AtariPhile

 

AtariPhile #4 saw the beginning of a regular MIDI page by Owen Philp. This was supplemented by the first in a series of 'Music in MIDI' articles aimed at the musical novice. To complete AP's first steps into MIDI we featured an article by Keith Turner-Cairns (of Cubase CD fame) and this is the article Joe Connor selected for these pages.

The article was too long to include in its entirety - one of the advantages disk magazines enjoy is the ability to let articles run to their natural length. Happily the article does divide neatly into sections so the 'Reference' section has been split off and included on the Reader disk. Naturally you can read the complete article in AtariPhile #4.

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AtariPhile#5 should be published towards the end of February and will be, (as usual!) full of interesting features, articles and reviews, including two new serialised tutorials. Mark Wherry starts an HTML tutorial and Robert Goldsmith begins a BASIC coding tutorial. Adam Foster continues the POV raytracing tutorial and Kev Beardsworth finally gets to publish his archivers feature (postponed from AP#4). For Falcon owners we have our own review of Nemesis and Domhnall Dods takes a look at the Bird of Prey CD.

Colin Fisher-McAllum
 
 

Scoring using Cubase

Keith Turner-Cairns

Producing scores is a state of mind. There are rules, but the purpose of the score is to get a player to play what you want. It's up to you to be clear, and to understand what players and instruments can, and cannot do. Most players can cope with a few technical errors, but they cannot read your mind.

Simple directions are useful. For example, use English instead of the proper Italian expressions, things like 'slowly', 'fast', 'sadly', 'smoothly', 'dance beat' and so on really help players understand how you intend the notes to sound.

I'll be writing the score from the players point of view and Cubase is perfectly capable of handling this.

There are some common mistakes which typically find their wau into scores so let's take a look at them first. Your understanding of each specific problem and any restrictions will affect the final result - and its playability.
 

Dynamics

Don't go mad and add in every dynamic change because you'll end up with a real mess. Cover the major dynamic events and general guidance markings and leave players to 'go with the feel' which, so long as you have marked the overall feel, should be enough.
 
 

Tip Cubase Score includes a function, accessed by double-clicking a dynamics symbol, which allows the midi data within a range to be altered. First of all we need to go through the entire arrangement and make all notes maximum velocity. To do this use the 'Select All' option in the Arrange window followed by the 'Transpose/Velocity' selection in the Functions Menu, Set it to 127 then click 'Do'.

 
 
 

Now you can double-click your dynamic markings and alter the midi data. Cubase has two types, Process Crescendo (double-click a Crescendo marking), and Process Accents (they don't mean accents, that's a mistake, they mean Dynamics - anyway, double-click a dynamics marking). The recommended amounts are set up by default and they're about right. By doing this you will get an overall feel whether your dynamics are close to your requirements and fairly sure players will get close - assuming they are blessed with ears.
 
 

Tip Don't forget the [Alternate] key. Holding it down whilst inserting dynamics inserts them on ALL tracks in edit.

 
 
 

Staccato, Pizzicato and Harmonics

The use of the staccato symbol is frequently forgotten when scoring. Essentially, the player will play the note in the score by about half its written length. Often this is very useful to clean up the score. Most instruments can make very little difference between a quaver and a staccato crotchet, so by using staccato crotchets (1st bar below) instead of quavers and quaver rests (2nd bar below) the phrase looks much clearer. String players certainly prefer this.

If you need to change the midi data to make the notes longer for clarity, as mentioned above, you can still get Cubase to play a shorter note by activating 'Midi Meaning'. This function is designed for this very purpose. In the Options menu in score edit, select 'Midi Meaning', click the active button and alter the set up as shown here. Now Cubase will play all notes with a staccato symbol 50% shorter.

With pizzicato, unless the music is very quiet, where the difference between a pizzicato quaver and a pizzicato crotchet can be heard (especially on cello), there is also little point having rests adorning the spaces between notes (2nd bar below). The notes may as well fill all the bar space (1st bar below), as a string player will tell you that they can't play a long pizzicato note anyway, and it looks much clearer.

One slight error in the Cubase manual (chapter 11-8) shows a small circle as the symbol to go above the note to represent Pizzicato in the 'symb. 1' pop-up menu. Modern players now use this to indicate harmonics, with Pizzicato written in as 'pizz.' and terminated with the written 'arco'.
 
 

Tip Don't forget the [Alternate] key, holding it down whilst inserting Staccato symbols (in fact any symbol related to notes - hence the little 'note' next to the symbol) will insert them on all selected notes - very useful.

 
 
 

Slurs

Slurs form an essential part of the phrasing. If you are a guitarist, slurs start when the note is plucked and span over the notes that are hammered on or pulled off. All instruments have the same principals, but different methods.

