I was just perusing the user manual, and came across the Matrix View chapter. I didn't even know this existed. I'm assuming this is mostly used by DJ's?
 
I'm curious to know how you guys use this tool. What are the practical applications for it? I'm not a DJ, but just wondering if this could help me somehow. Maybe for song arrangement?
 
Thanks.
 
~Jeff

The Matrix View itself is extremely versatile and it's not at all "genre of music specific "...
I've used it to do Rock , Blues , Jazz , and Pseudo Orchestral type of Grooves ...
The Matrix View can be as deep as you want to take it ....
Rather than sit here a write up a bunch of ways I have used it or opinions on it , I think you may benefit more from an in depth  well produced u tube video  by one of our members here ....

 
hope that helps,
Kenny

I like to use it to come up with different arrangements of a song. Plus it is a lot of fun!

Hi. I have never used it myself, but will give it a go after watching this video. Thanks, Kenny!
Seems right for some improvisation, on my end
All the best.

IMO, this was a fail on the part of cakewalk (which is something I seldom say).

 
It just seemed like Cakewalk was trying to reach a broader audience by creating the Matrix
(IE- Ableton users) I just think Cakewalk is best when they consecrate on their core product, core features.
Never used the Matrix, not sure I know anyone who does either.

Zargg
Hi. I have never used it myself, but will give it a go after watching this video. Thanks, Kenny!
Seems right for some improvisation, on my end
All the best.

Hi Ken ,
 
The Matrix View is a fun workflow once you get the hang of it ...
In it's most simplest of uses , I have had many hours of fun and discovery by setting up my own little grooves to play and jam over ....
In a more concrete way , the beauty of the Matrix View is it can become a highly advanced composition tool for the SONAR user who happens to love creating their own loops in the loop construction view ...once one has created their own individualized loops from sections of their own hybrid mixtures of musical elements  they have assembled in a linear fashion in the track view  ...there is a lot of Musical freedom that can had by dropping in sections of the linear mixed in with using the Matrix View to add sections to a song  ....
This is possible because the Matrix View can be recorded in real time as it plays This attribute gives the Matrix View a very powerful musical stance as an arranging tool from that  point of view ... 
For somebody who has taken the time to learn this way of working it is very possible for them to have eliminated
a form of personal musical stagnation ....
There is more I could talk about ...stuff like setting up synths  and auditioning midi in the Matrix View ..for now I'm not gonna go there
 
all the best ,
 
Kenny

yea, I hope I didn't offend anyone by saying "I don't know anyone who uses the matrix".
that was just my opinion. obviously im wrong. there are users who do use it.
glad you find it a creative tool Kenny. My comment was more tongue in check.

Here's an article I wrote about the Matrix View for Sound on Sound magazine. Although people think of it mostly in terms of groove/DJ applications, there's a chapter in my SONAR Advanced Workshop that shows a way to use it for songwriting.
 
Perhaps the coolest feature is that you can mess around with different clips and arrangements, and capture what you do on the timeline. That way you can go to Track View and slice, dice, and otherwise play further with the arrangement.
 
The Matrix View is clearly a reaction to Ableton Live's Session View, which provides a similar function but is a more complete solution because it's the main basis of the program. This kind of approach is for a particular music-making mindset that's comfortable for some people, but not for others.
 
 
 
 

Anderton
Here's an article I wrote about the Matrix View for Sound on Sound magazine.

Do you know if there have been many changes to the Matrix View since 2009? I just had a look through Groove3's library and could find no mention of the Matrix View in any of their Sonar videos.
 
I see a couple of changes in the early access description for Sonar 2016.10.

telecharge

Anderton
Here's an article I wrote about the Matrix View for Sound on Sound magazine.

Do you know if there have been many changes to the Matrix View since 2009? I just had a look through Groove3's library and could find no mention of the Matrix View in any of their Sonar videos.
 
I see a couple of changes in the early access description for Sonar 2016.10.

No major changes I know of, mostly the occasional fix.