Steinberg Cubase LE Operation Manual

							CUBASE LEMIDI processing and quantizing 18 – 341
However, if you have selected the “Linked to Quantize” option on the 
Length Quantize pop-up menu, the function will resize the note ac-
cording to the quantize grid, taking the Swing, Tuplet and Magnetic 
Area settings into account. An example:
1. Length Quantize set to “Linked to Quantize”.
2. Some notes, all a 1/16th note of length.
3. Here, the quantize value has been set to straight 1/16th notes with Swing at 
100%. Since Snap is activated (see page 404), the quantize grid is reflected in the 
note display’s grid.
4. Selecting Quantize Lengths will adjust the note lengths according to the grid. If 
you compare the result to the first figure above, you will find that notes that started 
within the odd sixteenth note “zones” got the longer grid length, and notes in the 
even zones got the shorter length. 
						

							CUBASE LE18 – 342 MIDI processing and quantizing
Quantize Ends
The Quantize Ends function on the Advanced Quantize submenu will 
only affect the end positions of notes. Apart from that, it works just like 
regular quantizing, taking the Quantize pop-up menu setting into ac-
count.
Undo and Freeze Quantize
As mentioned above, the original position of each quantized note is 
stored. Therefore, you can make the selected MIDI notes revert to 
their original, unquantized state at any time, by selecting Undo Quan-
tize from the Advanced Quantize submenu. This is independent from 
the regular Undo History.
However, there may be situations when you want to make the quantized 
positions “permanent”. For example, you may want to quantize notes a 
second time, having the results based on the current quantized posi-
tions rather than the original positions. To make this possible, select the 
notes in question and select “Freeze Quantize” from the Advanced 
Quantize submenu. This makes the quantized positions permanent.
❐After you have performed a Freeze Quantize for a note, you cannot undo 
its quantization. 
						

							CUBASE LEMIDI processing and quantizing 18 – 343
Other MIDI menu functions
The Transpose item and the items on the Functions submenu contain 
the following functions:
Transpose 
Opens a dialog with settings for transposing the selected notes:
Semitones
This is where you set the amount of transposition.
Keep Notes in Range
When this checkbox is activated, transposed notes will remain within 
the Upper and Lower Barrier values.
•If a note ends up outside the barriers after transposition, it will be shifted 
to another octave, keeping the correct transposed pitch if possible.
If this isn’t possible (if you have set a very narrow range between the Upper and Lower 
Barrier), the note will be transposed “as far as possible”, i.e. to the Upper or Lower 
Barrier note. If you set the Upper and Lower Barriers to the same value, all notes will be 
transposed to this pitch!
OK and Cancel
Clicking OK performs the transposition. Clicking Cancel closes the 
dialog without transposing. 
						

							CUBASE LE18 – 344 MIDI processing and quantizing
Legato
Extends each selected note so that it reaches the next note. You can 
specify the desired gap or overlap with the “Legato Overlap” setting in 
the Preferences dialog (MIDI–Function Parameters page).
When using Legato with this setting, each note will be extended to end 5 ticks 
before the next note.
Fixed Lengths
❐This function is only available from within the MIDI editors.
This function resizes all selected notes to the length set with the 
Length Quantize pop-up menu on the MIDI editor toolbar.
Delete Doubles
This function removes double notes, i.e. notes of the same pitch on the 
exact same position. Double notes can occur when recording in Cycle 
mode, after Quantizing, etc.
❐This function always affects whole MIDI parts.
Delete Controllers
This function removes all non-note events from the selected MIDI parts.
❐This function always affects whole MIDI parts. 
						

							CUBASE LEMIDI processing and quantizing 18 – 345
Delete Notes
Allows you to delete very short or weak notes. This is useful for auto-
matically removing unwanted “ghost notes” after recording. Selecting 
“Delete Notes...” opens a dialog in which you set up the criteria for the 
function:
The parameters have the following functionality:
Minimum Length
When the Minimum Length checkbox is activated, the note length is 
taken into account, allowing you to remove short notes. You can either 
specify the minimum length (for notes to be kept) in the value display 
or by dragging the blue line in the graphical length display below.
•The graphical length display can correspond to 1/4 bar, one bar, two 
bars or four bars.
You change this setting by clicking in the field to the right of the display.
In this case, the whole length display corresponds to 1/4 bar (one beat), and the 
Minimum Length is set to 1/32nd notes (60 ticks).
Minimum Velocity
When the Minimum Velocity checkbox is activated, the velocity of 
notes is taken into account, allowing you to remove weak notes. You 
specify the minimum velocity (for notes to be kept) in the value display. 
						

							CUBASE LE18 – 346 MIDI processing and quantizing
Remove when under
This setting is only available when both Minimum Length and Minimum 
Velocity is activated. By clicking the value display, you select whether 
both length and velocity criteria must be met for notes to be deleted, or 
whether one of the criteria will suffice.
OK and Cancel
Clicking OK performs the automatic delete according to the rules set 
up. Clicking Cancel closes the dialog without deleting notes.
Restrict Polyphony
Selecting this item opens a dialog in which you can specify how many 
“voices” should be used (for the selected notes or parts). Restricting the 
polyphony this way is useful when you have an instrument with limited 
polyphony and want to make sure all notes will be played. The effect is 
achieved by shortening notes as required, so that they end before the 
next note starts.
Pedals to Note Length
This function scans for Sustain pedal on/off events, lengthens the af-
fected notes to match the Sustain pedal off position, and then removes 
the Sustain Controller on/off events.
Delete Overlaps (mono)
This function allows you to make sure that no two notes of the same 
pitch overlap (i.e. that one starts before the other ends). Overlapping 
notes of the same pitch can confuse some MIDI instruments (a new 
Note On is transmitted before the Note Off is transmitted). This com-
mand can then be used to automatically rectify the problem.
Delete Overlaps (poly)
This function shortens notes when required, so that no note begins 
before another ends. This happens regardless of which pitch the 
notes have. 
						

