$Page Playing Software Instruments 
$TargetName Playing Software Instruments

In this lesson we'll learn how to use Live's MIDI capabilities to play its built-in software instruments, as well as any VST or Audio Units instruments that are installed on your computer.

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*Live's documents are known as Live Sets. This lesson is accompanied by a Live Set which you'll be interacting with as you follow the lesson. Whenever you're ready, please click $Link here <Set:/Sets/Playing Software Instruments.als> to load the Live Set.*
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Live's built-in instruments and effects are accessible through the *browser,* which is located in the upper-left section of the application window. You can open and close the browser using its Show/Hide button:
BrowserShowHide.png


Please click the *Next Page* button below to proceed.

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$Page Instruments in the Browser 
$TargetName Instruments in the Browser

The instruments and effects in the browser are grouped into categories using labels. Click on a label to view the items in it.

You can use your computer keyboard's arrow keys for quick navigation:

-> The *up* and *down* arrow keys will move the selection up and down;
-> The *right* arrow key will open folders, and the *left* arrow key will close them. The right and left arrows will also move between the labels and their contents.

Click the *Sounds* label to access Live's collection of Instrument Rack presets:
SoundsLabel.png

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$Page Loading a Sound
$TargetName Loading a Sound

We're going to load a sound.

Within the Sounds label, open the "Piano and Keys" folder and select the "Grand Piano" preset:
GrandPianoPreset.png

To load a preset, drag it to the right, holding it over the Arrangement track *2 MIDI.* The mouse cursor will change to indicate that the preset can be dropped into this track:
DragPreset.png

After releasing the mouse button, you'll see the new preset appear in the *Device View* at the bottom of the application window:
PresetInDeviceView.png

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$Page Playing the Instrument via MIDI 
$TargetName Playing the Instrument via MIDI

In order to play the software instrument, we first need to make sure that its track is *armed.* This normally happens automatically when an instrument is inserted, but you can do it manually by clicking on the track's *Arm* button in the track mixer:
ArmButtonInst.png

Arming the track accomplishes two things:

-> It allows the track to receive MIDI notes from an external MIDI keyboard (or, in the absence of an external device, your computer keyboard, as we'll see in a moment).
-> It record-enables the track, allowing you to record what you play at any time.

If you have a MIDI keyboard connected to your computer, then go ahead and play a few notes now. You should hear the instrument as you play, and this should be reflected by the *input* and *output meters* which enclose the instrument in the Device View:
DeviceViewMeters.png

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$Page Using the Computer Keyboard 
$TargetName Using the Computer Keyboard

If you don't have a MIDI keyboard available, you can use your computer's keyboard instead. To do this, make sure that the *Computer MIDI Keyboard* switch in the upper-right corner of the screen is enabled:
ComputerMIDIKeyboard.png

-> The letter keys in the upper row of the keyboard (QWER...) will play the black piano keys;
-> Those in the center row (ASDF...) will play the white keys;
-> The *Z* and *X* keys will transpose the range of the computer MIDI keyboard;
-> The *C* and *V* keys will change the velocity, or intensity, of the notes that you play.

The *Status Bar* at the bottom of the application window will provide feedback when pressing the transpose or velocity keys:
StatusBarOctave.png


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*Note:* The keys of your computer keyboard can also be mapped to arbitrary controls in Live, as described in the Reference Manual's "MIDI and Key Remote Control" section.

Keep in mind that all I/O from your computer's keyboard is mediated by the computer's operating system, not Live. Because of this, the computer MIDI keyboard is best suited for auditioning sounds; an external keyboard or control surface should be used whenever more precise tactile input is needed.

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$Page Saving Presets 
$TargetName Saving Presets

Perhaps you've adjusted the sound's parameters and created a sound that you want to save for later? You can save the sound's current settings at any time by clicking the *Save Preset* button in the device's title bar:
PresetSaveButtonInst.png

The new preset will appear in your *User Library,* highlighted and ready to be renamed:
NewPresetInst.png

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$Page Hot-Swapping Presets 
$TargetName Hot-Swapping Presets

Live's library provides a great variety of sounds, so whenever you feel like exploring another preset, simply press the *Q* key on your computer keyboard or click on the *Hot-Swap Presets* button in the device's title bar:
BrowseButtonInst.png

The preset last chosen will appear highlighted in the browser, and an orange banner at the top of the browser will show that you're in Hot-Swap mode:
HotSwapBanner.png

By pressing the Hot-Swap Presets button, we have created a temporary link between the browser and the device in the Device View. Selecting a preset and then double-clicking on it or hitting the *Enter/Return* key on your keyboard will replace the previously loaded sound with the new one.

Once you've found a sound which suits you, you can exit Hot-Swap Mode either by pressing your computer keyboard's *Q* key again or by pressing the *Esc* key. Alternatively, you can click the close button in the Hot-Swap bar at the top of the browser or in the device's title bar.

