Recording & Editing Music using MIDI in Cubase 6 - Getting Started

For a lot of Cubase users, MIDI is a mystery. For me, MIDI is where everything starts when using Cubase. I have been using Cubase for over 20 years. Although Cubase has changed a great deal over the years, recording and editing MIDI hasn't changed dramatically since the creation of Cubase back in 1989.

MIDI is an acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. When you record MIDI information in Cubase via a MIDI keyboard (or another interface), you are recording data--not music or sound. Cubase then displays this MIDI data in a "musical" format so that you can edit or alter the data. To actually hear this data, the recorded MIDI data must be played back through a MIDI instrument (such as a synthesizer or sampler).

Does this mean that you have to be a keyboard player to record or use MIDI? No. You can program MIDI data using a simple mouse, your computer keyboard, or any MIDI instrument (drums, wind, guitar, etc). You also don't have to be Liberace or even really know how to play the piano in order to program MIDI using a keyboard controller in Cubase.

Here's a list of a few things you can do simply by recording and editing MIDI in Cubase:

1. Program drum and beat patterns (like programming a drum machine--except easier).
2. Correct the timing on a bad performance. For instance, you can automatically correct your drum programming so that all of the beats fall "on beat".
3. Easily transpose pitches or alter recorded melodies.
4. Create a music score (sheet music) for your recorded performance.
5. Change the dynamics (expressions) of your performance.
6. Change the instrument after your performance. For instance, let's say you performed a sax part and later you decide that you would rather have that part played on a trumpet. No problem!
   
7. Create and edit an infinite number of MIDI music tracks to complete a full sounding musical arrangement.
8. Add special effects to your MIDI performance.

The list goes on and on. Cubase (as well as some other popular Digital Audio Workstation software) is the tool that composers and music producers use to produce the professional sounding music that you hear on TV, in film,and on the radio today. Even though Cubase is a workhorse as far working with audio recordings, it's MIDI tools are extraordinary.

As I mentioned before, you need a MIDI instrument (such as a synth or sampler) in order to hear any recording you've made in Cubase. You're in luck, because Cubase 6 comes with what are called VST instruments. These VST instruments turn your computer into a virtual synth or sampler. You also will not need a MIDI keyboard to follow along with my tutorials. I will be utilizing MIDI files that contain pre-recorded MIDI so you can just load them in and start working right away. I will also demonstrate how you can record your own MIDI data without using a MIDI keyboard.

Cubase has been around for quite some time. The current "full" version of Cubase is Cubase 6. For the most part, my tutorials will also work with Cubase Artist 6 or Cubase Elements 6. I have written a full book that was designed for beginners entitled "MIDI Editing in Cubase". This book was written at the time of Cubase 4 release, but most of the material that was written is still up to date with the latest version of Cubase. I have also written another book called "Going Pro with Cubase 6" which includes all of the latest MIDI features and gives a great overall general overview of Cubase 6.

This concludes the "Getting Started" portion of my Working with MIDI in Cubase tutorial. The next tutorial will cover recording MIDI information using the virtual keyboard and a VST instrument.