How To Set Up Your MIDI Controller In Ableton Live

In this video, I'll show you how to set up your MIDI controller in Ableton Live. This is a step-by-step guide that will help you get started using your MIDI controller in Ableton Live.
If you're new to Ableton Live or you've been using it for a while and you're not sure how to set up your MIDI controller, then this video is for you! In this video, I'll show you how to set up your MIDI controller in Ableton Live, from start to finish. After watching this video, you'll be able to use your MIDI controller to compose, produce and perform music in Ableton Live!
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WHO AM I:
I’m Craig, a professional musician and music technology teacher working at universities online and across London, UK. I make videos that look at easy and fun ways to get started in music production. I have also just launched my first course ‘Ableton Zero to Hero’ - a beginner’s guide to music production.
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[@whiskerjones9662]

Craig I can't thank you enough for all the great content you put out on a regular basis. Keep up the great work!!!

[@pushpatterns]

My pleasure! Really appreciate your words! thank you :)

[@whiskerjones9662]

@@pushpatterns I just purchased your ultimate course on Udemy too 😀

[@pushpatterns]

Great Stuff! hope you enjoy it! :)

[@agustus4197]

Thanks for the video. It helped me to move forward, quickly getting on my way in the same way one would get good directions from a gas station attendant. Appreciate you and your work!

[@pushpatterns]

Excellent! Glad it helped! :)

[@rogerwhitacre8247]

Craig, you are now my go-to guy to learn how to use Ableton Live Lite. I'm an experienced musician, but have not ever used a midi keyboard and daw before. I stopped looking at other instructional videos because they were all a disappointment. Thank you!!

[@pushpatterns]

Hey! Thank you so much for your kind words, really appreciate it! Anything else you would l.ike me to cover? 🙌

[@manuelandresvillasmilventu3900]

Thanks! I finally made my midi keyboard worked

[@pushpatterns]

No problem! glad it helped!

[@neilvirgo426]

Ace video. Thanks

[@pushpatterns]

No problem! Did you get sorted all ok?

[@Rodney_see]

This has been the most helpful video I have seen so far. Thank you!

[@pushpatterns]

Glad it was helpful! What midi controller did you get? 😎

[@Rodney_see]

@@pushpatterns I started with the Akai Lpd8 but I returned it and got the Akai Apc mini instead!

[@pushpatterns]

Great choice!

[@amysnowoconnell4924]

Thank you so much! This was very helpful!

[@pushpatterns]

Glad it was helpful! Which MIDI controller did you get?

[@amysnowoconnell4924]

@@pushpatterns a Focusrite Scarlet Solo ☺️

[@TBGG805]

Thanks 🙏 I'm having issues setting up my gear set up again and this is a great easy explanation to no set up preferences 🤘

[@pushpatterns]

Thanks I’m glad this helped!

[@lukasbabic7001]

helpful, clear, concise - I like this a lot. thank you :)

[@pushpatterns]

Thanks! Glad it helped you out! Which MIDI Controller did you get?

[@diemsoul]

Craig, thank you so much for all the value you bring with this video man! This is insanely helpful. Quick question for you: I am getting signal on Ableton from the MIDI keyboard, but I can only play one single note at a time. Have you ever encountered this issue? Thank you so much Craig!

[@pushpatterns]

Hey thank you for your kind words and glad this video helps! Let’s see if I can help :) do you mean when you try playing chords, you only hear one note?

[@diemsoul]

@@pushpatterns That is correct, Craig!

[@pushpatterns]

My first though is the you have a mono sound setting on instrument your are trying to control. How you tried other presets or try a piano sound.

[@Forgetdaoldme]

Good vid, great simple explanation! Thanx 👍🏿

[@pushpatterns]

Thank you for your kind words! Hope the video go your sorted!

[@muiepsd279]

fantastic mate, thanks a lot

[@pushpatterns]

You're welcome!

[@3DAntonio47]

Damn, this was very, very helpful. Thank you for this! 🎹

[@pushpatterns]

Thank you! Glad you found this helpful!

[@shallum2977]

Thanks. Finally sound

[@pushpatterns]

No problem! :)

[@padcha8210]

Thanks 👍

[@pushpatterns]

No problem 👍

[@marcusrodriguez6794]

That was fucking perfect thanks dude

[@pushpatterns]

Great! Glad you got sorted!

[@Marsovicmusic]

Hi Craig, awesome content from you, friend. I have an issue with multiple controllers. When ever i play a track in Traktor using Xone K2 controller, a pad on Ableton Push2 illuminances in red color... blinking in the rhythm of the track. I have tried everything i can think of, all of the midi channels are set correctly, preferences in ableton also set correctly. It is only and always associated with a deck C in traktor. Mac book pro Traktor pro 3 Ableton 11 Os monterey. I appreciate your answer in advance, cheers mate.

[@pushpatterns]

The red colour pad indicates that it’s recording a new clip. I think you may have a midi mapped note on the mmmmm May of in Live. Have you checked your midi mappings?

