Tempo mapping and manipulation with SWS

[sjs94704]

OK, so, let's approach it from this direction...

I have lots of songs and several of them say 'variable' while most others give a specific tempo. For the ones that don't, I realize it is largely subjective, but, if I was going to go about finding and selecting a single tempo for the whole song, any suggestions on things I might do to at least try to find a reasonable tempo that I can then set in Reaper without spending too much time getting there?

Before anyone says it, I'm not looking for that 'perfect' sweet spot. What I am asking about is the method I can use to go about finding a tempo that works for me ......

[JamesPeters]

Originally Posted by sjs94704

if I was going to go about finding and selecting a single tempo for the whole song, any suggestions on things I might do to at least try to find a reasonable tempo that I can then set in Reaper without spending too much time getting there?

Before anyone says it, I'm not looking for that 'perfect' sweet spot. What I am asking about is the method I can use to go about finding a tempo that works for me ......

The first video explains this rather well.

If you mean "just a general ballpark", you can tap the BPM button in time with what you think every beat is, and the project tempo will change to that. (Keep the metronome on when doing this and you'll hear if you're close or not.) You'll have to have the timebase set to "time" otherwise the audio files will stretch. Also when you set the tempo, even if you get it 100% accurate, it's most likely the audio won't be aligned to the grid and you'll have to move it all to be aligned.

And, if you plan to assign a tempo and then use the metronome, you'll want it accurate. So starting by tapping the BPM button is ok but you'll still want to do what those videos show. Having a slightly off tempo is horrible. After the music plays for a while, your metronome will drift to the point where you'll be so out of time it'll be worse than having no metronome. So this is an all-or-nothing situation; you won't want to half-ass it. Also if the tempo changes during the song, it'll be even worse than that.

So either decide to tempo map it properly/accurately, or not at all.

Again, you're a singer and I assume you're relatively familiar with the songs you're covering. You shouldn't need to have the metronome enabled, and thus you won't need a proper tempo map.

[Plentos]

Do you know which script that www.getsongbpm.com is using ? As I have said before I want to build a new website that could help visitors to find the BPM of any song...

[jrk]

Originally Posted by Plentos

Hello,
Does anybody here know the technic how websites like getsongbpm work ?
I want to build a new website that helps visitors to find the tempo of a song...
Thank you

Well, the easiest way is to look it up. If you don't have access to a bpm database you'll have to work it out...

Start here: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1415691

[MusoBob]

Once I have a tempo map in Reaper how can I drag a drum track in, set the bmp of that track if not an Acid track and fit it automatically to every tempo change like I can in Studio One.




In Reaper I have to split the Acid drum track at every tempo marker or mess around adding stretch markers. As you can see the middle acid track does not adjust at the bar but the whole track.

[kirk1701]

This may have been answered already, but I just tempo mapped a reference track and only the track itself is mapped. There's atill four bars in front of the track that aren't on the same grid. How do I snap the entire project to the track's tempo?

[G-Sun]

Originally Posted by kirk1701

This may have been answered already, but I just tempo mapped a reference track and only the track itself is mapped. There's atill four bars in front of the track that aren't on the same grid. How do I snap the entire project to the track's tempo?

Set timebasee to beat and set time0 tempo-marker to match desired tempo.

[MusoBob]

This will fit any item to the tempo map but loops/lengthens a section (or shortens if going down in tempo) on the end when it changes playback rate, not sure how to avoid that so I just set it to not loop but the length is still added, so just adjust it manually before gluing.

Here's some Drums to try (there's no embedded tempo though it will work with embedded tempo also)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iyc2il43za...pm120.wav?dl=1
just create a tempo map, drag the wav in, run the script on the selected item, set it to 120.

