Made in Ableton Live: Ori Moto on how to prepare songs for performance with Live

Check out Ori Moto’s step-by-step guide to preparing a track for performance in Live, including tips on how to get the most out of Live’s performance capabilities with a minimal hardware setup.
Listen to the finished track here: orimoto.bandcamp.com/track/babel
00:00 Intro
01:15 Song Live Set
05:18 Performance Live Set
11:51 Performance User Interface
12:18 Set list
13:52 Live performance rig
17:43 Live performance walkthrough
20:21 Outro
#abletonlive #madeinlive #live11

[@ancestralvision]

Nice. I would like to add just a few notes from my recent experiences with preparing live set in Ableton and workflow I found being effective for me: 1) Freeze and flatten everything you can. You won‘t have capacities to tweak every little thing during your performance and it will also saves you tons of CPU. 2) You don‘t need to waste time by exporting every individual stem, you can batch export by ctrl/command and click on the tracks/groups you wanna export. Then in Export settings you choose Selected Tracks Only. 3) If you are using various master chains or return tracks settings in your track, it can get tricky in the live set project where you wanna save as much CPU as possible. So maybe it‘s a good idea to choose Include Return and Master Effects in export settings. Also highly recommend to switch on auto fades in Ableton preferences for this purpose. 4) You can easily import your loops from Arrangement view into Session View, which is tailored for live performance. Just loop the region and select Capture and Insert Scene in right click menu. 5) If you for some reason wanna exchange the stem loop for lets say newer version, swap them individually with the Q button in your performance project. 6) Scene Follow fuction is extremely useful feature in Ableton 11+, use it if you don‘t wanna play every scene manually. Later you can easily enable/disable it in case you wanna prolong some part with live jamming. Hope somebody will find this helpful!

[@orthoooo]

Is it possible to start a "performance song"' and go into the original song folder and find the clips somewhere? If not then that seems like something Ableton should implement. Theres no reason in 2022 that i should have to decipher my clips out of a plain WAV file even if it's easier w your tip #4 (which was helpful). Also Tip #2 is a MUST.

[@ancestralvision]

@@orthoooo what do you exactly mean by performance song vs original song? if you mean to find out where your original audio clips are located, then it's super easy, just right click the clip and select Find in Finder (OSX) or similar command for Windows.

[@orthoooo]

@@ancestralvision Ah interesting. So, "original song" meaning the song file i used to compose the track, usually full of lots of extraneous things i wouldn't need in a performance, and "performance song" meaning a different song file with a simplified structure, usually only audio files/clips and not much MIDI and instruments. If I was preparing this, like in this video, I would hope i could easily find the stems and clips i made in the original song. It would be easier if i could locate them in a folder and drag into perf song vs finding them with the original song loaded up. It's not something i've really done so after watching this video with its long workaround i assumed it wasn't possible.

[@ancestralvision]

@@orthoooo i'm still not 100 % sure if i understand, but i guess your point is to have well-arranged and clean project for your live performance (aka performance song)? if this is your goal, then i'd suggest one of two things to do: 1 - export the stems (as i mentioned in tip no. 2) or 2 - save the original track project by hitting "Collect All & Save" and check mark everything, then save the same project as a new version and delete from it everything you dont need (f.e. - the original track is "project v10" and the new, simplified one as "project v10 performance"). All the clips will be then stored in the project (should be in the subfolder called Samples)

[@orthoooo]

​@@ancestralvision yeah, what you said, but also generally your performance song is just gonna be one actual song file but have your whole set on it, i.e. multiple songs. which is another reason to have each song simplified into a few audio stems. I don't really like to use the Collect All and save because my originals can be rather bloated, but i guess i could if i need to. My whole larger point was just that you should be able to find your clips outside of Ableton, without doing the blind 2 track audio chopping process in the video. I'm still dreaming of a day you can open 2 sessions at a time and just drag the clips right over from song to song. Anyway thanks for working with me, the details can get a little tedious!

[@jdtorian]

Sitting here patting myself on the back for knowing it all, then he zoomed his display! Whoa. 🎉 Huge, literally.

