Five Key Ableton Push Workflows: their strengths and weaknesses, analysis and musings on getting music made and finding that flow.

Contents: (if these links don't work let me know - they might need updating)

Introduction
Workflow 1: Push: a powerful sketchpad
Workflow 2: Arranging a track with Push
Workflow 3: Push as a Studio Hub
Workflow 4: Push as a classic Live Set Controller
Workflow 5: Push your Instrument/Live looper
Conclusion

Nov 20, 2021

Introduction & Background

Ableton Push is a versatile controller for Ableton Live. There are arguably a wide variety of workflows that Push can be applied to (or that it opens up) and this article is meant as an overview of 5 key ones, along with an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses.  At the end I'll share my favourite workflow of all.

For those who don't know me, my name is Andri Søren, I've been making electronic music with computers since 1992, in 2014 I became an official Ableton Product Specialist and started teaching, and I've performed with Ableton Push 1 and 2 at TEDx, in clubs, bars, living rooms and bathrooms.

Ableton Push 1 was released in 2013 (I bought the first copy to land in Belgium, but that's another story) and two years later Ableton Push 2 arrived. Launched as a companion to Ableton Live it was trailed as a way to "make songs from scratch" by Ableton. I have to say that what I saw however was something very different. I saw a way to "make live music", and I was so deeply excited by the prospect, especially after all those years of cobbling together live performances with a variety of MIDI controllers (where I inevitably would end up also needing to touch my laptop during live performances - truly a killer for musician and audience in my book). Since then I've done fully live performances (generating everything on the fly, with no prepared clips whatsoever) in venues big and small. I cannot emphasis to you how much Push has made this possible, and how it's changed my life.  

I'm not kidding - Push changed my life

But enough background, let's get to 5 key workflows that Ableton Push can facilitate or be applied to - recognising that there are of course others out there (I'm keen to hear yours).  Let's start with Ableton's 2013 promise of "making songs from scratch" with Push.  I should add I take that line as a point of departure rather than a critical take on the delivery of it.  We all (well surely most of us) want to make songs, so hey, it's fair game, right? :)

Ableton Push Workflow 1:
A versatile sketchpad for rapidly generating ideas" a powerful sketchpad

TLDR: Generating ideas at light-speed with Push, and then moving to Ableton Live to refine them and craft a song.  What Push was built for.

Workflow rating: 4/5 stars

Let's get one thing clear : Ableton Push is the best, fastest device at generating ideas I've ever witnessed.  This is a big statement, but after 3 decades of trying out a variety of approaches to electronic music, I'll happily stand by it.  Just by loading one instrument (or even better, loading your lovingly crafted template, but more on that later) and starting to noodle away, hitting record while grabbing some parameters and automating these is an exceptionally smooth process.  It's true that some other devices have started to catch up or surpass Push in certain ways over the last years.  Novation's all-in-one boxes, Elektron's powerful but really complex units to name but two - but what they don't give you is a very powerful place to take those ideas and run with them - i.e. by collecting a few ideas using only Push, and then being able to very easily move over to Ableton Live and use all of the many benefits of a DAW.  It really works and works well, with Push Ableton created a powerhouse of a sketchpad.  But getting those sketches into finished paintings is, well, a different story.

Strengths:

1. This is what Push was originally intended for.  The "limited" functionality that is has (versus the software) leans the user heavily towards this workflow, and it..works really well.
2. Push + Session View offers a wonderful way to rapidly record, duplicate and edit ideas into clips.
3. Working first to generate lots of ideas and then stepping over more or less fully into working with Live with a mouse and keyboard is a useful way to "sandbox" these creative efforts and build a process that has clear steps.

