Ableton Note: Ableton's new iOS music-making app

Ableton Note: Ableton’s new iOS music-making app

By Connor EdneyOctober 18, 20228 mins read

Image Credit: Ableton

Ableton has moved into the realm of iOS apps witth Ableton Note after a long while of speculation.

With the popularity of Ableton Link and its great functionality of wireless sync between apps, computers, and digital music hardware, it was only a matter of time before Ableton itself moved into the realm of music-making apps.

But Ableton Note isn’t a full mobile version of Ableton, so it may be somewhat of an anticlimax for some devoted Ableton users. But that’s not to say the app itself doesn’t look great!

Introducing Ableton Note

Ableton Note is geared towards generating ideas than it is creating full songs. Though limited in that respect, Note is designed for users to generate ideas quickly on the go. Nevertheless, Note looks and functions differently from its DAW counterpart.

Although Note is not what many may have hoped for, the app is built upon many of the same Ableton Devices that speculators will be familiar with.

As a result, ideas you can export ideas you create in the Note app as Live projects as editable MIDI clips and devices.

With Ableton Note, you can:

Create clips and scenes with eight MIDI tracks

Ableton Note utilizes the same workflow as Live Sets and can host up to eight MIDI tracks that run from left to right of the interface. There’s a sound selection tab at the top of each track and below this sits 8 clip slots.

A button at the bottom of the app allows you to bring up a stripped-down mixer with a level fader, and mute and solo buttons for each track.

You can trigger each clip individually or as Scenes. You can make each clip up to 8 bars long, and you can add, duplicate, move, and delete clips or entire Scenes too.
Use many Live instruments|

The three categories of sounds in Note are drum kits, synth presets, and sampled instruments which are based on Drum Racks, Wavetable, and Simpler Devices you’ll find in Ableton Live. After exporting to Live the project will open the full versions of these Devices.

And each preset has two send effects like Delay, Reverb, and Saturator that are also based on Live Devices.

Eight macro controls allow you to edit parameters, but the assignment of macros changes based on the preset you’re using.
Sample with your iPhone or a compatible microphone

You can use Note to sample audio you capture with the microphone on your device or a compatible Lightning/USB-C connector microphone. Note automatically crops the start point to the first transient too!

You can load this audio into the pad slots in its drum kits or into a standalone sampler instrument, but you can’t record audio into clips directly.

And you can import samples from your computer, and if you’re an iMac user you can airdrop sounds from a Mac too.
Automate your parameters

Note allows you to record automation on any of its instrument or effect macros. After hitting plays, adjust your parameter and it saves as automation.

A MIDI Capture-like button allows you to choose whether or not you want to save the automation. Additionally, you can select any macro that features automation and delete or mute it at any time.

Don’t forget to check out the video for all of the details!

Other functionality includes the ability to nudge notes, adjust their velocity, and quantize them too. However, you can’t work with MIDI controllers nor can you import projects to the Note app.

Again, Ableton Note is a sketchpad for creating ideas. It’s not a mobile DAW that is capable of hosting complex arrangements. However, Ableton states they have new features planned for future implementation.

To export your projects from NOte to LIve simply authorize Ableton Cloud in both Note’s & Live’s settings. Then, your uploaded projects will automatically appear in Live’s browser!

However, you can use Note as a standalone app without Live. Though it’s not a full DAW, it looks to be a great affordable beat-making application. But you’ll need an Ableton account and Live 11.2.5 or later if you do want to take your Note projects into Live.