Tempo mastery! Logic Pro- How to "beat map" or "tempo map" so you own the tempo!

[@thejacevekexperience]

13:30 ish, I meant to say BAR not beat, and I’m sorry if that confused someone.

[@willembijleveld3429]

Thanks, very helpful and clearly explained.

[@weigelmc]

This is something that I have struggled with over the years, and you're right there's absolutely minimal resources to help you all the way through this process. Thanks for clarifying in such an incredibly concise and precise way!

[@thejacevekexperience]

Thank you very much. Since this video, logic has made some advances with smart tempo, but unfortunately; if the music is any kind of material that is not loaded with transients in a steady common meter, it functions poorly. Being able to beat map like this can make the difference.

[@wesboundmusic]

I've been looking for this forever and you nailed it! Got yourself another subscriber for it, excellent!

[@thejacevekexperience]

Westbound. Appreciating being of good use to y'all. It amazes me that with all the advancements logic ilhas made with smart tempo, this type of technique (transient beat mapping) is Still relevant due to the shortcomings of smart tempo. There will come a day when we don't need to be able to do this, but we're not quite there yet.

[@wesboundmusic]

I couldn't agree more on all you just said,@@thejacevekexperience . Baffles me to no end as well that such vital things seem to get overlooked by their engineers or rather: Product development managers or whatever they call the role these days at the bitten fruit corp. I found it particularly savvy and smart on your part to shrink the MIDI events to basically the equivalent of transients which then get bounced to become real (audio) transients for Logic to be able to "listen" to them. I love workarounds like that and take some joy in coming up with them when I can. But you're right: We shouldn't have to be pressed to find our own solutions, it would be infinitely better if such things were present and provided already. Huh. ;-) Thanks again, I love tutorials like this one!

[@Dregarf]

Enjoyed the Presentation - exactly what I was trying to learn how to do. Beautiful Piano part BTW

[@thejacevekexperience]

Why thank you 🙏. I appreciate that this video is helping some people, and grateful for the positive feedback.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Thanks, glad to offer something useful🎉

[@dougiemonday]

This is something I am committed to learning to help bring back life to my songwriting since life moved me to a daw

[@thejacevekexperience]

@@dougiemonday well if I could offer some gentle encouragement: a lot of people get confused about tempo operations in a DAW. The first thing of person thinks of, is a very preplanned, rigid tempo, structure, that is made first and then played to. With a performer, listening to a click track in a set of headphones while recording themselves playing their instruments. But as you saw in this particular case, a tempo that is devised by beat map strategy, put the music in charge first . I.e. YOU. This means in theory that you could play something anyway you want to play it, then go backwards from there using a tempo map, to make your daw answer to you, instead of you answering to your daw. Good luck on your journey

[@KevinG-l4j]

Hey Jace, great Beat Mapping Tutorial. It was a great refresher for me not having used it in a good while. In a musical I'm working on, I'm in the process of having to create a tempo map to a freestyle recorded midi piano from a great keyboard player, but need a tempo reference for the vocalists and the studio engineer. This is just what the doctor ordered. Thanks Logic brother. I will be checking you out more often. From a long time Logic user and Apple trainer. God bless!

[@thejacevekexperience]

@@KevinG-l4j hey there :) that’s pretty tall praise coming from someone with your experience, good luck on your musical, and I’m glad this little video was of use to you! Take care.

[@blue-balance]

Great video, and I love your music! Keep creating!!

[@thejacevekexperience]

Thank you for the inspiration

[@daveking-sandbox9263]

I've been using and teaching beat mapping for over 10 years. Good exercise: take any piece of classical piano, then just work your way through the track marking out the strong beats and weak beats as needed.

[@johnhamers4571]

The best lesson that I had in years ! Glad that I found this 💯🙏🏼✌🏼 The first video that seem to work.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Wow, this is terrific feedback. Thank you so much for the kind words, I felt good making this video because I put myself in the shoes of people like yourself, looking for an answer to this problem. Seems it worked. Much respect for you.

[@johnhamers4571]

@evekexperience When intelligence touches the very soul it becomes a name that not yet exists in my vocabulary. Progressive is just not enough force 💯🦴🙏🏼✌🏼

[@malachy2]

Absolutely great video. This is a problem which has bothered me for a long time. A great explanation for those of us who don't want to play to a click! Many thanks. (Subscribed).

[@thejacevekexperience]

I’m glad you found some value with this, it’s one of those things you get better at the more you do it.

[@playamaqui]

Amazing! Thank you very much!

[@Hammerman48]

Laborious process…..but essential to create the track to your piano track.

