Steinberg Cubase SE 3 Operation Manual

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The MIDI editors 21 – 401
The note display
The note display is the main area in the Key Editor. It contains a grid, in 
which MIDI notes are shown as boxes. The width of a box corresponds 
to the note length, and the vertical position of a box corresponds to the 
note number (pitch), with higher notes higher up in the grid. The piano 
keyboard to the left serves as a guide for finding the right note number.
The chord recognition function
Cubase SE features a handy chord recognition function...

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21 – 402 The MIDI editors
The controller display
The area at the bottom of the Key Editor window is the controller dis-
play. This consists of one or several controller lanes, each showing 
one of the following properties or event types:
• Velocity values of the notes.
• Pitch Bend events.
• Aftertouch events.
• Poly Pressure events.
• Program Change events.
• Any type of continuous controller event.
To change the size of the controller display, drag the divider between 
the controller display...

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Events in the controller display (that is, anything other than velocity 
values) are shown as “blocks”, the heights of which correspond to the 
“values” of the events. However, events that have been recorded (or 
drawn with a low quantize value) may appear more like “filled curves”, 
simply because they are positioned very closely:
If you zoom in on the upper “curve”, you will find that it consists of separate events.
• Unlike notes, events in the controller display...

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21 – 404 The MIDI editors
Key Editor operations
Zooming
Zooming in the Key Editor is done according to the standard zoom 
procedures, using the zoom sliders, the Zoom tool or the Zoom sub-
menu on the Edit menu.
•When you drag a rectangle with the Zoom tool, the result depends on 
the option “Zoom Tool Standard Mode: Horizontal Zooming Only” in 
the Preferences dialog (Editing page).
If this is on, the window will only be zoomed horizontally; if not, the window will be 
zoomed both horizontally...

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Auditioning
If the speaker icon on the toolbar is activated, individual notes will au-
tomatically be played back (auditioned) when you move or transpose 
them, or when you create new notes by drawing. This makes it easier 
to hear what you’re doing.
Creating and editing notes
To draw new notes in the Key Editor, you use the Pencil tool or the 
Line tool.
Drawing notes with the Pencil tool
With the Pencil tool, you insert single notes by clicking at the desired 
time...

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21 – 406 The MIDI editors
•If Snap is activated, this determines the start position of the created 
note (see page 468).
•If you just click once, the created note will have the length set on the 
Length Quantize pop-up menu on the toolbar.
You can create a longer note by clicking and dragging the pointer with the mouse button 
pressed. The length of the created note will be a multiple of the Length Quantize value.
Drawing notes with the Line tool
The Line tool can be used for creating series of...

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Setting velocity values
When you draw notes in the key editor, the notes will get the velocity 
value set in the insert velocity field on the toolbar.
You can use one of three different methods for determining the velocity:
•Selecting a predefined velocity value from the insert velocity pop-up 
menu.
The menu contains five different predefined velocity values. The “Setup...” item opens 
a dialog that allows you to specify which five velocity values should be available...

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21 – 408 The MIDI editors
Selecting notes
Selecting notes is done using any of the following methods:
•Use the Arrow tool.
The standard selection techniques apply.
•Use the Select submenu on the Edit menu or Quick menu.
The Select menu options are:
•You can also use the left and right arrow keys on the computer key-
board to step from one note to the next or previous.
If you press [Shift] and use the arrow keys, the current selection will be kept, allowing 
you to select several notes.
•To...

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Moving and transposing notes
To move notes in the editor, use any of the following methods:
•Click and drag to a new position.
All selected notes will be moved, maintaining their relative positions. If Snap is acti-
vated, this determines to which positions you can move the notes, see page 468.
Note also that you can restrict movement to horizontal or vertical only by 
holding down [Ctrl]/[Command] while dragging.
•Use the up and down arrow keys on the computer...

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21 – 410 The MIDI editors
•You can also perform the Repeat function by dragging: Select the 
note(s) to repeat, press [Alt]/[Option], click the right edge of the last 
selected note and drag to the right.
The longer to the right you drag, the more copies (as indicated by the tooltip).
Using cut and paste
You can use the Cut, Copy and Paste options on the Edit menu to 
move or copy material within a part or between different parts. When 
you paste copied notes, you can either use the regular...