Mastering the keyboard shortcuts for Ableton Live is an essential skill to make your writing and production sessions more fluid, maintaining creative flow and more effortlessly executing your ideas as they come to mind (and to hand).

For beginners, this list and PDF is also a great resource to learn key features of Ableton Live.
For advanced producers, we’d added in bold the new shortcuts added in Live 10.

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Ableton Live 10 Keyboard Shortcuts

Bold = new or updated in Live 10

FLIPPABLE VIEWS

tab tab Toggle Session/Arrangement view
⇧ tab ⇧ tab Toggle Device/Clip view

COLLAPSIBLE VIEWS

(Remember it: ‘SLIMBORG’)
⌘⌥ S CTRLALTS Sends
⌘⌥ L CTRL-ALT-L Lower section (aka Detail View)
⌘⌥ I CTRL-ALT-I Input/output routing panel
⌘⌥ M CTRL-ALT-M Mixer
⌘⌥ B CTRL-ALT-B Browser
⌘⌥ O CTRL-ALT-O Overview
⌘⌥ R CTRL-ALT-R Returns
⌘⌥ G CTRL-ALT-G Groove Pool

FLOATING WINDOWS

⇧⌘W ⇧CTRL-W Launch a second window
⌘⌥ P CTRL-ALT-P Plug-in window (for non-Ableton plug-ins) – hides/shows selected device
⌘⌥ V CTRL-ALT-V Video window (there must be a video on arrangement view timeline first)
⌘, CTRL-, Preferences

BROWSE

⌘ F CTRL-F Search in browser
Preview selected browser item
Esc Esc Stop previewing selected browser item
Return Return Load selected browser item onto track
Q Q Hot swap the selected device (when device is on a track). Hit Q again after loading
1,2,3…7 1,2,3…7 Assign colour to selected browser item (adds item to a “collection”)
0 0 Remove all colours from selected browser item (removes item from all “collections”)

PLAYBACK and RECORD

Fn ← Home Move insert marker to beginning of arrangement timeline
Space Space Play (from start, or from insert marker, or from start of selection)
Space Space Pause
Space Space Un-pause
Space ALT-Space Play selected time only, then pause
⌘⇧ F CTRL⇧ F Scroll display to follow playback
F9 F9 Record to arrangement
F10 F10 Back to arrangement

ZOOMING

+ + Zoom in
Zoom out
Z Z Zoom to selected clip/time
⇧ Z ⇧ Z Zoom out from selected clip/time. Do this again to zoom all the way out
⌥ scroll ALT-scroll Zoom height of selected track (arrangement view)
S S Fold height of all tracks (arrangement view)

ALL THE SINGLE-LETTER COMMANDS

Remember it: BRAS ZOMQ
B B Toggle draw mode (for programming within MIDI Clips or drawing automation)
R R Reverse selected audio – in arrangement view only
A A Automation (hide / show) – in arrangement view only
S S Fold height of all tracks (arrangement view)
Z Z Zoom to selected clip/time (then ⇧ Z to zoom out) in arrangement view or detail view
0 (zero) 0 (zero) Deactivate (clips, tracks, devices, & notes)
M M Toggle computer MIDI keyboard
Q Q Hot swap the selected device (when device is on a track). Then arrows, Return, Q

PARAMETER MAPPING

⌘ M CTRL-M MIDI map mode – assign a MIDI controller to any purple-shaded parameter
⌘ K CTRL-K Key map mode – assign a QWERTY key to any orange-shaded parameter

CREATE AND CAPTURE

⌘ T CTRL-T Insert new audio track
⌘⇧ T CTRL⇧ T Insert new MIDI track
⌘ I CTRL-I Insert new scene (in session view)
⌘⌥ T CTRL-ALT-T Insert new return track
d-click d-click Create new MIDI clip (in session view clip slot or on arrangement view timeline)
⌘⇧ I CTRL-ALT-I “Capture and Insert scene” Creates new scene from currently playing clips
⌘⇧ C CTRL⇧ C Capture MIDI (if you forgot to hit record while jamming)
⌘⇧ S CTRL⇧ S Save Live Set As… (new name and / or version number)
⌘⇧ R CTRL⇧ R Export your song or selection. Choose to export as audio file, mp3 and / or video

ARRANGEMENT VIEW

← → ← → Move selected clip left/right
⇧ ←→ ⇧ ←→ Nudge selected clip left/right
Hold Hold CTRL Finer resolution when dragging clips
R R Reverse selected audio
Hold shift and drag the edge of a warped audio clip to stretch it

ARRANGEMENT TIMELINE EDITING

⌘⇧ del CTRL⇧ del Delete time
⌘⇧ V CTRL⇧ V Paste time
⌘⇧ X CTRL⇧ V Cut time
⌘ I CTRL-I Insert silence
⌘ J CTRL-J Consolidate selection into clip
⌘ E CTRL-E Split clip at selection
⌘⇧ D CTRL⇧ D Insert duplicated time
⌘ L CTRL-L Loop the current timeline selection

MIXER AND DEVICE PARAMETER EDITING

del del Return value to default (on selected parameter). Double-clicking also works
Hold ⇧ Hold ⇧ While moving parameters, moves in finer increments
r-click r-click Show automation or Show modulation

AUTOMATION

A A Toggle automation mode
B B Draw stepped automation
Hold Hold alt Curve the automation
⌘ del CTRL-del Delete automation (on automated parameter)
Hold ⇧ Hold ⇧ For finer increments
Hold ⇧ Hold ⇧ To restrict automation movements to either horizontal or vertical
Hold ⌘ Hold CTRL When drawing: freehand lines  | When moving: overrides grid snapping

GROUP TRACKS and RACKS

⌘ G CTRL-G Tracks: Group selected tracks | Devices: Create rack from selected device/s
Tracks: Hide grouped tracks    | Devices: Collapse device
+ + Tracks: Unfold grouped tracks | Devices: Expand device if collapsed

MIDI EDITING

B B Draw mode
⌘ U CTRL-U Quantize
⌘⇧ U CTRL⇧ U Quantize settings
←→ ←→ Move selected notes left/right/up/down
Transpose MIDI notes up / down in octaves
←→ CTRL  ←→ Nudge MIDI notes
←→ ←→ Lengthen / Shorten MIDI note
⌘⇧ D CTRL⇧ D Insert duplicated time

COMPUTER MIDI KEYBOARD

M M Toggle computer MIDI keyboard
A to L A to L This row triggers white notes from C (the A key).
W to O W to O This row triggers black notes from C# (the W key). Actual keys are: WE – TYU – O
Z Z Octave down
X X Octave up
C C Decrease note velocity
V V Increase note velocity