The Best Ableton 11 Beginner Guide (in 17 Minutes) 

I'm nearly 60 and never really attempted making music since my teens but I had this compulsion so I bought myself a Novation Controller recently which comes with Ableton Live and after just ten minutes of your video I've been able to start making the music I have in my head. Thanks so much for breaking it down.

One of the best tutorials I have watched. "Stop making excuses and start making music" . Excellent advice

Absolutely insanely good tutorial. The true measure of understanding something is how well you can teach it simply to anyone, and this guy gets it for sure

Been trying to learn Ableton for years since Live 9 and you just taught me more in one video than anyone else! Thanks!

I rarely ever comment, however, I had to for this video. I had just woken up from an overwhelmed stress nap after binging Ableton tutorials all day. From frustration, to confusion, to anger, to annoyance I have finally stumbled upon you. A true teacher. Something about your voice, the dimly lit setting with you in your white relaxed button down shirt. From the way you explain and display. You are a life force and savior. Thank you. Truly an Abelton Shaman.

Been using ableton for about 10 years now. Still found a lot of value here 🙏

‘stop making excuses and start making music’ excellent advice and motivation. Exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you!

You're an awesome teacher

This was very helpful. I just started using Ableton and I have been confused, but this clarified a good portion of my confusion. Now I can start creatively flowing.

God bless you more for this great content I've been an FL studio user for 11yrs and hoping to start using Ableton live fully. This tutorial is an eye opener for a first time user... Happy creating

Incredibly well done. Your teaching skills are better than any other tutorials Ive seen. Thank you for inspiring me to continue.

You are such an amazing teacher! Thank you for making all of these complex concepts much easier to digest!

Having only just started in Ableton after a 15 year break of writing music, this has been an absolute god send of information, especially the CMD-J consolidate feature. Great work Ethan!!

This really helped me transition from my previous DAW to Ableton. There aren't many differences so far, makes me feel like my hard work has actually been worth something. Thanks for the intro!

ahh finally a true beginner tutorial, clear, concise, slow and I love the subtitle/topic highlights. thank you so much!

I just found your account and this is the first video of yours I’ve watched. I found all of it extremely helpful but really sincerely appreciated when you said to stop making excuses, and start making music. I’ve been trying to learn for a year now, I’d had Ableton and my MIDI keyboard for months and just haven’t started learning how to use them until this past week. I’ll be watching so many more of your videos. I applied for another producers 6 week course and they’re going to call me tomorrow but now I’m not even sure I need that anymore. Thanks for breaking it all down so easy, as far as how to zoom in and out. I found it all to be extremely useful!! Thank you!

That was so awesome. It definitely made me feel more comfortable about getting this software to start this journey and I couldn’t be more excited! Also the “I pay rent, I deserve to be here”… iconic🤣😭😭😭

Seriously, this is the best, most comprehensive tutorial in plain language I've seen. Thank you for everything you're sharing. Much respect!

I love Ableton so much. I started producing 3 years ago and when you first start, it is VERY intimidating and seems like learning a new language but once you become fluent, there's no better DAW out there. Objectively so.

So glad I found this after watching several tutorials that were all way too complexe and technical for a true beginner. Thanks pal

Man, this has to be the best approach to learning ableton that i have ever seen...thanks Ethan, very very helpfull tutorial...you inspire me dude😁🙏

This is such an amazing intro - SO much clearer than the native Abelton tutorials. Thank you!

Transitioning from Fl to Ableton has never been easier thanks to this video helping me 💜

I have been using Ableton for a bit now made 2 songs, I really love your videos and your energy I stayed and listened to the end you have really helped me a lot! Please don't stop making these videos 💙

As you grow your channel, you should put timestamps on your videos for your tips, so they're easy to find. As an avid youtuber I find these immensely helpful. Great video though, for someone whose just getting into DAWs I really appreciate the small things that make a big difference in workflow.

Ive watched countless tutorials on DAWS for years and this is the best tutorial I've ever watched! Clear, to the point, and very informative! Thank you!!

