Ableton Live - 9.0 Reference Manual
Ableton Reference Manual Version 9
for Windows and Mac OS
Reference Manual by Dennis DeSantis, Ian Gallagher, Kevin Haywood, Rose Knudsen, Gerhard
Behles, Jakob Rang, Robert Henke, Torsten Slama.
1
Schönhauser Allee 6-7 | 10119 Berlin, Germany
Contact Support: www.ableton.com/support/contact
Copyright 2013 Ableton AG. All rights reserved. Made in Germany.
This manual, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. The content of this manual is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change
without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Ableton. Every effort has been made to ensure that the
information in this manual is accurate. Ableton assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may
appear in this book.
Except as permitted by such license, no part of this publication may be reproduced, edited, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Ableton.
Ableton, the Ableton Logo, the Live logo are trademarks of Ableton AG. Apple, GarageBand, Mac, Macintosh, Mac OS
and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple Inc, registered in the U.S. and other countries. Finder is a trademark of Apple Inc.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Intel is a registered
trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. SONiVOX is the brand name
trademark of Sonic Network, Inc. VST and ASIO are trademarks and software of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
ReWire, Recycle and REX2 are trademarks of Propellerhead Software AB. All other product and company names are
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Content provided by:
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Chapter 1
Welcome to Live
1.1 The Ableton Team Says: Thank You
Live is the result of musicians wanting a better way to create, produce and perform music using a computer. A great deal of effort has been put into making Live easy and fun to use, yet
at the same time capable of helping you create music with unlimited depth and sophistication.
This effort continues even as you read these lines... in fact, a new, improved Live version might
already be available for download! Please check on our website now1, or choose the Check for
Updates command from the Help menu.
3 Welcome to Live
We hope you enjoy using Live and that it enhances your creative process.
Your Ableton Team.
1.2 What’s New in Live 9?
1.2.1 Session View Automation
•Automation can now be recorded, drawn, and edited in Session View clips (page 258).
Automation envelopes appear in a clip’s Device and Control Choosers, alongside modulation envelopes. Automation in Session clips becomes timeline automation when recording
from the Session to the Arrangement, and vice versa when bringing Arrangement clips
back to the Session.
1 http://www.ableton.com/downloads
1.2.2 Envelope Editing Improvements
•Envelope breakpoints are now created by single-clicking on the envelope. When hovering over the envelope, a pseudo-breakpoint appears to show where the breakpoint will
be placed after clicking. Hovering near the envelope or holding the [Shift] modifier while
clicking on an envelope segment (a portion of the envelope between breakpoints) now
selects the entire segment.
•Clip Envelopes in Linked mode will now respond to changes in the clip’s Warp Markers
(page 278).
1.2.3 Envelope Curves
It is now possible to create convex and concave curves in all breakpoint envelopes in both the
Arrangement timeline and in clips. Curves are created and adjusted by holding the [ALT](PC) /
[ALT](Mac) modifier while dragging an envelope segment. Double-clicking while holding [ALT]
(PC) / [ALT](Mac) returns the segment to a straight line.
4 Welcome to Live
1.2.4 MIDI Editing Improvements
•A new set of transform tools (page 115) allows for fast manipulation of a MIDI clip’s
contents. Transpose, reverse, invert, or apply legato in a single click.
•MIDI notes can now be moved and resized freely without a modifier, even while off the
grid is active. It is also possible to adjust note lengths while in Draw Mode (page 263).
•MIDI Note Stretch (page 146) markers are now available whenever notes are selected
in a MIDI clip.
1.2.5 Improved Keyboard Workflow
• [B] toggles Draw Mode. Holding [B] while editing with the mouse toggles Draw Mode
temporarily. Additionally, MIDI notes can now be resized while in Draw Mode.
•The currently selected tracks, devices, notes or clips can be activated or deactivated with
the [0] key.
•The [Enter] key now toggles between time and note selection in MIDI clips. If the loop
brace is selected, pressing [Enter] will switch the selection to the time within the loop brace.
•[Q] toggles Hot-Swap mode (page 40).
