Reference Manual

119 Audio Clips, Tempo, and Warping
Although Live can be easily synchronized to external MIDI devices (page 561), you may find
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 flow of a piece, changing its “feel,“ or even move notes
to other meter positions.
An audio clip’s warping properties are set in the Sample box (page 103), which is a sub-
section of the Clip View.
The Sample Box’s Warping Controls.
The most significant control here is the Warp switch, which toggles an audio 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, irrespective
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.