Steinberg Cubase 6 Manual

							431
Note Expression (Cubase only)
In the lower part of the Note Expression tab, the following 
global settings and parameters are available:
Showing/hiding controllers
You can specify which parameters are displayed in the 
Note Expression editor and in the event display by activat
-
ing/deactivating them in the leftmost column in the list. 
When you want to edit a single parameter, it might be best 
to hide the data for the other parameters. Activating sev
-
eral parameters allows you to view them in context, giving 
you a better overview. In the Inspector, visible controllers 
are shown with a filled rectangle in front of their name. 
Hidden controllers are shown with an empty rectangle. To 
show or hide a parameter, click on its rectangle.
Filtering the list
If you click on the Parameter column header, a pop-up 
menu opens, containing the following filter commands:
Bypassing Note Expression
Like for most other Inspector tabs, you can bypass the 
Note Expression settings by clicking on the button at the 
top right of the Inspector tab, so that it lights up yellow. If 
Bypass is activated, all Note Expression data will be by
-
passed for the track.
Bypass is active for the Note Expression Inspector tab.
Mapping controllers
External keyboards have no controls or faders for VST 3 
parameters, which can therefore not be recorded directly. 
To remedy this, you have the possibility to assign a certain 
MIDI controller (or Pitchbend and Aftertouch) to any of the 
Note Expression parameters in the list. The MIDI assign
-
ment is shown in the CC column in the Inspector. 
The same MIDI controller can be used for several parame-
ters, but only one of these controllers can be active at a 
time. If the mapping is active, the number for the assigned 
MIDI controller is displayed (or PB and AT for Pitchbend 
and Aftertouch, respectively). If a MIDI controller is as
-
signed but inactive, e. g., because the selected parameter 
uses the same assignment as another parameter, a dot is 
shown in the CC column.
The VST 3 parameter Tuning is automatically assigned to 
the pitchbend wheel of your MIDI controller. All other pa
-
rameters are assigned by default to the first MIDI control-
ler (CC1: Modulation).
You can manually specify the record mapping for the pa-
rameters, use the MIDI Learn function, or load a mapping 
preset, see below. 
Manual mapping
To manually map a MIDI controller to the selected Note 
Expression parameter, you can select the MIDI controller 
from the MIDI assignment pop-up menu. If the MIDI con
-
troller you are looking for is not on the list, select “MIDI 
Controller Setup…” and activate it in the dialog. This is 
the same as selecting which controllers are available for 
the controller lanes in the Key Editor, see 
“Selecting the 
event type” on page 389.
OptionDescription
MIDI as Note 
Express ionIf this button is activated, incoming MIDI controllers will 
be recorded as Note Expression data, see “Recording MIDI controllers as Note Expression data” on page 438.
OverdubWhen this is activated, you can overdub existing Note 
Expression data. See “Overdubbing” on page 432.
Latch BufferWith this button, you can activate/deactivate the latch 
buffer used for overdub recording, see “Latch mode” on page 433.
OptionDescription
Show only used 
ParametersSelect this command to only display the parame-ters in the list for which data exists. 
Make all Parameters 
visibleSelect this command to display all available pa-rameters in the event display.
Make only edited 
Parameter visibleSelect this command to display only the currently 
edited parameter in the event display.
This controller 
is visible.
This controller 
is hidden. 
						

							432
Note Expression (Cubase only)
MIDI Learn
Another way to assign the knobs and faders of your MIDI 
instrument to Note Expression parameters is using the 
MIDI Learn function. Proceed as follows:
1.Select the parameter to which you want to assign a 
MIDI controller.
2.Below the list, click the MIDI Learn button to the right 
of the MIDI assignment pop-up menu.
3.Use the knob or fader on your MIDI device that you 
want to assign to the selected Note Expression parameter.
This control is now automatically assigned.
4.Repeat this step for all the parameters you want to 
control with your MIDI device.
Now, you can record Note Expression data using the con-
trols on your MIDI device.
Using mapping presets
When you have set up the mapping for a connected MIDI 
device, you can save these settings as mapping presets 
for future use, e.
 g. when working again with this device.
Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Parameter pop-up menu and select “Save 
MIDI Input Assignment”.