Here's the Lua script

EDIT: Updated
Here's an updated script to try, just set the item on the start beat, run the script and set the items original tempo in the popup.
Let me know if it works for you.

right click Save Link/Target As
ReaTrak set item bpm and fit to project tempo map.lua

Watch Video

    -- Display a message in the console for debugging
    
    function Msg(variable)
      reaper.ShowConsoleMsg(tostring(variable).."\n")
    end
    cur_pos = reaper.GetCursorPosition()
    retval, org_bpm = reaper.GetUserInputs("Set Item's Original Tempo", 1, "Enter item's tempo (bpm):", "" )
    
    if retval then
    reaper.Main_OnCommand(40042,0) -- Transport: Go to start of project
    tempo_markers_count = reaper.CountTempoTimeSigMarkers(0)
    for i = 0, tempo_markers_count - 1 do
    
        reaper.Main_OnCommand(40759,0) --Item: Split items at edit cursor (select right)
        retval, timepos, measurepos, beatpos, bpm, timesig_num, timesig_denom, lineartempo = reaper.GetTempoTimeSigMarker(0, i)
        item = reaper.GetSelectedMediaItem(0, 0) 
        take = reaper.GetMediaItemTake(item, 0)
        playrate = bpm / org_bpm
        reaper.SetMediaItemTakeInfo_Value( take, "D_PLAYRATE", playrate )
        reaper.Main_OnCommand(41821,0) --Move edit cursor to next tempo or time signature change
        
    end    
        
    reaper.SetMediaItemInfo_Value(item, "B_LOOPSRC", 0)
    
    Info2 = [[
      
    "If you want to glue the items together"
    
    "make sure the end is correct"
      
    "else cancel out and adjust it"
    
    "then Remove fade in and fade out then glue" ]]
    
    reaper.MB(Info2, "Information", 0)
    
    
    retval,input  = reaper.GetUserInputs("Glue Items", 1, "This will glue split item", "")
    
    if retval then
       reaper.Main_OnCommand(40421,0) --Item: Select all items in track
       reaper.Main_OnCommand(41193,0) --Item: Remove fade in and fade out
       reaper.Main_OnCommand(41588,0) --Item: Glue items
    end
    reaper.SetEditCurPos(cur_pos, 1, 0)      
    
end

[hopi]

Breeder... seems like the download link in first post is broken? goes empty page with a 500 error???

[Breeder]

Originally Posted by hopi

Breeder... seems like the download link in first post is broken? goes empty page with a 500 error???

Haha - it's fixed now, thanks! I think the broken link was the relic from the olden days during website redesign by Jeffos.

[MusoBob]

This uses the SWS Convert project markers to tempo markers..
You can start Sonic Visualiser or Audacity from Reaper

os.execute [["C:\Program Files\Sonic Visualiser\Sonic Visualiser.exe"]]

you can change it to your mac path.


Tempo map from audio to Reaper

Audacity load your audio file
Analyze > Add Remove > Enable Tempo and Beat Tracker: Beat (& Beat Count)(& Bars)
Analyze > Tempo and Beat Tracker: Beat (or Beat Count)(or Bars)
File > Export > Labels

Sonic Visualiser load your audio file
Transform > Category > Time > Tempo and Beat Tracker: Beat (or Beat Count)(or Bars)
File > Export Annotation Layer txt or csv
https://www.sonicvisualiser.org/ Win/Lin/Mac

right click Save Link/Target As

ReaTrak audacity import bars or beats.lua

ReaTrak sonic visualiser import bars or beats.lua


Chords from audio to Reaper
Audacity load your audio file
Analyze > Add Remove > Enable Chordino: Chord Estimate
Analyze > Chordino: Chord Estimate
File > Export > Labels

Chordino Vamp Plugin
http://www.isophonics.net/nnls-chroma

Sonic Visualiser load your audio file
Transform > Chordino
File > Export Annotation Layer txt or csv
https://www.sonicvisualiser.org/ Win/Lin/Mac

Chordino Vamp Plugin
http://www.isophonics.net/nnls-chroma


right click Save Link/Target As

ReaTrak audacity chordino chords to regions.lua

ReaTrak sonic visualiser chordino chords csv txt to regions.lua



Thanks again to X-Raym Donation for Import markers and regions from tab-delimited CSV-TXT file.lua

The script will ask if you want to set the bar 1 start marker,
in the pic of a drum track bar 1 starts on marker 6 (bar 2 beat 2)

[MusoBob]

Here's an updated script to try, just set the item on the start beat, run the script and set the items original tempo in the popup.
Let me know if it works for you.

right click Save Link/Target As
ReaTrak set item bpm and fit to project tempo map.lua

Watch Video

[MusoBob]

I updated this to give a bar or [grid] beat option (so if you right click the snap magnet and set it to 1/2 it will insert the stretch marker every half bar when set to beat), if you have sustained notes like a bass you get an artifact where the stretch marker is, to remove them from a sustained ending use (beats won't work with the grid set to swing, that's a Reaper issue, so use bar)
Item: Remove all stretch markers in time selection

right click Save Link/Target As
ReaTrak set item bpm and fit to project tempo map.lua

I used the ReaTrak sonic visualiser import bars or beats.lua above to get the map then fitted the constant tempo tracks to it.

