Creating a more natural tempo

[Bob Olhsson]

Something that has amused me for years is that virtually nobody ever counts off or sets a click to the right tempo. In a live recording, the band quickly adjusts to the right tempo. Whenever I've worked with a singer to find a right tempo, it turns out to never be an even number of beats per minute and the nearest even number always feels wrong.

This problem is a big part of why Les Paul Memorial Overdub Party songs always sound far less engaging than a live band with no click. I realize lots of great records have been made using clicks and overdubs but my experience tells me they could have been even greater!

[Steve@ZooWest]

This works amazingly well for some classical music. As we all know, orchestral tempi vary wildly in pieces/passages that would seem to theoretically be at one tempo.

To relearn MIDI et. al. after moving from PT 7 Mac to 12 on Windows, I mocked up Beethoven's 5th for Audiojungle, using a major symphony recording as my template for tempo, and it definitely added to the realism.

Not to mention, when I uploaded it to SoundCloud, I was flagged for posting a piece I didn't own.... had to be that the waveforms/tempo matched up so well.

[Courtlaw]

Is it possible to creat a tempo map that randomizes the temple within a certain range (eg 2-3 bpms) throughout the entire song?

Similar to how you can randomize, say, midi velocity in event operations for a certain range or percent.

[Bob Olhsson]

Randomization or "humanization" are B.S. It's really about tension and release relative to relaxed, even time.

[Courtlaw]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

Randomization or "humanization" are B.S. It's really about tension and release relative to relaxed, even time.

I understand that - And I would think most of us do however......


You did not answer my question

[Bob Olhsson]

I'm sure its possible, it was in StudioVision but why?

[Courtlaw]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

I'm sure its possible, it was in StudioVision but why?

To humanize track - Quantize is too rigid

[Bob Olhsson]

I'd be looking real hard at the arrangement and having them play the part again. "Humanization" only makes it sound sloppy.