Cubase Interactive Tutorial

Guided beginner course · Cubase

Record a short VST instrument part, edit its notes, repeat an eight-bar sketch and export the intended output between locators.

8 guided lessonsPractice audio + MIDIKnowledge checks

Based on Cubase Pro 15.0 official help, checked 27 October 2026. Artist, Elements, AI and LE can differ in layout and features; this is explicitly the Pro documentation route. Use a VST instrument included in your own licence.

Before you start
  • Cubase Pro 15 installed and authorized, plus an available VST instrument and patch.
  • Working headphones or speakers connected to the chosen audio hardware.
  • A computer keyboard or mouse for the On-Screen Keyboard; an external MIDI controller is optional. No practice-MIDI import is assumed.

Work in a practice project and keep the supplied files together. The checks on this page record your answers and your own confirmation that you tried the exercise.

Start lesson 1Open practice lab
Practice lab: listen, mix and download

Start with the same two parts: a beat and a simple melody. Both are eight bars of 4/4 at 120 BPM—16 seconds each. The pack also includes MIDI notes and three drum one-shots.

Original DeviceCritique synthesized teaching audio. Your DAW instrument can sound different; the exercise is about timing, editing, balance and a complete export.

Download practice pack · ZIPBeat WAVMelody WAV

The full-length WAVs are mono, 44.1 kHz / 16-bit. Unzip the pack for MIDI and kick, snare and closed-hat samples. Keep a copy of your editable DAW project as well as your final audio file.

See the official interface reference
Cubase 15 Key Editor showing coloured MIDI notes, track controls and lower editing lanes
Cubase 15’s MIDI Key Editor. Features vary by edition. Image: Steinberg. Image source

Lesson 1 of 8

Let Cubase talk to the audio hardware

By the end: Select the audio driver and distinguish input from playback.

A virtual instrument needs a real listening destination. Select the hardware driver first; the new project’s output-bus check follows later. Microphone input is not this exercise’s sound source.

  1. Open the driver settings

    Choose Studio → Studio Setup. In the Devices list, select Audio System. Open the ASIO Driver menu and choose the driver for your audio hardware, then click Switch if prompted. Select an audio driver.

  2. Use the right hardware route

    On Windows, Steinberg recommends an ASIO driver designed for your hardware when one is available. Keep the connected headphones or speakers on that hardware. Do not assume the device used by another application is automatically Cubase’s destination. Driver guidance.

  3. Define the first win

    Locate the transport’s play, stop and record controls. For now, success is knowing the selected driver and the device you intend to hear; you have not recorded a performance yet.

Check your project: You can name Cubase’s selected driver and the physical device connected to your headphones or speakers.

If your result is different

If your interface is absent, consult its manufacturer’s installation instructions rather than guessing another device’s driver. Continue only when the selected driver corresponds to hardware available on your computer.

Lesson 2 of 8

Create a project and fix the tempo

By the end: Set up an empty project with one steady pace.

Use a steady 120 BPM in 4/4. Fixed Tempo Mode suits this exercise; a changing tempo track serves a different purpose. Keep the editable project in a dedicated folder.

  1. Create the empty project

    Choose File → New Project and use Create Empty Project. Specify a project folder when prompted. Use a simple name such as “Eight-bar study” rather than changing an existing song. Create a new project.

  2. Choose a fixed pulse

    On the Transport panel, deactivate Activate Tempo Track for Fixed Tempo Mode. Set the Transport Tempo value to 120. Confirm the exercise uses a 4/4 ruler before recording. Project Tempo Modes · Fixed tempo controls.

  3. Save and count

    Use File → Save As to name the project file. Locate the beginnings of bars 1, 3 and 9: they mark a two-bar phrase and the end of an eight-bar arrangement. Save project files.

Check your project: A named empty project exists at 120 BPM, and Tempo Track is off for this fixed-tempo exercise.

If your result is different

If the tempo follows a curve or changes across playback, check the tempo mode before typing more numbers. Fixed Tempo Mode and Tempo Track Mode are different ways to control the same musical pace.

Lesson 3 of 8

Connect an instrument to an audible output

By the end: Create the instrument track and verify its listening route.

The instrument generates audio, the bus carries it, and Device Ports reach your headphones. Verify this simple path before recording; one available sound is enough.

  1. Check the output bus

    Open Studio → Audio Connections → Outputs. Use an existing stereo output mapped to your hardware ports; if none exists, click Add Bus, choose stereo, add it and assign its Device Ports. Set it as Main Mix if needed. Audio Connections · Add and map a bus · Main Mix.

  2. Add the sound source

    Click Add Track, choose Instrument, select an available VST instrument and click Add Track. Choose a patch in that instrument and confirm its Output Routing reaches the intended output. Create an instrument track · Output-routing prerequisite.

  3. Audition the keys

    Select the track, enable Record Enable and choose Studio → On-Screen Keyboard. Click its note keys to hear the sound before attempting a recording. On-Screen Keyboard.

Check your project: Clicking an On-Screen Keyboard note produces the selected instrument through the intended listening device.

If your result is different

If notes are received silently, trace instrument → output bus → device ports. A named bus with unassigned physical ports is not yet an audible connection.

Lesson 4 of 8

Record four notes into a MIDI part

By the end: Capture a short instrument performance with the On-Screen Keyboard.

Play four notes across two bars using the On-Screen Keyboard. Choose clicking or computer keys, whichever you can control comfortably. The first take gives us editable musical material.

  1. Prepare the destination

    Keep the instrument track selected and Record Enable active. Return the project cursor to bar 1 and leave the On-Screen Keyboard open. Confirm a key produces sound before starting. Recording prerequisites.