•[D] toggles the Hot-Swap selection between a Drum Rack and its last selected pad.
1.2.6 Redesigned Browser
•Live’s new browser (page 33) features a two-pane view that shows all of Live’s devices
and Packs clearly separated.
•A search field in the browser filters results as you type. You can navigate between the
search field and the filtered entries using your computer keyboard’s arrow keys.
•The browser’s Preview Tab now previews Live’s instrument presets, by playing a short example sound when presets are selected.
5 Welcome to Live
1.2.7 Convert Harmony, Melody, or Drums to MIDI
Three new commands (page 152) allow you to extract the musical information from audio
clips and place it into MIDI clips on new tracks:
•Convert Harmony to MIDI extracts the notes from polyphonic audio and is designed for
reimagining samples or loops.
•Convert Melody to MIDI extracts the notes from monophonic audio.
•Convert Drums to MIDI extracts the rhythms from unpitched, percussive audio. The new
MIDI track will contain a Drum Rack with the kick, snare, and hihat notes from the original
audio playing the appropriate instruments.
1.2.8 Consolidate Time to New Scene
The Consolidate Time to New Scene command consolidates the material within the selected time
range in the Arrangement View to one new clip per track. The new clips are placed into a new
Session View scene below the previously selected scene.
1.2.9 Default Presets for MIDI and Audio Tracks
Newly-created MIDI and Audio tracks can now come with devices already loaded (page
224).
1.2.10 Device Improvements
•The Glue Compressor (page 325) is a new analog-modeled compressor based on the
classic bus compressor from a famous ‘80s mixing console.
•EQ Eight (page 310) now has improved filters, a detachable display that shows the
frequency spectrum of the output signal and allows multiple filter dots to be adjusted simultaneously, optional “Adaptive Q” and Audition modes, and a number of other improvements.
•Compressor (page 299) now has an Auto Release mode, which automatically adjusts
the release time based on the incoming audio. A Dry/Wet control allows for easy parallel compression. The Ratio can be set below 1:1, for upward expansion. The shape of the
envelope follower can be switched between linear and logarithmic. Finally, a new display
shows input and output levels, making it easier to adjust parameters.
6 Welcome to Live
•Live’s Gate effect (page 323) now responds more accurately. There is also a new Re-
turn control (also known as “hysteresis”) to help reduce “chatter” when the level changes
quickly near the threshold, as well as a sidechain EQ. Finally, a new display shows input
and output levels, making it easier to adjust parameters.
•The Multiband Dynamics device (page 336) now has a sidechain circuit, allowing it to
be triggered based on the level of another signal.
1.2.11 Ableton Push
•Support for Ableton Push (page 489), an instrument for song creation that provides
hands-on control of melody and harmony, beats, sounds, and song structure.
Chapter 2
First Steps
2.1 Learn About Live
Live comes with a set of interactive lessons to take you step by step through the key features of
the program. The lessons are organized in a table of contents, which can be opened directly in
the program via the Help menu. We highly recommend following the lessons. Many users have
told us that the lessons helped them become familiar with the program very quickly.
7 First Steps
We also recommend that you read the Live Concepts chapter (page 15), which encapsulates
everything that Live is and can do, and is therefore a worthwhile read for both beginners and
experienced users. The remaining chapters of this manual serve as in-depth reference for the
material introduced in Live Concepts.
2.1.1 Using the Info View and Index
Live’s Info View tells you the name and function of whatever you place the mouse over. For certain items, you can create your own text and it will appear in this window.
The Info View and its Show/Hide Button.
If you require more information on a specific user interface element or topic, please consult this
reference manual. The index, found at the end of the manual, contains the names of all user interface elements and will lead you to the relevant section.
8 First Steps
2.2 Setting up Preferences
Live’s Preferences window is where you can find various settings that determine how Live looks,
behaves and interfaces with the outside world. This window is accessed from the Preferences
command, which in Windows is available in the Options menu and in OS X is available in the
Live menu. Preferences can also be accessed with the [CTRL][,](PC)/[CMD][,](Mac) shortcut.
