Time signature changes

An exception to this rule comes when the Tempo Editor is open at the same time as Note Assignment Mode. In that case, the Time Signature Editor applies only to the audio source being edited in Note Assignment Mode, which may have a different time signature to that of the project. In this configuration, the Time Signature Editor is also available in the ARA plug-in of Melodyne.

Changing the time signature.

To change the time signature, double-click on the time signature currently displayed (e.g. 4/4). An input field appears into which you can enter a new time signature. If you do not wish to alter the denominator, it suffices to change the numerator, and vice versa. To switch from 4/4 to 3/4, for example, it is enough to replace the first “4” with a “3”.

Moving the beginning of the first bar

If the beginning of the first bar (or “measure”) is not displayed where – knowing the musical content – you would expect to find it, just click anywhere in the Time Signature Editor and drag to the left or right, as the case requires, until Bar 1 is correctly aligned. As you do so, the bar lines will move one beat (as defined by the denominator) at a time. The current setting of the Time Grid has no effect upon what happens in the Time Signature Editor.

Inserting and editing time signatures

You can enter a new time signature wherever you like in the timeline. Just double-click at the appropriate place in the Time Signature Editor and enter the desired time signature in the text field that appears.

If you click in the Time Signature Editor and drag horizontally, the time signature governing the bar within which you have clicked will move one beat at a time (as determined by the denominator) in the corresponding direction. If, in the course of doing so, it crosses another time signature, this will be deleted. If you double-click on the double bar line immediately to the left of a time signature, the time signature in question (as well as the double bar itself) will be deleted. The influence of the preceding time signature will then be extended to include the range of the deleted one, exactly as you would expect.

A new bar can only ever begin on a beat that accords with the previous time signature. If necessary, therefore, compensatory bars of the requisite length will be inserted automatically to preserve the integrity of the sequence of bars. The time signatures of compensatory bars appear in gray.

If any subsequent dragging of bar lines removes the need for a compensatory bar, it will disappear. If, however, you wish to retain it, double-click on its time signature (which will turn black). The double bar line at the start of the bar will then remain in place regardless of changes made elsewhere.

An automatically generated bar will also turn into a normal bar as soon as you edit, insert or delete a time signature elsewhere in the timeline – you will notice that the gray time signature immediately turns black – or close the Tempo Editor

You can copy a series of time signature changes simply by selecting the corresponding section of the tempo curve and choosing Edit > Copy from the main menu. After cancelling the selection, you can then insert them at the position indicated by the playback cursor using Edit > Paste. This is possible in both Edit Tempo and Assign Tempo modes, though in the latter case only the time signature changes will be copied, whereas in Edit Tempo Mode the tempo curve will be copied as well.

The time signature display near the tempo display

The time signature display near the tempo display in the transport bar indicates the time signature at the current playback position. Entering a new time signature in this field does not add a time signature change but simply alters the time signature in force at the playback position (i.e. the nearest time signature to the left of the playback cursor).

It is different in the case of an empty document that does not yet have a tempo or time signature. Here, if you type “3/4” into the time signature field of the transport bar, the time signature will apply to the entire project. For this simple change it is not necessary to open the Tempo Editor.