$Page Creating Manual MIDI Mappings $TargetName Creating Manual MIDI Mappings In this lesson, we'll learn how /manual mappings/ allow standard MIDI control surfaces to interface with Live. Mapping knobs, keys, sliders and pads to different parts of Live's interface gives the freedom and flexibility of a traditional hardware-based studio. Manual mappings are useful even when using natively-supported control surfaces, because they can override the /Instant Mappings/ used by those devices. Before we begin, please verify that your external MIDI keyboard or control surface is connected to your computer and powered on. Divider.tif *This lesson is accompanied by a Live Set which you'll be interacting with as you follow the lesson. Whenever you're ready, please click $Link here to load the Live Set.* Divider.tif Please press the /Next Page/ button below to continue. $Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page MIDI Map Mode $TargetName MIDI Map Mode Manual mappings are created and edited in /MIDI Map Mode./ You can enter this mode at any time by enabling the /MIDI/ switch in the upper-right corner of the application window: MidiMapSwitch.png Two changes take place in Live whenever MIDI Map Mode is active: *1:* Live highlights every interface element which is capable of remote-control. In this example, the highlight color is blue: HighlightedElements.png *2:* Live's /Mapping Browser/ becomes available: MappingBrowserOverview.png If your Browser is folded away, you can unfold it using the *$CommandMod + $OptionMod + B* keyboard shortcut. It can also be resized horizontally by dragging its right edge left or right. We'll look into the Mapping Browser in a moment, after we've made our first MIDI mappings. $Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Launching Clips $TargetName Launching Clips To get started, let's create some mappings that will let us launch clips directly from the control surface. You can play your entire Live Set without ever touching the mouse by assigning MIDI keys, pads or buttons to /clip slots./ Please enable MIDI Map Mode, if it's not active already: MidiMapSwitch.png Click once on any clip to select it: SelectedClip.png The /Status Bar/ will indicate that Live is ready to MIDI-map the clip slot: StatusBarAdvice.png Press any MIDI-capable key, button or pad on your control surface to assign it to the selected clip slot. MIDI-mappings won't function while you're in MIDI Map Mode, so before you can test your assignment you'll need to disable the Control Bar's MIDI switch. Note that MIDI assignments belong to /clip slots/ rather than the clips themselves. This means that you can audition several different clips in a slot without having to recreate your mappings each time. The same MIDI key, button or pad can be assigned to multiple clips so long as they all reside in /different/ tracks; Live will warn you if you try to assign the same control to more than one clip from a single track. Divider.tif *Note:* The numbers superimposed onto mapped controls are MIDI-related: The first number is the /MIDI channel/ which the remote control messages are being sent on, and the second is the /MIDI CC number/ of the specific knob, slider, key, etc. This information is displayed more comprehensively in the Mapping Browser. $Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page The Mapping Browser $TargetName The Mapping Browser As you create mappings, you'll see that they are added to Live's Mapping Browser - a special browser which manages all of your Set's manual mappings. For each entry, it indicates the MIDI channel, the MIDI note or CC number, the path and name of the mapped parameter, and the mapped range's minimum and maximum values: MappingBrowser.png The /Min/ and /Max/ fields let you refine the ranges of any of your mappings at any time. Mappings can be inverted by setting the value of Min to be greater than Max, or by *$ContextMenuing* a mapping in the browser and choosing *Invert Range* from the context menu. You can delete a mapping by selecting it from the list, then pressing the *Delete* or *Backspace* keys. Multiple mappings can also be selected and removed at once. Note that the Mapping Browser is only accessible while the /MIDI, Key/ or /Macro Map Modes/ are active. Divider.tif *Tip:* Double-clicking a mapping which belongs to a device parameter will focus that device in Live's Device View. $Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Mapping for Chromatic Playing $TargetName Mapping for Chromatic Playing We saw how a single key can be used to launch a clip, but Live can also assign a /range/ of keys to a clip to produce chromatic playback, as with a classic hardware sampler. Let's try this with one of the clips in the Chords track, such as "guitarchorus." Enter MIDI Map Mode, and select the clip by clicking on it. ClipRangeMapping.png Press and /hold/ the MIDI key which should play the clip at its untransposed pitch (the /root/ key). /While holding down/ the root key, press a key above it to define the upper limit of the pitch range, and a key below it to define the lower limit. The mapping displayed for this clip is slightly different than what we've seen so far: It lists the /MIDI channel/ number, followed by three notes: the /lower limit, root/ and /upper limit/ of the key range which you defined. TripartDisplay.png After exiting MIDI Map Mode, you'll be able to play the "guitarchorus" clip chromatically across this keyboard range. $Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Controlling the Selected Clip $TargetName Controlling the Selected Clip You can control the playback properties of individual clips by mapping their /Clip View/ parameters. Clip View shares the lower region of the application window with /Device View,/ where effects and instruments are displayed. *$ShiftMod + Tab* toggles between the two views. At the bottom of Clip View's /Clip/ box you'll find two /Nudge/ buttons which can shift the playback position of a single clip relative to the rest of a scene: PlayPosNudgeMap.png The /Scrub control,/ located between the Nudge buttons, is only visible in MIDI Map Mode; assign it to an endless encoder to enable