Creating a drum track using Cubase LE4

Cubase LE4 contains the necessary components for creating and playing back a drum track. To do this you will need to use an Instrument track, the MIDI key editor, and a VST instrument.

The first step is to add an Instrument track to your project by choosing Project > Add Track > Instrument.

Then select the HALionOne from the Instrument dropdown menu.

Once the HALionOne has been selected for your instrument track, click on the ‘Edit Instrument’ button.

Then click on the blank text field at the top of the HALionOne control panel and select ‘Load Preset’

When the Load Preset window appears click on ‘Drumset’ in the Sub Category column; select your drum kit in the Viewer column and click ‘OK’.

Next close the HALionOne control panel.

Select the draw tool from the Cubase tool bar at the top of the screen and draw a MIDI region on the MIDI track.

Open the MIDI Key Editor by choosing MIDI > Open Key Editor.

Once the key editor is open, scroll down so you can see key C1 on the keyboard. Most of the keys from C-1 to C7 contain a sound. A basic beat is shown below where the key C1 is Kick, D1 is Snare and F#1 is Hi-hat. When you are creating your beat, the sound each key generates can be heard when a note is drawn onto the grid. Make sure the snap button is selected so the notes will snap to the nearest quantization value. The snap button is located on the right side of the toolbar.

After you have created the drumbeat you want, close the Key Editor and click on the object selection tool in the toolbar. Then click and drag the handle (white square) in the lower right corner of the region to the left to trim off the excess blank space.

After the region has been trimmed to the correct size you can copy and paste it as many times as necessary. You can also click and drag the handle (white square) in the lower right corner of the region while pressing Alt/Option to copy the pattern.