Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual
Have a look at the manual Steinberg Cubase 7 User Manual online for free. It’s possible to download the document as PDF or print. UserManuals.tech offer 523 Steinberg manuals and user’s guides for free. Share the user manual or guide on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
841 Working with chords About this chapter In this chapter you will learn: - How to enter chord symbols manually and automatically using the “Make Chord Symbols” feature. - Which settings can be made for chord symbols. Inserting chord symbols To insert chord symbols in the score, you can insert them manually by using the Chord Symbol button in the Inspector. You can also let Cubase analyze an existing recording and create the chord symbols. Manually To specify and enter a chord symbol, proceed as follows: 1.Open the Other tab and select the Chord Symbol button. 2.Click in the score at the position where you want to insert the chord symbol. The Edit Chord Symbol dialog opens. 3.Enter the root note in the Root Note field. You can either type in a chord letter or step through the chord letters using the up/down arrows to the right. 4.In the “Chord Type” field, specify a chord type. You can either enter it directly (for example, by typing a “7”) or select an option from the pop-up menu (click the arrow button to open it).
842 Working with chordsInserting chord symbols 5.If you wish, specify a tension in the Tension field. Again, this can be done by typing or by using the pop-up menu. However, there are some special display options which you can only get by typing (see the table below). You might also want to add some text here (such as “no third”). You can also select the basic tensions from the pop-up menu, and then add special options by typing. 6.If you want to have a special bass note (e.g. a C major with a D bass note), set the Bass Note pop-up menu to this note (this cannot be the same as the root note). The program “remembers” the relation between root and bass note, so that if you change the root note, the bass note follows. 7.If you want the root note to be displayed in lower case, activate the “Root Note in Lower Case” checkbox. 8.If needed, activate the “Enharmonic Shift” option. 9.Click Apply. The chord symbol appears in the score. •To open the Edit Chord Symbol dialog for an existing chord, double-click the symbol. You can also right-click the symbol and select “Properties” on the context menu to open the dialog. Using Make Chord Symbols If you have already recorded the chords for a project, Cubase can analyze them and create chord symbols: 1.Open the recording in the Score Editor. If you want the chords to be inserted on another track, you can create an empty part on that track and open it along with the recording. 2.If you like, make display settings for the chords. These settings are available in the Score Settings dialog, on the Project page (Chord Symbols subpage). You can change all these settings after you inserted the chords as well. 3.Select the notes for which you want chord symbols to be created. If you want chord symbols to be created for all chords on the track, use the Select All function on the Edit menu. 4.Use the arrow keys to make the desired staff active. This should be the staff on which you want the chord symbols to end up. CharacterDescriptionExampleResult ( )The tensions are enclosed in brackets. /The tensions are separated by a slash sign. |The tensions are placed above one another. You can also combine several options. This is a combination of two options, along with a space to put the “9” above the “5”. Note that only one “(“ sign is needed when the “|” option is used.
843 Working with chordsInserting chord symbols 5.On the Scores menu, select “Make Chord Symbols”. The chords appear. They can be moved, duplicated and deleted as any other symbol. You can also double-click on a chord symbol to edit it in the Edit Chord Symbol dialog (in the same way as when creating chords manually – see above). A staff after using Make Chord Symbols. •Instead of using the “Make Chord Symbols” menu item, you can click the “Make Chord Symbols” button on the extended toolbar. •If the “Use for Make Chord Symbols” option is activated on the Project–Guitar Library subpage of the Score Settings dialog (see “Adding guitar chord symbols” on page 821), guitar chord symbols are added as well (if the guitar library contains any guitar symbols that match the chords). About the analysis The MIDI chords are expected to be played in their most basic inversion. If not, an extra bass note is added. For example, the notes CEG are interpreted as C major, but GCE is interpreted as C major with a G bass note. If you do not want any interpretation of the inversion (i. e. no added bass notes) hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] while selecting Make Chord Symbols. All selected notes on all staves are taken into consideration. Whenever there is any change on any staff, the notes are reinterpreted and a new chord symbol is added. This means you should probably avoid having the melody track in the Score Editor when you use Make Chord Symbols, or you get a lot more chords than you expect, possibly with strange tensions. In addition to the above, the Quantize value is used. At the most, there is a new chord at each quantize position. There must be at least three notes at a certain position for the program to interpret it as a chord. Also some combinations of notes simply do not make any sense to the program and do not produce any chords. The analysis method is not perfect since the same set of notes can be interpreted differently depending on context. Some editing may be required. If you record the track solely to create chords automatically, play the chord as simple as possible, in the correct inversion, without added octaves, etc. The Current Chord Display Cubase features a handy chord recognition function that helps you identify chords in the Score Editor note display. To find out which chord is formed by simultaneously played notes, place the project cursor over the notes. All notes currently “touched” by the project cursor are analyzed and the Current Chord Display in the status line shows you which chord the notes form.
