Moving from Session to arrangement

[SWAN808]

So Im working on my first full track in Ableton having been using Logic for years. Ive been enjoying jamming around in the session view but now need to get my butt in gear and start laying the track out. Ive got a few sections and have tried highlighting the scenes and then tabbing accross to the arrangement. Problem is this is not working as I have quite a few tracks and also some group tracks - and when moved over things get complicated and messy.

What are the best ways to move things over to the arrangement? For some reason recording it in doesnt appeal but I may play more with that. I was wondering if there was a command that can just copy the session to the arrangement...?

[Phobos]

Hi,
If you have the patience, do try out recording the jam. It took me quite some time to get used to and the arrangement was really messy at first, but in the long run I think it makes the arrangement a lot more musical (opposed to visual, which really happens when you build a track) and you also get happy accidents in the arrangement.

Then just go through the arrangement and clean it up. I use the delete time command to shorten the jammed parts and make them regular (i.e. 16 bars).

Just a thought.

Let me know if you find a command for transferring the whole selection to the arrangement.

[edit: false info]

[8O]

as far as I know there isn't a quick way to paste clips from the session to the arrangement. You can drag clips, but not selections (as far as I can remember by heart).

Select whatever you want in arrangement. Start dragging, hit tab and drop into arrangement. Works fine with multiple clips and multiple track selected.

Edit: works fine with group tracks too.

[Phobos]

Yep, my bad, wrong info about the dragging. Didn't remember it by heart.

[SWAN808]

as far as I know there isn't a quick way to paste clips from the session to the arrangement. You can drag clips, but not selections (as far as I can remember by heart).

Select whatever you want in arrangement. Start dragging, hit tab and drop into arrangement. Works fine with multiple clips and multiple track selected.

Edit: works fine with group tracks too.

I found that when using group tracks - I would have to have exactly the same configuration in the session as per arrangement eg I would have to have all the tracks unfolded for the clips to match up to the correct tracks in arrangement. Also If I took the whole scene - it only seems to copy accross those clips that fit on the tracks in the arrangement that are visible. IE there are a bunch of clips that drop below the visable arrangemnt tracks and when dragged from the session view the clips that fit on the screen copy accross but the ones below are greyed out and have a 'crossed circle' sign on them...?

[mholloway]

if you're not interested in recording it into arrangement from session view, why are you sequencing in session view in the first place? it seems your method/interests are kind of bypassing a big part of why session view exists; for your purposes, maybe just record into arrangement to begin with, otherwise why have this whole extra step, which obviously seems to be slowing you down? but maybe i'm missing some element of your workflow.

-M

[feyshay]

My workflow is this.
I have the sketch for how I think the song is going to go.
I create a scene (and call it intro). Any clips that are part of the intro I put in there.
I then keep doing capture and insert scene (and deleting or adding to that next scene as needed).
Doing things like unlinking the volume envelope, or turning warp/loop on/off, taking out stop buttons are all part of it.
By the time I have done that, I now have all my song parts. I then press record in arrangement and launch the scenes at the right time. If I mess up, easy enough to fix. Then after in arrangement I make the small adjustments and volume/effect automation that I might need to do. It works great. The Session view is your friend, and if you do it properly, it will get your song into the arrangement in pretty much good working order.

[necho]

I always start in Arrange view. I find it much easier to work with audio in Arrange and I like being able to see all my MIDI events and audio and how they relate to eachother.

Once I have some different sections (usually 4 or 6), I drag them into the Session view, giving me 4 or 6 different scenes. Then, I mess around in Session view, adding FX, mapping FX to a controller, making FX busses etc, then when I'm ready, I jam the Session back into the arrange view and edit it.

Works for me.

[hurlingdervish]

i think if you work in session view theres a tendency to work on one loop

then start another that sounds kind of the same

but then when the second loop is done it doesnt sound anything like the previous and the transition is harsh

in arrangement you are always aware that you need transitions and fills

[mholloway]

i think if you work in session view theres a tendency to work on one loop

then start another that sounds kind of the same

but then when the second loop is done it doesnt sound anything like the previous and the transition is harsh

in arrangement you are always aware that you need transitions and fills

well that's certainly not my experience. session allows me to create all kinds of sequences and fire them off in any given order; sure sometimes the transitions aren't as clean, but other times they work wonderfully. part of the fun is in the flexibility of such a layout. then i can build the best possible arrangement after hearing all the ways things can fit together.

that said, it's true that I tend to go in and work on the transitions once i'm in arrangement mode, cutting things here and there or adding buildups, etc, to make the transitions have more energy.

-M

[royorb1]

Please help me understand what is happenning? I have recorded audio and midi in arrangement view. I have copied clips to session view and made some different scenes with different combinations of tracks. When you record the session back to arrangement view it overwrites the original arrangement tracks. Is this correct? This is what is happening in the first set/project that I recorded. In the second set/project I recorded when I recorded the session back into arrangement it recorded after all of the original arrangement audio that I recorded. What is going on? Thanks

I think I figured it out- you have to set the punch in point to protect previous recordings in the arrangement view