Skeleton Key

Ableton Live 12 extension — unlock your production using the Skeleton Method.

One click injects a full arrangement skeleton into your Live session: 6 labeled sections (Intro, Build, Drop, Break, Drop 2, Outro), 4 tracks (Drums, Bass, Melody, FX), genre-tuned MIDI patterns, and cue points — all synced to your project's Scale Mode.

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Install

1. Download Skeleton-Key-1.4.5.ablx from Releases
2. Double-click the .ablx file — Live installs it automatically
3. Fully quit and relaunch Live

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How to Open It

Right-click on any of the following in Live to see Skeleton Key... in the context menu:

• Session view: clip slot (select slot first if empty), scene row, or track title/name
• Session clip view: inside the open clip editor (MIDI/audio clip body)
• Arrangement view: clip body, time selection on a track, or track title/name
• Devices/samples: Drum Rack, Simpler, or browser Sample

Track header: right-click the track name on the left — not the mixer or device chain.

Empty session slot: click the slot once to select it, then right-click.

If you see Skeleton Key... twice, remove duplicate installs: Live → Settings → Extensions — keep only one Skeleton Key entry (latest version), quit & relaunch Live.

Click Skeleton Key..., pick your genre and BPM, toggle which layers to include, and choose MIDI per layer — then hit BUILD THE SKELETON.

Each layer has two controls:

• Include checkbox — add this track to the build (unchecked = track not created)
• MIDI checkbox — when included, inject genre patterns (off = blank labeled clip slots)

To close the dialog without building, click the X in the top-right corner, hit Escape, or click cancel.

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What Gets Built

Section	Beat	Bars
Intro	0	16
Build	64	16
Drop	128	16
Break	192	16
Drop 2	256	16
Outro	320	16

Tracks (per layer toggles):

• Drums — genre kick/snare pattern (stripped in Intro/Break/Outro)
• Bass — root bass line
• Melody — chord stabs / progressions
• Effects — sustained atmospheric pad

Only checked layers are created. Uncheck MIDI on a layer to get labeled, color-coded clip slots with no notes.

8 genres: House (126 BPM), Dubstep (140), Hip-Hop/Trap (145), Drum & Bass (172), Techno (133), Afrobeats (106), Reggaeton (97), UK Garage (130)

Scale sync: If Ableton's Scale Mode is on, all melodic notes are automatically transposed to match your project key.

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The Skeleton Method

Build the bones first. Drums + bass = skeleton. Add muscle (melody/chords). Then skin (FX, texture, atmosphere). Don't start with the synth patch — start with the structure.

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Development

npm install
npm start        # dev mode (live reload)
npm run package  # build .ablx for distribution

Requires Ableton Live 12 with Extensions support.

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Made by Rooks Music