Steinberg Nuendo 4 Operation Manual

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MIDI processing and quantizing 
						

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MIDI processing and quantizing
Introduction
This chapter describes the various MIDI processing func-
tions available on the MIDI menu. They offer various ways 
to edit MIDI notes and other events, either in the Project 
window or from within a MIDI editor.
MIDI functions vs. MIDI modifiers
In some cases, the result of a MIDI function can also be 
obtained by using MIDI modifiers and effects (see “MIDI 
realtime parameters and effects” on page 342). For exam-
ple, the operations “Transpose” and “Quantize” are avail-
able as MIDI modifiers as well as MIDI functions.
The main difference is that MIDI modifiers and effects don’t 
affect the actual MIDI events on the track in any way, while 
MIDI functions change the events “permanently” (although 
recent changes can be undone). 
Use the following guidelines to decide which path to 
choose for operations that are available both as modifiers 
or effects and as functions:
If you want to adjust a few parts or events only, use MIDI 
functions. The MIDI modifiers and effects affect the output 
of the whole track (although they can be made permanent 
in a specific area with the Merge MIDI in Loop function).
If you want to experiment with different settings, use 
MIDI modifiers and effects.
MIDI modifiers and effects settings are not reflected in 
the MIDI editors, since the actual MIDI events aren’t af-
fected. This can be potentially confusing; if you’ve e.g. 
transposed notes using modifiers, the MIDI editors will still 
show the notes with their original pitch (but they will play 
back at their transposed pitch). Therefore MIDI functions 
are a better solution if you want to see the effects in the 
MIDI editors.
What is affected by the MIDI functions?
Which events are affected when you use a MIDI function 
depends on the function, the active window and the cur-
rent selection:
Some MIDI function only apply to MIDI events of a cer-
tain type.
For example, quantization affects notes only, while the Delete Controllers 
function obviously applies to MIDI controller events.
In the Project window, the MIDI functions apply to all 
selected parts, affecting all events (of the relevant types) 
in them.
In the MIDI editors, the MIDI functions apply to all se-
lected events. If no events are selected, all events in the 
edited part(s) will be affected.
The Quantizing functions
What is quantizing?
Quantizing in its fundamental form is a function that auto-
matically moves recorded notes, positioning them on ex-
act note values:
However, quantizing is not only a method of correcting er-
rors, it can also be used creatively in various ways. For ex-
ample, the “quantize grid” does not have to consist of 
perfectly straight notes, some notes can automatically be 
excluded from quantizing, etc.
ÖWhen quantizing MIDI, only MIDI notes are affected 
(no other event types).
However, you can choose to move the controllers together with their re-
spective notes by activating the “Move Controller” option in the Quantize 
Setup dialog, see “The Move Controller setting” on page 355.
For example, if you record a series of eighth notes, some of them 
may end up slightly beside the exact eighth note positions.
Quantizing the notes with the quantize grid set to eighth notes 
will move the “misplaced” notes to exact positions. 
						

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MIDI processing and quantizing
Setting up quantize on the toolbar
At its most basic, setting up quantizing consists of select-
ing a note value from the Quantize pop-up menu on the 
toolbar (in the Project window or a MIDI editor).
This allows you to quantize to exact note values (straight, 
triplet or dotted notes) only. 
Setting up quantize in the Quantize Setup 
dialog
If you want more options than those available on the pop-
up menu, select “Quantize Setup…” from the MIDI menu 
(or “Setup…” from the Quantize pop-up menu) to open 
the Quantize Setup dialog.
The grid display in the middle of the dialog shows one bar 
(four beats), with blue lines indicating the quantize grid 
(the positions that notes will be moved to). Value changes 
in the grid, presets and quantize options will be graphically 
reflected here, see below. 
Straight note values
Triplet note values
Dotted note values
!Any settings you make in the dialog are immediately 
reflected in the Quantize pop-up menus. However, if 
you want your settings permanently available on the 
Quantize pop-up menus, you have to use the presets 
functions (see “Presets” on page 354). 
						

