Warping is a unique function in Live where you can time-stretch audio.
In this video we're going to have a look at how you can use warping for clips.
Warping, along with clips, is one of the fundamental features of Live.
So what does warping mean?
Warping is Live's ability to play any sample in sync with your chosen tempo.
It is sometimes more commonly known as time-stretching.
Not only does it allow you to keep samples and loops
with different tempi in sync with each other,
as the name suggests, the very nature of your sample
can be changed from what it originally was.
Before we get started, let's go to the preferences and check the warping settings.
In the tab Record/Warp/Launch, in the section Warp/Fades,
make sure that Loop/Warp Short Samples is set to Auto.
Auto-Warp Long Samples is switched off.
Default-Warp-Mode is set to Beats.
And Create Fades on Clip Edges is on.
In this Live Set, I have 4 audio tracks,
each one playing their own audio clip.
I solo track 1 which contains the audio clip Drum Loop 1.
I'll expand the Detail view of track 1 so we can look in more detail
at the audio contained in this clip.
In the Detail view, the Warp button is activated
meaning that this audio clip has already been warped.
The first property of warping is that I can change the tempo
without actually changing the pitch of the drums.
So as the tempo gets faster or slower the tone of the drums will still remain the same.
Let's have a look at the next audio clip to have a look at some more warping details.
In this audio clip, I have a warped percussion loop.
In an audio clip that has transients, what you'll see in the Detail view
are inverted triangles.
These inverted triangles are known as transient markers,
and let you know that there are transients present in that area.
If you mouse over a transient marker this will turn into a potential warp marker.
A warp marker can then be created
either by clicking and dragging that particular transient marker
or double-clicking a transient marker or double-clicking anywhere within an audio clip.
I'll add a few more warp markers into my audio clip.
With warp markers set, you can treat audio as if it was an elastic band.
And each warp marker is an anchor point.
This allows you to easily manipulate the position of audio within an audio clip.
This method can be used for corrective purposes to change the timing or feel of an audio clip.
Or it can be used creatively to entirely transform the sound of an audio clip.
In this particular audio clip, I changed the rhythm of the percussion loop
simply by moving the warp markers around.
Let's have a look at track 4 which has an audio clip playing some chords.
When it comes to warping, Live has several different algorithms
that you can use for audio.
In the Detail view, I can see that my current warping algorithm is set to Beats
which is more suitable for percussion.
I can change this algorithm simply by using the chooser.
For this audio clip, I'll set this from Beats to Tones.
The warping algorithms can also be used for creative purposes too.
Let's hear what happens with the same audio clip when we change it back to Beats
and change some of the settings.