One of the features that I missed when I moved from Logic and Mainstage over to Ableton was the ability Logic has to recall what I played, even if I wasn’t recording. In Ableton 10, this has been remedied with the use of the new feature, “Capture”.
How does Capture work?
Ableton is always aware of what you are playing on a monitored track. That means if your monitor input is set to, “In”, or your track is record enabled, Ableton heard what you are doing.
If at any point in time you want to recall what you did, you can press the capture button, or if you are working with a Push, you can use the record button + the new button.
The Capture button is located to the right of the transport.
In an empty set with no clips, pressing capture will load recorded information to all the monitored clips.
Once you start building a set, there are two possibilities for how Capture will work.
1: If there is no clip currently playing on the monitored channel, a new clip will be created with what Ableton listened to.
2: If there is a clip currently playing, and the track is being monitored, new midi notes will be added to the currently playing track, much like using the overdub function, but without the pressure of recording
Adjusting Loop Markers
Ableton does its best to isolate out your musical phrases. It tends to be more accurate if you end on a downbeat or on the first beat of a measure. But what should you do once the clip is created?
This first thing I do is check to see if the phrase Ableton chose was correct.
As you can see Ableton chose a phrase from what I played and looped it. If I like this loop, I will crop the clip to get rid of extra notes.
If I want a different musical phrase than what Ableton chose, I move my start, end and loop markers to isolate that given phrase, and then I crop.
How I use Capture to Get Creative
Step One: Find a sound that is currently inspiring to you. For me, this is generally a drum set or a synth of some time. Once you’ve picked out your sound. Begin to play something simple. It doesn’t have to be the most complicated thing you’ve ever done, it doesn’t even have to be good. It just has to be something.
This stage really serves as the jumping off point. Try to save judging what you have played for the editing process. Right now, you are creating.
Step Two: Once you have found something that you feel you can use to build off of, press the capture button. The clip will immediately start playing if this is a new live set.
Step Three: Using a different sound, play something complimentary. Remember there is no rush, and Ableton is listening so once you play something you like, you can hit capture and it will be there.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget you can use capture to overdub as well. If you want to add material to a clip, make sure it is playing and the track is being monitored. You can begin improvising. Once you found something you like, hit capture to add it to the clip.
If you want to keep the original idea, and also add to it, duplicate your clip before you overdub.
Some Things To Remember
We rarely do two things at once well. So don’t try and fix your work while you are creating it. Make something, and once your creating time has ended, tweak things to fit your musical taste.
Expect and strive for excellence, but don’t get up in your head wondering why your work isn’t as great as you want it to be. Calling your work bad 100 times won’t magically make it good. Instead, focus on small actionable steps to move closer to what you want your work to sound like. Celebrate small victories. In the long run, I promise this will pan out (No pun intended) better for you.
Alright all, get out there and “capture” something you are proud of. And once you’re done with that, join my Facebook group. It’s the best way to get in touch with me directly, and it has the added benefit of connecting you to a whole group of Ableton users who can help support you on your journey. It’s a great place to give and receive help.
UUntilnext time, happy creating.
-Brett