Ableton Forum

Hi Everyone I'm a complete newb to this program so far I've gotten many things down but except for one big problem!
How do I get a second song to start playing sometime during the 1st song?
So I'd have 1 song playing then say at the 3:30 mark I want the second song to come in and mix with the 1st... how do I do this please help!

thanks in advance!

You are DJing, right?

Keep in mind live can only play one clip per track at a time, so, to have 2 songs playing at the same time, you have to place the 2nd one in a new track. Assign each track to one side of the crossfader and you're good to go.

Use session view and a second audio track. Then you can easily crossfade btween the tracks. "Warping" is another topic you should check as I assume that you want the songs beat matched.

It sounds like you should check out a few of the tutorials.

And check the manual. Its boring, but there is some serious stuff they cover in there but not in the lessons. Understanding the differences between the Arrange view and Session view has really organized my sets in a new way.

ok thanks for the help guys! ya I am using session view and I do use the crossfader but what i dont understand is when I click the loop under master they both start playing at the same time.. so basically when the 1st song ends the second song is pretty much done as well... what I want is for the second song to start from the beginning sometime during the middle or end of the first song.. is this possible? please let me know..

thanks!

in other words, how can i pause the second track?.. Once I press start both songs play at the same time and if I stop the second track it goes back to the beginning...

hydrolisko wrote:in other words, how can i pause the second track?.. Once I press start both songs play at the same time and if I stop the second track it goes back to the beginning...

You can either mute it and bring it back later or make a duplicate clip with a trigger point setup for when you want it to continue.

To do the duplicate clip trick:

1) Select your clip by left-click highlighting it
2) Hit Control-D or Alt-D and you'll duplicate it
3) Select the new clip, goto its warp markers
4) Select your new start point by right-clicking the warp-marker and select 'Set 1.1.1 Here'

With default quantization for the clip it'll mix in at the new start point, note that this doesn't take up any additional ram, the duplicate clip is just another reference to your sound file.

ok thanks a lot halcyon!

should I be doing this in session view or arrangement view?

hydrolisko wrote:ok thanks a lot halcyon!

should I be doing this in session view or arrangement view?

Session view for performing and recording, Arrangement view for manipulating /rearranging recorded sessions and tweaking.

It sounds like you're an Acid user who's converted over (and if so, welcome), if you're thinking of the arrangement view as the place you construct thats (to the best of my knowledge) not the Live way of doing things.

Consider that you can trigger clips, simultaneously if you use the scene launch button under the 'Main' column on the right in the session interface. That's all you need to put together a good DJ set. Just hit record and everything you do will be recorded into the arrangement view and you can go make adjustments later if you need to.

ok so this is something I'll have to manually do? there's no way I can arrange it so that the 2nd track can just automatically come in?

For example if I have a tune playing and I want to mix in the second tune, do I have to manually click play for the second tune to come in? If that's the case do you got any tips on doing that? because everytime I press play the beats are completely off =.=

thx !

Read up on warping. Lack of warping is why your tracks are out of sync.

The POINT is that you can start the second track anytime you like manually. If you are doing a mix cd or something similar where you don't want that, then you should work in arrangement view. There you can lay out the tracks with the overlap you want and just draw in the crossfade.

Session: Where you improvise, play live etc.

Arrangement: Where you make fixed arrangements jsut like any other sequencer.

Thx Michael

Ya I have read up on warping and I've done it to my tracks, though probably not very well.
Ya I am trying to put a trance mix of about 5 - 6 songs together.. I definately need to be in arrangement view. A question about arrangement view though..

Is there a way I can use crossfader in arrangement view?

thanks in advance