Preparing For a Live Event

Greetings MacPro Users!

Hope this message finds you all well! I have several questions in regards to preparing for a live event. How do you set up your files without having to open each one individually, and is there a certain tutorial that demonstrates that? Oh and one more question if I may. I could not find an certified Ableton trainer in the San Diego area on Abletons website. Can any one recommend a good instructor in that region or perhaps a school?

Cheers!

Bobby B

Bobby,

What exactly do you mean by "files." Are you talking about separate live sets or individual clips? I know of some good tutorials about setting up sets for live performance, but i don't know about mentioning them here since it would direct you away from this site, which I don't think would be appropriate until Steve or Rounik says it's ok.

For me, it makes a lot of sense to keep one live set open all the time with your clips arranged by key, instrument, or style as far down as you need. That way you wouldn't have to mess around with opening and closing sets in the transition from one song to another.

What kind of style do you perform?

Jamie

Jamie,

Thanks for your reply. I believe you have answered my question. I am new to ableton and did not realize that you can have all your clips arranged on one open set for the complete performance. I have been opening individual sets from my desk top and have been using them separately instead as one combined set with all the clips arranged according to style.

Therefore Jamie, can I bring a completed set into an open session live by simply dragging it into live? I also have questions about using tunes (like a DJ would) in between sets.

I regards to my musical aspirations, I perform Jazz and am using Ableton with live music interactively. I find it much more user friendly than main-stage and it is a great DAW! I'm just really new, but am enjoying the learning curve.

Cheers, and I look forward to your response.

Bobby B

Yes, Bobby. I believe you can. If you look at some of the pre-made live sets that come with the program, you'll see that as you drag a live set into the session view, the clips all show up in transparent view as you hover over the session view area. When you drop, ableton automatically places those clips in slots as they had been arranged prior.

Now, if you have a bunch of clips that haven't been set up for a live performance, you'll have to go in and arrange your clips in a way that keeps your instruments, keys, effects and such all in order so you know where they are. Labeling always helps, both at the top of your track and on the clip itself. This is especially useful if you have melodic or rhythmic patterns that change from clip to clip. Don't forget that "follow actions" are some of the most useful functions in session view that may ease your workload in actual performance.

Macros will also help your flow quite a bit, especially if you want to make slow or subtle changes to your textures or other parameters on the fly, very much like a dj would during a performance. Macros are so easy to set up on each rack, and if you are playing real instruments in addition to using ableton as a supporting tool, macros and follow actions will end up being your best friend.

Of course, what this takes is time and effort to set up your flow, and a good amount of practice integrating your entire work frombegninning to end. Once you get it, though, the work is well worth it.

Jamie