Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual
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811 Working with symbols About this chapter In this chapter you will learn: - What the different types of symbols are. - How to insert and edit symbols. - Details about special symbols. Background: The different layers A score page is always made up of three layers – the note layer, the layout layer and the project layer. When you add symbols, these are inserted into one of these layers, depending on the type of symbol. The symbols that have a relation to notes – accents, dynamic markings, slurs, lyrics, etc. – are put in the note layer. Other symbols, such as some types of text, can be inserted either on the layout layer (which is individual for each layout) or on the project layer (common for all layouts). You can change the layer type by right-clicking the symbol and selecting the layer type from the context menu. Note layer symbols Let’s look at the note layer symbols first. These come in three flavors: - Note symbols. These are each tied to a single note. Examples of note symbols are accents and lyrics. When you move the note, the symbol moves with it. The same is true if you cut the note and then paste; the symbol is cut and pasted together with the note. - Note-dependent symbols. Only a few symbols belong to this category, for example the arpeggio lines. In one way, these behave just like grace notes (see “Grace notes” on page 807). They always precede a note or chord. If there is no note “after them” on a staff, they disappear. - All other note layer symbols (tempo, dynamics, chords, etc.). Their position is related to the bar. (Whichever way you edit the notes, these symbols remain unaffected.) However, their positions are fixed within a measure. If you for example change the spacing of the bars across the page (see “Setting the number of bars across the page” on page 873), this affects the symbols positions. Layout layer symbols Note layer symbols
812 Working with symbolsThe Symbols Inspector Layout layer symbols Now let’s examine the layout layer symbols. The layout layer is not stored individually for each track, as the other symbols are. Instead it i s c om mo n t o a “ s et of t rac k s” . L et ’s illustrate this with an example: You have four tracks that make up a string quartet. You edit them all at the same time and add symbols to the score, both note layer symbols and layout layer symbols. Now you close the Score Editor and open only one of the tracks for editing. All your note layer symbols are there just as you left them, but the layout layer symbols have disappeared! Don’t worry, close the editor again, and open all four tracks for editing and the symbols are back. This is due to the fact that the layout layer symbols are part of a “bigger entity” called “layout”. And a layout is something that is stored not per track, but for a group of tracks. Each time you open the same combination of tracks for editing, you get the same layout. For a detailed description of the layout layer, see the chapter “Working with layouts” on page 858. Project layer symbols Project layer symbols are layout symbols that are present in all layouts. Using project layer symbols in conjunction with the Arranger mode, you can have playback in the program follow the score – repeats, Da Capos, and endings are played back properly allowing you to hear your compositions as they would be played back by live players. Why three layers? There are several reasons for this division into layers: - Many of the symbols that are in the layout layer can be stretched to span over several staves, or for other reasons make more sense to think of as belonging to a certain group of tracks. - The layout layer is only one part of the bigger concept of layouts. Layouts allow you to easily extract parts from a full score and perform automatic formatting. This is described in the chapter “Working with layouts” on page 858. - Typically, you want to display some symbols – repeat bar lines, endings, score titles, etc. – for all layouts in a score. To achieve this, insert them on the project layer. Which symbols are part of which layer is described in the section “The available symbols” on page 814 and onwards. The Symbols Inspector To display the Symbols Inspector, click the “Set up Window Layout” button on the toolbar and activate the Symbols option. Customizing the Symbols Inspector You can customize the appearance of the Symbols Inspector by showing/hiding tabs and by specifying their order in the Inspector.
813 Working with symbolsThe Symbols Inspector Showing/Hiding Symbols Inspector tabs If you right-click on any tab in the Inspector, a context menu appears. On this menu, you can directly check (show) or uncheck (hide) elements of the Inspector as desired. You can also select different preset configurations from the lower half of the menu. To display all Symbols Inspector tabs, select “Show All”. The Symbols Inspector Setup dialog If you right-click on any closed tab in the Symbols Inspector and select “Setup…” from the context menu, a dialog appears. In this dialog you can configure where the separate tabs are placed in the Inspector and save/recall different configurations of the Inspector. The dialog is divided into two columns. The left column displays the currently visible tabs in the Inspector, and the right column displays the currently hidden tabs. •You can change the current show/hide status by selecting items in one column and using the arrow buttons in the middle of the dialog to move them to the other column. The changes are reflected directly in the editor. •You can change the order of the (visible) tabs in the Symbols Inspector with the “Move Up” and “Move Down” buttons. The changes are reflected directly in the Score Editor. A customized Inspector •If you click the Save button (disk icon) in the Presets section, you can name the current configuration and save it as a preset. •To remove a preset, select it and click the trash icon. •Saved configurations are available for selection from the Presets pop-up menu in the dialog or directly from the Inspector context menu. •To revert back to the default Inspector settings, right-click on any of the tabs and select “Default” from the context menu.
