Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual

Editing tempo and signature
Tempo and signature display
901
A note about tempo-based audio tracks
For tempo-based tracks, the start position of audio events on the timeline depends 
on the current tempo setting. However, it is important to realize that the actual audio 
(“within” the events) will play back as recorded, regardless of any tempo changes 
you make. Therefore, it is good practice to make the proper tempo and time 
signature settings before you start recording tempo-based audio.
• To make an...

Editing tempo and signature
Tempo and signature display
902
• The Inspectors for these tracks show the positions and values of individual 
tempo curve points or signature events.
• The signature track’s background always shows bars.
This is independent of the ruler display format setting.
• In the track list for the tempo track, on the far right, you can specify the display 
range by clicking on the numbers at the top or bottom and dragging up or 
down.
Note that this does not change the tempo setting,...

Editing tempo and signature
Tempo and signature display
903
The toolbar
The toolbar contains various tools and settings:
1) Activate Tempo Track
2) Show Info
3) Tools
4) Auto-Scroll
5) Suspend Auto-Scroll when Editing
6) Snap on/off
7) Snap value
8) The selected tempo
9) Curve type for new tempo events
10) Tempo recording slider (Cubase Pro only)
11) Open Process Tempo dialog (Cubase Pro only)
12) Open Process Bars dialog (Cubase Pro only)
• The tools for Object Selection, Erase, Zoom and Draw are used...

Editing tempo and signature
Editing tempo and signature
904
Editing tempo and signature
You can use the options of the Tempo Track Editor or the tempo and signature 
tracks to edit tempo and signature settings. The descriptions given below are valid 
in both cases. The only exception is the tempo recording slider, which is available 
only in the Tempo Track Editor.
RELATED LINKS
Recording tempo changes (Cubase Pro only) on page 907
Editing the tempo curve
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
This section...

Editing tempo and signature
Editing tempo and signature
905
You can also click on the tempo curve with the Object Selection tool.
This adds a single point with each click.
NOTE
Tempo values can also be automatically inserted by the Beat Calculator.
RELATED LINKS
The Beat Calculator on page 911
Snap Function on page 62
Selecting tempo curve points
Curve points can be selected as follows:
• Using the Object Selection tool. 
The standard selection techniques apply.
• Using the Select submenu of the Edit...

Editing tempo and signature
Editing tempo and signature
906
Editing tempo curve points
Curve points can be edited in the following ways:
• By clicking and dragging horizontally and/or vertically with the Object 
Selection tool. 
If several points are selected, all of them are moved. If Snap is activated on the 
toolbar, this determines to which time positions you can move curve points.
• By adjusting the tempo value in the tempo display on the Tempo Track Editor 
toolbar, in the Inspector, or on the info...

Editing tempo and signature
Editing tempo and signature
907
Removing tempo curve points
To remove a curve point, either click on it with the Erase tool or select it and press 
[Backspace]. The first tempo curve point cannot be removed.
Recording tempo changes (Cubase Pro only)
The Tempo Recording slider on the toolbar of the Tempo Track Editor allows you to 
record tempo changes “on the fly”: simply start playback and use the slider to raise 
or lower the tempo at the desired positions. This is useful...

Editing tempo and signature
Process Tempo (Cubase Pro only)
908
• To move a time signature event, click and drag it with the Object Selection 
tool.
Note that you can [Shift]-click to select multiple events. Also note that time 
signature events can only be positioned at the start of bars. This is also true if 
Snap is deactivated.
• To remove a time signature, either click on it with the Erase tool or select it 
and press [Backspace] or [Delete].
The first time signature event cannot be removed....

Editing tempo and signature
The Process Bars dialog (Cubase Pro only)
909
3. In the Process Range fields, the specified range is shown, in Bars and Beats 
(PPQ) and in a time format, which can be selected from the Time Display 
Format pop-up menu.
The range defined in step 1 will already be set, but you can edit the range by adjusting 
the values in the Process Range fields if you wish.
Now you can either specify a new range length or a new range end time. What to 
choose depends on whether the range...

Editing tempo and signature
The Process Bars dialog (Cubase Pro only)
910
Bar Range – Length
This is where you specify the length of the bar range. Click on the arrows to 
raise/lower the value or click directly in the value field to enter the value 
manually.
Action – Insert Bars
When you select this action, clicking the Process button will insert the 
specified number of empty bars with the set time signature at the start 
position specified above.
Action – Delete Bars
When you select this action,...