Steinberg Cubase Studio 4 Operation Manual Studio Manual

							506
The basics
Display transpose in the Edit Key dialog
If you want to change the display transpose setting in the 
middle of the score, you can do this by inserting a key 
change (see “Inserting and editing clefs, keys or time sig-
natures” on page 529). In the Edit Key dialog (which is 
opened by double-clicking a key symbol) you will find a 
Transpose field, in which you can enter a transposition 
value in semitones. This is useful if you are for example 
writing a saxophone part and want the player to switch 
from alto to tenor saxophone.
ÖNote that you have to enter the absolute display trans-
pose value that should be used from this point on.
In other words, this setting is not relative to any display transpose set-
tings you made on the Score Settings–Staff page.
Disabling Display transpose
You can also disable display transpose by clicking on the 
“Disable Display Transpose” button on the Score Editor 
toolbar. This can be useful, if you work with transposing 
instruments and want to show the scored key and not the 
concert key.
Working order
When you prepare a score we suggest you do things in the 
following order, since this will minimize the time needed if 
you make a mistake somewhere and need to redo a step.
Preferably work on copies of recorded tracks.
If the parts are fairly complex you might have to change them perma-
nently after which they won’t play back as they originally did.
If memory is short, break the score up into segments.
You might for example use the Split Loop function (on the main Edit 
menu) to split the parts across all tracks.
Arrange the tracks in the Project window in the order 
you want them displayed in the score.
You cannot rearrange the order of systems in the Score Editor. However, 
you can go back and change the order in the Project window at any time.
When opening the Score Editor, begin with the adjust-
ments described above.
You should always begin by setting page margins, etc.
If you have recorded music into tracks already, try ad-
justing the score “picture” as much as possible without 
permanently editing the notes.
Use the score settings, display quantize, grouping etc.
If the tracks are empty, make basic staff settings, enter 
the notes and then make detailed adjustments, add dis-
play quantize etc.
If needed, use polyphonic voicing to resolve overlapping 
notes, to create piano systems, to handle crossing voices 
etc.
When all this is done, decide if you need to perform 
“destructive” editing.
You might for example have to permanently alter the length or position of 
some of the recorded notes.
Hide unwanted objects and add note-dependent and 
note-related symbols.
This includes accents, dynamic symbols, crescendo, slurs, lyrics, 
“graphic rests” etc.
Work through the score and adjust the number of bars 
across the page.
Adjust the vertical spacing between staves and grand 
staves.
The last two steps can be performed automatically by the program using 
the Auto Layout features.
Add layout symbols like endings, page text, etc.
Print.
Go back and create alternative layouts to extract voices 
etc.
Force update
If for some reason the screen isn’t redrawn properly (as a 
result of the computer’s recalculation of the appearance of 
the page), you can select “Force Update” from the Func-
tions submenu on the Scores menu or click the Update but-
ton on the toolbar. This forces a redraw of the whole page.
The Force Update button 
						

							3
Transcribing MIDI recordings 
						

							508
Transcribing MIDI recordings
About this chapter
In this chapter you will learn:
 How to make initial staff settings to make a score as legible as 
possible.
 How to use the Display Quantize tool to handle “exceptions” 
in the score.
 How to resolve parts that contain mixed notes and triplets.
About transcription
This chapter assumes you have a MIDI recording that you 
want to transform into a printable score. However, if the 
parts are fairly complicated, you will probably need to per-
form some manual editing of the notes. Hence you will 
need to read the next chapter, too!
Getting the parts ready
1.Record the music.
You must definitely play in time with the click.
2.Play back to check that the music was recorded as in-
tended.
If not, you might need to re-record or perform some editing.
3.Decide how much permanent alteration to the record-
ing you can accept to make the score look good.
If the answer is “none”, you should prepare your score from a copy of the 
track. See the section below.
4.Select all parts (on all tracks) that you wish to work on.
5.Open the Score Editor (e. g. by pressing [Ctrl]/[Com-
mand]-[R]).
