We all know that Ableton Live is great for running loops and clicks with a band. We talked extensively about why we use Live in this previous post. In that post, we hinted at a few other uses for Live. Today we want to take a look a few other things that Live does really well.
Transcription Tool
One of the overlooked features of Live is that it is a great transcription tool. If you are learning a new song, just drag it right from iTunes into Live (I prefer dropping it into Arrangement View so I can see the whole song). It will take a second for Live to analyze the audio but once that’s done, just double click on the track to bring up info in the Clip View area. Live automatically calculates the BPM of the song which is really handy. If you set the tempo of your Live set to match, the track will play back at it’s original speed. If there is a difficult part you want to listen closely to, just bring down the tempo of the Live set and you can listen to it slowly without changing the pitch. This is great for learning tricky guitar parts. If it’s a 16-bar solo, it helps to turn on the Loop feature and have Live repeat that section until you’ve got it.
If I’m creating charts for our band, I insert markers in the song and name them by song section – Intro, Verse 1, Chorus 1, etc. When I’m done, I have a visual layout of the song that I can use to create accurate chord charts. Seeing it on the screen makes it really easy to tell that the intro is 4 bars or 8 bars or to see where an extra measure was inserted between song sections. If you are trying to replicate the arrangement of a song exactly (or just get an accurate map so you can rearrange it and make it your own) Live is a huge help!
Sound Effects
You may not need sound effects every week in your regular worship service (although that would be pretty cool) but if there are special events that you need effects for, Live is an easy way to trigger them. I can imagine that many drama productions could find this useful. In our youth ministry, we sometimes trigger sound effects for games. For example, we replicated a game show one night and used sound effects as buzzers for wrong answers, bells for correct answers, applause, etc.
All you have to do is drag your sound effects into Session View to create a separate clip for each one. I used a small midi keyboard and mapped each sound to different key. Then when it was time to trigger it, all I had to do was press the correct key. It was super easy to set up and made the game that much more fun.
Multi-Track Recording
Although most people don’t think of Live as a program to produce multi-track recordings with, it is surprisingly well-suited for the task. Live Intro and Live LE are limited in the number of tracks you can create but the full versions of Live have track counts that are only limited by what your computer can handle. I use Logic as my main recording software but I’ve used Live extensively in the past to record demos. If you already have a familiar workflow in Live, you can probably produce tracks quickly and easily in Live. If you do transfer to another program like Pro Tools or Logic to finish your project, it’s easy to export the tracks or just Rewire Live into the other program.
Songwriter’s Tool
Live is a great program for songwriters to quickly capture new ideas. It is easy to setup a template with frequently used instruments and have it ready to go right when you open Live. I start with a few audio tracks to capture vocals and acoustic. Another bonus is that the warp feature is great for locking in scratch tracks that weren’t recorded to a click. I like to have a mini controller (AKAI LPK25) connected to my laptop. Then I can insert a few midi tracks for Bass, Pad/Organ, Drums, etc and play them in quickly with the mini controller. It will allow you to quickly capture ideas without thinking about the technology before the inspiration disappears.
Orchestra / Extended Band
Live also makes it easy to supplement your band with additional instruments like a string section, horns, additional percussion, etc. When used tastefully, these additional instruments can really help expand the sound of your band by filling in missing instruments or supplementing what you’re already doing. The mantra “less is more” definitely applies here. Using these instruments creatively can provide a very effective background for your band. Resist the urge to program an entire symphony though!
Conclusion
Well, as you can see, there are a lot of other uses for Live besides running loops with your band. These are just a few ideas that we’ve used Live for in the past. What are some creative uses that you’ve found for Live? Or, did this list make you think of some new possibilities that you haven’t tried yet? We’d love to discuss it more so be sure and leave a comment below.
About the Author: Jake Sumner is the Student Life Worship Coordinator at Sugarloaf UMC in Duluth, GA and enjoys equipping the next generation of worship leaders. He blogs here and you can also find him on twitter @jakesumner.
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