razor

rbowser

razor


Hello--

I have the midi track already recorded and there is one note I would like to add a **** bend to. FYI--the midi is an electric bass instrument in my v-sampler (kontakt 4) and when the bass hits it's first note, I want it to slide the pitch down.

How do I add a pitch bend to an existing midi note?

Thanks,

The best, most intuitive way to add Pitch Bend, or any other controlling layer to a MIDI track is use a keyboard, recording as many passes over the same track as you want.  A lot of people first play a passage, then record volume control data over that, maybe add sustain pedal separately, any other MIDI controller that can work on a given instrument.

So if you have a keyboard, just record again, using the wheel the way you want.

If you're not using a keyboard, then go to the heart of MIDI in Sonar which is the Piano Roll View.  With the menu in the upper left hand corner, select a new pane to display Pitch Bend, then draw the data in.  The horizontal line in the middle of the pitch pane indicates zero - you draw up or down from there.

Hold Ctrl while you draw, and have the Grid off.  That way you can draw continues sweeps with your cursor.

Randy B.

I think I was on the right track (pardon the pun) but here is where I get stuck: "With the menu in the upper left hand corner, select a new pane to display Pitch Bend"
 
I don't see where that is. Will I see pitch bend, or th midi control number equivalent?
 
Thanks all. I'm trying to do this without the midi controller.

Pardon me, Razor - I should have been more specific.

Here's a screen shot.  It's not the menu in the very top left hand corner, but the one right before that.  You can choose any continuous controller there, but Pitch Bend is in a category by itself and you choose "Wheel" for that, since a keyboard's wheel controls it.  This shot shows that chosen so a pitch-bend pane appears, and I've drawn in a slow bend for you to see what it looks like:



Just make sure you've clicked on the button in the PRV menu that gives you the view that includes the data panes.

Apply this to any MIDI control you want to work with.  You can add as many panes as you can comfortably squeeze on to your screen.

Randy B.

rbowser

I'm amazed to hear that anyone of such recording prowess as you still works in that view so much. I'm like Wow.

I don't use the Event List view much. Most of my MIDI tracks are recorded using a keyboard controller. Then I tweak using the staff view or the Event List view. I guess its all what you're used to.

rbowser

razor

rbowser

razor


Hello--

I have the midi track already recorded and there is one note I would like to add a **** bend to. FYI--the midi is an electric bass instrument in my v-sampler (kontakt 4) and when the bass hits it's first note, I want it to slide the pitch down.

How do I add a pitch bend to an existing midi note?

Thanks,

The best, most intuitive way to add Pitch Bend, or any other controlling layer to a MIDI track is use a keyboard, recording as many passes over the same track as you want.  A lot of people first play a passage, then record volume control data over that, maybe add sustain pedal separately, any other MIDI controller that can work on a given instrument.

So if you have a keyboard, just record again, using the wheel the way you want.

If you're not using a keyboard, then go to the heart of MIDI in Sonar which is the Piano Roll View.  With the menu in the upper left hand corner, select a new pane to display Pitch Bend, then draw the data in.  The horizontal line in the middle of the pitch pane indicates zero - you draw up or down from there.

Hold Ctrl while you draw, and have the Grid off.  That way you can draw continues sweeps with your cursor.

Randy B.

I think I was on the right track (pardon the pun) but here is where I get stuck: "With the menu in the upper left hand corner, select a new pane to display Pitch Bend"

I don't see where that is. Will I see pitch bend, or th midi control number equivalent?

Thanks all. I'm trying to do this without the midi controller.

Pardon me, Razor - I should have been more specific.

Here's a screen shot.  It's not the menu in the very top left hand corner, but the one right before that.  You can choose any continuous controller there, but Pitch Bend is in a category by itself and you choose "Wheel" for that, since a keyboard's wheel controls it.  This shot shows that chosen so a pitch-bend pane appears, and I've drawn in a slow bend for you to see what it looks like:



Just make sure you've clicked on the button in the PRV menu that gives you the view that includes the data panes.

Apply this to any MIDI control you want to work with.  You can add as many panes as you can comfortably squeeze on to your screen.

Randy B.

Randy--
 
Excellent. That's what I needed.
 
Thanks much!

razor

Randy--
 
Excellent. That's what I needed.
 
Thanks much!

Hey, good deal - Thanks for letting me know that info helped out, I appreciate that.

RB

The whole idea of the the piano roll windows is to enable controllers! The reason why using the keyboard is more intuitive than altering the pitch of a instrument from the piano roll view is it doesn't always work from the piano roll window! I haven't been able to alter pitch of pre-recorded midi events from the piano roll view yet in Sonar! I do think that Sonar's midi editing has it's quirks! Midi editing in Sonar is not full proof! Most of the Sonar videos never show much midi editing and I understand why!

Another thing to consider is that when entering pitch bend info in the PRV it can be useful to turn snap to grid OFF. If you don't you will only be able to add pitch bend controllers at the snap to grid setting. To draw in controllers that look like the ones in rbowser's image, which will give a very smooth and realist sounding slope, you might want to change the PRV tool configuration to Paint In Notes/Controllers. Otherwise you will have to enter each controller in individually.

Go to Options>PRV Tool Configuration. Select PRV Tool #2 (Draw) and change its Tool Action to Paint Notes/Controllers Free (If you want a perfect glide slope you can try Paint Notes/Controllers Linear).

With Paint Notes/Controllers Free you can draw in controllers that look just like the ones in the picture. Don't forget to change the PRV Tool setting back to Default when you are done.


Ah, just read rbowser's post in more detail... his way is easier... nevermind. Just consider this a peripheral bit of information.

Midi editing in Sonar is not full proof!

Nor fool-proof, apparently. Yes there are quirks. Will they keep you from doing that vast majority of MIDI edits without a problem? No, not if you know what you're doing.

ronboy


The whole idea of the the piano roll windows is to enable controllers! The reason why using the keyboard is more intuitive than altering the pitch of a instrument from the piano roll view is it doesn't always work from the piano roll window! I haven't been able to alter pitch of pre-recorded midi events from the piano roll view yet in Sonar! I do think that Sonar's midi editing has it's quirks! Midi editing in Sonar is not full proof! Most of the Sonar videos never show much midi editing and I understand why!

Ronboy, you have to be doing any number of things incorrectly.  Editing MIDI in Sonar's PRV can work perfectly, if you know what you're doing, as Brundlefly just said.

You've never been able to alter the pitch of a MIDI note - ?! - That's MIDI editing 101 - you just grab the note with the selection tool and drag it up or down as needed, or use CTRL+Q to get the Transpose dialogue--or right click on a note and type in parameters. 

As I said in the older post from me above with the screen shot, you need the Grid turned Off, and you hold CTRL as you draw any kind of data you want.

That's just part of it.  You need to absorb what's in the manual, Ronboy.

RB

daveny5


The range of values is -127 to 127. 0 is no bend. -127 bends it down the full range depending on what you set the pitch bend range to. 127 bends it up.

Not quite in the case of pitch bend.  Most MIDI control messages have a data value of 0 thru 127.  Pitch bend has data values of 0 to 16K with 8192 being centered (no pitch change).

dmbaer

daveny5


The range of values is -127 to 127. 0 is no bend. -127 bends it down the full range depending on what you set the pitch bend range to. 127 bends it up.

Not quite in the case of pitch bend.  Most MIDI control messages have a data value of 0 thru 127.  Pitch bend has data values of 0 to 16K with 8192 being centered (no pitch change).

Yeah, I was going to mention that Pitch Bend uses the RPN message format, but I figured it wasn't really a big deal since no one types in pitch bend values... I hope.