Using the Tempo track

Figure 147. Tempo track.

In the Tempo track, tempo changes appear as envelope nodes. Use the global tools to edit the tempo envelope. You create tempo changes by adding envelope nodes, then editing their values. You can draw, move, cut, copy, and paste tempo changes, create tempo curves, and edit tempo points in other ways.

You edit the project’s tempo map the same way you edit automation envelopes. For information on general automation envelope operations, see Creating and editing automation envelopes.

If you make a mistake using any of these tools, you can use Edit > Undo to correct the error.

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

Tool	Name	What it’s for
	Smart	General editing (see Using the Smart tool on automation)
	Select	Drag to select tempos to edit (see Using the Select tool on automation)
	Freehand	Draw a custom curve indicating changes in tempo (see Using the Freehand tool on automation)
	Line	Draw a straight line indicating a steady increase or decrease in tempo (see Using the Line tool on automation)
	Erase	Eliminate tempo changes already in place for some portion of a project (see Using the Erase tool on automation)

 

Tip: The Tempo Envelope color can be customized in Theme Editor and Preferences > Customization - Colors. For details, see Cakewalk Theme Editor and Customization - Colors (Advanced).

Preventing edits to the tempo map when editing Arranger sections

To prevent the tempo map from being affected when you edit arranger sections, right-click the Tempo track and select Arranger Exclude.

When enabled, the tempo envelope is not selected when selecting Arranger sections.

 

See:

Inserting tempo changes in the Tempo track

Drawing a tempo ramp in the Tempo track

Drawing a series of tempo changes in the Tempo track

Selecting tempo change events

Copying and pasting tempo change events

Adjusting an existing tempo change in the Tempo track

Snapping BPM values to whole values

Replacing a range of tempo changes with a single fixed tempo

Adjusting the shape of a tempo change

Raising/lowering the tempo envelope (shelving)

Raising/lowering an individual envelope shape (shelving)

Setting the project tempo by tapping

Deleting tempo changes in the Tempo track

Resetting a single tempo change

Resetting the entire tempo map

Creating and editing automation envelopes

Inserting tempo changes in the Tempo track

Before inserting a tempo change, decide if you want the tempo change to latch until the next tempo change, or only span a specific time range:

If there is no time selection, the tempo change will be inserted at the Now Time, and latch until the next tempo change event.

If there is a time selection, the new tempo will only span the selected range.

1.	To insert a tempo change, do one of the following:

Position the Now Time where you want to insert the tempo change, or make a time selection in the Tempo track that spans the desired duration.

Double-click the numeric value box in the Tempo track and enter the BPM value for the tempo change, or click the TAP button repeatedly to tap out a tempo.

2.	Click the Insert Tempo Change button in the Tempo track.

or

With the Smart tool , position the pointer over the envelope where you want to insert a new node, then click and drag the envelope node up/down to the desired BPM value, or left/right to the desired time position.

With the Smart tool , make a time selection, then drag vertically from the top of the track to insert two nodes at the selection boundaries.

With the Select tool , position the pointer over the envelope where you want to insert a new node, then double-click.

With the Move tool , position the pointer over the envelope where you want to insert a new node, then double-click.

With the Edit tool , position the pointer over the envelope where you want to insert a new node, then click.

With the Line tool , drag to add nodes at the mousedown and mouseup points. Hold down the SHIFT key and drag to add nodes at the Snap to Grid value.

With the Freehand tool , hold down the SHIFT key and drag to add nodes at the Snap to Grid value. Tempos are drawn freely according to the movement of the mouse. The shape is reproduced as a series of Jump shapes.

With any pattern draw tools (Sine tool , Triangle tool , Square tool , Saw tool , or Random tool ), hold down the SHIFT key and drag to add nodes at the Snap to Grid value.

By default, tempo changes are inserted as envelope “jump” shapes. To change the curve type, right-click the envelope shape or click the rightmost column in the Tempo inspector. For details, see Adjusting the shape of a tempo change.

 

Note: Snap to Grid affects tempo editing. To make it easier to insert tempo changes on beat or measure boundaries, set the Snap to Grid resolution to 1/4 or Measure. For details, see Defining and using the Snap Grid.

 

See also:

Inserting tempo changes in the Tempo Inspector

To change the current tempo in the Transport module

To insert a tempo change

Tools

Drawing a tempo ramp in the Tempo track

To create a smooth transition ramp between two tempo changes (accelerando or ritardando):

1.	Select the Line tool in the Control Bar.

2.	Drag a line in the Tempo track from the starting time and tempo to the ending time and tempo.

Cakewalk introduces a smooth linear tempo change.

 

Tip: You can also use the Project > Insert Series of Tempo command to create a tempo ramp. For details, see To insert a series of tempos.

