Steinberg Cubase 5 Operation Manual

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Editing tempo and signature 
						

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Editing tempo and signature
Background
Whenever you create a new project, Cubase will automat-
ically set the tempo and time signature for this project. The 
tempo and signature settings can be displayed in two 
ways: either on dedicated tracks in the Project window, or 
in the Tempo Track Editor.
Tempo modes
Before we go into detail about tempo and signature set-
tings, you should understand the different tempo modes.
For each track in Cubase that can make use of this func-
tion, you can specify whether it should be time-based or 
tempo-based (see “Switching between musical and linear 
time base” on page 40). For tempo-based tracks, the 
tempo can either be fixed throughout the entire project 
(this is called “fixed tempo mode”) or follow the tempo 
track (this is called “tempo track mode”), which may con-
tain tempo changes.
To switch between fixed tempo mode and tempo track 
mode, use the Tempo button on the Transport panel:
When the Tempo button is lit (and the text “Track” is 
shown), the tempo follows the tempo track; when it is de-
activated (and the text “Fixed” is shown), a fixed tempo is 
used (see “Setting the fixed tempo” on page 405). You 
can also switch the tempo mode with the Activate Tempo 
Track button on the Tempo Track Editor toolbar.
In tempo track mode, the tempo cannot be changed on 
the Transport panel, i. e. the tempo information here is for 
display purposes only.
Signature events are always active, regardless of whether 
fixed tempo mode or tempo track mode is selected.
A note about tempo-based audio tracks
For tempo-based tracks, the start position of audio events 
on the timeline depends on the current tempo setting. How-
ever, it is important to realize that the actual audio (“within” 
the events) will play back as recorded, regardless of any 
tempo changes you make. Therefore, it is good practice to 
make the proper tempo and time signature settings before 
you start recording tempo-based audio.
ÖTo make an already recorded audio track follow the 
tempo changes, you can use the Sample Editor, see the 
chapter “The Sample Editor” on page 219.
How well this works depends on the character of the audio recordings, 
since the hitpoint detection feature works best with fairly rhythmical 
material.
ÖTo adapt the tempo track to time-based material, you 
can use the Time Warp tool, see “The Time Warp tool” on 
page 408.
This allows you to adjust the tempo track so that tempo-based material 
(e.g. positions in music) coincides with time-based material (e.g. positions 
in narration, video, etc.).
Tempo and signature display
You can view the current tempo and signature settings of 
your project in a number of ways:
On the Transport panel.
See above, and the section “The Transport panel” on page 60.
By displaying the tempo track and the signature track in 
the Project window.
Open the Project menu, select Add Track and the Signature and/or 
Tempo options.
In the Tempo Track Editor.
Open the Project menu and select Tempo Track Editor, or [Ctrl]/[Com-
mand]-click the Tempo button on the Transport panel. 
						

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About the tempo and signature tracks
The tempo track and the signature track allow you to view 
and edit tempo and signature data in the project context. 
The Inspectors for these tracks show the positions and 
values of individual tempo curve points or signature 
events.
The signature track’s background always shows bars.
This is independent of the ruler display format setting.
In the Track list for the tempo track, on the far right, you 
can specify the display range by clicking on the numbers 
at the top or bottom and dragging up or down.
Note that this does not change the tempo setting, but changes the dis-
play scale of the tempo track.
You can lock the tempo track and the signature track to 
prevent unintentional editing.
Simply click the lock symbols in the Track list to lock/unlock the tracks.
About the Tempo Track Editor
If you do not want to display two extra tracks in the Project 
window, you can also open the Tempo Track Editor to 
view and edit tempo and signature information.
The Tempo Track Editor has a toolbar, info line and ruler 
just like other editors in Cubase, plus an area for the dis-
play of time signature events and a tempo curve display.
The toolbar
The toolbar contains various tools and settings:
The tools for Object Selection, Erase, Zoom and Draw 
are used in the same way as in other editors. The Snap 
and Autoscroll functions also work exactly like in the Pro-
ject window.
Note that in the Tempo Track Editor, the Snap function affects tempo 
events only. Time signature events always snap to the beginning of bars.
