Ableton Live

Ableton Live fundamentally changed the music software industry when it was released. Traditional DAWs forces the user to hit "Stop," record a part, and hit "Play" again. Ableton Live was designed from the ground up to be an instrument itself, designed specifically for live, improvisational electronic music performance. It achieves this through its unique "Session View." Instead of a horizontal timeline going from left to right, Session View is a vertical grid of loops (clips). A DJ standing on stage in front of 10,000 people can trigger a drum loop, launch a baseline, and apply heavy distortion effects in real-time without the master tempo ever stopping or skipping a beat. It also introduced the concept of "Elastic Audio" (Warping) to the mainstream. If a producer imports an old jazz sample recorded at 85 BPM (Beats Per Minute) into a 120 BPM techno track, Ableton automatically "warps" the audio, stretching it perfectly in time with the metronome without changing the pitch of the singer's voice. It is the absolute standard for DJs, electronic producers, and live touring acts.