How to write a song in Ableton:(Master Template):
Pads & Whoop – Part 5
The 5th part in the process of walking you through my How to write a song in Ableton Live process using the Ableton Master Template & internal effects exclusively is ready to go. If you haven’t yet watched the first part of writing a song in Ableton, you’ll want to Start Here
My Ableton Master Template is a massive tool I made that gives you all the tools you need to make tunes quickly & easily. Now understand that this isn’t necessarily a walkthrough of the Ableton Master Template as I only planning on using what I need to make a tune, instead of trying to fit every tool into this video. I have a series of videos if you want a detailed walkthrough of the template.
In the video below I share the following:
Making a Pad into a whoop
When you have a sound in your head, sometimes you need to find a good starting point. For me, this was a Pad sound. By adjusting the attack & decay time & dropping off the reverb, I got the start of what I wanted.
Layering sounds
Layering sounds in something I do constantly. It gives me more control & flexibility with the sound I am going for. In this case I layered 9 sounds to create 1 whoop sound.
Freeze and Flatten
You just can’t overestimate the power of being able to easily turn your midi into audio. Although I love to build ideas in midi, I find audio more flexible when it comes so editing.
Routing
In this video I create an audio track just for a simple delay & then I send other tracks to it. You can also group your tracks (Command/G Mac Control/G PC) and then drop your effects on a group master. It saves CPU and allows you to convert your midi to audio dry so you retain the flexibility you want with your effects.
Using 2 tracks to say 1 thing
Sometimes I hear a complex sound in my head that I’d like to add to my song, but usually nailing the sound requires that you split this one sound into separate simpler parts & separate tracks.
Some people like to work in sound design to make 1 synth of sampler do the job, but make brain finds it easier to break things down to separate tracks.
Pitch Envelope
I use pitch envelope for several reasons. First to create a click or some bite at the beginning of a sound. Other times it makes for easy pitch bends. In this video I create a quick down pitch & then a quick & short rise back to up in pitch when the note is released. Pitch envelope & Filter Envelopes are great for doing these interesting things.
Enjoy part 5!
Coming up next I’ll be considering a counter part to what I have. Perhaps a Stab, a melody, or both. Stay Tuned!
Happy Music Making,
Jason
With that said, if you are benefiting from these posts, you will absolutely love my 2 bestselling books:
The Mental Game of Music Production
The Process for Electronic Music Producers
You can also Check out the: Ableton Courses & Instruments
If you are looking for personal guidance with your music production or Ableton, you can set up a free chat with me to go over exactly what your best next steps are to create the best music of your life. If it seems like a good fit, we can move forward from there. https://musicsoftwaretraining.com/private-coaching
Happy music making!
Jason