Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual

							821
Working with symbolsAdding symbols to the score
Adding guitar chord symbols
A fretboard symbol of a guitar chord can be inserted anywhere in the score. 
Guitar symbols are found on the “Guitar Symbols” tab and the Other tab in the 
Symbols Inspector.
•The Guitar Symbols tab contains all Guitar symbols of the current guitar library, 
see 
“Using the guitar library” on page 822. If the symbol that you want to insert is 
among these, select it and insert it as you would any other symbol, see above.
To insert a guitar symbol not present in the guitar library, proceed as follows:
1.Open the Other tab.
2.Click on the guitar chord symbol, so that the Draw tool is selected.
3.Click in the score, at the position where you want the symbol to appear.
The Guitar Symbol dialog appears.
•To put a black dot on any fret and string, click on it. 
To remove it, click again.
•To add a symbol just above the string, outside the fretboard, click there.
Consecutive clicks allow you to select between a ring (open string), a cross (do 
not play this string) and no symbol.
•To add a capodaster number, click to the left of the symbol.
Consecutive clicks allow you to step through the possibilities.
•You can also add a capodaster symbol (a line over the strings), by setting the 
“Capo String” parameter to a value higher than 0.
By adjusting the Capo End and Start values, you can create capodaster symbols 
that span fewer strings.
•Use the “Size” value field to adjust the size of the chord symbol.
•If you want the symbol to be horizontal, activate the “Horizontal” checkbox.
•To display more or fewer frets than the default six, change the “Frets” value.
4.Click Apply.
The guitar symbol appears in the score. 
•Clicking the Insert Notes button inserts the actual notes in the chord into the 
score.
You can also right-click on a guitar symbol and select “Insert Notes” from the 
context menu. 
						

							822
Working with symbolsAdding symbols to the score
You can edit the symbol at any time by double-clicking it, changing the settings in the 
dialog and clicking Apply. Note that you can also access the symbols that you defined 
in the guitar library by right-clicking a guitar symbol – see below.
ÖIf you select “Make Chord Symbol” from the context menu, the corresponding chord 
symbol is displayed above the guitar symbol. This function is very useful when writing 
lead sheets, for example.
Using the guitar library
The above method is fine if you only want to add a few chord symbols to your score. If 
you need a lot of chord symbols, or if you are using chord symbols in a lot of different 
scores, you can gather all your chord symbols in a “guitar library” instead. This way 
you do not have to recreate the same chord symbol over and over again.
Defining chord symbols
1.In the Symbols Inspector, double-click on one of the symbols on the Guitar 
Symbols tab to open the guitar library.
Alternatively, you can open the Score Settings dialog on the Project page and 
select the “Guitar Library” subpage.
2.To add a guitar chord symbol to the library, click the New button.
A chord symbol appears in the list to the left.
3.To edit the chord symbol, double-click it in the list.
This opens the Guitar Symbol dialog, as when editing a chord symbol in the score. 
•The symbol you create is also “interpreted” and its name is displayed to the right of 
the fretboard symbol.
This can also be edited by double-clicking if you like.
•To sort the available symbols in the library according to their root notes, click the 
Sort button.
•To remove a symbol from the library, select it in the list and click Remove.
•To save the current library as a separate file, select “Save…” from the Functions 
pop-up menu.
A file dialog appears, allowing you to specify a name and location for the file.
•To load a guitar library file, select “Load Current Pane…” from the Functions pop-
up menu.
In the file dialog that appears, locate and open the desired guitar library file. 
!Loading a guitar library file replaces the current library! 
						

