Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Getting Started Manual

							10
Tutorial 2: Recording and
playing back MIDI 
						

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About this tutorial
This chapter describes the basic operations for recording and playing 
back MIDI. For a full description of MIDI recording please see the chap-
ter “Recording” in the Operation Manual.
Before you start
This chapter assumes that you have correctly connected your MIDI 
equipment according to the instructions in the chapter “Setting up 
your system” in this book.
This tutorial connects to the previous chapter, so if you followed the 
instructions there, you should now have recorded two audio tracks.
About MIDI Thru
The normal way to work with MIDI is to have MIDI Thru activated in Cu-
base SX/SL, and Local Off selected in your MIDI instrument(s). In this 
mode, everything you play during recording will be “echoed” back out 
again on the MIDI output and channel selected for the recording track.
1.Open the Preferences dialog and select the MIDI page.
The Preferences dialog is located on the File menu under Windows and on the 
Cubase SX/SL menu under Mac OS X.
2.Make sure the option “MIDI Thru Active” is activated.
3.Click OK to close the Preferences dialog. 
						

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Setting up for recording MIDI
Creating a MIDI track
To create a MIDI track, proceed as follows:
1.Pull down the Project menu and select “Add Track”.
A submenu appears.
2.Select MIDI from the submenu.
A MIDI track is added to the Track list.
Setting the MIDI input 
1.Make sure the Inspector is shown to the left in the Project window.
The Inspector shows settings for the selected track. You show or hide it with the Show 
Inspector button on the toolbar.
Click here to show the Inspector.
2.To set the MIDI input for a track, pull down the “in:” pop-up menu in 
the Inspector and select an input.
The available MIDI inputs are shown. The items on the menu depend on the type of MIDI 
interface you are using etc. You can set the MIDI input independently for each track.
Click here to set the MIDI input.   
						

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3.Record enable the MIDI track by clicking the red button in the Track list.
MIDI Thru is automatically activated when the track is record enabled.
Record enabling the track in the Track list. This can also be done in the Inspector 
area to the left or in the mixer.
4.Play a few notes on your MIDI instrument, and check the level meter in 
the Track list to make sure that the MIDI signal is received.
If not, check that you have correctly set up your MIDI system, as described on page 47.
Setting the MIDI output and channel
1.To set the MIDI output for a track, pull down the “out:” pop-up menu in 
the Inspector and select the output to which you have connected your 
MIDI device.
The available MIDI outputs are shown. The items on the menu depend on what type of 
MIDI interface you are using etc. 
Click here to set the MIDI output.   
						

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2.To set the MIDI channel for a track, use the MIDI “chn:” pop-up in the 
Inspector.
If you set the track to MIDI channel “ANY”, it will transmit MIDI on the channel(s) used 
by the MIDI input device (the MIDI instrument you play during recording). 
Click here to set the MIDI channel.
Selecting a sound
•To select different sounds, you can send Program Change messages 
to your MIDI device using the “prg:” value field in the Inspector.
Click here to select a Program number.
Program Change messages give access to 128 program locations. If 
your MIDI instruments have more than 128 programs, Bank Select 
messages (set in the “bnk:” value field) allow you to select different 
banks, each containing a number of programs.
•Play a few notes on your MIDI instrument to check that the selected 
sound program is correct.   
						

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Recording MIDI 
1.Make sure the track is record enabled and correctly set up, as de-
scribed in the previous section.
2.Make sure that Cycle and Punch In/Out are deactivated on the Trans-
port panel.
3.To set recording to start at the cursor position, pull down the Trans-
port menu and make sure the item “Start Record at Left Locator” is 
deactivated (unticked).
4.Place the project cursor at the position where you wish to begin re-
cording.
For example, you could try recording a MIDI part together with the audio tracks that 
you recorded in the previous tutorial.
5.Activate Record on the Transport panel, and play a few notes on your 
MIDI instrument.
When you finish recording, a MIDI part containing MIDI events is created in the 
Project window. 
6.If you are done recording, click the record enable button in the area to 
the left of the track so it goes dark.
Playing back what you just recorded
1.Move the project cursor to the beginning of the recorded MIDI part.
This could either be done by clicking in the ruler, or by using the Rewind button on the 
Transport panel.
2.Click the Play button on the Transport panel.
Your recording will be played back.
3.When you are done, stop playback by clicking the Stop button on the 
Transport panel. 
						

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Playing back in a cycle
You could continue starting and stopping playback this way, moving 
the project cursor manually each time. However, it is more practical to 
have Cubase SX/SL play back your recorded parts and events re-
peatedly, over and over again:
1.Click on the recorded MIDI part to make sure it is selected.
A selected MIDI part has a red border and white handles at its beginning and end.
2.Pull down the Transport menu and select “Locators to Selection”.
This moves the left and right locator to the beginning and end of the selected MIDI 
part, respectively. In the ruler, the area between the left and right locator is indicated by 
a blue line.
3.Click the Cycle button on the Transport panel so that it lights up.
4.Move the project cursor to the beginning of the recorded part and 
click Play.
Playback starts. When the project cursor reaches the end of the recording (the right 
locator), it will immediately jump back to the left locator and continue playback. When 
you’re done, click the Stop button on the Transport panel.  
						

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Transposing the MIDI track
Let’s try transposing the MIDI track, using the Track Parameters tab in 
the Inspector:
1.Make sure that the Inspector button on the toolbar is lit.
2.Select the MIDI track by clicking on it in the Track list.
The parameters for the MIDI track are now shown in the Inspector area to the left.
3.Click on the Track Parameters title bar in the Inspector.
Click here……to open the Track Parameter 
settings in the Inspector.    
						

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4.Click on the blue value line in the Transpose field in the Inspector.
A fader appears, allowing you to transpose the MIDI track up or down in semitones. 
You can also use the up/down arrows to the right in the field to set transpose values.
Click here…
…to set a transpose value for the MIDI track.
5.Start playback to hear the transposed MIDI track.   
						

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