Ableton has released Note, a new iOS app designed specifically for the early stages of the music-making process. Note offers multiple musical starting points with drum kits, melodic instruments and synth sounds. Music-makers can also create their own sound palette by recording the world around them into Note’s sampler instruments.

Although Ableton has long explored iOS Apps, with several in development that never saw the light of day, it took them 15 years to actually debut one. The core concept behind Note is to utilize the app to generate song ideas that you can then transfer to Ableton Live via their Cloud architecture. After all this time, the letdown with Note is that it actually doesn’t bring anything truly new that hasn’t been achieved with other iOS apps, besides the transfer of ideas into their flagship digital audio workstation.

Ableton Note

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Here’s how Ableton envisions Note to be used:

Begin with a beat – Note features 56 Drum Sampler kits to use on the 16-pad grid. Loose timing can be fixed by quantizing, or nudging individual notes. Additional layers of rhythm can be added, along with beat repetitions using Note Repeat. Sounds can be shaped by changing the parameters or adding effects.

Start with a melody – Music-makers can choose from 261 synth sounds and 36 Melodic Sampler instruments, which can be played polyphonically using the 25-pad grid or the piano roll. Instantly harmonic results can be achieved by setting a key. More layers of harmony can be added by overdubbing, and the sound can be shaped by tweaking parameters or adding effects.

Sample the world – Bespoke drum kits and melodic instruments can be created by recording percussive or tonal sounds into Note’s Drum Sampler and Melodic Sampler. The samples can then be manipulated through cutting, filtering or re-pitching, and further transformed by adding effects.

Capture improvisations – There’s no need for music-makers to press record before they start playing. By pressing the Capture button after playing something, Note will detect the tempo and length of the phrase and automatically create a loop.

Create variations – Note features a grid-based Session View layout where users can experiment with different layer combinations and song structures. Loops can be doubled to create variation within clips, and clips can be duplicated to create different versions of ideas. Session View can then be exported as an audio file to listen to and share with friends or collaborators.

Continue in Live – Music-makers can use Ableton Cloud to send their Note Sets directly to Live without ever leaving the app. Sets from Note appear in Live’s browser with all sounds, samples and effects in place and fully editable.

Ableton Note Features:

Play your way — Choose between the 25-pad melody grid or piano roll to play melodies, and play beats using the 16-pad percussion grid or single velocity pad.

Capture MIDI — Play at a tempo that feels comfortable to you, and Note will restore what you played and create a loop – no need to press record beforehand. Three different modes allow you to start from scratch, create additional clips, and overdub notes.

Work with loops — Quickly create variations by copying your loop and make small changes to each version. Isolate and loop a segment to hone in on the details, then bring back the whole loop to hear it in context.

Fix mistakes — Correct any timing issues by quantizing the notes you played or by nudging selected notes. Delete any accidental extra notes, or those you’d like to play in again. Change the velocity of your notes, and correct any tonal issues by transposing your notes by semitones or octaves.

Automation Capture — Animate your sound by automating instrument and effect parameters. Simply tweak a parameter and press “add” to capture your movements.

Note Repeat — Play repeated notes in time, or create rapid trap-style rhythmic patterns. Choose a note subdivision on the strip, then hold the pads or keys for as long as you want the note to repeat. Slide up and down the velocity pad to change the velocity.

Sample your environment — Create your own sounds and kits by recording up to 60 seconds of audio into Note’s Percussion Sampler and Melodic Sampler using your phone’s microphone. Cut, filter, repitch or add audio effects to transform your sampled sounds.

Sound library — Note comes with a collection of presets, samples and kits to play with. Sketch with them as is, or tweak them to your taste by changing parameters, adding effects, and automating changes.

Audio effects — Shape your sound using Live’s Chorus-Ensemble, Delay, Phaser-Flanger, Redux, Reverb, Saturator and Channel EQ effects. Add up to two effects on Melodic Sampler or synth instruments, and one send and one insert on drum kits.

Session View — Combine, duplicate, and arrange your ideas to try out different structures in Note’s Session View. You can use eight tracks with up to eight clips each, on eight scenes. Then export your audio to share with friends or collaborators.

Ableton Cloud — Send your Note Set to Live using Ableton Cloud. Open your project in Live’s browser and pick up where you left off with all your sounds, samples and effects in place.

Ableton Link — Keep Note in time with other devices over a local network using built-in Ableton Link.

Ableton’s Note is available now for iPhone and iPad and costs €6.99 / $5.99/ £4.99.