Mirror and Reverse from MIDI > Functions does practically the same thing with subtle differences.
Create a set of notes on 16th grid for instance (C, D, E, F with irregular timing)
Select MIDI > Functions Reverse or Mirror
Notice that both functions creates the series F, E, D, C with tone height correctly and both changes the timing.
I think the difference in functionality is somewhat lost on users and I question its usefulness so I suggest a change in functionality. Being able to invert the order, but not timing of musical phrases would be a great function in a composer centric DAW such as Cubase.
My suggested expected result would be:
Reverse should reverse the order of the notes in height but retain their rhythmic spacing
Mirror should reverse the order of the notes AND also reverse the timing
The nomenclature is of course a matter of subjectivity but Iām thinking most people think of āmirrorā as a left/right issue and āreverseā as having a slightly more vertical meaning.
Better would be to rename Reverse to Invert and maybe call Mirror Reverse instead (as it plays in reverse).
Nota bene: I regard the confusing nomenclature and subtle difference today a UX issue.
Iām not sure height (pitch?) is really relevant in either function.
mirror:
This function inverts the order of the selected events (or of all events in the selected parts) graphically. Technically, this function turns a Note On message into a Note Off message and vice versa which can lead to rhythmic inaccurancies if the Note Off position of a note has not been quantized.
reverse:
This function inverts the order of the selected events (or of all events in the selected parts) rhythmically, causing the MIDI music to play backwards. Note that the effect is different from reversing an audio recording. With MIDI, the individual notes will still play as usual in the MIDI instrument ā it is only the order of playback that is changed.
they are subtly different functions - the note on/off being the difference.
I made the assumption (without reading the manual which is poor on my part) that this was a bug because a) my suggested results are how it works in other DAWs Iāve used and b) it would actually be useful.
When is it useful to have the same function with the subtle difference of turning note on and off as it is now?
I would like to agree on this one.
Especially because reverse just inverts the starting positions but not the lengths, so itās not even a real rhythmical reverse.
Which doesnāt make any sense, when the note lenghts arenāt adjusted to the inverted rhythm (which is probably not even possible, because Cubase has no sense of voices. When thereās polyphony, it canāt understand which notes belong together in a melodic line or voice).
I think most confusion could happen because in music theory thereās two kind of āmirroringā, inversion and retrograde - one āmirrorsā horizontically (around the melodic center) and the other vertically. So thatās what I expected (and maybe other classical trained people as well) from those two functions, when I first saw them.
My solution was to remember that mirror does something useful and to just not touch reverse
Yes! Add a subsection in the dropdown list and call it āProcess order and timingā
Menu > MIDI > Functions > Process order and timing
and add:
Inversion
Retrograde
Retrograde Inversion
Gatorade Aversion
Double Tempo/Half Length
Half Tempo/Double Length
Why do I care? Well, Iām trying something out with a simple synth patch through the Cubase Multitap Delay which I found in this video and ā¦ heeeey, my feet are hovering and my head is spinning!
Check it out:
In 11.0.41 reverse and mirror are doing exactly the same but it wasnāt the case in the past. I canāt tell when last time I was using it (C10, 10.5 or 9.5) but then, the outcome of mirror and reverse was different (it worked as intended). For me itās a bug.
