Sustain interrupted by "Play"

[fskelley]

In a live performance, with piano hosted by Cakewalk, I play a rubato (indefinite timing) song intro on piano which ends with a sustained chord. At the right moment I start my backing track. That momentarily interrupts the sound of the sustaining notes (they come back), which sounds TERRIBLE. How do I keep those notes uninterrupted while the track starts?

On a Facebook group I got lots of suggestions to try, none of which worked. One moderator replicated the behavior. I'll tell you here what I told whoever was listening on FB... "I absolutely positively guarantee you this has been plaguing other users for years who've never reported or complained- such is the nature of unwanted software behavior and a large user community (I'm a long time Ansys developer). Probably more in the studio with a bunch of musicians around and the blips are an embarrassment among pro colleagues than a big live performance snafu, but enough to draw unwanted attention or snickers. I'd also bet $$$ the fix is easy for the right developer."

Thank You!

Edited June 6, 2022 by fskelley
better title

[msmcleod]

The interruption is likely caused by the transport pre-roll.

I think the trick is to add a pause event just before your music starts,  starting playback before your start playing your rubato intro, and continuing when you want the rest to start playing.

This is how I would do this:

1.  Move the whole of your song within Cakewalk by a whole measure.
2.  Insert an MCI Pause command just before the new start time of your song, so it's still within in the silent measure but before everything else starts.  Depending on your ASIO buffer size, you may need to leave a small gap before the start time (e.g. an 8th or 16th note or so).



When you play:

1. Start playback first - it will play a blank measure then pause at the MCI pause command. The key thing here is, that pre-roll has already been performed.
2. Play your rebato intro
3. Press play again as normal to continue playback

[fskelley]

Mine stops on the MCI pause as commanded. I play a piano chord and press play. The sound is interrupted as before. No change. Sorry. If you can replicate my problem, and then this or any other workaround corrects it, please let me know. Thanks.

[msmcleod]

14 hours ago, fskelley said:

Mine stops on the MCI pause as commanded. I play a piano chord and press play. The sound is interrupted as before. No change. Sorry. If you can replicate my problem, and then this or any other workaround corrects it, please let me know. Thanks.

It looks like the engine gets re-initialized after pausing.

I've found a workaround that might work for you:

1. Remove the MCI command
2. Set a loop point of one beat length in the silence before the main music starts and enable looping
3. Start playback.

You should now be able to play your piano part while it's busy looping over silence

When you're ready to continue playback, just press the "L" key to turn off looping and the song will continue without interruption.

I tried this with an organ patch just to ensure it wasn't being interrupted and it worked for me.

[fskelley]

Well, now I'm confused. Your description is straightforward enough, it was easy for me to test. But I get a piano sustain interruption on "L". I can't tell if it's exactly the same as on start/play, but equally distracting. I could make you a recording, but I'd have to record outside of Cakewalk because- well- CW doesn't know about the problem, it's in the outside world so to speak.

In lieu of a software fix or effective workaround, I see only 2 ways around this. 1) What I've been doing- is leaving "air space" around starting the track- silence, no sustained notes. Doesn't sound right to me, but at least I feel and sound like I'm in control- though not really, software is controlling the music instead of other way around. Or 2) add the whole rubato section to the beginning of the track, with enough audio or visual cues for me to play it with close enough timing every time for me to be in the right spot when the "real" track (with drums etc and strict timing) begins- again inhibiting but I can learn to perform it accurately. Again one might ask who's in charge- sounds like it's CW. Artistry is only possible where the technology permits. Most of us musicians would rather concentrate on the music when we can and not struggle with operating systems, settings, drivers, and such.

...On further thought, a 3rd option- 3) pick a spot as close as possible to the end of the rubato section where a moment of air space or silence may seem more musically natural or acceptable- for the track start. Carefully craft the beginning of the track and rehearse the transition and track start until it's effectively flawless. I can make it work. More effort than it ought to be, but it'll fly.

Thanks for your attention and help.

Edited June 9, 2022 by fskelley
add 3rd way to use it as it is