$Page What's happening in this Set?
$TargetName What's happening in this Set?

This Lesson will walk through some of the sound design and musical ideas that were used to make the song in Ableton's $Link "Make Music" movie.<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SH4g4FHZHw>
Besides the recorded shaker, all of the sounds and presets in this Set are available in the boxed version of the Ableton Suite Library.

You can quickly find the original presets in your Library by pressing the /Hot-Swap/ button on the devices:
HotSwap.tif

Divider.tif
*Note:* This Set is *very* CPU-intensive, and may not play smoothly on older or single-core computers.
Divider.tif

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page Understanding the Song's Form
$TargetName Understanding the Song's Form

This song uses a structure or /form/ that can essentially be represented as *ABA.* This is a common form, found in many genres of music:

-> *A* - initial musical material
-> *B* - a different, contrasting section of material
-> *A* - a return to the initial musical material

An ending section, marked *A",* combines material from both the A and B sections.

These sections are indicated in the Set's Arrangement View by /locators./ In the Session View, the sections are separated by empty scenes.

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page The "Arp" Track
$TargetName The "Arp" Track

This track provides the main harmonic element that runs throughout both the A sections of the song.

The patch is a modified version of a Rack that uses the /Collision/ instrument. The resonator type has been changed from "Tube" to "String," and the *Material* parameter was modified. This changes both the timbre and the tuning. These modifications can be seen in the movie starting at 1:10.

The first seven macros in the Rack are automated throughout the Arrangement, which provides subtle but nearly continuous changes to the sound. These can be seen in the track's /automation lanes,/ which have been left unfolded:
AutomationLanes.tif

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page The "Drum Group" Track
$TargetName The "Drum Group" Track

The three tracks of drums are grouped here, which allows for easier control of the overall drum volume, as well as the addition of subtle compression on the group track itself.

The main drum track ("Drums") consists of a Drum Rack of /Operator/ synthesizers. The Rack's Macros are automated throughout the track, which allows the sound to continually vary, particularly in the B section.
The "Loop Bangin'" effect Rack combines the /Beat Repeat/ and /Corpus/ effects to apply glitchy, tuned resonances to the drums. The tuning is taken from the "Bells" track via Corpus's MIDI sidechaining functionality. This effect is used twice, at the points marked by the locators named "Corpus -> Drums."

"Beat Digital Military 1" is a track that consists of $Link an audio loop <BrowseLibraryFiles:/Samples/Loops/Zero-G/Degrees Of Abstract/080 Basinden Celest> that has been sliced to a new MIDI track using the "Chord & Stutter" slicing preset. Additionally, a /Random/ MIDI device adds a bit of additional variation to the sliced pattern, and the /Auto Pan/ audio effect causes a slow shift across the stereo field. This track only plays during the B section.

The "Loop for B" track consists of $Link an audio loop <SearchLibraryFiles:/Samples/Loops/Zero-G/New York Cutz/Construction Kits/moderate fonky#22n01drm084b.aif> that has been tweaked in the following ways:

-> the entire sample has been quantized, so that its warp markers are snapped to the nearest 32nd note
-> a few warp markers have then been moved backwards, which slightly alters the rhythm of the loop

There are some clicks in the original loop, which have been eliminated by using volume /clip envelopes:/
VolumeClipEnv.tif

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page The "Bass" Track
$TargetName The "Bass" Track

This track uses a modified version of a preset in the Library's "Synth Lead" folder. The filter cutoff and resonance are automated throughout the track.

Additionally, the track's /Compressor/ is controlled by a sidechain from the kick drum on the "Drums" track. This causes the bass volume to come down slightly every time the kick drum is played.

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page The "High Pad" Track
$TargetName The "High Pad" Track

This occasional pad swell also uses a sidechained Compressor, again driven by the kick drum. Additionally, an Auto Pan causes the swell to move slowly across the stereo field.

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page The "Glitchy Perc" Track
$TargetName The "Glitchy Perc" Track

This track consists of $Link an audio loop <SearchLibraryFiles:/Samples/Loops/Cycling 74/Momentary Incursions#Trashcussion 1.aif> which has been heavily processed.

-> the loop has been quantized to 32nd notes
-> a /Resonators/ effect tunes the drum loop to a chord consisting of G2, A2, D3, F2 and C3. The Resonator's filter frequency and decay time are automated throughout the song 
-> Beat Repeat, Filter Delay and Auto Pan effects add additional variation

This track only plays in the A sections.

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page The "Shaker" Track
$TargetName The "Shaker" Track

This track consists of a live recording of a small plastic shaker. The audio in the Set was recorded during the filming of the movie and was left unprocessed, with the exception of the fade-in from bars 14-16.

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page The "Main Pad" Track
$TargetName The "Main Pad" Track

This track only plays during the second A section, and is again processed by a sidechained Compressor driven by the kick drum in the Drums track.

A clip envelope modulates the filter cutoff in steps, creating a sample-and-hold effect.
FilterClipEnv.tif

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page The "B Second Bass" Track
$TargetName The "B Second Bass" Track

This "acid"-style bass line adds a bit of dirt to the B section, and then returns in the A" section.

The filter cutoff and resonance are modulated throughout. Additionally, this track is sidechain compressed by the kick drum.

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page The "Bells" Track
$TargetName The "Bells" Track

This track consists of a slightly modified Collision instrument, which produces an ambient bell sound.

As $Link discussed earlier <GotoPage:The "Drum Group" Track>, at two points in the song, the notes in this track are used to tune a Corpus effect on the Drums track.

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page The Master Track
$TargetName The Master Track

The Master track contains some mix processing effects, designed primarily to control overall level.

Throughout most of the track, the Rack's parameters are left alone, with the exception of the transition to the A' section at bar 61. At this moment, a few things happen to create a "whoosing" effect:

-> The gain controls in the /Multiband Dynamics/ effect are automated to create a very fast change in the EQ
-> The /Saturator/ is quickly enabled, turned all the way up, then just as quickly turned off again
-> The Stereo Width Macro adjusts a /Utility/ effect within the Rack. This parameter is automated to collapse the stereo field down to mono, then to fully stereo, then to mono again, then back to "neutral," all within about three beats.

At the same time, on the "Loop for B" track:

-> A /Reverb/ device is suddenly turned on, to "catch" the end of a snare hit.
-> The reverb tail is massively amplified by two Utility effects, whose Gain controls are turned up via automation, then quickly down again at bar 62

$Comment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$Page Where to Go From Here
$TargetName Where to Go From Here
LiveLessonsNoText.tif
Hopefully this Lesson gave you some ideas about how to use (or misuse) some of Live's features and devices. Here are some tips for further exploration:

-> Try experimenting with your own automation curves. Particularly in the transition passage at bar 61, you can get dramatically different results by adjusting these parameters by even very small amounts.

-> Make your own Arrangement, by recording an entirely new pattern of clip launches and parameter changes from the Session View.

-> Swap out instruments and effects for different ones, and tweak to taste. Live's Hot-Swap functionality makes it easy to quickly choose new devices and load them in place of old ones.

-> To learn more about the terms and techniques discussed in this tutorial, be sure to check out the $Link Ableton Reference Manual <Manual>, as well as the rest of Live's $Link built-in Lessons <Lesson:Internal/BuiltinAutoToc>.

Have fun,
--
Dennis DeSantis
$Link www.dennisdesantis.com <http://www.dennisdesantis.com>