Ultraleap Leap Motion Ableton tutorial - connect, setup & midi map

Ultraleap's Leap Motion is a fantastically adaptable midi controller that is extremely useful when coupled with Ableton Live. This device has a great range of features, making it ideal as an Ableton Live controller.

This tutorial will explain all you need to know on using the Ultraleap Leap Motion with Ableton Live. This includes connecting, setting up and midi mapping the Leap Motion.

Article Contents

Does the Ultraleap Leap Motion work with Ableton Live?
Does the Ultraleap Leap Motion come with ableton Live included?
How to connect the Leap Motion to ableton
How to midi map the Ultraleap Leap Motion in Ableton Live
The Limitations of midi mapping the Leap Motion
Why can’t I hear my Push in Ableton Live?

Does the Ultraleap Leap Motion work with Ableton Live?

In a nutshell, the Ultraleap Leap Motion is able to work fully with Ableton Live.

The lack of a MIDI remote script in Ableton Live does not restrict users from midi mapping the Leap Motion to multiple functions inside the program.

Any edition of Ableton Live, from Intro to Suite, will be compatible with any device that transmits MIDI data. This works for all editions of Live, for instance 9, 10, and 11. As the Leap Motion is a MIDI enabled device, it will work with Ableton Live.

You can easily create midi mappings for Ableton, allowing you to access many functions of Ableton Live with your Leap Motion.

Does the Ultraleap Leap Motion come with ableton Live included?

Ableton Live Lite is not provided with the Leap Motion, so it needs to be purchased separately.

There are three main versions with Ableton Live: Intro, Standard and Suite. Though Intro and Standard are both comprehensive, Suite offers much more, such as 70GB of library sounds, in comparison to Standard's 10GB.

If you prefer to have all the Audio and MIDI effects, we recommend getting Ableton Live Suite, because it comes with much more of them than the Standard edition.

How to connect the Leap Motion to ableton

Linking the Ultraleap Leap Motion to Ableton Live is a simple process, and when you have them connected you can control the software's parameters from your midi controller.

1. Connect the Leap Motion to your computer via USB.
First, connect the USB cable to both the Leap Motion and your computer.
2. Launch Ableton Live and open the MIDI preferences.
Double click the Ableton Live icon to launch the software. Then, in the top menu of Ableton, go to the Preferences menu by opening the ‘Live’ menu and clicking ‘Preferences’.
3. Select the Leap Motion from the list of available devices.
Click the the MIDI Sync tab, make sure that Input and Output for the Leap Motion are checked.
4. Ensure that the ‘Track’, ‘Remote’ and ‘Sync’ boxes are all checked.
In the ‘MIDI’ section of this tab, make sure the ‘Track’ and ‘Remote’ boxes are checked for both the Input and Output of the Leap Motion (Sync can also be optionally checked).

The Leap Motion will now be setup and ready to use with Ableton Live.

How to midi map the akai mpk mini in Ableton Live

After successfully connecting the Ultraleap Leap Motion to Ableton live following the steps above, you can now MIDI map the physical knobs, pads, keys etc on the device to functionality within Ableton Live by doing the following:

1. Select the MIDI Map Mode button in the top right corner of the Live window. The button should turn orange, indicating that the MIDI Map Mode is enabled.
2. Select the parameter you wish to control in Ableton by clicking it with the cursor, the parameter will become highlighted.
3. Move a control on the Leap Motion, such as a knob or fader.
4. The parameter you selected is now mapped to the physical control which you moved on the Leap Motion.
5. Moving the physical control on your Leap Motion will now move the position of the corresponding parameter in Ableton.
6. Repeat steps 2 - 4 for any other parameters you wish to map.
7. When you’re finished mapping, press the MIDI Map Mode button again to disable it.

The Limitations of midi mapping the Leap Motion

Ableton's midi mapping system provides a great way to quickly customize your Leap Motion, though it does have a few limitations to be mindful of...

Saving your Leap Motion Midi Mappings is cumbersome

Be aware that when saving your mappings, they will be stored with the Ableton session. Therefore, starting a new session will require you to re-map your controls.

Ableton MIDI mappings are one-to-one

A one-to-one MIDI mapping means that each control on your Leap Motion can only be assigned to a single Ableton Live parameter.

Limited Ableton parameter options to map to

When using Ableton's internal midi mapping mode, unfortunately now all options are available, controls such as selected track and selected device control aren't currently possible. View a full list of Ableton midi mapping options here.

We have a great solution to these problems

If you're looking to get the most out of your Leap Motion, our Ableton Midi Script Creator tool 'Control Surface Studio' is exactly what you need!
With it, you'll be able to:
- save and re-use your Leap Motion's mappings across all of your Ableton Live sessions,
- map multiple Ableton parameters to a single control on your Leap Motion,
- access many more Ableton parameter controls for your Leap Motion, than Live's internal midi mapping mode allows.

Learn more about Control Surface Studio and see how it can help you by clicking here!

FAQ / Troubleshooting

Why can't I hear my Leap Motion in Ableton Live?

There are several possible causes:
1. Make sure that the Leap Motion is connected properly to your computer via USB and that the cable is not damaged.
2. Make sure that the Leap Motion is selected as your audio input and output device in your audio settings.
3. Make sure that the correct driver is installed for the Leap Motion.
4. Make sure that the Leap Motion is selected as the input device in Ableton's MIDI Preferences.