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 notes.
For example, you may not want to include the velocity and/or note-off velocity of 
the played notes. It is also possible to turn off the pitch property, in which case all 
notes will get the pitch C3, no matter what you play.
3.Click anywhere in the note display to set the start position (the desired position of 
the first note or chord).
The step input position is shown as a blue line in the note display.
4.Specify the desired note spacing and length with the Quantize and Length 
Quantize pop-up menus.
The notes you input will be positioned according to the Quantize value and have 
the length set with the Length Quantize value. For instance, if you set Quantize to 
1/8 notes and Length Quantize to 1/16 notes, the notes will be sixteenth notes, 
appearing on each eighth note position.
ÖIf “Length Quantize” is set to “Quantize Link” the note length is also determined by the 
Quantize value.
5.Play the first note or chord on your MIDI instrument.
The note or chord appears in the editor and the step input position advances one 
quantize value step.
ÖIf Move Insert Mode is activated, all notes to the right of the step input position will be 
moved to “make room” for the inserted note or chord.
6.Continue in the same way with the rest of the notes or chords.
You can adjust the Quantize or Length Quantize value as you go along, to change 
the timing or note lengths. You can also move the step input position manually by 
clicking anywhere in the note display.
•To insert a “rest”, press the right arrow key on the computer keyboard.
This advances the step input position one step.
7.When you are done, click the Step Input button again to deactivate step input. 
						

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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 with 
three lanes
•To add a lane, click the “+” button or open the “Controller Selection and 
Functions” pop-up menu and select “Create Controller Lane”.
•To remove a lane, open the “Controller Selection and Functions” pop-up menu 
and select “Remove this Lane”.
This hides the lane from view – it does not affect the events in any way.
ÖIf you remove all lanes, the controller display will be completely hidden. You can bring 
it back by clicking the “Create Controller Lane” button.
Instead of adding and removing single lanes, you can also show/hide multiple lanes 
using the “Controller Lane Setup” pop-up menu:
•“Show/Hide Controller Lanes” allows you to hide all controller lanes from view, 
giving you more space for viewing and editing the MIDI notes. When you select 
this option again, your previous lanes setup is restored.
•“Velocity Only” resets the controller display to show only the Velocity lane.
•“Show Used Controllers” allows you to automatically show all controller lanes with 
controller data. 
						

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The MIDI editorsKey Editor operations
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 Controller Setup dialog opens.
2.Move all the controllers that you need to the list on the left and move the 
controllers that you do not need to the list on the right.
3.Click OK.
!The MIDI Controller Setup dialog can be opened from different areas in the program. 
The settings are global, i.
 e. the setup you choose here affects all areas of the program 
where MIDI controllers can be selected. 
						

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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 following options are available:
•To add the current controller lane setup as a preset, select “Add Preset…” on the 
pop-up menu.
A dialog opens, where you can enter a name for the preset.
•To apply a stored preset, select it from the pop-up menu.
This immediately brings up the controller lanes and event types in the preset.
•To remove or rename presets, select “Organize Presets…” from the pop-up menu.
Entering and editing controller events
Editing the events in the controller display is much like editing automation data on an 
automation track in the Project window (except for velocity values and articulations, 
see 
“Editing velocity values” on page 508 and “Editing articulations (Cubase only)” on 
page 509). 
All controller values can be edited with the Pencil or the Line tool. If you have selected 
more than one controller event on a controller lane, the controller lane editor is 
displayed, see 
“Working with selection ranges” on page 511.
•To select all events on a controller lane, open the “Controller Lane Setup” pop-up 
menu and choose the “Select all Controller Events” option.
Adding and editing events in the controller display
When any option other than “Velocity” is selected for a controller lane, you can create 
new events or edit the values of existing events using the Draw tool or the Line tool in 
its various modes:
•To create a new event, click with the Draw tool or the Line tool.
•To modify the values of existing events, press [Alt]/[Option] and use the Draw tool 
or the Line tool.
No new controller events are added in this mode. 
						

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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 medium-low density is often sufficient.
•Clicking and dragging with the Line tool in Line mode allows you to create events 
in a straight line.
This is the best way to draw linear controller ramps.
•The Parabola mode works in the same way, but arranges the values on a parabola 
curve instead, giving more “natural” curves and fades.
Note that the result depends on the direction from which you draw the parabola.
•In Parabola mode, you can use modifier keys to determine the shape of the 
parabola curve.
If you press [Ctrl]/[Command], the parabola curve will be reversed. If you press 
[Alt]/[Option]-[Ctrl]/[Command], you can change the position of the whole curve. If 
you press [Shift], the exponent will be increased or decreased.
ÖIn Line and Parabola modes, the Length Quantize value determines the “density” of 
created controller curves (if Snap is activated). For very smooth curves, use a small 
Length Quantize value or turn off Snap. To avoid over-dense controller curves (which 
may cause MIDI playback to “stutter”), use a medium-low density. 
When you move the pointer in the controller lane, the corresponding value is 
displayed in this field. 
						

