Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 Operation Manual Studio Manual

							10
The Transpose functions 
						

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The Transpose functions
Introduction
Cubase offers transpose functions for audio, MIDI and in-
strument parts and for audio events. These allow you to 
create variations of your music or change the harmonics of 
an entire project or separate sections. 
Transpose can be applied on three levels:
On the entire project
By changing the project Root Key in the Project window toolbar, the 
whole project will be transposed (see “Transposing an entire project with 
the Root Key” on page 112). 
On sections of the project
By creating Transpose events on the Transpose track you can set trans-
pose values for separate sections of your project (see “Transposing sep-
arate sections of a project using Transpose events” on page 114).
On individual parts or events
By selecting individual parts or events and changing their transpose 
value in the info line, you can transpose individual parts or events (see 
“Transposing individual parts or events using the info line” on page 115).
Apart from the transpose features described in this chap-
ter, you can also transpose all MIDI notes on the selected 
track using the MIDI modifiers (see “Transpose” on page 
319), selected notes using the Transpose dialog (see 
“Transpose” on page 330), and MIDI tracks using MIDI ef-
fects (see the separate manual “Plug-in Reference”).
Transposing your music
In the following sections we will describe the different 
possibilities of transposing your music. Note that these 
can also be combined. However, we recommend you to 
set the root key first, before recording or changing trans-
pose values on the transpose track. 
Transposing an entire project with the Root Key
The root key you specify for a project will be the reference 
that audio or MIDI events in your project will follow. You can 
of course exclude separate parts or events from being 
transposed, e.g. drums or percussion (see “The Global 
Transpose setting” on page 116). 
Depending on whether you are using events which al-
ready contain root key information or not, the procedures 
differ slightly:
If the events already contain root key information
Let’s say you want to create a project based on loops. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Open the MediaBay and drag some loops into an emp-
ty project, see “Browsing for media files” on page 289.
For this example, import audio loops with different root keys.
2.Now, open the Root Key pop-up menu in the Project 
window toolbar and set the project root key.
The entire project will be played back with this root key. Note that by de-
fault, the project root key is not specified (“-”).
A loop-based project with different event root keys
The separate loops will be transposed in order to match 
the project root key. If you e.g. have imported a bass loop 
in C and the project root key is set to E, the bass loop will 
be transposed up by 4 semitones.
!The transpose functions do not change the actual 
MIDI notes or the audio, but only affect the playback. 
!As a general rule, you should always set the root key 
first when you work with content with a defined root 
key. 
						

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The Transpose functions
3.Now (with the root key set), record audio or MIDI.
The recorded events will get the project root key.
4.When you are done and satisfied with the result, you 
can change the project root key and your events will follow.
If the events do not contain root key information
Let’s say you have created a project by recording audio 
and importing some MIDI loops, and you want to match 
the root key of the whole project to the register of a certain 
singer.
Proceed as follows:
1.In your project, open the Project menu and select 
“Transpose” from the Add Track submenu (or right-click in 
the Track list and select “Add Transpose Track”) to add the 
Transpose track. 
You can only have one Transpose track in a project.
2.Set the project to the desired root key by selecting the 
corresponding option from the Root Key pop-up in the 
Project window toolbar.
3.Right-click in the Track list for the Transpose track and 
select “Set root key for unassigned events” from the con-
text menu.
This sets the project root key for all unassigned parts or events. You can 
undo this command by selecting Undo from the Edit menu. The “Set root 
key for unassigned events” option is only available, if a project root key 
has been set.
Recording with a project root key
Let’s say that you want to record a guitar line for a project 
that is in D# minor, but your guitar player prefers to play A 
minor and G major. In this case, you can change the 
project root key to A, so that you can record your guitar. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Open your project and set the project root key to A.
All parts and events will be transposed in order to match the root key.
2.Listen to your project and verify that no drums and 
percussions have been transposed. 
If drums have been transposed, select them and set their Global Trans-
pose setting to “Independent”.
3.Record your guitar line as desired.
4.When you are done and you are satisfied with the re-
sult, you can change the project root key back to D# mi-
nor and your events will follow.
Changing the Root key of single events or parts
If you want to check if an audio event or part has root key 
information or if you want to change it, proceed as follows:
1.Open the Pool and display the Key column by select-
ing “Root Key” from the “View/Attributes” pop-up menu in 
the Pool. 
An audio event with a root key set to “C”
2.Click in the Root Key column for the desired audio 
event and set the key according to your needs.
You can also check and assign Root Keys in the MediaBay.
ÖIf you change the root key of an audio part or event, 
the corresponding audio file will not change. To save the 
Root Key setting in the audio file, you have to use the 
“Bounce Selection” function from the Audio menu. 
!If you work with drums or percussion, you should ex-
clude these from being transposed by setting the 
“Global Transpose” setting on the info line to “Inde-
pendent” (see “The Global Transpose setting” on 
page 116).
!If you work with drums or percussion, you should ex-
clude these from being transposed by setting the 
“Global Transpose” setting on the info line to “Inde-
pendent” (see “The Global Transpose setting” on 
page 116).
!For recorded audio events and MIDI parts, the “Global 
Transpose” setting on the info line is automatically set 
to “Follow”, i.e. the events or parts will get the project 
root key. 
						

