Hi, I’m a new Ableton and Push user and have a couple questions about timing loops/riffs that I play in note mode. I think these are basic questions, but haven’t yet been able to find the answer and it will make the push a lot more fun when I figure these out. Could you please help answer these questions?
1. Sometimes, when I hit the red record button, the red light will flash a couple times before staying on. I understand that this is the count-in. But there are sometimes that the light just goes straight to staying on and it does not flash. I haven’t yet found the reason why it counts in sometimes but not all the times, and it makes it difficult for me to time when I should start playing the loop. In what situations does it count in? And in what situations does it not count in? Is there a way to choose whether it will count in or not?
2. After I finish recording the riff and push the record button to stop recording and playback the riff, the record button seems to always/usually stay red for another second or so before going dim and beginning playback. This is making it so that all/most of my riffs that I try to loop have extra silent space at the end of the riff, even when I hit the record button immediately after playing the last note. I don’t understand why it is doing this. I’ve tried turning off fixed length and it doesn’t seem to make a difference. I’ve also tried timing it to hit the record button before I finish playing the last notes, but that is very difficult to time right and doesn’t seem to be how people do it in videos that I see. Why is it pausing and creating that silent delay after hitting the record button? And how can I make it so that it doesn’t pause?
Thanks, Dan
timing loops/riffs in note mode
Re: timing loops/riffs in note mode
For question 2, the timing in Live is based off of the Global Tempo. You might record a single bar or two bars of material at a tempo inside your head where that part finishes. But Live is still finishing counting that second bar based on its global tempo.
The global tempo is important. Helps to either already be playing a bear in the background or to have the metronome clearly audible so you know how fast it is set to.
The global tempo is important. Helps to either already be playing a bear in the background or to have the metronome clearly audible so you know how fast it is set to.
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danny klim
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 1:34 pm
Re: timing loops/riffs in note mode
Thank you again for your help!
- I was thinking it might be something like that. But I thought that it would only function like that when the Fixed Length Option was turned on? What is the purpose of the Fixed length option if the loop is always bound by a tempo and bar length?
- By "playing a bear in the background ", you mean playing a bar in the background, right? Ie having a loop playing a drum or bass riff that i play over?
- Is there any way to see visually where the current beat is in the sequence/measure (when in note mode)? For example, when i play drums on the bottom left 16 pads- it shows the lit up pad moving across the top rows of pads to show where in the sequence the beat currently is. But it doesn't show this in note mode... so how do i know where in the sequence the current beat is? A metronome will tell me the tempo, but do i just need to remember whether i am, for example, in the 4th bar or the 7th?
- How do i change the total amount of bars that will be looped on the Push in note mode? Do i use the 1/4 thru 1/32 buttons just like in drum mode?
- Is there any way to play the Push without a fixed length of how many bars and at what tempo it will be? For example, to start by playing whatever riff is in my head (without any preset tempo or length), then loop that and have that serve as the length/tempo for subsequent layers?
- Any ideas about the first question?
- I was thinking it might be something like that. But I thought that it would only function like that when the Fixed Length Option was turned on? What is the purpose of the Fixed length option if the loop is always bound by a tempo and bar length?
- By "playing a bear in the background ", you mean playing a bar in the background, right? Ie having a loop playing a drum or bass riff that i play over?
- Is there any way to see visually where the current beat is in the sequence/measure (when in note mode)? For example, when i play drums on the bottom left 16 pads- it shows the lit up pad moving across the top rows of pads to show where in the sequence the beat currently is. But it doesn't show this in note mode... so how do i know where in the sequence the current beat is? A metronome will tell me the tempo, but do i just need to remember whether i am, for example, in the 4th bar or the 7th?
- How do i change the total amount of bars that will be looped on the Push in note mode? Do i use the 1/4 thru 1/32 buttons just like in drum mode?
- Is there any way to play the Push without a fixed length of how many bars and at what tempo it will be? For example, to start by playing whatever riff is in my head (without any preset tempo or length), then loop that and have that serve as the length/tempo for subsequent layers?
