Reference Guide

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Controlling live MIDI playback—MIDI echo
Controlling playback
Controlling live MIDI playback—MIDI echo
When you play your MIDI keyboard or controller, the sound that SONAR produces is determined by
what hardware or software synth SONAR sends the incoming MIDI data to after SONAR receives
the data. This is called MIDI echo. By default, SONAR sends the data to the MIDI output or software
synth listed in the Output field of the current track. The current track is the one whose titlebar has
the lighter color—press the up and down arrows on your computer keyboard and watch each track
turn lighter in succession as you change different tracks into the current track (you can also click any
of a track’s controls to make it current).
However, you can echo MIDI data to much more than just the current track, or turn echoing off on
the current track if you want. With a single keyboard or controller, you can echo MIDI data to as
many MIDI tracks as you want, meaning that you can simultaneously play as many hardware and
software synths as you can hook up to your MIDI interface or run on your computer. You can also
have multiple performers on different controllers sending MIDI data to either the same synth or
multiple synths. Each SONAR track allows you to select what MIDI input ports and channels the
track will respond to. The Output field of the track determines what instrument will sound when the
track receives the data. Each track’s Input Echo button determines whether the track echoes MIDI
data.
The Input Echo button
Each MIDI track has an Input Echo button, which controls whether the track will echo MIDI data or
not. The button has three states: On , Auto , and Off . When the button is on, the track
echoes MIDI data. In Auto mode, 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 Edit > Preferences > MIDI - Playback and Recording. The Auto 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 in
Edit > Preferences > MIDI - Playback and Recording is enabled). In this situation (which is the
default), if the track’s Input Echo button is not on, the button appears as to indicate that this
track echoes data because it is the current track.
•If the Always Echo Current MIDI Track option in Edit > Preferences > MIDI - Playback and
Recording is disabled, make a track the current track, and click the track’s Input Echo button .