Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

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Staff settings
About this chapter
In this chapter you will learn:
- How to make staff settings.
- How to work with staff presets.
Staff settings
Below follows a run-through of all staff settings, more detailed information about the 
ones already described and references to other places in the manual for some 
options.
The Staff page has four tabs – here, the Main tab is selected.
Making settings
1.Open the Score Settings and select the Staff page.
2.With the dialog open, make the desired staff active.
Click anywhere in a staff to make it active, or use the up and down arrow keys to 
step from staff to staff.
3.Select the desired tab and make all necessary settings.
The settings for regular staves are found on the Main and Options tab, the 
Polyphonic tab contains settings for split systems and polyphonic voices while the 
Tablature tab lets you set up tablature scores.
4.When you have made the desired settings, click Apply.
ÖIf the “Apply closes Property Windows” option is activated in the Preferences dialog 
(Scores–Editing page), clicking Apply also closes the dialog. 
						

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Staff settingsWorking with staff presets
•To make settings for another staff, simply make it active in the score (by clicking 
anywhere in the staff or by using the up/down arrow keys on the computer 
keyboard).
However, please note that you need to click Apply before making another staff 
active – otherwise your settings are lost!
Working with staff presets
Making staff settings for your scores can be time-consuming. Staff presets allow you 
to reuse those settings whenever you work with a staff similar to one you have worked 
on before. A staff preset contains all the settings from the Staff page of the Score 
Settings dialog, except for the key.
•To save the current settings (including the settings on the Options tab, see below) 
click the Store button in the Presets section of the Staff page.
Enter a name for the preset in the name dialog that appears, and click OK. The 
preset is now available on the Presets pop-up menu (in all projects).
•There are a number of staff presets available, set up to suit various instruments, 
etc. The presets are accessed from the Presets pop-up menu on the Staff page of 
the Score Settings dialog or from the staff context menu, opened by right-clicking 
on the blue rectangle to the left of a staff. 
Use them as they are, or as starting points for your own settings. Note that this 
loads the settings in the preset into the dialog – to apply these to a staff you must 
click the Apply button as usual. You can also apply staff presets directly in the 
score – see below.
•To remove a preset, select it from the pop-up menu and click the Remove button.
Applying a preset directly in the score
If you right-click on the blue rectangle to the left of a staff, a context menu appears, 
listing all available presets. Select one to apply it to the staff.
How staff presets are stored
The staff presets are stored as individual files in the Presets–Staff Presets folder 
within the Cubase program folder. The presets are available for selection in any 
project you create or edit.
Staff names
These fields allow you to specify a “long” and a “short” name for the staff. The long 
name is shown for the very first system for this staff in the score (at the start of the 
project), while the short name is shown for the remaining systems.
•Whether the names are shown at all is set in the Score Settings dialog, on the 
Layout page (see 
“Staff names” on page 855).
!Staff settings can be saved in the track presets. For more information, see the chapter 
“Working with track presets” on page 422. 
						

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Staff settingsKey and clef
•If you only want the “long name” to be shown (i.e. if you do not want a name shown 
for each system in the score), simply delete the short name.
•If the “Show Long Staff Names on new Pages” option is activated in the “Staff 
Names” section of the Score Settings dialog (Project page), the long name is 
shown at the beginning of each new page.
•You can also specify two separate subnames by double-clicking the staff name 
and entering them in the upper and lower text entry fields in the dialog that 
appears. 
Note that this is only displayed correctly, if you are in Page Mode and if “Show 
Staff Names to Left of Staff” is activated in the Score Settings dialog, on the 
Project–Notation Style subpage (Staff Names category).
Key and clef
The basic key and clef settings are described in detail in the section “Setting clef, key, 
and time signature” on page 738. There is also a Lower Staff checkbox which is only 
used in conjunction with split (piano) staves and polyphonic voicing (see “In a split 
system” on page 741).
•If you want to set a different key symbol, e.g. when scoring for French horn, 
activate the “Local Keys” option.
Display Quantize and Interpretation Options
These two sections of the dialog contain a number of settings used to determine how 
the notes are interpreted. While these settings are more critical to making MIDI 
recorded music appear as legible as possible it is still important to have them set 
correctly when entering notes using the mouse. Below you can find descriptions of 
the settings – for further details, see 
“Adding Display Quantize changes” on page 
751.
There are “fixed” Display Quantize values plus an “Auto” option which should only be 
used when your music contains mixed straight notes and triplets. For background 
information about Display Quantize, see 
“Display Quantize” on page 726.
Display Quantize values
Notes and Rests
•Generally, the Notes value should be set to a value equal to, or smaller than, the 
“smallest note position” that you want to be shown in the score.
•The Rests value should be set to a value equal to, or smaller than, the smallest note 
value (length) you want to be displayed for a single note, positioned on a beat.
•If the score contains only triplets, or mostly triplets, select one of the Triplet 
options. 
						