[@thejacevekexperience]

And believe it or not- this gets easier once you do it a few times. At first it a little top heavy on the learning curve, but one thing that helped me is stepping back into basic musiciansip- counting. Moving methodically and slow.

[@kevinthebeagle]

thanks for this; well presented and explained and your music is lovely. keep them coming!

[@thejacevekexperience]

Thank u Todd. This was filmed in North Carolina- Carolina beach, and now I’m set up in San Francisco CA 2900 miles away we’ve moved! I’m up and running here and the cameras are set- like and subscribe for more!

[@kevinthebeagle]

good luck in SF; we just left LA after 30 yrs in film music (out to pasture in TN:) )

[@tomhudsonacting60]

That was super helpful, thank you so much !!! and your music is absolutely beautiful, top notch.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Thank you kindly Tom. Grateful to bring a new perspective here to a classic problem.

[@halukkurtoglu126]

Hi, Thanks man for this nice explanation.Very good video and nice music.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Much appreciated - THANK you!

[@MenonkNaldo]

Very helpful and beautiful music :)

[@thejacevekexperience]

@@MenonkNaldo well that’s a very nice thing to say, and I appreciate reading it. You have a wonderful day.

[@drjthornley]

So beautiful. You got me.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Thanks 🙏 I appreciate the vibe

[@johannesharbort9329]

Love how relaxed you talk, you´re the bob ross of logix ; ) Thank you for the information, too, btw.

[@thejacevekexperience]

That’s awesome Johannes. Appreciate the reference. You know it’s kind of interesting, I really can’t do appreciate Bob Ross in the later years of my life. My mom was an artist, and I think looking back at the time, I saw him he’s being a little kitschy - but now, I realize I was wrong about that. He was very special. One of a kind.

[@ponlerd]

Thank you so much!! Saved me so much time!

[@thejacevekexperience]

@@ponlerd terrific! . Thank you too!

[@JJBMUSICPRODUCTION]

Great thanks! I’ve been trying to find out how to do this for ages!

[@thejacevekexperience]

Glad to help

[@tychosnova2896]

one of the more creative and interesting tempo adjusting videos out there - especially from someone who plays classical piano - kinda' rare ...

[@tychosnova2896]

it's always a surprise to hear someone's demo track that has incredible, original, music on it. I get tired of the electrical cranked out sounds. This is refreshing.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Thank you so much for the kind feedback- it’s nice to deliver some value to you .

[@thejacevekexperience]

Trust me, I know how you feel, so many of the videos are definitely about certain styles of music that are more main stream, and there’s nothing wrong with that, I love a great, EDM track when it’s right, but it’s only a drop in the bucket of all the different forms of musical expression there are- and I got to thinking people who are more of the lyrical styles of music creation might like to have a compass on their behalf too!

[@ggjindrak]

How am I just finding your channel? Nice work! I remember using tempo changes in Digital Performer back in the day, but I don't think it was possible to do what you've explained here. So very useful.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Welcome Gary, thanks for the positive feedback, yes, tempo mapping is the definitive icing on the cake and the production process for having your rhythm settings are crossed your global set up with the music tempo synched to the project tempo as one ☝️

[@markopfer7932]

great video!

[@rossdonald594]

Jace, Thank you for your presentation. This has helped enormously. I am at present recording a singer/guitarist who cannot use a click track, so essentially a live recording of vocal and acoustic guitar...... I'd like to add more textures, but the tempo is all over the place, and I've been struggling to create a tempo map.......

[@thejacevekexperience]

Terrific Ross - keep that music flowing!

[@galefraney]

Super interesting !!

[@thejacevekexperience]

Hey thx gale- appreciate some positive feedback

[@3684541]

Really pretty stuff

[@thejacevekexperience]

Thanks 🙏 much appreciated

[@MusiclyricsByECDaleyC]

Great tipJace, and yes, it's not well covered anywhere else, I am aware of? Thank you Jace, keep following your own grooves, the passion you have for your music shows very clearly to me, and without that passion, what's the point ? : )

[@thejacevekexperience]

@@MusiclyricsByECDaleyC Beethoven wasn’t kidding when he said a mistake is nothing, but to play without passion is unforgivable.

[@kevinmcmillan6935]

Christ, is that your own piano part? That is gorgeous.... also very helpful video... thanks!

[@thejacevekexperience]

Hey that’s awesome Kevin. Yes, that’s all my material and piano playing. I’m live on this channel Mon through Friday. Mon wed and Fri at 9 pm eastern Tues and Thur at 8 pm eastern Thanks again.

