Using Launchpad X's Note mode

Chromatic Mode is the default layout of Note mode. Press pads in the 8×8 grid to trigger notes. While Chromatic Mode allows you to play all notes, the pads give you a visual indication of which notes are in scale.

Blue pads represent notes in the currently selected scale (C Minor by default), purple pads represent the root of the scale, and blank pads represent notes outside the scale.

The default chromatic layout seen here is similar to a guitar, with an octave being two pads up and two pads across. This allows you to use guitar chord shapes. Additionally, the sixth column of pads will play the same notes as the first column on the row above, further mimicking a guitar layout.

You can alter the layout of chromatic mode in Note Mode settings, accessed by holding Note (see Note Mode Settings for details).

In Scale Mode, the Launchpad X, only displays notes in the current scale. This allows you to play freely without ever going out of key.

As with Chromatic Mode, blue pads represent notes in the currently selected scale, while purple pads represent the root of the scale. Here, blank pads show that no note exists at their location, as the pads are outside the playable range. This out-of-range behaviour also applies to Chromatic Mode.

You can alter the layout of the scale mode in Note Mode settings, accessed by holding Note (see Note Mode Settings for details).

Note Mode settings allow you to switch between Chromatic Mode and Scale Mode, change the currently selected scale and root note, alter Note Mode’s layout with overlap controls, and change Note Mode’s MIDI channel.

To Enter Note Mode settings, press, and hold Note. The note pad pulses green when you're in Note Mode settings. Press the Chromatic/Scale toggle pad to switch between Chromatic Mode (lit dim red) and Scale Mode (lit bright green).

Overlap allows you to alter the layout of both Chromatic Mode and Scale Mode (see Overlap).

The Scale Viewer shows which notes are in the currently selected scale on a piano layout keyboard. Blue pads show notes in the scale, the purple pad shows the root, and the dimly lit white pads show notes outside the scale. Press a pad in the Scale Viewer to change the root note of the scale.

Scale Select lets you choose from 16 different scales. Press a pad to select a scale. The selected scale will be lit bright white, while unselected scales will be lit dim blue.

The MIDI channel that Note Mode transmits on may be selected between 1 and 16. This is useful when you want to send notes to a specific track when you have multiple tracks record armed.

Overlap determines the relationship between notes on different rows. An overlap of five means that the leftmost pad on a row plays the same note as the sixth pad across on the row below.

Each overlap level represents how many fingers you need to play a scale. For example, with a four-finger overlap, you can play a scale going vertically up the grid with only four fingers. This is great for playing with a single hand.

Sequential overlap behaves differently from 2, 3, 4 and 5 Finger overlaps. In Chromatic Mode, notes are laid out linearly and are unique to each pad. In Scale Mode, only octaves of the root will be overlapped. Sequential layout in Scale Mode provides a great way to play scales over a range of octaves easily.

If you load and Ableton Live Drum rack to the currently armed track, Note Mode represents the current state of the drum rack, showing which slots are filled.

In Ableton Live, load a drum kit into a MIDI track by selecting a Drum kit from the browser and double-clicking it (or drag it to a track). If you can't hear anything, ensure the track is record armed and that monitoring is set to auto (Note Mode).

The view is divided into four 4×4 areas, each of which represents the areas of the Drum rack, shown below.

You can scroll through the visible area of the Drum rack in sets of 16 slots using the ▲▼ buttons, or in sets of four slots using the ◄ ► buttons. The bottom left 4×4 area always corresponds with the currently visible slots in the Ableton Drum rack.

If there is a sample loaded in areas 2, 3 or 4 in the diagram above, it's visible as a brightly lit yellow pad, exactly as seen in area 1.

When you press a drum pad, the pad turns blue to show it's selected. You can then edit the sample present in this slot from within the Ableton Drum Rack.

When any other instrument is on the currently armed track, the grid reverts to Scale Mode or Chromatic Mode.

In Ableton Live, load an instrument into a MIDI track by selecting an instrument from the browser and double-clicking it (or drag it to a track). If you can't hear anything, ensure the track is record armed and that monitoring is set to auto.