User Manual

Pro Tools Reference Guide500
Using Manual Tempo Mode
In Manual Tempo mode, Pro Tools ignores tempo
events in the Tempo ruler and instead plays back a
Manual Tempo. This tempo can be set with the
Tempo slider, or if you are not sure of the actual
tempo, by tapping in the tempo.
While you can adjust the Manual Tempo during
playback, doing so momentarily interrupts play-
back.
To set the Manual Tempo with the Tempo slider:
1 To view the MIDI controls in the Transport win-
dow, select
View > Transport > MIDI Controls.
2 In the Transport window, click the Tempo Ruler
Enable button (Conductor) button so it becomes
unhighlighted. Pro Tools switches to Manual
Tempo mode. In this mode, any tempo events in
the Tempo ruler are ignored.
3 To base the BPM value on something other than
the default quarter-note, click the Tempo Reso-
lution selector and select a different note value.
(For example, if you are in 6/8, select a dotted-
quarter note.)
4 To enter a new tempo, do one of the following:
• Drag the Tempo value up or down. For finer res-
olution, press Command (Mac) or Control (Win-
dows) while dragging.
• Click the Tempo value, type a new number, and
press Enter.
To exit Manual Tempo mode and enable the Tempo
ruler:
 Click the Tempo Ruler Enable (Conductor) but-
ton in the Transport window so it becomes high-
lighted.
To set the Manual Tempo by tapping:
1 Ensure that the MIDI controls are shown in the
Transport window (select
View > Transport >
MIDI Controls
).
2 In the Transport window, click the Tempo Ruler
Enable (Conductor) button so it becomes un-
highlighted. Pro Tools switches to Manual
Tempo mode. In this mode, any tempo events in
the Tempo ruler are ignored.
3 Do one of the following:
• Click in the Tempo field so it becomes high-
lighted and tap the “T” key on your computer
keyboard repeatedly at the new tempo.
• If the
Use MIDI to Tap Tempo option is enabled
in the MIDI Preferences, click in the Tempo
field so it becomes highlighted and tap in the
tempo by playing a note repeatedly at the new
tempo on your MIDI keyboard controller.
To compute the new tempo, Pro Tools averages
the last eight (or fewer) taps to determine the cor-
rect tempo. The computed BPM value appears in
the Transport window’s Tempo field.
To lock in the new tempo:
 Take Pro Tools out of Manual Tempo mode by
clicking the Tempo Ruler Enable (Conductor)
button, then set the default tempo for the Song
Start Marker to the new tempo.
Manual Tempo mode
Tempo value in BPM
Tem p o Ru le r
Enable button
Tempo Resolution selector