How to pull off programmed music live?

January 18, 2006 10:27 AM

I make music with singing, guitars, and somewhat fast/complex backing tracks that I sequence in Logic. How can I pull these songs off live with zero to one other humans?

Is software+a midi pedalboard the best solution? A sampler of some kind? I have little knowledge of electronic music production outside of software (Logic, FL Studio, Reason), but really want to play live. If it makes any difference: the backing tracks are vaguely in the style of older Mindless Self Indulgence or Atari Teenage Riot, but most of the songs have at least one tempo or time signature change. I don't want to just plug in my iPod and press play, as I'd like a little flexibility to stretch out intros, breakdowns, etc.

posted by thedaniel to media & arts (14 comments total)

You might want to look into Ableton Live.
posted by b1tr0t at 10:47 AM on January 18, 2006

I would second b1tr0t's suggestion. You can buy midi-controller foot-pedals that would allow you to control the different sections of the song you're playing. If your stuff is pretty much loop-based, I don't think you're going to beat Ableton Live for apple (which I'm assuming you have since you have Logic). If you have a PC, though, maybe check out (free) Audiomulch. it's what Four Tet uses, and it has midi-control functionality as well.
posted by almostcool at 11:00 AM on January 18, 2006

I've seen Machine Drum do something like that - a show with just him, a guitar, a laptop, and a midi controller. It was a moderate show, but in general I vote for having more than one person on stage for live music. Two people making the music means there's a dynamic between them, and allows much more room to use the laptop as more than just a fancy DAT player.
posted by aubilenon at 11:24 AM on January 18, 2006

Machine Drum is a musician, if that isn't clear.
posted by aubilenon at 11:25 AM on January 18, 2006

There is a band in the New Haven Connecticut area called Welcome (formerly Ladyfinger) The lead guy was originally playing live like you described. I now of course can't find their webpage... but if you can stumble on to them that might be helpful. (I think they are a 3 piece now) Will update if I find their page
posted by meta x zen at 11:30 AM on January 18, 2006

Have you seen the beginning of Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense? David Byrne walks out onstage carrying a boombox and an acoustic guitar. He sets down the boombox, presses play, then plays guitar with the boombox as accompaniment. I.E. The simplest route is to mix the computer stuff down to a cd, then play and sing along with the cd. If you can find an interesting way to present the music, it will make up for the sorta karioke aspect.
posted by tcobretti at 11:32 AM on January 18, 2006

Thanks to those who suggested Live - I was reminded that I actually have a limited version of Live 4 that came with my m-audio interface, so I'll be trying it out. I'll also look up Welcome and Machine Drum.

Two people making the music means there's a dynamic between them, and allows much more room to use the laptop as more than just a fancy DAT player.

Good point--In my question, i said "zero to one" other people for just that reason. Even if i am writing / arranging the vast majority of it, it would be nice to have someone up there punching buttons and playing the bassline live on a small midi controller. After a bad breakup recently (a band breakup - but you know how a band is like a marriage) I am a bit wary to jump into a big ensemble again. I'd still like the option of running it myself if it comes to that.
posted by thedaniel at 11:51 AM on January 18, 2006

When I perform live, I mix my Reason tracks to a CD and I sing and play along with it. It's not ideal because I can't control the backing track live, although in my case there isn't much reason to, except for songs where I begin solo and "the band" enters later. For songs like that I just put a hi-hat or something keeping time on the track until the full entrance.

But I don't have to split money with anyone, I don't have to worry about people quitting or not showing up, I don't have to teach people new songs, I don't have to worry about anyone playing their parts wrong or messing up the tempo, and the arrangements can be as layered as I want. All in all, it's simple, cheap, and works well. I think it sounds a lot better than what people might imagine in their heads it would sound like.

I don't have any specific recommendations if you need a more interactive option, although I know that can be done and I've seen it work quite well. But time signature or tempo changes don't necessarily mean you have to be controlling things in real time.
posted by ludwig_van at 12:03 PM on January 18, 2006

I use the Boss RX-20 Loop Station to create loops in real time live on stage. There are a few user storage slots, only 9 or so. I never use them. I use one slot to loop a verse or chorus so I can play a solo, then dump it before the next tune. It's all foot controlled and very simple. The day I bought it I was looping in about 5 minutes. You can do sound on sound with this unit. The new ones hold about 16 minutes of audio, as I recall.

The hardest part is creating a clean loop point. You have to start and stop the looper exactly on beat one of the measure or you wind up with a bad loop. Once you get that down, it's great. If you know how to count, you shouldn't have a problem.
posted by wsg at 12:19 PM on January 18, 2006

I recommend Live as well. I use it for all my MIDI sequencing and audio loop needs.
posted by todbot at 12:28 PM on January 18, 2006

Live is an excellent real-time sequencer. Good stuff.

That Boss unit that wsg mentions is outstanding, too. There's a guy who plays here locally with one and he gets some really impressive stuff going with it.
posted by TeamBilly at 12:36 PM on January 18, 2006

b1tr0t's suggestion is GREAT. Ableton Live can do what you want. You can check out some movies of what it's capable of.

super-swell, man. plus, it's pretty easy to use!
posted by herrdoktor at 1:27 PM on January 18, 2006

Regarding Live, I love this demo (.mov) by Kid Beyond.

Somewhere else, KT Tunstall made a great live performance of "Black Horse And Cherry Tree" on Later With Jools Holland (go find it, you'll love it), and apparently she uses an Akai Headrush. Here is her own drawing of the settings.
posted by XiBe at 2:21 AM on January 19, 2006

Found Welcome (don't know why it was so hard)

http://www.welcomemusic.net/
posted by meta x zen at 1:52 PM on January 19, 2006