Website Overview

This website contains original material and links to websites and other resources. All the topics covered are referenced here and the website replaces the usual powerpoint presentation with a format more adapted to a workshop about Ableton. The following pages can be printed out (but why would you?). The site is adaptive and can be viewed on mobile devices, navigation by keyboard shortcuts is active (try ) and search is enabled.

Many great tutorials are available and due to the fast pace of the technological evolution it’s best to also look for info on the latest updates. The first workshop is dedicated to give an overview of Ableton and the new course introduced in Luxembourg on “Création musicale assistée par ordinateur” a barbaric name used to describe the whole digital music production chain.

Your first set

Download an open the following Ableton live set

Please download the first archive file midiclip starter Project.zip and open it in Ableton Live.

Midi Clips Project

Performing in Session View

Start individual clips

Play around with starting and stopping clips (parts):

Record your performance

When you found an order you liked, press the Session record button and do a performance:

Let’s move on and have a look at the arrangement view where your performance was recorded:

Editing in Arrangement View

Edit your recorded performance

Switch to arrangement view by using the tab key ⇥ to see the result of your performance.

Click the Back to Arrangement icon (F10) to

“Arrangement playback does not resume until you explicitly tell Live to resume by clicking the Back to Arrangement button, which appears in the Arrangement View and lights up to remind you that what you hear differs from the Arrangement.” (cf. manual Recording Sessions into the Arrangement)

You can edit the lengths of the individual loops by simple grabbing and dragging the edges of the parts.

You can also select multiple parts and change them all at once.

To lengthen a part use Edit -> Duplicate Time to duplicate the selection and move everything to the right. (Insert Edit)

You can also do the opposite: select a region, use Delete Time and everything will move to the left.

Interface Walkthrough

Main Screens and Buttons

Let’s a have a quick tour of some of the elements of the user interface:

• Top Row:

  • Tempo & Tap
  • Time Signature
  • Click
  • Play / Stop / Record
  • Computer Midi Keyboard

• arrows to open and close

  • Browser (Top left)
  • Session / Arrangement View (Top right)
  • Info / Help view (Bottom left)
  • Detail view (Bottom right)

• Device / Clip View (Bottom right)

• Show / Hide Mixer Elements:

  • I/O Routing
  • Send / Returns
  • Mixersection (Fader / Pan / Mute / Solo / recordarm)
  • (Track delay and crossfader)

Export Your Performance

Step 1: Set the Loop Brace

Position the loop brace to determine the beginning and end of the export and don’t forget to click it.

Step 2: Use File/Export Audio/Video Files

Export Audio/Video

Exporting with options

Record Midi in Session View

Basic Steps

The Ableton manual dives into every aspect of recording new clips in the session view and the arrangement view. Three steps are necessary for recording midi or audio¹ clips:

1. choose an input
2. arm a track
3. record (into session or arrangement view)

We will illustrate the process of recording midi clips in the session view (ableton calls this recording into session slots).

1.) chose an input

On track 6 click on midi from. for now leave it on all ins.

2.) arm a track

3.) record

Instead of using the stop button in the control bar you can also press the clip stop button.

Options to explore

Play notes on your computer keyboard

• black piano keys: top Row Q W E
• white keys: center row A S D F
• velocity: C V
• transpose range: Z X

Activate with the Computer MIDI Keyboard button:

Use the metronome

Use Record Quantise

Capture

Play something on a record armed track without starting the main record button or a clip record butoon, then click on the capture button:

Resources

For a quick reference on further options:

• Learn Live 10: Recording Midi
• Learn Live 10: Capturing MIDI

Record Audio in Arrangement View

The Ableton Manual offers a precise overview for recording in arrangement view (introduces it before session view) and suggests a workflow (after the 3 first basic steps: chose an input, arm, record).

For a basic audio recording process follow these steps:

1.) insert an audio track

2.) chose a source and arm

(Demo) Please follow the steps for your specific sound card and setup and refer to this chapter Monitoring in Live:

“Monitoring means that you’re receiving a signal from an input source (which could be an audio input on audio tracks, or a MIDI input on MIDI tracks), processing it with effects (if required), then passing that signal to the track’s output where you can listen to it on your speakers or headphones.”

When should the monitor be set to “In” or “Auto”?

• If you prefer to monitor through Live.
• If you want process the monitored signal with effects while playing back/recording.
• If you have no other way to monitor (no interface with direct monitoring, no external mixing desk).

When should the monitor be set to “Off”?

• If you’re using direct monitoring. Direct monitoring is a function of certain audio interfaces
• If you’re monitoring through an external mixing desk.
• If you can hear the source already without a need for monitoring (eg. an acoustic guitar or your voice).
• If you’re monitoring the source already through another track in the Live set, and are recording the same signal to a separate track. For example when working with external hardware and recording the audio directly to another track.

Also cf. What is direct monitoring? on the magic between software monitoring and direct, latency free monitoring on a Scarlett Solo or 2i2 card.