							CUBASE LEMIDI processing and quantizing 18 – 347
Velocity
This function opens a dialog that allows you to manipulate the velocity 
of notes in various ways.
To apply the function, select one of the three processing types from 
the Type pop-up, adjust the settings and click OK (to close the dialog 
without applying, click Cancel).
The following types of velocity processing are available:
Add/Subtract
This simply adds a fixed number to the existing velocity values. You 
set the value (positive or negative) with the Amount parameter.
Compress/Expand
Compresses or expands the “dynamic range” of MIDI notes by scaling 
the velocity values according to the Ratio setting (0 - 300%). The prin-
ciple behind this is that multiplying different velocity values with a factor 
higher than 1 (over 100%) will also make the differences between ve-
locity values greater, while using a factor lower than 1 (under 100%) 
will make the differences smaller. In short:
•To compress (“even out” velocity differences), use ratio values below 
100%.
After compression, you would probably want to add a velocity amount (with the Add/
Subtract function) to maintain the average velocity level. 
•To expand (create greater difference in velocity), use ratio values 
above 100%.
Before you expand, you may want to adjust the velocity with the Add/Subtract function, 
so that the average velocity is somewhere in the middle of the range. If the average ve-
locity is high (near 127) or low (near 0), expansion will not work properly, simply be-
cause velocity values can only be between 0 and 127! 
						

							CUBASE LE18 – 348 MIDI processing and quantizing
Limit
This function allows you to make sure that no velocity values fall outside 
a given range (the Lower and Upper values). Any velocity values out-
side this range are raised/lowered to exactly the Lower/Upper values.
Fixed Velocity
This function sets the velocity of all selected notes to the Insert Veloc-
ity value on the toolbar in the MIDI editors.
Reverse
This function inverts the order of the selected events (or of all events 
in the selected parts), causing the MIDI music to play backwards. 
Note though, that the effect is different from reversing an audio re-
cording. With MIDI, the individual notes will still play as usual in the 
MIDI instrument – it’s only the order of playback that is changed.
Dissolve Part
The Dissolve Part function on the MIDI menu has two separate uses:
•When you work with MIDI parts (on MIDI channel “Any”) containing 
events on different MIDI channels.
Dissolve Part separates the events according to MIDI channel.
•When you want to separate MIDI events according to pitch.
A typical example would be drum and percussion tracks, where each pitch usually cor-
responds to a separate drum sound. 
						

							CUBASE LEMIDI processing and quantizing 18 – 349
Dissolving parts into separate channels
Setting a track to MIDI channel “Any” will cause each MIDI event to 
play back on its original MIDI channel, rather than a channel set for the 
whole track. There are two main situations when “Any” channel tracks 
are useful:
•When you record several MIDI channels at the same time.
You may for example have a MIDI keyboard with several keyboard zones, where each 
zone sends MIDI on a separate channel. Recording on an “Any” channel track allows 
you to play back the recording with different sounds for each zone (since the different 
MIDI notes play back on separate MIDI channels).
•When you have imported a MIDI file of Type 0.
MIDI files of Type 0 contain only one track, with notes on up to 16 different MIDI chan-
nels. If you were to set this track to a specific MIDI channel, all notes in the MIDI file 
would be played back with the same sound; setting the track to “Any” will cause the 
imported file to play back as intended.
The Dissolve Part function scans MIDI parts for events on different 
MIDI channels, distributes the events into new parts on new tracks, 
one for each MIDI channel found. This allows you to work with each 
musical part individually. Proceed as follows:
1.Select the part(s) containing MIDI data on different channels.
2.Select “Dissolve Part” from the MIDI menu.
3.In the dialog that appears, select the “Separate Channels” option.
This is only available if the MIDI track was set to channel “Any”.
Now, for each MIDI channel used in the selected part(s), a new MIDI 
track is created and set to the corresponding MIDI channel. Each 
event is then copied into the part on the track with the corresponding 
MIDI channel. Finally, the original part(s) are muted. 
						

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An example:
Dissolving parts into separate pitches
The Dissolve Part function can also scan MIDI parts for events of dif-
ferent pitch, and distribute the events into new parts on new tracks, 
one for each pitch. This is useful when the different pitches are not 
used in a regular melodic context, but rather for separating different 
sounds (e.g. MIDI drum tracks or sampler sound FX tracks). By dis-
solving such parts, you can work with each sound individually, on a 
separate track. Proceed as follows:
1.Select the part(s) containing MIDI data.
2.Select “Dissolve Part” from the MIDI menu.
3.In the dialog that appears, select the “Separate Pitches” option.
A new MIDI track is created for each used pitch in the selected part(s). The events are 
then copied into the parts on the track for the corresponding pitch. Finally, the original 
part(s) are muted.
This part contains events on MIDI channel 1, 2 and 3.
Selecting “Dissolve Part” creates new parts on new tracks, set to channel 1, 2 
and 3. Each new part contains only the events on the respective MIDI channel.
The original MIDI 
part is muted.