How can I have the project tempo adjust to what it was when I hit record

Question

I currently record rehearsals where I change the tempo in between songs. The workflow goes like this:

1. Tap tempo for song and hit record - all using a midi controller
2. Hit stop at end of song - again with a midi controller
3. Manually move playhead past end of song (using mouse - touching the computer for this step is annoying but tolerable)
4. Repeat Steps 1 - 3

The problem is, at the end of rehearsal, if I go back and play any of the previous songs, the last tempo is still set. I have to manually enter the tempo which was used for that particular part of the night - the exact value of which is long gone and I have to "guess". Much worse, quickly clicking between songs to get a feel for the mix is next to impossible because I have to manually set the tempo between clicks.

I understand how to fix this with manual interventions (disabling "Warp" on clips, manually setting tempo automation, etc) - all of which involve "touching the mouse". But I want to limit my interactions with the computer during the creative process. I just want the song to playback at the tempo which was set at the time that part of the arrangement was recorded.

Note: I don't mind (and actually expect) the Song Tempo lane to look like this at the end of rehearsal without my manually doing it:

Answer 1

Ableton Live records tempo changes on an automation track, but only if you have some to begin with. So first you have to create some tempo automation.

Double-click on the tempo automation line to add an automation point.

The line becomes a solid line, indicating that there is automation for that parameter.

And there's a red dot on the project's tempo indicator

You can now record, and Live will record your tempo changes.

This is a useful "technique" to know. In Ableton Live versions prior to X.Y, this used to be the only way to create exact tempo automation values, for example if you wanted to get exactly tempo 100.000000000 bpm without zooming in to microscopical levels to be able to perform an ultra-precise mouse click, you had to type the tempo number in the tempo box and record it as automation.

If Ableton Live is set to EXT, i.e. as a sync slave to an external MIDI clock, then tempo automation will be ignored, because Live is not listening to its internal clock. This is the case for example when using a Ploytec 3-4-ONE or ONE-2 pedal, which works as a MIDI clock master. (Brilliant little devices by the way!)

However, you can use tap tempo also by simply remote-clicking the TAP button from an external MIDI device. In that case there is no problem. Or if you control the tempo with a remote-control knob, that's OK too and keeps Ableton as the tempo master.