[@aleksandargolubovic7381]

Can i connect an electric piano to the focusrite scarlett solo "instrument input" and use the "grand piano sample" from ableton program? Thanks.

[@pushpatterns]

Unfortunaly not, this in put is for recording the audio output of instrument only. What you are trying to do requires a MIDI connection. This can be down over USB if your electric piano has a USB out?

[@aleksandargolubovic7381]

@@pushpatterns thank you very much, that's what I thought.

[@pushpatterns]

Does to have a usb? Should be easy to connect then

[@aleksandargolubovic7381]

​@@pushpatterns I don't have USB, it seems that it can't work without USB on the piano.

[@pushpatterns]

Ah dam 😢

[@elizabethoniri6525]

Thank you for your video. I have a Alesis Q mini and I followed your instructions but I am still unable to hear any sound from the keyboard. I hope you can help.

[@pushpatterns]

Hey thanks for watching! Have you double check all your midi settings? Track on the midi in need to be selected. Load an instrument on to a midi track, make sure you record enable the track and it should work. Let me know how you get on

[@elizabethoniri6525]

@@pushpatterns thank you soooooo much, I will try what you suggested 😁

[@pushpatterns]

Great! Let me know how you get on

[@elizabethoniri6525]

Thank you soooooo much 😁👍I did. I am writing my notes now. You are a star.

[@valeriemoran6289]

Only the right half of my Yamaha P-71 keyboard works, any idea why? Thank you so much for this awesome tutorial!!!

[@pushpatterns]

I think the midi output would have been split. So the midi channel output is maybe different for different parts of your keys, see if there is anything in the manual :)

[@valeriemoran6289]

@@pushpatterns Thank you for the reply :) I looked into it further and noticed that it does make sound, just reallllllly quiet low notes (everything below middle C = barely audible/too low a frequency for most humans to hear?). I changed the preset from "wavetable" to something else and immediately heard sound from all keys. I'm using an 88 key Yamaha P-71 if anyone encounters the same issue.

[@valeriemoran6289]

@@pushpatterns On another note, would you happen to know why I can't get Ableton Live 12 to recognize my mic? It's a Shure SM58, connected through my DAI which is an Mbox Pro. It's like there's no audio input either, nothing is metered on the channel it's plugged into even when tapping and talking into the mic.

[@pushpatterns]

Ableton Live Lite for Beginners: How to Record Audio kzbin.info/www/bejne/j17cXqypl5ebnZI

[@pushpatterns]

Good to hear you got the midi sorted though!

[@lucianogy]

i have the oxygen mkv 61 and didnt find a way to auto map the things automaticallly..

[@pushpatterns]

Try going to oxygen website and looking for an ableton midi script

[@SOYUUD]

How to remap the joystick, after it takes over the volume control?

[@pushpatterns]

Hey! Are you using an ableton Live preset on your keyboard? It sounds like it’s being used as a control surface. Just use a black patch on your midi controller and manually midi map

[@theawesomestusername]

Hey there, I'm not getting a signal on ableton that its receiving midi. There's nothing blinking on Ableton, though my midisport uno has a green light

[@pushpatterns]

Are you using a Mac by any chance?

[@Anonuex]

I got myself a keylab essential But I dont See any midi in or Outputs in The Midi Settings wtf

[@pushpatterns]

Hey, you might need to download a driver? Check the support section on their website

[@tejadevisetti5740]

Hey im using the m audio oxygen pro, and when im using the mini grand plugin or hybrid just free plug ins with the product, its shows as my active midi inputs one and 3 arent active, as in arent checked. I am getting signal into ableton and anle to make sounds ising the keyboard but not plugin. please help

[@pushpatterns]

Hey, have you recorded enabled the track the plugins are on?

[@SargamPassions]

How to set min and max tempo in midi mapping with a rotary knob on Oxygen-49, please?

[@pushpatterns]

You can do this in the MIDI mappings in live, Once you have entered into the midi map mode, in the browser window you can see all you custom mapping and you can set the min and max values.

[@SargamPassions]

@@pushpatterns Thanks, I tried but could not set min /max values. Only once It ask for the min and max range. I set min=85 and max = 150. It worked but the decrease and increase were not smooth. HOWEVER, I could never set the range again. Now it is min = 20 and max = 999 BY THE WAY I am using Ableton live 11 standard.

[@pushpatterns]

@@SargamPassions You should be able to adjust it; you just need to go into midi mapping mode again, open the browser and update the values.

[@ValiceTrance]

How do I delete a control if I don’t want it equipped to my midi anymore?

[@pushpatterns]

Hey are you using your controller as a control surface or did you midi map the control yourself?

[@ValiceTrance]

@@pushpatterns I midi mapped the controls myself! Everytime I start a new project I can reassign everything luckily! Speaking of such can I save what I map it to as well?

