Feature Request 'Notes' Track

Cubase
#1

Be good to have a ‘Notes’ track - to help arranging

so as you listen to your project you can note what you think it needs at certain points, perhaps live from the keyboard …that would be cool, the notes would commence at the point you started to type and then stay anchored there as a marker as a timeline comment perhaps… If you get my meaning… it would be very quick to do, perhaps in a ‘record notes’ mode where every time you typed on the keyboard Cubase entered your notes on the timeline in the notes track…very simple but very easy,

I often listen to something I’m working on when trying to arrange or add detail, and I just jot down the bar number and what I plan to add or change, (eg 33-reverse crash = add a reverse crash at bar 33). I dont do the changes right there I need to listen through and make notes as a seperate process, which I do in a note pad I have with a pen whilst just listening and watching the arrange page progress. I think if you stop and try to make the changes there and then you lose the flow of the listening experience which is key to noticing whats needed.

I already do this in a workaround way by just having events on a track called ‘Project Notes’ and naming them - eg one event will start on bar 114 ‘needs something here’ and that works well but it could be so much better.

what do you think people?

#2

Hello,

I’m not sure, if this is necessary. There is “Insert Marker” function. You can assign your own shortcut (“M” for example). Then, you can just hit the “M” for insert new marker. You are right, it’s not possible to start writing the note. :-/

But there is Notepad window too. So you can make your own Key Commands for opening the Notepad. Again, unfortunately, the Notepad window is inactive. So you can’t start write imedietly.

Maybye, improvement one of these functions will works better. Actual, you are right. It’s not posible to make notes very quickly.

#3

I think you already have the best solution: pen and paper. I use it too, and I’m pretty sure it’s the fastest way of getting notes down.

#4

My favourite solution to many problems too.
Is it me or are the “features” and “improvement” requests getting more on the desperate side of the street?
As in when one has everything you can only ask for small improvements to the perfect luxuries one already has.

Everyone knows what perfect is. It’s what you think you don’t have. :mrgreen:

#5

I think this request sounds reasonable, I imagine it the way soundcloud has the comments
coming up on the timeline, good idea

+1

#6

I agree that Pen and Paper work great - many situations where its never gonna be beaten no matter what gets invented and I myself am a great believer in pen and paper.

but a notes track is a good idea imho within the context of ‘Digital Audio Workstation’, and in the aim of helping to make notes on arrangement decisions.

And not just for the sake of it, I actually think that visual on screen notes over your project would help on a timeline, and the instant way to input them as you listen is important. Just think of the possibilities, hit ‘record’ on notes track… you then get a notes box every time you start to type which is completed when you hit return, leaving a time related notes bubble, you could set it to snap to bar positions…

markers dont say anything, most of us can type at a similar speed to which we can write with a pen so why not get those notes into Cubase.

hey. we all place importance on things related to how we use Cubase, I often read posts and think ‘thats not important’ but we are all different, this would be a feature I would make use of.

I think this would be easy to implement, and very useful, more useful than arrange track is, arrange track is a looping and jumping around way of arranging and I can’t see the point personally, I dont see it saves time or helps at all, but that’s perhaps just me.

#7

I tend to use the marker track also, and the notepad in each track - the pen and paper thing was cool at first but eventually the paper and the project get separated etc. I also tend to use an audio track - no audio on it - and label it Notepad so that it’s obvious to other who will work on the project - and then make detailed notes about things there.
something like markers but with, like, flyout word baloons, would be great.

cheers

#8

My point about pen and paper is mostly for listening through a project, and while doing so jot down notes on what should be done - right after. Fastest way IMO. But, not for future reference or other collaborators on a project. For that I think something as proposed could be quite useful. Extending the marker track with a record button that enables remarks at the position the first keyboard input is given gets a + from me.

#9

I think it is especially productive for collaborating :wink:

making timeline notes can be done in a workaround way by adding events and naming them on a seperate track but its not so quick to enter the info like this.

Yeah the flyout balloon / speech bubble is exactly what I was driving at, giving a timeline way of making notes, just by typing it creates a speach bubble where you hit a key to start to type. You’d have a ‘record notes’ or ‘listen back’ mode for Cubase to respond to key presses in this way.