'Remote Control and Automation' - DubSpot Blog Class #7

By starting to put together a performance like a DJ, I learned how to Remote Control Ableton Live via a midi controller and computer keyboard; and explored how to make my music more dynamic by changing mixer and device parameters over time using Automation. In the future, if I am lucky enough to play my music publicly, this lesson will allow me to spend more time performing and less time clicking a mouse or staring at a computer screen.

For the first half of the day, we talked about the two different kinds of remote control in Ableton Live: KEY mapping (assigning the computer keyboard keys to certain parameters and functions in the Live window), and MIDI mapping (allows you to assign a MIDI controller to certain parameters and functions in the Live window). Jon prefers the combination of a computer keyboard along with the Korg nanoKONTROL MIDI control, as he states, “when you arrive to a gig, more options are better in case MIDI is not working”.

KEY mapping

MIDI maping

For the second half of the day, we learned about Automation, which is important because practically all mixer and device controls in Live can be automated, including song tempo. Automation is the movement of a control across the song timeline (volume / pan). To visually represent this, Jon switched the control bar’s record switch to ‘on’ (using global record) to automate a track. After playing a musical track through an auto-filter, and adjusting his MIDI controller's knob, we saw how the auto-filter's frequency automation adjusts the track's volume information. Creating automation is relatively simple but significant, I gained the importance of why you need to have parts change and evolve over time - to not allow a song to get boring - even when music is noticeable repetitive.

Automation

Next week is Jon's favorite lesson; he will take everyone's remixed track, play it for the whole class, then show us his recommended edits. To prepare for the next 'master class' as Jon calls it, I have picked up Ableton Live Suite and will use all my knowledge gained from the previous DubSpot lessons to work on my remix of “Billy Says Go” by Audion on the Spectral Soundrecord label. I am nervous but excited to start creating some music, having Audion's amazing material to work from is motivating, but i must admit, it's also intimidating.

"Billy Says Go" by Audion