Tools

Ableton Move: A guide to its key features, workflows, and more

If you’re keen to learn about Ableton’s newest standalone instrument and hear it in action, you’ve come to the right place.

In the tutorial video above, we go over everything you need to know about Ableton Move, discussing a wide array of topics including its layout, stock instruments, drum sampler, arpeggiator, and more. We also demonstrate how to load samples using these french house samples from the Synthetic Pulse sample pack, and showcase how you can also record your own samples with its built-in microphone or line-in input.

Follow along for an in-depth look, and see high-level features summarize below.

What is Ableton Move?

Ableton describes Move as their latest standalone tool for ‘instinctive music making.’ Focusing on empowering you to quickly capture inspiration as it comes, Move features a simple pad-based layout, built-in processor, speaker, and microphone that make it ideal for on-the-go production; its battery enables around four hours of use on a single charge.

Key features of Ableton Move

While we go over a more detailed list of bells and whistles in our tutorial above, below are some of the key features that define Ableton Move.

  • Tactile control: Move comes with 32 backlit pads and nine touch-sensitive, endless rotary encoders. Each pad responds to pressure independently, giving you nuanced control over the movement and depth of your tracks.
  • Four flexible tracks: Speaking of which—Move features four tracks that can be stacked to create a simple arrangement that you can then bring into the DAW for further exploration. You can use the tracks for its built-in drum kit or synthesizer, or import sounds of your own.
  • Built-in sounds: With over 1,500 samples, presets, and drum one-shots from Ableton’s expert sound design team, Move offers a surprisingly massive range for sonic expression despite its compact appearance.
  • MIDI control: Thanks to its seamless integration with Ableton Live’s interface and workflow, Move can also serve as a MIDI controller for the DAW. What’s more, its Wi-Fi connectivity allows you to easily transfer Sets to Ableton Live with Ableton Cloud and Move Manager.

Keep learning

And there you have it! If you’re an avid Ableton user, be sure to also check out our category page for more tips, tutorials, and walkthroughs.

Do you have any questions on how to use Ableton Move? What other tools and topics would you like to see us cover next? Let us know in the comments section off the video, and subscribe to the Splice YouTube channel for more.

Explore the Synthetic Pulse sample pack from Discotheque:

Explore the sounds

December 6, 2024

Harrison Shimazu

Harrison Shimazu is a composer, content strategist, and writer who’s passionate about democratizing music creation and education. He leads the Splice blog and produces vocaloid music as Namaboku.