Steinberg Cubase 5 Operation Manual

							101
The Arranger track
3.You can now flatten the Arranger track by clicking the 
Flatten button.
If you realize that you want to do further arrangements, you can click the 
“Go Back” button and make your adjustments. Your Flattening settings 
will be kept.
4.Click the “Go Back” button to go back to the Arranger 
Editor or close the window by clicking its Close button.
Live Mode
If you have set up an Arranger track and play it back, you 
have also the possibility to influence the playback order 
“live”. Note that the Arranger mode has to be activated to 
be able to use the Live mode. 
1.Add an Arranger track by selecting “Arranger” from the 
Add Track submenu of the Project menu.
2.Create the desired Arranger events by drawing with 
the Pencil tool on Arranger track.
3.Set up an Arranger chain in the Inspector for the Ar-
ranger track or in the Arranger Editor, activate the Arran-
ger mode and play back your project.
Now you can use your Arranger events listed in the lower 
section of the Arranger track Inspector to play back your 
project in Live Mode:
4.Switch into Live mode by clicking on the little arrow in 
the lower list of the Arranger track Inspector to the left of 
the Arranger event you want to trigger.
The Arranger event will be looped endlessly, until you click on another Ar-
ranger event. This might be useful, if you want to loop e.g. a guitar solo with 
a flexible length.
You can stop Live mode by clicking the Stop button or 
go back to “normal” playback in Arranger mode by clicking 
on any arranger event in the upper list.
In the latter case, playback will be continued from the arranger event where 
you clicked. The “Select grid” pop-up menu will always be taken into ac-
count. When the grid is set to “1 Bar” and you click the Stop button e.g., 
playback will be stopped after the next bar.
The active Arranger event will be played back as long as 
defined before jumping to the next.
Don’t Split 
EventsIf this option is activated, MIDI notes that start before or 
are longer than the Arranger event will not be included. 
Only MIDI notes that begin and end inside the Arranger 
event boundaries will be taken into account.
Open New 
ProjectsIf you activate this option, a new project will be created 
for every flattened Arranger chain. If you activate the op-
tion “Cascade New Projects” the opened projects will 
be cascaded. Option Description
Option Description
None Jumps to the next section immediately.
4 bars, 
2 barsWhen one of these modes is selected, a grid of 4 or 2 bars (de-
pending on the setting) will be placed on the active Arranger 
event. Whenever the respective grid line is reached, playback 
will jump to the next Arranger event. An example:
Let’s say you have an Arranger event which is 8 bars long and 
the grid is set to 4 bars. When the cursor is anywhere within the 
first 4 bars of the Arranger event when you hit the next Arranger 
event, playback will jump to the next event when the end of the 
fourth bar of the Arranger event is reached. When the cursor is 
anywhere within the last 4 bars of the Arranger event, playback 
will jump to the next event at the end of the event.
When an event is shorter than 4 (or 2) bars when this mode is 
selected, playback will jump to the next section at the event end.
1 bar Jumps to the next section at the next bar line.
1 beat Jumps to the next section at the next beat.
End Plays the current section to the end, then jumps to the next sec-
tion. 
						

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The Arranger track
Arranging your music to video
The relative time of your Arranger track can be taken as a 
reference instead of the project time. This is useful, if you 
want to use the Arranger track to compose music for 
video and fill e.g. a specific video section with music, by 
repeating the corresponding number of Arranger events. 
If you position your external sync master device to a posi-
tion that does not match the Project Start time, Cubase 
will jump automatically to the right position in the Arranger 
track and will start playback from there, i.e. the correct rel-
ative position and not the absolute project time will be 
found. The reference for the external timecode can be 
MIDI or any other Timecode that can be interpreted/read 
by Cubase. 
An example:
1.Set up a project with a MIDI track and three MIDI parts. 
The first should start at position 00:00:00:00 and end at 
position 00:01:00:00, the second should start at position 
00:01:00:00 and end at position 00:02:00:00 and the 
third should start at position 00:02:00:00 and end at po-
sition 00:03:00:00.
2.Activate the Sync button on the Transport panel.
3.Add an Arranger track and create Arranger events that 
match the MIDI parts.
4.Set up the Arranger chain “A-A-B-B-C-C”, activate 
the Arranger mode and play back your project.
5.Start external Timecode at position 00:00:10:00 
(within the range of “A”).
In your project, the position 00:00:10:00 will be located and you will hear 
“A” playing. Nothing special!
Now, let’s see what happens if your external sync master 
device starts at a position that does not match the Project 
Start time:
6.Start at 00:01:10:00 (within the range of what origi-
nally was “B”).
In your project, the position 00:01:10:00 will be located and you will hear 
“A” playing, because it plays twice in the Arranger track.
7.Start external Timecode at position 00:02:10:00 
(within the range of what originally was “C”).
In your project, the position 00:02:10:00 will be located and you will hear 
“B” playing, because it plays “later” in the Arranger track.
ÖIf the Arranger mode is not activated or no Arranger 
track exists, Cubase will work as usual.  
						

