Ableton for Music Creators and Artists
Course 6: Fleshing Out The Arrangement

This week you’re going to learn about many of the amazing digital instruments and tools available in Ableton. We’re talking leads (guitar, violin, saxophone, trumpet, piano, etc.), pads, plucks and arpeggiators (pizzicato, harp, glockenspiel, church bells), loops, and harmony, intervals, chord structures, and chord progressions.

You’ll examine the basic forms of instrument types as they currently exist within modern music to decide what might be included in your song. Once you’ve examined some of these instruments, you’ll work with your mentor to see which sounds work with your song and how to implement them into the arrangement. You’ll learn how virtual instruments, such as the aptly named Flesh by Reaktor, can make short work of this process.

Once a simple drum loop is dropped in, Flesh will incorporate synths that react to that loop automatically. You’ll learn about harmony along the way and the importance of intervals, chord structures, and chord progressions.

Your digital field trip brings you to soniccharge.com so you can check out unique plug-ins that provide impressive sound without having to break the bank. One of those plug-ins, Echobode, may provide sounds, textures, and features that assist you in creating your vision. You’ll also listen to Heaven or Las Vegas from the Cocteau Twins to see how they use effects and their vocal production. The course concludes with a review, blog entry, and quiz. You’ll also be asked to consider your contact information, and if your email or website has a professional sound.