Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 Operation Manual Studio Manual

							351
The MIDI editors
Editing velocity values
When “Velocity” is selected for viewing, the lane shows 
the velocity of each note as a vertical bar.
Velocity values are edited with the Pencil or the Line tool. 
The different tools and Line tool modes offer several pos-
sibilities, as listed below.
ÖIf the option “Controller Lane Editing: Select Tool de-
faults to Pen” is activated in the Preferences (Editing–MIDI 
page), the Arrow tool automatically switches to the Pencil 
tool when you move the pointer into the controller display.
If you want to use the Arrow tool to select events in the controller display, 
press [Ctrl]/[Command].
ÖIf the Speaker icon (Acoustic Feedback) is activated 
on the toolbar, the notes will be played back when you ad-
just the velocity, allowing you to audition your changes.
You can use the Pencil tool to change the velocity of a 
single note: click on its velocity bar and drag the bar up or 
down.
While you drag, the current velocity value is shown in the display to the left.
You can use the Pencil tool or the Line tool in Paint 
mode to change the velocity values of several notes by 
painting a “freehand curve”.
When editing velocity, these two methods have the same functionality.
Use the Line tool in Line mode for creating linear veloc-
ity ramps.
Click where you want the ramp to start and drag the cursor to where you 
want the ramp to end. When you release the mouse button, the velocity 
values are aligned with the line between the two points.
Parabola mode works in the same way, but aligns the 
velocity values to a Parabola curve instead.
Use this for smooth, “natural” velocity fades, etc.
The remaining three Line tool modes (Sine, Triangle and 
Square) align the velocity values to continuous curve 
shapes (see below).
Note:
If there is more than one note at the same position (e.g. a 
chord), their velocity bars will overlap in the controller lane. 
If none of the notes are selected, all notes at the same position will be set 
to the same velocity value when you draw. To edit the velocity of only one 
of the notes at the same position, first select the note in the note display. 
Now, editing will only affect the velocity of the selected note.
You can also adjust the velocity of a single note by select-
ing it and changing its velocity value on the info line. 
						

							352
The MIDI editors
Adding and editing events in the controller display
When any option other than “Velocity” is selected for a 
controller lane, you can create new events or edit the val-
ues of existing events using the Pencil tool or the Line tool 
in its various modes: 
Clicking with the Pencil tool or the Line tool in Paint 
mode creates a new event.
Note the “Select Tool defaults to Pen” option – see “Editing velocity va-
lues” on page 351. 
Press [Alt]/[Option] and use the Pencil tool or the Line 
tool in Paint mode to modify the value of an event (without 
creating a new one).
Note that you can click and drag to change or add multiple events, draw 
controller curves, etc. You can press or release [Alt]/[Option] while draw-
ing, switching dynamically between “edit mode” and “create mode”.
ÖWith the Pencil tool and the Line tool in Paint mode, the 
quantize value determines the “density” of created control-
ler curves (if Snap is activated, see “Snap” on page 343).
For very smooth curves, you should use a small quantize value or turn off 
Snap. However, this will create a very large number of MIDI events, which 
can cause MIDI playback to “stutter” in some situations. A medium-low 
density is often sufficient.
Clicking and dragging with the Line tool in Line mode 
shows a line in the controller lane, and creates events with 
values aligned to this line.
This is the best way to draw linear controller ramps. If you press [Alt]/[Op-
tion], no new events are created – use this mode for modifying existing 
controller curves.
The Parabola mode works in the same way, but aligns 
the values to a parabola curve instead, giving more “natu-
ral” curves and fades.
Note that the result depends on the direction from which you draw the 
parabola.
In Parabola mode, you can use modifier keys to deter-
mine the shape of the parabola curve.
If you press [Ctrl]/[Command], the parabola curve will be reversed. If you 
press [Alt]/[Option]+[Ctrl]/[Command] while Snap is activated, you can 
change the position of the whole curve (in both cases the snap value for 
the positioning will be a quarter of the quantize value). If you press [Shift], 
the exponent will be increased or decreased.
If you want to enter or adjust a single event, click once with the Pencil 
tool or the Line tool in Paint mode.
