Setup guide

Worship Pads for Ableton, ProPresenter & MainStage

Our free pads are plain MP3 files — each a 3-minute, loop-ready MP3 (320 kbps) — so they work in any software that can play and loop audio. Here is how to set them up in the three tools worship teams use most. Menu names can differ between versions, so check your software's documentation if something isn't where you expect.

Before you start

  • Download the keys for your set list from the worship pads page, or get all 12 at once from the free pack.
  • Rename files clearly (for example "Pad - G.mp3") and keep them in one folder that travels with your show file.
  • Confirm each song's real key — including capos and any transposition for your vocalist.
  • Ask your sound tech for a spare channel on the desk for pads, with a low cut applied.

Worship pads in Ableton Live

Ableton is the most common choice for teams that already run click and backing tracks. Pads live on their own track so they can be started, stopped and mixed independently.

  1. Create a new audio track and name it “Pads”.
  2. Drag the MP3 for each key you need into clip slots on that track (Session View), or onto the timeline at the start of each song (Arrangement View).
  3. Open each clip and turn Warp off so the pad plays at its original pitch and length regardless of your set tempo.
  4. Turn Loop on for each clip so the pad keeps going until you stop it.
  5. Set the track’s Audio To output to a dedicated pair of outputs on your interface, so front-of-house gets the pad on its own channel.
  6. Optionally map clip launches to a MIDI controller or foot switch, and use the track volume or a fade automation for smooth starts and stops.

Worship pads in ProPresenter

If your lyrics already run from ProPresenter, attaching pads to slides means the right key starts automatically when the song begins.

  1. Import the pad MP3s into ProPresenter’s media/audio bin. Keeping all 12 keys in one playlist makes them easy to find.
  2. On the first slide of each song, add the matching pad as an audio cue.
  3. Set the audio to loop so it continues until the song or moment ends.
  4. Use the audio transport or a fade-out cue on the last slide to bring it down smoothly.
  5. If your computer has a multi-output interface, route ProPresenter’s audio to its own output so the sound desk can mix the pad separately from video audio.
  6. Rehearse the cues once before the service — a pad in the wrong key is far more noticeable than no pad at all.

Worship pads in MainStage

For keys players already running MainStage, adding pads alongside your instrument patches lets you control them with the same keyboard or controller.

  1. Create a channel strip in the concert or set for your pads, using MainStage’s Playback plug-in to load the MP3.
  2. Load one pad per patch (one per song), or keep all 12 keys in a dedicated pad set.
  3. Enable looping in the Playback plug-in so the pad sustains for as long as needed.
  4. Assign play/stop to a key, pad, button or footswitch on your controller.
  5. Send the pad channel strip to its own output if your interface has spare outputs, so the pad can be mixed independently from your keys sound.
  6. Map a fader or expression pedal to the pad volume for hands-on fades.

Download pads by key

All pads are free and royalty-free for church and ministry use. For mixing, transitions and common mistakes, read How to Use Worship Pads.

Load all 12 keys into your rig

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