HOW TO BUILD AN ABLETON LIVE WORSHIP KEYBOARD RIG

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In this article, I’m going to show you a worship keyboard setup that runs on Ableton Live. This setup works on Mac and PC, and I'll walk through everything you'll need including hardware, software, and Ableton templates. You'll also learn some advanced tips for automating patch changes in Ableton Live.
Ableton Live is an advanced and versatile digital audio workstation. I use it every week to run a click, tracks, and automate lyrics and lighting in worship. Did you know you can also use Ableton Live for your worship keyboard rig?
Whether you have Ableton Live Intro, Standard, or Suite, all three versions come with built-in instruments to play piano, pads, and synth. I’m a huge advocate that worship teams use software to generate keyboard sounds rather than buying an expensive workstation like a Nord.
The tools you need for the setup
Whether you are looking to build a new keyboard rig or you want to learn how to use Ableton, here is what you will need.
1. Laptop - Ableton can run on both a Mac or PC. You can check out the system requirements at Ableton.com. One of the advantages of Ableton is it is a CPU efficient software, so you do not need the most powerful computer on the market.
2. MIDI keyboard you can plug into the laptop via USB. Here I have an M-Audio Keystation 49es. It’s really up to you how many keys you have and whether or not they are weighted.
3. Gear for routing the laptop to your sound console. You have a couple of options for getting the sound from the computer to your sound system. You can use a 3.5mm to dual 1/4 inch cable into DI box, or you can use an audio interface. Audio interfaces are ideal because they help relieve the audio processing load from your computer running Ableton.
That’s a brief overview of the hardware, now let’s focus on optimizing Ableton Live for a worship keyboard rig.
I am not a keyboard rig enthusiast or expert. I’m a worship leader who knows what sounds appropriate for a worship context, but I don’t want to spend all day building patches in Ableton.
That’s why I’m using Sunday Keys for Ableton by sundaysounds.com. My friend David and his team at Sunday Sounds continue to impress me with their products for the worship keyboardist.
The Sunday Keys for Ableton template is available for Ableton Live 9 and10 in all three versions, Intro, Standard, and Suite.

[@sunblooom]

I literally do nothing with church or religion in my day to day life and this is sooooOOOOOO helpful. You rule. (Ps. The Synthphony Patch? JEEEEEZ THATS A DREAMY SOUND)

[@stephenwillet4075]

I'm very interested in how you create the que's for your track lines. I'm very new to this, so any simple tutorial would be really cool for lots of people

[@albertjunior4204]

thanks for the generosity. God bless to you and the team.

[@Star..._]

Thank you, this video was super helpful. God bless everyone and i hope to see you all in heaven some day through Jesus Christ

[@marcknot]

I didn't know how I ended here but worth every second! Amazing video and content! Sign on the training right now!

[@jonminuto5242]

All I’m seeing is Chris Pratt lol.

[@hamijoh]

Chris Pratt in the background - YES!

[@Churchfront]

lol

[@ptworship]

if we are using an audio interface (take an example behringer UM2 like in the video), how to connect/send out the audio signal from computer to mixer? does it comes out from output channel of the audio interface and then connected to the mixer?

[@JorgeSilvestrini]

GREAT things Jake! I haven't gotten so deep in the automation at our church, but I see where we could be heading. Love the ProP cues and the Keys cues. I'm going to start implementing some of those. We've also talked about implementing MIDI to cue the lights...

[@Churchfront]

Thanks for sharing Jorge. Automation takes a little while to learn but it’s totally awesome!

[@JorgeSilvestrini]

AGREED - we've been planning and playing with it. Christ Journey Church in Miami, FL

[@nathandaniel5509]

Thanks for the clear exlanation! Currently playing keys in church on stage 3 and love it, but also would like to expand in pad sound and a bit of patch automation. Question: When our worship leader wants to do another bridge, can you delay the summon of a certain patch by for example a a midi touchpad? I like automation, but we don't want to limit ourselves or tight up the sequence of verses/chorusses and not being able to change. Hope to hear from you Jake :). - Nathan

[@pantherinemedia8678]

how am i just discovering this video. Thanks a ton for this walkthrough. Fun fact: The intro and background music for the video is identical to the one by potato jet 😁

[@jonathanchan3542]

Thanks for the vid! Just wondering if there was an easy way to map midi into cells apart from using chains to get similar midi sounds into a single column?

