User's Manual

156 Audio Clips, Tempo, and Warping
You can have an external sequencer (or drum machine) play along with Live or have Live play
along with the sequencer. The respective settings are made in the Link/MIDI Preferences. Please
refer to the chapter on synchronization (page 715) for details.
9.1.2 Tapping the Tempo
The Tap Button.
You can use Live’s Tap Tempo function to set the tempo at any time. As you click the Control Bar’s
Tap Tempo button once every beat, the tempo of the Live Set will follow your tapping.
The Key Map Mode Switch.
You can also assign the Tap button to a computer key instead of using the mouse. Click on the
Control Bar’s KEY switch to enter Key Map Mode; then select the Tap button; press the key you
would like to use for tapping; click the KEY switch again to leave Key Map Mode. The assign-
ment will take effect immediately. The Tap button can also be assigned to a MIDI note or control-
ler, like a foot switch, in a similar fashion. Although Live responds to your tapping immediately,
it does apply some degree of inertia to prevent sluggish behavior in the software. The more taps
Live receives in a row, the more precisely it will be able to conclude the desired tempo.
If the “Start Playback with Tap Tempo” button is enabled in Live’s Record/Warp/Launch Prefer-
ences, you can also use tapping to count in: If you are working in a 4:4 signature, it takes four
taps to start song playback at the tapped tempo. Starting playback of Live’s transport by tapping
the tempo will automatically adjust the playback position of any apps that are connected via
Ableton Link (page 715). This ensures that those apps remain tempo synced, and also at the
correct position in the musical phrase.