Jump to content

Set midi clip tempo independent of project tempo?


Mo Jonez

Recommended Posts

Hi Sonar (Bandlab) friends.  Here's an interesting one for you...

I want to use some midi drum samples that are set at a different tempo than a song I am working on.  The project tempo is 120 and the midi clip is at 70 - 80, so when I import it the clip speeds up too match the project tempo and is much to fast and doesn't give me the rhythm I'm looking for.  I realize I should be using midi clips set at 120, but I can't find anything I like at that tempo.  I know in other DAWs there is a way to adjust the midi clip tempo independently of the project tempo so it can be maunally matched up.  Is there any way to do this in Sonar (x2) ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MIDI clips tend to adjust to the project tempo because they do not contain audio data, only instructions for the (drum) synth. Perhaps you are using something other than an actual MIDI clip? 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, Squonk said:

Hi Sonar (Bandlab) friends.  Here's an interesting one for you...

I want to use some midi drum samples that are set at a different tempo than a song I am working on.  The project tempo is 120 and the midi clip is at 70 - 80, so when I import it the clip speeds up too match the project tempo and is much to fast and doesn't give me the rhythm I'm looking for.  I realize I should be using midi clips set at 120, but I can't find anything I like at that tempo.  I know in other DAWs there is a way to adjust the midi clip tempo independently of the project tempo so it can be maunally matched up.  Is there any way to do this in Sonar (x2) ?

I am unsure of what you are referring to by "midi drum samples".  Is it a MIDI track or Audio Samples? As has been pointed out, MIDI tracks follow the project's tempo but audio samples on audio tracks don't.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a midi track, not an audio track.  I understand now that in Sonar midi tracks will automatically follow the projects tempo, so no option to adjust the tempo independent of the project.  Thanks for the insights!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you do not need to edit the MIDI data simultaneously with the rest of the project, a simple kludge would be to open a new project in Cakewalk at the native tempo of the MIDI clip, sort out your drum voicing and then render that drum only project to audio. If you import the rendered audio drums into your existing project,  it should play at the tempo as it was saved to MIDI. 

Tempo maps might be useful.

Or a MIDI editor (or hex editor if you know how to use it) can be used to change the tempo on the original MIDI file to match the project prior to import. Try https://www.midieditor.org/index.php?category=intro

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can't apply a different tempo to an individual MIDI clip, but there are various ways to stretch/compress a MIDI clip to effectively play slower or faster within the context of the project tempo. There aren't  too many different ratios that are likely to work. If a 70-80 bpm clip sounds like it should work with your 120bpm track, then it's likely you need to double its length after importing it to be effectively 60PBM.  You can do this by Process > Length. But without hearing what you're working with that's a wild guess.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the further insights.  Thought about rendering the midi clip to an audio clip David Bay and then adjusting the tempo of the audio clip, but still at early stages of writing the tune and working out the drum track which is much better done in midi than in audio.  I ended up editing the midi track by manually removing some of the notes which brings it down to the tempo I need.  Bit of a hassle, but not too bad and I need to play with/write the drum part anyway. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

If you insist on using a midi clip that was obviously composed for a different style then it will only sound correct if you set your project at that tempo. Or something close. Otherwise it will play double speed. 
Of course it would need to be the first track in the project. To me it make little difference if a project was 80 or 160 other than the metronome. But playing with the time signature might fix that. 8/4? 

Other super easy method would be to copy the clip note for note into PVR. 
There’s probably lots of ways to deal with this but there’s the first 2 I would try. 

Edited by John Vere
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I do to set a section of a midi to a different tempo from the rest of the project is to use the Tempo track mark the midi section start and end set the the temp at the start and set the project tempo at the end. After that, go to the now time and position to the end marker copy the time (I use H.M.S.F format), then delete the tempo changes in the tempo track. After that, select the marked section of the MIDI track then select "Process>Fit to Time..."  from the control bar menu select Event time option, paste the copied time in the "New Thru" box & press OK... Voila, the clip is set to the desired tempo differing from the project tempo...

Hope this helps...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...