Can I make Software Instrument Track play live when not selected?

Hi,

 

When comping vocals I sometimes like to play my MIDI keyboard on a Software Track to check the notes. When this Software Track is not selected it no longer plays the live notes I am playing. Is there a way to make the track still play the notes from my MIDI keyboard even when it is not selected?

 

I know I can enable record, but that keeps switching off and I don't want to have to deselect it each time I record a new vocal part. I can also half achieve this with solo, but again I don't want to have to change that when I want to solo the vocal track.

 

Any help much appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Colin.

Yes, you can use the environment window to route (cable) your incoming MIDI controller to a software instrument channel strip directly, so the notes will play that instrument regardless of what the sequencer is doing.

Hi Des,

 

Sorry, I'm pretty new to MIDI. Have been trying for the last few hours but I cannot figure it out.

 

I am trying to do this in the Mixer Layer. I assume I'm need to get the MIDI input to go directly to the sampler on my Software Instrument Channel Strip but cannot work out how to do it?

 

Any more help or links to tutorials would be great.

 

Thanks

 

Colin.

Go to the click and port layer, and find the physical input object. Option-click on the output triangle for the incoming MIDI port your keyboard is transmitting on, and from the cable destination menu that appears, choose the software instrument channel you want to play.

 

(This is just a quick way of cabling from an environment object to another one that's on a different layer, as the channel strip will be on the Mixer layer.)

 

Now your keyboard will always play that instruments.

 

Note that this is not the optimal way of doing this, as you'll probably want to still use your keyboard to record to tracks etc normally, so you would build additional things to handle stuff like that but if this is just in one project, it's a quick way to get you started and you can always delete the cable if you need to have the keyboard go to the sequencer normally.

Hi Des,

 

This would be fine for me as this is just for one project. I do not have any options to select in the Select Cable Destination Menu. When I click on it the screen blinks, but nothing happens.

 

I cannot create a New > Channel Strip > Instrument (greyed out).

 

This is the instrument I want to play shown in the Mixer.

 

This is my Click and Layers Port. I am Option clicking on Oxygen 49 triangle. The same happens for Sum and Digital Piano.

I do not have any options to select in the Select Cable Destination Menu.

 

That looks like you are not following my instructions. You get that menu (in your screenshot) if you control-click on the physical input object.

 

I said you need to option-click on the output cable/triangle...

 

Try again, and follow my instructions carefully. If there's something you are not sure about, post back...

Edited April 11, 2021 by des99

If you follow Des' instructions, you should be seeing this pop-up menu:

 

Thanks Des. Works perfectly when I follow what you say carefully... Thanks again. And thanks for the screenshot David.

Great! Thanks for letting us know...