[@Lumios_UA]

Say I'm a noob who knows nothing about the software. I'm just starting out, trying to figure out what's what. Which one would you recommend: MainStage or Ableton (disregard the learning curve)?

[@deejae_music]

How to connect roland juno ds to ableton and output the audio?

[@SuperEmanuel98]

Reasonable setup: Arturia keylab 88 hammer action, Macbook Air, Ableton live Standard, focusrite 2i2, cables and more. 800+1000+350+100+50=2300. For that price you could just buy a used Nord. I have seen Nord Stage 2 and 3 for that price second hand. Only benefit of this setup is that you can trigger different things with midi but again, it is a more complicated setup with more things to go wrong. A bad cable, SSD crash, some spooky update fucking up shit, computer hanging or just a simple setting as forgetting to turn of automatic sleep on the computer.........

[@christsoulja4353]

Will the Sunday Keys work for Ableton Lite

[@WidthSound-Music]

Thx. 🙏 best regards

[@abecoulter8550]

i never got the email for the ableton live tool kit

[@paulussantosociwidjaja4781]

What an "automation of worship" and there seems always pro and contra. So, far I have to do nearly all of them LIVE as our worship leaders never stick to any plan and the more abrupt the change is the more it is or were "from "GOD". Hallelluyah=PraiseYAH!!!

[@CalvinLimuel]

You can drag and drop clips but make sure to hold the option key on Mac or alt on PC so you make duplicates not moving. This is also a common function across your computer btw, like copying files or text in word processor.

[@Churchfront]

Good to know!

[@vishaloliver10]

Hey Jake is the worship leader training school for free ?

[@blindsk8s]

We use Nord Stage 2 as our lead keys and push synth behind it. But I’m not super satisfied with its building fill sound or transition fill. Should I try to pursue a midi controller for that sound or should I go a different direction?

[@wolfwarren6376]

Hiya! I know that this is an old comment, but I just wanted to add in one thing: your Nord will work just fine as a MIDI controller. All you need to add is a computer with software like Ableton or MainStage and a little audio box like one from Behringer. They're affordable and do the job just fine. I hope you find the results you're looking for!

[@MultiTechnodrome]

If I run ableton can I get a sweet sweater like that as well?

[@BDMcGrew]

This is great stuff Jake, love it! I'm brand new to all the digital worship stuff and have always done analog/acoustic all my life. I'm a software engineer by trade and musician at heart so I do understand it all; just never tried. My question is, can I use this setup, with a single computer, to run two keyboards? ie. one keyboard player, two keyboards on the same stand? Or, would I need to two computers running Ableton? Thanks!

[@grantreeves3869]

I'm wondering the same thing, did you ever figure this out?

[@dannydimercurio577]

You should be able to have each keyboard on a separate MIDI channel. Keyboard one would communicate on MIDI 1 and key 2 on MIDI 2. You may have to specify on the channels in the DAW and configure this in your preferences but it should be possible.

[@Dasrecord]

@@dannydimercurio577 100%

[@HannaTaylorPhotography]

If I use an interface, do I still need a DI box as well? I'm so uneducated right now!!

[@Churchfront]

Great question! Yes in most situations you will need a DI box. A lot of interfaces have 1/4” outputs so you would plug those into a DI box. Some interfaces have XLR outputs so you could theoretically go straight into your stage snake or sound console.

[@3scorestudios]

Could you explain in more detail how you are sending patch changes from the tracks computer to the keyboard computer? I have Sunday Keys for Ableton, too.

[@aaronanderson5500]

The keyboard is a midi controller. The patch changes happen on the computer. There are no patches on the keyboard. I know this was asked two years ago, but in case anyone else reads...

[@ememh6539]

i have a scarlett 3rd gen audio interface and a p-45 Yamaha keyboard, and i’m trying to use them with Ableton on my MacBook. can i use them all together even if my keyboard isn’t midi?