I've used Logic for the past ~10 years so I'm familiar with DAWs, but not Ableton. This was a perfect "foot in the door" tutorial. Appreciate it

I just hopped over from Reason to Ableton and your beginners guide for getting used to the UI and Hotkeys is gold. Thank you!

really nice video thanks. this is one of the only ones that genuinely gets you going, and in a way that kicks tedium at the gate, so you actually get some momentum. sharing some stuff from the beginner's perspective: - 5:58 would be ideal to see how to get the snare track on the track first b/c i wanted to go along w/ you. - it would be dope in the beginning to show how to trigger the sound like when you are toggling dry/wet so we can do that with you too

I am 16:51 in the market to purchase a new DAW. This is the best overview video I have watched on this program. You have absolutely sold this to me from it’s usability to its depth of functions. What an awesome video, thank you!

Teaching is a skill you can add to you repertoire for sure. This was 10/10 thank you!

i literally love you. i watched your "how to mix" vid and fell in love with this daw. its so easy and complete for me (i just do vocal covers so this is enough). tysm for your help!!!

I’ve been clunkily using Ableton for months but learned a lot from this vid and am so glad I watched it! Thank you

Everytime when i got overwhelmed you comforted me 🥰

One of the best and beginner friendly tutorials of any DAW's i have ever watched; thanks man. Thanks alot

Thank you Ethan. I've had Ableton Live 11 and have been staring at it for a long time with utter confusion, My next step was buying a book but my ADHD got in the way. Your video was 17 minutes, I learned so much that I can now get started. Much appreciated!! By the way, I watched it again and took notes.

You're Amazing. Just Made The Switch From FL Studio To Ableton Live. I've Tried Different DAWS And FL Studio Was Always Easier For Me Until I Got Ableton. Now I'm Just Learning The Ins And Outs And This Video Was EXTREMELY Informative

Hey man, hundreds of great comments already, but I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your teaching style. It sounds silly to use words like Intuitive and Organic, but as someone who used to teach air traffic for a living I really appreciate you and what you do here in so many ways.

I'm switching to Ableton and this was the only tutorial that I was able to finish. Thank you for the great content! Subscribed

Awesome tutorial! I really appreciate the way you explain everything and the tutorial "scheme" (introduction, body and conclusion for each part of what you were talking about). Seams like you gave a lot of effort to make it that clear simple. Also the video editing is great btw.

After reading through nearly 300pages of a 800+page manual I was still confused but this vid just opened up a new ball game for me.. simple, clear and informative.. guess my learning style is not reading but seeing it in action. Thank you for this video

Dude, you have broken down ableton so neatly and clear, definitely subscribing and going to watch all your stuff! Thanks brotha!

I want to be your friend! So happy, I was getting discouraged but your smile and light hearted way of teaching is everything! Great job!

I saved this video as the bible. You're an amazing teacher. It's noticable that you explain to make others understand, and not to brag about how much you know. Thank u so much for sharing your knowledge

Absolutely insanely good tutorial. The true measure of understanding something is how well you can teach it simply to anyone, and this guy gets it for sure You are such an amazing teacher! Thank you for making all of these complex concepts much easier to digest! i love u to add on 😍

This was super helpful and definitely the best 17 minute beginner guide. :)

This is so helpful. I appreciate that you get right to the point and understand the level of details we need as beginners.

After searching endlessly trying to find tutorials on how to use this! I am glad I found your video very helpful

a very clear and complete tutorial for someone who is absolutely baffled by the 100's of options in these types of software. I got myself a launchpad but was stunned by the software so kind of stuck to that demo software thats on there besides ableton

My first Ableton tutorial 😁. And I love it already 😍🍻

This was an excellent intro into the software. I have been using other DAWs sporadically but this will give me a useful base of skills which I can then have the smaller nuances built on for this tool.

Just getting into recording guitar, just barely started learning to play the guitar a year ago, this video is very helpful. Thank you so much.

Dude! I've been trying to figure out Ableton since the first releases and I give up every time. I finally get it. Shot!

how has this guy not hit 100k yet, I'm new to ableton but learning so much from him

What a truly fantastic video. Simple but thorough, encouraging and chilled. With a nice little message at the end. Thank you 🙏

Getting into music production and this video tutorial is super simple to learn the basics. Thank you Ethan!!

