Reference Guide

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Tutorial 4 – Playing and recording software instruments
Let's take a quick look at DropZone.
One of the first things you'll typically need to do is choose a sound. In DropZone and most other
Cakewalk synths, a sound preset is referred to as a program.
1. In DropZone's Program window, click Empty Program.
The Program Browser appears.
2. Select a program by double-clicking its name. For this tutorial we'll use Acid Quinda from the
Basses section.DropZone loads the program and displays the program name.
3. Click the keyboard image to hear what the program sounds like.
Now that we have inserted an instrument and selected one of its sounds we can make use of these
sounds in our project. This is where you can get creative. You have the option of recording a
performance that you play on a MIDI keyboard (also referred to as a controller) or manually entering
notes and events to play out to the software synth. We'll explore each method in the following
sections.
See:
“Recording MIDI” on page 128
“Manually entering MIDI notes” on page 128
Note: It may take a minute the first time the Program Browser opens. This is because DropZone
is building a list of all available sounds. Once the list has been built, the Program Browser will
open faster the next time.
Note: Each soft synth uses a different method of choosing and auditioning sounds. This is often
outlined in the synth's documentation. You can press the F1 key to open the online Help for a
synth.