20 Essential Ableton Live Keyboard Shortcuts From Professional Producers
Want to speed up your music production workflow? Our expert trainers share their favorite Ableton Live shortcuts that transformed their creative process.
Thomas McAlister (Alba / Canyons)
Save As You Go
⌘⇧S
(Windows: CTRL⇧S)
“I’m obsessive about saving versions while I’m in the ideas generation stage of making a track – like version 1, then 1.1 and 1.2 etc. Maybe too much? The tune I’m working on today is on version 4.6!”
Quick View Switch
⇧Tab
“I use this especially when working with midi, as I’m constantly switching between the clip and the instrument itself. I use it so much that i find myself accidentally using it when I’m using Chrome or Finder or something, expecting my view to switch there too!”
Loop Length Control
⌘↑ ⌘↓
(Windows: CTRL↑ CTRL↓)
Much easier than hovering around to find the elusive bracket – or typing in the loop length value, which I’ve never got used to doing.
George Nicholas (Seekae / Cliques / Hensen)
Universal Toggle
0
The number 0 is looking pretty faded on my keyboard. I use it for activating/de-activating everything – clips, tracks, devices, midi notes, etc. It’s really good for trying out different melodies, arrangements, drum patterns without deleting what you have there already.
Hide Returns
⌘⌥R
(Windows: CTRL⌥R)
I only just started using this shortcut which is for hiding the returns. Helps with screen real-estate.
Joel Farland (Miami Horror)
Draw Mode Toggle
b
I use this for toggling draw mode as I’m MIDI editing all the time.
Grid Control
⌘1
⌘2
⌘3
⌘4
(Windows: use CTRL)
Re-sizing the grid makes my workflow faster. Also I constantly use ⇧Tab which swaps between viewing the MIDI/clip editor and devices view in the bottom window – this makes it super quick to adjust effects whilst editing MIDI.
Time Delete
⌘⇧DEL
(Windows: CTRL⇧DEL)
Aaron (from Miami Horror) showed me this which deletes time – this makes editing arrangements super quick.
Anthony Garvin (Studios 301 / Ableton Certified Trainer)
Custom Key Mapping
P
You can quickly and easily create custom assignments from your QWERTY keyboard to almost anything on the screen in Live using the KEY button on the top right (or use ⌘K to open KEY). I assign P to the Device On switch of plugins/effects using key mapping to do a/b tests a gazillion times per mix.
Version Control
⌘⇧S
(Windows: CTRL⇧S)
I use this to save new versions each session, or at each major change.
Back to Arrangement
F10
Adam showed me this one I’m trying to memorise. If I reach for the mouse but remember just in time, I give myself a biscuit.
Yama Indra (Gloves)
Quick Preferences
⌘,
(Windows: CTRL,)
For opening Live’s preferences – which works across most other software too.
Fine Control
⌘drag
(Windows: CTRL-drag)
For fine tuning of parameters, finely adjusting the position of clips in arrangement view and finely adjusting the timing of midi notes. I also use arrows to nudge MIDI notes a lot, or in finer increments using ⌘← or ⌘→.
I/O Section
⌘⌥i
(Windows: CTRL⌥i)
I work with lots of hardware at home, so using this is handy to open the I/O section then hide it again when not required.
Adam Maggs (Ableton Certified Trainer)
Quick Sound Loading Workflow
⌘F →
↓
→ →
Enter →
⌘⌥B
(Windows: Start with CTRL-F)
This is not really just one key-combination but a workflow for searching, browsing and loading sounds that I use so much it happens in one fluid flow. The last one is because I always work on laptops so screen real estate is precious.
Playback Controls
Spacebar
⇧Spacebar
⌥Spacebar
These variations handle play, resume playing, and play selection – which is great when micro-editing.
Clear Automation
⌘-delete
(Windows: CTRL-delete)
Since the release of Live 9 and Push I do a lot of automating in Session View – so clearing automation from a parameter is really quick and handy.
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