Ableton Link

Ableton Link be keepin' OnSong's tempo and beat in step with Ableton Live and other Link-enabled apps and devices on th' same Wi-Fi network, savvy? There be nothin' t' pair and nay cables: apps on th' network find each other and join a shared session automatically, Arrr!

Once ye be in a session, everythin' in OnSong that be followin' th' beat clock — th' metronome, th' drum machine, tempo-synced delays, arpeggios — be countin' th' same beat as everyone else in th' room, matey.

%%Ableton Link.png%%

Turnin' It On

Ableton Link be livin' in Settings ▸ MIDI ▸ Ableton Link. Th' screen be havin' three parts:

• Ableton Link — th' switch itself, on Ableton's own panel. It be showin' how many apps be in th' session once ye be connected.
• Sync Mode — how OnSong's tempo be relatin' t' everyone else's. See below, ye scallywag.
• Status — Connected when there be at least one peer, Searchin'… while Link be on but alone, and Off when it ain't runnin'.

Ye can also reach it from th' dock: toggle Beat Sync on any panel and th' chip that be appearin' offers Ableton Link… as a shortcut, Ahoy!

Sync Mode

Link itself be leaderless — there be nay master, and any participant can be changin' th' shared tempo. Sync Mode be OnSong's own policy about that, matey:

• Both — share th' tempo in both directions. Changin' tempo in OnSong be changin' it fer everyone, and a change made elsewhere be adopted here. Th' default, and true peer-t'-peer, savvy?
• Lead — push OnSong's tempo out, and if a peer be nudgin' th' session, re-assert OnSong's. Use it when OnSong be th' thing drivin' th' band, Arrr!
• Follow — nay push OnSong's tempo; take whatever th' session be doin'. Use it when someone else owns th' tempo and OnSong be along fer th' ride.

Th' mode be remembered across disconnects, so a rig set t' Follow be stayin' that way next week, blimey.

What Be Changin' While Ye Be Connected

• Th' shared timeline be runnin' th' clock. A Link session be keepin' OnSong's beat clock alive even when nothin' local be playin', which be why beat-sync LEDs be pulsin' as soon as ye be connectin'.
• Tempo changes be travellin'. In Both or Lead, changin' OnSong's tempo — by tappin' it, loadin' a song with its own tempo, or a section's {tempo:} — be movin' th' whole session.
• In Follow, th' song's tempo be ignored in favour o' th' session's. That be th' point o' th' mode, but it be worth knowin' if ye be openin' a chart and th' metronome don't be playin' at th' tempo written on it.

Requirements

• Every device be havin' t' be on th' same Wi-Fi network, and th' network be havin' t' allow devices t' see each other. Guest networks and many venue networks be blockin' exactly that, which be th' usual reason a session never be findin' a peer, savvy?
• Nay internet connection be needed — Link be workin' on a local network with nay router uplink at all, which be makin' an isolated travel router a reliable option fer a stage, matey.
• Link be peer-t'-peer, so there be nay "host" device t' start first. Any order be workin', Arrr!

If Status be sittin' on Searchin'… with another Link app clearly runnin', th' network be nearly always th' culprit rather than either app, blimey. Put both devices on th' same access point — or an ad-hoc one ye be controllin' — before troubleshootin' anythin' else, ye scallywag.