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The Quantize Setup dialog contains the following set-
tings:
The Grid and Type pop-ups
These are used to determine the basic note value for the 
quantizing grid. In other words, these have the same func-
tionality as the Quantize pop-up menu on the toolbar.
Swing
The Swing slider is only available when a straight note 
value is selected for the grid and Tuplet is off (see below). 
It lets you offset every second position in the grid, creating 
a swing or shuffle feel. When you adjust the Swing slider, 
the result is shown in the grid display.
A straight eighth note grid compared with a grid with 60% swing.
Tuplet
Allows you to create more rhythmically complex grids by 
dividing the grid into smaller steps.
Magnetic Area
This allows you to specify that only notes within a certain 
distance from the grid lines should be affected by quantiz-
ing. 
When the slider is set to 0%, the Magnetic Area func-
tion is deactivated, i.e. all notes are affected by quantizing.
If you move the slider gradually to the right, you will note how the mag-
netic areas are shown around the blue lines in the grid display.
Presets
The controls in the lower left corner of the dialog allow you 
to store the current settings as a preset, which will then be 
available on the Quantize menus on the toolbars. The 
usual preset procedures apply:
To store the settings as a preset, click the Store button. 
To load a stored preset into the dialog, just select it from 
the pop-up menu. 
This is useful if you want to modify an existing preset.
To rename the selected preset, double-click on the 
name and type in a new one. 
To remove a stored preset, select it from the pop-up 
menu and click Remove.
You can also create presets by extracting existing 
grooves from a MIDI part. 
Just select the desired MIDI part and drag it on the grid display in the 
middle of the Quantize Setup dialog or open the Advanced submenu on 
the MIDI menu and select “Part to Groove” (see “Part to Groove” on 
page 356).
Only notes within the indicated zones will be affected by quantizing. 
						

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Apply and Auto
These functions allow you to apply quantizing directly from 
the dialog, see below.
The Non Quantize setting
This additional setting affects the result of the quantizing. 
It allows you to set a “distance” in ticks (120ths of six-
teenth notes).
Events that already are within the specified distance from 
the quantize grid will not be quantized. This allows you to 
keep slight variations when you quantize, but still correct 
notes that are too far from the grid.
The Random Quantize setting
This additional setting affects the result of the quantizing. It 
allows you to set a “distance” in ticks (120ths of sixteenth 
notes).
Events will be quantized to random positions within the 
specified “distance” from the quantize grid, thus creating 
a more “loose” quantizing. Much like the Non Quantize 
setting, this allows for slight variations, while at the same 
time keeping notes from ending up too far from the grid.
The Iterative Strength setting
Here you specify how much the notes should be moved 
towards the grid when using the Iterative Quantize func-
tion, see below.
The Move Controller setting
When this is activated, controllers related to notes (pitch 
bend, etc.) are automatically moved with the notes when 
these are quantized.
Applying quantize
There are several ways to apply the quantize:
The standard method is to select “Over Quantize” from 
the MIDI menu (or using a key command, by default [Q]).
This quantizes the selected MIDI parts or notes according to the current 
Quantize pop-up menu setting.
You can also apply quantizing directly from the Quantize 
Setup dialog, by clicking the “Apply Quantize” button.
If you activate the “Auto” checkbox in the Quantize 
Setup dialog, any change you make in the dialog is imme-
diately applied to the selected MIDI parts or notes.
A great way of using this feature is to set up a playback loop, and adjust 
the settings in the dialog until you get the desired result. 
The Auto Quantize function
If you activate the Auto Q button on the Transport panel, 
all MIDI recordings you make are automatically quantized 
according to the settings you have made in the Quantize 
Setup dialog.
Iterative Quantize
Another way to apply “loose” quantization is to use the Iter-
ative Quantize function on the MIDI menu. It works like this:
Instead of moving a note to the closest quantize grid posi-
tion, Iterative Quantize moves it only part of the way. You 
specify how much the notes should be moved towards the 
grid with the “Iterative Strength” setting in the Quantize 
Setup dialog.
Iterative Quantize also differs from “regular” quantization 
in that the operation is not based on the notes’ original po-
sitions but on their current, quantized position. This makes 
it possible to repeatedly use Iterative Quantize, gradually 
moving the notes closer to the quantize grid until you’ve 
found the desired timing.
!If you don’t want to apply the quantizing you have set 
up in the dialog, close the window by clicking its 
standard close box. 
!When you apply quantize, the result is based on the 
original position of the notes. Therefore, you can 
freely try out different quantize settings with no risk of 
“destroying” anything. See also “Undo Quantize” on 
page 356. 
						

