, always keep this option checked.
All Projects—Always Import Broadcast Waves at Their
Timestamp
Forces SONAR to ignore the Now Time when importing Broadcast Wave
files. When this option is checked, Broadcast Waves begin at their SMPTE
timestamp in your project.
All Projects—Export Broadcast Waves By Default
Check this option if you want the Broadcast Waves option to appear by
default in the Export Audio dialog.
All Project—Apply SMPTE Offset to Broadcast Wave
Timestamps
Check this option if you want to add the SMPTE Offset value (listed on the
Clock tab of the Project Options dialog) to the timestamps of the Wave files
that you export from SONAR.
All Project—Allow importing of WAV File Cue Markers
Check this option if you want SONAR to import cue markers that may exist
in wave files.

Dialog Reference 1333

Global Options dialog—Audio Data
 Many field recorders, such as the Edirol R-4, can add cue markers to the
wave files that they record. If you import these wave files into SONAR, the
markers appear as standard SONAR markers on the Time Ruler.
Marker names are based on the imported file name, and are numbered
sequentially, with a limit of 16 characters <file name…> 1, <file name…> 2,
etc.
File Bit Depths
• Record Bit Depth—use this field to choose the bit depth that recorded
audio data will use. You can change this at any time.
• Render Bit Depth—use this field to choose the bit depth that audio
processing (freezing, bouncing, applying effects) will use. The default
value of 32 allows virtually lossless processing.
• Import Bit Depth—use this field to choose the bit depth that imported
audio will use. The default choice of Original keeps the imported audio
at its current bit depth.
Per-Project Audio
• Use Per-Project Audio Folders— this option is on by default, and allows
you to use a different audio data folder for each project.
• On Startup Load Normal Template—this option lets you leave the Use
Per-Project Audio Folders option checked, but doesn’t ask you to
choose an audio folder every time you open a new project. While you
record audio into the new project, the audio data is stored in the global
audio folder until you save the file, at which point you can choose to
create a PPA folder, or retain the audio in the Global audio folder.

Global Options dialog—VST Plug-ins

Using the Options-Global command and clicking the VST Plug-ins tab
gives you access to the following options.
VST Scan Folders
This window lists the folders that are scanned for VST plug-ins. “Scanning”
a VST plug-in means adapting the plug-in’s file format so that the plug-in
works in SONAR.
To add folders, remove folders, or set defaults for the listed folders, use the
following buttons:
• Add—this button opens the Browse for Folder dialog, which allows you
to select a new folder to be scanned.

1334 Dialog Reference

Global Options dialog—VST Plug-ins
 • Remove—to remove a folder from the to-be-scanned list, first select the
folder, and then click the Remove button.
• Folder defaults—click this button to open a dialog of folder options.
These settings will set options for all the VST plug-ins in all the folders
listed in the VST Scan Folders window.
VST Scan Options
This group of commands controls the following options:
• Scan for VST Plug-ins On Startup—if this option is checked, the folders
listed in the VST Scan Folders window are searched for new plug-ins
whenever you start SONAR. Any previously unscanned plug-ins are
then scanned.
• Re-scan Failed Plug-ins—checking this option causes any plug-in(s)
that didn’t scan correctly to be rescanned during the next scan.
• Re-scan existing plug-ins—checking this option causes plug-in(s) that
did scan correctly to be rescanned during the next scan. This is a way
to implement any changes you’ve made to the Folder defaults settings.
VST Scan
The commands in this section control the following options:
• Scan VST Folders—click this button to immediately scan the folders
listed in the VST Scan Folder(s) window.
• Reset All VST Plug-ins—click this button to remove all scanning
records and settings from all your VST plug-ins. Use this button if you
want to completely start over.

Go dialog
The Go-Time command opens the Go dialog box, which allows you to jump
to a new Now Time. Additionally, the Go dialog opens when you right-click a
transient marker on a track with AudioSnap enabled and choose Move to or
Stretch to.
The Go dialog box has only the following field:
To Time
In this field, fill in the time you want to move to according to the table below.
You can click the spin controls (plus-minus buttons) to move forward or
backward one tick at a time. When you click OK, the Now time becomes the
time in the To Time field.

Dialog Reference 1335

Go dialog
 When you enter a time in MBT format, the beat and tick value are optional.
You can use a colon, period, space, or vertical bar to separate the parts of
the Now time:

You enter… The Now time is set to…

2 2:00:000

21 2:01:000

420 4:02:000

9:1 9:01:000

5.1.30 5:01:030

If you click in the time ruler while the snap grid is enabled, the Now time
snaps 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 the Transport toolbar to
adjust the time.

See also:
The Now Time and How to Use It

Groove Quantize dialog

The Process-Groove Quantize command opens the Groove Quantize
dialog box. Groove Quantizing is a way to edit a track so that its rhythmic
feeling and, optionally, controller data are similar to some other piece of
music. The other piece of music forms a groove pattern that you store in a
groove file, which has an extension of .GRV.
The Groove Quantize dialog box has the following fields:
Presets
Use this field to save or apply a group of settings, which include all the
fields in the Groove Quantize dialog box except Groove File and Groove

1336 Dialog Reference

Groove Quantize dialog
Pattern. Clicking the disk icon saves the current group of settings under the
name you type into the presets window. Choosing a setting from the
window’s dropdown list applies it to the dialog box. Clicking the X icon
deletes the current preset from the list.
Groove File
Use this field to choose what groove file you want to choose a groove
pattern from. Groove files have the extension .GRV.
Groove Pattern
Use this field to choose the pattern you want to apply to the selected data.
Resolution
Set the note resolution. The smaller the note value, the more precise the
quantization. See Resolution.
Window
This field determines what SONAR does to notes that are far from the
quantization points. See Window. The Window fields include the following:
• Sensitivity—This value determines how far from the quantization grid
SONAR looks to find notes to quantize. A value of 100 percent
quantizes every note. See Window.
• If Outside Window—This field offers the following choices:

Quantize to Resolution—Choosing this option means that SONAR

quantizes out-of-window notes according to the resolution value instead
of the groove pattern.

• Move to Nearest—Choosing this option means that SONAR moves out-

of-window notes to the nearest groove event.

• Scale Time—Choosing this option means that SONAR moves out-of-

window notes so that they are equally spaced.

AudioSnap Beats
Check this box if you want AudioSnap transients to be quantized.
Only Notes, Lyrics and Audio
Check this box to prevent MIDI controller, aftertouch, and xRPN data from
changing.

Dialog Reference 1337

Groove Quantize dialog
 Strength
The values in the Strength section determine how closely SONAR changes
the selected notes to match the groove’s values.
The Strength section has these fields:
• Time—Drag the slider in this field to set how closely SONAR moves the
start time of the selected notes to the groove’s start times.
• Duration—Drag the slider in this field to set how closely SONAR moves
the durations of the selected notes to the groove’s durations.
• Velocity—Drag the slider in this field to set how closely SONAR moves
the velocities of the selected notes to the groove’s velocities.
Define button
Click this button to define a new groove pattern. See Defining a Groove.
See also:
To Use the Groove Quantize Command
Groove Quantize Tips
Changing the Timing of a Recording

Group Attributes dialog

When you right-click a control in the Track view or the Console view that
belongs to a Quick Group, and choose Save from the popup menu, the
Group Attributes dialog appears. The Group Attributes dialog has the
following fields:
Group Name
You can enter a name for the group in this field.
Choose Color button
Clicking this button opens the Color dialog, which allows you to choose or
customize the group color.

Group Manager dialog

When you right-click a control in the Track view or the Console view and
choose Group Manager from the popup menu, the Group Manager dialog
appears. The name of the group that the control you right-clicked belongs
to appears in the Group field.

1338 Dialog Reference

Group Attributes dialog
This dialog lets you specify the relations of controls in a group, and edit the
name and color of the group that is listed in the Group field.
The dialog has the following fields:
Group
The name of the group that the control you right-clicked belongs to appears
in the Group field, but you can choose another group from the dropdown
menu, and edit its properties in the other fields.
Create New Group button
This button is just to the right of the Group field, and opens the Group
Attributes dialog. You can enter the name of the new group you want to
create, and edit its properties in the rest of the Group Manager dialog.
Delete Group button
Just to the right of the Create New Group button is the Delete Group button
(the X icon). Clicking this button deletes the group that appears in the
Group field.
Name column
This column is not active unless the group is a custom group. The Name
column lists all the controls in the group of the control you right-clicked.
Start Value column
This column is not active unless the group is a custom group. The Start
Value column lists the beginning values of all the controls in the selected
group.
End Value column
This column is not active unless the group is a custom group. The End
Value column lists the ending values of all the controls in the selected
group.
Preserve Mix Between Gain Members
When this check box is enabled, any gain controls that are grouped will
maintain the dB differential between them when they are moved. Otherwise,
only the visual differential between them is maintained.
Start Value number field
This field is not active unless the group is a custom group. Edit the Start
Value of the control that is highlighted in the Name column by typing a new
number into the Start Value number field.

Dialog Reference 1339

Group Manager dialog
 End Value number field
This field is not active unless the group is a custom group. Edit the End
Value of the control that is highlighted in the Name column by typing a new
number into the End Value number field.
Swap button
Click the Swap button to exchange the Start Value with the End for the
control that is highlighted in the Name column.
Absolute button
Click this radio button to cause the grouped controls to move in the same
direction at the same speed. See Absolute.
Relative button
Click this radio button to cause the grouped controls to move in the same
direction but not at the same speed. See Relative.
Custom button
Click this radio button to custom-design the way the grouped controls
move. See Custom.
Group Color
This field displays the color of the group that’s displayed in the Group field.
Attributes button
This button allows you to edit the name and color of any permanent group
that’s displayed in the Group field.

See also:
Using Control Groups

Hairpin Properties dialog

In the Staff view, right-click on a hairpin (crescendo or decrescendo) to
open the Hairpin Properties dialog box.
Use these fields to edit the hairpin that you right-clicked:
• Time—Type the location you want the hairpin to move to.
• < Crescendo—Click this option to change the hairpin to a crescendo.
• > Diminuendo—Click this option to change the hairpin to a
decrescendo.

1340 Dialog Reference

Hairpin Properties dialog
 • Duration—Type the length you want the hairpin to last.
See also:
Adding Hairpin Symbols

Import Audio dialog

The File-Import Audio command opens the Import Audio dialog. Use this
command to import any of the following kinds of audio into your project:
• Wave (extension .wav)
• Apple AIFF (extensions .AIF and .AIFF)
• MPEG (extensions .MPEG, .MPG, .MP2, and .MP3)
• Windows Media (extensions .ASF, .WM, .WMA, .WMV)
• Next/Sun (extensions .AU, .SND)
• All Files
The sampling rate for a project is set based on your default sampling rate. 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 project’s sampling rate.
The Import Audio dialog has the following controls:
• Look In field—use this field to navigate to the folder that contains the
audio file you want to import.
• File name window—just below the Look In field, this window displays
the contents of the folder that’s listed in the Look In field. In this window,
you can click the name of the file you want to import to select it. You can
select more than one file by holding down the Ctrl key while you click.
• File Name field—this field displays the name of the audio file that you
have selected to import.
• Files of Type field—use this field to choose what kind of file you want to
display in the File name window.
• Bit Depth—this field lets you choose what bit depth you want the
imported audio to be converted to. If you don’t want any conversion,
choose the Original option, which is the default. This option imports
audio at whatever bit depth the imported audio is currently using.
• Copy Audio to Project Folder checkbox—if you check this option,
SONAR makes a new copy of the imported audio file in the project’s
folder.

Dialog Reference 1341

Import Audio dialog
 • Import as Mono Tracks checkbox—if you check this option, SONAR
imports stereo audio files to two separate tracks, instead of one stereo
track.
• Play button—click this button to play audio files that are selected.
• Format tag, Attributes, File Length—when you select a file to import in
the Import Audio dialog, these fields display the kind of audio file you
have selected, the sample rate, bit depth, mono/stereo status, number
of samples, and length in seconds of the selected file. If you select
multiple files, the displayed data describes the last file that you select.
For more information, see:
To Import an Audio File

Import Audio CD Tracks dialog

The File-Import-Audio CD command opens the Import Audio CD Tracks
dialog. Use this command to import an audio CD track (extension .cda) into
your project.
The Import Audio CD Tracks dialog has the following controls:
• Track List—the main area of the window is the track list. Each track
represents an audio track located on the CD. The tracks are
automatically named and numbered in order. Any number of CD
Tracks can be selected for importing.
• Source Drive—the Source Drive specifies the CD device containing the
tracks to import. The program attempts to locate all CD devices
available. Click the arrow next to the drive letter to refresh the Source
Drive. This process will verify if an Audio CD has been inserted into the
drive. Once the Audio CD has been verified, the available track list will
appear in the window after a few moments.
• Import Bit Depth—Audio Tracks on a CD always have a bit depth of 16,
but you can choose to import the tracks at a higher bit depth if desired.
• Play—when a single track is selected, it can be auditioned by pressing
the Play button. Once playback begins the button is renamed to Stop,
so that the audition can be manually terminated.
• OK—imports the selected tracks. For each track selected, an Audio
track is created in the project.
• Cancel—closes the dialog without performing any action.

1342 Dialog Reference

Import Audio CD Tracks dialog
 For more information, see:
To Import a Track from an Audio CD

Import Color Set dialog

The Import Color Set dialog appears when you click the Import button in the
Configure Colors dialog.
This dialog has the following fields:
Look in
Select the directory in which SONAR stores the file that you want to open.
file and folder window
This large window under the Look in field lists the files and folders that are
inside the current folder.
File name
Type or select the filename you want to open.
Files of type
Select the type of file you want to open.

Dialog Reference 1343

Import Color Set dialog
 Import Instrument Definitions dialog
When you use the Options-Instruments command, the Assign
Instruments dialog box appears, which contains the Define button. Clicking
this button opens the Define Instruments and Names dialog box, which
contains the Import button. Clicking the Import button opens the Import
Instruments Definitions dialog box, which lets you choose instrument
definitions from the manufacturer of your instrument, and which has the
following fields.:
Look in
Use this field to navigate to the folder that contains the instrument
definitions you want to import,
File name
You can type the name of the file that you want to import, or click the file
name in the window that’s just above the File name field. Instrument
Definition files have the extension .INS.
Files of type
The only choice in this field is Instrument Files ( *. ins).

See also:
Importing Instrument Definitions
Assigning Instruments
Creating Instrument Definitions

Import MIDI dialog

The File-Import-MIDI command opens the Import MIDI dialog. Use this
dialog to import MIDI files or Project5 patterns.
The Import MIDI dialog has the following fields:
Look In
Use this field to navigate to the folder that contains the MIDI file or Project5
pattern that you want to import.
File Name
This field lists the name of the file you’ve selected to import.

1344 Dialog Reference

Import Instrument Definitions dialog
 Files of Type
Use this field to choose whether you want to display MIDI files or Project5
patterns.
File Info
For a selected MIDI file, this field lists the type of MIDI file, the number of
tracks, and any MIDI Groove clip characteristics that the file contains, such
as Follow Project Pitch, Number of Beats, etc. For Project5 patterns, this
field does not display information.
Play
The Play button allows you to audition the selected MIDI file.

Import Video File dialog

SONAR's Import Video File dialog lets you include an AVI, MPEG, or
QuickTime video in your project. This video is shown in real time as your
project plays.
The Video view displays the current 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.
If the Video view is the active window, you can now 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 the control key is
pressed, then the frame increment value is used (the default is 5 frames)
Alternatively you can use the [ and ] keys to seek by the frame increment.
See Changing the Frame Increment.
Commands in the Video view's pop-up 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. +Your project's video and digital audio data
can be saved together in a new AVI file with File-Export Video command.
For more information, see Preparing Audio for Distribution.
Note: The project's video file is saved in the project by reference only; the
actual video data remains in the original file.
Use these options in the Video File dialog box:

Dialog Reference 1345

Import Video File dialog
 Option... What it means...

Look in Use this field to find the folder that contains the
video file you want to insert.

File name Use this field to find the video file you want to
insert. Clicking the name of the file in the window
above this field causes it to appear in the File
name field.

Files of Type Use this field to select what type of video files to
display.
Note: If your system has a basic Windows
installation with DirectShow installed, you may
not be able to insert QuickTime video files. You
may need to install the latest video Codecs from
Microsoft’s web site in order to import different
video formats. The problem can be solved by
going to Microsoft’s web site (http://
www.microsoft.com) and downloading and
installing the latest version of Media Player.

Show File Info If you check this option, SONAR displays the
video file’s format tag, audio sample rate, and
length in both audio samples and time.

Import Audio Stream If you check this option, SONAR imports the
video file’s audio file along with the video. Select
a blank track before you do this.

Import Mono Tracks If you check this option, SONAR imports the
video file’s audio file into two separate tracks,
instead of one stereo track.

Open After you decide what options you want, clicking

the Open button imports the video and,
optionally, the accompanying audio into your
project.

For more information, see:

Video Playback, Import, and Export

1346 Dialog Reference

Import Video File dialog
 To Load a Video File Into a Project
To Delete the Video From the Project
To Enable or Disable Video Playback
To Set the Time Display Format

Initialization File Settings dialog

The Options-Initialization File command opens the Initialization File
Settings dialog box, which allows you to store information about your
preferences and configuration. You can edit these three initialization files,
which are stored in the SONAR program folder:
• CAKEWALK.INI
• TTSSEQ.INI
• AUD.INI
To view and edit the CAKEWALK.INI file, choose Options-Initialization File.
To edit the other two files, or the CAKEWALK.INI file, use the Windows
Notepad.
There are several other .INI files in the SONAR folder, but you should not
attempt to edit or modify these files in any way. Changes to these other files
could cause SONAR to stop operating properly.
Before making any changes to any of the .INI files, you should make a
backup copy in case you make a mistake. After you have made your
changes, save the file and close Notepad. SONAR reads the settings in
these files only when it first starts up. Therefore, if you change any settings
while SONAR is running, you should exit and restart SONAR in order for the
changes to take effect.
The Initialization File Settings dialog box has the following fields:
Variable list
The large window in the Initialization File Settings dialog box lists variables
that are already assigned to values. Next to the variables, after the equal
sign, are the values that each variable is currently assigned to.
Option
Type the variable into this field that you want to set a value for, for example,
DrawPlayingAudio. Spelling is critical, but case doesn’t matter.

Dialog Reference 1347

Initialization File Settings dialog
 Value
Type the number or value that you want to assign to the variable that is in
the Option field.
Set button
Click this button to finish assigning the number in the Value field to the
variable in the Option field.
Delete button
Click this button to delete the variable assignment that’s highlighted in the
Variable list.

See also:
Initialization Files
Initialization File Format
Variables in the [MIDI Input Devices] Section
Variables in the [MIDI Output Devices] Section
Variables in AUD.INI
CAKEWALK.INI
TTSSEQ.INI
AUD.INI

Input Quantize dialog

Using the Tracks-Input Quantize-Quantize Settings command opens the
Input Quantize dialog.
This command quantizes recorded input automatically during MIDI
recording.
This dialog has the following fields:
Preset menu
Save or select settings that you use often in the drop-down menu. To save
a new group of settings, type a name into the menu, and click the Save
button. To delete a group, select it and click the Delete button.

1348 Dialog Reference

Input Quantize dialog
 Resolution
Set the note resolution in either standard note duration or tick value. The
resolution determines the size note or time value that you want your MIDI
data to conform to.
Change
• MIDI Event Start Times—Select this option if you want the start times of
the MIDI events in the selected data to be quantized.
• Note Durations—Select this option if you want the length of notes to be
edited to fit into the size you chose in the Resolution field.
• Only Quantize Notes—If you select this option, SONAR will not modify
other events, such as controllers.
Options:
• Strength—This value determines how closely SONAR moves the
selected notes to the resolution value, or “grid.” See Strength.
• Swing—Use this value to make groups of even eighth notes (or
whatever note you want to enter in the Resolution field) “swing,” instead
of playing with exact eighth note rhythm. A value of 50 percent, or “50-
50,” produces equal durations for both notes—no swing. A larger value
makes the first note longer, and vice versa. See Swing.
• Window—This value determines whether SONAR quantizes notes that
are far from the quantization points, or leaves them alone. A value of
100 percent quantizes every note. See Window.
• Randomize—This value randomizes the three previous fields to
introduce a more human feel to the rhythm. The value you enter is the
maximum amount of difference from the entered values that the
randomize feature can add.
For more information, see:
Input Quantizing
Quantizing

Insert Pitch Change dialog

Right-clicking in the time ruler and choosing Insert Pitch Change from the
popup menu opens the Insert Pitch Change dialog box.
This command changes the pitch of a Groove clip at the Now time at which
you insert the command.

Dialog Reference 1349

Insert Pitch Change dialog
 For more information, see:
Creating and Editing Groove Clips
Using Pitch Markers in the Track View

Insert Series of Controllers dialog

Select Insert-Series of Controllers from the menu to open the Insert
Series of Controllers dialog box.
This command lets you change controller event values smoothly over a
specified time range.
Choose from the following options:
Insert
this field let you choose what kind of data to insert:
• Pitch Wheel
• Controller
• RPN
• NRPN
• Number–this field is not available if you click the Pitch Wheel checkbox
above. If you clicked the Controller checkbox, choose a value from the
dropdown list. If you checked RPN or NRPN, consult the manual of
your sound module to see what values it will accept.
Value Range
Enter a Begin value and an End value for your controller data.
Time Range
Enter From and Thru values to create a time boundary for your new
controller data.
See Also:
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll

Insert Series of Tempos dialog

This command lets you change tempo smoothly over a specified time range
by inserting a series of tempo changes.

1350 Dialog Reference

Insert Series of Controllers dialog
 Tempo Range
• Begin–enter the tempo you want to start the tempo range at.
• End– enter the tempo you want to end the tempo range at.
• Step–enter a value in beats and clock ticks for how often you want
SONAR to insert a tempo change into your tempo range.
Time Range
• From–enter the time location in your project where you want the tempo
range to start.
• Thru– enter the time location in your project where you want the tempo
range to end.
See Also:
To Insert a Series of Controllers
Using the Tempo Commands
Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data

Insert Soft Synth Options dialog

This dialog appears when you use the Insert-Soft Synths-(name of the
synth you want to insert) command, the Insert-ReWire Device-(name of
the ReWire device you want to insert) command, or click the Insert button
in the Synth Rack view and choose a synth from the popup menu.
This dialog inserts the soft synth whose name you clicked into your project.
Inserting it means that the synth’s name is added to the synth and audio
tracks’ Input menus and the MIDI tracks’ Output and Channel menus.
Besides inserting the synth, the dialog has some options:
Create These Tracks:
• MIDI Source—if you choose this option, a new MIDI track appears that
lists the particular soft synth you chose in the MIDI track’s Output field.
You still need to choose values in the MIDI track’s Patch and possibly
Channel menus.
• Synth Track Folder—if you check this option, all the synth ouput tracks
and the MIDI Source track appear inside a new track folder.
• First Synth Audio Output—if you check this option, a new synth track
appears that uses the synth’s first audio output as an audio input.
• All Synth Audio Outputs: Stereo—if you check this option, one new
stereo synth track appears for each stereo audio output that the synth

Dialog Reference 1351

Insert Soft Synth Options dialog
 you chose has. Each of the new tracks uses a different one of the
synth’s outputs as an audio input.
• All Synth Audio Outputs: Mono—if you check this option, two new
mono synth tracks (one Left and one Right) appear for each stereo
audio output that the synth you chose has. Each pair of new synth
tracks uses a different one of the synth’s outputs as an audio input.
• Synth Track Folder—if you check this option, new synth tracks and
associated MIDI tracks appear in a track folder. Each new instance of a
synth gets its own folder.
Open These Windows:
• Synth Property Page—if you choose this option, the interface (property
page) of the synth you’re inserting appears when you insert it.
• Synth Rack view—if you choose this option, the Synth Rack view
appears each time you insert another synth (or another instance of a
synth you’ve already inserted).
Enable MIDI Output
Some synths can create MIDI data from built-in arpeggiators or other
components. If you want to record or redirect this new MIDI data, enable
this checkbox.
Display Automation On:
• {Automation track dropdown menu}—by default, the automation data
for a synth appears on the synth track associated with that synth. Use
this menu to choose any other track to display the data on, including
tracks that are already displaying other synth’s automation data.
• Recall Assignable Controls—if you create some knobs in the Synth
Rack to control certain parameters on a particular synth, you can
display the same knobs every time you insert an instance of that synth
by enabling this checkbox.
Ask This Every Time
If you check this option, this dialog appears every time you use the Insert-
Soft Synths-(name of the synth you want to insert) command, the
Insert-ReWire Device-(name of the synth you want to insert) command,
or click the Insert button in the Synth Rack view and choose a synth from
the popup menu. If you always insert soft synths in the same way, you can
uncheck this option so you don’t have to deal with the dialog box each time.
To open the dialog when the option is unchecked, click the Insert Soft Synth
Options button in the Synth Rack view toolbar.
For step-by-step instructions, see:

1352 Dialog Reference

Insert Soft Synth Options dialog
 Inserting Soft Synths
Software Synthesizers
ReWire Instruments

Insert Time/Measures dialog

Select Insert-Time/Measures to open the Insert Time Measures dialog
box.
This dialog lets you insert the amount of time you specify at the point you
indicate in the music. You can specify what events to slide over to make
room for the new amount of time.
At Time:
The time at which you want to insert time, seconds, ticks or frames.
Insert:
Set the number of one of the following to insert at the At Time:
• Measures
• Seconds
• Ticks
• Frames
Slide:
Select whether you want to slide (move down the track by exactly the
amount of time you are adding) any of the following:
• Events in Tracks
• Markers
• Meter/Key Changes
• Tempo Changes

See also:
Inserting Time or Measures into a Project

Dialog Reference 1353

Insert Time/Measures dialog
 Insert Tracks dialog
Using the Insert-Multiple Tracks command opens the Insert Tracks dialog,
which allows you to insert multiple audio and/or MIDI tracks, and set some
track properties.
This dialog has the following fields:
Audio
• Track Count—set the number of audio tracks you want to insert.
• Main Destination—set the main output that you want the new audio
tracks to use.
• Set as Default Bus—if you check this box, all new audio tracks that you
insert will use the main output that is listed in the Main Destination field.
• Send—if you choose an option besides None in this field, each new
audio track that you insert will contain a Send module whose output is
the bus that you choose in this field.
MIDI
• Track Count—set the number of MIDI tracks you want to insert.
• Port—set the output port that you want the new MIDI tracks to use.
• Channel—set the output channel that you want the new MIDI tracks to
use.

Interpolate and Event Filter dialog

The Process-Interpolate command is a search-and-replace command that
uses two dialog boxes. The command itself opens the Event Filter-
Search dialog box. In this dialog box, you fill in the kinds of events you
want SONAR to find and select. When you click OK, the Event Filter-
Replace dialog box appears. In this dialog box, you fill in the kind of
events you want to replace the selected events with.
To see some examples of how to fill in the dialog boxes, see Process-
Interpolate.
For an explanation of all the fields in the Event Filter dialog box, see Event
Filter Select Some/Search/Replace dialog.

1354 Dialog Reference

Insert Tracks dialog
Key Bindings dialog
Key bindings let 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.
The Options-Key Bindings command opens the Key Bindings dialog box,
which lets you specify which keys and key combinations to use for specific
SONAR commands.
The Key Bindings dialog box has the following fields:
Type of Keys
Use these options to choose what kind of keys will trigger selected SONAR
commands:
• Computer—links computer keyboard commands to specific SONAR
commands.
• MIDI—links MIDI keyboard commands to specific SONAR commands.
The Enabled checkbox must be checked for MIDI keys to function.
MIDI ‘Shift’ Options
You can designate a MIDI Key or Controller (usually a pedal) to act as a key
binding shift key. That way you can require that the key binding shift key be
depressed before any command is triggered, so you only lose one note or
pedal from its regular function.
Use these options to choose what acts as the key binding shift key:
• Key—Clicking this option makes a key on your MIDI keyboard act as a
key binding shift key. Choose which key by clicking the + or - buttons in
the window that’s just to the right of the Key button.
• Controller—Clicking this option makes a controller on your MIDI
keyboard act as a key binding shift key. Choose which controller
(usually the sustain pedal) by choosing one from the dropdown list
that’s just to the right of the Controller button.
Bindings
The Bindings field has three windows, a button, and a line of text in it:
• Key—Use this window to highlight a key that you want to bind to a
command in the Function window. 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
dialog under Global Key Assignment. Binding a key or combination to a
command and clicking OK overwrites any default binding for that key or

Dialog Reference 1355

Key Bindings dialog
 combination.
• Function—Use this window to choose a command to bind to a
highlighted key in the Key window.
• Bind Context—Use this window to choose in what context you want the
key binding to work.
• Locate Key—Clicking this button allows you to quickly scroll the Key
window to the key or keys that you press on your computer keyboard.
• Global Key Assignment—When you highlight an item in the Key
window, this text line that’s below the Key window lists any command
that the item is currently bound to.
Save Changes for Next Session
Check this checkbox to save any changes.
Bind button
Click this button to bind a highlighted key to a highlighted function.
Unbind
Click this button to unbind a highlighted key from a highlighted function.
Zap Window
Click this button to remove all key bindings from whatever view is currently
listed in the Bind Context window.
Zap All
Click this button to remove all key bindings.
Import
Click this button to import a different set of key bindings that you’ve created
or that are identical to some other sequencer application’s.
Export
Click this button to export your currently-loaded set of key bindings so that
you can reload them if you want.

See Also:
Key Bindings

1356 Dialog Reference

Key Bindings dialog
Kind of Event dialog
In the Event List view, double-clicking the name of any event that’s listed in
the Kind column opens the Kind of Event dialog box.
After you double-click the name of an event, you can change that event into
another kind of event by choosing the new kind of event in the Kind of Event
dialog box.

See also:
Event List View

Length dialog
The Process-Length command, which opens the Length dialog box, can
be used to stretch or shrink MIDI and/or audio clips, and/or to move their
start times. 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.
This command offers the option to stretch audio clips along with the MIDI
information. Sometimes you don't want to adjust the speed of your audio.
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.
The Length dialog box has the following fields:
Change
Use the fields in this section to tell SONAR what to change, including:
• Start Times—Choose this option if you want the start times of the
selected events to shift by a percentage of their distance from the
beginning of the selection. For example, if a note starts on beat 3 of a
selection and you enter a value of 50 percent, SONAR shifts the start of
the note one beat to the left, or half of 2 beats.
• Durations—Choose this option if you want the durations of the selected

Dialog Reference 1357

Kind of Event dialog
 events to shrink by a percentage.
By “N” Percent
Fill in the percentage number that you want the selected events to change
by, which can be positive or negative.
Stretch Audio
Choose this option if you want duration of any selected audio to change.
Type (disabled unless Stretch Audio is checked)
This is a SONAR Producer feature only. 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 Scaling (disabled unless Stretch Audio is
checked)
This is a SONAR Producer feature only. 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.

See also:
Stretching and Shrinking Events

Loop/Auto Shuttle dialog

The Transport-Loop and Auto Shuttle command opens the Loop/Auto
Shuttle dialog box. This dialog box lets you specify start and stop times for
looping and whether you want the loop to start over again.
The Loop/Auto Shuttle dialog box has the following fields:
Loop Start
Enter a time where you want the loop to start.
Loop End
Enter a time where you want the loop to end.

1358 Dialog Reference

Loop/Auto Shuttle dialog
 Stop at the End Time and Rewind to Start
If you check this option, whenever you stop playback or the Now Time
reaches the Loop End time, SONAR rewinds immediately to start of the
loop (this option is off by default).
Loop Continuously
When playback reaches the end of the loop and rewinds to the start,
playback continues automatically.

