Add and edit tempo points

In the Tempo track, tempo changes appear as tempo points. You create tempo changes by adding tempo points, then editing their values. You can move and copy tempo points, create tempo curves, and edit tempo points in other ways.

Add a tempo point

Do one of the following:

Double-click the target time position with the Pointer tool.
Click the target time position with the Pencil tool.
When using the Pencil tool, watch the help tag, and don’t release the mouse button until it shows the intended tempo and position. No help tag appears when you double-click with the Pointer tool.
To set the tempo numerically, hold down Control-Option-Command and click the target time position, enter the bpm value in the field that appears, then press Return.

Change the value of a tempo point

Drag the tempo point up or down. A help tag displays the tempo value.
You can also drag the line connecting two tempo points, changing the values of both tempo points.
To change the value in finer increments, hold down Shift while dragging a tempo point.

Note: To prevent unintentional changes, tempo points are restricted to either vertical or horizontal movement. You can change either the value of a tempo change event or the position of a tempo change event, but not both at once.

Create a constant tempo across multiple tempo points

Select multiple tempo points, Control-click the selected tempo points, then choose Replace By Average from the shortcut menu.

Delete a tempo point

Do one of the following:

Select the tempo point, by either clicking it or the line to the right of it, then choose Edit > Delete (or press the Delete key).
Double-click the tempo point with the Pointer tool.
Click the tempo point with the Eraser tool.