- Any ideas about the first question?
Re: timing loops/riffs in note mode
Oops. Meant to say playing a beat. ***
Re: timing loops/riffs in note mode
Okay. So first is the concept of understanding how to loop in Live in the most standard way that the software is fluent with.
The idea is, and you can practice this with something simple like tapping a note at every beat and trying to loop just for experimentation/testing purposes, to know where the downbeat is while the software is 'already playing' at a specific tempo.
You trigger the Record button just Before that downbeat and it will begin recording precisely on the downbeat. You can already be tapping on a pad, playing something, before hitting record. It'll just not begin recording until the downbeat.
Then, while you are playing (and with Fixed length OFF) keep in mind when you think you what what you're recording to end. Just a little bit before that end point, hit Record again but do it without stopping playing.
You'll notice that it'll continue recording and then go back to playing the start of the loop. Then you'll have a loop that is a pre-designated tempo.
I would get this concept down first because knowing it and understanding it will probably answer some of your questions.
As for visual cues, they're not entirely reliable for tight playing. Audio cues can be sketchy also if you do not have audio Latency under control. Make sure that when you two a note it triggers nearly immediately (to a practically imperceptible degree of latency). This would ensure that you are playing synced and it is recording things in the way you hear them.
The idea is, and you can practice this with something simple like tapping a note at every beat and trying to loop just for experimentation/testing purposes, to know where the downbeat is while the software is 'already playing' at a specific tempo.
You trigger the Record button just Before that downbeat and it will begin recording precisely on the downbeat. You can already be tapping on a pad, playing something, before hitting record. It'll just not begin recording until the downbeat.
Then, while you are playing (and with Fixed length OFF) keep in mind when you think you what what you're recording to end. Just a little bit before that end point, hit Record again but do it without stopping playing.
You'll notice that it'll continue recording and then go back to playing the start of the loop. Then you'll have a loop that is a pre-designated tempo.
I would get this concept down first because knowing it and understanding it will probably answer some of your questions.
As for visual cues, they're not entirely reliable for tight playing. Audio cues can be sketchy also if you do not have audio Latency under control. Make sure that when you two a note it triggers nearly immediately (to a practically imperceptible degree of latency). This would ensure that you are playing synced and it is recording things in the way you hear them.
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danny klim
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 1:34 pm
Re: timing loops/riffs in note mode
yur2die4 wrote:Okay. So first is the concept of understanding how to loop in Live in the most standard way that the software is fluent with.
The idea is, and you can practice this with something simple like tapping a note at every beat and trying to loop just for experimentation/testing purposes, to know where the downbeat is while the software is 'already playing' at a specific tempo.
You trigger the Record button just Before that downbeat and it will begin recording precisely on the downbeat. You can already be tapping on a pad, playing something, before hitting record. It'll just not begin recording until the downbeat.
Then, while you are playing (and with Fixed length OFF) keep in mind when you think you what what you're recording to end. Just a little bit before that end point, hit Record again but do it without stopping playing.
You'll notice that it'll continue recording and then go back to playing the start of the loop. Then you'll have a loop that is a pre-designated tempo.
I would get this concept down first because knowing it and understanding it will probably answer some of your questions.
As for visual cues, they're not entirely reliable for tight playing. Audio cues can be sketchy also if you do not have audio Latency under control. Make sure that when you two a note it triggers nearly immediately (to a practically imperceptible degree of latency). This would ensure that you are playing synced and it is recording things in the way you hear them.
Thanks for your help again!
I just tried doing it with a simple beat as you recommended. It makes a more sense now, but I’m still sometimes finding it awkward to make it sound right. When I use the metronome, it makes it a lot easier because I can hear the downbeat, but I am still getting confused sometimes with the way it works. I’ll keep on playing it and see how it goes. Is there any videos/resources that help this part of the learning process?