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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 smoother the curve).
•In Sine, Triangle and Square mode you can also use modifier keys to determine the 
shape of the curve.
If you press [Ctrl]/[Command] you can change the phase of the beginning of the 
curve. If you press [Alt]/[Option]-[Ctrl]/[Command], you can change the position of 
the whole curve.
ÖYou can also set the curve period freely by holding down [Shift] when you insert 
events in Sine, Triangle or Square mode. Activate Snap, [Shift]-click and drag to set 
the length of one period. The period length will be a multiple of the quantize value.
•In Triangle and Square mode, you can press [Shift]-[Ctrl]/[Command] to change 
the maximum position of the triangle curve (to create sawtooth curves) or the pulse 
of the square curve.
Moving events
You can move events in a controller lane, much like you can with notes:
1.Click with the Object Selection tool to select the events that you want to move or 
copy.
You can also click and drag to create a selection rectangle encompassing the 
desired events.
2.Click on a curve point inside the selection and drag the events.
The events inside the selection are moved to the new position. If Snap is activated, 
this determines to which positions you can move the events (see 
“Snap” on page 
490). 
!Remember that a non-note event does not have a length – it is “valid” until the next 
event (see 
“The controller display” on page 487).
!When the Auto Select Controllers button is activated in the Key Editor toolbar, 
selecting notes will also select the corresponding controller events. Moving events 
(either using cut/copy/paste or drag & drop) in the note display will also move the 
corresponding controller events (see also 
“Selecting controllers within the note 
range” on page 495). 
						

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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 are added, starting at the project cursor position, 
maintaining their relative distances. If a pasted event ends up at the same position 
as an existing event of the same type, the old event is replaced. 
Deleting events in the controller display
You delete events by clicking on them with the Erase tool or by selecting them and 
pressing [Backspace]. Deleting a controller event makes the last event before this 
valid up until the next event. It does not “zero” any controller changes.
•You can delete notes by deleting their velocity bars in the controller display.
Please be aware that if there is more than one note at the same position, there may 
still only be one velocity bar visible – make sure that you delete only the desired 
notes!
Editing continuous controllers on the controller lane
When a continuous controller is selected for a controller lane, additional data is 
displayed on the controller lane. This is due to the fact that MIDI controller data can be 
recorded (or entered) either for an automation track or for a MIDI part (see 
“MIDI 
controller automation” on page 299). 
The following applies:
•On the “Controller Selection and Functions” pop-up menu, an asterisk is displayed 
next to the controller name if automation data already exists for this controller.
This can be either controller data you entered in a MIDI editor (the data will then be 
displayed on the controller lane), or controller data recorded on an automation 
track in the Project window (in which case no events are displayed on the 
controller lane).  
						

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The MIDI editorsKey Editor operations
•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 being 
used at the starting point of the part so that you can choose the start value 
accordingly. 
Note that this value also depends on the Automation Merge Mode.
Editing velocity values
When “Velocity” is selected, the lane shows the velocity of each note as a vertical bar.
Velocity values are edited with the Pencil or the Line tool. The Object Selection tool 
automatically switches to the Draw tool when you move the pointer into the controller 
display. If you want to use the Object Selection tool to select events in the controller 
display, press [Alt]/[Option]. The different tools and Line tool modes offer several 
possibilities:
•You can use the Draw tool to change the velocity of a single note: click on its 
velocity bar and drag the bar up or down.
While you drag, the current velocity value is shown in the display to the left.
•You can use the Draw tool or the Line tool in Paint mode to change the velocity 
values of several notes by painting a “freehand curve”.
When editing velocity, these two methods have the same functionality.
Controller curve entered on 
the controller laneResulting controller curve (if controller automation was also 
recorded on a track). These values depend on the selected 
Automation Merge Mode.
The controller curve before the part starts. This curve depends on the existing controller 
data (if any) and on the selected Merge Mode. 
						

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The MIDI editorsKey Editor operations
•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, Triangle and Square) align the velocity 
values to continuous curve shapes.
If there is more than one note at the same position (e. g. a chord), their velocity bars 
will overlap on the controller lane. If none of the notes are selected, all notes at the 
same position will be set to the same velocity value when you draw. To edit the 
velocity of only one of the notes at the same position, first select the note in the note 
display. Now, editing will only affect the velocity of the selected note.
ÖIf the Speaker icon (Acoustic Feedback) is activated on the toolbar, the notes will be 
played back when you adjust the velocity, allowing you to audition your changes.
ÖYou can also adjust the velocity of a single note by selecting it and changing its 
velocity value on the info line.
Editing articulations (Cubase only)
It is also possible to add and edit musical expressions or articulations in the controller 
lane. This is described in detail in the chapter 
“Expression maps (Cubase only)” on 
page 555. 
Editing dynamics (Cubase only)
Provided that the Dynamics mapping is set up and activated for the track, you can 
insert 12 dynamics symbols in the lower part of the Articulations/Dynamics lane. 
Dynamics are described in detail in the section 
“Working with mapped dynamics” on 
page 891).
•To insert a dynamics symbol, click in the controller lane with the Draw tool.
A mezzo forte symbol is inserted. 
						

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The MIDI editorsKey Editor operations
•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 increments, i. e. relative to the 
original values. 
ÖMoving and copying dynamics events works as with other events on the controller 
lane.
You can modify the settings for the Dynamics symbols in the Dynamics Mapping 
Setup dialog. You can open this dialog via the pop-up menu for a dynamics event or 
by selecting “Dynamics Mapping…” on the “Controller Selection and Functions” 
pop-up menu.
Adding and editing Poly Pressure events
Poly Pressure events are special, in that they “belong to” a specific note number (key). 
That is, each Poly Pressure event has two editable values: the note number and the 
amount of pressure. Therefore, when Poly Pressure is selected on the “Controller 
Selection and Functions” pop-up menu, there are two value fields to the left of the 
controller display, one for the note number and one for the amount.
To add a new Poly Pressure event, proceed as follows:
1.Select Poly Pressure on the “Controller Selection and Functions” pop-up menu.
2.Set the note number by clicking on the keyboard display.
The selected note number is displayed in the upper value field to the left of the 
controller display. Note that this only works for the topmost lane. If you have 
selected “Poly Pressure” for several controller lanes, you have to type in the 
desired note number directly in the lower value field to the left of each lane. 
3.Use the Draw tool to add a new event, just as when adding regular controller 
events.