SPEED 1.0 (Mac/Win)
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  By the Numbers

FIG. 2: Transposing a file in the Calculator control panel is a breeze—just enter the existing key in the Original field, then type the desired key in the Modified field. The Change field shows the difference between the two keys in cents.
Like the Simple screen, Speed’s Calculator control panel (see Fig. 2) offers speed and pitch controls: Pitch Calculator and Speed Calculator. Each has two modes. Pitch Calculator’s Key mode transposes music between specific keys, and Tuning mode converts audio from one tuning reference to another (for example, A 440 to A 438). Just enter the original key or tuning reference in the Original field and the desired key or tuning reference in the Modified field.

Speed Calculator offers Tempo and Length modes. In Tempo mode, type a new bpm value in the Modified field; then click on the Preview button to audition the altered tempo and hit Process to make the change. Length mode lets you stretch or squeeze your samples by specifying a new length measured in either samples or seconds.

Length mode also gives you access to the Length Copy feature, which is displayed on the screen as a curved arrow. You can use Length Copy to make several audio regions identical in length—a useful tool when working with drum loops. First select the region with the desired length, then click on the Length Copy arrow. The selected region’s length will appear in the Modified Length field. Next select the region whose length you want to change. The Original Length field will show the region’s length, and the Percentage Change field will indicate the difference between it and the desired length. Click on the Process button to make the change.

Bend and Stretch

FIG. 3: In the Graphical control panel, you can change pitch and tempo by creating “handles” for the parameters and dragging them to new positions. The current parameter values appear beneath the waveform display.
Speed’s secret weapon is the Graphical control panel, which offers an easy way to insert pitch and timing changes at any point in your audio file. It’s also handy for creating accelerandos and decelerandos. This screen displays a visual representation of the audio waveform, overlaid with two horizontal “graph” lines (see Fig. 3). The white line controls tempo/speed, and the blue line controls pitch. (Both are initially set to have no effect.) Clicking on the Mode Select tabs calls up multiple display options, much as they do in the other modes.

Editing in the Graphical window is very similar to editing automation data in Pro Tools. Click on an existing point (shown as a tiny square) and drag it to a different location to adjust pitch or timing. To create a new point, click on the display at the desired location. You can delete any point (except the start and end points) by Option-clicking on it. If one line obscures the other, Control-click to bring the hidden line to the front. Be careful not to drag a point to a new value or insert a new point when you Control-click on the line. The process works fine with a little practice.

Shift-clicking or Command-clicking on a point will constrain it to vertical or horizontal movement, respectively. Whenever you select or move a point, its speed- or pitch-change value is shown beneath the waveform display, along with its time position (in either seconds or samples). You can also type specific pitch and time values directly into the fields.

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 Reprinted with permission from Magazine, December, 2000
© 2000, Intertec Publishing, A Primedia Company All Rights Reserved


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