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Advanced Quantize functions
Quantize Lengths
This function (on the Advanced Quantize submenu on the 
MIDI menu) will quantize the length of the notes, without 
changing their start positions. At its most basic level, this 
function will set the length of the notes to the Length 
Quantize value on the MIDI editor toolbar. However, if you 
have selected the “Quantize Link” option on the Length 
Quantize pop-up menu, the function will resize the note 
according to the quantize grid, taking the Swing, Tuplet 
and Magnetic Area settings into account. An example:
1. Length Quantize set to “Quantize Link”.
2. Some 1/16th notes.
3. Here, the quantize value has been set to straight 1/16th notes with 
Swing at 100%. Since Snap is activated (see “Snap” on page 370), the 
quantize grid is reflected in the note display’s grid.
4. Selecting Quantize Lengths will adjust the note lengths according to 
the grid. If you compare the result to the first figure above, you will find 
that notes that started within the odd sixteenth note “zones” show the 
longer grid length, and notes in the even zones have the shorter length.
Quantize Ends
The Quantize Ends function on the Advanced Quantize 
submenu will only affect the end positions of notes. Apart 
from that, it works just like regular quantizing, taking the 
Quantize pop-up menu setting into account.
Undo Quantize
As mentioned above, the original position of each quan-
tized note is stored. Therefore, you can make the selected 
MIDI notes revert to their original, unquantized state at any 
time by selecting Undo Quantize from the Advanced 
Quantize submenu. This is independent from the regular 
Undo History.
Freeze Quantize
There may be situations when you want to make the quan-
tized positions “permanent”. For example, you may want to 
quantize notes a second time, having the results based on 
the current quantized positions rather than the original po-
sitions. To make this possible, select the notes in question 
and select “Freeze Quantize” from the Advanced Quantize 
submenu. This makes the quantized positions permanent.
Part to Groove
With this function, you can extract the groove from a se-
lected MIDI part and turn it into a Quantize preset. 
You can also extract grooves from audio, using e.g. hit-
points (see “Creating groove quantize maps” on page 283), 
or audio parts, rex parts or drum parts that have been pro-
cessed with the Detect Silence function. Since audio con-
tains no velocity information, velocity will remain unchanged 
after applying a Groove that you extracted from audio.
In both cases, the resulting groove appears on the Quan-
tize menus and you apply it as you would any Quantize 
preset. You can also view and edit the resulting quantize 
settings in the Quantize Setup dialog.
!This function is only available from within the MIDI 
editors.
!After you have performed a Freeze Quantize for a 
note, you cannot undo its quantization. 
						

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Transpose
The Transpose item on the MIDI menu opens a dialog with 
settings for transposing the selected notes:
ÖYou can also use the Transpose track for transposing, 
see “The Transpose functions” on page 114.
Semitones
This is where you set the amount of transposition.
Scale Correction
Scale Correction transposes the selected notes by for-
cing them to the closest note of the selected scale type. 
This can be used for creating interesting key and tonal 
changes, either by itself or in conjunction with the other 
settings in the Transpose dialog.
To activate Scale Correction, click the checkbox.
Select a root note and scale type for the current scale 
from the upper pop-up menus.
Select a root note and scale type for the new scale from 
the lower pop-up menus.
Make sure to select the correct root note if you want to keep the result in 
the same key as the original notes, or select an entirely different key if you 
want to experiment.
Keep Notes in Range
When this is activated, transposed notes will remain 
within the Upper and Lower Limit values.
If a note ends up outside the limits after transposition, it 
will be shifted to another octave, keeping the correct 
transposed pitch if possible.
If this isn’t possible (if you have set a very narrow range between the Up-
per and Lower Limit), the note will be transposed “as far as possible”, i.e. 
to the Upper or Lower Limit note. If you set the Upper and Lower Limits 
to the same value, all notes will be transposed to this pitch!
OK and Cancel
Clicking OK performs the transposition. Clicking Cancel 
closes the dialog without transposing.
Making your settings permanent
The settings described in the chapter “MIDI realtime para-
meters and effects” on page 342 do not change the MIDI 
events themselves, but work like a “filter”, affecting the 
music on playback. Therefore, you may want to make them 
permanent, i.e. convert them to “real” MIDI events, for ex-
ample to transpose a track and then edit the transposed 
notes in a MIDI editor. For this, you can use two com-
mands from the MIDI menu:
“Freeze MIDI Modifiers” – This applies all filter settings 
permanently to the respective track. 
With this function, the settings are “added” to the events on the track, 
and all modifiers will be set to zero.
“Merge MIDI in Loop” – This merges all selected tracks 
(or parts) to create a new track.
The settings are applied during the merge and will still be displayed later 
in the respective menus.
These two functions are described in the following sec-
tions. 
						

