is this possible to look at one track while recording another

[Leighton Cooper]

Is it possible to select a track while looking at another track.  For example I created a drum track which I would like to be looking at while I create another part.  and make the drum part   large?

[John]

How are you recording? What are you recording? My first thought is thats easy but after reading your post I'm not sure.  Hence the questions. 

[Byron Dickens]

Yes.

 

But, not to be snide, shouldn't you be LISTENING to the drum track ?

[John Vere]

The Track view and the tracks themselves are all re-sizable and you can zoom to any resolution. I often stare at the kick drum midi note pattern while recording bass.  

Also for hits on say an ending ,,I use a lot of the screens visual feedback for cues as I'm recording. Just learn your way around the track view main screen. A second monitor is invaluable for this. 

[David Baay]

Since he's using the term 'create', I'm guessing maybe we're talking about drawing MIDI in the PRV...?

[Kurre]

I haven't tested it but i feel like it would be possible to have two pianorollviews if you undock the first one and move it to the top of screen.

[chuckebaby]

Very important to include as much info as possible. Example- Recording what? Viewing what ? Audio or midi ?

This is imperative, as if one is Audio, one is midi.. We are talking about 2 different view points.

[CJ Jacobson]

Quote

is this possible to look at one track while recording another

Is it possible to select a track while looking at another track.  For example I created a drum track which I would like to be looking at while I create another part.  and make the drum part   large?

Have you tried it? That wouldn't be the easiest what to find out. Just record and select and look at something else while reoccurring. Just try it...

My guess (because i don't fully comprehend your question) is that you can look at anything and select things while you are recording. I do that all the time when recording

 

[John]

So where is the OP?

[Leighton Cooper]

Sorry I was busy building up my tracks.  My goal is to build a 10 drum patterns song using  Groove Monkee drum patterns and then learn how to synchronize my practicing skills according to these drum beats in a Ballad style.  So I have slowed it down to around 62bpm.  What is the most common tempo for a ballad or are there even types of different ballads?  After I through practice am able to synchronize so I am correctly responding to the feel.  I'm sure some type of rhythm section will pop outstanding  that  I can create the actual song from using lyrical assignments from Frank Sinatra and Bernie Taupin, because these writers are so diverse in what they write and it's hard to carry a conversation.  Like W.E.B. Du  Bois and how Duke Ellington wrote Black Brwn & Beige to accompany Du Bois  writing on "The souls of Black Folk".  So holding that as kind of an archetypal influence hopefully will lend me musical directions related to these.  

[Leighton Cooper]

I will try out some of these ideas, Thanks

[Leighton Cooper]

I am writing in midi because it offers me more flexibility once I have settled on how to write something sensible with the parts I have picked out.  I'm noti ntrested in writing something top 40 I want to lift out interesting conversations and put those into lyrics and poetry.    I'd also like to throw in some essential math and science thoughts 

[John]

What we want to know is what is it you are recording?  That is, is it audio or MIDI? Also what track or view do you want to see while recording. 

[John]

I should ask what DAW are you using? Is it Sonar or Cakewalk?

[chuckebaby]

Not sure im any closer to understanding what it is you want to do. 

[user 905133]

On 9/27/2019 at 9:22 PM, Leighton Cooper said:

Is it possible to select a track while looking at another track.  For example I created a drum track which I would like to be looking at while I create another part.  and make the drum part   large?

Just a guess, but perhaps it will help if you state (1) where specifically you are looking ["looking at another track"] and (2) what specifically you want to see after you add another track.  Perhaps it is a simple question of "Where in the Track View do I click to I add a second track after I already have one track I created.  

Or, it could be a more complicated question, such as "Let's say I inserted TTS-1 as a simple instrument track and created a drum part on TTS-1 Part 1 on MIDI channel 10. How can I see the staff notation for that track and add more notes to it on a separate track, so if I don't like the new stuff, I can just delete that track and my original track is intact?"

It is tough to know what to ask / how to ask something if you don't already know how to do it. On the other hand, the good people who want to help probably need more clues.

As I said, just a guess. 

[Leighton Cooper]

I was trying to develop my accopmpaniment skills playing to groove monkee ballad drumbeats.  I can't always think of a structure to match a beat and I am actually listening to Frank Sinatra and Elton John  because I need to hear the subtlety and slow relaxing ballads textureized across tempos matching our fast times.  So it's kind of interesting to hear the difference between decades.   I was looking at the Ballad Groove rhythms in Groove Monkee Ballad Grooves  but I wanted to write a bass part for each of those sections in there.   so I wanted to watch the drum beats at 62 BPM I know it's slow but you hear every nuance and even staccatto notes at that temp sound pretty fast.  I have a rule that I slow everything down so that I can hear the effect of every note and articulaiton.  I hope this helps.

[user 905133]

>  Is it possible to select a track while looking at another track?  

I think I understand:

As an example:

looking at/watching drum beats at 62 BPM = listening to Ballad Groove rhythms (from Groove Monkee) slowed down to 62 BPM?

select a track = open up a track to record/write your bass parts, possibly in multiple takes?

Is that what you meant?

Edited October 1, 2019 by MusicMan11712 (aka Dr. Steve)
to correct a word (possible -> possibly)

[David Baay]

Okay, so here's my best guess as to what's needed:

By default, Cakewalk is set to 'Always Echo Current MIDI Track' so that when you play on your controller keyboard, you hear the soft synth assigned to the currently focused Simple Instrument track.

But then that's the track that will be displayed in the Piano Roll, hiding others by default.

So, to see one track in the PRV while you perform on another track, you have several options:

1. Click the Input Echo on the instrument trakc you want to hear to force Input Echo on even when the track is not focused. This will alow you to focus the drum trakc in the PRV, and still be able to hear the instrument your playing.

2. Show both tracks in the PRV together by Ctrl selecting their track numbers in the PRV tracks pane at the right. The unfocused drum notes will be grayed out but still visible so long as you havethe vertial zoom set correctly. Things get more complicated if you have a durm map on the drum track, but the concept is the same - keep from losing sight of the drum track's MIDI when the focus is elsewhere.

3. Open the drum track in a PRV, and lock the view so it doesn't change when the focus moves away.

There are probably other options, but these come immediately to mind. I kind of like option 2 because it will let you see where your live input notes are landing relative to the existing drum notes as Cakewalk shows a 'confidence recording' preview of the new notes in red.

Hope that helps, or at least sheds some light on concepts that are good to know in any case.

Edited October 1, 2019 by David Baay