814 Working with symbolsThe Symbols Inspector Working with symbol palettes You can open any of the Symbols Inspector sections as separate symbol palettes. Opening tabs as palettes 1.In the Symbols Inspector, open the desired symbols tab. 2.Right-click on any of the symbols of the tab. Note that you have to right-click on a symbol. Right-clicking on a tab header opens a different context menu instead. 3.Select “Open As Palette” from the context menu. The selected tab is shown as palette. Moving and handling palettes Palettes are handled as any window, which means that you can: •Move a palette to another position by dragging its title bar. •Close a palette by clicking its close button. In addition, you can select whether the palette is shown horizontally or vertically, by right-clicking and selecting “Toggle” from the context menu. The available symbols The following symbols palettes/tabs are available: - Quick Staff Setup -Favourites -Keys -Clefs - Time Signature -Chord Symbols -Guitar Symbols - Cubase only: Expression Map, see “Expression maps (Cubase only)” on page 555. - Dynamics Mapping, see “Working with mapped dynamics” on page 891. - Clefs etc. - Note Symbols - Dynamics - Line/Trill. Note that the arpeggios, hand indication and strum symbols are all “note- dependent”! - Other - Form Symbols. These symbols can be selected for the note layer, the layout layer, and the project layer. - Words. This is described in the section “The Words tab” on page 854. - User Symbols. This is described in the section “User Symbols” on page 838. When you place the mouse pointer on a symbol, a tooltip shows you information about the function. Further details about many of the symbols can be found in the section “Symbol details” on page 832.
815 Working with symbolsImportant! – Symbols, staves, and voices Setting up the Favourites tab In the Symbols Inspector, you can find a tab called Favourites. Cubase allows you to fill this tab with a selection of symbols from other tabs. This way, you have instant access to the symbols you use often: 1.Open the Favourites tab. If it is the first time you are using this tab, it is empty. 2.Open the tab from which you want to copy a symbol. ÖNot all symbols can be placed on the Favourites tab. 3.Right-click on the symbol that you want to add to the Favourites tab and select “Add to Favourites” on the context menu. You can also add a symbol to the Favourites tab by [Alt]/[Option]-clicking on it. 4.Repeat this procedure for other symbols that you want to add to the Favourites tab. •To remove a symbol from the Favourites tab, select “Remove from Favourites” from the context menu or hold down [Alt]/[Option] and click on it. Important! – Symbols, staves, and voices Most symbols belong to a staff when inserted. Only note symbols, slurs and ties are an exception. They belong to notes and therefore to voices. It is extremely important that the correct staff is active when you insert a symbol (if you are editing multiple staves). If you for example insert a symbol while the wrong staff is active, the symbol might later “disappear” because you edit another configuration of tracks (the track you actually inserted the symbol on might not be opened for editing). The same is true for note symbols and their relation to voices. Make sure that the correct voice is active when inserting symbols or they might wind up at the wrong position, fermatas may be turned upside down, etc. Layout symbols work slightly differently. Instead of belonging to a certain staff or voice, they belong to a layout. Since different track combinations use different layouts, this means that if you insert a layout symbol in the score when you are editing two tracks (for example a trumpet and a saxophone part), it is not there when you view each track by itself in the Score Editor. If you want the same symbols to appear in other layouts as well, you can copy the form of one layout to another. If you want a symbol to appear in all layouts, use the Project layer. Adding symbols to the score Making space and handling margins •If you find there is not enough space between staves to add symbols (like for example text), see “Dragging staves” on page 876 for info on how to separate the staves. •If you find the score looks crammed after adding symbols, check out the section “Auto Layout” on page 879. !Symbols you add outside the margins are not printed!
