Ableton Live 12 Essential Training

Course details

Do you work in audio recording, loop-based songwriting, or synth and sound design? In this course, music professor Rick Schmunk walks you through a variety of ways you can use Ableton Live 12 in your workflows. Rick shows you how to set up your system and use the Ableton Live user interface. He explains how to work with the browser, the Arrangement view, and the Session view. After going over how to use the MIDI Editor, how to record and edit audio, and how to work with arrangements, Rick covers plug-ins, effects racks, the live mixer, and mapping. Then he demonstrates how to make your life easier by automating graphics, editing, and clips, including real-time automation. Rick concludes with some practical advice on managing your files.

Learning objectives
Set up your system and use the Ableton Live user interface.
Learn how to work with the browser, the Arrangement view, and the Session view.
Discover how to use the MIDI Editor.
Learn how to record and edit audio.
Describe how to work with arrangements.
Explore Live plug-ins and effects racks.
Find out how to use the live mixer, and mapping controls to hardware devices.
Learn how to automate graphics, editing, and clips, including real-time automation.
Obtain practical advice from the instructor on managing your files.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Learn the essentials of Ableton Live 12
02 - How to use the exercise files

1. Getting Started with Ableton Live

03 - Connecting your system to Live
04 - Configuring your audio I O setup
05 - Configuring MIDI controllers and devices
06 - Optimizing performance
07 - The Ableton Live user interface

2. Using the Live Browser

08 - Browser overview
09 - Browser Places
10 - Searches, filters, and similar files
11 - Customizing the browser
12 - Working with Live Sets

3. Working in Arrangement View

13 - Arrangement View setup
14 - Selecting and zooming
15 - Controlling playback
16 - Loading and saving instrument presets
17 - Preparing to record MIDI
18 - Recording MIDI in Arrangement View
19 - MIDI Overdub and punch recording
20 - Computer MIDI keyboard

4. Working in Session View

21 - Session View overview
22 - Clips and playback
23 - Scenes and playback
24 - Recording MIDI in Session View
25 - Click and pencil MIDI entry

5. Working with MIDI

26 - Clip View introduction
27 - Grid config
28 - Editing rhythm and quantizing
29 - Groove quantization
30 - Editing MIDI pitch and duration
31 - Editing MIDI velocity and chance
32 - Chop or split MIDI notes
33 - Session View - Copy and paste
34 - Arrangement View - Copy and paste

6. Transform and Generate MIDI Tools

35 - Editing expression
36 - Pitch, arpeggiator, and strum
37 - Rhythm, stacks, and span
38 - Rhythm, recombine, and time warp
39 - Seed, ornament, and shape

7. Working with Audio

40 - Preparing to record audio
41 - Record and punch record audio
42 - Clip editing
43 - Fades
44 - Take recording and comping
45 - Warping audio - Part 1
46 - Warping audio - Part 2
47 - Quantizing audio
48 - Linked-track editing

8. Working with Arrangements

49 - Track freeze
50 - Using locators to navigate a song
51 - Arrangement View section editing
52 - Session View section editing
53 - Moving between Session and Arrangement View
54 - Moving from Arrangement to Session View

9. Working with Plugins

55 - Plugin basics - Part 1
56 - Plugin basics - Part 2
57 - Instrument plugins
58 - Audio plugins
59 - MIDI plugins

10. Working with Live Racks

60 - Audio FX racks
61 - Instrument racks
62 - Drum racks
63 - Zone editors
64 - Rack macros

11. Using the Live Mixer

65 - Mixer setup
66 - Sends and returns
67 - Drum rack sends and returns

12. Using Mapping in Live

68 - Key mapping
69 - MIDI mapping
70 - Instant mapping

13. Using Automation in Live

71 - Track automation
72 - Editing automation
73 - Clip automation
74 - Real-time automation

14. File Management

75 - File management
76 - Arrangement View audio export
77 - Session View audio export

Conclusion

78 - Next steps