Controlling Timing in Ableton Live

In this module, we're going to be covering controlling timing within Ableton Live. This is how we get all the different parts of our song or sample recordings to fit together in cohesive timing. The Ableton manual best describes how we deal with timing in Ableton Live:

"The music in Live remains elastic at all times."

Live is capable of time-warping samples while streaming them from disk to synchronize them to the current Live set tempo. This happens without affecting the pitch, which can be changed independently. Mixing and matching audio from different origins is therefore extremely easy.

Introduction to Timing

I'm going to show some examples of this through the live set called Timing. If you have the Teacher's Edition, you'll be able to download this and play with it, or you can just watch and follow along.

Playing an Example Song

The first thing we're going to do is play this song. This is an original song of my own called Inspire. Now it's playing at this timing.

• Here's our global BPM.
• Here's the original song.

You'll notice that it's a little faster, so I'll just turn it down and slow it way down. It still sounds pretty good! It maintains the same character and quality. We're not hearing too much distortion from slowing the track down.

This is the key to Ableton Live: we can have any track play at different speeds and have them sync together while sounding good. For instance, I can slow down a song and then have another song that is much slower play simultaneously, and they'll work really well together. That's the essence of having our timing fit.

Tempo Control in Ableton Live

The first thing I used to slow down that track was the tempo field in Ableton Live. Ableton Live lets you fluidly change the tempo of your playback:

• You can either click and write in the numbers.
• Or you can click and hold to move the tempo up and down.

In this example, I'm clicking my mouse and moving it up and down, or I can write in any number, and it will move to that tempo setting.

Tap Tempo

Next, we have the tap tempo. You can use Live's tap tempo function to set the tempo at any time. As you click the tap tempo button, the set's tempo will change to sync with the speed at which you are tapping.

This is especially useful if you're jamming with another musician or if there's a drummer already playing.

Example:

"1, 2, 3, 4."

That was around 84 BPM. If I have this playing, I can also tap the tempo again anytime:

"1, 2, 3, 4."

And there we go; we changed the tempo.

Nudging the Tempo

Next, we have nudging the tempo. While you might not use this often, it's good to know it's a feature in Live. This is particularly helpful when playing with other computers or musicians, where you want to keep the timing more appropriate to what they're doing.

• The nudge button lets you temporarily speed up or slow down Live's playback, similar to nudging a turntable.
• This can help when syncing through MIDI or with two computers playing together that may have slightly lost sync.

If I'm playing this, my nudge tempos are right here, and if I click this, it's going to nudge it by one sample. I can hold it down, and it'll slow down until I let go, snapping back to the original tempo.

Understanding Time Signatures

Now, let's look at our time signature within Ableton Live. The two numbers in the time signature indicate how many beats are in each measure of the music. You can change the time signature in Ableton Live to fit the song or material you are working with.

Here's how to do it:

1. Set your time signature (e.g., 4/4).
2. Play the song as an example.

You will notice that changing the time signature does not alter the playback; it mainly affects how Ableton loops and deals with different timing settings in the arrangement view.

Warping Tracks

Now, let's look at warping tracks and how we can take control of different samples and their timing. Here's an example:

• Sample 1: 100 BPM
• Sample 2: 90 BPM
• Sample 3: 120 BPM

If I play these together, they won't sound good as they are at totally different timings.

Example of Warping

So, here's an example of playing all these samples together:

• (Plays samples)

You can hear they are just not meant to be together. Now, let's warp those samples:

• (Plays warped samples)

Now they'll play together at the same exact speed. In this case, the example speed is 100 BPM.

Preparing for Warping

Next, let's describe what warping is. Live lets you stretch and manipulate audio as if they were elastic. Warping allows us to speed up or slow down the timing freely and easily.

Think of a sample as a rubber band that you want to pin to a musical time ruler. In Live, the pins are called warp markers. A warp marker locks a specific point in the sample to a specific place in the measure.

To create a warp marker:

1. Double-click to create a warp marker (indicated by a yellow flag).
2. Move them around to lock in your timing.

Transients vs. Warp Markers

Two important concepts to know are transients and warp markers:

• Transients are high amplitude, short duration sounds (e.g., a percussive hit). These are usually good places to put a warp marker because they represent the beat or groove.
• Warp markers represent the pin on the waveform. If you click and hold a warp marker, you can stretch the audio.

Using Warp Markers

Now, let's open the warp marker set. We can double-click to create a warp marker and move it to stretch the timing, making the sample faster or slower as needed.

You can delete warp markers by clicking on them and pressing the delete button, which will return you to the original timing.

Correcting Timing with Warp Markers

The great thing about warp modes and markers is we can also use them to correct timing. For example, if I have a cymbal that is out of time, I can create a warp marker and move those hits around to make them align correctly.

While I did that manually, quantization allows you to do this automatically.

1. Right-click the sample and choose "Quantize Settings".
2. Select the desired grid (e.g., 1/16).
3. Set the quantization amount (e.g., 100% for snapping everything to the grid).

This process saves time and helps you correct a few mistakes with minimal effort.

Creative Uses of Warp Markers

Finally, you can creatively use warp markers:

• Stretch out a part.
• Completely change the groove.

For instance, you can click on warp markers and speed up certain sections to create interesting variations in your sound.

Example:

Stretching and morphing the sound as if it were a rubber band.

As long as you put these pins in place, you can move the audio that lies between them, allowing for creative manipulation of your tracks.