See also:
Looping

Lyric Properties dialog

In the Staff view, when you right-click on a word or syllable in the lyrics, the
Lyric Properties dialog box opens. Use this dialog box to change a syllable’s
timing or text.
See also:
Working with Lyrics

Map Properties dialog

The Map Properties dialog lets you change all the settings for an individual
mapped note in your drum map.
You can edit the following settings in the Map Properties dialog:
Name
A descriptive, user-assigned name for the current drum sound.
In Note
The recorded pitch as it appears in the Event List view. The range is from
C0 to G10 or 0 to 127. Raise or lower values one half-step at a time using
the +/- keys or by an octave at a time by using the open and close bracket
keys ([ and ]).
Out Note
The specific note to which the In Note is mapped. The range is from C0 to
G10 or 0 to 127. Raise or lower values one half-step at a time using the +/-
keys or by an octave at a time by using the open and close braked keys ([
and ]).

Dialog Reference 1359

Lyric Properties dialog
 Vel+
Sets a velocity offset to a mapped drum note. Values range from -127
through 127. Use the +/- keys to increase or decrease the value.
Vel%
Multiplies the velocity of the note by the percentage you enter. Values
range from 10 to 200.
Map Manager button
Opens the Map Manager dialog.
Out Port
The output port to which the Out Note is sent. You can assign a note to any
port selected in the MIDI Devices dialog. Also, any soft synths in your
project show up as an option. You can use the +/- keys to scroll up or down
in the Output Port list.
Out Chan
Sets the channel in which the mapped drum note plays. You can choose to
follow the track’s channel setting or set the note to a specific channel (1
through 16).
Bank
The bank number on which the mapped note is transmitted.
Patch
Sets the Patch name that the mapped drum note is transmitted to.

Marker dialog
Use the Insert-Marker command to open the Marker dialog box.
This dialog lets you add a marker where you specify in the music.
Name:
Enter the name you want to give the marker.
Lock to SMPTE time
Check this if you want to use SMPTE time code.
Time:
Enter the time at which you want to place the marker.
Groove Clip Pitch
If you want the marker to change the project pitch, select the pitch you want
from the Groove Clip Pitch dropdown menu.

1360 Dialog Reference

Marker dialog
 See also:
Creating and Using Markers

Markers dialog
This dialog box lets you choose any marker. Closing the box and the
associated Go dialog box moves the Now time to the specified marker.

See also:
Creating and Using Markers

Measure Beat/Meter
You can insert meter changes anywhere in the timeline. The Measure Beat/
Meter dialog box allows you to select the point on the Time Ruler where the
meter change will occur. Using the spinners or manual entry, select the
point at which you want to insert the meter change. Select the meter you
want to change to by checking the Insert Meter checkbox, and entering the
time signature you want.

Menu Editor dialog

The Options-Menu Editor command opens the Menu Editor dialog box,
which lets you modify the layout of the application’s menus.
The Menu Editor dialog box has the following fields:
Menu Layout:
Select the layout you wish to load or edit from the dropdown menu. To save
a layout under a new name, type the name into this field, and click the Save
button (the floppy disc icon). To delete a previously saved layout, display
the name of that layout in this menu, and click the Delete button (the X
icon).
Menu:
Select the menu you wish to edit from the dropdown menu.

Dialog Reference 1361

Markers dialog
 Menu Items:
This field lists all the items (commands, submenus and separator bars)
within the menu you selected in the Menu field. This is the area where you
can click-drag to reorder menu items, select items to hide or show, create
submenus, and insert separator bars. Right-click menu items to see options
in the context menu.
Visibility section
• Show button - click this button to Show selected menu item(s) currently
hidden from view.
• Hide button - click this button to Hide selected menu item(s) currently
visible.
Submenu section
• Create New button - click this button to create a new submenu that
contains any menu items currently highlighted.
• Remove button - click this button to remove a submenu.
For more information, see Customizable Menus.

Meter/Key Signature dialog

Select Insert-Meter/Key Change to open the Meter/Key Signature dialog
box.
This dialog box lets you set the meter and key signature of a project or any
part of a project.
At Measure:
Select the measure you from where you want the changes to take effect.
Beats per Measure:
Select the number of beats per measure.
Beat Value:
Select the value of each beat (i.e. 1 = whole note, 2 = half note, etc.)
Key Signature:
Select the key signature.
For step by step instructions, see Setting the Meter and Key Signatures.

Microsoft Media Format Encode Options

1362 Dialog Reference

Meter/Key Signature dialog
dialog
You can create settings and a description for your Windows Media
Advanced Streaming Format file in the Microsoft Audio Encode Options
dialog box.
Note: To create a surround encoded file you must export surround encoded
buses.
Title:
Enter the title of the file.
Author:
Enter the name of the author responsible for creating the file.
Rating:
This field only relates to exporting video, which you can’t do from this dialog
box.
Copyright:
Enter any copyright information for the file.
Description:
Enter a note about the file.
Codec
Select a codec from the dropdown list.
Format
Select a format from the dropdown list. A higer the kbps setting the higher
the quality of the file.
For more information, see:
Routing and Mixing Digital Audio

MIDI Devices dialog

The Options-MIDI Devices command opens the MIDI Devices dialog,
which lets you choose the MIDI inputs and outputs you want to use. The
selection in the output menu for a track determines which piece of hardware
will be used to produce the sound stored in your project. The list of enabled
input devices in the MIDI Devices dialog determines which input MIDI
devices can successfully send MIDI data into your Cakewalk application.

Dialog Reference 1363

MIDI Devices dialog
 You can make up your own friendly names for the MIDI input and output
devices listed in this dialog. The friendly name for a MIDI device is the
name you will see in MIDI track input and output menus, if you enable the
Use Friendly Names To Represent MIDI Devices checkbox at the bottom of
this dialog. To make up a friendly name, double-click the name of a device
in the Friendly Name column, type a new name, and press Enter.
The MIDI Devices dialog has the following fields:
Inputs
Select devices from the list (you may have only one). SONAR accepts input
from these devices for recording MIDI data.
Outputs
Select devices from the list. If your computer or MIDI interface has several
MIDI outputs, you choose the ones you want to use and put them in a
particular order. From then on, MIDI output 1 refers to the first selected
MIDI output, MIDI output 2 to the second selected MIDI output, and so on.
The output number is based solely on the order in which the selected
outputs appear in the MIDI Devices dialog. As a result, the output numbers
used in SONAR may not match the output numbers that appear on your
external multiport MIDI interface.
Move Checked Devices to Top button
Click this button to move a checked device farther up in the list, directly
behind any other checked devices. If you want a particular device to
become MIDI output 1, deselect all other devices, select the device you
want to be number 1, and click the Move Checked Devices to Top button.
Use Friendly Names to Represent MIDI Devices
Enable this checkbox if you want the input and output menus of MIDI tracks
to display the friendly name of a MIDI device, instead of its original name.
Warn About No MIDI Devices
Enable this checkbox if you want your Cakewalk application to warn you if
no MIDI devices are enabled.

See Also:
To Choose MIDI Devices
Setting Up Output Devices

1364 Dialog Reference

MIDI Devices dialog
MIDI Envelope dialog
When you use the Envelopes-Create Track Envelope-MIDI command
from the Clips pane right-click menu, the MIDI Envelope dialog appears.
The MIDI Envelope dialog has the following fields:
• Type—use this field to choose what kind of MIDI event you want to
control with your envelope.
• Value—use this field to choose the name of the controller you want to
edit.
• Channel—use this field to choose the MIDI channel that you want the
envelope to send data on.
For more information, see:
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes

MIDI Event Type dialog

When you select New Value Type from the Edit MIDI Event Type menu in
the Track pane or Piano Roll view, the MIDI Event Type dialog appears.
The MIDI Event Type dialog has the following fields:
• Type—use this field to choose what kind of MIDI event you want to
create.
• Value—use this field to choose the name of the controller you want to
create.
• Channel—use this field to choose the MIDI channel that you want the
event to send data on.
For more information, see:
Adding Controllers

MIDI Input Presets dialog

The MIDI Input Presets dialog appears when you use click the dropdown
arrow on a track’s MIDI Input field and select Manage Presets from the
dropdown menu. You can also open the dialog by using the Tracks-
Property-Inputs command, selecting a MIDI track in the Track Inputs
dialog, and clicking the MIDI Inputs button at the bottom of the dialog.

Dialog Reference 1365

MIDI Envelope dialog
 Use the MIDI Input Presets dialog to create and edit MIDI Input Presets,
which are collections of specific MIDI input channels and/or MIDI input ports
that you want to assign to one or more tracks.
The MIDI Input Presets dialog has the following fields:
Preset Window
The first window in the dialog lists the currently selected preset for the
active track. When you want to create a new preset, type a name for it in
this field when you’ve finished choosing channels and ports, and click the
Save button (disk icon).
Input Port
The list of available MIDI input ports is listed vertically in this field.
1-16 Checkboxes
These checkboxes allow you to choose what MIDI channels you want this
particular track to respond to on the port listed in the Input Port field.
All Omni
This button turns all of the 1-16 checkboxes on or off with one click.
Omni
These buttons turn the 1-16 checkboxes for each of the Input Ports on or off
with one click.
Save/Delete Buttons
The two buttons to the right of the Preset window are the disk icon, which
saves the current settings under the name in the Presets window, and the X
button, which deletes the current preset.

Migrate Cakewalk Preferences dialog

This dialog box lets you transfer a variety of configuration preferences from
earlier Cakewalk installations.
The first time you run SONAR, it asks if you want it to search for an older
version of Cakewalk and transfer (or "migrate") the preferences you
established in that version to Cakewalk. SONAR searches all hard disks in
your system for older versions, and if you have more than one older version
of Cakewalk installed, SONAR presents a list of them, in the Retain
Cakewalk Preferences dialog dialog box.

1366 Dialog Reference

Migrate Cakewalk Preferences dialog
Missing Plug-ins dialog
This dialog appears if you open a project that references plug-ins that are
not installed on your machine. If you save the project after you have
opened it with missing plug-ins, all references to missing plug-ins are
lost. To retain the missing plug-ins in your project, exit SONAR without
saving, reinstall the missing plug-ins and then re-open the project.

MP3 Export Options dialog

The following is a description of the options in the MP3 Export Options
dialog:
Bit Rate
Choose a bit rate from the drop-down list. A higher bit rate creates larger,
higher quality files. The Bit Rate allows you to select the trade-off between
the size and the sound quality of the compressed file. Compressing to
higher bit rates will provide better sound quality, but will also create larger
files.
Bit rate is specified in bits per second. As a rule of thumb, bit rates of
120,000 bits per second or higher offer near CD quality sound. Lower bit
rates can be used, with a corresponding decrease in quality. If you are
preparing your project for distribution on the web, lower bit rates will create
smaller files, and therefore faster downloading time.
The maximum bit rate that you can select depends on the sampling rate of
the project. The encoder supports bit rates up to 320000 bit per second,
providing extremely high quality compression. Selection of 320000 bits per
second or lower requires that your project was created using at least a 32
kHz sampling rate. If your project was created using a lower sampling rate,
your selection of bit rates will also be limited.
Stereo Mode
Select one of the following from the drop-down list:
• Joint Stereo—In Joint Stereo mode, the encoder optimizes the stereo
encoding by comparing the two stereo channels. If similar information
is found in the left and right channels, the encoder uses the similar
information to minimize the data it stores in the MP3 file. While this
encoding technique may result in better compression, it may result in a
loss of stereo quality. An additional option when using Joint Stereo
compression is the selection of Intensity Stereo. Selection of Intensity
Stereo instructs the encoder to further optimize the encoding by

Dialog Reference 1367

Missing Plug-ins dialog
 minimizing the data encoded for higher frequency sounds. This can also
improve the compression of the MP3 file, however in some cases the
optimization of high frequency sounds may result in a loss of sound
quality.

• Mono—Create a Mono file

• Stereo—By selecting Stereo mode, the encoder will create a Stereo MP3
file from a stereo project by treating the left and right channels as
completely independent signals. Unlike Joint Stereo encoding, stereo
encoding will not try to take advantage of similar information in left
and right channels. As a result, Stereo Mode will completely preserve
stereo separation without trying to reduce the data.

• Mid/Side Stereo--preserves most of the stereo effect of a file but at

lower bandwidth. Not too useful at bit rates above 128 kbs.

Enable High Pass Filter/Low Pass Filter

These filters decrease your file size by eliminating frequencies that people
don't usually hear anyway
Variable Bit Rate Encoding
Instead of producing a constant bit rate throughout the file, the variable bit
rate option optimizes the bit rate in different parts of the file to use a higher
bit rate where it will make a difference, and a lower one where it won’t. This
option generally produces a better quality file than constant bit rate
encoding, but doesn’t produce the predictable file size you might need for
downloadable files.
Quality Slider
MP3 encoding uses several techniques for analyzing sound and creating
MP3 files. The slider provides the user with the ability to specify how much
time the encoder should spend analyzing the file.
When the slider is positioned to the far left, the encoder will spend more
time analyzing and compressing the file. This will result in the highest
quality MP3 file, but it will take longest amount of time to compress it.
To reduce the time required to encode a project, you can position the slider
further to the right. This will compress files quickly by reducing the time
spent analyzing the project. The trade-off for compressing quickly, or
optimizing for speed, is that the resulting MP3 file may have a lower sound
quality.

1368 Dialog Reference

MP3 Export Options dialog
 Encode ID3 Info
Check this box to include ID3 information with your MP3 file. The following
fields are where you enter ID3 information that is stored in your MP3 file and
displayed in most applications that play MP3 files.
• Track--The track number.
• Title--The Song title
• Artist--The performer
• Album--The album or collection of songs that the song comes from
• Year--The year the song was made
• Genre--Select from a list of genres
• Comment--Track notes

New Global Layout dialog

The Views-Layouts command opens the Window Layouts dialog box,
which contains the Add button. Clicking the Add button opens the New
Global Layout dialog box, which allows you to name and save the current
layout.

See also:
Layouts

New Project File dialog

Open the New Project File dialog by selecting File-New from the menu.
In the New Project File dialog you choose the name of your project, where
the project’s data is stored and which template you want to use to create the
file.
Name
Enter a file name for your project. This option is only available if you have
Per-Project Audio Data option selected in the Global Option dialog.
Location
Select a folder in which your project file is saved. This option is only
available if you have Per-Project Audio Data option selected in the Global
Option dialog.

Dialog Reference 1369

New Global Layout dialog
 Audio Path
Select a folder in which your project’s audio data is stored. This option is
only available if you have Per-Project Audio Data option selected in the
Global Option dialog.
Template
Select the template you want to use for your new project. Select a template
from the list and click OK to create a new project.

See also:
Templates

No MIDI Inputs—SONAR dialog

The No MIDI Inputs - SONAR dialog box appears the first time you run
SONAR, or when Options-MIDI Devices MIDI Devices dialog box has
nothing selected on the Inputs side, or when another program is using your
system’s MIDI outputs. This dialog box lets you choose, or decide not to
choose, an input.
For more information, see To Choose MIDI Devices

No MIDI Outputs—SONAR dialog

The No MIDI Outputs - SONAR dialog box appears the first time you run
SONAR, or when Options-MIDI Devices MIDI Devices dialog box has
nothing selected on the Outputs side, or when another program is using
your system’s MIDI outputs. This dialog box lets you choose, or decide not
to choose, an output.
For more information, see To Choose MIDI Devices

Normalize dialog
The Normalize dialog appears when you use the Process-Audio-
Normalize command. This dialog has the following controls:
• Presets window—use this window and the Save and Delete buttons
that are next to it to save and manage any normalization presets that
you decide to keep.
• Normalize Level slider—drag this slider up or down to control the

1370 Dialog Reference

No MIDI Inputs—SONAR dialog
 volume of a selection so that the highest sample level reaches the level
of the slider.
• Percentage field—this field is linked to the Normalize Level slider. This
field displays the percentage of possible normalization, from 0 to 100%.
• dB field—like the Percentage field, this field is linked to the Normalize
Level slider. Typing values into this field moves the slider, just as
moving the slider changes the values in this field. The dB values range
from -INF (silent) to 0 dB (loudest level).
Note: When you normalize stereo data, normalization is computed on the
loudest sample value found in either channel and the same gain is applied
to both.

Note Names Dialog dialog

The Note Names dialog box appears when you right-click the piano
keyboard that’s located on the left side of the Piano Roll view. This dialog
box lets you specify whether to use the settings assigned in the Assign
Instruments dialog box or different settings you specify, or drum mode.
Clicking the Configure button opens the Assign Instruments dialog box.

See also:
Assigning Instruments
Assigning Note Names

Note Properties dialog

In the Staff view or Piano Roll view, when you right-click on a note, the Note
Properties dialog box appears.
This dialog box lets you edit the note's time, pitch, velocity, and other MIDI
properties.

See also:
Selecting Notes

Dialog Reference 1371

Note Names Dialog dialog
 Online Registration dialog
The Online Registration dialog appears when you start SONAR. You have
three options in this dialog:
• Register Now—This option opens your default Internet browser on
Cakewalk’s registration page.
• Please Remind Me Later—This options closes the dialog. The dialog
appears again, periodically, to prompt you to register.
• Don’t Ask Me Again—This option closes the dialog permanently.

Open dialog
The File-Open command opens the Open dialog box. Use the Open dialog
box to open an existing project.
Look in
Select the directory in which SONAR stores the file that you want to open.
File name
Type or select the filename you want to open.
Files of type
Select the type of file you want to open.
Go to Folder
Go to one of the predefined SONAR folders. See Global Options dialog—
Folders.
See also:
File type...

Open Groove File dialog

The Open Groove File dialog box appears when you click the open button
that’s at the right end of the Groove File field in the Groove Quantize dialog
box.
The Open Groove File dialog has the following fields:
• Look In—This field lists the name of the folder whose contents are
displayed in the window below it. Use this field to navigate to a folder
that contains the groove file you need.

1372 Dialog Reference

Online Registration dialog
 • File Name—This field lists the name of the currently selected file from
the folder that’s listed in the Look In field.
• Groove File Directory—The Set Default button allows you to choose a
default directory for storing groove files. The Go To Default button
closes the Open Groove File dialog box—when you reopen it, it opens
to the default directory.
See also:
To Use the Groove Quantize Command
Groove Quantize Tips
Changing the Timing of a Recording

Paste dialog
The Edit-Paste command opens the Paste dialog box, which lets you put
the contents of the clipboard into any appropriate place in your project. To
put data on the clipboard, see Cut dialog, Copy dialog.
The Paste dialog box has the following fields:
Starting at Time
Fill in the Now time where you want the beginning of the pasted data to go.
Destination
Select either a track or bus where you want the selection pasted.
Repetitions
Fill in how many copies of the pasted data you want to paste into the track
end to end.
Starting at Track
Fill in the number of the track where you want SONAR to begin pasting the
data.
Paste to One Track
This option is greyed out unless you copy data from more than one track at
a time. Checking this checkbox causes SONAR to paste multiple tracks’
data into a single track.
Linked Repetitions
Checking the Link Repetitions checkbox causes all the new clips to be
linked clips with the clip you copied.

Dialog Reference 1373

Paste dialog
 Link to Original Clip(s)
Checking the Link to Original Clip(s) checkbox creates a linked clip.
Advanced button
Clicking this button expands the Paste dialog box to include the following
fields:
Align to Measures
This option is greyed out unless you choose at least two repetitions in the
Repetitions field. Choosing this option tells SONAR to slide the old data up
to the next measure line, regardless of whether the new data fills the space
up to the next measure.
Filling in the Interval value field with a certain number of measures causes
SONAR to paste each repetition of the new data at the interval in this field.
Usually, you choose an interval at least as long as the object you copied.
What to do with existing material
The fields in this section deal with the situation that occurs when you try to
paste some data to a place in a track that already has some data.
• Blend Old and New—Choosing this option tells SONAR to mix the new
data with the old, with the following options:
• Replace Old with New—Choosing this option tells SONAR to delete the
old data.
• Slide Over Old to Make Room—Choosing this option tells SONAR to
slide the old data either forward or backward in the track to make room
for the new data, with the following option:
What to Paste
The fields in this section tell SONAR what elements of the copied data to
paste into the track, including:
• Events/Clips—Check this option if you want SONAR to paste MIDI
events or audio data from the copied data, with these two options:
• Paste as New Clips—Check this option if you want the new data to
become separate, discrete. clips.

• Paste into Existing Clips—Check this option if you want to include the
new data inside any clips that already exist in the area you want to
paste into.

• Clip Automation—If you have clip envelopes in the selection you are
pasting, you can check this option to paste it to its new location.
• Track/Bus Automation—If you have track or bus envelopes in the

1374 Dialog Reference

Paste dialog
 selection you are pasting, you can check this option to paste it to its
new location.
• Tempo Changes—If you check this checkbox, SONAR pastes all tempo
changes from the copied data.
• Meter/Key Changes—If you check this checkbox, SONAR pastes all
meter and key changes from the copied data.
• Markers—If you check this checkbox, SONAR pastes all markers from
the copied data.

See also:
Moving and Copying Clips
Importing Material from Another SONAR Project
Importing MIDI Files

Patch Browser dialog

Right-clicking a MIDI track and choosing Track Properties from the popup
menu opens the Track Properties dialog box. Inside the Track Properties
dialog box is the Patch Browser button, which opens the Patch Browser
dialog box. The Patch Browser button is also available from the Insert-
Bank/Patch Change dialog box.
The Patch Browser dialog box has the following fields:
Show Patches Containing the Text
Use this field to search for patches by filling in pieces of the patch name.
You can select previous search patterns from the drop-down list. Pressing
the Delete key redisplays the whole list, but doesn’t actually delete the
search text.
Name column
This column lists all the patch names of all the Instruments you have
assigned to MIDI outputs. Clicking the heading of the Name column sorts
the list in alphabetical order.
Bank column
This column lists the bank of the patch that’s next to it in the Name column.

Dialog Reference 1375

Patch Browser dialog
 Patch column
This column lists the patch number of each patch in the Name column.
Sorting the lists—You can sort your patch names by name, bank, or
patch number simply by clicking the appropriate column heading in the
Patch Browser dialog box.

See Also:
To Choose Patches with the Patch Browser
Choosing the Instrument Sound (Bank and Patch)

Pattern Velocity dialog

Clicking the Pattern Brush dropdown arrow and choosing Velocity from the
dropdown menu opens the Pattern Velocity dialog. This dialog allows you to
set the velocity for notes in the patterns you paint with the Pattern Brush.
The Pattern Velocity dialog has only the following field:
Velocity
Fill in the velocity that you want notes in the patterns you paint with the
Pattern Brush to use. Use numbers between 0 and 127.

Pedal Properties dialog

In the Staff view, when you right-click on a pedal mark, the Pedal Properties
dialog box appears. Use these fields to edit the sustain pedal mark that you
clicked:
Time
Use this field to change the location of your pedal mark.
Channel
Use this field to set the MIDI channel of your pedal mark.
Value
Enter 0 to turn off the pedal (no sustain), or 127 to turn on the pedal
(sustain).
See also:
Adding Pedal Marks

1376 Dialog Reference

Pattern Velocity dialog
Percent Done dialog
SONAR has done the indicated percent of the task you requested. Be
patient.

Percussion Notation Key dialog

The Staff View Layout dialog box contains the Percussion Settings button,
which opens the Percussion Notation Key dialog box. The Percussion
Settings button is not available unless the track that is highlighted in the
Staff View dialog box uses a percussion clef.
Use the following fields to configure your percussion settings:
Preset
Use the preset field to apply, save, or delete a set of percussion settings.
MIDI Note
Use this field to select the MIDI pitches in your track that you want to appear
as different pitches (to make the notes fit onto the staff neatly). You can set
MIDI notes that would normally appear with several or lots of ledger lines to
appear somewhere in the staff.
Display As
Use this field to select the notes that you want to appear on the staff when
particular MIDI pitches play.
Default
This tiny window displays the default note—the note that all unbound MIDI
notes display as.
Recommended for window
When you click a note in the MIDI Note field, the Recommended for window
displays some standard display pitches for that MIDI note.
Notehead Type
When you click a note in the MIDI Note field, you can select a type of
notehead for it, For example, cymbals usually use an X for a notehead. The
Notehead Circled field allows you to add a circle around any MIDI note’s
notehead.

Dialog Reference 1377

Percent Done dialog
 Articulation Symbol
This field allows you to add an articulation symbol to every instance of the
selected pitch. For instance, hi-hat patterns often have a + over the closed
hi-hat note and a circle over the open note.
Bind button
Click this button to connect a selected MIDI note to a selected note in the
Display As field.
Unbind button
Click this button to disconnect a selected MIDI note from a selected note in
the Display As field.
Default note button
Click this button to apply and save any changes you make to the default
note, including display pitch, notehead type, and articulation symbol.
See also:
Setting Up a Percussion Staff or Line

Pick Track(s) dialog

Clicking the Pick Tracks button in the Piano Roll, Event List, Staff, or Lyrics
views opens the Pick Tracks dialog box, which allows you to choose which
tracks’ data you want to display in any of the above views. To choose
tracks to display, simply highlight the names of the ones you want to
display. You can select nonadjacent track names by Ctrl-clicking, and you
can select adjacent track names by Shift-clicking or dragging.

Print dialog
The Print dialog specifies the parameters of your print job, including the
printer destination, the number of copies and properties.
The following is a description of the Print dialog:
Printer
This is the active printer and printer connection. Choose the Setup option to
change the printer and printer connection.
Print Range
Specify the pages you want to print:

1378 Dialog Reference

Pick Track(s) dialog
 All
Prints the entire document.
Pages
Prints the range of pages you specify in the From and To boxes.
Copies
Specify the number of copies you want to print for the above page range.
Collate
Prints copies in page number order, instead of separated multiple copies of
each page.
Properties button
Opens a dialog box that lets you specify whatever your printer allows.

Print Preview dialog

The Print Preview dialog lets you see what the Staff view, Event List view,
or Lyrics view will look like when printed.
Print
The Print button in the Print Preview dialog opens your systems Print dialog
box. For more information, see Print dialog.
Configure
For the Staff view, the Configure button in the Print Preview dialog box lets
you choose from a number of standard staff sizes. You can see which fits
your needs best.
Next Page
The Next Page button displays the next page of the print preview.
Prev Page
The Prev Page button displays the previous page of the print preview.
Two Page/One Page
The Two Page button displays two pages at a time in the print preview.
When you display two pages, the One Page button appears. The One Page
button
Zoom In
The Zoom In button zooms the page display in the Print Preview dialog box.
If two pages are displayed, zooming may reduce the preview to just one
page.

Dialog Reference 1379

Print Preview dialog
 Zoom Out
The Zoom Out button zooms out the page display in the Print Preview
dialog box.
Close
The Close button closes the Print Preview dialog box.

Print Setup dialog

The Print Setup dialog specifies the parameters of your print job, including
the printer destination, the number of copies and properties.
The following is a description of the Print Setup dialog:
Printer
This is the active printer and printer connection. Choose the Setup option to
change the printer and printer connection.
Print Range
Specify the pages you want to print:
All
Prints the entire document.
Pages
Prints the range of pages you specify in the From and To boxes.
Copies
Specify the number of copies you want to print for the above page range.
Collate
Prints copies in page number order, instead of separated multiple copies of
each page.
Properties button
Opens a dialog box that lets you specify whatever your printer allows.

Project Files dialog

Open the Project Files dialog by selecting File-Project Audio Files from
the File menu.
The Project Files dialog provides the following information:

1380 Dialog Reference

Print Setup dialog
Project File Name
File name and location of the project file.
Project Audio Folder
The directory in which the project’s audio files are stored. This is the same
as the next field, unless you’re using per-project audio folders.
Global Audio Folder
The default directory in which project audio files are stored.
Total Project Size
The combined size of the project’s audio data.
Min/Max Bit Depth
The lowest and highest bit depths of the audio files in the project.
File Name
File name(s) of the individual wave file(s) your project file references.
Path
The directory in which each file is stored.
Bit Depth
The bit depth of each wave file.
File Size
The size of each wave file.
Status
The following status entries are possible in the Status column of the Project
Files dialog:
• Global—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.
• Local—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.
• External—The file is stored in a directory other than the Global Audio
Data directory or in a Local audio data directory.
• Missing—The file is not to be found.

Dialog Reference 1381

Project Files dialog
 Sorting Files
You can quickly sort files by clicking on the column headers, for instance, to
see all Missing audio files, click on the Status column header and the
missing files appear at the top of the column.
For more information, see:
Locating Missing Audio

Project Options dialog—Clock tab

The Options-Projects command opens the Project Options dialog. The
Clock tab controls synchronization and the number of subdivisions of the
beat (parts per quarter note). The Clock tab has the following sections:
Source
This section lets you choose what device SONAR uses as a timing source,
and has the following options:
• Internal—Choose this option to use the clock on the computer’s
motherboard.
• MIDI Sync—Choose this option to sync SONAR to an external MIDI
device.
• SMPTE/MTC—Choose this option to sync SONAR to an external
device that generates either SMPTE time code or MIDI time code.
• Audio—Choose this option to use the clock on the computer’s sound
card.
Ticks per quarter-note
This section lets you choose the number of subdivisions of the beat (parts
per quarter note), from fifteen choices.
Timecode format
This section lets you choose a SMPTE frame rate from among six choices.
SMPTE/MTC Offset
This section allows you to start SONAR playing after it starts receiving time
code by an amount you choose in this field of the dialog box. Choose an
amount in hours/minutes/seconds/frames format.
For more information, see;
Synchronization Overview
MIDI Synchronization.

1382 Dialog Reference

Project Options dialog—Clock tab
 Setting the MIDI Timing Resolution
Synchronizing Your Gear

Project Options dialog—Metronome tab

The Options-Projects command opens the Project Options dialog. The
Metronome tab lets you set the following metronome options:
General
• Playback—Choosing this option cause the metronome to sound during
playback.
• Recording—Choosing this option cause the metronome to sound during
recording.
• Use Audio Metronome—Choosing this option causes the metronome to
use audio.
• Use MIDI Note—Choosing this option causes the metronome to sound
by playing a MIDI note.
• Count In—Specifies the number of count-in measures or beats.
• Measures—Choosing this option sets the Count-In units to measures.

• Beats—Choosing this option sets the Count-In units to beats.

Audio Metronome
First beat—Select an audio sound for the first beat.
Other beats—Select an audio sound for other beats.
dB—Set the dB level for the corresponding beat.
Output—Set the output you want to use for the audio metronome.
MIDI Note
If you checked Use MIDI Note in the above section, then choose options for
these three parameters:
• Port—Choose the port that the MIDI note plays through.
• Channel—Choose the MIDI channel your metronome plays on.
• Duration—Choose how many ticks you want the metronome sound to
last.
First Beat
Choose a Key (a note) and a Velocity for the first metronome attack in the
measure.

Dialog Reference 1383

Project Options dialog—Metronome tab
 Other Beats
Choose a Key (a note) and a Velocity for the other metronome attacks in
the measure.
For more information, see:
To Change Your Metronome Settings

Project Options dialog—MIDI Out tab

The Options-Projects command opens the Project Options dialog. The
MIDI Out tab lets you configure MIDI Machine Control, and two global
controller options.
Choose from the following options:
MIDI Machine Control (MMC)
This section allows you to control MMC devices from SONAR, and has the
following options;
• Transmit MMC—Choosing this option causes SONAR to send standard
MMC commands such as start, stop, rewind, etc., to any MMC devices
that are connected to your computer.
• Timecode Master’s Unit ID—If you have several MMC devices
connected to your computer, for example three ADAT machines, one of
them will be the timing master, and SONAR and the other MMC
devices will slave to its timing. Fill in the ID number of the master
MMC device, so that SONAR’s MMC commands go to the right device.

Other Options:
• Zero Controllers When Play Stops—If you choose this option, SONAR
sets the controller values of the pitch wheel, the sustain pedal, and the
modulation wheel on all 16 MIDI channels to zero. 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.
• Patch/Controller Searchback Before Play Starts—If you choose this
option, SONAR finds and sends the most recent patch changes, wheel
events, and pedal events before starting playback. This way, all
settings are correct even if you start playback at an arbitrary point in the
project.

