finding the bpm

[Megaman]

to set the metronome, click, etc...what's the best way to set the bpm? Tried to google it but the closest thing I got was to tap it out on the keyboard and it was still off. So if you're recording a drummer or a guitarist to keep on beat, how would you find the bpm and set the click?

 

[jonnyc]

You mean you can't get it close on the keyboard and then manually move it by one at a time until you find the right bpm? I generally find the beats per minute by having the drummer and guitar player play a bit of the song, tap out the bpm and then adjust to the musicians taste. Then I have them do a run thru at that bpm to see if they're comfortable with it. It's not really hard at all.

 

[Dani Pace]

Like jonnyc said, set it to what sounds cloce, then play along with it, then adjust the bpm till it is at the correct speed.

 

[RAMI]

This is what you need: http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/audio/taptempo.htm

While you're at it, you can check out other stuff on their page, like a delay calculator, etc....

http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/audio.htm

 

[Ironklad Audio]

mackie tracktion has a beat detector built into it, pretty much the same as the one RAMI posted - click the mouse to the beat, and it tells you the tempo

 

[fraserhutch]

old school way - count how many beats pass in 20 seconds, and multiply by 3.

For more precision, count how many beats pass in 30 seconds, and multiply by 2.

Even better, count how many beats pass in 60 seconds.

My recommendation: count how many beats in 120,000,000 seconds and divide by 2,000,000. That's pretty decent accuracy.

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

My recommendation: count how many beats in 120,000,000 seconds and divide by 2,000,000. That's pretty decent accuracy.

Oh, man, my ribs hurt from laughing so long at that one...not quite 120,000,000 seconds, but long enough .

As for the earlier serious recommendations of a 20-30 second count, hell, if that's good enough for medical professional to use for figuring heart rate (which is what they do), it's certainly more good enough for us hacks.

(Though counting to 120,000,000 seconds is probably not practical in the medical world; the patient will either be dead or cured by then .)

G.