Running naked, tracks w/o tempo

[low_low]

Just curious how many people produce w/o using tempo and tempo syncing inside of their DAW, people who set their DAW up to display timelines in seconds (for example) and don't snap to specific intervals. This is pretty normal recording live instruments such as acoustic guitars, but how about producing using VST synths, etc, without setting to a specific tempo, how many do that ? I've done it, and I'm considering doing it a lot more or even defaulting to it because it forces you to ask the question ... WHY am I syncing this or that exactly to the millisecond to this periodic repeating tempo ? DAWs seem to come in their default state assuming everyone wants everything on a regular beat and to some degree because that decision has been made from the outset it is creatively limiting.

[AsPeeXXXVIII]

I actually started out on my music-making misadventures without using metronomes anywhere. The only thing that was keeping time for me was myself. Didn't start learning to play to a click until 2015.

[experimental.crow]

Just curious how many people produce w/o using tempo and tempo syncing inside of their DAW, people who set their DAW up to display timelines in seconds (for example) and don't snap to specific intervals. This is pretty normal recording live instruments such as acoustic guitars, but how about producing using VST synths, etc, without setting to a specific tempo, how many do that ? I've done it, and I'm considering doing it a lot more or even defaulting to it because it forces you to ask the question ... WHY am I syncing this or that exactly to the millisecond to this periodic repeating tempo ? DAWs seem to come in their default state assuming everyone wants everything on a regular beat and to some degree because that decision has been made from the outset it is creatively limiting.

i work w/o tempo occasionally ...
more commonly , i work w/ some units clocked , and others off clock , in a
' live , in studio ' setting ...

i also make use of alternate sequencing methods , such as 'nodal ' , where
distance between nodes is the determining factor ...

[Aleatoriac]

Yes.
Some pure noise / ambient pieces, yes.
But most of the time I'm using a metronome when I play something in. It depends on what sound I want. Locked-in and precise? No problem, I want that. If I want something with a lot of "natural" tempo and volume dynamics, then no. I turn it off.

[Tj Shredder]

My standard way is without. I like music to breathe...

[vurt]

tempo is for other people.

[sambaji]

For much of our history, most songs had variable tempos. I am all for keeping a steady beat but are we losing something by not allowing ebb and flow in tempo, some rubato, which classical music does so well, in at least some of our songs. (Rubato being subtle rhythmic manipulation and nuance in performance.) Using a DAW, it is all too easy to want to "perfect" our music and overuse such tools as auto-tune, note grid quantization, and strict mono tempos. I suspect many of the all-time greatest albums of the modern era were created without a click track (e.g., the Beatles?). I've been reflecting on using more tempo changes in my songs. It's difficult to work without a click track when working on a solo project, so the first step for me would be to automate tempo changes (e.g., slightly faster in the choruses and bridges), still using a click track.

[trewq]

Time stretch/compress should offer tiny change intervals and be versatile enough to get the ebb and flow effect you want. It's what I would use since I usually need to fix later.

[arkmabat]

https://www.musicradar.com/news/drums/d ... led-198910

[arkmabat]

If your DAW doesn't allow it, just copy the project file, change the tempo or time signature, and keep writing. Repeat as necessary. Splice it all together once you're done. Most DAWs should allow variable tempo though.