[@pushpatterns]

Yeah, if you go into the midi map mode, open up the browser and you will see a list of maps, and you can just delete from there :)

[@pushpatterns]

And yea, Do your mappings and save live set as template :)

[@ventaidepc]

excuse me, sir, very good tuto, but with my akai mpk mini mk2, all my instrument by different track midi , only view and listen channel 1, impossible to separate each instrument by different channel (example pad channel 10, clav channel 1) please help me thanks your time

[@pushpatterns]

This should help you :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5DYZ6GqpaeslbMsi=16yH-QNYshDD9BTy

[@guitarguywill4157]

Hey guys! I currently have 3 pieces of gear that I’d like to use. 1) Arturia Keystep 37 2) Roland JV1080 3) Scarlett 18i20 With these pieces of gear I want to: 1) Play my JV1080 with the Keystep 2) Use the Keystep to play sounds on Ableton 3) Use MIDI in Ableton to sequence sounds from the JV1080. Can anyone advise me on the connections/routing options to make this work? I have been stumped with this for a while and can’t seem to achieve all three playing options highlighted above… any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance :)

[@pushpatterns]

Hey! This can all be done with the I/O section on each of your MIDI tracks; everything mentioned should be connected to Live. Midi settings - have track and remote on on the input and output of each controller synth enabled. 1. Set the input to Keystep and output to JV10800. 2. Set the input to Keystep. 3. Set the output to JV1080. Hope this helps.

[@solwavesent]

i think im doomed, I cant get sound out of my mpk25, using a m1 mac, is there a solution or need to get a different compatible one

[@pushpatterns]

Hey, Hopefully you're not doomed, and it's just a driver issue. If you go to AKAI's website and see if there are any additional drivers you need to download for the MPK25

[@solwavesent]

@@pushpatterns appreciate you, turns out they are still working on a driver update thats compatible with the latest mac OS , hopefully it will be released sooner than later

[@pushpatterns]

@@solwavesent Ah that will be it! hold tight and you will no longer be doomed!

[@kivadonald7446]

my sound still isn't working after everything... when I click notes it says sound is coming through, and the rest of my track is playing out, but the notes I press on the midi aren't playing when I click them, what am I doing wrong :(

[@pushpatterns]

Hey! I think it could be one of two things. Make sure you have an instrument loaded and that the track is record enabled. Have you done that?

[@XxlildramaxX]

Ableton live is telling me theres 4 variants of Minilab 3. Is it ok to just have my input and outpout set to minilab 3 or should I use the other variants?

[@pushpatterns]

Yeah, it all the available ports. They might be handy for different parts of the controller in the future.

[@rab-nathanielsansebastian3660]

Hey there, I have an m-audio oxygen pro mini keyboard which I want to connect to Abelton live 11, no light flashes/indicates when I press on the keyboard! Any suggestions cheers...

[@pushpatterns]

Have you check the MIDI settings? are track and remote selected on the input?

[@simonmay2776]

Thanks for the explanation. I have a question. After I plug in my Akai mpk25 into my MacBook Pro several ports are activated (3 in and 2 out) which I find weird. I am using a usb B tot A (with small c adapter) cable. Is this normal?

[@pushpatterns]

You can customise which things are sent on which port, for example, faders, pads, and general keys. According to the manual of your Akai MPK249 "MIDI Channel: This setting determines over which MIDI channel the messages are sent. The available settings are Common, USB A1-A16, and USB B1-B16." I have an Akai MPD218, and Akai offers software that allows you to configure the product outside of Bitwig with its own Akai utility. You can specify which MIDI port you want the controller to send on. Your model has both USB connections and MIDI IN/OUT ports, so you can set up all of this in the Akai utility. Check this out - www.akaipro.com/amfile/file/download/file/542/product/21/

[@simonmay2776]

@@pushpatterns thank you!

[@pushpatterns]

No problem! Did this help?

[@ShaShikanTsaGarShashi]

It didn't worked for me , I've checked all the things you said but no sound plz help

[@pushpatterns]

Sorry it didnt work for you, where did you get stuck?

[@illyzussmanreal]

What to do if abelton doesn't receive signals from my keyboard?

[@pushpatterns]

Which keyboard are you using?

[@illyzussmanreal]

@@pushpatterns arturia keylab essential 88

[@pushpatterns]

@@illyzussmanreal I would recommend going to the downloads section of the Arturia's website and see if you need to download any additional drivers for the midi controller.

[@illyzussmanreal]

@@pushpatterns I will try and update you

[@pushpatterns]

Thanks

[@happyrockfilm]

still no sound |;

[@pushpatterns]

Can you give me some more details? and i'll see if I can help :)

[@happyrockfilm]

@pushpatterns got it, it was my focus rite drivers.

[@pushpatterns]

@@happyrockfilm Glad you got sorted!

[@gslan]

no, you did not help. i don't understand why nobody teaches how to set up the dam keys

[@pushpatterns]

Hey, sorry this it didn't help you out, what is it you exactly need help with?

[@Flavoursofaj]

Hey i cannot have my m-audio keystation mk3 connected to mac And there is no drivers for m audio please help me

[@pushpatterns]

Hey, sorry to hear that can you give me some more details to see if I can help you. Double checked everything is plugged in correctly, are you using any adapters? And have you checked your midi settings?