Ruby Gold

Cool - thanks! Thanks! So I take it from these responses that basic image editing in Cakewalk is not possible - you can only import still images/video after it's processed? Is that it?

Hi thanks. Yup - I know that CW is audio editing SW, but I thought that maybe since it allows you to import visual media that you might be able manipulate said media within CW, but... maybe not. ? Video editing software like Premiere or others will let you edit both, but I don't have access to it, hence, my hope that perhaps CW would suffice. Thanks for the input though!

Hi there. I'm still quite a newbie to Cakewalk, but have managed to figure out how to create and do basic manipulations for the audio and instrument of my song. Now, I'd love to import some still images and manipulate their length/duration to go with the beat of the music. I know that importing video is possible, but not sure about still images, and don't know how to manipulate them in the track, once imported. Can anyone point me to a simple but good tutorial or forum discussion link? Thanks much!

Great - thanks you all for the encouragement and links. Will check 'em out.

Awesome Mettelus! Thank you again. What a wonderful community this is.

Hey Joe - no - I don't think I have - just the drums that come with the CW install - which aren't bad. But for me to build a beat track from scratch might not be the best way to go... Thanks - I'll check out the tutorials you mentioned.

Yes - I think it sounds okay - it's only a single notes melody line plunked out on the Yamaha just to see if I could get this to work before trying to add in chords or figure out how to do a good beat track under it, etc., so not entirely sure the flatness is just visual - I did an audio recording with a mic doing the same single notes melody line on my clarinet and the wave form was very visually dynamic. By comparison, this one is totally flat. So... not sure. Can't honestly say I fully understand what you just said, above, lol, but I'll keep playing around with this and see how far I can get. Seriously - SO appreciate your time, good energy, non-judgy vibe and absolute helpfulness in your responses here. Next, I'm going to see if I can find some already put together beats - something simple and dirge-y/ballad-y is what I'm looking for and then I'll have to figure out how to get it into the song (I'm sure there's some import function) and then get the tempo in sync with the rest of the song if I import some ready-made beat. If you have anything to say about any of that - all suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Hi again Mettelus. I went through your steps above, and was able to get the 'audio' track along with the midi recorded out of the Yamaha keyboard. THANK YOU!!!! The "audio" track (with the icon of the MIDI port and the keyboard) doesn't look like a normal waveform though - it's flat compared with other audio waveforms. Can you help me understand why? And... can that flat audio track be mixed, have effects put on it, exported, etc? Or does it need further conversion of some type until it looks like a normal waveform? Thanks!

Thanks Joe - I'll take a look at this. Appreciate the help!

Thanks again Mettelus for the step by step. Look forward to trying it out. Appreciate your help!!

Thanks Mettelus. I'm not offended - I'm a rock bottom newbie! I did use Instrument track when I recorded the line I played on the keyboard. Totally get it about the middle-man concept - but how do I output the midi track into the "soft synth" (not sure what that is) and then output the audio so it can be mixed, heard, etc? Also the point for me of getting the Yamaha keyboard input was to capture better sound/nuance etc than just using a virtual instrument - but is that what a soft synth is? Sorry - I warned you I'm a newbie. ? And - deeply appreciate all the help being offered!

Hi all and thanks so much for the great suggestions. They worked! But it's a bit of a good news/bad news situation. I installed the correct driver as instructed and then was able to select the Yamaha as input on an instrument track and record what I was playing live into a track as midi data! YAY!!!! Thanks so much for all the help to get me that far you guys! Now - problem is, there is no audio data being recorded. Since I don't have an audio interface, Mike's instructional vid on how to get the audio track from the played keyboard's midi data isn't possible. Is it possible without an audio interface to convert the recorded midi data to an audio track so I can hear it through my headphones/speakers and mix it with the other tracks to create my song? Thanks in advance for your help! Ruby

Thanks again for all the response and links. Much appreciated. I will report back if it works! Happy New Year everyone. Ruby

Thanks all for all this! My keyboard is a Yamaha PSR E403 to answer that question, and my guess is you're right about the USB port on it not being able to transmit midi data. Like I said, it is an antique, and I bought it for creating little musical snippets for videos I was producing back in the mid-2000s. I use Windows 10. My singing voice is fairly sucky, but I have an okay mike anyway and decent headphones. Looks like I'm going to need to invest in some more stuff to make this song work. I'm not really a songwriter - but this one song just kind of came to me, first as a riff, then a whole melody line and then words - so I feel compelled to build it out into a real song, which is why I downloaded CW and am trying to learn it. Complicated! Especially for someone who's not really a musician nor versed in DAWs. Thanks for all your suggestions and I'm open to any additional ones that occur to you. I'd love to get a keyboard that is as close to a plug and play kind of situation as possible. I'm reasonably tech savvie - but not a sound/music production specialist - so, easier/less is better. Just something to help me get better sounding virtual instruments recorded directly into CW that I can than edit in piano roll and mix with other tracks, etc. PS John didn't scare me away, and I am a her not a him. ?

Thanks Joe. Unfortunately, when plugged in, my keyboard is not showing up as Mike says it should under the USB to midi inputs in the preferences. Just not there. No input is shown. Perhaps I need some kind of audio interface like he shows in the video, but not sure it's worth making more investments for a keyboard that is so old. If any of you have recommendations for a not too expensive keyboard that would be a plug and play situation into CW - please let me know. Thanks again.