Keyboard Shortcut to Start Playback from  the Cursor in Ableton Live MIDI Editor Window

So you’re working on a long MIDI clip in Ableton, using the MIDI editor window, and you want to be able to start playback from a particular position in your MIDI clip (not the beginning).

  1. Turn off Global Quantization. Set it to “None”.
  2. Now hover your mouse above the MIDI clip until you see the little speaker icon.
  3. While holding the SHIFT key, click anywhere along the length of your clip using the little speaker icon.

Starting Playback from the Playhead in Ableton’s MIDI Editor Window

Another useful tip is that you can use SHIFT + SPACE to start playback from the playhead. However, there is no way to move the playhead from within the editor window. For that reason, the first tip is very useful.

Clip Slot Looper for Ableton

Looking for a great Ableton Looper? This one converts the clip slots in Ableton’s session view to loopers. Check out the clip slot looper.

Clip Slot Looper for Abelton Live Audio Tracks