Pull a Beat Map Out of Thin Air With Logic’s Smart Tempo

 

Last week we took a look at how to use Flex Time in Logic Pro to improve the consistency of a rhythm guitar performance.

When recording we often aim for every instrument to play in lockstep to a single, unwavering tempo. And Flex Time can help us tighten up our audio performances to more strictly adhere to that single tempo very easily.

But what if you recorded yourself playing without the metronome? Maybe you were just riffing and having fun. You hit record, began playing, and by the time you hit “Stop,” you realized you have a winner on your hands.

Was the tempo of your performance perfect? Probably not. But it sounds great nonetheless!

The only problem is what do you do when you want to introduce Drummer? Or edit subsequent recordings to match the pace of your original recording?

Instead of nailing every moment of your recording to the wall of a single tempo, you might want a custom tempo map that follows your “imperfect” tempo.

Now Logic Pro has a Beat Mapping feature in the Global Track Lanes. But honestly, I haven’t used Beat Mapping in Logic Pro in a long, long time. Instead, I just use Smart Tempo. Smart Tempo is a much easier and much faster system for beat mapping.

So if you’ve ever needed to beat map quickly in Logic Pro, check out today’s video above to make it happen.