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Staff settingsDisplay Quantize and Interpretation Options
Auto Quantize
•If the project contains no triplets or only triplets, deactivate this option.
•If the project contains mixed triplets and straight notes, activate this option (see 
below).
Deviation and Adapt
•When Deviation is activated, triplets/straight notes are detected even if they are 
not exactly “on the beat”. However, if you know your triplets/straight notes are 
perfectly recorded (quantized or entered by hand), deactivate this option.
•When Adapt is activated, the program “guesses” that when one triplet is found, 
there are probably more triplets surrounding it. Activate this option if not all of your 
triplets are detected.
If your music only contains “straight” notes or triplets
1.Specify a Notes value.
For example, if you have notes on odd sixteenth note positions, the Notes value 
should be set to 16 (sixteenth notes). The “T” values on the pop-up menu are for 
triplets.
2.Specify a Rests value.
For example, if you want a single short note on a beat (quarter note position) to be 
displayed as a quarter note, set the Rests value to 4 (quarter notes).
3.Deactivate the Auto Quantize option.
4.Set all the Interpretation Options.
These are described in detail below.
5.Examine the score.
6.If necessary, use the Display Quantize tool to insert “exceptions” to the staff 
settings.
See “Inserting Display Quantize changes” on page 750.
If your music contains mixed straight notes and triplets
1.Examine the score and decide if it mainly contains triplets or mainly “straight” 
notes.
2.Set the Notes value accordingly.
If the score is mainly triplets, select the smallest triplet note position used in the 
score. If it is mainly straight notes, select the smallest “ordinary” note position.
3.Set the Rests value as described above.
4.Activate the Auto Quantize option.
5.Activate the Deviation and Adapt flags if you need them. 
						

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Staff settingsDisplay Quantize and Interpretation Options
Interpretation Options
Syncopation
Activate Syncopation when the program adds more ties to notes crossing beats and 
bar lines than you prefer. The following options are available:
For a “modern” notation of syncopated notes, activate Syncopation.
Without and with Syncopation
Again, without and with Syncopation
Note that you can insert “exceptions” to the Syncopation setting in the Score Settings 
dialog on the Staff page, by using the Display Quantize tool. You can also create tied 
notes in various combinations by using the Cut Notes tool.
Consolidate Rests
Activate this when you want small consecutive rests joined into one (an eight note rest 
and a sixteenth note rest joined to a dotted eighth note rest for example). 
Consolidate Rests deactivated and activated
Clean Lengths
When this option is activated, the program interprets the length of your notes 
differently. A note’s length (in the display only) might be extended to the beginning of 
the next note or to the next Rests “position” for Display Quantize. An example:
- If a note is too short, you may get a rest just after it.
- When Clean Lengths is activated, the rest disappears.
A slightly short eighth note without and with “Clean Lengths”.
If using Clean Lengths does not help in a particular situation, you can manually resize 
the offending note(s) or use the Display Quantize tool (see 
“Inserting Display Quantize 
changes” on page 750).
OptionDescription
RelaxWhen Syncopation is “relaxed”, the program applies syncopation in a 
number of common cases.
FullSyncopation is on.
OffSyncopation is off, with no exceptions. 
						

