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Ultimate Ableton Live Part 1: The Interface And The Basics

Master Ableton Live! Navigate, record audio and MIDI, understand signal flow. Enroll now for a solid foundation in this Ableton Live course. Read more.

5.0( 19 REVIEWS )
8152 STUDENTS
2h 32m
Students
8152
Course Skill Level
Beginner
Time Estimate
2h 32m

Jason Allen is a PhD in music, and was recently named one of the semi-finalists for the Grammy Foundations "Music Educator" award.

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About This Course

Who this course is for:

  • Beginners: If you don’t know much about music production, this is the best class to start with.
  • Intermediate: If you’ve dabbled with Ableton Live, but are missing the foundational knowledge of the program, start here.
  • Advanced: People using Ableton Live on a daily basis will benefit from the workflow tips, vocabulary, and techniques in this course.

What you’ll learn: 

  • Navigate 100% of Ableton Live
  • Work in the Session View and Arrangement View of Ableton Live
  • Record Audio, Midi, and Understand Live’s Signal Flow

Requirements: 

  • Access to Ableton Live will be required. Using the trial version (free for 30 days) would be a great way to start.

A new version of this course, Ultimate Ableton Live 10, is also available on SkillSuccess.

For years, I’ve been teaching Ableton Live in the college classroom. As a University Professor, my classes are sought after, and, frankly, expensive. I believe Ableton Live can be learned by anyone, and cost shouldn’t be a barrier. This class uses the same outline and syllabus I’ve used in my college classes for years, at a fraction of the cost.

This is Part 1: The Interface.

I will be making 6 (six!) complete classes in order to bring you the most comprehensive manual on Ableton Live production techniques ever created. Each class has Sets, sessions, and experiments for you to try on your own and follow along with

J. Anthony Allen is an Ableton Certified Trainer, and has a PhD in Music Composition and Master of Electronic Sounds. His music has been heard internationally in film, radio, video games, and industrial sound, as well as the concert hall and theater.

He is currently an adjunct professor of composition at the University of St. Thomas, Macphail Academy of Music, and the CEO of Slam Academy in Minneapolis.

Praise for other classes by J. Anthony Allen:

“Dr Allen does it again with his music theory for electronic musicians series. This course really opened up everything I learned from the 1st section and now I understand more about the composition side of things for music. I highly highly recommend this course to anyone!!! Really opened my eyes to many things I wasn’t aware of.”

“The Best Teacher ever, who makes you understand the ins & outs of Music Theory by all mean without giving what you don’t want to know.”

“I have never had any formal training in music at all. Trying to learn all the notes and how everything translated was a serious challenge. After going thru this class, Dr. J has totally brought down the barriers. The content was very useful and was easy to grasp for me.”

Our Promise to You

By the end of this course, you will have learned the basics of using the Ableton Live software.

10 Day Money Back Guarantee. If you are unsatisfied for any reason, simply contact us and we’ll give you a full refund. No questions asked.

Get started today and learn more about the basics of Ableton Live.

Course Curriculum

Section 1 - The Live Interface
Introduction 00:00:00
The 2 Views Of Ableton Live: Session And Arrangement 00:00:00
What Is Arrangement View? 00:00:00
What Is Session View? 00:00:00
Section 2 - Navigating Live
Navigating Live: Overview 00:00:00
Info View: The Best Place To Start 00:00:00
Help View: The Second Place To Go 00:00:00
Navigation In Live 00:00:00
The Main Sequencer Window: Arrangement View 00:00:00
The Clip Slot Grid: Session View 00:00:00
The Clip View Window 00:00:00
Section 3 - Recording In Live
Adding Content: Overview 00:00:00
The Preferences: Getting Setup Correctly 00:00:00
The Browser: Finding What You Need 00:00:00
Live’s Signal Flow 00:00:00
Recording Audio In Live 00:00:00
“Record To Arrange” Recording A Performance 00:00:00
Session Deconstruction 00:00:00
Section 4 - Editing In Live
Editing In Live: Overview 00:00:00
Timeline Functions And Looping 00:00:00
MIDI Editing And Quantizing 00:00:00
Automation In Live 00:00:00
The Groove Pool 00:00:00
Session Deconstruction No. 2 00:00:00
Section 5 - Wrap Up!
Wrap Up: What Now? 00:00:00

About This Course

Who this course is for:

  • Beginners: If you don’t know much about music production, this is the best class to start with.
  • Intermediate: If you’ve dabbled with Ableton Live, but are missing the foundational knowledge of the program, start here.
  • Advanced: People using Ableton Live on a daily basis will benefit from the workflow tips, vocabulary, and techniques in this course.

