Get comfortable with sound design, mixing and mastering, and many of the more advanced music production concepts. You’ll be exploring techniques and workflows which professional producers use daily in their work, guided by some of the city’s most accomplished Ableton-Certified Trainers. Class sizes are small, so you’ll be learning in an intimate in-person setting, set in the heart of Berlin and surrounded by a cohort of like-minded producers. During every class you’ll get feedback on your music, making sure you progress quickly and see real results. We only accept seven students to the program, so sign-up now to get your music sounding like a pro!

Topics covered:

• Synthesis overview
• Designing your own sounds
• Working with audio creatively
• Advanced composition techniques
• Refining arrangements
• Creating energy and release
• Variation, transitions, build-ups
• The science of mixing and audio engineering
• Demo-mastering

Weekly breakdown

Week 1: Synthesis overview

• Sound design overview 
• Synthesis types
• Subtractive synthesis
• Wavetable synthesis
• Modulation through LFO and Envelopes
• Creating sounds from scratch

Week 2:  Developing your sound

• FM synthesis
• Sampling + sample-based synthesis
• Granular synthesis
• Physical modeling
• Working with Instrument Racks
• Working with Audio Effect Racks

Week 3: Arranging your ideas

• Advanced composition techniques
• Arrangement and song structure
• Subtractive arranging techniques
• Building and releasing energy
• Using automation
• Creating variation
• Transition effects and ear candy

Week 4: Mixing and mastering

• Defining a good mix
• Science of sound
• EQ, compression, saturation
• Reverb & delay
• Stereo imaging
• Parallel processing
• Mastering overview
• Mastering order of operations
• Demo-mastering

A fully immersive 4-week program teaching you how to produce your own music with Ableton Live. This course teaches you the framework for music production and is perfect for students with little or no prior music production experience. You’ll be learning in an intimate in-person classroom setting in the heart of Berlin, guided by some of the city’s most accomplished Ableton-Certified Trainers, and surrounded by a cohort of like-minded peers. All our courses are hands-on and practical, so you’ll be making music and getting feedback on your music from the first day. We only accept seven students to the program, so sign-up now to start your journey of becoming a music producer!

Topics covered:

• Overview and understanding the interface
• Drum programming
• Note and Clip editing
• Finding sounds and instruments
• Creating melodies, chords, and basslines 
• Using MIDI effects
• Recording, sampling, Warping
• Audio processing
• Automation
• Song Arrangement
• Basic mixing & mastering

Weekly Breakdown

Week 1: Learning the interface, music theory, drum programming

• Navigating the interface
• Programming drums in Drum Rack
• Music theory fundamentals
• Recording MIDI
• Editing MIDI and audio
• Quantizing
• Changing velocity to add groove
• Moving from Session View to Arrangement View

Week 2: Music composition, and working with audio

• Composing a strong melody
• Chord progressions & basslines
• Introduction to MIDI effects
• Recording audio
• Introduction to sampling
• Warping
• Introduction to audio processing
• Sends & Returns

Week 3: Arranging your ideas

• Song structure
• Subtractive arranging techniques
• How to build and release energy through song arrangement
• Working with reference tracks to analyze arrangement
• Using automation
• Creating variation
• Using breaks and fills to create excitement
• Transition effects and ear candy

Week 4: Basic mixing and exporting your tracks

• Mixing overview
• Gain staging (anchoring to the kick)
• EQ
• Reverb & delay
• Saturation
• Compression
• Basic master
• Exporting your tracks

Requirements: This is an intermediate to advanced level course. We recommend good proficiency with music production and having produced at least one track of your own. 

Vocal production is one of the most intricate art forms to master in music production, with many undocumented practices that vocal producers have acquired over years of honing their craft. In this comprehensive 12-session course you will learn the essential tools to creating a successful vocal production, as well as many of the hidden tips and tricks only experienced vocal producers have learnt over their years of experience in the industry. If you are looking to get your vocals to stand out and be commercially competitive, then this course is for you. In this course we will cover:

• Vocal recording equipment: mics + pre-amps
• Acoustics and room treatment
• Levels and gain-staging
• Coaching a vocalist
• Pre-mixng: pitch correction, time adjustment, de-essing, and plosives
• Effects processing and coloration: EQ, compression, reverb, delay, saturation
• Doubling and stacking the lead
• Harmonies and backing vocals
• Mixing, sends + returns
• Producing in different genres: pop, rap, club

• More Ableton Certified Trainers than any school worldwide
• Real-time instruction, student questions, and feedback
• Intimate class sizes (roughly 5 students) ensuring maximum student/instructor interaction
• Motivation and inspiration from experienced instructors with real industry success
• Online community forums to ask questions outside of the classroom and meet peers and collaborate
• Daily free community events
• 40% discount on Ableton Live and 20% discount on Ableton Push

In this class, we will learn how to use Logic to take a song from a basic idea to a completed, professional track. Established and aspiring producers and artists from any genre are welcome, from electronic music to pop, rock, jazz, and beyond. In this course we will cover:

• Overview of Logic and understanding the interface
• Drum programming
• Recording and editing MIDI
• Working with Apple Loops and the loop library
• Creating melodies, chords, and basslines
• Song arrangement, structure, and analysis
• Recording and editing audio
• Basic synthesis and customizing synth presets
• Virtual instruments and how to get the most out of them
• Sampling
• Automation and mapping
• Flex Time and Flex Pitch
• Audio effects with an emphasis on EQ, Compression, and Reverb
• The basics of mixing and mastering your song

• More Ableton Certified Trainers than any school worldwide
• Real-time instruction, student questions, and feedback
• Intimate class sizes (roughly 5 students) ensuring maximum student/instructor interaction
• Motivation and inspiration from experienced instructors with real industry success
• Online community forums to ask questions outside of the classroom and meet peers and collaborate
• Daily free community events
• 40% discount on Ableton Live and 20% discount on Ableton Push