DJing with Ableton Live

Master the fundamentals of DJing with Ableton Live. You'll learn how to use this powerful software for mixing tracks and adding effects on the fly.

Course Overview

Ableton Live is a leading software application for both music production and live music. DJs have been able to leverage the software on stage to create mixes with possibilities that are simply not found in the other DJ applications.

This course walks you through all of the settings and features you need to know about to take advantage of Ableton Live as a DJ. You'll learn how to warp music effectively so that you have full control over pitch and length of each audio sample in your set. You'll also learn about MIDI mapping efficiently, cross-fading, how to configure the application, and a lot more so that your performances can impress everyone.


Course Curriculum


  First Section
Available in days
days after you enroll

Key course topics in DJing with Ableton Live include:

Understanding the software layout in the DJing context

Ableton Live is used for both music production and live performance. You'll learn how to configure the application so that it is optimized for live performance. You'll learn how the mixer and track layout parallels that of other DJ software. You'll get familiar with the cross-fader and the clips, which are the building blocks of Ableton Live.

How to configure any MIDI-based hardware for your DJ setup

DJing requires the right tools for the job. Ableton Live is flexible and rethinks how DJs should perform live. Instead of using turntables or platters on a typical DJ controller, you can use any MIDI-enabled device to control your tracks and your live mix. You'll learn how to map buttons, faders, knobs, etc. to the Ableton interface so that you can freely change any aspect of your audio on the fly.

Detailed explanations on how to mix and add effects on the fly

Learn everything from warping to mixing to modifying effects on the fly. Warping lets you tweak the pitch and length of any track so that it fits with any other song you want to mix. You'll also explore the wide array of effects that are built into Ableton Live. You can create your own custom effects racks and save them as presets so that you can call up that perfect suite of tools to tweak your sound in the moment.

Start improving your DJ skills today!