Ableton Forum

Hey Folks,

I'm brand new here and only been in Ableton for the past few days. Didn't know where to turn for help so if this is the wrong spot please don't e-strangle me
So I've watched hours of tutorials which all seem to still be over my head, but I've managed to construct a decent bell melody with a good beat. However I don't want the song to start with the complex beat from the get-go, I want it to start with something like 1 kick per bar, then increase to 2, then 4...that sort of thing. To do this, would I devote a midi track in session view to be a drum rack, then make a separate 4 bar clip slot per "beat speed" (I know that's as noob as it gets) or is there a way where I can just have 1 clip bar in that drum rack midi that accelerates and evolves the drum beat well past that 4 bar allotment. Thanks for any and all help, I'm quite desparate.

So, one of the many many many ways to accomplish this is to use "follow actions" in the clips. There are youtube tutorials I am sure.

Essentially, in the properties for a clip you can specify a number of bars to play and an action to happen at the end (like "play next"). Make a clip for each variation of the beat and have the clips trigger the next clip in succession. If you like, the last clip can trigger the first clip in the (contiguous) column and return to the simpler beat to form a breakdown...

Another other way is to build a great big clip that has all of structure you're looking for all in one go. In this scenario, you can define a loop later in the clip that plays the main part of the beat.

Have fun!

-S