Weaknesses:

1. Loading instruments via Push's Browser can take a lot of time.  Let's be clear that this is a really difficult area to design for Ableton, and they've done a sterling job already, but it's easy to end up scrolling endlessly through folders and presets.  By using either the "collections" feature or "places" folder to organise things in Live this can be overcome somewhat, but I would contend the very best way to get around it is to start building your own Template live set that can let you just dive into making music and recording ideas, the moment you open Live.  Either way, this requires some clicking and dragging before you're flying.
2. Push + Arrangement View have an extremely limited relationship and functionality, although I cover some tips and hacks later on in the Arrangement Workflow
3. The need to step into Live as a DAW can be a killer.  Moreover switching between Push and your mouse and keyboard can be a flow-killer.  It's arguably key here to split your efforts into "idea generation" with Push and then "song structure" with Live + your mouse & keyboard.

Ableton Push Workflow 2:
Arranging a song using only Push

TLDR: Making songs from scratch with just Ableton Push.  It's doable, just about, but obliges us to work in a very limited way.  With some tweaks it can be improved, however, in fact I've even made a whole course about it that you can take for free.

Workflow rating: 2/5 stars (but we can get it to 2.5 or 3)

So, arguably an absolutely crucial workflow.  Getting our ideas from Push and the Session view into a song, and by implication, the Arrangement View in Live (yes, songs and tracks can be made outside and independently of the Arrangement view, as I often do, but it is a key use case).  But how does Push do?

Not that well, it has to be said.  After generating our ideas using Push, the various Note Modes that it offers and recording these into clips into the Session View in Live, we now need to get them into an arrangement, i.e. into the Arrangement View in Live.  Funnily enough things start quite well, especially as the idea generation phase on Push is generally fantastic (workflow 1).  We record a series of ideas into clips in Session View, deleting those we don't like, and duplicating and editing those we do like.

We can then start triggering these ideas/clips and record these into Arrangement View (pro tip: hold Shift + Record on Push to start recording to Arrangement View).  We can also record changes to parameters to instruments and devices while doing so.  So far so brilliant, actually.  But here's the catch: we might have started a clip too early, or want to remove a clip somewhere, or dive in even just a little to change some parameters (or god forbid a note or two).  I don't want to say "forget it", but I'm tempted, because it can be frustrating to realise that Push offers close to zero ways of doing such things.  There are ways to approach this workflow (see the video below) but I think we can agree that they are limiting and still potentially frustrating at some point.  

That all said (and I could go on, and on), I've made a video / online course all about this workflow, and you can check it out below (or ad-free here on WRKSHP)

Watch / Skim the video below, or take a look at the full online course about it (currently free)

Strengths:

1. Accept the above-mentioned limitations, and focus on what Push can do in terms of controlling Live and creating an arrangement, and embracing those as useful limitations/constraints.
2. Adopt these constraints as a workflow (idea generation, and then broad strokes layout) and then dive in with a mouse & keyboard.  It might just increase your productivity. 
3. Could be combined with Workflow 4 to create new arrangements of existing material. 

Weaknesses:

1. Where to start: editing an arrangement in almost any way is close to impossible with Push (Ableton never said it was, I should add), so removing notes, clips and going granular are largely out of the question.
2. At a certain point Push risk becoming a distraction during the process, as the workflow inevitably might lead us to switch between Push and the mouse and keyboard too often.  Context switching is (in my view) a huge danger to creativity and to getting into a state of flow.
3. There is no 3.  I am sure there could be a 3 and a 4 and a 5, but I think you get the idea from 1 and 2.

Ableton Push Workflow 3:
The main interface for Ableton Live & your studio

TLDR: Use Push as a hub from which to control both software instruments and devices, but also external gear, in an integrated fashion.   A solid workflow but without preparation up front it can quickly get messy.

Workflow rating: 3/5 stars

Now this workflow is sitting here perhaps slightly uncomfortably, as it arguably mixes aspects of the other workflow listed here.  It deserves some attention on its own however, as the key here is the idea of linking as much of your gear/studio in once place - i.e. Live and Push.

What would this look like?  You turn on Push, your studio template loads, and within a couple of presses, you're now playing an external synth on the other side of the room or desk, including controlling many if not all of its parameters.  This is a reality for some musicians, and it's a very tempting idea, and it has, as always, its strengths and weaknesses.