816 Working with symbolsAdding symbols to the score About the Draw tool Unlike the other MIDI editors, the Score Editor toolbar does not contain a Draw tool. Instead, the Draw tool is “automatically” selected when you insert symbols. The following applies: •Normally, the Draw tool is automatically selected when you click on a symbol in the Inspector. However, if the “Double-Click Symbol to get Draw Tool” option is activated in the Preferences dialog (Scores–Editing page), you need to double- click the symbol to get the Draw tool. •On the same page of the Preferences dialog, you can find an option called “Display Object Selection tool after Inserting Symbol”. When this is activated, the Object Selection tool is automatically selected after you have inserted a symbol. If you want to insert a lot of symbols with the Draw tool, you may want to deactivate this option. Adding note symbols Adding a symbol to one note 1.In the Symbols Inspector, open the Note Symbols tab. 2.Click (or double-click) on the desired symbol on the tab. As mentioned above, the “Double-Click Symbol to get Draw Tool” preference determines whether you need to double-click. In either case, the Draw tool is selected. 3.Either click on the note or above or below it. If you click on the note, the symbol is put in at a predefined distance from the note. If you instead click “above or below” the note, you decide for a vertical position yourself. In either case, the symbol is aligned horizontally with the note. It can later be moved up/down. Clicking on a note inserts the note symbol (in this case a tenuto) at a predefined distance from the note head. There are three options in the Accents category of the Score Settings dialog (Project page–Notation Style subpage) that affect the vertical positioning of note symbols: •Accents above Stems When this is activated, accent note symbols are displayed at the stem side of notes instead of the note head. •Accents above Staves When this is activated, accent note symbols are displayed above the staff, regardless of the stem direction of the notes. This setting overrides the “Accents above Stems” option. •Center Note-Linked Symbols on Stems When this is activated, accents are centered on stems and not on note heads. Adding a symbol to several notes using the Draw tool You might for example want to add a staccato symbol to all notes within a few measures. Proceed as follows: 1.In the Symbols Inspector, open the Note Symbols tab 2.Select the notes to which you want to apply the symbol. 3.In the Symbols Inspector, click on the desired symbol.
817 Working with symbolsAdding symbols to the score 4.Click on one of the notes. The symbol is added to each selected note, at a predefined distance. The symbols can be moved later. Adding a symbol without tying it to a note Note-dependent symbols can be entered freely, too. This allows you to add a fermata to a rest symbol for example. 1.Make sure that the correct staff is active. 2.Click the symbol so that the Draw tool is selected, as described above. 3.Hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and click where you want to add the symbol. Adding other symbols 1.In the Symbols Inspector, open the desired symbol tab. 2.Click on the symbol that you want to add. 3.Click once or click and drag somewhere in the score. The symbol appears. For many symbols with a length, you can drag to set the length of the symbol directly. The symbol appears with its handles selected (if it uses handles) so that you can change its size directly if you wish. This is all described in detail in the section “Changing length, size, and shape” on page 830. Press the mouse button – drag – and release! •You can change the size of most of the note symbols and dynamics in a score by right-click on the corresponding object and selecting the desired option from the Size submenu on the context menu. About note-dependent symbols Note-dependent symbols like arpeggios and strum directions must be put in front of a note or they belong to the following note instead (if there is no following note, the symbols are not inserted at all). Adding text There are special methods for working with text, described in their own chapter, “Working with text” on page 845. Adding slurs and ties Slurs can be drawn in manually or inserted automatically for a group of notes. Ties are usually added by the program but can also be drawn in as “graphic” symbols. ÖThere are two types of slurs – “regular” slurs and Bezier slurs (with which you have full control over thickness, curve shape, etc.). Slurs, ties, and the Display Quantize value Since a slur or tie “musically” always spans from one note (or chord) to another, the beginning and end of a slur/tie in Cubase is always related to two notes in the score.
