This is
slight difference is that, in the
create music with too.
This tutorial won't be pretty short. If you are looking for something specific
just check the
Let's have a general overlook about how the software looks like.
On top there is the
the side dedicated to the
supporting buttons to link Ableton with keyboards and external instruments.
Take a note about this
when you are going to have complex projects.
On the left you have the
instruments and effects in general.
The central space is divided in two parts. The top one is where
you are going to put your sound and music, and, at the bottom,
you will edit such music and add the effects you like.
Keep in mind this space on the left: this is useful as a beginner.
Here you will have written info about the button where your mouse is;
or any bar info. Just a little more help with your first steps.
Before we begin, we need to know how this software manages music.
There are two ways to create music: the
You can switch between one and the other through these buttons.
In short the
rendered in the end, and will contain your final song.
The
and make experiments, without touching what is done in the Arrangement View.
Then, once you feel fine with what you have done in the Session View,
it can be exported inside the Arrangement View ready to be used.
Let's start with the Session View.
Here you have different rows, called
composed by different columns that will contain the
that compose a general part of your music.
Each scene is aside and will play all that it is in its same row.
Let's see how it works. Use the
to add in; in
Just go to the
and see its waveform at the bottom.
Click and drag it on a clip cell, let's consider the first row at random.
Drag the edges of the columns to change their size and you will see
a vacant space.
Let's drag so another file on this space and a new column will be added.
This can be a way to add new columns fast.
Delete for now the
Remember that you can copy, paste, change color and manage completely
a column by right-clicking on its name
When you will have complex projects in your hands, you may need to manage
columns in
inside a new group that will have other columns: the ones you will drag inside.
Each column has cells that may be filled by audio files called
Each sample clip can be played solo through its left arrow. At the bottom,
for looped clips, you will see some numbers increasing. The right one means
the full time duration of the sample clip added. The left one how many times
it has been looped. At the bottom you will have the
of this clips you want to transfer to the
Output columns are used to put together clips in a percentage that you set
through the
which shows the volume.
Move the black arrow to set the maximum volume, expecially to avoid any
red color
On the left, you can adjust the
and the right one in stereo. The number in yellow means that the clip is enable.
Click on it to mute the clip and click once again to make it sound.
The small
You have these options for each column. You can play a clip by clicking on its
green arrow and you can stop it by going on the square next to the increasing number.
Clips and output columns are brought all to the
Click on the arrow next to one in the Master column. All the clips in row
number one will be played in full. As for the clips, click on the square in the Master
to stop all.
The player is on top of the
in bars and number of beats. You have then the play and the stop buttons, and the
record button
The player goes on even after stopping a playing clip
or the full row through the Master will make the player start. The number of
beats per bar is set by the
Drag the first number to set the number of beats per bar. For more info about
the time signature, just have a look in Wikipedia.
The number next to the
measured in
project being played faster.
You will have some rounded buttons next to the Master. These hide or show
other options to set up each clip. For instance the letter
Return or output clips
the
not to have too many harsh sounds. Click on
These you can set a delay when the column interested must play the clips inside.
Add now other audio files, always through the
and put them on a second row scene. If you click the arrows in the Master,
you will activate a single row at time. Notice the behavior of the
the associations of the sends made with the first row do stay the same for the
second row too, and so for the others.
You can edit each single clip by double-clicking on it. I will dedicate a video
about editing clips. For now, let's have a general overlook.
Let's see how the
is composed by different tracks or groups (if you have one), and such tracks
are one above another, whose order is not important. The timeline is set under
beats and bars, and, on top, you see a small and general description of your project.
If you add audio files, they are added in different colors, that you can see here,
and such lets you find the audio file in the timeline quickly.
If you drag with the mouse the black contour, you will move along your project
very easily. Or you can even zoom in and out by dragging its edges.
Add and move each audio file by dragging it inside the track or to move it
into another track below.
If you want to move more carefully, just hold on
If you need new tracks, just right-click on the vacant space.
You can also set the audio files length by dragging the edges of the bar that contains
its name. Always right-click on such bar to manage the audio file. You can also
manage parts of such audio file or more of them. Drag the mouse to create a
blue space, and then simply right-click to manage that part of clip or to copy and
paste such.
You can always undo any mistaken action. Just go to
CTRL+Z
selected part. Just drag such part with the mouse while
Approach your mouse right below the timeline to start the player from that
istant of time.
Notice that the tracks on the right are named and are exactly the columns
in the
don't have
you need to use the
row scene or the clip that you want to import inside the
When you reach the right point, just click on the record button. While the
Session View plays, with the record button on, the beats from that view mode
are
correspond to the columns in the Session View that contains such clips.
Click again on the
the parts of the Session View that you think that fit better.
Watch out of the playing in the Arrangement View. To play all inside,
click on the orange button called
This can be seen through the Session View too, where, above the
can see when the single track columns are being played. You can use the
from your keyboard to play and stop fast, just press it!
Now go back in the
When you choose to play one or more sample clips, these will be played
according to the Session View and NOT to the Arrangement View
In the
according to the Session View. If you want to play them according to the set
in the Arrangement View, just click on the
The
Arrangement View alltogether.
You can edit each single audio file imported by double-clicking on it and you can
edit each track through the options on the right, but I will explain this
in another tutorial.
Just be careful not to make overlaps between audio files in the same track,
otherwise the parts covered will be fully cut
The last thing we are going to see is how to save files. To save the project, go to
File
a black folder. Inside you have different files, that are needed to open the project
in a second moment. Usually Ableton projects are
If you want to render the audio file instead, just go to the
and drag the mouse selecting the part you want to render. Then go to
and go to
You can also select the track to render through the timeline selected.
Choose
Your first song is done!
Thanks for watching this video! However, this is just an introduction
of what you can do in
to edit clips and tracks, how to place effects, and how to use MIDI files.
See you! :)