This free tool lets you create interactive, live graphic scores in Ableton Live

It might blur the line between VJ/animation tool and score generator. But SIGN/e lets you produce graphical scores that live inside an Ableton Live session, as abstract shapes appear and shift in time with the electronic music. And with the right players, it looks like a godsend — free, provided you can run Max for Live.

Link Audio, now in Max, Pd, VCV Rack, TouchDesigner, oF, and plug-ins, free

Ableton Live 12.4 is inbound, with Link Audio support coming to Live, Move, Note, and Push. But Live Audio can also be about routing audio over a network to other hosts, too. Julien Bayle (VOID) has an early, open-source implementation. If you’re ready to start experimenting even while this API is still in alpha, you’ve got a wide variety of sound and visual tools to try, all for free.

Peter Kirn - May 3, 2026

Max for Move: run RNBO patches on Ableton Move — like Granulator III

What if you could remake Ableton Move to do anything, using Max — the audio engine, I/O, every pad, button, encoder, and even the display? That’s RNBO support on Move. It’s labeled “experimental alpha,” but I’ve been testing RNBO Takeover Mode on Move, and it’s already really usable. There’s even a lot you can do without patching at all, like running Robert Henke’s now-iconic Granulator III. Here’s a first look.

Peter Kirn - March 17, 2026

Learn spectral filters and other spectral tricks in Max (or elsewhere)

Peter Kirn - March 2, 2026

plugdata, cyclone get major updates — free stuff for patchers and end users

Peter Kirn - February 24, 2026

Breaking: cave-like reflections in Robert Henke’s free Lanzarote Verb

Peter Kirn - February 16, 2026

Filter Delays, free Max for Live stereo effect from Robert Henke

Peter Kirn - February 15, 2026

Cosmolab, open DSP development kit, in final hours of crowdfunding

Peter Kirn - January 29, 2026

ENDOGEN: a deep experimental exploratorium of lowercase synthesis

Peter Kirn - January 15, 2026