User manual

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Note Expression (Cubase only)
Introduction
Note Expression offers a very intuitive way of controller ed-
iting in Cubase. As an alternative to working with controller
lanes in the Key Editor, controller data can be viewed and
edited directly on the associated MIDI note events in the
event display.
With Note Expression, a note and its associated controller
data are treated as a unit. When you quantize, move, copy,
duplicate, or delete notes, all their associated controller
information will follow. This allows for a very intuitive and
accurate editing of note-related data. The Note Expres
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sion values can be edited in various ways, see “Editing
Note Expression data” on page 434. Furthermore, by su-
perimposing the corresponding data curves in the event
display, you can view all the Note Expression data for a
note simultaneously, which gives you a good overview.
Note Expression curves in the Key Editor
When working with Note Expression, it is important to dis-
tinguish between VST 3 controllers and MIDI controllers:
VST 3 controllers
VST 3 controllers are provided by the VST instrument.
Therefore, different controllers can be available, depend
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ing on the instrument.
VST 3 controllers provide articulation information for each
individual note. Unlike MIDI controllers (which are chan-
nel-specific), VST 3 controllers are note-specific and are
suitable for polyphonic contexts. Articulating each note in
a chord individually creates a much more natural feel. Fur
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thermore, VST 3 controllers allow for a value range that
exceeds the MIDI range of 0 to 127, which offers a more
comfortable value editing and fine-tuning.
To be able to work with VST controllers, you need a VST
instrument that offers this kind of controller parameters
and is capable of playing back these controller messages.
Included with Cubase is HALion Sonic SE, which is com
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patible with Note Expression, see “HALion Sonic SE” on
page 439.
MIDI controllers
A major limitation of MIDI is the nature of controller infor-
mation. With the exception of poly pressure, controller
messages are channel-specific messages, i. e., they affect
the entire instrument, regardless of whether they are in
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serted for a part or a note. Therefore, when using Note Ex-
pression with MIDI instruments (hardware or VSTi), it is
important to understand that articulation data on one note
usually also affects all other notes of the same voice, i.
e.
any other note playing on the same channel at the same
time. This limits the potential of Note Expression for MIDI
controller events to monophonic (solo) performances.
When using MIDI controllers in polyphonic performances,
we recommend using controller lanes in the Key Editor,
see
“Using the controller display” on page 388.
However, Note Expression can be useful in the context of
standard VST instruments and MIDI hardware instru-
ments, see “Recording MIDI controllers as Note Expres-
sion data” on page 438 and “Converting MIDI Controllers
into Note Expression data” on page 438.
Working with Note Expression
When working with Note Expression, start by activating
the “Show Note Expression Data” button on the Key Editor
toolbar. This will give you a visual feedback of your actions.
Use the slider to the right of the button to modify the dis
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play size of the Note Expression data in the event display.