Hello, welcome to this tutorial! Let's get a general overview on the
newest Ableton Live 10 Standard and Suite version, and all its main
features to start as a beginner.
Please leave us comments below the video description to give us
feedback and improve our next video guides for Ableton Live!
Ableton Live is one of the most professional Digital Audio Workspace
products available, used to create your own custom music with
excellent quality, applying load of effects and advanced editing,
and also to compose beats with outstanding generators.
In this beginner tutorial we will see just the basic steps you need
to see to start with Ableton Live, but you may need more practice and
experience to start creating professional projects.
Inside Ableton Live the interface is divided in the several parts, such as
the top bar, the main workspace on the center, and several windows
around, which can be opened and closed through their respective
arrow buttons. In particular, the Info View window can be quite useful
when you begin, since it describes every tool or window you hover over with
your mouse.
The central workspace is the place where you can import, playback and
edit your project, and is divided in two: the Session View, used to
create compositions, compare samples and make experiments; and the
Arrangement View, used to playback and finalize your project before
rendering it. You can switch between the two by using the buttons in
the top right corner.
Let's start with the Session View. This is made by three different
kinds of columns or Tracks: the Input Tracks on the left, collecting
all the audio files imported; the Return Tracks on the right, that
mix Input Tracks together and apply effects; and the Master Track on
the extreme right, collecting the overall audio output from the
Session View.
To start editing, you have to import your audio files inside Ableton
Live first. You can add two kinds of audio files: the Samples and the
MIDI files.
In this video we will see how to add and edit sample files only. To
discover more about MIDI files, check our related videos in this guide!
You can drag and drop a sample file on the Tracks directly from any
folder or from the Browser panel. This collects several audio files
ready to use under the Samples section.
Once imported, each sample file is shown within a cell called clip,
and you can playback it through its play button. Some of these clips
can be in loop, showing two numbers more at the bottom: on the left
the total number of loops being played, and on the right the total
duration of each loop, measured in bars. To stop playing the clip,
click on the stop button on the left.
Moreover, the Session View presents several rows, called Scenes,
that collect multiple clips placed on different Tracks. For example,
if you click on the play button of the sixth scene, all the clips
matching its row will be played together. This way, you can try
and listen to different combinations for your project.
Each Audio Track also has several editing options that affect all the
clips contained inside it. These are divided in the sections you can hide
or show through the buttons in the lower right corner.
At the bottom you get a deciBel meter, indicating the volume level of
the Audio Track time by time. This should never show red
colors, otherwise you get audio distorted. In this case, you can use
the top left arrow to limit the maximum volume. Remember that this
acts on the whole Track and all of its clips collected inside.
On the left side, you can use the Track Pan knob to balance the volume
between the left and the right stereo channel.
Below you have the Track number, which is in yellow if the Track
is enabled. If you click on it, you will mute all of its clips inside.
You can use the Solo button to enable just the current Track, muting
all the others.
Right above the deciBel meter you have the Sends knobs. These are
used to deliver a fixed percentage of the current Track to the Return
Track chosen. This way, the Return Tracks can mix the output from
multiple Tracks all at once.
By default the Return Tracks have a Reverb or a Delay effect applied.
You can change or remove it by double-clicking on the Track name
and then right-clicking on the effect name.
Most of the options seen for the Audio Tracks are indeed the same for
both the Return and the Master Tracks.
To cut, delete or rename a Track, just right-click on its name. To
insert new Audio or Return Tracks, just right-click on a vacant space
in between.
When your composition is ready, you can import it from the Session
View to the Arrangement View by using the Arrangement Record button.
The Arrangement View is made through several rows which are exactly
the same Tracks or columns you have on the Session View, with the
difference that these have no content yet.
When you enable the Arrangement Record button you start playing
sample clips or scenes from the Session View, these will be recorded
and imported directly on the Arrangement View, on the respective
Tracks they are contained. To stop recording, just click again on
the Record button.
If you have ready sample files, you can import them directly on the
Arrangement View by dragging and dropping them on one of its Tracks.
