Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual

							Note Expression
Recording
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When you now start overdubbing, the values for all these controls are attached to 
the notes that are passed during overdub recording, replacing any existing 
controller data of the same type.
1) Reset Latch Buffer
2) Click here to activate Latch mode
RELATED LINKS
Mapping controllers on page 797
Resetting the Latch buffer
Whenever data is present in the Latch buffer, the “Reset Latch buffer” button 
becomes available. If you click this button, all the memorized values are removed 
from the Latch buffer.
NOTE
When you are using Latch mode in combination with cycle recording, the Latch 
Buffer is automatically reset at the end of the cycle.
Recording Note Expression data via MIDI input
An alternative way to enter Note Expression data for existing notes is using Note 
Expression MIDI input. When you activate the “MIDI Input” and “Note Expression 
MIDI Input” buttons on the Key Editor toolbar, you can replace the controllers for the 
selected note.
• To record Note Expression data via MIDI input, select a note and move the 
active control on your MIDI device.
The note is played in real time and any manipulation of the controls, i. e. all 
incoming controller data, is recorded for this note. Recording stops when the 
end of the note or the end of the release phase is reached, or when you 
deselect the note.
RELATED LINKS
Editing the release phase of a note on page 807 
						

							Note Expression
Editing Note Expression data
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Recording the sustain pedal
When the sustain pedal (MIDI CC 64) of the connected MIDI device is held during 
recording, the following applies for VST 3 parameters (not for continuous MIDI 
controllers):
• When a note-off event is received (when the key on the connected keyboard 
is released), this message is not sent to the VST 3 instrument but is instead 
created by the program when the sustain pedal is released.
This makes it possible for the VST 3 instrument to play back controllers that 
are sent after a key was released.
• The release phase of the recorded notes ends when the sustain pedal is 
released.
Editing Note Expression data
In the Key Editor, you can view and edit the Note Expression data for notes in the 
Note Expression editor. This is opened by double-clicking a note in the event 
display. In the editor, you can add Note Expression data from scratch. All 
parameters that are marked as visible in the Inspector are displayed as curves in the 
editor.
NOTE
When several notes are selected in the Key Editor and you double-click any of them, 
the Note Expression editor opens for all these notes. This is useful if you want to 
edit all notes in a chord in the same way, for example.
• To adjust the editor size, click and drag the Resize handle (in the center of the 
lower border of the editor). This allows you to switch between three different 
window sizes.
• To navigate from note to note while the editor is open, use the left and right 
arrow keys.
You can also use the key commands [Tab] and [Shift]-[Tab] to step through 
the notes. 
						

							Note Expression
Editing Note Expression data
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To make settings in the editor, first select the parameter that you want to make 
settings for. How to do this depends on whether you want to modify existing data 
or enter new data from scratch:
• If you want to enter new data from scratch, i. e. create events for a parameter 
that has not been used yet, you have to select this parameter in the Inspector 
to make it available in the editor.
• If you want to edit existing data, you specify which parameter to edit in one of 
the following ways: by clicking on the curve, by selecting the corresponding 
controller on the Parameter pop-up menu, or by selecting the parameter on 
the Note Expression Inspector tab.
The parameter pop-up menu in the lower left corner of the editor lists all 
parameters that are used for the edited note. If the editor size is big enough, 
the name of the edited parameter is displayed to the right of the pop-up menu.
• You can close the editor by clicking outside of it in the event display.
You can also specify a key command for opening and closing the Note 
Expression editor.
The value display
The value display in the lower right corner of the editor shows the current value at 
the (vertical) mouse pointer position. The value range differs depending on the 
parameter type, e.
 g. 0 to 127 for MIDI controllers or semitones and cents for 
Tuning.
Selection ranges
You can select a range of controller values by clicking and dragging in the editor 
with the Object Selection tool.
• If you hold down [Shift] and drag, any previous selection will be kept.
• You can move selections by dragging them in the editor.
• To copy a selection in the editor, click on it, keep the mouse button pressed, 
then press [Alt]/[Option] and drag.
Editing functions
Drawing in data
You can enter or modify curves using the Draw tool or the line tool. The editing is 
the same as in the controller lanes. If the Object Selection tool is selected and the 
editor is open, you can press [Alt]/[Option] to get the Draw tool. 
						