2.In the file dialog that appears, specify a name and a lo-
cation for the file. 
A file with the extension “*.neinput” is created. 
You can recall the mapping presets you created by using 
the “Load MIDI Input Assignment” command on the Pa
-
rameter pop-up menu.
Recording
Recording notes and Note Expression data
To record MIDI notes together with Note Expression data 
using an external MIDI device, proceed as follows:
1.Create an instrument track, e. g. using HALion Sonic 
SE as VST instrument. 
The Note Expression Inspector tab shows which parameters are avail-
able for recording.
•You can also load one of the available presets. Some 
presets were created especially for the use with Note Ex
-
pression. These have the suffix “.NoteExp”.
2.Select a parameter from the list.
3.Set up the record mapping for the parameters, see 
“Mapping controllers” on page 431. 
You can use the data range controls to use only a subrange of the full pa-
rameter range. This allows for finer recording and editing.
4.Record some MIDI notes and use the mapped con-
trols on your MIDI device to record the corresponding 
Note Expression data.
5.Open the Key Editor and activate the “Show Note Ex-
pression Data” button on the toolbar. 
The Note Expression data is shown on the notes for which it was re-
corded.
Overdubbing
You can also record or replace Note Expression data for 
existing notes. This is achieved by overdubbing. To acti
-
vate this mode, click the Overdub button on the Note Ex-
pression Inspector tab. When this is activated, no notes 
are recorded when you click the Record button. Instead, 
you can use the controls on your MIDI device to record 
Note Expression data for the note that is playing.
!To be able to record MIDI notes again, you have to 
deactivate the Overdub button when you have fin
-
ished recording the Note Expression data.
!If notes are selected when you start overdubbing, 
controllers will be recorded for these notes only. To 
record controllers for all notes touched by the posi
-
tion cursor, make sure to deselect all notes in the 
event display before you start overdubbing. 
						

							433
Note Expression (Cubase only)
Latch mode
When Cubase receives controller data from an external 
MIDI device, this information, i
 . e. the setting of the faders 
and knobs on the device, is automatically written to the 
Latch buffer. By activating Latch mode when overdubbing 
Note Expression data, you can add the data in the Latch 
buffer to the notes while these are played back. This can 
be useful when you want to overdub Note Expression data 
starting at specific controller values (i.
 e. at predefined ini-
tial knob or fader settings), for example.
To use Latch mode, start by mapping each control to one 
of the available VST
 3 parameters (see “Mapping control-
lers” on page 431). Then activate the Latch buffer button 
and set the knobs and faders on the MIDI controller to the 
desired values. When you now start overdubbing, the val
-
ues for all these controls are attached to the notes that are 
passed during overdub recording, replacing any existing 
controller data of the same type.
Resetting the Latch buffer
Whenever data is present in the Latch buffer, the “Reset 
Latch buffer” button becomes available. If you click this 
button, all the memorized values are removed from the 
Latch buffer.
ÖWhen you are using Latch mode in combination with 
cycle recording, the Latch Buffer is automatically reset at 
the end of the cycle.
Recording Note Expression data via MIDI input
An alternative way to enter Note Expression data for exist-
ing notes is using Note Expression MIDI input. When you 
activate the “MIDI Input” and “Note Expression MIDI Input” 
buttons on the Key Editor toolbar, you can replace the 
controllers for the selected note.
•To record Note Expression data via MIDI input, select a 
note and move the active control on your MIDI device.
The note is played in real time and any manipulation of the controls, i. e. 
all incoming controller data, is recorded for this note. Recording stops 
when the end of the note or the end of the release phase (see 
“Editing the release phase of a note” on page 436) is reached, or when you de-
select the note.
Recording the sustain pedal
When the sustain pedal (MIDI CC 64) of the connected 
MIDI device is held during recording, the following applies 
for VST
 3 parameters (not for continuous MIDI controllers):
•When a note-off event is received (when the key on the 
connected keyboard is released), this message is not sent 
to the VST
 3 instrument but is instead created by the pro-
gram when the sustain pedal is released. 
This makes it possible for the VST 3 instrument to play back controllers 
that are sent after a key was released.
•The release phase of the recorded notes ends when the 
sustain pedal is released.
