Steinberg Cubase 6 Manual

							561
The basics
In the Symbols Inspector setup dialog you can specify ex-
actly which symbol tabs are shown. For a detailed de-
scription, see “The Symbols Inspector Setup dialog” on 
page 620.
How to work with symbols is explained in detail in the 
chapter 
“Working with symbols” on page 618.
The ruler
In the Score Editor there are no meter/time position rulers 
as in the other editors. Instead, there are horizontal and 
vertical “graphic rulers” in Page Mode. These help you to 
position symbols and graphical objects in the score.
•To specify which units to show on the rulers, open the 
Zoom pop-up menu and select one of the options.
You can choose between points, inches, and centimeters.
•To hide the rulers, select “Off” from the pop-up menu.
The Position Info window
To help you when positioning objects in the score, the 
Page Mode has a special Position Info window, in which 
you can view and adjust object positions numerically, in 
the unit selected for the ruler. To display the Position Info 
window, click in the ruler.
About the Score Editor context 
menus
Many functions and settings of the Score Editor can be 
accessed via context menus, opened by right-clicking on 
certain elements of the score. For example, if you choose 
a note, the note context menu opens, listing note-related 
functions.
If you open the context menu on an empty area of the 
score, it lists all available tools (allowing you to quickly 
switch between tools) and it contains many functions of 
the main menus.
About dialogs in the Score Editor
There are two types of dialogs available in the Score 
Editor:
•Non-modal dialogs can remain open while you continue 
working in the score.
In a non-modal dialog, clicking the Apply button applies the settings in 
the dialog to the selected objects in the score. This means you can se
-lect different elements in the score and change their settings, without 
having to close the dialog in between.
 
The dialog is closed by clicking the standard close button in the window 
title bar. The Score Settings dialog is an example for a non-modal dialog.
•Regular dialogs have an OK button instead of an Apply 
button.
Clicking OK applies the settings you have made and closes the dialog. 
You cannot continue working in the score (or select other objects) until 
you close the dialog.
ÖIf the “Apply closes Property Windows” option is acti-
vated in the Preferences dialog (Scores–Editing page), 
clicking the Apply button in a non-modal dialog closes the 
dialog. In other words, this makes a non-modal dialog work 
a bit more like a regular dialog. 
						

							562
The basics
Setting clef, key, and time signature
When preparing to enter notes into a score, you probably 
want to start out by setting the desired clef, key, and time 
signature for the staff. The text below assumes you are 
working on one track only. If you have multiple staves, you 
either make this setting independently for each staff or for 
all staves at once, see 
“Staff settings” on page 570.
Normally, all these symbols appear at the beginning of 
each staff. However, you can control this by using the Real 
Book option (see 
“Real Book” on page 664) and by hiding 
objects (see “Hiding/showing objects” on page 665).
When entering or editing keys, there is one important thing 
to note:
Using the Symbols Inspector to set the initial 
clef, key, and time signature
1.Click the “Set up Window Layout” button on the tool-
bar and activate the Symbols option.
The Symbols Inspector is displayed.
2.Open the Clefs tab of the Inspector and click on the 
symbol for the clef that you want to use in your score.
3.Click anywhere in the first bar of the staff to set the 
clef for this track.
4.Select the Keys tab and click on the symbol for the key 
that you want to use.
5.Click anywhere in the first bar of the staff to set the key 
for the track.
6.Open the Time Signature tab of the Inspector and 
click on the symbol for the time signature value that you 
want to use.
If you cannot find the desired time signature, you can use the Edit Time 
Signature dialog (see below).
The settings you have made so far are valid for the entire 
track. If you want to further edit these settings, or if you 
need different settings for different bars of your track, pro
-
ceed as described in the next section.
Editing the time signature
1.Double-click on the time signature symbol at the be-
ginning of the staff.
A dialog opens.
2.If the project is in 4/4 or 2/2, you can select common 
time/cut time directly by clicking one of the two symbols 
on the right.
This sets the time signature to 4/4 or 2/2, respectively and also inserts a 
common/cut time symbol on the staff.
3.If the project is in any other time, set the numerator 
and denominator above and below the line, respectively.
The numerator can consist of several numbers for composite time signa-
tures. However, if the project is in a simple time signature you only need 
to fill in the first number above the line. The more advanced options are 
described below.
•The “Pickup Bar” option is described in the section “By 
using the Pickup Bar feature” on page 668.
4.Click OK or press [Return].
!In the Score Settings dialog on the Project–Notation 
Style subpage (Keys category) you can find the “Key 
Changes for the entire Project” option. When this 
option is activated, all changes made to the key al
-
ways affect every staff in the project, i.e. it is not pos-
sible to define different keys for different staves.
!All tracks share the time signature! In other words, 
when you set the time signature, you do this for all 
tracks in the project. 
						

