Performing with Ableton Live: On Stage with St. Vincent

Daniel Mintseris has been touring with critically acclaimed musician St. Vincent for over three years. With Ableton Live, he's able to direct the entire show from his keyboard and laptop. In these exclusive videos, he explains what it takes to run your own world-class production with Ableton.

First, Daniel provides a tour of his setup, starting from his keyboard riser—the hub of communication on stage. With Ableton and a series of MIDI controllers, he's closely connected to all the other instrumentalists. Then he demonstrates the process of building a show file and creating sound presets for every song. Daniel also explains how to use the Drum Kit as a MIDI controller for drum sounds, and how to make program changes on the downstage Moog and guitar stations. Finally, in our interview with Daniel, he closes down the course with insights on what it's like to be a musical director, and how he balances technology and musicianship to bring ideas to life.

Learning objectives
Setting up the keyboard and Ableton Live
Creating and using click tracks
Creating song presets
Switching sounds within songs
Automating presets
Working with Ableton drum racks
Sending program changes
Preparing audio stems for playback
Audio routing
Keeping things in check with line-check files and backups
Insights on music and technology