Steinberg Cubase Le 8 Manual
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Chord Functions Recording Chord Events with a MIDI Keyboard 521 Detect Arpeggios Activate this, if you want your chord events to contain arpeggiated chords, that is, chords whose notes are played one after another instead of all at once. Interpret Sustain Pedal Activate this, if you want your chord events to contain sustain pedal chords, that is, notes that are played while the sustain pedal is held. Ignore Notes Shorter Than Allows you to determine the minimum length of the MIDI events that are taken into account. Recording Chord Events with a MIDI Keyboard You can use a MIDI keyboard to record chord events on the chord track. PREREQUISITE Your project contains an instrument track with Record Enable or Monitor activated. PROCEDURE 1. On the chord track, activate Record Enable. 2. On the Transport Panel, activate Record. 3. Play some chords on your MIDI keyboard. RESULT All recognized chords are recorded as chord events on the chord track. NOTE The chord track uses its own voicing settings. The recorded chord events may therefore sound different. RELATED LINKS Creating Events from Chord Pads on page 541
522 Chord Pads Chord pads allow you to play with chords, and to change their voicings and tensions. In terms of harmonies and rhythms, they allow for a more playful and spontaneous approach to composition than the chord track functions. You can: • Perform with chords in realtime via a MIDI keyboard. • Record your performance as MIDI events on a MIDI or instrument track or even on the chord track. NOTE We assume that you have a MIDI keyboard connected and set up. RELATED LINKS Voicings on page 512 Chord Pads Zone The chord pads zone at the bottom of the Project window holds all functions that you need to work with chord pads. To open the chord pads zone do one of the following: •Select Project > Chord Pads • Select a MIDI or instrument track, and in the Inspector, open the Chords section and activate Show/Hide Chord Pads Zone.
Chord Pads Chord Pads Zone 523 The chord pads zone holds the following controls: 1)Close Chord Pads Zone Closes the chord pads zone. 2)Current Player Shows the current player and opens a menu where you can select another player. 3)Chord Pad Each chord pad can contain a chord symbol. To change it, click the Open Editor control on the left edge of the chord pad. 4)Keyboard Shows which keys are played when you trigger a chord pad. To zoom the keyboard, click a key and drag up or down. To scroll the keyboard, click and drag to the left or to the right. 5)Trigger Keys The keys highlighted in blue on the keyboard correspond to the keys on your MIDI keyboard that trigger the chord pads. You can define the trigger keys on the Remote Control page of the chord pad Settings. 6)Remote Range for Voicings/Tensions/Transpose The keys highlighted in green on the keyboard display correspond to the keys on your MIDI keyboard that change the voicings, tensions, and transpose settings of the pads. You can define these remote keys on the Remote Control page of the chord pad Settings. 7)Activate/Deactivate Remote Control for Chord Pads Allows you to activate/deactivate the chord pads zone. If you deactivate remote control for chord pads, your MIDI keyboard no longer triggers the pads. 8)Functions Menu Opens a menu with specific functions and settings for the chord pads. 9)Chord Pads Presets Allows you to save and load presets for chord pads and players.
Chord Pads Chord Pads Zone 524 10)Show/Hide Chord Assistant Shows/Hides the Chord Assistant that shows suggestions of chords that match the chord that you specified as the origin chord. 11)Show/Hide Settings Shows/Hides the chord settings, where you can configure different players, the pad layout, and the remote assignment. RELATED LINKS Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control on page 533 Players and Voicings on page 537 Chord Pad Controls The chord pad controls allow you to edit the chord pads. • To show the chord pad controls, move the mouse over a chord pad. 1)Voicing Indicators Shows the voicing used for the chord. Voicing indicators can only be displayed, if the horizontal zoom level for the chord pads is high enough. 2)Open Editor Opens the chord Editor that allows you to select a chord for the chord pad. 3)Adaptive Voicing Reference/Use X as Origin for Chord Assistant When the active chord pad is set as adaptive voicing reference, its borders are shown in light green. All other chord pads will follow its voicing and are set in a way that they do not get to far away from the reference. If the chord pad is set as origin for the Chord Assistant, its borders are shown in green. This chord pad is used as a basis for the suggestions in the Chord Assistant window. 4)Assigned Chord Shows the chord symbol that is assigned to the chord pad. Each chord pad can contain one chord symbol. If the name of the assigned chord is too long to display it on the chord pad, it is underlined, and the full chord name is shown in a tooltip. 5)AV (Adaptive Voicing)/L (Lock) By default, all chord pads follow the adaptive voicing. This is indicated by an AV symbol. If you change the voicing for a pad manually however, Adaptive Voicing is deactivated. An L symbol indicates that the chord pad is locked for editing.
Chord Pads Functions Menu 525 6)Voicing Allows you to set another voicing for the chord pad. 7)Tensions Allows you to add/remove tensions for the chord. Chord Pad Context Menu •Use X as Origin for Chord Assistant Sets the chord of the current pad as an origin chord for the Chord Assistant. •Assign Pad from MIDI Input Allows you to assign a chord by pressing keys on your MIDI keyboard. •Lock Allows you to lock a chord pad for editing. •Adaptive Voicing Sets the current pad as adaptive voicing reference. If set, the automatic voicings for the following pads will be set in a way that they do not get too far away from the reference voicing. Only one pad can be set as adaptive voicing reference. •Adaptive Voicings Reference Resets the adaptive voicing reference. •Unassign Pad Removes the chord assignment from the current pad. Functions Menu •Show Voicing Indicators Allows you to activate/deactivate the voicing indicators that can be displayed at the bottom of each chord pad.
