BASSIC Productions

Anderton
Depends on whether you write songs linearly or non-linearly. I'm a non-linear songwriter, so SONAR works extremely well for me. But, most DAWs work well for non-linear song construction.

  I'm not sure song writing is a matter of linear or non-linear... it is typically a matter of intention and organization, which would be difficult in Sonar if you can't easily move sections around, delete holes or copy MIDI events that don't occur on edit points.
   When I compose in a non-linear organization, I need to be able to move blocks (sections) around and slide them within a pulse/meter.  If I can't easily delete the hole remaining and keep MIDI/sound/note events lined-up or I have to re-edit, that would SERIOUSLY reduce my workflow and inspiration... this is why I write in Finale or on pencil and paper before going to Sonar.

I guess I need to define what I mean by "non-linear" more specifically, because moving blocks around and sliding them with a pulse/meter is exactly what I do. But, these are not extracted from something bigger; they are recorded that way, at various places along the time line. I don't need to delete holes because there are no holes to delete, just Clip Groups that get moved around. Think Legos . You don't need to delete the air between them when you join two Legos.
 
I really got into this kind of workflow with Sony Vegas for video, and for kicks I thought I'd try it with songwriting. To my surprise it worked really well. My output of songs has increased dramatically because it's inspiration-oriented more than composition-oriented. I'll be writing a more detailed article about this at some point.
 
But again, let me emphasize this is mostly a DAW-agnostic approach. It's a method that DAWs support naturally.
 
And of course, the obligatory pre-emptive disclaimer: This should not be interpreted as saying ripple editing isn't useful and shouldn't be added to SONAR. I am not suggesting a workaround. I am suggesting a different way of working where ripple editing isn't relevant. 

I've been moving blocks around for years without any issue.
then again I bounce my clips to one whole track first. Typically in the songwriting phase (the way I work)
I don't wait till the very end having to move around 20 tracks at a time. I have a basic understanding of the formula of a song when there is a foundation laid out (basic tracks). Once this formula has been given a commitment,
that's when I begin to establish all the workings around it.
 
I cant begin to tell you what it was like years ago (some of us may know, others have no idea) when you had nothing but a tape recorder to layout your ideas. once you committed, then you began laying out your drum tracks on either a drum machine or a real drummer (typically accompanied by a bass/guitar player using headphones).
 
Maybe because I used to work in this format that I look at todays technology as easy flipping a page in a book.
I never take for granite how lucky I am to be using the tools of today. I worked with analog many years and jumped on digital in the late 1990's. I have no issues writing using sonar. As a matter of fact, for me its a god send.
 
To the OP:
This task is simple as anything and I do it all the time.
 
- Use the zoom feature to zoom out as far as possible to see where you want to remove the part of the song
- Hold the left mouse button down and drag/select all the tracks in one swipe, then press delete.
- Hold down the right mouse button and lasso/select the material/data to the right (make sure to lasso all of it)
- now you only need to grab one track (because they are all selected) and drag this track by holding the left mouse button. drag it to the open hole to fill in your space.
 
I made this sound more difficult than it really is. it takes literally a whole 15 seconds to do.
I've gotten so used to this, I would rather move data like this than "Delete hole".
Zoom reverts using ALT+Z so using fit to project and reverting takes 3 seconds.
 
 

BASSIC Productions
I hate to sound like a fanboy but, in this instance, Sonar is not designed for song writing

 
But how is your reply supposed to help the OP ? leave him with a feeling of "Okay..it cant be done" ?
This forum is only as good as the people we have to help others. im sure you understand what im saying.

BASSIC Productions
I hate to sound like a fanboy but, in this instance, Sonar is not designed for song writing

That just underlines that there are as many ways to write songs as there are songwriters. I think a more accurate phrasing would be "Sonar is not designed for song writing the way I do songwriting."
 
Some people use the Matrix view for songwriting (I've done several that way). Some prefer to lay down linear tracks. Some do what I've been doing recently, which is treating SONAR as an infinitely malleable workspace. Others compose only with MIDI, while some start with MIDI to solidify tempo and key before switching over to audio. For some, composition is building up a piece at a time. For others, it's trying to transcribe something they hear in their head and for others, it's about capturing an inspiration as quickly as possible...and leaving the details to later.
 
To think that only one method of songwriting is valid, and a DAW must adhere to that method, does not take into account the flexibility and freedom offered by today's digital tools.

It seems that some people have conflated two different processes and are making this issue seem broader than it is. There is certainly no problem with moving blocks of tracks around in Sonar, at least that I have found. The issue is only with delete hole. As Craig said, you don't need to delete 'air space' when simply moving groups of tracks around.
 

It also depends on how you are composing. If your song has always the same tempo, measure, and key, and if you don't use markers to mark your sections, then just moving around clips and groups of clips is fine. But otherwise, you need the insert measures and delete special features to move things around without creating a mess with your tempo, measure, and key changes, and your markers.
 
Worst thing to do is changing the measure when there are more measure changes to the right. It keeps later measure changes at the same beat, not at the same time, so they are no longer in place with the clips they belong to.
 
So, I definitely hope that ripple editing will improve things and will allow to move and copy complete sections together with all the tempo, measure, key, markers, automation, and whatever without disturbing other sections. Doing this with the actual tools in Sonar is possible, but it always requires some caution, including the workaround for the delete hole feature.

Reading comprehension skills (or reading entire posts) seem to be limited in this post... best of luck to everyone and their preferred work flow.  :)
 

BASSIC Productions
Reading comprehension skills (or reading entire posts) seem to be limited in this post.
 

 
If I made a mistake reading your post, my apology's.

BASSIC Productions
Reading comprehension skills (or reading entire posts) seem to be limited in this post... best of luck to everyone and their preferred work flow.  :)

 
Sometimes posts serve as a springboard for discussion on related topics.
 

Anderton

BASSIC Productions
I hate to sound like a fanboy but, in this instance, Sonar is not designed for song writing

That just underlines that there are as many ways to write songs as there are songwriters. I think a more accurate phrasing would be "Sonar is not designed for song writing the way I do songwriting."
 
.....
 
 
To think that only one method of songwriting is valid, and a DAW must adhere to that method, does not take into account the flexibility and freedom offered by today's digital tools.

And therein lies the rub, so to speak.

1. Auto save
2. Before a major undertaking, save
3. If the change is fubar, close and reopen the project and try again.
 
This of course works when there is a known failure of SOANR to do what I expect and a known failure on my part to do what I wanted.