							563
The basics
If you need to enter half a bar somewhere (for example) 
you have to make a time signature change (e.g. from 4/4 
to 2/4 and back again). See 
“Inserting and editing clefs, 
keys, or time signatures” on page 584 to find out how to 
enter time signature changes.
Composite time signatures and the For Grouping Only 
option
For composite signatures, the numerator can be made up 
of up to four groups. For example, “4+4+3+/” on the upper 
line and 8 on the lower means the time signature is 11/8.
The reason for dividing the numerator into several num-
bers is to get beaming and tied notes displayed correctly 
automatically. This does not affect the metronome or any
-
thing else, only beams and ties. For more information on 
beaming, see 
“Handling beaming” on page 608.
If “For Grouping Only” is not activated, the numerator 
shows all the numbers entered. If it is activated, it shows 
the sum of the numbers entered, as for “simple” time 
signatures.
“For Grouping Only” off and on
Note that Cubase tries to preserve the denominator when 
you insert a composite signature with “For Grouping 
Only” activated. This means that if you have a 4/4 time sig
-
nature, and change it to a composite value (3+3+2 
eighths for example), the time signature still is displayed 
as 4/4 instead of 8/8.
Setting the time signature on the Transport panel
You can also set the time signature directly on the Trans-
port panel. Please note that you cannot create composite 
time signatures from the Transport panel.
Setting the time signature using the signature track/
Tempo Track Editor
You can also add, edit and delete time signatures using 
the signature track or the Tempo Track Editor (see the 
chapter 
“Editing tempo and signature” on page 462).
Please note the following:
•The score always shows the time signature events set in 
the signature track/Tempo Track Editor, regardless of 
whether or not the Tempo button is activated. Likewise, any 
time signatures you create in the Score Editor are shown in 
the signature track/Tempo Track Editor.
•You cannot create composite time signatures using the 
signature track/Tempo Track Editor.
Editing the clef
On the clef context menu
When you right-click on a clef symbol, a context menu with 
a list of all available clefs opens. This menu also contains 
the following options:
•Display Clef Changes as Small Symbols
If you activate this option and insert a clef change in the score, the clef is 
displayed with a smaller symbol.
•Warnings for new Clefs at Line Breaks
If you activate this option and insert a new clef at a line break, the Clef 
change symbol is inserted in the last bar before the staff break. When this 
is deactivated, the symbol is inserted in the first bar of the next staff line.
•Hide
If you select this function, the clef is hidden.
•Properties
If you select this function, the Edit Clef dialog opens.
In the Edit Clef dialog
1.Double-click on the current clef.
A dialog appears.
2.Use the scroll bar to select a clef.
3.Repeat the steps above for all staves in the system.
!This does not work if Auto Clef is activated on the 
Staff page of the Score Settings dialog, see below. 
						

