Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual

							MIDI Editors
Key Editor Operations
721
Sine, Triangle, and Square Mode
The Sine, Triangle, and Square modes create events with values that are aligned 
to continuous curves.
In these modes, the quantize value determines the period of the curve that is the 
length of one curve cycle and the Length Quantize value determines the density of 
the events. The lower the Length Quantize note value becomes, the smoother the 
curve gets.
NOTE
If Length Quantize is set to Quantize Link and you enter data in Sine, Triangle or 
Square mode, the density of the events depends on the Zoom factor.
You can use modifier keys to determine the shape of the curve.
• To change the phase of the beginning of the curve, press [Ctrl]/[Command].
• To change the position of the whole curve, press 
[Alt]/[Option]-[Ctrl]/[Command].
• To change the maximum position of the triangle curve or the pulse of the 
square curve in Triangle and Square mode, press [Shift]-[Ctrl]/[Command]. 
This creates sawtooth curves.
• You can also set the curve period freely by holding down [Shift] when you 
insert events in Sine, Triangle, or Square mode. Activate Snap, [Shift]-click 
and drag to set the length of one period. The period length will be a multiple 
of the quantize value.
Paint Mode
In Paint mode, you can draw in multiple notes.
The quantize value determines the density of created controller curves. For very 
smooth curves, use a small quantize value or deactivate Snap. However, this 
creates a large number of MIDI events, which can cause MIDI playback to stutter in 
some situations. A medium-low density is often sufficient.
Editing Events using the Draw Tool
You can draw and edit events in the controller display with the Draw tool. The Draw 
tool has the same functionality as the Line tool in Paint mode. 
						

							MIDI Editors
Key Editor Operations
722
• To change the velocity of a single note, click on its velocity bar and drag the 
bar up or down.
NOTE
When you move the pointer inside a controller lane, the event type value 
changes corresponding to the pointer movement. The event type value is 
displayed below the event type name, left of the controller display.
Editing Articulations (Cubase Pro only)
You can add and edit musical expressions or articulations in the controller lane.
RELATED LINKS
Expression maps (Cubase Pro only) on page 778
Editing Dynamics (Cubase Pro only)
Provided that the dynamics mapping is set up and activated for the track, you can 
insert 12 dynamics symbols in the lower part of the Articulations/Dynamics lane.
• To insert a dynamics symbol, click in the controller lane with the Draw tool.
A mezzo forte symbol is inserted.
• To select another dynamics symbol for an event, click on the triangle in the 
upper left corner of the event and select a symbol from the pop-up menu.
If several events are selected, the same symbol is applied to all events.
• To step through the available dynamics symbols, use the mouse wheel or the 
One down and One up key commands.
If several events are selected, they all change in increments, that is relative to 
the original values.
• To modify the settings for the dynamics symbols, open the Controller 
Selection and Functions pop-up menu and select Dynamics Mapping 
Setup. 
						

							MIDI Editors
Key Editor Operations
723
Moving and copying dynamics events is identical to working with with other events 
on the controller lane.
RELATED LINKS
Moving Events in the Controller Display on page 726
Working with mapped dynamics on page 1315
Using Continuous Controllers
When a continuous controller is selected for a controller lane, additional data is 
displayed on the controller lane. This is due to the fact that MIDI controller data can 
be recorded or entered either for an automation track or for a MIDI part.
If automation data already exists for a controller, this is indicated by an asterisk that 
is displayed next to the controller name on the Controller Selection and Functions 
pop-up menu.
If the automation data is controller data that you have entered in a MIDI editor, the 
data is displayed on the controller lane. If the controller data was recorded on an 
automation track in the Project window, no events are displayed on the controller 
lane.
If conflicting controller data exists in two different places, you can specify what 
happens on playback by making settings for the automation merge mode. The 
resulting curve is displayed in addition to the curve that you entered on the 
controller lane.
1) The controller curve before the part starts. This curve depends on the existing 
controller data and on the selected merge mode.
2) Controller curve entered on the controller lane.
3) Resulting controller curve if controller automation was also recorded on a 
track. These values depend on the selected automation merge mode.
On the controller lane, you can also see the controller curve that is applied before 
the part starts. This tells you which controller value is currently being used at the 
starting point of the part so that you can choose the start value accordingly.
The start value also depends on the automation merge mode.
RELATED LINKS
MIDI Controller Automation on page 595
Automation Merge Modes on page 596 
						

