Maschine for better arrangement

[ttilberg]

Well, I just tried recording a little video of some examples of arrangement shortcuts, but the recording failed after it was all done, so... Maybe I'll try again later.

But in short, you should get super familiar with these keyboard commands, because they are flat out boss:

Windows uses Ctrl, Mac uses the Apple key

The biggest and best: Ctrl 1 and 2:
Ctrl 1 and 2 sets your grid size, which may address one of your original complaints, where clips you drop go all willy nilly. It sounds like you might have your grid set pretty small. An awesome thing to do is to slap Ctrl + 2 a few times to make the time grid fat (like 4, 8 or maybe even 16 bars). This will make it so that your clip's start point is magnetic to one of those increments. I like to set my grid big, drop my clip, and then extend the loop out 32+ bars (unless it's not needed of course). With the fat grid, it's super fast and easy to drop accurately, and extend. And then of course, when you need to get surgical, drop that grid back down!

Ctrl E: Split a clip.
So you just drug a synth clip loop across 32 bars, and man does it get boring! If you split your clip in arrangement view, a few awesome things happen.
A) Your clip in session view stays as it is, so you can always drag a fresh master back out if you destroy your awesome clip.
B) Changes to your new split version do not affect any other clips in the line. This means it's perfect for adding a few flourishes here and there.

Let's say I have a 2 bar synth line that gets looped across 32 bars. To make it more interesting, I'll zoom my grid to 2-4 bars, and split the tail end of every 8 or 16 bars, and tweak a few notes in that split section. If you like it and want to continue using it, you can also select the clips you want to fuse together, right click, and select "Consolidate" -- making it a single clip with the flourishes every 8 bars -- all this from a simple 2 bar loop!

Ctrl D: Duplicate a clip. It's like copy paste, but it duplicates very quickly and in succession. Just select a section of time on a track, or multiple tracks, and press Ctrl D. This is good for duplicating groups of clips that maybe you have chopped into a few different clips, but don't want to consolidate yet. Or just because it's fast and awesome. It's a good way to quickly extend the song when starting the arrangement process

Ctrl B: This is your Pen Tool shortcut. When dealing with automation, this thing is boss. I like to use it by setting my grid width to the time I want to affect, and then make a pen mark, and adjust. Example: I want a 4 bar filter sweep. I'll set my grid to 4 bars, open the automation lane I want to use, and distinctly mark that chunk of time different. With the grid set like this, you will make a single, drastic change with two break points. You can double click on the points to delete them -- for a simple basic sweep, gouge your automation line with the pen, and double click a point to create a ramp. Boom. Done.

The Shift Key Automation Trick:
A cool trick I've recently discovered that is great for recorded midi data is to use shift. When you record midi data, there are many many many points that are written that might not be what you wanted to do. Normally when you try click and drag a point past one of the other automation points, it locks and you can't go further. This behavior is awesome when you are drawing ramps, but sucks if you are trying to fix something. If you hold shift, any automation points you cross as you drag across will be removed, and you can extend this point as far left or right as you wish.

Copying, Cut, Paste, Duplicate and Delete Time:
In the Edit Menu, there are options to Copy, Cut, Paste Duplicate and Delete Time. These moves are cool to use when you have a good groove going somewhere in the middle of your work, and you realize that it should be a little longer, or perhaps not there at all. If you select a length of time (on any track) and use the "Duplicate Time" or "Delete Time" features, all of the data, including automation and everything will be copied, deleted, whatever. It's great for extending breakdowns, or the buildups before the breakdowns-- I always do a poor job at time estimates for those things.

Regarding sequencing in general: a trick I had learned a long time ago from Tarekith is to take your main clips, and lay them out for the expected duration of your song, and start cutting and modifying from there. This has helped me feel much better about arranging sometimes, because sometimes it's easier to spot what you don't like than it is to know what you like.

If you would like me to make a video demonstrating how I use some of these tools to be an arrangement view ninja, I can try to record it at home once I'm on my Mac (screen recording is much easier there). Once you learn the shortcuts, arranging in Live is pretty fast.

Good luck duderoo.