							564
The basics
On the Staff page of the Score Settings dialog
1.Click on a staff to make it the active staff.
2.On the Scores menu, select “Settings…” to open the 
Score Settings dialog. Select the Staff page at the top to 
open Main tab, showing the current settings for the active 
staff.
You can also double-click to the left of a staff to make it active and bring 
up the Score Settings dialog in one go (if this does not work, the “Dou
-
ble-click on staff flips between full score/part” option in the Preferences 
dialog (Scores–Editing page) may be activated – see 
“Displaying single voices or the complete score” on page 557).
3.In the Clef/Key section, use the scroll bar on the left to 
select one of the available clefs.
How to insert clef changes is described in the section “Inserting and ed-iting clefs, keys, or time signatures” on page 584.
4.Click Apply.
ÖYou can select another staff in the score and make 
settings for it without having to close the Score Settings 
dialog first.
In a split system
If you have a split system (see “Split (piano) staves” on 
page 583 and “Strategies: How many voices do I need?” 
on page 597) you can set different clefs for the upper and 
lower staff.
1.Open the Score Settings dialog on the Staff page.
2.Select a clef for the upper staff.
3.Activate the “Lower Staff” checkbox.
4.Set a clef for the lower staff.
Using Auto Clef
On the Staff page of the Score Settings dialog you also 
find the Auto Clef option. If this is activated, the program 
automatically selects a treble clef or a bass clef for the 
staff, depending on the range of the notes in the part.
Editing the key
Therefore, when you want to edit the key, decide if you 
want the key change to apply to the entire project, or if you 
want to use different keys on different staves:
•If the key set at the beginning of the track is to be used 
on all staves, and if any subsequent key changes are also 
valid for all staves, then leave the “Key Changes for the 
entire Project” option activated.
•If you want to use different keys on different staves, 
make sure that the “Key Changes for the entire Project” 
option is deactivated.
On the key context menu
When you right-click on a key symbol, a context menu with 
a list of all available keys opens. This menu also contains 
the following options:
•Key changes for the entire Project
If this option is activated, all changes made to the key always affects the 
entire project, so that it is not possible to define different keys for different 
staves.
!In the Score Settings dialog on the Project–Notation 
Style subpage (Keys category), you can find the “Key 
Changes for the entire Project” option. When this is 
activated, all changes made to the key always affect 
every staff in the project, i.
 e. it is impossible to define 
different keys for different staves (other than the rela
-
tive display transpose settings for instruments made 
on the Staff page). Furthermore, on the Staff page, 
any staff (e.g. a drum staff) can be set to not show key 
signatures. 
						

							565
The basics
•Hide
If you select this, the key is hidden.
•Properties
If you select this, the Edit Key dialog opens.
In the Edit Key dialog
If the current key is anything but C major/A minor (no acci-
dentals), you can set the key directly in the score:
1.Double-click on the accidentals at the beginning of a 
staff.
The “Edit Key” dialog opens.
2.Use the scroll bar to select a key and click OK.
ÖYou can also enter a Display Transpose value, see 
“Transposing instruments” on page 565.
On the Staff page of the Score Settings dialog
1.Make the desired staff active, open the Score Settings 
dialog and select the Staff page.
The Clef/Key section on the Staff page
2.Use the right scroll bar in the Clef/Key section to select 
the desired key.
3.Click Apply.
ÖYou can select other staves in the score and make 
settings for these, without having to close the Score Set
-
tings dialog.
Setting the key for a split system
If you have a split system with two staves (see “Split (pi-
ano) staves” on page 583 and “Strategies: How many 
voices do I need?” on page 597) you can set different 
keys for the upper and lower staff.
1.Click in the system to make one of its staves the active 
staff.
2.Open the Score Settings dialog on the Staff page.
3.Set a key for the upper staff.
This automatically sets the lower staff to the same key.
4.If you need to set a different key for the lower staff, ac-
tivate the “Lower Staff” checkbox and set a key for this.
Setting a local key
You can also set a different key for the selected staff only. 
This is useful for instruments like oboe and english horn 
that change display transpose and therefore also the key.
Proceed as follows:
1.Make the desired staff active, open the Score Settings 
dialog and select the Staff page.
2.Activate the “Local Keys” option on the Main subpage 
in the Clef/Key section.
ÖThis option is only available if “Key changes for entire 
Project” is activated in the Score Settings dialog, on the 
Project–Notation style subpage (Keys category).
3.Use the scroll bar to the right to set the desired key.
4.Click Apply to set the selected key for the staff.
Transposing instruments
Scores for some instruments, for example a lot of brass in-
struments, are written transposed. Therefore, the Score 
Editor provides a Display Transpose function. With this 
function notes are transposed in the score without affect
-
ing the way they are played back. This allows you to re-
cord and play back a multi-staff arrangement, and still 
score each instrument according to its own transposition.
Double-click 
here…
…to open the Edit Key dialog. 
						

