Considering Ableton for DJing
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Yes; this is Easy Mike :);
If you have Ableton (and I can’t remember if you have I am Sorry);
Go to Session or Arrangement View (whichever you Feel Comfortable with);
Double Click the Track so you can see the Waveform (enlarge it if Necessary by Pulling on the Bar Above the WaveForm;
Decide which Part of the track you want it to Start At;
Then Pull the Start Marker of the Track (usually Very Close if Not On the First Warp Marker) to the Beat or Break you want the Track To Start On; and then when you Press Play; the Track Will Begin From There 🙂Screen 1:
Start Marker At Beginning Of Track:
Screen 2:
Start Marker Moved to a New Cue Point:
And Of Course (to Add to my Previous Post); to Set Up Other Cue Points; say at the First Break; at the Second Break; where the Vocals Begin; Wherever; you just Duplicate the Track and Add your Different Cue Points so you can Start The Track at Different Parts; (You can Add As Many Cue Points and have As Many Duplicates As You Wish :));
U31, post: 4357 wrote: Im starting to get the hang now, a few difficulties in warping very complex tracks, and id like to be able to master loops and triggering them on the fly.. tho i have worked out how to type in the position of the beatmarkers and loop length
Hello my Friend 🙂
(In the Sample Box – to the Left Of the Waveform shown above in my Screenshot); Underneath the BPM there is Another Drop Down Box that by Default is Set To ‘Beats’; if you have a Complex Track; Click the Drop Down Box and Choose ‘Complex Pro’; this will Help You when Warping Full Tracks; Acapellas; Tracks Before the ’80’s; and Tracks with Musicians Rather than Electronic Music;
In my Screenshot Below you will see that I have Set My Loop Brace (the Bar in Black) 4 Bars from my First Warp Marker; (I have also Set My Warping Screen to ‘Narrowest Grid’ by Right Clicking in the Area Of The Waveform);
The Next Step is to Make Sure that the ‘End Of The Loop Brace Is On A Beat’; so we Zoom in to check;
The End Of The Loop Brace is Not In Fact Landing On A Beat; So We Need To Make Sure It Does;
So; First Of All I Will Put a Warp Marker On The Largest Beat (Snare Probably); and then Shift This Warp Marker To The Closest Denomination Of A Bar I Can See; (This Beat Must Land On A Denomination Of A Bar);
I have now Shifted this Warp Marker One Step To The Left; (this is Done Just By Clicking On The Warp Marker And Dragging Left);
Our Next Step is to Make Our Loop Brace 8 Bars Long; So Do This; and then Place The Beginning Of The Loop Brace On The Warp Marker We Made (After 4 Bars);
Now You Do Exactly What You Do When You Placed Your First Warp Marker After The 4 Bars; Placing A Further Warp Marker; and Adjusting If Necessary;
To Help You Move Your Loop Brace Through The Track More Quickly After This; (Whilst It Is Black – Which You Do Just By Clicking It); You Press Your ‘Up Arrow Key’ and the Loop Brace Will Move Forward 8 Bars 🙂What I Normally Do is Place One Warp Marker After 4 Bars; Then Move Forward 8 Bars and Place Another; Then One More 8 Bars Further In; Then One At 16 Bars After That; Then 16 Bars After That; Then every 32 Bars Following 🙂
If You Find a Track That ‘Drifts Badly’; at that Point (until you Get Past ‘The Drift’) I Go Back to 4 Bars At A TimeU31, post: 4357 wrote: Im starting to get the hang now, a few difficulties in warping very complex tracks, and id like to be able to master loops and triggering them on the fly.. tho i have worked out how to type in the position of the beatmarkers and loop length
For your Reply to ‘Triggering Loops On the Fly’; I will go into Session View;
First of all; A Loop Can Be Audio Of Any Length (or MIDI); I Cut Out Samples/Loops from Tracks Virtually Every Night;
And So Far I Have Managed to Get Down to Cutting Out 64th Notes ! (Single Snare Hits/Hi-Hats);
Anyway; if you Struggle in Arrangement View with Cutting Out Samples; this Can Also Be Done in Session View;
In the Screenshot Below I have a 4 Bar Dubstep Loop (the Loop Can Be Any Size);
And I Have Put Warp Markers On Every Kick; Snare; Open H-Hat; Closed Hi-Hat; And Also A Double Speed Hi-Hat (where I have Pressed +2 on the BPM – Underneath The BPM Counter in the Sample Box – Which Is a Cool Effect;
You Will Also Notice that in my ‘Channel’ Named ‘Dubstep Cut Loop’ I have 6 ‘Clips;
The First Clip is the Whole Loop;
The Second Clip is a Duplicate Of the First Loop; But With Just The Kick Drum Looping; This Is Done By Making Your Loop Brace In The Waveform Screen ‘Shorter’ So That ‘All You Hear’ Is The Kick Drum Looping;
This Is Shown in The Following Screenshot; Notice That The Loop Brace Is Just Looping On The Kick Drum; and the Rest Of The Loop Is ‘Greyed Out’; Meaning ‘Not Active’;
The Next Screen Will Show You The Snare Looping On Its Own; (3rd Clip Down); and in Order To Be Able To Work On This Clip So That I Could Loop The Snare; Again I Have Duplicated The First Clip (the 4 Bar Loop);
And Finally I will Explain How this Is Of Benefit To You 🙂
You Said that You Would Like To Be Able To Trigger Loops ‘On The Fly’;
If Say For Instance You Had Part Of An Acapella; or a Rolling Bassline; or a 4 X 4 Kick Drum (Literally Anything that Will Loop Without Any Clipping Or Popping at the End – this is Achieved By Just Making Slight Adjustments);
You Can Do Exactly What I Have Shown In These Screenshots;
The Important Thing Is To Have The Whole Track As Clip 1 (in my Case Just a 4 Bar Loop); and You Duplicate This Track (Or Loop) As Many Times As You Wish; Then; Within The Waveform Of The Track; Set Your Warp Markers Around The Section that You Wish To Use As A Loop; (And You Can Literally Have 100’s If You Wish);
Then; To Fire Them Off ‘On The Fly’; All You Do Is Press Whichever Clip You Wish; And In Any Order You Wish;
So In My Above Example I Can Make A Drum Loop That Is Completely My Own Just By Firing Off The Clips In The Order I Choose;
There Is A More Complicated Way Of Doing This Also; which Again I Would be Happy To Explain;
But Check This Out For Now (And The Warping); And Let Me Know How You Get On 🙂 🙂
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