Strings start the bow at the beginning of a slur and keep the bow moving throughout the notes within the slurs. Remember when strings have to play very loud, the shorter the available time in the slur is, because the player tends to bow faster, with greater pressure to produce the volume. Very good players can change bowing direction in the middle of a slur without any disturbance to the sound but you have to decide if it's worth risking it.

Tone production on all wind instruments is 'kicked off' by the player forming, silently, the syllable 'tu'. This is called tonguing. The first note under every slur is tongued and detached notes are tongued individually. Again, remember more volume requires more wind, so don't expect a wind player to be able to take a long slurred phrase at high volume in one breath.

Keyboard players, especially pianists, can't always do much about slurs because every note has to be played with the same hammer action. Old analogue synth manufacturers were aware of this and used the retriggering system to enable slurs to be played. Modern keyboards are pretty poor at this type of expression and is the most common cause of music on Cubase sounding 'sequenced' or mechanical.
 
 

Tip If you are good at programming your synth and sequencer you can set up a controller to shift the start point of the sound later so as to miss the attack part. Switching this controller before and after every desired slur isn't easy but the realism achieved is worth the effort.

 
 
 

The other exceptions to the rule are some percussion, the harp and (surprisingly) the Trombone. Problems exist if you want smooth legato and slurs from the trombone because the player really has to tongue every note. Using the slide is precarious, and sometimes impossible, because the purpose of the slide is NOT for making slithery glides (see Trombone later). Most of the time the best most players can do is tongue a 'D' sound instead of a 'T' to soften the attack of the note.

When scoring for almost all instruments, slurs are vital for expression. But remember on the Cubase symbols menus, the slurs and ties look almost the same - the slurs are the 'fatter' ones.
 
 

Tip Entering slurs can take ages. Cubase Score has a trick up it's sleeve for this, (and many other symbols). First select the group of notes to be within the slur by dragging a box over them - don't worry if you also select other non-note items such as the slanted beams and so on - Cubase ignores them. Now select the slur symbol from the symbols menu, press [Insert] on the keyboard and a perfect slur appears. This can really speed things up, the same method can be used for accents, staccato etc. Take care not to hit the [Delete] key, which is uncomfortably next to the [Insert] key.

 
 
 

Transposing instruments

Many people falter with scoring for these instruments and now modern instruments are musically fluent it's no longer essential. An instrument in B flat (trumpet, clarinet) will 'sound' a B flat when the score has a C written. All instruments names, for example, a French horn in F, refer to the note they sound when you write C on the score. From this you can work out what notes to add to the score to get the desired sounds.

With Cubase this presents a problem because the midi data is playing your sound device, but the score needs to be transposed. There are two ways of getting around this:
 

1 Use the 'Staff Settings', Display transpose to set the display to the correct amount of semitones above or below the actual sounded pitch. A few are included in a pop-up menu or you can set the display transpose box yourself. Don't ask me why Steinberg only included presets for trumpet and alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, but see the Instrument table for a more complete guide.

2 If you intend to regularly score for brass, woodwind and saxophones etc. transpose the sound permanently in your sound generating device. That way the midi data will always be correct for the score and the device - although it will play havoc with other peoples devices, not to mention your keyboard playing!
However, it will help relating to players in the future. Don't forget to tune in the opposite direction from the chart shown later.

Parts and Masterscores

First, the best looking and efficient 'Page Mode' setting is shown here, the 'REAL BOOK' setting makes the clef appear only on the first line of the page, and the 'thin bar lines' setting really helps to make the notes stand out more, especially when output to printer - try both settings and make your own mind up.

Masterscores, with all parts appearing, can easily be sorted out by using the auto layout function. Set the number of bars per line in the 'Global Settings' first - a high number (around 8) saves space wherever possible.

Individual parts are quite a different matter. Often they are more 'personalised' than the master score although the music is supposed to be the same. Usually only the notes for one instrument is included, but they can be split, for example, four trumpets on the same staff - leaving the players to sort out their pecking order.

For example, cue notes (smaller than normal) in addition to written words for the occasional lyric can be used for the players reference - or to let them know when other instruments come in. Don't be afraid to add cues, especially when there is a repetitive section, put in a bar count when there are more than 4 bars rest. Make sure they are clearly away from the notes, and use a different font to distinguish them from musical instructions.

Most important is 'page turns'. Allow at least two bars of rests at the end of the page if players are expected to turn the pages themselves. This can be a nightmare to achieve but it really must be done. When arranging the 'page turns' it's best to spread things out because players often scribble notes along the score.

There's a reference section on the Reader disk which explains how to score for some of the more awkward instruments. The instruments covered are the french horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba and drums.
 
