Steinberg Cubase 8 Manual
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Chord Pads Preparations 841 Preparations Before you can start working with the chord pads, you must add a MIDI or an instrument track with an instrument loaded, and open the chord pads zone. PREREQUISITE You have installed and set up a MIDI keyboard. PROCEDURE 1. Select Project > Add Track > Instrument. 2. In the Add Instrument Track dialog, select an instrument, and click Add Track. An instrument track with the selected instrument loaded is added to your project, and select a sound that is suited for chords. 3. On the instrument track, click Record Enable. 4. Select Project > Chord Pads to open the Chord Pads Zone at the bottom of the Project window. RESULT You can now click the chord pads or press some of the assigned keys on your MIDI keyboard to trigger the preassigned chords. Chord Assistant The Chord Assistant allows you to use a chord as a starting point for suggestions for the next chord. It assists you in finding the right chords for creating a chord progression for your song. •Click Show/Hide Chord Assistant on the left side of the chord pads area to open the Chord Assistant.
Chord Pads Chord Assistant 842 The Chord Assistant has two modes: •Chord Assistant – Proximity (Cubase Pro only) •Chord Assistant – Circle of Fifths You must define an origin chord as follows: • Right-click the chord pad with the chord you want to use as origin and select Use X as Origin for Chord Assistant. The Chord Assistant shows suggestions for follow-on chords that you can assign to the chord pads. Chord Assistant – Proximity Mode (Cubase Pro only) The Proximity mode of the Chord Assistant uses a set of harmonic rules to offer suggestions that match the origin chord. The origin chord in the bottom center of the Chord Assistant marks the tonal center. The farther away a chord suggestion is situated from this chord, the more complex the suggestion. The suggested chords are triads or 4-note chords. • To play a suggested chord, click it. The last three suggested chords that you clicked are shown with a highlighted frame. • To assign a suggestion to the next unassigned chord pad, right-click the suggested chord and select Assign to Pad. You can also drag the suggested chord and drop it on a chord pad. • To assign a suggestion to the next unassigned chord pad and use this chord as origin for further suggestions, right-click the suggested chord and select Assign to Pad and Use as Origin. NOTE The Proximity mode is a different representation of the list in the Chord Assistantfor the chord track.
Chord Pads Chord Assistant 843 RELATED LINKS Chord Assistant – List (Cubase Pro only) on page 819 Chord Assistant – Circle of Fifths Mode The Circle of Fifths mode of the Chord Assistant shows the chords in an interactive visualization of the circle of fifths. The origin chord that defines the current key is shown in the center of the Chord Assistant. The tonic (I) of that key is displayed above the center. The outer circle shows the twelve major chords ordered in intervals of fifths. The inner circle displays the corresponding parallel minor chords. The roman numerals mark the chords of the current key with their scale degree. You can use these chords to create typical chord progressions. However, you can also use the other chords for more creative results. • To play a chord, click it. The last three chords that you clicked are shown with a highlighted frame. • To assign a chord to the next unassigned chord pad, right-click the suggested chord and select Assign to Pad. You can also drag the suggested chord and drop it on a chord pad. • To assign a suggestion to the next unassigned chord pad and use this chord as origin, right-click the chord and select Assign to Pad and Use as Origin. NOTE The Circle of Fifths is also available in the Chord Assistant for the chord track. RELATED LINKS Chord Assistant – List (Cubase Pro only) on page 819
Chord Pads Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 844 Assigning Chords to Chord Pads Some chords are preassigned to the chord pads. But you can also assign your own chords. To assign chords to chord pads, you can use: • The chord Editor • The Chord Assistant – Proximity (Cubase Pro only) • The Chord Assistant – Circle of Fifths •Your MIDI keyboard • The chord events from the chord track You can overwrite the preassigned chords, or clear all chord pads first to start from scratch. Proceed as follows: • To the left of the chord pads zone, open the Functions Menu and select Unassign All Pads. Assigning Chords with the Chord Editor If you know exactly which chord you want to assign to a specific chord pad, you can use the chord Editor. PROCEDURE 1. Move the mouse pointer to the left edge of the chord pad, and click Open Editor. 2. In the chord Editor, use the chord definition buttons to define a root note, a chord type, a tension, and a bass note. The new chord is triggered automatically to give an acoustic feedback. RELATED LINKS Chord Editor on page 816
Chord Pads Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 845 Assigning Chords with the Chord Assistant – Proximity Mode (Cubase Pro only) If you have a chord that you want to use as a starting point to find follow-on chords, you can use the Chord Assistant – Proximity mode. PROCEDURE 1. Right-click the chord pad that you want to use as a starting point and activate Use x as Origin for Chord Assistant. The Chord Assistant opens, and the borders of the chord pad change their color to indicate that the assigned chord is now used as origin. 2. In the Chord Assistant, click the chord symbols to trigger corresponding chords. The farther away the chord is from the origin chord that is regarded as the tonal center, the more complex the suggestion becomes. 3. To assign a chord, drag it from the Chord Assistant and drop it on a chord pad. NOTE If one of the next chord pads is free, you can also right-click the chord in the Chord Assistant and select Assign to Pad. This assigns the chord to the next free pad. RELATED LINKS Chord Assistant – List (Cubase Pro only) on page 819
Chord Pads Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 846 Assigning Chords with the Chord Assistant – Circle of Fifths Mode If you have a chord that you want to use as a starting point for a chord progression, but you do not know how to create such a progression, you can use the Chord Assistant – Circle of Fifths. PROCEDURE 1. Right-click the chord pad that you want to use as a starting point and activate Use x as Origin for Chord Assistant. The Chord Assistant opens, and the borders of the chord pad change their color to indicate that the assigned chord is now used as origin. 2. Click 5th to switch to the circle of fifths mode. The origin chord is displayed in the center, and the chords that belong to the scale are shown above it. The numerals indicate the scale degree of the chords. These help you to create chord progressions. 3. In the Chord Assistant, click the chord symbols to trigger the corresponding chords. 4. To assign a chord, drag it from the Chord Assistant and drop it on the chord pad. NOTE If one of the next chord pads is free, you can also right-click the chord in the Chord Assistant and select Assign to Pad. This assigns the chord to the next free pad.