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The Transpose functions
To check the root key setting of a MIDI part, proceed as 
follows:
1.Select your MIDI part in the Project window and check 
the Project window info line.
A MIDI part with a root key set to “E”
2.Click on the root key value in the info line to open the 
Root key pop-up menu in the Project window info line and 
select the desired root key.
Transposing separate sections of a project 
using Transpose events
Sometimes you may want to transpose only certain sec-
tions of your project, e.g. to create harmonic variations. 
This can be done by creating transpose events. Trans-
pose events allow you to add a relative transpose offset by 
specifying transpose values in semitones. You can e.g. 
brighten up your loops in C major by transposing them by 
5 semitones, so that the subdominant on F major is played 
back, or you can turn your hit more interesting by trans-
posing the last chorus one semitone upwards.
1.In your project, open the Project menu and select 
“Transpose” from the Add Track submenu (or right-click in 
the Track list and select “Add Transpose Track”) to add the 
Transpose track. 
You can only have one Transpose track in a project.
2.Select the Pencil tool from the toolbar and click in the 
Transpose track to create a transpose event. 
A transpose event will be created from the point where you clicked until 
the end of the project.
3.To create another transpose event, click with the pen-
cil tool on the first transpose event.
By default, the transpose value of new transpose events is set to 0.
You can add more transpose events by clicking with the pencil tool. 
4.Click in the transpose value field and enter the trans-
pose value for the transpose event.
You can enter the desired value with the computer keyboard, use the 
mouse wheel or [Alt]/[Option]-click on the transpose value to open a 
value fader. You can specify values between -24 and 24 semitones. 
If you move the mouse over the transpose event, the cursor turns into a 
hand symbol. This indicates that you can use the mouse wheel to 
change the value.
5.Play back your project.
The parts of your project on the same position as the transpose events 
will be transposed according to the specified transpose values.
ÖYou can also transpose the whole project by means of 
the transpose track. This is useful e.g. if your singer does 
not reach a certain pitch. In this case you can transpose 
your whole project by e.g. -2 semitones. Always remem-
ber to verify that the “Global Transpose” setting for drums 
and percussion is set to “Independent” on the info line 
(see “The Global Transpose setting” on page 116).
!If you change the project root key after setting the 
event root key, the events will keep their own root key 
settings, and will be transposed to match the project 
root key. If you record an audio or a MIDI part and the 
project root key is specified, this root key is automat-
ically set. 
						

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The Transpose functions
You can erase and move transpose events, but you can 
not mute, cut or glue them. The option “Locators to Selec-
tion” does not apply on transpose events. 
Transposing individual parts or events using 
the info line
You can also transpose individual audio and MIDI parts and 
events via the Info line (or the Inspector). This transposition 
will be added to the global transposition (i.e. the root key or 
the transpose events). Proceed as follows:
1.Select the event that you want to transpose.
2.In the Project window info line, adjust the Transpose 
value as desired.
ÖA global transpose change will not overwrite individual 
part or event transpose, but will be added to the trans-
pose value for the part or event. In this case, it might be 
useful to keep the transposition within the octave range 
(see “Keep Transpose in Octave Range” on page 116).
Other functions
Indicate Transpositions
When you transpose your music, you may sometimes 
want to visually compare the original sounds and the 
transposed music. For MIDI parts, you can check this by 
opening the Key Editor and clicking the “Indicate Transpo-
sitions” button. This will help you see how your MIDI notes 
will be transposed. If the button is activated, the Key Edi-tor will show the note pitch you will hear, if it is deacti-
vated, the Key Editor shows the original pitch of the notes 
in your MIDI part. By default, the “Indicate Transpositions” 
button is deactivated.
A MIDI part as originally recorded.
When you activate “Indicate Transpositions” you will see how your MIDI 
part will be transposed.  
						

