Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 Operation Manual Studio Manual

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The Arranger track
The active Arranger event will be played back as long as 
defined before jumping to the next.
Arranging your music to video
The relative time of your Arranger track can be taken as a 
reference instead of the project time. This is useful, if you 
want to use the Arranger track to compose music for 
video and fill e.g. a specific video section with music, by 
repeating the corresponding number of Arranger events. If you position your external sync master device to a posi-
tion that does not match the Project Start time, Cubase 
will jump automatically to the right position in the Arranger 
track and will start playback from there, i.e. the correct rel-
ative position and not the absolute project time will be 
found. The reference for the external timecode can be 
MIDI or any other Timecode that can be interpreted/read 
by Cubase. 
ÖIf the Arranger mode is not activated or no Arranger 
track exists, Cubase will work as usual. 
Below follows an example, that will help you understand 
this functionality:
1.Set up a project with a MIDI track and three MIDI parts. 
The first should start at position 00:00:00:00 and end at 
position 00:01:00:00, the second should start at position 
00:01:00:00 and end at position 00:02:00:00 and the 
third should start at position 00:02:00:00 and end at po-
sition 00:03:00:00.
2.Activate the Sync button on the transport panel.
3.Add an Arranger track and create Arranger events that 
match the MIDI parts.
4.Set up the Arranger chain “A-A-B-B-C-C”, activate 
the Arranger mode and play back your project.
5.Start external Timecode at position 00:00:10:00 
(within the range of “A”).
In your project, the position 00:00:10:00 will be located and you will hear 
“A” playing. Nothing special!
Now, let’s see what happens if your external sync master 
device starts at a position that does not match the Project 
Start time:
6.Start at 00:01:10:00 (within the range of what origi-
nally was “B”).
In your project, the position 00:01:10:00 will be located and you will hear 
“A” playing, because it plays twice in the Arranger track.
7.Start external Timecode at position 00:02:10:00 
(within the range of what originally was “C”).
In your project, the position 00:02:10:00 will be located and you will hear 
“B” playing, because it plays “later” in the Arranger track.
Option Description
Now Jumps to the next section immediately.
4 bars, 
2 barsWhen one of these modes is selected, a grid of 4 or 2 bars (de-
pending on the setting) will be placed on the active Arranger 
event. Whenever the respective grid line is reached, playback 
will jump to the next Arranger event. An example:
Let’s say you have an Arranger event which is 8 bars long and 
the grid is set to 4 bars. When the cursor is anywhere within the 
first 4 bars of the Arranger event when you hit the next Arranger 
event, playback will jump to the next event when the end of the 
fourth bar of the Arranger event is reached. When the cursor is 
anywhere within the last 4 bars of the Arranger event, playback 
will jump to the next event at the end of the event.
When an event is shorter than 4 (or 2) bars when this mode is 
selected, playback will jump to the next section at the event end.
1 bar Jumps to the next section at the next bar line.
1 beat Jumps to the next section at the next beat.
End Plays the current section to the end, then jumps to the next sec-
tion. 
						

							8
Folder tracks 
						

							103
Folder tracks
About folder tracks
Just as the name implies, a folder track is a folder that con-
tains other tracks. Moving tracks into a folder is a way to 
structure and organize tracks in the Project window. For 
example, grouping several tracks in a folder track makes it 
possible for you to “hide” tracks (thus giving you more 
working space on the screen). You can solo and mute 
several tracks in a quicker and easier way and perform ed-
iting on several tracks as one entity. Folder tracks can 
contain any type of track including other folder tracks. 
Handling folder tracks
Creating a folder track
Folder tracks are created just like any other track: Select 
“Add Track” from the Project menu and select “Folder” 
from the submenu that appears, or right-click in the Track 
list and select “Add Folder Track” from the context menu.
Moving tracks into a folder
You can move any type of track into a folder by using drag 
and drop:
1.In the Track list, click on a track that you want to move 
into a folder and drag it onto a folder track.
A green arrow pointing to a folder appears when you drag the track onto 
the folder track in the list.
2.Release the mouse button.
The track is now placed in the folder track, and all parts and events on 
the track will be represented by a corresponding folder part (see “Wor-
king with folder parts” on page 104), which is a graphical representation 
of all parts and events in the folder.
Since you can move any type of track into a folder track, it 
is possible to create sub-folders by moving one folder 
track into another. This is called “nesting”. For example, 
you could have a folder containing all the vocals in a 
project, and each vocal part could have a nested folder 
containing all the takes for easier handling etc.
Removing tracks from a folder
To remove a track from a folder, simply drag it out of the 
folder and release it in the Track list.
Hiding/showing tracks in a folder
You can hide or show the tracks located in a folder by 
clicking on the “Expand/Collapse Folder” button (the 
folder icon). Hidden tracks are still played back as usual.
When a folder is “closed” this way, the folder part(s) still 
give you a graphic representation of the parts and events 
within the folder.
In the Track Folding submenu of the Project menu, there 
are several options for hiding/showing elements inside 
folders. These are described in detail in the section “Track 
folding” on page 41.
A folder track
Tracks in the 
folder 
						

