Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 541
The controller display
The area at the bottom of the Key Editor window is the controller dis-
play. This consists of one or several controller lanes, each showing 
one of the following properties or event types:
• Velocity values of the notes.
• Pitch Bend events.
• Aftertouch events.
• Poly Pressure events.
• Program Change events.
• Any type of continuous controller event.
To change the size of the controller display, drag the divider between 
the controller...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 542 The MIDI editors
Events in the controller display (that is, anything other than velocity 
values) are shown as “blocks”, the heights of which correspond to the 
“values” of the events. However, events that have been recorded (or 
drawn with a low quantize value) may appear more like “filled curves”, 
simply because they are positioned very closely:
If you zoom in on the upper “curve”, you will find that it consists of separate events.
• Unlike notes, events in the controller display...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 543
Key Editor operations
Zooming
Zooming in the Key Editor is done according to the standard zoom 
procedures, using the zoom sliders, the Zoom tool or the Zoom sub-
menu on the Edit menu.
•When you drag a rectangle with the Zoom tool, the result depends on 
the option “Zoom Tool Standard Mode: Horizontal Zooming Only” in 
the Preferences dialog (Editing page).
If this is on, the window will only be zoomed horizontally; if not, the window will be 
zoomed both...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 544 The MIDI editors
The independent track loop function
The independent track loop is a sort of “mini-cycle”, affecting only the 
MIDI part being edited. When the loop is activated, the MIDI events 
within the loop will be repeated continuously and completely indepen-
dent – other events (on other tracks) will be played back as usual. The 
only “interaction” between the loop and the “regular playback” is that 
every time the cycle starts over again, so does the loop.
To set up the...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 545
Creating and editing notes
To draw new notes in the Key Editor, you use the Pencil tool or the 
Line tool.
Drawing notes with the Pencil tool
With the Pencil tool, you insert single notes by clicking at the desired 
time position (horizontal) and pitch position (vertical).
•When you move the pointer in the note display, its bar position is indi-
cated in the toolbar, and its pitch is indicated both in the toolbar and 
on the piano keyboard to the left.
This makes it...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 546 The MIDI editors
Drawing notes with the Line tool
The Line tool can be used for creating series of contiguous notes. To 
use the Line tool, click and drag to draw a line and then release the 
mouse button.
• The Line tool has several different modes.
To select one of the modes, click on the Line tool icon on the toolbar when the tool is 
already selected. This opens a pop-up menu from which you can select one of the Line 
modes.
The tool icon will change appearance according to the...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 547
Setting velocity values
When you draw notes in the key editor, the notes will get the velocity 
value set in the insert velocity field on the toolbar.
You can use one of three different methods for determining the velocity:
•Selecting a predefined velocity value from the insert velocity pop-up 
menu.
The menu contains five different predefined velocity values. The “Setup...” item opens 
a dialog that allows you to specify which five velocity values should be...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 548 The MIDI editors
Selecting notes
Selecting notes is done using any of the following methods:
•Use the Arrow tool.
The standard selection techniques apply.
•Use the Select submenu on the Edit menu or Quick menu.
The Select menu options are:
•You can also use the left and right arrow keys on the computer key-
board to step from one note to the next or previous.
If you press [Shift] and use the arrow keys, the current selection will be kept, allowing 
you to select several notes.
•To...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 549
Moving and transposing notes
To move notes in the editor, use any of the following methods:
•Click and drag to a new position.
All selected notes will be moved, maintaining their relative positions. If Snap is activated, 
this determines to which positions you can move the notes, see page 612.
Note also that you can restrict movement to horizontal or vertical only by 
holding down [Ctrl]/[Command] while dragging.
•Use the up and down arrow keys on the computer...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 550 The MIDI editors
•You can also perform the Repeat function by dragging: Select the 
note(s) to repeat, press [Alt]/[Option], click the right edge of the last 
selected note and drag to the right.
The longer to the right you drag, the more copies (as indicated by the tooltip).
Using cut and paste
You can use the Cut, Copy and Paste options on the Edit menu to 
move or copy material within a part or between different parts. When 
you paste copied notes, you can either use the regular...