Ableton Music Producer Podcast - 100 Live tips & workflows

	A	B
1	Name / Artist Name	Production Tips / Workflows In Live
2	Dan Giffin	In Clip View, press W to zoom out and see entire clip
3	Dan Giffin	Create new Audio Track; set input to Resampling. Right-click track name and choose "save as default". Makes resampling faster in new projects
4	Dan Giffin	Right click an automation line; choose Edit Value / helps type values more quickly for automation curves
5	Dan Giffin	Hold CMD + click-drag a Warp Marker in audio clip, it automatically creates warp markers to the left & right: Timing for the rest of the clip is unaffected
6	Dan Giffin	When using the Echo audio effect, turn on "D" (bottom-left) and drive the Input for a rich saturated/ distorted sound
7	Dan Giffin	Use the Width knob on the Utility audio effect and automate it down before the drop to sound thinner. Can create a perceived "Wider or bigger" feeling when the drop hits.
8	Dan Giffin	Freeze function in Reverb audio effect to create pads and Resample. Also can automate the pitch in the Clip Envelope to create a riser
9	Dan Giffin	To create randomized chord progressions; create multiple clips in Session View playing 1 chord each. Then use follow actions to generate random chord progressions
10	Dan Giffin	Adjust the Zoom Display percentage in Preferences to see if you're half blind
11	Dan Giffin	Right-Click the top of the Browser content pane, you can sort everything in the selected folder by Size, Type, Rank, Place
12	Dan Giffin	Press C to arm a selected track
13	Dan Giffin	Save favorite Racks you regularly use in a Collections Folder in browser
14	Dan Giffin	In the MIDI Clip, turn on Scale Mode and use the Draw Tool to quickly draw notes in key
15	Dan Giffin	Hold Shift to select multiple MIDI clips in Arrangement View; can see inside multiple MIDI clip notes to edit together/ individually
16	Dan Giffin	Go to MIDI preferences --> File/Folder to Save Current Set as Default. Now you can load Live's default set everytime you open with favorite effects, instruments, tracks, etc.
17	Dan Giffin	Quickly insert automation shapes - In the automation view, highlight a section of the background grid, right-click to see a menu with automation curves at the bottom.
18	Dan Giffin	If you shorten a clip down to a specific point and want to commit to that length, right-click on it and select ‘Crop Clip(s)
19	Dan Giffin	Use the Z shortcut, which zooms into the current selection, and X, which zooms back out to the full arrangement.
20	Dan Giffin	Automate the track's volume with a Utility audio effect's Gain knob. This frees up the Track's Volume fader for overall mix changes
21	Dan Giffin	In Preferences under the ‘Plug-Ins’ tab, enable the ‘Multiple Plug-In Windows’ option so you can work inside multiple plugins at the same time
22	Dan Giffin	Using the Simpler Instrument in Slice Mode, you can get instant inspiration by dragging in looped audio samples
23	Dan Giffin	use Locators as a way to organize / compose sections of your song (i.e. - buildup, drop, chorus, etc)
24	Dan Giffin	Tighten up the decay times and shape the transients of sounds with the Gate audio effect
25	Dan Giffin	Simply load your sounds/ instruments up the way you want them, then right-click the top of the device (the name) and choose ‘Save as Default Preset’.
26	Dan Giffin	Import your own audio files into Ableton's Wavetable Instrument. Drag it onto the display; Moving the wavetable selector can yield some really interesting results.
27	Dan Giffin	Import individual tracks from other projects; In the browser, add your projects folder. Navigate to the desired project and find the right .als file. Clicking the dropdown will reveal all tracks in that project.
28	Dan Giffin	Randomize Macro Control Values; Click the Rand button at the top of the device to randomize the macro control knobs for new interesting sounds. To go deeper, check out Smooth Automator Max for Live device to create smooth changes between Macro Variations.
