Being primarily a vocalist, I have been using Sonar to track vocals for other producers that are mostly using pro tools. In that respect I have had no issues with Sonar whatsoever and it has performed flawlessly. I'm very happy with he software.

Now I want to progress with my own music. I know i am not using SonR anywhere near its capabilities. Some time go I purchased Sonar producer upgrade with Notion. I love Notion, can write my piano parts, but I have to create an audio to import in Sonar. If I want to change a part, I have to go back to Notion, make the change and then export again to audio before importing to Sonar. I'd love to be able to use Notion directly in Sonar (which is why I thought it was possible when they bundled it) and then assign different instruments to parts rather than just having to use piano that is in Sonar. I have scoured the web for ages and I think that it may not be possible with my setup. I am using Sonar X1 expanded 64x and I believe Notion is 32x. From what I have read, Sonar has to be 32x and then you can use Rewire to do this. Is this correct? I hope I am wrong as I'd like to keep my Sonar a 64x, This is so disappointing. Is it possible to use Notion within Sonar if I upgrade to Notion 4 which I think is 64x and then use Rewire? Is here anyone else using both of this software together that can help a newbie like me? I would appreciate it so much.

The other question I have which is probably so basic I am embarrassed to ask, but here goes. I'd like to be able to use some loops, but can't figure out how it is done. Of course I know how to load the loop, but it is very short. Am I supposed to copy it again and again for the length of the song? This must be such a basic question, but I can't find it in the manual nor on the web. I'd love to utilise some of the included loops together with my own playing.

I don't know Notion, but to extend your loop, use the smart tool and hover over the edge of the loop until you see the crop tool, drag out to repeat the loop. You can also Ctrl-drag to copy the loop to another point in the song. It's a good idea to have the Snap-to set while dragging and copy loops. Good luck.

I don't understand exporting audio in Notion. Why not save the Notion file as a midi file and open that midi file or, import it into Sonar.  When I say "open Sonar" with the midi file, I mean right click on the midi file and select open with and direct it to Sonar. Using the "open with" cption will keep all the parameters of the midi file intact such as key, key changes, tempo, tempo changes etc. Importing the midi file won't keep that info. You would have to re-enter any of that information. From there, you just route your midi to a soft synth. The staff view is limited in Sonar but you can work with it. If you need to make drastic changes, you would have to export that midi track, import it back to Notion, do the process over again only you won't have to use the open with. You can just import it back into Sonar.

As long as you don't use 3s, 5s, 6s, 7s or any other wierld timing note series, you can edit it in Sonar.

Not familiar with it either but it sounds like a regular old soft synth. If you aren't seeing it in your synth Browser (press B on the keyboard) then you might have to do a VST scan to find it. You'll have to figure out what folder it's in though. You may not have to fiddle with rewire or antyhing as many 32 bit stuff works automatically because of Jbridge/bitbridge but maybe yeah you'll have to use rewire (which I don't know much about... sorry). However the first thing to do is check to see if the have a 64 bit version out on their website. 

Sorry... probably not much help there but it should be possible unless it's a particularly finicky plug. Cheers.

After reading Guitarpima's post I may have misunderstood what Notion is. If so, my apologies.

I use X2 and Notion 4 x64 all the time when I need notation projects. The two work pretty well together but X2 is where you want to work the most. Notion is not designed to be a COMPLETE audio workstation whereas X2 is. As stated earlier you will find much more capability in X2 than Notion. There is nothing wrong with the workflow you are using if it suits you. I would suggest rewiring Notion in X2 and try it. 

Ah, notation software. Yup... totally misunderstood. Sorry.

Yes, if you upgrade to Notion 4, you'll be able to ReWire with SONAR 64-bit. Notion 4 is now 64-bit, which was one of major new features.

When you drag a loop into a track, you can drag the end of the loop to create multiple copies. If that doesn't work, then you first need to convert the loop into a Groove clip by selecting the loop and pressing Ctrl+L.

Scott

--
Scott R. Garrigus - http://garrigus.com
* Author of the Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Sound Forge Power book series: http://garrigus.com/?PowerBooks
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Besides dragging a loop to copy it, you can also copy it, and then use "Paste Special" to say how many copies of it you want it to paste into the track.

Is it possible to use Notion within Sonar if I upgrade to Notion 4 which I think is 64x and then use Rewire? Is here anyone else using both of this software together that can help a newbie like me?

Like Sidroe, I have Notion 4 x64 working with SONAR x64 via Rewire. It's pretty straightforward. There's no MIDI transfer between the two, so you can't drive SONAR instruments with your Notion score, but Notion can host VST instruments in addition to playing it's own built-in orchestral sounds, and sends the audio back to SONAR in sync with SONAR tracks when you start playback from anywhere in either app.


Ultimately, I think it's probably best to bring the MIDI from your score into SONAR to get full control of dynamics and controllers, and to be able to use any instrument you want, but if you want to do the initial composition in Notion, Rewire will be more convenient than constant exporting/importing.


In addition to the lack of MIDI I/O, the main disappointments I have in using Notion with SONAR are that it only supports 44.1kHz for Rewire, and the Now Time only syncs up when the transport is running. If you move around in one app or the other while composing, you have to manually keep their views in sync or start/stop playback momentarily to get them on the same measure.

Anyway, if you go ahead and upgrade to Notion 4 and get stuck on something, just post back here or PM me.