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The Transpose functions
The Global Transpose setting
If you are working with drum and percussion loops or with 
special effects (FX) loops, you normally want to exclude 
these events from being transposed. This can be achieved 
by locking them using the Global Transpose setting. Pro-
ceed as follows:
1.Open your project.
2.Select the desired event or part and set the “Global 
Transpose” setting on the info line to “Independent”.
A symbol will be displayed in the lower right corner of the selected part 
or event. This indicates that the part or event will not be transposed nei-
ther by changing the root key nor by specifying transpose events. 
If Global Transpose is set to Independent, the selected part will not be 
transposed.
3.You can now change the project root key.
The “Independent” parts or events will not be affected by the root key 
changes.
ÖIf you import ready-made parts or events that are 
tagged drums or FX, Global Transpose will be automatically 
set to Independent.
If you record audio or MIDI, Global Transpose will be set to 
“Independent”, if the transpose track exists and you have 
specified at least one transpose event (even when the 
transpose value is not defined). In this case, your recording 
will sound exactly the way you played it. The transpose 
events will not be taken into account during recording and 
the recorded event will not get the project root key. Have a 
look at the following example:
1.Set up a project with the root key in C.
2.Add a transpose track and enter transpose events 
with the values 0, 5, 7 and 0.
3.Record some chords with your MIDI keyboard. For our 
example, record C, F, G and C.
The transpose events are not taken into account and the result of your 
recording will be C, F, G and C. The root key will be not set.
ÖYou will get exactly what you have recorded, i.e. when 
your record C, F, G and C this will be played back exactly 
as you recorded it. This is because the recorded event is 
“Independent” from Global Transpose.
If no transpose track exists or if no transpose event has 
been added, Global Transpose will be set to Follow.
If Global Transpose is set to Follow, the selected part will follow all glo-
bal transpositions.
The Edit Lock on the Transpose track
If you want to prevent your transpose events from being 
changed by mistake, you can activate the Lock button on 
the transpose track. This way, you will not be able to move 
your transpose events or change their transpose values.
Mute transpose events
Sometimes it might be useful to disable the transpose 
track, e.g. to hear the original sound of individual tracks. If 
you activate the mute button on the transpose track, your 
transpose events will not be taken into account during 
playback.
Keep Transpose in Octave Range
The “Keep Transpose in Octave Range” button on the 
transpose track (the button with an up and down arrow in 
brackets) keeps the transposition in the octave range. This 
option is activated by default. This way, nothing will be 
transposed by more than seven semitones. This ensures 
that your music never sounds unnatural because the pitch 
was raised too high or too low. 
To understand the principle behind this, follow the exam-
ple below:
1.Create a MIDI part, enter a C major chord, open the key 
editor and activate “Indicate Transpositions”.
This way you can observe and understand what happens, when you 
change the transposition. 
						

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The Transpose functions
2.Add a transpose track and create a transpose event.
By default, the transpose value is set to 0.
3.Make sure that the “Keep Transpose in Octave 
Range” button is activated on the transpose track and 
change the transpose value of the transpose event.
Your chord will be transposed upwards or downwards according to the 
entered values.
If you enter a transpose value of 7, your chord will be transposed by 
seven semitones upwards. In this example, this would be G3/B3/D4.
4.Set the transpose value to 8 semitones.
As “Keep Transpose in Octave Range” is activated, your chord will now 
be transposed to the nearest interval or pitch. 
Your chord has been transposed to the nearest pitch, this results in 
G#2/C3/D#3.
!If you mainly work with audio loops, we recommend 
to activate “Keep Transpose in Octave Range”.  
						

							11
The mixer 
						

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The mixer
About this chapter
This chapter contains detailed information about the ele-
ments used when mixing audio and MIDI, and the various 
ways you can configure the mixer. 
Some mixer-related features are not described in this 
chapter. These are the following:
Setting up and using audio effects.
See the chapter “Audio effects” on page 162.
Setting up and using MIDI effects.
See the chapter “MIDI realtime parameters and effects” on page 315.
Surround Sound (Cubase only).
See the chapter “Surround sound  (Cubase only)” on page 195.
Automation of all mixer parameters.
See the chapter “Automation” on page 203.
How to mix down several audio tracks (complete with 
automation and effects if you wish) to a single audio file.
See the chapter “Export Audio Mixdown” on page 413. 
						

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The mixer
Overview
The mixer offers a common environment for controlling 
levels, pan, solo/mute status etc. for both audio and MIDI 
channels. 
Opening the mixer
The mixer can be opened in several ways:
By selecting Mixer from the Devices menu.
By clicking the Mixer icon on the toolbar
This always opens the first Mixer window (see below).
By using a key command (by default [F3]).By clicking the Mixer button in the Devices panel.
You open the Devices panel by selecting Show Panel from the Devices 
menu.
About the multiple mixer windows
You may have noticed that there are in fact several separate 
mixer items selectable from the Devices menu (in Cubase 
Studio, there are two mixer items). These are not separate 
mixers, but rather separate views of the same mixer. 
Each of the mixer windows can be configured to show 
any combination of channels, channel types, narrow and 
wide channel strips, etc. (how to do this is described later 
in this chapter).
You can for example configure one mixer window to show MIDI channel 
strips, another to show input and output channels or another to show all 
audio-related channels.
The picture shows an extended mixer (see “Normal vs. Extended channel strips” on page 122).