Steinberg Cubase 5 Operation Manual

							501
The basics
On the Score Settings–Staff page
1.Click on a staff to make it the active staff.
2.On the Scores menu, select “Settings…” to open the 
Score Settings dialog. Select the Staff page at the top to 
open Main tab, showing the current settings for the active 
staff.
You can also double-click to the left of a staff to make it active and bring 
up the Score Settings dialog in one go (if this does not work, the option 
“Double-click on staff flips between full score/part” in the Preferences 
dialog (Scores–Editing page) may be activated – see “Displaying single 
voices or the complete score” on page 494).
3.In the Clef/Key section, use the scroll bar on the left to 
select one of the available clefs.
You will find out how to insert clef changes in the section “Inserting and 
editing clefs, keys or time signatures” on page 522.
4.Click Apply.
ÖYou can select another staff in the score and make 
settings for it without having to close the Score Settings 
dialog first.
In a split system
If you have a split system (see “Split (piano) staves” on 
page 521 and “Strategies: How many voices do I need?” 
on page 535) you can of course set different clefs for the 
upper and lower staff.
1.Open the Score Settings–Staff page.
2.Select a clef for the upper staff.3.Activate the “Lower Staff” checkbox.
4.Set a clef for the lower staff.
Using Auto Clef
Auto Clef activated on the Score Settings–Staff page.
On the Score Settings–Staff page you will also find the 
option Auto Clef. If this is activated, the program will auto-
matically select a treble clef or a bass clef for the staff, de-
pending on the range of the notes in the part.
Editing the key
Therefore, when you want to edit the key, decide if you 
want the key change to apply to the entire project, or if you 
want to use different keys on different staves:
If the key set at the beginning of the track is to be used 
on all staves, and if any subsequent key changes are also 
valid for all staves, then leave the option “Key Changes for 
the entire Project” activated.
If you want to use different keys on different staves, 
make sure that the option “Key Changes for the entire 
Project” is deactivated.
!On the Score Settings–Project page, on the Notation 
Style subpage (Keys category) you will find the option 
“Key Changes for the entire Project”. When this op-
tion is activated, all changes made to the key will al-
ways affect every staff in the project, so that it is not 
possible to define different keys for different staves 
(other than the relative display transpositions for 
transposing instruments as set up in their respective 
Staff Settings).
Also from the Staff settings dialog, any staff (e.g. a 
drum staff) can be set to not show key signatures. 
						

							502
The basics
On the key context menu
When you right-click on a key symbol, a context menu 
with a list of all available keys is opened. This menu also 
contains the following options:
Key changes for the entire Project
If this option is activated, all changes made to the key will always affect 
the entire project, so that it is not possible to define different keys for dif-
ferent staves.
Hide
If you select this, the key will be hidden.
Properties
If you select this, the Edit Key dialog is opened.
In the Edit Key dialog
If the current key is anything but C major/A minor (no acci-
dentals), you can set the key directly in the score:
1.Double-click on the accidentals at the beginning of a 
staff.
The “Edit Key” dialog opens.
2.Use the scroll bar to select a key and click OK.
You can also enter a Display Transpose value, see 
“Transposing instruments” on page 503.
On the Score Settings–Staff page
1.Make the desired staff active, open the Score Settings 
dialog and select the Staff page.
The Clef/Key section on the Score Settings–Staff page
2.Use the right scroll bar in the Clef/Key section to se-
lect the desired key.
3.Click Apply.
You can select other staves in the score and make set-
tings for these, without having to close the Score Settings 
dialog.
Setting the key for a split system
If you have a split system with two staves (see “Split (pi-
ano) staves” on page 521 and “Strategies: How many 
voices do I need?” on page 535) you can set different 
keys for the upper and lower staff.
1.Click in the system to make one of its staves the active 
staff.
2.Open the Score Settings–Staff page.
3.Set a key for the upper staff.
This will automatically set the lower staff to the same key.
4.If you need to set a different key for the lower staff, ac-
tivate the “Lower Staff” checkbox and set a key for this.