							104
Folder tracks
Muting and soloing folder tracks
One of the main advantages of using folder tracks is that 
they provide you with a way to mute and solo several tracks 
as one unit. Muting and soloing a folder track affects all 
tracks in the folder. You can also solo or mute individual 
tracks in the folder. 
Muting a folder track
You can mute a folder track (and thereby mute all tracks 
within it) the same way you mute other tracks by clicking in 
the Mute (“M”) button in the Track list.
Soloing a folder track
You can solo a folder track (and thereby mute all tracks 
outside the folder, except those already set to Solo) the 
same way you solo other tracks, by selecting it and click-
ing the Solo button.
Soloing or muting tracks within a folder
This can be done by showing the tracks in the folder and 
using the Mute and Solo buttons in the Track list as usual 
for any tracks inside the folder.
Working with folder parts
A folder part is a graphic representation of events and 
parts on the tracks in the folder. Folder parts indicate the 
position and length of the events and parts, as well as on 
which track they are (their vertical position). If part colors 
are used, these are also shown in the folder part.Folder parts are created automatically when there are 
parts or events on the tracks within the folder. The follow-
ing rules apply:
If there is a gap between parts/events on the tracks, 
there will be two separate folder parts.
Parts or events that overlap within the folder may be 
represented by the same folder part or by two different 
folder parts – depending on how much they overlap.
If a part/event overlaps by half its length or less, it will be placed in a new 
folder part.
Handling and editing folder parts
Most of the editing you can do in the Project window ap-
plies to folder parts as well.
Any Project window editing you perform to a folder part 
affects all the events and parts it contains (those elements 
on the track within the folder that are represented by the 
folder part). You can select several folder parts if you like 
– this allows you to handle and edit them together. The 
editing you can perform includes:
 Moving a folder part. This will move its contained events and 
parts (possibly resulting in other folder parts, depending on 
how the parts overlap).
 Using cut, copy and paste.
 Deleting a folder part. This will delete its contained events and 
parts.
 Splitting a folder part with the Scissors tool (see the example 
below).
 Gluing folder parts together with the Glue tube tool. This will 
only work if the adjacent folder parts contain events or parts 
on the same track.
The first event overlaps the second 
event by more than half its length, 
which means it is included in the 
same folder part.
The third event does not overlap 
with any of the other events. This 
means a new folder part is cre-
ated. 
						

							105
Folder tracks
 Resizing a folder part resizes the contained events and parts 
according to the selected resizing method. This is set by click-
ing the Arrow tool icon on the toolbar and selecting “Normal 
Sizing”, “Sizing Moves Contents” or “Sizing Applies Time 
Stretch” from the pop-up menu – see “Resizing events” on 
page 49. Note that if you select “Sizing Applies Time Stretch”, 
any automation data is not taken into account.
 Muting a folder part. This will mute its contained events and 
parts.
An example
Editing tracks within folder parts
Tracks inside a folder can be edited as one entity by per-
forming the editing directly on the folder part containing 
the tracks as explained above. You can also edit individual 
tracks within the folder by showing the contained tracks, 
selecting parts and opening editors as usual.
Double-clicking a folder part opens the editors for the cor-
responding track classes present in the folder. The follow-
ing applies:
All MIDI parts located on the tracks within the folder are 
displayed as if they were on the same track, just like when 
opening the Key Editor with several MIDI parts selected.
To be able to easily discern the different tracks in the editor, give each 
track a different color in the Project window and use the “Part Colors” 
option in the editor (see “Coloring notes and events” on page 343).
If the folder contains tracks with audio events and/or au-
dio parts, the Sample and/or Audio Part Editors are opened 
with each audio event and audio part in a separate window.
Splitting the folder part 
with the Scissors tool……will split all contained parts or 
events present at that position. 
						

