Time track

The Time track allows you to view and edit the tempo of your project, including inputting new tempo changes. It appears above the top player track in the event display in Play mode, and is one of the tracks you can hide/show.

Figure: Time track

The Time track comprises the following:

  1. Track height adjuster

    Allows you to change the height of the track by clicking and dragging its bottom corner.

  2. Track header

    Shows the name of the track and contains appropriate options, such as the menu for the sound source for the metronome.

  3. Fixed tempo read-out

    Displays the tempo that corresponds to the current mouse pointer position in the Time track.

  4. Absolute tempo change

    Indicates an immediate change in tempo, shown as a step change.

  5. Gradual tempo change

    Indicates a steady change in tempo across the duration of the line between the tempo changes at each end.

Tip

Clicking and dragging tempo changes in the Time track causes a tempo read-out to appear temporarily, showing their precise tempo.

Figure: Time track header

The Time track header contains the following:

  1. Track disclosure arrow

    Allows you to expand/collapse the track.

  2. Track name

    Shows the name of the track.

  3. VST or MIDI Instrument menu

    Allows you to select an instance of a VST or MIDI instrument to use for the click.

  4. Edit Instrument

    Opens the corresponding VST instrument, allowing you to edit settings for the slot or channel.

  5. Port menu

    Allows you to change the endpoint to which the Time track is assigned by selecting the port you want to use when using a plug-in that has multiple ports of 16 channels.

  6. Slot menu

    Allows you to change the endpoint to which the Time track is assigned by selecting the slot in the selected VST instrument, or channel in the selected MIDI instrument, that you want to use for the click.

You can use the following tools to input tempo changes into the Time track in Play mode:

  • Draw: Inputs a separate tempo change at regular intervals, as determined by the current rhythmic grid value.

  • Line: Inputs a tempo change only at the start and end of the drawn range.

Tempo changes input in the Time track in Play mode appear as signposts in Write mode by default to avoid changing the appearance of the printed score. Signposts are not printed by default, so if you want such tempo changes to be printed in the score, we recommend that you select them in Write mode and activate Metronome mark shown in the Tempo group of the Properties panel. You can also change their appearance in other ways, for example, by adding text.

All tempo changes input in the Time track are included when exporting MIDI files.