I have looked at a lot of tutorials with no joy. You are a good teacher

You have created the best tutorial ive seen. I actually feel like i understand ableton!!! Thank you for your time and effort in making this. Ive just shelled out 10k on three CDJ3000s and an A9, i now need my own tunes to play so i can take over the DJing world!!!!!!!!!

This helped me immensely in explaining some basic essential tools, thank you! Being new to this DAW it has been overwhelming to learn but this laid things out in a simple & easy way, would definitely look at purchasing your course.

Awesome tutorial! I really appreciate how simple you make it. Thanks.

This is by far the BEST ableton tutorial I have seen!!!! AWESOME JOB!!!!!

Man, I was looking for someone to teach me how to make music in a good and simple way like you. Thank you very much, from Egypt

I'm just starting with Ableton. This is the best tutorial I've seen so far! Thank you! ❤

I'm just getting back into producing after being out of it for 20 years. I had some experience with Fruity Loops, but was referred to Ableton by a friend. I have tried to get into it several times, but only met frustration. This video helped me so much. Thank you.

This was probably the best Ableton RU-vid video I've ever seen. Do you think you will be putting out more Ableton videos for beginners like this one?

I’m 51 And I’ve been DJing since I was 12. I took a 17 year hiatus from 1999-2016 and the year prior, my D1 RB son, decided to quit football and became an Emcee. His music is Incredible, so don’t get me wrong, but he’s supposed to be in the NFL. Not GOD’s Plan🤷🏽‍♂️ Anyway, I e produced tracks in the past for friends using my verbiage and sounds by mouth and they’ve been used for major artists. Here’s the problem, I Never knew how to put my ideas into song structure by myself, nor be able to use the beat machines, software Etc. I even attended Full Sail University, Online though, and I learned certain things, but nothing for me to get myself started with production. This Tutorial that you just gave us is So Far Beyond what I’ve ever been taught. I Thank You, and I’m Hoping to attend a school in New York to further educate myself within the production world. I learn better hands on than online. Thats just ME though. My End Goal with DJing is to DJ on Tomorrowland’s Main Stage, and my goal with production, is to First produce a Solid track that my son will Rhyme on and have my daughter sing the hook. He’ll be long established before that and he already has hits, but I’ll be his tour DJ, which I’m already a turntablist, but It’ll give me Other avenues to explore. With that all being said, I Thank You Again for taking the time out to educate us Thoroughly and I Hope you have other content that I can follow. Man..If you ever had time to Directly instruct me, I welcome that as well. Peace & Blessings!!! 🤲🏽❤️🔥🔥🔥

Thank you! Coming from Mixcraft, I couldn't even figure out how to get the MIDI window to open in this thing, nevermind start dropping notes. Super helpful and detailed. ❤😘

Thank you for making this video. Finally a tutorial that lays it out in a simple fashion. I appreciate this very much and can know utilize abelton in a much more complete way. This video is the absolute best for beginners. Love and Gratitude!!

Coming back to this video and taking notes

You are an incredible teacher!! I just decided to switch from logic to ableton, and understanding the daw flow in general helped, but this definitely made it a whole lot easier for me to make the switch!

I'd encourage anyone reading this to rewatch this a few times, at least. It's a good video and the repeated views help reinforce the ideas. I've found myself talking along with certain parts from watching it so many times lol.

Bro you too smooth with this. I've never learned anything this quick ,no sweat🎉

Absolutely the best tutorial I've seen for Ableton.

Incredible tutorial! All my anxiety about learning how to use ableton live has literally melted away thanks to you!

Sponsor break was hilarious. Great tutorial as well, subscribed.

Great intro thanks. I can see why Live is so popular. As a Reaper user, I'm getting more into electronica lately & this has to be the perfect DAW period! I've looked at a few others & this is the only one I would use to complement Reaper - that's my DAW of choice for guitars & audio recording.

