Music Production in Ableton Live 9: Part 3: Arranging

1. Welcome to this Class: Hi there. It's Thomas George, And welcome to this music production in able to live nine part free class where we're going to be looking at arranging. So this class is able to live nine users. So this is a part free class. So I do recommend going back and having your look at part one part two. However, you can always skip these if you just want to have a look at arranging. So in this class, we're going to look at locators, map locators, looping, arranging in the session view something audio and also tempo and time signature changes. So join me in this class if you want to learn about arranging in ableto live night. 2. Locators: Hi. In this lecture, we're going to have a look at creating locators in ableto lives. The locators are the same thing as markers, able to call them locators, basically where we can create points. So we know where we are similar to cue points if you're used to Dejiang. So this is actually a track that I'm currently working on. I've recorded it in with my able to the hardware the A P C 40 mark two have added effects on have actually used a template by a guy called Dave one out. It's included all these different effects, so it has a low pass filter, high pass filter filter buildup filled to build up to a few of the ones as well Delay times wind up with creature on Dstets pp. That's kind of Ah, slow down. Stop. So what I basically did is I used his template and have created a song from all different samples over here. The reason this one's down here, so I might use this later on, but I don't want to accidentally hit it while I'm performing. So this piece desperately needs arranging. I think it's about 10 minutes long. So far, But really, I think it's going to be about four minutes or so. There isn't that many parts for the different sections I want to actually add in locators, so I know where I am. I'll just play a bit of the track so far. So this is kind of the drum riff. Then I add apart, for example, here, I'm not too sure where the pad actually comes in. I can add in a locator with this button here. It really comes in about here, have added the pod. They're going to go back to the drums because I've used the external, a PC controller. Sometimes I gradually fade in or are put in a low pass filter, so it doesn't always come in straightaway, where the MIDI information or audio information actually is. So it's there. Pretty much comes them could also rename these Marcus command enough. So our puts pat cause this is where the pad comes in on this one Ari name drum riff. Because there is another drum part Tyne, you and on there's a vocal part that comes in around here. This'd is the vocal part gradually coming in, and it property comes in there. Okay, let's rename this Collecting it in. Commander, this is low vocals cause actually shifted vocals down to about low box. Have the over vocals come in around here as well. Just before that. Gradually build the embers where the vocals properly come and I think it's here. Check that we believe a double click to play click hit the space bar and then I have a bass part this base parts I actually had a fader on put open downs to the base quickly comes in to find this section. I think it comes in a bit before here base drops time than the drums and the bass properly . Come in here from this point and as here now put Kamanda kick. And so now I can just quickly look at this and blow up the base comes in here to click on if we want to go to the part where it kicks him. Just hit this button in half. We could perform live just with the locators if he wanted to. I do think it's a lot better to perform in the session view, but you could, in theory, through a lot this So this is basically how you use locators in ableto life. Next, we're going to look actually mapping locators to a key. So we compress a button on our Mac keyboard, and this will play with certain locators. 3. Map Locators: Okay, Now we're going to have a look at mapping our locators to a key on our Mac keyboard. So the first locator drum riff I want to map this to the one key on my Mac keyboard. The 2nd 1 pad to to the federal low box to free on the fourth form. Shouldn't rename. I just do this now. Command are local hive box just fucks because it's the main vocal on this 24 So it's really simple. Just click on the 1st 1 Hit this button key or command. Okay. All we have to do is select what we want. A map and then just hit the button on on that keyboard. Just going to be one. And that's literally it. No. When I hit space bar, I can hit the number one and play. From there. You can choose this from one bar to 1 60 or shortcut command six and then go back on every 16th note. So the 2nd 1 here pad so OK, Monty hit the button to Andi. That's it. So now when the play I can hit one onto a go between Locator one on located Teoh on free, which is Slovaks. Notice there's a small number free there as well. We can actually leave the key mapping menu open. So this is the before. Just select it. Preston before on number five and number six for kicking. I'm going to close this on dykan. Go through these numbers, and it's going to play like a said in the previous lecture. You can perform in arrangement view. Do you think session view is better? But you can do it if you want coming to hit space bar on switch between these different locator points much. - I personally prefer using these locators to actually switch between the sections. When an editing say, for example, there's a section I just want to quickly jumped to so I can have a look at that again. I could just hit one of these newly mapped key commands on Go to