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Bundle - House Production with Ableton Push

Bundle - House Production with Ableton Push

Product information "Bundle - House Production with Ableton Push"

Get the lowdown on creating House Music using Ableton's award winning Push, with one of the most respected producers of the last decade: Paul Maddox. With numerous releases under his own name and co-productions as one half of Spektre, on labels like Data, Positiva, Tidy and Viscious, his tracks have seen support from revered DJs such as Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin and James Zabiela. 

In the bundle version of his hugely popular three part series, Paul shows a hands-on approach to making music, using Ableton's revolutionary control surface. To begin, he creates pumping drum tracks and funky bass lines using a variety of techniques and modes on the Push. Then he sequences and edits the melodic parts by slicing vocals and using Push's scale mode and step sequencer for chord and synth lines. 

To complete the track, Paul creates new device macros with intuitive settings, mapped to Push's controllers, before arranging the track in real time. He finally adds the finishing touches by recording parameter automation that keeps the soundscape fluid and builds up the excitement, whilst the solid beats pump underneath. 

Accompanying the lessons are three download packs containing over 180MB of House samples in total, courtesy of Loopmasters, giving you the tools to add exciting sounds to your own arrangements, as well as the Live set from the course. Before signing up, check out the sample module and track from the course, located on the media tab.

genres: House
skills: Track Production
software: Ableton Live

House Production with Ableton Push Part I by Paul Maddox

Course Contents

In this lesson, Paul loads a 909 kit into track 1 and then uses Push's step sequencer to program the drums, laying down the kick, snare, hats and other percussion that's added to inject character and life into the beat. As well as showing how to process the drums from Push, Paul shows a few different ways of adding shuffle and a natural sound to the groove.

Module 1 - Programming the Main Drum Track

In this lesson, Paul shows how to take slices from a live drum loop and layer them with the main drums, as well as add some additional percussion, demonstrating some other ways that Push can be used to program drums. He then creates and edits some new clips, to start building fills and variations to the beat.

Module 2 - Adding Extra Drums and Percussion

The third lesson on the course tackles how to mix the drums, looking at balancing and adding a number of different effects, including EQ, reverb and compression.

Module 3 - Drum Mixing

This final lesson shows how to add a bassline using Push, by first creating the bass sound with Live's Operator, using FM to add some nice texture to the patch, and then by playing in a cool pattern with the pads. The sound is then processed and the pattern edited to complete the 8-bar sequence.

Module 4 - Adding a Bassline

Making Melodic Parts for House with Push by Paul Maddox

Course Contents

In this lesson, Paul takes a vocal sample and demonstrates how to slice it up and map it to the drum rack, then plays it along to the existing beats and bass from House Production Part I, to liven up the track. He then demonstrates how to edit the vocal from the hardware, and adds FX to create variations in the timing and panning of the loop.

Slicing and Editing a Vocal

Paul shows how to load a synth patch and change the scale on the note grid. He then discusses the chord shapes and patterns and how to utilise note grid intuitively, then creates a catchy chord pattern that interacts with the bass-line and shows how to vary it during the track, before demonstrating the use of MIDI and audio effects to thicken the texture and sit the sound in the mix.

Creating and Programming Chords using Note Grid

In this lesson, Paul adds a plucked melodic synth, using Analog in Live. He demonstrates how to take the default patch and alter the settings to create a punchier, filtered sound. He then shows how to use the melodic step sequencer to create a hypnotic pattern, then adds effects and variations. Finally, he discusses the use of quantisation, and subtly alters the sequence so it compliments the other melodies whilst adding an extra dimension.

Using the Melodic Step Sequencer to Create Patterns

Arranging Techniques with Push by Paul Maddox

PlaceholderPaul Maddox
Paul Maddox

Paul has been at the forefront of hard dance consistently since he was dubbed 'one of clubland's hottest properties' at the tender age of 16. Since then, he has continued to be one of the most respected producers on the scene, going under a number of successful guises, such as Abandon, Azure, O.G.R, Barely Legal (with Guyver) and Olive Grooves, and has collaborated on dozens of all-conquering anthems with the biggest and best in hard dance music. Collaboration with Filthy Rich on their Spektre project has seen his work released on Renaissance and Umek compilations, with support from DJs such as Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin, Dubfire and James Zabiela. With a wealth of professional production and DJing experience, a passion for teaching and a highly technical knowledge of Ableton Live, Paul's courses are packed with useful tips and tricks to take your house and techno tracks to the next level.

Course Contents

In this module, Paul gives a recap of the project and then explains some of the different button modes for launching clips.

Recap and Session View Launching Modes

This module shows how to create and organise scenes, in order to work out sections of a track, from which the entire arrangement can be created.

Creating Scenes

In this module, Paul maps device macros and sets up some new effects, which are then ready to be automated, for adding extra interest and movement to the arrangement.

Setting Up Automation Parameters

Paul uses his prepared scenes to lay down the basic track sections by recording them into Arrangement view and then editing them.

Recording the Arrangement

Parameter automation is added to various parts, to create tonal and atmospheric shifts that help sounds develop in breakdowns and main groove sections.

Adding Automation