The info line in the Tempo Track Editor allows you to 
change settings for selected time signature events, and 
the type and tempo of selected tempo curve points.
The ruler in the Tempo Track Editor shows the timeline, 
and is similar to the ruler in the Project window. See the 
section “The ruler” on page 33 for details.
The area below the ruler shows time signature events. 
The main display shows the tempo curve (or, if fixed 
tempo mode is selected, the fixed tempo – see “Setting 
the fixed tempo” on page 405). To the left of the display 
you will find a tempo scale to help you quickly locate the 
desired tempo.
Note that the vertical “grid lines” in the tempo curve display correspond 
to the display format selected for the ruler.
Toolbar Info line Ruler
Time Signature area Tempo curve display
Tools Activate 
Tempo 
Track
AutoscrollSnap on/off
Show Info
Curve type for new 
tempo events
The selected tempoSnap pop-up
Tempo record slider Open Process Tempo dialog 
(Cubase only)Open Process Bars dialog 
(Cubase only) 
						

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Editing tempo and signature
Editing tempo and signature
You can use the options of either the Tempo Track Editor 
or the tempo and signature tracks to edit tempo and sig-
nature settings. The descriptions given below are valid in 
both cases. The only exception is the tempo recording 
slider (see below) which is available only in the Tempo 
Track Editor.
Editing the tempo curve
Adding tempo curve points
1.Use the “Insert curve” pop-up menu (in the toolbar of 
the Tempo Track Editor) or the “Type of New Tempo 
points” pop-up menu in the Track list for the tempo track 
to select whether you want the tempo to change gradually 
from the previous curve point to the new one (“Ramp”) or 
change instantly to the new value (“Jump”).
You can also set this to Automatic. In this case, the types of existing 
tempo curve points will be used when inserting new points at the same 
position.
2.Select the Pencil tool.
3.Click and drag in the tempo curve display to draw a 
tempo curve.
When you click, the tempo display in the toolbar shows the tempo value. 
If Snap is activated on the toolbar, this determines at which time posi-
tions you can insert tempo curve points, see “The Snap function” on 
page 56.
You can also click on the tempo curve with the Arrow 
tool.
This adds a single point with each click.
ÖTempo values can also be automatically inserted by the 
Beat Calculator, see “The Beat Calculator” on page 407.
Selecting tempo curve points
Curve points can be selected as follows:
Using the Arrow tool.
The standard selection techniques apply.
Using the Select submenu on the Edit menu.
The options are:
You can also use the left and right arrow keys on the 
computer keyboard to go from one curve point to the next.
If you press [Shift] and use the arrow keys, you can select several points 
at the same time.
Editing tempo curve points
Curve points can be edited in the following ways:
By clicking and dragging horizontally and/or vertically 
with the Arrow tool.
If several points are selected, all of them are moved. If Snap is activated 
on the toolbar, this determines to which time positions you can move 
curve points, see “The Snap function” on page 56.
By adjusting the tempo value. You can do this in the 
tempo display on the Tempo Track Editor toolbar, in the 
Inspector or on the info line.
Note that selecting several points and changing the tempo value in the 
info line leads to a relative adjustment of the tempo values.
!This section assumes that you are working in tempo 
track mode, i.e. the Tempo button must be activated 
on the Transport panel.
Insert curve set to “Ramp”  Insert curve set to “Jump”
Option Description
All Selects all curve points on the tempo track.
None Deselects all curve points.
In Loop Selects all curve points between the left and right locator.
From Start
to CursorSelects all points to the left of the project cursor.
From Cursor
to EndSelects all points to the right of the project cursor.
!Dragging tempo curve points with a time-based dis-
play format (any other format than “Bars+Beats”) 
may lead to confusing results. This is because mov-
ing a point will change the relationship between 
tempo and time. Let’s say you move a tempo point to 
the right and drop it at a certain time position. When 
you release the mouse button, the mapping between 
tempo and time will be adjusted (since you have 
changed the tempo curve). As a result, the moved 
point will appear at another position. For this reason, 
we recommend using the Bars+Beats display format 
when editing tempo curves. 