[@CC-ip3ve]

Is running both softwares on one computer a bad idea?

[@michaelspryjr.794]

Thanks for the upload! Quick question, I’m using my keyboard as well to record. How can I tweak the sound to make it richer/fuller?

[@BneiAnusim]

What's the difference between Ableton and the Prime App? Do you use Looptimus?

[@peterconnolly2724]

I'm looking to move on from mainstage to something else for those weeks when we don't have a drummer... but if I need two computers to run patches and a drum track, I'll continue my search...

[@RexyFan]

Peter Connolly check out Prime multitrack app Songs in the app have a full band setup where if you’re missing a muso for the service, you can select that instrument to turn on and play the song.

[@MichaelShor]

Ableton would work fine for what you're doing.

[@vickyrhythms4973]

How to use without interfacer in live worship

[@31CLH]

Can I use abelton lite or I would have to buy the live or suite version so I can use this Sunday worship template

[@LovelyDiscipline]

Hi Jake! My question is how do you load or send the presets from your piano keyboard to Ableton as MIDI? I have a Yamaha Motif XS and it has a library full of sound presets and I want Ableton to use them as MIDI and not record as an audio track. I know you can do this by designing a new sound in Ableton and playing it as midi, but I don’t want to do that. Is there another way to load piano preset sounds? Please help, haha. Blessings!

[@slashg5908]

Hi can i use a focusrite 2i2 gen 2 (no midi i/p) audio interface along with midi on ableton live

[@FritzNaitbohoofficial]

Thax so much brother...i'm from Indonesian friend church..can you help me to make a music for my Worship song? 😊😊😊...thax brother 🙏

[@grantreeves3869]

How would I do this with two different keyboards? Am I able to select one preset for one midi controller and a second preset for another controller from the same program?

[@MichaelShor]

There are in a number of ways of doing this. One simple approach is to make two different track groups, one for the first keyboard, and one for the second. If you want the two keyboards to be controlled independently, you can simply trigger the track group rather the Ableton scene. if you wanted to use this particular template, you could simply start by grouping all the tracks, and then duplicating the track group. Then assign one group of the first keyboard, and one group to the second. Then you can edit the patch sets for each keyboard as desired.

[@cjleongson]

how to do keyboard splits with sunday keys?

[@t.l.b.steadfastvideos5404]

Hey maybe you can help me I bought Sunday keys for ableton and a blank page popped up we couldn't see any signs of it downloading. So we went to exit out of it and it said there downloading so we left it all night to do something and still downloading

[@noiseinmotion]

What going on your sound? Is glitchy … or is me?

[@gersons4354]

hey i have a question.. can i use the software ableton and kontakt 5 at the same time ?

[@autotest8193]

Yes

[@lenardkentvillanueva8744]

will the live set only work for one computer?

[@Swaya.]

is it required to have an audio interface? Or will it be fine with my computer's soundcard? We have a mixer in our church but we don't have an interface for our keyboard. So will it be fine with just a computer soundcard or will there be any big changes to the quality of the sound?

[@MityMarcus1]

The biggest thing about interfaces is that it reduces latency. IMO an interface is necessary

[@cyronramos9632]

Hi, can I ask what to do if you have a midi keyboard and a laptop, not mac, but when I play the keyboard the sound is delay. I use Ableton software. I dont know what to do. I am new with midi keyboard.

[@T1picaL]

You're on windows right?In that case you'll have to install ASIO(an audio driver) cause windows has laggy drivers.

[@WhateverFlare]

When you have multiple layered sounds how do you choose where they are triggered on the piano keys? I'm not as familiar with Ableton. I know in Mainstage its pretty simple to allocate sounds to low keys or high keys.

[@elyamzon]

Nate Cho you can do layers and splits in Ableton but it’s a little clunky. I think it’s on the Key tab of the Chain Selector

[@aaronanderson5500]

I run two keyboard controllers. Not sure how difficult that would be setup for Sunday Keys.

[@adanhernandez7850]

Can you use Live’s link feature to link Live between a Mac and a PC?

