Ableton Live 12 Explained

If you're new to Ableton Live 12, you're in the right place. In this comprehensive Ableton Live 12 video course, production expert Thomas Cochran will guide you through all the features that make Ableton Live 12 one of the most popular DAWs out there. You'll learn everything you need to know to get up and running quickly, as well as plenty of information that will come in handy once you've gotten your feet wet with the basics. These Live 12 videos are designed for new Ableton Live users.

Getting Started

• System Setup & Preferences (11:01) - Thomas introduces the course and shows how to properly configure audio inputs, outputs, and MIDI controllers so you can hear and play back audio from the software.

• Creating New Projects & Sets (07:50) - This video shows how to create a new project and start a song, including the different options available. Thomas also discusses templates and how they can help save time and improve workflow.

• Session & Arrangement View (07:55) - Thomas explains what makes Ableton different from other software and shows how Live has multiple different workflows available.

• Browser (14:45) - Learn how to use the browser, its basic functions, and how it is helpful when making songs. This video also teaches you some of the new features that were added in Live 12.

• Basic Components & Key Commands (11:01) - Discover the basic sections of the software, playback features, and commonly used key commands in Ableton Live.

Parts of the Software

• Views (04:55) - Thomas demonstrates the multiple windows inside of Ableton, how to open and close them, and when to use each section when working on a project.

• Basic Signal Flow, Routing & Monitoring (06:09) - Learn the basic input and output routing as well as how audio flows though the software.

• Tracks (05:52) - This video defines all the different track types available in Live and discusses what each is used for.

• Intro to Clips (08:52) - Thomas now breaks down the clip-based workflow in Ableton Live step by step and shows how it's used as the building blocks for songs.

• Mixer (11:46) - Thomas give you an overview of the mixer and its basic functions, as well as how to use it to balance your songs.

The Basics

• Recording Audio (05:58) - Learn how audio is recorded into Ableton Live and how monitoring works inside of the software.

• Editing Audio Clips (06:57) - Explore the basics of audio clip editing and how the editing process can be used for creative audio manipulation.

• Virtual Instruments (08:43) - Thomas now introduces the virtual instruments that come inside of Ableton and shows off some helpful presets to get ideas started quickly.

• Using Effects (06:45) - Get an introduction to Live's effects that can be used to easily make exciting sounds for your songs.

• Recording MIDI (07:12) - Learn the basics of recording MIDI clips in Ableton Live and how they can be used as the building blocks for your songs.

• Editing MIDI Clips (11:30) - See the basics of editing MIDI clips and how recorded sequences can be tweaked to create new versions. This video also covers the new pencil latch features that were added in Live 12.

Advanced MIDI

• MIDI Scales (06:36) - In this video, Thomas shows you the MIDI scales feature, which creates a helpful overlay that allows you to program the right notes in any key for a given sequence. We also cover the new scale lock feature.

• Advanced MIDI (11:55) - Next, we look at some more advanced MIDI editing controls added in Live 12 that allow for quick and easy editing of complex midi sequences.

Editing Features

• Intro to Automation (11:14) - Learn the basics of automation in the Arrangement View and how it's used to bring life and movement into your songs.

• Editing Clip Automation (05:45) - This video is similar to the previous video but concentrates on automation at the clip level, which is helpful when creating repeated sequences or making a song in the Session View.

• Intro to Grooves (10:50) - Thomas shows you how the grooves in Ableton Live can be used to make MIDI patterns more dynamic. The grooves feature can also be used to creatively manipulate audio to tweak musical recordings.

• Warping (08:39) - Learn the basics of how the audio warping feature can be used to edit audio recordings and loops in Live for endless new sonic results.

• Freezing & Resampling (06:50) - See how Freezing and Resampling can be used to make larger, more CPU-intensive sessions more optimized, plus some creative applications.

• Keyboard MIDI Controller & MIDI Map Mode (05:54) - Thomas now shows you how various parts of the software can be mapped to either an external control surface or a computer keyboard, as well as how the computer's keys can be used as a MIDI controller.

• Moving Parts in Session View (05:47) - Learn how to move clips to and from session and arrangement view, plus more advanced workflows for recording performances into the arrangement view.

• Exporting Your Song & Managing Sets (05:45) - Wrapping it up, Thomas teaches you how to take a finished song and export the project for all the world to hear. This video also shows how to make sure you've properly collected all of the audio files and samples from your set into the project folder for archiving and sharing sessions.