Automate Live’s tempo based on clip tempo
OBJECTIVE: Adapt Live’s tempo to the native tempo of designated clips.
BACKGROUND: There are several ways to adjust tempo in Ableton, but one is automatic, and works only in
Arrangement view: Defining a clip as a Master clip turns off warping for that clip, but causes all other clips to warp
to its tempo.
1 Click on Arrangement view—you
can’t set clips to Master mode in
Session view.
2 Make sure EXT sync is disabled,
or this technique won’t work. If
necessary, set a default tempo for
when no master clip is playing.
3 Select the clip whose native tempo
should serve as the project’s tempo
while the clip is playing, then click on
the Clip Overview tab.
4 Click on the Show/Hide Sample Box button to
show the Sample Box. Below the Warp button,
click on Slave so it indicates Master.
5 With multiple Master clips, tempo will be set by the currently-playing,
lowest-placed Master clip in the Arrangement view. In this screen shot,
the clip on the left is not a master clip, so it will play at the default
tempo. When playback hits the blue Master clip, the tempo will change
to 133.33 bpm. When playback reaches the orange Master clip, the
tempo will shift to 100 bpm because the orange clip will then be the
lowest, currently-playing Master clip. When the orange clip finishes
playing, the blue Master clip will again set the tempo.
Tips
• Step 4: Warp must be enabled.
• Step 5: Note the small red square in the tempo field’s upper left, which indicates that tempo is
being automated.