Beat detective analysis – M-AUDIO Pro Tools Recording Studio User Manual
Page 571

Chapter 28: Beat Detective
553
• If the selection’s tempo and meter match
the session tempo and meter (see “Calcu-
lating Tempo with Beat Detective” on 
page 554), and it aligns correctly with the 
session’s bars and beats, click the Capture 
Selection 
button. The correct Time Signa-
ture
, and Start Bar|Beat and End Bar|Beat
values will be filled in automatically.
4
To improve Beat Detective’s accuracy in ana-
lyzing swung notes, select the Contains option 
that indicates the smallest sub-division of the 
beat contained in the selection. The Contains op-
tion includes quarter-notes, eighth-notes, six-
teenth-notes (the default setting), thirty-second-
notes, and a triplet modifier. The selected Con-
tains
option determines the groove template
grid locations for DigiGroove templates.
Beat Detective Analysis
Beat Detective provides several analysis algo-
rithms for beat detection appropriate to differ-
ent types of audio material.
High Emphasis
Works well with high frequency,
inharmonic material, such as cymbals and hi-
hats, while avoiding low frequency material.
Low Emphasis
Works well with low frequency
material, such as bass guitar and kick drum, as 
well as with most harmonic material, such as pi-
ano or rhythm guitar.
Enhanced Resolution
Works well with the broad-
est range of material, such as full mixes and 
loops.
Beat Detection Across Multiple Tracks
When analyzing a selection with multiple 
tracks, Beat Detective analyzes each indepen-
dently. Transients that are detected in any track 
appear as Beat Triggers across all selected tracks 
regardless of whether or not the detected tran-
sient resides in any other track. However, for 
closely aligned events on multiple tracks, Beat 
Detective only identifies the first detected tran-
sient of a beat event. 
For example, if you have four drum tracks—kick, 
snare, and a pair of overheads—transients in the 
overhead mics tracks occur a little later than the 
closely miked snare and kick tracks because it 
takes more time for the sound to travel from the 
source to the microphones. If you make a selec-
tion across all four tracks and analyze them us-
ing Beat Detective, only the transients in the 
kick and snare tracks will be identified as beat 
triggers because the transients on overheads will 
Beat Detective, Selection options
As long as the audio material is correctly 
aligned with the session’s tempo map, use 
Capture Selection each time you make a 
new selection or make any changes to the 
tempo map (such as changing tempo or 
meter).
The Selection definition is not retained 
when a session is closed and re-opened
Pro Tools M-Powered requires the Music 
Production Toolkit 2 option to use the En-
hanced Resolution option.
