Steinberg Cubase 5.5 New Features Manual

							51
The Sample Editor
Selecting an algorithm for realtime playback
In the Algorithm pop-up menu on the toolbar you can se-
lect the algorithm preset to be applied on realtime play-
back. This setting affects warp changes in Musical Mode, 
FreeWarp, Swing, as well as VariAudio warping and 
pitching (only the Solo preset can be used).
On this pop-up menu you can find various options that 
govern the audio quality of the realtime time stretching. 
There are presets that allow you to manually set warp 
parameters:If you select the Advanced menu item, a dialog opens 
where you can manually adjust the three parameters that 
govern the sound quality of the time stretching:
Free Warp
The Free Warp tool allows you to create warp tabs. Warp 
tabs are a kind of marker or anchor that can be attached to 
musically relevant time positions in an audio event, for ex-
ample the first beat of every bar. Warp tabs can be dragged 
to the corresponding time positions in the project, and the 
audio will be stretched accordingly. 
You can also use warp tabs for further tweaking after hav-
ing activated Musical Mode.
Option Description
Drums This mode is best for percussive sounds, because it does not 
change the timing of your audio. Using this option for pitched 
audio will lead to noticeable artifacts. In this case, you can try 
the Mix mode.
Plucked Use this mode for audio with transients and a relatively stable 
spectral sound character (e. g. plucked instruments).
Pads Use this mode for pitched audio with slower rhythm and a sta-
ble spectral sound character. This minimizes sound artifacts, 
but the rhythmic accuracy is not preserved.
Vocals This mode is suitable for slower signals with transients and a 
prominent tonal character (e. g. vocals).
Mix This mode preserves the rhythm and minimizes the artifacts 
for pitched material which does not meet the above criteria 
(i. e. with a less homogenous sound character). 
This is selected by default for audio that is not categorized.
Advanced This allows for a manual tweaking of the time stretching pa-
rameters. By default, the settings that are shown when you 
open the dialog are those of the last preset used (except if the 
Solo mode has been selected, see below). The Advanced 
settings are described more in detail below this table.
Solo This mode preserves the timbre of the audio. Only use it for 
monophonic material (solo woodwind/brass instruments or 
solo vocals, monophonic synths or string instruments that do 
not play harmonies).
Parameter Description
Grain size The realtime time stretching algorithm splits the audio into 
small pieces called “grains”. This parameter determines the 
size of the grains. For material with many transients, use low 
Grain size values for best results. 
Overlap Overlap is the percentage of the whole grain that will overlap 
with other grains. Use higher values for material with a stable 
sound character.
Variance Variance is also a percentage of the whole length of the 
grains, and sets a variation in positioning so that the overlap-
ping area sounds smooth. A Variance setting of 0 will pro-
duce a sound akin to time stretching used in early samplers, 
whereas higher settings produce more (rhythmic) “smear-
ing” effects but less audio artifacts.
!If the VariAudio tab is open, only the warp handles 
are shown.
!When you activate or deactivate Musical Mode or 
select another Resolution value, all your warp modifi-
cations will be lost. 
						

							52
The Sample Editor
Using the Free Warp tool 
Warp tabs are created using the Free Warp tool on the Au-
dioWarp tab of the Sample Editor, but can also be created 
from hitpoints (see “Creating warp tabs from hitpoints” on 
page 53). In this example, we will show how a file with 
slightly varying tempo can be locked to a steady tempo by 
using warp tabs. It illustrates the general methods of using 
warp tabs and the Free Warp tool. But you can of course 
use warp tabs for other operations than aligning downbeats 
to grid positions. With the Free Warp tool, you can literally 
stretch any region within a sample to any position!
Proceed as follows:
1.Open the audio file that you wish to process in the 
Sample Editor.
2.Activate the “Snap to Zero Crossing” button on the 
Sample Editor toolbar.
When you activate this button, warp tabs will snap to zero crossings and 
hitpoints (if shown).
3.On the Definition tab, click the Auto Adjust button.
4.Line up the audio file so that the first beat of the first 
bar (in the audio event) starts on the first beat of a bar in 
the project.
