Live ConceptsThis chapter introduces the essential concepts of Live. We advise you to read thischapter early in your Live career, as a solid understanding of the program’s basicprinciples will help you fully exploit Live’s potential for your music-making. 4.1 The BrowserLive’s browser is the place where you interact with your library of musical assets: the core libraryof sounds that are installed with the program, any additional sounds you’ve installedvia Ableton Packs, presets and samples you’ve saved, your Ableton and third-party devices, and anyfolders that you’ve added manually. Live’s Browser. 4.2 Live SetsThe type of document that you create and work on in Live is called a Live Set. Live Sets reside in a Live Project — a folder that collects related materials —and can be opened either through the File menu’s Open command or via Live’s browser.
A Live Set in the Browser. 4.3 Arrangement and SessionThe basic musical building blocks of Live are called clips. A clip is a piece of musical material: a melody, a drum pattern, a bassline or acomplete song. Live allows you to record and alter clips, and to create larger musicalstructures from them: songs, scores, remixes, DJ sets or stage shows.A Live Set consists of two environments that can hold clips: The Arrangement is a layout of clips along a musical timeline; the Session is a real-time-oriented “launching base” for clips. Every Session clip has its ownplay button that allows launching the clip at any time and in any order.
Each clip’sbehavior upon launch can be precisely specified through a number of settings. Clips in the Session View (Left) and in the Arrangement View (Right).The Arrangement is accessed via the Arrangement View and the Session via the Session View. If you’re using Live in a single window, you can toggle between the two views usingthe computer’s Tab key or their respective selectors. If you’re using two windows, pressing Tab will swap the Session and Arrangement from one window to the other.Because the two views have distinct applications, they each hold individual collectionsof clips. However, it is important to understand that toggling or swapping the viewssimply changes the appearance of the Live Set and does not switch modes, alter whatyou hear or change what is stored.
The Arrangement and Session View Selectors.The Arrangement View and the Session View interact in useful ways. One can, for instance,improvise with Session clips and record a log of the improvisation into the Arrangement for further refinement. This works because Arrangement andSession are connected via tracks. 4.4 TracksTracks host clips and also manage the flow of signals, as well as the creation ofnew clips through recording, sound synthesis, effects processing and mixing. A Track in the Arrangement View.The Session and Arrangement share the same set of tracks.
In the Session View, thetracks are laid out in columns, while in the Arrangement View they are stacked vertically,with time moving from left to right. A simple rule governs the cohabitation of clipsin a track:A track can only play one clip at a time.Therefore, one usually puts clips that should play alternatively in the same SessionView column, and spreads out clips that should play together across tracks in rows,or what we call scenes.
A Scene in the Session View.At any one time, a track can be playing either a Session clip or an Arrangement clip,but never both. So, who wins? When a Session clip is launched, the respective trackstops whatever it is doing to play that clip. In particular, if the track was playingan Arrangement clip, it will stop it in favor of the Session clip — even as the othertracks continue to play what is in the Arrangement. The track will not resume Arrangementplayback until explicitly told to do so.This is what the Back to Arrangement button is for, which is found in the Master Track in the Session View and at the top-right of the scrub area in the Arrangement View.This button lights up to indicate that one or more tracks are currently not playing the Arrangement, but are playing a clip from the Session instead.
The Back to Arrangement Button in the Session View. The Back to Arrangement Button in the Arrangement View.We can click this button to make all tracks go back to playing the Arrangement. Eachtrack in the Arrangement View also has its own Back to Arrangement button, allowingyou to resume Arrangement playback of only certain tracks. A Single Track’s Back to Arrangement Button.We can also capture the current state into the Arrangement by activating the Arrangement Record button. Disengaging Record Mode or stopping Live using the Stop button leaves us with an altered Arrangement.
4.5 Audio and MIDIClips represent recorded signals. Live deals with two types of signals: audio andMIDI. In the digital world, an audio signal is a series of numbers that approximatesa continuous signal as generated by a microphone or delivered to a loudspeaker. AMIDI signal is a sequence of commands, such as “now play a C4 at mezzo piano.“ MIDIis a symbolic representation of musical material, one that is closer to a writtenscore than to an audio recording. MIDI signals are generated by input devices suchas MIDI or USB keyboards.It takes an instrument to convert MIDI signals into audio signals that can actually be heard.