See also:

1384 Dialog Reference

Project Options dialog—MIDI Out tab
 MIDI Machine Control (MMC).

Project Options dialog—Sync tab

The Options-Projects command opens the Project Options dialog box.
The Sync tab lets you configure MIDI Sync, and SMPTE/MTC (MIDI Time
Code).
Choose from the following options:
Send MIDI Sync
When SONAR is the timing master in a master/slave synchronized setup,
use this section to set MIDI Sync options:
• Transmit MIDI Start/Continue/Stop/Clock—Choosing this option causes
SONAR to tell the slave when to start, when to continue, when to stop,
and what timing data to go by (SONAR’s).
• Use Start, Never Continue (greyed-out unless you check the previous
option)—Choosing this option causes SONAR to only transmit MIDI
Start messages every time it restarts, even in the middle of a song. If
you have a drum machine slaved to SONAR, and the drum machine is
playing looped patterns, you probably want it to start at the beginning of
its loop whenever SONAR restarts, even if SONAR restarts from the
middle of a song.
• Transmit MIDI Song Position Pointer (SPP)—Choosing this option
causes SONAR to send an SPP message before starting or continuing
playback. If you are using a drum machine as described above, 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, in order 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.
Send MIDI Time Code
When SONAR is the timing master in a master/slave synchronized setup,
use these options to send and configure MIDI Time Code (MTC):
• Transmit MTC—check this box if you want SONAR to transmit MTC.

Dialog Reference 1385

Project Options dialog—Sync tab
 You can also turn this option on or off at the Sync toolbar.
• Frame Rate—use this dropdown menu to choose the frame rate for
your project (see Frame Rates, if necessary).
• MTC Output Ports—check off the output ports that you want SONAR to
send MTC out of.

See also:
MIDI Synchronization.
Synchronizing Your Gear

Project Options dialog—Surround tab

The Surround tab in the Project Options dialog is where you set your
surround options.
Presets
You can save your current settings as a preset. This allows you to easily
move between different surround configurations.
Output Assignments field
Set a hardware output for each channel.
Surround Format dropdown
Select a surround format from the dropdown:
• 2.1
• LCR
• LRC+LFE
• LRS
• LRS+LFE
• Matrix UHJ
• QUAD
• 4.1 (SMPTE/ITU)
• Quad+LFE
• PanAmbio 4.1
• LCRS

1386 Dialog Reference

Project Options dialog—Surround tab
• 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)
• 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) should be the default template.
Low-pass Cutoff
All signals below the cutoff frequency are directed from the main channels
to the LFE channel output.

Dialog Reference 1387

Project Options dialog—Surround tab
 Monitor with Bass Management
When enabled, a combox lets you specify one of the following cutoff
frequencies:
• 80 (Dolby consumer/DVD) (default)
• 116 (DTS)
• 120 (Dolby pro/film)
• 180
Downmixing
• Center Level—Center channel content is distributed equally into left
and right channels of a 2-channel downmix with one of a choice of
three levels. Each level is how much of center is mixed into both left
and right. The alternatives are:
• -3 dB—This is the right amount to distribute into two acoustic
sources to reach the same sound power level, thus keeping the far-
field level (in the reverberant listening field, as is typical at home)
equal. This is the amount by which a standard sin-cos panner
redistributes a center panned image into left and right, for instance.
• -4.5 dB—Since -3 dB and -6 dB represent the extreme limits (of
power addition on the one hand, or of phase-dependent vector
addition on the other), an intermediate, compromise value was
seen as valuable, since the correct answer has to be -4.5 dB +/- 1.5
dB.
• -6 dB—This covers the case where listening is dominated by direct
sound. Thus, the two source signals add up by 6dB rather than by 3
dB, because they add as vectors, as voltages do, rather than as
power does.
• Surround Level—Surround Downmix Level is the amount of Left
Surround to mix into Left, and Right Surround to Right, when mixing
down from any surround-equipped format to 2 channel. The available
options are:
• -3 dB—The amount by which mono surround information, from
many movie mixes before discrete 5.1 was available, mixes down
to maintain the same level as the original.
• -6 dB—An amount that makes the mixdown of surround content not
so prominent, based on the fact that most surround content is not
as important as a lot of front content. This helps to avoid

1388 Dialog Reference

Project Options dialog—Surround tab
 competition with dialog, for instance, by heavy surround tracks in a
mixdown situation.
• -INF—Necessary for cases where the surround levels are so high
that they compete with the front channels too much in mixdown
situations.
• LFE Level—Choose -INF or -12 dB.

PRV Tool Configuration dialog

When you use the Options-PRV Tool Configuration command, the PRV
Tool Configuration dialog box appears.
You use the PRV Tool Configuration dialog to configure the Piano Roll
tools. In order to assign a specific action to a Piano Roll tool, you must
specify the following:

• Piano Rool tool—specify “PRV Tool 1” ( ), “PRV Tool 2” ( ) or

“PRV Tool 3” ( ).
• Mouse button—specify the left, middle or right mouse button.
• Keyboard modifier key(s) (optional)—specify the Ctrl, Shift or Alt key,
or any combination of the three.
• Mouse location (context)—specify one of the seven clickable mouse
locations (see Mouse Location).
• Tool action—specify one of the many available mouse actions (see
Tool Action).
The objective is to map each of the contexts (mouse locations) to a tool
action.

Dialog Reference 1389

PRV Tool Configuration dialog
 A

C
B

E
F

A. Tool B. Context C. Keys D. Mouse Button E. Mouse Location F. Tool Action

See:
Tool
Mouse Button
Keys
Mouse Location
Tool Action
To Configure a Mouse Action
Default PRV Tool Assignments
Tool
The Tool combobox lists the three Piano Roll tools:
• PRV Tool 1—This tool corresponds to the Select tool ( ) in the Piano
Roll toolbar.
• PRV Tool 2—This tool corresponds to the Draw tool ( ) in the Piano
Roll toolbar.

1390 Dialog Reference

PRV Tool Configuration dialog
• PRV Tool 3—This tool corresponds to the Erase tool ( ) in the Piano
Roll toolbar.

See:
To Edit Notes with the Draw Tool
To Edit Notes with the Select Tool
To Use the Erase Tool
Mouse Button
In previous versions of SONAR, only the left mouse button was used by the
Piano Roll tools. SONAR 7 now allows you to assign the following mouse
buttons:
• Left
• Middle (if available)
• Right
Keys
In addition to a mouse button, you can optionally configure a mouse action
to also use any combination of the following keys:
• Ctrl
• Shift
• Alt
Note: Because Windows has a long-established standard of using Ctrl-drag
for copy operations, there is a potential collision when using the Ctrl key to
program actions that involve moving events. Therefore, the Ctrl key
requires some special attention:
If the Ctrl key is part of a context for a move action, copying will be
disabled if the Ctrl key is pressed.
Mouse Location
Each Piano Rool tool can perform various actions depending on where you
click. The following is a list of the seven clickable mouse locations with
regard to events:
• Nowhere—click anywhere outside a Note event or Controller event.
• Note Slip Start (left edge)—click the left edge of a Note event.
• Note Time Adjust—click near left edge of a Note event, slightly to the

Dialog Reference 1391

PRV Tool Configuration dialog
 right of the Note Slip Start zone.
• Note Pitch Adjust—click the center part of a Note event.
• Note Slip End (right edge)—click the right edge of a Note event.
• Note Velocity Adjust—click the top part of a Note event.
• Controller—click the handle (top part) of a Controller event.
A diagram displays the possible mouse locations in regards to Note events
and Controller events:

G
A

BC D E

A. Controller B. Note Slip Start C. Note Time Adjust D. Note Pitch Adjust E. Note
Slip End F. Note Velocity Adjust G. Nowhere

The Note event in the previous diagram has dotted lines that outline the
various hit zones on Note events as possible context locations. It also
shows a single value (controller) event as another context location. Clicking
outside the Note event and value event is referred to as the “Nowhere”
context location.
Tool Action
Below is a list of all possible Piano Roll mouse tool actions. Depending on
the mouse location (context), only a subset of these actions may be
available:
Note: As described in the “Mouse Move” column in the following table, a
tool action may behave differently depending on where it is used in the
Piano Roll view. The Piano Roll view has three different environments:
• Note-only grid—this refers to the Notes pane when the Controllers
pane is shown (see Notes Pane).
• Value-only grid—this refers to the Controllers pane (see Controller
Pane).

1392 Dialog Reference

PRV Tool Configuration dialog
 • Mixed grid—this refers to the Notes pane when both Note events
and Controller events are displayed together (the Controllers pane
is hidden).

Action... Mouse Down... Mouse Move... Mouse Up...

No Action n/a n/a n/a

Insert/Move Note/ Add Note/Controller Move inserted Commit edit

Controller to edit buffer Note/Controller buffer.
horizontally and
vertically

Paint Notes/ Add Note/Controller Insert additional Commit edit

Controllers to edit buffer events at mouse buffer.
See Note/ position. For notes,
Controller Painting use snap as
(freehand) interval between
and duration of
notes. For
Controllers, use the
snap as interval
between.

Paint Notes/ Add Note/Controller Insert additional Commit edit

Controllers Linear to edit buffer events at mouse buffer.
See Note/ position in a
Controller Painting straight line from
(linear) where the mouse
was originally
clicked.

Paint Controllers/ Add Controller to In note grid, paint Commit edit

Velocities edit buffer existing velocities buffer.
See Controller/ as the mouse
Velocity Painting passes through
(freehand) notes. In value grid,
do same as Paint
Notes/Controllers

Dialog Reference 1393

PRV Tool Configuration dialog
 Action... Mouse Down... Mouse Move... Mouse Up...

Paint Controllers/ Add Controller to In the note grid, Commit edit

Velocities Linear edit buffer paint existing buffer.
See Controller/ velocities linearly
Velocity Painting from the original
(linear) mouse click point.
In the value grid, do
the same as Paint
Notes/Controllers
Linear.

Lasso Selection Begin lasso drag Continue lasso Select all

rectangle events within
lasso rectangle.
Obey Ctrl/Shift
as standard
modifiers.

Erase Sweep Mark any hit event Mark notes that are Commit edit
See New Erase as deleted hit in both pitch and buffer.
Tool Behavior time for deletion.
Mark Controllers
that are crossed in
time for deletion

Move Notes/ n/a Move selected Commit edit

Controllers notes/Controllers buffer
freely horizontally
(in time) and
vertically

Move Notes/ n/a Move selected Commit edit

Controllers (Vert) notes/Controllers buffer
vertically only

Move Notes/ n/a Move selected Commit edit

Controllers (Time) notes/Controllers in buffer
time only
(horizontally)

Sel and Move Select any hit Move selected Commit edit
Notes/Controllers event. Obey Shift/ notes/Controllers buffer
Ctrl as standard freely horizontally
modifiers (in time) and
vertically

1394 Dialog Reference

PRV Tool Configuration dialog
Action... Mouse Down... Mouse Move... Mouse Up...

Sel and Move Select any hit Move selected Commit edit
Notes/Controllers event. Obey Shift/ notes/Controllers buffer
(Vert) Ctrl as standard ivertically only
modifiers

Sel and Move Select any hit Move selected Commit edit
Notes/Controllers event. Obey Shift/ notes/Controllers in buffer
(Time) Ctrl as standard time only
modifiers (horizontally)

Note Slip Start n/a Adjust the start Commit edit

Adjust time and duration buffer
of selected notes.
Obey snap settings

Note Slip End n/a Adjust the duration Commit edit

Adjust of selected notes. buffer
Obey snap settings

Note Velocity n/a Adjust the velocity Commit edit

Adjust of selected notes buffer

Note Split Split hit note in to n/a Commit edit

See Note Split two notes at mouse buffer.
time. Obey snap
settings

Note Glue Add any hit note to Add any notes hit to Make one long
See Note Glue the edit buffer the edit buffer if note out of the
same pitch as the notes in the edit
clicked note buffer. Commit
the edit buffer.

Drag Quantize Add Note/Controller Move the mouse Commit edit

See Drag- to edit buffer upward to move the buffer.
Quantize selected events
toward the quantize
target times.
Move the mouse
downward to move
the selected events
away from the
quantize target
times.

Dialog Reference 1395

PRV Tool Configuration dialog
 Action... Mouse Down... Mouse Move... Mouse Up...

Event Mute Add Note/Controller Mute any hit event. Commit edit
See MIDI Event to edit buffer buffer
Mute

Context Menu n/a n/a Show context

menu

See:
To Configure a Mouse Action

Quantize dialog
When you use the Process-Quantize command, the Quantize dialog box
appears. Quantize has two different forms.
• Process-Quantize—This is the standard quantizing command that
adjusts the start time and duration of selected notes so that they line up
with a fixed size grid.
• Process-Groove Quantize—This command extracts a grid or “groove”
from an existing piece of music (the "groove pattern"), and then applies
it to another piece of music to produce a similar rhythmic feel.
Use the following fields in the Quantize dialog box to control standard
quantizing:
Preset menu
Save or select settings that you use often in the drop-down menu. To save
a new group of settings, type a name into the menu, and click the Save
button. To delete a group, select it and click the Delete button.
Resolution
Set the note resolution. The smaller the note value, the more precise the
quantization. See Resolution.
Change
• MIDI Event Start Times—Select this option if you want the start times of
the MIDI events in the selected data to move.
• Note Durations—Select this option if you want the length of notes to be

1396 Dialog Reference

Quantize dialog
 edited to fit into the size you chose in the Resolution field.
• AudioSnap Beats—Select this option if you want AudioSnap transients
to move.
• Audio Clip Start Times—Select this option if you want the beginnings of
audio clips to move.
• Only Notes, Lyrics, and Audio—If you select this option, SONAR will not
modify other events, like controllers.
Options:
• Strength—This value determines how closely SONAR moves the
selected notes to the resolution value, or “grid.” See Strength.
• Swing—Use this value to make groups of even eighth notes (or
whatever note you want to enter in the Resolution field) “swing,” instead
of playing with exact eighth note rhythm. A value of 50 percent, or “50-
50,” produces equal durations for both notes—no swing. A larger value
makes the first note longer, and vice versa. See Swing.
• Window—This value determines whether SONAR quantizes notes that
are far from the quantization points, or leaves them alone. A value of
100 percent quantizes every note. See Window.
• Offset—This value moves the quantization grid forward or backward in
the track, away from the beat boundaries. See Offset.
• Auto XFade Audio Clips—This option becomes available if you enable
the Audio Clip Start Times check box. If you enable this option, and the
process of quantizing audio clips results in overlapping clips, a
crossfade is automatically added to the overlapping area. You specify
the length of the crossfade in the ms field.
Audition button
Click this button to hear your edit before you actually apply it to the selected
data.
For step by step instructions:
To Use the Quantize Command
Defining a Groove
To Save a Groove Pattern
To Copy an Existing Groove
To Delete a Groove
Groove Quantize Tips

Dialog Reference 1397

Quantize dialog
 See also:
Changing the Timing of a Recording
Drag-Quantize

Fast Zoom Options

The Fast Zoom feature allows you to use your mouse wheel to control
Zoom functions.
Zoom Factor
Set the intensity of the zoom. Horizontal and vertical zoom intensity can be
adjusted independent of one another using the spinners or by manual entry.
Zoom In
Select whether the Zoom in action is centered at the cursor or the Now
Time in horizontal Zoom, and select whether the Zoom in action is centered
at the cursor or the Active Track in vertical Zoom.
Zoom Out
Select whether the Zoom out action is centered at the cursor or the Now
Time in horizontal Zoom, and select whether the Zoom out action is
centered at the cursor or the Active Track in vertical Zoom.
Simultaneous Horizontal and Vertican Zoom
Check the checkbox to make horizontal and vertical zoom simultaneous.
See also:
To Zoom Using the Mouse Wheel (Fast Zoom)

Reassign Envelopes dialog

When you use the Envelope Editing menu’s Assign Envelope command
on an automatable effect’s envelope, the Reassign Envelopes dialog box
appears.
Click the parameter in the list of parameters that you want to reassign the
envelope to, and click OK. SONAR changes the envelope to control the
parameter you clicked.
To Reassign an Envelope
Automating Individual Effects Parameters

1398 Dialog Reference

Fast Zoom Options
 Creating and Editing Audio Envelopes
Creating and Editing MIDI Envelopes

Receive System Exclusive dialog

In the Sysx view, clicking the Receive Bank button opens the Receive
System Exclusive dialog box. Use this dialog box to tell a synthesizer to
start sending system exclusive data—clicking the OK button in this dialog
box opens the Sysx Receive dialog box and starts the transmission of Sysx
data.
This dialog box displays how many bytes have been received. When the
number stops increasing, click Done.
See also:
Using the System Exclusive View

Record Options dialog

The Transport-Record Options command opens the Record Options
dialog box. This command specifies how SONAR records clips into tracks
already holding other clips. If you use loop recording, the command also
lets you specify whether to record takes in sequential tracks or stacked in a
single track.
Note: SONAR saves the recording options you choose with each project,
so you can save a different recording mode with each of your projects.
The Record Options dialog box has the following fields;
Recording Mode
Choose one of the following options:
• Sound on Sound (Blend)—Choose this option to add sound to any pre-
existing sound in the track.
• Overwrite (Replace)—Choose this option to overwrite any pre-existing
sound in the part of the track you are recording into.
• Auto Punch—Choose this option to punch record, and then set the
following options:
• Punch In Time—Enter the time where you want the new recording
activity to begin.

• Punch Out Time—Enter the time where you want the new recording

Dialog Reference 1399

Receive System Exclusive dialog
 activity to end.

• Mute Previous Takes—Uncheck this option in Sound on Sound (Blend)

mode if you want to hear previous takes during Auto Punch.
Note: The Mute Previous Takes checkbox has no effect during loop
recording.
Loop Recording
Choose one of the following loop recording options:
• Store Takes in a Single Track—Choosing this option causes SONAR to
merge every new take with the previous takes, unless you choose
Overwrite mode, which mutes each take except the newest one.
• Store Takes in Separate Tracks—Choosing this option causes SONAR
to place each new take in the next available track. This method can
quickly overwhelm your computer if you are recording audio data.
Layers
• Create New Layer On Overlap—If you have the Track Layers button on
a track enabled, and you record one clip so that it overlaps another clip,
the clips appear in different track layers when this option is enabled.

See Also:
Punch Recording
To Choose a Recording Mode
Loop Recording

Regenerate Tablature dialog

In the Staff view toolbar, click the dropdown arrow on the Staff View Layout
button to display the tablature dropdown list. Click Regenerate-TAB to
open the Regenerate Tablature dialog box.
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 analyzes all events in a track
and attempts to optimize tablature with reference to open position. 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.

1400 Dialog Reference

Regenerate Tablature dialog
The Regenerate Tablature dialog box has the following fields:
Track
This window displays the names of all selected tracks. Highlight the one you
want to regenerate TAB for.
Method
Choose what TAB style you want SONAR to use, from these options:
• Fixed—This style 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 will the notes be
displayed within the Finger span. The red box in the fretboard display
above the parameters changes to reflect the settings in these two
parameters.
• Floating—This style analyzes all events in a track and attempts to
optimize tablature with reference to open position
• MIDI Channel—This style 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 SONAR
receives on. This is useful for MIDI Guitarists who record parts in
MONO mode, where each string transmits on a different MIDI channel.
(Values: 1 - 11). Selecting “1” will cause it to use MIDI channels 1 - 6,
selecting 2, 2 - 7, and so on.
Finger Span
The value in this field determines the finger or fret span the new TAB
covers. Usually, you set this value to 4.
Lowest Fret
The value in this field determines the lowest fret the TAB can use for the
selected notes.
1st Channel
The value in this field determines the first MIDI channel of six consecutive
channels that SONAR assigns notes to, depending on which strings you
play the notes on.

Dialog Reference 1401

Regenerate Tablature dialog
 Number of Frets
This value is determined in the Staff View Layout dialog box, and governs
how many frets SONAR’s Fretboard can display.
Skip Channel 10 (G50)
This checkbox is greyed out unless you choose MIDI Channel in the
Method field. If you use a MIDI converter like the G50, Channel 10 is
reserved for percussion instruments, so if you use a MIDI guitar to transmit
on six consecutive MIDI channels, check this checkbox to avoid using
Channel 10 for your guitar.

See Also:
Regenerate TAB
Tablature
The Staff View
Tablature Settings

Remote Control dialog

When you right-click a control in the Console or Track views and choose
Remote Control from the popup menu, the Remote Control dialog box
appears. This dialog box lets you use a MIDI device as a remote control for
knobs, buttons, and sliders in SONAR, and has the following fields:
Channel Messages
The buttons in this section control command that are specific to individual
MIDI channels. The options are:
• Note On—With this button enabled, the selected control’s value
alternates between its minimum and maximum values every time you
play the note that’s listed in the Note On field. If the selected control is a
button, it toggles between on and off position.
• Note On/Off—With this button enabled, the selected control’s value is
maximized when the note that’s listed in this field is depressed, and
minimized when the note is released. If the selected control is a button,
it toggles between on and off position.
• Controller—With this button enabled and a Controller number entered
in the number field, SONAR “listens” for a controller message that your
MIDI controller is sending, and the selected control moves up or down
as the controller message’s value gets larger or smaller. For example, if

1402 Dialog Reference

Remote Control dialog
 your MIDI controller can send MIDI volume data from one of its faders
or controls, and you set a fader in SONAR to respond to Controller #7,
the selected fader in SONAR will move up or down as the value of
Controller #7 that your MIDI controller sends rises or falls.
• Wheel—With this button enabled, the selected control moves as the
pitch wheel on your MIDI controller moves.
• RPN—If your MIDI controller can send RPN data, enabling this button
causes the selected control to move as the RPN data that your MIDI
controller changes.
• NRPN—If your MIDI controller can send NRPN data, enabling this
button causes the selected control to move as the NRPN data that your
MIDI controller changes.
• MIDI Channel—Use this field to tell SONAR which MIDI channel the
controller data comes in on.
Learn button
If you don’t know what controller number a slider or knob on your MIDI
controller sends, just click the Learn button and then move the knob in
question. SONAR reads the incoming MIDI data and automatically
configures the Remote Control settings so that the controller you moved
now controls the SONAR control that you are configuring.
Sysx
You can use this option to control SONAR’s Console from an external
controller that sends sysx, such as the Tascam 428, or any device that
sends sysx data. You can set the selected control in SONAR to respond to
sysx data by using these fields:
• Single Byte—Checking this option tells SONAR that the significant data
(the variable, or parameter value) in the incoming sysx message is in
the form of a single byte.
• High byte first—Checking this option tells SONAR that the significant
data in the incoming sysx message is in the form of two bytes, with the
high byte first.
• Low byte first—Checking this option tells SONAR that the significant
data in the incoming sysx message is in the form of two bytes, with the
low byte first.
• Starts with—Fill in the string that your device sends in sysx messages
that precedes the significant data.
• Ends with—Fill in the string that your device sends in sysx messages

Dialog Reference 1403

Remote Control dialog
 that follows the significant data.
Note: If you set up remote control for a grouped control, the remote control
works all controls in the group.
For step by step instructions:
To Set Up Remote Control for a Knob, Button, or Fader
See also:
Using Control Groups

Remove DC Offset dialog

The Process-Remove DC Offset command opens the Remove DC
Options dialog, which allows you to remove audio artifacts cause by
electrical mismatches between recording hardware and input instruments
or devices. This dialog has the following fields:
• 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 only—to 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.

Remove Silence dialog

When you use the Process-Audio-Remove Silence command, or click the
Gate Settings button in the Freeze Options dialog, the Remove Silence
dialog box appears. This command creates absolute silence during silent
passages, eliminating extraneous noise.
The Remove Silence dialog box has the following fields:
Preset field (only appears with Process Audio
command)
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.

1404 Dialog Reference

Remove DC Offset dialog
Open Level (db)
The value in this field is how loud the sound must get (the loudness
threshold) before SONAR stops silencing the sound. The gate “officially”
opens when loudness rises above this level, although it can open earlier
because of the Attack Time (see below).
Close Level (db)
The value in this field is how soft the sound must get (the softness
threshold) before SONAR starts silencing the sound. The gate "officially"
closes when loudness falls below this level, although it can stay open later
because of the Release Time (see below).
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 value in this field is the minimum time for the gate to stay open. Hold
Time is useful when you've 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.
Look Ahead (ms)
The value in this field causes the gate to open slightly before the sound
reaches the Open Level so you don’t lose the sound’s attack.
Release Time (ms)
The value in this field is the interval of time after the volume reaches the
Close Level before the gate actually closes. This lets the tail end of sounds
pass through without being clipped.
Split Clips
Check the Split Clips box to delete the silent sections of audio.
Audition button (only appears with Process Audio
command)
Click this button to hear the results of your effect on the first three seconds
of the selected audio.
For more information, see:
Removing Silence

Dialog Reference 1405

Remove Silence dialog
 Rename Existing Layout dialog
The Views-Layouts command opens the Window Layouts dialog box,
which contains the Rename button. Clicking the Rename button opens the
Rename Existing Layout dialog box, which allows you to rename whatever
layout is highlighted in the Global window.

Rename Toolbar dialog

Choosing the Rename command when you right-click a toolbar opens the
Rename Toolbar dialog box, which allows you to rename whatever toolbar
you right-clicked.
The dialog has the following fields:
• Original Name—this field lists the toolbar’s current name.
• New Name—type a new name for the toolbar in this field, then click OK.

See also:
Customizable Toolbars

Retain Cakewalk Preferences dialog

If you choose to retain or migrate your preferences from a previous version
of Cakewalk, the SONAR installer finds the existing CAKEWALK.INI files on
your system. The list of CAKEWALK.INI files appears in the Retain Cakewalk
Preferences dialog box. You may choose one from this list. The
preferences and settings stored in the older version's CAKEWALK.INI and
TTSSEQ.INI files are then transferred to the identically named configuration
files for Cakewalk. Cakewalk migrates certain preferences to the Windows
Registry rather than to the CAKEWALK.INI file.
When you migrate your preferences, SONAR will:
1. Locate the Data directory (WaveData folder) used by your previous
Cakewalk installations and direct SONAR to use that folder for its audio
storage and retrieval as well.
Note:

1406 Dialog Reference

Rename Existing Layout dialog
 's Options, Audio, Advanced
tab. Advanced users may want to manually adjust this Data directory
location.

2. Automatically import any custom Instrument Definitions you used in

your previous Cakewalk version.
3. Automatically import other custom settings you have made in various
Cakewalk menus and INI files.

Revert dialog
The File-Revert command opens the Revert dialog box, which lets you
open an earlier version of the current project. Click the version of the file
that you want to open. If you then save the earlier version, it becomes than
latest version. To use the Revert feature, file versioning must be enabled in
the Global Options dialog on the Autosave and Versioning tab.

Safe Mode dialog

Opening a file in safe mode opens the safe mode dialog, which asks you,
one plug-in at a time, which of the file’s plug-ins to open each. If you think
one of the plug-ins is preventing the file from opening, choose not to load
that plug-in. You can also try loading only one plug-in, closing the file, and
then loading 2 plug-ins the next time you open the file, etc., until you isolate
the bad plug-in.

See also
I Can’t Open My Project
File Recovery Mode

Save As dialog
The File-Save As command opens the Save As dialog box, which lets you
save a project with the name, directory, and format you specify. The Save
As dialog can also be used to save Groove clips as Riff Wave files from the
Loop Construction view. Use the following fields to control your options:

Dialog Reference 1407

Revert dialog
 Save in
Select the directory in which you want to store the file.
File name
Type or select the filename you want to open.
Save as type
Select the type of file you want to save your project as. If you are saving a
project, you have the following options:
• Normal—Saving as type Normal saves your MIDI data, all project
settings, and references to your audio data, with the extension .CWP.
SONAR saves no audio data in a .CWP file, only references to where
the data is on the hard disk. Saving your project as a bundle file (see
below) saves all your project data in one place, including a new copy of
your audio data; this method uses a lot more disk space than saving as
a .CWP file.
• Template—Template file with the extension .CWT. Use Template files to
save commonly used project settings for quickly setting up a new
project.
• Cakewalk Bundle—Bundle file with the extension .CWB. Bundle files
contain everything that a Normal file type contains with the addition of
all your project's audio. Bundle files are great for backing up projects,
and are also useful for moving SONAR projects from one computer to
another.
• MIDI Format 0—Save in this format to create a Standard MIDI File that
has all channels merged into one track.
• MIDI Format 1—Save in this format to create a Standard MIDI File that
keeps each channel on a separate track.
• Riff MIDI Format 0—Save in this format if you need a Riff MIDI File of
Format 0.
• Riff MIDI Format 1—Save in this format if you need a Riff MIDI File of
Format 1.
Riff Wave files—If you are saving in the Loop Construction view, you can
save the wave file as a Groove Clip/Wave file or a regular Wave file,
depending on whether you enabled looping on the clip that you’re saving.
Groove Clip/Wave files are ACID-compatible files which can be used in
SONAR or any application that supports ACIDized files.

1408 Dialog Reference

Save As dialog
 Go to Folder (Project saves only)
The Go to folder dropdown lets you quickly go to the default save location
for different types of projects.
Copy all audio with project (Project saves only)
When selected, this checkbox creates a copy of every audio file your project
references, regardless of where they are located, and stores them in a
folder called Audio Data. The Audio Data folder is created in the folder
where you save your project. For example, if you save your project to the
following folder:
C:\My Project
Your project’s audio is saved in the following folder:
C:\My Project\Audio Data
If you want to give the Audio Data folder a different name, you can do so
using the Audio path option. See below.
Create one file per clip (Project saves only)
This option is only available if the Copy all audio with project option is
selected. When selected, the Create one file per clip option forces SONAR
to create a new wave file for each unique clip. To conserve disk space,
SONAR does not duplicate audio referenced by multiple copies of a clip,
unless you have checked the Export Broadcast Waves By Default option in
the Audio Data tab of the Global Options dialog.
Audio path (Project saves only)
If you want to customize the name of the folder in which you store your
audio files, specify it in this field. You can use the Browse button to specify
where the folder is saved.

See also:
Saving Your Work

Scale Defaults dialog

The Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-Scale Manager command opens the
Scale Manager dialog box, which has a Defaults button, which opens the
Scale Defaults dialog.
This dialog has the following fields:
• Restore Current Scale (if factory)—this option restores a single,

Dialog Reference 1409

Scale Defaults dialog
 selected file to its factory settings.
• Restore Any Missing Scales—if you have deleted a factory-supplied
scale and want to replace it with the original version, choose this option.
• Restore All Factory Scales—if you want to restore all factory-supplied
scales to factory settings, click this option.

Scale Manager dialog

The Tracks-Snap to Scale-Scales-Scale Manager command opens the
Scale Manager dialog box, which lets you create and edit scales to use with
the Snap to Scale feature.
This dialog has the following fields and controls:
• Scale Family—this field lists all of the families of scales that in which an
individual scale might be stored.
• Scale—this field lists the scales that are stored in the selected Scale
Family.
• Keyboard display—this keyboard display shows the notes that are in
the selected scale by displaying a blue dot over each note in the
selected scale. You can include or exclude a note clicking keys in the
keyboard display.
• Scale Degrees—this field lists the different scale degrees that are in the
selected scale.
• Scale Degree buttons—these buttons below the Scale Degree field
show what scale degrees are in the selected scale. Each depressed
button shows that the button’s namesake is in the selected field.
• Defaults—this button opens a dialog that offers to restore factory-
supplied scales to their default values.
• New button—click this button to create a new scale. When you click this
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.
: all scales in the Scale Manager dialog use C as the root note.

• Delete button—click this button to delete any scale that is highlighted in

the Scale: field.

