Posting this as a request for Cubase/Nuendo, since it is more of a music-related request.
As per my post title, I find it to be a relatively simple task, to fade out a song using a slower tempo, at the end., so for example, sustained notes do not need to be used.
To achieve the scenario as outlined, I need to extend the final notes of a song and using Continuous Controllers, such as Volume, as automation or expression, I can fade out the audio for recording as a stem. In addition, the process creates silence at the end, for a less abrupt finish.
What I have found is, using a tempo of 1 beat, occurring 1 bar after the last song measure; this allows only horizontal scrolling for as long as the song is, which is very convenient in terms of zooming, at the end of a song.
If tempo were allowed to go to zero, at least for the last beat, I’m assuming the sequencer would stop, so potentially another convenient function for the DAW.
I understand that cycling is affected to some extent, since you are slowing down the tempo at the close, but I have not found this in any way jarring, that is to play along with an acoustic instrument.
In relation to this, I have found that indeed, part of the audio is cut off when cycling back to the left locator, after a tempo value of 1.
This is my personal take rather than an official response: From a developer perspective, I don’t think a tempo of 0 is viable. Any calculation that converts between time positions and tempo involves multiplying or dividing by the tempo. If you divide by zero in software then generally Bad Things Happen. Tempos of zero also can’t be represented in MIDI files because they are also stored as a reciprocal (microseconds per quarter note, which would be infinite in this case)
3 Likes
A tempo of 1 beat per minute means that a whole note takes 4 minutes, just short of what an average tubist can handle at mf. 
But having an easier way to create fermatas, holds, breaths in the flow of the music without having to fiddle excessively with the tempo track, and the trial and error this process involves - yes, I would like that very much, if I have understood the spirit of the request.
Except if anyone knows a good algorithm for any situation.
1 Like
Fermatas and holds are much easier to deal with in Dorico: write them in the score and they ‘just work’. However, the maths of it is more complex than you may expect, which makes it hard to deal with in Cubase, whereas Dorico’s model is at a higher musical level, which gives us more flexibility
To explain the fundamental problem, consider this case:
The point at the end of the bar has a position of 4 quarter notes in musical time. However, during playback that one notated position effectively corresponds into 3 separate moments in playback time:
- The point where we need to add a tempo change to sustain the note
- The point where the note ends, where we need a second tempo change to allow a short gap before the next note
- The point at the start of the next bar where the tempo has to go back to normal.
If you want to do it in Cubase, one of the easiest ways that reduces the trial and error is to use Dorico (even the free Dorico SE) to mock up the tempos, fermatas and holds that you want and then either:
- Switch to Play mode and look at the tempo track to see the extra tempo changes that are required, and look at the held notes to see how much to shorten them by (about 50% I think)
- Or export the MIDI file and import the tempos into Cubase
1 Like
Hi,
Thank you for your reply.
I appreciate and understand the technical issue(s), here in relation to having or recognising a tempo value of 0, so I am wondering whether there might be another way to Stop the sequencer automatically.
Regards
But if the transport stops, what do you expect should happen then? Would we have silence, or would anything under the cursor continue to sound indefinitely?
If the music is supposed to keep playing, I guess it’s not a big deal for MIDI, but what would audio do? Glitch-loop the final sample?
And how do we get out of this 0 tempo? When would the time come to read the next tempo point if nothing’s moving? There would have to be a parallel time keeping system, no?
Cubase will simply not move onward when reaching the end of the project. You can set up the length in the Project Settings.
1 Like
Thank you for that information and response.
If I put the cursor on the last bar, after the song has finished, then change from bars and beats to timecode, I get a time value, of which I can enter in the Project Duration field.
