Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

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The MIDI editorsKey Editor operations
Step input
Step input, or step recording, is when you enter notes one at a time (or one chord at 
a time) without worrying about the exact timing. This is useful, for example, when you 
know the part you want to record but are not able to play it exactly as you want it.
Proceed as follows:
1.Click the Step Input button on the toolbar to activate Step Input mode.
2.Use the note buttons to the right to decide which properties are included when 
you input the...

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The MIDI editorsKey Editor operations
Using the controller display
By default, the controller display has a single lane, showing one event type at a time. 
However, you can add as many lanes as you need. The use of several controller lanes 
allows you to view and edit different controllers at the same time.
Each MIDI track has its own controller lane setup (number of lanes and selected event 
types). When you create new tracks, they get the controller lane setup used last.
The controller 
display...

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Selecting the event type
Each controller lane shows one event type at a time. To select which type is displayed, 
use the “Controller Selection and Functions” pop-up menu to the left of the lane.
Setting up the available continuous controllers
In the MIDI Controller Setup dialog you can specify which continuous controllers are 
available for selection. Proceed as follows:
1.Open the “Controller Selection and Functions” pop-up menu and select 
“Setup…”.
The MIDI...

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The MIDI editorsKey Editor operations
Controller lane presets
Once you have added the required number of controller lanes and selected the event 
types you need, you can save this combination as a controller lane preset. For 
example, you can have a preset with one velocity lane only, another with a combination 
of velocity, pitchbend and modulation, and so on. This can make working with 
controllers much quicker.
Controller lane presets are organized via the “Controller Lane Setup” pop-up menu.
The...

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The MIDI editorsKey Editor operations
You can click and drag to change or add multiple events, draw controller curves, etc:
ÖWith the Draw tool and the Line tool in Paint mode, the quantize value determines the 
“density” of created controller curves (if Snap is activated, see 
“Snap” on page 490). 
For very smooth curves, use a small quantize value or turn off Snap. However, this will 
create a very large number of MIDI events, which can cause MIDI playback to “stutter” 
in some situations. A...

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The MIDI editorsKey Editor operations
ÖIf Length Quantize is set to “Quantize Link” and you enter data in Sine, Triangle or 
Square mode, the density of the events depends on the Zoom factor.
•The Sine, Triangle and Square modes create events with values aligned to 
continuous curves.
In these modes, the quantize value determines the period of the curve (the length 
of one curve “cycle”) and the Length Quantize value determines the density of the 
events (the lower the Length Quantize note value, the...

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The MIDI editorsKey Editor operations
Using cut, copy and paste
You can use the standard Cut, Copy and Paste options on the Edit menu to copy and 
paste events in the controller display:
1.Select the events you want to cut or copy.
2.Select Cut or Copy from the Edit menu.
3.If you want to paste the events into another MIDI part, open that part in another 
Key Editor window.
4.Position the project cursor where you want to paste the events.
5.Select Paste from the Edit menu.
The events on the clipboard...

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•If conflicting controller data exists in two different places, you can specify what will 
happen on playback by making settings for the Automation Merge Mode (see 
“Merging automation data” on page 299). The resulting curve is displayed in 
addition to the curve you entered on the controller lane.
•On the controller lane, you can also see the controller curve that is applied before 
the part starts. That way, you know which controller value (if any) is currently...

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•Use the Line tool in Line mode for creating linear velocity ramps.
Click where you want the ramp to start and drag the cursor to where you want the 
ramp to end. When you release the mouse button, the velocity values are aligned 
with the line between the two points.
•Parabola mode works in the same way, but aligns the velocity values to a Parabola 
curve instead.
Use this for smooth, “natural” velocity fades, etc.
•The remaining three Line tool modes (Sine,...

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•To select another dynamics symbol for an event, click on the triangle in the upper 
left corner of the event and select a symbol from the pop-up menu.
If several events are selected, the same symbol will be applied to all the events.
•To step through the available dynamics symbols, use the mouse wheel or the key 
commands “One down” and “One up” (in the Key Commands dialog, Score 
Functions category).
If several events are selected, they will all change in...