29	Dan Giffin	With the Auto Pan audio effect, change the phase to 0 to create awesome tremolo effects (or sidechaining effect)
30	Dan Giffin	Use the LFO audio effect and assign it to move parameters on audio or MIDI devices for interesting movement, such as Auto Pan, or Auto Filter's 'Rate'.
31	Dan Giffin	Place a Utility on the Master Track and turn on Mono to check the mix for any out-of-phase sounds, artifacts of stereo imaging, etc.
32	Dan Giffin	Whether it’s a clip, track, or device, if you look at the Info Box in the bottom left corner of the screen, you can edit the text shown. Simply right-click and select ‘Edit Info Text, writing it whatever you want. This can help with reminders, explanations, etc.
33	Dan Giffin	Save screen real-estate in the MIDI Clip Editor using Fold button; only showing keys that currently have notes on them. Works great for Drum Racks, where typically only a certain range of notes are used.
34	Dan Giffin	Add a Groove into the Groove pool and assign it to make audio and MIDI clip's rythm play together. (I find it works best with certain rhythmic sounds, I don't always use it on every clip). Grooves now have their own folder in the Browser, and you can extract your own from existing audio/ MIDI clips!
35	Dan Giffin	Import a video file into an audio track's new Take Lane. Use your Draw Tool to chop up the video(s) to the beat of your song.
36	Dan Giffin	Key Map your most common shortcuts in Live and save as a Template, such as Capture, Soloing your reference track, etc.
37	Dan Giffin	Insert multiple Drum Buss audio effects with extreme settings (or try Drum Buss presets) and turn down the Dry/ Wet mix to use them in parallel
38	Dan Giffin	Change the Circuit Type (MS2, OSR, SMP) on devices like Auto Filter, Wavetable, and others, and turn up the Drive for a thick, analog distortion sound .
39	Dan Giffin	Use the Velocity MIDI Effect to control velocity of notes played louder/ quieter across multiple MIDI clips on a track. Great for either controlling drums, or adding variation with how loud they're hitting between notes
40	Dan Giffin	Hold CMD + 1 or 2 to change the background grid length
41	Dan Giffin	Press Q to enable Hotswap mode. Allows you to quickly swap existing samples, instruments, devices in the browser.
42	Dan Giffin	Sing your drums into a mic, then right-click the new audio clip to Convert Drums To New MIDI. Replace the drum hits in the drum rack and Quantize
43	Dan Giffin	Use Convert harmony to MIDI on audio loops, then swap the new instrument with one you like.
44	Dan Giffin	Prevent yourself from hearing latecy/ delay when recording new audio by turning off Ableton's track monitor, and listen instead using your audio interface.
45	Dan Giffin	Use track delays to push grooves back behind/ ahead of the beat.
46	Dan Giffin	Layer multiple sounds in a drum rack by holding CMD/ctrl while dragging onto a drum rack pad
47	Dan Giffin	In Live 11, remove the subfolders in Audio Effects by right-clicking a folder and choose 'Group In Folder'. Can always change it back if you want.
48	Dan Giffin	Find new inspiration with Max For Live devices at MaxForLive.com ; On the Device Library page, see the right-hand side of page for the highest rated and most downloaded devices.
49	Dan Giffin	Play with DS Kick, DS Clap, and other DS series drum sounds. You can easily create your own kicks and tune them with DS Kick. Can also play them in a Drum Rack, and create multiple DS kicks as 808 basses in key.
50	Dan Giffin	Create unique drum effects on snare hits or percussion loops with Pitch Hack audio effect. Tune your drums, add a "flam" to drum one-shots with 1/8 rate and Dry/ Wet mix. Also, use Pitch hack to create risers/ effected buildups.
51	Dan Giffin	Split Stereo Mode; On a track's Pan knob, right-click and choose Select Split Stereo Pan Mode. This can be helpful playing back certain stereo audio clips, and not completely removing audio information from the L / R side when in default pan mode.
52	Dan Giffin	Quickly widen / slightly tune sounds using Phaser-Flanger audio effect.
53	Dan Giffin	Use a max for live tool like Swiss Army Meter or Loudness Meter (free) to measure loudness LUFS (LKFS) when comparing your track with another mastered track in your project (referencing is everything!) Place on your master track and compare.