							MIDI Editors
Key Editor Operations
724
Poly Pressure Events
Poly Pressure events are events that belong to a specific note number (key). That 
is, each poly pressure event has two editable values: the note number and the 
amount of pressure.
When Poly Pressure is selected on the Controller Selection and Functions 
pop-up menu, there are two value fields to the left of the controller display, one for 
the note number and one for the amount.
Adding Poly Pressure Events
PROCEDURE
1. Open the Controller Selection and Functions pop-up menu and select Poly 
Pressure.
2. Click on the keyboard display to set the note number.
The selected note number is displayed in the upper value field to the left of the 
controller display.
NOTE
This only works for the topmost lane. If you have selected Poly Pressure for several 
controller lanes, you have to type in the note number directly in the lower value field 
to the left of each lane.
3. Use the Draw tool to add a new event.
Editing Poly Pressure Events
PROCEDURE
1. Open the Controller Selection and Functions pop-up menu and select Poly 
Pressure.
2. Click on the arrow button next to the note number to the left of the controller 
lane.
A pop-up menu appears and lists all note numbers for which there already are Poly 
Pressure events.
3. Select a note number from the pop-up menu.
The Poly Pressure events for the selected note number are shown in the controller 
lane.
4. Use the Draw tool to edit the events.
To edit events without adding new events, press [Ctrl]/[Command]+[Alt]/[Option] 
while drawing.
Poly Pressure events can also be added and edited in the List Editor. 
						

							MIDI Editors
Key Editor Operations
725
Controller Lane Editor
The controller lane editor allows you to perform additional scaling operations for 
selection ranges on existing controller curves.
In the controller lane editor, the following smart controls appear on the borders of 
the editor:
Editing Selection Ranges
The controller lane editor allows you to perform additional scaling operations for 
selection ranges on existing controller curves.
• To open the controller lane editor, use the Object Selection tool to create a 
selection rectangle on the controller lane, encompassing the controller events 
that you want to edit.
For velocity lanes, press [Alt]/[Option] to get the Object Selection tool.
Editing mode To activate this mode Description
Move Vertically Click in an empty area on the 
upper border of the editor.This mode allows you to move 
the entire curve up or down, 
which is useful to boost or 
attenuate an otherwise perfect 
curve.
Scale Vertically Click the smart control in the 
middle of the upper border of the 
editor.Use this mode to relatively scale 
the curve, that is to raise or lower 
the values in percent.
Tilt the left/right part 
of the curveClick the smart control in the 
upper left/right corner of the 
editor.These modes allow you to tilt the 
left or the right part of the curve. 
This is useful if the curve form is 
exactly the way you want it, but 
the start or end needs to be 
boosted or attenuated a bit.
Compress the 
left/right part of the 
curve[Alt]/[Option]-click the smart 
control in the upper left/right 
corner of the editor.These modes allow you to 
compress the left or the right part 
of the curve.
Scale Around 
Absolute CenterClick the smart control in the 
middle of the right border of the 
editor.This mode allows you to scale 
the curve around the absolute 
center, i. e. horizontally around the 
center of the editor.
Scale Around 
Relative Center[Alt]/[Option]-click the smart 
control in the middle of the right 
border of the editor.This mode allows you to scale 
the curve relative to its center.
Stretch Click and drag in the lower part 
of the editor (not available for 
velocity lanes).This allows you to stretch the 
selected controller events. 
						

							MIDI Editors
Key Editor Operations
726
NOTE
• The controller lane editor is not available for Articulation or Dynamics 
lanes.
• For velocity lanes, the editor also opens if you select multiple MIDI notes 
in the note display.
• To switch the controller lane editor to vertical scaling mode, press [Shift] and 
click on any of the smart controls.
• To move the whole selection up/down or left/right, click on a controller event 
inside the editor and drag the curve.
• To restrict the direction to horizontal or vertical movement, depending on the 
direction in which you start dragging, press [Ctrl]/[Command] when dragging.
NOTE
Snap is taken into account when moving controller curves horizontally.
Moving Events in the Controller Display
You can move events in a controller lane.
PROCEDURE
1. Select the events that you want to move with the Object Selection tool.
You can also click and drag to create a selection rectangle that encompasses the 
events that you want to move.
2. Click on a curve point inside the selection and drag the events.
RESULT 
The events inside the selection are moved to the new position. Snap is taken into 
account.
NOTE
If Auto Select Controllers is activated in the Key Editor toolbar, selecting notes 
also selects the corresponding controller events. Moving events in the note display 
also moves the corresponding controller events.
RELATED LINKS
Selecting Controllers within the Note Range on page 727 
						

