Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual
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![Page 1227
Working with symbols
Moving and duplicating symbols
1227
• 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 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...](http://img.usermanuals.tech/thumb/86/98229/w64_d_1507296127-steinberg-cubase-8-manual_d-1226.png "Page 1227
Working with symbols
Moving and duplicating symbols
1227
• 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 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...")
Working with symbols Changing length, size, and shape 1231 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 PROCEDURE 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. IMPORTANT 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. Resizing note symbols and dynamics PROCEDURE 1. Right-click on a dynamic or note symbol. 2. Select the desired option from the Size submenu.
Working with symbols Changing length, size, and shape 1232 The size of the symbol changes accordingly. Altering the shape and direction of slurs and ties This section describes how to alter the “regular” slur and tie symbols. There are two types of slurs and ties in the Symbols Inspector. The up/down variation of each actually represent the same symbol but with different initial direction. You can perform the following editing to slurs and ties: • By dragging the middle handle up/down and left/right you can change the shape of the curve. • By selecting a slur or a tie and clicking the “Flip” symbol on the extended toolbar or by selecting “Flip Position” on the context menu, you can change the direction and positioning of the slur or tie. Actually, there are three “modes” for a slur or tie. You step through these three modes by clicking the button. • By dragging the end points of a slur or tie, you can change its shape without affecting its “relation” to the notes it belongs to. In other words, the end point of the slur/tie keeps its relative distance to that note when the note is moved with the Layout tool or when the measure width is adjusted. • By holding down [Ctrl]/[Command] and dragging the end points of a slur or tie, it can be detached from the notes it belonged to. NOTE To restore the default shape of a symbol, right-click on it and select “Default position” from the context menu.
Working with symbols Deleting symbols 1233 • To change the default shape and spacing of slurs and ties, open the Score Settings dialog on the Project–Spacings subpage and edit the “Slur’s Start & End Distance from Note Head” and “Slur’s Middle Distance from Note Head” settings. These settings are used for all new slurs and ties you create, as well as for all existing slurs for which you have not manually changed the shape. RELATED LINKS The Bezier slur on page 1217 Moving note symbols on page 1231 Deleting symbols This is done as with all other objects in Cubase, either with the Erase tool or by selecting it and pressing [Delete] or [Backspace]. Copy and paste All symbols except those on the Layout and Project layers can be copied and pasted just as any other object in Cubase. The following applies: • S y m b o l s t h a t w e r e t i e d t o n o t e s ( e . g. accents) become “free-floating” objects when pasted. That is, they are not tied to any note any more. If this is not what you want, consider copying with the bar handles. RELATED LINKS Moving and duplicating with the bar handles on page 1229 Alignment Symbols can be aligned as in drawing programs. PROCEDURE 1. Select all objects that you want to align. 2. Open the Scores menu and select an option from the Align Elements submenu.
Working with symbols Symbol details 1234 IMPORTANT Note symbols like staccato and accents can only be aligned horizontally. The “Dynamics” option is a special function for aligning dynamic symbols. RELATED LINKS Aligning dynamics on page 1237 Symbol details This section further describes some of the symbol tabs. The Quick Staff Setup tab This tab combines the basic settings for Display Quantize, staff mode, as well as staff presets for quick access. RELATED LINKS Display Quantize values on page 1156 Setting up the voices on page 1165 About the polyphonic presets on page 1167
Working with symbols Symbol details 1235 The “Clefs etc.” tab Clefs You can insert a clef symbol anywhere in the score. This has an effect on the notes, just as the first clef on the staff has. And just as with the first clef, the type is selected from the Edit Clef dialog that appears when you select the Clef symbol and click in the Score. When you double-click on an existing clef, the Edit Clef dialog appears again, allowing you to change the type. When you right-click on a clef, you can change the type from the context menu. Keys Inserting a key change is similar to inserting a new clef (see above). NOTE In the dialog that appears when you insert a key change, you can also insert Display Transpose changes. Time signatures You can insert a time signature symbol at the beginning of any bar. Inserting a new time signature inserts a change on the signature track. When you select the Time Signature symbol and click in the score, the Edit Time Signature dialog opens, allowing you to specify the time signature. When you double-click on an existing time signature symbol, the same dialog appears, allowing you to change the type. When you right-click on a time signature, you can change the type on the context menu. • You can select a font and size for time signatures in the “Font Settings” subpage of the Score Settings dialog (Project page). The default font for this is the included “Steinberg Notation” font. R ELATED LINKS Inserting and editing clefs, keys, or time signatures on page 1148 Setting clef, key, and time signature on page 1106 Editing the key on page 1111 Editing the time signature on page 1107 The Dynamics tab There are dynamic symbols ranging from ffff to pppp, plus “special” dynamic symbols such as sforzando, fortepiano, etc. • By selecting a dynamic symbol and clicking the “+” and “-” buttons on the extended toolbar, you can quickly edit dynamics in the score.