							8
The Transpose functions 
						

							104
The Transpose functions
Introduction
Cubase offers transpose functions for audio, MIDI and in-
strument parts and for audio events. These allow you to 
create variations of your music or change the harmonics of 
an entire project or separate sections. 
Transpose can be applied on three levels:
On the entire project
By changing the project Root Key in the Project window toolbar, the 
whole project will be transposed (see “Transposing an entire project with 
the Root Key” on page 104). 
On sections of the project
By creating Transpose events on the Transpose track, you can set trans-
pose values for separate sections of your project (see “Transposing sep-
arate sections of a project using Transpose events” on page 106).
On individual parts or events
By selecting individual parts or events and changing their transpose 
value in the info line, you can transpose individual parts or events (see 
“Transposing individual parts or events using the info line” on page 106).
Apart from the transpose features described in this chap-
ter, you can also transpose all MIDI notes on the selected 
track using the MIDI modifiers (see “Transpose” on page 
308), selected notes using the Transpose dialog (see 
“Transpose” on page 330), and MIDI tracks using MIDI ef-
fects (see the separate manual “Plug-in Reference”).
Transposing your music
In the following sections we will describe the different 
possibilities of transposing your music. Note that these 
can also be combined. However, we recommend you to 
set the root key first, before recording or changing trans-
pose values on the transpose track. 
Transposing an entire project with the Root Key
The root key you specify for a project will be the reference 
that audio or MIDI events in your project will follow. You can 
however exclude separate parts or events from being trans-
posed, e.g. drums or percussion (see “The Global Trans-
pose setting” on page 107). 
Depending on whether you are using events which already 
contain root key information or not, the procedures differ 
slightly.
If the events already contain root key information
Let’s say you want to create a project based on loops. 
Proceed as follows:
1.Open the MediaBay and drag some loops into an emp-
ty project, see “Browsing for media files” on page 276.
For this example, import audio loops with different root keys.
2.Now, open the Root Key pop-up menu in the Project 
window toolbar and set the project root key.
The entire project will be played back with this root key. Note that by de-
fault, the project root key is not specified (“-”).
A loop-based project with different event root keys
The separate loops will be transposed in order to match 
the project root key. If you e.g. have imported a bass loop 
in C and the project root key is set to E, the bass loop will 
be transposed up by 4 semitones.
!The transpose functions do not change the actual 
MIDI notes or the audio, but only affect the playback. 
!As a general rule, you should always set the root key 
first when you work with content with a defined root 
key. 
						

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The Transpose functions
3.Now (with the root key set), record audio or MIDI.
The recorded events will get the project root key.
4.When you are done and satisfied with the result, you 
can change the project root key and your events will follow.
If the events do not contain root key information
Let’s say you have created a project by recording audio 
and importing some MIDI loops, and you want to match 
the root key of the whole project to the register of a certain 
singer.
Proceed as follows:
1.In your project, open the Project menu and select 
“Transpose” from the Add Track submenu (or right-click in 
the Track list and select “Add Transpose Track”) to add the 
Transpose track. 
You can only have one Transpose track in a project.
2.Set the project to the desired root key by selecting the 
corresponding option from the Root Key pop-up in the 
Project window toolbar.
3.Right-click in the Track list for the Transpose track and 
select “Set root key for unassigned events” from the con-
text menu.
This sets the project root key for all parts or events not containing any 
root key information. This option is only available, if a project root key has 
been set.
Recording with a project root key
Let’s say that you want to record a guitar line for a project 
that is in D# minor, but your guitar player prefers to play in 
A minor. In this case, change the project root key to A, so 
that you can record your guitar. Proceed as follows:
1.Open your project and set the project root key to A.
All parts and events will be transposed in order to match the root key.
2.Listen to your project and verify that no drums and 
percussions have been transposed. 
If drums have been transposed, select them and set their Global Trans-
pose setting to “Independent”.
3.Record your guitar line as desired.
4.When you are done and satisfied with the result, you 
can change the project root key back to D# minor and 
your events will follow.
Changing the Root key of single events or parts
If you want to check if an audio event or part has root key 
information or if you want to change it, proceed as follows:
1.Open the Pool and display the Key column by select-
ing “Root Key” from the “View/Attributes” pop-up menu in 
the Pool. 
An audio event with the root key set to “C”
2.Click in the Root Key column for the desired audio 
event and set the key according to your needs.
You can also check and assign Root Keys in the MediaBay.
ÖIf you change the root key of an audio part or event, 
the corresponding audio file will not change. To save the 
Root Key setting in the audio file, you have to use the 
“Bounce Selection” function from the Audio menu. 
!If you work with drums or percussion, you should ex-
clude these from being transposed by setting the 
“Global Transpose” setting on the info line to “Inde-
pendent” (see “The Global Transpose setting” on 
page 107).
!If you work with drums or percussion, you should ex-
clude these from being transposed by setting the 
“Global Transpose” setting on the info line to “Inde-
pendent” (see “The Global Transpose setting” on 
page 107).
!For recorded audio events and MIDI parts, the “Global 
Transpose” setting on the info line is automatically set 
to “Follow”, i.e. the events or parts will get the project 
root key. 
						