[@HeathHolme]

Very nicely explained & presented with some great advice in the OUTRO section of the video 🔥

[@dubsupport4435]

This has been the best “Made In” video you’ve posted. This guy knows what he’s talking about. I love how he explained everything. I’m officially a fan.

[@davidbythew]

That was brilliant - thank you so much! I loved how you made everything accessible to the audience - something you can easily forget - that was really enlightening!

[@LunchBandit]

Learned a lot. Especially when he expanded the master track and showed the BPM and Time signature!

[@JezNashMusic]

Really inspiring, and so beautifully clear. Great sounds too! The title card reads "Music & Video Maker / Educator". Definitely ALL of those things. Thank you for sharing this.

[@andershattne]

Sweet! Incredible clarity. I really like the practical tips like taping the cables.. So good! Thanks

[@drindy5166]

Great job explaning in detail what is going on with set in live performance and processes. 🔥👊🧡👍🔥

[@Sk8erMorris]

always wondered how artists played different tempo songs on their live performance using launchpads or push this was a great presentation - learned a lot, thank you

[@obshaky]

Great stuff, amazing explanation and another example of how Live is so versatile. Keep it up Ableton.

[@gerarddaurella9471]

Bravo! Nice and clear explanation, thanks Ori!

[@ZEDRINEESX]

Loved your advises and performing approach. Thanks !

[@colombiandude11]

Great tutorial and love the minimal setup!

[@Nicxk]

This video is sooo useful and a really good example of what's possible with a 'limited' setup

[@Dim82787]

Amazing tutorial. Very understandable. Thanks a lot!🙌

[@michael_harren]

Great video! Thanks for your work!

[@esmeegloria]

This was so much fun to watch, just what I needed :)

[@TC-lk2ev]

That was brilliant. Thank you! :)

[@antonmelihov]

Thanks for the sharing! Very useful!

[@Scripture-Songs-That-Stick]

Super informative and detailed. Thanks!

[@dukabase]

This video is pure gold!!! Thank you ;)

[@MartinLeggewie]

Thanks alot for this video, easy to follow and understand, and very well and friendly presented.

[@der.kobold]

Yeah this is what I've needed! :) Thank you!

[@arkturuslanding2532]

this is very informative, well explained AND inspires me with numerous ideas. thank you!

[@gintokigojo]

Amazing dude! I'll be listening to the song for sure

[@liberatedturmoil]

This is so *informative* ! I would love if you could have more tutorials on how performing artists set their music for performance, like this one. Thank you! 🖤

[@alexandrosbitoulas]

Many thanks for such a clear and informative video!

[@sunrise600]

YESSS this was super helpful for me thank you so much

[@EamonnCagney]

Thanks for this - v clear and easy to follow

[@davidkempmail]

Great vid - not something I’m directly interested in (performance) but I found really informative and super clear in the explanation of stems export etc to get to the performance part. 10/10 😊

[@scandinaviababybaby]

Been waiting for this…. Thanks

[@mikegibbons3028]

Really helpful, thanks so much

[@alaeifR]

Super cool song! Some minor hints for those in the comments: Instead of recording in the MIDI on the timeline in real time, it's quicker to select the clips, click down, press tab, drop on the timeline. Drag length to whatever they need. For exporting stems, you can export all of them at once by changing "Rendered track" in the Export window, instead of exporting the master several times. You'll get better stems to loop if you also enable "Render as loop" there. It's also a good idea to always work in 48 Khz instead of 44 in case your music ever ends up in film or TV.

Great video, thanks!

[@willb1157]

Thank You. Trying to jump ship from Cubase atm. This is a really nice setup😍

[@arcturusk649]

thanks very clearly explained!

[@girlfrommoonmusic]

so so valuable! thank you :))

[@sthlm_blush]

Inspiring, thanks!

