Steinberg Cubase SX/SL 3 Score Layout And Printing Manual

5
Staff settings 

CUBASE SX5 – 92 Staff settings
In this chapter you will learn:
• How to make staff settings.
• How to work with staff presets.
Staff settings
Below follows a run-through of all staff settings, more detailed infor-
mation about the ones already described and references to other 
places in the manual for some options.
 
Use this section to set 
up how the display 
should be quantized – 
the displayed spacing 
and length of notes.
This section contains 
additonal settings for 
how the notes are dis-...

CUBASE SXStaff settings 5 – 93
Making settings
1.Open the Staff Settings dialog.
2.With the Staff Settings dialog open, make the desired staff active.
Click anywhere in a staff to make it active, or use the up and down arrow keys to step 
from staff to staff.
3.Select the desired tab in the dialog and make whatever settings you 
need to do.
The settings for regular staves are found on the Main and Options tab, the Polyphonic 
tab contains settings for split systems and polyphonic voices while the...

CUBASE SX5 – 94 Staff settings
Working with staff presets
You will spend some time making staff settings for your scores. Staff 
presets allow you to reuse those settings whenever you work with a 
staff similar to one you have worked on before. A staff preset contains 
all the settings in the Staff Settings dialog except the key.
•To store the current settings (including the settings on the Options tab, 
see below) click the Store button in the Presets section of the dialog.
Enter a name for the preset...

CUBASE SXStaff settings 5 – 95
Staff names
These fields allow you to specify a “long” and a “short” name for the 
staff. The long name is shown for the very first system for this staff in 
the score (at the start of the song), while the short name is shown for 
the remaining systems.
•Whether the names should be shown at all is set in the Layout Set-
tings dialog (see page 234).
Here, you can also opt to use the names of the edited MIDI tracks instead.
•If you only want the “long name” to be shown (i.e....

CUBASE SX5 – 96 Staff settings
Display quantize and interpretation flags
These two sections of the dialog contain a number of settings used to 
determine how the notes should be interpreted. While these settings 
are more critical to making MIDI recorded music appear as legible as 
possible it is still important to have them set correctly when entering 
notes using the mouse. Below you will find a brief summary of the set-
tings – for more details, see page 46.
Notes and Rests display quantize values
•...

CUBASE SXStaff settings 5 – 97
Interpretation flags
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 desired instrument, you can set the 
desired...

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The Options tab
Clicking the Options tab in the dialog brings up another page with ad-
ditional settings (which can be made part of a staff preset just like the 
other settings). Below follows a brief description of these, with refer-
ences to more detailed explanations. 

CUBASE SXStaff settings 5 – 99
Switches
System Sizes
This section allows you to set the number of system lines and to con-
trol spacing between the lines:
See page 289 for an example of how this can be used with tablature.
Score Drum Map
These settings are all described in the chapter “Scoring for drums”.
Option Description
Flat Beams Activate this when you want the beams over notes to be flat (as 
opposed to slanted). See page 141.
No Beams Activate this when you don’t want any beaming at all on the...

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Fixed Stems
If you activate this checkbox, the stems of all notes will end at the 
same vertical position. This feature is perhaps most often used when 
scoring for drums (see page 282).
A drum pattern with Fixed Stem length activated.
The Up and Down parameters determine which position (relative to 
the top of the staff) should be used for up and down stems, respec-
tively. The graphical display helps you get your settings right. 
The Polyphonic and Tablature tabs
These...