							MIDI Editors
Key Editor Operations727
Deleting Events in the Controller Display
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
If there is more than one note at the same position, there is only one visible velocity 
bar. Make sure that you delete only the notes that you want to delete.
• To delete events, click on them with the  Erase tool or select them and press 
[Backspace].
You can also delete notes by deleting their velocity bars in the controller 
di
 splay.
If there is more than one note at the same position, there may still only be one 
velocity 
 bar visible. Make sure that  you delete only the desired notes!
Selecting Controllers wi thin the Note Range
A note range lasts until the start of the next note or the end of the part. Selected 
controllers for notes are moved when the corresponding notes are moved.
You can select the controllers within the range of the selected notes.
• To always select the corresponding controllers when you select a note event, 
activa
 te Auto Select Controllers  
.
• To select the controllers within the note range, select  Edit > Se
 lect > Select 
Controllers in Note Range .
For this to work, only 2 notes have to be selected. 
						

							MIDI Editors
Basic Score Editor (Cubase Artist only)
728
Basic Score Editor (Cubase Artist only)
The basic Score Editor is available in Cubase Artist. It shows MIDI notes as a 
musical score. This offers basic score editing and printing.
1) Toolbar
2) Status line
3) Info line
4) Extended toolbar
• To open one or several parts in the Score Editor, select one or several tracks 
or any number of parts, and select MIDI > Scores > Open Score Editor.
If you have selected parts on several tracks, you get one staff for each track. 
The staves are tied together by bar lines and placed in the order of the tracks 
in the Project window.
• To rearrange the staves, close the editor and in the Project window, rearrange 
the tracks. Then reopen the Score Editor.
Toolbar
The toolbar contains tools and various settings for the Score Editor.
• To show or hide the toolbar elements, right-click the toolbar and activate or 
deactivate the elements. 
						

							MIDI Editors
Basic Score Editor (Cubase Artist only)
729
Tool Buttons
Object Selection
Allows you to select events.
Erase
Allows you to delete events.
Insert Note
Allows you to insert notes in the score display.
Split
Allows you to split a MIDI event.
Glue
Allows you to glue together events of the same pitch.
Insert Text
Allows you to insert text in the score display.
Arranger
Previous Chain Step
Selects the previous chain step.
Next Chain Step
Selects the next chain step.
First Repeat of Current Chain Step
Selects the first repeat of the current chain step.
Activate Arrange Mode
If this option is activated, playback follows the repeats and project symbols in 
the score. Sections within repeat symbols are repeated, the playback position 
jumps to the beginning when encountering a Da Capo symbol, and so on.
Transpose Palette
Move up
Transposes the selected event or chord up by a half note.
Move down
Transposes the selected event or chord down by a half note.
Move up more
Transposes the selected event up by an octave.
Move down more
Transposes the selected event down by an octave. 
						

							MIDI Editors
Basic Score Editor (Cubase Artist only)
730
Display Transpose
Display Transpose
Allows you to transpose events without affecting the way that they are played 
back. This allows you to record and play back a multi-staff arrangement and 
still score each instrument according to its own transposition.
Auto Scroll
Auto Scroll
If this button is activated, the project cursor is always visible in the window.
Insert Velocity
Insert Velocity
Allows you to specify a velocity value for new notes.
Snap/Quantize
Snap Type
Allows you to select the snap type.
If Grid is activated, events snap to exact grid positions when they are moved.
If Grid Relative is activated, events keep their relative positions to the grid 
when they are moved.
Iterative Quantize On/Off
Activates/Deactivates iterative quantize.
Quantize Presets
Allows you to select a quantize or a groove preset.
Apply Quantize
Applies the quantize settings.
Open Quantize Panel
Opens the Quantize Panel.
Length Quantize
Determines the event length for the Length Quantize function.
Step/MIDI Input
Step Input
Activates/Deactivates the Step Input mode.
MIDI Input/Note Expression MIDI Input
Activates/Deactivates MIDI Input modes.