844 Working with chordsGlobal chord settings Global chord settings In the Score Settings dialog on the Project page (Chord Symbols subpage), there are several global settings that affect how chords are displayed. These settings affect all chords in the project. ÖThere are several options in the Preferences dialog (Event Display–Chords) that also affect how chords are displayed. Chord Symbols Chord Symbols Font •Use the four size value fields to select sizes for the root, the type, the tension, and the bass of a chord. You can type in values or use the pop-up menus. Normally, you would want the “Root” size to be the largest and the “Tension” size to be the smallest. Options •If you want the root note to be aligned with the bass note, so that they are both displayed at the same vertical position, activate “Align Bass Note”. •If you want the tensions to be displayed at the same vertical position as the root note (rather than a bit above the root note), activate “Tension Bottom”. •If you want to scale a staff by using the Size setting on the Options tab of the Staff page in the Score Settings dialog and want the chords to be scaled accordingly, activate “Scale Chords”. •If you want the chord symbols to be affected by the Display Transpose setting on the Staff page of the Score Settings dialog, activate “Use Display Transpose”.
845 Working with text About this chapter In this chapter you will learn: - Which different types of text are available. - How to enter and edit text. - How to set font, size, and style. - How to enter lyrics. Adding and editing text symbols This section describes the general procedure for adding and editing text symbols. As described in the section “Different types of text” on page 848, there are several different types of text symbols, but the basic procedures are the same (except for block text symbols, see “Block Text” on page 851, and page text symbols, see “Page text” on page 852). Inserting a text symbol 1.Make sure that the correct staff is active. 2.If you wish, select a font, size, and style for the text (or select a text attribute), as described in the section “Selecting font, size, and style for the text” on page 846. You can also change these settings after you inserted the text. 3.In the Symbols Inspector, open a symbol tab. The different text symbols are found on the Other tab. 4.Right-click the text symbol on the tab to select the layer for which you want add text. Not all text symbols are available for all layers. 5.Click the text symbol and click in the score at the position where you want the text to appear. If you are adding lyrics, you should click above or below a note (lyrics are centered around each note and positioned vertically to where you clicked). See “Lyrics” on page 849 for details. 6.Enter the text in the text box that appears. You can use [Backspace] to delete letters, and move the cursor with the arrow keys. 7.When you are done, press [Return]. The text appears. You can move, duplicate or delete it as with any symbol.
846 Working with textAdding and editing text symbols About the melisma lines When you add a text symbol, you can find a handle at the right edge of the text. By dragging this handle to the right, you can extend a “melisma line” from the text. This has several uses: •If you are adding lyrics and want to indicate that a syllable should be sung over several notes: •If the text is an advice about articulation or playing style, and you want it to apply to a certain musical phrase only: •If the text is an advice about articulation or playing style, and you want it to apply from that point on in the score: In the Score Settings dialog (Text tab), you can find two settings that determine the appearance of the melisma lines for text symbols: - The Melisma Style pop-up menu is where you specify whether the line is solid or dotted. - The Melisma End pop-up menu allows you to choose whether the end of the line is plain, has an arrow, or forms a “bracket” up or down. Making space •If you find that there is not enough space between staves, e.g. to add lyrics, please see “Dragging staves” on page 876 for info on how to separate the staves. •If you find the score looks crammed after adding text, see “Auto Layout” on page 879. Editing the text If you made a mistake when typing or for some other reason want to change text, double-click on a text block with the Object Selection tool, edit the text and press [Return] to close it. •It is also possible to replace all occurrences of a certain word in the score, without having to edit the texts manually, see “Find and replace” on page 855. Selecting font, size, and style for the text 1.Select the text that you want to make settings for. If nothing is selected, the settings you make are the “default settings”. The next time you insert text, these settings are used. 2.Open the Score Settings dialog and select the Text page.