6.Activate Page Mode.
Strategies: Preparing parts for score 
printout
Below follow a few tips that you might want to refer to 
when preparing a score for printout:
 If a part i s c omple x, you may h ave t o do some “man ual” editin g 
of notes, like moving them or changing their lengths (see the 
chapter “Entering and editing notes” on page 517). This 
means that the recording will not play back exactly as it origi-
nally did. If this is a problem, we suggest you work on a copy 
of the recording. Use the Duplicate Track function on the 
Project menu to create a version of the track for scoring. Re-
name the track and mute the original track while you are pre-
paring the score. You could of course also work on a copy of 
the entire project file.
 For reasons described in the previous chapter, quantizing the 
track might be a good idea. This will reduce the amount of de-
tailed adjustments needed in the Score Editor.
 If you need to quantize, always play back your tracks afterwards 
to make sure timing wasn’t disrupted due to inappropriate 
quantize settings. You might have to quantize some sections 
with one value and others with another.
 If the project contains many repetitions, it might be quicker to 
record just one instance of each to start with. If you then finish 
the score work on each section, you can assemble the entire 
project by working with parts in the Project window. This 
might save you some time since the detailed adjustments to 
each section have to be performed only once.
 A similar approach can also be used when you create sec-
tions where several instruments play the same rhythm (a horn 
section, for example): Record the first instrument and make 
adjustments so that it looks like it should in the Score Editor. 
Then copy the part to the other tracks, and change the pitches 
of the notes using MIDI input. Finally, go through the copied 
parts and make fine adjustments, change display transpose 
settings, etc. This can be a very fast way to create polyphonic 
parts with complicated rhythms.
 There also may be situations when the quickest way to record 
a part for several instruments is simply to record it in one go, 
by playing the chords on your MIDI instrument. If you later 
want to split the recording into separate tracks or polyphonic 
voices, you can use the Explode function, see “The Explode 
function” on page 515.
!Before starting, make sure you understand the basic 
principles behind the score notes/MIDI notes rela-
tionship and also what display quantize is, as de-
scribed in the chapter “How the Score Editor works” 
on page 490. 
						

							509
Transcribing MIDI recordings
Staff settings
The first thing to do after opening the Score Editor is to 
make initial staff settings. This is done on the Score Set-
tings–Staff page. There are three ways to open the Score 
Settings dialog:
Make the staff active, pull down the Scores menu and 
select “Settings…”.
Double-click on the blue rectangle to the left of the staff.
Please note that when the option “Double-click on staff flips between full 
score/part” is activated in the Preferences dialog (Scores-Editing page), 
double-clicking will instead switch between display of either the whole 
score or the current voice. If your score shows more than one track, dou-
ble-clicking will display this track and hide all others. If your score shows 
only one track, double-clicking will either show the layout, that contains 
most of the tracks or, if no multi-track layout exists, all tracks. 
Make the staff active and click the “i” button on the ex-
tended toolbar.
For this to work, make sure no notes or symbols are selected – other-
wise, clicking the “i” button may open a dialog with settings for the se-
lected object instead.
Click the Staff button to open the Score Settings–Staff 
page. The Staff page shows the current settings for the 
staff on four tabs.
The Main tab
The Main tab of the Staff page.
Applying settings and selecting other staves
The Score Settings dialog is non-modal (see “About dia-
logs in the Score Editor” on page 501). This means you 
click Apply to apply the settings you’ve made to the active 
staff.
To make settings for another staff, simply make it active in 
the score (by clicking anywhere in the staff or by using the 
up/down arrow keys on the computer keyboard). How-
ever, please note:
ÖRemember to click Apply before making another staff 
active – otherwise your settings will be lost!
Staff presets
When you know you will reuse settings made for one track 
in other tracks, you will save some time by creating a staff 
preset. This is described in “Working with staff presets” 
on page 532.
ÖThere are a number of staff presets available, set up to 
suit various instruments, etc.
