Techniques & Tools

Question 1

What’s the best method when trying to find BPM with tapping to audio?

Answer 1

Import into session view instead

Question 2

First step in warping

Answer 2

Place the a marker at the first transient or beginning of waveform -> right click and choose “set 1.1.1 here”

Question 3

When to use general warp analysis methods

Warm from here
Warp from here (start at __ BPM)
Warp from here (straight)
Warp __ BPM from here
Warp Sample as 1-bar loop

Answer 3

Warm from here -> live music (unknown BPM)

Warp from here (start at __ BPM) -> live music (known BPM)

Warp from here (straight) - electronic music (unknown BPM)

Warp __ BPM from here - electronic music (known)

Question 4

Different Warp Modes and best uses

Beat
Tone
Texture
Re-Pitch
Complex
Complex Pro

Answer 4

Beat
- slices the track according to set interval

Tone
- monophonic pitch samples
- slices according to grain size

Texture
- SFX and textures (ex: white noise)
- flux randomizes grain size

Re-Pitch
- allows pitch to change with the warping

Complex
- uses time stretch algorithm (blends samples)

Complex Pro
- designed for vocals
- formants brings in clarity of vowel sounds
- envelope helps support the formant function

Question 5

What is Record Quantization

Answer 5

Setting the DAW so it quantizes note as you play to save time

Question 6

Session View - what are the different types of clip launch functions

Trigger
Toggle
Gate
Repeat

Answer 6

Trigger - starts the clip and plays through, if hitting play again it starts from the beginning
Toggle - toggles sample on/of
Gate - continues playback as long as you hold play
Repeat - pressing play once is same function as trigger, holding repeats the start of the sample depending on the quantize setting

Question 7

Session View - how do you change tempo of each scene?

Answer 7

hold + drag the master track to the left and reveal the BPM column where you can set different values

Question 8

Session View - how to trim down midi clips?

Answer 8

Select in the area in the midi in clip view
Right-click and select “crop clip”

Question 9

Where is the session view master record button located?

Answer 9

To the left of the bar counter at the top (looks like a circle outline)

Question 10

How to transfer clips from session view to arrangement view?

Answer 10

Select the clip (or multiple clips) click and press tab to switch to arrangement view and drag onto the proper track

not always the best option, usually want to record the session view into arrangement view

Question 11

How record scenes into arrangement view?

Answer 11

Start the arrangement record session and then click play on the proper scene

Question 12

What are “grooves” and how to use it?

What is the Groove Pool and how to access it?

Answer 12

These are sequence effects that you can add to audio/midi tracks.

These will affect what is currently playing and move notes around according to the groove type

To open the “groove pool” click the wavy icon next to the headphone preview icon of a sample

You can drag and drop a preset groove into the pool and edit parameters OR take an audio sample in the project and drag it in to “extract” the groove and save it as a groove preset

Question 13

How to utilize project templates for ableton

Answer 13

Set up your project and “save as template”

This will save it into the templates browser and you can access it and even take certain tracks from it by viewing it in the browser window

Question 14

What is MPE editing?

Answer 14

Extra parameters for MIDI (that some controllers can do)

*only some instruments have MPE editing (it will have an MPE setting tab)

In the midi clip view it will be the third tab (next to envelopes) and it lets you control things like play/release velocity, pressure, and slide

Question 15

Where do you select monitor modes and how does each one effect mic/aux instrument playback.

Answer 15

In the track mixer under the input it will say “in, auto, off”

Off - the track will not play through the speakers (use when not using headphones with a mic to prevent feedback)
In - will play the mic through the speakers (use when having headphones with a mic)
Auto - it will play through (in) when armed to record, and not (off) when not armed

Question 16

What are “take lanes”

How do you select your takes.

How to show take lanes

Answer 16

When recording over previous tracks Live will record each take separately and save them on separate “lanes”

Select the portion of the clip on the select lane and press “enter” this will add it to the main track

alt + shift + T OR
ctrl/cmd + alt + U (track selected)

Question 17

Punch in/out and how to set it up

Answer 17

Over a regular recording you can select a specific portion to record over.

Using the loop brace you set the in/out points and at the top option bar, instead of having the loop feature on click both icons on the left/right (looks like “S” curves)

Question 18

How to fine tune warp where it adjusts the interpolation between two anchor points but does not move the anchors?

Answer 18

Click on the anchor of the area you want to adjust -> hold “shift” and drag (better for subtle warping)

Question 19

What does linking tracks do and how to do it?

Answer 19

Linking makes it so one edit to a track affects the others its linked to.

Select the tracks in the arrangement view -> right click and select “link tracks”

*can warp multiple tracks this way

Question 20

How to use clip fades

Answer 20

Hover over the selected clip and two squares will appear on the end, drag the squares to create auto fades OR drag over another clip to create a crossfade

Question 21

In session view - what does “linked to loop” entail for envelopes

Answer 21

If a envelope is linked it will play in accordance to its position in the loop

if toggled off - the envelope will only affect the automated area once as playback goes on

Question 22

What is the “Slice to New MIDI Track” function

Answer 22

Taking an audio sample and creating a drum rack that auto-cuts samples based on the parameters set

Question 23

How to create a bus channel to send tracks to the same effect. How to create more?

Answer 23

Toggle on the “Return”(or R icon on the bottom right above the clip view. Drag the desired effect on the selected bus and in each track you can send a certain amount of volume to that effect. (starting at -inf)

Right click on any arrangement track and click “insert return track”

Question 24

What is the “choke” setting in drum rack and how to use

Answer 24

When sample 1 plays and is choked to sample 2 - sample 1 will stop playback when sample 2 is triggered

open up the chain in drum rack and select the I/O settings and set the specific choke channel (channel # is according to the position on the list)

Question 25

How to add internal Send/Return busses in Drum Rack

Answer 25

Select the S/R option with the chain open and drop in an effect and route the sound accordingly

Question 26

Function of MIDI envelop effect in ableton

Answer 26

Can add envelope parameters to any parameter

on the envelop click “map” and select the parameter you want to affect

Question 27

Function of Expression control

Answer 27

Can add extra expression parameters like velocity, aftertouch, pitch bend, etc and map it to any parameter

Question 28

What is MIDI Monitor and what is something it can help see

Answer 28

A module that shows what MIDI info is triggering

It can show you what chord you are playing (if you don’t know)

Question 29

Audio Effects transform which three aspects of sound?

Answer 29

Dynamic
Time
Frequency

Question 30

What is the audio effect - Envelope Follower?

Answer 30

It allows “sidechaining” of the parameter of one effect and using it to affect other sounds

(google for more in depth explanation)

Question 31

What is the audio effect - Corpus 100

Answer 31

A physical resonator effect that takes the sound and makes parameters like you see in a physical synth available and changes the sound

Question 32

Why is it better to add effects like reverb/delay to buses instead of on individual tracks

Answer 32

It gives a “cleaner” processing of the signal. Sometimes it messes with the original sound more if you put it on the individual track

Question 33

When organizing the project to mixdown - what utility should you use and what order should your tracks be in for general efficiency?

Which view is best suited for mixing?

Answer 33

Use the spectrum tool on the the master

Order from drums/bass at the top (left in session view) and then go up the freq spectrum from there

Session view is best suited to see levels

Question 34

When mixing down - why do you want to freeze tracks / bounce them to audio?

Answer 34

When working in midi there’s sometimes variability with signal going through FX so you want to make sure you’re mixing down the final signal process

*can also freeze and export the return tracks individually!