							823
Working with symbolsAdding symbols to the score
There are also two additional checkboxes in the Guitar Library dialog:
Inserting symbols from the library
Apart from the “Use for Make Chord Symbols” option above, there are two ways to 
insert symbols from the guitar library into the score:
•Use the Functions pop-up menu on the Project–Guitar Library subpage in the 
Score Settings dialog, when creating or editing guitar symbols.
•Right-click on a guitar symbol in the score and select a chord symbol from the 
Presets submenu on the context menu.
Adding an image file
You can insert image files as symbols into the Score. This allows you to import logos, 
copyright symbols, images of finger positions, etc. 
Proceed as follows:
1.In the Symbols Inspector, open the Other tab.
Image files can be inserted on all three layers, see “Background: The different 
layers” on page 811.
2.Click the Image File button to select the Draw tool. Click in the score at the 
position where you want to insert the file.
A file dialog opens.
3.Locate and select the image file you want to insert.
The lower section of the Import dialog contains the following settings:
•To copy the referenced file into the Project folder, activate the “Copy to Project 
folder” option. 
This is recommended as it makes it easier to manage all files used in a project.
•If you modify your score, by adding staves for example, the position of an inserted 
image file changes. If this is not what you want, activate “Stick to Page” to keep it 
at a fixed position in your staff.
•The Transparency parameter allows you to set the desired transparency of the 
image.
4.Click Open to insert the file.
The image file is inserted. Its size depends on the printer resolution. However, you can 
scale the image by dragging its handles. To restore the printer resolution, right-click 
on the image to open the context menu and select “Snap to Printer Resolution”.
OptionDescription
Use for Make 
Chord SymbolsWhen this is activated, and you use the “Make Chord Symbol” 
function (see 
“Using Make Chord Symbols” on page 842), the 
program inserts guitar symbols as well as regular chords (if any fitting 
guitar symbols can be found). If there are several guitar symbols for a 
certain chord in the guitar library, the first one is used.
Small DisplayIf this is activated, the chord symbols in the list is displayed in the size 
they get in the score. If it is deactivated, the symbols are displayed in 
a larger size, for easier editing. 
						

							824
Working with symbolsAdding symbols to the score
You can modify the settings you made on import by right-clicking the image and 
selecting “Properties” on the context menu, to open the Image Properties dialog.
Using layout symbols
Layout symbols and texts are inserted on the layout layer. When you are editing a 
layout containing several tracks, you can have inserted layout symbols and texts 
automatically copied to any combination of tracks in the layout. You decide which 
staves should display layout symbols and texts by ticking their “L” column in the Score 
Settings dialog, on the Layout page.
•Any editing you perform to layout symbols and texts is automatically duplicated in 
the other tracks.
•The display of layout symbols and texts for different tracks can be deactivated at 
any time.
•Layout symbols and texts can be copied between layouts, by using the Get Form 
function on the Functions pop-up menu on the Layout page of the Score Settings 
dialog.
One example of how to use layout symbols and texts: 
Let’s say you are editing a full orchestra score, and want rehearsal marks inserted for 
more than one staff (typically, above each instrument group – brass, strings, 
percussion, etc.). Now all you need to do is insert the rehearsal marks for one of the 
tracks. To do so, open the Score Settings dialog on the Layout page, tick the “L” 
column for the desired tracks/staves, and click Apply.
Using Project symbols
Project symbols are part of the project layer and therefore appear in all layouts. The 
project layer also contains changes to bar lines (e.g. repeats and double bar lines) and 
bar number offsets. Typically you use Project symbols when you know you want these 
shown for all combinations of tracks.
ÖYou can also use Project symbols in combination with the Arranger mode to have the 
program play back according to the score, e.
 g. repeats, Da Capos and endings. See 
“Scores and the Arranger mode” on page 891. 
						

							825
Working with symbolsSelecting symbols
Selecting symbols
Almost all symbols can be selected by clicking on them. For symbols that have a 
length or size, one or more handles appear.
A selected crescendo
An exception to this are the slurs and ties which can be selected by clicking on the 
end points or by drawing a selection rectangle.
Using the lock layers
Sometimes it can be very hard to click on a symbol or other object in the score without 
accidentally selecting other symbols nearby. To remedy this, you can assign different 
types of objects to different “lock layers” (up to three) and instruct Cubase to “lock” 
one or two of these layers, making them “unmovable”. Furthermore, you can lock the 
layout and project layers separately if needed.
Setting up the lock layers
1.Open the Preferences dialog and select the Scores–Note Layer page.
2.Assign each event type to a layer (1, 2, or 3).
It is a good idea to specify different layers for event types that might conflict 
“graphically”. For example, you might want to assign bar numbers and note 
symbols to different layers, if you find that you accidentally move bar numbers 
when editing note symbols and vice versa.
3.Click OK to close the dialog.
•Alternatively, you can right-click on one of the Layer buttons (1-2-3) on the 
extended toolbar to bring up a pop-up menu, showing which object types are 
associated with that layer.
A checkmark for an object type means it belongs to that layer. If no checkmark is 
shown, you can select the object type from the pop-up menu to move it to that 
layer. 
						

