a dj once told me it’s a cool idea to adjust tempo during a break section in a track…
it works pretty well as a concept, especially for vinyl/cd dj’s, or those with a mouse/potentiometer controlled tempo value.
but anyway onto the topic at hand, when performing the Octatrack live, the percussive and accessible nature of the arrow keys for incremental tempo adjustment is perfect for tapping upwards or downwards in 0.1 increments in time to the beat at any stage of a track … 8th notes, quarter notes, even sixteenth notes in time to a riff.
that is left and right arrow, and yes i do agree. but this post is more to do with the up and down arrows when the tempo window is active. using the Level knob changes tempo by whole number increments
so what i am mentioning here is the actual tempo adjustment for performing live … at a live performance, the tempo must change. if the songs are played as single events, with some silence between, it is easy to then change tempo.
but when playing an uninterrupted dj style performance for one, two or more hours, the tempo must change in response to how the room is feeling etc.
and often that tempo value is going to be in between whole value amounts.
but whatever the value, the tempo often needs to be changed subtly in decimal amounts.
so, the question then is presented: how to change tempo? why and when?
it’s a simple question and yet quite complex in practise when playing live, to not feel forced. much easier when playing bass with a live band, for instance.