•If the audio file does not start on a downbeat, you can 
use the Event Start handle in the Sample Editor and adjust 
the position in the Project window so that the first down-
beat in the sample is aligned with the first beat of a bar in 
the grid.
Now the first musical downbeat should be aligned with the first beat of a 
bar in the project. 
The next step is to find out where the first warp tab needs 
to be added. Activate the metronome click on the Trans-
port panel and play back your audio clip to determine po-
sitions where its tempo drifts from the project tempo. 
5.Play back the audio file and determine where the first 
beat of a bar in the audio event does not match the corre-
sponding ruler position in the project.
If you find it difficult to pinpoint an exact position in the audio event, you 
can use the Scrub tool and/or zoom in the view.
6.On the AudioWarp tab, select the Free Warp tool, 
place the pointer at the position of the beat that you want 
to adjust, click, and hold.
When you place the mouse pointer in the waveform display, it changes 
to a clock with arrows on either side and a vertical line in the middle, 
which represents the pointer. 
7.With the mouse button still pressed, drag the warp tab 
to the desired position in the ruler and release the mouse 
button.
A warp tab is added and your beat should be perfectly aligned with the 
corresponding position in the project. If the position where you clicked 
was off, you can adjust it by dragging the handle.
ÖYou can also first add warp tabs at the relevant musi-
cal positions and change their positions later, see “Editing 
warp tabs” on page 52.
Next to the warp tab handle in the ruler, a number is 
shown. This number indicates the warp factor, i. e. the 
amount of stretch. Warp factor numbers higher than 1.0 
indicate that the audio region preceding the warp tab is 
expanded and will play back slower. Warp factor numbers 
lower than 1.0 indicate that the audio region preceding 
the warp tab is compressed and will play back faster.
8.Repeat the described steps to align the first beat in 
each bar to the corresponding ruler position.
ÖYou only have to add warp tabs where the downbeat 
in the audio file drifts from the ruler position and/or if you 
want to lock a warp tab so that it is not moved when edit-
ing other points. 
Editing warp tabs
Moving the destination of existing warp tabs
To move the destination position of a warp tab (and thus 
stretch or compress the audio), select the Free Warp tool 
and position the pointer on the warp line in the waveform, 
click and drag. 
Moving the insert position of existing warp tabs
If you wish to change the insert position of a warp tab in 
the audio, click and drag the warp tab handle in the ruler. 
This will change the warping. 
						

							53
The Sample Editor
Disabling warp tabs
You can disable all warp modifications by clicking the 
“Disable Warp Changes” button on the AudioWarp tab or 
by setting up and using the “VariAudio - Disable Warp 
Changes” key command in the Key Commands dialog, 
Sample Editor category (see the chapter “Key Com-
mands” in the Operation Manual). 
Deleting warp tabs
To delete a warp tab, hold down [Alt]/[Option] so that the 
pointer becomes an eraser and click on the warp tab. To 
delete several warp tabs, hold down [Alt]/[Option] while 
drawing a selection rectangle.
Resetting warp modifications
To reset your Free Warp edits, click the Reset button on 
the AudioWarp tab. This also resets the “Disable Warp 
Changes” button on the same tab.
ÖIf Musical Mode is activated, only Free Warp edits are 
reset.
Creating warp tabs from hitpoints
You can also create warp tabs from hitpoints by selecting 
“Create Warp Tabs from Hitpoints” on the Realtime Pro-
cessing submenu of the Audio menu.
Working with hitpoints and slices
Hitpoint detection is a special feature of the Sample Edi-
tor. It detects attack transients in an audio file and adds a 
type of marker, i. e. a “hitpoint”, at each transient. These 
hitpoints allow you to create “slices”, where each slice 
ideally represents each individual sound or “beat” in a loop 
(drum or other rhythmic loops work best with this feature). 
When you have successfully sliced the audio file, you can 
do a number of useful things with it:
• Change the tempo without affecting the pitch.
• Extract the timing (a groove map) from a drum loop. The 
groove map can then be used to quantize other events.
• Replace individual sounds in a drum loop.
• Edit the actual playing in the drum loop without affecting the 
basic feel.