						

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Editing tempo and signature
Adjusting the curve type
You can change the curve type of a tempo curve segment 
at any time, using the following method:
1.With the Arrow tool, select all curve points within the 
segment you want to edit.
2.In the info line, click below the word “Type” to switch 
the curve type between “Jump” and “Ramp”.
The curve sections between the selected points are adjusted.
Removing tempo curve points
To remove a curve point, either click on it with the Erase 
tool or select it and press [Backspace]. The first tempo 
curve point cannot be removed.
Recording tempo changes
The Tempo Recording slider on the toolbar of the Tempo 
Track Editor allows you to record tempo changes “on the 
fly”: simply start playback and use the slider to raise or 
lower the tempo at the desired positions. This is useful for 
creating natural sounding ritardandos, etc.
Setting the fixed tempo
When the tempo track is deactivated, the tempo track 
curve is grayed out (but still visible). Since the tempo is 
fixed throughout the whole project, there are no tempo 
curve points. Instead, the fixed tempo is displayed as a hor-
izontal black line in the tempo curve display.To set the tempo in fixed mode:
Adjust the value numerically in the tempo display on the 
Tempo Track Editor toolbar or in the Track list.
On the Transport panel, click on the tempo value to se-
lect it, enter a new value and press [Enter].
Adding and editing time signature events
To add a time signature event, click in the time signature 
area/track with the Pencil tool. 
This adds a default 4/4 time signature event at the closest bar position. 
Remember: When the Arrow tool is selected, pressing [Alt]/[Option] will 
give you the Pencil tool.
To edit the value of a time signature event, select it and 
adjust the value on the info line, or double-click the event 
and enter a new value.
Note that there are two controls for the signature display; the left one ad-
justs the numerator and the right one adjusts the denominator.
You can move a time signature event by clicking and 
dragging it with the Arrow tool.
Note that you can [Shift]-click to select multiple events. Also note that 
time signature events can only be positioned at the start of bars. This is 
also true if Snap is deactivated.
To remove a time signature, either click on it with the 
Eraser tool or select it and press [Backspace] or [Delete].
The first time signature event cannot be removed.
Exporting and importing tempo tracks
You can export the current tempo track for use in other 
projects by selecting “Tempo Track” from the “Export” 
submenu on the File menu. This allows you to save the 
tempo track information (including time signature events) 
as a special xml file (file extension “.smt”).
To import a tempo track, select “Tempo Track” from the 
Import submenu on the File menu. Note that this replaces 
all tempo track data in the current project (although the 
operation can be undone if needed). 
						

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Editing tempo and signature
Process Tempo (Cubase only)
Process Tempo allows you to define a specific length or 
end time for a set range, and the tempo track will automati-
cally set a tempo that will fit the range in the specified time. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Specify a region or range that you wish to process by 
setting the left and right locators, either in the Tempo Track 
Editor or in the Project window. 
2.Click on the Process Tempo button (either in the 
Tempo Track Editor or on the tempo track).
The Process Tempo dialog appears.
3.In the Process Range fields, the specified range is 
shown, in Bars and Beats (PPQ) and in a time format, 
which can be selected from the Time Display Format 
pop-up menu.
The range defined in step 1 will already be set, but you can edit the range 
by adjusting the values in the Process Range fields if you wish.
Now you can either specify a new range length or a new 
range end time. What to choose depends on whether the 
range should have a specific length or whether it should 
end at a specific time position.
4.Enter the desired End or Length in the corresponding 
fields of the New Range section.
You can select a time format for the new range in the Time Display For-
mat pop-up.
5.Click Process.
Now the tempo track is automatically adjusted, and the range will have 
the specified duration.
The Process Bars dialog 
(Cubase only)
The Process Bars dialog (opened from the Tempo Track 
Editor or the signature track) uses the global “Insert 
Silence” and “Delete Time” functions from the Range sub-
menu on the Edit menu. However, the necessary ranges (or 
parameters) are calculated using a musical “bars+beats-
based” environment. The function also ensures that the 
time signatures stay “in sync” after these operations. This 
allows for a much more intuitive approach when inserting, 
deleting or replacing “time” while working with a project 
set to the Bars+Beats time type.
