cadence™ | your music. your motion.

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Cadence App

I want to use Cadence app without using desktop software first.
What is the difference between BPM sources?
Is there a way to keep the device from locking when I run?
I have a limited library of songs with their BPM values assigned. What can I do?
Is there an easier way to adjust the slider to my desired BPM?
When Cadence™ reaches the end of a playlist it stops. How do I fix this?

Cadence Desktop

What is the BPM vs the D-BPM column?
Can I have Cadence Desktop analyze only a part of my iTunes library? (Mac only)
My iTunes language isn't set to english , is there anyway to use Cadence Desktop?
Why wasn't some of my music analyzed for BPM?
What do I do if the songs in my playlists are not good for my desired motion?
When I'm using Cadence Desktop, why don't I see any music in the main window? (Mac only)
Cadence Desktop is aborting on its own and unable to find BPM's for songs which I know to be DRM free, what do I do?
What is the best format for my iTunes music to be in for Cadence Desktop ? (Windows only)

General

What is a BPM?
How do I get a BPM for a song?
Why are some songs way to slow to be the BPM they are listed as?
I think Cadence is awesome. What else do you have planned?

Cadence App

I want to use Cadence app without using desktop software first.
In Cadence app, go to the preference screen by selecting the "i". Select "Choose BPM Source". This will bring you to a screen that allows you to select where Cadence is getting its BPM data for each song. Select the Quick start mode and press the scan button. Select the playlist you want to scan and use with Cadence App. The scan process could take several minutes but once it is done, you're set to go. You may not find BPM data for every song that exists on your device however. If you find very few were found you will want to setup Cadence to use BPM playlists as its Source.

What is the difference between BPM sources?
When operating Cadence app in Quick start mode you will be scanning for BPM's right from your device. Cadence app calls out to a server to find matching BPM values. You may not find BPM's for all your music, this is however the quickest way to get moving with Cadence App right away. You do not have the option to organize your music and decide what order songs play.

When using Cadence in Advanced Playlist mode, you are choosing to run cadence off BPM playlists. To create the BPM playlist set you will need to download Cadence Desktop from our website. Cadence Desktop will analyze your iTunes music and give each song a BPM value. It will then create a set of BPM playlists in iTunes that you need to sync over to your device running Cadence App. This method takes longer to get going , but you will be able to use all the music in your iTunes library and also organize the order of songs within each BPM Playlist that is selected via Cadence app to play.

Is there a way to keep the device from locking when I run?
You may want to deactivate your devices automatic lock function while in motion. This will allow you to adjust the slider without having to unlock first. You can do this on your iPhone or iPod touch by going to Settings and then General. You will see a Auto Lock function with parameters you can adjust.

I have a limited library of songs with their BPM values assigned. What can I do?
Get more music! But, seriously...if you have a small music library, you can adjust the tolerance Cadence™ uses to select a BPM playlist. You can find the tolerance option from the preferance pane within Cadence™ on your device. In the lower left corner of the main screen you will see the letter "i". Select it with your finger. You will see Tolerance as an option. Select On, and drag the tolerance slider to the desired amount.

Is there an easier way to adjust the slider to my desired BPM?
If the slider is difficult for you to adjust up and down by a few BPM, you can tap at the top or bottom of the black bar of the slider. This will move the BPM value up or down by one.

Cadence Desktop

What is the BPM vs the D-BPM column?
The BPM column in Cadence Desktop shows the BPM value that is currently associated with each song. This is also the value that would appear in iTunes if your BPM column is visible.

The D-BPM column in Cadence Desktop shows the value from either Cadence Desktop analyzing the song, or the result of the Tap Button. This is the value that if the export button is pressed will become the new value for the selected track.

Can I have Cadence Desktop analyze only a part of my iTunes library? (Mac only)
The most simple way to do this is to create an additional library reference in iTunes. You can do this by holding down " option " (mac) / " shift" (Win) while iTunes loads. You will be presented with the opportunity to Choose a library to load or create a new library.

Select Create a new library and name it Cadence.
In iTunes go to the main preferences. Go to the advanced section and make sure " copy files to iTunes media folder " is not checked. ( You can enable it again after this if you like ) This will ensure that you are not creating an additional file for each song when you build this new "Cadence" library.
In your finder navigate to your iTunes music folder. This is typically found under your user account in a folder called Music.
In the iTunes music folder you should see all your music organized by Artist. Select the music you want to add to your new library and drag it to the main window of iTunes.
You now have a new library of only the tracks you want Cadence Desktop to analyze.
If you want to switch to your previous library you can do this by holding down " option " (mac) / " shift" (Win) while iTunes loads. Select "Choose Library" and select your old library.

My iTunes language isn't set to english, is there anyway to use Cadence Desktop?
First you need to set your iTunes language to English. Don't worry you can always change it back. You can find instructions here http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2242.

Now you need to create another iTunes library. You will be able to switch between your existing and this new library.

You can do this by holding down " option " (mac) / " shift" (Win) while iTunes loads. You will be presented with the opportunity to "Choose a library to load" or "create a new library".