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Also: Is there any way to make the push set the global tempo as I record my first loop? I’ve played around with the “Set and follow song tempo” function in the looper, and this works nicely. Is it possible to do this with the in these midi clips with the push? I keep finding that I walk up to the push and start playing a beat that I like on it (without turning a metronome on), but I can’t get it down to the push because:
a) its currently set to play at a different beat/tempo, (so when I hit the record button, it won’t start/end the loop when I want)
B) to change the tempo to the tempo of my jam, it requires me to stop playing my beat so that I can tap tempo for the metronome. This gets in way of my jamming/groove, bc I have to stop the drum jam and think about the tempo. Coming from a free jamming live instrument background, it just feels kind of weird to set up and have to play to the metronome.
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And what do you mean by “pre-designated” tempo? A tempo that I create or that Ableton creates?
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The visual cue that I see on the Push when the drum sequence is being shown seems adequate to me. I’m not hearing any latency or seeing any latency on that sequence of lights. Is there any way I can try a visual cue to test it out?
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Also, is there any way to set the metronome volume down by default? I lower it every time that I turn the Push on.
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danny klim
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 1:34 pm
Re: timing loops/riffs in note mode
can anyone please offer some advice about this? I really want to learn the Push, but still haven't been able to get a hang of the way that it times loops. Would very much appreciate it if someone could help
Re: timing loops/riffs in note mode
You can open a fresh blank set and adjust Only things you want to always be set a certain way for every new set.
Then go to Preferences and save it as your default set.
I also have my cue level down for my default set, along with a lot of handy key mappings.
You can set a tempo before Live starts playing by using the Looper audio effect device. This is not midi based though. You would record audio into it and use it like a Looper by punching in and then punching out. The moment you punch out, Live calculates the tempo of your loop and sets its tempo to that.
Since it is audio, you'll not yet have any kind of midi recorded.
Also, since you're already in playback, you'd have to wait until the next downbeat after it has already started in order to start punching in your midi loop, or stop it (satisfied that it is now at your desired tempo), and then get it ready for recording your stuff.
The best thing you can do is keep playing around and experimenting. It won't always work how you expect it because it has limitations. Once you better understand it's limitations, then how you imagine a process in it will at least be with respect to what it is and isn't capable of.
Computers for the most part need real, solid tempos. A jamming situation with other people has people who can adapt as tempos change and interpret musical concepts. A computer is basically blind and you need to give it s track to follow. You can adjust the track but if you do something too hard to interpret, the computer wont necessarily compensate, it'll get derailed.
It is a trade off. If computers were only used for that alone, few people would enjoy them for jamming and performance. The strongpoint is its ability to manipulate things quickly by using the processor and to be able to play back multiple tracks at the same time (if there was no tempo information or decisions on your part, all those multiple tracks would just fall out of sync).
Then go to Preferences and save it as your default set.
I also have my cue level down for my default set, along with a lot of handy key mappings.
You can set a tempo before Live starts playing by using the Looper audio effect device. This is not midi based though. You would record audio into it and use it like a Looper by punching in and then punching out. The moment you punch out, Live calculates the tempo of your loop and sets its tempo to that.
Since it is audio, you'll not yet have any kind of midi recorded.
Also, since you're already in playback, you'd have to wait until the next downbeat after it has already started in order to start punching in your midi loop, or stop it (satisfied that it is now at your desired tempo), and then get it ready for recording your stuff.
The best thing you can do is keep playing around and experimenting. It won't always work how you expect it because it has limitations. Once you better understand it's limitations, then how you imagine a process in it will at least be with respect to what it is and isn't capable of.
Computers for the most part need real, solid tempos. A jamming situation with other people has people who can adapt as tempos change and interpret musical concepts. A computer is basically blind and you need to give it s track to follow. You can adjust the track but if you do something too hard to interpret, the computer wont necessarily compensate, it'll get derailed.
It is a trade off. If computers were only used for that alone, few people would enjoy them for jamming and performance. The strongpoint is its ability to manipulate things quickly by using the processor and to be able to play back multiple tracks at the same time (if there was no tempo information or decisions on your part, all those multiple tracks would just fall out of sync).