The presets are accessed from the Presets pop-up menu on the Score 
Settings–Staff page, or from the staff context menu, opened by right-
clicking on the blue rectangle to the left of a staff. Use them as they are, 
or as starting points for your own settings.
Names
Allows you to specify a “long” and a “short” name for the 
staff. The long name is shown for the very first system for 
the staff in the score (at the start of the project), while the 
short name is shown for the remaining systems.
Whether the names should be shown at all is set on the 
Layout page of the Score Settings dialog (see “Staff na-
mes” on page 597).
There, you can also choose to use the names of the edited MIDI tracks 
instead.
If you only want the “long name” to be shown (i.e. if you 
don’t want a name shown for each system in the score), 
simply delete the short name. 
						

							510
Transcribing MIDI recordings
Display quantize
The display quantize settings.
This is where you give the program basic information 
about how to interpret your playing. There are “fixed” dis-
play quantize values plus an “Auto” option which should 
only be used when your music contains mixed straight 
notes and triplets. For background information about dis-
play quantize, see “Display quantize” on page 492.
If your music only contains “straight” notes or triplets
1.Set the Notes display quantize value according to the 
“smallest note position” you want to be shown in the score.
For example, if you have notes on odd sixteenth note positions, the Notes 
display quantize value should be set to 16 (sixteenth notes). The “T” val-
ues on the pop-up are for triplets.
2.Set the Rests display quantize value according to the 
smallest note value (length) you want to be displayed for a 
single note, positioned on a beat.
For example, if you want a single short note on a beat (quarter note posi-
tion) to be displayed as a quarter note, set the Rests display quantize 
value to 4 (quarter notes).
3.Deactivate the Auto Quantize option.
4.Set all the interpretation options.
These are described in detail below.
5.Examine the score.
6.If necessary, use the Display Quantize tool to insert 
“exceptions” to the staff settings.
See “Inserting display quantize changes” on page 514.
If your music contains mixed straight notes and triplets
1.Examine the score and decide if it mainly contains trip-
lets or mainly “straight” notes.
2.Set the Notes display quantize value accordingly.
If the score is mainly triplets, select the smallest triplet note position used 
in the score. If it is mainly straight notes, select the smallest “ordinary” 
note position.
3.Set the Rests display quantize value.
This is done according to the same rules as above.
4.Activate the Auto Quantize option.
5.Activate the Deviation (”Dev.”) and Adapt flags if you 
need them.
When Deviation is activated, triplets/straight notes will be detected even 
if they are not exactly “on the beat”. However, if you know your triplets/
straight notes are perfectly recorded (quantized or entered by hand), de-
activate this option.
When Adapt is activated, the program “guesses” that when one triplet is 
found, there are probably more triplets surrounding it. Activate this option 
if not all of your triplets are detected.
Clef/Key
The basic key and clef settings are described in detail in 
the section “Setting key, clef and time signature” on page 
501. There is also a Lower Staff checkbox which is only 
used in conjunction with piano (split) staves and poly-
phonic voicing. This is described in the section “In a split 
system” on page 504.
Interpretation options
The Interpretation options.
Syncopation
The Syncopation parameter has three different values:
Option Description
Relax When Syncopation is “relaxed”, the program will apply 
syncopation in a number of common cases.
Full Syncopation is on.
Off Syncopation is off, with no exceptions. 
						

							511
Transcribing MIDI recordings
For a “modern” notation of syncopated notes, activate 
Syncopation.
Without and with Syncopation.
Again, without and with Syncopation.
Please note that you can insert “exceptions” to the Synco-
pation setting on the Score Settings–Staff page, by using 
the Display Quantize tool. You can also create tied notes 
in various combinations by using the Cut Notes tool.
Consolidate Rests
Activate this when you want small consecutive rests 
joined into one (an eight note rest and a sixteenth note 
rest joined to a dotted eighth note rest for example). 
Consolidate Rests deactivated and activated.
