As far as flexible DAWs go, Live just about takes the cake. As specialty controllers such as Novation’s Launchpad and Ableton‘s own Push series have hit the market, taking control of this powerful DAW and its unique structure has gotten easier and more effective. Cool as these controllers are, there are tons of great ways you can supercharge your workflow, without the need for fancy hardware. If you want to become a true Ableton Live power user, then here are some shortcuts and tricks that you should know.
Modifiers
Before you start memorizing keyboard shortcuts, here are a few basics you need to master. For starters, your modifier keys play several different roles. For instance, if you select a track and then hold Shift while selecting another one, you’ll also select all the tracks in between, or if you hold Command, you can fine-tune values. The same thing applies to clips. We could go into an exhaustive list of what you can do with just the modifier keys, but you’re better off just trying them out and seeing what they do.
The Essentials
- [Tab] simply switches between the Session and Arrangement views. If you use Live for songwriting, then you’re going to use this shortcut a lot.
- [Shift + Tab] switches between Device and Clip views. You’ll be surprised by how much having this command at your fingertips can boost your flow.
- [Delete] resets values to defaults. If you go a little overboard tweaking settings, it’s a fast way to reset individual parameters, rather than starting over from scratch.
- [Shift + Enter] lets you preview samples. It’s easy to set Live to automatically audition samples and loops, but that can be bothersome when you’re looking for a specific sound. Manually triggering samples from the browser lets you put samples into the context of your session, which can make it much faster to find the right one.
- [Command + Option + P] toggles show/hide plug-in windows. If you’re working with limited screen real estate, then being able to quickly jump between Live and your plug-ins, without constantly closing and reopening windows, is a real time-saver.
- [0] deactivates clips, notes, plug-ins, and more. Deactivating selected material is one of the least destructive methods for trying out ideas or making quick changes to performances. Need to mute the kick drum in your MIDI loop or take that bass clip out of the scene temporarily? Hitting 0 is the way to go.
- [Command + Option + Click] lets you drag in four directions to scroll. This drastically beats using the scroll wheel, especially if you’re dealing with hefty track and scene counts.
Arrangement View
- [Function + Left Arrow (Home on PC)] takes the insert marker back to the beginning of your track.
- [Command + Shift + F] makes the display follow the playback position. This is great for keeping track of locations, and it pairs naturally with the next key command.
- [Shift + Space] resumes playback from the stop point, rather than resetting to the last insert marker. Note: it does not create a new insert marker, so you’ll still have to click to create one.
- [Command + Option + F] creates fade in, fade out, or crossfade, depending on what you’ve highlighted. You can still totally adjust the fade by hand, but this speeds up the process.
- [Command + E] splits clips and [Command + J] consolidates clips. These commands are extremely handy if you’re doing a lot of fine editing at the clip level.
Grid Control
Whether you’re working with MIDI clips or arranging clips in the session view, producing in Live means spending a lot of time in various grid-based views. These five grid controls are absolutely essential to your workflow.
- [Control + 1] narrows the grid (increasing the resolution).
- [Control + 2] widens the grid (decreasing the resolution).
- [Control + 3] toggles triplet grid.
- [Control + 4] enables/disables snap to grid. You can bypass snapping by holding Option, but this is faster for groove editing.
- [Control + 5] switches between the adaptive grid, which changes resolution based on how far in you are zoomed, and a fixed grid, which doesn’t.
Anyone working in Live with MIDI should know how to create linear velocity changes across multiple notes, which is ideal for snare rolls and builds in general. To do this, you highlight the notes you want to affect and then hold Command as you click and drag your mouse across the notes in the velocity lane.
We hope you find these Ableton Live key commands as useful as we do. Of course, if you want to get more hands-on with your sessions, we’re more than happy to help you find the right hardware for the job.
Check out all the fine Ableton products that Sweetwater carries here.