Contents
Tempo Graph
The Tempo Graph plots every tempo change in the loaded file on a single timeline. It is a real help with game rips, film scores, and expressive performances that swell, rush, and ease off, where the tempo is anything but steady.
- Open it from Display → Tempo Graph.
What you see#
- A step curve of tempo (BPM) over time: flat lines for steady passages, jumps where the tempo changes.
- A BPM scale down the left, which fits itself to the range of the piece so even gentle changes are easy to read.
- A bottom axis you can switch between elapsed Time and Bars with the toggle at the top of the window, so you can line changes up by the clock or by bar number.
- A playhead that tracks your current position, with the live tempo shown top-right.
If the file plays at a single steady tempo, the curve is simply a flat line from start to finish.
Zoom in and scrub#
The graph is not just for looking at. You can dig into the detail and drive playback straight from it.
- Scroll over the graph, or pinch on a trackpad, to zoom the timeline in and out, so closely spaced changes are easier to pull apart. Zooming homes in on the current playback position, so you dig into whatever is playing now.
- Once you have zoomed in, the view follows the playhead as the song plays, keeping the progress line in view. A scrollbar also appears along the bottom: drag it to slide along the song yourself, which stops the view following until you next zoom.
- Click or drag anywhere on the graph to move playback to that point, just like dragging the slider on the main transport.
Tip
Hold Option while scrolling to zoom the BPM scale instead, centred on the pointer. It is just the thing for teasing out very small tempo shifts.
Related pages#
- Playback & Transport for the BPM readout and tempo control.
- Yamaha XF: Sections & Chords for section and chord timelines.