CAKEWALK SONAR - What Is Key; Opening the Meter;Key View

561
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” on page 266.
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” on page 517.
Opening the Meter/Key View
To open the Meter/Key view, click or choose View-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” on page 517.