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Freeze MIDI Modifiers
The “Freeze MIDI Modifiers” function affects the following 
settings for MIDI tracks:
 Several settings on the main tab of the Inspector (program 
and bank selection and the Delay parameter).
 The settings on the MIDI Modifiers tab (i.e. Transpose, Veloc-
ity Shift, Velocity Compression and Length Compression).
 The settings on the MIDI Inserts tab (if, e. g., you are using an ar-
peggiator and want to convert the added notes to real events).
The following settings for MIDI parts are taken into ac-
count as well:
 The Transpose and Velocity settings for parts displayed on the 
info line – the Volume setting is not taken into account. 
To use the “Freeze MIDI Modifiers” function, proceed as 
follows:
1.Select the desired MIDI track.
2.Pull down the MIDI menu and select “Freeze MIDI 
Modifiers”.
The Inspector settings will be converted to MIDI events and inserted at 
the beginning of the part(s). All notes of the part(s) will be modified ac-
cordingly and the Inspector settings will be reset.
Merge MIDI in Loop
The function “Merge MIDI in Loop” combines all MIDI 
events on all unmuted tracks, applies MIDI modifiers and 
effects and generates a new MIDI part, containing all the 
events as you would hear them play back. Proceed as fol-
lows:
1.Make sure only the desired MIDI track(s) are unmuted.
If you only want to include events from a single track in the merge opera-
tion, you may want to solo the track.
2.Set up the left and right locator around the area you 
want to merge.
Only events starting within this area will be included.
3.Select the track on which you want the new part to be 
created.
This can be a new track or an existing track. Data in the cycle area on the 
track can be kept or overwritten (see below).
4.Select “Merge MIDI in Loop” from the MIDI menu.
A dialog appears with the following options:
5.Click OK.
A new part is created between the locators on the destination track, con-
taining the processed MIDI events.
Applying effects to a single part
Normally, the MIDI modifiers and effects affect a whole 
MIDI track. This may not always be what you want – you 
may want to apply some MIDI effects to a single part for 
example (without having to create a separate track for that 
part only). The Merge MIDI in Loop function can help:
1.Set up your MIDI modifiers and MIDI effects the way 
you want them for the part.
This will of course affect the whole track, but focus on the part for now.
2.Set the locators to encompass the part.
Simply select the part and choose Locators to Selection from the Trans-
port menu (or use the corresponding key command, by default [P]).
3.Make sure the track holding the part is selected in the 
Track list.
4.Select Merge MIDI in Loop.
5.In the dialog that appears, activate the desired effect 
options, make sure that Erase Destination is activated and 
click OK.
Now a new part is created on the same track, containing the processed 
events. The original part is deleted.
6.Turn off or reset all MIDI modifiers and effects, so that 
the track plays back as usual.
Option Description
Include Inserts If this is activated, any MIDI insert effects currently acti-
vated for the track(s) will be applied.
Include Sends If this is activated, any MIDI send effects currently acti-
vated for the track(s) will be applied.
Erase 
DestinationIf this is activated, all MIDI data between the left and right 
locator on the destination track will be deleted.
Include Chase If this is activated, events placed outside the selected part 
but relating to it will be included in the processing, e. g. a 
Program Change right before the left locator. For more 
about chase events, see “About Chase” on page 63. 
						