[@stephansnow7777]

To cool! Thanks man

[@thejacevekexperience]

Right on thanks!

[@realrobarmus]

Oh this is helpful thanks, love your music also, reminds me of Michel Legrand, beautiful ❤ I’ve been struggling with a live band recording project, trying to figure out how to beat map a small section that I need to replace with the same section from another take, haven’t been able to figure it out yet, watched so many videos and yours is perhaps is the simplest to understand but still not translating to my exact purpose, If you have time could I contact you for one on one help?

[@IntraVortex]

Hey man! Nice work and extremely helpful. Hope you’re still producing content.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Thank you. I've actually been focused on my steaming lives for a bit. You can catch me on here mon, wed and Fri at 9 pm eastern. Tue and Thurs 8 pm eastern.

[@BlakeHassebrock]

thank you! is it possible to do this with a guitar track? Basically i'm hung up on the piece where each note needs to be modified to be short

[@thejacevekexperience]

Hi there, Blake. So you ask the question “ is it possible to do this with a guitar track?” The trick with doing this beat mapping technique is adapting the technique im showing you to the material at hand. In your case, the question would be what kind of guitar track is this? Is it rhythmic playing? Fingerpicking.? Guitar pic? is the guitar keeping time? If the answer to those questions is yes, then when you look out over the course of the audio file, you should be seeing transients in your waveform. And if you see those, a beat map can be made. Start by counting the rhythm as you listen to your audio. Do you see a transient on the down beat of each bar in the waveform. Perhaps a finger picking a string as part of the material? That’d be a great place to start. As far as shortening, guitar notes is concerned, that sounds like a pretty tall order bud. In a situation like that, you’re probably looking at flex time. You might want to do a little bit of look up research on flextime, and guitar.

[@ibemelaura]

can't believe I didn't know this years ago, great video

[@thejacevekexperience]

Hi there thank you for the kind words, smart tempo has come a long way, but it still has a long way to go, and it does not beat map intelligent dynamic music very well. So we have these techniques to back it’s up.

[@datooch]

I like this but I think if I do this I would create an audio click track by tapping on my desk or something to that effect then beat map that instead of manipulating the original midi track then converting it to audio.

[@thejacevekexperience]

It's important to know this. Good job. Because having a way to interpret rhythm that suits your individualistic style, it’s just as important as anything I have said here as matter fact, I go as far to say that I have my own techniques intertwined these objective basics.

[@IrnBruNYC]

“Apply Region Tempo to Project Tempo” is completely broken for me. Other people have reported the same issue at least as far back as 10.7.7. Like me, these other people are also running Ventura on an iMac. The issue is this: I start a new project with a few empty audio tracks, and then, in my first track, I import a piece of audio. I then select “Apply Region Tempo to Project Tempo.” Instead of creating a tempo map based on the audio region, Logic assigns a value of 253 BPM to every measure in the project. (Actually I think it’s 252.9). I’ve tried everything I can think of to fix this. It doesn’t matter what audio file I import, Logic assigns a tempo of 253 bpm. I am at my wit’s end.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Yes, it’s unfortunate and it’s why I beat map. Logic’s paste region tempo to project is only good for basic common time EDM, or straight strumming song writers and such. It’s got a zero percent rating on interpreting real time changes, or expressive tempo changes

[@paulmichailidis2635]

This did not work for me cause all my midi regions shifted around. SMPTE lock only locked the track automation and the midi regions still moved around. What fixed it for me is the Protect MIDI option in the beat mapping global track.

[@CreatingMusicandSound]

Have you tried beatmapping the printed audio of a midi track? it worked for me and eliminates the manual labor of mapping every beat 👍

[@thejacevekexperience]

So at the time of the creation of this video, beat mapping, a.k.a. smart tempo was a fresh update. Now several updates later, it has gotten better. But unfortunately, anything other than 4/4 time that is inclined to be predictable and steady is more time-consuming w/smart tempo for its inaccuracies than just doing what I’m showing. For example, if I’m doing something and 6/8 time or 7/8 it’s hopeless. But I think it’s getting better all the time. Long story short yes, I do exactly what you’re talking about, but only when it’s simple. Thanks for sharing !

[@BrianHuether]

Great video! Nice strategy to go from MIDI to transient-heavy audio. Would you now use Smart Tempo instead?