Loved the tutorial bro. I decided to shift from FL studio and I was so worried when I loaded up the daw as everything looked so complicated. Your tutorial helped me so much. Sending love and support brother. Thank you💯

Great video mate, I've been a Logic Pro producer for 14 years and I'm about to do a mixdown masterclass for the next 8 weeks. I didn't realise it was all going to be done in Ableton. So, I have 6 days to get to the basics and this has been a great help! If you ever need any logic info let me know and maybe I can help to give something back haha. Take it easy and thanks for helping people!

I know there are plenty such comments but just had to say so myself that this is an absolutely golden tutorial. Fantastic teaching skills.

Super helpful and quite charming, exactly what I was looking for, so thank you a lot! Looking forward to get started with my music and to get more intuitive input from you :)

Now this is what I called beginner's guide, this helps me a lot for understanding ableton way better than others explanations. Thank you

I switched from Fl Studio and this Tutorial is amazing! Helped with a lot of questions I had.

Well this is refreshing, u make it simple. THANK YOU ❤❤

Just got a slot in Glasgow to learn Ableton with Simon in January 🙌 cannot wait. So excited 😊

So helpful! I really needed that deep breath in the middle there haha

got a focusrite yesterday and had no idea how to use abelton and this vid helped a ton

Currently djing right now (House Music and Trance) and my next task is to get into music production. Your videos are super helpful and motivating. Will stop thinking about it twice and get right into it ! 🙌

This program is so confusing, you’re a real one for this man 🙏

THANKS Ethan.... only have 4 or 5 Subscribed channels and you are one of them!!! I have about 5 of your videos saved on my desktop for future OR rewatching!!! I have become a very SLOW learner it seems as I aged. Long time since I used Cakewalk on MS-DOS and Windows 3.1 with the Roland JX-8P I am looking at that my wife still uses daily for practice..... I have an AKAI Pro MPKmini for "funzies" since I am the bass player and cant play keyboards yet. Got a bit of a finger cramp clicking back and forth and pause!!! LOTS of stuff flying by, and trying to watch the video and trying stuff is like going from a biplane to an F-16!!! But A few watchings and its getting clearer. I need a lot of work on the keyboard roll to make chords and notes.... (PS running 11 LIVE Intro ) Downloaded the ZIP files on the samples yo posted but not really sure where to put them or how to organize things in Folders or locations. (I have twin 12 terabyte NAS boxes that I mirror, so I am storing the Ableton stuff on the primary. Just don't have a good folder hierarchy figured out. I would like my samples, midi clips, recordings and the projects all off on NAS and not in the Windows C:/ hierarchy. If disaster strikes, all I want to do is RE-install Live and go look for the files off on the network. ~ Thomas ~ T@L-y-n-c-h.com

Watching this on the bus and I’ve already learned ❤ great work

Bro I am all the way from Barcelona I am about begin study music production on January and just wanted to be prepared for what’s about to go down hit your video and I want to say it’s very good thank you. ❤

Thank you so much!! I didn't know where to start and was totally overwhelmed by all kind of different functions in Ableton. Now that I jnow the basics because of your video, I know my way around in Ableton way better and can't wait to dive into it. Big thanks!

This LADY N GENTS is how you make a tutorial the right way. you the man brother!!! you got my subscription. NIce and short very articulated and most important to the POINT.

Great tutorial! I was lost and needed to get familiar with Live 11 for a class I am taking. Thanks for decoding it for me!!!

Thank you Ethan! This video was very helpful in helping us get started. We purchased Ableton Live almost 3 years ago but never took the time to learn it. But now it's time for us to move away from Audacity, into something that's more professional. But we did not know where to start or how to get started until we watch your video. Thanks again.

Finally someone who makes it easy to follow along ty

Thank you for the advice, finally someone breaking down how to use this DAW.

If life had such a simple guide I would pass it perfectly ❤

omgod the easiest to understand video I've come across. THANK YOU

Whettt? 🤭That's it! lol Oh, I am so hype after taking 16 mins and 50 seconds of my life to watch this tutorial! 🧐 Far too often you will watch tutorials and then you're still not able to create. Ethan has done such a precise job of making this tutorial actionable. Thanks Fam!😎 I will shout you out at the Grammy's!