Handle a song that changes tempo

Most quick click tools assume one tempo for the whole song. Live recordings, older records and anything with a ritardando do not cooperate. ClickSmith's tempo map lets you add tempo changes at any point; the base BPM applies until the first change, each change applies from its position onwards.

Add a tempo change

1. Get the base tempo right first — detected, tapped or typed — and set the Click offset so beat 1 of the first section is on the downbeat.
2. Play to the spot where the tempo changes, or click the waveform there to place the cursor (the white line). If you have not placed the cursor, ClickSmith reminds you: First click the waveform to set the cursor, then add a tempo change.
3. In the Tempo panel, press + Tempo change at cursor. The status line reads Tempo change at 1:42 — type the new BPM.
4. Type the new BPM into the entry that appears in the Tempo map list.
5. Play across the change. The beat grid on the waveform and the click you hear update immediately.

Repeat for every section that moves. Each entry has a Remove tempo change control if you placed it wrongly.

Getting the position right

• Zoom in on the waveform (+, or the mouse wheel) around the change and click as close to the first beat of the new section as you can.
• Arrow keys move the cursor one beat at a time (Shift = one bar) once the waveform has focus, which is handy for landing on a bar line.
• A tempo change does not move the click offset. If beat 1 of the new section is off, adjust the change's position rather than the global offset.

Gradual changes

A ritardando or an accelerando is not one change but several. Add a tempo change every bar or two through the transition, each a few BPM apart. The click follows the steps; for most ears two or three steps over a bar of slowing down are enough.

Check before you export

Play the whole song once with ⊙ Follow on and watch the beat grid against the transients. Where the grid drifts, add or move a change. Then continue with Export the click track.