Some instruments,such as Live’s Simpler , are for chromatic playing of one sound via the keyboard. Other instruments, suchas Live’s Impulse , have a different percussion sound assigned to each keyboard key.Audio signals are recorded and played back using audio tracks, and MIDI signals are recorded and played back using MIDI tracks. The two track types have their own corresponding clip types. Audio clips cannotlive on MIDI tracks and vice versa.Information about inserting, reordering and deleting audio and MIDI tracks is foundhere. 4.6 Audio Clips and SamplesAn audio clip contains a reference to a sample (also known as a “sound file“ or “audio file“) or a compressed sample (such as an MP3 file). The clip tells Live where on the computer’s drives to findthe sample, what part of the sample to play and how to play it.When a sample is dragged in from Live’s built-in browser, Live automatically createsa clip to play that sample.
Prior to dragging in a sample, one can audition or preview it directly in the browser; the switch in the browser with the headphone icon activatespreviewing. Samples Are Dragged in from Live’s Browser.Live offers many options for playing samples in exciting new ways, allowing you tocreate an abundance of new sounds without actually changing the original sample —all the changes are computed in real time, while the sample is played. The respectivesettings are made in the Clip View , which appears on screen when a clip is double-clicked. An Audio Clip’s Properties as Displayed in the Clip View.Many powerful manipulations arise from Live’s warping capabilities. Warping means changing the speed of sample playback independently from the pitchso as to match the song tempo. The tempo can be adjusted on the fly in the ControlBar’s Tempo field.
The Control Bar’s Tempo Field.The most elementary use of this technique, and one that usually requires no manualsetup, is synchronizing sample loops to the chosen tempo. Live’s Auto-Warp algorithmactually makes it easy to line up any sample with the song tempo, such as a recording of a drunken jazz band’s performance.It is also possible to radically change the sonic signature of a sound using extremewarp settings. 4.7 MIDI Clips and MIDI FilesA MIDI clip contains musical material in the form of MIDI notes and controller envelopes.When MIDI is imported from a MIDI file , the data gets incorporated into the Live Set, and the original file is not referencedthereafter.
In Live’s browser, a MIDI file appears with a special icon, and with the.mid file extension. MIDI Files Are Dragged in from Live’s Browsers.As you’d expect, a MIDI clip’s contents can be accessed and edited via the Clip View, for instance to change a melody or “paint“ a drum pattern. The Device View Displaying a MIDI Track’s Device Chain.A MIDI Clip’s Properties as Displayed in the Clip View. 4.8 Devices and the MixerA track can have not only clips but also a chain of devices for processing signals. Double-clicking a track’s title bar brings up the Device View, which shows the track’s device chain. The Device View Displaying a MIDI Track’s Device Chain.Live’s built-in audio effects , MIDI effects and instruments are available from the browser and can be added to tracks by dragging them fromthere into the Device View, or into a Session or Arrangement track. Live’s Built-in Devices Are Available from the Browser.You can also use plug-in devices in Live.
VST and Audio Units (macOS only) Plug-ins are available from the browser’sPlug-Ins label. Plug-In Devices Are Available from the Browser’s Plug-Ins Label.Consider an audio clip playing in an audio track. The audio signal from the clip reachesthe leftmost device in the chain. This device processes (changes) the signal and feedsthe result into the next device, and so on. The number of devices per track is theoreticallyunlimited. In practice, the computer’s processor speed imposes a limit on the numberof devices you can use at the same time, a topic that deserves separate discussion. Note that the signal connections between audio devices are always stereo, but thesoftware’s inputs and outputs can be configured to be mono in the Audio Preferences.When the signal has passed through the device chain, it ends up in Live’s mixer.
As the Session and Arrangement share the same set of tracks, they also share themixer. The mixer can be shown in both views for convenience. To optimize the screenlayout, the individual mixer sections can be shown or hidden using the View menu’sentries.
The Live Mixer in the Arrangement View (Left) and Session View (Right).The mixer has controls for volume, pan position and sends, which adjust the contribution each track makes to the input of any return tracks. Return tracks only host effects, and not clips.
