Create a MIDI sequence with good musical timing

MIDI in Live 101

Get your MIDI keyboard up and running
Set your preferences by going to Live > Preferences.

You can chose your options from here.
Map some controls with KEY and MIDI modes
You can map interface elements to your keyboard.

Hit the Key Mapping switch in the upper right corner.

This will enable you to assign actions in the key mapping browser.

Drawing Drum Beats

Draw in a few beats
Find a sound then double click it to create an empty clip.

Press "B" to turn on draw mode.

Draw your beats.
Edit your beats
Right clicking on the grid will allow you to switch to "Adaptive Grid" mode.

From here you can make more nuanced beats.

Recording MIDI in Session View

Record a few drum beats
Use a metronome to place your drum beats then record them.

You can use the Quantize tool to make sure your beats stay in time.
Record a bass line
Use your drum beat as a guide to recording a bass line.
Record some keys
Record your keys.

Quantize & Groove

Quantize your drum beats
Right click then select Quantize Settings?

The following dialogue box allows you to chose how much your notes snap to a grid.
Quantize your key recordings
You can also manually quantize each note one at a time.
Apply a groove to your clips
You can find grooves by going to Packs > Swing and Grooves.
Create a quantized musical sketch with MIDI
Create a MIDI sequence with good musical timing. Record five clips, edit them, then quantize and/or apply grooves.

Sil Demmer

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