I've been working on a project for a while now, it it's just not coming out the way I'd hoped. So I started poring through the online help to figure out what I need to do to improve it. Can anyone offer any tips on how to make this piece sound better?
 
And yes, I already looked in the help for a "Make Music Sound Better" button. I also thought there might be a slider where you can set how good you want your music to sound. Strangely, no luck.
 
For example, the bridge for this song doesn't have the same balance of optimism and disillusionment as the verse, perhaps it has a slightly more resigned feeling. Also, at the piano solo in the break it sounds like I'm phoning it in a little, or perhaps am embarrassed by the preponderance of 9th chords. And sure, I could go in and re-record a whole new piano solo, but it's 4 bars long, and so it would just be easier to click on an option somewhere called "Make piano solo better", or again, a "Piano solo quality" slider would be great.
 
I would also like to be able to select a portion of music, say a clip or a region across several tracks, and then apply the "Make it sound better" option to only the selected events, for those times I want some of the piece to remain bad.
 
I'm wondering why these options are apparently buried so deeply into Sonar. Isn't making good music the whole point of the application? You'd think the tools for making it sound better would be front and center. 
 
Also, where is the "Make more commercial" option?
 
I'm using Sonar X3 on Windows 7. The piece is in D major. I have 6 Gb RAM.

Try using your DAW when you're not high...?

Awesome !
Your sarcasm has inspired me to recording a song with a single take on every track, no quantizing or pitch correction, just to see if it could still be done.
Would it be OK if I use compression, eq and reverb?

Oh...you're looking for Band-In-A-Box.  It's not free.

jkoseattle
 
I'm wondering why these options are apparently buried so deeply into Sonar. Isn't making good music the whole point of the application? You'd think the tools for making it sound better would be front and center. 
 

 
In my opinion the tools are front and center...I have a tough time on the implementation side though. Maybe I need to work harder.
 
Regards,

I share Mike's opinion of the tools being front and center. Faders, pan pot, EQ, and effects are all "right there."
 
Without understanding the context of the piece, it sounds like the bridge/piano solo are needing more expression in OP. Unfortunately, there is no "cookie cutter" answer to that question.

Select the right setting for your song. There is a setting for every genre and a few extras.

• If you can't recognize the difference, quickly switch between "none" and the new setting.

Train yourself...
 
http://www.groove3.com/str/EQ-Explained.html
 
http://www.groove3.com/str/compression-explained.html
 
http://www.groove3.com/str/sonar-training-videos/
 
If you are unable to achieve results with your tools, simply reclassify your project as "progressive" or hire Steve Lillywhite 

jkoseattle
 The piece is in D major.

Everyone knows SONAR is tuned to Am.
 
Try that.