[@TBX819]

Its a nice start. Once the project of beat mapping is finished: Can you insert later on additional bars, signature changes into the timeline in the middle of the human piano performance WITHOUT destroying the flow of surrounding markers affecting in that respect all beat markers unintentionally. Does Logic provide a workflow here? I am preparing a 60 minutes music video to map, which is a "human" performance, thus non-clicked. I could imagine, that I can´t work from left to right rigidly making no mistakes. I could even start with a track of the whole concert in the middle of the region and so on. Later on I would intend adding some bar here and make a signature change there, maybe, at certain spots then, surrounded by already perfectly aligned markers from the first run through....

[@thejacevekexperience]

Firstly, anytime you are beat mapping audio and moving things around, make sure you have smart tempo off, and you are using SMPTE lock properly But, you'd better be sure to have a daily back up of the work on a separate project. I even use a separate drive. Because of the way logic deals with audio, a mistake on your part could wind up damaging audio files. Logic does not make these kinds of workflows very clear. (hence why I made this vide) When you are dealing with free flow audio, the downbeat is your best friend, try to get that right on every bar, Our rhythmic tendency is to average the tempo inside of a measure. We don't interpret tempo the way a computer does. And truthfully the only thing the computer is using to gather tempo is the transients, so there not much in the way of interpretation If your tempo inside of one measure of tempo in 4/4 time is beat 1 -101 beat 2 - 107 beat 3 - 104 beat 4 102 Your mind is going to interpret that as an average of the 4 ( 103.5) unless there is a strong accelerando or ritardando. But even then, the big impulse your brain hears is the change of the downbeat- is it coming faster or slower...? So hopefully your music is strong on the rhythm Make sure to use clip gain and boost the transient up so they are nice spikey when you analyze for transients. Hope this helps. Good luck B Jace

[@TBX819]

@@thejacevekexperience I like the way how you describe how important this technique is. Even if its pretty manual, its worth it for different artistic reasons, as you say. I tried a bit on the functionality built into LPX 10.7.9 on that matter, like Beats-from-Region in the pop up menu of Beat Mapping Global Track, which occurs not too stable after several attempts here. Again: THX very much!

[@thejacevekexperience]

@@TBX819 my pleasure and thanks for the inspiring response !

[@MartaHereu]

Thank you Jace, it's a very cool video. I would like to ask you what is the big difference in comparison with doing Detect Tempo and then applying region tempo to the track.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Hi Marta thank you for the good vibes… smart tempo is a feature, (as you would expect) that improves generationally with new releases of logic. Where it is today versus even were it was when I made this video is an improvement. That said, detecting temple in a region has improved, but it does have its limitations. If I’m doing something in a complex time signature, it can be really problematic. Although it detects well in common time, it falls apart if I’m in 7/8 or 5/4 etc. So the technique I’m showing in this video, kind of holds up that end of the bargain with when I’m trying to get my projects razor sharp. That said, I’m so practiced at it that I can usually tempo map a project within one hour. If you’re asking when to use beat mapping/tempo mapping techniques like I’ve shown, or detect tempo, it’s gonna come down to the material, and how pronounced the tempo is- which literally translates to how punctuated the transients are. Midi based material versus audio of course gives us an advantage in this department. Because in a mini line, we can literally go in, and dial up the velocity of a downbeat, by setting, that particular note to 127 on the velocity. So quite literally, logic is seeing a huge transient, on the down beat. If you’re using audio source material, where the downbeat is not so overly parent, you could augment those down beets with midi drum hits that pronounce that downbeat to logic in the form of another big transient on those downbeat when you bounce that material out. Some people don’t realize, that tempo is one of the most detectable assets in music, even when the tempo is very free-flowing, it helps, when logic knows exactly where everything is, for the sake of keeping projects tight… So long story short, detect tempo is great when it works, when it doesn’t, these are the tricks you wanna have up your sleeve. Thank you 🙏 and keep making 🎼

[@vewilli]

Very interesting although difficult. So this tip should help me to create a „Ritardando“ at the end of my song, which I don‘t manage to, even not with a Logic expert at Apple hotline with Screen synchronisation. We couldn‘t solve the problem. When I slowed down the tempo at the end of the song in the tempo line, it just didn‘t/doesn‘t slowed down when I play it back. No idea why? Still can’t solve the problem of applying a ritardando to my song.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Make sure that you highlight the region and make sure that SMPTE LOCK is Off. I’d it isn’t, tracks will not respond to tempo changes in the tempo timeline

[@colinjames2469]

apple really is the worst for any kind of technical advice. all the so-called experts do is look up the manual.

