Importing multiple tempo maps

[Big Island]

Hi folks.

I need to prepare a bunch of backing tracks for a live production and we want to have everything in one logic project. That means I have to import 12 tempo maps into one project and I want them to start at different places along the timeline. First song of course starts at bar 1 and I want the second song to start at bar 289. That means I want to import the tempo map for the second song (which starts at bar 1 in its original session), keep the map for the first and have the second song start at bar 289 with its tempo map. That seems to be a challenge for logic... 

I cannot get the second track with its tempo map to land at 289 no matter what. Any thoughts on how to do this..?

Thanks

Jacob 

[Dewdman42]

i think you'll have to find a way to combine all the tempo maps into one midi file then import it.  maybe someone knows another way.

[SlightObjective]

So you have a new logic project and import song 2 in, then select it and move it to measure 289 - but it ends up on another measure?
or it doesn't move at all?

Edited January 22 by SlightObjective
cover some possibilities

[Big Island]

9 hours ago, SlightObjective said:

So you have a new logic project and import song 2 in, then select it and move it to measure 289 - but it ends up on another measure?
or it doesn't move at all?

If I do it like that the tempo map of song 1 is lost. Importing audio and moving all of them to a different measure is not a problem. The issue is how to combine the tempo maps of several songs into one logic project...

[grubmanus]

Use Tempo Sets for this. FYI, when you import a Tempo Map, it overwrites the current Tempo Set (all others stay unaffected).

So basically, you can make a new session, and make a new Tempo Set for each song name, plus a "FULL LIVE SET" one (or whatever you wanna call it). They'll all be blank at first, just placeholders. 1 by 1, choose each song, then import the real tempo map from the corresponding session. You now have them all accessible in one session, they're just nested into separate 'playlists' and you need to combine them.

You can copy and paste these tempo maps (or any sub-selection for that matter) between sets, and you can highlight any selection and drag the position starting from the bar like so: 

So basically just copy and paste them all into the "FULL LIVE SET" one, then move to wherever you want. I would do it in reverse order (get the last song in place first) so they're out of the way before pasting the next one. You get the idea.

[polanoid]

BTW if you’re not familiar with Tempo Sets yet, you can create, delete etc. them by clicking on “Tempo” in the global tempo track 

[Big Island]

2 hours ago, polanoid said:

BTW if you’re not familiar with Tempo Sets yet, you can create, delete etc. them by clicking on “Tempo” in the global tempo track 

Thanks for this great tip. I totally understand the concept but still can't make it happen.

I´ve created a blank session with empty tempo and signature sets for songs 1-8 and then made a set called Full LIVE. (As a note Logic won't let me make more than 9 sets..). However when I choose the tempo set for song 1 and then import the actual tempo map from that song it erases all other tempo sets... As I understood it it would keep the other sets and just land on the set of the 1st song... Or am I missing something here?

[polanoid]

10 minutes ago, Big Island said:

and then import the actual tempo map from that song it erases all other tempo sets

Oh indeed, I just checked, this happens here as well. I’d say that’s a bug (you should report it to Apple via their feedback page)

[Big Island]

Just now, polanoid said:

Oh indeed, I just checked, this happens here as well. I’d say that’s a bug (you should report it to Apple via their feedback page)

Will do. However, I doubt they will attend to this issue before my project needs to be alive..:-)

[polanoid]

Probably they won't 😉 So your only option is to use the clipboard instead of the Import function which is a bit more tedious I guess.

- Open the first song you want to import the tempo map from 

- Open global tempo track or tempo event list

- Select all tempo events

- Copy (Cmd-C)

- Close the song (important, Logic supposedly - although I never experienced that myself - may corrupt projects when having more than one open at the same time)

- Open/Create the song you want to import the tempo map to

- Open global tempo track

- Place the playhead at desired paste location

- Paste (Cmd-V)

- Save and close song (see above)

- Repeat with second, third, … song

At least you won’t even have to use tempo sets for this, so the limitation to 9 of those won’t be an issue

Edited January 23 by polanoid

[Big Island]

3 hours ago, grubmanus said:

Use Tempo Sets for this. FYI, when you import a Tempo Map, it overwrites the current Tempo Set (all others stay unaffected).

So basically, you can make a new session, and make a new Tempo Set for each song name, plus a "FULL LIVE SET" one (or whatever you wanna call it). They'll all be blank at first, just placeholders. 1 by 1, choose each song, then import the real tempo map from the corresponding session. You now have them all accessible in one session, they're just nested into separate 'playlists' and you need to combine them.