Chord Pads Assigning Chords to Chord Pads 847 Assigning Chords with the MIDI Keyboard If you know which chord you want to assign to a specific chord pad, you can use a MIDI keyboard. PREREQUISITE You have selected a MIDI track or an instrument track. PROCEDURE 1. Right-click the chord pad that you want to use for the new chord, and select Assign Pad from MIDI Input. The borders of the chord pad change their color to indicate that it is now ready for recording. 2. On your MIDI keyboard, press the keys for the chord that you want to assign. The chord and its voicing is assigned to the chord pad, and you hear an acoustic feedback of the chord. NOTE The assigned voicing can be changed by the Adaptive Voicing setting. Therefore, if you want to keep the voicing for that specific pad, right-click the chord pad and select Lock from the context menu. RELATED LINKS Adaptive Voicing on page 854 Assigning Chords from the Chord Track You can assign the chord events from the chord track to the chord pads. PROCEDURE • To the left of the chord pads zone click the Functions Menu button, and select Assign Pads from Chord Track. If chords are already assigned to the chord pads, a warning message informs you that all previous assignments will be overwritten. RESULT The chord events are assigned to the chord pads in the same order as they appear on the chord track. NOTE Chord events that have more than one occurrence on the chord track are only assigned once.
Chord Pads Moving and Copying Chord Pads 848 Moving and Copying Chord Pads You can swap the chord assignments between 2 pads or copy a specific chord and its settings from one pad to another. • To swap the chord pad assignment between 2 pads, click a chord pad and drag it to another chord pad. While you drag, the border of the destination chord pad changes its color. When you drop the pad on another, the chord assignments are swapped. • To copy the chord assignment of one chord pad to another pad, [Alt]/[Option]-click a chord pad and drag it to another chord pad. While you drag, the border of the destination chord pad changes its color. When you drop the pad on another, the first pad’s assignment is copied to the destination chord pad. NOTE When you move or copy chord pads, the chord is moved or copied, and all its settings are, except for the Adaptive Voicings Reference. Playing Back and Recording Chords Playing Back Chord Pads with your MIDI Keyboard PREREQUISITE You have connected and set up a MIDI keyboard. PROCEDURE 1. Select Project > Add Track > Instrument. 2. In the Add Instrument Track dialog, select a VST instrument. 3. Click Add Track. An instrument track with the selected VST instrument is added to your project. 4. On the instrument track, click Record Enable. 5. Select Project > Chord Pads to open the Chord Pads Zone at the bottom of the Project window. 6. Press some keys on your MIDI keyboard to trigger the chords that are preassigned to the chord pads. RELATED LINKS Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control on page 850 Changing the Pads Remote Range on page 852
Chord Pads Playing Back and Recording Chords 849 Recording Chords on MIDI or Instrument Tracks You can record the chords that are triggered through the chord pads on MIDI or instrument tracks. This way, you can play back and edit your performance at any time. PREREQUISITE You have connected and set up a MIDI keyboard, you have opened and set up the chord pads zone, and you have added an instrument or a MIDI track for which a VST instrument is loaded to your project. PROCEDURE 1. On the instrument track, click Record Enable. 2. On the Transport panel, activate Record. 3. On your MIDI keyboard, press the keys that trigger the chord pads. NOTE Use the keys that are not assigned to play and record other chords. RESULT The triggered chords are recorded on the track. The note events are automatically assigned to different MIDI channels according to their pitches. Note events that correspond to the soprano voice are assigned to MIDI channel 1, alto is assigned to MIDI channel 2, and so on. AFTER COMPLETING THIS TASK You can now open the Key Editor and fine-tune your recorded MIDI parts using the chord editing functions, for example. You can also use MIDI > Dissolve Part to dissolve the recorded chords by pitches/channels. Recording Chords on the Chord Track You can record the triggered chords on the chord track. This way, you can easily create chord events for a lead sheet, for example. PREREQUISITE You have connected and set up a MIDI keyboard, you have opened and set up the chord pads zone, and you have added an instrument or a MIDI track for which a VST instrument is loaded. PROCEDURE 1. On the instrument track, enable Monitor. 2. Select Project > Add Track > Chord to add the chord track. 3. In the Inspector for the chord track, click Record Enable. 4. On the Transport panel, activate Record.
Chord Pads Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control 850 5. On your MIDI keyboard, press the keys that trigger the chord pads. NOTE Use the keys that are not assigned to play and record other chords. RESULT The chord events are recorded on the chord track. NOTE The recorded chord events may sound different from the chord pad playback. This is because the voicing settings for the chord track differ from the chord pad voicings. RELATED LINKS Chord Functions on page 814 Voicings on page 825 Chord Pad Settings – Remote Control On the Remote Control tab in the chord pad Settings, you can change the default remote control assignments. • To the left of the chord pads zone, click Show/Hide Settings and activate the Remote Control tab. 1)Show/Hide Settings Opens the settings for the chord pads. 2)Pads Remote Range Allows you to set the start and end note for the remote range. 3)Voicings/Tension/Transpose Allows you to assign remote keys for changing the voicings, tension, and transposition settings of the last played chord pad. You can also assign continuous controllers to change all chord pads simultaneously.