• Extract sounds from loops.
You can further edit these slices in the Audio Part Editor. 
You can, for example:
• Remove or mute slices.
• Change the loop by reordering, replacing, or quantizing slices.
• Apply processing or effects to individual slices.
• Create new files from individual slices using the “Bounce 
Selection” function on the Audio menu.
• Transpose in realtime and stretch slices.
• Edit slice envelopes.
ÖHitpoints are only displayed in the waveform if the Hit-
points tab is open.
Using hitpoints
The main functionality of using hitpoints to slice up a loop 
is to make a loop fit the tempo of a song, or alternatively to 
create a situation that allows the song tempo to be 
changed while retaining the timing of a rhythmic audio 
loop, just like when using MIDI files. 
Which audio files can be used?
Here are some guidelines as to what type of audio files are 
suited for slicing using hitpoints:
•Each individual sound in the loop should have a notice-
able attack.
Slow attacks, legato playing, etc. may not produce the desired result.
•Poorly recorded audio might be difficult to slice correctly.
In these cases, try to normalize the files or to remove DC Offset.
•There may be problems with sounds drowned in smear-
ing effects, like short delays. 
						

							54
The Sample Editor
Calculating hitpoints and slicing a loop
Before proceeding, check if your audio file is suited for 
slicing using hitpoints, see above. Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Hitpoints tab and select an option from the 
Use pop-up menu. 
The Use pop-up menu on the Hitpoints tab affects which hitpoints are 
shown and is a useful tool for removing unwanted hitpoints. 
The following options are available:
ÖIf you select one of the options of the Use pop-up menu 
(except “All”), a second ruler that displays the musical 
structure of the audio file is shown below the ordinary ruler. 
2.Move the Sensitivity slider to the right to add hitpoints 
or to the left to remove unwanted hitpoints until one indi-
vidual sound is played between two hitpoints.
If your main reason for slicing the loop is to change the tempo, you gen-
erally need as many slices as you can get, but never more than one per 
individual “hit” in the loop. If you want to create a groove, try to get ap-
proximately one slice per eighth note, sixteenth note, or whatever the 
loop requires (see “Creating groove quantize maps” on page 55).
In the next step, the loop will be adapted to the project 
tempo set in Cubase.
3.On the Hitpoints tab, click the Create Slices button or 
select “Create Audio Slices from Hitpoints” from the Hit-
points submenu of the Audio menu. 
The following happens:
• The Sample Editor closes.
• The audio event is “sliced” so that the sections between the 
hitpoints become separate events, all referring to the same 
original file.• The audio event is replaced by an audio part, containing the 
slices (double-click the part to view the slices in the Audio 
Part Editor).
• The loop is automatically adapted to the project tempo. This 
takes the specified loop length into account: e. g., if the loop 
was one bar long, the part is resized to fit exactly one bar in 
the Cubase tempo, and the slices are moved accordingly, 
keeping their relative positions within the part.
• In the Pool, the sliced clip is shown with a different icon. Drag-
ging the sliced clip from the Pool to an audio track creates an 
audio part with the slices adapted to the project tempo, just as 
above.
4.Activate cycle playback on the Transport panel.
The loop should now play back seamlessly at the tempo set in the project!
Hitpoints and tempo settings
The musical time base setting and the project tempo af-
fect how your loops are played back. 
•Make sure that the “Musical time base” button in the 
track list or Inspector is activated (the button shows a note 
symbol – see the chapter “The Project window” in the Op-
eration Manual). This way the loop will follow any further 
tempo changes.
•If the project tempo is slower than the original tempo of 
the loop, there may be audible gaps between each slice 
event in the part.
To remedy this, you can use the Close Gaps function on the Advanced 
submenu of the Audio menu, see “Close Gaps” on page 56. Also consider 
activating auto fades for the corresponding audio track – fade-outs set to 
about 10 ms will help eliminate any clicks between the slices when you play 
back the part. For more information, see the chapter “Fades, crossfades 
and envelopes” in the Operation Manual.
Option Description
All All hitpoints are shown (taking the Sensitivity slider into ac-
count).