The Process Bars dialog
The dialog contains the following elements:
Option Description
Bar Range The Bar Range display gives you a graphical overview of 
the position of the bar range within the project as well as 
its length. Click on the right edge of the green indicator 
and drag it to the right to enlarge the range. You can also 
use the Start and Length value fields (see below).
The arrow pair in this section marks the length of the cur-
rent project. The area to the right marks the bar range 
that can be added (500 bars max.).
Bar Range – 
StartThis is where you specify the start position for the bar 
range. Click on the arrows to raise/lower the value or 
click directly in the value field to enter the value manually.
Bar Range – 
LengthThis is where you specify the length of the bar range. 
Click on the arrows to raise/lower the value or click di-
rectly in the value field to enter the value manually.
Action –
Insert BarsWhen you select this action, clicking the Process button 
will insert the specified number of empty bars with the set 
time signature at the start position specified above.
Action – 
Delete BarsWhen you select this action, clicking the Process button 
will delete the specified number of bars, beginning at the 
start position specified above. 
						

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The Beat Calculator
The Beat Calculator is a tool for calculating the tempo of 
freely recorded audio or MIDI material. It also allows you to 
set the tempo by tapping.
Calculating the tempo of a recording
1.In the Project window, make a selection that covers an 
exact number of beats of the recording.
2.Select “Beat Calculator…” from the Project menu.
The Beat Calculator window appears.
3.In the Beats field, enter the number of beats that the 
selection encompasses.
The corresponding tempo is calculated and displayed in the BPM field.
If you need to adjust the selection, you can go back to 
the Project window, leaving the Beat Calculator open.
To re-calculate the tempo after adjusting the selection, click Refresh.
4.You can also insert the calculated tempo into the 
tempo track by clicking one of the buttons in the lower left 
corner of the Beat Calculator window.
Clicking “At Tempo Track Start” will adjust the first tempo curve point, 
while “At Selection Start” will add a new tempo curve point at the selec-
tion’s start position, using the “Jump” curve type (see “Adding tempo 
curve points” on page 404).
Using Tap Tempo
The Tap Tempo function allows you to specify a tempo by 
tapping:
1.Open the Beat Calculator.
2.If you want to tap the tempo to some recorded material, 
activate playback.
3.Click the Tap Tempo button.
The Tap Tempo window appears.
4.Tap the tempo on the Spacebar of the computer key-
board or with the mouse button.
The tempo display will update the calculated tempo between each tap.
5.When you stop tapping, the program calculates the 
average timing of the taps and displays it.
6.Click OK to close the Tap Tempo dialog.
The tapped tempo is now shown in the Beat Calculator’s BPM display. 
You can insert it into the tempo track as described above.
Action – 
Reinterpret 
BarsWhen you select this action, clicking the Process button 
will reinterpret the bar range to fit the specified time sig-
nature. This is very special in the sense that both 
bars+beats positions of the notes and the tempo are be-
ing changed to fit the new time signature, but the play-
back of the notes will stay just the same.
If you want to reinterpret e.g. a bar with the time signature 
3/4 so that it gets the time signature 4/4, quarter notes 
will become half note triplets. If you reinterpret a bar with 
the time signature 4/4 to attain 3/4, you will get quadru-
plets.
Action – 
Replace BarsWhen you select this action, clicking the Process button 
will cause the time signature of the specified bar range to 
be replaced by the one you specify in this dialog. 
Action – 
SignatureThis lets you specify the time signature for the action you 
select on the Action pop-up menu (except for the Delete 
Bars action).
Process Click on this button to apply your changes to the speci-
fied bar range.
Close Clicking this button without clicking on “Process” first will 
close the dialog without applying your settings. Option Description
!If fixed tempo mode is selected when you insert the 
calculated tempo, the fixed tempo will be adjusted, 
regardless of which button you click. 
						

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Editing tempo and signature
Merge Tempo From Tapping
This function allows you to create a complete tempo track 
based on your tapping. Typically, you would use this if you 
have an audio file with no tempo mapping and want to be 
able to add other material afterwards, etc.
1.Create an empty time-based MIDI track and, while 
playing back your audio material, tap the new tempo on 
your MIDI keyboard and record the created notes onto the 
new MIDI track.
