Cakewalk 2000, Kesignature shown, actural key ?????

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seadog
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2005 9:45 pm
Location: Pennsylvania/Arizona

Post by seadog » Fri Sep 09, 2005 6:53 pm

Using cakewalk 2000,

When midi song is loaded .....

CW shows the key as "C" Always. Does it know what key the actual song is recorded in ? or does it transpose any loaded song into C automatically upon loading ?????? Is it really in "C" ?????

I have never seen a Midi file loaded that presents any signature other than "C" in my cakewalk 2000.

Since I do not read music and play the harmonica by ear, I need to know what key the song is being played in so I know which harmonica to use with it.

----also-----

I have not yet figured out how to record an audio track of a midi file playing without running it through another player (Vanbasco's) on my desktop and then recording it (into Cakewalk) as an audio file on my Laptop..... then I can accompany myself and record my harmonica as a separate track------ bounce the two together and end up with a composite song.


I have the conextant sound chip on my laptop and also a EDIROL usb interface which drives my monitor speakers..... When I set an inbserte4d audio track to record and then play a loaded mIDI file it does not hear the midi notes as they are played and the recorded track is blank......


Appreciate your comments...

R,

Seadog


8)


andychap
Posts: 685
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2003 7:26 pm
Location: UK

Post by andychap » Fri Sep 09, 2005 10:38 pm

Key signatures are only ever for reference so the key sig for a project is what you set at at. It default to C because the key of C is the most common.

I assume Cakewalk 2000 has the ability to use DXi instruments, if so, play your midi file through the DXi softsynth and then just bounce the audio to a stereo wave files. I would bounce midi to audio first and then accompany with the audio files so there are no timing issues.

Don't forget when you have bounced the midi to audio make sure you mute the midi tracks, before playback.

seadog
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2005 9:45 pm
Location: Pennsylvania/Arizona

Post by seadog » Sat Sep 10, 2005 12:01 am

Thanks Andy,

Is there a place in CW that I can see what the actual key of a piece is?
Surely each Midi song has to have an instruction somewhere that assigns the key in which it is to be layed.....

R,

Seadog

andychap
Posts: 685
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2003 7:26 pm
Location: UK

Post by andychap » Sat Sep 10, 2005 6:05 am

This might explain things better than I can :D
What Is Key?

In musical terms, a key is a system of related notes based on the tonic (the base pitch) of a major or minor scale. A key signature is a group of sharps or flats placed immediately to the right of the clef sign. The key signature tells a performer that certain notes are to be systematically raised or lowered.

There are fifteen different key signatures--seven with sharps, seven with flats, and one without either. The fifteen key signatures correspond to fifteen different major scales, and to fifteen different minor scales (for example, the key signature for C major is the same as for A minor).

The key signature affects several things in SONAR:

The key signature controls how SONAR displays notes. In the Event List view and some dialog boxes, SONAR converts the MIDI pitch number to labels like Db (D-flat in the key of C). The Staff view uses the key signature to display notation correctly. How the notes are transposed when the Diatonic option is enabled. The key signature affects only how SONAR displays pitches for you. Changing the key signature does not affect the MIDI key number (pitch) stored with each note. To actually transpose pitches, use the Transpose command or edit notes individually by using the Piano Roll, Event List, or Staff views.
As far as I know there is no way Cakewalk can determine what key a track is in. I would be down to your ear or examining which root notes were used in the track to determine the key.

Sorry.

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