I would like to start using the Cubase 14 built in Score editor. I’m very used to Dorico’s Editor and I like it very much. I don’t like the Piano roll, except for things like editing velocities and CCs. But for notes and orchestration, it is much readable for me the score.
Most of the tutorials I’ve seen are focused in using the Score editor after the music is been done, or putting chords. What I would like to achieve is to write music like in Dorico:
I hit Mayús + N and I enter in an insert mode. It’s like step mode. I can hit C, D, E, F, G, A or B to get the notes, but having the keyboard with ALT + K, I don’t actually need this if it’s not easily achieved.
With numeric keys (1,2, etc) I can change the duration of the note. I can also change the caret and I can use ALT + LEFT of RIGHT to increase or decrease the current note for the duration of the caret. This is crucial, but I don’t know how to set up in cubase. Also being able to set the tuplets easily with the menu (in my case invoked with the Ñ key, and then I can write 3:2 to get triplets or 5:4 to get quintuplets, for instance).
I can use the UP and DOWN keys to navigate between scores and also with ALT and SHIFT to change the notes (this is similar to what we have in cubase)
Could you help me to achieve a workflow in Cubase so I can write or edit the music using the Score Editor like in Dorico? This may help me to create hybrid tracks or using most of my Virtual Instruments. And once I have the notes, I can edit them in the key editor.
And please, don’t tell me I should play the score myself, as I would play it after it’s written if necessary, but this workflow would allow me to keep creating music comfortably in cubase even if I don’t have my MIDI keyboard closer.
Any tips in this regard?
And of course, may some of the Cubase big players release a tutorial covering this would be fantastic. I don’t know if the editor it’s been improved in 15.
I’ve used C13 and Dorico / Sibelius extensively and the Cubase 13 score editor, while not exactly intuitive, was incredibly powerful and incredibly underrated. You have to read that separate score manual cover to cover to wrap your head around it, but if you did you could leverage some crazy power with it. It’s partly why I’m staying on 13 for a while longer (that, plus endless bugs with the new expression map system in C15).
That said it doesn’t really matter how good or not the C13 score editor was; it’s done now, so best to move on to the new one if you can.
Well, I come from Dorico and I think it’s wonderful. The new Editor looks like Dorico’s, but lacks its functionality even in the input field, which should be the same (and then, the engraving part just for Dorico). I mean, I like to watch the music in score form and make changes or write music in score form, rather than Piano Roll for several reasons: Piano Roll occupies a lot of screen space, you cannot watch instruments side by side (you see them overlapping in the piano roll), the length duration is simpler to display, the bar signature and the tempo markings are more flexible and easier to read. And I come from a classical formation, so reading in Piano Roll is like reading in another language for me. I can do it, but I prefer reading in my mother tongue as I am much more fluent.
I’m trying to play with the step input functions in order to make it useful, but there are a lot of options and they are very disperse, so it’s difficult for me to figure out exactly how can I put it together.
About my main goal, what I’ve done for the moment is:
In key commands assign:
numbers to notes, and shift + numbers to tools (the default is numbers to tools). I use the “set quantize” and then I use, in the Key editor the Quantize link.
Alt + Left or Right to shorten or lengthen duration by 1 frame. The problem is it affects the notes selected or all the notes, so I have to select the last note manually.
The tuplets you can create them from the editors, both in score or in quantize. They work a bit different and I don’t know how to assign them to an specific command. And you have to reset them manually when you are done.
Shift + P configured to play from selected event. Quite useful actually.
I guess that the Key Editor and the Score Editor are almost the same, but in Score editor things are more difficult to see, especially when inserting notes. With these changes the key editor seems pretty usable with just key commands or the keyboard in Alt + K, but the score is a bit underpowered yet. Good news I can change from the Key editor to the Score editor with a key command (I have cmd + y and alt+ cmd + y to switch), which can help me to switch between them easily.
I would like the cursor to follow the step input cursor when in step mode, or to being able to select the last inserted note in order to apply the lengthen or shorten commands to the last note inputted.
I totally agree with how good the C13 score editor was. I used it in conjunction with Sibelius.
the C15 score editor is buggy. Every time I run into new problems. I also miss the editing functionality, e.g. option-click and drag a note to any position, any pitch, any staff. That required just one action. Now you need multiple actions to get the same result.
I realise I have to live with this for now, but I would sure like more flexibility, this slows down the music writing process.
I’ve written other posts about my concerns, but I’m not very hopeful it will get much better. Since I don’t use Dorico I was wondering if things will get better if Dorico functionality is moved to C15.
the key editor is too abstract for me, I use it seldomly, but e.g. note lengths can beter be seen in the key editor, chords more easily added. But I’ve been reading music since I was 5 years old. That’s over 60 years ago. It’s the natural way for me.