Jul 16, 2019 I rapid fire through a bunch of different Ableton Live keyboard and mouse shortcuts. I'm using Mac lingo but you can easily apply it to Windows as well. Full list of shortcuts: https://www.ableton. I thought for years that this Ableton official list has ALL keyboard shortcuts. Which led me to a lack of workflow just because I didn't know some commands exist, some of them are commands that i use very often and aren't on this list at all. Luckily I gathered a more whole list from different sources, Ableton official included.
If you are looking for Ableton Live 10 shortcuts, tips And tricks then you’ve come to the right place.
We’ve put together an ultimate list of shortcuts for Live 10, along with some helpful tips and tricks and seven useful videos near the end of this post.
Ableton Live 10 is one of the best Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) available online.
It has countless great features that give you complete control over your music. We know it can take a long time to master all the tools in Ableton, which is why we made this list of helpful shortcuts.
Whether you are a beginner or a pro, these Ableton Live 10 shortcuts, tips, and tricks will save you time and frustration.
That way you can keep making great music without the hassle of switching screens to lookup how to perform a certain action.
Want free resources for producing electronic music? Grab all our free downloads here
Ableton Live 10 Shortcuts – Keyboard Wizardry
These Ableton Live 10 shortcuts are awesome for multiple reasons –
First of all, they save you from having to point and click and take less than a second to push.
Secondly, they stop you from losing valuable time and energy to edit your sounds and switch between different views in the DAW.
Switch to Full Screen:
Windows – F 11
Mac – CTRL – CMD – F
Jump to Second Window
Windows – CTRL – Shift – W
Mac – CMD – Shift – W
Switch Between Sessions
Windows – Tab
Mac – Tab
Change Devices
Windows – Shift – Tab
Mac – Shift – Tab
Open or Close Detailed View
Windows – CTRL – ALT – L
Mac – CMD – ALT – L
Change to Hot-Swap Mode
Windows – Q
Mac – Q
Change to Drum Rack
Windows – D
Mac – D
Open or Close Info View
Windows – Shift – ?
Mac – Shift – ?
Bring Up Video Window
Windows – CTRL – ALT – V
Mac – CTRL – ALT – V
Open or Close Browser
Windows – CTRL – ALT – B
Mac – CTRL – ALT – B
Show or Hide Overview
Windows – CTRL – ALT – O
Mac – CMD – ALT – O
Hide or Show Sends
Windows – CTRL – ALT – S
Mac – CMD – ALT – S
Open or Close Mixer
Windows – CTRL – ALT – M
Mac – CMD – ALT – M
Pull Up Preferences
Windows – CTRL- ,
Mac – CMD – ,
Close Active Window
Windows – Esc
Mac – Esc
Enable of Disable Almost Everything (Clips, Devices, Tracks, etc…) with One Numpad Key
Windows – 0
Mac – 0
Hide Returns to Save Screen Space
Windows – CTRL – ALT – R
Mac – CMD – ALT – R
Open or Hide I/O Window
Windows – CTRL – ALT – I
Mac – CMD – ALT – I
Ableton Live 10 Quick Editing Tips
These tips will help you stay in the groove without having to spend time opening context menus or searching for a basic tool.
Tip #1 – Quick Save
Saving your project often is important to avoid losing any of your hard work. To save everything quickly, simply press CTRL – S on your keyboard (CMD – S for Mac).
Tip #2 – Double or Halve a Loop
To quickly double or halve the length of a loop, you can press CTRL – ↑ or ↓ on your keyboard (CMD – ↑ or ↓ if you’re on a Mac).
Tip #3 – Play Only the Active Selection
Sometimes you want to play only a single part of your track while editing.
To do this, you can select the part you want to hear and press ALT – Spacebar on your keyboard. Only the selected portion of the track will play.
Tip #4 – Quickly Resume Playback
To quickly resume playback of your track without the mouse, you can press Shift – Spacebar.
Ableton Live Shortcut Keys Pdf
Tip #5 – Finely Move MIDI Tracks and Parameters
Adjusting a MIDI track so it lines up just the way you want can be difficult.
To make it so it only moves in very fine increments, press and hold CTRL while you drag it with your cursor. This same trick works when adjusting parameters.
Tip #6 – Delete Time
While editing you may have to delete a chunk of time. To do this quick, you can press CTRL – Shift – Delete (CMD – Shift – Delete if you’re using a Mac).
Tip #7 – Quickly Resize the Current Grid
Many times, you’ll want to resize the grid you are using. To do this on the fly, hold CTRL (CMD on Mac) and press a number from 1 through 4 on the keypad.
Tip #8 – Toggle Draw Mode when Editing MIDIs
When making music, you’ll be working a lot with MIDIs. To quickly toggle draw mode while editing a MIDI, simply press B on your keyboard.
Ableton Live 10 Shortcuts – More Tricks
Ableton is a massive music editing program. It takes a long time to get a firm grasp on all the various tools.
Knowing some tricks can make your time editing tracks a lot simpler.
So below you’ll find this list of links to useful videos.
They will show you how to master the same tricks used by well versed Ableton users, Certified Ableton Trainers and professional producers using Ableton Live 10.
10 Ableton Tricks and Tips
Top 10 Audio Effect Tricks with k-pizza
10 Ableton Tips, Tricks & Strategies by Seri
8 MIDI Effect Tips & Tricks in Ableton
10 Tips To Help You Master Live’s Drum Rack
Ableton Tutorial: Automation Line Tricks & Tips
Ableton Live Tips and Tricks – Deleting and Duplicating Time
Tips & Tricks: Ableton Live Automation
11 Ableton Tips Every Producer Should Know
10 Ableton Live Tips You Can’t Afford to Miss
Ableton Live 10 Shortcuts – Videos
If you’re interested to see how Ableton shortcuts work in action, or if you prefer a more visual way of learning them, then videos are a great resource.
