Stretching and shrinking events

The Process > Length command can be used to stretch or shrink a portion of a project. Process > Length lets you stretch or shrink the selection by a fixed percentage and makes the adjustment by altering the individual events. A value of 200 percent, for example, stretches the selection to twice its original length, while a value of 50 percent shrinks the selection to half its original length.

The Process > Length command offer the option to stretch audio clips along with the MIDI information. Sometimes you don’t want to adjust the speed of your audio.

Here are some examples:

If your project contains background music and a voice-over, you might want to change the tempo of the background music without altering the voice-over

If you’re trying to modify the speed of some MIDI tracks to match a sampled drum groove, you want to leave the audio unchanged

If your audio consists solely of sound effects, you most likely do not want to adjust them

Audio can be stretched or condensed up to a factor of 4 (e.g., it can be shrunk to as little as 25 percent of its original length, or expanded to as much as 400 percent of its original length).

You can also use the Process > Length command to alter only the start times or the durations of notes. For example, changing the durations of notes to 50 percent of their original length can create a staccato effect.

To stretch or shrink using percentages

1.	Select the events you want to change.

2.	Choose Process > Length to display the Length dialog box.

Figure 177. The Length dialog

3.	Choose to change the Start Times and/or Durations of selected notes by checking the boxes.

4.	If you want to stretch selected audio clips, check the Stretch Audio box.

5.	Use the spinners or type in the desired percent change in length.

6.	Click OK when you are done.

Music Creator modifies the length of selected events.