Looping on the Fly in Ableton Live

Here is another subject that keeps coming up over at the ALDJ forum, looping on the fly in Ableton without using a mouse or keyboard.  Ableton's looping capabilities is one of the key reasons why i use the program.  Being able to create loops on the fly on time and not having to monitor them as they play is a great asset.

From the ALDJ Forum:

"Here is a tip for looping on the fly that I though most people already did. I thought this one was kind of easy, but based on this quote and a conversation I had with someone else maybe it is not so obvious:

In Live 6, to loop on the fly assign a midi button to the "Track Status Display" for each track that you are using. Then also assign a midi button to the loop on-off, start point, and end point button. I have my global quantization set to one bar, but if you want to create finer loops set it for something smaller.

To capture a loop on the fly hit the button for that track's status. Note that the status button only works if the track is playing. Now that you can see the wave form for that track hit the start button where you want the loop to start and the end button where you want it to stop. If your warping is tight, you now have a perfect loop. To exit the loop turn off the loop button.

A couple of notes.

- Make sure that you are looking at the correct song before you start the loop. Every now and then I loop the wrong track and it takes a second to realize what is going on.
- If you hit the track start button the track will go back to the beginning.
- If you turn off the loop, but realize it was the wrong moment as long as the playhead is in the loop brackets you can turn it back on.
- If you are not sure where you want the loop to start you can "ride" the start button, i.e. hit it over and over to it feel right. The loop open bracket will just keep on moving. Then when you feel that you have it right just close the loop. This works because the loop automatically defaults to include the entire song."

-Charles Cushman

Easy Steps for Creating a Strong DJ Mix

Recently a member of the ALDJ forum has been having a hard time creating a DJ mix to share. What follows are the tips that I posted in how to get around the writers block. This is the basic format that I use for making all of my mixes and it helps in creating that organic feel that a Live DJ set has.

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Here is what I suggest to do. Go through your tracks and pick three songs that you like that do not start with a 4/4 beat. They can start with a melody, a voice, an odd rhythm, whatever. Just something interesting. One of these songs should be on the slow end, one should be mid-tempo, and one should be a strong upbeat track. These are going to be the seed tracks for three "sketches."

Now take the first song, pick a second song that you feels goes well with it. You now have the first two songs for a mix. After these first two songs you are going to improvise, but you should have enough time with these songs to get into the groove and pick a direction and go.

As you are DJing these sets let the music flow naturally, if you feel like dropping a trance tune after a funky house track go for it. Play whatever at that moment sounds right.

Now as you get close to the end you need to start thinking about the last track. In a 30 minute mix at about 10 minutes out I think about my last song. For an hour mix at 15 minutes out and for an 80 minute mix 20 minutes out. The last track should be a punctuation point.

When you are done, listen to the mix. You might find that these are good enough to share (mine typically are and that is why I mix my podcast live). If not, critique them and edit as needed.