Tracks without Beatgrids need to be Analyzed before a Beatgrid is created.
SEE ANALYZING FILES FOR MORE INFORMATION.
TIP: For new tracks that haven’t been analyzed you can alternatively load a track to a virtual deck and Serato DJ will add a Beatgrid. The ‘Set Beatgrid’ option will need to have been selected in the Offline Player.
NOTE: Analyzing tracks may take some time. It is recommended you do this prior to a gig. A track’s Beatgrid is made up of several parts:
All Bar Markers have a number next to them, which references the bar number, starting at 1 (the Downbeat Marker). Each bar is then divided into 4 beats, with 3 small white markers to indicate beat divisions within each bar.
Downbeat Marker
The Downbeat Marker is a red line and is placed on the first transient of the track (this could be a kick drum, or first bass note at the beginning of the track). The Downbeat Marker will have a 1 above it to indicate it is Bar 1.
Bar Markers
Once the Downbeat Marker is created, the Beatgrid will then be created using the BPM value of the track to lay out a series of Bar Markers throughout the track on each bar start.
Each Bar Marker has a Bar number displayed next to the line, these indicate the start of the track’s bar number (i.e. the first beat is the start of bar number 1). If the BPM value is correct, then the Beat Markers will fall on each of the track’s beats.
NOTE: Any bar before the first Downbeat will be shown as negative Bar numbers.
Beat Markers
Between each Bar Marker is a series of small, grey Beat Markers, showing the individual beats in each of the track’s bar.
NOTE: For some music such as house music, this may fall on each kick drum. For other music, such as hip hop or funk, these Beat Markers may not fall on top of a physical drum hit.
Beat Warp Markers
If there is a tempo change in a track, you can manually set a new red Beat Warp Marker.
Setting Manual Beat Warp Markers will warp the Beatgrid from this marker. This allows the Beatgrid to follow the track’s change in tempo. Tracks with Beat Warp Markers are able to be perfectly Synced to tracks with no tempo changes without the beats dropping out of time.
You can set as many Beat Warp Markers as you need. A track may change tempo multiple times, or the tempo may fluctuate if the track is from a live recording or ripped from vinyl.
NOTE: Changes in tempo over time are common with live recorded music (such as rock, funk, reggae, etc.) Changes in tempo are very rare with most electronically created music (such as house, drum & bass, pop, etc).
Editing Beatgrids
If the Beatgrid markers aren’t falling on top of the track’s beats, you will need to edit the Beatgrid.
You can do this by loading the track to the deck, either in offline player, or while connected to your Serato DJ hardware, then clicking on “Edit Grid” which appears next to the time elapsed/ remaining information for your track.
If you click on Edit Grid, the Beatgrid Editor will appear and a blue bar will appear above the waveform of the track. If you are connected to your Serato DJ hardware the Beatgrid will appear instead of the Virtual Deck.
The Beatgrid Editor contains all the tools you will need to create a Beatgrid, or correct an incorrect Beatgrid.
TIP: To check if the Beatgrid has been calculated correctly you can skip forwards into the track to see if the markers fall on the beats or not (after a breakdown is a good place). It is also a good idea to go to the track’s outro section and see if the markers are still falling on the beats.
TIP: Press escape at any time to exit the Beatgrid Editor without saving any changes.
Incorrect Downbeat Marker
Incorrect Downbeat Marker
If the Downbeat Marker is set incorrectly or you want the first beat to be in a different position (i.e. if the track has a long intro), then you will need to create a new Downbeat Marker.
1. Open the Grid Editor by clicking Grid Edit or using the keyboard shortcut, alt + spacebar.
2. Clear the beatgrid by clicking on the CLEAR button to delete the marker closest to the playhead. (or shift + delete to clear the entire Beatgrid.)
3. Move the playhead above the desired location for the Downbeat.
4. Click on SET to set the Downbeat Marker or use the “x” key on your keyboard. The Downbeat Marker will snap to the closest transient.
5. Click SAVE or press Return to exit the Grid Editor and save the change.
CORRECT DOWNBEAT MARKER
SEE GRID EDIT SHORTCUTS FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Adjust Incorrect Beatgrid
INCORRECT BEATGRID
The Beatgrid may not always be correctly estimated and the markers may not line up exactly with the track’s beats. If the Beatgrid Bar Markers start falling off the beats over time, then you will need to Adjust the Beatgrid. Adjusting the Beatgrid will expand or contract the Beatgrid from your last Downbeat or Bar Marker.
1. Open the Grid Editor by clicking Grid Edit or using the keyboard shortcut, alt + spacebar.
2. Scan into the track to see the Beatgrid going out of time.
3. To expand or contract the Beatgrid, use the small and large Grid Adjust buttons, or press the left or right arrow on your keyboard.
4. Click SAVE or press Return to exit the Grid Editor and save the change.
CORRECT BEATGRID
SEE GRID EDIT SHORTCUTS FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Slip Incorrect Beatgrid
If your Beatgrid matches the tracks’ tempo, but the track’s Downbeat Beat Marker is incorrect
or the groove or feel is sounding slightly out, you may need to Slip the Beatgrid. This will move (slip) the entire Beatgrid along without adjusting the calculated BPM.
If the entire Beatgrid is out (i.e. both the Downbeat and Beat Warp Markers), you can Slip the entire Beatgrid which will move all markers the same amount.
1 Open the Grid Editor by clicking Grid Edit or using the keyboard shortcut, alt + spacebar.
2 Use the small and large Grid Slip buttons to move the Beatgrid, or press control + the left or right arrow on your keyboard.
3 Click SAVE or press Return to exit the Grid Editor and save the change.
SEE GRID EDIT SHORTCUTS FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Grid Edit Shortcuts
To edit a Beatgrid you will need to open the Beatgrid Editor.
GRID EDIT MODE
NOTE: You may find it easier to make adjustments to the Beatgrid with the track not playing. Use the following functions with your computer keyboard or mouse:
|
ACTION |
KEYBOARD |
MOUSE |
|
Open Beatgrid Editor |
alt + spacebar |
|
|
Exit Beatgrid Editor |
Esc |
|
|
Save Beatgrid Changes |
Enter |
|
|
Set Beat Warp Marker |
x |
alt + double click |
|
Clear Beat Marker |
delete |
|
|
Clear all Beatgrid |
shift + delete |
|
|
Adjust (Contract/Stretch) Beatgrid |
arrow keys |
alt + click & drag a white bar marker |
|
Large Adjust (Contract/ Stretch) Beatgrid |
shift + arrow keys |
|
|
Slip Beatgrid |
control + arrow keys |
alt + click & drag the red downbeat marker |
|
Large Slip Beatgrid |
shift + control + arrow keys |
TIP: When in Horizontal Display Mode use the left and right arrow key commands, when in vertical display mode, use the up and down arrow keys.
TIP: After deleting all Grid Markers you may want to drag the file back onto the Analyze Files button to re-analyze the file and create a new Beatgrid, or press X to manually set the Downbeat Marker, creating a new Beatgrid.