 

Instrument chart
The chart is ordered in the usual order instruments appear on the master score.

Instrument                             Nat.Key                 Write                 Sound             Trans             Clef

Flute                                         D                             C                       C                 0                Treble
Piccolo                                     D                             C                       C               -12               Treble
Alto Flute                                 G                             C                       G               +5                 Treble
Bass Flute                                 D                             C                      C                 0                  Treble
Oboe                                        C                             C                       C                 0                  Treble
Cor Anglais                               F                             C                        F                 +7                 Treble
Bass Oboe                                C                               C                       C                 0                  Bass
Clarinet                                    Bb                             C                       Bb                 +2               Treble
Clarinet                                    A                                 C                     A                     +3             Treble
Alto Clarinet                            Eb                             C                         Eb                 +9              Treble
Bass Clarinet                           Bb                             C                         Bb                 +14             Treble
Contra - bass Clarinet             Bb                             C                           Bb                 +26             Treble
Bassoon                                 F                             C                         C                        0             Bass
Double Basson                      F                             C                            C                     +12            Bass
French Horn                         F                                 C                             F                     +7             Treble
Trumpet                               Bb                             C                             Bb                     +2             Treble
Trumpet                              D                             C                                 D                     -2             Treble
Trumpet                              Eb                             C                             Eb                     -3             Treble
Trombone (Tenor)              Bb                             C                             C                         0             C Tenor
Bass Trombone                  G                                 C                             C                         0             Bass
Double Bass Trombone      Bb                             C                             C                         0             Bass
Saxophone (Alto)              Eb                                 C                             Eb                     +9             Treble/Alto
Tenor Sax                         Bb                                 C                             Bb                     +14         Treble/Tenor
Baritone Sax                     Eb                                 C                                 Eb                 +21         Treble/Bass
Tuba                                 F                                 C                                 C                         0         Bass
Violin                                 -                                 C                                 C                         0         Treble
Viola                                 -                                 C                                 C                         0         Calto
Cello                                 -                                 C                                 C                         0         Bass
Bass                                 -                                     C                                 C                     +12        Bass
 
 

Reference

French Horn

French horn is normally in F so writing a C on the score will
result in an F being sounded seven semitones below (perfect
fifth). It is written on the treble clef but can go to the bass
clef if a section would otherwise have many leger lines. Uniquely
French horn players do not have key signatures, everything is
written in C. How they cope with music written in B major (F sharp
major for them) just plastered in accidentals, I'll never know,
sigh! There are other problems to bear in mind. One concerns mute
or hand stopping, frequently used for quiet passages (write
'stopped' on the score), where the player stuffs their hand into
the bell of the horn. This raises the pitch a semitone so you need
to make allowances for this in the score. Always remember the horn
is very powerful, and high notes have to be blown harder. Four
French horns playing 'fff' can drown out an entire orchestra. Play
it safe with the dynamics.

Trumpet

The trumpet in normal use is the B flat trumpet. It is written a
whole tone above the actual sound, so if you write a C, a Bb is
played. There is a D and E flat trumpet which are both smaller and
produce higher notes. The D trumpet is written a tone below that
which it sounds and the E flat trumpet is written a tone and a
half, or three semitones (minor third) below the actual sound.

Trombone

Trombones come in the tenor or B flat, and sometimes the bass or
G. They sound as written and both on the bass clef - jump to the
treble clef to avoid masses of leger lines if necessary. The
trombone is quite agile but if you want very fast lines you must
remember the purpose of the slide. Although it can occasionally be
used for a slithery sort of glissando, the slide has seven
positions. The notes in the first position (slide fully in) are
(going up) Bb, F, D, F, Ab, Bb and each position gives the same
series of notes but a semitone lower. Though some notes do occur
in several positions it is best to avoid the player having to move
very quickly from the seventh position (slide full out) to the
first position (slide fully in) very rapidly.

Tuba

The tuba is normally in F, though there are also bigger C tubas.
They sound as written and on the bass clef with key signatures.
The tuba is pretty agile and can get up quite high and still
sounds good. Its main problem is it doesn't combine well with
trombones and trumpets, being a 'wide bore' brass its sound is
more akin to the 'Brass Band'. However, it's great to add power to
the overall sound of the ensemble, but if it's mainly a 'brass
section' the double bass trombone blends better.

Drums

Drums have their own set of rules and it is worth using drum
notation which many drummers can read to some extent. Set the
Staff Settings to 'No Overlap' and just put in the first few bars
of the drum pattern. Below are the main notes used by modern
drummers. Cubase allows you to set up separate drum maps to re-map
the midi notes to the correct score notes and types of note heads.