Reference Guide

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Step Sequencer view
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Working with Step Sequencer clips
When you create a sequence in the Step Sequencer, SONAR creates a new Step Sequencer clip.
A Step Sequencer clip shows the first iteration of the sequence/pattern and all Step Sequencer clips
can be identified by a small Step Sequencer clip icon in the top right corner of the clip. Step
sequencer clips are somewhat similar to MIDI Groove clips; you can drag the left and right edges of
a Step Sequencer clip to show additional iterations of the sequence pattern.
To convert a MIDI clip(s) to a Step Sequencer clip(s)
You can convert any existing MIDI clip into a step sequencer clip:
1. Select the MIDI clip(s) you want to convert to a step sequencer clip(s).
2. Right-click the selected clip and choose Convert MIDI Clip(s) to Step Sequencer from the Clips
pane context menu (hover the mouse over the bottom of the context menu in order to show any
“hidden” commands).
The Convert MIDI Clip(s) to Step Sequencer dialog box appears.
3. If you want the Step Sequencer to preserve the original timing of the note events instead of
quantizing them to the nearest step, select Preserve original timing (using step offsets). The
notes will be adjusted to fit the steps, and per-step timing offsets will be created so that the result
has the same note times as the original MIDI clip. Any human feel in the part will be preserved.
If Preserve original timing (using step offsets) is not selected, the resulting clip will essentially
be a quantized version of the original clip. The start of the clips will be the same and the first
notes will be the same. The only thing that will possibly be different is the length of the clip (due
to quantizing) and the notes in it may be moved slightly so they fit into the steps.
4. Specify the desired resolution value and click OK.
If a MIDI Groove clip contains any variations between different iterations, each unique iteration will
be converted to a separate Step Sequencer clip.
Note: The resolution value should correspond to the shortest note value that you expect. For
example, if you specify Sixteenth notes, you will get four steps per beat. The choices are:
• Quarter (1 step per beat)
• Eighth (2 steps per beat)
• Eighth Triplet (3 steps per beat)
• Sixteenth (4 steps per beat)
• Sixteenth Triplet (6 steps per beat)
• 32nd (8 steps per beat)
• 32nd Triplet (12 steps per beat)