User Manual

CHAPTER 9. TEMPO CONTROL AND WARPING 120
Although Live can be easily synchronized to external MIDI devices, you may nd yourself in
situations in which you need to adjust to sources that aren't locked to one tempo, such as
live musicians or turntables. As long as your Set's tempo is basically the same as that of the
unsynchronized material, you can use the Nudge buttons to temporarily speed up or slow
down Live's playback to match what you hear. As with the Tap button, these buttons are
much easier to use when mapped to MIDI controllers.
9.2 Time-Warping Samples
Live's ability to play any sample in sync with a chosen tempo is a unique and important
feature. In addition, you can warp the rhythmic ow of a piece, changing its feel, or
even move notes to other meter positions.
A clip's warping properties are set in the Sample box, which is a sub-section of the Clip View.
The Sample Box's
Warping Controls.
The most signicant control here is the Warp switch, which toggles a clip's warping on or
off. The Warp section of Live's Preferences will determine the default warp settings for new
clips, but they can always be overridden here on a per-clip basis.
When the Warp switch is off, Live plays the sample at its original, normal tempo, irre-
spective of the current Live Set's tempo. This is useful for samples that have no inherent
rhythmic structure: percussion hits, atmospheres, sound effects, spoken word and the like.
Turn the Warp switch on to play rhythmically structured samples (such as sample loops,
music recordings, complete music pieces, etc.) in sync with the current song tempo.
To direct Live's assumptions about new samples, use the Record/Warp/Launch tab of Live's