> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gridshift.studio/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tempo and Beat Grid

> Tells Gridshift a sample's real tempo and where its bar one starts, so it stretches and lines up correctly. Open the Sample Editor with ⌥X, press ⌘2 and drag Original BPM until the grid lands on the hits.

## Set the sample's tempo

Press `⌥X`, then `⌘2` for Tempo mode. Drag the **Original BPM** field until the beat grid lands on the hits, or click it to type a value.

## Fix a tempo detected at half or double speed

In the inspector's **Sample** section, hover **Original BPM** and click **÷2** or **×2**. A drum & bass loop read as 87 becomes 174.

## Line the beat grid up with the audio

In Tempo mode, click any beat line and drag the grid onto the first downbeat. The offset chip in the bottom-right corner shows how far it moved.

## Move the clips onto the grid

Press **Align Clips** on the offset chip. Every clip that plays the sample slides its audio onto the corrected grid.

## Good to know

* **Original BPM is detected at import**, or is the project tempo when detection isn't possible. It names the tempo at the level the music is counted in, so a drum & bass loop reads 174 rather than its half or two-thirds.
* **Original BPM and Target BPM set the stretch together.** Original BPM says what the sample is, Target BPM what it should play at: [Time Stretching](/timing/time-stretching.md).
* **Moving the grid does not change the BPM**, unless you `⌘`-drag a beat line to stretch it.
* **Align Clips slides the audio inside each clip**, so clip positions, lengths and neighbors stay exactly as they are. It works on every clip using this sample, across all tracks, and counts them in its label (**Align 3 Clips**).
* **Your corrections travel with the audio.** The tempo and the grid offset are saved with the sample and stored in the [Sample Library](/library/sample-library.md) against the audio itself, so the next project that loads the same file starts from them.

> **Details**
>
> * **Original BPM also sits in the inspector's Sample section**, with the same drag, click and right-click. A tempo typed in the library itself is covered on [Tempo, Key and Type](/library/tempo-key-and-type.md).
> * **Right-click an edited Original BPM for Reset to Detected**, or **Reset to Project Tempo** when nothing was detected.
> * **Detection measures across the whole file** instead of rounding a rough number.
> * **In Tempo mode, `Space` plays the whole sample** with a click on the grid's beats, whatever is selected in Slices mode. Clicking the waveform plays from that point with the same click; clicking again while it runs jumps without stopping.
> * **Imported samples arrive with the grid already anchored.** Gridshift finds the beat the audio lands on and, where a track changes gear (the drop), reads which beat starts the bar. It counts bar one from where the arrangement starts rather than where the file does.
> * **Material it cannot place confidently is left at zero** rather than anchored on a guess. A correction stored in the Sample Library, or one you make here, always wins over the automatic value.
> * **Moving the grid says how far the clips are off; it does not move them.** **Align Clips** is disabled when there is nothing to correct.
> * **Align Clips to Downbeat** in the Command Palette does the same for the selected track's clips, in one undo step. It needs one track selected.
> * **Re-scan** on the offset chip discards the detected tempo and grid start and reads the audio again; **Reset** puts the grid back at the start of the sample.
> * **Palette commands**, in the Audio Tools group: **Set Sample Tempo**, **Reset Sample Tempo to Detected**, **Set Sample Downbeat** (in ms from the start), **Reset Sample Downbeat**, **Re-scan Sample Tempo and Grid** and **Align Clips to Downbeat**.

> **Beat grid (Tempo mode)**
>
> | Action | Input |
> | - | - |
> | Drag the grid | Click any beat line and drag; the grid moves live |
> | Stretch the grid | `⌘`-drag a beat line; the downbeat stays put and the BPM changes so the spacing matches the drag |
> | Nudge the grid | `⌘←` / `⌘→` (1 ms), or `⌥⌘←` / `⌥⌘→` for a single-sample step |
> | Reset the grid | **Reset** on the offset chip (bottom-right corner of the waveform) |
> | Analyse again | **Re-scan** on the same chip |
> | Move the clips onto the grid | **Align Clips** on the same chip |

> **Keys**
>
> | Action | Shortcut |
> | - | - |
> | Open the Sample Editor | `⌥X` |
> | Tempo mode | `⌘2` |
> | Play with the click / stop | `Space` |
> | Nudge the grid 1 ms / one sample | `⌘←` `⌘→` / `⌥⌘←` `⌥⌘→` |
> | Zoom out / in, anchored at the downbeat | `⌥←` / `⌥→` |


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