Playing an instrument is good for the brain

[boingy]

I agree with Boingy that having your guitar set up properly makes learning to play less frustrating but back when I first started to learn I really don't did know any better. My first guitar was a cheapie acoustic a work colleague of my dad gave me. To be fair, it didn't sound too bad but it did have quite a high action so rather hurt the virgin tips of my left hand fingers until I grew protective pads! Nevertheless, it was my first guitar so loved it.

Like Boingy, I also get rather "lost in music" when playing and even more so now I've got a Focusrite and the free Ableton program that came with it and am learning to both record and arrange songs. The only problem is that I become so engrossed that I get myself in trouble because I've forgotten to do various jobs my better half wanted doing!😀 I think Ableton is really more for those wanting to program and create their own beats and, as I'm far from tech. savvy, most of that is well beyond me so I'm probably only using a fraction of its true potential but, even so, I'm having fun just recording live audio tracks for guitar, bass and keyboard and (very!) slowly learning how to program my old drum machine or add MIDI instruments.

Like both Boingy and Ketts, I've collected a few guitars over the years. Currently I have a Yamaha acoustic, an Ovation Applause, Gear 4 music bass, Fender strat (my main guitar) and a Rickenbacker 360 12 string. I'd love to add to this especially a Tele, Epiphone Casino, a 335 and an SG as well as a really nice acoustic, a uke and a classical guitar. A Gretsch might be nice too! Cost aside though I don't think my wife would let me have any more "cluttering up the house" in any case but I can dream.....

Ableton is my studio. Works really well for me.

[Omegstrat6]

Ableton is my studio. Works really well for me.

I've only got the lite version but still find it very complicated-and whilst I've learnt how to add some of the MIDI instrumentation- I still haven't figured out how to actually record the samples from the drum rack included in the program! There are so many YouTube tutorials out there but most of them are about as clear as mud to me 🤔😁. In the end I use a microphone to live record either my old Yamaha or Alesis drum machine and use one of my 4 available audio tracks for that and the acoustic. Only just beginning to learn how to program the drums though so mostly they just provide a kind of glorified beat to play along to! I then use the other tracks for electric guitar, bass and keyboard. As I can't sing for toffee there is no need to use up a track for vocals😂

I'm sure I'm only just scratching the surface of what Ableton can do and it's all very amateurish but I really enjoy doing it which is the main thing.

[boingy]

I've only got the lite version but still find it very complicated-and whilst I've learnt how to add some of the MIDI instrumentation- I still haven't figured out how to actually record the samples from the drum rack included in the program! There are so many YouTube tutorials out there but most of them are about as clear as mud to me 🤔😁. In the end I use a microphone to live record either my old Yamaha or Alesis drum machine and use one of my 4 available audio tracks for that and the acoustic. Only just beginning to learn how to program the drums though so mostly they just provide a kind of glorified beat to play along to! I then use the other tracks for electric guitar, bass and keyboard. As I can't sing for toffee there is no need to use up a track for vocals😂

I'm sure I'm only just scratching the surface of what Ableton can do and it's all very amateurish but I really enjoy doing it which is the main thing.

I started with the lite version years ago and use Ableton 9 standard now. Have you tried using drum waveforms from other sites? Look up Jim Dooley for example you can sign up and download MP3’s and waveforms depending on your subscription. You can then copy and paste the track into your audio track. I have a file full of drum tracks this way. https://jimdooley.net/

[Albionic68]

I play with my instrument wherever and whenever I can and I can't say it's done much for my mental health. If anything I need to cut down as I'm bound to get arrested at this rate, leaves the thread to the sensible people...... who regularly play with multiple instruments 😲.

[Omegstrat6]

Hi Boingy
Many thanks for the link and will certainly have a look. Tbh, Ableton quite often send me links for free beats etc too but my main problem, I'm afraid to admit, is that I fear that I am simply not computer literate enough. What I could really do with I suppose is to be able to sit down with someone who knows the system so that they can teach me how to do the things I want but, unfortunately, I don't know anyone.

