Everything you need to know about Session View in 5 Minutes

Posted by Will in Transitioning your Band to Using Loops

If you’re new to using and working with Live, then one of the very first steps, if not the first is to understand the basic difference between Session and Arrangement View and how to use them. Today we’re taking a look at everything you need to know about Session View in 5 minutes. If you’re new to Live this is a great place to start!

The Layout

• Session view is the Vertical view because the tracks run from top to bottom
• Session view is made up of Tracks, Scenes and Clips
• Session View is Loop Based Recording, which means there is no preset arrangement.
• You can route Live’s Metronome using the Cue Out Function.
• You can use the Show/Hide buttons on the right hand side of the screen to show and hide basic controls in Session view like, In/Out’s, mixer, etc..

All About Tracks

• Tracks are the columns in Session View
• Tracks can be Audio, MIDI, or return tracks
• The master track is the track on the far right. You can assign tempos and time signatures to a scene using Live’s rename command. You can write notes or song/section titles in scenes as well.
• When your monitor is set to auto, it will allow you to monitor the input of your track when the track is “armed” and playback audio if you have a clip pre-recorded.

The Skinny on Scenes

• Scenes are the rows in Session view
• Scenes can be songs in a Set List
• Scenes can be sections of a song
• Firing a Scene will fire all the clips in that scene.
• You can assign tempos & time signatures to each scene
• You’ve got to have a clip in a scene in order to fire a scene.

The Basics of Clips

• Clips are created in Tracks
• Clips can be Audio or MIDI
• You can create MIDI clips by double clicking in the clip slot to create a MIDI clip
• You can’t play clips that are in the same track at the same time
• You can fire individual clips by pressing the clip Launch Button

When to use Session View

Because of Session View’s unique characteristics it works best for playback of pre-recorded content. You can build a set-list of your clicks and loops in Session View, assign Key and MIDI commands and trigger your content live.  Also because Session View is loop based recording it works great for recording demo’s. You can record your song clip by clip, and build sections of your song by putting the clips in one scene. Then you can create your arrangement by recording the scenes into Arrangement View using the Global Record Button.  Session View gives you some great functionality to perform your loops and gives you the ability to play “with” loops and not just “to” loops.

How have you used Session View before?

Will Doggett is a certified Ableton Live Instructor, musician, worship leader and educator based out of FL. He currently works in the Worship Ministry at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale and teaches Ableton Live and Ensemble courses at Ocean's Edge School of Worship . You can reach him by Email and find him on Twitter @willdoggett. He's currently available for consultation and training for churches and musicians interesting in learning to integrate Live into their setups. Want more info? Shoot him an Email!

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