The Lower Staff checkbox
Setting a local key
You can also set a different key for the selected staff only. 
This is useful for instruments like oboe and english horn 
that change display transpose and therefore also the key. 
1.Make the desired staff active, open the Score Settings 
dialog and select the Staff page.
2.Activate the option “Local Keys” on the Main subpage 
in the Clef/Key section.
ÖThis option is only available if “Key changes for entire 
Project” is activated on the Score Settings–Project page, 
Notation style subpage (Keys category).
3.Use the scroll bar to the right to set the desired key.
4.Click Apply to set the selected key for the staff.
Double-click here…
…to open the Edit Key dialog. 
						

							503
The basics
Transposing instruments
Scores for some instruments, for example a lot of brass in-
struments, are written transposed. Therefore, the Score 
Editor provides a Display Transpose function. With this 
function notes are transposed in the score without affect-
ing the way they are played back. This allows you to 
record and play back a multi-staff arrangement, and still 
score each instrument according to its own transposition.
Setting Display Transpose
1.Make the desired staff active, open the Score Settings 
dialog and select the Staff page.
2.Select your instrument from the transpose pop-up 
menu at the bottom or adjust the value directly in the 
Semitones field.
The Display Transpose section on the Score Settings–Staff page.
3.Click Apply.
For some instruments, you may wish to set the different 
keys in the notation. In this case, activate the “Local Keys” 
option, see above.
Display Transpose in the Edit Key dialog
If you want to change the Display Transpose setting in the 
middle of the score, you can do this by inserting a key 
change (see “Inserting and editing clefs, keys or time sig-
natures” on page 522). In the Edit Key dialog (which is 
opened by double-clicking a key symbol) you will find a 
Transpose field, in which you can enter a transposition 
value in semitones. This is useful if you are for example 
writing a saxophone part and want the player to switch 
from alto to tenor saxophone.
ÖNote that you enter an absolute Display Transpose 
value that is used from this point on.
In other words, this setting is not relative to any Display Transpose set-
tings you made on the Score Settings–Staff page.
Disabling Display Transpose
You can also disable Display Transpose by clicking on the 
“Disable Display Transpose” button on the Score Editor 
toolbar. This can be useful, if you work with transposing 
instruments and want to show the scored key and not the 
concert key.
Printing from the Score Editor
When you have made all necessary changes to the score 
display and are satisfied with the result, you can go ahead 
and print your score, e. g. to hand out note sheets.
Proceed as follows:
1.On the Scores menu, activate “Page Mode”.
Printing is only possible from within Page Mode.
2.Select Page Setup from the File menu and make sure 
all your printer settings are correct. Close the dialog.
3.Select Print from the File menu.
4.A standard Print dialog appears. Fill out the options as 
desired.
5.Click Print.
Exporting pages as image files
You can export a section of a page or a complete page in 
various file formats. This allows you to import your scores 
into desktop publishing and drawing applications.
Selecting a section of a page for exporting
If you only want to export a part of a certain page, proceed 
as follows:
1.Make sure you are in Page Mode.
2.Select the Export tool (“Select Export Range”).
The pointer turns into a crosshair.
3.Drag over the section of the score you want to include.
The area is indicated by a black rectangle.
!Display Transpose does not affect MIDI playback!
!If you change your setting for paper size, scale and 
margins now, the score may change its look.  
						

							504
The basics
 You can adjust the size of the rectangle by clicking and drag-
ging its handles with the Object Selection tool.
 You can move the rectangle to another position in the score 
by clicking and dragging.
To export the selected range, you have two possibilities:
Double-click inside the rectangle while it is selected.
This opens the Export Scores dialog, where you can make settings for 
the file to be created (see below).
Use the Export Scores function, see below.
Exporting
To export the score, proceed as follows:
1.Make sure you are in Page Mode.
2.Select the page you want to export.
3.Pull down the File menu, open the Export submenu 
and select “Export Scores…”.
