New features in Nuendo 2.
Manual by Ludvig Carlson, Anders Nordmark, Roger Wiklander Quality Control: C. Bachmann, H. Bischoff, S. Pfeifer, C. Schomburg The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement.
Table of Contents
5 Features 6 10 13 16 19 20 20 21 23 25 26 26 27 27 28 28 29 34 45 46 46 47 48 Introduction The Stacked cycle record mode Editing in Lane Display mode The Instrument Freeze function Constrain Delay Compensation Repeating parts and events Using a dedicated toolbox Editing several audio parts Handling several parts in a MIDI editor List Editor features Editing Transpose and Velocity for MIDI parts Transpose – Scale Correction New Select options Insert Velocity The chord recognition function Part to Groove
Features
Introduction Welcome to Nuendo 2.1! This document lists and describes all features that have been added to the program since the original 2.0 version. To read more about a feature listed below, please click the green cross-reference. Recording • The “Stacked” cycle recording mode provides an easy way to compile different takes (cycle laps) into one “perfect take”, allowing you to view and edit the takes directly in the Project window. See page 10.
Editing – general • • Events and parts can be repeated using tools. See page 20. There is now a separate Pencil tool (for entering single events or notes) and a Line tool (with a variety of modes, for drawing several events or notes). Previously, all these modes where available for a single Pencil tool. • You can choose to have a dedicated toolbox open when you right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac). See page 20.
• • The Key and List Editors can now show the chord made up by the notes currently under the project cursor. See page 28. The Part to Groove function lets you extract the timing of a MIDI part and turn it into a groove template. The groove is available for selection from the Quantize menu and can be edited if needed. See page 28. • The editors have been changed graphically in two ways: In the Key and Drum Editor, controllers are now displayed with their names and their MIDI Controller numbers.
• • In the Tempo Track Editor you will find a slider which allows you to record tempo changes in real time. See page 46. Tempo tracks can be imported and exported, allowing you to use the same tempo track for different projects. See page 46. File handling • • When you import or export MIDI files, several options and settings have been added for greater versatility. See page 47. You can now import a MIDI file by dragging it into a Project window.
The Stacked cycle record mode When you record in cycle mode and Stacked is selected on the cycle record mode pop-up menu on the Transport panel, each take will appear as an event or part on a separate “lane” on the track. The details are slightly different for audio recording (described below) and MIDI recording (described on page 12).
3. Edit the takes so that only the parts you want to keep can be heard. You can cut events with the Scissors tool, resize them, mute them or delete them. The sections that will be heard are indicated in green. 4. When you are satisfied with the result, select all events on all lanes and select “Delete Overlaps” from the Advanced submenu on the Audio menu. This puts all events back on a single lane and resizes events so that overlapped sections are removed. 5.
Recording MIDI in Stacked mode When you record MIDI in cycle mode and the “Stacked” cycle record mode is selected, the following happens: • • • • Each recorded cycle lap is turned into a separate MIDI part. The track is divided into “lanes”, one for each cycle lap. The parts are stacked on top of each other, each on a different lane. All takes but the last one are muted. This makes it easy to create a “perfect take” by combining the best parts from the different cycle laps.
Editing in Lane Display mode When you are recording in Stacked cycle recording mode, each take ends up on a separate lane on the track as described on page 10. However, you can also select this lane mode manually for individual tracks, and use it when editing in the Project window. This makes it easier to view and handle overlapping events and parts. Audio tracks 1. Make sure the Lane Display Type button is visible in the track list.
• Note that there will always be an extra, empty lane at the bottom of the track – if you move an event there, another lane will be added and so on. Depending on the number of lanes used, you may want to adjust the vertical zoom for the track – simply drag the track edges in the track list. 4. After rearranging the overlapping events so that you hear what you want, you can select all events and select “Delete Overlaps” from the Advanced submenu on the Audio menu.
• In Lanes Fixed mode, you have to move MIDI parts between lanes manually (by dragging them or by using the “Move to Next Lane/Previous Lane” commands on the Edit menu or Quick menu). In this mode, there will always be an extra, empty lane at the bottom of the track – if you move a part there, another lane will be added and so on. 3. You can edit the overlapping parts as usual – by cutting, deleting or muting sections in the Project window or by opening them in a MIDI editor.