Note that you must create note events – pedal events cannot be used for 
this function.
2.Play back the audio and check that the timing of the 
MIDI notes corresponds to that of the audio. 
If necessary, edit the MIDI notes in an editor.
3.Select the MIDI part (or the individual notes in an edi-
tor) that you want to use for the calculation.
4.Select “Merge Tempo From Tapping” from the Func-
tions submenu on the MIDI menu.
A dialog opens.
5.In the dialog, specify what type of note (1/2, 1/4, etc.) 
you tapped during the recording.
If you activate the “Begin at Bar Start” option, the first note will automati-
cally start at the beginning of a bar when calculating the new tempo curve.
6.Click OK.
The project’s tempo is adjusted to the tapped notes.
7.Open the Project menu and select “Tempo Track” to 
check that the new tempo information is reflected in the 
tempo curve.
ÖAnother way of creating a tempo map for freely re-
corded audio would be to use the Time Warp tool, see 
below.
The Time Warp tool
The Time Warp tool lets you adjust the tempo track so that 
“musical time-based” material (positions related to the 
tempo) matches “linear time-based” material (positions in 
time). Some typical applications:
 When you have recorded music (audio or MIDI) without tempo 
reference or metronome click, the Time Warp tool can be used 
for creating a tempo map that fits the recording (allowing you to 
rearrange or add other material).
 When you are creating music for a movie and want to match 
certain positions in the video with certain positions in the music.
The Time Warp tool makes use of the fact that tracks can 
be based on time positions (linear time base) or positions 
related to tempo (musical time base), see “Switching bet-
ween musical and linear time base” on page 40 for a de-
scription of these modes.
Basic procedure
You use the Time Warp tool to drag a musical position (a 
position in bars+beats format) to a certain position in time. 
This can be done in the Project window or in an editor, as 
described below. Here is the general procedure:
1.Make sure tempo track mode is active.
You cannot use the Time Warp tool in fixed tempo mode.
2.Select the Time Warp tool.
Bars+Beats format is automatically selected for the ruler in the active 
window, and the ruler is shown in brown.
3.Click in the window at a musical position and drag it 
so that it matches a position in the material you are editing 
– e.g. the start of an event, a certain “hit” within an audio 
event, a frame in a video clip, etc.
When you click with the Time Warp tool, it snaps to the grid in the window.
Dragging the start of the bar to the start of the audio event. 
						

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Editing tempo and signature
While you are dragging, the track(s) you are editing are 
temporarily switched to linear time base. This means that 
the contents of the tracks remain at the same time posi-
tions regardless of the tempo (there is an exception to this 
in the Project window, see below).
4.When you release the mouse button, the musical posi-
tion you clicked on matches the time position you dragged 
it to.
This is because the Time Warp tool changed the last tempo event on the 
tempo track (and/or added new ones, depending on window and usage), 
thereby scaling the tempo track to fit.
Rules
When you use the Time Warp tool, the tempo value of 
the last tempo event (before the click position) is adjusted.
If later tempo events exist, a new tempo event will be 
created at the click position. This way, the later tempo 
event(s) will not be moved.
If you press [Shift] and use the Time Warp tool, a new 
tempo event is created at the click position.
[Shift] is the default modifier for this – you can adjust this in the Preferen-
ces (Editing–Tool Modifiers page).
If you use the Time Warp tool in an editor, a tempo 
event will be created at the start of the edited part or 
event. Only the currently edited track will be affected – but 
note that events to the right of the edited events or parts 
(on the edited track) will be affected as well.
If you have made a selection range and use the Time 
Warp tool within that range, the tempo changes will be 
confined to that range.
This means tempo events will be inserted at the start and end of the se-
lection range, if needed – useful if you need to adjust the tempo within a 
certain area but want all material outside that range to stay in place.
When you click with the Time Warp tool, it snaps to the 
tempo grid in the window.
When you drag the tempo grid to a new position, it can 
be magnetic to events in the window.
