Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 601
Key and Clef
The correct Key and Clef are set using the two scroll bars in the Key & 
Clef section.
If you activate the “Auto Clef” checkbox, the program attempts to guess the correct 
clef, judging from the pitch of the music.
•To set the clef and key for the lower staff, activate the “Lower Staff” 
checkbox in the Key/Clef section.
Display Transpose
Some instruments, for example a lot of brass instruments, are scored 
transposed. For this purpose, the Staff...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 602 The MIDI editors
Flags
These provide additional options for how the score should be dis-
played:
Parameter Description
Clean Lengths When this is activated, notes that are considered to be chords will 
be shown with identical lengths. This is done by showing the longer 
notes as shorter than they are. When Clean Lengths is turned on, 
notes with very short overlaps are also cut off; a bit as with No Over-
lap (see below), but with a more subtle effect. 
No Overlap When this is...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 603
Applying your settings
After you’ve made your settings, click Apply to apply them to the ac-
tive staff. You can select another staff in the score and make settings 
for that, without having to close the Staff Settings dialog first – just re-
member to click Apply before you change staff, otherwise your 
changes will be lost.
•As in many other dialogs and property windows in Cubase SX/SL, 
you can store your settings as presets.
This is done according to the usual...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 604 The MIDI editors
Selecting a Quantize Value
When you move the mouse pointer over the score, you will see that 
the position box on the toolbar tracks your movement and shows the 
current position in bars, beats, sixteenth notes and ticks.
Positioning on screen is controlled by the current Quantize value. If 
you for example set this to “1/8 Note” you can only insert and move 
notes to eighth note positions, at quarter notes, at half bars or at bar 
positions. It is a good strategy to...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 605
4.Select a Quantize value.
As described above, the Quantize value will determine the spacing between notes. If 
you have Quantize set to “1/1 Note” you will only be able to add notes at downbeats. 
If you set Quantize to “1/8 Note” you will be able to add notes at all eighth note posi-
tions etc.
5.Click in the staff and keep the mouse button pressed.
A note appears under the mouse pointer.
6.Move the mouse horizontally to find the correct position.
Check the lower...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 606 The MIDI editors
Selecting notes
There are several ways to select notes in the Score Editor:
By clicking
To select a note, click on its note head with the Arrow tool. The note 
head gets inverted to indicate that it is selected.
•To select more notes, hold down [Shift] and click on them.
•To deselect notes, hold [Shift] down and click on them again.
•If you hold down [Shift] and double click on a note, this note and all 
the following notes in the same staff are selected.
Using a...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 607
Deleting notes
Notes can be deleted in two ways:
Using the Eraser tool
1.Select the Eraser tool from the toolbar or Quick menu.
2.Click on the Note(s) you want to erase, one at a time or drag over 
them with the mouse button pressed.
Using the keyboard or delete menu item
1.Select the notes you want to delete.
2.Select Delete from the Edit menu, or press [Delete] or [Backspace] on 
the computer keyboard.
Moving notes
To move or transpose notes, proceed as follows:...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 608 The MIDI editors
•You can also move selected notes by using key commands, as as-
signed in the Nudge category in the Key Commands dialog.
When moving notes to the left or right using key commands, the notes will be moved in 
steps according to the current Quantize value. The keys assigned for up/down nudg-
ing will transpose notes in semitones steps.
Duplicating notes
1.Set the Quantize value and select the notes, as for moving.
2.Press [Alt]/[Option] and drag the notes to their new...

CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 609
By using the note value icons on the extended toolbar
Using the extended toolbar is another quick way to set a number of 
notes to the same length:
1.Select the notes you want to change.
2.Hold down [Ctrl]/[Command] and click on one of the note icons on 
the extended toolbar.
All the selected notes are now given the length of the clicked note.
By using the info line
You can also edit length values numerically on the info line, just like in 
the Key and Drum Editors...

CUBASE SX/SL24 – 610 The MIDI editors
Flip Stems
Normally the direction of the note stems is automatically selected ac-
cording to the note pitches, but you can change this manually if you 
like:
1.Select the notes for which you want to change (flip) the stem direction.
2.Pull down the MIDI menu and select Flip Stems from the Scores sub-
menu.
Working with text
You can use the Text tool to add comments, articulation or instrumen-
tation advice and other text strings anywhere in the score:
Adding a text...