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Dissolve Part
The Dissolve Part function on the MIDI menu has two sep-
arate uses:
When you work with MIDI parts (on MIDI channel “Any”) 
containing events on different MIDI channels.
Dissolve Part separates the events according to MIDI channel.
When you want to separate MIDI events according to 
pitch.
A typical example would be drum and percussion tracks, where each 
pitch usually corresponds to a separate drum sound.
ÖWhen dissolving a part into either separate channels 
or separate pitches, you can automatically remove the si-
lent (empty) areas of the resulting parts by activating the 
“Optimized Display” checkbox in the Dissolve Part dialog.
Dissolving parts into separate channels
Setting a track to MIDI channel “Any” will cause each MIDI 
event to play back on its original MIDI channel, rather than 
a channel set for the whole track. There are two main situ-
ations when “Any” channel tracks are useful:
When you record several MIDI channels at the same 
time.
You may for example have a MIDI keyboard with several keyboard zones, 
where each zone sends MIDI on a separate channel. Recording on an 
“Any” channel track allows you to play back the recording with different 
sounds for each zone (since the different MIDI notes play back on sepa-
rate MIDI channels).
When you have imported a MIDI file of Type 0.
MIDI files of Type 0 contain only one track, with notes on up to 16 different 
MIDI channels. If you were to set this track to a specific MIDI channel, all 
notes in the MIDI file would be played back with the same sound; setting 
the track to “Any” will cause the imported file to play back as intended.
The Dissolve Part function scans MIDI parts for events on 
different MIDI channels and distributes the events into new 
parts on new tracks, one for each MIDI channel found. This 
allows you to work with each musical part individually. Pro-
ceed as follows:
1.Select the part(s) containing MIDI data on different 
channels.
2.Select “Dissolve Part” from the MIDI menu.
3.In the dialog that appears, select the “Separate Chan-
nels” option.Now, for each MIDI channel used in the selected part(s), a 
new MIDI track is created and set to the corresponding 
MIDI channel. Each event is then copied into the part on 
the track with the corresponding MIDI channel. Finally, the 
original part(s) are muted.
An example:
Dissolving parts into separate pitches
The Dissolve Part function can also scan MIDI parts for 
events of different pitches, and distribute the events into 
new parts on new tracks, one for each pitch. This is useful 
when the different pitches are not used in a regular me-
lodic context, but rather for separating different sounds 
(e.g. MIDI drum tracks or sampler sound FX tracks). By 
dissolving such parts, you can work with each sound indi-
vidually, on a separate track. Proceed as follows:
1.Select the part(s) containing MIDI data.
2.Select “Dissolve Part” from the MIDI menu.
3.In the dialog that appears, select the “Separate 
Pitches” option.
A new MIDI track is created for each used pitch in the selected part(s). 
The events are then copied into the parts on the track for the corres-
ponding pitch. Finally, the original part(s) are muted.
This part contains events on 
MIDI channel 1, 2 and 3.
Selecting “Dissolve Part” creates new parts on new tracks, set 
to channel 1, 2 and 3. Each new part contains only the events 
on the respective MIDI channel.
The original MIDI part is muted. 
						

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Repeat Loop
With this function, the events inside the independent track 
loops will be repeated until the end of the part, i. e. the 
notes that were previously only played repeatedly are now 
actual notes on the MIDI track. Events to the right of the 
independant track loop (within the same part) will be re-
placed by this function. For more information about inde-
pendent track loops, see “The independent track loop” on 
page 369.
Other MIDI functions
The following items can be found in the Functions sub-
menu of the MIDI menu:
Legato
Extends each selected note so that it reaches the next note.
You can specify the desired gap or overlap with the “Legato 
Overlap” setting in the Preferences (Editing–MIDI page).
When using Legato with this setting, each note will be extended to end 
5 ticks before the next note.
When you activate the “Legato Mode: Selected Only” op-
tion, the length of the note will be adjusted so that it 
reaches the next selected note, allowing you e.g. to only ap-
ply Legato to your bass line (when playing on a keyboard).
Fixed Lengths
This function resizes all selected notes to the length set 
with the Length Quantize pop-up menu on the MIDI editor 
toolbar.
Delete Doubles
This function removes double notes, i.e. notes of the same 
pitch on the exact same position. Double notes can occur 
when recording in Cycle mode, after Quantizing, etc.
Delete Controllers
This function removes all MIDI controllers from the se-
lected MIDI parts.
Delete Continuous Controllers
This function removes all “continuous” MIDI controller 
events from the selected MIDI parts. Therefore, “on/off” 
events such as sustain pedal events are not removed.
Delete Notes
Allows you to delete very short or weak notes. This is use-
ful for automatically removing unwanted “ghost notes” af-
ter recording. Selecting “Delete Notes…” opens a dialog 
in which you set up the criteria for the function.
!This function is only available from within the MIDI 
editors.
!This function always affects whole MIDI parts.
!This function always affects whole MIDI parts.
!This function always affects whole MIDI parts.