What makes it possible to connect and control external synths to Live and by extension Push is a mixture of using the External Instrument or External Effect Rack, as well as some judicious use of Max For Live plugins that have been designed to interface neatly with certain external gear (Roland TR-8, Nord Lead, NRPN, I could go on).  Let me just say I'm in awe of those that have taken the time to make such devices, and they deserve a lot of warm thanks and enthusiasm for their work.  Many of these are free, and some are paid (I would urge you to buy some, to support them)  I have used some and had almost instant joy.  I have tried others that I just couldn't get to work.  I've also used some that worked for a while, and then one day, they didn't.  This isn't strange, but it is potentially very frustrating.  You can read the comments in the above links (for example the Nord one) to see how this often goes.

Ableton's External Instrument 

Ableton's External Audio Device

An example of an epic M4L device (which apparently isn't working in Live 11)

Needless to say it means that this will (for now) always be a work in progress, with setbacks along the way - with an update to Live might come breakages to your workflow and use of M4L devices.  But, by (for example) limiting yourself to devices that will always work (like Ableton Native External devices) or ones that are supported (and usually paid) you might get quite a lot of joy out of the approach.  Another option is to get to know Max For Live and start programming and making/fixing things yourself.  I don't have the patience or chops for that as of today, but never say never.  That said - you'll have to weigh that up against the potential benefits and interruptions to your workflow. I've helped some musician set up their studio so that they have easy control of their external gear, but it takes a while to get it set up, working as one would expect, and for even them to understand exactly how it works (and how it doesn't).

More information on working with External Instruments here and Effects here.

Strengths:

1. Push can act as a central hub/control panel for a huge variety of software and hardware.
2. M4L devices can broaden your reach with Push enormously, letting you grab parameters of external synths and parameters with Live.   There are in some cases VSTs that have been made my manufacturers themselves to allow software control of their hardware (Elektron, Roland) but these also have mixed reviews.
3. There's an amazing community on maxforlive.com making new devices all the time, and if you like you can dip your toe in and get making as well.

Weaknesses:

1. Push has some natural limitations, such as a maximum of 16 banks of 8 parameters (so 128 parameters) when working with VSTs and potentially even fewer when working with external instruments or effects.
2. By relying on M4L devices to connect Push and Live up to external gear, you're relying on M4L patches that might one day stop working - many end up quickly unsupported or stop working.
3. Can potentially get just as complicated as it can get simple.

Ableton Push Workflow 4:
Classic Live Set Performance: Clip/Session View focussed

TLDR: Launch clips and scenes, and adjust parameters over time, either as a live performance/arrangement of material or as a track generating workflow. This is the workflow of many if not 99% of live shows for over 2 decades with Ableton Live. , but 1) is this workflow not starting to show its age, and 2) is Push the best device for this.

Workflow rating: 3/5 stars

I think it's safe to assume that many of us have tried out this workflow.  First taking a track that we've made and cutting this "sausage" into component clips which we can then play back in Session View, using Push or a similar grid controller (see below for a classic controller that's better than Push for this workflow).

I certainly have, and I did a number of live shows this way.  But I quickly butted up against some real problems.  Firstly the workflow of taking finished tracks and chopping them up can be quite slow (and is mouse and keyboard dependent), and involves some difficult choices (such as which tracks to keep as audio, and which as MIDI, or which tracks to just merge into one sausage of their own).  Secondly it can be quite easy to end up with strange results due to the way you've cut up the track.  Thirdly the result feels...strange - sure you can now play back a track, slice by slice, and do a bit of mixing and matching within the track itself and with other tracks, but... it feels (at least to me) like trying to take an omelette apart to show off those lovely onions you diced earlier, but you can't.  You'll probably tell me: Andri, I don't want to take my omelettes apart.  And I would understand you.  Let's try another analogy.  It's like wanting to a cook up a nice meal, but instead of the separate ingredients, all we get are things already mixed together, limiting our options in such a way that we just can't get that specific flavour we want.  You'll let me know if I should quit with the metaphors 😅  

