Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual

							MIDI Editors
In-Place Editor
771
In-Place Editor
The In-Place Editor allows you to edit MIDI notes and controllers directly in the 
Project window, for quick and efficient editing in context with other tracks.
The In-Place Editor expands the MIDI track to show a miniature Key Editor. When 
you select a MIDI note, the Project window info line shows the same information 
about the note, as the info line in the Key Editor. You can perform the same editing 
here as in the Key Editor.
RELATED LINKS
Editing Note Events on the Info Line on page 693
Opening the In-Place Editor
• To open the In-Place Editor for the selected tracks, select MIDI > Open 
In-Place Editor.
• To open the In-Place Editor for a single MIDI track, click the corresponding 
Edit In-Place button in the track list.
Toolbar
The toolbar contains tools and settings for the In-Place Editor.
To open the toolbar, click on the gray triangle in the upper right corner of the track 
list for the edited track.
Static Buttons
Acoustic Feedback
If this button is activated, individual notes are automatically played back when 
you move or transpose them, or when you create them by drawing. 
						

							MIDI Editors
In-Place Editor
772
Multiple Part Controls
Edit Active Part Only
If this button is activated, editing operations are applied only to the active part.
Currently Edited Part
This pop-up menu lists all parts that are currently open in the editor. This 
allows you to select a part for editing.
Insert Velocity
Insert Velocity
Allows you to specify a velocity value for new notes.
Indicate Transpositions
Indicate Transpositions
If this button is activated, MIDI notes are displayed according to their 
transposition settings.
Auto Select Controllers
Auto Select Controllers
If this button is activated and a note is selected in the editor, the 
corresponding controller data is also automatically selected.
Snap/ Quantize
Length Quantize
Determines the event length for the Length Quantize function.
Event Colors
Event Colors
Allows you to select a color scheme for the events in the editor.
List of Parts in Editor
List of Parts in Editor
Lists all parts of the selected In-Place Editor.
Working with the In-Place Editor
• To zoom or scroll the In-Place Editor, point at the left part of the piano 
keyboard display so that the pointer changes to a hand. Then drag to the right 
or left to zoom in or out vertically, and drag up or down to scroll the editor. 
						

							MIDI Editors
SysEx Messages
773
• To add or remove controller lanes, right-click below the controller name field 
and select an option from the context menu.
• To close the In-Place Editor for one track, click Edit In-Place in the track list 
or double-click below the controller display in the In-Place Editor.
• To open/close the In-Place Editor for one or several selected tracks, use the 
Edit In-Place key command.
• You can drag notes from one In-Place Editor to another.
NOTE
The Snap button and Snap Type pop-up menu on the Project window toolbar 
control snapping in the In-Place Editor, but the snap grid is set using the Quantize 
pop-up menu.
SysEx Messages
SysEx (System Exclusive) messages are model-specific messages for setting 
various parameters of a MIDI device. This makes it possible to address device 
parameters that would not be available via normal MIDI syntax.
Every major MIDI manufacturer has its own SysEx identity code. SysEx messages 
are typically used for transmitting patch data, for example, the numbers that make 
up the settings of one or more sounds in a MIDI instrument.
Cubase allows you to record and manipulate SysEx data in various ways.
RELATED LINKS
Using MIDI devices on page 658
Bulk Dumps
In any programmable device, the settings are saved as numbers in computer 
memory. If you change these numbers, you will change the settings. Normally, MIDI 
devices allow you to dump (transmit) all or some settings in the device’s memory in 
the form of MIDI SysEx messages.
A dump is therefore, among other things, a way of making backup copies of the 
settings of your instrument: sending such a dump back to the MIDI device restores 
the settings.
If your instrument allows the dumping of a few or all of its settings via MIDI by 
activating some function on the front panel, this dump will probably be recordable 
in Cubase. 
						

							MIDI Editors
SysEx Messages
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Recording a Bulk Dump
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
If your MIDI instrument does not offer a way to initiate a dump, you have to send a 
Dump Request message from Cubase to start the dump. In that case, use the MIDI 
SysEx Editor to insert the specific Dump Request message (see the instrument’s 
documentation) at the beginning of a MIDI track. When you activate recording, the 
Dump Request message is played back (sent to the instrument), the dump starts 
and is recorded.
PROCEDURE
1. Do one of the following:
• On Microsoft Windows, select File > Preferences.
• On Mac, select the Cubase menu, and select Preferences.
2. In the Preferences dialog, select MIDI > MIDI Filter.
3. In the Record section, deactivate the SysEx checkbox to make sure that the 
recording of SysEx data is not filtered.
This way, SysEx messages are recorded but not echoed back to the instrument. This 
can lead to unpredictable results.
4. Activate recording on a MIDI track and initiate the dump from the front panel 
of the instrument.
5. When you have finished recording, select the new part and select MIDI > List 
Editor.
This allows you to check that the SysEx dump was recorded. There should be one or 
several SysEx events in the part/event list.
Transmitting a Bulk Dump Back to a Device
PREREQUISITE 
Route the MIDI track with the System Exclusive data to the device. Check your 
device’s documentation to find details about which MIDI channel should be used, 
etc.
PROCEDURE
1. Solo the track.
2. Make sure that the device is set up to receive SysEx messages.
3. If necessary, put the device in Standby to Receive System Exclusive mode.
4. Play back the data. 
						