							106
The Transpose functions
To check or change the root key setting of a MIDI part, 
proceed as follows:
1.Select your MIDI part in the Project window and check 
the Project window info line.
A MIDI part with the root key set to “D”
2.Click on the root key value in the info line to open the 
corresponding pop-up menu and select the desired root 
key.
Transposing separate sections of a project 
using Transpose events
Sometimes you may want to transpose only certain sec-
tions of your project, e.g. to create harmonic variations. 
This can be done by creating transpose events. Trans-
pose events allow you to add a relative transpose offset by 
specifying transpose values in semitones. You can e.g. 
brighten up your loops in C major by transposing them by 
5 semitones, so that the subdominant on F major is played 
back, or you can turn your hit more interesting by trans-
posing the last chorus one semitone upwards.
1.In your project, open the Project menu and select 
Transpose from the Add Track submenu (or right-click in 
the Track list and select “Add Transpose Track”) to add the 
Transpose track. 
You can only have one Transpose track in a project.
2.Select the Pencil tool from the toolbar and click in the 
Transpose track to create a transpose event. 
A transpose event will be created from the point where you clicked until 
the end of the project.
3.To create another transpose event, click with the pen-
cil tool on the first transpose event.
By default, the transpose value of new transpose events is set to 0.
You can add more transpose events by clicking with the pencil tool. 
4.Click in the transpose value field and enter the trans-
pose value for the transpose event.
You can enter the desired value with the computer keyboard, use the 
mouse wheel or [Alt]/[Option]-click on the transpose value to open a 
value fader. You can specify values between -24 and 24 semitones. 
5.Play back your project.
The parts of your project on the same position as the transpose events 
will be transposed according to the specified transpose values.
ÖYou can also transpose the whole project using the 
transpose track. This is useful e.g. if your singer does not 
reach a certain pitch. In this case you can transpose your 
whole project by e.g. -2 semitones. Always remember to 
verify that the “Global Transpose” setting for drums and 
percussion is set to “Independent” on the info line (see 
“The Global Transpose setting” on page 107).
You can erase and move transpose events, but you can-
not mute, cut or glue them. The option “Locators to Selec-
tion” does not apply on transpose events. 
Transposing individual parts or events using 
the info line
You can also transpose individual audio and MIDI parts and 
events via the Info line (or the Inspector). This transposition 
will be added to the global transposition (i.e. the root key or 
the transpose events). Proceed as follows:
1.Select the event that you want to transpose.
2.In the Project window info line, adjust the Transpose 
value as desired.
ÖA global transpose change will not overwrite individual 
part or event transpose, but will be added to the trans-
pose value for the part or event. In this case, it might be 
useful to keep the transposition within the octave range 
(see “Keep Transpose in Octave Range” on page 108).
!If you change the project root key after setting the 
event root key, the events will keep their own root key 
settings, and will be transposed to match the project 
root key. If you record an audio or a MIDI part and the 
project root key is specified, this root key is automat-
ically set. 
						