Drawing a series of tempo changes in the Tempo track

To draw automation freehand:

1.	Select the Freehand tool in the Control Bar.

2.	Drag the cursor across the Tempo track timeline, adjusting the tempo level as you move left to right.

Cakewalk introduces a series of tempo changes.

Selecting tempo change events

To select tempo change events:

With the Smart tool or Select tool , drag left/right to make a time selection.

With the Smart tool or Select tool , drag with the right mouse button to lasso select.

With the Select tool , click the node. Hold CTRL or SHIFT to extend the selection.

With the Edit tool , click the node.

Copying and pasting tempo change events

To copy and paste several tempo events:

1.	With the Smart tool or Select tool , drag in the Tempo track to select the tempo changes you want to copy.

2.	Select Edit > Copy or press CTRL+C.

3.	Click in the Tempo track at the position where you want to paste the tempo events.

4.	Select Edit > Paste or press CTRL+V. The contents of the Clipboard are pasted from the insertion point, replacing any existing tempo events.

You can also select Tempo Changes in the Cut Special (Edit > Cut Special), Copy Special (Edit > Copy Special), Paste Special (Edit > Paste Special), and Delete Special (Edit > Delete Special) dialog boxes to include/exclude tempo change events.

Adjusting an existing tempo change in the Tempo track

To adjust an existing tempo change in the Tempo track, drag the envelope node or shape with the Smart tool , Move tool , or Edit tool .

To enter a specific tempo numerically, right-click the envelope node and select Properties to open the Edit Node dialog box, then specify the desired BPM value and time position.

To move multiple nodes, drag with the right mouse button to lasso select the desired nodes, then drag any of the selected nodes.

When dragging an envelope node, the tooltip shows the current value and the delta value for the change.

The mouse pointer informs you if you are moving a single node, multiple nodes, a line segment, or a time selection. The following table shows the various mouse cursors.

Table 7. Envelope mouse cursors  

Mouse cursor	Description
	Move a single envelope node
	Move multiple selected envelope nodes
	Move an envelope line segment
	Adjust selected envelope region up/down

 

Note: The Tempo track respects the current Snap to Grid settings when dragging envelope nodes horizontally. To make it easier to insert tempo changes on beat or measure boundaries, set the Snap to Grid resolution to 1/4 or Measure. For details, see Defining and using the Snap Grid.

 

Tip: To restrict vertical or horizontal movement, hold down the SHIFT key before you drag a node. The movement will be restricted to the initial drag direction.

 

Tip: To snap a node vertically to the previous node or two previous flat line segments, hold down the CTRL key while dragging the node up or down. The global Snap to Grid settings are also active while the CTRL key is pressed. For details, see To snap nodes vertically.

 

See also:

Raising/lowering an individual envelope shape (shelving)

Snapping BPM values to whole values

By default, when dragging tempo envelope nodes vertically, or using tap tempo or the BPM value field, tempos automatically snap to whole BPM values, without decimal points.

To enable/disable whole value snapping, right-click in the Tempo track and select Snap Tempos To Whole Values.

Replacing a range of tempo changes with a single fixed tempo

You can easily replace a range of tempo changes with a single fixed tempo.

1.	Make a time selection in the Tempo track that spans the tempo changes you want to replace with a single tempo.

2.	Double-click the numeric value box in the Tempo track and enter the BPM value for the tempo change, or click the TAP button repeatedly to tap out a tempo.

3.	Click the Insert Tempo Change button in the Tempo track.

Cakewalk creates a constant tempo in the selected area.

Adjusting the shape of a tempo change

By default, tempo changes are inserted as envelope “jump” shapes, which appear as a straight dotted envelope. Jump shapes produce an instant ninety degree jump where the envelope reaches the next tempo change.

You can also create a smooth continuous transition, or curve, between two different tempo values.

To change the tempo curve type, move the cursor over the segment of the envelope that lies between the two nodes until the Pencil cursor appears, then right-click the envelope and choose one of the following shapes on the pop-up menu:

Jump. This choice causes the envelope to make a ninety degree jump where the envelope reaches the second node. The tempo value continues until the next tempo change. Cakewalk displays jumps with a dotted line, meaning that there is automation data at the nodes where the dotted line begins and ends, but not where the line itself is.

Linear. This choice draws a straight line between the two nodes.

Fast Curve. This choice draws a curve between the two nodes that changes value rapidly at first, but more slowly toward the end of the curve.

Slow Curve. This choice draws a curve between the two nodes that changes value slowly at first, but more rapidly toward the end of the curve.

You can also change the shape by clicking the rightmost column in the Tempo Inspector (see Modifying tempo properties in the Tempo Inspector).

 

Tip: You can also change an envelope segment’s shape with the Edit tool . To do so, select the envelope segment you want to change, then hold down the CTRL key and drag the selected envelope segment up/down.