In the Project window, this requires that Snap is activated and “Events” 
is selected on the Snap Type pop-up menu – the grid will then snap to 
the start and end of events or parts, and to markers. In the Sample Editor, 
this requires that Snap is activated – the grid will then snap to hitpoints 
(if any). In the MIDI editors, this requires that Snap is activated – the grid 
will then snap to the start and end of notes.
The function will create tempo values up to 300 bpm.
Viewing and adjusting tempo events
When you select the Time Warp tool, the ruler of the ac-
tive window is shown in brown. Existing tempo events are 
shown in the ruler as “flags” with the tempo values dis-
played.
This helps you see what’s going on, but you can also use 
this for editing the tempo track:
If you press the create/erase modifier key (by default 
[Shift]) and click on a tempo event in the ruler, it is deleted.
You can click on a tempo event in the ruler and drag to 
move it.
This automatically edits the tempo value in the event so that elements to 
the right keep their positions.
If you press [Alt]/[Option] and move (or delete) a tempo 
event in the ruler, the tempo value is not adjusted – this 
means elements to the right will be moved.
This is the default modifier key for this – you can adjust it in the Preferen-
ces (Editing–Tool Modifiers page).
Using the Time Warp tool in the Project 
window
In the Project window, there are two modes for the Time 
Warp tool:
 In the default mode, all tracks are temporarily switched to lin-
ear time base when you use the tool. This means that all tracks 
will keep their absolute time positions when you adjust the 
tempo track.
 In the “musical events follow” mode, no tracks are switched to 
linear time base. This means that all tracks that are not set to 
linear time base will follow the changes you make to the tempo 
track.
You select the Time Warp mode by selecting the tool, 
clicking on the tool icon and selecting an option from the 
pop-up menu. 
						

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Editing tempo and signature
Matching a musical score to video
Here’s an example of how to use the Time Warp tool in 
“musical events follow” mode. Let’s say you are creating 
the music for a film. You have a video track, an audio track 
with a commentary and some audio and/or MIDI tracks 
with your music. Now you want to match the position of a 
musical cue to a position in a video film. The musical cue 
is located in bar 33. There are no tempo changes in the 
project (yet).
1.Make sure tempo track mode is selected on the Trans-
port panel.
2.Now you need to locate the position in the video. If you 
do not need very high precision, you can simply locate it 
looking at the thumbnails on the video track – otherwise 
you can pinpoint the exact position and add a marker to 
the Marker track (that you can snap to later on).
You can also make a note of the exact position and add an extra ruler 
track set to show the time code (Cubase only).
3.Make sure the correct tracks are set to linear time 
base or musical time base, respectively.
In our example, we want the video track and the audio track with a com-
mentary voice-over to be linear time-based (as well as the marker track, if 
you are using one). All other tracks should be set to musical time base. 
You change this by clicking the time base button in the Track list or In-
spector.
4.Set up the Grid Type pop-up menu as desired.
When you click with the Time Warp tool, it snaps to the selected grid. In 
this case, you will find the musical cue at the start of bar 33, so we can 
set the grid to “Bar”.
Note that this affects the snapping to the ruler (tempo 
grid) when you click! In addition, the tool can be “mag-
netic” to events in the Project window when you drag – for 
this, you need to activate Snap and select “Events” on the 
Snap Type pop-up menu. 
In our example, this would be useful if you created a marker at the de-
sired position in the video – when you drag the grid (see below), it will 
snap to the marker.
5.Select the Time Warp tool and select the “musical 
events follow” mode.6.Click in the event display at the start of bar 33 and 
drag to the desired position in the video.
As mentioned above, this can mean dragging to a position indicated by 
the thumbnails on the video track, to a marker on the Marker track or to a 
time position on an additional ruler track (Cubase only).
When you drag, the ruler is scaled – and the music tracks 
will follow.
7.Release the mouse button.
If you look in the ruler at the beginning of the project, you will see that the 
first (and only) tempo event has been adjusted.
8.Try playing back.
The musical cue should now happen at the correct position in the video.
Let’s say you need to match another cue to another posi-
tion later on in the video. If you simply repeat this proce-
dure, you will find that the first cue gets out of sync – 
since you are still changing the first (and only) tempo 
event on the tempo track!Musical time base selected. Linear time base selected.