Sketch the arrangement before you open the DAW. List the sections in bars, set the tempo and the beats per bar, and read off where each one starts — in minutes and in bar numbers — and how long the song runs.
A section lasts its bars × beats per bar × 60 ÷ BPM seconds — the formula of the Song Length Calculator, where the BPM counts the beat of the bar. The timeline adds the sections in order, so each row shows its start time, its first bar number and its length; reorder with ↑, rename by typing.
The three starting points are only sketches to edit, not rules about how a genre is built. The plan lives in the page address, so the copied link reopens exactly this plan; nothing is stored anywhere else.
My song is in 6/8 — what do I enter?
Enter the beats you count per bar and the BPM of that same beat. Counting 6/8 in two, enter
2 beats and the dotted-quarter BPM; counting in six, enter 6 and the eighth-note BPM. Both
give the same length.
Does the plan change the tempo mid-song?
No — one tempo for the whole song. For a tempo change, plan each part separately.
Is my plan saved?
Only in the link. Copy it to keep the plan or send it to a co-writer.