[mc1392]

this is what I want to do:
http://youtu.be/2E-1_nNHQTo
http://youtu.be/rpk5l2Evfj8

This is exactly what I want!

Im also seeking a workstation to do as much as I can without the mouse.
I'd also like to try Maschine's approach to timestretch.
I can also, maybe, get rid of my MPD 24.

[The Carpet Cleaner]

Sometimes, I do basic arrangement in maschine.
But once you record into ableton live, you ll probably have to tweak a bit because maschine is not so great for long transitions.

[mc1392]

@ttilberg

Thanks so much!

I will be on it!

Now, to set aside a time to visit Sam Ash, lol!

[Saxer]

abletons session view is a trap. when producing, get to arrangement view as fast as possible!

[delicioso]

this is what I want to do:
http://youtu.be/2E-1_nNHQTo
http://youtu.be/rpk5l2Evfj8

This is exactly what I want!

Im also seeking a workstation to do as much as I can without the mouse.

Sounds like Maschine is exactly what you're looking for then. I find Maschine's scene arranger very fast and easy to work with, especially because I never have to touch the mouse and do everything quickly from just the hardware. And it's a cinch to export and drag/drop into a DAW (Logic in my case) for finishing touches and mixdowns.

[djadonis206]

abletons session view is a trap. when producing, get to arrangement view as fast as possible!

this.

[Sibanger]

The Shift Key Automation Trick:
A cool trick I've recently discovered that is great for recorded midi data is to use shift. When you record midi data, there are many many many points that are written that might not be what you wanted to do. Normally when you try click and drag a point past one of the other automation points, it locks and you can't go further. This behavior is awesome when you are drawing ramps, but sucks if you are trying to fix something. If you hold shift, any automation points you cross as you drag across will be removed, and you can extend this point as far left or right as you wish.

THIS!!!! Thanks ttilberg. I love you

[dazzer]

abletons session view is a trap. when producing, get to arrangement view as fast as possible!

this.

That

[djadonis206]

abletons session view is a trap. when producing, get to arrangement view as fast as possible!

this.

That

those.

[ttilberg]

this.

That

those.

These...

You may embed only 3 quotes within each other.

WAT?!

[Saxer]

That

those.

These...

You may embed only 3 quotes within each other.

WAT?!

[mc1392]

Hey guys!

I went out bought Maschine, and I have to say, I am very pleased!

My workflow is start in Maschine then bounce to Live.
This works perfectly for me.

I can do so many of the Ableton Live things like not repeats so quickly,
that i can build strong ideas and concepts quickly.

By the time I get into Ableton, I have so much done already, I focus on some of Live's
strengths:synthesis, working with audio,polishing arrangement.

Everything is going according to plan!

[Klinkers]

If you want a better workflow/integration between live and maschine, you should try this:

Start a new live project with 1 Midi track with maschine on it as a plugin and create 8 empty audio tracks. Group all the 9 tracks. Then route all the 8 audio tracks; audio from should be the midi track with maschine on it. In maschine route all the 8 groups A-H through output 2-9 and in the 8 live tracks select the input channel according to output 2-9 from maschine (make sure to arm all the audio tracks). Now save this maschine project and set this as the default template for maschine when using as a plugin (do this in the preferences window). Then save the whole live project as an default template in the live preferences. Every time you'll start up live you immediately have a rack with maschine routed like it should be.

[The Carpet Cleaner]

If you want a better workflow/integration between live and maschine, you should try this:

Start a new live project with 1 Midi track with maschine on it as a plugin and create 8 empty audio tracks. Group all the 9 tracks. Then route all the 8 audio tracks; audio from should be the midi track with maschine on it. In maschine route all the 8 groups A-H through output 2-9 and in the 8 live tracks select the input channel according to output 2-9 from maschine (make sure to arm all the audio tracks). Now save this maschine project and set this as the default template for maschine when using as a plugin (do this in the preferences window). Then save the whole live project as an default template in the live preferences. Every time you'll start up live you immediately have a rack with maschine routed like it should be.

After trying lots of different setup, that s exactly what I'm using and it really simple and efficient