ableton-genre-cover

name	Ableton Genre Cover
description	This skill should be used when the user asks to "make a [genre] version of [song]", "do a reggae/lofi/dub/ska cover of [theme]", "remix [song] in [style]", "turn [tune] into [genre]", or wants a full multi-track arrangement of a known melody/theme rendered in a target genre inside Ableton Live. Builds drums, bass, chords/skank, pad, and lead tracks with appropriate instruments and FX.
version	0.1.0

Ableton Genre Cover

Turn a known theme/song into a full, playable arrangement in a target genre, written directly into a Live Set as separate MIDI tracks (drums, bass, harmony, lead, texture) with fitting instruments and FX chains.

When to use

Triggers: "make a reggae version of the X-Files theme", "lofi cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit", "turn this into dub", "[song] but [genre]". For reharmonizing an existing clip use ableton-reharmonize; for just a bassline/melody/drums use the dedicated skills.

Process

1. Use ableton-live-runner for the build/run/kill workflow and the scaffold helpers. All code below goes in the scaffold's compose().
2. Get the source theme accurate. The recognizable melody is what sells a cover — verify it (web search a transcription / sheet music / letter-note tab) rather than guessing. Capture: key, tempo, time signature, the main melodic motif (as {t, p, d} events — time/pitch/duration in beats, matching the code below), and the chord/root progression. A wrong melody ruins the cover; spend the lookup.
3. Decide the genre treatment (ask the user 1–2 focused questions if ambiguous — e.g. sub-style, tempo). Map the original harmony onto the genre's rhythmic feel; keep the identity markers (signature riff, characteristic intervals, the turnaround) and change the rhythmic clothing.
4. Write the tracks with makeTrack, gated into sections with inRanges:
   • Drums (Drum Rack, empty → user drags a kit): the genre's groove (one-drop, boom-bap, four-on-the-floor…).
   • Bass: roots of the progression in the genre's rhythm (leave space on 2 & 4 for reggae; deep sub + syncopation for lofi).
   • Harmony: skank chops on the off-beats (reggae/ska), or sustained reharmonized chords (lofi).
   • Lead: the source melody, transposed to a fitting register.
   • Optional pad / counter-line / arpeggio for the identity hook.
5. Pick instruments + FX per role (see ableton-fx-chain and ableton-tone-recipes). End every instrument list with "Drift".
6. Build, run, diagnose per ableton-live-runner. Remind the user to drop a drum kit and hit Play.

Genre starter map

Genre	Tempo	Drums	Harmony feel	Bass
Roots reggae / one-drop	70–80	kick+snare on beat 3	organ skank on off-beats	round, syncopated, spacious
Ska / rocksteady	95–110	backbeat 2 & 4, open-hat off-beats	short guitar chop on every "&"	bouncy, walking
Dub	65–75	sparse, drops	rare, drenched in reverb/delay	HUGE, up front
Lofi hip-hop	70–85	boom-bap, swung hats, dragged snare	reharmonized 7/9 chords on Rhodes	deep sub, sparse

Code pattern (section gating + theme statement)

const THEME = [ { t: 0, p: 81, d: 3 }, /* the verified motif, clip-local beats */ ];
function writeLead(notes, startBars, beatsPerBar) {
  for (const startBar of startBars)
    for (const e of THEME)
      notes.push({ pitch: e.p, startTime: startBar * beatsPerBar + e.t, duration: e.d, velocity: vary(100) });
}
// Harmony as off-beat skank:
for (const off of [0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5])
  chord.forEach(p => notes.push({ pitch: p, startTime: b + off, duration: 0.12, velocity: vary(90) }));

Limits

• Drum Rack loads empty — the user must drag a kit. Note this every time.
• Keep each cover in its own Set (global tempo). Make re-runs idempotent via clearPriorTracks and per-cover TRACK_NAMES.

See ableton-reharmonize, ableton-bassline, ableton-drum-groove, ableton-fx-chain.