I actually quite like a lot of the drum patterns on my old Alesis unit and playing it through the monitor speakers to record as an audio track works reasonably well but I would also like to use some of the drum patterns that come with the program. Whilst I have found shed loads of you tube tutorials on creating beats, at the moment I just want to be able to record some of the drum patterns that come with the program that I like to use just as they are to play over but cannot find an easy (idiots guide ) for this. I'm sure that this must be straightforward and that I am missing something really simple but maybe you would be good enough to help me?

I would have thought that it would be a bit like adding orchestration but doesn't appear so. If I want, for example, to add some strings, I go to the top left drop down menu, select instrument, select "strings", select the one I want (eg cruiser strings) then click on one of my MIDI tracks. The top bar now has the name of the sample (cruiser string). I make sure the key board icon on top right is highlighted so I can use the laptop to play the notes I want (still saving for a MIDI keyboard) then arm the MIDI track to record so the button changes to red. I then click on the record button at the top which also goes red and the other tracks I have already recorded for the project play and I can now add the strings to the sections I want. If I do the same process for a sample from the drum rack however, whilst the free MIDI track comes up with the name of the sample I want to use and record onto it, when I arm the track to record nothing happens and no drum track plays or is recorded. How do I get it to play and record? I'd be really grateful if you could tell me where I'm going wrong!

[boingy]

Hi Boingy
Many thanks for the link and will certainly have a look. Tbh, Ableton quite often send me links for free beats etc too but my main problem, I'm afraid to admit, is that I fear that I am simply not computer literate enough. What I could really do with I suppose is to be able to sit down with someone who knows the system so that they can teach me how to do the things I want but, unfortunately, I don't know anyone.

I actually quite like a lot of the drum patterns on my old Alesis unit and playing it through the monitor speakers to record as an audio track works reasonably well but I would also like to use some of the drum patterns that come with the program. Whilst I have found shed loads of you tube tutorials on creating beats, at the moment I just want to be able to record some of the drum patterns that come with the program that I like to use just as they are to play over but cannot find an easy (idiots guide ) for this. I'm sure that this must be straightforward and that I am missing something really simple but maybe you would be good enough to help me?

I would have thought that it would be a bit like adding orchestration but doesn't appear so. If I want, for example, to add some strings, I go to the top left drop down menu, select instrument, select "strings", select the one I want (eg cruiser strings) then click on one of my MIDI tracks. The top bar now has the name of the sample (cruiser string). I make sure the key board icon on top right is highlighted so I can use the laptop to play the notes I want (still saving for a MIDI keyboard) then arm the MIDI track to record so the button changes to red. I then click on the record button at the top which also goes red and the other tracks I have already recorded for the project play and I can now add the strings to the sections I want. If I do the same process for a sample from the drum rack however, whilst the free MIDI track comes up with the name of the sample I want to use and record onto it, when I arm the track to record nothing happens and no drum track plays or is recorded. How do I get it to play and record? I'd be really grateful if you could tell me where I'm going wrong!

I’ll get back to you when I get back from work omeg.

[Omegstrat6]

I’ll get back to you when I get back from work omeg.

Many thanks 👍

[boingy]

Many thanks 👍

When you bring up your drum rack is it empty? Give me an example of a name of your rack and I’ll try and find it. Might be a different set of midi files for me but I want to replicate exactly what you are doing.

[boingy]

Sometimes notes won’t work because the octave isn’t set right. If you are using your computer keyboard then make sure the keyboard icon is enabled at the top right of the screen in Ableton and press the X and C buttons on your keyboard as necessary to change the octave which will change the part of the Ableton drum rack that you are hitting.

[Omegstrat6]

Hi
Just opened up Ableton and will try and show you what I try and do. It is opened with my track availability shown in vertical columns.From the top left menu I select "drums" from the left hand column. This brings up a list of "drum hits" in the right column. Say I select "505 Core kit". I tap the button below which goes blue and it plays a brief excerpt of this pattern. I just want to record this pattern as a backing drum pattern to play over. The "505 Core kit" appears at the top of my first MIDI track column. The track is armed to record and button shows as red. I then press the top circle button to (hopefully) record but nothing seems to happen. I can't hear anything and no levels are registered in the column "slide"