1/4, 1/8, 
1/16, 1/32Only hitpoints that are close to the selected note value posi-
tions within the loop are shown (e. g. close to exact sixteenth 
note positions). Again, the Sensitivity slider is taken into ac-
count.
Metric Bias This is like the “All” mode, but all hitpoints that are close to 
even meter divisions (1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc.) get a “sensitivity 
boost” – they are visible at lower sensitivity settings. This is 
useful if you are working with dense or cluttered material with 
a lot of hitpoints, but you know that the material is based on a 
strict meter. By selecting Metric Bias it is easier to find the hit-
points close to the meter position (although most other hit-
points are also available, at higher sensitivity settings).
!When you create slices, all events referring to the 
edited clip are also replaced. 
						

							55
The Sample Editor
•If the project tempo is higher than the loop’s original 
tempo, you may want to activate auto crossfades for the 
track.
You can use the Close Gaps functions in this case as well, see “Close 
Gaps” on page 56.
The slices in the Audio Part Editor. Here, the project tempo was higher 
than the loop’s original tempo – the slice events overlap.
Setting hitpoints manually
If you cannot get the desired result by adjusting the sensi-
tivity, try to set and edit hitpoints manually. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Zoom in on the waveform at the point where you wish 
to add a hitpoint.
2.Select the Edit Hitpoints tool to audition the area and 
make sure that the start of the sound is in view.
3.Activate “Snap to Zero Crossing” on the Sample Edi-
tor toolbar.
By finding zero crossings in the waveform (positions where the amplitude 
is close to zero), manually added slices will not insert any clicks or pops. 
All hitpoints calculated by the program are automatically placed at zero 
crossings.
4.Press [Alt]/[Option] so that the mouse pointer changes 
to a pencil tool and click just before the start of the sound.
A new hitpoint appears. Manually added hitpoints are locked by default.
•If you notice that a hitpoint was either placed too far away 
from the start of the sound or too far into the sound, you can 
move it by dragging the hitpoint to the new position.5.Audition the slices by pointing and clicking in any slice 
area.
The pointer changes to a speaker icon and the corresponding slice is 
played back from the beginning to the end.
•If you hear a single sound split into two slices you can 
disable an individual slice by clicking on the handle of the 
corresponding hitpoint.
The hitpoint handle gets smaller and its line disappears to indicate that it 
is disabled. To reactivate a disabled hitpoint, click on the hitpoint handle 
again.
•If you hear “double hits” (e. g. a snare hit being followed 
by a hi-hat hit within the same slice), you can add further 
hitpoints manually, or you can move the Sensitivity slider 
to the right until the hitpoint appears and lock the hitpoint 
by holding down [Ctrl]/[Command] or [Shift] and clicking 
on its handle. 
Locked hitpoints are displayed in a darker color. After locking the hitpoint 
you can drag the sensitivity slider to the original setting and the locked 
hitpoint will remain shown. You can unlock a locked hitpoint by clicking 
on its handle.
•If you want to delete a hitpoint, hold down [Ctrl]/[Com-
mand] and click on it. If you want to delete several hitpoints, 
hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and drag a selection rectan-
gle.
You can also hold down [Shift] and click to delete hitpoints.
Creating groove quantize maps
You can generate groove quantize maps based on the 
hitpoints that you have created in the Sample Editor. 
Groove quantizing is not meant for correcting errors, but for 
creating rhythmic feels. This is done by comparing your re-
corded music with a “groove” (a timing grid generated from 
the file) and moving the appropriate notes so that their tim-
ing matches the one of the groove. In other words, you can 
extract the timing from an audio loop and use it for quantiz-
ing MIDI parts (or other audio loops, after slicing them).
Proceed as follows:
1.Check the audio tempo and define the audio grid.
2.Create and edit hitpoints as described above.
Try to get approximately one slice per eighth note, sixteenth note, or 
whatever the loop requires. It can be helpful to use one of the note value-
based options on the Use pop-up menu (see “Calculating hitpoints and 
slicing a loop” on page 54).
ÖYou do not have to create slices – just set up the hit-
points.
