[musictlk] sonar

Dancing Dots billlist1 at comcast.net
Mon Mar 7 12:53:02 UTC 2011


Jorge, you can certainly use your current MIDI controller to trigger virtual
instrument sounds in SONAR which are called soft synthes.  And you can
configure SONAR to play your keyboard's own sounds. 

You can use your PC keyboard to control virtually all of the functions of
SONAR.  You can issue commands from your PC keyboard to alter all kinds of
program parameters.  For example, you can use keyboard commands to change
the volume level of any track or its pan value (position in the stereo
field).

There are devices called control surfaces which allow you to alter program
parameters more intuitively.  That is, you can assign a rotary control or a
fader to change things like volume, panning, amount of reverb, etc., and
then just reach out and change it manually instead of doing a lot of typing.
Either way works.  But the control surface will save you time and improve
your work flow.   That being said, many customers get great results with
just using the PC keyboard recording, editing, and mixing down their
projects. 

Also, depending on your MIDI keyboard, you may be able to assign certain
controls on it to particular functions in SONAR.  For example, you can tell
SONAR you want to use the mod wheel on your MIDI synthe to control the
volume of a certain track.

SONAR comes with a feature called write automation that allows you to record
volume, panning, and other changes while a track plays back.  Let's say you
record someone playing tenor saxophone.  Toward the end of the project, you
want the sax to fade out.  You go to the track that has the saxophone on it
and arrow across the row of parameters until you reach "Write Automation".
You hit ENTER to toggle it on.  You press space to start play back.  When
you are ready, you begin moving the mod wheel on your synthe (or whatever
control you had previously assigned) and the volume decreases.

You stop playback with space again.  Now toggle Write Automation Off and
make sure that Read Automation, the column next to it, is toggled on.

Now, play back your project and you will hear the saxophone decrease in
volume just exactly in the same way you heard it when you were manually
controlling it.  BTW, you can perform the same write automation issuing
standard commands from your PC's numpad.  But using a continuous controller
like a mod wheel makes parameter changes more smooth.  

HTH,
Bill 


Bill McCann 
Founder and President of Dancing Dots since 1992
www.DancingDots.com
Tel: 610-783-6692

-----Original Message-----
From: musictlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:musictlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jorge Paez
Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2011 1:38 PM
To: NFBnet Music Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [musictlk] sonar

Cameron:
Can you do everything in Sonar from the keyboard or do you require a midi
controller?

(I already have a midi keyboard.)






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