							Note Expression
Editing Note Expression data
804
RELATED LINKS
Adding Events in the Controller Display on page 718
Editing Events in the Controller Display on page 718
Using Cut, Copy, and Paste
• To cut, copy, and paste Note Expression data for a single parameter in the 
editor, use the corresponding commands on the Edit menu.
It is also possible to copy and paste data between different parameters.
NOTE
Pasting Note Expression data in the editor is restricted to the note (or notes, if they 
are located at the same time position) for which the editor is open. However, you 
can copy all Note Expression data from one note to another using a key command.
• To paste all the Note Expression data from one note to other notes, set up the 
key command “Paste Note Expression” in the Key commands dialog (Note 
Expression category).
This pastes all the Note Expression information of one or several notes for 
which you have used the Copy command into the currently selected notes.
Using the “Paste Note Expression” command, you can copy the settings you made 
for one note into several other notes, or copy the settings for several selected notes 
into a number of other notes (which makes it easy to recreate specific drum 
patterns, for example).
If Note Expression data is copied from several source notes to a number of 
destination notes, the following applies:
• If the number of the source and destination notes matches, the data of the first 
“source” note is pasted into the first “destination” note, the data of the second 
source note into the second destination note, etc.
• If the number of source notes is smaller than the number of destination notes, 
the source note data will be pasted repeatedly into the destination notes in 
the order in which they appear.
When you copy the data from two source notes into four destination notes, 
for example, the first destination note gets the Note Expression data from the 
first source note, the second destination note the data of the second source 
note, the third destination note the data of the first source note and the fourth 
destination note the data of the second source note.
Deleting Note Expression data
To delete all or the selected Note Expression data, use the Delete command on the 
Edit menu or press [Backspace]. 
						

							Note Expression
Editing Note Expression data
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Moving Note Expression data
• To move all or the selected data of the active parameter, click with the Object 
Selection tool in the editor (not in the stretch area at the bottom of the 
window) and drag.
You can restrict the direction to vertical or horizontal by pressing 
[Ctrl]/[Command] while dragging. When you hold down [Alt]/[Option] while 
dragging, the data is copied instead.
Fixed values
• To enter or edit a fixed value (i. e. a straight line), activate “One-Shot Mode” 
mode by clicking the button in the upper left corner of the window and click 
with the Draw tool anywhere in the editor to set the value.
Note that some VST 3 parameters are one-shot only. For these, this mode is 
automatically activated.
The snap controls
The horizontal snap button in the upper right corner of the editor corresponds to the 
Snap button in the Project window.
1) Vertical snap (best suited for the Tuning parameter)
2) Horizontal Snap
The Vertical Snap button in the middle of the left border of the editor is especially 
useful for the Tuning parameter. It allows you to enter the pitch in semitone steps 
instead of as a continuous curve. This way, it is much easier to create fast pitch 
modulations.
• To temporarily switch to vertical snapping while editing, hold down [Shift].
RELATED LINKS
Snap Function on page 62 
						

							Note Expression
Editing Note Expression data
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Modifying the data using the smart controls
The editor offers various modes for editing the Note Expression data. Most editing 
modes are activated by clicking the various smart controls, situated on the editor 
frame.
1) Smart controls
Which editing is performed is reflected by the shape of the mouse pointer. The 
following modes are available:
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 a 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, i. e. to raise 
or lower the values in 
percent (not by absolute 
amounts).
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, respectively. 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. You can 
create a vibrato using the line 
tool in sinus mode, for 
example, and then compress 
its start and end to get a 
more natural effect. 
						

							Note Expression
Editing Note Expression data
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Editing the release phase of a note
Sometimes it can be necessary to edit the release phase of a note, e. g. to work on 
the tail of a note which is still sounding after the note-off message was sent. These 
settings are made in the release section of the editor. To add a release phase, click 
and drag the release length handle in the lower right corner of the editor.
1) Note
2) Release phase
3) Release length handle
When Note Expression data are displayed in the Key Editor, the release phase of a 
note is also shown.
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. This is 
useful for parameters which 
contain a center value or 
position, such as Pitchbend or 
panorama.
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. This can be used to 
boost or reduce vibrato, for 
example.
Stretch Click and drag in the lower 
part of the editor.This allows you to stretch all 
or the selected Note 
Expression data.You can 
apply the stretching to all 
visible curves at the same 
time by keeping [Shift] 
pressed while dragging. Editing mode To activate this mode… Description 
						