Whether my food-based metaphors are, useful in getting across what I want to communicate is one thing, and I should also stress that there is nothing "wrong" with that workflow used by so many, and actually what's important here is how capable Push is in managing this workflow.  And the answer is, well, so-so.  Sure, you can launch clips, and adjust parameters, and see (on Push 2 at least) live volume meters and so on, and if you're feeling brave (and your brain is capable of juggling different workflows) you can add an instrumental solo using a MIDI instrument from Push.  But the result is often a mixed back in my experience.  Neither completely fluid, in part as there are better controllers for clip launching, such as the APC mkII, but also because the thrill of making something live that Push offers isn't there.  Push can do it.  You can do it. I've also added extra controllers to give me the features that I'm missing on Push, but always with a sense that things were quickly becoming just as complicated as they are simple, and by adding more and more devices that my muscle memory was slowing, and my process getting more bogged down in making sure everything works (a reminder that MIDI-mapping devices to Live is quickly a laborious and inflexible process).  

As I write this all out I can feel my resistance to this workflow competing with my promise to analyse Push's usefulness to this workflow.  This is perhaps a failure and I should rewrite this part of the article.  But I think it's also telling: Push can sort of kind of manage this workflow, but only kind of sort of.  Perhaps it works perfectly well if you want to mix clip launching and using Push's Note Modes to improvise, switching context between Note Modes and the Session Mode constantly.  In which case Push can handle this task pretty well, and in fact I can't think of a better all in one controller for this workflow in Live.

I would simply suggest that perhaps that if you only want to launch clips, Push is not the best-suited controller for such a clip-launching workflow, and that if you want to improvise and really get into a state of flow with Push, I would urge you to consider another workflow entirely, namely workflow 5.

Strengths:

1. A tried and tested way of performing (or arranging) music live.  Push can totally do it, with some caveats.
2. As simple or as complex as you like, and can be iterated upon (a great strength).
3. Should usually be both very reliable and a workflow that can be practiced, and Push offers a simple-enough interface to get pretty quick at navigating such a live set, but if (and only if) you keep it simple and accept Push's weaknesses in this area.

Weaknesses:

1. Nearly always feels far away from that feeling of "making something in the moment".  Launching a clip just isn't the same as playing every note and programming every sound, and Push screams out for doing just that.
2. These kinds of Live Sets (in terms of the actual Live file) tend to quickly get complex and burdensome, and are (in my experience) rarely a source of inspiration for making new music as compared to rearranging something existing.  Push won't let you edit them to any great extent.
3. There are arguably controllers much better suited to this workflow, such as the APC II, with its faders and intelligent choice of controls (A/B track selection, readily available mute/solo buttons, a crossfader, and more).

Ableton Push Workflow 5:
Complete Live Performance: Making Push Your Instrument

TLDR: Good for both performing live and creating ideas at a ridiculous rate, this is the king of workflows for Push.  This is the one that has kept me focussed, and one that has brought me so regularly to that beautiful state of flow, and involves both live looping and improvisation, both instrumental and effects-based.  Output can be a live show or a track/video.

Workflow rating: 5/5 stars

You've made it this far, nice!  (or you skipped forward, for which I must both give you a wag of my finger and a high five - something very risky for a Push player to do at the same time - our hands are our livelihood)

But ehhhnyway, let's get to it!  

Perhaps, however, I should back up my words with actions, to already give you an idea of the promise above.  Now, this could all come across as horribly self promotional, as the clips below are my own work, but it's also a way of putting my Push where my mouth is (oh yes I did).  

