Ableton Link (aka The Sync Police)

Ableton Link keeps OnSong's tempo & beat locked in step with Ableton Live & other Link-enabled apps & devices on the same Wi-Fi network. ZOMG, zero pairing, zero cables: apps on the network find each other & join a shared session like magic. Once you're vibin' in a session, everything in the OnSong^® app that follows the beat clock — the metronome, the drum machine, tempo-synced delays, arpeggios — is countin' the same beat as everyone else in the room. Teamwork makes the dream work, y'all.

Turnin' This Thing On

Ableton Link lives in Settings ▸ MIDI ▸ Ableton Link. The screen has three parts (we counted):

• Ableton Link — the switch itself, hangin' out on Ableton's own panel. It shows how many apps are in the session once you're connected. Math!
• Sync Mode — how OnSong's tempo relates to everyone else's. Scroll down, we got receipts.
• Status — the current status of the connection, like Connected when there's at least one peer (yay, friends!), Searchin'… while Ableton Link is on but lonely, & Off when it isn't runnin'.

You can also reach it from the AuxDock by toggling Beat Sync on any panel & the chip that pops up offers Ableton Link… as a shortcut. Convenient!

Sync Mode (aka "Who's the Boss?")

Ableton Link itself is leaderless — there is no master, & any participant can change the shared tempo. Plot twist. Sync Mode is OnSong's own policy about that democracy:

• Both — shares the tempo in both directions. Changing tempo in the OnSong^® app changes it for everyone, & a change made elsewhere is adopted here. The default, & true peer-to-peer vibes. This is the way.
• Lead — pushes the OnSong^® app tempo to peers, & if a peer nudges the session, re-assert OnSong's tempo & phase. Use it when the OnSong^® app is the definitive beat driving the band. You're in charge now, hot shot.
• Follow — never pushes the OnSong^® app's tempo, instead accepting whatever the session is doin'. Use this when someone else owns the tempo & OnSong is just here for the ride. Take a backseat, bestie.

The mode is remembered across disconnects, so a rig set to Follow stays that way next week. Memory like an elephant, but digital.

What Gets Weird While You're Connected

• The shared timeline runs the clock. A Link session keeps OnSong's beat clock alive even when nothin' local is playin', which is why beat-sync LEDs pulse the second you connect. It's like they were waitin' for you.
• Tempo changes travel. In Both or Lead, changing OnSong's tempo — by tappin' it, loading a song with its own tempo, or a section's {tempo:} — moves the whole session. You're influencin' everyone now, congrats.
• In Follow, the song's tempo is ignored in favour of the session's. That's literally the point of the mode, but heads up: if you open a chart & the metronome doesn't play at the tempo written on it, this is why. Surprise!

The Fine Print (aka Requirements)

• Every device has to be on the same Wi-Fi network, & the network has to allow devices to see each other. Guest networks & many venue networks block exactly that, which is basically always why a session never finds a peer. Blame IT.
• No internet connection needed — Link works on a local network with zero router uplink at all, which makes an isolated travel router a reliable option for a stage. How indie of you.
• Link is peer-to-peer, so there's no "host" device to start first. Any order works. Democracy in action.

If Status sits on Searchin'… with another Link app clearly runnin', the network is nearly always the culprit rather than either app. Put both devices on the same access point — or an ad-hoc one you control — before you blame us. Srsly.