The Export Scores dialog appears.
4.Select a picture format.
5.Specify a resolution for the file.
This determines the accuracy with which the image will be created. 
300 dpi, for example, is the resolution many laser printers use for printing. 
If the image file will only be displayed on screen in other programs, select 
72 or 96 (depending on screen resolution) and it will have the same size 
as it had in Cubase.
6.Specify name and location for the file and click Save.
The page of the score is exported and saved as a file. It can now be im-
ported into any program supporting the selected file format.
Working order
When you prepare a score we suggest you do things in the 
following order, since this will minimize the time needed if 
you make a mistake somewhere and need to redo a step.
Preferably work on copies of recorded tracks.
If the parts are fairly complex you might have to change them perma-
nently after which they will not play back as they originally did.
If memory is short, break the score up into segments.
You might for example use the Split Loop function (on the main Edit 
menu) to split the parts across all tracks.
Arrange the tracks in the Project window in the order 
you want them displayed in the score.
You cannot rearrange the order of systems in the Score Editor. However, 
you can go back and change the order in the Project window at any time.
When opening the Score Editor, begin with the adjust-
ments described above.
You should always begin by setting page margins, etc.
If you have recorded music into tracks already, try ad-
justing the graphic display of the score much as possible 
without permanently editing the notes.
Use the Score Settings, Display Quantize, Grouping, etc.
If the tracks are empty, make basic staff settings, enter 
the notes and then make detailed adjustments, add Dis-
play Quantize, etc.
If needed, use polyphonic voicing to resolve overlapping 
notes, create piano systems, handle crossing voices, etc.
When all this is done, decide if you need to perform 
“destructive” editing.
You might for example have to permanently alter the length or position of 
some of the recorded notes.
Hide unwanted objects and add note-dependent and 
note-related symbols.
This includes accents, dynamic symbols, crescendo, slurs, lyrics, 
“graphic rests” etc.
Work through the score and adjust the number of bars 
across the page.
Adjust the vertical spacing between staves and grand 
staves.
The last two steps can be performed automatically by the program using 
the Auto Layout features.
Add layout symbols like endings, page text, etc.
Print or export the score.
Go back and create alternative layouts, e. g. to extract 
voices.
Force update
If for some reason the screen is not redrawn properly (as a 
result of the computer’s recalculation of the appearance of 
the page), you can select “Force Update” from the Func-
tions submenu on the Scores menu or click the Update but-
ton on the toolbar. This forces a redraw of the whole page.
The Force Update button 
						

							3
Transcribing MIDI recordings 
						

							506
Transcribing MIDI recordings
About this chapter
In this chapter you will learn:
 How to prepare your parts for score printouts.
 How to use the Display Quantize tool to handle “exceptions” 
in the score.
 How to resolve parts that contain mixed notes and triplets.
About transcription
This chapter assumes you have a MIDI recording that you 
want to transform into a printable score. However, if the 
parts are fairly complicated, you will probably need to per-
form some manual editing of the notes. Hence you will 
need to read the chapter “Entering and editing notes” on 
page 511, too!
Getting the parts ready
1.Record the music.
You must definitely play in time with the click.
2.Play back to check that the music was recorded as in-
tended.
If not, you might need to re-record or perform some editing.
3.Decide how much permanent alteration to the record-
ing you can accept to make the score look good.
If the answer is “none”, you should prepare your score from a copy of the 
track. See the section below.
4.Select all parts (on all tracks) that you wish to work on.
5.Open the Score Editor.
6.Activate Page Mode.
Strategies: Preparing parts for score 
printout
Below follow a few tips that you might want to refer to 
when preparing a score for printout:
 If a part is complex, you may have to do some “manual” editing 
of notes, like moving them or changing their lengths (see the 
chapter “Entering and editing notes” on page 511). This means 
that the recording will not play back exactly as it originally did. If 
this is a problem, we suggest you work on a copy of the record-
ing. Use the Duplicate Track function on the Project menu to 
create a version of the track for scoring. Rename the track and 
mute the original track while you are preparing the score. You 
could of course also work on a copy of the entire project file.
