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Glossary

Silence and suppress the processing of a track. Archived tracks are not loaded into RAM, so they can’t be unmuted in real time. Use the archive command to reduce the demand on your CPU. See Mute.
A visual reference to a portion of, or an entire, recorded audio file. This is represented graphically as a wave form which can be edited and manipulated in a variety of manners.
An audio track is a reference point for playing and recording a single digital audio file stored on your computer's hard drive. The inputs of the audio track are where you would like to record a signal from and the outputs are where you would like to send this signal to monitor.
Ability to change controllable parameters over the length of a track. This is achieved by referencing “snapshots” or “nodes” assigned to specific parameter values in relation to their position on the timeline and is achieved with envelopes.
The amount of data allocated to reproducing a sound wave of digital audio file. Closely related to the dynamic range of the audio file. 1-bit typically represents 6dB of dynamic range when converting an analog signal to a digital signal. Thus, the greater the bit depth, the greater the dynamic range.
A single file that incorporates all project information and audio data. Bundle files are useful for creating backups of your work or for moving projects from on computer to another.
An event-processing language that extends Cakewalk with custom editing commands. Useful for applying quantization, humanization, or other instant changes to MIDI events.
Three or more notes played simultaneously. Typically represented by a single letter representing its root, numbers representing additional notes, and symbols representing its quality. On the guitar chord grid, the notes are shown on the neck of a guitar.
A command that allows you to copy a track along with its properties. You can choose to copy the clips or events or both. You can choose the destination track for the copy.
See The Wave Profiler for information about how to change DMA settings.
In SONAR’s Step Record dialog box, duration means the actual length of time that a note sounds, as opposed to the notated value of the note, which could be different. If you check the Follow Step Size option in the dialog box, the notated value and the duration are the same.
Chord symbol, text of any sort (like ff or con amore), hairpin, or pedal marks.
One of the many single photographic images in a motion picture or video. It is the smallest unit used for SMPTE synchronization.
The beginning of a selection. Set it in the Control Bar’s Select module.
Audio clip that contains pitch and tempo information that allows SONAR to automatically adjust the pitch and tempo of the clip to that of the project you insert it into.
The number of half-steps by which to transpose the track. A value of 12 raises the notes an octave. You can transpose all note in a track on playback by setting this value (Key+) in the Track Inspector.
Often referred to as “buffer size” is a measurement of the time it takes, in samples, for audio to travel from its source, through a sound card's drivers and converters, into SONAR, and back through the sound card to your speakers.
Temporary condition of a project with all automation turned off. You can toggle back and forth between live mode and regular mode by clicking the Global Automation Playback button in the Control Bar’s Mix module.
A feature that plays a regularly recurring audible beat which aids in accurate performances. Can be observed in playback or recording. The rate is set by the tempo of the project.
See the online Help topic MIDI Machine Control (MMC).
Multi Media Extensions—the name of Windows’ built-in audio and multmedia software that was originally developed for Windows 3.0, and is still used by many sound card drivers. WDM drivers offer much better performance.
Not in real time. When you apply an effect to a track offline, you permanently alter the data in that track; then you play the track to hear the effect. When you add an effect to a track in real time, you start the track playing, and you add the effect while the track plays. The data in the track does not change, but the sound of it coming through the effect does.
Degree to which a sound or piece of music comes from the left or right speaker. This control is commonly used to adjust the level of a signal in different channels. In a stereo mix, the level is adjusted between the left and the right speakers.
Frequency dependent time delay. All frequencies experience phase, but as a whole this is not noticeable as they are affected uniformly. If frequencies fall out of phase, however, they interfere with each other constructively or destructively. This can be measured by calculating the period length, as well as amplitude and magnitude values of a recorded wave form. If two frequencies fall 180 degrees out of phase, they will enduce destructive interference and thus completely cancel each other out.
Abbreviation for Parts per Quarter Note. MIDI sequencers divide each beat into fractions of a beat (called ticks) for timing and editing purposes. You can place events in precise timing locations, up to the sequencer’s current PPQ. PPQ is adjustable on most sequencers, up to about 960 PPQ. PPQ values of 96, 120. and 480 are common.
Also known as the default project pitch. The project pitch is the pitch that all groove clips and ACIDized loops in your project follow if there are no pitch markers in the project. You can set the project pitch with the Project > Set Default Groove Clip Pitch command.
Short for Root Mean Square. A method of measuring an average of the amplitudes that occur in a complete cycle of a frequency. RMS is a little over seventy per cent of peak level.
The number of samples per second a digital audio file is recorded at. A higher sampling rate typically increases the fidelity recordings, as it helps to avoid phase shifting and aliasing artifacts. A higher sampling rate will yield larger audio files and more hard drive space used.
A snapshot of the current layout of various views and windows in a project, including which windows are open, their size, position, zoom level and whether they are docked or floating. You can create up to 10 screensets per project and freely switch between screensets at any time.
The number of events in a track, listed in the Size column of the Tracks window. This number changes every time you add or delete events to or from that track.
In the Staff view, the point at which you split a track into treble and bass staves. Notes at or above the split point go into the treble staff, those below into the bass staff.
A grouping of specific tracks with similar qualities and/or effects (such as a submix of guitars or vocals). Creating submixes, by sending groups of tracks to a group specific buses for example, allows for quick adjustments when it comes to mixing, such as muting or applying reverb to all the vocals.
Short for System Exclusive, refers to MIDI messages that only a specific device can use and understand. Cakewalk's System Exclusive library, which can store, record, and display for viewing or editing 256 banks, each holding any number of patches.
A Sysx bank is a storage area plus some associated parameters such as a destination output and an optional description. Each bank can hold any number of messages; the amount of data it can hold is limited only by available memory. The banks are saved in the Cakewalk song file. Each bank can also be saved as a .syx file in the format used by the public domain MIDIEX utility.
A file which stores specific project layouts, such as numbers of tracks and/or plug-in assignments, but does not store any audio or MIDI data. Useful for creating new projects which might require a similar layout.
Time up to which the music is to be played back or recorded. Set it in the Control Bar’s Select module.
Bar showing evenly-spaced intervals. It appears in the Track, Staff, and Piano Roll views. You can use the Time Ruler to change the Now Time, make a time selection, and insert markers. For more about the Time Ruler, see The Time ruler.
Same as PPQ. Timing resolution, measured in pulses (ticks) per quarter note. Determines how finely you can specify notes.
A measurement taken when recording MIDI note events of how fast a key is struck. A MIDI notes velocity will dictate how loud the note will sound during playback.
WASAPI (short for Windows Audio Session Application Programming Interface) is a new driver model available in SONAR that allows it to communicate with the new audio features in Windows 7.
Windows Driver Model—low-latency audio driver that bypasses the operating system’s audio streaming software so that the driver can communicate directly with the sound card and the audio application.

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