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-
played.Use this section to select keys 
and clefs
Use this section to select and apply presets, 
or turn the current settings into a preset. This is where you enter 
the name for the staff. 
Normally, the long 
name is shown at the 
beginning of the score, 
while the short name is 
shown for the remain-
ing systems.
This is where you specify the display 
transpose for instruments that are not 
scored in concert key.
The dialog has four tabs – 
here, the Main tab is selected. 
						

							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 Tablature tab 
lets you set up tablature scores.
4.When you have made the desired settings, click Apply.
The settings are applied to the active staff.
• If the option “Apply closes Property Windows” is activated in the Prefer-
ences dialog (Scores page), clicking Apply will also close the dialog.
5.Select another staff, make settings for this and click Apply.
Repeat this until all staves have the right settings.
6.If you want to close the dialog, click its close box as usual. 
						

							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 in the name dialog that appears, and click OK. The preset 
will now be available on the Presets pop-up menu (in all projects).
•To load a preset, select it on the Presets pop-up menu.
Note that this loads the settings in the preset into the dialog – to apply these to a staff 
you must click the Apply button as usual. You can also apply staff presets directly in 
the score – see below.
•To remove a preset, select it from the pop-up menu and click the Re-
move button.
Applying a preset directly in the score
If you right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) directly to the left of a staff, 
a pop-up menu will appear, listing all available presets. Select one to 
apply it to the staff.
How staff presets are stored
The staff presets are stored as individual files in the Presets–Staff 
Settings folder within the Cubase SX program folder. The presets are 
available for selection in any project you create or edit. 
						

							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. if you don’t want a 
name shown for each system in the score), simply delete the short 
name.
•If the option “Show Long Track Names on new Pages” is activated in 
the Notation Style dialog (Scores–Global Settings menu), the long 
name will be shown at the beginning of each new page.
Key and clef
The basic key and clef settings are described in detail on page 31. 
There is also a Lower Staff check box which is only used in conjunc-
tion with split (piano) staves and polyphonic voicing. This is described 
on page 35. 
						

							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
• Generally, the Notes display quantize value should be set to a value equal to, 
or smaller than, the “smallest note position” you want to be shown in the score.
• The Rests display quantize value should be set to a value equal to, or smaller 
than, the smallest note value (length) you want to be displayed for a single 
note, positioned on a beat.
• If the score contains only triplets, or mostly triplets, select one of the Triplet 
options.
Auto Quantize
• If the piece contains no triplets or only triplets, deactivate this option.
• If the piece contains mixed triplets and straight notes, activate this option (the 
additional options are described in detail on page 47). 
						

							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 transposition with the Semitones value field.
• The display transpose setting doesn’t affect playback or the actual pitch 
of the notes – it only changes how they are displayed and printed.
You can also insert display transpose changes anywhere in the score, 
by inserting a key change symbol and using the Transpose setting in 
the Edit Key/Clef dialog (see page 38).
•Deactivate the “Use Display Transpose” option in the Chord Settings 
dialog if you do not want the chord symbols to be affected by the dis-
play transpose setting (see page 214).
Option Description
Clean Lengths Activate this when you find the program generally interprets your 
notes as shorter than you expect. See page 47.
No Overlap Activate this when notes starting at the same position, but having 
different lengths, give you more ties than you want. See page 48.
Syncopation Activate this when the program adds more ties to notes crossing 
beats and bar lines than you prefer. See page 49.
Shuffle Activate this when you have played a shuffle beat and want it dis-
played as straight notes (no triplets). For details see page 49. 
						

							CUBASE SX5 – 98 Staff settings
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 staff 
(for example for vocal scoring). See page 134.
Beam SubgroupsActivate this when you want sixteenth notes displayed under a 
beam to be divided into two groups of eight notes. See page 140.
16th Subgroups Use this when you want even smaller subgroups of sixteenth 
notes. This setting has no effect if Beam Subgroups is turned off.
Consolidate  Rests Activate this when you want two rests joined to one (for example 
an eighth note and a sixteenth note rest displayed as a dotted 
eighth note rest). See page 51 for an example.
Option Description
System Lines The number of lines in a system. For regular scoring, this should 
be set to 5.
Add Space Allows you to increase or decrease the space between the lines 
in a system.
Size Allows you to set a size for the systems, as a percentage (with 
100% being the default value). In effect, this setting scales the 
score vertically. 
						

							CUBASE SX5 – 100 Staff settings
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 are described in the chapters “Polyphonic voicing” and “Creat-
ing tablature”, respectively. For now, just note that the Polyphonic tab 
contains the Staff Mode pop-up, which determines whether the staff 
should be a single system, a split (piano) staff or use polyphonic voices.