…. to finally jump in to using the Global Tracks for dealing with, well, time.

 

Tempo changes. No matter how much we avoid them or work around them; we ultimately all have to create, use, and edit them at some point or another in our Logic music making. I’m old skool – and have grown familiar and comfortable with the Tempo List Window, and in the old days, the Graphic Tempo Editor. While the Tempo List is still there, tempo change functions are now handled very elegantly in Logic’s Global Tracks. Following are some my favorite techniques for working with tempo in the Global Tracks work area.

 

• Double clicking creates a tempo event. I really like that dragging the tempo break points are restricted to one axis at a time. In other words, you can either change the tempo value, or move it; but not both at the same time.

 

• Holding the Shift Key allows you to adjust any of the break points in fine increments.

 

• Clicking while holding down all three modifier keys (Command, Option, and Control) opens a little text window where you can enter the tempo value you want by typing it in.

 

• Shift clicking in the Tempo Track opens the old fashioned Tempo List Window.

 

• Option dragging an already existing node horizontally will create a new break point.

 

• Here’s my favorite: There is a hot spot on each of the break points where the cursor turns into a Finger Tool. When in this temporary mode, you can click hold and drag a break point to create a curve – not unlike the curves in Track Automation. This is a wickedly cool way of creating either an accelerando or a ritard. The start and end points are set manually; and then the shape of the curve creates the nuance and flow of how the tempo increments or decrements between the break points.

 

And the best part of all this is that it doesn’t clutter up the Tempo List! The tempo events that create the curve are not displayed in the Tempo List. So, no unnecessary clutter, since the start and end points of the tempo changes are the critical information. If you do want to see all of the individual events, of course you can create the accelerando or ritard manually in the Tempo List for finer control over each step of the tempo curve.

 

• The tempo alternatives list is now available from the Global Tempo Track. I actually miss the old Key Command for it that was removed in Logic 6. It was convenient.

 

• Holding down Option while switching between alternate tempo choices will copy the tempo map from one to the other. This is really useful for those times where you have complicated tempo tracks and just want to audition some subtle changes or variations, without jeopardizing the integrity of the rest of your carefully sculpted tempo track.

 

 

 And so, the time is ripe to explore these new areas of Logic, which after all these years since Logic Pro 7 has been released; have still not been fully mined and harvested by many of us!