Sound Design in Ableton Live: Sampling Tools
This series was recently renamed. It used to be called "Sound Design and Creative Audio Manipulation in Ableton Live."
Today's electronic music and sound effects are a showcase for more than the compositional skills of the producer: They are a chance to present your listener with a world full of interesting sounds that help reinforce the message or aesthetic being conveyed.
The Importance of Sound Design
So why should you care about learning how to create your own sounds using samplers, synthesizers, and audio effects? For one, the ability to control every timbral quality of the music that you use to represent yourself as an artist is a HUGE advantage nowadays. To realize your sonic vision, you need more than a great sample library! Additionally, a true understanding of your tools on a deeper level can catapult you from a consumer and recycler of other peoples' sounds onto a level where you have the last word on every aspect of your sonic vision. This is about innovation and setting yourself apart.
This is where these sound design tutorials come in. Using the native tools of Ableton Live plus the extremely flexible "Sampler" instrument, I have devised a set of lessons to help you take any ordinary sound and turn it into something completely new and useful. For 10 years I have been developing and using these techniques, helping others learn them as well.
Please note: There is NO WAIT TIME involved when you purchase these videos. You will be given a link to download them immediately!
The following Free videos exemplify some of the techniques I teach in the series. Please note that the videos that are on sale here are better edited and higher resolution:
Icy Shimmer Effect Created from a Field Recording:
Making a kick drum out of a vocal snippet:
Here are just a few of the things you will learn through these videos:
- FIND out how to transform tiny, insignificant sounds into powerful drum hits through strategic uses of layering, tuning, filtering, and envelope modulation.
- CREATE a pseudo-wavetable synthesizer out of a few tiny chunks of audio. You’ll also learn how to create rich melodic pads and lead sounds.
- DRAMATICALLY alter and improve melodic sounds through slicing and reprocessing.
- UNDERSTAND how to utilize a combination of modulating sampler and effects parameters to create evolving textures and soundbeds.
- DEVELOP a clear way of dividing a large number of parameters into small, manageable groups of related sound-shaping tools.
WE WORK WITH MORE THAN NOTES AND MEASURES: We craft and blend the individual timbres that make up subtle and often complex sounds that many take for granted. While my techniques aren't the only way to go about things, they do make up a comprehensive and very unique set of tools that I guarantee will jump-start your creativity!
Frequently Asked Questions:
What version of Live does this series require, and are your videos up to date with the latest version of Live? The techniques in this series can be used in version 7 and above. These videos will always be up to date with the latest version of Live because I teach creative techniques that don't rely too heavily on the changing trends of technology. Live 8 added some great new features, all of which I'll be covering in future series. However, the techniques presented in this series have not changed between software versions, and will remain relevant for a VERY long time.
Do I need to buy anything other than the core version of Live to get the most out of this series? Although the techniques presented in these videos are applicable to any sampling instrument, I recommend that you have access to the very affordable "Sampler" instrument which is built natively for Live. The demo is included with Live, and you can use it to follow along with my videos!
Sound Design in Ableton Live: Analog
Sound Design in Ableton Live: Operator
Sound Design in Ableton Live: Sampler
Sampling & Slicing in Ableton Live
