brundlefly
Melodyne can be used to align audio to the project timeline, but not the other way around which is what this thread is about.

I said Melodyne STUDIO.
 
Read more about the process here.

But that doesn't get the tempo map into SONAR. I suppose possibly you can save it as a MIDI file and import it - hard to say since the referenced page doesn't mention it.
 
In any case, it's basically a variation on SONAR's own Set Measure/Beat At Now with a more graphical implementation. With SONAR's tab-to-transient function and the beat-guessing capability of SM/BAN, I'll wager I can do it faster in SONAR.
 
Also, it's not evident that Melodyne can set tempos anywhere other than downbeats...?
 
 
 
 

Yes. You import a MIDI file into Sonar to get the tempo map. 
 
It is possible to set tempo changes anywhere in the bar. 
 
Melodyne Studio is my preferred method. I personally find it much quicker and more intuitive to use. 
 
I didn't know anyone was going to imply that I didn't know what this thread was about or that my method patently did not work. Which method is better? That is up to the individual. I merely wanted to let people know that this option exists and that I prefer it. 
 
 

No offense intended, Nat, but without the detail you provided in your subsequent responses, your original post wouldn't have been very helpful to anyone. And it wasn't unreasonable to conclude based on that meager initial contribution that you had misunderstood the goal.
 
The fact remains that, by itself, Melodyne cannot align a SONAR project's timeline to audio - extra steps are required. And if the project contains clips that don't start at time zero (as in this case where the song starts on a pick-up note), you're going to encounter more issues when you bring in tempos from a MIDI file, which, incidentally has to be done by copy-paste after opening the MIDI file as a new project; it's not actually possible to 'import' a tempo map directly from a MIDI file to an existing project.
 
The Devil on the Highway to Hell is in the details. 
 

When I posted the OP I felt like Aretha Franklin was chastising me for choosing that song on a Sunday.
 

Better than being whipped with a ruler by The Penguin.