How to use BeatMind & MixMind
Get from install to your first reviewed loop in Ableton Live in about five minutes, then learn how MixMind turns your Rekordbox library into playlists and full sets.
BeatMind quick start
BeatMind builds drums, bass and melodies as real clips in your own Live Set, one part at a time. The web app does the thinking; BeatMind Bridge on your computer passes its instructions to Live through AbletonOSC.
Requirements
- Ableton Live 11 or 12 (Standard or Suite). Live 10 and other DAWs aren't supported.
- BeatMind Bridge for macOS: the current installer is for Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 15 or later.
- Windows: a Windows Bridge isn't offered as a download yet. Captured auditions, automatic Live Set file actions and local stem separation are macOS-only for now.
- AbletonOSC, a free, open-source remote script for Live.
Create your account and start the free trial
Sign up at beatmind.io to start the 7-day free trial. It includes 3 tracks and limited AI, and needs no credit card. You're only charged if you choose a plan.
Start the free trial →Download and install BeatMind Bridge
Download BeatMind Bridge, open the disk image and drag BeatMind Bridge into Applications. The disk image also contains an AbletonOSC-Extensions folder with its own README.
- The dashboard links the same installer under “Need to install the bridge?” while the Bridge is disconnected.
- Optional: the AbletonOSC-Extensions files add exact sample-pack loading, fader mapping, automation and placing reference stems in Live 12. Follow their README, then save your Set and restart Live.
- Bridge checks for updates when it launches and every few hours. It installs an update only when you click, never in the middle of a stem separation.
Enable AbletonOSC as a Control Surface in Live
Put the AbletonOSC folder in your User Library's Remote Scripts folder, restart Live, then open Settings (Preferences in Live 11) → Link/Tempo/MIDI and choose AbletonOSC in an empty Control Surface slot.
- macOS: ~/Music/Ableton/User Library/Remote Scripts/AbletonOSC
- Windows: \Users\[you]\Documents\Ableton\User Library\Remote Scripts\AbletonOSC
- Live's status bar should show that AbletonOSC is listening on port 11000. It replies on port 11001.
Sign in to the Bridge and check it's connected
Open BeatMind Bridge and sign in with the same email and password as beatmind.io. It shows Connected to BeatMind, and the dashboard's connection bar shows Bridge connected. On a Mac, allow audio capture when macOS asks: that permission is what makes captured auditions possible.
- Bridge stays signed in (the sign-in is kept in your macOS Keychain) and reconnects by itself after a network drop or a BeatMind update.
- Click Let's make music in the Bridge to open the dashboard.
Write your first prompt
In music chat, use Choose Live Set to save, start new, inspect or confirm the Set you'll work in. Then describe what you're making: genre, tempo, key, mood and the first part you want, for example “Dark melodic techno loop at 126 BPM in A minor. Start with the kick.”
- BeatMind inspects your Set and installed sounds before changing anything, and may ask which pack or sound you want.
- If you name a pack, BeatMind loads from that exact pack. If the files are missing it stops and tells you instead of swapping in something else.
Review the audition and iterate
BeatMind builds one part as a Session clip and, on macOS, records a short captured audition of what it actually built. Listen, then keep it, ask for changes or reject it. BeatMind never approves a sound for you and only moves on when you do.
- Refine in plain English: “make the bass warmer and pull it back 2 dB”, “sparser hats”, “more reverb send on the pad”.
- An edit to one part stays in that part.
Take over and arrange
When the loop feels right, ask for sections as Session scenes (intro, breakdown, peak). Then arm Arrangement Record, launch the scenes in your order, and edit, automate and mix in Arrangement View yourself.
Example prompts
Copy one into music chat as a starting point, then refine from what you hear.
- Melodic techno
“Dark melodic techno loop at 126 BPM in A minor. Start with the kick.”
- Deep house
“Deep house at 122 BPM in F minor. Add a swung, open hi-hat groove over the four-on-the-floor kick.”
- Minimal
“Minimal tech groove at 128 BPM. Give me a rolling off-beat bassline in G minor using Operator.”
- Drum and bass
“Liquid drum and bass at 174 BPM. Start with a light two-step break, nothing too busy.”
- Afro house
“Afro house at 120 BPM. Add a shaker and a percussion pattern that leaves space for a vocal.”
- Ambient
“Ambient pad in D minor at 90 BPM using Wavetable: slow attack, long release, plenty of reverb send.”
- Hip hop
“Lo-fi hip hop at 85 BPM. A lazy, dusty drum loop first, then a simple electric piano chord progression.”
- Refining
“Make the bass warmer and pull it back 2 dB. Keep the drums exactly as they are.”
Tips for better results
- Give BPM, key, genre and mood up front. Genre guides the plan; it doesn't pick a fixed template.
- Ask for one part at a time and approve it before the next. Small steps are easier to steer.
- Start in a fresh Set saved under a project name, so experiments never overwrite something you care about.
- Name a pack only if it's installed. BeatMind treats a named pack as a strict requirement.
- Copy sample folders into your User Library instead of symlinking them: Live's browser doesn't follow symlinks.
- Native Ableton devices expose their controls most clearly. Third-party plugins vary.
- Use exact numbers when you mean them. “Turn it up 2 dB” means 2 dB on the fader.
- Turn off Ableton's recording before asking for an audition.
More on prompting in From text prompt to arrangement.
Reference tracks & stems
Use a track you love as a guide. BeatMind separates it into stems, helps you map its sections and turns your choices into a plan. The parts you then build in chat are your own, original ones.