 For reasons described in the previous chapter, quantizing the 
track might be a good idea. This will reduce the amount of de-
tailed adjustments needed in the Score Editor.
 If you need to quantize, always play back your tracks afterwards 
to make sure timing was not disrupted due to inappropriate 
quantize settings. You might have to quantize some sections 
with one value and others with another.
 If the project contains many repetitions, it might be quicker to 
record just one instance of each to start with. If you then finish 
the score work on each section, you can assemble the entire 
project by working with parts in the Project window. This 
might save you some time since the detailed adjustments to 
each section have to be performed only once.
 A similar approach can also be used when you create sec-
tions where several instruments play the same rhythm (a horn 
section, for example): Record the first instrument and make 
adjustments so that it looks like it should in the Score Editor. 
Then copy the part to the other tracks, and change the pitches 
of the notes using MIDI input. Finally, go through the copied 
parts and make fine adjustments, change display transpose 
settings, etc. This can be a very fast way to create polyphonic 
parts with complicated rhythms.
 There also may be situations when the quickest way to record 
a part for several instruments is simply to record it in one go, 
by playing the chords on your MIDI instrument. If you later 
want to split the recording into separate tracks or polyphonic 
voices, you can use the Explode function, see “The Explode 
function” on page 509.
!Before starting, make sure you understand the basic 
principles behind the score notes/MIDI notes rela-
tionship and also what Display Quantize is, as de-
scribed in the chapter “How the Score Editor works” 
on page 488. 
						

							507
Transcribing MIDI recordings
Staff settings
The first thing to do after opening the Score Editor is to 
make initial staff settings. This is done on the Score Set-
tings–Staff page. There are three ways to open the Score 
Settings dialog:
Make the staff active, pull down the Scores menu and 
select “Settings…”.
Double-click on the blue rectangle to the left of the staff.
Please note that when the option “Double-click on staff flips between full 
score/part” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Scores–Editing page), 
double-clicking will instead switch between display of either the whole 
score or the current voice. If your score shows more than one track, dou-
ble-clicking will display this track and hide all others. If your score shows 
only one track, double-clicking will either show the layout, that contains 
most of the tracks or, if no multi-track layout exists, all tracks. 
Make the staff active and click the “i” button on the ex-
tended toolbar.
For this to work, make sure no notes or symbols are selected – other-
wise, clicking the “i” button may open a dialog with settings for the se-
lected object instead.
Click the Staff button to open the Score Settings–Staff 
page. The Staff page shows the current settings for the 
staff on four tabs. For detailed information on the Staff Set-
tings page, see the chapter “Staff settings” on page 524.
Situations which require additional 
techniques
The notes may not always appear in the score as you ex-
pect them to, initially. This is because there are a number 
of situations which require special techniques and set-
tings. Below you can find a list of some of these and 
where to find more information about handling them:
Notes at the same position are considered to be part of 
a chord. To get independent voicing (e.g. notes with dif-
ferent stem directions), such as for vocal material, you 
need to use the polyphonic voicing feature, see the chap-
ter “Polyphonic voicing” on page 531.
Without and with polyphonic voicing
If two notes beginning at the same position have different 
lengths, the longer one will be displayed as a number of tied 
notes. To avoid this, you will either have to use the No Over-
lap feature (see “No Overlap” on page 528) or polyphonic 
voicing (see “Polyphonic voicing” on page 531).
One note will often be displayed as two notes with a tie. 
Please note that this is merely the way the program dis-
plays this note; only a single note is “stored”.
This single note in the Key Editor is displayed as two tied notes in the 
Score Editor.
Normally the program adds ties where necessary (if a 
note stretches over a beat), but not always. For a “mod-
ern” notation of syncopated notes (less ties), you will need 
to use the Syncopation feature, see “Syncopation” on 
page 527.
