DP: Using a clap track for sequence tempo

[strikingtwice]

Hi everyone. This is something that I often do when I have a freely recorded audio track, and I want to be able to edit a little bit better or add instruments. I feel like the record beats feature never leaves me with the results that I want, but this method does. It doesn't require nearly as much manual work as just starting with adjust beats right away. Hope it helps!

[Dan Worley]

Good job, David. Very useful and easy to follow. I tore my hair out trying to figure out how to do that one day and I never did get it right. You pointed out some things I've never noticed before in DP. Thanks so much for putting that together.

c-ya,

Dan Worley

[strikingtwice]

Thanks Dan. I really want to try to use this part of the forum more and drive more traffic to it. The whole video took me about 15 minutes to put together, not including export and upload time. Please, pass it along, make some of your own, put the word out to get more of our super talented forum friends to use this section! Look on youtube for logic or protools tutorials, you get bombed, performer comes up very light!

[kwiz]

Nice job, thanks for posting!

[Shooshie]

Great video, David! This has to be the best way to use DP's beat-finding feature. It eliminates the "just sorta" beats that compete with the real beats; it makes the beats clear; and BEST of all, it captures the feel of the beats. You'll clap where you would feel it, and no computer algorithm on earth can do that.

Good job on the video, too. May I ask what you used to make that? And what format did you end up putting it in? I'd like to know a decent format that captures the sharpness, keeps the file-size manageable for up/download, and that prevents audio drift when streamed or downloaded. My tutorial on Adjust Beats is an embarrassment because of the drifting audio. I'd export it to a different format if I knew the right one. If I can ever make this process fast and brainless, I'd upload a lot more videos.

Shooshie

[cowtothesky]

Awesome video! Thanks for sharing your tips. I have only experimented with the adjust beats function and this video really opened up some doors for creating a MIDI grid using this feature. I agree with you, we need more of a presence with DP tutorial videos. As I get more confident with DP, I'll try to post some tips in the future. Thanks again, David.

[Julia123]

Thanks!! I didn't know this could be done so smoothly!

[strikingtwice]

Great video, David! This has to be the best way to use DP's beat-finding feature. It eliminates the "just sorta" beats that compete with the real beats; it makes the beats clear; and BEST of all, it captures the feel of the beats. You'll clap where you would feel it, and no computer algorithm on earth can do that.

Good job on the video, too. May I ask what you used to make that? And what format did you end up putting it in? I'd like to know a decent format that captures the sharpness, keeps the file-size manageable for up/download, and that prevents audio drift when streamed or downloaded. My tutorial on Adjust Beats is an embarrassment because of the drifting audio. I'd export it to a different format if I knew the right one. If I can ever make this process fast and brainless, I'd upload a lot more videos.

Shooshie

Don't sweat it shoosh, in fact your video was the only reason I was ever able to grasp the concept, I couldn't get that out of the manual! The lag was tough, especially since it's about something as time sensitive as beats! At any rate, the program I used was http://www.telestream.net/screen-flow/overview.htm and I think it's by far the best for screen capture, but it is 99 bucks. Quicktime X will do screen capture, but it doesn't allow both input and system audio. The formatting was handled automatically by Screenflow in its youtube upload feature, and it allows for HD.

There is another program which is much cheaper for the regular version by http://www.shinywhitebox.com/store/shop.php. If you're looking for a good screencasting app but don't want to shell out 99 for it, this is the way to go.

Also, about the clap, it is much more natural than record beats. I've always found that to be unwieldy and not natural. My tempo is usually really good (this video not indicating), and when i clap, it's in, but when i use my MIDI controller or heaven forbid the mac keyboard, the timing is not even remotely close. At the cost of a few minutes and one pass through the song, I have something infinitely better. Check out those apps shoosh, I think we could start something really nice for the DP community! More vids! screw those Logic and PT youtube nerds!

[strikingtwice]

I just checked after writing that post.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ishowu/id417136885?mt=12

EDIT: Not the HD version. Also, check the demos to make sure that version does both incoming audio and mac audio.

[HCMarkus]

Nice! Thanks David.

[Shooshie]

Don't sweat it shoosh, in fact your video was the only reason I was ever able to grasp the concept, I couldn't get that out of the manual! The lag was tough, especially since it's about something as time sensitive as beats! At any rate, the program I used was http://www.telestream.net/screen-flow/overview.htm and I think it's by far the best for screen capture, but it is 99 bucks. Quicktime X will do screen capture, but it doesn't allow both input and system audio. The formatting was handled automatically by Screenflow in its youtube upload feature, and it allows for HD.

I just bought ScreenFlow, David. Thanks for the tip. Now I can remake the Adjust Beats video and (I hope) rest easy that it the audio will not drift. The weird thing about that movie was that it was all perfectly in time before I uploaded it. Played exactly as it should. Then I'd upload it, and when I'd go to stream it, the audio would quickly get WAY out of sync with the video. I tried a half-dozen formats, and I uploaded it probably 10 times, thinking I did something to it, but it was none of those things. It started out a perfectly synced video, and only drifted out of sync once it was uploaded! I cannot figure that one out. Maybe someone here can. Anyway, I look forward to trying again with this app. I might even get in the mood to make more videos if I can be sure they will stay in sync!

Thanks again.

Shoosh

PS: Would you mind if I post your video in the Tips Sheet? I'd like to post it in the same message with mine (crediting you, of course), and giving people a more balanced view of these facets of DP. I was always going to do one like yours, more or less, but kept putting it off until I figured out how to correct that audio drift problem.

[strikingtwice]

Yea that's not a problem. I'm glad you purchased it, it really is a terrific app, and one more addition to the growing army of DP vids!

[Phil O]

Great job on the video, David! I've been using this technique for some time. I'm a percussionist, so I usually use a stick and a pad, but the results are the same. Where finer subdivisions are required I've also used a shaker with varying success (works best with faster tempi). I find this technique yields better results than record beats, hands down.

Phil

[strikingtwice]

Great job on the video, David! I've been using this technique for some time. I'm a percussionist, so I usually use a stick and a pad, but the results are the same. Where finer subdivisions are required I've also used a shaker with varying success (works best with faster tempi). I find this technique yields better results than record beats, hands down.

Phil

SO IT WAS YOU! I was trying to think of whose post it was on nation that I read that caused me to start using this.

Thanks Phil!

[Phil O]

Wow! I was your inspiration and I didn't know it.

Anyway, you did a great job laying it all out. Thanks again for the video. The time folks put into making this board great is really appreciated.

Phil