818 Working with symbolsAdding symbols to the score When you draw in a tie or slur, the program uses the Quantize value to find the closest two notes to “attach” the symbol to. In other words, if you want to add the slur/tie to a note at a sixteenth note position, make sure Quantize is set to 1/16th notes or smaller (this is only true for manual drawing in of slurs and ties). Please note that this does not necessarily mean that the symbol has to start or end exactly above/below two notes. Instead, what it means is that when you use the Layout tool to move the note graphically to adjust the look of the bar, the slur/tie moves with it (see “Graphic moving of notes” on page 805). The same is true if you adjust the width of the measure – the slur/tie is adjusted accordingly. ÖIf you want the end points of the slurs to snap to exact note positions, activate the “Snap Slurs when dragging” option on the context menu or in the Preferences dialog (Scores–Editing page). Drawing the slur/tie 1.Set the Quantize value depending on the positions of the two notes that the slur/tie should span. For example, if one of them is at a quarter note position and the other at an eighth note position, set Quantize to 1/8 note or a smaller note value. 2.Click on the correct slur/tie in the Symbols Inspector, so that the Draw tool is selected. 3.Position the mouse close to the first note and drag to a position close to the second note. The end points of the slur/tie snap to their default positions – holding down [Ctrl]/[Command] allows you to move the end points freely. There are two special functions for inserting a slur or tie that automatically spans from one note to another. Adding a slur/tie between two notes 1.Select two notes. 2.Click the correct slur/tie symbol in the Inspector, so that the Draw tool is selected. 3.Hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and [Shift] and click on one of the two notes. The slur/tie is added between the two selected notes. Inserting a slur over a selection of notes 1.Select a span of notes. 2.Open the Scores menu and select “Insert Slur”. A slur is created, starting at the first selected note and ending at the last.
819 Working with symbolsAdding symbols to the score The Bezier slur The Bezier slur is a special slur symbol, found on the Dynamics symbol tab. Unlike the regular slur, this symbol is made up of a bezier curve, allowing you to create more advanced curve shapes. To add a Bezier slur, click on the symbol in the Inspector so that the Draw tool is selected, and click or drag in the score. Clicking creates a Bezier slur of the default length and shape, while dragging creates a straight line. The default Bezier slur has four curve points – one at each end and two along the curve. •To move the slur, click on it (but not on a curve point) and drag. •To resize the slur, click and drag the end points. •To change the shape of the slur, click on one of the middle curve points and drag in any direction. Right-clicking on a curve point brings up a context menu with the following options: Creating trills If you have recorded or entered a trill, Cubase can help you display this properly: 1.Select the notes that make up the trill. 2.Right-click on one of the notes and select “Build Trill…” from the context menu. 3.Select an option from the dialog that appears. The radio buttons determine how the trill should look. Activate the “Help Note” option if you want an extra note to indicate between which notes the trill should be played. 4.Click OK. Now the following happens: - All notes except the first one (and possibly the second) are hidden. - The first note automatically gets a display length matching the length of the whole trill. OptionDescription Add Points/Reduce PointsAdds another pair of curve points to the Bezier slur. This allows you to create very complex slur shapes. After adding points, there is an additional menu item “Reduce Points” – selecting it removes the additional curve points. Add ThicknessMakes the Bezier slur thicker. Reduce ThicknessMakes the Bezier slur thinner. HideThis hides the slur symbol, see “Hiding/showing objects” on page 868.
820 Working with symbolsAdding symbols to the score - If you choose to include a help note, the second note is converted to a “Graphic” note, with brackets but without stem. Otherwise, the second note is hidden, too. - The trill symbols you selected in the dialog are inserted. Inserting symbols across staves If you hold down [Alt]/[Option] while adding a symbol to one staff in a grand staff, this symbol is put in at corresponding positions on all staves. This allows you for example to insert rehearsal marks, repeats, etc. for all instruments at the same time. Adding a keyboard symbol The Other tab contains a piano keyboard symbol, useful in educational scores, for example. The symbol has the following properties: •To insert the keyboard symbol, select it from the Inspector, click with the Draw tool at the desired position and drag a box to specify the approximate size of the keyboard. •After you have inserted the keyboard symbol, you can drag its edges to resize it vertically or horizontally. •If you right-click on an inserted keyboard symbol and select “Properties” from the context menu, a dialog opens allowing you to specify further properties for the symbol. You can also double-click on an inserted keyboard symbol to open this dialog. Option Description Size Governs the width of the keys. Start Note This is the leftmost note in the keyboard symbol. Show Note Names When this is activated, each C key is displayed with note name and octave (C1, C2, etc.). White/Black Keys transparentActivate these if you want the white and/or black keys to be transparent.