Changing sections of backing tracks mid song

[seasonfinale]

Good afternoon!

 

After some searching, I can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for.

 

I have used backing tracks containing music I have made in my studio (bedroom) when playing live on and off for a few years. They are not the best sounding things but I have been able to get by. (My production is not great but that's for another thread.

 

I mixed them into one single WAV and played them at first from a laptop, then a tablet and later on from a sp404sx.

 

How exactly do I add some versatility to this? For example, I want the intro to last a bit longer than usual whilst I am building some feedback? Or changing from the verse to the chorus in a song etc?

 

A lot of the electronic music I have seen played live keeps the same loops throughout the song, but I have different sections (more like a conventional band set up.)

 

I noticed that when Grimes was performing live on a radio show a while back, she triggered each section of the song as a sample off the sp404 but triggering the sample manually on the fly whilst canceling the other seemed a bit risky to me.

 

Is this where the mighty Ableton comes in?

 

I currently sequence in Reason on a Macbook but can't for the life of me figure out how I would change sections of a songs backing track as I go.

 

Ideally when playing live there will be myself doing the vocals, guitar and a bit of keys. I may have a bassist playing with me, which leaves the drums and synth to be taken care of by the computer.

 

Hope that makes sense.

 

Any guidence will be appreciated, even if all I need to hear is 'get Ableton.'

 

Thanks,

 

[Bob Dey]

I experimented with this with my Kurzweil synth long ago (MIDI not audio loops). The idea was to end one loop by going to another after selecting it. There must be newer methods like Abelton with a controller. This is more like what some club DJs might do. To play an instrument at the same time would require a foot controller (of course). Using a keyboard with an on board sequencer you could probably change loops with one hand while playing with the other.