Hopelessly Dumb Question about Sound from my MIDI Keyboard

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johngreenink

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Hi folks - very new newbie here. I have a hopelessly dumb question to ask, unless I've actually unearthed a complex problem - BUT, I think this is probably very easy to solve.

I have bought a new midi controller keyboard - it's a Roland Cakewalk A-500S. It's pretty basic. It came pre-packaged with the Cakewalk-Sonar software. All the drivers and software have been successfully installed.

So, here's the question...

Why is my keyboard making no sound?

I have spent hours trying to figure out why no sound is coming from my speakers despite the fact that
1) the keyboard icon on my bottom desktop tray is lighting up when I touch the keys
2) an open track in the Sonar display is registering the fact that keys are being pressed, and
3) when I open a sample beat in Sonar and press 'play', THAT doesn't make a sound either? (so it's not just the keyboard, it's the internal sounds of the software, too.)

Is there some dumb little setting somewhere that I have to change to make this happen?
It has to be ridiculously easy I would think - clearly my computer and the software and the keyboard acknowledge that sound is being generated... but that information isn't getting to the speakers...

I have been at this for over three hours now and I'm ready to scream.
Unbelievably, there is nothing in either my midi keyboard manual or the Sonar software Help that can answer such a simple, rudimentary, and crucial question!?!?!

I am very grateful for any help.

Specifics: I'm running this on a Sony Vaio running Windows Vista.
All other sounds from my computer are working, so I didn't turn my volume down and leave it there accidentally.
 
Have you selected your soundcard as your output device in Cakewalk? I don't know that software but there's a Cakewalk/Sonar forum here where you can ask people how to do things specific to that software.
 
It's a MIDI keyboard, it doesn't have audio - what virtual instrument software do you have set as a plugin on the Cakewalk track?
 
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