54	Santiago Domingo Devia	CMD+G for to create channel groups or mutiple selected Instruments and Effects Racks
55	Santiago Domingo Devia	If you hover your cursor over the device´s name you can see the device´s latency in the status bar at the bottom of screen
56	Santiago Domingo Devia	When you select a MIDI note in the clip, you can quickly change the velocity's value by typing a number
57	Federico Pepe	Right click on a Simpler Instrument at the top and select Simpler → Sampler (or viceversa) to convert the instrument and its sound
58	Federico Pepe	CMD + Shift + U for quantizing settings/ options
59	Federico Pepe	In the MIDI clip, you can select multiple notes and press Shift + Arrow up / down to move the notes an octave up/ down
60	Brian Jackson	Right click on title bar of EQ Eight or Glue Compressor to enable Oversampling
61	Brian Jackson	Press 0 to activate/ deactivate selected clips or devices
62	Brian Funk	Name your presets with your initials so they are easy to find when searching the browser (CMD-F)
63	Claire Marie Lim	In Session View: right-click/Ctrl-click on an empty clip slot to remove the Stop Button (great for live performance!)
64	Claire Marie Lim	Using Capture to capture the MIDI info for when you're noodling around~
65	Richard Balgobin	Click on a device's title, press - or + to fold and unfold the device respectively
66	Richard Balgobin	Freeze and Flatten a MIDI track that has an instrument and MIDI clip in it, hold Option/Alt and drag the MIDI clip to an audio track to print audio and keep original frozen MIDI track and clip
67	Richard Balgobin	Import a Groove clip to an empty MIDI track, then place a melodic or percussive instrument on it for instant rhythmic vibes
68	Richard Balgobin	CMD + Shift + I in the Session View to copy all playing clips into one scene
69	Rasmus Kjærbo	Open Groove Pool, the Global Groove Amount affects the arpeggiator swing!
70	Rasmus Kjærbo	Set Arpeggiattor Retrigger to Beat and set the Rate to an uneven beat division (9/8, 7/8) and repeat function to less than INF - it makes the Arp shine bright like a diamond!
71	Hozaifa Sayed	Adjust clip gain / level to increase or decrease the volume of a clip. This helps in the case of a sample that is too loud or too quiet. Keep in mind the possibility of an increase of the noise floor, but this gain adjustment can improve the efficiency signal flow and gain staging.
72	Hozaifa Sayed	Use the Spectrum audio effect to visually assess a similar Fletcher / Munson curve while finishing a mix. This gurantees a well placed midrange and a balanced sound. Of course, trust your ears and only use visual cues as feedback.
73	Hozaifa Sayed	In the Beats warp mode, set the "Preserve" setting at 1/8th or 1/16th notes, the foward arrow (or "Off" control) to gate the length between each transient, and adjust the 0-100 slider to get a glitching effect. I love using this, add some reverb and delay and it sounds great.
74	Wiggz Caro	When having reference songs in your session, you can set that channel's Output in the I/O to "Ext. Out" instead of "Master" to bypass your plugins on the Master channel.
75	Wiggz Caro	Naming certain types of presets with symbols like +++, ---, &, %, $, etc... at the beginning of your preset name, can make it easier to find when searching "All Results" on your browser (CMD + F)
76	Mélanie Frisoli	Click on the word "Length" in the clip view. Live will display the exact length of the clip (helpful when you zoom in too far!)