Live’s Preferences are distributed over several tabs:
•In the Look/Feel tab, you can modify various settings, including the language used for text
display and the color scheme, or “skin,“ for the Live user interface. This is also where you
can adjust the size of objects displayed on the screen: the Zoom Display slider allows you
to zoom Live’s screen to any percentage between 50% and 200% of the standard interface size.
•The Audio Preferences are used to set up Live’s audio connections with the outside world
via an audio interface. Please take the time to follow the program’s built-in “Setting up Audio I/O“ lesson, which will walk you through all the steps required to set up and optimize
the settings for any given system. To access the lesson, use the Help View command from
the Help menu.
•The MIDI/Sync Preferences are used to help Live recognize MIDI devices for three separate and distinct purposes:
―Playing MIDI notes. To learn how to route an external device into Live for MIDI input,
or how to send MIDI to an external device, please see the Routing and I/O chapter
(page 174).
―Controlling parts of the interface remotely. This subject is covered in detail in the
MIDI and Key Remote Control chapter (page 477).
―Syncing the program with an external sequencer or drum machine, either as a master
or a slave. Please see the Synchronizing via MIDI chapter (page 561) for details.
(Note: Sync is not available in Live Lite.)
•The File/Folder Preferences pertain to Live’s file management (page 33) and the loca-
tion of plug-in devices (page 226).
9 First Steps
•The Library Preferences allow you to specify a default location for various types of installed files, including Packs and your User Library, as well as whether or not samples and
other files are self-contained when saving Sets (page 63).
•The Record/Warp/Launch Preferences allow customizing the default state for new Live
Sets (page 51) and their components (page 97), as well as selecting options for
new recordings (page 205).
•The CPU Preferences include options for managing the processing load (page 567),
including multicore/multiprocessor support.
•The Licenses/Maintenance Preferences are used to manage licensing and installation of
the Live platform (page 11).
2.3 The Main Live Screen
Most of your work in Live happens in the main Live screen. This screen consists of a number of
views, and each view manages a specific aspect of your Live Set, which is the type of document
that you create and work on in Live. Since screen space is usually limited, the Live views can’t all
be displayed at the same time.
Each one of the selector buttons at the screen borders calls up a specific view; clicking this one,
for instance, opens and closes Live’s browser:
The Browser Selector.
You can run Live in Full Screen Mode by selecting the Full Screen command from the View menu.
To leave Full Screen Mode, click the button that appears in the lower right corner of the screen.
Full Screen Mode can also be toggled by pressing [F11] (Note: On Mac OS X, this key is assigned by default to Exposé, and will not toggle Full Screen Mode unless Exposé has been deactivated or assigned to a different key in OS X’s System Preferences.)
10 First Steps
If Live’s browser is open, you can adjust the main window’s horizontal split by dragging.
Adjusting the Main Window Split.
Chapter 3
Authorizing Live
Live is protected against illegal use by a copy protection scheme. This scheme has been designed to meet the highest security standards while avoiding hassles for our customers. If you
find this procedure to be an inconvenience, please understand that the copy protection secures
your investment: It allows Ableton to provide you with support and to continue developing Live.
Please be aware that the standard Live license grants you the right to use Live on only one computer at a time. You can, however, authorize Live more than once under the legal and technical
conditions described later (page 11).
11 Authorizing Live
The first time you run Live, you will be prompted to complete the authorization process. The software will walk you through the steps.
If the computer that you wish to authorize is connected to the internet, you can authorize immediately by pressing the appropriate button in the dialog box. If you do not have an internet connection, press the “No internet on this computer“ button and follow the instructions.
3.1 Copy Protection FAQs
3.1.1 Can I Use Live or Other Ableton Products Without a Serial Number?
If you do not (yet) own Live or its add-on products, you can still try them out, but saving and
exporting will be disabled.
If trying Live or another product raises your interest in purchasing it, please visit the Ableton webshop2. This site contains information about Ableton’s distributor and dealer network. It also offers
you the opportunity to buy Ableton products online.