The same note, without and with syncopation
If you find that you want a long note to be displayed as 
two or more tied notes, you can achieve this with the Cut 
Notes tool. See “The Cut Notes tool” on page 550.
If two notes on the same position are too close to each 
other or if you want their order in the part reversed, you 
can do this without affecting playback. See “Graphic mo-
ving of notes” on page 550.
If a note has the wrong accidental, this can be changed. 
See “Accidentals and enharmonic shift” on page 542.
Stem direction and length are automatic, but you can 
change them manually if you wish. See “Background: 
Note stems” on page 541.
If you need a split staff (e. g. when you are scoring for 
piano), there are special techniques for this – see “Split 
(piano) staves” on page 521 and “Polyphonic voicing” on 
page 531. 
						

							508
Transcribing MIDI recordings
If you run into trouble
Below you can find a few simple troubleshooting steps 
that will help you pinpoint other common problems:
The note I recorded is displayed with the wrong length. 
For example, I recorded a sixteenth and got a quarter note.
You probably have the wrong Display Quantize value set. Open the Score 
Settings–Staff page. If Auto Quantize is activated, deactivate it, unless you 
have mixed triplets and regular notes. Also check the Notes and Rests Dis-
play Quantize values. If the settings are too “coarse”, change them to a 
smaller note value. If you for example need the program to display an eighth 
note rest, Rests Display Quantize must be set to “8” or a smaller value 
(please refer to the chapter “How the Score Editor works” on page 488). If 
No Overlap is activated, you might want to turn it off.
There is a pause after a note that I don’t want.
You probably added a note with the wrong note value. Either lengthen 
the note (physically or graphically – see “Changing the length of notes” 
on page 520) or delete the one you have (see “Deleting notes” on page 
523) and add a new one with the correct note value. If this problem oc-
curs a lot in your score, try selecting a larger Rests Display Quantize 
value (see “Using Rests as Display Quantize setting” on page 491).
There is no pause after the note although there should 
be one.
Either the note is too long (use Clean Lengths or change the current 
note’s length), or Rests Display Quantize is set to too high a value. Open 
the Score Settings–Staff page and lower it.
The note has an accidental when it shouldn’t, or it 
doesn’t when it should.
Maybe the note is simply of the wrong pitch? Click on it (using the Ob-
ject Selection tool) and look at the info line (if this is not shown, see “The 
info line” on page 497). Move it to the correct pitch (see “Editing pitches 
of individual notes” on page 519). If this is not the reason, maybe you 
have the wrong key set? And finally, you can also use enharmonic shift-
ing (see “Accidentals and enharmonic shift” on page 542).
Notes are not grouped under beams the way I want it.
Normally the program groups eighth notes, sixteenths etc. under beams. 
This can be deactivated. There is also detailed control of which notes are 
grouped under a beam. This is described in the section “Handling bea-
ming” on page 545.
Inserting Display Quantize changes
Some situations may require different staff settings on dif-
ferent sections of the track. The staff settings are valid for 
the entire track, but you can insert changes wherever you 
like:
1.Select the Display Quantize tool from the toolbar or 
context menu.
The Display Quantize tool on the toolbar
2.The Display Quantize dialog opens.
3.Activate the flags you need and set the quantize val-
ues as desired.
For details, see “Display Quantize and interpretation Options” on page 
526. Additional hints below.
4.If you want to restore the settings to the ones used on 
the Score Settings–Staff page, click the Restore To Staff 
button.
5.Move the mouse over the staff where you want to in-
sert a new Display Quantize value.
Use the mouse position box to find the exact location. The vertical posi-
tion is of no relevance as long as you click somewhere in the staff.
6.Click the mouse button to insert a Display Quantize 
event.
The new quantize settings are now inserted into the staff at the position 
where you clicked. The settings are valid until a new change is inserted.  
						

							509
Transcribing MIDI recordings
If you are using polyphonic voices (see “Polyphonic voi-
cing” on page 531), you can insert a Display Quantize 
event for all voices by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking 
with the tool.
