about bpm

[josep skitto]

i wonder about bpm is same word with tempo in logic pro. 145 tempo in logic pro is 145 bpm? i thought 145 bpm is very fast song. but 145 tempo in logic is not too fast i expected

Edited May 8, 2022 by josep skitto

[des99]

145 bpm means 145 beats per minute, the same everywhere. There is no "my DAW's 145bpm is a very different speed to some other DAW's 145bpm", just as my "minute" is the same as everyone else's "minute".

Perhaps you have Logic set to 145bpm, but you are playing/recording your notes  in half time (so effectively recording at half speed, 72.5bpm)..?

[David Nahmani]

On 5/8/2022 at 11:41 AM, josep skitto said:

but 145 tempo in logic is not too fast i expected

It depends what you do exactly. If you're importing Apple Loops or using Drummer in Logic Pro, they automatically switch to half-time under certain conditions, which would make them sound exactly the same at 150 bpm as 75 bpm. 

[simon.a.billington]

There are many people who don't really know how to work with tempo/bpm and bars.  Often you will see folks putting 2 1/4 notes (beats) to a bar, when the 4/4 signature implies there should be 4, not too.

Yes half and double timed sections or elements often compound the issue, but I see many bad habits being promoted by YouTubers who don't know any better.

Why is it important??

Much of the time its not, but when you have to work with others its important to be clear on communication.  Many musicians are tripped up by wrong information, which leads to issues and waisting time, often at your expense.  Then there things like delay or arp times which might be limited became they cant go as fast or slow as you want it to.  Whereas with the correct timing, what you want to achieve would be possible.  Then there re other things that can trip you up too.

Its easy to tell what a tempo should be, most of the time.  With 4/4, you want to tap along to the main pulse of the idea, the downbeats, the four on the floor.  And four of those should fit in the space of a bar.  If not, try halving or doubling the tempo.

Edited June 14, 2022 by simon.a.billington