Steinberg Cubase Le 8 Manual

Chord Pads
Moving and Copying Chord Pads
531
Moving and Copying Chord Pads
You can swap the chord assignments between 2 pads or copy a specific chord and 
its settings from one pad to another.
• To swap the chord pad assignment between 2 pads, click a chord pad and 
drag it to another chord pad.
While you drag, the border of the destination chord pad changes its color. 
When you drop the pad on another, the chord assignments are swapped.
• To copy the chord assignment of one chord pad to another pad,...

Chord Pads
Playing Back and Recording Chords
532
Recording Chords on MIDI or Instrument Tracks
You can record the chords that are triggered through the chord pads on MIDI or 
instrument tracks. This way, you can play back and edit your performance at any 
time.
PREREQUISITE 
You have connected and set up a MIDI keyboard, you have opened and set up the 
chord pads zone, and you have added an instrument or a MIDI track for which a VST 
instrument is loaded to your project.
PROCEDURE
1. On the instrument...

Chord Pads
Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control
533
5. On your MIDI keyboard, press the keys that trigger the chord pads.
NOTE
Use the keys that are not assigned to play and record other chords.
RESULT 
The chord events are recorded on the chord track.
NOTE
The recorded chord events may sound different from the chord pad playback. This 
is because the voicing settings for the chord track differ from the chord pad 
voicings.
RELATED LINKS
Chord Functions on page 505
Voicings on page 512
Chord Pad Settings...

Chord Pads
Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control
534
4)MIDI Learn
Activates/Deactivates the MIDI Learn function to assign MIDI input to the Pads 
Remote Range and to the parameters Voicings, Tensions, and Transpose.
5)Activate
Activates/Deactivates the remote key assignment for the parameters 
Voicings, Tensions, and Transpose. If this is deactivated, only the remote 
key assignment for the Pads Remote Range is active.
6)Latch Chords
Activate this if you want the chord pad to play back until it is...

Chord Pads
Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control
535
Remote Assignments are saved globally.
NOTE
If you use the remote keys for voicings, tensions, or transposition after releasing the 
remote key for the chord pad, the next played chord is affected.
Changing the Pads Remote Range
You can widen the pads remote range to access more chord pads. If you want to 
use a wider key range on your MIDI keyboard for regular playing, you can narrow the 
pads remote range.
PROCEDURE
1. Select Show/Hide Settings >...

Chord Pads
Chord Pad Settings – Players
536
2. Do one of the following:
•Click MIDI Learn so that the button lights up, and on your MIDI keyboard, press 
the two keys that you want to assign as range start and range end.
• Enter a new value in the Range Start and Range End fields.
RESULT 
On the keyboard, the indication for pads remote range is changed.
Chord Pad Settings – Players
On the Players tab in the chord pad Settings you can change the voicing that is 
used for the chord pads. You can select...

Chord Pads
Chord Pad Settings – Players
537
5)Add Player
Opens a menu where you can select the player that you want to add. From 
here, you can also rename or remove the current player.
RELATED LINKS
Players and Voicings on page 537
Voicings on page 512
Players and Voicings
Different types of instruments and styles have different voicing libraries. These 
determine how the chords are played back, and which pitches are played. In the 
chord pads zone, these voicings are referred to as players.
RELATED...

Chord Pads
Chord Pad Settings – Players
538
Using the Pattern Player
You can determine how the triggered chord is played: as a plain chord, or according 
to a selected pattern. The pattern player plays the notes that make up the chord one 
after another (arpeggio).
PROCEDURE
1. Select Show/Hide Settings > Players > Pattern.
2. Perform one of the following actions:
•Click Import MIDI Loop to select a MIDI loop that you want to use as a pattern.
• Drag a MIDI part from the event display to the Drop MIDI...

Chord Pads
Chord Pad Settings – Pad Layout
539
3. Click Add Track.
The instrument tracks are added to your project.
4. Select Project > Chord Pads to open the chord pads zone.
5. To the left of the chord pads zone, activate Show/Hide Settings and click 
Players.
6. Select the first instrument track, select a sound on the VST instrument, and in 
the chord pads zone, select a player.
For example, select a piano sound and assign a Piano Player.
NOTE
When setting up the player for a track, make sure that...

Chord Pads
Chord Pads Presets
540
1)Show/Hide Settings
Opens the settings for the chord pads.
2)Keyboard
Activate this to show the chord pads in a keyboard layout. You can display 
one or two octaves, and you can select if the first chord pad starts with C, A 
or E.
3)Grid
Activate this to show the chord pads in a grid layout. You can display up to 4 
rows and 16 columns.
4)Layout display
Shows how the active chord pad layout is displayed.
Chord Pads Presets
Chord pads presets are templates that can be...