If the option “Display Quantize Tool affects all Voices” is activated on the 
Score Settings–Project page (Notation Style subpage, in the Miscella-
neous category), Display Quantize events will always be inserted for all 
voices.
Viewing and editing Display Quantize changes
If you activate the “Quantize” checkbox on the display filter 
bar (see “Showing and hiding “invisible” elements” on 
page 498), a marker will be shown under the staff for each 
Display Quantize setting you have entered with the tool.
This allows you to edit your settings in the following ways:
To edit a Display Quantize change event, double-click 
on its marker.
This opens the Display Quantize dialog again – adjust the settings and 
click Apply.
If the Display Quantize dialog is already open, you can 
select any Display Quantize change event, adjust its set-
tings in the dialog and click Apply.
To remove a Display Quantize change, either click its 
marker to select it and press [Backspace] or [Delete], or 
click on it with the Erase tool.
Strategies: Adding Display Quantize 
changes
Very often, the score will be fine except for a few bars 
somewhere. To remedy the problem, insert two Display 
Quantize changes with the tool (one at the beginning of 
the section, one after it to restore to the current staff set-
tings).
If you have mixed triplets and straight notes, it can be 
tempting to insert many Display Quantize changes. Before 
you do so, try the Auto Quantize options and their addi-
tional settings. See “If your music contains mixed straight 
notes and triplets” on page 527.
The Explode function
This function allows you to “split” the notes on a staff into 
separate tracks. It is also possible to use this function to 
convert a polyphonic staff into polyphonic voices – this is 
described in the section “Automatically – the Explode 
function” on page 536.
1.Pull down the Scores menu, open the Functions sub-
menu and select “Explode…”.
The Explode dialog, set to create tracks.
2.Make sure “To New tracks” is selected at the top of 
the dialog.
3.Enter the desired number of new tracks.
Note that this is the number of new tracks to be created! For example, if 
you have a three-part polyphonic section and want to split this into three 
separate tracks, you must specify 2 new tracks, since the original track 
will hold one of the parts.
4.Use the options in the bottom section to set up the cri-
teria for the split.
Choose from the following options:
5.Click OK.
A number of new tracks are now added to the score and the Project 
window.
!You may want to create a copy of the original track 
first, since this will be changed by the operation.
Option Description
Split Note Use this to move all notes below a certain pitch to an-
other track. When this is selected, it is pointless to spec-
ify more than 1 new track.
Lines To tracks Use this when you want all musical “lines” to be put on 
one track each. The notes with the highest pitch will re-
main on the original track, the notes with the second 
highest pitch will be put on the first new track, and so on. 
Bass To Low-
est VoiceWhen this is activated, the lowest notes will always end 
up on the lowest track. 
						

							510
Transcribing MIDI recordings
Using “Scores Notes To MIDI”
For very complicated scores, there may be situations where 
you have tweaked the parameters for Display Quantize and 
Interpretation as best you can, and you still cannot get the 
score exactly as you want it. Perhaps one setting works fine 
in one section of the track and another is needed for an-
other section.
In such a case, “Scores Notes To MIDI” will help you out. 
It changes the lengths and position of some or all the MIDI 
notes in the edited parts so that they have exactly the val-
ues currently shown on screen.
1.For safety, go back to the Project window and make a 
copy of the track.
2.Open the part(s) again in the Score Editor.
If you only want some sections of your score to be “converted”, make 
sure to only open those parts.
3.Make sure the notes you want to affect are not hidden 
(see “Hiding/showing objects” on page 599).
4.Select “Scores Notes To MIDI” from the Functions 
submenu on the Scores menu.
The notes are now “converted”.
5.Make whatever adjustments are needed to make the 
score read as intended.
Now that the notes have the exact lengths and positions 
that were previously only displayed, you can probably de-
activate many of the options on the Score Settings–Staff 
page and delete Display Quantize settings, etc.
If you find the operation did not give you the result you 
were after, you can undo your settings or go back to the 
original track, make a copy of that, and start over.