Via their sends, all tracks canfeed a part of their signal into a return track and share its effects.The mixer also includes a crossfader , which can create smooth transitions between clips playing on different tracks.Live’s crossfader works like a typical DJ mixer crossfader, except that it allowscrossfading not only two but any number of tracks — including the returns. Live’s Crossfader.Devices that receive and deliver audio signals are called audio effects. Audio effects are the only type of device that fit in an audio track or a returntrack. However, two more types of devices are available for use in MIDI tracks: MIDI effects and instruments.Consider a MIDI track playing a clip. The MIDI signal from the clip is fed into thetrack’s device chain.
There, it is first processed by any number of MIDI effects.A MIDI effect receives and delivers MIDI signals. One example is the Scale effect,which maps the incoming notes onto a user-defined musical scale. The last MIDI effectin the chain is followed by an instrument. Instruments, for instance Live’s Simplerand Impulse, receive MIDI and deliver audio. Following the instrument, there can beany number of audio effects — as in an audio track. A MIDI Effect, an Instrument and an Audio Effect in a MIDI Track.If a MIDI track has no instrument (and no audio effects), then the track’s outputis a plain MIDI signal, which has to be sent somewhere else to be converted into audio.In this case, the track’s mix and Send controls disappear from the mixer.
The Mixer for a MIDI Track without an Instrument. 4.9 Presets and RacksEvery Live device can store and retrieve particular sets of parameter values as presets. As presets are stored independently from Live Sets, new presets become part ofyour user library that any project can draw from.Live’s Instrument, Drum and Effect Racks allow saving combinations of devices and their settings as a single preset. Thisfeature allows for the creation of powerful multi-device creations and effectivelyadds all the capabilities of Live’s MIDI and audio effects to the built-in instruments. 4.10 RoutingAs we have seen, all tracks deliver signals, either audio or MIDI. Where do thesesignals go?
This is set up in the mixer’s In/Out section, which offers, for every track, choosers to select a signal source and destination.The In/Out section, accessible through the View menu’s In/Out option, is Live’s “patchbay.“Its routing options enable valuable creative and technical methods such as resampling, submixing, layeringof synths, complex effects setups and more. Track Routing Is Set up Using the In/Out Section in the Arrangement (Left) or SessionView (Right).Signals from the tracks can be sent to the outside world via the computer’s audioand MIDI interfaces, to other programs that are connected to Live via ReWire or to other tracks or devices within Live. Tracks can also be combined into a GroupTrack which serves as a submixer for the selected tracks.Likewise, a track can be set up to receive an input signal to be played through thetrack’s devices. Again, tracks can receive their input from the outside, from a ReWireprogram or from another track or device in Live. The Monitor controls regulate the conditions under which the input signal is heard through thetrack.It is also possible to route signals to external hardware devices from within a track’sdevice chain, by using the External Audio Effect and External Instrument devices. (Note: these devices are not available in the Lite or Intro Editions.) 4.11 Recording New ClipsAudio tracks and MIDI tracks can record their input signal and thereby create newclips. Recording is enabled on a track by pressing its Arm button.
With multiple tracks selected, pressing any of their Arm buttons will arm all ofthem. You can also hold down the CTRL(PC) / CMD(Mac) modifier when clicking the Arm buttons to arm several tracks at once. If theExclusive Arm option is enabled in the Record Preferences, inserting an instrumentinto a new or empty MIDI track will automatically arm the track. When the ControlBar’s Arrangement Record button is on, every armed track records its input signalinto the Arrangement. Every take yields a new clip per track. Track Arm Buttons, as They Appear in the Session View.It is also possible to record into Session View slots on the fly. This technique is very useful for the jamming musician, as Session recording doesnot require stopping the music.
Clicking the Session Record button records a new clipin the selected Session scene in all armed tracks. The Control Bar’s Session Record Button.Clicking the Session Record button again defines the end of the recording and launchesthe new clips.
As these actions are subject to real-time launch quantization, the resulting clips can be automatically cut to the beat. The Control Bar’s Quantization Chooser.Session recording in conjunction with overdubbing and Record Quantization is the method of choice for creating drum patterns, which are built up by successivelyadding notes to the pattern while it plays in a loop. It only takes a MIDI keyboard(or the computer keyboard) and a MIDI track with Live’s Impulse percussion instrumentto do this. 4.12 Automation EnvelopesOften, when working with Live’s mixer and effects, you will want the controls’ movementsto become part of the Set. The movement of a control across the Arrangement timelineor Session clip is called automation ; a control whose value changes over time is automated. Automation is represented by breakpoint envelopes, which can be drawn, edited and recorded in real-time.