scrub-wheel functionality for a clip. Any nudging, scrubbing or shifting of clip play position will always occur in steps the size of the current /global quantization,/ as indicated in the Control Bar: QuantizationChooserHands.png The /Sample/ box (which can be shown or hidden using the selector beneath the Clip box) offers mappable /Transposition/ and /Volume/ controls, clip /Start/ and /End/ markers, and /Loop Position/ and /Loop Length/ controls. These last four controls each feature /Set/ buttons for defining markers on the fly during playback: SampleBoxMap.png $Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Launching Scenes $TargetName Launching Scenes The Session View's /Scene Launch/ buttons can also be mapped to external buttons, keys or pads. The process is identical to that for clips except that instead of selecting a clip to assign, we select a scene from the Master track, like this: SceneAssign.png Note that you can't assign a MIDI controller to a scene if it has already been assigned to a clip. Go ahead and assign more of the clips and scenes in this Set to your external device, then take a moment to jam and explore your new setup. $Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Relative Navigation $TargetName Relative Navigation By creating relative navigation mappings, you can direct the Session View's selection from afar, launching clips and scenes as you go. With MIDI Map Mode activated, locate the /relative navigation/ controls in the Master track, shown here: RelativeScene.png Assign two neighboring buttons, pads or keys to the up and down arrow buttons, which move scene selection up and down, respectively: UpDownScene.png You can also assign an encoder to the value box on the right to scroll through your scenes: ValueBoxScene.png Now assign a button, pad or key to this button to launch the currently selected scene, whichever it may be: PlayScene.png Use /Track Launch/ mappings in conjunction with scene navigation mappings to launch single clips from the currently selected scene: TrackLaunchButtons.png $Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Controlling the Mixer $TargetName Controlling the Mixer Now we'll see how we can use remote control with Live's mixer. Let's map the /track volume/ sliders to our control surface for hands-on mixing. In MIDI Map Mode, click on the *Rhodes* track's volume slider to select it, as shown below: MappingVolume.png Now, choose a fader or knob on your external device with which to control this track's volume. Move the knob or fader to assign it to the *Rhodes* track's volume slider. Repeat the mapping procedure for the /pan/ knob, using an adjacent knob or slider on your external device (grouping the track's controls together for convenience): PanVolumeMapped.png You can continue by mapping the volume and pan controls for the rest of the tracks, including the Master track. You can even map the same control to several volume sliders or pan knobs if you'd like to control them simultaneously. $Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Parameter Control via Note Ranges $TargetName Parameter Control via Note Ranges Instead of mapping knobs or sliders to volume and pan, you can also map a /range of notes/ to these parameters. We got a taste of this earlier when mapping clips chromatically, but when applied to variable parameters, the mapped notes are distributed equally across the parameter's value range. This means that if you map a range of notes to a volume slider, the highest note will set the slider to its highest extreme, while the lowest note will bring the slider all the way down. To create this kind of mapping, simply hold down the two keys which define the upper and lower limits of the key range. PanVolumeMappedNoteRanges.png You'll find that mapped note ranges are displayed more clearly within the Mapping Browser: MappedRangesInBrowser.png $Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Controlling Instruments and Effects $TargetName Controlling Instruments and Effects Effects can bring lively dynamic changes to your clips, but mice and trackpads just don't promote the spontaneity of hardware. Luckily, it's just as easy to map instruments and effects to control surfaces. Let's try this with the /Auto Filter/ effect in the *Rhodes* track. First make sure that MIDI Map Mode is deactivated. Then double-click the *Rhodes* track's title bar to display Auto Filter in Device View: MappingTitleBar.png Activate MIDI Map Mode, and try assigning Auto Filter's /cutoff frequency/ and /Q/ parameters, shown below, to knobs or sliders on your external controller: AutoFltrFreq.png As with volume and pan, you can also control device parameters with ranges of notes. Exit MIDI Map Mode and launch any scene or Rhodes clip to hear how the sound is filtered as you turn the knobs on your control surface. Divider.tif *Tip:* Mappings for VST and Audio Units Plug-ins are created just as easily as those for Live's built-in devices. $Comment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Page Tips, Tricks and Resources $TargetName Tips, Tricks and Resources Live's /transport controls/ are located in the Control Bar at the top of the application window: MappingControlBar.png Using the transport controls, you can play, stop and record in Live. MIDI-mapped transport controls are especially convenient during tracking and recording. It's possible to use multiple control surfaces simultaneously. You could use an USB keyboard for launching clips, for example, together with a knob box for tweaking effects. If you use the same control surface all the time and usually make the same set of remote-control assignments, you'll save yourself time by creating your own /default Set./ The default Set will become the template for all new Live Sets, and will include all MIDI and key mapping information. To save the current Set as the default, use corresponding section of the /File/Folder Preferences:/ SaveSetAsDefault.png You'll find much more information about control surfaces and mapping - including /Instant Mapping, Key mapping/ and /Macro mapping/ - in the Reference Manual's "MIDI and Key Remote Control" chapter. $Comment Status: Translate