If you want to “paint a curve”, drag the tool (with the mouse button 
pressed):
When you move the pointer in the controller lane, the 
corresponding value is displayed in this field.
Converting a controller curve to a ramp 
using the Line tool. 
						

							353
The MIDI editors
ÖIn Line and Parabola modes, the length quantize value 
determines the “density” of created controller curves (if 
Snap is activated).
For very smooth curves, you should use a small length quantize value or 
turn off Snap. To avoid over-dense controller curves (which may cause 
MIDI playback to “stutter”), use a medium-low density.
The Sine, Triangle and Square modes create events 
with values aligned to continuous curves.
In these modes, the quantize value determines the period of the curve 
(the length of one curve “cycle”) and the length quantize value deter-
mines the density of the events (the lower the length quantize note value, 
the smoother the curve).
In Sine, Triangle and Square mode you can also use 
modifier keys to determine the shape of the curve.
If you press [Ctrl]/[Command] you can change the phase of the beginning 
of the curve, if you press [Alt]/[Option]+[Ctrl]/[Command] while snap is 
activated you can change the position of the whole curve (in both cases 
the snap value for the positioning will be a quarter of the quantize value).
ÖYou can also set the curve period freely by holding 
down [Shift] when you insert events in Sine, Triangle or 
Square mode.
Activate Snap, [Shift]-click and drag to set the length of one period. The 
period length will be a multiple of the quantize value.
In Triangle and Square mode, you can press [Shift] + 
[Ctrl]/[Command] to change the maximum position of the 
triangle curve (to create sawtooth curves) or the pulse of 
the square curve. As in other modes, you can press [Alt]/
[Option] if you want to change the existing events rather 
than creating new ones. Again, the snap value for the po-
sitioning will be a quarter of the quantize value.
Moving and copying events
You can move or duplicate events in a controller lane, 
much like you can with notes:
1.Click with the Arrow tool to select the events you want 
to cut or copy.
If the option “Controller Lane Editing: Select Tool defaults to Pen” is ac-
tivated in the Preferences (Editing–MIDI page), you need to press [Ctrl]/
[Command] to get the Arrow tool.
2.Click and drag the events to move them.
If Snap is activated, this determines to which positions you can move the 
events (see “Snap” on page 343).
If you hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag, the events will 
be copied rather than moved. 
Using cut, copy and paste
You can use the standard Cut, Copy and Paste options on 
the Edit menu to move or copy events in the controller dis-
play:
1.Select the events you want to cut or copy.
2.Select Cut or Copy from the Edit menu.
3.If you want to paste the events into another MIDI part, 
open that part in another Key Editor window.
4.Position the project cursor where you want to paste 
the events.
5.Select Paste from the Edit menu.
The events on the clipboard are added, starting at the project cursor po-
sition, maintaining their relative distances. If a pasted event ends up at 
the same position as an existing event of the same type, the old event is 
replaced. 
!If there is an event of the same type at the exact 
same position already, this will be replaced by the 
moved event.
!Remember that a non-note event doesn’t have a 
length – it’s “valid” until the next event (see “The 
controller display” on page 341.
!When the Auto Select Controllers button is activated 
in the Key Editor toolbar, selecting controller events 
will also select the corresponding notes. Moving 
events (either using cut/copy/paste or drag & drop) 
in the note display will also move the corresponding 
controller events and vice versa. See also “Selecting 
controllers within the note range” on page 345. 
						

							354
The MIDI editors
Deleting events in the controller display
You delete events by clicking on them with the Eraser tool 
or by selecting them and pressing [Backspace]. Please 
note:
Deleting a controller event makes the last event before 
this valid up until the next event. It does not “zero” any 
controller changes.
You can delete notes by deleting their velocity bars in 
the controller display.
Please be aware that if there is more than one note on the same position, 
there may still only be one velocity bar visible – make sure you delete only 
the desired notes!
Adding and editing Poly Pressure events
Poly Pressure events are special, in that they “belong to” a 
specific note number (key). That is, each Poly Pressure 
event has two editable values: the note number and the 
amount of pressure. Therefore, when Poly Pressure is se-
lected on the event type pop-up menu, there are two value 
fields to the left of the controller display, one for the note 
number and one for the amount:
To add a new Poly Pressure event, proceed as follows:
1.Select Poly Pressure on the event type pop-up menu.