							MIDI Editors
SysEx Messages
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About Recording and Transmitting Bulk Dumps
• Do not transmit more data than you need. If all you want is a single program, 
do not send all. Otherwise, it could get too difficult to find the recognized 
program. Usually, you can specify exactly which data you want to send.
• If you want the sequencer to dump the pertinent sounds to your instrument 
whenever you load a project, put the SysEx data in a silent count-in before the 
project itself starts.
• If the dump is very short, which can, for example, be a single sound you can 
put the dump in the middle of the project to quickly re-program a device. 
However, you can achieve the same effect by using Program Change. This is 
definitely preferable, since less MIDI data is sent and recorded. Some devices 
may be set up to dump the settings for a sound as soon as you select it on 
the front panel.
• If you create parts with useful SysEx dumps, you can put these on a special 
muted track. To make use of these parts, drag it to an empty unmuted track 
and play it back.
• Do not transmit several SysEx dumps to several instruments at the same time.
• Make a note of the current device ID setting of the instrument. If you change 
this, the instrument may later refuse to load the dump.
Recording SysEx Parameter Changes
Often you can use SysEx to remotely change individual settings in a device, for 
example, opening a filter, selecting a waveform, changing the decay of the reverb, 
etc. Many devices are also capable of transmitting changes that are made on the 
front panel as SysEx messages. These can be recorded in Cubase, and thus 
incorporated into a regular MIDI recording.
For example: you open up a filter while playing some notes. In that case, you record 
both the notes and the SysEx messages that are generated when you open the filter. 
When you play back the recording, the sound changes exactly as it did when you 
recorded it.
PROCEDURE
1. Select File > Preferences.
2. In the Preferences dialog, select MIDI > MIDI Filter and make sure that 
SysEx is deactivated in the Record section.
3. Make sure that the instrument is set to transmit changes of front panel 
controls as SysEx messages.
4. Record.
AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK 
In the List Editor, check if the events were recorded properly. 
						

							MIDI Editors
SysEx Messages
776
MIDI SysEx Editor
While SysEx events are displayed in the List Editor/Project Browser (Cubase Pro 
only), it is not their entire content, that is displayed. Only the beginning of the 
message is displayed in the Comment column for the event. The event is not 
editable. You can only move the event, the same way you would move it in the List 
Editor.
• To open the MIDI SysEx Editor for a SysEx event, click in the Comments 
column for the event in the List Editor/Project Browser.
The display shows the entire message on one or several lines. SysEx messages 
always begin with F0 and end with F7 and a number of arbitrary bytes in between. 
If the message contains more bytes, so that they do not entirely fit on one line, it 
continues on the next line. The Address indication to the left helps you find out on 
which position in the message a certain value is located.
You can edit all values except for the first (F0) and the last ones (F7).
In the MIDI SysEx Editor, the bytes are displayed as follows:
• In the main display, values are shown in hexadecimal format.
• To the right of the main display, values are shown in ASCII format.
• At the bottom of the dialog, the selected value is shown in ASCII, binary, and 
decimal formats.
Adding and Deleting Bytes
• To add a byte, open the MIDI SysEx Editor and click Insert. The byte is 
added before the selected byte.
• To delete a byte, open the MIDI SysEx Editor, select a byte, and click Delete.
• To delete the complete SysEx message, select it in the List Editor and press 
[Delete] or [Backspace]. 
						

							MIDI Editors
SysEx Messages
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Editing Byte Values
You can edit the selected byte value in the main display of the MIDI SysEx Editor, 
or in the ASCII, decimal, and binary displays.
• To edit the selected value, open the MIDI SysEx Editor, click on a byte, and 
type in the value.
Importing and Exporting SysEx Data
You can import SysEx data from disk and export the edited data to a file.
The file has to be in MIDI SysEx (.syx) binary format. Only the first dump in a SYX 
file will be loaded.
• To import SysEx data, open the MIDI SysEx Editor and click Import.
• To export SysEx data, open the MIDI SysEx Editor and click Export.
NOTE
Do not confuse this format with MIDI files, which have the extension .mid. 
						