							9
Using markers 
						

							107
Using markers
About markers
Markers are used to locate certain positions quickly. If you 
often find yourself jumping to a specific position within a 
project, you should insert a marker at this position. There 
are two types of markers:
 Cycle markers allow you to store the start and end positions of 
a range.
 Standard markers store a specific position. 
Markers can be created and edited in several ways: 
 By using the Marker window (see below).
 By using the Marker track (see “Using the Marker track” on 
page 108).
 By using key commands (see “Marker key commands” on 
page 110).
 By using the Project Browser (see “Editing markers in the Pro-
ject Browser” on page 110).
ÖThe left and right locators are handled separately – 
see “The left and right locators” on page 62.
The Marker window
In the Marker window, you can perform most editing oper-
ations concerning markers. The markers are listed in the 
Marker window in the order in which they occur in the 
project. Most functions in the Marker window are also 
available in the Inspector when the Marker track is se-
lected.
To open the Marker window, you can:
 Select “Markers” from the Project menu
 Click the “Show” button in the Marker section on the Trans-
port panel
 Use the key command (by default [Ctrl]/[Command]-[M]).
The Marker window columns
The Marker window is divided into six columns which are 
used for performing the following operations:
The leftmost column is the Locate column. 
Clicking in this column will move the project cursor to the corresponding 
marker position. A blue arrow indicates the marker at the project cursor 
position (or the closest marker before the project cursor).
The ID column is used to edit marker ID numbers. 
See “About marker ID numbers” on page 108.
The Position column displays the markers’ time posi-
tions (or start positions for cycle markers).
The marker positions can be edited directly in this column.
The End and Length columns display the end positions 
and length of cycle markers – see “About cycle markers” 
on page 108.
These values can also be edited directly in the respective column.
The Description column lets you enter names or de-
scriptions for markers.
Click on a column heading to sort the marker list by that 
column. The Marker columns can also be reordered by 
dragging and dropping the column headers.
Adding and removing markers in the Marker window
You add position markers (in Stop mode, during play-
back or during recording) by clicking the Add button or by 
pressing [Insert] (Windows only) on the computer key-
board. Markers are always added at the current project 
cursor position. 
To add a cycle marker, select “Cycle Markers” from the 
Show pop-up menu and click the Add button.
This adds a cycle marker between the left and right locator. You can also 
draw cycle markers on the Marker track (see “Editing markers on the 
Marker track” on page 109).
To remove a marker, select it and click the Remove but-
ton.
ÖNote that you can assign key commands to various 
marker commands in the Key Commands dialog (see 
“Marker key commands” on page 110). 
						

