Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Operation Manual
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![Page 557
CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 557
Editing in the controller display
About controller lanes
By default, the controller display has a single lane, showing one event
type at a time. However, you can easily add lanes by right-clicking
(Windows) or [Ctrl]-clicking (Mac) in the display and selecting “Cre-
ate new controller lane” from the Quick menu. This allows you to view
and edit different controllers at the same time.
The controller display with three lanes set up.
• To remove a lane, right-click in...](http://img.usermanuals.tech/thumb/86/103328/w64_Operation_Manual_d-556.png "Page 557
CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 557
Editing in the controller display
About controller lanes
By default, the controller display has a single lane, showing one event
type at a time. However, you can easily add lanes by right-clicking
(Windows) or [Ctrl]-clicking (Mac) in the display and selecting “Cre-
ate new controller lane” from the Quick menu. This allows you to view
and edit different controllers at the same time.
The controller display with three lanes set up.
• To remove a lane, right-click in...")
![Page 563
CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 563
• Clicking and dragging with the Line tool in Line mode shows a line in the con-
troller lane, and creates events with values aligned with this line.
This is the best way to draw linear controller ramps. If you press [Alt]/[Option], 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 with a pa-
rabola curve instead, giving more “natural” curves and fades.
Note that the...](http://img.usermanuals.tech/thumb/86/103328/w64_Operation_Manual_d-562.png "Page 563
CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 563
• Clicking and dragging with the Line tool in Line mode shows a line in the con-
troller lane, and creates events with values aligned with this line.
This is the best way to draw linear controller ramps. If you press [Alt]/[Option], 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 with a pa-
rabola curve instead, giving more “natural” curves and fades.
Note that the...")
![Page 565
CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 565
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 activated in the
Preferences dialog (Editing 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...](http://img.usermanuals.tech/thumb/86/103328/w64_Operation_Manual_d-564.png "Page 565
CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 565
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 activated in the
Preferences dialog (Editing 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...")
![Page 566
CUBASE SX/SL24 – 566 The MIDI editors
Deleting events in the controller display
You delete events by clicking 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. See
page 542.
•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...](http://img.usermanuals.tech/thumb/86/103328/w64_Operation_Manual_d-565.png "Page 566
CUBASE SX/SL24 – 566 The MIDI editors
Deleting events in the controller display
You delete events by clicking 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. See
page 542.
•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...")
CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 561 • Parabola mode works in the same way, but aligns the velocity values with a Parabola curve instead. Use this for smooth, “natural” velocity fades, etc. • The remaining three Line tool modes (Sine, Triangle and Square) align the ve- locity values with continuous curve shapes (see below). Note: •If there is more than one note on 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 veloc- ity of the selected note. You can also adjust the velocity of a single note by selecting it and changing its velocity value on the info line.
CUBASE SX/SL24 – 562 The MIDI editors Adding and editing events in the controller display When any option other than “Velocity” is selected for viewing in a controller lane, you can create new events or edit the values of exist- ing 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 page 559. • To modify the value of an event (without creating a new one), press [Alt]/[Op- tion] and use the Pencil tool or the Line tool’s Paint mode. 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 drawing, switching dynami- cally between “edit mode” and “create mode”. • With the Pencil tool and the Line tool in Paint mode, the quantize value de- termines the “density” of created controller curves (if Snap is activated). For very smooth curves, you should use a small quantize value or turn off Snap. How- ever, please note that this creates a very large number of MIDI events, which can cause MIDI playback to “stutter” in some situations. A medium-low density is often sufficient. 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.
CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 563 • Clicking and dragging with the Line tool in Line mode shows a line in the con- troller lane, and creates events with values aligned with this line. This is the best way to draw linear controller ramps. If you press [Alt]/[Option], 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 with a pa- rabola curve instead, giving more “natural” curves and fades. Note that the result depends on from which direction you draw the parabola: • In Parabola mode you can use modifier keys to determine the shape of the pa- rabola 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. Converting a controller curve to a ramp using the Line tool:
CUBASE SX/SL24 – 564 The MIDI editors • In 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 determines 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 deter- mine 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]+[Ctrl] (Win)/[Option]+ [Command] (Mac) while snap is activated you can change the position of the whole curve (in both cases the snap value for the posi- tioning will be a quarter of the quantize value). • You 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 positioning will be a quarter of the quantize value.
CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 565 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 activated in the Preferences dialog (Editing 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 page 612). •If you hold down [Alt]/[Option] and drag, the events will be copied rather than moved. If there already is an event of the same type at the exact same position, 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 page 542). 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 display: 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 position, main- taining their relative positions. If a pasted event ends up at the same position as an ex- isting event of the same type, the old event is replaced.
CUBASE SX/SL24 – 566 The MIDI editors Deleting events in the controller display You delete events by clicking 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. See page 542. •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 selected 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:
CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 567 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 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. The selected note number is displayed in the lower value field to the left of the controller display. 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 Pres- sure 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.
CUBASE SX/SL24 – 568 The MIDI editors Edit In-Place (Cubase SX only) 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, click the Edit In-Place but- ton for a MIDI track in the track list or the Inspector. This expands the MIDI track to show something like a miniature Key editor, allowing you to edit MIDI notes and controllers. •To zoom or scroll the In-Place Editor, point at the left part of the piano keyboard display so that the cursor 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.
CUBASE SX/SLThe MIDI editors 24 – 569 •Clicking in the upper right corner of the track list for the edited track brings up a local toolbar with some MIDI editor-specific settings. For descriptions of these settings, see page 538. •Just like in the Key editor, you can edit velocity or continuous control- lers at the bottom of the In-Place Editor. To change which controller type is shown, click in the controller name field directly be- low the piano keyboard and select a controller type from the pop-up menu. To add or remove controller lanes, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) below the controller name field and select an option from the context menu that appears. •When you select a MIDI note, the Project window info line shows in- formation 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. •The Snap button and Snap type pop-up menu on the Project window toolbar governs snapping in the In-Place editor, but the Snap Grid is set using the Quantize pop-up menu. •To close the In-Place Editor, click the Edit In-Place button again.
CUBASE SX/SL24 – 570 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, with the following differences: • The Drum Editor has no Pencil tool – instead there is a Drumstick tool (for in- putting 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 on – the global quantize value on the toolbar or the indi- vidual quantize 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.