User Manual

CHAPTER 4. LIVE CONCEPTS 26
4.11 Automation Envelopes
Often, when working with Live's mixer and effects, you will want the controls' movements
to become part of the Arrangement. The movement of a control across the Arrangement
timeline is called automation; a control whose value changes in the course of this timeline is
automated. Automation is represented in the Arrangement View by breakpoint envelopes,
which can be edited and drawn.
The Automated Pan
Control and its
Envelope.
Practically all mixer and effect controls in Live can be automated, even the song tempo.
Creating automation is straightforward: All changes of a control that occur while the Control
Bar's Record switch is on become automation.
Changing an automated control's value while not in Record Mode is similar to launching a
Session clip while the Arrangement is playing: It deactivates the control's automation (in
favor of the new control setting). The control will stop tracking its automation and rest
with the new value until the Back to Arrangement button is pressed, which will resume
Arrangement playback.
4.12 Clip Envelopes
Envelopes are found not only in tracks but also in clips. Clip envelopes are used to modulate
device and mixer controls. Audio clips have, in addition, clip envelopes to inuence the
clip's pitch, volume and more; these can be used to change the melody and rhythm of
recorded audio. MIDI clips have additional clip envelopes to represent MIDI controller
data. Clip envelopes can be unlinked from the clip to give them independent loop settings,
so that larger movements (like fade-outs) or smaller gestures (like an arpeggio) can be
superimposed onto the clip's material.