In this introductory lesson, the instructor explains how the Ableton Push’s note layout can be understood by mapping it to familiar guitar and keyboard patterns. He emphasizes that the Push was designed with guitarists in mind, allowing similar interval and chord shapes to emerge. The class focuses on discovering intervals, constructing chords, and using the Push as a versatile tool for production, composition, performance, and improvisation. While the lesson builds on concepts from his earlier "Music Theory for Electronic Musicians" courses, it provides a practical, pattern‑based approach that works for learners at any theory level, offering enough guidance to start using the Push effectively without deep theoretical digressions.
Chapters
Hello, welcome to the Music Theory for people using Push, the Ableton Push. What we're going to do in this class is we're going to examine how the notes are laid out here on the push and how you can kind of map it to a keyboard or a guitar. You'll find that if you're familiar with the patterns on a guitar, that, that the patterns on the Ableton Push are really similar. Actually, I think it was designed so that those people that are familiar with a guitar would be familiar, will be comfortable on it right out of the box. So a lot of the same patterns emerge between the guitar and the push. But if you're not a guitar player, it doesn't matter. What we're going to look at is how to find some of these intervals, how to build chords, how to understand where you are, you and your relationship. The push works a little bit different than a lot of the other controllers and interfaces. It's not really designed to be. Well, it's not designed after a keyboard. It's not laid out to be a piano. It's a whole different way of looking at notes and arrangements of notes. But it's laid out really smart. So just with a little bit of recognizing some patterns, I think you'll be able to start to use it as a production tool and a composing tool and also a performance and improvisation tool. So that's what we're going to cover in this class, finding these patterns and building chords with the push. Now this class will build a lot on these other classes that I've put out, these Music Theory for Electronic Musicians 1 and 2. So if you've taken those classes, this class should be really self explanatory. You should really get it like right away. If you haven't taken those classes, that's fine. I still encourage you to take this class. If you have a push and you want to use it and understand it, you should get pretty far with it and hopefully you'll understand everything. You can always go back and take those other classes and maybe you'll get a little bit more out of it. But this class is really designed to build on some of those. So I don't spend a lot of time explaining the ins and outs of something like the diatonic chord progression. I explain how to find it using the push and what it is to a small extent. But I don't spend the kind of time on it that I do in, in those other classes where I really explain those concepts in detail. But I still think you'll get a lot out of it whether no matter where you are with theory so enjoy. Sam. Sat.
