Flats and Sharps

Cubase
1

I have incosistent display of sharps and flats.
In key editor, notes are marked with ‘#’.
In chord track, chords are marked with ‘b’, same with voicings in info line, but chord editor marks them with ‘#’, and chords assistant has some with ‘#’ and some with ‘b’.
If I change enharmonic shift for chord track entries to ‘#’, chord blocks change to ‘#’ alright, but voicing in info line remains marked with ‘b’, and chord editor still marks them with ‘#’, and chords assistant still has some with ‘#’ and some with ‘b’.

I cannot figure it out. How to set it up so that it is all flat or all sharp? Is this the same for everybody, or are my preferences screwed up?

Also, in key editor notes go from botom to top, lower at bottom. In Chord editor it goes opposite, low notes are at the top - this makes entering bass notes a bit counter intuitive. Strange stuff.
Is there a good reason for this, maybe some music theory reason? Or any good reason at all?

2

there was a discussion here about this some weeks ago.
+1 for correct sharps ands flats!

3

+1
{‘-’}

4

+1. This is such a mess.

5

+1

Only reason is feature inconsistency.

6

I just wanted to point out that in Score, activating ‘Use Chord Track for Accidentals’ does work great.

This is new in Cubase 7, and to me is super. (Actually it’s deja vu, because it existed in Cubase VST)

(it’s not all whining!)

7

For me it in the Key Editor where all the events are marked as sharps.

Sometimes when dealing with horn parts (alt/tnr/trp/tbn etc)
and when songs are in flat keys (F/Bb/Eb/Ab/Db etc)
to be able to change the event ‘sharp’ marks to ‘flats’ would
enhance workflow and aid productivity.

{‘-’}

8

I must admit I have not ever touched the new ‘Chord Track’ feature and
I think it’s because of a lil ‘music snobbery’. A sort of, I’m too smart for that! :unamused:

Well as my wife always says: ‘Get over it’.

I am over it. :blush:

So this coming week I will put in some time
working on and learning the CT feature.

{‘-’}

9

I do not mean to say that it is not absurd to not see flats in key edit. It is definitely not something that is not absurd. (It’s hard to not get negative about this. :slight_smile: )

Examples–

In the key edit window you have the chord saying it’s Eb maj yet the the root of the chord is called D#. How does that help?

In the chord track in the project window Cubase thinks that chord Eb7 is in the key of key of G# Maj, which is stupid on its own, and this stupidity is compounded by Cubase further indicating (by showing the key label in italics) that “the scale does not correspond to the chords”. Yet when looking in the Chord Assistant, everything is labeled correctly, so at least part of Cubase understands it. Cubase is trying to say, as did Three Stooges so famously, “I’m trying to think but nothing happens!”

It appears that no resources are devoted to things like this, and the interface is a hodgepodge without an overarching design philosophy.

Motu Digital Performer on the other hand does not have advanced functions like expression maps and polyphonic audio pitch shifting, but music theory is reflected throughout the program. Set a key and the note spelling changes to match the key. Both sharps and flats in the edit windows, and a metronome that works outside of time divisible by 4.

What a drag for Cubase.

Well, I’ll end this screed here and finish my coffee.

10

Let’s hope the Sebelius team is peeking in on this topic
and other threads like it.

{‘-’}

11

Yes, we’ll see. But those guys are not working on Cubase at all. They have said that their new technology would make it into Cubase later.

So it’s the same team as before, let’s keep lobbying for these improvements, it’s not a totally futile endeavor. :wink:

Mahalo to you.

12

If I were king (scary thought), I’d have the Cubase team and the ex-Sebeliuns swap a team member for 6-12 months to cross pollinate ideas.

13

You’re not king? :smiley:

From what their blog says, they will be pow-wowing once Daniel Spreadbury and Co have made substantial progress.