The browser also offers a convenient search function that will find presets by keyword. For example, to find all bass sounds, click the Sounds label. Then click in the search field and type "bass":
BrowserSearch.png

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$Page Using External Plug-Ins 
$TargetName Using External Plug-Ins

Live's built-in instruments and effects can be complemented by third-party plug-ins in VST or Audio Units (Mac only) formats. Using plug-ins is very similar to using the built-in devices. To insert a plug-in instrument, first click the *Plug-Ins* label:
PluginBrowserSelector.png

*Note:* You might have to activate Live's plug-in support if you are using plug-ins for the first time. You can do this in the Plug-In Sources section of Live's $Link Plug-Ins Preferences <Pref:Plugins>.

Any third-party plug-ins that you have installed will be now be shown. Instrument plug-ins can be differentiated from effect plug-ins by the tiny *piano keys* that occupy the lower half of their Browser icon:
PluginBrowserInst.png

Just as with Live's devices, select an instrument and drag it into a MIDI track. The plug-in's *custom editor window* will open automatically. In the Device View, plug-in devices are shown with an assignable *X-Y grid:*
PlugInDeviceView.png

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$Page The Metronome 
$TargetName The Metronome

Before we finish this lesson, let's take a quick look at how to record your performance into the *Arrangement,* which is Live's multitrack tape recorder.

It is important to record in sync to ensure that everything will later play in sync. The easiest way to record in sync is to use the built-in *metronome,* which is activated via its Control Bar switch. You'll find it in the upper-left corner of the application window:
MetronomeSwitch.png

The metronome ticks when Live is playing. Press the *space bar* to start playback, then adjust the metronome's volume using the Master track's *Cue Volume* control:
CueVolume.png

Press the *space bar* again to stop.

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$Page Recording and Playback 
$TargetName Recording and Playback

Our next steps will start the recording process. Our MIDI track is already record-enabled - we activated its Arm button earlier so that Live would respond to MIDI notes:
ArmButtonInst.png

Press the Control Bar's *Stop* button twice to reset the Arrangement position to *1.1.1:*
StopButton.png

Next, press the adjacent *Arrangement Record* button. (This is probably familiar to those of you who have used multitrack tape machines: Individual tracks can be armed for recording, then the Arrangement Record button enables recording for those armed tracks.)
RecordButton.png

Recording will begin as soon as you press the Arrangement Record button.

As recording progresses, you'll see a new *MIDI clip* being created in the track:
ArrangementMIDIClipRecording.png

To stop recording, press the Stop button. Press it a second time to reset the Arrangement to *1.1.1,* then listen to your performance by pressing the Play button (or use the *space bar* on your computer's keyboard.)
PlayButton.png

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*Hint:* To scroll the view backward or forward, or to zoom in or out, grab the *beat-time ruler* along the top of the Arrangement with the mouse and drag left, right, up or down.
ArrangementBeatTimeRuler.png

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$Page Looking Inside the Clip 
$TargetName Looking Inside the Clip

There are lots of things you can do with your newly recorded clip.

*Arrange* the clip with respect to others in a song: You can grab the clip by its title bar to move it to a different position, drag the clip's sides to change its length and more.
ClipTitleBarInst.png

*Edit* the clip's contents and settings: To see the contents of your new clip, double-click its title bar - the MIDI notes contained within the clip will appear in the *Clip View* at the bottom of the application window.
MIDIEditorInst.png

To toggle between the Device View, where the instrument and the effects reside, and the Clip View, which shows the MIDI clip's details, either hold *$ShiftMod* then press *Tab,* or click on one of the corresponding overviews at the bottom of the application window:
DetailOverviewsInst.png

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$Page Editing Notes 
$TargetName Editing Notes

The *MIDI Note Editor* has its own beat-time ruler, which can be used for zooming and scrolling horizontally, just like in the Arrangement. You can also click and drag in the *note ruler* area to the left of the *piano roll* to zoom and scroll the editor vertically:
MIDIEditorScrollAreas.png

You can select and move notes in the MIDI Note Editor using your mouse - to do so, make sure the *Draw Mode* is switched off in the Control Bar:
DrawModeSwitch.png

You can also move groups of notes by dragging a selection box around them:
SelectingVelocities.png

Each note has its own *velocity* marker at the bottom of the MIDI Note Editor. This marker denotes *note velocity* - the intensity with which it is played. Velocities can also be changed by clicking and dragging:
VelocityEditorInst.png


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$Page Where to Go from Here? 
$TargetName Where to Go from Here?

In this lesson, you learned how to select sounds, play software instruments and record MIDI notes. Using the principles demonstrated in this simple recording setup, you could go on recording, adding any number of tracks, each containing a different set of sounds. Use the commands in the Create menu to create additional tracks.

We highly recommend that you continue with the additional lessons to learn what else is possible with Live. Click the Home button at the top of the Help View to return to the list of basic lessons.

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