SONAR Explained^®

Chapter 1 : Skylight & Track View

• 4:43

  Getting Started

  Learn how to install Sonar using the new Cakewalk Command Center, and how to set audio and MIDI driver settings when you launch Sonar for the first time.

• 4:58

  Overview

  Learn about the main areas in the Sonar workspace; including the Track View, track pane, clips pane, bus pane, inspector pane, control bar, time ruler, console view, and the browser.

• 3:12

  Starting a New Project

  Learn about the different Sonar file types, and how to create and save a new empty project.

• 4:23

  Working with the Browser

  Explore the various ways of opening/closing and docking/undocking the Browser Pane, how to navigate between the three main sections, and how to customize and navigate the Media Browser.

• 6:01

  Synth Rack Browser

  See how this area of the Browser is used to view, edit, insert, delete, configure, mute, solo, and freeze, the soft synths used in the current project.

• 6:13

  Transport Control & Navigation Pt. 1

  Discover some basic methods of moving and viewing the NOW time, and starting and stopping playback.

• 4:29

  Transport Control & Navigation Pt. 2

  Learn additional ways to view and position the NOW time, and how to audition a selection.

• 6:55

  Zooming

  Explore various ways of zooming the Track View, as well as individual tracks and clips, horizontally and vertically.

• 3:56

  The MultiDock

  Discover how this aspect of the Skylight interface is used to elegantly manage multiple view without cluttering up the main Tracks View.

• 4:39

  Working with The Inspector

  Discover how this component of the Skylight interface is used to control clip, track, and mix settings pertaining to the currently selected track or clip.

• 7:07

  Track Inspector Controls

  Learn about the Audio track, Instrument track, MIDI track, and Bus track controls and functions found in the track controls area of the Inspector.

• 7:53

  Clip & Track Properties

  Learn how these areas of the Inspector are used to set and edit properties on a per clip, or track based basis.

• 48:41

  Working with the Control Bar

  Discover how to view, float, customize, re-arrange, resize, collapse, scroll, and lock the control bar; as well as how to use the new Custom Control module for instant access to your own frequently used functions.

Chapter 2 : Recording

• 7:06

  Preparing to Record

  Prepare for your own recordings by learning to set per project audio folders, the meter and key signature, metronome and tempo settings, and the record mode.

• 4:16

  Recording MIDI

  Watch and listen as a soft synth track is set up, record arming preferences are explored and set, and a simple MIDI performance is recorded along with the metronome.

• 5:07

  Quantize & Input Quantize

  See how the timing of notes in a MIDI recording can be corrected so that they fall on or close to the grid of musical subdivisions, and how Input Quantize is set up so that new MIDI recordings are automatically quantized.

• 6:55

  MIDI Loop Recording

  See how to set a loop range and how the record mode settings work when loop recording a soft synth.

• 6:13

  Punch Recording MIDI

  Learn how to set and use the punch recording feature combined with loop recording as a means of trying different ideas over the same section of music.

• 6:09

  Recording Audio Prep

  See how to set the input source, arm tracks, set levels, customize the metering resolution, use input monitoring, PDC, and other Mix module functions in the Control Bar.

• 3:12

  Loop Recording Audio

  Watch as multiple takes are recorded using the “store takes in a single track” record mode.

• 5:47

  Recording with the Arpeggiator

  Watch as an arpeggiator is set up and used on a soft synth track to generate a bass part.

Chapter 3 : Editing

• 2:37

  Take Lanes

  Learn how to expand/collapse, add, delete, select, solo, mute, record arm, re-order, and resize take lanes.

• 5:31

  Clip Muting & Isolating

  See how the mute tool is used to mute or isolate either entire clips or regions within clips.

• 4:46

  Comping the Easy Way

  Learn some useful comping techniques using the Smart Tool and Comp Tool.

• 5:16

  Tool & Edit Filter Selections

  Discover some techniques and shortcuts for selecting tools and changing Edit Filter data types.

• 4:31

  The Smart Tool & Track View

  Discover some of the Smart Tools extended functions when used in conjunction with modifier keys in Track View.

• 5:39

  The Smart Tool & Piano Roll View

  Explore some of the Smart Tool functions in the Piano Roll View including velocity scaling, trimming, moving, creating, deleting, selecting, splitting, gluing, and muting notes.