[@MichaelShor]

Yes.

[@RexyFan]

Hi Jake How do I connect the audio interface method to the mixer sound board ? Is it ... Midi to macbook via USB & audio interface to MacBook via USB and then an xlr from the interface to the mixer ? In saying that... my mixer is a digital mixer - the behringer XR18. I currently have it set up as: My midi keyboard (m-audio code 61) connected to MacBook via USB and then a 3.5mm TRS cable connected to my MacBook headphone jack and the other end is a splitter dual 1/4” jack which plugs into channel 17&18 of the XR18 I’ve been getting a lot of distortion so I feel like I’m doing something wrong here or if i need a di box of some sort ?

[@EastonPeglar]

Did you ever figure this out?? I am currently struggling with the same thing!

[@RexyFan]

@@EastonPeglar Nope. After a while of frustration, I ended up going back to the music store to switch the keyboard to another one that already had preset sounds as well as the option to plug in a device (Yamaha MX49). Been using it for a few years now in church with no problems ever. Never having to worry about the hassle of trying to extract sounds for a laptop. In saying that. I’m now looking for a new 88 heavy keys keyboard as a main, while using the mx49 as an additional.

[@lenardkentvillanueva8744]

how did you send midi signals out of ableton to another computer?

[@kirillprasolov8317]

Through ethernet. Using copper lan manager. I do like this.

[@arturoguzman7266]

Just consider having more than 8gb (16 recommended) to run Sunday Keys. It won't run with less

[@robinsonksamuel5957]

Please teach me how to record a video like this one. Your voice is very clear and bright. Please advice me on what are the requirements and training I need. I’m asking this to help my brother (a pastor) record his short sermons. Thank you for this video Sir.

[@syap8888]

Though you would be running the SundayKeys and Loops at the same computer.... haha, anyway, thanks for sharing

[@MARCELO97782]

use the discount code Churchfront10? which?

[@207legon]

so does this mean i can use sunday keys on my pc?

[@Churchfront]

Yes!

[@207legon]

would it be worth getting a mac just to use it on mainstage?

[@Churchfront]

Totally up to you. I’m definitely more of a Mac guy and I like mainstage a lot. But this Ableton template is great too.

[@207legon]

thanks for the feedback!

[@luisdiasmusic]

how to create midi clips to control the Sunday Keys?

[@CalvinLimuel]

essentially arrange your instruments in your instrument racks on chain selector tab, and make midi clips to control the chain selector

[@luisdiasmusic]

Calvin Limuel from to PC with multitracks to PC with sunday Keys... PC 1 to PC 2...

[@CalvinLimuel]

unfortunately I never use two computers in sync but I imagine Jake is gonna make more videos about that

[@Churchfront]

Yeah I will make another video someday about this. It would made this video suuuper long if I added that part lol. But basically you create a separate Ableton project called Ableton Keys Patch Cues. That project consists of a bunch of midi clips that are mapped to the patches in Sunday Keys. If you use PC you will need to use the RTP midi app for midi networking. It works great.

[@nathanbeard3561]

Watching Parks & Rec? Lol

[@reisaki18]

how to build it from scratch? you just bought a pre made template which costs 200 bucks

[@CalvinLimuel]

Nord doesn’t make keyboard workstation.

[@Churchfront]

Take off the word "workstation." lol

[@crossfire507pty]

I know you make broke worship leader vids, but man i cant justify even a second hand mac +software+hardware just for one instrument. Your chanel has become this place where i drool at what i cant have. Like a BMW dealership.

[@Churchfront]

Lol. Well believe it or not you can still spend a lot more on this stuff than what is shown here. If a church doesn’t have any resources at all to spend on worship the it probably needs to step back and assess whether or not it’s a priority.

[@crossfire507pty]

Churchfront with Jake Gosselin totally. Im in charge of a small worship youth group and my plan is doing baby steps. This year we got dirt cheap in ears a midi controller with ableton lite and maybe next year we can do some more. Thanks for the work you do though. Its raised the bar for what is doable for me. Thanks

[@PhilipWambua]

You've talked too much :)