2.Set the note number by clicking on the keyboard dis-
play.
The selected note number is displayed in the upper value field to the left 
of the controller display. Note that this only works for the topmost lane. If 
you have selected “Poly Pressure” for several controller lanes, you have 
to type in the desired note number directly in the lower value field to the 
left of each lane. 
3.Use the Pencil tool to add a new event, just as when 
adding regular controller events.
To view and edit existing Poly Pressure events, proceed 
as follows:
1.Select Poly Pressure on the event type pop-up menu.2.Click on the arrow button next to the note number field 
to the left of the controller lane.
A pop-up menu appears, listing all note numbers for which there already 
are Poly Pressure events.
3.Select a note number from the pop-up menu.
The Poly Pressure events for the selected note number are shown in the 
controller lane.
4.Use the Pencil tool to edit the events as usual.
Press [Alt]/[Option] to edit existing events without adding any new ones.
Poly Pressure events can also be added and edited in 
the List Editor.
Edit In-Place
The Edit In-Place function makes it possible to edit MIDI 
parts directly in the Project window, for quick and efficient 
editing in context with other tracks. 
To open the In-Place editor for one or more selected 
tracks, you have the following possibilities:
Select “Open In-Place Editor” on the MIDI menu.
Use a key command, by default [Ctrl]/[Com-
mand]+[Shift]+[I].
Toggle the In-Place Editor for all selected tracks by 
clicking on the respective button above the Track list.
To open a single MIDI track, you can also click the Edit 
In-Place button in the Track list (if necessary, expand the 
Track list to see the button). 
						

							355
The MIDI editors
This expands the MIDI track to show something like a min-
iature Key Editor, allowing you to edit MIDI notes and con-
trollers.
To zoom or scroll the In-Place Editor, point at the left 
part of the piano keyboard display so that the pointer 
changes to a hand. Now you can click and drag to the 
right or left to zoom in or out vertically, and drag up or 
down to scroll the editor.
Clicking on the little gray triangle in the upper right cor-
ner of the Track list for the edited track brings up a local 
toolbar with some settings specific to the In-Place Editor.
For descriptions of these settings, see “The toolbar” on page 339.
Just like in the Key Editor, you can edit velocity or con-
tinuous controllers at the bottom of the In-Place Editor.
To change which controller type is shown, click in the controller name field 
directly below the piano keyboard and select a controller type from the 
pop-up menu. To add or remove controller lanes, right-click below the con-
troller name field and select an option from the context menu that appears.
When you select a MIDI note, the Project window info 
line shows information about that note, just like the info 
line in the Key Editor.
You can perform the same editing here as on the Key Editor info line, see 
“Editing on the info line” on page 348.
The Snap button and Snap type pop-up menu on the 
Project window toolbar govern snapping in the In-Place 
Editor, but the snap grid is set using the Quantize pop-up 
menu.To close the In-Place Editor for one or several selected 
tracks, you can use the key command or click the “Toggle 
the In-Place Editor” button above the Track list. 
To close the In-Place Editor for one track, you can click 
the Edit In-Place button in the Track list or double-click 
below the controller display in the In-Place Editor.
Working with Parts 
If you work with parts in the In-Place Editor, some editing 
functions are available. You can:
 change the length of the parts by clicking on the lower part 
edges (so that the mouse pointer changes to a double arrow) 
and dragging it to the left or right.
 drag and drop notes from one part to the other.
 change the length of notes by clicking on them and dragging 
the double arrow to the left or right. 
						

							356
The MIDI editors
The Drum Editor – Overview
The toolbar and info line
These are much the same as the toolbar and info line in 
the Key Editor (see “The Key Editor – Overview” on page 
339), with the following differences:
The Drum Editor has no Pencil tool – instead there is a 
Drumstick tool (for entering and removing notes) and a 
Line tool with various line and curve modes (for drawing 
several notes in one go or editing controller events).
There are no Scissors and Glue Tube tools in the Drum 
Editor.
As in the Key Editor, the mouse pointer display in the 
toolbar shows the pitch and position of the pointer, but the 
pitch is shown as a drum sound name rather than a note 
number.