!“Snap to Zero Crossing” may alter the timing. In 
some cases it is better to deactivate it, especially if 
you just want to generate a groove quantize map. 
However, if you create slices afterwards, auto fades 
are necessary. 
						

							56
The Sample Editor
3.When you have finished setting the hitpoints, click the 
Create Groove button on the Hitpoints tab or select “Cre-
ate Groove Quantize from Hitpoints” from the Hitpoints 
submenu of the Audio menu.
The groove is extracted.
4.If you now pull down the Quantize Type pop-up menu 
in the Project window you find an additional item at the 
bottom of the list, with the same name as the file from 
which you have extracted the groove.
This groove can now be selected as a base for quantizing, just like any 
other quantize value, see the chapter “MIDI processing” in the Operation 
Manual.
5.If you want to save the groove, open the Quantize 
Setup dialog and store it as a preset.
ÖYou can also create grooves from a MIDI part by se-
lecting the part and dragging it on the grid display in the 
middle of the Quantize Setup dialog or by selecting “Part 
to Groove” from the Advanced Quantize submenu of the 
MIDI menu.
Other hitpoint functions
On the Hitpoints tab of the Sample Editor Inspector and 
on the various submenus of the Audio menu, you will also 
find the following functions:
Create Markers
If an audio event contains calculated hitpoints, you can 
click the Create Markers button on the Hitpoints tab to 
add a marker for each hitpoint. If your project has no 
marker track, it will be added and activated automatically 
(see the chapter “The Project window” in the Operation 
Manual). Markers can be useful to snap to hitpoints, e. g. 
for locating hitpoints and for using the Time Warp tool 
(see the chapter “Editing Tempo and signature” in the Op-
eration Manual).
Create Regions
If your audio event contains calculated hitpoints, you can 
click the Create Regions button on the Hitpoints tab to 
automatically create regions from hitpoints. This can be 
useful to isolate recorded sounds.
Create Events
When you wish to create separate events according to 
the hitpoints for a file, you can click the Create Events but-
ton on the Hitpoints tab and use any method you like to 
set hitpoints.
ÖThe created slices are shown as separate events in 
the Project window.
Close Gaps
This function from the Advanced submenu of the Audio 
menu is useful if you have sliced a loop for tempo changes 
and you change the project tempo. Lowering the project 
tempo below the loop’s original tempo creates gaps be-
tween the slices – the slower the tempo, the wider the 
gaps. Increasing the project tempo over the loop’s original 
tempo compresses the slices using the time stretch func-
tion and creates overlaps. In both cases, you can use the 
Close Gaps function.
Proceed as follows:
1.Set the desired tempo.
2.In the Project window select the part containing the 
slices.
3.From the Advanced submenu of the Audio menu se-
lect “Close Gaps”.
Time stretch is applied to each slice to close the gaps. Depending on the 
length of the part and the algorithm set in the Preferences dialog (Edit-
ing–Audio page), this can take a while.
4.The waveform is redrawn and the gaps are closed!
If you open the Pool, you will see that new clips were created, one for 
each slice.
If you decide to change the tempo again after using the 
Close Gaps function, undo the Close Gaps operation or 
start over again, using the original, unstretched file. 
ÖIn the Audio Part Editor or Project window you can 
also use Close Gaps on audio events. This will stretch the 
audio event to the start position of the next event. 
						

							57
The Sample Editor
VariAudio
With the AudioWarp features, editing audio in the time 
domain has become significantly easier. However, editing 
pitch was limited to having just one single numeric “trans-
pose” value per event or part.
VariAudio offers completely integrated vocal editing and 
pitch alteration of individual notes in monophonic vocal re-
cordings and can solve intonation and timing problems 
with only a few mouse clicks. It was developed and opti-
mized specifically to be used with monophonic vocal re-
cordings. Though the detection and stretching of notes of 
other monophonic audio recordings, such as those of a 
saxophone, may work well, the quality of the end result de-
pends greatly on the generic condition and structure of 
the recording’s texture. 
And how does it work? First, the vocal line is analyzed and 
split into segments shown as graphic representation of 
the notes sung. After the detection process is complete, 
the recognized notes can be modified entirely “non-de-
structively” so that any modifications to the audio material 
can be undone.