To create a ramp, insert a new tempo node and drag the node above or below its neighboring envelope node.

Raising/lowering the tempo envelope (shelving)

You can offset the tempo map, and thereby speed up or slow down the tempo, without losing the relationships between tempo changes. This is also referred to as “shelving” the envelope. You can raise/lower the entire tempo envelope, or only the selected time range.

To raise/lower the tempo envelope:

1.	Drag in the Tempo track or time ruler to select the duration of the envelope that you want to raise/lower. To adjust the entire envelope, clear the selection.

2.	Do one of the following:

With the Smart tool , position the pointer within the selection near the top of the Tempo track until the mouse pointer looks like this , then drag up/down.

With the Move tool , position the pointer within the selection, then drag up/down.

 

Note: If the selected duration only spans a dotted envelope (Jump shape), you cannot position the pointer within selection to drag up/down. However, you can position the pointer above any tempo envelope node until the mouse pointer looks like this , then drag up/down. You can also quickly convert the selected dotted envelope range to a Linear shape. To do so, right-click the selected envelope region and select Add Nodes at Selection.This creates envelope nodes at the selection boundaries, and converts the region to a Linear shape.

To offset the entire tempo map numerically, right-click in the Tempo track and select Offset Tempo Map, then specify a value to apply to all existing tempo changes. For details, see Offsetting the tempo map.

Raising/lowering an individual envelope shape (shelving)

To move an individual envelope shape vertically, including its start and end nodes, do one of the following:

1.	With the Smart tool or Move tool , position the pointer near the top of the Tempo track, within the tempo change you want to raise/lower, then click to select the duration of the tempo change.

2.	Position the pointer within the selection near the top of the Tempo track until the mouse pointer looks like this , then drag up/down.

or

1.	With the Smart tool , hold down the CTRL key to momentarily invoke the Move tool

2.	Position the pointer over the envelope shape until the mouse pointer looks like this , then drag up/down.

Setting the project tempo by tapping

In a new song, the tempo may not be defined yet. If you don’t know the exact BPM value for your project, you can manually set the project tempo by tapping the mouse button.

To use tap tempo:

1.	Position the Now Time where you want to insert the tempo change.

2.	Click the TAP button in the Tempo track repeatedly to tap out a tempo.

Cakewalk averages the last 16 taps (weighted in favor of the last 4) to determine the correct tempo. The computed BPM value appears in the BPM textbox.

3.	Click the Insert Tempo Change button in the Tempo track.

The project tempo is set to the tapped tempo.

 

Tip: If you want to use the computer keyboard to tap, select Project > Insert Tempo Change to open the Tempo dialog box, then click the Click here to tap tempo button to give it focus, and tap with the SPACEBAR or ENTER key.

If you want to use tap tempo during playback, first right-click the Tempo track and make sure Update BPM Display During Playback is disabled.

Deleting tempo changes in the Tempo track

To delete a tempo change, do one of the following:

With the Smart tool , click a node or drag with the right mouse button to lasso select multiple nodes, then press the DELETE key or select Edit > Delete.

With the Erase tool , click a node to erase a single node, or drag over nodes to erase multiple nodes.

With the Erase tool , click an envelope segment to erase the nodes to the left and right of the segment.

Drag in the Tempo track to make a time selection, then press the DELETE key.

Right-click an envelope node and select Delete Node.

The last tempo setting prior to the erased region is now in effect in that region.

 

Note: You cannot delete the first tempo change.

 

See also:

Deleting tempo changes in the Tempo Inspector

Resetting a single tempo change

To reset a tempo envelope node to its default value, do one of the following:

With the Smart tool , Move tool , or Edit tool , double-click the node.

Right-click the node and select Reset Node.

Double-clicking the first node will set the tempo to 120 BPM. Double-clicking any other nodes will set it to the project tempo (i.e. the first tempo entry).

Resetting the entire tempo map

To reset the entire tempo map and clear all tempo changes, do one of the following:

Right-click the tempo envelope and select Clear All.

Right-click the Tempo track and select Reset Tempo Map.

Sowing BPM values on the tempo envelope

To show/hide BPM values on the tempo envelope, right-click the Tempo track and select Show Tempo Values on Envelope.

 

Tip: The Tempo Envelope color can be customized in Theme Editor and Preferences > Customization - Colors. For details, see Cakewalk Theme Editor and Customization - Colors (Advanced).

 

See:

How tempo changes affect audio clips

How tempo changes affect automation

Tempo track

Tempo Inspector

Changing tempos

Using the Tempo Inspector

Using the Transport module

Using the Tempo commands

Setting the project tempo by tapping

Offsetting the tempo map

Setting the project tempo from an audio recording

Setting the project tempo from freely recorded MIDI or audio

Aligning measure/beat boundaries manually

Setting the Metronome and Tempo settings

Backwards compatibility

Tempo