The Use Global Quantize button allows you to select 
which value should be used when Snap is activated – the 
global quantize value on the toolbar or the individual quan-
tize values for the drum sounds.
Instead of a Length Quantize pop-up, there is an Insert 
Length pop-up menu.
It is used in much the same way, as described on the following pages.
The drum sound list
A drum sound list for GM Drum Map.
The purpose of the Drum Editor is to edit MIDI tracks where 
each note (pitch) plays a separate sound, as is typically the 
case with a MIDI drum kit. The drum sound list to the left 
lists all drum sounds by name (according to the selected 
drum map or name list – see below), and lets you adjust 
and manipulate the drum sound setup in various ways.
Note:
The number of columns in the list depends on whether a 
drum map is selected for the track or not.
See “Working with drum maps” on page 359.
ToolbarRuler
Note 
display
Controller 
display
Drum sound list
Drum Maps 
						

							357
The MIDI editors
You can reorder the columns by dragging the column 
headings, and resize them by dragging the dividers be-
tween the column headings.
The note display
The note display of the Drum Editor displays notes as dia-
mond symbols. The vertical position of the notes corres-
ponds to the drum sound list to the left, while the horizontal 
position corresponds to the note’s position in time, just as in 
the Key Editor. Note however, that the diamond symbols 
don’t indicate the length of the notes. This makes sense, 
since drum sounds most often are “one-shot” samples that 
play to their end regardless of the note lengths.
Drum map and name pop-up menus
Below the drum sound list you will find two pop-up menus, 
used for selecting a drum map for the edited track or (if no 
drum map is selected) a list of drum sound names. For an 
explanation of drum maps, see “Working with drum maps” 
on page 359.
Controller display
The controller display in the Drum Editor is the same as in 
the Key Editor. You can add or remove controller lanes via 
the Quick menu, and create and edit events as described 
in the section “Editing in the controller display” on page 
350.
Note that when you select a line in the drum sound list 
(to the left of the event display), only the velocity controller 
events belonging to the note events on this line are dis-
played in the controller display.You can select more than one line in the drum sound list 
(using [Shift]/[Ctrl] as usual), which will show all velocity 
controller events for all notes on all selected lines.
This will help you when having to adjust the controller values between 
different drum sounds.
Drum Editor operations
The basic handling (zooming, playback, auditioning, etc.) 
is the same as in the Key Editor (see “Key Editor opera-
tions” on page 341). The following sections describe the 
procedures and features specific to the Drum Editor.
Creating and editing notes
The standard way of entering notes in the Drum Editor is 
to click with the Drumstick tool.
When you move the pointer in the note display, its bar position and 
drum sound is indicated in the toolbar, making it easy to find the right 
sound and position.
The position of the created note depends on the following 
factors:
If Snap is deactivated on the toolbar, the note will ap-
pear exactly where you clicked.
In this mode, notes can be positioned freely.
If Snap is activated and Use Global Quantize is deacti-
vated on the toolbar, the note will snap to positions ac-
cording to the quantize value set for the sound in the drum 
sound list.
You can set up different quantize values for different drum sounds. You 
may for example want hi-hat notes snap to sixteenth notes, but snare and 
bass drum snap to eighth notes.
If both Snap and Use Global Quantize are activated, the 
note will snap to positions according to the Quantize set-
ting on the toolbar (next to the Use Global Quantize but-
ton). 
						

							358
The MIDI editors
The length of the inserted note is determined by the Insert 
Length setting on the toolbar. However, if this is set to 
“Drum-Map Link”, the note will get the length of the quan-
tize value for the drum sound.
ÖYou can quickly audition the drum sounds by clicking 
in the leftmost column in the drum sound list.
This plays the corresponding note.
ÖClicking with the Drumstick tool on an existing note 
will remove it.
This makes drum pattern editing very quick and intuitive.
Setting velocity values
The notes you enter will get the insert velocity value set in 
the insert velocity field on the toolbar – to speed up things 
you may want to assign key commands to the insert velo-
city options. See “Setting velocity values” on page 344.
Selecting notes
Selecting notes is done by any of the following methods:
Use the Arrow tool.
The standard selection techniques apply.
Use the Select submenu on the Quick menu (see “Se-
lecting notes” on page 345).