You can copy and paste these tempo maps (or any sub-selection for that matter) between sets, and you can highlight any selection and drag the position starting from the bar like so: 

So basically just copy and paste them all into the "FULL LIVE SET" one, then move to wherever you want. I would do it in reverse order (get the last song in place first) so they're out of the way before pasting the next one. You get the idea.

I think I found the solution...

I'm doing it just the way you describe it but with midi files instead.

On each song for the show I created a midi region as long as the song, export it as a midi file, open up the LIVE Set import the midi file with its tempo map and boom it lands on the correct tempo and signature set and it doesn't erase the other sets. It also lands where I want it on the time line which is very good.

Edited January 23 by Big Island

[polanoid]

42 minutes ago, Big Island said:

On each song for the show I created a midi file as long as the song, export it as a midi file, open up the LIVE Set import the midi file with its tempo map and boom it lands on the correct tempo and signature set and it doesn't erase the other sets. It also lands where I want it on the time line which is very good.

Oh that’s an even better solution! Thanks for sharing! (I guess the first sentence should read “On each song for the show I created a midi region as long as the song” though - this only to clarify things for people who might read this in the future. Also, that MIDI region must not be empty, so you need to create at least one event, e.g. MIDI note, in it)

Edited January 23 by polanoid

[Big Island]

23 minutes ago, polanoid said:

Oh that’s an even better solution! Thanks for sharing! (I guess the first sentence should read “On each song for the show I created a midi region as long as the song” though - this only to clarify things for people who might read this in the future. Also, that MIDI region must not be empty, so you need to create at least one event, e.g. MIDI note, in it)

Yes it should say midi region (and so it does now) and yes that midi region needs to have some kind of info in it.

Thanks for your help on this!

[grubmanus]

Hey, glad you got it sorted. Interesting that the import tempo / tempo set interaction is now buggy--I'm on an old Logic (10.5.1) and it works just like I described here. Also didn't know tempo sets max out at 9 (guess I never pushed the ceiling), so I learned something.

Out of curiosity, how are you importing the MIDI files? File->Import->MIDI File? This feature never used to work right to capture tempo/markers (doesn't on my version), and would require you to open the MIDI file to extract that stuff, which in turn required stupid workarounds like opening & saving 'dummy sessions' to then import from.

If this works correctly now that would be a huge improvement.

[polanoid]

10 minutes ago, grubmanus said:

If this works correctly now that would be a huge improvement.

This even works in 10.5.0, I just checked!? I imported this MIDI file in 10.5.0 (using File->Import->MIDI File), and the tempo curve is imported correctly tempo set 1.mid

Edited January 23 by polanoid

[grubmanus]

Not sure what to make of that... doesn't work here (just tried using several sessions / MIDI files, including yours). MIDI files imported using File->Import->MIDI File produce a MIDI region that's 1 bar long and no other tempo / marker information, even in a blank session. Same when using the file browser and double clicking the MIDI file that way.

Got multiple computers available and they all do this. Just 10.5.1 maybe?

[polanoid]

3 minutes ago, grubmanus said:

Just 10.5.1 maybe?

Unlikely but possible. Unfortunately I don’t have any backup of 10.5.1. After importing the midi file I attached above in 10.5, my tempo curve looks like this:

 

4 minutes ago, grubmanus said:

produce a MIDI region that's 1 bar long

Every MIDI file does that?

Edited January 23 by polanoid

[polanoid]

And here’s a MIDI File import from a MIDI file downloaded from the Internet. No tempo changes going on there (expected) but surely more than one 1 bar MIDI region 

[grubmanus]

Very weird. I assume the 1 bar thing is because the MIDI files I'm importing don't have notes beyond the first bar (so that's normal), but again, no tempo/markers here. Importing MIDI files with more content gives me a longer file with all the notes, but no tempo or markers.

Anyways, don't want to hijack the thread too much, but interesting to hear this works properly for you (even on an older version). Something to look forward to when I eventually step into modernity & change versions.

[Big Island]

In order to secure that everything aligned properly the midi region I created for the tempo and signature maps was the length of the song and contained one note as long as the entire region. 

Once this was imported to my live set it did indeed give me a kind of pre roll of a couple of bars but once I'd slide the beginning of that region to where the midi note started everything seems to line up the way it's supposed to.