Viewing and Adjusting the Tempo

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The toolbar indicates the tempo at the current playback location marker viewing_and_adjusting_th, as shown below:

ViewingAndAdjustingTheTempoComposer

If you do not see the toolbar in the window, then choose Show Toolbar from the View menu, or type "qstb" for Quick Show Toolbar.

The tempo is indicated in beats per minute. The example viewing_and_adjusting_th1 illustrates 160 quarter notes per minute. The note duration used for the tempo beat is determined by the meter, and in some cases also the speed of the tempo, as specified in the following table:

Meter

Tempo Speed

Tempo Beat Value

2:4, 3:4 or 4:4

Any

viewing_and_adjusting_th2

2:4 or 4:2

Any

viewing_and_adjusting_th3

3:8, 6:8, 9:8, or 12:8

Slow

viewing_and_adjusting_th4

3:8, 6:8, 9:8 or 12:8

Medium or Fast

viewing_and_adjusting_th5

irregular N:8, such as 5:8

Any

viewing_and_adjusting_th6

During playback, the tempo value is constantly updated if the tempo changes throughout the song.

Composer enables you to change the tempo of the song before you start playback, or dynamically during playback. The tempo adjustment is measured as a percentage of the tempo as originally recorded in the song. The displayed tempo reflects the percentage adjustment. For example, if the percentage adjustment in the above example is set at 75%, then the tempo during playback is displayed as:

  TempoControl

prcarrow To change the percentage tempo adjustment, before or during playback:

1.Click the up or down arrow button next to the percentage value displayed in the toolbar.

-- OR --

2.Type in a number for the tempo percentage.

-- OR --

3.While holding down the 'T' key, press the UpArrowKey or DownArrowKey key to increase or decrease the tempo. Or, type T+ENTER to reset the tempo to 100%.

-- OR --

4.If you have enabled Composer's Pitch-to-Command feature, while holding down the "trigger key" on your music keyboard, play the second Eb above Middle C to increase the tempo, or the second C# above Middle C to decrease the tempo. See Controlling Composer From Your Keyboard.

With Composer you can also add tempo changes throughout the song, and view them graphically. For details, see Editing Tempo.

prcarrow To permanently apply a percentage tempo change to the song:

1.Follow the above procedure for temporarily changing the tempo. Play back some of the song to make sure you are happy with the revised tempo.
2.Choose the Keep Adjusted Tempo command in the Tempo submenu of the Perform menu.

-- OR --

Type "qkte" or "qktm" for "Quick Keep Tempo".

Visit the Notation Users Community Forum discussion on this feature. (Connection to Internet required.) Visit the Notation Users Community Forum discussion on this feature.  Go to the previous page in the Table of Contents.  Go to the next page in the Table of Contents.