AI music production assistant for Ableton Live.

Works with most AI that support tools, including Claude, Gemini, OpenAI GPT, and local models.

→ Install it now or see what's new in the latest releases.

Watch the Producer Pal 1.0 walkthrough video:

• 0:00: Installation with Claude Desktop
• 2:29: Connecting the AI to Ableton
• 3:23 Generating a 4-part, 8-bar loop from scratch

Watch Producer Pal create a 4-part, 8-bar loop from scratch.

Or watch how to setup Producer Pal with Gemini CLI.

Follow the Installation Guide to connect Producer Pal to your AI:

• Claude Desktop
• Built-in Chat UI with Gemini
• More options...

Then, see the Usage Guide for help getting started.

• Feedback, Feature Ideas, General Discussion: GitHub Discussions
• Bugs & Problems: Report in the bug reports forum or issues list
• Documentation: GitHub Homepage (this page) and the dedicated area of my website

If you want to support Producer Pal development, ⭐️ star the GitHub repository to help others discover the project.

When using online AI services, your musical data (MIDI notes, track names, tempo, etc.) is sent to that service for processing. Most services offer options to opt out of training on your data. Check your AI provider's privacy policy and account settings. Avoid online services for highly confidential or commercially sensitive work.

1. Add the Producer Pal Max for Live device (download here) to a MIDI track in your Ableton Live project

2. Provide your AI with Producer Pal tools. Either:

   • Add Producer Pal tools to your AI application (see the Installation Guide)

     OR

   • Use the built-in chat UI

3. Start a conversation with "Connect to Ableton"

• Start a chat like:

  connect to ableton

  If Ableton Live or the Producer Pal Max for Live device aren't running, the AI will let you know. Once it's running, say "try again" or restart the conversation.

• Setup a drum rack in a track called "Drums" and ask:

  find the drums track and generate a 4-bar drum loop

  then:

  I like that, make some variations

  or:

  great! can you expand that to 16 bars?

  or:

  it's pretty repetitive, can you add some drum fills on the last few beats?

  or:

  that's not quite what I'm looking for, do something more like ...

  the better you can describe exactly what you want, the better the results should be.

• Setup some pads or keys in a track called "Chords" and ask:

  in the chords track, generate a 4-chord progression of whole notes

  Enable the global scale for your Live Set and Producer Pal should respect it when generating chords, bass, and melodies. Or tell it what scale to use.

• Then (with a "Bass" track):

  in the bass track, generate a bassline to go along with that chord progression

• Let the AI tell you what else it can do:

  what are all the things you can do with your Ableton Live tools?

Producer Pal includes its own standalone web interface, keeping you independent from any specific AI platform. The chat UI is a browser-based interface served from the Max for Live device at http://localhost:3350/chat.

Currently supports Google's Gemini API with more LLMs planned. Access it by clicking the "Open Chat UI" button in the Max device or visiting the URL directly in your browser.

See the Chat UI installation guide for setup instructions.

Producer Pal works in both Session and Arrangement views. Use Session for jamming and ideas, then move to Arrangement for song structure—or start directly in Arrangement if you prefer.

Producer Pal is focused on generating and manipulating MIDI clips.

It cannot (yet) manage devices (instruments or effects) in your tracks. You must add and adjust all devices yourself. Note that it can duplicate tracks, including all the track's devices.

It cannot work with audio clips beyond some general features like deleting and duplicating clips (it cannot add new audio clips or create audio from scratch).

Drum Racks work in nested structures, but tracks with multiple Drum Racks only use the first one's drum map. Use one Drum Rack per track for predictable results.

Above are some basic ideas to get you started. For best results, be very specific and detailed about what you want. Instead of "generate a melody", try:

Generate an 8-bar EDM-style synthesizer melody in the key of C major with a mix of whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes. Use some dotted rhythms and syncopation too. Keep the center of the melody around the C above middle C.

If you don't know enough music theory to ask specifically, describe what you want in your own words and iterate with the AI. Or ask it to teach you music theory concepts. It can also perform web searches to research genres and techniques.

You can route multiple MIDI tracks to control the same instrument, enabling complex rhythms and polyrhythmic patterns.

• Create a basic kick pattern
• Say "layer another track onto the drums"
• Add snares to the new track
• Create another layer for hats
• Launch different clip combinations for dynamic arrangements

• Make a 3-bar melody pattern
• Say "layer another track onto [track name]"
• Ask for a 4 bar clip in the new track
• The patterns phase every 12 bars, creating evolving variations

For a full feature reference see FEATURES.md.

Always keep backups and save often! Don't let AI loose on a serious song you care about unless you've saved a backup copy. Producer Pal can overwrite and delete things. If you make good progress, save it before you lose it.

Keep your context window small for best results: start fresh conversations when needed (just say "connect to ableton" again), or use the project notes feature in the Max device to persist important context. For particularly complex tasks, "extended thinking" or "high reasoning effort" features can help, though it's typically overkill and will hit usage limits faster.