[@audiocircleband]

What about this. If you have digitized old 24 track tape and you bring all the tracks in to logic pro to remix. Nothing is midi. This is easy for midi files but not with aiff files. You don't have the ability to sympti lock wave files like you do midi files.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Ok so as you’ve said this is a totally different scenario requiring additional techniques no featured in this video. I’ve done this many times although I’ve not made a video about it : it goes something like this. Are the tracks separated? If so, is there a rhythm line? If so, start there. Analyze that audio line for transients. Map the transient to map the same way I have in this video. Let’s keep in mind: if this is a simple 4/4 common rhythm we’re talking about, smart tempo now does a good job of mapping that all on its own.

[@kevinkeiper2275]

very helpful but what are all the filled and unfilled dots in the top tempo track?

[@thejacevekexperience]

I wanna answer this question for you, but I’m not quite sure exactly what thing you’re talking about. Maybe I’ll get it though. The blue line at the top with all the dots is the tempo. The green tracks with the dots in them are simply midi tracks. And that’s the whole point here. When I do this process from start to finish, those many tracks are frozen in place they don’t move. They are a snapshot of events in time and they have to stay in time. Because I’m forcing the project to adhere to the time of the MIDI. The music When the tempo track is done, I then unfreeze those tracks, this is called “SMPTE LOCK”. I unlock this. Now, when I move those blue dots around in the tempo, the midi notes will actually move as they should for that tempo change. So it allows me to then go back and re-sculpt tempo if necessary. Accurately and confidently. Does that help?

[@openclassics]

2. I watched the video to its end. How can you think, that the manual manipulation of every eighth is the final solution? Imagine that you must do that for a complete Beethoven-Sonata!!! (That takes you one week!!!) The real way: Put every note onto a single tone, free all arpeggios (so you get a concrete midi-click. (Here: Eighth - also Fourth are doing well!) Or tap it by hand on your keyboard… There MUST be somewhere an automatical comand that says „Reclock Song“ Bye honey. I will continuing my research..

[@mysterybro100]

Two words ….Smart Tempo…

[@thejacevekexperience]

Yeah, no. It doesn’t work for any kind of sophisticated real interpretation of complex tempo moment. If we’re listening to four on the floor EDM, it might have a chance. Outside of that.

[@thejacevekexperience]

It’s useless

[@mysterybro100]

@@thejacevekexperience I use it all the time . Works wonderfully. You can also use it in realtime, no click in Adapt mode. Then it shows me what the tempo is after. I play piano improvs that I then can adjust to picture for scoring....

[@thejacevekexperience]

@@mysterybro100 happy for you. I’m writing music here that changes as much is 30 to 70 bpm. Filled with speed up and slow down. It never gets it right for me, and the amount of time it takes me to beat map up some thing like this, 20 minutes, I just do it and move on. If I’m doing music in 3/4 time, 7/8, 9/8, 12/8, 5/4 Fugheddabout it. If I’m doing a steady 4/4 track. Yea. Hopefully it gets better because it’s a wonderful time saver if they could get it right

[@mysterybro100]

um...ok@@thejacevekexperience

[@hansfreekit]

Oh wow. I’m losing the will to live.

[@thejacevekexperience]

For gods sake man. I'm a musician not a reason to live. (spoken in Dr McCoy voice from star trek. ) hahaha

[@wilhelmhagberg8854]

Cool but couldn't you have achieved this much easier with Logic "Smart Tempo"?

[@thejacevekexperience]

No, when pieces are moving around with this much rubato it’s too much of a hassle due to its inaccuracy. Smart tempo is best for a four on the floor, rock song, or a folk song, or a country song, where there’s a strum beat that is clear, or a drum beat that is taking off time steadily.

[@thejacevekexperience]

Or if it’s electronic dance music, that’s very obvious to Smart tempo. But soundtrack style music, with big long legato lines, I’m better off tempo mapping because I can do it in about 20 minutes.

[@andrewharman6861]

Wow what a technician but for me this approach removes so much of the joy of creation however good if your very technical imagine Hendrix doing this,, feedback was frustrating enough back in the day This methods is guaranteed razor on the beat composition however ten years later your old need spectacles and lost your creative energy I would say just be bold jump in write a song love it and if it’s a little off grid your still laughing n it’s only the snobs who will notice your human I write this after 40 years in the studio grey haired sick and old My point LIFE IS TO SHORT

[@thejacevekexperience]

So this is indeed a technical thing, and its whats required for pro level rhytmic control when you are using multiple instruments. Please remember. Everything is too technical the first time you do it... Than one time becomes 2... 2 becomes 3.... the next thing you know, its as easy as falling off a beat lol!! It just takes practice and you have to be willing to go for it.