							Note Expression
Note Expression and MIDI
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Setting the length of the release phase
To determine the length of the release phase, drag the release length handle or 
enter the value manually on the info line. You can also modify the release length after 
having edited or recorded controller data. Only the controllers within the specified 
length will be heard during playback.
NOTE
When you have opened the editor for several notes and hold down [Alt]/[Option] 
while setting the release length for one note, the release phase of all the notes will 
be changed accordingly, i. e. they will all end at the same time position.
Adding controllers in the release phase
You can add controllers in the release phase by overdubbing or by manually 
entering Note Expression data in the editor. When you are overdubbing Note 
Expression data, the length of the existing release phase will be used to associate 
newly recorded data to the notes. When the sustain pedal of your external device is 
held during recording, the notes automatically get a corresponding release phase.
Editing multiple notes simultaneously
When you have opened the editor for several notes, any editing (e. g. entering Note 
Expression data, applying time stretch or modifying the length of the release phase) 
affects all the notes that are present at the time position where you perform the editing.
Note Expression and MIDI
Making global settings
In the Note Expression MIDI Setup dialog, you can make some global settings for the use 
of the Note Expression functionality with MIDI. In this dialog, you can specify exactly which 
MIDI controllers will be used when recording Note Expression data, for example.
PROCEDURE
1. On the MIDI menu, open the Note Expression submenu and select “Note 
Expression MIDI Setup…”.
The Note Expression MIDI Setup dialog opens.
2. When you have made the desired settings, click OK to close the dialog.
The settings you made in the Note Expression MIDI Setup dialog will be used every 
time that you use the “Convert to Note Expression” function or record MIDI controllers 
as Note Expression data. 
						

							Note Expression
Note Expression and MIDI
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Note Expression MIDI Setup Dialog
The dialog contains the following options:
Controller
Activate this option if you want to use MIDI controllers when working with 
Note Expression. In the table below, activate the MIDI controllers you want to 
use and deactivate the MIDI controllers that should be disregarded in the 
Note Expression context.
If MIDI controller data for a deactivated controller is received in Cubase, it will 
end up on the controller lane.
Pitchbend
Activate this option if you want incoming Pitchbend data to be used when 
working with Note Expression.
Aftertouch
Activate this option if you want incoming Aftertouch data to be used when 
working with Note Expression. 
						

							Note Expression
Note Expression and MIDI
810
Poly Pressure
Activate this option if you want Poly Pressure data to be used when working 
with Note Expression.
Controller Catch Range
This allows you to associate controllers with a note, although they were sent 
slightly before the note-on message. Specify the number of ticks in the value 
field. For example, this might be necessary when working with some 
electronic drums for which the drum head position message is sent before the 
note.
Recording MIDI controllers as Note Expression data
To record Note Expression data using standard MIDI controller messages, activate 
the “MIDI as Note Expression” button on the Note Expression Inspector tab and 
enter the notes and controllers using your MIDI device. Afterwards, you can copy, 
paste and move the notes and the associated controller data will follow.
However, you should not shift individual notes from a chord, because this leads to 
conflicting controller messages. One way to avoid such conflicts is to record MIDI 
controllers as Note Expression data for monophonic performances only. Another 
option is to use a MIDI track set to “Any” channel and to split polyphony to separate 
channels. This is useful when working with guitar-to-MIDI controllers, where each 
string sends on a separate MIDI channel.
NOTE
When recording MIDI controllers as Note Expression data, keep in mind that this 
only works within the limits of standard MIDI controllers. With the exception of Poly 
Pressure, all MIDI controllers are channel-specific messages and therefore not 
available for notes.
IMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANTIMPORTANT
When you are editing the MIDI notes after recording them, it might be necessary to 
consolidate the controller data.
Converting MIDI Controllers into Note Expression data
You can also convert the MIDI controller data on the controller lanes into Note 
Expression data.
PROCEDURE
1. Open the MIDI part in the Key Editor.
2. Make sure that the MIDI controllers to be recorded are activated in the “Note 
Expression MIDI Setup” dialog.