Ableton has 2 main interfaces, Session View & Arrangement View. A couple of posts ago, we created a setlist using Ableton’s Session View. In this post, we’ll be using Ableton’s Arrangement View. This view looks like your more typical DAW or sequencer and maybe be a better choice for some. Now, let’s dive in!

Import Stems

In your browser, find the stems for your first song, click and drag them onto a blank audio channel and press Command before dropping them so they stack on vertically. Starting underneath the already imported song, repeat this process for all the songs making sure you leave some room after the previous song.

Arrange Stems

Your next step is to organise your stems. You can group the audio channels that contain stems for one song together by selecting all the appropriate audio channels and pressing Command-G. (Depending on how many songs and stems per song you could end up with a ton of audio tracks). Alternatively, you can consolidate all the bass stems to one audio channel, all the drums to one audio channel etc. You can click and drag the individual stems to the corresponding audio channel or cut and paste. When you’re finished, delete all unused audio channels.

Recolour Stems

This isn’t really a necessary step but can help things look neater and feel more organised. Select all the stems in one song and assign them a colour. Repeat these for the remaining songs using different colours.

Labelling Stems

Next, it’s time to label all of your songs. Add in a marker at the beginning or your first song and give it the same name as your song. Then, right click on your tempo at the top left and select ‘Show Automation’ this will allow you to adjust the tempo of your song. Set a point, right click and select ‘Edit Value’ and type in your desired tempo. For the subsequent songs, be sure to add a Time Signature Change as well as a marker. Also, note 3 things. 1, it’s helpful to plot another point on the tempo line directly above/beneath the current point and move it to the start of the next song. If not, Ableton will assume you’re creating a gradual tempo change. 2, if after setting the tempo for a song the stems begin to overlap with another song, move the following song further down the timeline and make sure you amend any stems that may have been cut off from the overlap. 3, the default time signature is 4/4, if your first song is not in 4/4, add in a time signature change at the very beginning. (Check out this post for more on labelling)

Warp Stems

Finally, and this again is optional, you can warp your stems so that you can adjust the tempo for the song and the stems will seamlessly match. Select all the stems you want to warp and click ‘Warp’. Because you’ve set the tempo already they should warp to the correct tempo, if not, you’ll have to type the correct tempo in manually. Then select all the rhythmic stems (click, drums, percussion etc) and change the warp type to ‘Beats’.

Now you’ve got a set in Ableton’s arrangement view!

We hope this was helpful and be sure to check back for more info on running tracks.

Thanks for reading!