Working with a sequencer and moving parts?

Hello Jake,

I have worked with sequencing of multiple "instruments" in Digital Performer (exclusively Mac platform until only very recently formatted for PC in version 8), and might be able to help you simplify your process.  Everything I write here should be entirely compatible with your version of Cubase.

In the case of writing for piano, with various verses and choruses, I would suggest first that you simply record your piece on a given "master" stereo track without any extra verses and choruses, and keep your master track intact without chopping it into pieces.  For convenience, you may wish to add markers to your master track, such as Intro, Verse, Chorus, Variations, Ending.  Each of these markers will represent the material from which you select for copying (not dragging only) into your eventual "working" track.

Next, create a second stereo track that is empty at the outset, with a separate instantiation of Pianoteq.  This will be the starting point of your "working" track, mentioned above in the previous paragraph.
 
Now, here is where I differ from your method as described in your original post:

Rather than chopping your master track into pieces that may possibly get lost or corrupted, simply "highlight" your intro in the tracks menu, and then COPY (not drag -- and lose your original intact version) that intro into your working track.  Then proceed with COPYING the other parts in as many repetitions as you require from the master track into your working track.

When you are satisfied with your work, it is only a matter of switching off Pianoteq from your original master file.

The reason I suggest using a separate instantiation of Pianoteq is so that you will not confound Pianoteq with duplicate midi note on/off commands if you happen to play both tracks at the same time.  Otherwise, you may encounter dropped notes or other midi anomalies that occur due to playing one instantiation of Pianoteq through two simultaneous tracks.

* * * * * * *

The beauty of the method I described is that you are able to leave your original performance intact.  If you need to return to a given piece at some time in the future, you will have retained a copy of your original performance; it will be much easier for you to reconstruct your ideas, than if you had a fragmented master copy after having dragged bits and pieces of a chopped original performance.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Joe

Thank-you both for responding. After seeing that over a hundred people had viewed my question without responding, I had come to think that I was fumbling around with something so simple and well-known that it needed no response. (Which may still be the case.)

I now have Notion, but do not at present have the time needed to explore it fully. I'll post more about using it with Pianoteq when I can. In the meantime, I hope that you, custral, can find the time to share your experiences with us in the thread about Notion.

By accident, I ran across another, older sequencer, Metro, by a company named Sagan, that can divide a track into sections easily. I like it, but it has an older-looking interface, is not well-known, and is somewhat expensive. It may not be wonderful from a notation perspective, but it does have a score view and it seems to be good in many ways in terms of defining and manipulating sections, judging from the demo I downloaded:

http://www.sagantech.biz/   

Anyone here familiar with this program? Impressions?

I ran across it when reading a thread on KVR about lesser-known sequencers:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=365877

Many of the posts in the thread link to sequencers without a score view. But some may be of interest in terms of editing-ease. And I wish I had the time to explore editing in the well-known sequencers, as well. There are at least ten, now?

Hello Jake,

My pleasure to help you or anyone else in this forum with the double track idea, using two instantiations of Pianoteq.  Many happy hours doing things other than chopping up only one track.

Sincerely,

Joe