A1R CORE

Locator

A1R reads your song structure from Ableton locator names. Add simple flags to a locator name to control how A1R treats it.

Section cards show your flags: SKIP hatching, warnings, durations and bar counts.

Flags show up on the section cards — SKIP hatching, ⚠ warnings, durations and bar counts.

In Ableton's Arrangement, a locator marks a point in time. A1R turns your locators into a setlist:

Everything below is optional — a plain name just works. Flags are case-insensitive.

Duration & colour

FlagExampleWhat it does
[m:ss]Chorus [3:20]Sets an explicit duration for the song/section.
[color]Way Maker [amber]Colours the song. Use a colour name (e.g. amber, emerald, blue, rose…).
[NNN bpm]Anthem [150 bpm]Sets the project tempo when this song/section becomes active. Applying the tempo is Pro+; below Pro the BPM is shown as a badge only. A [bpm] on a mid-song section applies only while that section plays — the next section without one falls back to the song's tempo.
[.class]Drop [.big]Adds a custom CSS class for Custom Styles.
[text]Verse [capo 2]Any other bracketed text becomes a small note shown on the section.

Flow control

FlagExampleWhat it does
+SKIP / [skip]Verse 2 +SKIPSkips this section during playback (shown crossed-out). A1R jumps over it.
>>>TargetChorus >>>BridgeAfter this section, jump to the section named Target. If no section with that name exists, the section shows a ⚠ warning badge so you can catch the typo before the show.
+PAUSEInterlude +PAUSEPauses at this section instead of continuing automatically.
Colour skipclip coloured #3C3C3CLite+ No flag needed: colour a section's clip dark gray (#3C3C3C, Ableton's darkest gray) and A1R skips that section — same effect as +SKIP, controlled from the clip colour.
+JUMP / +STAYOutro +STAYOverride auto-advance: force a jump, or force staying.
+ENDChorus +ENDMarks the end zone of the song.

Looping All tiers

FlagExampleWhat it does
+LOOP:NChorus +LOOP:4Loop this section N times (2–99), then continue.
+LOOPVamp +LOOPLoop indefinitely (∞) until you move on manually.
+LOOPFULLBridge +LOOPFULLLoop indefinitely (∞), but always complete the current full pass before advancing.

Song boundaries

NameWhat it does
SONG ENDEnds the current song here (anything after belongs to the next song). SONGEND without the space is accepted too.
STOP / AUTOSTOPStops transport at this point.
[nosong]This locator is not counted as a song (e.g. a utility marker).
>NameForce this locator to be a section (not a song).
>>NameA quick-access section — shown with a » badge for fast jumping.
*NameIgnore this marker entirely.

Tags & search

Add #tag anywhere in a locator name to categorise it — e.g. Chorus #uptempo. Tags are handy for filtering and organising large sets.

Combine flags freely: Chorus [emerald] +LOOP:2 #big >>>Outro — an emerald Chorus that loops twice then jumps to Outro, tagged #big.