Reset Latch BufferClick here to activate Latch mode 
						

							434
Note Expression (Cubase only)
Editing Note Expression data
In the Key Editor, you can view and edit the Note Expres-
sion data for notes in the Note Expression editor. This is 
opened by double-clicking a note in the event display. In the 
editor, you can add Note Expression data from scratch. All 
parameters that are marked as visible in the Inspector are 
displayed as curves in the editor.
ÖWhen several notes are selected in the Key Editor and 
you double-click any of them, the Note Expression editor 
opens for all these notes. This is useful if you want to edit 
all notes in a chord in the same way, for example.
•To adjust the editor size, click and drag the Resize han-
dle (in the center of the lower border of the editor). This al-
lows you to switch between three different window sizes.
•To navigate from note to note while the editor is open, 
use the left and right arrow keys.
You can also use the key commands [Tab] and [Shift]-[Tab] to step 
through the notes.
To make settings in the editor, first select the parameter 
that you want to make settings for. How to do this de
-
pends on whether you want to modify existing data or en-
ter new data from scratch:
•If you want to enter new data from scratch, i. e. create 
events for a parameter that has not been used yet, you 
have to select this parameter in the Inspector to make it 
available in the editor.
•If you want to edit existing data, you specify which pa-
rameter to edit in one of the following ways: by clicking on 
the curve, by selecting the corresponding controller on the 
Parameter pop-up menu, or by selecting the parameter on 
the Note Expression Inspector tab.
The parameter pop-up menu in the lower left corner of the editor lists all 
parameters that are used for the edited note. If the editor size is big 
enough, the name of the edited parameter is displayed to the right of the 
pop-up menu.
•You can close the editor by clicking outside of it in the 
event display.
You can also specify a key command for opening and closing the Note 
Expression editor.
The value display
The value display in the lower right corner of the editor 
shows the current value at the (vertical) mouse pointer po
-
sition. The value range differs depending on the parameter 
type, e.
 g. 0 to 127 for MIDI controllers or semitones and 
cents for Tuning.
Selection ranges
You can select a range of controller values by clicking and 
dragging in the editor with the Object Selection tool. 
•If you hold down [Shift] and drag, any previous selection 
will be kept.
•You can move selections by dragging them in the editor.
•To copy a selection in the editor, click on it, keep the 
mouse button pressed, then press [Alt]/[Option] and drag.
Editing functions
Drawing in data
You can enter or modify curves using the pencil tool or the 
line tool. The editing is the same as in the controller lanes, 
see 
“Adding and editing events in the controller display” 
on page 390. If the arrow tool is selected and the editor is 
open, you can press [Alt]/[Option] to get the pencil tool.
You can enter lines and curves using the line tool in its 
various modes. This works just as when editing in the con
-
troller lane, see “Adding and editing events in the control-
ler display” on page 390.
Using Cut, Copy, and Paste
•To cut, copy, and paste Note Expression data for a sin-
gle parameter in the editor, use the corresponding com-
mands on the Edit menu.
It is also possible to copy and paste data between different parameters.
ÖPasting Note Expression data in the editor is restricted 
to the note (or notes, if they are located at the same time 
position) for which the editor is open. However, you can 
copy all Note Expression data from one note to another 
using a key command. 
						

							435
Note Expression (Cubase only)
•To paste all the Note Expression data from one note to 
other notes, set up the key command “Paste Note Expres
-
sion” in the Key commands dialog (Note Expression cate-
gory). 
This pastes all the Note Expression information of one or several notes 
for which you have used the Copy command into the currently selected 
notes.
Using the “Paste Note Expression” command, you can 
copy the settings you made for one note into several other 
notes, or copy the settings for several selected notes into 
a number of other notes (which makes it easy to recreate 
specific drum patterns, for example).
If Note Expression data is copied from several source notes 
to a number of destination notes, the following applies:
•If the number of the source and destination notes 
matches, the data of the first “source” note is pasted into 
the first “destination” note, the data of the second source 
note into the second destination note, etc. 
•If the number of source notes is smaller than the number 
of destination notes, the source note data will be pasted 
repeatedly into the destination notes in the order in which 
they appear.
