User manual

489
How the Score Editor works
About this chapter
In this chapter you will learn:
• How the Score Editor and MIDI data relate.
• What Display Quantize is and how it works.
Welcome!
Welcome to scoring in Cubase! The Score Editor has
been created to allow you to get any possible piece of
music displayed as a score, complete with all the neces-
sary symbols and formatting. It allows you to extract parts
out of a full orchestra score, to add lyrics and comments,
create lead sheets, score for drums, create tablature, etc.
In other words: just about any type of notation you could
ever desire!
There are a few basic principles to how the Score Editor
works, which you have to understand to make full use of it.
How the Score Editor operates
The Score Editor does the following:
• Reads the MIDI notes in the MIDI parts.
• Looks at the settings you have made.
• Decides how the MIDI notes should be displayed according to
the settings.
The Score Editor takes MIDI data and settings as input and produces a
score as output.
The Score Editor does all this in realtime. If you change
some of the MIDI data (for example by moving or shorten-
ing a note) this is immediately reflected in the score. If you
change some of the settings (for example the time signa-
ture or key signature) this is also immediately apparent.
You should not think of the Score Editor as a drawing pro-
gram, but rather as an “interpreter” of MIDI data.
MIDI notes vs. score notes
MIDI tracks in Cubase hold MIDI notes and other MIDI data.
As you may know, a MIDI note in Cubase is only defined by
its position, length, pitch and velocity. This is not nearly
enough information to decide how the note should be dis-
played in a score. The program needs to know more: What
type of instrument are we talking about, Drums? Piano?
What key is the piece in? What is the basic rhythm? How
should the notes be grouped under beams? You provide
this information by making settings and working with the
tools available in the Score Editor.
An example of the MIDI/score relationship
When Cubase stores a MIDI note’s position, it makes the
measurement in an absolute value, called ticks. There are
480 ticks to a quarter note. Have a look at the example
below.
A quarter note at the end of a 4/4 measure
The note is on the fourth beat of the measure. Now, let’s
say you change the time signature to 3/4. This shortens the
length of a “measure” to only three quarter notes – 1440
ticks. Suddenly our quarter note is in the next measure:
The same note in 3/4
Why? Since you are not changing the MIDI data in the
track/part (that would ruin your recording!) by changing
the time signature, the note is still at the same absolute
position. It is just that now each “measure” is shorter,
which effectively moves the note in the score.
What we are trying to get across here is that the Score Ed-
itor is an “interpreter” of the MIDI data. It follows rules that
you set up by making settings in dialogs, on menus, etc.
And this interpretation is “dynamic”, or in other words, it is
constantly updated whenever the data (the MIDI notes) or
the rules (the score settings) change.
MIDI data
Score Editor Score display
Score settings