Play together with Ableton Live, pt. 1: playing in tune

Feeling the need to make music making a little less solitary? In this multi-part series, we’ll be exploring some resources for adapting Ableton Live to playing with others — playing in tune, in sync, sharing ideas, and producing together. So let’s start as instrumental ensembles do: by tuning up.

Sting 2.1 makes the most fun pattern, arp, acid maker even more funner

It’s the crazy-good acid maker, but more than that: Sting is fun for spinning all kinds of melodic and rhythmic patterns. (I’m constantly putting it on percussion tracks.) Now Iftah’s back with a Sting 2.1 update with new arpeggiator and pattern features. And it’s still pay-what-you-want / pay-what-you-can.

Peter Kirn - January 15, 2026

Essential Ableton Live M4L: bounce MIDI, use gamepads, acid synth

It’s a hot Max for Live summer: here are three more don’t-miss tools for Max for Live for you. There’s a tool to bounce MIDI without the usual manual legwork. There’s a controller app that lets you play Live with gamepads. And there’s the synth follow-up to the blockbuster acid sequencer Sting! Let’s go:

Peter Kirn - August 5, 2025

maxess screenshots overlaid on one another, showing help pages: maxess.element, maxess.file, maxess.keyboard, and maxess.speech running in Max with help commentary.

Maxess, free externals for Max and Max for Live accessibility, available now

Peter Kirn - March 13, 2025