Max is a powerful visual programming language for music, audio and multimedia, and it’s tightly integrated into Ableton Live. But for many musicians, the idea of ‘programming’ is a little daunting.
Ableton has introduced Building Max Devices, a comprehensive introduction to Max for Live that takes you through the steps you need to build your own Max tools, with helpful lesson texts spread out across multiple Live Sets.
It features 41 Live Sets & 90 free Max Devices, designed to give you a head start working with Max, and a wide range of examples to help you understand what Max can do.
Building Max Devices Tour:
A playlist of the Building Max Devices tour:
Building Max Devices is available now as a free download, for Live 11 Suite users or those who own Live 11 Standard plus Max for Live.
Ableton’s free Live 11.3 update includes Drift, a new MPE-compatible synth that can create sounds “from every era of modern music”.
The public beta is available now for all Live 11 users.
Ableton has announced that Live 11.3 is now in public beta, and it turns out that this update has a strong MPE flavour. There’s a new MPE-compatible synth, known as Drift, and other Live instruments now also support MIDI Polyphonic Expression.
Drift is said to be capable of generating sounds “from every era of modern music,” and has a minimalist design that Ableton believes makes it beginner-friendly. However, we’re assured that there’s also enough depth to keep experienced sound designers interested.
The new instrument is inspired by classic hardware, but also nods to more modern synths and Eurorack modules. The good news is that Drift is being included with all versions of Live 11 – even the lowly Live Lite, which is bundled with other software and hardware products. Read the rest of this entry »
Ableton has announced a free Loop event taking place on March 4, 2023. Loop Session: In the Studio with Wayne Snow is the next installment in a series of online experiences for music makers. Each event in the series focuses on one artist’s practice and ideas.
In this session, attendees will get a behind-the-scenes look at Wayne Snow’s studio practice and learn about his song-writing methods. In the studio, he deploys acting techniques to explore and recall scenarios, emotions and thoughts, and works with a producer to resurface them into creative energy for his music. This visceral approach to song-writing requires tools and workflows that allow him to capture the feelings that come up and respond to them immediately.
Wayne Snow will be joined by producer Golo Schultz in Brewery Studios, Berlin, and together they will give a walk-through of their process for writing a new track from his forthcoming album. Musician Katarina Holmberg will moderate the conversation between the two and field questions from the audience. After the 90-minute studio session, attendees can join the Loop Cafe – a group chat where music makers can discuss their learnings from the session and their own studio practice.
The March 4 Loop: Session with Wayne Snow starts at 6pm, Berlin time (UTC+1). Attendees can use the event website’s timezone selector to find out when it happens in their local time. This virtual Loop: Session event is free to attend. Registration is not required but is encouraged; sign up at the event’s website.
About Loop. Launched by Ableton in 2015, Loop helps music makers discover new ideas to inspire their creative practice. Bringing together artists, technologists, educators and creative thinkers from around the world, Loop connects a global music-making community. Through events, and a living archive of ideas and techniques, Loop is a collective exploration of what it is to make music today, and what it could be tomorrow.
