Producing Music with Ableton Live 9 (Quick Pro Guides)

I've dabbled on and off with Ableton Live over the past decade but recently decided to commit to sitting down and strategically working through a book to become competent with the platform. I elected to go with this book on the basis of the recommendations and with only two pages to go until I'm on Chapter 3, I have a few thoughts.Firstly, the DVD that comes with the book and the guidance for utilising it is excellent. I have noticed with the odd instruction or two that the shortcut or instruction doesn't effect the desired change in the programme. Others seems to have attributed this to being a shortcut or whatnot in previous versions of Ableton but I can't comment. I suspect it's my inexperience!Whilst the book starts out in a clear and easy to follow manner, around page 30, it starts to throw around terms such as automation, envelopes etc. This would be all well and good if I had taken a course in music production but I haven't. The book mentions at the start that a rudimentary knowledge of computer use is needed (which I more than have) but it doesn't mention this experience. More than happy to learn and cross reference other books so I'm sure with some head scratching it'll all make sense. My feeling is that the early tone of the book should have continued.That said, only 35 pages in and my knowledge of the programme is rapidly advancing. This counts as a big success in my eyes and I'd definitely recommend the book on that basis. Here's to hoping I can fathom the rest of it!

On first scan of the book it looks like this could be a useful addition to my learning. However, be warned there is no DVD, but the book shows an address linking to their website for online media that did not work. This needed me to message the Hal Leonard help line and a quick reply resulted in me being able to eventually access considerable media content.

Ableton can look complicated to new users and i have tried learning it before but the other books don't explain it to new users or miss steps and are quite frankly boring. This book is different as it is hands on and takes you through a music making project which is very interesting. It is very well thought out as it breaks everything down into little chucks and you can see how it can apply to your own music productions. ......I now think Ableton is pretty simple to understand enough to create your own music although it is very powerful. In short it is a brilliant book hence 5 stars

Disappointed, it seems the writer hasn't actually done the exercises in the book along with Ableton 9, as some of them seem to be written for a different version (perhaps he cut and pasted from the book about Live 8?). There have been more than a few times I've been following the instructions and they don't match what's on my screen. And then annoyingly, in chapter 4, you're forced to use the supplied book content instead of carrying on with the project you've done from scratch, as it has loads of extra clips in it. It's a shame because this book is a great idea and it's the easiest learning method for me, but it's like it just hasn't been checked before publishing.

Very basic stuff which you can get from the net. Save money and research your self.

*Very* useful and, so far, I've not used it as a cup-stand, nor, split coffee or water over it - long may that continue!The layout is very clear and it's a vital aide in making such a comprehensive instrument move from over-impressive to usable

Very clear workthrough exeercises that makes it easy to start. Ableton seems to be jam packed with features, so I've found that although it's possible to do a bit intuitively it's incredibly difficult spot all the features and appreciate juwt what the options might be.

Nicely written if you can look past the odd spelling mistake. Excellent that it has exercises to follow.