VariAudio allows you to change your audio on the vertical 
axis (see “Changing the pitch” on page 61) and on the 
horizontal axis (see “Warping segments” on page 64).
Understanding the waveform display in 
VariAudio
When you open monophonic vocal recordings in the Sam-
ple Editor and activate the Segments or the Pitch & Warp 
tool on the VariAudio tab, your audio is analyzed and seg-
mented to display the tonal portions, i. e. the notes sung or 
played. This process is called segmentation. The segmen-
tation allows you to easily associate the audio with your lyr-
ics and to introduce pitch and timing changes. In between the different segments you may find gaps 
where non-tonal portions have been detected. Such gaps 
can be caused by non-tonal portions of the audio, e. g. 
breath sounds.
At the beginning of the waveform, you can see a gap where no segment 
is shown. 
ÖThe audio waveform displayed on the VariAudio tab is 
always shown as mono, even if you have opened a stereo 
or multi-channel file.
Audio waveformSegments
Gap 
						

							58
The Sample Editor
The vertical position of a segment indicates its average 
pitch. If the Pitch & Warp tool is active and you move the 
mouse pointer over a segment, a piano keyboard is dis-
played, showing the found pitches.
Furthermore, if you move the mouse pointer over a seg-
ment and the zoom factor is high enough, the average 
pitch – note name and fine tuning in cent steps (100ths of 
a semitone) – is shown on top of the segment. When you 
select a segment, this is also shown in the info line.
Note pitches represent the perceived fundamental fre-
quency of a sound. The note A4 is perceived to be of the 
same pitch as a sine wave of 440 Hz. The notation of 
pitches is a logarithmic frequency scale. The table below 
shows the relation between pitch (note name) and 
frequency in Hz:The average pitch of a segment is calculated from its micro-
pitch curve. Micro-pitch curves represent the progression 
of the pitch for the tonal portion of the audio. 
The horizontal position of a segment indicates the time 
position and the length. 
You can navigate through the segments by using the left/
right arrow keys on your computer keyboard.
You can zoom in on the segments that you want to edit by 
holding down [Alt]/[Option] while drawing a selection 
rectangle. To zoom out hold down [Alt]/[Option] and click 
in an empty area of the waveform. If you hold down [Alt]/
[Option] and double click in an empty area, the display will 
be zoomed out to show all segments.
Applying editing, offline processes, and 
VariAudio
The following offline processes and edits that affect the 
length of the audio file may lead to the reanalysis of the 
audio material:
•Options on the Select Process menu, on the Process 
tab of the Sample Editor Inspector, or in the Process sub-
menu of the Audio menu that can be applied to selections.
•Effect processing using the options on the Select Plug-
in menu on the Process tab of the Sample Editor Inspec-
tor or in the Plug-ins submenu of the Audio menu (see the 
chapter “Audio processing and functions” in the Opera-
tion Manual).
C4 C#4/
Db4D4 D#4/
Eb4E4 F4 F#4/
Gb4
261.63 277.18 293.66 311.13 329.63 349.23 369.99
G4 G#4/
Ab4A4 A#4/
Bb4B4 C5
392.00 415.30 440.00 466.16 493.88 523.25
…a piano 
keyboard is 
shown in the 
waveform.
If you move the
mouse over a
segment…
Note name Fine tuning in cents
Micro-pitch curves 
						

							59
The Sample Editor
•Cut, paste, and delete (see “Editing selection ranges” 
on page 44), or drawing notes (see “Drawing in the Sam-
ple Editor” on page 46).
If you apply editing that affects the audio itself (like cutting 
portions, etc.) to a file containing VariAudio data, the follow-
ing warning message is displayed:
•If you click “Proceed”, your edits are applied and you 
will lose your VariAudio data.
Click “Cancel” to return to your audio file without applying any changes.
If you apply offline processing to a file containing VariAudio 
data, the following warning message is displayed:
•If you click “Proceed”, your edits are applied, and you 
will lose your VariAudio data.
Click “Cancel” to return to your audio file without applying any changes.