[Breeder]

MusoBob, I'm too busy to read/test what you did, but if you want for me to put it in the first post with links to your posts, write me a small/one sentence description what this does exactly

It seems you invested so much time, it would be smart to put it there so it doesn't get lost in the crowd.

[MusoBob]

Import Tempo Map from Audio and fit any constant tempo items to it.

[Breeder]

Originally Posted by MusoBob

Import Tempo Map from Audio and fit any constant tempo items to it.

Done! Thank you for sharing your findings with us!

[Marantz]

This is how I'm tempo mapping after reading the threads in here and trying out a few things.

1-insert media and place a marker at beginning of media

2-set playback rate to approximately 2 times the original speed and use this to fly through the track while pressing M and laying down markers.

3- after laying down the markers set the playback rate back to 1 times speed.

4- go to View-Region/Marker Manager and open it. Highlight all the markers ( I had 200 because I seem to HAVE to put a Marker on every beat )

** If I don't put a Marker on every beat, the sws script for changing markers to Tempo gives me funky numbers like 20bpm when it should be 80bpm. I want to put 1 marker for every bar, but I can't do this.**

Now that all the markers are highlighted, i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, - I ctrl click on 1, then, 5, then 9, etc. Pressing Delete will delete all the highlighted Markers and leave me with the desired 1 marker per Bar, and then when I use the sws Tempo script and Set the Markers per Measure to "1", then will I get proper tempo.

I have to lay down markers 1 for every beat and delete 3 beats for every bar or I'll get incorrect BPMs, like 20 instead of 80, or 320 instead of 80.

5- now with the desired amount of Markers, I can go in and fine tune them to begin on the transient. After tuning the Markers I go to SWS and convert project markers to tempo markers, after setting the Markers per Measure to "1".

[buckman]

Firstly, apologies for my post here, as I have only had time to scan through these posts, but all look very promising for what I need to do.

I have asked on other posts, and Reaper 3rd party forums, and they pointed me to this post in particular. So hope I haven't missed anything, or that I'm repeating what's gone before.

Basically I am using Reaper and i need to 'beatmap'' full CD songs/tracks that i import from CD, that have tiny/drifting tempos of live drummers from 60's 70's etc. ie: a Disco track that bar 1 = 123.5bpm, bar = 122.2bpm etc, so they are all over the place!

Is there a quick and simple action/macro to build to use for example, 'dynamic split' with stretch markers to quantize and snap each beat of the bar and within the bars, so its locked to grid and maybe a solid tempo that i choose for my project like 125bpm in Reaper?

I have the latest Reaper and the latest SWS Extensions installed.

Again apologies if I am going over old ground, but I just can't see anyway to do this properly after looking at many tutorial videos, but on the other hand, know that Reaper would do this better than Ableton etc, and quicker with a combination of Macro's and Actions.

What actions would be the best way of doing this, if i imported a full song, roughly knew its bpm tempo (so I could set the Reaper project BPM), chopped of the intro 'air' of the CD track, so it starts on the first beat.

How would you go about getting these locked in time?

I know Reapers' Elastique seems and sounds far superior to Ableton, and I am sure it could be easier and quicker in Reaper!

Everything I have seen so far, seems to be for multitrack drummers/tracks of drums and other multi track instruments to get in time. Whereas I just want to do CD stereo tracks from original artists.

Also I don't need the variable tempo track that others have shown, to map every bar of a song, with the Master Track / Tempo lane. I personally need one single BPM and have the track 'snap' to that if that makes sense?

[MusoBob]

You can drop the track into SonicVisuliser get the beat count then export to

Script: ReaTrak sonic visualiser import bars or beats.lua
then
Script: ReaTrak set tempo mapped items in selection to constant tempo.lua

TonE made a good suggestion here SonicAnnotator can be used within Reaper so it would do it with one button/script, so I will look into that.