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Staff settingsDisplay Transpose
No Overlap
When notes starting at the same position have different lengths, the program tends to 
add more ties than you may want. This can be avoided by using No Overlap.
This recording in the Key Editor…
…is displayed like this when No Overlap is deactivated…
…and like this when No Overlap is activated.
You can insert “exceptions” to the No Overlap setting on the Staff page of the Score 
Settings dialog, by using the Display Quantize tool.
Shuffle
In jazz it is very common to score a shuffled beat as straight notes, simply to make it 
more legible. 
When the Shuffle flag is activated, the program searches for eighth note or sixteenth 
note pairs where the second note is played late (with a “swing feel” or as the third 
note in a triplet). Such pairs are displayed as regular eighth or sixteenth notes instead 
of triplet-based figures.
Without and with Shuffle
Display Transpose
This is used when preparing parts for instruments that are not scored at the actual 
concert key. For example, if you want the note C3 to be played by an alto sax, you 
have to score it as an A3 – nine semitones up. Luckily, the Display Transpose setting 
takes care of this for you:
•Use the pop-up menu to select the instrument for which you are scoring.
•If the pop-up menu does not list your instrument, you can set the desired 
transposition with the Semitones value field.
ÖThe Display Transpose setting does not affect playback or the actual pitch of the 
notes – it only changes how they are displayed and printed.
You can also insert Display Transpose changes anywhere in the score, by inserting a 
key change symbol and using the Transpose setting in the Edit Key/Clef dialog (see 
“Display Transpose in the Edit Key dialog” on page 744).
•In the Score Settings dialog, on the Project page (“Chord Symbols” subpage), 
deactivate the “Use Display Transpose” option if you do not want the chord 
symbols to be affected by the Display Transpose setting (see 
“Chord Symbols” on 
page 844).
!Please note that there may be situations when neither of these alternatives is ideal. If 
you run into such a situation, it can probably be resolved by using polyphonic voices, 
see 
“Polyphonic voicing” on page 779. 
						

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Staff settingsThe Options tab
•You can disable Display Transpose by deactivating the “Display Transpose” 
button on the toolbar of the Score Editor.
For more information, see “Transposing instruments” on page 744.
The Options tab
Clicking the Options tab in the dialog brings up another page with additional settings. 
Below follows a brief description of these, with references to more detailed 
explanations.
Switches
This section allows you to make beam settings.
OptionDescription
Flat BeamsActivate this when you want the beams over notes to be flat (as 
opposed to slanted), see 
“Beam appearance and slant settings” on 
page 802.
No BeamsActivate this when you do not want any beaming at all on the staff 
(for example for vocal scoring), see 
“Turning beaming on/off” on 
page 797.
Beam SubgroupsUse this when you want sixteenth notes displayed under a beam to 
be divided into groups of four notes, see 
“Handling beam groups” 
on page 801.
Without and with Beam Subgroups.
16th  
Subgroups
Use this when you want even smaller subgroups of sixteenth notes. 
This setting has no effect if Beam Subgroups is deactivated.
As above, but with 16th Subgroups activated. 
						

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Staff settingsThe Polyphonic tab
System Sizes
This section allows you to set the number of system lines and to control spacing 
between the lines:
Score Drum Map
These settings are described in the chapter “Scoring for drums” on page 883.
Fixed Stems
Activate this if you want all note stems to end at the same vertical position. This 
feature is perhaps most often used when scoring for drums (see 
“Setting up a staff for 
drum scoring” on page 886).
A drum pattern with Fixed Stem length activated
The Up and Down parameters determine which position (relative to the top of the 
staff) is used for up and down stems, respectively. The graphical display helps you get 
your settings right. 
Note Limits
Use the Low and High fields to specify a note range. In the active staff, any notes 
outside this range are displayed in a different color. When writing a score for a 
specific instrument, this makes it easy to find notes that are outside of this 
instrument’s note range.
ÖIf the “Hide Notes beyond limits” option is activated in the Preferences dialog 
(Scores–Editing page), any notes outside the Note Limits range are hidden.
The Polyphonic tab
This is where you activate and set up split (piano) systems or polyphonic voices 
(several independent score lines in the same staves). These settings are described in 
the chapter 
“Polyphonic voicing” on page 779.
The Tablature tab
This tab contains settings for creating tablature scores. The settings are described in 
the chapter 
“Creating tablature” on page 887.
OptionDescription
System LinesThe number of lines in a system. For regular scoring, this should be 
set to 5.
Add SpaceAllows you to increase or decrease the space between the lines in a 
system.
SizeAllows you to set a size for the systems, as a percentage (with 100 % 
being the default value). In effect, this setting scales the score 
vertically. 
						