847 Working with textAdding and editing text symbols 3.Select a font from the Font pop-up menu. How many and which fonts appear depends on what typefaces you have installed on your computer. 4.Select a text size from the Size pop-up menu (or enter one manually in the text field). 5.You can also add one or several font options using the checkboxes and pop-up menus. Most of the options are common text style variations such as bold, italic, underline, etc. But there are also a few special style options: 6.Click Apply to apply the settings to the selected text. Note that you can select other text blocks while the dialog remains open – the dialog is updated to reflect the settings of the currently selected text. 7.When you are done, close the Score Settings dialog. Text attribute sets A text attribute set can be seen as a “preset” containing all font, size, and style settings. By creating text attribute sets for the settings you use most often, you can save a lot of time. Creating a text attribute set 1.Open the Score Settings dialog on the Project page and select the Font Settings subpage. 2.Open the Attribute Sets tab. 3.On the Font Set pop-up menu, select the “Empty” set. 4.Select a font, specify a size, and add style options using the checkboxes. The options are the same as when you make font settings on the Text page in the Score Settings dialog (see above). 5.Click in the text field of the Font Set pop-up menu and enter a name for the new text attribute set. 6.Click Store to save the new text attribute set. !For regular text you should avoid the “Steinberg” fonts. These are the fonts Cubase uses for all scoring symbols, etc. OptionDescription FrameAllows you to put the text in a rectangular (“Box”) or oval frame. Melisma optionsThese determine the appearance of the “melisma line”, see “About the melisma lines” on page 846. PositioningAllows you to select which side of the text block (left or right) is used for calculating its position. This has an effect in situations where that text block is moved automatically (as a result of an Auto Layout function, when you move bar lines manually, etc.). If, for example, the text block appears just in front of a note (to the left of it), it appears in a more sensible position after the adjustment, if the “Right” option is selected. Alignment: Left/Center/Right Allows you to specify the alignment of the text. These options are only valid for texts with more than one line.
848 Working with textDifferent types of text Using text attribute sets To apply the settings in the text attribute set to one or several text blocks, select them, select the set from the Font Set pop-up menu on the Text page in the Score Settings dialog and click Apply. You can also apply a text attribute set to a text block directly in the score by right-clicking it and selecting the set from the context menu. •If you select a text attribute set on the Text page when no text is selected in the score, the settings are used the next time you insert some text. ÖAfter you have selected a set for a text block, there is a “link” between the text and the attribute set. Any changes to the attribute set affects all texts that use it (see below). You can still edit any font settings manually (on the Project–Font Settings subpage) but then the “link” to the attribute set is removed. Editing text attribute sets If you edit the settings in a text attribute set, all texts using this particular set are affected. This is very practical, since it allows you to use the same number of “generic” sets for all your projects (for titles, comments, lyrics, etc.), and simply change the fonts, sizes, etc. for a different project if necessary. This also makes it easier to move projects between computers (which may not have the same fonts installed). 1.In the Score Settings dialog on the Project–Font Settings subpage, select the Attribute Sets tab. 2.From the Font Set pop-up menu, select the attribute set that you want to edit. 3.Change the settings as desired. This includes the name of the set. 4.Click Apply. Different types of text You can add various types of text to the different layers of the score. The selected layer specifies which type of text is available. Regular text This type of text is inserted by selecting Text in the Other tab. You can insert this type of text on all layers. The text is tied to the bar and staff position. If you move the bar or the entire staff, it moves with it. Pasting text You can paste text (e.g. from another program) into a text symbol in the score. To do this, select the text symbol and right-click it. Then, select “Text From Clipboard” from the context menu. This option is also available on the Functions submenu of the Scores menu. Similarly, you can copy selected text by using the “Text To Clipboard” option from the context menu.
