Creating and editing Groove Clips

Any audio clip can be converted to a Groove clip. Groove clips contain tempo, beat, and pitch information which SONAR uses to stretch and transpose the clips to match the project. Most Groove clips are loop-enabled, meaning that you can use the mouse to drag clip repetitions in the Track view. Groove clips can be either loop-enabled or not, although they usually are. When a Groove clip is loop-enabled, its edges appear beveled. It is sometimes desirable to create clips that follow the project’s tempo and key, but are not intended to loop. The following is a list of the attributes contained in a Groove clip:

Beats in clip. The number of quarter notes in a clip. A four measure clip in 4/4 time should have 16 beats. When you enable looping for a clip, SONAR calculates the number of beats in the clip using an algorithm. This calculation is very often accurate, but in some cases, for instance when the clip has a very slow or very fast tempo or if the clip has an unusual number of beats, then the number of beats in a clip may have to be edited manually in the Beats in clip field.

Original tempo. The original tempo of the recording. SONAR uses the original tempo to adjust to your project’s tempo. The original tempo must be specified for stretching clips.

Note: When you loop-enable a clip, SONAR calculates the original tempo of the clip, and unless the clip’s length is in exact beat or measure increments, the original tempo that SONAR calculates may vary from the recorded tempo. These fluctuations are usually quite small and do not affect the quality of the Groove clip you create.

Reference note. The original key of the recorded clip. SONAR uses the Reference note when it transposes Groove clips to match your project’s pitch.

These attributes can be edited in the Loop Construction view. For more information about the Loop Construction view, see Loop Construction view.

To set the number of beats in a Groove Clip

When you open a clip in the Loop Construction view, SONAR determines the number of beats in the clip. In some cases the beat value may not be correct. The beats in clip value can only be changed if the clip is loop enabled.

Do the following to change value in the Beats field.

Click the Plus or Minus button to the right of the Beats field until the correct value is displayed.

To change the Loop Construction view Time ruler display

You can display the Loop Construction view Time Ruler in measures or in samples. To toggle between the two modes, double-click the Time Ruler.

To set the tempo of a Groove Clip

When creating a new Groove clip, SONAR sets the clip’s tempo to the current project tempo. To ensure proper stretching behavior you must set the value in the BPM field to the tempo at which you recorded the clip. The tempo value of a clip can only be changed if the clip is stretch-enabled.

Do the following to change the value in the BPM field.

Click the Plus or Minus button to the right of the BPM field until the correct value is displayed. For more precise tempos you can double-click in the BPM field and enter a tempo.

To slice a Groove Clip

1.	Double-click on a clip in the Clips pane.

The clip appears in the Loop Construction view.

2.	Slice the clip using one or all of the following methods:

To do this	Do this
Slice the clip on note divisions	Click the Resolution button and select the desired note resolution in the drop-down list. The available settings range from whole notes to 64th notes. Selecting quarter notes, for example, will create four markers per measure.
Slice the clip at transient peaks	Drag the Threshold slider to the desired value. The larger transients in the clip will be flanked by markers.
Slice the clip manually	Move your mouse to the space above the Time Ruler and double-click to add a marker. Click and drag the marker, if necessary, so it aligns with the beginning or end of a transient.

3.	Play your project and adjust the slicing of your clip as necessary.

Note: You can use any or all of these methods to slice a clip. If you adjust both the Resolution and Threshold values, two markers may be placed right next to each other. If these markers are too close, the markers will automatically merge. Manual markers will not automatically merge.

To transpose a Groove Clip to match your project’s pitch

Follow this procedure to force the Groove clip to follow the project’s default pitch.

1.	Double-click the clip you want to transpose to the project’s pitch.

The clip appears in the Loop Construction view.

2.	Click the Pitch button.

To transpose a Groove Clip by semitones

Follow this procedure to transpose a Groove clip by any number of semitones.

1.	Double-click the clip you want to transpose to the project’s pitch.

The clip appears in the Loop Construction view.

2.	If the Pitch button is enabled, click it to disable it.

3.	In the Coarse Pitch field, enter the number of semitones you want to transpose the clip by. A negative number in the Coarse Pitch field transposes a clip down. A positive number in the Coarse Pitch field transposes the clip up.

To “fine tune” a Groove Clip

Follow this procedure to make slight pitch changes to a clip.

1.	Double-click the clip you want to transpose to the project’s pitch.

The clip appears in the Loop Construction view.

2.	If the Pitch button is enabled, click it to disable it.

3.	In the Pitch (fine) field, enter the number of cents you want to adjust the pitch. You can enter a number from -50 (transpose the pitch down by a quarter tone) to 50 (transpose the pitch up by a quarter tone).

To edit the slicing markers in a Groove Clip

The following table describes how to create and edit the slicing markers in the Loop Construction view.

To do this	Do this
Add a slicing marker	Move the mouse cursor to the Markers bar, at the beginning of a transient and double-click.
Delete a slicing marker	Select the Erase tool and click on a marker.
Move a slicing marker	Click and drag a marker
Reset slicing markers to original positions	Click the Slice menu and select Reset Markers.

For more information about slicing markers, see Slicing markers.