Working with symbols Symbol details 1236 Use this feature to step between pppp, pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, fff, and ffff. • You can also right-click on a symbol and select “One up” or “One down” on the context menu. As above, these commands can be used to step between pppp, pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, fff, and ffff. • To change the size of a dynamic symbol, right-click on it and in the context menu, select an option from the Size submenu. • In the Line/Trill tab you can find a line symbol which allows you to create the following type of change in dynamics: Crescendo and diminuendo (decrescendo) In the Dynamics tab, there are three kinds of crescendo symbols: regular crescendo, regular diminuendo and a “double” crescendo (diminuendo–crescendo). • To insert a crescendo (), select the corresponding symbol from the tab and drag from left to right. • If you draw a crescendo symbol from right to left, the result is a diminuendo symbol, and vice versa. • To insert a crescendo-diminuendo () symbol, select the double crescendo symbol from the tab and drag from left to right. • To insert a diminuendo-crescendo (>
Working with symbols Symbol details 1237 Aligning dynamics There is a special command for aligning dynamic symbols (including crescendos) horizontally. Unlike the regular align function, aligning dynamics takes the “baseline” of the dynamic letters into account, aligning them as text rather than as graphic symbols. PROCEDURE 1. Select the dynamic symbols that you want to align, e. g. pp and a crescendo. 2. Right-click on a selected symbol and select the “Align” function on the context menu. This aligns all selected dynamics (except slurs and beziers) horizontally. You can also align the dynamic objects by opening the Scores menu and selecting “Dynamics” from the Align Elements submenu. RELATED LINKS Alignment on page 1233 The Line/Trill tab Octave Symbols The octave symbols (8va and 15va) act as a “local display transpose” – they shift the display of the score one/two octaves down. • By dragging the end of the dotted line, you can specify exactly which notes are affected by the octave symbol. Only notes beneath the dotted line are display transposed. • You can also right-click on the octave symbol and select the “Extend (+)” or “Reduce (-)” command to extend it to the next chord or to reduce it. RELATED LINKS Transposing instruments on page 1114 Tuplet group symbols These are “graphical” tuplet group symbols, as opposed to the “real” tuplets. • After inserting a tuplet group symbol, you can double-click on its number and enter any number from 2 to 32.
Working with symbols Symbol details 1238 • In the Score Settings dialog (Project page–Notation Style subpage) you can specify globally how tuplets are displayed. You can also select a font and size for the tuplet numbers in the Font Settings subpage. • You can also right-click on the tuplet group symbol and select the “Extend (+)” or “Reduce (-)” command to extend it to the next chord or to reduce it. Vertical symbols The vertical symbols in the Line/Trill tab are “note-dependent”. This means that they must be inserted in front of a note. RELATED LINKS Note layer symbols on page 1206 Grace notes on page 1200 The Other tab RELATED LINKS Working with text on page 1251 Inserting chord symbols on page 1246 Pedal down and up symbols When you insert a Pedal down or up symbol, you also insert an actual MIDI event (damper pedal, control change 64) at that position. Similarly, inserting or recording a damper pedal event in another editor displays a pedal down/up symbol in the score. • If the “Hide Pedal Markers” option is activated in the Score Settings dialog, Project–Notation Style subpage (Miscellaneous category), all pedal markers are hidden. Use this if you have recorded a lot of damper pedal messages, but do not want these to show in the score (for example if you are writing for an instrument other than piano).
Working with symbols Symbol details 1239 A pedal down/up symbol combination can be displayed as “Two Symbols”, ““Ped.” + B r a c k e t” o r as “ B r a c k e t o n l y ” . J u s t r i g h t -c l i c k o n t h e p e d a l s y m b o l a n d c h o o s e a n option from the context menu. You can also set this in the Score Settings dialog, on the Project–Notation Style subpage (Miscellaneous category). Repeats Repeat signs (one and two bars) have a special feature: if you hold down [Shift]-[Ctrl]/[Command] when entering them, notes in the bars they relate to are automatically hidden. RELATED LINKS Hiding/showing objects on page 1283 Box (rectangle) symbol This is a “generic” box symbol, which may be useful for different purposes. If you double-click on a box, a dialog opens in which you can specify whether the box is transparent or not, and whether the border is visible. This dialog can also be opened by selecting “Properties” from the context menu. The box symbol is available on the “Other” and “Layout” tabs. The keyboard symbol The Other tab contains a piano keyboard symbol, useful in educational scores, for example. RELATED LINKS Adding a keyboard symbol on page 1218 Additional symbols If you click the “Other Symbol” button and then into the score, the “Select Symbol” dialog opens. Here you can choose note heads, accidentals and rests that work only as drawing elements, i. e. they do not insert any note data into the track. They do not affect MIDI playback! You can set the desired symbol font size directly in the Font Size field.
Working with symbols Symbol details 1240 The Form Symbols tab Rehearsal marks The following types of rehearsal marks are available: numbers and letters. When you place the first of these in the score, it is labeled 1 or A (depending on which you choose on the tab), the second is then automatically labeled 2 or B, the next 3 or C, etc. If you delete one, the labeling of the others is shifted automatically so that they always make up a complete series of numbers or letters. • You can select a font and size for rehearsal marks on the Project Text tab of the Project–Font Settings subpage in the Score Settings dialog. Use the Frame option to add a box or an oval around the rehearsal mark. • Rehearsal marks can be added automatically at the start position of each Marker in the project with the “Marker track to Form” function. Da Capo and Dal Segno symbols The “D.C.”, “D.S.”, and “Fine” symbols provide a quick way to insert some common play directions into the score. The symbols are text symbols – you can adjust which font is used on the Project page (Font Settings subpage) of the Score Settings dialog.