Ableton Live 12, released in 2024, introduced five MIDI Generator tools designed to spark ideas across different stages of the creative process. Here’s how they work.
We’ve all got pretty strong opinions about AI, in either direction of the argument, especially when it comes to the creation of anything artistic. So it’s worth being clear from the outset: Ableton’s MIDI Generators aren’t AI in the machine-learning sense. Instead, they’re algorithmic tools that generate patterns using rules, probability, and randomisation rather than models trained on musical data.
In this guide, we’ll explore what they actually are – and more importantly, get you creating with them.
What are MIDI Generators?
As stated above, in their simplest terms, MIDI generators are algorithmic composers that use predetermined mathematical formulae to create musical phrases.
Although each generator will offer its own approach, each will present you with a selection of controls that allow you to tweak the algorithm. Perhaps the speed of notes or the range of pitch, for example. Then, when you hit ‘generate’, it will use its own maths and a degree of randomness to create a pattern.
These tools are great for getting started. Notes are, of course, still editable, but they could get you over a creative block or offer something your track would never have arrived at otherwise.
Before we begin, it’s important to understand that it’s highly likely your examples won’t sound like ours – that’s the point. So we'll share the process as we go, but don’t worry if yours is different.
Ableton Live's MIDI Tools
If you haven’t found them yet, Ableton Live 12 introduced two collections of tools that can be used directly within the piano roll. You’ll find them in the final two panels of the clip’s properties.
The Transformation Panel is fourth from the left and contains the Transformation Tools. These tools allow you to change the notes in your clip, maybe quantise them, or strum the notes of the chord. They deserve their own exploration, but it’s the Generative Panel, the final panel of five, where you’ll find the Generative Tools, and here is where we’ll stay. There are five tools here, and we’ll explore each one.
Choose Auto On or Off
The Auto toggle controls how results are generated. When Auto is on, changing any parameter automatically creates a new result. When it’s off, you need to press Generate manually.
For the examples below, Auto is turned off to prevent accidental results when adjusting settings. It gives us more control.
Generated Length
You might assume the tools generate content across the entire clip, but they actually generate only within the Loop Brace. Because the Loop Brace is often the same length as the clip, this isn’t always obvious.
If you want four bars of generated material, set the Loop Brace to four bars.
This also lets you generate new ideas inside specific parts of an existing clip, rather than replacing the whole thing. Very handy for drum fills, for example.
TOOL 1: Rhythm
Rhythm focuses, unsurprisingly, on generating rhythmic patterns, so we’ll use it to create a beat. Start by creating a new MIDI track and loading a drum kit you like. In this example, I’m using the 8