Reference Guide

236
Recording
Creating a new project
If you are creating a new project that will contain only audio material (no MIDI material), you do not
need to set the meter and key signature.
The key signature controls how SONAR displays notes in the Staff view, the Event List view, and
elsewhere. The meter tells SONAR the number of beats per measure and the note value of each
beat. Common meters include:
• 2/4 (two beats per measure, each quarter note gets a beat)
• 4/4 (four beats per measure, each quarter note gets a beat)
• 3/4 (three beats per measure, each quarter note gets a beat)
• 6/8 (six beats per measure, each eighth note gets a beat)
The top number of a meter, the number of beats per measure, can be from 1 through 99. The bottom
number of a meter is the value of each beat. You can pick from a list of values ranging from a whole
note to a thirty-second note.
The meter determines the following:
• Where the metronome accents are placed
• How the Now time is displayed
• How the Staff view is drawn
• How grid lines are displayed in the Piano Roll view
To Set the Meter and Key signature
1. Display the Views toolbar by choosing Views > Toolbars > View.
2. Click on the View toolbar to open the Meter/Key view.
3. Click to open the Meter/Key Signature dialog box.
The Meter/Key Signature dialog appears.
Figure 36. The Meter/Key Signature dialog
4. Enter the top and bottom meter values in the Beats per Measure and Beat Value fields.
Note: Groove clips do not follow your project's key. Groove clips follow the project pitch (in the
Markers toolbar and pitch markers in the Time Ruler. For more information, see “Working
Groove Clip audio” on page 419.