Generate Endless Musical Ideas with Live’s MIDI Devices
We’ve all been there: opening a new Live Set, pondering the blank slate of an empty Session View window, wondering how to begin. With practically infinite options, and perhaps little-to-no music theory knowledge, coming up with fresh chord progressions, basslines or melodies to begin a project with can be a pretty daunting task.
However, with some clever use of some simple tools it’s possible to make Live do some of that hard work for you – and in a new two-part video series Certified Trainer Thomas Glendinning, aka ELPHNT, shows you how.
Firstly, using only basic MIDI devices and some well thought-out signal routing in Live, Thomas is able to generate an endless stream of chord, bass and melody ideas – with total control over the rhythm and harmony. Sit back, and watch the musical ideas take shape...
In order to spawn more complex variations and ideas, in Part 2, Thomas introduces Note Length, Velocity, Effect Racks and Follow Actions – all of which together form an impressively powerful generator of musical ideas. Check it out below and make sure to download the template Live Set to follow along.
Bonus track
Now that you’ve laid the foundations of your track, why not breathe some more life into your MIDI clips with Dennis DeSantis’ One Thing tip.