•If you click “Proceed and Keep”, your edits are applied. 
Any VariAudio data in the audio file is kept.
Offline processes that may not affect existing VarioAudio data are Enve-
lope, Fade In/Out, Normalize, or Silence. 
•If you activate the “Please don’t display this warning 
again” option in one of these warning dialogs before pro-
ceeding, Cubase will always proceed with the selected 
option. 
You can reactivate the warning messages by deactivating the “Inhibit 
warning when changing the Sample Data” or “Inhibit warning when apply-
ing Offline Processes” options in the Preferences dialog (VariAudio page).
Segments mode
If you activate Segments mode on the VariAudio tab, your 
audio file is analyzed and split into separate segments.
When you want to change the pitch of audio that includes 
non-tonal portions, e. g. consonants or effect sounds like 
reverberation, you may have to edit the segmentation in 
order to include the non-tonal portions in the segments. 
Otherwise, pitch modifications will only affect the tonal 
portions. 
Editing the segmentation includes changing the start and 
end position of a segment, cutting or gluing segments, 
and moving or deleting them. Just select the section of the 
file that you want to change, activate Segments mode, 
and edit the segmentation for the desired section. If you 
are not satisfied with your changes, you can go back to 
the original segmentation (see “Reset” on page 66).
ÖIn Segments mode, the segments are shown with a 
hatched background. You can toggle between “Pitch & 
Warp” and “Segments” mode (see “Pitch & Warp tool” on 
page 61) by pressing the [Tab] key.
The following paragraphs list the corrections that can be 
performed when Segments mode is activated.
!Because of the reanalysis any existing VariAudio 
data becomes invalid. Therefore, you should always 
apply offline processing or edits before using the 
VariAudio features.!Due to the data gained during this process, the au-
dio and thus the size of your project can increase. 
Furthermore, the analysis of long audio files might 
take some time. 
!Editing the segmentation always leads to a recalcu-
lation of the segment’s pitch. Therefore, it is recom-
mended that you edit the segmentation before 
changing the pitch. 
						

							60
The Sample Editor
Changing the note start or end point 
If you find that a note starts or ends too early or too late, 
e. g. when the reverb of a note or a consonant is not in-
cluded in the segment, proceed as follows:
1.On the VariAudio tab activate Segments mode.
2.To change the length of a segment, move the mouse 
pointer over the start/end of the segment.
The mouse pointer becomes a double arrow.
3.Click and drag the segment start/end to the left or right. 
The segment length changes accordingly. As the average pitch is recal-
culated, the segment may jump upwards or downwards. Snap will not be 
taken into account. 
ÖYou can drag the segment start/end only until it reaches 
the start/end of the next segment. Segments cannot over-
lap each other.
Cutting a segment
If you notice that a segment includes more than one note, 
proceed as follows:
1.On the VariAudio tab activate Segments mode.
2.Move the mouse pointer over the lower border of the 
segment that you would like to cut.
The mouse pointer becomes a scissor.
3.Click at the desired position to cut the segment.
The segment is cut accordingly taking Snap into account.
ÖThere is a minimum size for a segment. Very short seg-
ments cannot be cut.
Gluing segments
If you notice that a single note is spread over two seg-
ments, proceed as follows:
1.On the VariAudio tab activate Segments mode.
2.Hold down [Alt]/[Option] and move the mouse pointer 
over the segment that you want to glue to the next.
The mouse pointer becomes a glue tube. 
3.Click to glue the active segment to the next segment. 
If several segments are selected, they are all glued together. Snap is not 
taken into account.
!If the resulting segment pitch cannot be calculated 
because of an increase in non-tonal data, the seg-
ment will be deleted.
!When the resulting segment pitch cannot be calcu-
lated because of an increase in non-tonal data, the 
segment will be deleted.
!We recommend to correct the segmentation before 
pitching. If you glue together segments after changing 
the pitch (this includes manual pitch modifications, 
Quantize Pitch, and Straighten Pitch), your modifica-
tions are reset and the original pitch will be heard.
!If the resulting segment pitch cannot be calculated 
because of an increase in non-tonal data, the seg-
ment will be deleted.