Go Back   Cockos Incorporated Forums > REAPER Forums > REAPER Q&A, Tips, Tricks and Howto

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-27-2021, 11:29 PM   #1
sjs94704
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Berkeley, CA USA
Posts: 1,336
Default What to do with pre-recorded music that has variable tempos?

I am singing to background music that was pre-recorded off of a karaoke website. the files are in MP3 format. There is an seperate file for each instrument.

First, I uploaded all of these files to a website that checks the BPM of the files and funny thing, they are all different??!!??

Is it unusual; to have different BMP for each instrument?

Next, if the tempo changes throughout the song, is there some way for me to figure out when that happens and to what tempo it changes to without accually have the sheet music to tell me?
__________________
Bayside Studios, Berkeley, CA - Music That Brings People Together
Steven Schuyler, Singer
sjs94704 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-28-2021, 12:20 AM   #2
ivansc
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Near Cambridge UK and Near Questembert, France
Posts: 22,754
Default

Not wishing to be rude, but WHY if all you are doing is singing to an mp3 backing do you need to be able to set up the tempo in reaper?

So long as all the tracks are pasted in Reaper so they line up as recorded, you should not need to do anything other than record your vocal.

Now if you are wanting to change the order of various sections, you don`t need to have accurate bpm layout for that. Just focus on either the kick & snare or the bass line to figure out where to cut n paste.
__________________
Ici on parles Franglais
ivansc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-28-2021, 12:47 AM   #3
sjs94704
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Berkeley, CA USA
Posts: 1,336
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ivansc View Post
Not wishing to be rude, but WHY if all you are doing is singing to an mp3 backing do you need to be able to set up the tempo in reaper?
No, not rude at all! I have just made a habit of it so that while I am singing and there is ever a song that I need to use the metronome to keep the beat while I am singing then it is already set and ready to go! There are some songs that have parts to them that can be hard to follow along and it helps to have the metronome in place for those and if I just make it a habit with all songs then I won't have to worry about it later on!
__________________
Bayside Studios, Berkeley, CA - Music That Brings People Together
Steven Schuyler, Singer
sjs94704 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-28-2021, 04:35 AM   #4
Judders
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 11,044
Default

It's probably just a limitation of the website. Syncopation and long sustained notes can throw automatic bpm detection for a loop.

I'd try setting the bpm to the drums and see if the metronome works okay for you.
Judders is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-28-2021, 07:59 AM   #5
sjs94704
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Berkeley, CA USA
Posts: 1,336
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Judders View Post
I'd try setting the bpm to the drums and see if the metronome works okay for you.
That sounds like a great idea! Thanks for the tip!
__________________
Bayside Studios, Berkeley, CA - Music That Brings People Together
Steven Schuyler, Singer
sjs94704 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-28-2021, 10:27 AM   #6
serr
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 12,562
Default

First, the grid is a tool for you to use when convenient.
Only use it when it's useful for a task and don't let it use you!
Often enough the audio itself is your reference grid all by itself. You don't have to make the Reaper grid conform.

You can time stretch audio without altering the pitch and you can pitch stretch audio without altering the tempo. These are altering and you can only go so far before you hear weird artifacts. But you can get away with a lot! The separate pitch vs time is actually the default setting in Reaper. "DJ tricks" mode as it were. The control is in item properties: "Preserve pitch when altering tempo"

This is what "beat makers" do. Take bits of audio from different places and combine things to create something new. You don't really care what the original BPM was. You just care about lining up the different parts on beat. You don't need to calculate anything... Just stretch one piece of audio to line up properly with another.

A lot of this is literally just grabbing, trying stuff, and listening. "Oh hey, that sounds cool", "OK, that works", "Nope, that sounds stupid", etc.

Obviously if you were really starting from scratch with individual drum samples you would want a tempo grid right from the start. But if you're starting from chunks of already produced bits of music with beat/tempo already there... that's your reference grid right there. Just stretch the new bits from different sources to match.
serr is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2021, 03:55 AM   #7
Bazzbass
Human being with feelings
 
Bazzbass's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: The Land of Oz
Posts: 702
Default

the only tempo you need to follow is the drums.

kick snare, it's not rocket science.
__________________
Have a GOOD time....ALL the time !
Bazzbass is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-01-2021, 09:20 AM   #8
sjs94704
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Berkeley, CA USA
Posts: 1,336
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bazzbass View Post
the only tempo you need to follow is the drums.

kick snare, it's not rocket science.
OK!..... Thanks so much..... I will do that from now on!
__________________
Bayside Studios, Berkeley, CA - Music That Brings People Together
Steven Schuyler, Singer
sjs94704 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:48 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.