3.1.2 What if I Change My Computer’s Components?
If you change your computer components for some reason, Live may indeed ask you to authorize the software another time. Live does not need to be reauthorized when computer peripherals are replaced (audio or MIDI hardware, printers, modems). But you may need to authorize
again if the motherboard, processor or network card is replaced. On some computers, reformatting a hard drive will require a new authorization.
3.1.3 Can I Authorize Live More than Once?
The standard Live license allows you to use Live on only one computer at a time. However, the
Ableton server will provide you with two authorizations in good faith that you will use Live on
only one machine at a time.
12 Authorizing Live
You can therefore run Live on both a studio desktop computer and a tour laptop, but not at the
same time.
Should the Ableton server reject your demand for another authorization, please contact Ableton’s technical support3.
To use Live on more than one computer at a time, you may require a secondary license or a site
license. Ableton offers these licenses at special rates.
3.1.4 Can I Play my Set from a Computer That Is Not Authorized?
Even if Live is not authorized, you can still load and perform a Live Set with no time limitation.
You cannot, however, save or export your work. When you go on tour, consider taking along
your Live program CD and a CD with the last state of your Live Set(s). In case of an emergency,
you can install and run Live on any computer available and play your backup Live Set(s).
2 http://www.ableton.com/shop
3 http://www.ableton.com/support
3.1.5 What Do I Do About Problems or Questions Regarding Copy Protection?
Please visit Ableton’s technical support page.
13 Authorizing Live
14 Authorizing Live
Chapter 4
Live Concepts
This chapter introduces the essential concepts of Live. We advise you to read this chapter early
in your Live career, as a solid understanding of the program’s basic principles will help you fully
exploit Live’s potential for your music-making.
4.1 The Browser
Live’s browser (page 33) is the place where you interact with your library of musical assets:
the core library of sounds that are installed with the program, any additional sounds you’ve
installed via Ableton Packs, presets and samples you’ve saved, your Ableton and third-party
devices, and any folders that you’ve added manually.
15 Live Concepts
Live’s Browser.
4.2 Live Sets
The type of document that you create and work on in Live is called a Live Set (page 51). 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.
16 Live Concepts
4.3 Arrangement and Session
The 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 a complete song. Live allows you to record and alter clips,
and to create larger musical structures 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 own play button that allows launching the clip at any time and in any order.
Each clip’s behavior upon launch can be precisely specified through a number of settings (page
161).
Clips in the Session View (Left) and in the Arrangement View (Right).
The Arrangement is accessed via the Arrangement View (page 69) and the Session via the
Session View (page 87); you can toggle between the two views using the computer’s Tab key
or their respective selectors. Because the two views have distinct applications, they each hold
individual collections of clips. However, it is important to understand that flipping the views simply changes the appearance of the Live Set and does not switch modes, alter what you 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 (page 94) into the Arrange-
ment for further refinement. This works because Arrangement and Session are connected via
tracks.
17 Live Concepts
4.4 Tracks
Tracks host clips and also manage the flow of signals, as well as the creation of new 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, the tracks 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 clips in a track:
A track can only play one clip at a time.
Therefore, one usually puts clips that should play alternatively in the same Session View column,
and spreads out clips that should play together across tracks in rows, or what we call scenes
(page 89).
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 track stops whatever it is
doing to play that clip. In particular, if the track was playing an Arrangement clip, it will stop it in
favor of the Session clip — even as the other tracks continue to play what is in the Arrangement.
The track will not resume Arrangement playback until explicitly told to do so.
18 Live Concepts
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. Each track in the
Arrangement View also has its own Back to Arrangement button, allowing you to resume Arrangement playback of only certain tracks.
19 Live Concepts
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 MIDI
Clips represent recorded signals. Live deals with two types of signals: audio and MIDI. In the
digital world, an audio signal is a series of numbers that approximates a continuous signal as
generated by a microphone or delivered to a loudspeaker. A MIDI signal is a sequence of commands, such as “now play a C4 at mezzo piano.“ MIDI is a symbolic representation of musical
material, one that is closer to a written score than to an audio recording. MIDI signals are generated by input devices such as MIDI or USB keyboards4.
