Hi All,
 
I want to record a guide track with my piano in MIDI and audio, without the metronome.... then set markers or something so that I can line it up on note boundaries for quantizing and notation.
 
this may take some function that alters the tempo to fit?  I don't know.
 
I normally work with a metronome when laying down tracks, then notate and quantize as needed.... and alter the tempo manually to get the rubato I may want.  This leaves out some emotion though especially in the guide track.
 
I'm an experienced musician, but I still feel stiffled a bit by the metronome...  I want to work to my inner clock, then slave the system to that...
 
what is the easiest and/or best way to do this in Sonar X3....
 
ANYBODY HAVE ANY THOUGHTS?
 
Thanks,

Basically, you have three options:
 
1 Record a sacrificial guide track with MIDI events on every quarter notes, and use Fit Improvisation to have SONAR create a Tempo map from it. See Fit Improvisation in the Ref. Guide for details.
 
2. Record an audio track, and use Audiosnap's Set Project from Clip function. Takes a little work to get this done right, and tempo changes will not end up right on measure/beats.
 
3. Record a normal performance as MIDI and use Set Measure/Beat At Now to align the timeline to it at as many points as necessary. This is the method I use; It's kind of a brute force approach, but generally ends up being the most accurate, and is ultimately no more time-consuming than the "automated" methods.

Another option:
 
http://www.soundbytesmag....po-thelastdawfrontier/

Those are interesting ideas.
I also feel the metronome stifles.
Would a basic bass & drum track instead work for you?
I prefer it as it adds to the feel so I often get the groove going on my drum machine.
The drum machine has the option of changing tempo real time if I want it to speed and slow 1 or 2 bpms intentionally as I record it.
Of course a quick and dirty way is you can also change the metronome clicks to snare and kick in sonar.

jtbarr
 
what is the easiest and/or best way to do this in Sonar X3....
 
ANYBODY HAVE ANY THOUGHTS?

The easiest way to is bite the bullet and record to the metronome...unless you have a real good reason not to...
 
Granted...there are many, many good reasons to not use the metronome (any use of rubato or other tempo inflections described in Italian are some of them)...but...if the best reason you can come up with is "I'm lazy" or "I don't like it"...go back over brundlefly's suggestions.  None of them is (the requisite) "easy".
 
Please note that I didn't say that I said "You always have to use the metronome".  I'm saying "You should use the metronome if you can possibly get away with it".  It'll make life easier.
 
(As noted in other posts...a drum track is the moral equivalent of a metronome...it's just easier to follow.)

I have an older Cakewalk project on which I used an analog drum machine, which was ok for what it did...but now I want to revive the track with better drum sounds and various midi parts. Of course, there's no way I'd be able to set the tempo in SONAR X3 to match the drum machine tempo exactly, so I'm very interested in this thread and hope to come up with a practical approach for aligning the old tracks to a midi grid...or vice-versa.  I've never used 'fit to improv' or tried to snap a grid to a set of beats but I guess there's no better time to learn how than right now.
The good news is that the tempo on my old tracks doesn't vary to any perceptible degree, so this should be a simple task, right?  Oh, where to begin.... 

I cannot even get David's program to run. Have Java installed and all. No clear instructions. Can you convert it to a normal PC program please? As far as I am concerned it does not work.

mike_mccue
Another option:
 
http://www.soundbytesmag....po-thelastdawfrontier/

I can't really see how that's any different from creating a separate project in which you use play in a reference track and use Fit Improvisation to generate a tempo map that you then paste into another project. You might as well just use Fit Improvisation in place. The only real improvement might be the option of having more than four tempo changes measure.

overdub
I have an older Cakewalk project on which I used an analog drum machine, which was ok for what it did...but now I want to revive the track with better drum sounds and various midi parts.

Hey Dub, it looks like you don't have PM enabled. If you enable it, I'll send you my e-mail address, and you can send me the drum track(s) or even the whole project and I'll take a look. Should be easy, but probably easier for me to just do it and then tell you how I did it, rather than try to walk you through the steps without knowing exactly what you're working with. Could be an opportunity to try out Gobbler while we're at it.  

brundlefly

overdub
I have an older Cakewalk project on which I used an analog drum machine, which was ok for what it did...but now I want to revive the track with better drum sounds and various midi parts.

Hey Dub, it looks like you don't have PM enabled. If you enable it, I'll send you my e-mail address, and you can send me the drum track(s) or even the whole project and I'll take a look. Should be easy, but probably easier for me to just do it and then tell you how I did it, rather than try to walk you through the steps without knowing exactly what you're working with. Could be an opportunity to try out Gobbler while we're at it.  

Hey brundlefly...thanks for your kind offer to help out.  I haven't set up Gobbler on my DAW yet . Besides, I'm not too keen on exposing the DAW to the internet any more than is really necessary.  But if you wouldn't mind outlining the steps for me, I'd sure appreciate it.  I may just take a little time and do some experimenting with it myself.  I usually learn things better when I have to dig for the answers or solutions.  If I can't get it done on my own, however, I'll probably bug you to do it anyway.  The project has taken a back seat for several years because of so many other priorities.
Thanks again for offering a hand...I do appreciate it.  What's your name?
Yea, I don't do PM as a rule.  That kind of stuff can clog up my laptop in no time.  I'll give you my public email address tho, no problem:  dubover1 at yahoo dot com
Happy Halloween!  Be careful tonight......Mmmwwwwaaahhhhhhh   ha ha ha ha !!!!