849 Working with textDifferent types of text Lyrics This type of text is inserted by selecting Lyrics on the Other symbol tab. You can insert this type of text only on note layers. When you insert lyrics, you should click below or above the note the syllable belongs to. The text then appears horizontally centered around the note and vertically positioned to where you clicked. You can later move it up or down, as with any symbol. Lyrics are tied to the note position. If you move the note, the text moves with it. The spacing between notes is also adjusted to make the lyrics fit. Inserting lyrics for a number of notes 1.With lyrics selected, click below or above the first note with the Draw tool. 2.A text input field opens. Enter the text (the word or syllable) for that note. 3.Press the [Tab] key. The program moves on to the next note. 4.Input text for this note and press [Tab] again. 5.Proceed until the last note and then press [Return] or click outside the text box. When you insert lyrics this way, the positions of the notes are automatically adjusted so that no lyric “block” overlaps another. If this is not what you want, you can activate the “Don’t Sync Lyrics” option in the Score Settings dialog on the Project–Notation Style subpage (Lyrics category). If this is activated, the note positions are not affected, which may be preferable. •When entering words with several syllables you normally separate the syllables with a dash (-). By default, the dash signs are automatically centered between the syllables – if this is not what you want, activate the “Don’t Center Hyphens” option in the Score Settings dialog, on the Project–Notation Style subpage (Lyrics category). Lyrics and measure widths When you first enter lyrics, the result may look crammed, since the words take up more space than the notes (the lyrics are also selected just after entering the last word, which makes them look a bit odd when overlapping). To remedy this, use the auto layout function to automatically adjust the measure widths (see “Auto Layout” on page 879).
850 Working with textDifferent types of text Adding a second verse To insert a second line of lyrics, proceed as follows: 1.Enter the new lyrics above or below the existing verse. 2.Select all the words that should be in the new verse. 3.Right-click the selected words to open the context menu. 4.Select the appropriate verse from the Move To Verse submenu (Verse 1–6). This assigns the selected lyrics to the selected verse. To indicate that the words belong to another verse, they are automatically displayed in another color. However, all verses are printed in black as usual. •To select all words in one verse only, press [Shift] and double-click on the first word in that verse. This selects all following words in the verse. Inserting lyrics into voices Each voice can have its own lyrics. If you have a vocal arrangement with several voices, you can add lyrics to them, one by one. Proceed as follows: 1.Make sure that the correct voice is selected (on the extended toolbar), see “Entering notes into voices” on page 783. 2.In the Symbols Inspector, open the Other tab and click on the Lyrics symbol. 3.Click on the first note in the selected voice. 4.Enter the lyrics for this voice, using the [Tab] key to move from note to note, as described above. 5.Start over, by activating the next voice, clicking on the first note in that voice and proceeding as with the first voice. 6.If needed, adjust the position of the lyrics for each voice (see below). Moving lyrics If you want to move the lyrics up or down, for example to make room for a second verse, proceed as follows: 1.Hold down [Shift] and double-click on the first word in the lyrics. All lyric “blocks” are selected. 2.Drag one of the lyric blocks up or down. All selected lyric blocks are moved accordingly. Adding lyrics from the clipboard If you want to prepare your lyrics in another program, you can import them into Cubase the following way: 1.Create the lyrics in another program. Separate words with space as usual, syllables within words with dash signs (-). 2.Copy the text. 3.In Cubase, select the first note to which the lyrics will be added. 4.Open the Scores menu and select “Lyrics from Clipboard” from the Functions submenu. The lyrics are added, starting at the selected note.