The Automated Pan Control and its Envelope.Practically all mixer and effect controls in Live can be automated, even the songtempo. Recording automation is straightforward: all changes of a control that occurwhile the Control Bar’s Automation Arm and Arrangement Record buttons are on becomeautomation in the Arrangement View. Automation is recorded to Session View clips ifcontrols are adjusted while recording with the Automation Arm button enabled.Changing an automated control’s value while not recording is similar to launching a Session clip while the Arrangement is playing:It deactivates the control’s automation (in favor of the new control setting).
Thecontrol will stop tracking its automation and rest with the new value until the Re-EnableAutomation button is pressed or a Session clip that contains automation is launched. 4.13 Clip EnvelopesEnvelopes can be found in both tracks and clips. Clip envelopes are used to automate or modulate device and mixer controls. Audio clips have, inaddition, clip envelopes to influence the clip’s pitch, volume and more; these canbe used to change the melody and rhythm of recorded audio.
MIDI clips have additionalclip envelopes to represent MIDI controller data. Clip envelopes can be unlinked from the clip to give them independent loop settings, so that larger movements (likefade-outs) or smaller gestures (like an arpeggio) can be superimposed onto the clip’smaterial. An Envelope for Clip Transposition. 4.14 MIDI and Key RemoteTo liberate the musician from the mouse, most of Live’s controls can be “remote-controlled“via an external MIDI controller. Remote mappings are established in MIDI Map Mode, which is engaged by pressing the MIDI switch in the Control Bar.In this mode, you can click on any mixer or effect control, and then assign it toa controller simply by sending the desired MIDI message (for example, by turning aknob on your MIDI control box). Your assignments take effect immediately after youleave MIDI Map Mode.
Session clips can be mapped to a MIDI key or even a keyboardrange for chromatic playing.MIDI keys and controllers that have been mapped to Live’s controls are not availablefor recording via MIDI tracks. These messages are filtered out before the incomingMIDI is passed on to the MIDI tracks. The Key/MIDI Map Controls.Session clips, switches, buttons and radio buttons can be mapped to computer keyboardkeys as well. This happens in Key Map Mode , which works just like MIDI Map Mode.Live offers, in addition to this general purpose mapping technique, dedicated supportfor Ableton Push and Push 2. 4.15 Saving and ExportingSaving a Live Set saves everything it contains, including all clips, their positionsand settings, and settings for devices and controls.
An audio clip can, however, losethe reference to its corresponding sample if it is moved or deleted from disk. Thelinks between samples and their clips can be preserved with a special command, Collectand Save , which makes a copy of each sample and stores it in a project folder along withthe Live Set.A separate Save button in the Clip View saves a set of default clip settings along with the sample, so that each time the sample is dragged into the program,it will automatically appear with these settings.
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This is especially useful if youhave made warp settings for a clip and want to use it in multiple Live Sets.Exporting audio from Live can be done from both the Session and Arrangement Views.By default, Live will export the audio coming through on the Master output as an audiofile of your specifications via Export Audio/Video.Live can also export individual MIDI clips as MIDI files.Exporting and saving material for later use in Live can be done very convenientlywith the Live Clip format. Session View clips can be dragged back out of a Live Set to the browser, and therebyexported to the disk as Live Clips. A Live Clip in the Browser.Live Clips are a very powerful way of storing ideas, as they save not only the clip’sClip View settings, but also the corresponding track’s instruments and effects chain.Live Clips in the browser can be previewed and added to any open Live Set just likesample files.
In the Live Set, they restore the original clip’s creative options.Using Live Clips, you can build your own personalized library of:. MIDI sequences with matching instruments and effects, e.g., a MIDI drum pattern withthe associated Impulse and effects settings;. Different regions or loops referencing the same source file;. Variations of a sample loop created by applying Warp Markers , clip envelopes and effects ;. Ideas that may not fit your current project but could be useful in the future.
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