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Playback and the Transport panel
The Virtual Keyboard
The Virtual Keyboard can be displayed in the Transport
panel. It allows you to play and record MIDI notes by using
your computer keyboard or mouse. This is useful if you have
no external MIDI instrument at hand and you do not want to
draw in notes with the Pencil tool. The Virtual Keyboard can
perform all functions that can be controlled by external MIDI
keyboards, e.g. playing and recording MIDI notes.
• You can choose between two different keyboard dis-
play modes: computer keyboard and piano keyboard. To
switch between these two modes, click the “Change Vir-
tual Keyboard Display Type” button or use the [Tab] key.
The Virtual Keyboard in computer keyboard display mode
The Virtual Keyboard in piano keyboard display mode
To record MIDI using the Virtual Keyboard, proceed as fol-
lows:
1. Create or choose a MIDI or an instrument track and ac-
tivate the “Record Enable” button for it.
2. Open the Virtual Keyboard by selecting “Virtual Key-
board” on the Devices menu or by pressing [Alt]/[Option]-
[K]. You can also open the Virtual Keyboard by right-click-
ing on the Transport panel and selecting “Virtual Keyboard”
on the context menu.
The Virtual Keyboard is displayed in the Transport panel.
3. Activate the Record button and press a key on your
computer keyboard to enter a note.
You can also click on the keys of the Virtual Keyboard to enter notes.
• You can also press several keys simultaneously to enter
polyphonic parts. The maximum number of notes that can
be played at one time varies between the different operat-
ing systems and hardware configurations.
4. Use the fader “Note velocity level” to the right of the
virtual keyboard to adjust the volume.
You can also use the up and down arrow keys for this.
5. Enter the desired notes this way.
6. When you are done, hit the Stop button and close the
Virtual Keyboard.
When the Virtual Keyboard is hidden, all key commands are available
again.
Options and settings
• In piano keyboard mode, you have a wider range of keys
at your disposal, allowing you to enter two voices simulta-
neously, for example bass and lead voice or bass drums
and HiHats.
In computer keyboard mode, you can use the two rows of keys that are dis-
played on the Virtual Keyboard to enter notes. In piano keyboard mode, you
can also use the two rows of keys below these.
• You have seven full octaves at your disposal. Use the
“Octave Offset” buttons at the bottom of the virtual key-
board to offset the octave range of the keyboard.
You can also use the left and right arrow keys to switch the keyboard range
to a lower or higher octave, respectively.
• In piano keyboard mode, you can use the two sliders to
the left of the keyboard to introduce pitchbend (left slider)
or modulation (right slider).
You can also click on a key, hold the mouse button pressed until the
mouse pointer becomes a crosshair tool and drag upwards/downward to
introduce modulation or left/right to create pitchbend.
!
When the Virtual Keyboard is displayed, the usual key
commands are blocked because they are reserved for
the Virtual Keyboard. The only exceptions are: [Ctrl]/
[Command]-[S] (Save), Num [*] (Start/Stop Record),
[Space] (Start/Stop Playback), Num [1] (Jump to left
locator), [Delete] or [Backspace] (Delete), Num [/]
(Cycle on/off), [F2] (Show/Hide Transport panel), and
[Alt]/[Option]-[K] (Show/Hide Virtual Keyboard).