We’ve put together a list of YouTube videos that will show and teach you a lot of cool and helpful shortcuts.
Ableton Live 10 – Top 10 New Features And Shortcuts
Live 10: Arrangement View Keyboard Shortcuts
Live 10: General Keyboard Shortcuts
The 20 Essential Ableton Shortcuts
10 Ableton Workflow Tips And Shortcuts
Ableton Live – Top Ten Shortcuts
Ableton Live – 10 Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know
Ableton Live 10 has been out for a couple of months now. Beyond the incredible new Wavetable synth, Multi MIDI Clip editing, the Capture feature, awesome effects and everything else there were a ton of workflow improvements too. While some of them felt a bit awkward to get the hang of after spending so much time in the early versions of Live, within a month or so I've found the changes to be genuinely useful and very welcome!
I figured I would share my top 10 shortcuts in Ableton Live 10 to help you speed up your workflow and get you more time for the fun part… producing good music!
This set of shortcuts focuses on the Arrangement View in Live. Though some of them are applicable to Session View, not all of them are.
1 - Toggle Automation Mode – A (Windows / Max)
This is by far my most used keyboard shortcut in Live 10. I love it. Pressing A on the keyboard hides and/or reveals automation lines for you tracks.
It also does the same for the clip fade handles too. Hiding one will reveal the other which is one reason this shortcut had to be added. Having those fades right on the edge of the clip at the click of one key is awesome too!
2 - Split Clip at Selection – CTRL + E (Windows) CMD + E (Mac)
This little shortcut blows my mind. I used to have to highlight a section of audio, then click it and drag it a little to the left or right, and then drop it back down in its original place to make a section. This process would have to be done over and over again. But now, just select then CTRL + E and boom goes the dynamite.
3 - Zoom to Arrangement Time Selection – Z (Windows / Mac)
Highlight a section of your tune and press Z. Live will zoom in and focus on that part for you instantly. No more clicking and dragging up and down on the top of the timeline. Another huge time saver that I find myself using all the time.
4 - Full Zoom Out – Shift + Z (Windows / Mac)
This shortcut goes hand-in-hand with the last one. This will zoom you all the way out. It will also fold (collapse) any channels you have unfolded giving you the biggest picture you can get.
Also, a bonus shortcut while we are on the subject, the S key (Windows / Mac) will fold all your channels without zooming out letting you see more of the channels of larger projects.
5 - Reverse Audio Clip Selection – R (Windows / Mac)
Ableton Shortcuts Pdf
Reversing audio files is something that I personally do a lot in my projects. I used to have to highlight the audio clip and move the cursor all the way down to the sample panel and hit the Rev button. Now, simply press R and move forward. Brilliant!
6 - Activate / Deactivate Computer MIDI Keyboard – M (Windows / Mac)
Because of all these glorious new shortcuts the Computer MIDI Keyboard isn’t activated by default anymore. But it does have its own shortcut. Simply hit M and you’ll activate it, then M again to turn it off.
7 - Arrow Keys to Nudge / Move Clips – Left / Right (Windows / Mac)
If you have a clip, or multiple clips or your whole project selected you can now hit the left or right arrow keys to shift those clips in the timeline. The jumps will happen by the current grid size. Below are a couple of bonus shortcuts for you that will help you utilize this one above better.
- Command / Control + 1 to Narrow the Grid
- Command / Control + 2 to Widen the Grid
- Command / Control + 3 for the Triplet Grid
8 - Temporarily Bypass Snapping While Dragging – Alt (Windows) CMD (Mac)
Another great feature new in Live 10 is when moving automation points they snap to the grid. However, you might not always want that. Simply press and hold Alt (Windows) / CMD (Mac) to temporarily bypass the snapping feature for the duration the key is pressed. This also works for moving audio and MIDI clips in the timeline as well.
9 - 2 New Ways for Working with Clips in the Arrangement
First, you to change the segment BPM of the clip. With automation lines hidden, hold shift and click the upper part of the clip’s waveform at either end of the clip. Before clicking you should see a bracket when you are near the edge, then when you press shift the bracket should get an arrow next to it. This allows you to adjust the segment BPM for that clip. This is helpful for double or half time changes or getting creative and unexpected results.
Second, you to change the clip’s Loop bar. With automation lanes hidden, hold Ctrl/CMD + Shift + click on the waveform in the clip and drag left or right. This will adjust the loop length and position for that clip.
10 - While Renaming, Go to next Track – Tab (Windows / Mac)
This is absolutely brilliant. Have you ever just gone down the rabbit hole and made a project with 30+ channels and didn’t have the time to name a single one? Then, stepping back for a moment you remember how important naming channels can be. Well now you can rename them all in a breeze.
First, you should know the shortcut for renaming anything in Live. That’s Ctrl/CMD + R
If you rename channel one for example, instead of hitting enter to cement the change and exit renaming mode, you can now hit Tab and jump to the next channel and rename it too. You can do that all the way down your project. This has already saved me a ton of time!
These are just a few of my favorites. There were a lot more added to the update. I can’t recommend enough that you go and read Ableton’s shortcut help document and see what else there is to be discovered. Perhaps there is something not listed here that is perfect for your workflow!!