Transposing

The Process > Transpose command transposes the pitches of selected note events up or down by a fixed number of steps. It does so by changing the MIDI key numbers of note events. Simply enter the number of half-steps—a negative number to transpose down, a positive number to transpose up.

SONAR can also perform diatonic transposition, which shifts all the notes up and down the major scale of the current signature by the designated number of steps. For instance, if you specify an amount of +1 and the key signature is C-major, a C becomes a D (up a whole step), an E becomes an F (up a half step), and so on. Diatonic transposition assures you that the transposed notes fit with the original key signature.

As an option, you can choose to transpose selected audio clips along with any selected MIDI clips. SONAR uses pitch-shifting (a plug in for changing audio pitch) to perform the transposition. You can transpose audio only a single octave in either direction (-12 to +12), and you cannot transpose audio when you are using diatonic transposition.

To transpose selected events

1.	Select the tracks, clips, or events you want to transpose.

2.	Choose Process > Transpose to display the Transpose dialog box

Figure 333. The Transpose dialog box.

3.	Use the spinners or enter the number of semi-tones to transpose.

Or

Use the + and - keys on your keypad to go up or down by one or [ and ] to go up or down by octaves.

4.	Check Diatonic Math if you want to transpose along the major scale of the current key.

5.	Choose Transpose Audio if you want to pitch-shift selected audio clips. If you select this check box. SONAR transposes any selected audio data up or down, but only by half-steps, not diatonically. When this check box is enabled, the following two options become available:

Type. Choose the type of audio data you're transposing. Choose options based on the source material: single voice or instrument versus a group of instruments (ensemble or polyphonic), and how long you want to wait for processing to finish: better quality can take a long time if you're processing several tracks.

Formant scaling. Possible values range from -2.000 to 2.000 octaves. Formants give a voice its characteristic sound. You can use the Formant Scaling value to offset the pitch transposition you're applying. For example, if you're transposing the pitch down, you can raise the formant to try and maintain the characteristics of the sound.

6.	Click OK when you are done.

SONAR transposes the selected events.

Shifting events in time

The Track view lets you move entire clips forward or backward in time by using drag and drop editing or by changing the start time of selected clips. The Process > Slide command is slightly more flexible—you can use it to shift individual events and markers (or selected events and markers) either forward or backward in time. This has an effect that is similar to the Time+ parameter in the Track view. However, the Process > Slide command modifies the time stored with each event, while the Time+ parameter simply applies a temporary change during playback.

You can also use the Process > Slide command to move markers located within the selection. If you have selected any locked markers, SONAR will ask whether they should slide, too.

To shift events in time

1.	Select the events and/or markers you want to shift.

2.	Choose Process > Slide to display the Slide dialog box.

3.	Check the types of event you want to slide (events and/or markers).

4.

Enter the number of measures, ticks, seconds, frames or samples to slide. Enter a negative number to shift material earlier. Note that you cannot slide any event earlier than 1:01:000. For example, if the current selection starts at 2:01:000, you cannot slide events earlier by more than one measure.

5.	Click OK when you are done.

SONAR shifts the selected events and/or markers. You can also use the Process > Nudge command to move events. See Nudge for more information.