Chord Pads Preparations 526 •Assign Pads from Chord Track Assigns the chord events from the chord track to the chord pads in the same order as they appear on the chord track. Chord events that have more than one occurrence are only assigned once. •Snap Playback to Musical Grid Allows you to delay the playback of a triggered chord pad to the next defined musical position. This is useful, if you work with an arpeggiator or with the Pattern Player. •Transpose All Pads Transposes all chord pads by a defined transpose value. •Lock All Pads Locks all chord pads for editing. •Unlock All Pads Unlocks all chord pads. •Unassign All Pads Removes the chord assignment from all pads. Preparations Before you can start working with the chord pads, you must add a MIDI or an instrument track with an instrument loaded, and open the chord pads zone. PREREQUISITE You have installed and set up a MIDI keyboard. PROCEDURE 1. Select Project > Add Track > Instrument. 2. In the Add Instrument Track dialog, select an instrument, and click Add Track. An instrument track with the selected instrument loaded is added to your project, and select a sound that is suited for chords. 3. On the instrument track, click Record Enable. 4. Select Project > Chord Pads to open the Chord Pads Zone at the bottom of the Project window. RESULT You can now click the chord pads or press some of the assigned keys on your MIDI keyboard to trigger the preassigned chords.
Chord Pads Chord Assistant 527 Chord Assistant The Chord Assistant allows you to use a chord as a starting point for suggestions for the next chord. It assists you in finding the right chords for creating a chord progression for your song. •Click Show/Hide Chord Assistant on the left side of the chord pads area to open the Chord Assistant. You must define an origin chord as follows: • Right-click the chord pad with the chord you want to use as origin and select Use X as Origin for Chord Assistant. The Chord Assistant shows suggestions for follow-on chords that you can assign to the chord pads. Chord Assistant – Circle of Fifths Mode The Chord Assistant shows the chords in an interactive visualization of the circle of fifths. The origin chord that defines the current key is shown in the center of the Chord Assistant. The tonic (I) of that key is displayed above the center. The outer circle shows the twelve major chords ordered in intervals of fifths. The inner circle displays the corresponding parallel minor chords. The roman numerals mark the chords of the current key with their scale degree. You can use these chords to create typical chord progressions. However, you can also use the other chords for more creative results.
Chord Pads Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 528 • To play a chord, click it. The last three chords that you clicked are shown with a highlighted frame. • To assign a chord to the next unassigned chord pad, right-click the suggested chord and select Assign to Pad. You can also drag the suggested chord and drop it on a chord pad. • To assign a suggestion to the next unassigned chord pad and use this chord as origin, right-click the chord and select Assign to Pad and Use as Origin. NOTE The Circle of Fifths is also available in the Chord Assistant for the chord track. Assigning Chords to Chord Pads Some chords are preassigned to the chord pads. But you can also assign your own chords. To assign chords to chord pads, you can use: • The chord Editor • The Chord Assistant – Circle of Fifths •Your MIDI keyboard • The chord events from the chord track You can overwrite the preassigned chords, or clear all chord pads first to start from scratch. Proceed as follows: • To the left of the chord pads zone, open the Functions Menu and select Unassign All Pads.
Chord Pads Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 529 Assigning Chords with the Chord Editor If you know exactly which chord you want to assign to a specific chord pad, you can use the chord Editor. PROCEDURE 1. Move the mouse pointer to the left edge of the chord pad, and click Open Editor. 2. In the chord Editor, use the chord definition buttons to define a root note, a chord type, a tension, and a bass note. The new chord is triggered automatically to give an acoustic feedback. RELATED LINKS Chord Editor on page 506 Assigning Chords with the Chord Assistant – Circle of Fifths Mode If you have a chord that you want to use as a starting point for a chord progression, but you do not know how to create such a progression, you can use the Chord Assistant – Circle of Fifths. PROCEDURE 1. Right-click the chord pad that you want to use as a starting point and activate Use x as Origin for Chord Assistant. The Chord Assistant opens, and the borders of the chord pad change their color to indicate that the assigned chord is now used as origin. The origin chord is displayed in the center, and the chords that belong to the scale are shown above it. The numerals indicate the scale degree of the chords. These help you to create chord progressions. 2. In the Chord Assistant, click the chord symbols to trigger the corresponding chords. 3. To assign a chord, drag it from the Chord Assistant and drop it on the chord pad. NOTE If one of the next chord pads is free, you can also right-click the chord in the Chord Assistant and select Assign to Pad. This assigns the chord to the next free pad.
Chord Pads Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 530 Assigning Chords with the MIDI Keyboard If you know which chord you want to assign to a specific chord pad, you can use a MIDI keyboard. PREREQUISITE You have selected a MIDI track or an instrument track. PROCEDURE 1. Right-click the chord pad that you want to use for the new chord, and select Assign Pad from MIDI Input. The borders of the chord pad change their color to indicate that it is now ready for recording. 2. On your MIDI keyboard, press the keys for the chord that you want to assign. The chord and its voicing is assigned to the chord pad, and you hear an acoustic feedback of the chord. NOTE The assigned voicing can be changed by the Adaptive Voicing setting. Therefore, if you want to keep the voicing for that specific pad, right-click the chord pad and select Lock from the context menu. RELATED LINKS Adaptive Voicing on page 537 Assigning Chords from the Chord Track You can assign the chord events from the chord track to the chord pads. PROCEDURE • To the left of the chord pads zone click the Functions Menu button, and select Assign Pads from Chord Track. If chords are already assigned to the chord pads, a warning message informs you that all previous assignments will be overwritten. RESULT The chord events are assigned to the chord pads in the same order as they appear on the chord track. NOTE Chord events that have more than one occurrence on the chord track are only assigned once.