							826
Working with symbolsMoving and duplicating symbols
Locking a layer
To “lock” a layer, click on its lock layer button.
In this figure, layer 2 is locked. Event types assigned to layer 2 cannot be selected, moved, or 
deleted.
Visual indication of the layers
Objects belonging to locked note layers are “grayed out” in the score. This makes it 
very easy to find out which object belongs to which layer – perhaps especially useful 
for the layout and project layers. For example, to quickly spot all objects in the layout 
layer, lock all other layers by clicking their buttons. Now, only layout layer objects are 
shown normally; all other objects are grayed out.
Moving and duplicating symbols
There are four ways to move and duplicate symbols: 
- By dragging them with the mouse (see below).
- By using the computer keyboard (moving only – see “Moving by using the 
computer keyboard” on page 828).
- By using the bar handles (see “Moving and duplicating with the bar handles” on 
page 828).
- By using the Paste Attributes function (duplicating note symbols only – see 
“Copying settings between notes” on page 797).
Moving and duplicating by using the mouse
This is done much as with other objects in Cubase. The following rules apply:
- Note symbols and note-dependent symbols move with the notes/chords they 
belong to. In other words, if you move the note/chord, the symbols move with 
it/them.
- Note symbols (like accents and lyrics) can only be moved vertically. Other symbols 
(like braces and brackets) can only be moved horizontally.
- All other symbols without handles can be moved freely. If you hold down 
[Ctrl]/[Command], movement is restricted to one direction only.
- If the symbol has one or more handles when it is selected, do not drag it by the 
handles, or you change its shape instead of moving it.
- Slurs and ties are an exception, as they can only be moved by first dragging one 
handle and then the other. However, if you use the Layout tool (see 
“Graphic 
moving of notes” on page 805) to move the notes they belong to, or if you change 
the measure width, they are adjusted automatically.
- Duplicating is done by moving with [Alt]/[Option] pressed, as always in Cubase. 
Slurs, ties, and bar lines cannot be duplicated with this method.
There are two features to help you position symbols (and other score objects) 
correctly: the rulers and the Position Info window. 
						

							827
Working with symbolsMoving and duplicating symbols
The rulers 
Unlike other editors, the Score Editor does not have a meter/time position-based 
ruler. Instead, its rulers are “graphical”, i.e. they indicate the actual x-y position of 
objects (with “zero” at the upper left corner).
•The current pointer position is indicated by thin lines in the rulers.
•To hide the rulers, right-click on a ruler and select “Off”.
This pop-up menu can also be found above the scrollbar at the far right.
•To display the ruler again, open the pop-up menu above the scrollbar at the far 
right and select one of the units (inches, centimeters, or points).
This setting also affects the units used in the Position Info window (see below).
The Position Info window
If you need to fine-tune the graphical positions of symbols and other objects, you 
should use the Position Info window. This makes positioning easier in two ways:
- You get a numerical indication of the exact position of the mouse pointer (and any 
object you are dragging).
- You can move objects or staves by typing in position values.
You display the Position Info window by clicking in the ruler.
The window contains the following settings and values:
OptionDescription
Measure inClick this label to change units for the Position Info window. You can 
toggle between Inch, cm, and pt. This choice also affects the units 
used in the rulers.
Abs. Pos./ 
Rel. Pos
Click this label to select whether X-Y position values are “absolute” 
(referring to the upper left corner of the current page) or “relative” 
(referring to the upper left corner of the active staff).
X, YWhen a single object is selected, these values show the horizontal 
and vertical position of this object.
 
When no objects or several objects are selected, these values show 
the current horizontal and vertical position of the pointer.
When a single object is selected, you can click on these values and 
type in a new position for the object.
dX, dYWhen you are moving an object, these values indicate the horizontal 
and vertical distance you have moved it.
You can click and type in values to move the object(s) by the 
specified distances. 
						

