Scene Tempo and Time Signature

  • Live Version: all
  • Operating System: All

Live 11

In Session View, to reveal Scene Tempo and Time Signature controls, drag the the left edge of the Master track to the left. These controls are hidden by default.

Set_Scene_Tempo_Live_11.gif

To change a scene’s tempo: 

  • Click in the tempo field, enter a BPM in the range of 20-999, and press Enter.
  • You can also use the arrow keys, or drag with the cursor, to adjust the tempo.

To set the scene's time signature:

  • Click in the Time Signature field and choose a numerator (beats per bar) between 1 and 99
  • Chose a denominator (beat value) of 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16.

You can also edit tempo and time signature values in the Scene View. To open Scene View, double click on the Scene Header for the desired scene, under the Master Track header in Session View. 

Scene_View.png

Scenes with assigned tempo and/or time signature changes will display a colored Scene Launch button.

Note: Sets that were created in older Live versions than Live 11, with tempo and/or time signature values specified by scene names, will have their values carried over to the Scene Tempo and/or Time Signature controls. When opening these Sets in newer versions of Live, the Master track’s width is adjusted so that the Scene Tempo and Scene Time Signature controls are visible.

Live 10

To assign a tempo to a scene, select the scene and rename it with a tempo, in the range of 20-999 BPM. For example:

Live_10_Scene_Tempo_Naming.png

To assign a time signature to a scene, rename the scene with a meter, in the form of “4/4“. Specify the number of beats per bar (numerator) between 1 and 99, and a beat value (denominator) of 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16. Scene names in Live 10 can designate name, tempo and time signature, in any order, as long as each field is separated by at least one character.

For example,

  • “2/4+108 BPM“
  • “72 BPM;7/8“
  • “60 BPM Chorus 3/4“

are all valid scene names that will trigger meter and tempo changes.

Ableton offers these in-depth help and learning resources: