Within a musical context, Joe breaks down tracks from the final mix to stems and back to the multi-tracks—rebuilding it piece by piece into a playable version, ready for stage.
If you’re a drummer but totally new to MIDI, triggers, automation, and sample-based drums from a DAW, you will discover a whole new world of possibilities.
“I might be the only person that gets excited at the thought of pop shows being played fully live, by musicians using technology as an instrument, without conventional backing tracks, but it’s more attainable than ever.”
There really is no better place to learn this stuff and having these skills under your belt will bring you a tonne of work!
Ethan Carter @ethandrums_
Joe delivers such an important lesson for all modern drummers in an easy to follow format. This content is vital.
Matt Donald @mattdonald
When an instrument was damaged and we went went midi, the skills I learned here enabled me to save a show.
Andrew Burrows @andrew_burrows
Essential insight into something so important for professional level programming and show creation.
Josh Caplin @joshcaplin_
ALFD kick started my career. Everything I learnt from Joe I now use on every show I put together. It’s as simple as that.
Charlie Singleton @charliesingleton
A superb resource for drummers interesting in exploring more of the possibilities technology can offer.
Grant McGregor
“I use Ableton Live on almost every show I work on.”
“It isn’t the only DAW used in the world of live music, but it is creative, versatile, and reliable. Ableton handles MIDI, samples, and software instruments in a unique way, designed with performance in mind.”
One of the world’s leading Music Directors, Joe Clegg is known internationally as a Drummer and Live Music Producer.
He has worked with Mumford & Sons, Ellie Goulding, Bastille, Clean Bandit, Sigrid and many other artists. He has performed at major festivals (Glastonbury, Coachella, Fuji Rocks, Rock in Rio), venues (Wembley Stadium, Madison Square Garden, Staples Center), and on numerous television broadcasts all over the world.
Always keen to pass on his experience, Joe has taught masterclasses at music colleges and events internationally.
Introduction
About this course (1:20)
Why Ableton? Part 1 (13:24)
Why Ableton? Part 2 (13:48)
Listening (28:32)
Drum Racks
Drum Racks - The Basics (22:14)
Perfomance walkthrough: ‘60 Second Simmons’
Set-up (2:43)
Performance (1:19)
Demo: ‘Arrival’ Pt 1
Kick Automation (30:08)
Snare Automation (12:42)
Perfomance walkthrough: ‘Pyramids’
Performance (2:30)
Set-up (9:06)
Samples (4:49)
Demo: ‘Arrival’ Pt 2
Chorus Automation (29:36)
Snare Trigger (14:38)
Performance (3:13)
Outro
Go make something (1:13)
“I personally think that there is beauty in the detail, that recreating a programmed drum part with accuracy is an art form in itself.”