							108
Using markers
Moving marker positions in the Marker window
The Move button in the Marker window can be used to 
“reprogram” marker positions. Proceed as follows:
1.Set the project cursor to the position to which you 
want to move (or re-program) a marker.
2.Select the marker that you want to change in the 
Marker window.
Do not select the marker by clicking in the leftmost column, as this will 
move the project cursor to this marker.
If a cycle marker is selected, the Move operation affects 
the cycle marker start position.
The length of the range is not affected.
3.Click the Move button.
You can also move markers by editing their position nu-
merically in the Position column.
About marker ID numbers
Each time you add a marker, it is automatically and se-
quentially assigned an ID number, starting from ID 1. ID 
numbers can be changed at any time – this allows you to 
assign specific markers to key commands (see below). 
IDs for cycle markers are shown in brackets and start from 
[1]. These may also be changed.
Assigning markers to key commands
As explained above, marker ID numbers are assigned au-
tomatically and sequentially each time you add a marker. 
The nine first markers (1 to 9) can be recalled by using key 
commands – by default these are [Shift]-[1] to [9] on the 
typewriter part of the keyboard.
ÖIf you have more than nine markers, you cannot use 
key commands to navigate to markers numbered 10 or 
higher.
If you want to keep all current markers, but want to specify 
which markers should be accessed via key commands, 
the solution is to reassign the marker ID numbers. Pro-
ceed as follows:
1.First decide which of the current markers with an ID 
between 1 and 9 you want to reassign to a new ID number, 
and thus remove its key command assignment.
Memorize the ID number.
2.Enter this ID number in the ID column of the marker you 
want to access with a key command and press [Enter].
The two marker ID numbers are switched, and the key command now 
locates to the marker selected in this step.
3.Repeat as necessary for other markers.
You can also simply remove a marker with an ID number 
between 1 to 9 to free up a key – see “Adding and remo-
ving markers in the Marker window” on page 107.
For more about marker key commands, see “Marker key 
commands” on page 110.
Using the Marker track
The Marker track is used for viewing and editing markers. 
Markers shown on the Marker track are exactly the same 
as shown in the Marker window, and any changes made 
on the Marker track are reflected in the Marker window 
and vice versa. Standard position markers in the Marker 
track are shown as marker events: vertical lines with the 
marker name (if assigned) and number beside it. If you se-
lect the Marker track, all markers are shown in the Inspec-
tor, much like in the Marker window.
About cycle markers
Cycle markers are shown on the Marker track as two 
markers bridged by a horizontal line. Cycle markers are 
ideal for storing sections of a project. By setting cycle 
markers for sections of a song, for example “Intro”, 
“Verse”, “Chorus” etc., this enables you to quickly navi-
gate to the song sections, and also to optionally repeat 
the section (by activating Cycle on the Transport panel). 
In addition, Cycle markers appear on the horizontal Zoom 
pop-up menu in the Project window (see below).
Adding the Marker track
To add the Marker track to the Project, select “Marker” from 
the Add Track submenu of the Project menu (or right-click 
in the Track list and select “Add Marker Track”). You can 
only have one Marker track in a project.
Cycle marker Markers
Locators 
						

							109
Using markers
Editing markers on the Marker track
The following editing functions can be performed directly 
on the Marker track:
Adding position markers “on the fly”.
Use the [Insert] key (Win) or the “Add Marker” button in the Track list for 
the Marker track to add position markers at the current cursor position 
during playback. 
Adding a cycle marker at the left and right locator posi-
tions.
Clicking the “Add Cycle Marker” button in the Track list for the Marker 
track adds a cycle marker spanning the area between the left and right 
locator.
Selecting markers.
You can use standard selection techniques like dragging to make a se-
lection rectangle, or use [Shift] to select separate markers.
Drawing position markers.
By using the Pencil tool (or pressing [Alt]/[Option] and using the Arrow 
tool), you can create or “draw” position marker events at any position on 
the track. If snap is activated on the toolbar, this determines at which po-
sitions you can draw markers.
Drawing cycle markers.
To draw a cycle marker range, press [Ctrl]/[Command] and use the Pen-
cil tool or the Arrow tool. Snap settings are applied if activated. 
ÖCycle markers can freely overlap. 
Resizing a cycle marker.
Select a cycle marker by clicking on it. Two handles appear at the bottom 
of the start and end events. If you click and hold one of the handles you 
can drag the event left or right to resize the cycle marker. This can also 
be done numerically on the info line.
Moving markers.
Click and drag to move the selected markers or edit marker positions on 
the info line. As usual, snap is taken into account if activated.
Removing markers.
This is done exactly the same way as for other events, i.e. by selecting 
them and pressing [Delete], using the Erase tool etc.
Naming markers.
A selected marker’s name can be edited on the info line.
Navigating using cycle markers
Cycle markers represent ranges rather than single posi-
tions. Therefore you don’t use them for moving the project 
cursor, but for moving the left and right locators:
If you double-click on a cycle marker or select it from 
the Cycle pop-up menu in the Track list, the left and right 
locators are moved to encompass the cycle marker.
To move the project cursor position to the start or the end of the cycle 
marker, move it to the corresponding locator (e.g. by using the numeric 
pad keys [1] and [2]).
You can also use key commands for this – see “Marker 
key commands” on page 110.
Zooming to cycle markers
By selecting a cycle marker on the Zoom pop-up menu, 
the event display is zoomed in to encompass the selected 
range only (see the section “Zoom presets and Cycle mar-
kers” on page 38).
You can also do this by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and double-clicking on 
the cycle marker in the event display.
Editing cycle markers using tools
Cycle markers can be edited on the Marker track using the 
following tools (Snap applies as usual):
The other tools cannot be used with cycle markers.
Add Marker/Add Cycle Marker buttons
Tool Use
Pencil Press [Ctrl]/[Command] and use the Pencil tool to create 
new cycle markers (as described above).
Eraser Click with the Eraser tool to delete a cycle marker. If you 
hold down [Alt]/[Option] when you click, all consecutive 
markers will also be deleted.
Selection 
RangeThis is described in the following section. 
						