It takes an instrument (page 217) to convert MIDI signals into audio signals that can actually
be heard. Some instruments, such as Live’s Simpler (page 452), are for chromatic playing of
one sound via the keyboard. Other instruments, such as Live’s Impulse (page 403), have a dif-
ferent 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 cannot live on MIDI tracks and vice versa.
20 Live Concepts
Information about inserting, reordering and deleting audio and MIDI tracks is found here (page
195).
4.6 Audio Clips and Samples
An 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
find the 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 creates a 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 activates previewing.
4 For an introduction to MIDI and digital audio, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midi and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio.
Samples Are Dragged in from Live’s Browser.
Live offers many options for playing samples in exciting new ways, allowing you to create 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 respective settings are made in the Clip
View (page 97), which appears on screen when a clip is double-clicked.
21 Live Concepts
An Audio Clip’s Properties as Displayed in the Clip View.
Many powerful manipulations arise from Live’s warping capabilities (page 119). Warping
means changing the speed of sample playback independently from the pitch so as to match the
song tempo. The tempo can be adjusted on the fly in the Control Bar’s Tempo field.
The Control Bar’s Tempo Field.
The most elementary use of this technique, and one that usually requires no manual setup, is
synchronizing sample loops to the chosen tempo. Live’s Auto-Warp algorithm actually 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 extreme
warp settings.
4.7 MIDI Clips and MIDI Files
A MIDI clip contains musical material in the form of MIDI notes and controller envelopes. When
MIDI is imported from a MIDI file (page 49), the data gets incorporated into the Live Set,
and the original file is not referenced thereafter. In Live’s browser, a MIDI file appears with a
special icon, and with the .mid file extension.
22 Live Concepts
MIDI Files Are Dragged in from Live’s Browsers.
As you’d expect, a MIDI clip’s contents can be accessed and edited (page 133) via the Clip
View, for instance to change a melody or “paint“ a drum pattern.
A MIDI Clip’s Properties as Displayed in the Clip View.
4.8 Devices and the Mixer
A track can have not only clips but also a chain of devices (page 217) 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.
23 Live Concepts
Live’s built-in audio effects (page 287), MIDI effects (page 363) and instruments (page
375) are available from the browser and can be added to tracks by dragging them from there
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 (page 226) in Live. VST and Audio Units (Mac OS X only)
Plug-ins are available from the browser’s Plug-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 reaches the
leftmost device in the chain. This device processes (changes) the signal and feeds the result into
the next device, and so on. The number of devices per track is theoretically unlimited. In practice, the computer’s processor speed imposes a limit on the number of devices you can use at
the same time, a topic that deserves separate discussion (page 567). Note that the signal connections between audio devices are always stereo, but the software’s inputs and outputs can be
configured to be mono in the Audio Preferences.
24 Live Concepts
When the signal has passed through the device chain, it ends up in Live’s mixer (page 191). As
the Session and Arrangement share the same set of tracks, they also share the mixer. The mixer
can be shown in both views for convenience. To optimize the screen layout, the individual mixer
sections can be shown or hidden using the View menu’s entries.
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 can feed a part of their signal into a return track and share its effects.
The mixer also includes a crossfader (page 199), which can create smooth transitions between
clips playing on different tracks. Live’s crossfader works like a typical DJ mixer crossfader, except that it allows crossfading 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 return track. However, two more types of devices are available for use in MIDI tracks: MIDI effects and instruments.
25 Live Concepts
Consider a MIDI track playing a clip. The MIDI signal from the clip is fed into the track’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 effect in the chain is followed by an instrument. Instruments, for instance Live’s Simpler and Impulse, receive MIDI and deliver audio. Following the
instrument, there can be any 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 output is 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 Racks
Every Live device can store and retrieve particular sets of parameter values as presets (page
222). As presets are stored independently from Live Sets, new presets become part of your
user library that any project can draw from.