There. So, for example, if I just want a jump to the section where it first kicks in, I could just hit the number six on its baseball or want to go to the section of the low vocals really comes in. I can hit them them before, so that's how we map our locators in able to life 4. Looping: Hi. This lecture is all about looping in able to life. So So you want to hear the same section again and again. Random round mainly for arranging. You can actually loop and easily. So instead of actually dragging our loop locators to the section we want to loot and then zooming back in and hitting the space bar, we can just click on the section we want to loop, then just hit Commander. Now we'll notice these brackets have changed. Then if we hit space bar, it will just loop dragon New section hit commando Jump to that. So whatever instrument we do this to or we have to do is find a section Pitka Mandel. That's basically how we can dio quick loop enables life. 5. Arranging in the Session View: I welcome to this lecture. This lecture is all about arranging in the session view. So we looked at a set earlier called 29 Stairs on. What I've done is I've actually copied Eclipse out of there and dragged it into a new life set. It's really simple to do this. We can just hit command in a and then command and see and then open a new life set which is commanded. And then we can just paste it in here and this will pace the eclipse over. I'm gonna go back to the previous set now, Andi, I'm also going to make a quick arrangement in the session view. The first thing I'd like to do is absolutely label these tracks, so I know where I am. I normally like to have this by instrument by instrument. So, for example, So for example, this is ah, vocal clip with a pitch shifter, so I'm just going to rename this box low. I also like to color the clips. Normally, if there's a variation in the clip, So, for example, I could have a drumbeat without the kick drum. I normally like to color these variations differently too. But for now, I'm just going to color these. So they link up with the truck color above. So this is kind of a peach color. Choose this one. It's near enough. And this one is vocal as well. Call it box on, then. Color this yellow. Okay, It's kind of a greeny blue on this beats here. And there's a part I'm actually going to create new audio track of command t on Just direct the beats over there for that, So this could be the pad. So I'm going to rename this pad and color this kind of ah green. I will dio And then we've got kind of ah, on a lighter blue. I want to have the drums on here actually owns Have the base on here. Let's create a new audio truck. Also, I don't want to put the beats on there and the drums there on call their space and color this. I like to blue. Okay. And this one drums. This is a darker blue. This the pink color and this is beats. So I just know instantly offer. See this red color? It's for the beats. So from down here on the sea a certain color. I could just quickly remember what instrument this is actually from. Okay, I want this song toe actually start off with the drum parts so load just by itself. So I'm going to movil these down on throughout the whole set. Really? Or the whole song. I want the drum part to go away for out. So what can do is just hit shift on the up arrows Choose ALS these scenes here and had commanded a This will mean play all the way down. Then I want the pad to come in And then the vocals, then the vocals with the higher vocal So command eight get rid of this and then the drums on the base and then the drums and the bass with the vocals Copy this over by holding that adult and had commanded a minded a Okay, and now you can just launch the different scenes and I can always go in and so low on mute tracks as well whilst on performing. So this is more for ah, live environment. And you can always recall this to the arrangement if you wish to record your performance also, I'm just going to play this now and talk through what I'm actually doing. So I'm going to start off with the drums, then hit the second scene with the pot. The good thing about this is, if you're performing life, you can really read the crowd. So if the crowd of really responding to a certain scene you can leave that going for longer . So, for example, if they're going crazy when the drums and the bass enters, you could leave the drums and bass longer than you normally would. But if people aren't really responding to certain scenes, you can swap to ever scenes. You really can modify your set to the audience. I'm going to add the vocals on the pad. I did this in real time. I want the pad to continue going on the scene below, so I just dragged it. Billy, I want to take the pad out so can turn off the truck activator on. I'm going to put the power back in. I'm gonna so low the lower vocal take out the solar and and I'm going to enter the drums on the base on. I'm going to go back to the first clip. That's just drums. Then I'm going to go to this scene here. Then I'm going to go to this scene above so the drums and the bass will also enter because this is set on one bar. I could really just have a lot more flexibility for where I actually launched the clip. Surfer. Don't launch it completely in time able to and will launch the next bar. But I can change this to, for example, 1/16 notes. Where could experiment with the rhythms a lot more. There is a lot easier to mess it up. It is easier to get it right. If it's just looks on. One bar atyou can hear that the drums right of time. I could put them back in way back in time. So in a live setting, a lot of people weren't noticed. If there's a few small, minor mistakes, if you are