77	Mélanie Frisoli	Press "Z" twice in the Arrangement view to focus on the selected clip
78	Mélanie Frisoli	In the audio clip envelope, draw quick automation changes using the "Sample Offset" when the warp mode is set to Beats. (Set each step to 1/16 before or after) - Unlink the loop and have fun
79	Mélanie Frisoli	In Arrangement view, select a clip and press Cmd + i (Mac) it will add silence (insert time) which will be the exact length of this clip
80	Mélanie Frisoli	Cmd + shift + X and Cmd + shift + D are helpful shortcuts to create an Arrangement/ song structure fast! See more in the "Edit" tab in Ableton Live
81	David Sharma	Live 11: When mapping macros in an Instrument Rack with multiple instances of the same device, right-click on the parameter you've mapped and choose "map to siblings," to be able to control that parameter in each individual device. For Live 10 and earlier versions: Same, but use options.txt
82	Ricardo Balderas	Templates can be used to save and reuse complex track configurations. Create the configuration and routing, save as a Template, then you can drag the Template or just certain tracks into any other project.
83	Ricardo Balderas	Create/ add an "Ideas" folder to your browser. Whenever you come up with a musical idea that doesn't quite fit in the current project or don't know what to do with it, drag it out into this folder and give it a descriptive name (key, tempo, mood, etc). These ideas can be dragged back into other projects for experimentation.
84	Ricardo Balderas	Extract grooves as MIDI clips: Drag an audio file into the Groove Pool, then drag the created Groove file back onto a new MIDI track. You get a rhythmic sequence of C3 notes that can be easily edited into something musical.
85	Ricardo Balderas	Finding a sample tuning can be easier by creating a Rack with a Band-Pass Auto Filter followed by a Spectrum set in ST mode. Use the Auto Filter to locate the root harmonic, then identify the note in Spectrum.
86	Michael McReynolds / Sweater Disco	When using a reference track in any kind of project, I turn off the audio track that the reference is in, and Key Map "r" to the Solo Track control for the reference. I can really quickly jump in and out of the reference track from anywhere in the project.
87	Michael McReynolds / Sweater Disco	The Vocoder audio effect can be used to create buildups/ tension on any instrument - automating the decay/formant controls is great for buildups.
88	Michael McReynolds / Sweater Disco	Envelope Follower for Mixing - can be used to sidechain individual bands of an EQ, which is a bit more flexible than a sidechain compressor. Example: Ducking the high band of a synth based on the level of a vocal track.
89	Merlyn Silva	Place the Random device before a drum rack, and automate the Chance parameter for instant drum fills
90	Merlyn Silva	Search for the word 'freeze' in your browser, and playfully drag the results into a simpler to rediscover ideas from old projects
91	Merlyn Silva	Use Device Randomizer with a synth or effect to generate some unexpected sounds from a track - Resample the results
92	Merlyn Silva	Breath life into Wavetable using the Random column in the MIDI tab: Each time you play a note, the parameters you've assigned will change. Small doses!
93	Merlyn Silva	In Drum Buss, automate the Frequency and turn up the Boom knob for quick sub drops and wobbles
94	Merlyn Silva	(Boring but important) learn what 'Collect All and Save' does!!!
95	Misty Jones	For drums in Beats warp mode, change the transient loop mode to "off," then pull down transient envelope for a gated feel. Play with different granular resolutions for different rhythmic gated feels.
96	Misty Jones	Take several short drum loop clips in the same track, use short follow actions (3 16ths) set to random/other and legato mode for an ever-evolving new "loop." Use FX for cohesion.
97	Amit Segall	Use the Compressor sidechain (in monitor mode) as a way to route audio into a channel - in an Audio Effects Rack you can have multiple inputs as well as a mixer, so a simple audio track could become an entire mixer on it's own.
98	Kaite Watson	Save Live Sets in the appropriate project!
99	Liam O'Mullane	When using a synth (in my case always Operator) to synthesize drums in a drum rack, keep it in FM ratio mode (not freq) per Operator and use the MIDI Out note to in the Input Output section of the Rack to tune each drum per pad. Then you can easily also add and Macro a MIDI Pitch device before each Operator for easy chromatic tuning when needed.
100	Liam O'Mullane	EQ Three is a great phase tool. Maybe this too? (It's mine) Place a bunch of EQ Three devices in an audio effects rack. Map the FreqLow and FreqHigh crossover knobs to one macro, then turn up / down for a cool phasing effect. (Especially on bass synths)