The Instrument Freeze function Like all plug-ins, VST Instruments can sometimes require a lot of processor power. If you are using a moderately powerful computer or if you are using a large number of VST Instruments, you may come to a point where your computer cannot handle all VST Instruments playing back in real time (the CPU overload indicator in the VST Performance window lights up, you get crackling sounds, etc.).
Performing the Freeze 1. Set up the Project so that the VST Instrument plays back the way you want it. This includes editing the MIDI parts routed to the VST Instrument and making parameter settings for the VST Instrument itself. If you have automated parameter changes for the VST instrument, make sure the Read (R) button is activated. 2. Open the Project Setup dialog and make sure the Length setting matches the actual project length. The rendered freeze file will span the whole project length.
Unfreezing If you need to make adjustments (either to the MIDI tracks or to the VST instrument parameters) you need to unfreeze the VST Instrument: 1. Click the Freeze button for the VST Instrument slot again. You will be asked whether you really want to unfreeze the instrument. 2. Click “Unfreeze”. The MIDI tracks and VST Instrument are restored and the rendered “freeze file” is deleted. NUENDO 18 New features in Nuendo 2.
Constrain Delay Compensation Nuendo features full delay compensation throughout the entire audio path. This means that any delay inherent in the VST plug-ins you use will automatically be compensated for during playback, so that all channels are kept in perfect sync.
Repeating parts and events In addition to the Repeat function on the Edit menu, you can also repeat parts or events (in the Project window or in an editor) in the following way: 1. Select the part(s) or event(s) to repeat. 2. Make sure the Arrow tool is selected and press [Alt]/[Option]. If you point on the lower right corner of the selected event it turns into a pencil. 3. Click and drag with the pencil tool to the right.
Editing several audio parts You can select several audio parts, on the same or different tracks, and open them in the same Audio Part Editor window by double clicking one of the parts (or by using the Edit-Open key command, by default [Ctrl]/[Command]-[E]). In the Audio Part Editor, parts from different tracks appear on different lanes.
• The button “Show Part Borders” can be used if you want to see clearly defined borders for the active part. When this is activated, all parts except the active one are grayed out, making the borders easily discernible. There are also two “markers” in the ruler with the name of the active part, marking its beginning and end. These can be moved freely to change the part borders. “Show Part Borders” activated on the toolbar. • It is possible to cycle between parts, making them active, with key commands.
Handling several parts in a MIDI editor When you open a MIDI editor with several parts (or a MIDI track containing several parts) selected, you might find it somewhat hard to get an overlook of the different parts when editing.
• The button “Show Part Borders” can be used if you want to see clearly defined borders for the active part. When this is activated, all parts except the active one are grayed out, making the borders easily discernible. In the Key Editor, there are also two “markers” in the ruler with the name of the active part, marking its beginning and end. These can be moved freely to change the size of the part. “Show Part Borders” activated on the toolbar.
List Editor features Filtering When you are using the filter bar to hide specific event types from view, there is a quick way to view one event type only: Press [Ctrl]/ [Command] and click its checkbox. If you [Ctrl]/[Command]-click again, all checkboxes are cleared (all events will be visible). Masking The Mask pop-up menu now contains the following options: Option Description Event Types Only events with the type of the selected event will be shown.
Editing Transpose and Velocity for MIDI parts When one or several MIDI parts are selected in the Project window, the info line contains Transpose and Velocity fields. • Adjusting the Transpose field transposes the selected parts in semitone steps. Note that this transposition doesn’t change the actual notes in the part – it’s just a “play parameter”, affecting the notes on playback.
New Select options Two new options have been added to the Select submenu on the Edit menu. Both are available in the MIDI editors only: Option Description Equal Pitch – all Octaves This function requires that a single note is selected. It selects all following notes that have the same pitch (in any octave) as the currently selected note. Equal Pitch – same Octave As above, but selects notes of the exact same pitch only (same octave).