What you’ll learn: 

  • Navigate 100% of Ableton Live
  • Work in the Session View and Arrangement View of Ableton Live
  • Record Audio, Midi, and Understand Live’s Signal Flow

Requirements: 

  • Access to Ableton Live will be required. Using the trial version (free for 30 days) would be a great way to start.

A new version of this course, Ultimate Ableton Live 10, is also available on SkillSuccess.

For years, I’ve been teaching Ableton Live in the college classroom. As a University Professor, my classes are sought after, and, frankly, expensive. I believe Ableton Live can be learned by anyone, and cost shouldn’t be a barrier. This class uses the same outline and syllabus I’ve used in my college classes for years, at a fraction of the cost.

This is Part 1: The Interface.

I will be making 6 (six!) complete classes in order to bring you the most comprehensive manual on Ableton Live production techniques ever created. Each class has Sets, sessions, and experiments for you to try on your own and follow along with

J. Anthony Allen is an Ableton Certified Trainer, and has a PhD in Music Composition and Master of Electronic Sounds. His music has been heard internationally in film, radio, video games, and industrial sound, as well as the concert hall and theater.

He is currently an adjunct professor of composition at the University of St. Thomas, Macphail Academy of Music, and the CEO of Slam Academy in Minneapolis.

Praise for other classes by J. Anthony Allen:

“Dr Allen does it again with his music theory for electronic musicians series. This course really opened up everything I learned from the 1st section and now I understand more about the composition side of things for music. I highly highly recommend this course to anyone!!! Really opened my eyes to many things I wasn’t aware of.”

“The Best Teacher ever, who makes you understand the ins & outs of Music Theory by all mean without giving what you don’t want to know.”

“I have never had any formal training in music at all. Trying to learn all the notes and how everything translated was a serious challenge. After going thru this class, Dr. J has totally brought down the barriers. The content was very useful and was easy to grasp for me.”

Our Promise to You

By the end of this course, you will have learned the basics of using the Ableton Live software.

10 Day Money Back Guarantee. If you are unsatisfied for any reason, simply contact us and we’ll give you a full refund. No questions asked.

Get started today and learn more about the basics of Ableton Live.

Course Curriculum

Section 1 - The Live Interface
Introduction 00:00:00
The 2 Views Of Ableton Live: Session And Arrangement 00:00:00
What Is Arrangement View? 00:00:00
What Is Session View? 00:00:00
Section 2 - Navigating Live
Navigating Live: Overview 00:00:00
Info View: The Best Place To Start 00:00:00
Help View: The Second Place To Go 00:00:00
Navigation In Live 00:00:00
The Main Sequencer Window: Arrangement View 00:00:00
The Clip Slot Grid: Session View 00:00:00
The Clip View Window 00:00:00
Section 3 - Recording In Live
Adding Content: Overview 00:00:00
The Preferences: Getting Setup Correctly 00:00:00
The Browser: Finding What You Need 00:00:00
Live’s Signal Flow 00:00:00
Recording Audio In Live 00:00:00
“Record To Arrange” Recording A Performance 00:00:00
Session Deconstruction 00:00:00
Section 4 - Editing In Live
Editing In Live: Overview 00:00:00
Timeline Functions And Looping 00:00:00
MIDI Editing And Quantizing 00:00:00
Automation In Live 00:00:00
The Groove Pool 00:00:00
Session Deconstruction No. 2 00:00:00
Section 5 - Wrap Up!
Wrap Up: What Now? 00:00:00

Course Review

5.0

5.0
19 Ratings
  1. Anonymous
    Christoffer Gotfredsen November 27, 2023 at 12:00 PM

    5.0

    Great, clear intro to Ableton.

  2. Anonymous

    5.0

    Very articulate and helpful.

  3. Anonymous

    Very Helpful!

    5.0

    After using Ableton for a few years this course is definitely opening up my ability to use the program to a fuller potential that I had been.
    One thing that could be very helpful to beginner users on windows systems would be a few side notes for equivalent quick keys (Command=Ctrl…) and the slight difference in menus (no “live” drop down, “preferences” is accessible at the bottom of the “options” drop down, at least on my version anyway).
    Aside from that this course is great!

  4. Anonymous

    Fantastic Beginner Insight!

    5.0

    Well spoken, easy to understand, great speed, lots of coverage. A++++

  5. Anonymous

    5.0

    Fantastic course! Easy enough to understand even if you have never touched a DAW before. I’ve been using maschine for months and decided to hop on Ableton because of the huge similarities, the fact they work well together, and the fact Ableton has a few extra things to spice up using maschine with it.

    Having come from Cubase Pro, Ableton is WAY simpler to understand for a beginning producer.

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