Clean Lengths
When this option is activated, the program interprets the 
length of your notes differently. A note’s length (in the dis-
play only) might be extended to the beginning of the next 
note or to the next Rests display quantize “position”. An 
example:
 If a note is too short, you may get a rest just after it.
 When Clean Lengths is activated, the rest will disappear.
A slightly short eighth note without and with “Clean Lengths”.
If using Clean Lengths doesn’t help in a particular situa-
tion, you will have to manually resize the offending note(s) 
or use the Display Quantize tool (see “Inserting display 
quantize changes” on page 514).
No Overlap
When notes starting at the same position have different 
lengths, the program tends to add more ties than you may 
want. This can be avoided by using No Overlap.
This recording in the Key Editor…
…will be displayed like this when No Overlap is deactivated…
…and like this when No Overlap is activated.
You can insert “exceptions” to the No Overlap setting on 
the Score Settings–Staff page, by using the Display 
Quantize tool.
!Please note that there may be situations when neither 
of these alternatives is ideal. If you run into such a sit-
uation, it can probably be resolved by using poly-
phonic voices, see “Polyphonic voicing” on page 536. 
						

							512
Transcribing MIDI recordings
Shuffle
In jazz it is very common to score a shuffled beat as 
straight notes, simply to make it more legible. 
When the Shuffle flag is activated, the program searches 
for eighth note or sixteenth note pairs where the second 
note is played late (with a “swing feel” or as the third note 
in a triplet). Such pairs are displayed as regular eighth or 
sixteenth notes instead of triplet-based figures.
Without and with Shuffle.
Display transpose
This is used when preparing parts for instruments that are 
not scored at the actual concert key. For example, if you 
want the note C3 to be played by an alto sax, you have to 
score it as an A3 – nine semitones up. Luckily, the display 
transpose setting takes care of this for you:
 Use the pop-up menu to select the instrument for which 
you’re scoring.
 If the pop-up menu doesn’t list the needed instrument, you 
can set the desired transposition with the Semitones value 
field.
ÖThe display transpose setting doesn’t affect playback 
or the actual pitch of the notes – it only changes how they 
are displayed and printed.
If you want to set a different key symbol, e.g. when scor-
ing for french horn, activate the “Local Keys” option.
You can disable display transpose by clicking on the 
button “Disable Display Tranpose” in the toolbar of the 
Score Editor. 
For more details, see “Transposing instruments” on page 
505.
The Options tab
The Options tab of the Staff page.
The Options tab contains additional settings for the staff. 
Below you can find a brief description of these, with refer-
ences to more detailed explanations.
Switches
Option Description
Flat Beams Activate this when you want the beams over notes to be 
flat (as opposed to slanted). See “Beam appearance and 
slant settings” on page 555.
No Beams Activate this when you don’t want any beaming at all on 
the staff (for example for vocal scoring). See “Turning be-
aming on/off” on page 552.
Beam 
SubgroupsUse this when you want sixteenth notes displayed under 
a beam to be divided into groups of four notes. See 
“Handling beam groups” on page 555.
Without and with Beam Subgroups.
16th 
SubgroupsUse this when you want even smaller subgroups of six-
teenth notes. This setting has no effect if Beam Sub-
groups is deactivated.
As above, but with 16th Subgroups activated. 
						

							513
Transcribing MIDI recordings
Score Drum Map
These settings are all described in the chapter “Scoring 
for drums” on page 620.
System Sizes
This section allows you to set the number of system lines 
and to control spacing between the lines. See “Creating 
tablature manually” on page 626 for an example of how 
this can be used with tablature.
Fixed Stems
Activate this if you want all note stems to end at the same 
vertical position. The Up and Down fields let you specify 
the desired positions for stems in the respective direction, 
using the graphic figure to the right as a guideline.
Note Limits
Use the Low and High fields to specify a note range. In the 
active staff, any notes outside this range will be displayed 
in a different color. When writing a score for a specific in-
strument, this makes it easy to find notes that are outside 
of this instrument’s note range.
