Sketching ON Ableton Note
Ableton Note is a brand new IOS app created by Ableton for iPad and iPhone. Built for artists to create ideas on the fly and then transfer those ideas over to Abletons digital audio workstation easy enough to continue your idea. Full of features and sounds to keep you busy for sometime, Ableton Note is a beautiful app that needs exploring to flush out all of its features, while it is missing some not-too-important features.
Before we get started on how I feel about Ableton Note, here is my Ableton back story, the short version. I started getting involved with ableton during my Full Sail online college run, Circa 2015-2016. Ableton looked unique and different then what I was using prior. At that time FL Studio and Proppellerheads Reason 5 were my main DAW’s, (Digital Audio Workstations). Seeing that there was external devices (Push and Push 2), I wanted to add one to my setup. I kind of wanted an MPC but the Push 2 really caught my eye. I did have a keyboard at the time (Akai 88 Key). I just wanted more flexibility on the fly while working. 5-6 years later, I feel like Ableton is one of the top DAW’s available right now.
For some time now, I have always looked at beat making apps like IMaschine 2 or Garageband and other random ones via the app store. They were all pretty decent, interesting enough to use and offered some decent features. At heart I love music creation and using almost any daw to create music, yet ableton has caught my eye and mind for some time now because of its usefulness and creative ability. To see it available on mobile now, I just had to try it.
Ableton Note is a lot more advanced than I thought it would be originally, as it does pack a punch. Abletons YouTube tutorial video implies, “Sketching with sound”; is the perfect way to describe Ableton Note. It’s super convenient for me, as it has a very familiar interface that I was able to get easily adjusted to. Ableton Note does come with all the necessary components to sketch your idea. Session view, clips, piano roll, tons of sounds, FX sends, mixer and that is just a small part of this 8 track music creating app. When you open the app you can see that have some pre-loaded sessions and you can obviously start your own; I did the latter. Drums, plucks, leads, bass, brass, pads and so much more to really dive in and create, and I sure did. In my opinion, for what it’s worth; the sound packs do sound pretty decent on a phone or tablet.
I put together a quick instrumental, and I didn’t really care what it sounded like. I used the initial pack that came with Ableton note. One of my favorite features is the “Capture” feature from Ableton and to my surprise it was prominently there for me to use in Ableton note. To catch an idea on the fly when you’re not recording is one of the most important features a DAW can have. There have been so many ideas that I missed prior to the capture feature been implemented in Ableton Live 10. Since then, I’ve been able to capture some thoughts and ideas that I wouldn’t have been able to prior. To see This feature on mobile is even better.
A quick look and preview of the interface of a brand new app by Ableton called “Ableton Note”
Now we all know everything isn’t perfect, and there’s always room for improvement, but there isn’t much to improve here.. Initially It feels good to create on Ableton Note. Note offers a lot of freedom. I feel the flexibility, I like the flow, settings and most of all; easy access to every detail. The two things I am not a fan of are the grid not being visible (I have not found that feature), and hooking up bluetooth speakers is causing some bad latency. To Abletons credit, they do inform you of the latency issue when connecting via bluetooth.
This app is great to sketch an idea and get it over to your DAW. Ableton is on the right track, (all pun-intended), by continuously opening up of doors for creativity to move through. I would rate it 8/10 so far. Not bad as a first entry and it definitely is a cut above the rest in my humble opinion.
Ableton Note is officially available through the App Store, for IPad and IPhone Devices.
Price $5.99