1410 Dialog Reference

Scale Manager dialog
Scale Velocity dialog
The Process-Scale Velocity command opens the Scale Velocity dialog
box, which lets you edit MIDI clips to create crescendos (volume swells)
and decrescendos on those instruments that respond to MIDI velocity. Most
MIDI 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.
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; SONAR modifies existing velocity values by the
designated percentage.
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 Controllers in the Piano Roll.
The Scale Velocity dialog box has the following fields:
Begin
Enter a velocity value between 0 and 127 for the first event of the selection,
unless you want to use percentages. If you use percentages, enter a
number between 0 and the approximate percentage that would create a
velocity of 127, when multiplied by the existing velocity of the first event.
SONAR rounds off any values you create above 127 to 127.
End
Enter a velocity value between 0 and 127 for the last event of the selection,
unless you want to use percentages. If you use percentages, enter a
number between 0 and the approximate percentage that would create a
velocity of 127, when multiplied by the existing velocity of the last event.
SONAR rounds off any values you create above 127 to 127.
Percentages
Check this checkbox if you want to modify existing velocities by a
percentage.
See also:
To Scale Velocities.

Dialog Reference 1411

Scale Velocity dialog
 Search for Missing Audio dialog
Open the Search for Missing Audio dialog by clicking the Search button in
the Find Missing Audio dialog.
The Search for Missing Audio dialog searches your entire computer for a
file that has the same name as the missing file in your project. If the file is
found, select it and click OK. If multiple copies of the same file name are
found, you may select only one. If no files are found, manually search your
Recycle Bin. If you find the missing file in the Recycle Bin, right-click on it
and select Restore to return the file to your project’s audio data directory.

Select By Time dialog

The Edit-Select-By Time command opens the Select by Time dialog box.
Choose the starting and ending times for the time selection you want to
make by entering numbers into the following fields:
• From—Enter the number of the measure, beat, and tick of the location
where you want the selection to start.
: You can enter a whole number with no punctuation if your selection
boundary is the beginning of a measure. You can separate measure, beat,
and tick numbers with spaces, periods, or colons.

• Thru—Enter the number of the measure, beat, and tick of the location
where you want the selection to end.
The From and Thru times you select appear in the Select toolbar in the
From and Thru fields. If you select a whole measure, the Thru time is the
start of the next measure, which actually makes it a “to” time and not a
“through” time.
For more information, see:
To Select Partial Clips Using Time Ranges and Tracks

Select Fretboard Track dialog

Open the Pick Fretboard Track dialog box by right-clicking in the Fretboard
pane and selecting Select Track from the Fretboard Popup menu.
From the Pick Fretboard Track dialog box you select the track you want to
see displayed in the fretboard pane if multiple tracks are displayed in the
Staff pane.

1412 Dialog Reference

Search for Missing Audio dialog
 To select a track, click the track in the Pick Fretboard Track dialog and click
OK.
See Also:
The Fretboard

Set Timecode at Now Time

The Transport-Set Timecode at Now command opens the Set Timecode
at Now Time dialog box, which allows you to move the SMPTE time
00:00:00:00 to the current Now time. If you enter a value in the dialog, the
SMPTE value that you enter is set to the current Now time.

Slide dialog
The Process-Slide command opens the Slide dialog box, which allows you
to move track data forward or backward in the track.
The Slide dialog box has the following fields;
Slide
Choose what kinds of track data you want to move:
• Events in Tracks—Events include notes and controller data but not
markers.

• Markers—If you select any locked markers, SONAR asks whether you
want to slide them too.

By
Enter a number in the By field to control how many units (see below) your
selected data moves. Negative numbers move the data to earlier positions
in the track, but data can not move earlier than beat 1 of the first measure.
Choose from the following units:
• Measures—If you choose Measures, the selected data moves by a
number of whole measures.

• Ticks—If you choose Ticks, the selected data moves by a number of

ticks, which are portions of a beat.

• Seconds—If you choose Seconds, the selected data moves by a number

of whole seconds.

• Frames—If you choose Frames, the selected data moves by a number of

frames, which are the smallest units of SMPTE time.

Dialog Reference 1413

Set Timecode at Now Time
 See also:
Shifting Events in Time

Snap Scale Settings dialog

The Snap Scale Settings dialog appears when you use the Tracks-Snap to
Scale-Scales-Snap Settings command. Use this dialog to choose how
you want SONAR to handle non-scale notes in the Piano Roll view when
Snap to Scale is enabled.
The dialog has the following fields:
• Adjust to Next, Higher Note—if 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 Note—if 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 Note—if 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.

Snap to Grid dialog

To open the Snap to Grid dialog box, click the dropdown arrow that is just to
the right of the Snap To Grid button.
This dialog box lets you specify the resolution(s) of the snap to grid feature
that you want events to “snap to.”
The resolution(s) determines how precisely event selections, movements,
and changes to the Now Time can be. For example, when the Snap to Grid
resolution is set to Musical Time with a duration of Whole, a mouse click in
the Time Ruler automatically “snaps” the Now Time to the nearest whole
measure.
The following actions can be affected by the Snap to Grid dialog:
• Selecting the Now Time
• Making a time selection in the Time Ruler
• Dragging and dropping a clip
• Selecting partial clips

1414 Dialog Reference

Snap Scale Settings dialog
• Slip-editing
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 view, or
Staff view. You can also enable the grid in several different views, with
different grid intervals in each one. In the Track view, the Snap to Grid
dialog has separate tabs for the Clips pane and the Inline Piano Roll view.
You can select multiple resolution units. For example, you can enable the
Musical Time check box and select a unit of musical time, and at the same
time enable the Absolute Time check box, and select a unit of absolute
time. When you have multiple check boxes enabled, events snap to the first
resolution unit that they find.
In the Track view, this dialog is non-modal, meaning that you can keep it
open while you edit.
Clips Tab or PRV Mode Tab
These two tabs only appear if you open the Snap to Grid dialog in the Track
view. Use the appropriate tab to set Snap to Grid options for either the Clips
pane or the Inline Piano Roll view, respectively. The two tabs are
independent of each other.
Musical Time
The Musical Time option sets the Snap to Grid dialog to a note duration. If
the Mode is set to Move To, all commands that use the Snap to Grid
resolution snap to the nearest selected duration.
In addition to choosing a standard note duration for the snap interval, you
can also enter a number of clock ticks. For example, at the default timebase
of 960 ticks per quarter note, a sixteenth note snap interval represents 240
ticks. If you change the timebase, the grid interval is updated automatically.
In the preceding example, if you update the timebase to 480 PPQ, the snap
interval becomes 120.
If the Mode is set to Move By, you move all events in time by the selected
duration.
This option also applies to the Now Time and time selections in the Time
Ruler.
Absolute Time
The Absolute Time option sets the Snap to Grid to an exact number of
frames, seconds or samples. Use the second field to choose the units, and
the first field to choose the number of units.

Dialog Reference 1415

Snap to Grid dialog
 Landmarks
In this section, you can choose the following kinds of data to snap to:
• Events—an event is any MIDI or audio data.

• Clips—this option sets the Snap to Grid to clip boundaries.

• Markers

• Audio Transients

This option also applies to the Now Time and time selections in the Time
Ruler.
Snap to Audio Zero Crossings
This option automatically snaps edited audio clips to the nearest zero
crossing of the waveform, the point at which there is no volume, to minimize
the glitches that can happen when waveforms are spliced together.
Mode:
The two modes apply to the Musical Time and Absolute Time options.
The following is a description of the two Snap to Grid modes:
• Move To—snaps data to the nearest resolution unit.
• Move By—moves data by a unit of resolution.
Magnetic Strength
Use these buttons to choose the strength of Magnetic snap. Magnetic snap
means that when you're dragging the boundary of an object, you can move
the boundary freely until the boundary gets within a certain number of ticks
from the snap target. The closer the object gets to the snap target, the more
strongly the object is pulled to the target. Note that if you are zoomed out a
certain amount, the time boundary around the snap target will appear to be
quite small, and you might think that the Snap Grid is not functioning. If this
is the case, zoom in closer to enhance your editing experience. If you're
dragging a whole clip, magnetic snap is not in effect.
Defining and Using the Snap Grid

SONAR Quick Start dialog

The SONAR Quick Start dialog box appears when you launch SONAR
(unless you disable this option, see below). It allows you to open any of a
long list of templates, and open recent projects and introductory help topics.
You can open this dialog box whenever you want by using the Help-Quick
Start command.

1416 Dialog Reference

SONAR Quick Start dialog
 The SONAR Quick Start dialog box has the following fields:
Open a Project button
Clicking this button is the same as using the File-Open command. The
Open dialog box appears, displaying the contents of your SONAR project
folder. Select the project you want to open, and click OK.
Open a Recent Project button and dropdown menu
Click the arrow at the end of the dropdown menu to display a list of projects
you opened recently. Choose the one you want to open, and click the
button (it has a folder icon on it) to open it.
Create a New Project button
Clicking this button opens the New Project File dialog box, which displays a
list of templates for new projects. Select the one you want to open, and click
OK.
Getting Started button
Clicking this button opens the Getting Started help topic, which contains
links that open tutorials and introductory help topics.
Show this at Startup checkbox
If you uncheck this checkbox, the SONAR Quick Start dialog box appears
only when you use the Help-Quick Start command.
For more information, see:
Creating a New Project File

Sort Tracks dialog

The Tracks-Sort command opens the Sort Tracks dialog box. This
command lets you arrange tracks in order according to any of several
criteria. You can sort in ascending or descending order.
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 (see below).
• Insert new, blank tracks between existing tracks (see below).
• Use the Tracks-Sort command to rearrange the tracks in order based
on the track name, status, or other setting.
The Sort Tracks dialog box has the following fields:

Dialog Reference 1417

Sort Tracks dialog
 Sort by
This field lets you choose what characteristic of the tracks you want to use
to sort them by. Choose from these options:
• Name—Choosing this option causes SONAR to sort the tracks in
alphabetical order, either A to Z, or Z to A, depending on whether you
choose Ascending or Descending in the Order field.
• Muted—Choosing this option causes SONAR to put the muted tracks
either first or last, depending on whether you choose Ascending or
Descending in the Order field.
• Archived—Choosing this option causes SONAR to put the archived
tracks either first or last, depending on whether you choose Ascending
or Descending in the Order field.
• Selected—Choosing this option causes SONAR to put the selected
tracks either first or last, depending on whether you choose Ascending
or Descending in the Order field.
• Size—Choosing this option causes SONAR to put the biggest tracks
(tracks that contain the most events) either first or last, depending on
whether you choose Ascending or Descending in the Order field.
• Output—Choosing this option causes SONAR sort the tracks by output.
• Channel—Choosing this option causes SONAR to sort the tracks by
their MIDI channels, in either Ascending or Descending order.
Order
This field determines whether SONAR sorts the tracks by putting the tracks
with higher numbered characteristics at the top or bottom of the Track
window.

See:
To Sort the Tracks
See also:
To Drag a Track to a New Position
To Insert a Single Track

SoundFont Banks dialog

The Options-SoundFonts command opens the SoundFont Banks dialog
box, which you use to load banks of SoundFonts patches into a SONAR

1418 Dialog Reference

SoundFont Banks dialog
project. SoundFonts are banks of sounds produced by Creative Labs that
you can load into SONAR or other SoundFont-compatible sequencers, and
control by using MIDI program change commands. To use SoundFonts in
SONAR, you must have three things:
1. A Creative Labs SoundFont-compatible soundcard installed, such as
the AWE 32 or 64, or SB Live
2. The SoundFont Manager software and sounds
3. Your SoundFont-compatible soundcard chosen as an Output in
SONAR’s MIDI Devices dialog box (Options-MIDI Devices)
OR
• You can use SoundFonts without a SoundFont-compatible soundcard if
you install the LiveSynth Pro software synthesizer that comes with
SONAR.
When SONAR opens a .CWP or .MID file, it looks in the same folder for a
.SF2 file with the same base name (the base name is the same as the
project name. but without the extension on the end). If one exists, SONAR
loads that .SF2 file into the project, and the sounds in that .SF2 file become
available in that project as MIDI patches. Saving the project as a .CWP file
(but not as a .MID file) also saves the attachments you make between the
project and .SF2 files.
You can also manually attach a .SF2 file to a project by clicking the Attach
button in the SoundFont Banks dialog box, and browsing to the .SF2 file
you want to attach to the project. Manual attachment overrides base name
attachment.
Note that bank 0 is reserved for the Standard GM bank and cannot be
assigned.
The SoundFonts Banks dialog box has these fields
Banks window
This window lists all the SoundFont banks that are currently loaded into this
project.
Attach button
Clicking this button opens the Soundfont File dialog box. Use this dialog box
to browse to a .SF2 file that you want to attach to this project.
Warning: After you attach a .SF2 file to a project, do not move that file
without detaching it from the project first.

Dialog Reference 1419

SoundFont Banks dialog
 Detach button
Use this button to detach a highlighted .SF2 file from a project.
Locations button
Use this button to tell SONAR where to look for a base name .SF2 file, if
there isn’t one in the project folder. This dialog box lets you type in one or
more directories (multiple directories separated by semicolons).

SoundFont Locations
Enter a pathname or pathnames (separated by semicolons) in SoundFont
Locations dialog.

Split Clips dialog

When you right-click one or more selected clips and choose Split from the
popup menu, the Split Clips dialog box appears. Use this command to split
one or more clips into smaller clips.
The Split Clips dialog box has the following fields:
Split At Time
Choosing this option splits the clip(s) at the location you fill in. By default,
this filed lists the Now time, but you can choose any time you want.
Time Format

Split At Selection
Choosing this option splits the clip(s) at the boundaries of the selected
area. If you’re splitting a MIDI clip, the split will not split any notes, so the
split may not happen exactly where your selection boundary is.
Split Repeatedly/Starting at Measure/And Again Every
“N” Measures
Choosing this option creates split boundaries in the selected clip(s) starting
at the location you choose in the Starting at Measure field, and again at
every interval of measures that you choose in the And Again Every “N”
Measures field.
Split at Each Marker Time
Choosing this option creates split boundaries in the selected clip(s) at each
marker time.

1420 Dialog Reference

SoundFont Locations
 Split When Silent For At Least “N” Measures
Choosing this option separates the selected clip(s) and removes empty
space whenever the clips contain empty space that lasts a certain number
of measures, the number of which you specify in the “N” field.
Use Nondestructive Cropping When Splitting MIDI Clips
If you check this option, SONAR hides any MIDI data (such as note
durations) that overlap the clip boundary, without deleting any data. If you
slip edit the new clip to expand the original boundary, SONAR uncovers the
original data. If you don’t check this option, SONAR deletes overlapping
data when you split clips.
Note that the Undo and Redo commands work with all of these editing
commands.
See also:
Splitting and Combining Clips
For step by step instructions:
To Split Clips into Smaller Clips
To Combine Clips

Staff View Layout dialog

The Staff View Layout dialog box appears when you click the Staff View
Layout button in the Staff view toolbar or choose Layout from either the
Staff pane or Fretboard right-click menus.
Use these fields in the Staff View Layout dialog box to control staff layout
options:
Track
This field lists the tracks that the Staff view currently displays. Highlight the
name of the track that you want to set display options for.
Display
The Display fields in the Staff View dialog box enable you to choose a
variety of display options for the Staff view:
• Whether you want rests to be beamed together with the notes that
occur on the same beat (Beam Rests checkbox)
• Whether the staff view will display sustain pedal events (Show Pedal
Events checkbox)
• Whether you want chord grids displayed above chord symbols (Show

Dialog Reference 1421

Staff View Layout dialog
 Chord Grids checkbox)
• What fonts you want for any text, track names, or numbers in the Staff
view (Set Font popup menu)
Staff properties (clef, split point)
In the Staff properties section of the Staff View Layout dialog box, you can
select the type of clef you want to display in the Staff view. If you select
Treble/Bass the Split option becomes active, allowing you to set the
boundary note between the treble and bass clefs
Tablature settings
The Staff View Layout dialog box creates 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 TAB 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.

See also:
Staff View Layout dialog
The Staff View
Basic Musical Editing
Chords and Marks
Tablature Settings

Staff View Print Configure dialog

When you use the File-Print Preview command, the Print Preview window
appears. In the Print Preview window is the Configure button. Click the
Configure button to open the Staff View Print Configure dialog box, which
has the Rastral Size field that you control rastral size with.
Rastral size is the vertical distance between the lines of each staff. Each
rastral size has a number and is used by publishers for a specific genre of
musical composition
To change the rastral size, pick a new rastral size from the drop-down
menu and click OK.

1422 Dialog Reference

Staff View Print Configure dialog
 For more information, see:
Printing

Step Record dialog

The Transport-Step Record command opens the Step Record dialog box.
Step recording lets you specify step size and note duration so you can
record difficult passages a step at a time. Step Record always uses the
Sound on Sound (blend) record mode, regardless of the current record
mode.
The Step Record dialog has an extra set of controls called Advanced mode
that only appear when you click the Adv. button. The Step Record dialog
has the following fields:
Step Size
• Click a note head to choose a step size for the next note or rest you
want to enter.
• Click the dotted or double-dotted buttons to add a dot or double-dot to
any step size.
• Click N to create a custom step size.
• Click the Tuplet check box, and enter values in the two adjacent
number fields to create a tuplet step size
Duration
The duration value controls how much of a note’s step size the note actually
lasts.
• Click Follow Step Size to keep the duration values the same as the step
size.
• If you don’t check Follow Step Size, fill in a value in the % of note value
field to set duration.
• If you don’t check Follow Step Size, you can randomize the duration by
the value you enter in the Randomize By field (Advanced mode only).
Destination Track
Choose the track that you want to add the note data to.
Note Properties (Advanced Mode Only)
If you don’t check the Use Input check box for a particular note property,
you can specify any or all of a note’s pitch, velocity, and channel
characteristics.

Dialog Reference 1423

Step Record dialog
 Navigation
• Auto Advance—if this option is checked, the insertion point moves
ahead automatically when you release a note.
• Link to Now Time (Advanced mode only)—if this option is checked, the
insertion point duplicates the Now Time.
• Delete on Back Step—if this option is checked, a note or notes are
deleted when you click the Step Backward button.
• Offset (Advanced mode only)—you can enter a value in this field to
enter notes at a constant distance away from the insertion point. You
can enter a positive (after the insertion point) or negative value (before
the insertion point).
Insertion Point Field
This field lists the current insertion point in MBT format.
Scroll Bar
The scroll bar provides a visual representation of the insertion point’s
location. Drag the scroll bar to move the insertion point forward or
backward.
Step/Beat/Measure Back/Forward Buttons
Click these buttons to move the insertion point one step, beat, or measure
respectively back or forward. The Beat and Measure buttons appear in
Advanced mode only.
Adv./Basic Button
Click the Adv. button to display the advanced options. Click the Basic
button to display only the basic options.
Activate Step Record
Click this button to turn step recording on or off.
Pattern
See Step Pattern Recording.
See Also:
To Use Basic Step Recording
Step Recording

1424 Dialog Reference

Step Record dialog
Step Size dialog
When you use the Transport-Step Record command, the Step Record
dialog box appears, which contains two Other buttons. Clicking the one on
the Step Size side of the dialog box opens the Step Size dialog box. In the
Step Size field, enter the size of the note you want to enter in ticks.

See also:
Step Recording

SurroundBridge Plug-in Linker

The SoundBridge Plugin Linker allows you to use stereo plugins in a
surround bus that has more than two channels. The Plugin Linker creates
multiple instances of the plugin.
Unlink Controls
You can unlink a parameter in an instance of a plugin by clicking the Unlink
Controls button so that it turns red, making some adjustments to the
parameters that you want to unlink, and then clicking the Unlink Controls
button again so that it’s not red.
Presets
Existing plugin presets are available in the SoundBridge Plugin Linker.
When you select a stereo preset, the settings apply to each instance of the
plugin. If you save a surround preset, it saves the settings in each instance
as well as the channel configuration. Surround presets are only compatible
with the current configuration.
Plug-in Instance Configuration
The Plug-in Instance Configuration has the following elements:
Plug-in #—The plug-in number (tabs from left to right).
Left Output—The surround output for the left channel of the plug-in
instance. If there is only one output for an instance, the Center channel for
example, it appears in the Left output column.
Right Output—The surround output for the right channel of the plug-in
instance.
Controls Linked to Group—Use this group to unlink an entire instance by
unchecking this option for that instance.

Dialog Reference 1425

Step Size dialog
 Enable—Acts as a bypass for that instance.
Unlinked Parameters
This field lists all the parameters that are unlinked.
For more information about the SoundBridge Plugin Linker, see The
SurroundBridge.

Sysx Bank Name

This dialog box lets you specify the name of the bank you want.

Tablature Settings dialog

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.
Use the following fields in the Tablature Settings dialog box to configure
TAB for a selected track:
Preset
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.
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.
Tablature
The Tablature tab has these fields:
• Method—choose a tablature method from the Method dropdown list.
There are three methods to determine how the TAB is displayed:

Finger span Lowest fret

1426 Dialog Reference

Sysx Bank Name
 1st Channel

selecting 2, 2 - 7, and so on. Checking the Skip Channel 10 (G50)

• String Tuning—choose the instrument from the dropdown list and

number of strings from the Number of Strings field.

Customize any of the open string pitches by using the “+“ or “-“ buttons
on the string number fields.
Fretboard
The Fretboard tab has these fields:
• Texture—choose a texture from the dropdown list.
• Orientation—If you want to reverse the standard string orientation, click
Low String on Top (Mirror).
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 TAB
command.

See Also:
The Fretboard
Quick TAB
Staff Pane Layout
The Staff View

Dialog Reference 1427

Tablature Settings dialog
 Basic Musical Editing
Chords and Marks
Tablature

Tempo dialog
The Insert-Tempo Change command opens the Tempo dialog box. In the
Tempo dialog box you can set a new tempo at a specified point.
Use the following fields to insert a tempo change:
Tempo—Type a new tempo or use the Click here to tap tempo button to
tap out a tempo. The Tempo field changes as the tapped tempo varies.
Change the Most Recent Tempo—Applies the tempo changes in the
Tempo field to the most recent tempo.
Insert a New Tempo Starting at Time—This option applies the tempo
from the Tempo field to a specific starting time

See also:
Using the Tempo Commands
Changing Tempos

Tip of the Day dialog

The Tip of the Day dialog box appears when you launch SONAR, unless
you disable this option (see below). This dialog box displays a different tip
for getting the most out of SONAR each time you launch SONAR.
The Tip of the Day dialog box has the following fields;
Tip window
The tip window displays the tip of the day; each time you open SONAR, the
tip window displays a different tip.
Next Tip button
Click this button (or press Enter if the button is highlighted) as many times
as you like to display the next tip.
Show Tips on Startup
If you uncheck this checkbox, the Tip of the Day dialog box appears only
when you use the Help-Tip of the Day command.

1428 Dialog Reference

Tempo dialog
Toolbars dialog
The Views-Toolbars command lets you select which toolbars are displayed
and also the style of display for the toolbars.
To display a toolbar, click the checkbox next to its name.
If a toolbar ends up completely off the screen, you can move it back to the
screen by enabling the Allow Wrap checkbox, and then clicking the Restore
Down button in the application’s upper right corner.

Track Bank dialog

The Tracks-Property-Bank command opens the Track Bank dialog box,
which allows you to choose a bank of MIDI patches for the highlighted track.
The Track Bank dialog box has only the following field:
Bank
Fill in the number of the bank that you want SONAR to assign to the
highlighted track.

See also:
Choosing the Instrument Sound (Bank and Patch)

Track Channel dialog

The Tracks-Property-Channel command opens the Track Channel dialog
box. This command lets you specify a MIDI channel for the highlighted
track. The Track Channel dialog box has only the following field:
Channel
Fill in the number of the MIDI channel you want the highlighted track to play
back on.

See also:
Assigning a MIDI Channel (Chn)

Dialog Reference 1429

Toolbars dialog
 Track Inputs dialog
The Tracks-Property-Inputs command opens the Track Inputs dialog box.
This command lets you specify inputs for all of your project’s tracks for
recording and MIDI echoing purposes. Use these fields in the dialog box to
choose inputs for your tracks:
Track Column
Use the Track column to choose which track or tracks you want to choose
an input for. Click the name of a track to select it or Control-click to select
several at once. The Input control lists the currently assigned inputs for
each track.
Source Column
This column lists the currently selected input sources for each track. You
can change inputs by selecting one or more tracks (don’t mix audio and
MIDI tracks), and clicking either the Audio Inputs menu or the MIDI Inputs
button to select inputs.
Audio Inputs Dropdown Menu
You can choose an input for one or more audio tracks by selecting them
from the Track column, and then selecting the input you want from the
Audio Inputs dropdown menu.
MIDI Inputs Button
You can choose an input for one or more MIDI tracks by selecting them
from the Track column, and then selecting the input you want by clicking the
MIDI Inputs button.
When you finish choosing inputs for all your tracks, click OK to close the
dialog box and change the inputs you specified.

See also:
Choosing an Input
Changing Track Settings

Track Key+ dialog

The Tracks-Property-Key+ command opens the Track Key+ dialog box,
which allows you to set the transposition value for the highlighted track. The
Track Key+ dialog box has only the following field:

1430 Dialog Reference

Track Inputs dialog
 Amount
Fill in the number of half-steps that you want SONAR to transpose the track.
Positive numbers transpose the track up; negative numbers do the
opposite.
See also:
Adjusting the Key/Transposing a Track (Key+)

Track Manager dialog

Clicking the Track Manager button or pressing m in the Track view or
Console view opens the Track Manager dialog box. Use this dialog box to
hide or display the various track modules and buses in the view that you
opened it from.
The Track Manager dialog box has the following fields and buttons:
• Display window—This window lists all the track and bus modules. A
checkmark next to a module means it is visible.
• Toggle buttons—These buttons select all of the type of module that is
listed on the button. You can check or uncheck all selected modules by
clicking one of the selected modules.

See also:
To Choose the Tracks that are Displayed Using the Track Manager

Track Name dialog

The Tracks-Property-Name command opens the Track Name dialog box,
which you use to give a highlighted track a name.
The Track Name dialog box has only the following field:
Name
Type the name that you want to give to the highlighted track, and click OK.

Track Outputs dialog

The Tracks-Property-Outputs command opens the Track Output dialog
box, which you use to assign a highlighted track to a MIDI or audio output.
The Track Output dialog box has only the following fields:

Dialog Reference 1431

Track Manager dialog
 MIDI Outputs
Choose the MIDI output that you want this track’s data to be sent to. The
MIDI Outputs field is grayed out if the selected track is an audio track.
Audio Outputs
Choose the audio output that you want this track’s data to be sent to. The
Audio Outputs field is grayed out if the selected track is a MIDI track.

See also:
Setting Up Output Devices

Track Pan dialog

The Tracks-Property-Pan command opens the Track Pan dialog box.
Use this command to set the pan for the highlighted track(s).
Note: Panning a stereo track away from the center has the effect of
progressively cutting the volume of events in the track whose initial pan
position is opposite of the direction the stereo track is being panned.
The Track Pan dialog box has only the following field:
Pan
Enter a number between 0 (hard left) and 127 (hard right).

See also:
Adjusting Volume and Pan

Track Patch dialog

The Tracks-Property-Patch command opens the Track Patch dialog box,
which allows you to choose a MIDI patch for the highlighted track. The
Track Patch dialog box has only the following field:
Patch
Fill in the number of the patch that you want SONAR to assign to the
highlighted track.

See also:

1432 Dialog Reference

Track Pan dialog
 Choosing the Instrument Sound (Bank and Patch)
To Choose Patches with the Patch Browser
Importing Instrument Definitions
Creating Instrument Definitions

Track Properties dialog

Right-clicking a track and choosing Track Properties from the popup menu
opens the Track Properties dialog box. The Track Properties dialog box has
the following fields:
Input
The Input for the track, used in recording
Output
This field lists the output device through which this track is played.
Channel (MIDI tracks only)
This field lists the MIDI channel through which the notes will be played.
Bank (MIDI tracks only)
This field lists the bank that the track’s patch belongs to.
Bank Select Method (MIDI tracks only)
This field lists what controller format the bank change method for this track
uses.
Patch (MIDI tracks only)
This field lists what patch this track uses.
Patch Browser button (MIDI tracks only)
This button opens the Patch Browser dialog dialog box.
Key +
This field lists the number of half-steps (up or down) that SONAR
transposes the track as it plays.
Time +
This field lists the number of ticks that the track’s playback timing is offset
from the other tracks.
Foreground Color
Click the Choose Color button in this section to change the color of the
audio or MIDI data that are represented in this track’s clips.

Dialog Reference 1433

Track Properties dialog
 Background Color
Click the Choose Color button in this section to change the background
color of this track’s clips.
Default Track Color
When this check box is enabled, the track uses default background and
foreground colors for this track’s clips. You can choose which set of default
colors the track uses by selecting a different option in the dropdown menu
next to the check box.
Description
This field provides a place that you can enter a text description of the track,
for future reference.
Instruments button
This button opens the Assign Instruments dialog dialog box.

See also:
Changing Track Settings
Choosing an Input

Track Template Import Options dialog

The Insert-Insert From Track Template-Import Filter command opens
the Track Template Import Options dialog, which allows you to choose what
track or bus properties you want to import in your template. The Track
Template Import Options dialog has the following fields:
Tracks
• Tracks—check this box if you want to import tracks.
• Track colors——check this box if you want to the color arrangement
that the imported tracks use.
• Track folders—check this box if you want to import track folders.

Buses
• Buses—check this box if you want to import buses.

1434 Dialog Reference

Track Template Import Options dialog
 General
• Mute, Solo, and Arm states; Effects; Sends; Synths—check this box if
you want to import these characteristics.

Track Time+ dialog

The Tracks-Property-Time+ command opens the Track Time+ dialog box,
which allows you to set the amount that SONAR advances or delays the
start time for all events in the highlighted track. The Track Time+ dialog box
has only the following field:
Amount
This field adjusts the start time for an event in two ways. If you click in the
field and adjust the value using the +/- buttons, the start time for the event is
adjusted by ticks. If you enter a start time using your keyboard, it adjusts the
start time by measures.

See also:
Adjusting the Time Alignment of a MIDI Track (Time+)

Track Vel+ dialog

The Tracks-Property-Vel+ command opens the Track Vel+ dialog box,
which allows you to set the amount that SONAR adjusts the velocity for all
events in the highlighted track. The Track Vel+ dialog box has only the
following field:
Amount
Fill in the number of velocity units that you want SONAR to add to or
subtract from all events in the highlighted track. Use numbers between -127
and 127.

See also:
Adjusting the Note Velocity (Vel+)

Dialog Reference 1435

Track Time+ dialog
 Track Volume dialog
The Tracks-Property-Volume command opens the Track Volume dialog
box. This command lets you specify the starting volume level for the track,
ranging from 0 (silent) to 127 (maximum volume).
The Volume setting controls the initial volume of a track during playback.
Every time you start playback, SONAR sets the volume to this initial level.
In some projects you want the volume of a track to change while playback
is in progress. You can accomplish this using the Track, Console, Piano
Roll, or Event views.
Note: Not all keyboards and synthesizers respond to volume change
messages. Check the manual that came with your keyboard or synthesizer
for more information.

See Also:
Adjusting Volume and Pan

Transpose dialog
The Process-Transpose command opens the Transpose dialog box,
which allows you to transpose the pitches of MIDI and audio clips up or
down by a fixed number of half-steps. It does so by changing the MIDI key
numbers of note events and by pitch-shifting audio clips. Simply enter the
number of half-steps in the Amount field of the Transpose dialog box--a
negative number to transpose down, a positive number to transpose up.
See To Transpose Selected Events.
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 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.
The Transpose dialog box contains the following fields:

1436 Dialog Reference

Track Volume dialog
 Amount
The number in this field tells SONAR how many half-steps, up or down
(depending on whether you enter a positive or negative number), to
transpose the selected data, unless you check the Diatonic Math checkbox
(see below). If you check Diatonic Math, the number in this field tells
SONAR how many scale steps to transpose the selected data.
Diatonic Math
If you check this checkbox. SONAR transposes the selected data up or
down, but only within the current key signature.
Transpose Audio
If you check this checkbox. SONAR transposes any selected audio data up
or down, but only by half-steps, not diatonically.
• Type—choose the type of audio data you’re transposing (this is a
SONAR Producer feature only).
• Formant scaling— (this is a SONAR Producer feature only) possible
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.