recording this, you can always go back into the arrangement view and correct your errors. Go to finish back on the drums and then stop all the clips. So that's just a quick overview off arranging in the session view life. So basically just gone through how I label on color. The tracks on also arrange the tracks in a session view, ready for a live performance 6. Sampling Audio: Hi. This lecture is all about sampling audio. So want to add a bit of variety and add some or drum hits into this arrangement? So what have actually done is have dragged in another song. I'm just going to sample a kick and a snare from this song. So this song is a biggie Smalls remix, and I'll just play you the original. So here's the original. So it's just that kick and snare that I really want to sample. Can't really sample any more than that because of copyright issues, obviously. But if you go in and have a look at this track of hit warp here, the bacon just drag a section we like on a hit commander now and this will loop, make sure loop is on. I'm just gonna play this section here. You can hear already how different it is when it's sped up. Maybe even just this. Let's hear this in contacts with the song Let's play this again. Just ah, hear the beat compared to the rest of the song. And make sure that start marker is at the start of the loop also or it might not quite, son. Right. Okay, That sounds pretty good. Let's hear it from here. Move that start marker back. Here, try here. That sounds pretty cool. Just this loop here could also try the other warp options. It doesn't really make any difference. They part from the re pitch sleeve on beats and change the transposition. So I want to have one section like that, and I'm gonna copy this over. Just change the color of this also. So I know it's a different section and then this one, I want tohave from here, so it hasn't got that care at the end, because this section is that. But they're so this one won't have that section there. So they're just two different loops. Really? Which I do think we add a bit of variety into my song. And you can tell it's taken from the original because it is very different. Sped up, the pictures changed. It's basically just that Kick drum, snare river. Let's just hear Now the two beats in the mix of the song. Okay. - Okay . I think that works to add a bit of variety into the song. Just some plain, just that kick and snare. So thank you for watching this lecture in this lecture. I've just gone through how you can take a small section from a song and change it to use in your own music. 7. Tempo and Time Signature Changes: hi. In this lecture, we're going to have a look at tempo changes on also time signature changes in able to life in the session view now. And there is a little sneaky weight actually change the time signature on the tempo in ableto. So if we click on the scene here, we can rename this. Let's just leave. It was one. Never leave a space. I'm right, a tempo and then space and BPM. This will change this scene to this tempo, so let's just try one below. Command are, Let's call it too on. Let's try 1 70 b. P. M. If we play this clip now with 1 to 8 and go down to this one, it will actually change the tempo toe 1 70 beats per minute. We have to make sure, however, that there is a space. So that's 1 70 of that space. We need 1 70 space bpm and that will change too. 170 beats per minute. Let's just have a listen. Waken see up here is 170 beats per minutes. If we switch back to the first scene, tempos changed back to 128. The only thing is now, if we go on to the new tempo goes to never seen it will stay at this new change tempo. So we really do need to go through and rename all of the scenes. Let's change just the 1 10 Remember to put in BPM 1 10 bpm, then go down toe 1 10 So that's basically how we change the tempo in the session mode. You can also change the time signature. This is only really suitable if you actually have clips in this time saying that you're or you want to write clips in this signature. So, for example, this beat is in 44 If you change this down to free four beats going to sound exactly the same, just the Metrodome will sound different. So this is only really useful. If you have clips in a different time signature, or if you plan to write clips in a different time signature, it won't actually adapt the clip. Or but for purposes off this demonstration, I'm just going to change this one on the way we do. It is simply just right in the key signature so we can have free and then dash them. Four. That will change this to free for so this is only really suitable if you have clips that are in a different time signature. We're like the tempo change, though if we do use different time signatures, we have to change over one's to go back to the current time signature. So I'm going toe. Remove this free four and you'll notice that it's still in free. Four. So now I have to write in 44 to go back to 44 and you'll see now it's back to 44 Let's go to the arrangement view now on the way we changed the tempo in the arrangement view is by hitting the master button here, and then we can go to mixer and go down to some tempo, and this allows us to change the tempo in arrangement view. You also noticed that there is a small red dot here that means that there's automation on this. Say, for example, we change this to truck volume Army Click on tempo here. This will jump the automation to song tempo to change the time signature. We have to right click, then where it normally says. Add locator with have to click on insert time signature change. So that's basically how we change the tempo on the time signature in arrangement, View on session view.