Reference Guide

215
Controlling live MIDI playback—MIDI echo
Controlling Playback
echoes MIDI data. When the button is dimmed, the track echoes MIDI data because the track is the
current track. When the button is off, the track does not echo any data, even if it is the current track.
The Off position on a current MIDI track is only available if you disable the Always Echo Current
MIDI Track option in the General tab of the Global Options dialog (Options > Global command).
The dimmed position becomes unavailable with this setting.
There are several ways to turn Input Echoing on:
• Click a track’s Input Echo button so that it is on.
• Click a track to make the track the current track (if the Always Echo Current MIDI Track option
on the General tab of the Global Options dialog is enabled). In this situation (which is the
default), if the track’s Input Echo button is not on, it appears dimmed, to show that this track
echoes data because it is the current track.
• If the Always Echo Current MIDI Track option on the General tab of the Global Options dialog
is disabled, make a track the current track, and use the Tracks > Input Monitor/Echo command
(or click the track’s Input Echo button).
Storing favorite configurations
If you want a track to respond to more than one port or channel, you must create a preset input
configuration. If you create some favorite configurations of MIDI input options, not only will they be
stored with the project you created them in, but you can save each one as a preset to load in any
MIDI track in any project you want. Clicking the drop-down arrow in a track’s Input field displays the
Inputs drop-down menu, which has the Manage Presets choice that allows you to create and store
your favorite combinations of MIDI input choices.
To play one synth at a time from one or more MIDI keyboards
• Since this is SONAR’s default behavior, simply use the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW keys on
your computer keyboard to choose the current track (the current track has a gold titlebar), and
choose the synth you want to play by using the track’s Output, Bank, Patch, and Channel fields.
With the default behavior, all MIDI input from all ports and channels is merged and sent through
the current track. Notice that the track’s Input field says Omni.
• If you’ve disabled the default behavior (see next procedure), you must make sure that the current
track’s Input Echo button is lit up (on) before you can play the synth that the track is patched to.
To disable the default MIDI echo detting
• If you want to turn off the automatic MIDI echoing of the current track, disable the Always Echo
Current MIDI Track option in the General tab of the Global Options dialog (Options > Global
command). If you then turn off the current track’s Input Echo button and play your keyboard,
SONAR will not produce sound.
To play multiple synths from a MIDI keyboard
1. Choose a synth for each track that you want to play by using each track’s Output, Channel,
Bank, and Patch fields.
2. In the Input field of each track that you want to play, click the drop-down arrow and choose the
MIDI input port and channel that you want the track to respond to from the following options: