Ableton's Learning Synths is a great way to experiment with and create your own synth sounds, and now, you'll be able to record and export your creations. The new Record and Export features make this free and interactive website even more accessible.

But how does it work? Keep reading to learn more about everything included in the new Learning Synths update.

What's New in Learning Synths?

Ableton announced that the new Learning Synths update allows users to export and record their sounds, among other new features. Let's have a look at how this works and what you can expect.

Export

Visual of Learning Synths export opened in Ableton Live

The new Export feature transforms your creation into a Max for Live synth; software that you will already have installed with Ableton Live Suite (if you're new to the DAW, have a look at our beginners' guide to Ableton Live). This is a very handy tool for those who want to create their own synth sound from scratch but don't know how to code.

On the Learning Synths website, the Playground menu opens to different synth components—Square Oscillator, Saw Oscillator, Amplitude Envelope, Low-Pass Filter, and LFO—which can be customized and fine-tuned to your liking.

You can also access various presets that offer a variety of sounds in case you're new to music production and don't know all the ins and outs yet; it's also great if you're wanting to build your own sound but don't necessarily want to do too much tweaking.

The Export feature then copies the exact changes you have made in Playground and turns Max for Live into a semi-modulated synthesizer when opened in Ableton Live.

Record

Learning Synths Playground components and actions

The Record feature is a fast and easy way to incorporate the synth tracks you create in Playground into your Ableton Live production, and because Playground is such a user-friendly platform that requires minimal workaround, you don't need to be overly concerned with the technical components.

At the time of writing, you can only record up to sixty seconds of music at a time, but there is no limit to how many times you can use the Record function, so you can always go back and do another few takes to add to your track.

It's helpful that the recording can be done in Playground without having to export your changes to Ableton Live first; this means that you don't even necessarily have to have Ableton Live to use the feature, and if you're using other software, you could import the track there (give these free music production tools a try).

Moreover, while you record, you can manipulate the sound output to your liking for smooth and interesting transitions, so really, there isn't much you can't do that a midi keyboard could.

Other New Features

Although Export and Record are certainly the most noteworthy features, they are not the only changes Ableton made to Learning Synths. There's now also a configurable XY pad in Playground that allows you to experiment with new sound combinations effortlessly by dragging the cursor around the parameter to modulate the sound.

Furthermore, the Open in Playground button lets you edit the sounds more extensively while you're in lesson mode before putting them to use in Playground.

Learning Synths also now supports dark mode and additional languages, including Turkish, Finnish, and Portuguese.

Learning Synths Gets Even Better

The Export and Record function, as well as the other new features, truly take Ableton's Learning Synths to a whole new level. Whether you've been in the production game for a long time or you're a beginner producer, the ability to use your Learning Synths sounds elsewhere means you can fine-tune your creations and share them with others.