How To Record/Edit Pitch Wheel Events/Notes?

[DallasSteve]

I have a pitch wheel on my MIDI keyboard controller.  I have a section in my song where I decided it would sound good to bend one note to the next.  (I'm using a guitar emulator)  So I recorded the bend on my keyboard but it didn't sound quite right.  I examined the events behind the notes and I see the Wheel events.  I realize now that Cakewalk applies the Wheel bend to all of the notes on the track.  That  complicates things because the bend is close to the next note which is not bent and the Wheel events overlap a little.

I'm looking for any tips/tricks on using the pitch wheel.  I was considering moving the bending notes to a separate track.  I suppose the Wheel events will not affect notes on other tracks, but I haven't tested that assumption.  I would like to be able to move the bending note in time, but Copy or Nudge don't seem to move the events with the notes.  Is that correct?  Is there an alternate way to bend notes like using a curve in Automation?  What can I do to make this easier?

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by DallasSteve

[RobertWS]

Maybe you're looking for this screen.

Click the dash-down-arrow right under the '-8192'.

Notes and pitch bend events are edited separately.  Make sure you get the right channel!

BTW:  I once had an cheap MIDI-DIN-USB connector that did not handle pitch bends at all.

 

Edited August 28, 2021 by RobertWS

[Promidi]

You’re right that pitch bends will bend all notes on a given instrument track.

If you want to bend just one note in a chord, you might want to run multiple instances of the instrument.  That way you can bend notes independently of each other.

I use this technique when programming pedal steels using MIDI and pitch bends.

[DallasSteve]

Robert

Thanks for the reply and the screenshot.  Mine looks different (below), but I guess that's because I bent up, you bent down.  I edited my Wheel events in the Event list shown in my first post.  It worked well, but it was slow and tedious.  Is there a better way to edit the events?  When I wanted to edit the time or the Wheel magnitude (-8192 to 8191) I clicked on that cell in the Event list and then held down the mouse left button and wheeled up or down with the mouse.

[DallasSteve]

3 hours ago, Promidi said:

You’re right that pitch bends will bend all notes on a given instrument track.

If you want to bend just one note in a chord, you might want to run multiple instances of the instrument.  That way you can bend notes independently of each other.

I use this technique when programming pedal steels using MIDI and pitch bends.

Promidi

That's the solution I see, to move the bending note(s) to a separate track, although in my first use I was able to isolate the bending note and wheel events and get the desired effect in the same track.

[Promidi]

3 hours ago, DallasSteve said:

Promidi

That's the solution I see, to move the bending note(s) to a separate track, although in my first use I was able to isolate the bending note and wheel events and get the desired effect in the same track.

If you really want to do it in the same track, you could find a synth that responds to polyphonic aftertouch - and then map polyphonic aftertouch to pitch.  Such synths are rare.  Cakewalk’s Z3ta+ 2 is an example of such a synth. 

However, multiple instances to multiple tracks might still be easier - especially as, at this time, Cakewalk does not allow easy editing of polyphonic aftertouch events in the PRV.

[RobertWS]

10 hours ago, DallasSteve said:

Robert

Thanks for the reply and the screenshot.  Mine looks different (below), but I guess that's because I bent up, you bent down.  I edited my Wheel events in the Event list shown in my first post.  It worked well, but it was slow and tedious.  Is there a better way to edit the events?  When I wanted to edit the time or the Wheel magnitude (-8192 to 8191) I clicked on that cell in the Event list and then held down the mouse left button and wheeled up or down with the mouse.

 

You can draw in that window.