[@asyncron_os]

Love this workflow , less is more

[@OldogNuTricks]

Great Video. The simplicity of your clips in terms of how few there are is helpful both for focusing the video and allowing you to focus on the performance. One thing that I wonder is why you only export as audio. One of the things I like to do live is tweak or 'play' some parameters on the midi instrument or for something like the drum kit play some ad hoc extra hits or lines within the main beat. Would you ever use midis in your live set?

[@DandelionLakewood]

Great breakdown, so well explained. Simple and effective, efficient and focused. Thanks!

[@blingdogphotographybg3448]

Thank you ableton how I was so waiting for a simple tutorial for live performance with ableton 11… please do make one for those without external midi controllers, eg using laptop keyboard…🙈

[@Ross-ze4ny]

Awesome!

[@all1nz]

Very cool. Are the stereo outs running from the Alesis interface? Wasn’t sure what was carrying the summed audio to front of house?

[@dimacoeffe5932]

asmr voice.. great tutorial thk🙂

[@stephensoneducation]

An excellent streamlined workflow, but what about songs with tempo changes? Any suggestions on how to set up the stems for live performance?

[@vocalwarehousemusic]

Hello Ableton Producers! We'd like to mention that we've recently launched a vocal website, and we believe it's the perfect time to start exploring our vocal samples before they become viral. :)

[@The_Svara]

What a video! guys at ableton never miss a chance to inspire me. I am releasing a new song this Christmas and was thinking of ways to play that song live as I made the whole song in Ableton live. After watching Ori Moto's video I am inspired to try something with my Arturia minilab thanks again Ableton and Ori moto for such an in depth and motivational video.

Hey, thanks for this video, it was really helpful. Just wanted to let you know that you can control the TC Helicon unit via MIDI so you don't have to scroll through the presets :) I 've done it with a Voicelive 2 unit, u can also program in patch changes but I think that's not the scope of your live performance. Keep it up! :)

[@toukeus2000]

Where did you find the clock?

[@CarlosDiaz-ch6dt]

do you not use an in ear to be able to have a different mix with louder vox and hear yourself better? I'm preparing my first live show and I find it really hard to sing well while hearing the actual mix

[@Abnorma2]

If you have an interface with 4 outs, you can set the cue out to channel 3/4, you could also route some audio of your own voice to channel 3/4 and that would help you hear yourself. Something like a Behringer PM1 Powerplay is a great cheap option for in-ear monitoring.

[@musicadigama]

Precious

[@k-g-p]

Is there an good alternative to the Alesis Interface Core 1?

[@DespairQuietlyPlease]

Thanks what mic is that by your mouth?

[@tMena45888]

🤣

[@vvlvmusic]

It's a lavalier mic, fastened as a headset. Can't tell you for sure but it looks like the DPA 4288-DC-F-F00-LH. There's a lot of similar mics at a lower price point, tho :)

[@OneStepToday]

I think i may have found a bug. Ableton is having problem with playing mp3 rendered with fixed bit rate, they breakup with artefacts; but avg and variable bit rate mp3 plays fine. FL does not have this problem. Plz check this issue of Fixed bit rate mp3.

[@Ableton]

Hi, thanks for reaching out and flagging this! Please contact our Tech Support team and report any bugs you find here: bit.ly/3Go5Czy. This will be necessary for our team to reproduce the encountered bug and subsequently fix it. Thank you!

[@MUNRO13]

I bought Ableton Live but haven’t received my free beanie hat :(

[@gift33]

Hi OVO40, how's Canada??

[@pratimchatterjee236]

@ableton please increase track in lite and intro ....others company like cubase and studio one is offering more than 64+ track on entry level please increase track on lite and intro

[@Ableton]

Hi, thanks for the request, we'll forward it to our respective team! You can find out how to best submit feature requests to us by looking at this article: bit.ly/3kAeg5D You can also contact our Technical Support Team and let them know about your feature wishes here: bit.ly/3ZWlIYN Thank you!

[@lkym2481]

am i the only one that thought his name was 'ray' and spelled like 'ori'? i was like nahhh man don't do that to me lmao

[@aov_james]

sorry complete noob here. don't understand how the mechanism working lol

[@szopelman]

why not singing for all record set..... for me this is not music