							566
The basics
Setting Display Transpose
1.Make the desired staff active, open the Score Settings 
dialog and select the Staff page.
2.In the Display Transpose section, select your instru-
ment from the transpose pop-up menu or adjust the value 
directly in the Semitones field.
3.Click Apply.
Display Transpose in the Edit Key dialog
If you want to change the Display Transpose setting in the 
middle of the score, you can do this by inserting a key 
change (see 
“Inserting and editing clefs, keys, or time sig-
natures” on page 584). In the Edit Key dialog (which is 
opened by double-clicking a key symbol) you can find a 
Transpose field, in which you can enter a transposition 
value in semitones. This is useful if you are for example 
writing a saxophone part and want the player to switch 
from alto to tenor saxophone.
ÖNote that you enter an absolute Display Transpose 
value that is used from this point on. In other words, this 
setting is not relative to any Display Transpose settings 
you made on the Staff page of the Score Settings dialog.
Disabling Display Transpose
You can also disable Display Transpose by deactivating 
the “Display Transpose” button on the Score Editor tool
-
bar. This can be useful if you work with transposing instru-
ments and want to show the concert key and not the 
scored key.
Printing from the Score Editor
When you have made all necessary changes to the score 
display and are satisfied with the result, you can go ahead 
and print your score, e.
 g. to hand out note sheets.
Proceed as follows:
1.On the Scores menu, activate “Page Mode”.
Printing is only possible from within Page Mode.
2.Select Page Setup from the File menu and make sure 
all your printer settings are correct. Close the dialog.
3.Select Print from the File menu.
4.A standard print dialog appears. Fill out the options as 
desired.
5.Click Print.
Exporting pages as image files
You can export a section of a page or a complete page in 
various file formats. This allows you to import your scores 
into desktop publishing and drawing applications.
Selecting a section of a page for exporting
If you only want to export a part of a certain page, proceed 
as follows:
1.Make sure that you are in Page Mode.
2.Select the Export tool (“Select Export Range”).
The pointer turns into a crosshair.
3.Drag over the section of the score you want to include.
The area is indicated by a black rectangle.
• You can adjust the size of the rectangle by clicking and drag-
ging its handles with the Object Selection tool.
• You can move the rectangle to another position in the score 
by clicking and dragging.
To export the selected range, you have two possibilities:
•Double-click inside the rectangle while it is selected.
This opens the Export Scores dialog, where you can make settings for 
the file to be created (see below).
•Use the Export Scores function, see below.
!Display Transpose does not affect MIDI playback!
Transpose pop-up menu
!If you change your setting for paper size, scale, and 
margins now, the score may change its look.  
						