3.) record

Explore the control bar options (besides the record and stop button 😺):

• a) loop recording will retain the audio recorded during each pass.
• b) punch in punch out to specify the section that will be used for recording. Use the Arrangement Loop

Adding New Clips

browsing and adding new clips

prelisten

When you click on a loop, ableton will play the sample in the tempo of the song and quantized to the beginning of the next bar. This is called warping. you can turn it off(and on) here:

you can adjust the volume of the preview here:

If you listen to a loop you like to add, simply drag and drop it onto an audio track or onto a blank area. A new audio track will be created.

Loop Length and Start Position

length of a loop

you can easily adjust the start end position of a loop. There are several ways to do this:

You drag the looping marker in the sample area:

you can also select an area and press cmd-L (or look for the command in the edit menu):

or you can type or change the values in the Start-End - Loopposition-Length section:

changing the start position of the clip:

Loop Envelopes

play just a part of a loop

e.g. you have a drum loop sample where you really like the sound of the backbeat, but you don’t want to have the whole beat playing. That is a great example of how you can use clip envelopes.

1) open up the envelope tab

• select the clip you want to edit
• if not already open, click on the right button in the bottom of the clip overview:

2) select the parameter and draw a curve

• Select Clip from the dropdown menu
• Select Volume from the dropdown menu
• Activate the draw mode either by clicking in the upper right or by pressing B
• draw the curve to blank out everything beside the backbeat

MPE

MIDI Polyphonic Expression

Live 11 finally introduced MPE. MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) and Midi are both standard protocols containing note and time information. MIDI associates all parameters of data to a single channel, MPE does this with each note. Every note can have its values changed in realtime.

MPE is a new specification based on MIDI, the universal protocol for electronic music. MPE allows digital instruments to behave more like acoustic instruments in terms of spontaneous, polyphonic sound control. So players modulate parameters like timbre, pitch, and amplitude — all at the same time. roli.com/mpe

The Linnstrument and the Roli Seaboard Rise Keyboard are of part of this new generation of midi keyboards:

Linnstrument Polyphonic Touch and Note Arrangement

Ableton MPE Setting

Use Live/Preferences then link tempo midi to activate the MPE for a compatible keyboard:

Slicing Samples & Performing

Slice to New Midi Track option

See Slice to New MIDI Track in the Ableton Manual.

“This command divides the audio into chunks which are assigned to single MIDI notes.”

(N.B.: This only works on warped clips!)

Use the Simpler device to slice up your loops

Ableton Sampling Tutorial in Simpler – Slicing Samples

Fun activity for younger and older students

Example of remixing a film with sample slices. Here Plan 9 from Outer Space by Ed Wood who also used stock music out of budget constraints:

Keyboard an Midi Mapping

Keyboard an Midi Mapping

This Live feature opens the door to using midi controllers and keyboards and creating your own instrument. Learn Live 10: MIDI mapping and key mapping

Midi Foot Controller Mapping Example

Groove Templates

Groove Templates make Midi Grooves Come Alive

Often overlooked but key to humanize rigid midi playback. To access them:

To apply them:

“The timing and “feel“ of each clip in your Set can be modified through the use of grooves. Live comes with a large selection of grooves, which appear as .agr” files in the browser. (Using Grooves)

Warping

Warping Clips

One of the essentials features of Live with many (too many?) tutorials available:

Keyboard Shortcuts

A very personal selection of shortcuts, cf. Live Keyboard Shortcuts for a complete list.

Panels

Create & Edit

Playback

New in 10

Bibliography

Official Ableton Documentation

Ableton Manual

ableton.com/en/manual/welcome-to-live/ (fr) (de)

Ableton Knowledge Base with most asked questions

help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/categories/201129405-Using-Live

Get started making music, excellent web based introduciton to DAWs and Ableton, also fun for students

learningmusic.ableton.com

Learning Synths easy intro into synthesis, works best in the Chrome browser

learningsynths.ableton.com

Theory Hack excellent classroom project by Ethan Hein “Many producers struggle with music theory. In this module, we make concepts like chords and scales intuitive using the MIDI keyboard, Push, and Live’s MIDI devices.”

ableton.com/en/classroom/support/theory-hacks

Live and Push in the Classroom webinar series for educators

ableton.com/en/education/education-resources/webinars/

Ableton Youtube Channel

Ableton Youtube Channel

youtube.com/channel/UCgWZYUZjiidjWgfs95pJrWg

Learn Live 10 some excellent intro videos and more advanced features

youtube.com/watch?v=c5Sn0Kibu2w&list=PLoh4MB-kbBmJGLjNwRNr5qAtDr1V3zcNr

Learn Live 11 new features and advanced topics in a compact format, worth watching

youtube.com/watch?v=uSzDKw-GFIU&list=PLoh4MB-kbBmK9r0uGkd9Js9EZ225zHxRx

Books

DeSantis, D. (2015). Making music: 74 creative strategies for electronic music producers. Ableton AG.

Several free chapters are available

• Manzo, V., & Kuhn, W. (2015). Interactive composition: Strategies using Ableton live and max for live. Oxford University Press. : Also a good introduction to Max by cycling74

Kuhn, W., & Hein, E. (2021). Electronic Music School: A Contemporary Approach to Teaching Musical Creativity. Oxford University Press.

Ableton Live Built-In Tutorials

Finding them might be obvious but they are often overlooked: