Ableton, more like AWESOMEton

After using Ableton for only a week, I'm falling in love withe the program. Of all the progams we've used so far, it's the most intuitive, and the one I'm most excited to learn more about. I've never been too interested in audio editing, however, Ableton has made me reconsider that stance.

After playing around with the demo, I tried out the provided lessons. These are a fantastic way to learn the program's layout. What also helps is the little window in the corner that explains the role of whatever button you put the cursor over. I can't tell you how many times I've been using a new program and I wished that they would just tell me what each of the buttons did. Using the lessons, I was able to learn how to make a beat by writing the notes as well as how to make loops and switch between multiple tracks in real time. All of this was surprisingly simple and I'm excited to use more of it in the future.

I downloaded The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army in MIDI format, and began to experiment with the pre-loaded instruments. This was really fun and simple to do, and I was able to come up with some really crazy versions of the song. Then, I used my VST plugins to add some effects. One of the plugins acted as a virtual amp, while the other two added grain and phaser effects. Overall, I was able to make some seriously interesting sounding stuff.

My adventures with Ableton have been fruitful. I'm looking forward to using the program in my future projects.