User Manual
Table Of Contents
- Welcome to Live
- First Steps
- Authorizing Live
- Live Concepts
- Managing Files and Sets
- Working with the File Browsers
- Sample Files
- MIDI Files
- Live Clips
- Live Sets
- Live Projects
- The Live Library
- Locating Missing Samples
- Collecting External Samples
- Aggregated Locating and Collecting
- Finding Unused Samples
- Packing Projects into Live Packs
- File Management FAQs
- How Do I Create a Project?
- How Can I Save Presets Into My Current Project?
- Can I Work On Multiple Versions of a Set?
- Where Should I Save My Live Sets?
- Where Should I Save My Live Clips?
- Can I Use My Own Folder Structure Within a Project Folder?
- How Do I Export A Project to the Library and Maintain My Own Folder Structure?
- Arrangement View
- Session View
- Clip View
- Tempo Control and Warping
- Editing MIDI Notes and Velocities
- Using Grooves
- Launching Clips
- Routing and I/O
- Mixing
- Recording New Clips
- Working with Instruments and Effects
- Instrument, Drum and Effect Racks
- Automation and Editing Envelopes
- Clip Envelopes
- Working with Video
- Live Audio Effect Reference
- Auto Filter
- Auto Pan
- Beat Repeat
- Chorus
- Compressor
- Corpus
- Dynamic Tube
- EQ Eight
- EQ Three
- Erosion
- External Audio Effect
- Filter Delay
- Flanger
- Frequency Shifter
- Gate
- Grain Delay
- Limiter
- Looper
- Multiband Dynamics
- Overdrive
- Phaser
- Ping Pong Delay
- Redux
- Resonators
- Reverb
- Saturator
- Simple Delay
- Spectrum
- Utility
- Vinyl Distortion
- Vocoder
- Live MIDI Effect Reference
- Live Instrument Reference
- Max For Live
- Sharing Live Sets
- MIDI and Key Remote Control
- Using the APC40
- Synchronization and ReWire
- Computer Audio Resources and Strategies
- Audio Fact Sheet
- MIDI Fact Sheet
- Live Keyboard Shortcuts
- Showing and Hiding Views
- Accessing Menus
- Adjusting Values
- Browsing
- Transport
- Editing
- Loop Brace and Start/End Markers
- Session View Commands
- Arrangement View Commands
- Commands for Tracks
- Commands for Breakpoint Envelopes
- Key/MIDI Map Mode and the Computer MIDI Keyboard
- Zooming, Display and Selections
- Clip View Sample Display
- Clip View MIDI Editor
- Grid Snapping and Drawing
- Global Quantization
- Working with Sets and the Program
- Working with Plug-Ins and Devices
- Using the Context Menu
- Index
CHAPTER 4. LIVE CONCEPTS 14
Selecting the Library bookmark in Live's File Browser will take you to the Live Library of
creative tools. Depending on what content you have installed, there may be a number of
demo Sets here, and double-clicking a Live Set's name in the Browser will open that Live
Set. You can also nd Live Sets made by others at the Ableton website, as well as upload
your own. This makes it easy to collaborate with other Live users.
4.2 Arrangement and Session
The basic musical building blocks of Live are called clips. A clip is a piece of musical material:
a melody, a drum pattern, a bassline or a complete song. Live allows you to record and alter
clips, and to create larger musical structures from them: songs, scores, remixes, DJ sets or
stage shows.
A Live Set consists of two environments that can hold clips: The Arrangement is a layout of
clips along a musical timeline; the Session is a real-time-oriented launching base for clips.
Every Session clip has its own play button that allows launching the clip at any time and in
any order. Each clip's behavior upon launch can be precisely specied through a number of
settings.
Clips in the Session View
(Left) and in the
Arrangement View
(Right).
The Arrangement is accessed via the Arrangement View and the Session via the Session
View; you can toggle between the two views using the computer's Tab key or their respective
selectors. Because the two views have distinct applications, they each hold individual
collections of clips. However, it is important to understand that ipping the views simply
changes the appearance of the Live Set and does not switch modes, alter what you hear or
change what is stored.