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Polyphonic voicing
About this chapter
In this chapter you will learn:
- How to decide when to use polyphonic voicing.
- How to set up voices.
- How to automatically convert your score to polyphonic voicing.
- How to enter and move notes into voices.
Background: Polyphonic voicing
Polyphonic voicing allows you to resolve a number of situations impossible to score 
properly otherwise:
•Notes starting at the same position, but with different lengths. Without polyphonic 
voicing you get unnecessary amounts of ties.
Without and with polyphonic voicing
•Vocal scoring and similar. Without polyphonic voicing, all notes starting at the 
same position are considered parts of a chord. With polyphonic voicing you can 
give each voice a stem direction, you can have individual rest handling for each 
voice, etc.
Without and with polyphonic voicing
•Complicated piano systems. Without polyphonic voicing, you have to resort to a 
fixed split note setting to decide which notes go on which clef. With polyphonic 
voicing, the split point can be “floating”. The program can even automatically put a 
bass line on the lower clef for you.
With a split system and with polyphonic voicing 
						

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Polyphonic voicingBackground: Polyphonic voicing
How voices are created
Cubase allows for up to eight voices. The first thing you do is to set them up. This 
includes “telling” the program which voices belong to the upper clef and which belong 
to the lower, how you want rests displayed for each voice, etc.
The second thing you do is to move or enter notes into the voices. If you have a 
recording done already, the program can do much of this work for you, automatically. 
You might then want to fine-tune by moving one or more notes into another voice, or 
you might want to add notes to a certain voice. See 
“Adding and editing notes” on 
page 756 for details.
Overlapping notes
Throughout this chapter you encounter the term “overlapping notes”. Two notes are 
considered overlapping when they are on the same staff and:
•They start at the same position, but have different note values (for example whole 
note and a quarter note both at the beginning of a bar), or…
Notes starting at the same position, without and with polyphonic voices.
•One note starts before another has ended. For example a half note at the 
beginning of a bar and an eighth note at the second beat.
A note that starts before another has ended, without and with polyphonic voices.
Voices and MIDI channels
Internally the program organizes the notes into voices by changing their MIDI channel 
values. Normally you set it up so that notes with MIDI channel 3 belong to voice 3 etc. 
Most of the time the link between MIDI channels and voices is totally transparent to 
you as a user. Sometimes you can take advantage of this relationship, as described 
later in this chapter. 
There are also a few important things to note:
ÖWhen you make a note part of a voice, you are in fact changing its MIDI channel value. 
However, when you change the voice’s MIDI channel values in the setup dialog, this 
does not affect the notes’ MIDI channel setting. This can lead to serious confusion, 
since the relationship between the notes and the voices is affected. It might even 
make notes disappear (the program warns if this happens). In other words, do not 
change the MIDI channels on the Polyphonic tab of the Staff page in the Score 
Settings dialog after you have put your notes into voices, unless you are absolutely 
sure of what you are doing.
ÖWhen you open a part that contains notes on different MIDI channels, these notes are 
in fact already assigned to voices (since notes are assigned to voices using their MIDI 
channel setting). While this fact can be put to good use, it can also create confusion, 
and even disappearing notes, as described above.
!Each voice is polyphonic. In other words, one voice can contain chords.