							567
The basics
Exporting
To export the score, proceed as follows:
1.Make sure that you are in Page Mode.
2.Select the page that you want to export.
3.Pull down the File menu, open the Export submenu 
and select “Export Scores…”.
The Export Scores dialog appears.
4.Select a picture format.
5.Specify a resolution for the file.
This determines the accuracy with which the image is created. 300 dpi, 
for example, is the resolution many laser printers use for printing. If the 
image file is only displayed on screen in other programs, select 72 or 96 
(depending on screen resolution) and it has the same size as it had in 
Cubase.
6.Specify name and location for the file and click Save.
The page of the score is exported and saved as a file. It can now be im-
ported into any program supporting the selected file format.
Working order
When you prepare a score, we suggest you do things in 
the following order, since this minimizes the time needed if 
you make a mistake somewhere and need to redo a step.
•Preferably work on copies of recorded tracks.
If the parts are fairly complex you might have to change them permanently, 
after which they do not play back as they originally did.
•If memory is an issue, break the score up into segments.
You might for example use the Split Loop function (from the Functions 
submenu on the Edit menu) to split the parts across all tracks.
•Arrange the tracks in the Project window in the order 
you want them displayed in the score.
You cannot rearrange the order of systems in the Score Editor. However, 
you can go back and change the order in the Project window at any time.
•When opening the Score Editor, begin with the adjust-
ments described above.
You should always begin by setting page margins, etc.
•If you have recorded music into tracks already, try ad-
justing the graphic display of the score as much as possi-
ble without permanently editing the notes.
Use the Score Settings, Display Quantize, Grouping, etc.
•If the tracks are empty, make basic staff settings, enter 
the notes and then make detailed adjustments, add Dis
-
play Quantize, etc.
•If needed, use polyphonic voicing to resolve overlapping 
notes, create piano systems, handle crossing voices, etc.
•When all this is done, decide if you need to perform 
“destructive” editing.
You might for example have to permanently alter the length or position of 
some of the recorded notes.
•Hide unwanted objects and add note-dependent and 
note-related symbols.
This includes accents, dynamic symbols, crescendo, slurs, lyrics, “graphic 
rests”, etc.
•Work through the score and adjust the number of bars 
across the page.
•Adjust the vertical spacing between staves and grand 
staves.
The last two steps can be performed automatically by the program using 
the Auto Layout features.
•Add layout symbols like endings, page text, etc.
•Print or export the score.
•Go back and create alternative layouts, e. g. to extract 
voices.
Force update
If for some reason the screen is not redrawn properly (as a 
result of the computer’s recalculation of the appearance of 
the page), you can select “Force Update” from the Func
-
tions submenu on the Scores menu or click the Force Up-
date button on the extended toolbar. This forces a redraw 
of the whole page. 
						

							3
Transcribing MIDI recordings 
						

							569
Transcribing MIDI recordings
About this chapter
In this chapter you will learn:
• How to prepare your parts for score printouts.
• How to use the Display Quantize tool to handle “exceptions” 
in the score.
• How to resolve parts that contain mixed notes and triplets.
About transcription
This chapter assumes you have a MIDI recording that you 
want to transform into a printable score. However, if the 
parts are fairly complicated, you probably need to perform 
some manual editing of the notes. This is described in the 
chapter 
“Entering and editing notes” on page 573.
Getting the parts ready
1.Record the music.
You must definitely play in time with the click.
2.Play back to check that the music was recorded as in-
tended.
If not, you might need to re-record or perform some editing.
3.Decide how much permanent alteration to the record-
ing you can accept to make the score look good.
If the answer is “none”, you should prepare your score from a copy of the 
track. See the section below.
4.Select all parts (on all tracks) that you want to work on.
5.Open the Score Editor.
6.Activate Page Mode.
Preparing parts for score printout
Below follow a few tips to note when preparing a score for 
printout:
•If a part is complex, you may have to do some “manual” 
editing of notes, like moving them or changing their lengths 
(see the chapter 
“Entering and editing notes” on page 
573). This means that the recording does not play back ex-
actly as it originally did. If this is a problem, we suggest you 
work on a copy of the recording. Use the Duplicate Track 
function on the Project menu to create a version of the 
track for scoring. Rename the track and mute the original 
track while you are preparing the score. You can of course 
also work on a copy of the entire project file.
•For reasons described in the previous chapter, quantizing 
the track might be a good idea. This reduces the amount of 
detailed adjustments needed in the Score Editor.
•If you need to quantize, always play back your tracks af-
terwards to make sure timing was not disrupted due to in-
appropriate quantize settings. You might have to quantize 
some sections with one value and others with another.
•If the project contains many repetitions, it might be 
quicker to record just one instance of each to start with. If 
you then finish the score work on each section, you can 
assemble the entire project by working with parts in the 
Project window. This might save you some time since the 
detailed adjustments to each section have to be per
-
formed only once.
•A similar approach can also be used when you create 
sections where several instruments play the same rhythm 
(a horn section, for example): Record the first instrument 
and make adjustments so that it looks like it should in the 
Score Editor. Then copy the part to the other tracks, and 
change the pitches of the notes using MIDI input. Finally, 
go through the copied parts and make fine adjustments, 
change display transpose settings, etc. This can be a very 
fast way to create polyphonic parts with complicated 
rhythms.
•There also may be situations when the quickest way to 
record a part for several instruments is simply to record it 
in one go, by playing the chords on your MIDI instrument. 
If you later want to split the recording into separate tracks 
or polyphonic voices, you can use the Explode function, 
see 
“The Explode function” on page 572.
!Before starting, make sure that you understand the 
basic principles behind the score notes/MIDI notes 
relationship and also what Display Quantize is, as 
described in the chapter 
“How the Score Editor 
works” on page 551. 
						

