Frequently Asked Questions

beatspark is a macOS app that runs alongside Ableton Live and teaches you music production inside your own copy of Ableton. It highlights the exact button, knob, or grid cell to use next, then watches Ableton to confirm you actually did it before moving on — no split-screen video tutorials, no pausing and rewinding.

• Ableton Live 12 Suite, version 12.4.2 or later. Lessons use instruments and devices included with Suite.
• macOS — beatspark runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. There is no Windows version yet.

beatspark only works with Ableton Live. It doesn't support FL Studio, Logic, or other DAWs.

1. Open Ableton Live and go to Live → Settings (⌘,)
2. Click the Link, Tempo & MIDI tab
3. Under Control Surfaces, open an empty dropdown and select beatspark
4. Close Settings — the status dot in beatspark turns green once connected

You only have to do this once; Ableton remembers the setting.

beatspark draws its highlights on top of Ableton, so it needs to know exactly where Ableton's buttons, knobs, and MIDI grid are on your screen:

• Accessibility lets beatspark read the position of Ableton's on-screen controls so highlights land on the right element.
• Screen Recording lets beatspark read the bar numbers and note labels in the MIDI editor (Ableton doesn't expose those any other way), so highlights can point at the right beat and pitch.

Everything read this way is processed locally on your Mac — see the next question.

No. The screen captures beatspark takes to position highlights are analyzed on your Mac and immediately discarded — they are never uploaded, stored, or used for anything except placing the highlight you see.

The only image that ever leaves your device is the screenshot of the beatspark overlay attached when you click the in-app Feedback button and submit a report. Beyond that, beatspark sends only basic telemetry (lesson ID, step number, app version) so we can fix broken lesson steps. Details are in our Privacy Policy.

On macOS 15 (Sequoia) and later, Apple shows a system prompt for any app that captures the screen directly instead of going through the macOS window-picker dialog — you may have seen the same prompt for Zoom, Discord, or Chrome. macOS re-asks periodically (roughly monthly); this is an Apple system behavior that apps cannot turn off.

beatspark captures small strips of the Ableton window to read bar numbers and note labels (see above). A window picker popping up mid-lesson would defeat the purpose, so beatspark uses direct capture — which triggers this prompt. Click "Continue to Allow" and beatspark keeps working normally. Nothing captured ever leaves your Mac.

Work through these in order:

1. Check permissions. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and confirm beatspark is enabled under both Accessibility and Screen Recording. Then quit and reopen beatspark.
2. Just upgraded macOS? A major macOS update can silently invalidate a permission that still shows as granted. In both panes, remove beatspark from the list (− button), re-add it, and restart beatspark.
3. Make sure Ableton is the frontmost app. The overlay hides itself whenever you switch to another app; click back into Ableton and it fades back in.
4. Exit fullscreen. If Ableton is in macOS fullscreen mode, some highlights can't position correctly. Press Ctrl + ⌘ + F in Ableton to exit fullscreen.
5. Check the connection dot. If the dot in the beatspark panel is red, Ableton isn't connected — see connecting beatspark to Ableton.

Still stuck? Use the in-app Feedback button — it attaches the diagnostics we need to figure out what happened.

Ableton only scans for control surfaces when it starts. If Ableton was already running the first time you launched beatspark, it won't see the newly installed script until it restarts:

1. Quit Ableton Live completely (⌘Q)
2. Reopen Ableton
3. Check Live → Settings → Link, Tempo & MIDI → Control Surfaces again

If it's still missing after a restart, quit and reopen beatspark too (it reinstalls the script on launch), then restart Ableton once more.

beatspark verifies each action against your actual Ableton session, and the check is precise — track number, beat position, and exact value all matter. Most "stuck" steps are the action landing in a slightly different spot than the lesson expected, so undo and redo it exactly as written. Also check that the connection dot in the beatspark panel is green.

If it still won't advance, tap Feedback and describe what you did — that report reaches us with the context we need, and we fix broken steps in app updates. You can quit the lesson (your progress is saved) and resume after the fix ships.

The overlay only captures the mouse when the cursor is over the instruction bubble — everywhere else, clicks pass straight through to Ableton. The bubble itself is draggable: grab it and move it out of the way. If clicks ever seem blocked outside the bubble, quit and reopen beatspark and tell us via Feedback.

The app is a free download. Some lessons are free, and premium lesson courses are one-time purchases — no subscription. You keep every lesson you buy.

No. When you quit a lesson, beatspark offers to save your progress — both your place in the lesson and your Ableton project. Next time, the lesson card shows a Resume option that reopens your project and picks up where you left off.

Email underbelly@beatspark.com and we'll delete everything we hold about you. See the Privacy Policy for exactly what we store.

The fastest route is the Feedback button inside the app — it reaches us with context attached. You can also email underbelly@beatspark.com.