See also:
To Transpose Selected Events

Undo History dialog

The Edit-History command opens the Undo History dialog box, which
displays a history of your editing actions (the command is greyed-out if you
made no edits). You can set how many editing actions you want the Undo
History dialog box to store by changing the number in the Maximum Undo
Steps field. The default value is 128.
Use the Undo History dialog box to jump to a previous time in the history of
the project. Then you can continue from that point, causing all the edits you
did after that action to disappear.
The Undo History dialog box has the following fields:

Dialog Reference 1437

Undo History dialog
 History list
The History list displays a list of all the editing actions you did to this project,
up to the number of actions in the Maximum Undo Steps field.
To revert to an earlier version of a project, highlight the entry in the History
list that represents the point to which you'd like to return, and click OK.
SONAR performs the necessary undo or redo actions to take you to that
point. Once you make any new edits, SONAR clears the History list of all
the edits you made after the edit you jumped back to. Then, as you do
further work, the History list grows again. Any edits that happened after the
edit you jumped back to remain on the list.
Clear button
You can click the Clear button in the 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.
Maximum Undo Levels
This field lists the number of previous edits that SONAR stores. The default
value is 128. You can enter a smaller number to reduce the memory
required.

See also:
Undo, Redo, and the Undo History

Unlink Clips dialog

When you right-click a selected group of two or more linked clips and
choose Unlink from the popup menu, the Unlink Clips dialog box appears.
This command lets you specify when unlinking selected linked clips
whether to form a new, different linked group or to make the clips
completely independent.

See also:
Splitting and Combining Clips
Moving and Copying Clips

1438 Dialog Reference

Unlink Clips dialog
Unpack Bundle dialog
The Unpack Bundle dialog allows you specify the folder where you want to
store the unpacked project and the folder where you want to store the
project’s audio data. This dialog only appears if you have the Use per-
project audio folders option selected in the Global Options dialog.
Project Name
Enter a file name for your project. The default name is the same as the
bundle filename but with the .CWP extension.
Location
Select a folder in which your project file is saved.
Audio Path
Select a folder in which your project’s audio data is stored.
Store Project Audio in its own Folder
Check this option to use per-project audio. If you uncheck this option, the
project audio is stored in the default audio data folder.
Create One File per Clip
Check this option to create a separate wave file for each clip in your project.
If you uncheck this option, all audio is stored in two wave files, a mono file
with all the project’s mono audio, and a stereo file with all the projects
stereo audio.

Unpack OMF dialog

The Unpack OMF dialog appears when you open an OMF file.
Note: when you import an OMF that uses embedded media, SONAR can
determine the bit depth and sample rate of the embedded media, and it will
set those fields as the default values for OMF import. If the OMF is using
externally linked media, SONAR will not be able to determine the sample
rate of the media and will default to a 44,100 sample rate. In this case it is
desirable to know the sample rate of the original material so the import OMF
settings can be set to avoid resampling the media, if resampling is not
desired.
Select from the following unpack options:
Sample Rate
This field displays the sample rate that the imported audio uses if you’re
using embedded media; if you’re using externally linked media, this field

Dialog Reference 1439

Unpack Bundle dialog
 defaults to 44,100. You can change the sample rate by choosing one of the
sample rates listed in the dropdown menu.
Bit Depth
This field displays the bit depth that the imported audio uses if you’re using
embedded media; if you’re using externally linked media, this field defaults
to the Original menu option in the dropdown menu, which leaves the bit
depth of the imported audio in its original depth. You can change the bit
depth during import by choosing one of the listed options.
Initial Tempo
Set the initial tempo of the file.
Store Project Audio in its own Folder
If you want to use a unique folder for this project’s audio data, check this
option and fill out the Project Name, Location and Audio Path fields. If you
deselect this option, the project is saved with the same file name to the
default directory using the default audio directory. The file’s new extension
is .CWP.
Project Name
The Project filename. This field is only active if you have checked the Store
Project Audio in its own Folder option. This field is only active if you have
checked the Store Project Audio in its own Folder option.
Location
The directory where you want to save the project. This field is only active if
you have checked the Store Project Audio in its own Folder option.
Audio Path
The audio directory where you want to store the audio for the project. This
field is only active if you have checked the Store Project Audio in its own
Folder option.

Unreadable Files dialog

This dialog may appear when using the Clean Audio Folder command. This
dialog lists any files on your system which have a Cakewalk file extension
(.CWP, .CWT, .WRK, and .TPL), but cannot be read by SONAR. These files
may be corrupt or they may not be SONAR files at all, if for instance you
have another application on your system which saves files with the same
extension.

1440 Dialog Reference

Unreadable Files dialog
 Important: If any of your projects appears in this dialog, do not
proceed to delete any audio in the Clean Audio Folder dialog without
first restoring these projects from a backup source such as a Bundle
file (.cwb). If SONAR cannot read a project file, any audio associated
with it will be listed in the Clean Audio Folder dialog.

Video Export dialog

SONAR can combine an inserted video file with the audio tracks you record
in a project to form a new AVI, Windows Media Video, or QuickTime file.
You can also save to an external FireWire device. Choosing the File-
Export-Video command opens the Video Export dialog box, which offers
the following options:
• Save in—choose the folder you want to store your new video file in.
• File name—fill in a name for your new file.
• Save As Type—choose Video for Windows (AVI), Windows Media
Video, or QuickTime. If you have an external FireWire device
connected, you can choose AVC Compliant Device, or whatever your
device is named. See Exporting a Project to a FireWire DV Device for
more information.
• Video Export Settings:

Video Properties dialog

Right-clicking a video in the Video view and choosing Video Properties
from the popup menu opens the Video Properties dialog box. This dialog
box has three tabs—the Video Settings tab, the Info tab, and the Render
Quality tab.
Video Settings tab
The Video Settings tab lets you set playback time options, and has the
following fields:

Dialog Reference 1441

Video Export dialog
 • Clip—This field lists the name of the currently-loaded video file.
• Start Time—If you don’t want the video to start playing until some later
time in the audio project, fill in the time that you do want the video to
start. For example, if you want the beginning of your video to start
playing at measure 3 of your audio project, enter 3 in the Start Time
field.
• Trim-in Time—If you don’t want your video to start playing right at the
beginning of the video file, enter the time in the video file (in SMPTE
format) where you want the video to start playing. For example, if your
video has 10 seconds of blank video at the front of the file, you can
enter 00:00:10:00 into the Trim-in Time field, and SONAR skips the first
10 seconds of the video file and starts playing your video file at the 10
second mark in the video.
• Trim-out Time—If you have blank or unwanted video at the end of your
video file, enter the time (in SMPTE format) where you want to stop
playing the video.
Info tab
The Info tab displays various attributes of the inserted video, and also
contains the More button, which displays a more extensive set of attributes.
Render Quality tab
The Render Quality tab lets you control how your video looks in SONAR. It
doesn’t affect the video that you eventually export, although you can
experiment with different settings to get an idea of how your video looks at
different sizes and with different frame rates.
The Render Quality tab has the following controls:
• Preview checkbox—check this checkbox to cause the video in SONAR
to display at a slightly lower quality: “preview” quality. This can cause
slightly smoother playback.
• Frame Rate (FPS)—use this field to change the frame rate. Lower
frame rates free some of your computer’s resources for playing back
music and other tasks.
• Video Size, X and Y—the X field sets the video’s width, in pixels; the Y
field sets height.
• Restore Defaults—click this button to set the three previous fields
(including Preview) back to their default values.

See also:

1442 Dialog Reference

Video Properties dialog
 Video Playback, Import, and Export

Widget Tab Manager

The Widget Tab Manager dialog appears when you right-click a tab in the
Track view, and choose Widget Tab Manager from the popup menu.
Use the following fields to control which track or bus controls appear when
you click a tab at the bottom of the Track pane:
Tab Name
Use this field to choose the tab that you want to configure, for all kinds of
track and bus strips. You can also create a new tab by choosing the <new>
option in the dropdown menu, and typing a name for the new tab.
Audio Strip
In this column, check off each control that you want to see on the tab that
you chose in the Tab Name field for all audio tracks.
MIDI Strip
In this column, check off each control that you want to see on the tab that
you chose in the Tab Name field for all MIDI tracks.
Bus Strip
In this column, check off each control that you want to see on the tab that
you chose in the Tab Name field for all buses.
Surround Bus Strip
In this column, check off each control that you want to see on the tab that
you chose in the Tab Name field for all surround buses.
Delete
Click this button to delete the tab that you chose in the Tab Name field.
New
Click this button to create a new tab with all checkboxes enabled. You can
name the new tab in the Tab Name field.
Restore Tab Defaults
Click this button to restore all tabs to factory defaults. This will delete any
new tabs you have created.
Select All Widgets
Click this button to select all the checkboxes in the Strip columns.

Dialog Reference 1443

Widget Tab Manager
 Window Layouts dialog
SONAR stores the layout of all of a project’s views in the project file when
you save the project. By default, SONAR restores the layout of all the views
when you open the file.
In addition, you can save the current layout in a separate list--the 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.
The Views-Layouts command opens the Window Layouts dialog box. Use
the following fields to control your layouts:
Global window
This large window lists all your saved layouts.
Close Old Windows Before Loading New Ones
If you check this option, SONAR closes all the views of the current project
before applying the layout. If you leave this option unchecked, existing
views remain open, and additional views appear according to the settings in
the layout.
Per-Song-File—When Opening a File, Load its Layout
In addition to global layouts, SONAR stores each project’s layout. If you
check the When Opening a File, Load its Layout option, SONAR arranges
the project’s views according to the stored layout when the project file
opens. If you don’t check this option, only the Track view (and File Info
view, if applicable) appear when the project file opens.
Load button
Click this button to apply whatever layout is highlighted in the Global
window to the current project.
Add button
Click this button to name and save the current layout.
Delete button
Click this button to delete whatever layout is highlighted in the Global
window.
Rename button
Click this button to rename whatever layout is highlighted in the Global
window.

1444 Dialog Reference

Window Layouts dialog
Windows Media Format Encode Options
dialog
You can create settings and a description for your Windows Media
Advanced Streaming Format file in the Microsoft Audio Encode Options
dialog box.
Note: To create a surround encoded file you must export surround encoded
buses.
Title:
Enter the title of the file.
Author:
Enter the name of the author responsible for creating the file.
Rating:
This field only relates to exporting video, which you can’t do from this dialog
box.
Copyright:
Enter any copyright information for the file.
Description:
Enter a note about the file.
Variable Bit Rate
VBR encoding makes the quality of the encoded audio more consistent, but
can make the resulting file size less predictable.
Codec
Select a codec from the dropdown list.
Format
Select a format from the dropdown list. The higher the kbps setting, the
higher the quality of the file.
For more information, see:
Routing and Mixing Digital Audio

Dialog Reference 1445

Windows Media Format Encode Options dialog
 WMV Encoder Options dialog
Clicking the Encoding Options button in the Video Export dialog after you’ve
selected Windows Media Video in the Save As Type field opens the WMV
Encoder Options dialog.
This dialog has the following fields:
• Profile—this field has a list of common WMV video file formats.
Selecting a profile tells the WMV encoder what quality of file to
produce.
• Profile info—this field briefly explains the kind of video and audio file
that the profile you selected will produce.
• Title/Author/Rating/Copyright/Description—filling in these fields will fill
in the information your file will generate when you open the file’s
Properties dialog from Windows Media Player.
• Multipass—if you’re creating a Variable Bit Rate (VBS) video, the file
quality will improve some if you tell the encoder to go through your
source material twice (make two passes at it).

1446 Dialog Reference

WMV Encoder Options dialog
View Reference
Track View
Console View
Loop Construction view
Loop Explorer View
Piano Roll View
Step Sequencer View
Event List View
Staff View
Big Time View
Lyrics view
Video View
Tempo View
Meter/Key View
Markers View
SYSX View
Synth Rack View
Navigator View
Play List View

Track View
The Track view is always visible. It is the main window that you use to create, display,
and work with a project. When you open a project file, the Track view is displayed for the
project. Closing the Track view closes the project.
 The Track view is divided into several sections: toolbars (at the top), the
Navigator pane, the Video Thumbnails pane, the Track pane, the Clips
pane, and the Bus pane. You can change the size of the panes by
dragging the vertical or horizontal splitter bars that separate the them.

A B

I
C

F E D

A. The Track Pane B. The Clips Pane C. Clips D. Splitter bars E. Show/hide bus
pane F. Track/Bus Inspector G. Minimized tracks H. Expanded track I. The Video
Thumbnails Pane

You can automate most of the controls in the Track view by recording fader
movements, drawing envelopes, and creating snapshots.
In addition, all of the current track’s controls, plus a few that are only
available in the Console view, are contained in the Track Inspector, which
is an expanded version of the current track’s controls located on the far left
side of the Track view. You can hide or show the Track Inspector by
pressing i on your keyboard.
Track View Toolbar
The Track view toolbar gives you quick access to Track view display
options and allows you to move between the different editing modes. The

1448 View Reference

Track View
following table gives a description of each of the Track view toolbar
controls:

Control Name Description

Insert new track(s) Click this button to choose from a
or bus(es) variety of insertion options. You can
insert a single audio or MIDI track,
multiple tracks, a track folder, a track
template, or a single stereo or
surround (Producer Edition only)
bus.

Select tool Enables clip selection and editing,

including slip editing and editing
fades and crossfades. Click the
down arrow to display an options
menu for either selecting or not
selecting track envelopes when you
select clips.

Envelope tool Disables non-envelope-related

selections, making it easier to edit
envelopes in the Clips pane. Click
the down arrow on the right side of
the Envelope combo button to see
the display options menu for the
envelopes.

Envelope Draw tool Allows you to draw both freehand

and preset shapes on an existing
envelope.

Snap to Grid button Click to turn on/off the Snap to Grid

option. Click the down arrow to open
a menu of Snap to Grid options.

Automatic Click to turn on/off automatic

Crossfades button crossfades. Click the down arrow to
select crossfade options. For more
information about automatic
crossfades, see Fades and
Crossfades.

View Reference 1449

Track View
 Control Name Description
Show/Hide Meters Click to show or hide all meters in
button the Track view. Click the down arrow
to display a menu with options for
showing or hiding specific meter
types. Set options for the display of
each meter type in the appropriate
submenu. For more about these
options, see Changing the Meters’
Display.

Split tool Enables you to split a clip into

separate clips. You can click on a
clip once to create a single split, or
click and drag over a section of a
clip to create two splits. The Split
tool follows the current Snap to Grid
settings.

Mute tool Click the Mute tool to enable

individual clip muting and unmuting.
Set options for this tool by clicking
the small down arrow to the right of
the button. For more information,
see Clip Muting and Isolating (Clip
Soloing).

Zoom tool Use the Zoom tool to zoom in on a

clip or clips in the Tracks pane. With
the Zoom tool selected, drag around
the clip or clips you want to zoom in
on.

Scrub tool Enables scrubbing in the Clips pane.

For more information on scrubbing,
see Scrubbing.

Show/Hide Click this button to toggle on or off

Inspector the display of the Track/Bus
Inspector in the Track view. You can
also toggle the display of the Track/
Bus Inspector by pressing the key
on your keyboard.

1450 View Reference

Track View
Control Name Description
Show/Hide Click this button to show or hide the
Navigator Navigator pane in the Track view.
The keyboard shortcut for hiding or
showing the Navigator pane is d.

Show/Hide Video Click this button to toggle on or off

the display of the Video Thumbnails
track. The Video Thumbnails track
can displayed even if there is no
video in your project. You can also
show or hide the this track by
pressing on your keyboard.

By default, the Track view toolbar now includes buttons from the Inline
Piano Roll toolbar, and buttons for Zoom Tool menu commands:

Inline Piano Roll toolbar

Show/Hide
Notes
Draw tool Show/Hide Velocity Tails
Draw Auto Erase (on drum-mapped tracks)
tool menu

Select tool PRV Mode

Erase tool Show/Hide Fit Content

Controllers

Zoom tool menu buttons

Fit Project to Hide Tracks Not Hide Tracks

Window In Selection Restores View to Previous State

Fit Tracks to RestoreState of the View Prior to Undo

Window

Track Manager

You can hide or show any of the buttons in the Track view toolbar by right-
clicking the toolbar and choosing Customize from the popup menu.

View Reference 1451

Track View
 Track Pane
The Track pane lets you see and change the settings for each track.
Selected tracks always appear in a different color. The controls for an
individual track are grouped together to form that track’s track strip.
To change the current track, move the highlight using the mouse or the
keyboard as follows:

Key… What it does…

Arrow Up and Arrow Down. Moves the selection to the adjacent
track. If a control is selected, the
selection 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)

Arrow Left and Arrow Right Moves to the previous or next control
in the Track pane. The Right Arrow
moves the selected control right until
reaching the end of a line, and at the
end of the line the selection moves to
the left-most control of the line below.
The Left Arrow moves the selected
control to the left until it reaches the
beginning of a line, and then moves
to the end of the line above.

Page Down Displays the next page of tracks

Page Up Displays the previous page of tracks

Home Moves the highlight to the first track in

the project

End Moves the highlight to the last track in

the project

The Track pane contains meters for recording, playback, and bus levels.
You can hide or show any or all of these meters, and choose many different
options for the units and format of the data the meters display. See
Metering.

1452 View Reference

Track View
Clips Pane
The Clips pane shows the clips in your project on a timeline that helps you
visualize how your project is organized. Clips contain markings that indicate
their contents. The Clips pane lets you select, move, and copy clips from
place to place to change the arrangement of music and sound in your
project.
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 (the right

side of the track number; the upper left
corner of the track number is for
grouping tracks), 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

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.

See:
Automation
Bus Pane
The Bus pane contains all of your project’s buses. You display the Bus
pane by clicking the Show/Hide Buses button , which is located at the
bottom of the Track view.
You use the buses in the Bus pane to patch in effects, control output
volume and pan, and group tracks into subgroups.

View Reference 1453

Track View
 Each hardware out is represented by a main out. Each main out 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.

See:
Main Outs
To Patch a Track Through a Bus
Track/Bus Inspector
The Track/Bus Inspector makes it easy to adjust the current track’s (or
bus’s) controls, because it’s a greatly expanded version of the current
track’s controls that is located on the left side of the Track pane.
In addition to the controls that a track or bus displays in the Track view, the
Track/Bus Inspector also contains a built-in 4-band EQ. See the online help
topic “Using the Per-track EQ” for more information.
The following graphic shows most of the Track/Bus Inspector’s controls
(there may not be room to display all of a track’s controls on the Track/Bus
Inspector, depending on the resolution of your monitor):

1454 View Reference

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

Most controls
can be shown
or hidden.

A F
B G
C H

D I

E J

A. Audio icon B. Output routing C. Track name D. Display menu E. Module menu
F. MIDI icon G. Output routing H. Track name I. Display menu J. Module menu

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

View Reference 1455

Track View
 To do this… Do this…
Hide or show the Track/Bus Press i on your keyboard.
Inspector

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

Hide or show any of the Track/Bus Click the Display menu or Module menu,
Inspector’s controls and choose options.
Note: you can not display a MIDI track’s
Time + or Key + controls in the Track/Bus
Inspector.

Reassign MIDI controller sliders in a Right-click the slider you want to reassign
MIDI Track’s Fx bin and choose 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
automatable effect select.

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

Bypass the FX bin Right-click the FX bin and choose Bypass

Bin from the popup menu.

The Navigator Pane

The Navigator pane, located just above the Track pane, displays the whole
length of your project so you can always see an overview of your song, and
where the Now time is. The Navigator pane displays all of your project’s
tracks. You can show or hide the Navigator pane by clicking the Show/hide
Navigator pane button that’s in the Track view toolbar. You can drag the
splitter bar between the Navigator pane and the Track pane to change its
height.
The Navigator pane has a green rectangle in it that is an outline of what the
Clips pane is currently displaying. If you drag the center of the rectangle
around in the pane, it scrolls the Clips pane to the same view. You can drag
any of the nodes on the rectangle to zoom the Clips pane in or out. If you
click in the Navigator pane, the left border of the rectangle jumps to the spot

1456 View Reference

Track View
 you clicked, and scrolls the Clips pane to that spot also. If you hold down
the Ctrl key while you click, the Now time jumps to that spot.

Now Time Drag node to zoom Clips

You can do the following with the Navigator pane:

• Scroll the display of the Clips pane (drag the green rectangle, or click in
the Navigator pane)
• Zoom in and out in the Clips pane (drag a node on the green rectangle)
• Change the Now time using the Navigator pane (Ctrl-click in the
Navigator pane)

SONAR Empty View

To start working on a new or pre-existing project, choose File-New (to start
a new project) or File-Open (to open a project).

See:
To Create a New Project File

Piano Roll View

You can open the Piano Roll view by any of three methods:
• Selecting the track you want to edit and using the Views-Piano Roll
command
• Selecting the track you want to edit and clicking the Piano Roll view
button in the Views toolbar
• Double-clicking a MIDI clip in the Clips pane (you can change this
option with the View Options command that’s listed in the Clips pane
popup menu, which appears when you right-click in the Clips pane)

View Reference 1457

SONAR Empty View
 The Piano Roll view displays all MIDI notes and events from one or more
tracks in either the Drum Grid pane or the Notes pane. The Notes pane is a
grid format that looks much like a player piano roll. The Drum Grid pane is
also laid out in a grid, but the sound of these drum notes are determined by
the settings in the Drum Map pane. In both the Drum Grid pane and the
Notes pane, notes are displayed as horizontal bars.
In the Notes pane, 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.
In the Drum Grid pane, the drum sounds are mapped according to the
current drum map in the Note Map pane. Like the Notes pane, 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 MIDI events from
a track.
The Piano Roll view consists of the Piano Roll View Toolbar, the Notes
Pane, Note Map Pane, Drum Grid Pane, the Controller Pane, and the Track
List pane.
For more information, see:
Opening the View
Displaying Notes and Controllers (Piano Roll View Only)
Adding and Editing Notes in the Piano Roll
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll
Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View
Piano Roll View Keyboard Shortcuts

Piano Roll View Toolbar

The following is a description of each of the tools and controls in the Piano
Roll view toolbar:

Button... What it does...

Select tool Select notes or controller events

1458 View Reference

Piano Roll View
Button... What it does...

Draw tool Enter, edit and move notes and

controller events. Use the dropdown
menu on the right side to enable Auto-
Draw tool button in Auto- Erase mode. When this mode is
Erase mode enabled, you can erase notes by
clicking them or dragging through
multiple notes. You can erase
controller events by clicking each
event.

Erase button When this button is enabled, you can

erase notes or controller events by
clicking them.

Pattern Brush tool Click and drag to “paint” notes in

either the Drum Grid pane or Notes
pane. Click the dropdown arrow to
show the dropdown menu of pattern
options, velocity options, and
polyphony options. The notes you
enter using the Pattern Brush tool
follow the parameters you set in the
Pattern Brush dropdown menu, the
Snap to Grid resolution, and the Note
Duration in the Piano Roll view
toolbar.

Scrub tool Plays all displayed tracks as you drag

the cursor forward or backward

Whole Note Set the note duration for new notes to

whole notes

Half Note Set the note duration for new notes to

half notes

Quarter Note Set the note duration for new notes to

quarter notes

Eighth Note Set the note duration for new notes to

eighth notes

16th Note Set the note duration for new notes to

Sixteenth notes

View Reference 1459

Piano Roll View
 Button... What it does...

32nd Note Set the note duration for new notes to

32nd notes

Dotted Note Creates a dotted note of the note

duration you have selected.

Triplet Creates a triplet of the duration you

have selected.

Snap to Grid button When depressed, controls what size

blocks of musical time you can select.

Pick Tracks button The left side of the Pick Tracks

Combo button opens the Pick Tracks
dialog, and the dropdown arrow on
the right side contains the Show Next
Track and Show Previous Track
commands

Show/Hide Track Pane Shows or hides the Track List pane

on the right side of the Piano Roll
view.

Use Controller Pane Shows or hides the Controller pane.

When you show the Controller pane,
controller events appear in the
Controller pane. When you hide the
Controller pane, controller events
appear in the Notes pane.

All Tracks button Displays the MIDI data for every track
currently listed in the Track List pane.

No Tracks button Shows no data in the Notes pane.

Invert Tracks All hidden data is displayed and all

displayed data is hidden.

Show Velocity Tails Hides or shows velocity tails on

individual notes in the Drum Editor
pane of the Piano Roll view.

1460 View Reference

Piano Roll View
Button... What it does...

Show/Hide Grid Hides or shows grid lines so you can

see how your notes align with various
subdivisions of the beat. Click the
dropdown arrow to select a
subdivision.

Show Durations Changes the display of notes in the

Drum Editor pane of the Piano Roll
view to show graphically how long
each note is, versus showing each
note as an identical arrow shape.

Zoom Tool Zooms to the area that you drag

around.

Note Map Pane

The Note Map pane is where you map notes to specific drum sounds. The
Note Map pane has the following columns:
• Name—A user-assigned name for the note. The Name can be edited
by clicking on it and entering a new name.
• In Note—The recorded or original pitch of the note. The format can be
either C0 through G10 or 0 through 127. There can be up to 128 entries
in this column and each must be unique.
• Out Note—The Out Note column specifies the mapped pitch. The
format can be either C0 through G10 or 0 through 127. There can be up
to 128 entries in this column and each must be unique.
• Mute—Mutes the note.
• Solo—Solos the note.

Drum Grid Pane

In this pane you can add, edit, and delete drum notes in a track or
tracks.You can edit controllers in this pane if you hide the Controller pane.
Only MIDI tracks that are assigned to a drum map appear in the Drum Grid
pane.

See:
Drum Maps and the Drum Grid Pane

View Reference 1461

Piano Roll View
 Notes Pane
In this pane you can add, edit, and delete notes for a track or tracks. You
can also edit controllers in this pane if you choose to hide the Controller
pane.

See also:
Editing Notes with the Draw Tool and the Select Tool
Selecting Notes
Displaying Notes and Controllers in the Inline Piano Roll View
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll

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.

See also:
Adding and Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll

Track List pane

Click the Show/Hide Track Pane button to display the Track List pane.
The Track List pane is home to a list of all tracks currently displayed in the
Piano Roll view. The track numbers and names appear in the Track List
pane. Click the button again to hide the Track List pane.
For more information, see The Piano Roll View.

See also:
Working with Multiple Tracks in the Piano Roll View

Step Sequencer View

The Step Sequencer view makes it easy to create and work with patterns.
The Step Sequencer is ideally suited for drum programming and is tightly
integrated with drum maps (see Step Sequencer Clips and Drum Maps).
You can open the Step Sequencer view by any of three methods:

1462 View Reference

Step Sequencer View
• Selecting the track you want to edit and using the Views-Piano Roll
command
To Open the Step Sequencer
1. Do one of the following:
• To edit an existing pattern—Select the Step Sequencer clip that
you wish to edit in the Step Sequencer.
• To create a new pattern—Click the MIDI track in which you want
to create the new pattern. The track then becomes the active track.
Make sure that no MIDI clips are selected.
2. Do one of the following:
• Select Views-Step Sequencer.
• Press Alt+Shift+5.
The Step Sequencer window appears.
Note 1: You can also open an existing pattern in the Step Sequencer by
double-clicking an existing Step Sequencer clip.
Note 2: The Views-Step Sequencer command is disabled if multiple Step
Sequencer clips are selected.

See:
Step Sequencer Interface
Toolbar
Notes Pane
Controllers Pane
Keyboard Shortcuts
Step Sequencer Clips and Drum Maps
To Create a New Pattern
To Edit an Existing Pattern
To Open the Step Sequencer
To Reorder a Row
To Insert a Row
To Delete a Row
To Enable a Note

View Reference 1463

Step Sequencer View
 To Disable a Note
To Clear All Steps
To Edit the Drum Map Properties of a Note
To Convert a MIDI Clip(s) to a Step Sequencer Clip(s)

Step Sequencer Interface

The Step Sequencer interface consists of three sections:
• Toolbar
• Notes Pane
• Controllers Pane

A B C D E F G

H
I
J

K L M N O P Q R S

A. Pattern Length (beats per measure and steps per beat) B. Fit to Quarters
C. Transport and Position D. Monphonic/Polyphonic Mode toggle E. Articulation
(hold) F. Swing G. Portamento H. Note name (click to audition pitch, double-click to
edit Drum Map properties) I. Insert/Delete Row J. Event Type picker K. Show/hide
Controllers pane L. Note number M. Mute and Solo N. Velocity Offset O. Velocity
Scale P. Disabled Note Q. Enabled Note (double-click to edit velocity) R. Current
step (yellow) S. Controller events T. Toolbar section U. Beat Counter V. Notes pane
W. Controllers pane

1464 View Reference

Step Sequencer View
Toolbar

The Step Sequencer toolbar consists of the following controls:

Pattern Length—The pattern length is determined by the following
settings:
• Beats per Measure—This setting specifies the number of beats
per measure. The value range is 1-64 and the default value is 4
beats. Changes are undoable.
• Steps per Beat—This setting specifies the number of steps per
beat. The value range is 1-16 and the default value is 4 steps.
Changes are undoable.
Fit to Quarters—Fit to Quarters will force the pattern duration to fit the
specified number of quarter notes.
Note: When you adjust the Fit to Quarters value, the clip duration may
change depending on whether or not the clip has been rolled out to
expose additional pattern iterations:
• If the clip has a single pattern iteration—When you change the
Fit to Quarters value (number of quarter notes), the clip duration will
continue to equal the length of one pattern iteration. That is, the clip
will not be rolled out.
• If the clip has multiple pattern iterations—When you change the
Fit to Quarters value (number of quarter notes), the new clip
duration will either equal the old clip duration or the length of the
new pattern, whichever is greater.
Transport (Play/Stop)—The Transport button is used to start/stop the Step
Sequencer when SONAR’s main transport is idle.
Position Indicator—The Position indicator shows the current measure and
beat position in the step sequencer.
Monophonic/Polyphonic Mode Toggle—This button toggles between
Monophonic mode and Polyphonic mode, which affects the behavior when
entering new notes. In Monophonic mode, only one note (row) may be
assigned for each step. Monophonic mode is useful for sequencing melodic
lines. When you click in a column to enter a new note, any existing notes in
the same column will be removed automatically in Monophonic mode. In
Polyphonic mode, you can enter multiple notes in the same column.

View Reference 1465

Step Sequencer View
 Articulation—The Articulation knob controls how long each note is held.
The value range is 0-100% and the default value is 100% (hold each note
for its full duration).
Swing—The Swing knob controls the amount of swing that is applied to the
sequence. The value range is 0-100% and the default value is 50% (no
swing).
A swing value of 50% (the default) means that the beats are spaced evenly.
A value of 66% means that the time between the first and second beats is
twice as long as the time between the second and third beats.
Portamento On/Off Toggle—This button is used to enable/disable
portamento, which applies a smooth slide between two pitches. When
enabled, a Controller 65 (Portamento) event is inserted at the start of the
clip. Portamento only applies if your sound source (soft synth or external
MIDI device) supports Portamento.
Portamento Time—This knob adjusts the rate at which Portamento slides
the pitch between two notes (the time it takes for the next note to reach its
pitch). The value range is 0-127 and the default value is 0 (slowest rate).
Insert Row—Click this button to insert a new row above the selected row.
This command is undoable.
Delete Row—Click this button to delete the selected row. This command is
undoable.
Show/Hide Controller Pane—This button opens and closes the
Controllers pane (see Controllers Pane).
Notes Pane

The Notes pane consists of the following controls:

Rows—Each row represents a specific pitch. Similar to the Drum Editor in
the Piano Roll view (in some ways, you can think of a row as a different way
of looking at the Drum Map Manager dialog), the controls for each row are
located at the left side of the row and has the following controls:
• Note Name—This control shows the name of the note to which the
row is mapped. Click the note name to audition the pitch. Double-
click to show the Drum Map properties for that note.

