Capture MIDI

Live Versions: All
Operating System: All

What is Capture MIDI?

Live is always listening to MIDI input on armed or input-monitored tracks, and Capture MIDI lets you retrieve the material you’ve just played on those tracks. This is particularly useful if you forgot to press the Record button before playing, or if you prefer to improvise or experiment freely without the stress of recording.

How do I use this feature?

Arm a MIDI track(s), or set the monitor to In. Live then listens constantly for all MIDI data on those tracks. Once you're done playing, press the Capture MIDI button on the transport and Live creates a new MIDI clip with all captured MIDI data in any armed/monitored tracks.

Note: The button is greyed out when there's no MIDI data to capture. It changes to black once there's MIDI data captured and ready to be inserted.

Screenshot_2020-01-28_at_11.44.31.png

How is the tempo determined?

If playback is not running and there are no existing clips in the set, Capture MIDI analyzes the average tempo of the captured MIDI and adjusts Live's tempo once the Capture MIDI button is pressed. Playback then starts automatically. If playback is already running, or if clips already exist in the set, the tempo does not get adjusted.

How much CPU does Capture MIDI use?

MIDI information has very low bandwidth, so this feature uses minimal system resources.

How much MIDI data is captured in one go?

Whenever 16384 events are reached, the oldest 1024 events are discarded.

Why didn't my hardware synthesizer notes get captured?

If a hardware synthesizer has a built in keyboard, then it's still possible to hear the notes you're playing even without monitoring the MIDI in Live. However the actual MIDI data can't be captured unless you connect it via USB or MIDI cable, enable "Track" for that port and either arm the track for recording or set the monitor to "In".