The chord recognition function Nuendo features a handy chord recognition function that helps you identify chords in the Key Editor or List Editor. To find out which chord some simultaneously played notes make up, place the project cursor over the notes. All MIDI notes currently “touched” by the project cursor are analyzed and the chord recognition display in the toolbar shows you which chord the notes form. In the picture above, the project cursor touches the notes C, Eb and G.
Score features The MIDI Meaning function The MIDI Meaning function interprets note symbols and dynamics, affecting the length and velocity of notes during playback. This means you can play back your score and hear all accents and dynamics you have added. • This is done in real time during playback – the actual notes are not affected! Setting up 1. Select MIDI Meaning from the Score – Global Settings submenu. A dialog appears.
3. Set up the dynamic symbols (at the bottom of the list). These can only affect note velocity. If you set the fortissimo symbol (ff) to mean Velocity=150% and insert a fortissimo symbol in the score, all notes will be played back with 1.5 times their actual velocity, from that point in the score until the next dynamic symbol. 4. To turn MIDI Meaning on, click the Active checkbox. 5. Click OK to close the dialog. Now, note symbols and dynamics will affect the notes on playback.
3. To adjust the dynamics at either end of the crescendo, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) to bring up a palette from which to select the desired dynamic symbol. If you select a dynamic symbol at the start that is “louder” than the one at the end, the crescendo symbol is automatically changed to a diminuendo symbol. • In the palette for the start symbol you will find three additional options: “cresc”, “dim” and “None” (no symbol is shown).
Working with text and lyrics Pasting text You can paste text (e.g. from another program) into a text symbol in the score by selecting the text symbol and selecting “Text from Clipboard” from the Text submenu on the Scores menu. Adding a second verse To insert a second line of lyrics, proceed as follows: 1. Enter the new lyrics above or below the existing verse. 2. Select all the words that should be in the new verse. 3. Pull down the Score menu and bring up the Text submenu. 4.
The Auto Layout dialog The settings for the Auto Layout functions are now located in a separate Auto Layout dialog. • The dialog appears when you use the Bars and Staves or Optimize All functions (or click the Auto Layout icon on the score toolbar). To make settings in the Auto Layout dialog, select e.g. the Bars and Staves option to open the dialog, make all desired settings and click OK to apply the layout. The dialog contains the following settings: Setting Description Max.
The Time Warp tool • • The Time Warp tool lets you adjust the Tempo track so that “musical time based” material (positions related to the tempo) matches “linear time based” material (positions in time). Some typical applications: When you have recorded music (audio or MIDI) without tempo reference or metronome click the Time Warp tool can be used for creating a tempo map that fits the recording (allowing you to rearrange or add sequenced material).
Dragging the start of bar 9 to the start of the audio event. While you are dragging, the track(s) you are editing are temporarily switched to linear time base – this means that the contents of the tracks remain at the same time positions regardless of the tempo (there is an exception to this in the Project window – see below). 4. When you release the mouse button the musical position you clicked on matches the time position you dragged it to.
• When you drag the tempo grid to a new position, it can be magnetic to events in the window. In the Project window, this requires that Snap is activated and “Events” is selected on the Snap pop-up menu – the grid will then snap to the start and end of events or parts, and to markers. In the Sample Editor, this requires that Snap to Zero Crossings is activated – the grid will then snap to hitpoints (if any).
Using the Time Warp tool in the Project window In the Project window there are two modes for the Time Warp tool: • • In the default mode, all tracks are temporarily switched to linear time base when you use the tool. This means that all tracks will keep their absolute time positions when you adjust the tempo track. In the “musical events follow” mode, no tracks are switched to linear time base.
3. Make sure the correct tracks are set to linear time base or musical time base, respectively. In our example we want the video track and the audio track with a commentary voiceover to be linear time based (as well as the marker track, if you are using one). All other tracks should be set to musical time base. You change this by clicking the time base button in the Track list or Inspector. Musical time base selected. Linear time base selected. 4. Set up the Grid Type pop-up menu as desired.
6. Click in the event display at the start of bar 33 and drag to the desired position in the video. As mentioned above, this can mean dragging to a position indicated by the thumbnails on the video track, to a marker on the Marker track or to a time position on an additional ruler track. When you drag, you will see the ruler being scaled – and the music tracks will follow. 7. Release the mouse button.
