Introduction to MIDI Sequencing with Cubase

Section 15 - Adding an Synth Brass

Briefing

By repeating the same verse/chorus parts over and over again, there is a real danger of the song becoming very boring, very quickly. To prevent this problem you need to keep making changes as the song progresses. A simple way to do this is to add extra instruments towards the end of the song.

This simple Synth Brass part should come in just after the second verse and add a little extra spice to the second chorus (bar 69). You can get something for nothing in the next repeat of the chorus if you cut and paste the part onto a second track, playing a different Synth Brass sound.

Step 1 - Creating the Synth Brass part

Here is a simple synth brass part that fits in quite nicely with the chorus:

What To Do

Follow these steps. Put a tick next to each one as you finish it:

• Change the name of track 2 to "SynBrass2".
• Set its patch name to Brass, then Synth Brass 2.
• Set the Left and Right locators to 69 and 85.
• Record the synth brass part given above using whatever techniques you think appropriate.

Step 2 - Re-using the Synth Brass Part

To add even more variety, the second time you'll play the Synth Brass part, on two tracks, playing the same data simultaneously.

What To Do

Follow these steps. Put a tick next to each one as you finish it:

• Set up track 3 to "SynBrass1".
• Set its patch name to Synth Brass 1 (which can be found by clicking on the + sign next to Brass in the patch list).
• Drag a shared/ghost copy of the part you created in the last step to bars 85 to 101 of track 2.
• Drag a ghost copy of the same part to bars 85 to 101 of track 3.

Step 3 - Preparing for the Fade Out

During the last repeat of the chorus, you would expect the music to fade out (although the fading out is being handled outside the sequence). It makes good sense to reduce the impact of the synth brass by making sure it only plays on one channel.

What To Do

Follow these steps. Put a tick next to each one as you finish it:

• Select track 3 (Synth Bass 1).
• Drag a ghost copy of the synth bass part to bars 101 to 116 on the same track.
  For the final repeat of the chorus, track 2 isn't used.

That's it. The synth brass part adds a great deal of variety and you've gained extra value from it by using it on two tracks, playing both singly and together.

You're ready to proceed to the next section.