Use the left and right arrow keys on the computer key-
board to step from one note to the next or previous note.
If you press [Shift] and use the arrow keys, the current selection will be 
kept, allowing you to select several notes.
You can also press [Shift] and double-click on a note to 
select all the following notes for the same drum sound.
If the option “Auto Select Events under Cursor” is acti-
vated in the Preferences (Editing page), all notes currently 
“touched” by the project cursor are automatically selected.
Moving, duplicating or repeating notes
To move or copy notes in the editor (to other positions or 
other drum sounds), you use the same methods as in the 
Key Editor: click and drag, use the arrow keys or Edit 
menu functions, etc. – see “Moving and transposing no-
tes” on page 346. To help you identify the right notes, the 
drum sound names as defined in the drum map are dis-
played in the Pitch field on the Drum Editor info line and, 
when dragging notes in the event display, in the text fields 
displayed next to the mouse cursor.There is one other thing to note:
When you move or copy several selected notes by drag-
ging them and Snap is activated but Use Global Quantize 
is deactivated, the notes will snap to positions according 
to the quantize values for the drum sounds. If the moved/
copied notes have different quantize values, the largest 
value will determine snapping. For example, if you are 
moving two notes, with the quantize values 1/16 and 1/4 
respectively, the notes will snap to quarter notes (1/4).
ÖYou can also adjust the position of notes by quantizing 
(see “The Quantizing functions” on page 325).
Again, which quantize value is used depends on whether Global Quan-
tize is used.
Muting notes and drum sounds
You can mute individual notes by clicking or enclosing 
them with the Mute tool or by using the Mute function on 
the Edit menu (see “Muting notes” on page 347).
Furthermore, if a drum map is selected (see “Selecting a 
drum map for a track” on page 361), the drum sound list 
will have a Mute column. Click in the Mute column for a 
drum sound to mute that sound. Finally, clicking the Drum 
Solo button will mute all drum sounds other than the se-
lected one.
Muted drum sounds
Deleting notes
To delete notes, click on them with the Drumstick or 
Eraser tool or select them and press [Backspace].
!Please note that the mute state for drum sounds is 
part of the drum map, so any other tracks using the 
same map will also be affected.  
						

							359
The MIDI editors
Other editing methods
As in the Key Editor, you can edit notes on the info line or 
via MIDI, and enter notes using step input, see “Editing on 
the info line” on page 348.
Working with drum maps
Background
A drum kit in a MIDI instrument is most often a set of dif-
ferent drum sounds with each sound placed on a separate 
key (i.e. the different sounds are assigned to different MIDI 
note numbers). One key plays a bass drum sound, another 
a snare and so on.
Unfortunately, different MIDI instruments often use differ-
ent key assignments. This can be troublesome if you have 
made a drum pattern using one MIDI device, and then 
want to try it on another. When you switch device, it is very 
likely that your snare drum becomes a ride cymbal, or your 
hi-hat becomes a tom, etc. – just because the drum 
sounds are distributed differently in the two instruments.
To solve this problem, and simplify several aspects of MIDI 
drum kits (like using drum sounds from different instru-
ments in the same “drum kit”), Cubase features so-called 
drum maps. A drum map is a list of drum sounds, with a 
number of settings for each sound. When you play back a 
MIDI track for which you have selected a drum map, the 
MIDI notes are “filtered” through the drum map before be-
ing sent to the MIDI instrument. Among other things, the 
map determines which MIDI note number is sent out for 
each drum sound, and so which sound is played in the re-
ceiving MIDI device.
A solution to the problem above would therefore be to set 
up drum maps for all your instruments. When you want to 
try your drum pattern on another instrument, you simply 
switch to the corresponding drum map and your snare 
drum sound will remain a snare drum sound.
Drum map settings
A drum map consists of settings for 128 drum sounds 
(one for each MIDI note number). To get an overview of 
these settings, open the Drum Editor and use the Map 
pop-up menu below the drum sound list to select the “GM 
Map” drum map.
This drum map is set up according to the General MIDI standard. For in-
formation on how to load, create and select other drum maps, see 
“Managing drum maps” on page 361.