ÖIf the option “Hide Notes beyond Limits” is activated in 
the Preferences dialog (Scores-Editing page), any notes 
outside the Note Limits range will be hidden.
The Polyphonic tab
This is where you activate and set up split (piano) systems 
or polyphonic voices (several independent score lines in 
the same staves). See the chapter “Polyphonic voicing” 
on page 536.
The Tablature tab
This contains settings for creating tablature scores. See 
the chapter “Creating tablature” on page 624.
Situations which require additional 
techniques
The notes may not always appear in the score as you ex-
pect them to, initially. This is because there are a number 
of situations which require special techniques and set-
tings. Below you can find a list of some of these and 
where to find more information about handling them:
Notes at the same position are considered to be part of 
a chord. To get independent voicing (e.g. notes with dif-
ferent stem directions), such as for vocal material, you 
need to use the polyphonic voicing feature, see the chap-
ter “Polyphonic voicing” on page 536.
Without and with polyphonic voicing.
If two notes beginning at the same position have different 
lengths, the longer one will be displayed as a number of tied 
notes. To avoid this, you will either have to use the No Over-
lap feature (see “No Overlap” on page 511) or polyphonic 
voicing (see “Polyphonic voicing” on page 536).
One note will often be displayed as two notes with a tie. 
Please note that this is merely the way the program dis-
plays this note; only a single note is “stored”.
This single note in the Key Editor is displayed as two tied notes in the 
Score Editor.
Normally the program adds ties where necessary (if a 
note stretches over a beat), but not always. For a “mod-
ern” notation of syncopated notes (less ties), you will need 
to use the Syncopation feature, see “Syncopation” on 
page 510.
The same note, without and with syncopation.
If you find that you want a long note to be displayed as 
two or more tied notes, you can achieve this with the Cut 
Notes tool. See “The Cut Notes tool” on page 556. 
						

							514
Transcribing MIDI recordings
If two notes on the same position are too close to each 
other or if you want their order in the part reversed, you 
can do this without affecting playback. See “Graphic mo-
ving of notes” on page 557.
If a note has the wrong accidental, this can be changed. 
See “Accidentals and enharmonic shift” on page 549.
Stem direction and length are automatic, but you can 
change them manually if you wish. See “Background: 
Note stems” on page 547.
If you need a split staff (e. g. when you are scoring for 
piano), there are special techniques for this – see “Split 
(piano) staves” on page 528 and “Polyphonic voicing” on 
page 536.
If you run into trouble
Below you can find a few simple troubleshooting steps 
that will help you pinpoint other common problems:
The note I recorded is displayed with the wrong length. 
For example, I recorded a sixteenth and got a quarter note.
You probably have the wrong display quantize value set, see “Display 
quantize” on page 510 for details. If you feel uncertain about what dis-
play quantize is, and how it works, please read the chapter “How the 
Score Editor works” on page 490. Also, you may want to check the No 
Overlap setting.
There is a pause after a note that I don’t want.
The note is probably too short. This can be adjusted in two ways, by us-
ing Clean Lengths (see “Clean Lengths” on page 511) or by manually 
lengthening it (see “Changing the length of notes” on page 526). If this 
problem occurs a lot in your score, try selecting a larger Rests display 
quantize value (see “Using Rests display quantize” on page 493).
There is no pause after the note although there should 
be one.
Either the note is too long (use Clean Lengths or change the current 
note’s length), or Rests display quantize is set to too high a value. Open 
the Score Settings–Staff page and lower it.
The note has an accidental when it shouldn’t, or it 
doesn’t when it should.
Enharmonic shifting is described in the section “Accidentals and enhar-
monic shift” on page 549.
Notes are not grouped under beams the way I want it.
Normally the program groups eighth notes, sixteenths etc. under beams. 
This can be deactivated. There is also detailed control of which notes are 
grouped under a beam. This is described in the section “Handling bea-
ming” on page 552.