							107
The Transpose functions
Other functions
Indicate Transpositions
When you transpose your music, you may sometimes 
want to visually compare the original sounds and the 
transposed music. For MIDI parts, you can check this by 
opening the Key Editor and clicking the “Indicate Transpo-
sitions” button. This will help you see how your MIDI notes 
will be transposed. If the button is activated, the Key Edi-
tor will show the note pitch you will hear, if it is deacti-
vated, the Key Editor shows the original pitch of the notes 
in your MIDI part. By default, the “Indicate Transpositions” 
button is deactivated.
A MIDI part as originally recorded
When you activate “Indicate Transpositions” you will see how your MIDI 
part will be transposed. 
The Global Transpose setting
If you are working with drum and percussion loops or spe-
cial effects (FX) loops, you will want to exclude these from 
being transposed. This can be achieved by locking them 
using the Global Transpose setting. Proceed as follows:
1.Open your project.
2.Select the desired event or part and set the “Global 
Transpose” setting on the info line to “Independent”.
A symbol will be displayed in the lower right corner of the selected part 
or event, indicating that it will not be transposed neither by changing the 
root key nor by specifying transpose events. 
If Global Transpose is set to Independent, the selected part will not be 
transposed.
3.You can now change the project root key.
The “Independent” parts or events will not be affected by the root key 
changes.
ÖIf you import ready-made parts or events that are 
tagged drums or FX, Global Transpose will be automatically 
set to Independent.
If you record audio or MIDI, Global Transpose will be set to 
“Independent”, provided that the transpose track exists and 
you have specified at least one transpose event (even when 
the transpose value is not defined). In this case, your re-
cording will sound exactly the way you played it. The trans-
pose events will not be taken into account during recording 
and the recorded event will not get the project root key. 
Have a look at the following example:
1.Set up a project with the root key in C.
2.Add a transpose track and enter transpose events 
with the values 0, 5, 7 and 0.
3.Record some chords with your MIDI keyboard. For our 
example, record C, F, G and C.
The transpose events are not taken into account and the 
result of your recording will be C, F, G and C. No root key 
will be set.
ÖRecorded events are “independent” from Global 
Transpose. 
						

							108
The Transpose functions
If no transpose track exists or if no transpose event has 
been added, Global Transpose will be set to Follow.
If Global Transpose is set to Follow, the selected part will 
follow all global transpositions.
Locking the Transpose track
If you want to prevent your transpose events from being 
changed by mistake, activate the Lock button on the 
transpose track. This way, you will not be able to move 
your transpose events or change their transpose values.
Muting transpose events
Sometimes it might be useful to disable the transpose 
track, e.g. to hear the original sound of individual tracks. If 
you activate the mute button on the transpose track, your 
transpose events will not be taken into account during 
playback.
Keep Transpose in Octave Range
The “Keep Transpose in Octave Range” button on the 
transpose track (the button with an up and down arrow in 
brackets) keeps the transposition in the octave range. This 
option is activated by default. This way, nothing will be 
transposed by more than seven semitones. This ensures 
that your music never sounds unnatural because the pitch 
was raised too high or too low. 
To understand the principle behind this, follow the exam-
ple below:
1.Create a MIDI part, enter a C major chord, open the Key 
Editor and activate “Indicate Transpositions”.
This way you can observe and understand what happens when you 
change the transposition.
2.Add a transpose track and create a transpose event.
By default, the transpose value is set to 0.
3.Make sure that the “Keep Transpose in Octave 
Range” button is activated on the transpose track and 
change the transpose value of the transpose event to 7.
Your chord will be transposed accordingly.
If you enter a transpose value of 7, your chord will be transposed by 
seven semitones upwards. In this example, this would be G3/B3/D4.
4.Set the transpose value to 8 semitones.
As “Keep Transpose in Octave Range” is activated, your chord will now 
be transposed to the nearest interval or pitch. 
Your chord has been transposed to the nearest pitch, this results in 
G#2/C3/D#3.
!If you mainly work with audio loops, we recommend 
activating “Keep Transpose in Octave Range”.  
						

							9
The mixer 
						

							110
The mixer
About this chapter
This chapter contains detailed information about the ele-
ments used when mixing audio and MIDI, and the various 
ways you can configure the mixer. 
Some mixer-related features are not described in this 
chapter. These are the following:
Setting up and using audio effects.
See the chapter “Audio effects” on page 150.
Setting up and using MIDI effects.
See the chapter “MIDI realtime parameters and effects” on page 305.
Surround Sound (Cubase only).
See the chapter “Surround sound (Cubase only)” on page 180.
Automation of all mixer parameters.
See the chapter “Automation” on page 188.
How to mix down several audio tracks (complete with 
automation and effects if you wish) to a single audio file.
See the chapter “Export Audio Mixdown” on page 419.
Overview
The mixer offers a common environment for controlling 
levels, pan, solo/mute status etc. for both audio and MIDI 
channels. 
Opening the mixer
The mixer can be opened in several ways:
By selecting Mixer from the Devices menu.
By clicking the Mixer icon on the toolbar.
By using a key command (by default [F3]).
By clicking the Mixer button in the Devices panel.
You open the Devices panel by selecting Show Panel from the Devices 
menu.
The picture shows an extended mixer (see “Normal vs. Extended channel strips” on page 112).