Introduction
Today we’ll answer the most common questions editors face with music markers, and demonstrate how to use them effectively.
1. How accurate is SoundXtract’s automatic beat detection?
SoundXtract scans your music file and automatically adds beat markers across the timeline with ten-millisecond accuracy.
If you try to press M on the keyboard to manually add markers, you’d have a noticeable delay due to imperfect human reaction time. Nothing personal here — all humans face this problem.
2. How do I fix markers that are a bit off?
Rarely does SoundXtract get the wrong beats-per-minute value. If this happens, the markers can seem a little off and drift further along as time goes on. To fix this, change the BPM.
Sometimes the BPM is correct but all of the beats are consistently not where they should be. In that case, add a static offset to all beats by changing the first downbeat value.
There’s a dedicated video explaining how to change these values.
3. How do I filter or select only the beats I want to use?
By default the plugin creates markers for every beat, resulting in a crowded timeline. To refine the selection, use the filter option, which lets you choose subdivisions like quarter notes, or isolate specific percussion like the kick drum or the bass line. You can even pick individual beats by using the custom beat creation tool.
To learn more, go to the Adding Markers video.
4. What’s the difference between sequence markers and clip markers, and which should I use?
Sequence markers are attached to the timeline as a whole, while clip markers are tied to individual audio or video files.
For most music editing workflows, add the markers to the music clip. You want the markers to move in sync with the music clip as you move it — otherwise the beat markers won’t make sense unless you also move the audio clip.
5. How do I handle songs with tempo changes or complex rhythms?
SoundXtract supports automatic detection for tracks with a stable BPM. If your song changes tempo, you can cut its clip at the change location and hit Render and Replace per clip, then analyze each clip using SoundXtract individually.
Another option is to manually change the BPM when you finish editing the first part of the music and want to move on to the second part.
That wraps up our core tips for using beat markers with SoundXtract. Happy editing!