1466 View Reference

Step Sequencer View
 Note: If the row’s pitch has not been mapped in the drum map, double-
clicking the note name will open the Drum Map Manager (see The
Drum Map Manager), which allows you to create a new drum map.
When the Drum Map Manger is closed, the new drum map is
automatically assigned to the MIDI track.
• Note Number—Use this control to specify the row’s input note.
• Mute—This button mutes the row/note/pitch.
• Solo—This button solos the row/note/pitch.
• Velocity Offset—Use this control to apply a velocity offset to a
pitch. The value range is -127 to +127 and the default value is 0.
• Velocity Scale—This control sets a level of compression or
expansion for a pitch. The value range is 0.10 - 2.00 and the default
value is 1.00 (no compression or expansion). A value below 1.00 is
compression and a value above 1.00 is expansion.
• Note Cells (steps)—Notes are enabled by left-clicking in a cell and
disabled by right-clicking. Double-click a cell to edit the velocity for
that note. A note’s velocity is displayed inside the cell. Ctrl-click
between two adjacent notes to merge the notes together. Ctrl+right-
click to unmerge notes. Active steps are highlighted during
playback,
You can insert, delete and reorder rows. The current row is outlined to
indicate which row has focus. See To Reorder a Row, To Insert a Row and
To Delete a Row.
Beat Counter—The Beat Counter is displayed above the step grid and
each “light” in the counter represents a step. Each beat is displayed in an
alternate color and the current step is highlighted during playback.
Scroll Bars—Horizontal and vertical scroll bars make it easy to navigate
around a sequence that contains many rows or steps.
Controllers Pane

The Controllers pane in the Step Sequencer is similar to the Controllers

pane in the Piano Roll view and allows you to include Controller, Pitch
Wheel, Channel Aftertouch, RPN and NRPN events in your sequences.

View Reference 1467

Step Sequencer View
 To open the Controllers pane, click the Open/Close Controllers Pane button
in the Step Sequencer toolbar.
For more information on working with controller events, see Adding and
Editing Controllers in the Piano Roll.
Keyboard Shortcuts
You can use the keyboard to navigate around the Step Sequencer interface
and adjust settings. A focus rectangle indicates the step/control that is
selected.

Key... Action...

Alt+Shift+5 Open the Step Sequencer View

Insert Insert a new row above the selected row

Delete Delete the active row

Left arrow Move focus to the previous control

Right arrow Move focus to the next control

Up arrow When there are multiple strips, move focus to the same
control on the previous row

Down arrow When there are multiple strips, move focus to the same
control on the next row

Ctrl+Left When focus is on a control in the steps pane, move

focus to the strips pane

Ctrl+Right When focus is on a control in the strips pane, move

focus to the steps pane

Ctrl+Up When focus is either on the steps or strips pane, move

focus to the toolbar

Ctrl+Down When focus is on the toolbar, move focus to the strips

pane

Enter When focus is on steps, toggle step or tie on/off; for

buttons, turn on/off

1468 View Reference

Step Sequencer View
Key... Action...

Shift+Enter When focus is on a step, allow velocity adjustment

+ / - (plus and minus) For spinner controls, increase/decrease value; fine

adjust for knobs

[ / ] (square brackets) Coarse adjust for knobs

Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar Toggles the Audition (Play) button for the view

Tab When focus is on the steps pane, move focus to the

next enabled note on the same row

Shift+Tab When focus is on the steps pane, move focus to the

previous enabled note on the same row

Alt+Left Shift the active row's steps by 1 step and wrap first step
to the end

Alt+Right Shift the active row's steps by 1 step and wrap the last
step to the beginning

Note: You can also use a mouse wheel to adjust the value of the control
that has focus. When adjusting note velocities, hold down the Shift key for
fine control.

See:
Step Sequencer Clips and Drum Maps
To Create a New Pattern
To Edit an Existing Pattern
To Open the Step Sequencer
To Reorder a Row
To Insert a Row
To Delete a Row
To Enable a Note
To Disable a Note
To Clear All Steps

View Reference 1469

Step Sequencer View
 To Edit the Drum Map Properties of a Note
To Convert a MIDI Clip(s) to a Step Sequencer Clip(s)

Event List View

Open the Event List view by:
• Selecting one or more tracks and choosing Views-Event List

• Selecting one or more tracks and clicking in the Views toolbar

• Right-clicking a track in the Clips pane and choosing Views-Event List
The Events List view hides or displays all the events in a project in a list.
Clicking one of the buttons in the Event List toolbar hides the kind of event
that the button represents. You can insert, delete, or change any kind of
event, with the exception of Shape events which can only be deleted.
Events are displayed 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.

Hide different kinds of events buttons Show events outside slip edit boundary

Insert Delete Pick Tracks

Event List toolbar Event Manager

See:
The Event List View
Event List Buttons and Overview
Event Manager dialog
To Insert a New Event
To Delete an Event
To Delete Several Events

1470 View Reference

Event List View
Staff View
Open the Staff view by any of three methods:
• Use the Views-Staff command

• Click the Staff View button in the Views toolbar

• Select Staff from the Clips pane right-click popup menu
The Staff view 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 view provides many features that make it possible for you to
compose, edit, and print music.
The Staff View Toolbar has all the buttons you need to enter and edit notes,
and control the display of your notation.
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 pane 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. You can choose from a wide variety of clefs
to display your music (see To Change the Staff Pane Layout).
For guitar players who are new to musical notation, the Fretboard
represents the notes in the Staff pane as they would appear on a guitar or
bass fretboard. All notes that appear in the Staff pane at the Now Time are
shown in the Fretboard. Page through your track by pressing Ctrl-Right
Arrow and watch the note names in the Fretboard appear. 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.
For more information, see:
The Staff View
Basic Musical Editing
Chords and Marks
Staff Pane Layout

View Reference 1471

Staff View
 Inserting Notes on the Staff
To Audition with the Scrub Tool
Moving, Copying, and Deleting Notes on the Staff
Using Enharmonic Spellings
Adding Expression Marks
Adding Hairpin Symbols
The Fretboard
Tablature
Working with Lyrics
Beaming of Rests
Setting Up a Percussion Staff or Line
Staff View Keyboard Shortcuts

The Staff View Toolbar

The Staff view toolbar has all the controls you need to enter and edit notes
and symbols, and control the display of your notation.
Here’s what each button does:

Button... What it does...

Select tool Select a note or notes

Draw tool Enter and move notes and/or symbols

Erase tool Delete notes and/or symbols

Scrub tool Plays all displayed tracks as you drag the

cursor forward or backward

Zoom Out Zooms out by a fixed percentage, both

horizontally and vertically

Zoom fader Zooms in or out by the amount and direction

that you drag it

1472 View Reference

Staff View
Button... What it does...

Zoom In Zooms in by a fixed percentage, both

horizontally and vertically

Snap button When depressed, controls what size blocks of

musical time you can select

Snap value This field shows the current value of the Snap
to Grid. When you click a note value in the Staff
view toolbar, the Snap value copies that value,
unless you override it by opening the Snap to
Grid dialog and setting a value.

Fill Durations Visually rounds up notes to the next note or

beat, whichever comes first—useful for
displaying recorded MIDI notes, but not for
entering notes with the Draw tool

Trim Durations Visually rounds down note durations if they

extend a little past the start of the next note—
useful for displaying recorded MIDI notes, but
not for entering notes with the Draw tool

Display Resolution Shows the value of the smallest note you can
display—for example, if it’s set to a quarter
note, and you enter some eight notes, they will
display as quarter notes until you set the
display resolution to an eighth note

Staff view layout The left side of this button opens the Staff View
Layout dialog. The right side of this button
opens a dropdown menu where you can select
one of two commands: Quick TAB and
Regenerate Tablature.

Pick Tracks Combo The left side of the Pick Tracks Combo button
opens the Pick Tracks dialog, and the
dropdown arrow on the right side contains the
Show Next Track and Show Previous Track
commands

Play Next Clicking this button plays the next note from the
Now time

View Reference 1473

Staff View
 Button... What it does...

l Play Previous Clicking this button plays the previous note

from the Now time

Fret View Clicking this button displays the Fretboard view

Clicking this button exports tablature to an

ASCII file for printing or distribution on the Web

Whole Note Clicking this button chooses a whole note

duration for any notes you insert—there are
buttons for durations as small as a 32nd note

Dotted Note Clicking this button causes any notes you

insert to be dotted notes

Triplet Clicking this button causes any notes you

insert to be triplets

Note Duration This window shows the currently selected note

duration for inserting notes—you can edit it in
the window, but make sure the value in the
Display Resolution window is not too large to
display the new value

Lyrics tool Causes the Draw tool to become a lyrics-

entering tool

Chord tool Causes the Draw tool to become a chord-

entering tool—after you enter a chord, right-
click it to edit it

Expression tool Causes the Draw tool to become a dynamics-

entering tool—click below a staff to create a
text box, type some dynamics, and press Enter

Hairpin tool Causes the Draw tool to become a tool to enter

crescendo or decrescendo markings

Pedal tool Causes the Draw tool to become a tool to enter

pedal markings—clicking this tool below a staff
enters a pedal down marker and a pedal up
marker; you can drag both markers to
reposition them

1474 View Reference

Staff View
 Button... What it does...

Cursor Show’s the cursor’s current position in both

position project time and pitch level; the pitch level is
listed in both letter and number formats

Synth Rack View

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 parameters.
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 audio track
inputs and MIDI track outputs.

One Row in the Synth Rack

Preset
Insert menu
Properties Options Solo button
Synth name Automation track
Delete menu Freeze/Unfreeze button
Freeze Mute button
Insert Quick Freeze/Quick
Unfreeze button
Connect/
Disconnect
synth button Show/Hide
Synth icon Assigned
Controls
button
Automation Read button Assign Controls button
Automated knobs

Automation Write button

The following is a list of the tools and controls in the Synth Rack view,
followed by a description. For step-by-step instructions, see the links below.

View Reference 1475

Synth Rack View
 Button... What it does...

Insert Displays a menu of available synths and

ReWire devices; choose one to insert into
your project.

Delete If you want to delete a soft synth from your

project, click the name of the soft synth in
the Synth Rack view and then click the
Delete button. Note: Always close any
Rewire applications in their own
interfaces before deleting them from
SONAR.
Deleting a soft synth from the Synth Rack
view does not delete the tracks associated
with the soft synth, but does change the
associated MIDI track’s output to the next
lower-numbered output.

Properties To open the interface of a soft synth, click

its name in the Synth Rack view and then
click the Properties button. You can also
open a soft synth’s interface by double-
clicking its name in the Synth Rack view.

Insert The Insert Soft Synth Options dialog has

an Ask This Every Time checkbox, which
causes the dialog to appear every time
you click the name of a soft synth from the
popup menu of installed soft synths. If you
uncheck this checkbox, the only way to
open the dialog and choose your insertion
preferences is to click the Insert Soft Synth
Options button.

Freeze This button lets you freeze or unfreeze

whatever soft synth currently has focus in
the Synth Rack. Each synth also has its
own Freeze and Thaw buttons at the end
of its individual control strip in the Synth
Rack. See Freeze Tracks and Synths for
more information.

1476 View Reference

Synth Rack View
Button... What it does...

Automation Track menu Lets you choose which track to display a

synth’s automation data on.

Preset menu Lets you choose preset sounds; click the

left/right arrows to step through the menu.

Mute button Lets you mute the synth, and all tracks
associated with this instance of the synth.

Solo button Lets you solo the synth, and all tracks
associated with this instance of the synth.

Freeze/Unfreeze Lets you freeze or unfreeze a particular

(individual synth) synth

Quick Freeze/Quick Lets you quick freeze or quick unfreeze a

Unfreeze (individual particular synth
synth)

Show/hide assigned Lets you show or hide any assigned

controls control knobs you’ve created for a
particular synth

Assigned controls Lets you choose what parameters in the

synth’s interface to create control knobs
for

Automation Write Arms all parameters of the synth for

automation.

Automation Read Allows the synth to respond to recorded

automation

Automated knobs These are knobs you create by using the

Assigned Controls button

Synth icon Gives you a quick visual cue to tell one

synth from another

Connect/Disconnect Disconnecting a synth mutes all tracks

associated with it, and frees up memory
and CPU cycles

For step-by-step instructions, see:

View Reference 1477

Synth Rack View
 Software Synthesizers
Inserting Soft Synths
Using the Assignable Controls Feature
Multi-port Soft Synths
Playing a Soft Synth
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio
Muting and Soloing Soft Synth Tracks
Converting Your Soft Synth Tracks to Audio
Drawing Soft Synth Automation in the Clips Pane
Playing a Stand-alone Synth
ReWire Instruments

Lyrics view
Open the Lyrics view by any of three methods:
• Using the Views-Lyrics command

• Clicking the Lyrics View button in the View toolbar

• Using the Lyrics command from the Clips pane right-click menu
The Lyric view lets you edit a track's lyrics. You can use it to cue yourself or
your group with the lyrics during playback and recording.
For more information, see:
Working with Lyrics

Console View
The Console view has new dividers that magnetically snap to the border of
a track or bus strip when you drag the divider, new buttons to hide or show
all strips of a certain kind (tracks, buses, or mains), simplified show/hide
buttons for the controls on each strip (no 3-way buttons), and new scroll
buttons to scroll through one strip at a time.
The Console view contains all the controls you need to mix your project. To
open the Console view click the Console view button in the View toolbar
or choose Views-Console.

1478 View Reference

Lyrics view
Sound controls in the Console view are grouped in modules. There are four
types of modules:

Module… What it does…

MIDI track Set the track's output, channel, bank,
and patch; set the input source and
monitor input levels; mute, solo, and
arm the track; set channel volume,
panning, chorus, and reverb levels.

Audio track Set the track's output; set the input

source and monitor input levels;
mute, solo, and arm the track; set
track volume and panning; apply real-
time effects, send audio data to
buses.

Bus Receive input from one or more audio

tracks, apply real-time effects, and
send the results to an output or other
bus.

Main out Each audio hardware output has a

corresponding Main out. A main
output module contains both a left
and right output and two volume
controls.

The Console view contains buttons, sliders, and knobs. Knobs can be
adjusted in several different ways:
• Click on the center of the knob and drag the mouse up or down to
adjust the knob
• Double-click the bottom of the knob to return it to its snap-to position
• You can control all sliders and knobs in the Console and Track Views
by hovering over them with the mouse and manipulating the mouse
wheel
Volume and pan faders also have snap-to positions. Set the snap-to by
moving a control to the desired snap-to position, right-clicking the control,
and choosing Value-Set Snap To = Current.
You can automate many features of the Console view by recording fader
movements and creating snapshots.

View Reference 1479

Console View
 The Console view contains meters for recording, playback, and main output
levels. You can hide or show any or all of these meters, and choose many
different options for the units and format of the data the meters display.
The controls and effects patch points all have tooltips associated with them.
To see a description of a particular control or effect, simply rest the cursor
over the item for a few seconds.
Main out faders can be linked using the Link button . This allows you to
adjust both the left and right channel at the same time.

Audio MIDI MIDI Bus out Main out

Show/
hide for
tracks,
buses,

Widen all
strips

Show/hide strip controls

buttons

Note: The above view does not show EQ. It is pictured below.

1480 View Reference

Console View
 Gain Band Q

Frequency

EQ enable
Band select
EQ type

Audio track strip in Console

view Trim control

FX bin

Aux bus Aux send enable

Aux bus

Automation read/
write Mono/Stereo, Phase invert, and Input

Pan control

Output

Quick Group Track name

View Reference 1481

Console View
 Click to scroll one strip at a time

Customizing the Console View

You can show or hide individual tracks or buses in the Console view by
opening the Track Manger dialog (press m on your computer keyboard).
This dialog works independently in the Console view and the Track view.
The show/hide buttons in the lower left corner of the Console view have
numerous options for customizing what you see in the Console view.
Note: you control meter display options in the Console view by clicking the
dropdown arrow on the VOL button that is in the lower left corner of the
Console view.
The following table describes Console view display options:

Button... Description...

Tracks Shows or hides the track strips in the Console view.

Buses Shows or hides the bus strips (not main outputs) in

the Console view.

Mains Shows or hides the main output strips in the Console

view.

Widen All Strips Widens or narrows all the strips in the Console view.

Input Shows or hides the input menus in the Console view.

1482 View Reference

Console View
Button... Description...

EQ Plot • Shows or hides the Plot for the built-in EQ in the

Console view.
• Right-click the button to change the plot resolution.
• Right-click the plot itself to change the EQ to pre-FX or
post-FX, or to open the EQ property page, to enable/
disable the EQ, or to turn off bands 5 and 6 of the EQ.
The Reset Hidden EQ Parameters option appears if
you enable bands 5 and 6 in the property page. You
can then turn bands 5 and 6 off by unchecking the
Reset Hidden EQ Parameters option in the right-click
menu.

EQ • Show or hides the built-in EQ.

• Right-click the button to show either 1 band or 4 bands.

FX • Shows or hides the FX bin.

• Right-click the button and choose Show Assignable
Controls from the right-click menu to show or hide 4
controls of the selected effect, if the effect has
assignable controls; to display a different control, right-
click one of the displayed controls and choose
Reassign Control from the right-click menu.

Send • Shows or hides the Send modules.

• Right-click the button to display either 2 Sends or 4
Sends, or to show smaller versions of the Send
controls.

Vol • Shows or hides the volume faders and meters

• Right-click the button to show or hide the pan controls
(the volume faders must be visible to see the pan
controls).
• Click the dropdown arrow to display the meter
configuration menu. The meter options are explained in
the Metering topic in the online help.

Icon Shows or hides track and bus icons in the Console

view.

Output Shows or hides the output menus in the Console

view.

For more information, see:

Mixing MIDI

View Reference 1483

Console View
 Routing and Mixing Digital Audio
Using Real-Time Effects
Using Control Groups
Using Remote Control
Automation Methods
Applying Audio Effects
Applying MIDI Effects
For step by step instructions:
To Choose the Tracks that are Displayed Using the Track Manager
To Hide a Bus or Track
Changing the Meters’ Display
To Set the Snap-to Position of a Knob or Fader
To Insert a New Track
To Rename a Track or Bus
Configuring the Console and Track Views

Video View
Open the Video view by using the Views-Video command or by clicking the
Video view button in the Views toolbar. In addition to the Video view, there
is also a Video Thumbnails pane in the Track view (see Using the Video
Thumbnails Pane). Cakewalk's Insert-Video File command lets you
include an AVI, MPEG, or QuickTime video in your project. This video is
shown in the Video view in real time as your project plays. The Video view
displays the current 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.
If the Video view is the active window, you can now 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 the control key is
pressed, then the frame increment value is used (default = 5 frames)
Alternatively you can use the [ and ] keys to seek by the frame increment.
Commands in the Video view's pop-up menu let you set the time display
format, the size and stretch options for the video display, the video start and

1484 View Reference

Video View
trim times, and other options. Your project's video and digital audio data can
be saved together in a new AVI file with Tools-Export Video to AVI. For
more information, see Preparing Audio for Distribution.
Note: The project's video file is saved in the project by reference only; the
actual video data remains in the original file.
Use these options in the Video File dialog box:
Look in—Use this field to find the folder that contains the video file you
want to insert.
File name—Use this field to find the video file you want to insert. Clicking
the name of the file in the window above this field causes it to appear in the
File name field.
Files of Type—Use this field to select what type of video files to display.
Note: in order to import and view QuickTime files, you will need to have
installed the Quicktime DirectShow filters included with the installer,
and you also need to download and install QuickTime from http://
www.apple.com/quicktime.
Show File Info—If you check this option, Cakewalk displays the video file’s
format tag, audio sample rate, and length in both audio samples and time.
Import Audio Stream—If you check this option, Cakewalk imports the
video file’s audio file along with the video. Select a blank track before you
do this.
Stereo Split—If you check this option, Cakewalk imports the video file’s
audio file into two separate tracks, instead of one stereo track.
Open—After you decide what options you want, clicking the Open button
imports the video and, optionally, the accompanying audio into your project.
For step by step instructions:
Video Playback, Import, and Export
To Load a Video File Into a Project
To Delete the Video From the Project
To Enable or Disable Video Playback
To Set the Time Display Format
To Set the Background Color
To Set the Start and Trim Times
See Also:

View Reference 1485

Video View
 Optimizing Video Performance

Tempo View
Open the Tempo view by using the Views-Tempo command, or by clicking
the Tempo View button in the Views toolbar.
The Tempo view shows the tempo of your project. You can use the mouse
to draw tempo changes directly onto the graph.
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. Click the Tempo
List button to display or hide the tempo list.
If an entire project has a single tempo, the Tempo view shows a straight
horizontal line, and a single tempo in the list.
If you want audio clips to stretch with any tempo changes you introduce,
you need to 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.
The graph has several tools you can use to add or modify tempo changes:

Tool... Name... What It’s for...

Select Drag the Select tool in either the

graphic display or the tempo list
to select tempos for editing.

Draw Draw a custom curve indicating

changes in tempo.

Line Draw a straight line indicating a

steady increase or decrease in
tempo.

1486 View Reference

Tempo View
Tool... Name... What It’s for...

Erase Eliminate tempo changes

already in place for some
portion of a project.

Snap When the Snap button is

depressed, any new tempo
changes will only be entered as
often as the duration value in
the tempo view’s Snap to Grid
dialog box (open by Right-
clicking the Snap button).

If you make a mistake using any of these tools, you can use 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 has its own tools for editing tempo changes:

Tool... Name... What It’s for...

Tempo List Displaying a list of all tempo

changes in the project.

Insert Inserting a new tempo change

Delete Deleting a tempo change

Tempo Editing a tempo change

Properties

View Reference 1487

Tempo View
 For more information, see Using the Tempo View. For step by step
instructions:
To Insert a Tempo Change in the Tempo View
To Steadily Increase or Decrease the Tempo in the Tempo View
To Draw a Series of Tempo Changes in the Tempo View
To Erase Tempo Changes in the Tempo View
To Insert a Tempo Change in the Tempo List in the Tempo View
To Edit a Tempo Change in the Tempo View
To Delete a Tempo Change from the Tempo List in the Tempo View

Meter/Key View
Open the Meter/Key view by using the Views-Meter/Key command, or by
clicking the Meter/Key View button in the Views toolbar.
The Meter/Key view lets you enter meter and key changes on measure
boundaries. Meter and key changes affect all tracks.
The Meter/Key view lets you set and change the meter and key signature
for any project or part of a project, over all its tracks.
For more information, see The Meter/Key View.
See also:
What Is Meter?
To Add a Meter/Key Change
To Delete a Meter/Key Change
To Move a Meter/Key Change
To Edit a Meter/Key Change

Markers View
Open the Markers view with the Views-Markers command, or by clicking
the Markers view button in the Views toolbar. The Markers view lets you
add, move, rename, or delete marker (labels) for places in your song. The
markers make it easier to move from one point to another.
See Creating and Using Markers.

1488 View Reference

Meter/Key View
SYSX View
Open the Sysx view by using the Views-Sysx command, or by clicking the
Sysx view button in the Views toolbar. System Exclusive messages (Sysx)
are commands that are unique to each brand or model of sound module.
Consult the manual of each particular machine to find out what Sysx
commands it responds to. The Sysx view gives you 256 Sysx Banks to hold
System Exclusive messages.
See Using the System Exclusive View.

Big Time View

Open the Big Time view by using the Views-Big Time command, or by
clicking the Big Time view button in the Views toolbar. The Big Time view
lets you see the Now time from a distance while recording. Clicking the time
display changes the units of time that the time display uses—the choices
are MBT time and SMPTE.

Loop Construction view

The following is a list of the tools and controls in the Loop Construction
view, followed by a description. For step-by-step instructions, see the links
below.
Save Loop to Wave File Button

Click the Save Loop to Wave file button to open the Save As dialog. In
the Save As dialog you can save the current loop (Groove clip) as a Riff
Wave file, which are compatible with ACIDized loops. You can save Riff
Wave files for use with another SONAR project or with ACID.
Enable Looping Button

Click the Enable Looping button to loop clips in the Track view by
dragging the right side of a clip with your mouse. When Enable Looping is
not on, you are able to slip-edit the clip. For more information about slip
editing, see Applying Fades and Crossfades Offline.
Beats in Clip Field

View Reference 1489

SYSX View
 The number of beats (quarter notes) in the clip.
Enable Stretching Button

The Enable Stretching button instructs SONAR to stretch or shrink the

clip to fit the project’s tempo. The Beats in Clip and Original BPM
parameters are used to make the change.
Original BPM Field

The tempo at which the clip was recorded.

Follow Project Pitch Button

The Follow Project Pitch option transposes the loop, if necessary, to the
key of the project. A loop recorded in the key of A, used in a project in the
key of C, would be transposed up three semitones if the Follow Project
Pitch checkbox was checked.
Root Note Field

The Root Note represents the key in which the loop was recorded. The
Follow Project Pitch feature uses this information, when checked, to
transpose the loop to match the project’s key.
Pitch Field (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 project’s pitch, so any transposition changes
you make using this option 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 option is checked, the clip is transposed down by two semitones. A

1490 View Reference

Loop Construction view
value entered into the Pitch (semitone) field adjusts the pitch from C. If you
enter “-1” the pitch would be transposed down by one additional semitone to
B.
Another example: The clip pitch is E. The desired clip pitch is D. If the
Follow Project Pitch option is not checked, and a value of “2” is entered in
the Pitch (semitones) field, the clip is transposed down two semitones to D
from the original pitch of E.
Pitch Field (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 semitone. A
Pitch (fine) setting of “1” adjusts the pitch up one hundredth of a semitone.
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.
Stop Preview Button
The Stop Preview button stops loop playback.
Preview Loop Button
Plays the current loop repeatedly. Use the Stop Preview control to stop
playback.
Enable Slice Auto Preview
Turns on slice auto preview.
Slice Auto Preview
This control appears grayed out unless the Enable Slice Auto Preview
options is on. This option loops the slice auto preview.
Preview Bus Field

Select the output through which you want to listen to the clip.
Clip Properties
The Properties button opens the Clip Properties dialog.

Select Tool
Use the Select tool to move markers in the Markers bar.

View Reference 1491

Loop Construction view
 Erase Tool
Use the Erase tool to delete markers in the Markers bar.
Default All Markers Tool
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.
Slices Resolution
The Slice Resolution control sets the resolution for the creation of markers,
or the “slicing” of the looped clip. This control uses note lengths, so the
settings are:
• No Slicing
• 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.
Transient Detection
The Transient Detection control senses transients in your audio clip and
assigns a marker at the beginning and end of each one it finds. As you
increase the number in this field, smaller transients are detected and the
number of markers increases.
Move to Previous Slice
Moves the slice selection to the previous slice in the loop.
Move to Next Slice
Moves the slice selection to the next slice in the loop.

1492 View Reference

Loop Construction view
Show/Hide Gain Envelope
Toggle on or off the display of a gain envelope.
Show/Hide Pan Envelope
Toggle on or off the display of a pan envelope.
Show/Hide Pitch Envelope
Toggle on or off the display of a pitch envelope.
Slice Gain Control
Change the gain setting for the selected slice.
Slice Pan Control
Change the pan setting for the selected slice.
Slice Pitch Control
Change the pitch setting for the selected slice.
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 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.
Beat Markers

Beat Markers mark where the beats fall in your clip. There are as many beat
markers as there are beats in a clip.
For more information, see:
Working with Loops
Working with Groove Clips
Creating and Editing Groove Clips
Using Pitch Markers in the Track View

View Reference 1493

Loop Construction view
 Loop Explorer View
You can open the Loop Explorer view in any of the following methods:
• Select Views-Explorer from the menu.
• Click the Explorer icon on the Views toolbar.
The Explorer view allows you to locate, view and preview your sound files.
The 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 Opens Windows Explorer at the same

Explorer 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. The available
options are the same as in the Windows
Explorer.

Preview Bus Select the output through which you want

to listen to the loop.

Tree View Pane

The Tree view pane lists all of the available files and folders in the selected
drive.

1494 View Reference

Loop Explorer View
 Contents List Pane
The Contents List pane displays the folders and files contained in the active
folder.

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.
For more information, see Using the Navigator View.

Play List View

Open the Play List view by using the File-New command to open the New
Project dialog box, and choosing Play List set from the list of files (it’s near
the top of the list). This view lets you set up a series of songs to play
sequentially.
The Play List view lets you create, edit, and save a play list (or set) of up to
128 SONAR projects. Once you’ve 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.

View Reference 1495

Navigator View
 A B

C E

H F

A. Switch to the next song B. Repeat the list C. Add a song D. Drop a song E. Set a
delay F. Display full path G. List of songs H. Enable the play list

Play lists can be saved for future use. Play list files have the extension
.SET.
See To Create and Edit a Play List and To Play Files from the Play List
View.
See also:
Playing Files in Batch Mode

Surround Panner
The large surround panner has the following controls:
• Angle and Focus marker—a small sphere that you can drag in any
direction to both control and display the following two parameters:
• Angle—this 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 listener’s right, and 0 to -180 degrees on the
listener’s 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.
• Focus—this 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 markers—these are two smaller spheres equidistant from the

1496 View Reference

Surround Panner
 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/squares—each 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 speaker’s position in the surround mix. Clicking a speaker
icon or square mutes the corresponding channel, causing the icon or
square to become grey.
• Angle slider—this slider both displays and controls the angle value.
• Focus slider—this slider both displays and controls the focus value.
• Width slider—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 project’s 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 slider—this 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.

View Reference 1497

Surround Panner
1498 View Reference
Surround Panner
Glossary
aftertouch
AIFF
archive
arm
digital audio
audio clip
audio track
audition
automation
bank
broadcast wave
bundle file
Cakewalk Application Language (CAL)
channel
channel aftertouch (ChanAft)
chord
chord symbol
clip
clone
controls
crescendo
crossfade
controllers
 dB
decibel
decrescendo
DMA
DRM (Dump Request Macro)
duration
echo
effects (audio effects)
envelopes
event
expression
expression marks
fade
fade-in
fade-out
frame rate
from time
full-duplex
global layout
Groove clip
groove pattern
groove quantize
group
guitar chord grid
hairpin symbol
H:M:S:F
input
input monitoring
inspector menu (same as context menu)
instrument definitions

1500 Glossary
key aftertouch (KeyAft)
key offset
key signature
kill
latency
layout
linked clips
live mode
locked (SMPTE) time
looping
loops
lyrics
marker
MBT
MCI command (Media Control Interface command)
meter
MIDI
mixdown
MME
MMC (MIDI Machine Code)
MTC Sync
mute
normal template
Now time
NRPN
offline
offset
overload
PPQ
pan

Glossary 1501
 patch
pedal mark
pitch bend
pitch marker
pitch wheel
phase
port
project pitch
property
quantize
record
quantize resolution
riff wave
RMS
RPN
sampling rate
scrub
sensitivity (window)
size
slip editing
shape
SMPTE
snapshot
solo
split point
staff
quantize strength
quantize strength
stripping
submix

1502 Glossary
swing
Sysx
Sysx Bank
take
template
tempo
thru time
ticks
time
timebase
TPQ
track
transients
vector
velocity
velocity offset
volume
WDM
widget
wipe
xRPN

aftertouch
MIDI property controlling how much pressure is applied. See key aftertouch
(KeyAft), channel aftertouch (ChanAft).

AIFF
Short for Audio Interchange File Format, the audio file format on the
Macintosh platform. Files in this format have the extension .AIF or .AIFF.

archive
Silence and suppress the processing of a track. Archived tracks are not
loaded into RAM, so they can’t be unmuted in real time. Use the archive
command to reduce the demand on your CPU. See mute.