  2. Capture and stop

    Activate Record on the Transport panel and play the short phrase on the On-Screen Keyboard. Stop around bar 3. The recorded result is MIDI performance data on the instrument track. Record MIDI with the keyboard.

  3. Listen and release the keyboard

    Play the recorded section without adding more notes. Check that the part contains the idea you played. Close the On-Screen Keyboard when finished so ordinary computer-key commands are available again.

Check your project: A MIDI part plays your phrase independently of new key input.

If your result is different

If familiar shortcuts stop responding, close the On-Screen Keyboard. Its note-entry role temporarily uses those computer keys. That behaviour is documented, not a broken project. Keyboard focus caveat.

Lesson 5 of 8

Repair a note without replacing the take

By the end: Edit timing and duration in the Key Editor.

Correct one note’s time position and another note’s duration, keeping the sound unchanged. Small, audible decisions teach more than changing everything until the rectangles look impressive.

  1. Open the recorded part

    Select the MIDI part and choose MIDI → Open Key Editor. The piano-roll-style grid displays notes as boxes, with a keyboard reference for pitch. Open the Key Editor.

  2. Move and resize

    With Object Selection, drag a selected note horizontally to adjust its time position; Snap is taken into account. Drag its start or end edge to change duration. Replay the phrase after each adjustment. Move note events · Resize note events.

  3. Prepare an exact building block

    Return to the Project window. Use Object Selection → Normal Sizing and drag the part’s lower-right corner to bar 3. Keep the wanted notes within the two-bar part starting at bar 1. Normal Sizing.

Check your project: The two-bar part retains the intended notes, with an audible timing edit and duration edit.

If your result is different

If your drag changes pitch as well as timing, undo it and move horizontally. Check which object is selected: a whole Project part and an individual Key Editor note have different editing jobs.

Lesson 6 of 8

Repeat the phrase and choose its level

By the end: Create an eight-bar arrangement and inspect its channel fader.

Make three additional copies of the two-bar part, then choose a channel level. Inspect the phrase joins before reaching for processing that could hide the timing problem.

  1. Repeat the part

    Select the two-bar part and choose Edit → Functions → Repeat. Set Count to 3 and leave Shared Copies off for independent copies. Confirm the result fills bars 1–9. Repeat events · Count and Shared Copies.

  2. Open the mixer

    Choose Studio → MixConsole. Identify the instrument’s audio channel and its volume fader. Move the fader up or down while playing to hear the level change. Open MixConsole · Volume faders.

  3. Listen to the joins

    Play the entire eight-bar section. Concentrate on bars 3, 5 and 7, where each copy starts. If the phrase leaves an unwanted gap, revise the source material or part boundary before judging the overall level.

Check your project: Four two-bar parts form eight bars, and the instrument plays at a chosen level through the output bus.

If your result is different

If editing one copy affects others, check whether you made Shared Copies. For this exercise, independent copies make it easier to compare a changed ending with the original phrase.

Lesson 7 of 8

Save and export the intended section

By the end: Use locators to define a verifiable audio mixdown.

A mixdown needs the right signal and time span. Save the editable project, bracket the arrangement with locators, then check the actual file in another player.

  1. Keep the project

    Choose File → Save to preserve the edited parts and instrument configuration. Retain this project even after rendering audio; the mixdown is a delivery copy. Save project files.

  2. Set the locators

    Drag in the upper ruler to place the left and right locators around bars 1–9. Confirm the highlighted range encloses the whole sketch, including any ending you intend to keep. Set locator ranges.

  3. Render and listen

    Choose File → Export → Audio Mixdown. Select the intended output channel, use Locators as the range, set the name/location and WAV format, then click Export Audio. Listen to the file outside Cubase. Mixdown procedure.

Check your project: The exported WAV contains the full sketch and the saved project still has editable MIDI parts.

If your result is different

If the file is silent, check Output Routing and the selected mixdown channel. Steinberg warns that a missing main output bus can lead to a silent export. Routing prerequisite.

Lesson 8 of 8

Build a second sketch from a short brief

By the end: Apply recording, editing, repetition and export independently.

Create another eight-bar sketch with a deliberate rhythm or sound change. Explain the difference. These are understanding checks and self-reported tasks; the page cannot examine your Cubase session.

  1. Plan one change

    Write down 120 BPM, a two-bar phrase and one change of character. For example, leave a longer rest before the final note. A specific intention gives the later listening check something concrete to assess.

  2. Make and edit it

    Create a fresh project, verify its output, add an instrument and record with the On-Screen Keyboard. Make one timing and one duration edit. Repeat the part into eight bars and choose a comfortable channel level.

  3. Deliver both files

    Save the project, bracket the section with locators and export its output as WAV. Listen independently and write one sentence about the new rhythm. Use the manual only where you need a reminder. Locator reference · Mixdown reference.

Check your project: A second editable project and playable WAV exist, with a deliberate difference you can explain.

If your result is different

If you get stuck, identify the missing result rather than changing everything: audible instrument, recorded part, edited notes, arrangement or export. Return to the lesson that produces that result.

Eight bars with a deliberate ending

Create a new 120 BPM instrument sketch with an intentional final rest or note-length change. Keep its editable project and export the chosen output between locators.

  • The driver, output bus and hardware ports form an audible path.
  • A recorded two-bar instrument part contains your notes.
  • A note position and duration were intentionally changed.
  • Four parts make an eight-bar sketch at the intended boundaries.
  • The saved project reopens and the WAV plays the complete section independently.
Official manuals and lessons used for this course

Documentation-based instruction, checked 27 October 2026. Progress and quiz answers stay in this browser. Use the checkpoint descriptions to assess your own DAW project. The original practice audio demonstrates an exercise; it is separate from the manufacturer interface reference.