Help with Audio Snap (Setting Project Tempo Map to Imported MP3 File)

[UCG Musician]

I have a project with voice & piano in MIDI, which I opened in Cakewalk Sonar (version 2025.09).  I added an audio track and imported an MP3 file.  I want to set the project's  tempo map to what's in the MP3 file and am having trouble finding the documentation on how to do this, although I understand this is a feature that's supposed to work.  I opened the audio snap dialog box or window and am stuck at that point.  An internet search says to drag the clip to the "Time Ruler" but I don't even know what or where that is.  If someone has success doing this, please advise how to proceed.  The MP3 is attached.  I own the music and just want to mimic the performance tempos in the Sonar file.  I doubt that it matters but the key of the MP3 file is not the same as the key of the MIDI data and yes, I know the audio can't be played at the same time.  I only want to use the audio to create a tempo map.

Thank you

UCG Musician

[Amberwolf]

"Time ruler" should probably be the "ruler" across the top of the whole track pane that shows you what bar/beat/measure/etc you are seeing on screen.  (I don't know of any other time ruler in track view where you'd be doing this procedure, if there is one someone else will have to chime in)

I haven't done the procedure using audiosnap, so can't help with those steps, but I have seen threads about this around here.   

 

You *can* hear both an audio track and the midi-driven synth at the same time if you want to (I do this all the time as virtually every project I make has audio clips and midi-driven-synths in it, each doing different things), simply by routing them both to the same final bus that goes to the same hardware out, assuming your midi-driven synth is inside sonar.  

If the synth is a physical external hardware synth, you'd have to connect it and the sonar audio output device to speakers (same or different ones) to hear both at the same time.  

If you want them to both be in the same key, you can transpose one or the other to match, but that doesn't matter for tempo-matching purposes. 

 

[UCG Musician]

Thank you, Amberwolf.  I should have mentioned that I'm using external hardware and have everything connected to a speaker system through a FocusRite USB audio interface.  The song has ritards and accelerandos and it just would be nice to imitate what's in the MP3 file, which is a performance of the piece that the music publisher posted to their website.

[Glenn Stanton]

one option to capture the timing is to open the audio in Melodyne and export the MIDI which will have the tempo information.

[msmcleod]

14 hours ago, Glenn Stanton said:

one option to capture the timing is to open the audio in Melodyne and export the MIDI which will have the tempo information.

That is what dragging to the time ruler does - it uses Melodyne to extract the tempo from the audio.  This is why you need Melodyne installed for this functionality to work.

[David Baay]

In my experience, Melodyne will not do a great job with a piece having that much rubato, and you will do better to use Set Measure/Beat at Now.

[Glenn Stanton]

10 hours ago, msmcleod said:

That is what dragging to the time ruler does - it uses Melodyne to extract the tempo from the audio.  This is why you need Melodyne installed for this functionality to work.

i'm aware. i open them in Melodyne directly so i can review the suggested, well, everything including tempo... sometimes the automatic stuff doesn't quite get everything correct...