User guide
Tracktion 4 Reference Manual
138
6.3 : The Markers Track, And Markers
Markers are a convenient tool for structuring edits. Typically they are used to mark sections of a song
such as bridge, or verse, or to place synchronisation points when working with video. At their most sim-
ple, you can think of them as bookmarks or reference points.
There are two ways of accessing markers: the rst is through the quick nd panel, which we will look
at in a short while; the second method is through the marker track, which we will look at now.
To activate the marker track, click the marker button at the top right corner of the edit page. Now,
with the marker track visible, click the name area of the marker track to select it. This will display the
marker properties (Fig. 6.3.1).
To add a new marker, click one of the new marker buttons in the properties panel. There are two
types of marker available: bars and beats markers, and absolute timecode markers. The primary dif-
ference between the two types is that beats and bars markers will retain their position with respect to
the beat and bar position in an edit, if the tempo is changed. For example, if a beats and bar marker
is placed at the start of bar three, and is one bar long, after a tempo change, the marker will still be lo-
cated at the start of bar three, and be one bar long. Obviously the marker will be positioned differently
against the absolute timecode timeline. By contrast, absolute timecode markers will maintain a xed
relationship to the absolute timecode timeline, despite tempo changes, and as such will appear to move
in relation to the beats and bars timeline.
Typically, bars and beats markers are used to bookmark song sections, and absolute timecode is
used when synchronising to events that are not musically timed, such as video.
Tracktion supports up to 999 markers.
A handy shortcut method to adding new markers is to type a number for the marker you wish to add
followed by the enter key. For example, to add a marker numbered 20, type 2, followed by 0, and nally
ENTER. As you type, the number you are entering will be shown in the tip bar, just to the left of the
maximise and minimize buttons.
Figure 6.3.1
Figure 6.3.2