When you copy the data from two source notes into four destination 
notes, for example, the first destination note gets the Note Expression 
data from the first source note, the second destination note the data of 
the second source note, the third destination note the data of the first 
source note and the fourth destination note the data of the second 
source note.
Deleting Note Expression data
•To delete all or the selected Note Expression data, use 
the Delete command on the Edit menu or press [Back
-
space].
Moving Note Expression data
•To move all or the selected data of the active parameter, 
click with the Object Selection tool in the editor (not in the 
stretch area at the bottom of the window) and drag.
You can restrict the direction to vertical or horizontal by pressing [Ctrl]/
[Command] while dragging. When you hold down [Alt]/[Option] while 
dragging, the data is copied instead.
Fixed values
•To enter or edit a fixed value (i. e. a straight line), activate 
“One-Shot Mode” mode by clicking the button in the up
-
per left corner of the window and click with the pencil tool 
anywhere in the editor to set the value.
Note that some VST 3 parameters are one-shot only. For these, this 
mode is automatically activated.
The snap controls
The horizontal snap button in the upper right corner of the 
editor corresponds to the Snap button in the Project win
-
dow (see “The Snap function” on page 45).
The Vertical Snap button in the middle of the left border of 
the editor is especially useful for the Tuning parameter. It 
allows you to enter the pitch in semitone steps instead of 
as a continuous curve. This way, it is much easier to create 
fast pitch modulations.
•To temporarily switch to vertical snapping while editing, 
hold down [Shift].
Horizontal 
SnapVertical snap (best suited for the 
Tuning parameter) 
						

							436
Note Expression (Cubase only)
Modifying the data using the smart spots
The editor offers various modes for editing the Note Ex-
pression data. Most editing modes are activated by click-
ing the various so-called “smart spots”, situated on the 
editor frame.
Which editing is performed is reflected by the shape of 
the mouse pointer. The following modes are available:
Editing the release phase of a note
Sometimes it can be necessary to edit the release phase 
of a note, e.
 g. to work on the tail of a note which is still 
sounding after the note-off message was sent. These set
-
tings are made in the release section of the editor. To add 
a release phase, click and drag the release length handle 
in the lower right corner of the editor.
When Note Expression data are displayed in the Key Edi-
tor, the release phase of a note is also shown.
Editing 
modeTo activate 
this mode…Description
Move 
VerticallyClick in an 
empty area on 
the upper bor
-der of the editor.
This mode allows you to move the entire 
curve up or down, which is useful to 
boost or attenuate a curve. 
Scale 
VerticallyClick the smart 
spot in the mid-dle of the upper 
border of the 
editor.
Use this mode to relatively scale the 
curve, i. e. to raise or lower the values in 
percent (not by absolute amounts).
Tilt the left/
right part of 
the curveClick the smart 
spot in the up-per left/right 
corner of the 
editor.
These modes allow you to tilt the left or 
the right part of the curve, respectively. 
This is useful if the curve form is exactly 
the way you want it, but the start or end 
needs to be boosted or attenuated a bit.
Compress 
the left/right 
part of the 
curve[Alt]/[Option]-
click the smart 
spot in the up
-per left/right 
corner of the 
editor.
These modes allow you to compress the 
left or the right part of the curve. You can 
create a vibrato using the line tool in si
-nus mode, for example, and then com-press its start and end to get a more 
natural effect.
Scale Around 
Absolute 
CenterClick the smart 
spot in the mid-dle of the right 
border of the 
editor.
This mode allows you to scale the curve 
around the absolute center, i. e. horizon-tally around the center of the editor. This 
is useful for parameters which contain a 
center value or position, such as Pitch
-bend or panorama.
Smart spots
Scale Around 
Relative 
Center[Alt]/[Option]-
click the smart 
spot in the mid
-dle of the right 
border of the 
editor.
This mode allows you to scale the curve 
relative to its center. This can be used to 
boost or reduce vibrato, for example.
StretchClick and drag 
in the lower part 
of the editor.This allows you to stretch all or the se-lected Note Expression data.You can apply the stretching to all visi-ble curves at the same time by keeping 
[Shift] pressed while dragging.