							778
Expression maps (Cubase Pro 
only)
Introduction
About articulations
Musical articulations, or expressions, define how certain notes “sound”, i. e. how 
they are sung or performed on a given instrument. They allow you to specify that a 
string instrument is bowed (not plucked), a trumpet muted (not played open), and 
so on. Articulations also define the relative volume of notes (to play some notes 
louder or softer than the others) or changes in pitch (create a tremolo).
Articulations can be divided into “Directions” and “Attributes”.
• Directions are valid for all notes from the insert position on, until another 
direction is scored. This means, they are applied not to single notes, but to a 
continuous range of notes, or even an entire piece of music.
An example for a direction is pizzicato, which means that the string instrument 
is plucked.
• Attributes belong to single notes. They are only applied to the notes for which 
they are scored.
Examples for this are accents, where a note is played with an emphasis, and 
staccato, where a note is played shorter.
Articulations and MIDI
When working with MIDI, i. e. when you are entering notes via a MIDI keyboard, 
editing notes in the MIDI editors or using VST instruments, articulations need to be 
realized as different sounds.
Direction Attribute Attribute Attribute
Pizzicato Tenuto Accent Staccato 
						

							Expression maps (Cubase Pro only)
Introduction
779
To trigger the necessary sound changes, use the following command and data 
types:
Program Change
Program Change messages can be used to instruct a connected VST 
instrument to switch from one program to another. Depending on the 
instrument, this can be used to play a different articulation.
MIDI channel
Multi-timbral instruments, such as Steinberg’s HALion, feature programs, 
usually representing different articulations. These can be accessed via MIDI 
channel messages.
Key switches
Some software samplers, like Steinberg’s HALion Symphonic Orchestra, 
make use of “key switches”, meaning that certain keys are not used to trigger 
sounds, but to switch between articulations, for example.
Expression maps
When working on a project, you might want to audition a composition including 
articulations. In Cubase, this can be achieved using expression maps, which can be 
selected via the Expression Map section in the Inspector for MIDI or instrument 
tracks. Within these maps, you can specify the sound mapping and characteristics 
for all your musical expressions, using the methods described in the table above.
When you select an expression map for a MIDI or instrument track, the articulations 
(sounds) defined in the map are automatically applied during playback. Cubase 
recognizes the expressions scored for the MIDI part and searches the sound slots 
in the expression map for a sound that matches the defined criteria.
When a matching sound slot is found, the current note is either modified (e. g. 
reduced in length or played louder), or the MIDI channel, program change or key 
switch information is sent to the connected instrument (the instrument selected on 
the Output Routing pop-up menu for the track), so that a different sound is played. 
When no sound slot is found that matches the articulations used in the part, the 
“closest match” is used.
When you enter articulations in a MIDI part, you need to set up an expression map 
in a way that the right sounds in the connected VST or MIDI instrument are 
triggered.
E x p r e s s i o n  m a p s  a l s o  a l l o w  y o u  t o  l i n k  y o u r  a r t i c u l a t i o n s  w i t h  r e m o t e  k e y s  o n  a  M I D I  
input device and map these to sounds that can be played by a MIDI device or VST 
instrument. This way, you can enter notes and articulations using a remote MIDI 
device and have these automatically be recorded and played back correctly by 
Cubase.
Expression maps are useful in the following situations:
• When you want to enter musical articulations directly in one of the MIDI 
editors, especially the Score Editor, without having to record MIDI data first. 
						

							Expression maps (Cubase Pro only)
Using expression maps
780
• When you want to play/record music in realtime and control articulation 
changes while playing.
• When you open and edit projects from other users. By using expression 
maps, you can map the articulation information to a different instrument set or 
content library quickly and easily.
NOTE
You can also use the Note Expression functions to add articulations directly on your 
MIDI notes in the Key Editor.
RELATED LINKS
Creating and editing expression maps on page 785
Groups on page 789
Note Expression on page 792
Using expression maps
Expression maps and their related functions can be found in different locations in 
Cubase. To be able to use these functions, an expression map or a track preset 
containing such a map has to be loaded.
Loading expression maps
Expression maps can either be part of track or VST presets, or be saved separately. 
Depending on this, the way to make them available in Cubase is slightly different.
Loading expression maps that are part of presets
Cubase comes with a set of predefined expression maps which are part of the 
default presets. They are loaded automatically with the presets.
The following applies:
• Included with Cubase are several track presets which are pre-configured for 
use with expression maps. They contain sounds that make use of key 
switches and have different articulations. To indicate that these presets can 
be used in this context, they have the suffix “VX”.
• Track presets for HALion Symphonic Orchestra can also be used with 
expression maps. The presets are installed automatically with Cubase. 
However, for them to be available, you have to separately install the VST 
instrument.
These track presets begin with “HSO” and end with “VX”.
RELATED LINKS
Track Presets on page 160