Shape tempo
A project runs at one tempo until you say otherwise. The tempo lane changes that: it holds a curve across the timeline, so the music can push into a chorus or slow into an ending.
Open the lane
Section titled “Open the lane”Click Tempo Automation in the transport bar at the bottom of the editor.
A lane opens under the timeline, labelled T / BPM on the left and lined up with the same bar numbers as the arrangement above it.
An empty lane says what to do: double-click to add tempo points.
Add and shape points
Section titled “Add and shape points”Double-click anywhere in the lane to add a point. Its height sets the tempo, and the value appears in BPM as you work.
Drag a point up to speed up, down to slow down. The top of the lane is 300 BPM.
Drag a point sideways to move the change to a different bar.
Right-click a point to delete it. Double-clicking a point does not delete it — it adds another one.
The points are joined by a line, so the tempo ramps smoothly from one to the next. Two points at the same height hold a steady tempo between them; a lower point after a higher one is a slow-down spread across the bars in between.
Clear the lane
Section titled “Clear the lane”Reset at the right-hand end removes every point and returns the project to a single tempo.
The transport BPM field
Section titled “The transport BPM field”The BPM field in the transport bar sets the project’s base tempo. Use it when the whole piece runs at one speed, and use the lane when the speed needs to change part way through.
Three shapes worth knowing
Section titled “Three shapes worth knowing”Hold, then slow. Two points at the same height for most of the piece, then a lower point in the last bars. This is the standard ending.
Push into a section. A small rise a bar or two before a chorus lands, then back down. Keep the change small — a few BPM reads as energy, twenty reads as a mistake.
Match a recording. If you are working to a live take that drifts, place points where the take moves and follow it, rather than forcing the take onto a grid.
Use it sparingly
Section titled “Use it sparingly”Constant tempo changes make a project hard to follow and hard to edit later, because every section boundary moves when you adjust one point. Most projects need two or three points, not twenty.
Related
Section titled “Related”Shape dynamics is the same idea applied to loudness, and the two lanes can be open together. Build an arrangement with sections covers the timeline the lane runs along. Export audio renders the result.