Editing 
modeTo activate 
this mode…Description
Note Release phase Release length handle 
						

							437
Note Expression (Cubase only)
Setting the length of the release phase
To determine the length of the release phase, drag the re-
lease length handle or enter the value manually on the info 
line. You can also modify the release length after having 
edited or recorded controller data. Only the controllers 
within the specified length will be heard during playback.
ÖWhen you have opened the editor for several notes 
and hold down [Alt]/[Option] while setting the release 
length for one note, the release phase of all the notes will 
be changed accordingly, i.
 e. they will all end at the same 
time position.
Adding controllers in the release phase
You can add controllers in the release phase by overdub-
bing or by manually entering Note Expression data in the 
editor. When you are overdubbing Note Expression data, 
the length of the existing release phase will be used to as
-
sociate newly recorded data to the notes. When the sus-
tain pedal of your external device is held during recording, 
the notes automatically get a corresponding release 
phase.
Editing multiple notes simultaneously
When you have opened the editor for several notes, any 
editing (e.
 g. entering Note Expression data, applying time 
stretch or modifying the length of the release phase) af
-
fects all the notes that are present at the time position 
where you perform the editing.
Note Expression and MIDI
Making global settings
In the Note Expression MIDI Setup dialog, you can make 
some global settings for the use of the Note Expression 
functionality with MIDI. In this dialog, you can specify ex
-
actly which MIDI controllers will be used when recording 
Note Expression data, for example.
Proceed as follows:
1.On the MIDI menu, open the Note Expression sub-
menu and select “Note Expression MIDI Setup…”.
The Note Expression MIDI Setup dialog opens. 
The dialog contains the following options:
2.When you have made the desired settings, click OK to 
close the dialog.
The settings you made in the Note Expression MIDI Setup dialog will be 
used every time that you use the “Convert to Note Expression” function 
or record MIDI controllers as Note Expression data. 
OptionDescription
ControllerActivate this option if you want to use MIDI controllers 
when working with Note Expression. In the table below, ac-tivate the MIDI controllers you want to use and deactivate 
the MIDI controllers that should be disregarded in the Note 
Expression context.
If MIDI controller data for a deactivated controller is re-ceived in Cubase, it will end up on the controller lane.
PitchbendActivate this option if you want incoming Pitchbend data to 
be used when working with Note Expression.
AftertouchActivate this option if you want incoming Aftertouch data to 
be used when working with Note Expression.
Poly 
PressureActivate this option if you want Poly Pressure data to be 
used when working with Note Expression.
Controller 
Catch RangeThis allows you to associate controllers with a note, al-though they were sent slightly before the note-on message. 
Specify the number of ticks in the value field. For example, 
this might be necessary when working with some elec
-tronic drums for which the drum head position message is 
sent before the note. 
						

							438
Note Expression (Cubase only)
Recording MIDI controllers as Note 
Expression data
To record Note Expression data using standard MIDI con-
troller messages, activate the “MIDI as Note Expression” 
button on the Note Expression Inspector tab and enter the 
notes and controllers using your MIDI device. Afterwards, 
you can copy, paste and move the notes and the associ
-
ated controller data will follow. 
However, you should not shift individual notes from a 
chord, because this leads to conflicting controller mes
-
sages. One way to avoid such conflicts is to record MIDI 
controllers as Note Expression data for monophonic per
-
formances only. Another option is to use a MIDI track set 
to “Any” channel and to split polyphony to separate chan
-
nels. This is useful when working with guitar-to-MIDI con-
trollers, where each string sends on a separate MIDI 
channel. 
ÖWhen recording MIDI controllers as Note Expression 
data, keep in mind that this only works within the limits of 
standard MIDI controllers. With the exception of Poly 
Pressure, all MIDI controllers are channel-specific mes
-
sages and therefore not available for notes.
Converting MIDI Controllers into Note 
Expression data
You can also convert the MIDI controller data on the con-
troller lanes into Note Expression data.
Proceed as follows:
1.Open the MIDI part in the Key Editor.
2.Make sure that the MIDI controllers to be recorded are 
activated in the “Note Expression MIDI Setup” dialog.
3.On the MIDI menu, open the Note Expression sub-
menu and select “Convert to Note Expression”.