Select Create a new library and name it Cadence.
In iTunes go to the main preferences. Go to the advanced section and make sure " copy files to iTunes media folder " is not checked. ( You can enable it again after this if you like ) This will ensure that you are not creating an additional file for each song when you build this new "Cadence" library.
In your finder navigate to your iTunes music folder. This is typically found under your user account in a folder called Music.
In the iTunes music folder you should see all your music organized by Artist. Select the music you want to add to your new library and drag it to the main window of iTunes. You could select all of the music if you like.
You now have a new library that is setup in to work with iTunes setup in English.
If you want to switch to your previous library you can do this by holding down " option " (mac) / " shift" (Win) while iTunes loads. Select "Choose Library" and select your old library. You will then want to switch your language back to use your old library again.

When Cadence™ reaches the end of a playlist it stops. How do I fix this?
If your playlist is short and stops before you want it to, you can set Cadence™ to repeat playlists. You can do this from within the Cadence™ preferance pane. In the lower left corner of the main screen you will see the letter "i". Select it with your finger. You will see the repeat function, select On.

Why wasn't some of my music analyzed for BPM?
If your music was purchased from an online distributor like iTunes that has DRM protection those files will not be analyzed. You can manually put in the BPM value for each song. Fortunately iTunes recently made their entire online music library DRM free. iTunes allows you to upgrade your current tracks to being DRM free. More information can be found here.

What do I do if the songs in my playlists are not good for my desired motion?
You may want to tweak the smartplaylists filtering options on the BPM playlist you don't like. From within iTunes, go to the playlist and command-click on it. You will see an option called Edit smart playlist, click on it. From there are several filters you can put in place that will influence what songs from your library are incorporated.

A popular filter only allows songs that have a "Playcount" of 1 or greater. To use this filter, click on the + symbol. From the drop down that appears on the far left select "Playcount." Then in the middle drop down select "Greater Than", and on the far right type in the number "1." There are many other possible options you can tweak to make your playlist exactly what you want.

Check out our "Getting more out of your BPM playlist" video tutorial.

When I'm using Cadence Desktop, why don't I see any music in the main window? (Mac only)
Cadence Desktop by default only will pull in music to analyze that does not currently have a BPM value assigned to it. This would be considered new music you are adding to your library. If you would like to re-analyze music follow these steps to remove the filter. With Cadence Desktop launched go to Cadence Desktop in the top toolbar on your screen. Click on Preferences and then uncheck, Filter songs with BPM Values. Then reload your iTunes library by going to File in the top toolbar and click on Reload iTunes library.

Another possible cause of this could be the result of your iTunes being setup in a language other than English. We will be offering support for other languages in the future. Here is a resource for switching your iTunes into an english mode. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2242 Switching to english mode may not work in all cases.

What is the best format for my iTunes music to be in for Cadence Desktop ? ( Windows only )
Cadence Desktop will operate the most quickly if your iTunes library is using the .wav format.

Cadence Desktop is aborting on its own and unable to find BPM's for songs which I know to be DRM free, what do I do?
You need to rebuild your library.xml file. Follow these instructions on apples website http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1451

General Questions

What is a BPM?
A BPM (Beat Per Minute) is a unit used as a measurement of tempo in music. A rate of 60 BPM would mean that one beat will occur every second. There are songs that seem way too slow to be the BPM they are listed as.

How do I get a BPM for a song?
There are many ways to get a BPM for a song in your iTunes music library.

Manually: Listen to the song you want a BPM for and count how many beats take place in 10 seconds. Multiply that number of beats by 6 to see how many beats take place in 1 Minute. In iTunes control-click or right-click on the track you counted to. In the box that has opened click on the info tab. Find the BPM field and input the BPM number you have counted. This method will prove to be the most accurate, but also the most time consuming.

Beat Detection/Analyzer: There are many programs for both Windows and Mac platforms that will analyze your iTunes music library and fill in the BPM value for each song. Using this process will take the least amount of time, but can provide some inaccurate results. Mostly you will find a BPM value may be double or half the actual BPM of the song.

Cadence™ Desktop - Windows / Mac
Mix Meister - Windows / Mac
Tangerine! - Mac
BeaTunes - Windows / Mac

Tapping Software: This method has software available for both Windows and Mac platforms and provides a program for you to Tap on while you are listening to a selected song. The software will give you the BPM of the song after you have tapped along to the beat of the music using your mouse. Some software will also fill in the iTunes BPM value for you. This method is accurate, but still can take quite a bit of time to complete.

iTunes BPM Inspector - Mac
TapTemp - Windows
BpmWidget - Mac
All8.com - Web-based

Why are some songs way to slow to be the BPM they are listed as?
You may notice that a songs BPM value is double or half of its actual BPM. You can adjust each songs BPM value through iTunes. From within iTunes 'command-click' on the track you want to change. Click on Get Info and select the info tab. You will see a box where you can adjust that songs BPM value.

I think Cadence™ is awesome. What else do you have planned?
We have plans to make it even more awesome.