Glossary 1503
 arm
Enable a track for recording.
See Choosing an Input.

audio clip
Clip containing digital audio.

audio track
Track recorded digitally.

audition
Listen to audio effects to determine if they are acceptable.
See Basic Audio Processing.

automation
Cakewalk snapshot or dynamic recording of the positions of all the controls
through a portion of sound or music.
See Quick Automation Guide.

bank
Up to 128 patches. Storage for sounds.

bit depth
Size of memory locations used to store particular kinds of data.

broadcast wave
A wave file with the following embedded information: description, originator,
origination date, origination time, and SMPTE time reference.

bundle file
A file that incorporates all project information and audio data. Bundle files
are useful for creating backups of your work or for moving projects from on
computer to another.

Cakewalk Application Language (CAL)

An event-processing language that extends Cakewalk with custom editing
commands.
See Running CAL Programs.

channel
Path through which MIDI transmits information.

chord
What appears in a guitar chord grid.

1504 Glossary
See Adding Chord Symbols.

channel aftertouch (ChanAft)

MIDI property regulating the pressure applied to all the notes of the
instrument on the specified channel.

chord symbol
The c among the expression marks on the staff. Put one above the notes
where you want to define a guitar chord grid.
See Chords and Marks.

clip
Piece of sound and music. Your project consists of clips. You can link clips.

clone
A command that allows you to copy a track along with its properties, the
clips or events or both. You can choose the destination track for the copy.

controls
Sliders, faders, knobs, and buttons on the console or your on-line
equivalent of controllers.
See Mixing.

crescendo
A fade-in. A gradual increase in volume.

crossfade
One clip fading in while another fades out. You can create destructive or
non-destructive crossfades. For more information, see Fades and
Crossfades.

controllers
Pedals, knobs, and wheels on your electronic instrument that you can use
to change the sound while you're playing.
See Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data.

dB
Measure of loudness; abbreviation for decibel.
See The Decibel Scale.

decibel
Measure of loudness; abbreviated dB.
See The Decibel Scale.

Glossary 1505
 decrescendo
A fade out. A gradual decrease in volume.

digital audio
Music or sound recorded digitally, as on a compact disk, and not recorded
by means of MIDI.

DMA
Direct Memory Access. DMA settings determine how your computer’s
sound card communicates with Cakewalk.
See The Wave Profiler for information about how to change DMA settings.

DRM (Dump Request Macro)

Utility for getting synthesizer data into a bank.

duration
In SONAR’s Step Record dialog box, duration means the actual length of
time that a note sounds, as opposed to the notated value of the note, which
could be different. If you check the Follow Step Size option in the dialog
box, the notated value and the duration are the same.

echo
Sending a MIDI input signal back out to a particular device during real-time
recording. Sometimes referred to as through, or play-through, echoing
determines what instrument sounds while you play a MIDI instrument and
record it.

effects (audio effects)

Systematic changes you can make to parts or all of the music, like reverb,
chorus, and delay.
See Audio Effects (Audio Plug-ins), Using Real-Time Effects.

envelopes
Reflects the changes in value for a parameter (volume, for example) over a
period of time. Also refers to the graph of the change—same as vector.

event
Note, MIDI action, or audio clip.

expression
Chord symbol, text of any sort (like ff or con amore), hairpin, or pedal
marks.

1506 Glossary
expression marks
Dynamic markings and other musical instructions (like decrescendo, con
amore, etc.) in the Staff view.
See Adding Expression Marks.

fade
Gradual increase (crescendo) or decrease (decrescendo) in volume.
See Fades and Crossfades and Automation.

fade-in
Gradual increase (crescendo) in volume.
See Fades and Crossfades and Automation.

fade-out
Gradual decrease (decrescendo) in volume.
See Fades and Crossfades and Automation.

frame
Smallest units for SMPTE synchronization. Frame rate indicates the
number of frames per second.
See SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Synchronization.

frame rate
Speed of playback.

from time
The beginning of a selection. Set it in theSelect toolbar.
See Now time.

full-duplex
A type of soundcard which allows simultaneous recording and playback of
audio.
See Recording Audio.

global layout
The arrangement of your views as the appear in Cakewalk. You can save
layouts to use with other projects.
See .

Glossary 1507
 Groove clip
Audio clip that contains pitch and tempo information that allows SONAR to
automatically adjust the pitch and tempo of the clip to that of the project you
insert it into.

groove pattern
Piece of music used as a template for the groove quantize command.
See To Use the Groove Quantize Command

groove quantize
Lets you lay a grid over your groove pattern, then adjust time, duration, and
velocity of selected notes so they line up with the grid.
See To Use the Groove Quantize Command

group
An entity consisting of multiple controls or buttons and specifying
relationships between or among them.

guitar chord grid

Grid for notating guitar chords.
See Chords and Marks

hairpin symbol
Crescendo or decrescendo mark.
See Chords and Marks

H:M:S:F
Short for Hours, Minutes, Seconds, and Frames, which is the time format
used for SMPTE time.

input
Input for music or sound to be recorded into a track.
See Choosing an Input

input monitoring
A series of settings which allows you to hear real-time effect plug-ins during
recording or when a track is armed. You can activate drivers for input
monitoring in the Input Monitoring tab of the Audio Options dialog. For more
information about input monitoring, see Input Monitoring.

inspector menu (same as context menu)

Menu appropriate for a particular location or item. Display a context menu
by right-clicking on the location or item.

1508 Glossary
instrument definitions
A file that contains information about banks, patches, controllers, and other
features of an instrument.
See Creating Instrument Definitions.

key aftertouch (KeyAft)

MIDI property regulating the pressure applied to an individual note.

key offset
The number of half-steps by which to transpose the track. A value of 12
raises the notes an octave. You can transpose all note in a track on
playback by setting this value (Key+) in the Tracks pane.

key signature
Key of the piece, how many sharps or flats it has, and how the music
displays in the various views.

kill
Delete an entire track, including all its properties, clips, and events. You can
undo a kill, but not paste it.

latency
How fast a piece of audio hardware or software responds to real-time
commands, such as to mute a track, to add an effect, or to play some audio
data.

layout
Current arrangement of all views in a particular project.
See Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings.

linked clips
Clips so specified that any change made to one applies to all.
See Splitting and Combining Clips.

locked (SMPTE) time

Locks a marker to a specified time from the start of the music. Not affected
by changes in tempo or time signature.
See Creating and Using Markers.

looping
Repetition of a part or of the whole of a piece of music, especially multiple
repetitions.

Glossary 1509
 loops
Small pieces of audio data, suitable for being repeated back to back, such
as a single drum beat or measure.

live mode
Temporary condition of a project with all automation turned off. You can
toggle back and forth between live mode and regular mode by clicking the
Live Mode button.

lyrics
Words to go along with music.
See Working with Lyrics.

marker
Flag marking a specific time in the music.

MBT
Measure, Beat and Tick number.
9:04:0060 is the 60th tick of the fourth beat of the ninth measure.

MCI command (Media Control Interface command)

Special event in the Event List view that lets you control other multimedia
hardware and software.

meter
The meter, or time signature, divides time into rhythmic pulses. Specifies
the number of beats per measure and the note value of each beat.
See Setting the Meter and Key Signatures.

MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface. The means by which computers
communicate with most sound cards, keyboards, and other electronic
instruments.

mixdown
Combination of two or more audio tracks into a stereo submix. See Routing
and Mixing Digital Audio.

MMC (MIDI Machine Code)

A protocol that controls an MMC-equipped remote device through MIDI.
See MIDI Machine Control (MMC).

1510 Glossary
MME
Multi Media Extensions—the name of Windows’ built-in audio and
multmedia software that was originally developed for Windows 3.0, and is
still used by many sound card drivers. WDM drivers offer much better
performance.

MTC Sync
MIDI Time Code sync. Messages are received in SMPTE/MTC format from
an external MIDI device and generate MTC.
See SMPTE.

mute
Set a track to be silent during play.

normal template
Project template for all projects.

Now time
The current time in a project. Where you are in the music.
See The Now Time and How to Use It

NRPN
Non-Registered Parameter Numbers.
See Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data.

offline
Not in real time. When you apply an effect to a track offline, you
permanently alter the data in that track; then you play the track to hear the
effect. When you add an effect to a track in real time, you start the track
playing, and you add the effect while the track plays. The data in the track
does not change, but the sound of it coming through the effect does.

offset
Shift (time, key, velocity) by a specified number of units. For example, you
could offset the start of a track by two measures.

overload
Loss of audio information caused by the audio level exceeding 0 db.

PPQ
Abbreviation for Parts per Quarter Note. MIDI sequencers divide each beat
into fractions of a beat (called ticks) for timing and editing purposes. You
can place events in precise timing locations, up to the sequencer’s current

Glossary 1511
 PPQ. PPQ is adjustable on most sequencers, up to about 960 PPQ. PPQ’s
of 96, 120. and 480 are common.

pan
Degree to which a sound or piece of music comes from the left or right
speaker.

patch
Particular sound in an electronic device. Patches are stored in banks, in
groups of 128.

pedal mark
Expression mark indicating when the player should hold down the pedal
and release it.

pitch bend
Controller that changes the pitch of a MIDI note.

pitch marker
A marker in the Time Ruler which transposes the root note pitch of all
Groove clips and ACIDized loops in a project.

pitch wheel
Controller that changes the pitch of a MIDI note.

phase
The relative timing or polarity of two identical sounds. If their identical
amplitudes are 180 degrees apart, they cancel each other, and are
perfectly out of phase.

port
Computer connector for sending or receiving data.

project pitch
Also known as the default project pitch. The project pitch is the pitch that all
Groove clips and ACIDized loops in your project follow if there are no pitch
markers in the project. You can set the project pitch in the Markers toolbar.

property
Any attribute or value belonging to an object. Often you can see these by
right-clicking on the object. For example, right-clicking on a clip and
choosing Properties from the resulting menu, displays the Clip Properties
dialog box, which lists its properties as its name, start time, length, and
color.

1512 Glossary
quantize
Correct human imperfection in start and duration of selected notes so they
line up with a specified time grid.

quantize resolution
Smallest note or number of ticks you want effective in a piece for quantizing
purposes.

quantize strength
Measure of how much an adjustment should approach perfection.
See To Use the Groove Quantize Command

record
Capture audio or MIDI sound in a reproducible fashion.

riff wave
The standard digital audio format used under Windows and for CD’s, with a
file extension of .wav.

RMS
Short for Root Mean Square. A method of measuring an average of the
amplitudes that occur in a complete cycle of a frequency. RMS is a little
over seventy per cent of peak level.

RPN
Registered Parameter Numbers.
See Controllers, RPNs, NRPNs, and Automation Data.

ruler
Bar showing evenly-spaced measure intervals. It appears in the Track,
Staff, and Piano Roll views.

sampling rate
Level of accuracy with which audio data is stored. The higher the better the
sound quality, but the more costly in computer time and memory.

scrub
Drag a vertical bar over the view, so you can hear the notes in the track.
You can scrub forward or backward at any speed.

sensitivity (window)
Distance from a timing grid a note has to be to be unaffected, or affected
less, by quantizing.

Glossary 1513
 size
The number of events in a track, listed in the Size column of the Tracks
window. This number changes every time you add or delete events to or
from that track.

slip editing
Non-destructive editing process that allows the start and/or end time of an
audio or MIDI clip to be trimmed by simply dragging the front or back end of
the clip.

shape
An automation envelope created in the Track view or Console view.

SMPTE
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. SMPTE format
measures time in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames.

snapshot
Collection of automation settings that become active at a specific time.
When the Now Time reaches that time, all of those particular settings take
effect.

solo
Set a track to be audible during play.

split point
In the Staff view, the point at which you split a track into treble and bass
staves. Notes at or above the split point go into the treble staff, those below
into the bass staff.

staff
A set of horizontal lines on which you write music.

stripping
Recording an analog time code signal onto a track.

submix
A stereo air track containing the stereo mixture of the original tracks,
preserving the volume, pan and effects for each track.
See Routing and Mixing Digital Audio.

swing
Systematic uneven spacing of notes on a timing grid, to give music a swing
feel.

1514 Glossary
Sysx
Cakewalk's System Exclusive library, which can store, record, and display
for viewing or editing 256 banks, each holding any number of patches.
See System Exclusive Data.

Sysx Bank
A Sysx 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. The banks are saved in the Cakewalk song file. Each
bank can also be saved as a .SYX file in the format used by the public
domain MIDIEX utility.

take
Single instance of recording the same thing. You might want to record
several takes, then choose the best to keep.

template
Special file used as a pattern to create other, similar projects.
See Layouts, Templates and Key Bindings.

tempo
Number of beats per minute.

thru time
Time up to which the music is to be played back or recorded. Set it in the
Select toolbar.

ticks
Subdivisions of quarter notes. MIDI projects often use a resolution of 480
parts per quarter note (PPQ); each part is also called a tick.

time
In Cakewalk, Now time, from time, or thru time. When an event takes place
in the music.

Time Ruler
Bar showing evenly-spaced measure intervals. It appears in the Track,
Staff, and Piano Roll views. You can use the Time Ruler to change the Now
Time, make a time selection, and insert markers. For more about the Time
Ruler, see Time Ruler.

Glossary 1515
 timebase
Same as PPQ. Timing resolution, measured in pulses (ticks) per quarter
note. Determines how finely you can specify notes.
See Setting the MIDI Timing Resolution.

TPQ
Same as timebase or PPQ. Short for Ticks Per Quarter note.

track
Cakewalk's representation of one or more lines of music with shared
properties, for example, music played by one instrument.

transients
Peaks of loudness in an audio clip. Used to determine where the beats lie in
audio clips.

vector
The graph of the change of a parameter’s value. In audio programs, some
parameters can be changed by drawing vectors; means the same as
drawing envelopes.

velocity
How fast or how hard a key is struck when a track is recorded.

velocity offset
Adjustment of all track events by a specified amount of time.
See Adjusting the Time Alignment of a MIDI Track (Time+).

volume
Loudness of a sound or piece of music.

widget
A graphical element of a StudioWare panel (such as a knob or slider) that
controls a parameter on a MIDI instrument or runs a CAL program.

WDM
Windows Driver Model—low-latency audio driver that bypasses the
operating system’s audio streaming software so that the driver can
communicate directly with the sound card and the audio application.

wipe
Deletes a track's clips and events, but leaves its properties. You can undo a
wipe, but not paste it.

1516 Glossary
xRPN
RPN and NRPN.

Glossary 1517
1518 Glossary
Index
Symbols saving a Groove clip as
.clr Acoustics

.CWB files ACT

linking knob to cells in ACT MIDI prop
.CWP files
page
.CWT files
ACT Lock button
.cwx file extension
ACT MIDI Controller Plug-in
.INIfiles
Active Controller Technology
.MID files
Add Node 697
.SYX files , Adjusting timing of notes See Quantiz-
.TPL files ing
AES/EBU
connecting to
Numerics definition
24-bit problems Aftertouch
24-bit tips See also Channel Aftertouch
64-bit files AIFF
64-bit timeline Allow importing of WAV File Cue Mark-
96 kHz audio and plug-ins ers
Always copy imported audio files
Always Import Broadcast Waves at
A Their Timestamp
A/D Amplitude ,
Absolute-time-based clips analog-to-digital converter
ACID files
Anchor points, see Snap offsets
saving a loop as
Apply SMPTE Offset to Broadcast Wave
ACIDized files
Timestamps
tutorial
Apply Trimming 362
ACIDized loops
 Archive 187, 1125 Bounce to Clip(s) 540
Archiving tracks changing name off
Arm 248 changing start time of
Arm for Recording 1127 combining
ASCII TAB copying
exporting to deleting
saving as moving
ASIO drivers pasting
enabling properties of –
Assign Instruments dialog size of
Audible Bounce splitting
Audigy card to turn off automatic display of
LFE channel Audio data
Audio applying a fade to
auditioning with scrub tool backing up
basic editing deleting unused files of
connecting instruments to sound card distributing
imported files
digital , improving performance with
distortion playback problems
editing tutorial recording problems
effects reversing
exporting , Audio dropouts
finding missing fixing
importing , Audio effects
metronome controlling
mixing CPU usage of
playback troubleshooting mixing
See also Mixing; Reverb
plug-ins
Audio engine button
recording See Recording audio
Audio events
routing
defined
scrubbing
under SMPTE/MTC Sync
editing –
Audio files
where it is stored
Apple AIFF
Audio 243, 854, 1137
Core Audio Format
Audio CD
FLAC
how to create
Audio CD Tracks formats
importing managing
Audio clips NeXT/Sun

1520 Index
 RAW quantizing to Pool and lffline
Sound Designer II rendering tutorial
Audio folders slip-stretching audio clips
per-project the Pool
Audio hardware transient markers
Wave Profiler Audition
Audio loop Auditioning notes
defined polyphonically
Audio Options dalog Audtion Selection 1115
Drivers tab
Auto arming
Audio Options dialog
Auto punch
Advanced tab
See also Punch recording
Driver Profiles tab Auto save
General tab changing settings
Audio performance
Auto save, settings
improving
Audio processing Auto Send banks
playing backward Auto-load Normal.tpl
removing silence – Automatic crossfades
See also Volume Automatic MIDI echo
Audio recording turning off
tutorial Automating effects
Audio scaling Automation
Loop Construction view adding nodes at selection
Audio Track automated muting
inserting automating a soft synth’s controls
Audio tracks
parameters converting Piano Roll envelopes to
AudioSnap Track view envelopes , ,
adding automation
aligning MIDI with audio copying and pasting envelopes
auto stretch option deleting envelopes
copying audio rhythms as MIDI dotted lines
drawing audio envelopes in the Track
enabling
view
extract timing
drawing envelopes on clips
extract timing tutorial
Enable Automation Playback button
groove quantizing audio
palette Envelope tool
quantizing audio faders and knobs in Console view
quantizing to Pool
jump

Index 1521
 methods Bar lines
quick guide adding to an improvised track See Fit
Improvisation
reassigning envelopes to other
Batch mode
parameters
playing back files in
recording automation from an external
controller Beat Value
recording individual fader or knob Beats per Measure
movements Beats, accenting
resetting envelopes to default values Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk
Beginning 173, 1120
shapes
Big Time view
showing or hiding envelopes
displaying
snapshots
surround panning
font settings ,
Bit depth
the envelope and node editing menus
setting
Bit depths
toolbar
multiple in project
using
Bit rate
Automation curves
Bounce
Automation Data , Fast Bounce mix option
Automation Read and Write buttons real-time
Automation toolbar audible
AVI files
Bounce to Clip(s) 540
importing Bounce to Track(s)
combining tracks using
B Bounce to Track(s) dialog
Backing up your work Bounce to tracks
audio data how to
bundle files Bouncing tracks
using per-project audio folders takes too long
Bank/Patch Change dialog Broadcast wave files
Banks , – description of
assigning a bank select method – how to export ,
Bundle files
assigning patch names to – 64-bit CWB files
assigning to a track creating
load opening
parameters unpacking
save Burn audio CDs
Sysx , Burning a CD

1522 Index
Bus Chn parameter
choosing a default bus for inserted Chord
tracks analyzing
Bus pane
Chord event
docking views in
Chord Grid –
Buses , ,
Chord Library
sending audio data to
Chord Symbols –
Chords , –
C editing from the fretboard
Cakewalk FX Stereo Reverb 497 properties of –
Cakewalk Generic Surface plug-in Clean Audio Folder 850, 851, 1135
Cakewalk Publisher Clear All
CAL programs
Clip lock
sample – Clip muting
CD
creating Clip muting with the alternate style
quality Clip muting with the default style
sampling rate Clip properties 533
CD Burning Clip soloing ,
CD burning Clips
preparing audio with higher bit and/or arranging – ,
sample rates
arranging audio
preparing higher resolution audio for
audio
CD burning
CD player changing colors of
connecting to , choosing a specific length
CD ripping combining – ,
Center material copying
removing copying using copy and paste
ChanAft event copying using drag and drop
Change Audio Format 1135 crossfading
Change audio format cutting and pasting
defined
Change Audio Format dialog
deleting
Channel , ,
displaying ,
assigning instruments to – displaying contents
note property
displaying names
pedal event parameter
drag and drop editing
splitting
effects on
Channel Aftertouch
envelopes
thinning

Index 1523
 groove clips
linked –
MIDI definition
moving –
moving to a specific start time
pasting as new
pasting into existing
performance effects of
properties ,
renaming
reversing notes in ,
revert to original time stamp
selecting ,
selecting partial
splitting
splitting options
trimming non-destructively
Clips pane
not visible
Clock
sources –
Clone 299, 1128
Clone tracks dialog
Cloning tracks
Color
screen –
Color presets
import and export
Color set files
importing and exporting
Colors 84, 1138
Colors dialog
Combining clips
Commands
missing
Comping takes
Confidence recording
Configurable Track view
Track controls
changing the order of
Connecting
electric guitar

1524
 guitar through effects rack
microphone
Connecting a guitar and effects rack to your sound card
Connecting a microphone to your sound card
Connecting a mixer to your sound card
Connecting an instrument or home stereo to your sound card
Connecting guitar to sound card
Console view
adjusting knobs in
automating controls in
choosing inputs in
keyboard shortcuts in
linking controls in –
modules
mute and solo in
overview
Consolidate Project Audio 850, 1135
Contollers pane ,
Control event
Control groups
absolute ,
custom ,
editing ,
relative –
See also Automation Data
Control Surfaces 1142
Control surfaces
generic
generic property page ,
generic surface dialog
Controller
MIDI definition
Controller/surfaces
connecting and disconnecting
Controllers , ,
assigning, to instruments
data, thinning
inserting a series
numbers
parameters
Convert MIDI to shapes procedure

1525
 Converting bit depths
Converting MIDI to audio
Converting sample rates and bit depths
Converting soft synth tracks to audio
Copy dialog
Copying tracks
Copyright
Count-in
CPS (cycles per second)
CPU conservation mode
CPU meter
CPU performance ,
CPU performance meter
Create New Layer On Overlap
Credits
Crescendos – ,
creating using Process-Scale Velocity 459
Cropping overlapping clips
Crossfade
changing the curve types in
curve types
Crossfade 548
Crossfade dialog
Crossfades
applying offline
automatic
non-destructive
Current track
Current track MIDI echo
turning off
Curves
types in fades and crossfades
Customizable menus
Customizable toolbars
Cut dialog
Cycle
Cycles per second
Cyclone
editing loops in
Key Map view

1526
 keyboard shortcuts in
loading loops in
Loop bin
Loop view
overview
Pad Editor
pad groups
Pad Inspector
Slice Inspector
toolbar
using
Cyclone Soft Synth

D
D/A
Data
sysx –
Data directory
dB
audio scaling by ,
DC offset
removing
Decibel scale
Decrescendos
creating using Process-Scale Velocity Velocity
Default bus
setting
setting for inserted tracks
Default pitch
changing a project’s
Define Groove dialog
definition
Deglitch dialog
Deglitch filter ,
using
Delay
adding
Delete 300, 1129
Delete dialog
digital audio definition
Digital audio recording See Recording audio

1527
 Digital audio See Audio
Digital distortion
digital-to-analog converter
Dim Solo Gain
Dim Solo Mode
adjust dim level
enable
Dimension LE
Diminuendo
Dirty flag
in presets
Disk cache meter
Disk meter
Disks
caching
compressed
fragmented
storage requirements
Displacement
Dithering
during rewrite procedure
DMA settings ,
Docking views
Dotted lines
Double Precision engine
Doubled notes
Downmixing ,
Drag and Drop 332
Drag-Quantize
Drivers
MIDI
using ASIO
Dropouts
fixing
DropZone
Drum editing
Drum Grid pane
changing grid line display in
displaying tracks in
displaying velocity tails in

1528
 editing note velocities in
Drum machines
Drum Map Manager
opening
working in
Drum Map Manager 506, 1142
Drum maps
assigning a MIDI track to
creating
editing
opening
saving
the basics
tutorial
Dual monitor support
Dump Request Macros (DRM) ,
Duration
Fill
note ,
note property
parameter
time
Duration dialog

E
Echo
adding
eliminating during recording
Echoing
MIDI
Edirol PCR controllers
Edit-Apply Trimiming
deleting slip-edited data using
Edit-Apply Trimming 1094
Edit-Bounce to Clip(s) 1092
combining clips using ,
Edit-Bounce to Track(s) 1093
mixing down tracks using
Edit-Convert MIDI To Shapes 483, 698, 710
Edit-Copy 1091
arranging clips using

1529
 copying envelopes using
importing tracks from other projects with
keyboard shortcut
Edit-Cut 300, 306, 315, 493, 705, 1091
keyboard shortcut
Edit-Delete
deleting clips using
deleting measures using
deleting time using
keyboard shortcut
Edit-Groove Clip Looping 1093
enabling Groove clip looping using
Edit-History 357, 1088
Editing
slip editing
Editing audio
tutorial
Editing MIDI
tutorial
Edit-Paste 1092
arranging clips using
importing tracks from a project using
keyboard shortcut
pasting envelopes using
Edit-Redo 244, 1088
keyboard shortcut
Edit-Select-All 1089
Edit-Select-By Filter 1089
Edit-Select-By Time 322, 1089
Edit-Select-None 323, 1089
Edit-Split 1094
splitting clips using
Edit-Undo 244, 300, 1088
keyboard shortcut
Effects
adding
adding in the Track view
adding to clips in real time
audio
automating
CPU usage of

1530
 increasing number of
MIDI
mono/stereo/surround indicator
presets
real-time audio
relinking surround parameters
unlinking surround parameters
Effects tail
defined
Effects with surround sound
Electric Guitar
connecting
Enable Automation Playback button
Encoding options
End 173, 1120
keyboard shortcut
Ensoniq instruments
Envelope Display on a Percentage Scale
Envelope Draw tool
Envelope mode
Envelope tool
Envelopes
copying and pasting
deleting
drawing audio envelopes in the Track view
drawing envelopes on clips
resetting to default values
showing or hiding envelopes
Envelopes-Track 696
EQ
copy settings between tracks/buses
per-track
Erase tool
behavior
using in Piano Roll view
Errors
timing
Wave Profiler
Event
deleting
inserting new

1531
 searching for a
Event Filter dialog
Event filters , –
selecting events using
setting up
Event inspector toolbar
Event List toolbar
Event List view , , –
keyboard shortcuts in
multiple tracks in
note names in
opening
Pitch parameter
Event Parameters
editing
Event types
filtering
Events
audio
channel aftertouch
controller
defined
editing ,
Key aftertouch
MCIcmd –
Meta-
note ,
out-of-window
parameters , ,
patch
patch change
pitch wheel ,
searching a song for
searching for
selecting
shifting in time
shifting the time of
shrink using percentages
special
step by step playback
stretch using percentages

1532
 stretching and shrinking
transposing selected
xRPN
Export Audio dialog
Export Broadcast Waves By Default
Export OMF dialog
Exporting
audio ,
encoding options
MP3s
projects as OMF files
Windows Media Format files
Exporting key bindings
Exporting MIDI Groove clips
Exporting surround mixes
Exporting video
Expression event
Expression marks , –
editing
External Insert
bouncing
using external effects in SONAR

F
Fade
changing curve type of
Fade type, choosing
Fade/Envelope 547–549
Fade/Envelope dialog
Fade-in, create a
Fade-in, delete a
Fade-in, edit a
Faders
Fades
FAQs
Fast Bounce
Fast Zoom
FAX modems
File

1533
 opening
File extensions
.CAL 1103
.CWB 285
.CWP 59
.CWT 726
.INI 949
.MID 285
.SYX 809, 819
File Info dialog
File Info window
File menu
Open 61
File Recovery Mode
File versioning
File-Close 286, 1083
File-Export-Audio 566, 589, 652, 654, 656, 658, 1086, 1133
File-Export-OMF 660, 1087
File-Export-Video to AVI 1086
File-Import-Audio 279, 280, 407, 847, 1085
File-Import-Video File 1086
File-Info 287, 1084
File-New 236, 237, 727, 1083
File-Open 236, 1083
File-Print 288, 774, 1087
File-Print Preview 288, 774, 1087
File-Project Audio Files 849, 1085
Files
.WAV 653
audio , –
bundle
bundle, creating
CAL –
GM –
groove
GS –
importing MIDI
instrument definitions –
managing audio
MIDI ,

1534
 project
RIFF MIDI
sequencing, for playback
song
statistics ,
StudioWare
SYSX.INI 821
using MCI commands to play
Wave
XG
File-Save 285, 286, 1084
File-Save As 285, 1084
File-Send 1088
Fill Durations
Find Missing Audio dialog
Finding missing audio
FireWire
exporting video to a FireWire device
video playback on
Fit Improvisation 460
Fit to Time 348
Fit to Time dialog
Float file support
Floating a view
Floating views
dual monitor support
focus
track focus definition
Follow Bus Pan
Follow Track Pan
Freezing tracks and synths
Frequency
fundamental
Fretboard
changing appearance
displaying
hiding
Fretboard pane See Fretboard
Friendly driver names
Friendly names
for MIDI devices

1535
 From 173, 1120
keyboard shortcut
Front/rear balance slider
Full chase lock
FX bin
mono/stereo/surround indicator
FX bins
vertical display

G
Gain command
Game sound
General MIDI See GM
Generic control surface property page
Generic control surfaces
assigning knobs and faders
BaseTrack
changing tracks
conserving knobs and buttons
Increment/Decrement
learn
Literally/Toggle
On/Off
saving and backing up presets ,
Trigger Value
Generic controller/surface property page
Generic controller/surfaces
dialog explained
Generic controllers/surfaces
working with
Ghost strokes
Global 236, 541, 1138
Global Audio Folder ,
Global Audio folder
changing
Global Options
autosave
default folder ,
MIDI filter tab
Global Options dialog
Audio Data tab

1536
 Auto-save and Versioning
Editing tab
Folders tab
General tab
MIDI tab
Timecode tab
GM ,
Go dialog
Go menu
Beginning 173, 1120
keyboard shortcut
End 173, 1120
Endkeyboard shortcut
From 173, 1120
keyboard shortcut
Next Marker 330, 1121
Next Markerkeyboard shortcut
Next Measure 174, 1121
Next Measurekeyboard shortcut
Previous Marker 330, 1121
Previous Measure 174, 1121
Previous Measurekeyboard shortcut ,
Search 477, 480, 1122
Search Nex 1122
Search Next 477
Search Nextkeyboard shortcut
Thru 173, 1120
keyboard shortcut
Time 173, 1119
keyboard shortcut
Gridlines, displaying
Groove clips ,
creating
dragging into project
editing
editing slices
following project pitch
how they work
importing into project
MIDI
previewing in Loop Explorer view

1537
 tutorial
using
what they are
working with
Groove Pattern
copying
defining
deleting
saving
Groove Quantize 461, 462
using
Groove Quantize
correcting a bad verse with
Grooves See Groove Pattern
Group
chord property
Group Manager 643
Grouping controls
Quick Groups
Grouping controls, faders, or knobs
Grouping surround panner controls
GS
Guitar
adding chord grid
connecting effects rack to sound card
connecting to sound card
recording separate strings
Guitar, electric
connecting –

H
Hairpin event
Hairpin symbols ,
adding
Hardware setup
Height of tracks
locking
Help menu
Quick Start 56
Hertz
HID_TRACK_ARM_AUTOMATION
Hide 1129
History 358
Home Stereo
connecting to ,
Horizontal meters
Hot-keys
Console view
Event List view
Loop Construction view
Loop Explorer view
menu commands
Piano Roll view ,
Staff view
Synth Rack view
Track view
Hz

I
Icons
for soft synths
track icons
Importing
audio CD tracks
audio files ,
from a Cakewalk project –
music –
preview bus
Importing different sampling rates
Importing key bindings
Importing MIDI Groove clips
Importing OMF
Importing surround mixes
Initialization File 949, 1141
Initialization File Settings dialog
Initialization files
Inline Piano Roll toobar
displaying
Inline Piano Roll view
auditioning and selecting notes
zooming