The MIDI data of the types you specified in the Note Expression MIDI 
Setup dialog is converted from controller lane data into Note Expression 
data, leaving the corresponding controller lanes empty. 
During this process, the program searches for notes that 
are sounding at the same time as the controllers and if 
several notes are playing at the same time, the same Note 
Expression parameters will be attributed to them, with the 
same values.
ÖWhen converting MIDI controllers into Note Expres-
sion data, release phases (see “Editing the release phase 
of a note” on page 436) are automatically created where 
necessary, so that no controller data is lost during this 
process.
Consolidating MIDI overlaps
It can be problematic to convert regular MIDI controllers 
into Note Expression data or to edit MIDI controllers which 
have been recorded as Note Expression data. For exam
-
ple, when you move notes so that they overlap other notes 
containing the same controllers (e.
 g. by moving or quan-
tizing), these controllers are conflicting. This might cause 
trouble, especially for connected MIDI devices.
You can eliminate such controller conflicts using the 
“Consolidate Note Expression Overlaps” command on the 
Note Expression submenu of the MIDI menu. When you 
select this command, the following happens:
•If notes overlap that contain data for the same control-
ler, the controller values of the second note are used from 
the beginning of the overlap.
•If a note is moved so that it is positioned entirely within a 
longer note and if these notes contain controller data for 
the same controller, the controller values of the longer 
note are used until the encompassed note starts. The con
-
trollers for the “embedded” shorter note are used for the 
entire length of that note. At the end of the shorter note, 
the controllers of the longer note are used again.
!When you are editing the MIDI notes after recording 
them, it might be necessary to consolidate the con
-
troller data.
!When you are editing the MIDI notes after the con-
version, it might be necessary to consolidate the 
controller data. 
						

							439
Note Expression (Cubase only)
Distributing notes to different channels
If you do not have a VST 3 instrument, but still want to use 
the Note Expression functions, proceed as follows:
1.Add a multi-timbral instrument, open its control panel, 
and assign the same sound to different channels.
2.In the Inspector for the corresponding MIDI track, 
make sure the MIDI output pop-up menu is set to “Any”.
3.Enable the “MIDI as Note Expression” button and re-
cord or enter MIDI notes with expression as needed.
4.On the MIDI menu, open the Note Expression sub-
menu and select “Distribute Notes to MIDI Channels”.
This will distribute the MIDI notes to different channels (starting at 
channel
 1).
5.Edit Note Expression for each note independently 
without controller conflicts.
Dissolving Note Expression data
•To convert Note Expression data into MIDI controller 
data on controller lanes, select the “Dissolve Note Expres
-
sion” option from the Note Expression submenu on the 
MIDI menu. 
Note that this applies only to Note Expression data that consists only of 
MIDI controllers (i. e. not the VST 3 controller data).
Removing all Note Expression data
•To delete all the Note Expression data for the current 
selection, open the MIDI menu and, on the Note Expres
-
sion submenu, select “Remove Note Expression”.
Trimming Note Expression data
When you reduce the release length of a note after enter-
ing Note Expression data for the release phase, some of 
the data ends up behind the release phase, thereby be
-
coming unused. 
•To keep only those Note Expression events that are ac-
tually used, select the notes and select “Trim Note Expres-
sion to Note Length” from the Note Expression submenu 
on the MIDI menu.
This will delete any Note Expression data present after the end of the re-
lease phase for the notes.
HALion Sonic SE
HALion Sonic SE is a VST 3-compatible VST instrument. 
For use with Note Expression, it offers the VST
 3 parame-
ters “Tuning” (Pitch), “Volume”, and “Pan”. HALion Sonic 
SE comes with several presets (with the file name extension 
“*.NoteExp”) that can be used with Note Expression. Use 
them to get a quick overview of the possibilities HALion 
Sonic SE offers when working with Note Expression.
For detailed information about HALion Sonic SE and its 
parameters, refer to the separate PDF document “HALion 
Sonic SE”.
ÖYou can also open the Project Browser to have all the 
Note Expression data shown in a list. This is described in 
detail in the chapter 
“The Project Browser (Cubase only)” 
on page 477. 
						

							34
The Logical Editor, Transformer, and 
Input Transformer