Virtual Controller/Keyboard

The on-screen MIDI keyboard can be routed to MIDI and Instrument tracks, and lets you easily record a performance using a mouse, computer keyboard or by tapping on a multi-touch-enabled monitor.

SONAR automatically detects whether or not you are using a touchscreen, and sizes the Virtual Controller accordingly. The optimum size is displayed for either touch or mouse input, regardless of screen resolution.

Figure 694. Virtual Controller.

A. Sustain pedal B. Down one octave C. Current octave D. Up one octave E. Take all keystrokes

To open the Virtual Controller

Do one of the following:

Go to Views > Virtual Controllers > Piano Keyboard, or press ALT+SHIFT+0.

Go to Views > Virtual Controllers > Computer Keyboard, or press ALT+0.

To assign the Virtual Controller to a MIDI or Instrument track

Click the track’s Input control, point to Virtual Controller, then select the desired input channel (Omni or 1-16).

The Input control is available in the Track Inspector and Track view.

 

Note: If you do not see the Input control, click the Track Control button at the top of the Track pane and choose All. For more information, see Configuring Track view controls. Also, make sure you have expanded the track fully by dragging it down.

Figure 695. Assign a MIDI or Instrument track’s Input control to Virtual Controller.

To change the octave

The leftmost white key indicates the current octave (C0-C9). To change the octave, do one of the following:

Click the Octave Down button to scroll down one octave, or the Octave Up button to scroll up one octave.

Press the LEFT ARROW key to scroll down one octave, or the RIGHT ARROW key to scroll up one octave.

To enable/disable Sustain

Click the Hold button or press the TAB key.

Playing the virtual controller with a computer keyboard

The following figure shows the QWERTY keyboard assignments for the Virtual Controller.

To ensure that the Virtual Controller responds to keystrokes, click the Take All Keystrokes button .

Figure 696. QWERTY key assignments.

A. Sustain pedal  B. Modulation C. Down one octave D. Up one octave E. Decrease velocity F. Increase velocity G. Play/Stop H. Black keys I. White keys 

The physical key positions are always the same, regardless of your keyboard layout (QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY, Dvorak, etc.).

To adjust modulation

1.	Click the Take All Keystrokes button .

2.	Click the 1-5 buttons, or press the 1-5 keys. The keys correspond to the modulation strength (1=OFF and 5=Max).

To adjust velocity

1.	Click the Take All Keystrokes button .

2.	Click the VELOCITY UP or VELOCITY DOWN buttons, or press the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW key.

For more information about recording and MIDI input, see Recording and Changing track settings.

 

See:

Recording music from a MIDI instrument