• 7:26

  Summary of Other Tools

  Learn about some of the dedicated functions found in the Select, Edit, Timing, Split, Freehand, Pattern, Line, Erase, Mute, Scrub, and Zoom tools.

• 7:49

  Snap to Grid

  Explore the Snap to Grid controls in more detail and learn how to snap to either grid increments or absolute time, use smart snap to take advantage of dynamically changing snap values based on horizontal zoom level, snap either “to” or “by” the snap value, use landmarks, set the snap intensity, toggle between a primary and secondary snap to grid value, and create a snap offset.

• 4:55

  Nudge

  Learn to configure and use the three customizable nudge settings.

• 6:39

  Getting Around in the Piano Roll View

  Learn how to display and manage several tracks together in the Piano Roll View.

• 7:33

  The InLine Piano Roll

  See how the Edit Filter’s Notes view allows for piano roll style editing directly in Track View; including zooming, scrolling, using the MIDI Microscope, adding, deleting, muting, trimming, scrubbing, scaling, splitting, quantizing, gluing, painting with the Pattern Tool, and much more.

• 7:32

  Other MIDI Editing Functions

  See how the Event Inspector is used for nuanced control over individual MIDI notes, and how the Transpose, Slide, Length, Fit to Time, Retrograde, Scale Velocity, and Find/Change processes work.

• 4:52

  Snap to Scale

  Explore the snap to scale function. Any notes either drawn in or moved in the Piano Roll View or InLine Piano Roll View will confirm to a specified root key and either a predefined or custom created scale.

Chapter 4 : Arranging

• 8:23

  Working with Tracks

  earn how to select, sort, move, insert, clone, wipe, delete, and save tracks and track templates.

• 8:56

  Controlling the Track Display

  Learn how to hide selected or unselected tracks using either shortcuts or the Track Manager, how to customize track icons, colors, and metering; and how to customize which controls are displayed using the Track Control Manager.

• 7:58

  Clip Editing

  Discover various ways of moving, separating, and blending clips or parts of clips using drag and drop, split, and cut special copy special and paste special commands.

• 4:25

  Linked Clips

  See how linked clips are created using either the paste special or drag and drop options, and how they are used to have changes made in one clip applied to the linked copies.

• 5:04

  Clip Selection Groups

  See how clip selection groups are used to treat multiple clips as a single unit, how to add and remove clips from a selection group, and how to link clips when they are pasted.

• 6:19

  Working with Markers

  See how markers are created, named, positioned, edited, copied, moved, locked, deleted, and used as the basis for naming sections of your project, navigation, and establishing selections.

Chapter 5 : Mixing

• 3:34

  Working in Console View

  Learn about the three main sections of the console view, how to control what is displayed, and how to set custom double click values for knobs and faders.

• 9:07

  Signal Flow, Busses & Sends

  Learn how to create busses and route the output of tracks to subgroups, and how to use the Insert Send Assistant to set up parallel audio streams called Sends.

• 5:33

  Using Real Time FX

  See how to patch one or more effects into an FX rack on tracks or busses, in either Track View, the Track Inspector, or Console View. Learn ways to add, reorder, move, copy, bypass, and solo them either individually or globally.

• 5:55

  Per Track EQ

  Hear how the Artist series Per Track EQ function is used to adjust the tonal balance of each track by selectively cutting or boosting different areas in the frequency spectrum.

• 4:12

  Clip Based Effects

  Discover how effects are used on a per clip basis, including inserting, deleting, re-ordering, bypassing, moving, copying, and rendering (applying) them.

• 6:39

  Recording Automation

  Learn how to automate the movements of parameters by mousing faders and knobs in real time as the track is playing, and see how automation lanes are used to manage the automation of multiple parameters on the same track.

• 7:27

  Drawing & Editing Automation

  Learn about mute automation, snapshot automation, as well as how to draw and edit automation envelopes using the Smart Tool and the various Draw/Pattern tools.

• 6:40

  Mix Recall

  Discover Sonar’s new Mix Recall feature that allows you to save and recall multiple mixes (mix scenes) within the same project. See how individual elements can be included or excluded to combine elements from different scenes.

• 6:11

  Sharing Your Music

  See how the Bounce to Track(s) function is used to sub mix tracks or busses, and how the Export Audio function is used to render your final mix in a variety of popular formats.