Ableton Operator.pdf

make music now Ableton Operator

Create a track with

Ableton Operator Don your surgical gown as we get stuck into Ableton's latest offering. Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit…

On the DVD TUTORIAL FILES AND DEMO For the results of our frolickings, see the Tutorial files folder on the DVDROM; and to try Operator for yourself, head for the Demo software folder, pronto

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| COMPUTER MUSIC APRIL 2005 TUTORIAL

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bleton’s brand spanking new Operator (reviewed on p94) uses a combination of two synthesis techniques to produce its sounds. Both Frequency Modulation (FM) synthesis can be pretty intimidating, and many such synths can be confusing to program, often leaving you jabbing at buttons, searching through manuals and wondering why you have significantly less hair than when you started six hours ago. Thanks to its clear interface and good design, this isn’t the case with Operator, and we think that even the novice should be able to get to grips with it in a pretty short space of time. It always helps if you understand the basics though, so here’s a quick recap of how Operator’s two different types of synthesis work. FM synthesis requires at least two oscillators. One is used to produce the

carrier wave; the other is referred to as the operator and is used to modulate the carrier. By mixing the two waves together you can produce all kinds of harmonic variations and create the powerful digital sounds that FM synthesis is capable of. Subtractive synthesis is pretty much the opposite. Rather than crossmodulating waveforms to produce a result that is harmonically richer, you start with a harmonically rich signal and use filters and envelopes to subtract various elements of the sound – the end product is what’s left. It gets much more involved than this, but with Operator even the deepest processes are readily accessible. We’re going to guide you through the process of creating a 16-bar ‘tunelet’ using only Operator and a drum loop. We’re going to take some of the presets and, using most of the available edit parameters,

get busy changing them to suit our needs. We’ll be employing the LFO and Time control, re-routing the oscillators, and creating fixed tones over the top of a preset before warping it with the pitch envelope. We’ll also look at envelope looping and the Spread control. There’s lot’s to do, so let’s get on with it. cm 3Operator is only available as part of Live 4.1

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STEP BY STEP Smooth Operators

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Fire up Ableton Live 4.1 and select File»New Live Set to create a fresh workspace. Set the tempo to 140bpm. Using the file browser, navigate to the loop called Operator Tut Drums on the cm DVD and drag it onto an audio track. Stretch it to 16 bars in the Arranger view. This loop will provide the drums for our track. >>

Switch on the LFO by clicking the small square button to the left of the LFO section. Change the waveform to Sine by selecting it from the drop-down menu. Experiment with the Rate and Mod controls until you create a good bit of movement in the sound. You can see the setting we’re using above. >>

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Things are starting to come together, but that KEYS Grandfather Clock sound just isn’t quite what we’re after. Click on the Algorithm icon in the bottom-left of the right-hand parameter section. This will display the routing algorithm page. >>

Create a new MIDI track with Insert»Insert MIDI Track. Click on the Live Instrument browser button and double-click on the Operator option. Select the preset BASS Jungle Drop from Operator’s preset sounds – these are accessed by clicking on the small arrow at the top-right of Operator’s interface. >>

Now copy the part over every other bar of our 16-bar loop. Create another MIDI track and drop another instance of Operator onto it. Select KEYS Grandfather Clock. Starting at bar 1, record a flowing(ish) melody like the one shown above. Copy it into the spaces where the bassline doesn’t play. >>

As you can see, the algorithm currently in use is the second from the right on the bottom row. However, there’s nothing stopping you hitting play and cruising through the different routing options to see what takes your fancy. We’ve opted for the square shaped algorithm. >>

Starting at bar 3, record or draw the one-bar MIDI part shown above. Play it back. Our bassline is fat, but it’s a very simple melody so we’ll use Operator’s LFO to mash the sound up a bit. >>

Now for a bit of automation. Select Operator’s Time control and turn it fully anticlockwise. Arm the MIDI channel and hit record. At the end of each rendition of the Keys Grandfather Clock part, increase the Time value. This will cause the sound to change throughout the piece from staccato to smooth. Have a listen. >>

As a final touch to the Grandfather Clock preset, we’re going to make it pan from speaker to speaker. Look to the bottom left of the Algorithm page – you’ll notice the Pan section. Increase the Rnd parameter and listen to the effect. We’re sticking with a value of 89. >>

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make music now Ableton Operator

STEP BY STEP Smooth Operators (Continued)

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On to the next part. Create another MIDI track and drop another instance of Operator onto it. This time, we’re using the LAYERED Glasso Phone preset. Play in a part that complements what you have in the tune already. Ours is four bars long and displayed above. >>

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The Glasso Phone preset isn’t using the fourth oscillator, so turn it on. Click on the Fixed button in the middle of Oscillator D’s controls. Now when you play a note, you’ll hear a fixed-pitch tone along with the rest of the sound. >>

Set Oscillator D’s level control to 0dB and its Multi value up to 10. Hit play and, using the Freq control, select a frequency that fits the tune. We’re going for 175Hz, but the main thing is that you get a sound you like. >>

Next we’re going to change the envelope of Oscillator D. Grab hold of the nodes and drag them so that they form an envelope shape similar to that above. This will give a smooth rise, hold for a little while, then release very quickly. >>

Let’s change the envelope Mode to make it repeat continually in sync with the song tempo. At the bottom left of Oscillator D’s screen is the Mode section. Click on the tiny arrow underneath the word Loop and select Sync. Set the Repeat value to 1/8. >>

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You can set up the pitch envelope however you like. We’re opting for a low-lying envelope shape that works together with the rest of the settings to give a cool squealing ‘firework’ sound. Once the sound’s been made, you might want to turn the oscillator’s level control down a bit. >>

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We’re going to automate the squealing sound so that it comes in and out of the tune rather than boring into your head like a dentist’s drill. Simply click on Oscillator D’s Level control, record enable the channel, hit record and twist the dial. >>

Nearly there now. Turn the pitch envelope on using the square button to the left of the Pitch Env control, which you need to set to -48%. Route the pitch envelope to affect only Oscillator D by ensuring that only the D icon is highlighted in the Pitch Envelope window. >>

As a final (and, it has to be said, rather excessive) touch, whack up the Spread control to widen the edited LAYERED Glasso Phone preset. You might find that this muddies things up too much and have to use it very sparingly, or not at all. Experiment though – there’s nothing to lose!