1539
Input
Input Echo button
Input filtering
Input levels
checking
Input Monitoring
turning on or off for all tracks
Input monitoring
disabling
eliminating echo from
enabling
Input Quantize dialog
Input Quantizing
Inputs
choosing in Console view
selecting
setting source of
Insert menu
Audio Track 1113
Marker 1113
MIDI Track 1113
Series of Controllers 442, 1113
Series of Tempos 348, 352, 1114
Tempo Change 348
Tempo ChangeTempo Change 1112
Time Measures 1112
Time/Measures 453
Insert menuTempo Change 351
Insert New Tracks button
Insert Series of Controllers dialog
Insert Time/Measures dialog
Insert-Bank/Patch Change 205
Insert-Bank/Patch Change 1112
Inserting a send in a bus
Inserting a send in a track
Sends
inserting in a track
Inserting tracks
Insert-Meter/Key Change 777, 1112
Insert-Meter/Key Changes 238
Insert-Time Measures 454
Instrument Definition Tutorial
Instrument Definitions
flags
Instrument definitions
creating –
exporting
importing –
name lists –
reload
saving
Instrument sound
choosing an
parameter
track settings
wrong, on playback
See also Instruments
Instruments
accessing all sounds on
assigning, to outputs –
bank assignments –
defining –
deleting
non-concert key , –
patch names for –
problems recording from MIDI –
recording from MIDI
Instruments 787, 1136
Interface
picture and description
Interleave indicator
FX bins
Interpolate 210, 481, 753
Interpolate dialog
Interrupt request (IRQ) settings
Isolating
Italic>Edit-Delete

J
Joystick support
Jump

1541
K
k64-bit plug-in display
Key
adjusting –
aftertouch
signature – ,
Key Bindings 724, 1141
Key bindings
creating using MIDI keyboard
exporting
importing
Key Bindings dialog
Key+
KeyAft event
Keyboard
connecting MIDI –
connecting to computer
Local Control setting
notes doubling on
parameters
patches –
recording accompaniments
Keyboard shortcut
Track Inspector
Keyboard shortcuts
Console view
Event List view
Loop Construction view
Loop Explorer view
menu commands
Piano Roll view ,
Staff view
Synth Rack view
Track view
Keystrokes
sending all to a plug-in
Kilohertz

L
Lanes
Large Transport
Large Transport toolbar
Latency
Layering synths
live playback
Layers in tracks
Layouts , , –
creating
deleting
loading
options
renaming
updating
Lead sheets See Notation and Lyrics
Length 456
Length dialog
LFE channel on consumer-grade sound cardsr
LFE Send level
default value
Linear Phase EQ
Link button
Linked clips
creating
unlinking
Live MIDI playback
controlling
Load Bank
Local Control
Local On/Off
Lock track height
Locked clips and tempo change
Locking clips
Locking views
Loop
defined
Loop and Auto Shuttle 179, 1117
Loop Construction view ,
keyboard shortcuts in
Loop Explorer view ,
keyboard shortcuts in

1543
Loop recording
using
Loop, moving a
Loop/Auto Shuttle
settings
toolbar
Loop/Auto Shuttle dialog
Loopback recording adjustment
Looping
delays
enabling loops for
setting up –
using punch-in while
Loops
ACIDized
converting to Groove clips
creating repetitions of
dragging into project
enabling looping of
Groove clip tutorial
previewing in Loop Explorer view
working with
LP-64 Linear Phase EQ
LP-64 Multiband Compressor
Lyric event
Lyrics –
hyphenating
in Lyrics View –
in Staff View –
Lyrics view
adding lyrics in
editing lyrics in
syllable

M
Magnetic snap
Magnetic Strength
Main out faders
linking
MAJOR CHORD.CAL
Mapped note
changing the mapping of
muting and soloing
Marker 1113
inserting
keyboard shortcut
Marker dialog
Markers ,
adding
adding on the fly
copying
creating –
deleting
deleting from the Markers view
editing
jump to
locking/unlocking
moving
pitch
setting Now time with
setting time range with
snap-to grid
using
Markers module
Markers view
Marks
expression –
Masked the active track error message
MBT (measure, beat and tick number) , ,
MBT time
entering
MCI (Media Control Interface) command , –
MCI cmd event
Measure
inserting a blank
Measures
inserting
Menu
Menu commands
keyboard shortcuts for
missing

1545
Menus
customizing
Meter , –
Meter ballistics
Meter display
changing in Console view
Meter/Key
changes , –
view ,
Meter/Key Signature dialog
Meter/Key view
Metering
changing the display of meters
showing and hiding meters
what the meters measure
Meters
changing color and segmentation option
choosing colors for non-segmented meters
configuring display of
improving performance
MIDI activity indicators
MIDI velocity meters
playback and record
segmented
Metronome
audio
changing settings
setting for new project
setting the –
using
Microphone
connecting , ,
Microscope Mode
adjust microscope size
configure options
enable/disable
enable/disable time magnification
using
Microsoft Sound Recorder
MIDI
advantages of
as remote control
assigning a channel
bank selection
beginner’s guide
channel parameter
channels ,
channels vs. tracks
choosing channels
choosing devices
connecting keyboard –
controller
converting MIDI to audio
devices ,
drivers
echoing
editing tutorial
equipment connection –
files
how it works
ignoring MIDI messages
importing files –
input and echo controls
inputs and outputs
interfaces
key aftertouch
Local On/Off
machine control (MMC) –
messages
controlling
filtering
mixing –
note parameters
notes
Omni
output devices –
outputs –
pitch wheel
pitch-bend
playback settings –
polyphony
receive

1547
 recording music from
routing data
RX
setting up in and out devices
software interfaces to
synchronization
synchronization status messages
time code
timing resolution
See also Controllers
MIDI clips
definition
MIDI controllers
converting to shapes (track envelopes) , ,
MIDI data
applying an event filter to
applying echo/delay to
applying the arpeggiator to
quantizing
MIDI data lanes
assign event type to
copy events between lanes
create a new lane
delete a lane
move events between lanes
show/hide event types
working with
MIDI definition
MIDI Devices 58, 201, 203, 829, 878, 1135, 1203
MIDI Devices command
MIDI Devices dialog
MIDI drivers
changing
MIDI Echo
turning on or off for all tracks
MIDI echo
controlling
Input Echo button
multi-channels on one track
MIDI effects
presets
MIDI equipment, connecting
MIDI File Formats
SMF (standard MIDI files)
MIDI files
importing
MIDI Groove clips
creating repetitions
enabling groove function
exporting and importing
in Loop Explorer view
previewing in the Import MIDI dialog
transposing
using pitch markers
MIDI In and Out devices
driver changes
MIDI input filtering
MIDI input presets
creating and editing ,
MIDI keyboard
multiple performers on multiple tracks
playing multiple tracks from
MIDI meter
activity indicator
velocity meter
MIDI notes
editing using Note Inspector toolbar
MIDI Out
MIDI playback
live on multiple tracks
MIDI Scale
MIDI Sync
status messages
troubleshooting
with drum machine
MIDI System Exclusive messages
MIDI THRU
MIDI THRU jack
MIDI Time Code
sending and receiving
MIDI timing offset
MIDI Track
inserting
MIDI track parameters

1549
 Input
Outputs
Pan
track name
track number
MIDI tracks
definition
Milliseconds
MINOR CHORD.CAL
Missing menu commands
Mixer
connecting to ,
Mixing
controlling
MIDI –
tracks
tutorial
Mixing audio effects
MMC
MME audio drivers
Modules
Mono/Stereo buttons
Most Recently Used menu
presets
Mouse wheel ,
zooming with
MP3
creating
MP3 files, creating and exporting
MPEG Video, importing
MRU menu
presets
MTC
sending and receiving
Multiband Compressor
Multi-channel MIDI recording
Multi-MIDI input
Multi-port soft synths
multi-timbral
definition
Musical Editing
 rests
Mute
automating
MIDI event mute
Mute 186, 187
Mute 186, 1125
Mute button
showing automated mute status
Mute buttons, grouping
Muting a soft synth
Muting clips

N
Name, of a track
Navigator pane
Navigator view
changing display of Clips pane using
using
New Global Layout dialog
New track
adding
Next Marker 330, 1121
keyboard shortcut
Next Measure 174, 1121
keyboard shortcut
NoControllerReset
Nodes
adding to a selected envelope segment
Non-destructive editing
Normal template
Normalize 542, 543
Normalize command
Notation
editing ,
non-concert key ,
Notation and Lyrics
Note events
transposing pitch of
Note Map pane
previewing mapped sound in

1551
Note names
of patches –
Note pane
Note velocities
editing in the Drum Grid pane
Note velocity
adjusting –
changing with Velocity MIDI effect
compressing
displaying
inverting
Notes
changing display of –
changing timing of
doubling
drag-quantize
drawing in Piano Roll view
duration of
editing –
editing from the fretboard
editing on the TAB staff
editing velocity in Piano Roll view
editing with the Draw tool ,
editing with the Select tool
editing, in real time
erasing
glue notes together
inserting
inserting with the fretboard
mute
painting
percussion
properties of
reversing
selecting ,
selecting all of certain pitches ,
selecting and editing
selecting in Piano Roll view
size of
splitting ,
stuck , ,
 transposing –
using enharmonic spellings –
Now Time
rewind on stop
Now time , ,
changing
keyboard shortcuts
large print
NRPN (Non-Registered Parameter Number) , ,
assigning, to instruments
event
Nudge
moving clips left or right
moving clips up or down
settings
numeric peak values
showing

O
Offset mode
OMF
exporting to
importing
project data discarded when saved as
project data preserved in
saving projects as
OMF files
exporting
Open Plug-in Technology
OPT panels
Options menu
Audio 243, 854, 1137
Colors 84, 1138
Control Surfaces 1142
Drum Map Manager 506, 1142
Global 236, 541, 1138
Initialization File 949, 1141
Instruments 787, 1136
Key Bindings 724, 1141
MIDI Devices 58, 201, 203, 829, 878, 1135, 1203
Project 241, 243, 1137

1553
 SoundFonts 1140
Time Ruler Format-HMSF 1142
Time Ruler Format-MBT 1141
Time Ruler Format-Samples 1142
Original Time
Out of memory error
Outputs
assigning tracks to
MIDI
setting
Overlapping clips
cropping to eliminate overlap
Overload
Overtones

P
Pan
adjusting
envelopes
setting
track settings
Pane
Pane, Staff
Panning
follow bus pan
Follow Track Pan
Panning in surround
Panning laws
changing
Parameters
effects
events – , ,
global
pedal events
template file –
See also Events
Partial clips
selecting
Patch , – ,
assigning note names to –
assigning to a track
 definition
event
names –
numbers
Patch Browser dialog
Patch/Controller Searchback Before Play Starts
Patches
downloading
Pattern Brush tool
creating custom patterns for
how it works
painting a custom pattern with
painting notes using
Pattern Velocity dialog
Pattern-based Step Recording
Patterns
importing from Project5
Peak Markers
clearing from a track
Pedal events
editing
parameters
Pedal marks
adding
Percentage
audio scaling by ,
Percussion
channel
ghost strokes
line –
staff –
Percussion track
setting up
Performance
CPU, with FX effects
improving audio
maximizing disk and CPU
Per-project audio folders
Per-track EQ
copy settings between tracks/buses
using
Phase

1555
 inverting a track’s
Piano Roll envelopes
converting to Track view envelopes , ,
Piano Roll toolbar
Piano Roll tools
configuring
default assignments
drag-quantize events
glue notes together
keyboard modifier keys
mouse actions
mouse locations/contexts
mute events
note/controller painting
PRV Tool Configuration dialog
split notes
Piano Roll View
inline version
Piano Roll view , , ,
colorize notes by velocity
Controllers pane ,
Drum Grid pane
editing notes in using Note Inspector toolbar
flexible Piano Roll tools
hide events in muted clips
keyboard shortcuts in ,
Microscope Mode
MIDI data lanes
Note and Controllers pane
note hit testing
Note Map pane
note names in
opening
overview
scale pane
select controllers with notes
show velocity for selected notes
Track List pane
velocity audition
Piano Roll view envelopes
converting to Track view shapes
picture
 audio definition
Picture Cache
Picture cache redrawing
optimizing
Picture Folder
Pitch
changing a MIDI note’s
changing project’s with marker
enabling Groove clips to follow
fluctuating –
note property
selecting
Pitch markers
creating
MIDI Groove clips and
moving
transposing Groove clips with
using
Pitch wheel
events, thinning
parameters
Play 177, 1115
keyboard shortcut
Play List ,
to play files from
Play List view
Playback –
allow playback with no data
audio drop-out during
controlling , , ,
controlling using transport toolbar
incorrect –
problems , –
problems with MIDI file
settings, MIDI –
speed
starting
stopping
track-by-track –
transmitting banks
troubleshooting

1557
Playback loop
cancelling
setting up
Playback of V-Vocal clips
Playback State toolbar
playing
Plot
Plug-ins
audio
MIDI
organizing in menus
using presets
Plug-ins and 96 kHz audio
Polarity
inverting a track’s
Polyphonic auditioning of dragged notes
Polyphonic note auditioning
polyphony
Port Address settings
Ports
assign different input ports to multiple audio tracks
assign same input port to multiple audio tracks
assign same output port to all buses
assign same output port to multiple audio tracks
assigning instruments to –
Pow-r dithering
PPQ, see timebase
Preamp output
connecting to ,
Preferences
migrating from previous version of Cakewalk
Preferred interleave
Presets
dirty flag
for plug-ins
Pressure value
Preview Bus
Previewing MIDI Groove clips
in Import MIDI dialog
Previous Marker 330, 1121
Previous Measure 174, 1121
 keyboard shortcut ,
Printing
event list
markers
project information
scores
Process-Apply Audio Effects 1097
applying realtime audio effects using
Process-Apply MIDI Effects 1097
apply realtime MIDI effects using
Process-Audio-Apply Audio Effects
apply multiple realtime effects using
Process-Audio-Crossfade 1096
creating a destructive crossfade using
Process-Audio-Fade/Envelope 1096
creating a destructive fade using
Process-Audio-Normalize 543, 1095
Process-Audio-Remove Silence 546, 1095
Process-Audio-Reverse 1097
playing audio backwards using
Process-Deglitch 1099
filtering MIDI data with
Process-Fit Improvisation 348, 470–471
Process-Fit Improvisation 1105
Process-Fit to Time 456
Process-Fit to Time 348, 1105
Process-Groove Quantize
using
Process-Groove Quantize 1102
Process-Interpolate 481, 1102
Process-Length 1102
shrinking events using
stretching events using
Process-Quantize 1101
using
Process-Retrograde 1103
reversing MIDI notes using
Process-Run CAL 1103
Process-Scale Velocity 459
Process-Scale Velocity 1104

1559
Process-Slide 1099
shifting MIDI events in time using
Process-Transpose 1104
Program
definition
Project
creating a
definition of
importing material from another , –
information –
inserting measures into –
labeling –
maximum duration
opening ,
saving
views
Project 241, 243, 1137
Project Audio Files dialog
Project file
creating new
Project Files dialog
using
Project information
diplaying
editing
Project Options
metronome
MIDI out
sync to SMPTE/MTC
time base
Project Options dialog
Clock tab
Metronome tab
MIDI Out tab
Sync tab
Project pitch
changing the default pitch
Project5
importing patterns from
Project5 patterns
importing
Projects
 saving, as MIDI files
working on
Property-Bank 205, 1124
Property-Channel 209, 1123
Property-Inputs 276, 1123
Property-Key+ 210, 1123
Property-Outputs 1122
Property-Pan 207, 1125
Property-Patch 205, 1124
Property-Time+ 211, 1123
Property-Vel+ 211, 1123
Property-Volume 207, 1124
Publisher
Punch recording ,
looping
using

Q
Quantize
drag-quantize
effect
offset option
synchronizing rhythm and solo tracks with
using
Window setting
Quantize 460, 461, 749
Quantizing
input quantizing
on input
Queue buffers
Quick freeze
Quick Groups
Quick TAB
creating
Quick unfreeze
QuickTime video, importing

R
Radio tuner

1561
 connecting to ,
RANDOM TIME.CAL
Rapture LE
Real-time Bounce
Recompute Picture(s)
Record 249, 255, 262, 263, 266
Record 1116
audio
keyboard shortcut
MIDI
Record latency adjustment
Record Mode 244, 839
Record Options 262, 266
Record Options 245, 1118
Record Options dialog
Recording
Arming tracks for
arming tracks for
audio
choosing an input
definition
troubleshooting
automation
background noise in
changing timing of , ,
channel-by-channel
checking input levels
checking levels
confidence
controlling using Transport toolbar
converting MIDI to audio
digital audio See Recording audio
eliminating echo
erasing
inputs
loop – , –
MIDI
modes
problems – ,
punch-in –
specifying MIDI ports and channels to record by
 step –
step-pattern
StudioWare Controls –
using confidence recording during
volume
Recording a soft synth
Recording Digital Audio
tutorial
Recording fader movements
Recording MIDI
tutorial
Recording modes
Auto Punch
Overwrite
Sound on sound
Recording Options
create new layer on overlap
Redo 357
Reject Loop Take 263, 266
Reject Loop Take 263, 1118
Relink surround effect
Remote control
Remove Silence
Attack time
Remove Silence 544
digital noise gate parameters
Remove Silence dialog 1404
Rename Existing Layout dialog
Reset 177, 1117
Reset all meters
Resolution, quantizing parameter
Rests, beaming of
Retrograde 459
Reverse 459, 544
Revert clip(s) to original time stamp
Rewind 177, 1116
keyboard shortcut
ReWire
automating ReWire instruments
enhanced features
inserting a ReWire instrument

1563
 mixing down and bouncing ReWire instruments
routing MIDI data to specific instruments
to use separate audio tracks
troubleshooting guide
ReWire instruments
Riff Wave files
description of
saving a Groove clip as
RPN (Registered Parameter Numbers)
event
RPNs (Registered Parameter Numbers) , ,
assigning, to instruments
Run Audio 1116

S
Safe Mode
Sample rate
definition
setting ,
Sample rates
converting
setting for new projects
Sampling rate
setting
Sampling rates
importing audio at different rates
Sampling resolution
Save Bank
Save options
bundle file
Standard MIDI
Saving
projects as OMF files
Saving a project
Scale Velocity 210, 459
Scale Velocity dialog
Scales
constraining edited notes to
Scissors tool
splitting clips with
Scores, printing
Scoring
film and video
Screen colors –
Scrub tool ,
auditioning with
Search 477, 480, 1122
Search Again
Search Nex 477, 1122
Search Next
keyboard shortcut
Select All Siblings 331, 333
Select by Filter
Select by Filter 477, 480–481
Select by Time 322
Select None 323
Selected Track Input Series
Selected Track Inputs
Selected Track Outputs
Selection playback
Sends
inserting in a bus
Sensitivity setting
quantizing parameter
Series of Controllers
Series of Controllers
inserting ,
Series of Tempos 351, 352
inserting , ,
Set End=Current 644
Set Start=Current 643
Settings
migrating from previous version of Cakewalk
Shapes
Shortcuts
Console view
Event List view
Loop Construction
Loop Explorer view
menu commands
Piano Roll view ,
Staff view

1565
 Synth Rack view
Track view
Show Automated Mute
Show layers
Show numeric peak values
Sidechaining
assign track/bus/send to sidechain input
bouncing audio with sidechain plug-ins
freezing a sidechain input
Signal flow diagram
Silence
removing –
Silencing tracks –
Slaving to SMPTE/MTC
Slide 452
Slide dialog
Slip editing
to permanently delete slip-edited data
using
Slip-editing
multiple clips
SMPTE ,
SMPTE start times for clips
SMPTE Synchronization
frame rate
SMPTE time
adjusting
SMPTE/MTC Sync –
controlling audio with
digital audio under
troubleshooting –
with full chase lock –
Snap
magnetic snap
Snap Grid See Snap to Grid
Snap offset
Snap offsets
Snap to Grid –
enabling and disabling
Snap to Scale
bypassing momentarily
Snapshots
creating
Soft synth MIDI output
enabling and recording
Soft synth property pages (interfaces)
how to open
Soft Synths
MIDI output support
multi-port
tutorial
Soft synths
converting soft synth tracks to audio
drawing automation in the Clips pane
icons
muting and soloing
removing from a project
soft synths
recording output
Software synthesizers
and WDM drivers
playing a soft synth
recording a hardware-emulating synth
removing from a track
Solo ,
see also Dim Solo Mode
Soloing a soft synth
Soloing clips ,
SONAR
as master –
as slave
features of –
installing
sync to SMPTE/MTC
uninstalling
using
Songs
publishing
quantizing
title
Sony Wave-64 format
Sort 293, 1130, 1131, 1132
Sort Tracks dialog

1567
Sound card
built-in
high-end
Sound controls –
SoundFont Banks dialog
SoundFonts 1140
SP/DIF
connecting to
recording through
Split ,
split notes
SPLIT CHANNEL TO TRACKS.CAL
SPLIT NOTE TO TRACKS.CAL
Splitting clips
using Scissors tool
Staff pane
changing layout of
Staff view ,
changing layout of
editing lyrics in –
keyboard shortcuts in
opening
overview
Staff, percussion –
Standard MIDI File
saving a project as
Start time
Status bar
Step Record 275
Step Record 269, 1117
Step Record dialog
Step Recording
adding 2 step sizes together
keyboard shortcuts
Pattern option
using
using Advanced mode
using pattern-based
Step Sequencer
articulation (hold) ,
 beat counter ,
beats per measure ,
clear all steps
clips
Controllers pane ,
delete row ,
edit drum map properties
Fit to Quarters ,
insert row ,
interface ,
keyboard shortcuts ,
monophonic/polyphonic mode ,
Notes pane ,
open ,
patterns
adjust length ,
create
edit
portamento ,
position indicator ,
rows ,
delete
insert
reorder
show/hide Controller pane ,
steps
disable
edit velocity
enable
merge/unmerge
steps per beat ,
swing ,
toolbar ,
transport ,
working with drum maps
Step Size dialog
Stereo mode
Stop 177, 249, 255, 263, 265, 266
Stop 1116
keyboard shortcut
Stop Audio 1116

1569
 Strength, quantizing parameter ,
Striping
Stuck note, stopping
StudioWare
editing automation data in the Piano Roll view with
faders –
recording a snapshot
recording real-time control movements
StudioWare Controls
grouping –
recording –
setting
See also StudioWare Panels
StudioWare panels
devices supported by ,
drawing speed
MIDI data in
See also StudioWare Controls; Widgets
Surround effects
Surround front/rear balance slider
Surround Main
Surround mix parameters
saving as presets
Surround mixes
exporting
importing
Surround mixing
Surround panner controls
grouping
Surround panning
automating
SurroundBridge
Swing ,
Synchronization –
problems –
SMPTE/MTC sync
status messages
types of –
Synth Rack
automating controls
hiding or showing control knobs
rename synths

1570
Synth Rack automation
choosing a track to display on
Synth Rack icons
Synth Rack view ,
keyboard shortcuts in
Synth Tracks
Synthesizer
patches –
software
with handshaking dump protocols
Synths
MIDI output support
System Exclusive See Sysx
System sounds
turning off
Sysx

Dump Request Macros

defined
editing Sysx banks
events
importing, creating, and dumping sysx banks
ini file settings
Receive
recording Sysx messages in real time
sending sysx banks at startup
Sysx echo
Sysx view buttons
to export a Sysx bank to another project
transmitting banks during playback
transmitting before playback
transmitting during playback
troubleshooting
using the system exclusive view
Sysx Bank
Sysx Bank events ,
Sysx Banks
transmitting, during playback
Sysx banks
auto send
deleting
Edit Bytes

1571
 naming
output
Receive
Send
Send All
Sysx Data
in Event list
Sysx Data events
Sysx view , ,
opening
purpose of
using –

T
TAB
saving as ASCII text
Tabbed views
Tablature
defining a style
exporting as an ASCII text file
generating
Quick TAB
regenerating
saving as an ASCII text file
settings
Tabs
configuring in the Track view
Take management
Taskbar indicators
Templates , –
creating –
track templates
Tempo
changing , ,
correcting
decreasing steadily
drawing tempo changes
editing a change
erasing changes
error
increasing steadily

1572
 inserting a change ,
inserting a series
modifying the most recent change
ratio
setting for new project
setting the –
settings
view –
Tempo Change 348, 351
Tempo commands
using
Tempo dialog
Tempo Ratio 1
keyboard shortcut
Tempo Ratio 2
keyboard shortcut
Tempo Ratio 3
keyboard shortcut
Tempo view
Text
Text event
THIN CHANNEL AFTERTOUCH.CAL
THIN CONTROLLER DATA.CAL
THIN PITCH WHEEL.CAL
Thru 173, 1120
keyboard shortcut
Ticks
doubled on FX bins
Time
chord property
event
inserting blank –
MBT ,
note property
pedal event parameter
randomizing start
SMPTE
See also Markers; Now time
Time 1119
keyboard shortcut
setting Now Time using
Time display

1573
 track view
Time Display Format
setting
Time Measures 1112
Time offset (Time+) parameter ,
Time ranges
selecting
Time Ruler
Loop Construction view
setting to display HMSF
setting to display MBT
setting to display SMPTE
Time Ruler Format-HMSF 1142
Time Ruler Format-MBT 1141
Time Ruler Format-Samples 1142
Time signature –
setting ,
Time+
Time/Measures 453
Timebase ,
setting
Timing
aligning
errors
MIDI offset
resolution
Tips--24-bit
Toolbars
creating
customizing
docking and undocking
hiding and showing
renaming
Tools menu
Change Audio Format 1135
Clean Audio Folder 850, 851, 1135
Consolidate Project Audio 850, 1135
Tooltips
appear when editing MIDI events
Track
current
 focus
layers
locking height of
number vs. channel
Show Automated Mute
Track Bank dialog
Track Channel dialog
Track folders
Track icons
Track input
Track Inputs dialog
Track Inspector
keyboard shortcut
Track inspector
Track Key+ dialog
Track menu
Archive 187, 1125
Arm for Recording 1127
Clone 299, 1128
Delete 300, 1129
Fit Content 1131
Hide 1129
Mute 186, 1125
Property-Bank 205, 1124
Property-Channel 209, 1123
Property-Inputs 276, 1123
Property-Key+ 210, 1123
Property-Outputs 1122
Property-Pan 207, 1125
Property-Patch 205, 1124
Property-Time+ 211, 1123
Property-Vel+ 211, 1123
Property-Volume 207, 1124
PRV Mode 1130
PRV Tool-Select/Draw/Auto Erase 1130
Show Velocity Tails 1131
Show/Hide Continuous Events 1131
Show/Hide Notes 1132
Solo 187, 1126
Sort 293, 1130
Wipe 300, 1129

1575
Track name ,
Track Name dialog
Track number
Track output
Track outputs
Track Outputs dialog
Track Pan dialog
Track pane
changing values in
resizing
Track Patch dialog
Track Properties
Key+
output ,
Track See Tracks
Track status
archive ,
mute ,
normal ,
solo ,
Track templates
Track Time dialog
Track Vel+ dialog
Track view – ,
adding effects in ,
bank settings in
clips pane not visible in
keyboard shortcuts in ,
patch settings in
Track view time display
Track View toolbar
Track Volume dialog
Track/Bus Inspector
Tracks
adding lyrics to –
aligning
archiving ,
arming ,
arranging –
assigning input channels and ports
assigning to outputs
audio track definition
bouncing
changing the order of
changing velocity of
cloning
copying
copying or cloning
correcting off-tempo
defined
deleting
dragging to a new position
editing properties of
erasing
increasing number of ,
inserting blank
inserting single or multiple
maximum number of audio
MIDI definition
mixing
multi-lane
muting ,
output devices of –
parameters of –
patch change in –
percussion –
recording in separate
re-ordering –
selecting several adjacent
selecting single
setting channels for
setting key offset of
setting time offset of
silencing –
soloing ,
sort by archived
sort by channel
sort by muted
sort by name
sort by port
sort by selected

1577
 sort by size
sorting –
synchronizing
time alignment of
track folders
transposing –
unarchiving
unmuting
viewing multiple in Piano Roll
volume control of
wiping
See also Recording; Track Properties
Transport
Audition Selection 1115
Loop and Auto Shuttle 1117
Play 1115
Record Options 245, 1118
Reject Loop Take 263, 1118
Run Audio 1116
Stop Audio 1116
Update Patch Cache 1118
Transport menu
Loop and Auto Shuttle 179
Play 177
Record 249, 255
Reset 177
Reset 1117
Rewind 177
Rewind 1116
keyboard shortcut
Step Record 269
Step Record 275, 1117
Stop 177
Stop 1116
keyboard shortcut
Tempo Ratio 1
keyboard shortcut
Tempo Ratio 2
keyboard shortcut
Tempo Ratio 3
keyboard shortcut
Transport menuPlay
 keyboard shortcut
Transport menuRecord 1116
keyboard shortcut
Transport toolbar
Large
Transport, Large
Transpose
using MIDI Transpose effect
Transpose 209, 451–452, 745
Transpose dialog
Transposing –
notes –
parameter
Trigger and freewheel
Trim Durations
Triplets
Troubleshooting
MIDI Sync
playback problems
problems playing MIDI files
SMPTE/MTC Sync –
Sysx ,
Sysx data ,
Tutorial
Instrument Definition
Tutorial 1
The Basics
Tutorial 10
Cyclone soft synth
Tutorial 2
Recording MIDI
Tutorial 3
Recording Digital Audio
tutorial
Tutorial 4
Editing MIDI
Tutorial 5
Editing Audio
Tutorial 6
Using Groove clips
Tutorial 7
Mixing

1579
Tutorial 8
Drum maps
Tutorial 9
Using Soft Synths

U
Unarchiving tracks
Undo
Undo History
Undo History dialog
Unfreeze
Uninstalling SONAR
Unlink surround effect
Update Patch Cache 1118
Updates
USB audio
24 bit problems
UsesNotesAsControllers

V
Vel+ , –
Velocity , ,
adjusting note –
compressing
Ctrl-key editing
data display
editing in Controller pane
inverting
note – , ,
note property
parameter ,
setting –
See also Note velocity
Velocity audition
Velocity tails
displaying in the Drum Grid pane
Vertical FX bins
Video
deleting from a project
disabling playback of
 enabling playback of
exporting
inserting in a project
setting start time
setting trim time
synchronizing external video to audio
Video display format
setting
Video playback
stuttering problem
Video Playback, Import, and Export
Video thumbnails
Video view
View options
display clip names
View-Layouts 1111
Views –
allowing multiple instances of the same
Console view
docking in bus pane
Event List
floating ,
Fretboard
Loop Construction
Loop Explorer
Lyrics , ,
Markers
Meter/Key , , –
Piano Roll view
PianoRoll ,
Play List
Play List view
Staff
Synth Rack ,
Sysx , –
Tempo ,
Track view
Video
Vocal track
removing
Volume
adjusting

1581
 changing audio data
envelopes
faders
output
recording
setting
track settings
VST Configuration
VST MIDI output
VST plug-ins
organizing in menus
VST support
integrated
V-Vocal
context menu
Dynamics editing
Formant editing
Pitch editing
pitch-to-MIDI
Time editing
undoing edits
V-Vocal keyboard shortcuts

W
WAI
Wallpaper –
Wave Audio event
Wave Device Profiler –
errors
Wave files
creating and exporting ,
how to export ,
importing
Wave Profiler
using
Wave Profiler button
Waveform
zooming in on
Waveform preview
on buses and synth tracks
turning off
Waveforms –
clipped
redrawing
to not display while recording
Wheel event
Widgets
reordering in the Track view
Window
Sensitivity ,
Windows
system sounds, turning off
Windows Mixer
using while recording
Window-Tile in Rows 722
Wipe 300, 1129
World Wide Web
authoring
publishing audio on

X
XG
X-Ray Windows

Y
Yamaha OPT panels

Z
Z3TA+
Zero Controllers When Play Stops
Zero-crossings
Zoom
keyboard shortcuts
Zoom Controls
Zoom factor
audio scaling by ,
Zooming
configuring the display of tracks in the Track view
entire project
Zooming in the Inline Piano Roll view

1583
TWELVE TONE SYSTEMS, INC.
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