26 Live Concepts
Live’s Instrument, Drum and Effect Racks (page 237) allow saving combinations of devices
and their settings as a single preset. This feature allows for the creation of powerful multi-device
creations and effectively adds all the capabilities of Live’s MIDI and audio effects to the built-in
instruments.
4.10 Routing
As we have seen, all tracks deliver signals, either audio or MIDI. Where do these signals 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 (page 171) enable valuable creative and tech-
nical methods such as resampling, submixing, layering of synths, complex effects setups and
more.
Track Routing Is Set up Using the In/Out Section in the Arrangement (Left) or Session View (Right).
Signals from the tracks can be sent to the outside world via the computer’s audio and MIDI interfaces, to other programs that are connected to Live via ReWire (page 564) or to other tracks
or devices within Live. Tracks can also be combined into a Group Track (page 196) 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 the track’s devices. Again, tracks can receive their input from the outside, from a ReWire program or from
another track or device in Live. The Monitor controls regulate the conditions under which the
input signal is heard through the track.
27 Live Concepts
It is also possible to route signals to external hardware devices from within a track’s device
chain, by using the External Audio Effect (page 316) and External Instrument (page 401)
devices. (Note: these devices are not available in the Lite or Intro Editions.)
4.11 Recording New Clips
Audio tracks and MIDI tracks can record their input signal and thereby create new clips (page
205). Recording is enabled on a track by pressing its Arm button. With multiple tracks se-
lected, pressing any of their Arm buttons will arm all of them. You can also hold down the [CTRL]
(PC)/[CMD] (Mac) modifier when clicking the Arm buttons to arm several tracks at once. If the
Exclusive Arm option is enabled in the Record Preferences, inserting an instrument into a new or
empty MIDI track will automatically arm the track. When the Control Bar’s Arrangement Record
button is on, every armed track records its input signal into 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 (page 208). This technique is
very useful for the jamming musician, as Session recording does not require stopping the music.
Clicking the Session Record button records a new clip in the selected Session scene in all armed
tracks.
The Control Bar’s Session Record Button.
28 Live Concepts
Clicking the Session Record button again defines the end of the recording and launches the 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 successively adding 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 instrument to do this (page 403).
4.12 Automation Envelopes
Often, when working with Live’s mixer and effects, you will want the controls’ movements to
become part of the Set. The movement of a control across the Arrangement timeline or Session
clip is called automation (page 257); 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 song tempo. Recording automation is straightforward: all changes of a control that occur while the Control Bar’s
Automation Arm and Arrangement Record buttons are on become automation in the Arrangement View. Automation is recorded to Session View clips if controls 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). The control will stop tracking its automation and rest with the new value until the
Re-Enable Automation button is pressed or a Session clip that contains automation is launched.
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4.13 Clip Envelopes
Envelopes can be found in both tracks and clips. Clip envelopes (page 267) are used to au-
tomate or modulate device and mixer controls. Audio clips have, in addition, clip envelopes to
influence the clip’s pitch, volume and more; these can be used to change the melody and rhythm
of recorded audio. MIDI clips have additional clip envelopes to represent MIDI controller data.
Clip envelopes can be unlinked from the clip to give them independent loop settings, so that
larger movements (like fade-outs) or smaller gestures (like an arpeggio) can be superimposed
onto the clip’s material.
An Envelope for Clip Transposition.
4.14 MIDI and Key Remote
To 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 (page
482), which is engaged by pressing the MIDI switch in the Control Bar.
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In this mode, you can click on any mixer or effect control, and then assign it to a controller simply by sending the desired MIDI message (for example, by turning a knob on your MIDI control
box). Your assignments take effect immediately after you leave MIDI Map Mode. Session clips
can be mapped to a MIDI key or even a keyboard range for chromatic playing.
MIDI keys and controllers that have been mapped to Live’s controls are not available for recording via MIDI tracks. These messages are filtered out before the incoming MIDI is passed on to
the MIDI tracks.
The Key/MIDI Map Controls.
Session clips, switches, buttons and radio buttons can be mapped to computer keyboard keys as
well. This happens in Key Map Mode (page 487), which works just like MIDI Map Mode.
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