							828
Working with symbolsMoving and duplicating symbols
Dragging symbols across staves
If you drag a symbol across the staves, you can see how the “active staff” indicator to 
the left follows the mouse pointer. Use this as an indication to make sure that symbols 
end up in the correct staff.
•If you are editing several tracks at the same time, and want to make sure that a 
symbol is not accidentally moved to another track when you drag it vertically, 
activate the Lock “L” button on the extended toolbar.
When this is activated, you cannot move symbols across staves by dragging.
Moving by using the computer keyboard
In the Key Commands dialog, you can assign key commands for moving symbols, 
notes, or rests graphically. The commands are found in the “Nudge” category and are 
called “Graphical Left”, “Graphical Right”, “Graphical Top”, and “Graphical Bottom”.
Selecting an object and using one of these commands is the same as dragging them 
with the Layout tool, but this method offers higher precision.
Moving and duplicating with the bar handles
This function allows you to move or copy the contents of a whole bar to one or several 
other bars. You can select which elements in the bar will be included in the operation. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Make sure that the filter bar is visible.
If the filter bar is not visible, click the “Set up Window Layout” button on the 
toolbar and activate the Filters option. 
2.On the filter bar, make sure that the “Bar Handles” option is activated.
Now, each bar in the score is shown with a handle in the upper left corner.
Sel. StaffIf “Abs. Pos” is selected (see above), this value shows the distance 
from the top of the score page to the top of the active staff. 
You can click and type in a value to move the active staff.
If “Rel. Pos” is selected, this value is always 0, since vertical positions 
are related to the top of the active staff!
To Prev StaffThe distance between the active staff and the staff above it. Clicking 
and typing in a value moves the active staff.
To Next StaffThe distance between the active staff and the staff below it. Clicking 
and typing in a value moves the staves below the active staff.
Option Description
Bar handles 
						

							829
Working with symbolsMoving and duplicating symbols
3.Double-click on the handle of the bar from which you want to copy or move 
symbols.
The Bar Copy dialog appears.
4.Make sure that only the symbol types that you want to move/copy are checked.
5.If you have several subsequent bars to which you want to copy symbols, set the 
“Repeats” value to this number of bars.
If you only want to copy symbols from one bar to another, make sure that 
“Repeats” is set to 1. This option is only available for copying, not for moving.
6.If you want this dialog to appear every time you perform the move/copy operation, 
activate “Show Dialog”.
7.Click OK to close the dialog.
8.To copy the specified event types to another bar, hold down [Alt]/[Option], click on 
the bar handle of the first bar and drag it to the “target” bar.
To move the event types instead of copying them, drag the bar handle without 
holding down [Alt]/[Option].
•If you activated “Show Dialog”, the Bar Copy dialog appears, allowing you to 
confirm your settings.
Click OK to close the dialog and perform the operation.
The following happens:
•If you activated “Note Symbols”, the note symbols are copied from the “source” 
bar and pasted onto notes at the same positions in the “target” bar. If there is a 
note symbol for a certain note in the “source” bar, but no note at the 
corresponding position in the “target” bar, the symbol is ignored.
The actual positions of notes are used as a basis for this operation – not the 
displayed positions.
•If you activated other types of symbols, these are simply moved to the same 
graphical position in the “target” bar.
•If you set “Repeats” to a number larger than 1, the same symbols are pasted into 
that number of bars (starting from the one you drag the bar handle to).
If you copy the note symbols from the first bar to the second bar…
…only symbols that find corresponding note positions in the second bar are copied. 
						

							830
Working with symbolsChanging length, size, and shape
•If you do not hold down [Alt]/[Option] when dragging the bar handle, the symbols 
(and other event types specified in the dialog) are removed from the “source” bar.
Moving note symbols
Note symbols, slurs and ties all have “default positions”. This determines the vertical 
distance between the note head(s) and the symbol. 
•You can manually adjust the vertical positions of individual symbols, but if you 
move or transpose their notes, the symbols are automatically reset to their default 
positions. 
This also ensures that note symbols and slurs are positioned sensibly when you 
change the Display Transpose settings.
•To reset the vertical positions of note symbols and slurs in a score, right-click on 
the corresponding object and select “Default position” from the context menu.
Changing length, size, and shape
You can change the shape of any symbol that has a length.
Changing the length of a symbol
1.Select the symbol.
The handles appear.
Symbols with a length have two handles when selected.
2.Drag one of the handles.
You may be restricted to vertically or horizontally only, depending on the type of 
symbol.
Resizing note symbols and dynamics
1.Right-click on a dynamic or note symbol.
2.Select the desired option from the Size submenu.
The size of the symbol changes accordingly.
!If there already are symbols (or other objects) of the specified types in the “target” 
bars, these are removed.
!In the Preferences dialog (Scores–Editing page), there is a preference called “Keep 
Crescendo Symbols Horizontal”. When this is activated, crescendo and diminuendo 
symbols are never slanted.