Now, take a look at the drum sound list (you may have to 
drag the divider between the list and the note display to 
the right to see all columns). The columns show the set-
tings of the drum map for each sound.
Here’s a brief description (details follow below):
Column Description
Pitch The actual note number of the drum sound. This is what 
links notes on a MIDI track to drum sounds. For example, 
with the above drum map, all MIDI notes with the pitch 
C1 would be mapped to the Bass Drum sound.
Instrument The name of the drum sound.
Quantize This value is used when entering and editing notes as de-
scribed in the sections “Creating and editing notes” on 
page 357 and “Moving, duplicating or repeating notes” 
on page 358.
Mute Allows you to mute a drum sound, excluding it from play-
back. See “Muting notes and drum sounds” on page 358. 
						

							360
The MIDI editors
ÖAll settings in a drum map (except the Pitch) can be 
changed directly in the drum sound list or in the Drum 
Map Setup dialog (see “The Drum Map Setup dialog” on 
page 361).
Note that the changes you make will affect all tracks that use the drum 
map.
About Pitch, I-note and O-note
This can be a somewhat confusing area, but once you’ve 
grasped how it all works it’s not very complicated. Going 
through the following “theory” will help you make the most 
out of the drum map concept – especially if you want to 
create your own drum maps.
As mentioned earlier, a drum map is a kind of “filter”, 
transforming notes according to the settings in the map. It 
does this transformation twice; once when it receives an 
incoming note (i.e. when you play a note on your MIDI 
controller) and once when a note is sent from the program 
to the MIDI sound device.
In the following example, we have modified the drum map, 
so that the Bass Drum sound has different Pitch, I-note 
and O-note values.
I-notes (input notes)
Let’s look at what happens on input: When you play a note 
on your MIDI instrument, the program will look for this note 
number among the I-notes in the drum map. In our case, if 
you play the note A1, the program will find that this is the I-
note of the Bass Drum sound.This is where the first transformation happens: the note 
will get a new note number according to the Pitch setting 
for the drum sound. In our case, the note will be trans-
formed to a C1 note, because that is the pitch of the Bass 
Drum sound. If you record the note, it will be recorded as a 
C1 note.
O-notes (output notes)
The next step is the output. This is what happens when 
you play back the recorded note, or when the note you 
play is sent back out to a MIDI instrument in real time 
(MIDI Thru):
The program checks the drum map and finds the drum 
sound with the pitch of the note. In our case, this is a C1 
note and the drum sound is the Bass Drum. Before the 
note is sent to the MIDI output, the second transformation 
takes place: the note number is changed to that of the O-
note for the sound. In our example, the note sent to the 
MIDI instrument will be a B0 note.
Usage
So, what’s the point of all this? Again, the purposes are 
different for I-notes and O-notes:
ÖChanging the I-note settings allows you to choose 
which keys will play which drum sounds, when playing or 
recording from a MIDI instrument.
For example, you may want to place some drum sounds near each other 
on the keyboard so that they can be easily played together, move sounds 
so that the most important sounds can be played from a short keyboard, 
play a sound from a black key instead of a white, and so on.
If you never play your drum parts from a MIDI controller (but draw them in 
the editor) you don’t need to care about the I-note setting.
ÖThe O-note settings let you set things up so that the 
“Bass Drum” sound really plays a bass drum.
If you’re using a MIDI instrument in which the bass drum sound is on the 
C2 key, you set the O-note for the Bass Drum sound to C2. When you 
switch to another instrument (in which the bass drum is on C1) you want 
the Bass Drum O-note set to C1. Once you have set up drum maps for 
all your MIDI instruments, you don’t have to care about this anymore – 
you just select another drum map when you want to use another MIDI in-
strument for drum sounds.
I-note This is the “input note” for the drum sound. When this 
MIDI note is sent into Cubase, (i.e. played by you), the 
note will be mapped to the corresponding drum sound 
(and automatically transposed according to the Pitch set-
ting for the sound).
O-note This is the “output note”, i.e. the MIDI note number that is 
sent out every time the drum sound is played back. 
Channel The drum sound will be played back on this MIDI channel.
Output The drum sound will be played back on this MIDI output. 
If you set this to “Default”, the MIDI output selected for 
the track will be used. Column Description