- Add a reference track under References in the dashboard. On a Mac, high-quality separation runs on your computer through the Bridge and saves stems to ~/Music/BeatMind Stems/. Cloud HQ separation (Studio only) runs on BeatMind's cloud GPU instead.
- Each separation uses one track from your allowance.
- Stems: play each stem and mark it Use as reference, Exclude from my track or Separation needs work, then save your review. Stems are estimates and can have bleed; they aren't the artist's studio files.
- Timing: check the BPM, meter and proposed sections, adjust them, then confirm the timing map.
- Listening (optional): AI listening sends the stated audio to a third-party AI provider only after you allow it, and charges may apply. You can write a manual brief instead.
- Template: describe what to keep and avoid, choose style, sounds and sections, then approve the planning brief and build original parts in chat.
- Compare: once a part has a captured audition, A/B it against a reference layer with level-matched previews.
What BeatMind can't do (yet)
- It doesn't generate or export finished songs. It builds parts as Session clips and scenes; you arrange and export.
- It doesn't write the Arrangement timeline for you (placing reference stems at the start of the Arrangement in Live 12 is the one exception, via the optional extension).
- It can only change controls a device exposes. Some third-party plugin parameters are out of reach.
- Captured auditions, automatic Live Set file actions and local stem separation need macOS.
- Exact sample-pack loading covers the Factory Packs installed on your Mac; external sample folders and pack presets aren't treated as supported sources.
- It isn't a mastering tool, and a measured comparison with a reference isn't a quality score.
- It works with Ableton Live 11 and 12 only.
Troubleshooting
The dashboard says “Bridge not connected”
AbletonOSC isn't listed as a Control Surface
Bridge is connected but nothing happens in Live
There's no sound in my audition
BeatMind says it needs the audio capture helper
A sample pack I named can't be found
A plugin parameter won't change
Bridge says it can't update itself
Still stuck? Email support@beatmind.io.
MixMind quick start
MixMind is a desktop DJ library manager that works with Rekordbox or any folder of music. It finds duplicates, builds AI playlists from tracks you own and sequences full sets you can add to Rekordbox.
Requirements
- Your music: a Rekordbox 6 or 7 library, or any folder of audio files (Rekordbox is optional).
- Mac: Apple Silicon natively; Intel Macs run it through Rosetta 2. Windows: Windows 10 or 11 (x64).
- A BeatMind account on a MixMind, BeatMind + MixMind or Studio plan.
Download MixMind
Sign in on beatmind.io with a plan that includes MixMind, then download it for Mac or Windows from the MixMind page or Dashboard → Downloads.
- Windows SmartScreen may warn about a new app: click More info → Run anyway.
Sign in with your BeatMind account
Open MixMind and sign in with the same email and password as beatmind.io. One account covers BeatMind, the Bridge and MixMind.
- If you've been offline for more than 7 days, MixMind asks you to sign in again.
Let your library load
MixMind reads your Rekordbox library, or click Import Folder to add any folder of music; it analyses BPM, key and a waveform in seconds per track. Every track shows in a searchable table, and browsing never modifies your Rekordbox files.
Clean up duplicates
Open Duplicates and scan. For each pair, choose Keep Left or Keep Right. The other copy is hidden inside MixMind; nothing is deleted from Rekordbox or your drive.
Build AI playlists
Ask for a playlist in plain English, for example “20 deep house tracks under 124 BPM in Am”. MixMind picks only from tracks you already own and saves the result to Playlists.
Build a set with the Set Builder
In Set Builder, quit Rekordbox and click Sync library, then let the first audio analysis finish. Choose the style (techno or minimal), a length from 60 to 240 minutes, a set type (Journey, Warm-up, Peak time or Closing), an optional BPM range, My style or Clean key mixing, and Skip played in the last 7, 30 or 90 days.
- The first analysis takes a few seconds per track, so a large library needs a while. Later builds reuse it.
- Each build shows the BPM arc and key transitions so you can review the flow before you use it.
Add the set to Rekordbox
Quit Rekordbox completely (Cmd+Q on a Mac), then click Add to rekordbox and name the playlist. MixMind backs up your Rekordbox library first (it keeps its three newest backups) and adds the set as a playlist. Open Rekordbox to see it.
Get it onto your USB
Plug in your Pioneer USB: MixMind detects it and lets you browse its PIONEER folder. To put a new playlist on the drive, open Rekordbox and sync the playlist to USB as usual.
MixMind troubleshooting
MixMind says “Quit rekordbox and try again”
Set Builder asks me to sync first
MixMind says my account doesn't include it
Video tutorials
Short walkthroughs of each step. New videos appear here as they're published.
- Coming soonBeatMind
Setup in 4 minutes
Install BeatMind Bridge, enable AbletonOSC in Live and sign in until the dashboard says Bridge connected.
- Coming soonBeatMind
Your first loop
One prompt, one part at a time: a kick, hats and a bassline, each reviewed from its captured audition.
- Coming soonBeatMind
Make it warmer: refining sounds
Refine a part in plain English: levels, sends, supported device controls and a different sound when it isn't working.
- Coming soonBeatMind
Using reference tracks
Separate a reference into stems, confirm its timing and turn it into a planning brief for your own original parts.
- Coming soonMixMind
MixMind: clean your library
Load your Rekordbox collection, review duplicate pairs and keep the version you want.
- Coming soonMixMind
MixMind: build a 2-hour set
Sync your library, pick a set type and BPM range, then add the finished set to Rekordbox as a playlist.