Inserting display quantize changes
Some situations may require different staff settings on dif-
ferent sections of the track. The staff settings are valid for 
the entire track, but you can insert changes wherever you 
like:
1.Select the Display Quantize tool from the toolbar or 
Quick menu.
The Display Quantize tool on the toolbar.
2.When you select the tool, the Display Quantize dialog 
appears.
3.Activate the flags you need and set the quantize val-
ues as desired.
For details, see “Display quantize” on page 510 and “Interpretation opti-
ons” on page 510. Additional hints below.
4.If you want to restore the settings to the ones used on 
the Score Settings–Staff page, click the Restore To Staff 
button.
5.Move the mouse over the staff where you want to in-
sert a new display quantize value.
Use the mouse position box to find the exact location. The vertical posi-
tion is of no relevance as long as you click somewhere in the staff.
6.Click the mouse button to insert a display quantize 
event.
The new quantize settings are now inserted into the staff at the position 
where you clicked. The settings are valid until a new change is inserted.  
						

							515
Transcribing MIDI recordings
If you are using polyphonic voices (see “Polyphonic voi-
cing” on page 536), you can insert a display quantize 
event for all voices by pressing [Alt]/[Option] and clicking 
with the tool.
If the option “Display Quantize Tool affects all Voices” is activated on the 
Score Settings–Project page (Notation Style subpage, in the Miscella-
neous category), display quantize events will always be inserted for all 
voices.
Viewing and editing display quantize changes
If you activate the “Quantize” checkbox on the display filter 
bar (see “Showing and hiding “invisible” elements” on 
page 500), a marker will be shown under the staff for each 
display quantize setting you have entered with the tool.
This allows you to edit your settings in the following ways:
To edit a display quantize change event, double-click on 
its marker.
This opens the Display Quantize dialog again – adjust the settings and 
click Apply.
If the Display Quantize dialog is already open, you can 
select any display quantize change event, adjust its set-
tings in the dialog and click Apply.
To remove a display quantize change, either click its 
marker to select it and press [Backspace] or [Delete], or 
click on it with the Erase tool.
Strategies: Adding display quantize 
changes
Very often, the score will be fine except for a few bars 
somewhere. To remedy the problem, insert two display 
quantize changes with the tool (one at the beginning of the 
section, one after it to restore to the current staff settings).
If you have mixed triplets and straight notes, it can be 
tempting to insert many display quantize changes. Before 
you do so, try the Auto Quantize options and their addi-
tional settings. See “If your music contains mixed straight 
notes and triplets” on page 510.
The Explode function
This function allows you to “split” the notes on a staff into 
separate tracks. It is also possible to use this function to 
convert a polyphonic staff into polyphonic voices – this is 
described in the section “Automatically – the Explode 
function” on page 541.
1.Pull down the Scores menu, open the Functions sub-
menu and select “Explode…”.
The Explode dialog, set to create tracks.
2.Make sure “To New tracks” is selected at the top of 
the dialog.
3.Enter the desired number of new tracks.
Note that this is the number of new tracks to be created! For example, if 
you have a three-part polyphonic section and want to split this into three 
separate tracks, you must specify 2 new tracks, since the original track 
will hold one of the parts.
4.Use the options in the bottom section to set up the cri-
teria for the split.
Choose from the following options:
5.Click OK.
A number of new tracks are now added to the score and the Project win-
dow.
!You may want to create a copy of the original track 
first, since this will be changed by the operation.
Option Description
Split Note Use this to move all notes below a certain pitch to an-
other track. When this is selected, it is pointless to spec-
ify more than 1 new track.
Lines To tracks Use this when you want all musical “lines” to be put on 
one track each. The notes with the highest pitch will re-
main on the original track, the notes with the second 
highest pitch will be put on the first new track, and so on. 
Bass To 
Lowest VoiceWhen this is activated, the lowest notes will always end 
up on the lowest track.