Using the Tempo view

The Tempo view provides both a graphic display of the tempo and a list of all tempo changes in your project. In the graphical display you can use your mouse to draw tempo changes directly onto the graph. In the tempo list, you can insert, edit, and delete individual tempo changes. To open the Tempo view, choose Views > Tempo or press ALT+SHIFT+5. Click the Tempo List button to display or hide the tempo list.

Figure 128. The Tempo view.

If an entire project has a single tempo, the graph shows a straight horizontal line, and a single tempo in the list.

The Control Bar contains several tools you can use to add or modify tempo changes:

Table 58.  

Tool	Name	What it’s for
	Select	Drag the Select tool in either the Tempo list or graphic display to select tempos to edit
	Freehand	Draw a custom curve indicating changes in tempo
	Line	Draw a straight line indicating a steady increase or decrease in tempo
	Erase	Eliminate tempo changes already in place for some portion of a project
	Snap grid	Controls how often you can insert tempo changes—for example, every measure, every eighth note, every 3 samples, etc.

If you make a mistake using any of these tools, you can use Edit > Undo to correct the error. When you use the Freehand tool, the speed with which you drag the mouse determines the density of tempo events. To insert a larger number of relatively small tempo changes, move the mouse slowly. To insert a smaller number of relatively large tempo changes, drag the mouse quickly.

The Tempo List Pane has its own tools for editing tempo changes:

Table 59.  

Tool	Name	What it’s for
	Tempo List	Displaying a list of all tempo changes in the project.
	Insert Tempo	Insert a new tempo change
	Delete Tempo	Delete a tempo change
	Tempo Properties	Edit a tempo change

To insert a tempo change in the Tempo view

1.

Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and choosing Groove > Clip Looping from the pop-up menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2.	Select the Freehand tool or the Line tool in the Control Bar.

3.	Click in the Tempo view at any desired time point and tempo level.

Music Creator introduces a tempo change at the indicated point.

To steadily increase or decrease the tempo in the Tempo view

1.

Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and choosing Groove > Clip Looping from the pop-up menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2.	Select the Line tool in the Control Bar.

3.	Drag a line in the graph from the starting time and tempo to the ending time and tempo.

Music Creator introduces a linear series of tempo changes.

To draw a series of tempo changes in the Tempo view

1.

Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and choosing Groove > Clip Looping from the pop-up menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2.	Select the Freehand tool in the Control Bar.

3.	Drag the cursor across the graph, adjusting the tempo level as you move left to right.

Music Creator introduces a series of tempo changes.

To erase tempo changes in the Tempo view

1.

Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and choosing Groove > Clip Looping from the pop-up menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2.	Select the Erase tool in the Control Bar.

3.	Drag the mouse over the graph to highlight the region you want to erase.

4.	Release the mouse button.

Music Creator deletes all tempo changes in the area you marked. The last tempo setting prior to the erased region is now in effect in that region.

To insert a tempo change in the Tempo list in the Tempo view

1.

Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and choosing Groove > Clip Looping from the pop-up menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2.	Click the Tempo List button to display or hide the tempo list.

3.	Select any tempo change in the list.

4.	Click Insert Tempo to open the Tempo dialog box.

5.	Set the tempo, time, and other properties.

6.

Click OK.

Music Creator inserts the new tempo into the list.

To edit a tempo change in the Tempo view

1.

Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and choosing Groove > Clip Looping from the pop-up menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2.	Click the Tempo List button to display or hide the tempo list.

3.	In the tempo list, select the tempo change to be edited.

4.	Click Tempo Properties or double-click the tempo change to open the Tempo dialog box.

5.	Edit the tempo properties as desired.

6.

Click OK.

To delete a tempo change from the Tempo list in the Tempo view

1.

Enable Groove Clip Looping on any audio clips that you want to follow the tempo changes. Do this by selecting one or more clips, right-clicking a selected clip, and choosing Groove > Clip Looping from the pop-up menu. Each clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled has beveled edges instead of sharp corners. The same command disables Groove Clip Looping on any selected clip that has Groove Clip Looping enabled.

2.	Click the Tempo List button to display or hide the tempo list.

3.	In the Tempo list, select the tempo change to be deleted.

4.	Click Delete Tempo , or press DELETE.

Music Creator deletes the selected tempo change. You cannot delete the first tempo in the list.