Here we go: some examples of what I've been able to do with this workflow:

Fireworks: A blast from the past, when I was developing this workflow

Pressure: The seriously cool introduction of Polyphonic Pressure to Push

Waves: An homage to the glorious Wavetable Instrument

Unstuck: After months of being stuck, my template/workflow came to the rescue

First Light: Something a little gentler

So the way workflow 5 works, is that you open Live, your template loads automatically (see Live's preferences under File/Folder and save your current set as the default) and you hit the gas.  You know the contents of each track intimately, and within them you keep things organised and ideally as structured as possible.  Hundreds of sounds are at your reach, as well as useful effects and key sound shaping tools to get a result that is most of the way to useable (remember the 80/20 rule - I know I need reminding now and then).

Now, as I've just mentioned, the key to this workflow is the creation of a template that will let you open Live and just go.  Key to that is the process of creating your own instruments, devices and logic to your template, and I cover this approach in this video.  For any modular-synth heads out there, I don't mean that kind of Modular :)  Working this way is very different from just opening an empty Ableton Live file, and slowly adding sounds and devices via the browser.

Once you have your template started, you can keep coming back to it, improving it, and getting used to it.  Think of it like turning Push into an instrument - your instrument - and that just like anything we use regularly, you will become better, faster, harder (ok maybe not harder) as you come back to it.

It's allowed me to create what I've shared above, and much more, and without this way of working, well, I'm just not sure how I would be working.  Watch this space (join the mailing list if you haven't already) for more on this workflow.  

Strengths:

1. Open Live.  Turn on Push.  Go.  
2. Muscle Memory: get used to your template and become faster and faster
3. Iterate and improve on your template as time goes by.  Wake up at night with a flash of inspiration on what to add next.  Build your spaceship and fly.

Weaknesses:

1. Doesn't work for Ableton Push + Live out of the box.  You'll need to build your own template.
2. Doesn't magically overcome the limitations of using Push with Arrangement view in Live.
3. If you try and combine recording in Session Mode and Arrangement Mode at the same time in Live (my dream setup) you encounter quite a few bugs that block this.  Imagine just jamming away in Session mode, recording all the while in Arrangement mode - recording EVERYTHING - and then editing this after the fact.  Slightly painfully, sometimes it's worked, but mostly it hasn't - it's a bug.  I've spoken to Ableton about this and apparently it's complicated to fix.  I've requested us having this feature here in Ableton's suggestions forum.  Do join up and upvote it if you'd like to have it too.  Link: Record to both Session & Arrangement AND jam at the same time, with Push & Live 

Conclusion:

Conclusion.

Ok wow.  I didn't realise this article would sprout so many arms and legs.  It's also perhaps a sign of my return to blogging being a cathartic release of thoughts and ideas.  I hope some of them were useful.

Let's come to the initial question / idea of Push being launched by Ableton as a device to "make songs from scratch".  I should repeat that it does that was promised very well indeed, but after a strong start, can get lost in our workflows if we don't keep in mind its inherent strengths and weaknesses.

Some might argue that this isn't a problem - any of the above workflows can be a perfect match, and we can simply work with the strengths and work around the weaknesses.  Some (myself, as you might have guessed) might argue that there might be a workflow worth trying that will both release the best of what Push can do along with the best of what we can do as creators.  I am, biased, no doubt.  I hope to add some more examples of these workflows over time, and include examples from other performers, producers and experimenters, to enrichen the selection beyond what I can show and share.

Perhaps also worth adding is that getting from idea and inspiration to a song and and output can take so many routes.  I've tried to summarise the keys ones I've come into contact with relating to Push.  There is no right or wrong way, and sometimes trying out the road less travelled can bring wonderful results, and sometimes, well sometimes we should just keep things simple.  Push is a window into Live, and so are many other things, like a mouse, keyboard and computer screen.  Sometimes the shape of that window can make a huge difference.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, experiences, or ideas (and dreams for future features or controllers).  Do share them below - I've added a Disqus comments area as I'm also trying to steer away from Facebook where possible - I'll test it out and see how it goes!  If it starts showing too many ads I'll plump for the paid version.

Thanks for reading, your time and your company!

Andri


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