Steinberg Cubase SE 3 Operation Manual

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Working with the Tempo track 
						

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Background
For each audio or MIDI track in Cubase SE, the tempo can either be 
fixed through the whole project (this is called “Fixed tempo mode”) or 
follow the Tempo track (this is called “Tempo track mode”), which may 
contain tempo changes.
•To switch between Fixed tempo mode and Tempo track mode, use 
the Tempo button on the Transport panel:
When the Tempo button is lit (and the text “Track” is shown), the tempo follows the 
Tempo track, when it is deactivated (and the text “Fixed” is shown), the Fixed tempo 
is used (see page 479). You can also switch tempo mode in the Tempo Track 
Editor (see below).
The Tempo track also contains time signature events. These are always 
active, regardless of whether Fixed tempo mode or Tempo track mode 
is selected.
A note about audio tracks
For audio tracks, the start time position of audio events depends on 
the current tempo setting. However, it is important to realize that the 
actual audio (“within” the events) will play back as recorded, regard-
less of any tempo changes you make. Therefore, it’s good practice to 
make the proper tempo and time signature settings before you start 
recording tempo based audio.
• To make an already recorded audio track follow the tempo changes, you 
can use the Hitpoints and Slicing features, as described on “Background”.
How well this works depends on the character of the audio recordings, since the Hit-
point detection feature works best with fairly rhythmical material. 
						

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The Tempo Track Editor – overview
To make changes to the actual Tempo track you need to open the 
Tempo Track Editor, by selecting “Tempo Track” on the Project menu.
The toolbar
The toolbar contains various tools and settings. The tempo and time 
signature displays to the right allow you to view and edit the value of 
the selected tempo curve point or time signature event, much like the 
info line in other editors.
Tools
Tempo track on/off AutoscrollSnap on/off
Curve type selector
Curve type for new tempo eventsTime signature
The selected tempoSnap pop-up  
						

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The ruler
The ruler in the Tempo Track Editor shows the timeline. As in other 
windows, you can select a display format by clicking on the arrow but-
ton to the right of the ruler, and selecting an option from the pop-up 
menu that appears.
The two additional items at the bottom of the menu have the following 
functionality:
•If “Time Linear” is selected, the ruler, time signature area and tempo 
curve display will be linear in relation to the timeline.
This means that if the ruler shows bars and beats, the distance between the bar lines 
will vary depending on the tempo. 
						

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•If “Bars+Beats Linear” is selected, the ruler, time signature area and 
tempo curve display will be linear in relation to beats.
If the ruler shows bars and beats, the distance between beats will be constant.
The time signature area
The area below the ruler contains time signature events. 
The tempo curve display
The main display shows the tempo curve (or, if Fixed tempo mode is 
selected, the Fixed tempo – see page 479). To the left of the display 
is a tempo scale to help you quickly locate the desired tempo.
•Note that the vertical “grid lines” correspond to the display format 
selected for the ruler. 
						

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Operations
Zooming
Changing the magnification is done using any of the following methods:
•By using the zoom sliders in the lower right corner of the window.
•By using the Magnifying Glass tool.
This works according to the standard procedures.
•By using the Zoom submenu on the Edit menu.
The options on the menu work as in other windows.
Editing the tempo curve
This section assumes that you are working in Tempo track mode, i.e. the 
Tempo button is lit on the Transport panel.
Adding tempo curve points
1.Use the “insert curve” pop-up menu in the toolbar to select whether you 
want the tempo to change gradually from the previous curve point to 
the new one (“Ramp”) or change instantly to the new value (“Jump”).
2.Select the Pencil tool.
3.Click at the desired time position in the tempo curve display, and keep 
the mouse button pressed.
If Snap is activated on the toolbar, this determines at which time positions you can 
insert tempo curve points, see page 481.
When you click, the tempo display in the toolbar shows the tempo value. 
						

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4.Drag the curve point to the desired tempo value (indicated in the 
tempo display), and release the mouse button.
The tempo curve point is inserted. The result depends on whether you selected 
“Ramp” or “Jump” in step 1 above:
•You can also just click and draw a tempo curve with the Pencil tool, 
having curve points automatically inserted as you draw.
You would probably want to select the “Ramp” Insert Curve mode when doing this.
•Instead of using the Pencil tool, you can press [Alt]/[Option] and use 
the Arrow tool. 
This will only insert a single point (i.e. you cannot draw a curve with the Arrow tool).
You can also have tempo values automatically inserted by the Beat Cal-
culator, see page 482.
Selecting tempo curve points
Selecting curve points 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.
The options are:
Option Description
All Selects all curve points on the Tempo track.
None Deselects all curve points.
In Loop Selects all curve points between the left and right locator.
Insert curve set to “Ramp”:Insert curve set to “Jump”: 
						

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•You can also use the left and right arrow keys on the computer key-
board, to go from one curve point to the next.
If you press [Shift] and use the arrow keys, the current selection will be kept, allowing 
you to select several points.
Editing tempo curve points
Curve points can be edited in the following ways:
•By clicking and dragging horizontally and/or vertically.
If several points are selected, all of them are moved. If Snap is activated on the toolbar, 
this determines to which time positions you can move curve points, see page 481.
•By adjusting the tempo value in the tempo display on the toolbar.
For this to work, a single tempo curve point must be selected.
Dragging tempo curve points with a time based display format (any other 
format than “Bars+Beats”) may give confusing results. This is because 
moving a point will change the relationship between tempo and time. 
Specifically, let’s say you move a tempo point to the right and drop it on a 
certain time position. When you release the mouse button, the mapping 
between tempo and time will be adjusted (since you have changed the 
tempo curve). As a result, the moved point will appear at another position. 
For this reason, we recommend that you use the Bars+Beats display for-
mat when editing tempo curves.
From Start to Cursor Selects all points to the left of the project cursor.
From Cursor to End Selects all points to the right of the project cursor. Option Description 
						

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Adjusting the curve type
You can change the curve type of a tempo curve segment at any time, 
using the following method:
1.Select all curve points within the segment you want to edit.
2.Pull down the Curve pop-up menu on the toolbar and select “Jump” or 
“Ramp”.
The curve sections between the selected points are adjusted.
Removing tempo curve points
To remove a curve point, either click on it with the Eraser tool or select 
it and press [Backspace]. The first tempo curve point cannot be re-
moved.
Setting the Fixed tempo
When the Tempo track button is deactivated, the Tempo track curve is 
greyed out (but still visible). Since the Fixed tempo is constant through-
out the whole project, there are no tempo curve points. Instead, the 
Fixed tempo is displayed as a horizontal black line in the tempo curve 
display. 
						

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There are two ways to set the tempo in Fixed mode:
•Drag the tempo line up or down with the Arrow tool.
•Adjust the value numerically in the tempo display on the toolbar.
Adding and editing time signature events
•To add a time signature event, click in the time signature area with the 
Pencil tool. 
This adds a default 4/4 time signature event at the closest bar position. You can also 
do this by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking with the Arrow tool.
•To edit the value of a time signature event, select it and adjust the 
value in the signature display on the toolbar.
Note that there are two thumbwheel controls for the signature display; the left adjusts 
the numerator and the right adjusts the denominator.
•You can move a time signature event by clicking and dragging it with 
the Arrow tool.
Again, note that time signature events can only be positioned at the start of bars.
•To remove a time signature, either click on it with the Eraser tool or 
select it and press [Backspace].
The first time signature event cannot be removed.