You need to create a “lock point” – a tempo event at the first cue position: 9. Press [Shift] and click with the Time Warp tool in the event display at the cue position. In our case this is bar 33. As you can see, a tempo event (with the same value as the first one) is added at that position. 10.Now match the next musical cue to the next video position, by dragging the musical position to the desired time position as before.
Using the Time Warp tool in an audio editor Using the Time Warp tool in the Sample Editor or Audio Part Editor is different from using it in the Project window, in the following ways: • • When you use the Time Warp tool, a tempo event is automatically inserted at the beginning of the edited event or part – this tempo event will be adjusted when you warp the tempo grid with the tool. This means that material before the edited events won’t be affected.
5. Press [Shift] and click in the event at the position of the first downbeat (the start of the bar). When you press [Shift], the pointer turns into a pencil. Clicking adds a tempo event at the first downbeat – when you later adjust the tempo with the Time Warp tool, the first downbeat will stay in place. Note: if the event started exactly on the first downbeat (no audio before the “one”) you wouldn’t need to do this. This is because a tempo event is automatically added at the start of the edited event. 6.
8. Check the following bars and locate the first position where the audio drifts from the tempo. Now, if you simply adjusted that beat in the tempo grid to match the beat in the recording, the tempo event at the first downbeat would be changed – this would ruin the match in the previous bars! We need to lock these by inserting a new tempo event. 9. Locate the last beat that’s in sync. This would be the beat just before the position where the audio and tempo drift apart. 10.
Using the Time Warp tool in a MIDI editor This is very similar to using the tool in an audio editor: • • • • When you use the Time Warp tool, a tempo event is automatically inserted at the beginning of the edited part – this tempo event will be adjusted when you warp the tempo grid with the tool. This means that material before the edited part won’t be affected.
Merge Tempo From Tapping This function allows you to create a complete tempo track based on your tapping. Typically, you would use this if you have an audio file with no tempo mapping, and want to be able to add sequenced material afterwards, etc. 1. Create an empty time-based MIDI track and, while playing back your audio material, tap the new tempo on your MIDI keyboard and record the created notes onto the new MIDI track.
Recording tempo changes The tempo record slider on the toolbar in the Tempo Track Editor allows you to record tempo changes “on the fly”: simply start playback and use the slider to raise or lower the tempo at the desired positions. Useful for creating natural sounding ritardandos, etc. Exporting and importing Tempo tracks On many occasions it is useful to have several different projects share the same tempo track – e.g. when you are doing music for picture-work in workgroups.
Exporting and importing MIDI files Export options After you click Save in the Export MIDI File dialog, the Export Options dialog appears, with the following settings: Option Description Export Inspector Patch If this is checked, the MIDI patch settings in the Inspector – Bank Select and Program Select (used for selecting sounds in the connected MIDI instrument) are included as MIDI Bank Select and Program Change events in the MIDI file.
• You will also find these settings in the Preferences dialog (MIDI–MIDI File page). If you set these up once and for all in the Preferences dialog, you only need to click OK in the Export Options dialog to proceed.
Index
A Activate Next/Previous Part 24 Active Part 23 Appearance 48 Auto Layout dialog (Score) 33 C Chord Recognition 28 Color pop-up menu (Score) 31 Constrain Delay Compensation 19 Crescendo affecting MIDI playback 30 D Delay Compensation 19 Delete Overlaps (audio) 11, 14 Diminuendo affecting MIDI playback 30 Dynamics Symbols affecting MIDI playback 29 E Edit Active Part Only 23 Equal Pitch (Selection) 27 Export MIDI files 47 Export Options (MIDI files) 47 Export Tempo track 46 F Freeze VST Instruments 16 I
Lanes Fixed vs.
Text from Clipboard (Score) 32 Time Warp tool 34 Toolbox 20 Transpose Info line 26 Scale Correction 26 V Value display (List Editor) 25 Velocity Info line 26 When drawing MIDI notes 27 Verses (Lyrics) 32 VST Instruments Freeze 16 NUENDO 52 Index
