I exported the MIDI from a Dorico orchestral score to both Logic and Cubase and I understand from other forum entries that the extraneous ultra low notes that appeared in the string parts are due to keyswitches. I have to use a DAW to add audio files for extended techniques to create a reference recording for the conductor; it does not have to be a performance-level MIDI realization, which is a good thing, because I know only the most basic things about working with MIDI. Short of deleting the keyswitch notes manually, is there a way to start with a clean version in either DAW? I was hoping that using Cubase would streamline this sort of thing. (I didn’t even completely understand the conversations on these other forum topics, and although I intend to learn, I need to make this happen fast…)
Either use Expression Maps for the same sample libraries that you will use in your DAW, or use the Silence Playback Template, which will ensure that only the bare minimum MIDI data is exported.
Rather than using the Silence playback template, I would suggest using the HSSE (SE) playback template, which won’t produce any keyswitches or other MIDI controllers, so it will export more or less just the pitches and velocities.
Also it’s worth knowing that it’s pretty easy to clean up imports in Cubase using the MIDI Logical Editor.
I.E. what if there’s some reason you can’t get back to Dorico and re-export a MIDI file with a different play setup? No problem. Read up on the Logic Editor. It makes quick work of doing batch deletes, event transformations, and more.
Example:
Here is a case where I’ve imported something that was using key-switches. In this case I’m lucky, as a quick visual inspection of the imported tracks informs me this project consistently has all of the key-switches in the very bottom octave or so of the MIDI specification.
(I used edit in place to make the inspection process a bit more convenient for me.)
Since I know for this particular project that ALL of the key-switches are always in the same octave, I can use the MIDI Logic Editor to process all of the project tracks in one pass, and DELETE the key-switches.
Step 1: In the main project window, select all the tracks and parts that should be processed. Selected tracks should be highlighted.
I can hold the ctrl key and select the tracks one by one, or I can hold the shift key to select ranges of track.
This project is a simple string quartet, and I’ve elected to first click the Violin 1 track, hold shift, and then click the Contrabass track.
Now they’re all ‘selected’ (highlighted brighter than unselected tracks).
Step 2: Select all the events on my selected tracks.
I’ll right click any one of my selected/highlighted tracks, and choose select all events. Now I can see all of my selected event lanes are darker.
Step 3: I’ll use a logical editor to delete all the notes below C0 in all selected tracks.
In the top Cubase menu, Go to MIDI/Logical Editor
Build a logic set to delete all notes below C0,
click apply.
Now all the key-switches have been hunted down and deleted from all of the selected project events.
Note, some libraries don’t consistently keep key switches for every instrument in the same octave. Instead they elect to put them in an octave just below the lowest note a given instrument can play so they’re easier to use with live MIDI controllers. In those cases you’d probably want to carefully inspect each track in a key or score editor to see where key-switches are living, and run a Logic Editor one track at a time.
You can also use this Logic Editor to strip continuous controllers, or transform them into something else.
This project has a ton of CC events, and I’d like to remove everything but the initial CC7 (Channel Volume) and CC10 (Pan) events. So I go back to the Logic Editor and build this:
I click apply and all my selected project events are stripped of all controller data but Channel Volume and Pan.