Shift by Philip Meyer

Shift is designed specifically for Ableton Live 12, so you will need Live 12 installed to use it. It will not function correctly on earlier versions of Live.

Shift is a Max for Live device, so you will need a version of Ableton Live that includes Max for Live, such as Live 12 Suite. Live Lite and Live Intro do not include Max for Live support.

Shift lets you rotate the individual attributes of MIDI notes, such as pitch, velocity, and timing, independently of one another. This means you can quickly create variations on a pattern or melody by offsetting these attributes in different combinations without rewriting the clip from scratch.

Absolutely. Because Shift operates on individual note attributes independently, it works just as well on rhythmic patterns as it does on melodic phrases. Rotating velocity or timing on a drum clip can produce subtle groove shifts or more dramatic rhythmic transformations.

The subdivide feature splits your list of notes into smaller groups, giving you more granular control over how the rotation is applied. This opens up further possibilities for creating polyrhythmic or syncopated variations from a single source clip.

Once downloaded, drag the device file into your Ableton Live User Library or directly onto a MIDI track in Live. From there it will appear in your browser for easy access in future sessions.

Shift is a clip transformer, so it is worth keeping a copy of your original MIDI clip before applying transformations if you want to preserve it. Working on a duplicate clip gives you the freedom to experiment as boldly as you like.

V1.1 – Released October 2024

Philip Meyer MIDI Tools Release Notes 2024-10-09

V1.0.0 – Initial Release – April 2024

To install MIDI Tools, first double-click to decompress the ZIP archive it arrived in. !

In Live’s Browser, navigate to the User Library in Places

Then find the MIDI Tools folder located there. If you don’t see a folder called MIDI Tools in your User Library, simply create it yourself.

We’d advice adding two subfolders for Generators and Transformers for neatness.

Finally, drag our Generators to the Generators subfolder and our Transformers to the Transformers subfolder

Live should automatically detect them and within the next few minutes, they should appear in the dropdown chooser of Live’s Generators or Transformers in the corresponding tab of any MIDI Clip’s Note Editor.

PLEASE NOTE: Once installed MIDI Tools, since they are not Max MIDI Effects, cannot be dragged and dropped onto MIDI tracks: they can only be loaded by the Generator and Transformer tabs of the MIDI clip editor.

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