CAKEWALK SONAR - Creating and Editing Groove Clips

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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 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.
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.