							570
Transcribing MIDI recordings
Staff settings
The first thing to do after opening the Score Editor is to 
make initial staff settings. This is done in the Score Set
-
tings dialog, on the Staff page. There are three ways to 
open the Score Settings dialog:
•Make the staff active, pull down the Scores menu and 
select “Settings…”.
•Double-click on the blue rectangle to the left of the staff.
If this does not work, the “Double-click on staff flips between full score/
part” option may be activated in the Preferences dialog (Scores–Editing 
page), see 
“Displaying single voices or the complete score” on page 
557.
•Make the staff active and click the “i” button on the ex-
tended toolbar.
For this to work, make sure no notes or symbols are selected – other-
wise, clicking the “i” button may open a dialog with settings for the se-
lected object instead.
Click the Staff button to open the Staff page of the Score 
Settings dialog. The Staff page shows the current settings 
for the staff on four tabs. For detailed information on the 
Staff Settings page, see the chapter 
“Staff settings” on 
page 586.
Situations which require additional 
techniques
The notes may not always appear in the score as you ex-
pect them to, initially. This is because there are a number 
of situations which require special techniques and set
-
tings. Below you can find a list of some of these and 
where to find more information about handling them:
•Notes at the same position are considered to be part of a 
chord. To get independent voicing (e.g. notes with different 
stem directions), such as for vocal material, you need to use 
the polyphonic voicing feature, see the chapter 
“Polyphonic 
voicing” on page 593.
Without and with polyphonic voicing
•If two notes beginning at the same position have differ-
ent lengths, the longer one is displayed as a number of 
tied notes. To avoid this, you can either use the No Over
-
lap feature (see “No Overlap” on page 590) or polyphonic 
voicing (see “Polyphonic voicing” on page 593).
•One note is often displayed as two notes with a tie. 
Please note that this is merely the way the program dis
-
plays this note; only a single note is “stored”.
This single note in the Key Editor is displayed as two tied notes in the 
Score Editor.
•Normally the program adds ties where necessary (if a 
note stretches over a beat), but not always. For a “mod
-
ern” notation of syncopated notes (less ties) use the Syn-
copation feature, see “Syncopation” on page 589.
The same note, without and with syncopation
•If you find that you want a long note to be displayed as 
two or more tied notes, you can achieve this with the Cut 
Notes tool, see 
“The Cut Notes tool” on page 613.
•If two notes on the same position are too close to each 
other or if you want their order in the part reversed, you 
can do this without affecting playback, see 
“Graphic mov-
ing of notes” on page 614.
•If a note has the wrong accidental, this can be changed, 
see 
“Accidentals and enharmonic shift” on page 606.
•Stem direction and length are automatic, but you can 
change them manually if you wish, see 
“Background: Note 
stems” on page 604.
•If you need a split staff (e. g. when you are scoring for 
piano), there are special techniques for this – see 
“Split 
(piano) staves” on page 583 and “Polyphonic voicing” on 
page 593.