Ableton Live: Beginner's Guide to Beat Making
Thomas Cochran shows you how to make your very first beat with Ableton Live! See how to produce your first beat from scratch, using nothing but Ableton Live, including software installation and understanding Live's layout, all the way to exporting your finished beat and more. This series is designed for the absolute newcomer to Ableton Live.
Getting Started
• Introduction (03:23) - In this video, Thomas introduces the course, what will be covered, and the song that he will be showing how to make.
• Installing the Software (05:26) - Learn how to install the Ableton Live software and the sample packs that will be used in the course.
• Basic Layout of the Software (06:08) - This video covers the basic layout of the software and the functions of each of the main sections.
• Setting the Speed of Your Song (06:06) - Learn what tempo and BPM are and how they are used to adjust the playback speed of your songs.
• Audio Input & Output Setup (04:34) - In this video, Thomas explains how to setup the audio inputs and outputs of the software. He also covers what a sound card is and how it is used when recording.
• Setting Up a MIDI Controller (07:16) - Learn what a MIDI controller is and how to set one up in Ableton.
Adding Drums & Rhythms
• Kick & Snare (12:32) - This video covers how to create a kick and snare for your song, as well as how to load in drum kits.
• Hi-Hats & Percussion (07:45) - Learn how percussion is used to create variation in your drum parts.
• Percussion Audio Sample (08:39) - Thomas now shows you how to load and edit a drum loop to create a new percussion part for the song.
Adding Melodic Parts
• Chords (13:58) - This video talks about what a musical scale is and how it can be used to easily create chords.
• Bass (05:03) - Thomas explains what a bass is and how to create one for your track.
• Synth Pad (06:01) - Learn what a synth pad is and how they are used to add ambience and weight to your songs.
• Adding a Melodic Audio Sample (07:24) - This video shows you how to take a melodic audio sample and slice it up to create a new melodic pattern.
• Lead Synth (06:52) - Discover what a lead synth is and how to create one for your song.
Mixing & Song Structure
• Song Arrangement Pt. 1 (12:53) - Thomas now shows how to take the short musical sequence that was created in the previous videos and extend it out into a full song.
• Song Arrangement Pt. 2 (12:12) - This video shows how to add variation to the different parts of your song to make it more interesting.
• Adding Transition Effects (09:23) - Learn how different audio effect samples can be used to create transitional parts in your tracks.
• Basic Mixing & Effects (13:25) - This video shows how to mix the different parts of the song together to make sure that everything sounds blended together.
• Basic Automation (10:40) - Learn how different effects in a song can be automated to create variation in your songs.
• Exporting a Finished Song (04:59) - This video shows how to export the final song project as a single audio file so you can share your song.
• Ideas & Next Steps (01:42) - Thomas wraps up the series by discussing the next steps and recommendations for continuing with learning about songwriting and music production.