You can check the content inside the Arrangement View Tracks by using
the player at the top. This is measured with the standard music
format of Bars and Beats, following the playback rate set by the
Tempo in beat per minute, and the time signature chosen in the top
left corner.
Check out our link in the video description to know more about
time signature, the tempo, and the bars and beats format!
When you playback the Arrangement View, you will listen to the point
where the black marker is. You can fix it in time by clicking on the
workspace.
In case you can't listen to the full content inside the Arrangement
View, make sure the click on the Back to Arrangement button,
especially when working with the Session View in parallel.
Now, let's see the Arrangement View in detail.
In respect with the Session View, the Arrangement View shows all
the sample clips imported with their stereo waveforms and names, all
collected inside the Tracks. You can move in time by holding down the
Shift key and using your mouse wheel. To zoom in or out, you can use
your mouse wheel by holding down the CTRL key.
You can move each sample clip in time by clicking and dragging through
the sample Track, or in another Track. Just pay attention not to overlap
other clips, or these will be cut. If you move clips into empty
space at the bottom, you will add new Audio Tracks.
By default these clips snap into the vertical lines you see. You can
move them freely by clicking on them and holding down the ALT key.
If you need to move multiple clips at the same time, just select all
them by clicking and dragging on the workspace, and then just move.
To cut, copy or remove an entire clip, just right-click on it. If you
want to edit just a piece of clip, you can select a part by holding
down the ALT key and then clicking and dragging as you need.
Remember to use CTRL+Z to undo if you make a mistake.
Ableton Live has advanced editing tools you can apply to your clips.
Directly on the Arrangement View, you can click and drag the handles
in the clip corners to add Fade In and Fade Out volume Transitions.
Double-click on the clips from either the Arrangement or the Session
View to show their properties at the bottom. Here you can check the
clip waveform in detail with the Navigator bar at the bottom, and
change its properties through the panels on the left.
Under Sample, you have a deciBel meter to adjust the clip volume, the
Transpose knob to set its pitch, and the Reverse button to reverse the
clip waveform if you like.
Right above the clip waveform, you can also drag and place the Start
and the End Markers to decide the part of the clip waveform you want
to include and playback.
The Warp button is used to enable the Warping panel on the right,
used to loop or time-stretch the clip. When you click on the Loop
button, the clip will be arranged in loop continuously on the Session
View, but on the Arrangement View you have to stretch over the clip
in length as you need.
You can move the edges on the Loop Brace region on the top to select the
exact part of the waveform to put in loop.
Under Segment BPM, you can set a fixed playback rate to use on the
clip interested, in order to play it faster or slower. Whereas, to
change this rate through time, you have to use the Sample Editor line
right above the clip waveform.
At a fixed point on the waveform, double-click to create a yellow
Warp Marker, and then click and drag it to time-stretch both sides,
changing the clip speed rate in time. If you make any mistake, you can
right-click on a marker and go to Delete to remove it.
With Ableton Live you can also apply outstanding Audio Effects to
each Track and its content, all collected inside the Audio Effects
section of the Browser window.
Select the interested Track from either the Session or the
Arrangement View, and then click on the Track name next to the
Navigation bar. At this point, just drag and drop the effect on the
empty space. Each effect shows up with its name and its own interface,
which can change a lot from one kind to another, but some of these are
common. For example, you can turn on and off each effect by using the
yellow button next to the effect name; or adjust the ratio between the
affected sound and the original one with the Dry/Wet knob.
All these effects are applied in order, from left to right, and can
be moved by clicking and dragging them. Pay attention that the final
sound may change depending on the order itself.
Once your project is ready, you can save and render it with the File
tab on top. Go to Save Live Set As... to save your project in a .als
file, which stores placement, properties, effects and options inside
your project in progress.
Whereas to render and obtain your final audio file from the
Arrangement View, click and drag on your workspace to select the part
to export, and then go to File, Export Audio/Video....
On top choose the Track to render: you can export a single Track
content, or the whole project content with the Master Track. More
below, choose the Sample Rate frequency, the File format under File
Type, and the Bit Depth to use. When everything is ready, just click
on the Export button at the bottom.
Thanks for watching this video! Please visit our full guide if you
want to discover more about Ableton Live 10!