Specifications

Pro Tools Reference Guide318
Default Tempo
New sessions open with a default tempo of 120
BPM. This tempo can be changed by inserting a
tempo event at 1|1|000. However, this is not the
same as inserting normal tempo events at other
locations. The tempo event that resides at
1|1|000 is actually a Bar|Beat Marker (notice that
it has a blue triangle).
The main distinction is that this Bar|Beat Marker
can be dragged to any location within the ses-
sion (such as to align with a particular SMPTE
frame) to redefine where 1|1|000 is.
Identify Beat Command
Bar|Beat Markers
The Identify Beat command lets you establish a
tempo/meter map for audio that was recorded
without listening to the click, or for imported
audio with unknown tempos.
The Identify Beat command analyzes a selection
range (usually with a distinct number of beats or
measures) and calculates its tempo based on the
specified meter. In doing this, Bar|Beat Markers
for the calculated tempo are inserted and appear
in the Tempo Ruler at the beginning and end of
the selection; in addition, meter events are in-
serted into the Meter Ruler.
Bar|Beat Markers
Bar|Beat Markers look similar to tempo events,
but instead have small blue triangles to indicate
their location.
The key to accurately defining tempos for a
range of audio with the Identify Beat command
is to make sure that the initial selection repre-
sents an accurate length of beats or measures. In
fact, you may want to first loop the selection on
playback (see “Looping Playback” on page 256)
to see if it plays cleanly without skipping. To
avoid drift, and remain sample-accurate, select
the audio material with the Time Scale set to
Samples rather than Bars:Beats.
Identifying Beats
To add Bar|Beat Markers for a one-bar drum loop:
1 Place a one-bar drum loop at the beginning of
an audio track.
2 Select Display > Samples. This ensures that the
selected audio material will be sample-accurate.
3 Select the audio region with the Grabber and
choose Edit > Identify Beat.
Pro Tools TDM systems can use Beat De-
tective to generate Bar|Beat Markers within
a selection that includes rhythmic changes
on every beat and sub-beat. For more infor-
mation, see Chapter 22, “Beat Detective.”
Bar|Beat Marker
Tempo events and Bar|Beat Markers cannot
be mixed. If a session contains tempo
events and you attempt to insert Bar|Beat
Markers, existing tempo events are con-
verted to Bar|Beat Markers (and vice versa).