Scalable

Scalable replaces Ableton Live’s static list of scales with a dynamic, session-wide system built for modern performance and composition. Instead of treating pitch as a fixed constraint per clip or track, Scalable makes it fluid — enabling real-time modulation, scale morphing, and programmable layout control, all without breaking Live’s native MPE and scale-aware features.

Scalable works by cleverly abusing the new Tuning Systems at the core of Ableton’s scale infrastructure. It loads a single ASCL file containing seven notes per octave, then rewrites the pitches therein to reflect any of 28 remappable scale structures (derived from the major, melodic minor, harmonic minor, and harmonic major tonal families). When the scale changes, all notes across Live — including clips and held MPE gestures — change without interruption. Slides and bends remain musically correct.

Grid controllers like Push and Launchpad are reconfigured to reflect this logic. Each pad is uniquely identified, then routed through a layout transform that makes hand shapes, row offsets, and intuitive interval relationships consistent across all supported scales. This can mean echoing Ableton’s built-in diatonic layout — preserving familiarity and leveraging muscle memory — or diverging into something wholly new, while maintaining coherent spatial structure.

Whatever layout you choose, unless otherwise specified, sliding a note one cell in either direction bends it by one scale step in that direction — even if the underlying note values differ. That consistency is crucial for expressive control and fluid scale morphing. (It does, however, break one of MPE’s original design assumptions: normally, bending into a neighboring note and re-attacking it would result in the same pitch. Here, we’re intentionally sacrificing that rule in the name of broader use case flexibility.)

Scalable is not a single device, but a centralized platform. One core device manages pitch transformation and tuning, while a suite of front-end tools send it remote commands — often as part of interactive layouts or scripted behavior. Some of these components are distributed freely as developer tools and utilities. Others support commercial-grade performance environments, enabling MPE-aware interfaces inspired by concert instruments and classic monome apps. While designed for Live (and optimized for scale-aware application), many of these layouts will translate to other DAWs and external synths.

Scalable solves a longstanding challenge in Ableton Live: how to write and perform songs with modal interchange or complex chord progressions, without sacrificing the benefits of “in scale” grid layouts.

Normally, shifting between modes means disabling scale constraints entirely and falling back to a chromatic layout — breaking visual feedback, pitch-based effects, and MPE support. Scalable sidesteps this by remapping Live’s underlying tuning infrastructure. You can keep the same familiar layout, but the scale it represents can change dynamically — per section, per gesture, or in real time.

What makes this innovative isn’t just the flexibility — it’s the fact that all of Live’s scale-aware features continue to work. You can modulate across 28 different modes, retune an ensemble mid-phrase, or slide between harmonic systems without breaking expressive gestures. Scale becomes a controllable parameter — not a limitation.

Ableton’s scale-aware tools are already amazing — Scalable simply expands their potential. It’s fundamentally a songwriting tool, but if you’re looking for the edges of what’s possible, imagine the gravity-shifting impact of using your fingers to warp the scale itself, while every playing instrument adapts in real time.