Arts >> Music >> Digital Music

How to Use Keys to Trigger Groove Clips

Sonar is a piece of music recording and production software, produced by the Cakewalk company. One of its unique features is the use of "Groove Clips," audio clips that can be stretched or compressed to any tempo without altering any of their other characteristics, such as pitch or timbre. It's possible to use a MIDI keyboard to trigger individual notes or samples, so it stands to reason that they should also be able to trigger these stretchable loops.

Instructions

    • 1

      Ensure the computer is powered off, and connect the keyboard to the USB socket, via a MIDI interface if necessary. Launch Sonar and either create a new project, or load an existing one by clicking on the file menu and selecting either "New" or "Open."

    • 2

      Click on the "Window" menu and open the "Matrix" view. Use the audio browser or Windows Explorer to locate your chosen groove clip, then drag-and-drop it onto an available slot.

    • 3

      Click the ACT button to enable the "Active Controller Technology" mode. This will allow you to assign any controller function to any key on your MIDI controller. With ACT mode enabled, click on the Groove Clip in the Matrix View.

    • 4

      Press a key on your MIDI controller. This will assign the groove clip to that key. Press the ACT button again to exit ACT mode. That key on the controller will now trigger that particular Groove Clip.

+:
+:

Digital Music

Related Categories