							110
Using markers
Using markers to make range selections in the 
Project window
Besides enabling you to quickly move the project cursor 
and the locators, markers can be used in conjunction with 
the Range Selection tool to make range selections in the 
Project window. This is useful if you quickly want to make 
a selection that spans all tracks in the project. 
Double-click with the Range Selection tool between any 
two markers – this creates a selection range between the 
markers, spanning all tracks in the project (just as if you had 
used the Range Selection tool to draw a rectangle).
Any functions or processing you perform now will affect the selection only.
Moving and copying sections
This is a quick way to move or copy complete sections of 
the project (on all tracks):
1.Set markers at the start and end of the section you 
want to move or copy.
2.Select the Range Selection tool and double-click on 
the Marker track between the markers.
Everything in the project within the cycle marker boundaries is selected.
3.Click on the Marker track in the selected range and 
drag the range to a new position.
The selection in the Project window is moved to the same position.
If you hold down [Alt]/[Option] while you drag the range, 
the selection in the Project window is copied instead.
Marker key commands
You can use key commands for the following marker oper-
ations:If you need to check or change any key command assign-
ments, the marker commands can be found in the Trans-
port category in the Key Commands dialog.
ÖFor the [Shift]+[Pad1] to [Pad9] commands to work, 
Num Lock must be deactivated on the computer key-
board!
Editing markers in the Project 
Browser
If you have a Marker track in the Project window, you can 
create and edit all marker parameters, including marker 
IDs, in the Project Browser. Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Project Browser by selecting it from the 
Project menu.
2.Select “Marker” in the Project Structure window.
A list of the markers is shown in the main Browser window.
3.Now you can edit marker names, positions and ID 
numbers by selecting an item and typing in values as usual 
in the main editor window.
For details about editing in the Project Browser see “Editing the Marker 
track” on page 412.
You can use the Add pop-up menu in combination with 
the Add button to insert new markers or cycle markers 
when the Marker track is selected in the Project Browser.
This works just like the Add button in the Marker window (see “Adding 
and removing markers in the Marker window” on page 107).
Operation Description Default key
Insert Marker Creates a new marker at the current 
project cursor position.[Insert] 
(Windows only)
Locate Next 
MarkerMoves the project cursor to the right to 
the next marker position (if any).[Shift]+[N]
Locate Previous 
MarkerMoves the project cursor to the left to 
the previous marker position (if any).[Shift]+[B]
To Marker 1-9 Moves the project cursor to the speci-
fied marker (number 1 to 9).[Shift]+[1] to [9]
Set Marker 1-9 Moves the specified marker (number 1 
to 9) to the current project cursor posi-
tion.[Ctrl]+[1] to [9]
Recall Cycle 
Marker 1-9Moves the left and right locators to 
encompass the specified cycle marker 
(1 to 9).[Shift]+[Pad1] to 
[Pad9]
!To view and edit markers in the Project Browser, the 
Marker track must be added to the Project window.
Operation Description Default key