Producer Pal

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Usage Guide ​

Getting Started ​

  1. Add the Producer Pal Max for Live device (download here) to a MIDI track in your Ableton Live project

  2. Provide your AI with Producer Pal tools. Either:

  3. Start a conversation with "Connect to Ableton"

Basic Examples ​

Connecting to Ableton ​

Start a chat like:

connect to ableton

If Ableton Live or the Producer Pal Max for Live device aren't running, the AI will let you know. Once it's running, say "try again" or restart the conversation.

Creating Drum Patterns ​

Setup a drum rack in a track called "Drums" and ask:

find the drums track and generate a 4-bar drum loop

then:

I like that, make some variations

or:

great! can you expand that to 16 bars?

or:

it's pretty repetitive, can you add some drum fills on the last few beats?

or:

that's not quite what I'm looking for, do something more like ...

The better you can describe exactly what you want, the better the results should be.

Generating Chord Progressions ​

Setup some pads or keys in a track called "Chords" and ask:

in the chords track, generate a 4-chord progression of whole notes

Enable the global scale for your Live Set and Producer Pal should respect it when generating chords, bass, and melodies. Or tell it what scale to use.

Creating Basslines ​

With a "Bass" track:

in the bass track, generate a bassline to go along with that chord progression

Discovering More Features ​

Let the AI tell you what else it can do:

what are all the things you can do with your Ableton Live tools?

Session and Arrangement Views ​

Producer Pal works in both Session and Arrangement views. Use Session for jamming and ideas, then move to Arrangement for song structure—or start directly in Arrangement if you prefer.

Layer Multiple Patterns on One Instrument ​

You can route multiple MIDI tracks to control the same instrument, enabling complex rhythms and polyrhythmic patterns.

Layered Drum Parts ​

  • Create a basic kick pattern
  • Say "layer another track onto the drums"
  • Add snares to the new track
  • Create another layer for hats
  • Launch different clip combinations for dynamic arrangements

Polyrhythmic Patterns ​

  • Make a 3-bar melody pattern
  • Say "layer another track onto [track name]"
  • Ask for a 4 bar clip in the new track
  • The patterns phase every 12 bars, creating evolving variations

Advanced Examples ​

The basic examples above are a good starting point. For best results, be very specific and detailed about what you want. Instead of "generate a melody", try:

Generate an 8-bar EDM-style synthesizer melody in the key of C major with a mix of whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes. Use some dotted rhythms and syncopation too. Keep the center of the melody around the C above middle C.

If you don't know enough music theory to ask specifically, describe what you want in your own words and iterate with the AI. Or ask it to teach you music theory concepts. It can also perform web searches to research genres and techniques.

Tips ​

For a full feature reference see the Features page.

Always keep backups and save often! Don't let AI loose on a serious song you care about unless you've saved a backup copy. Producer Pal can overwrite and delete things. If you make good progress, save it before you lose it.

Keep your context window small for best results: start fresh conversations when needed (just say "connect to ableton" again), or use the project notes feature in the Max device to persist important context. For particularly complex tasks, "extended thinking" or "high reasoning effort" features can help, though it's typically overkill and will hit usage limits faster.

Limitations ​

Producer Pal is focused on generating and manipulating MIDI clips.

It cannot (yet) manage devices (instruments or effects) in your tracks. You must add and adjust all devices yourself. Note that it can duplicate tracks, including all the track's devices.

It cannot work with audio clips beyond some general features like deleting and duplicating clips (it cannot add new audio clips or create audio from scratch).

Drum Racks work in nested structures, but tracks with multiple Drum Racks only use the first one's drum map. Use one Drum Rack per track for predictable results.