Music Production Course: Learn Ableton Live

What you'll learn

Learn to use Ableton Live for music production with our music short courses in Sydney!

Calling all musicians, artists, producers, beat-makers and electronic music enthusiasts! It has never been easier to create sophisticated music with minimal equipment at a low cost. Whether you're looking to build a career in music production or you want to write and produce your own music, Ableton Live enables you to compose, record and mix music using a huge selection of synthesisers, drum machines and sound mixers. This music production course introduces you to Ableton Live and gives you the skills to produce music on your own using just a laptop and a keyboard, all in a compact 5-week course.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this Ableton Live course, you should be able to:

• Understand the browser, Session and Arrangement views within Ableton Live
• Work with audio and MIDI clips
• Program drums, leads and pads with instrument racks
• Perform basic sequencing, sampling and effects
• Configure your own preferences in Ableton Live
• Perform basic mixing of electronic music and prepare tracks for output to professional mixers

You might also be interested in our Learn to DJ: Beginners Course.

Course content

What will be covered in this music production course?

Week 1: Introduction to the interface & MIDI Sequencing

• Become familiar with the important functions of the interface
• Create and build your own drum tracks from scratch
• Create multiple ideas from a single MIDI drum loop
• Manipulate MIDI clips in session view
• Gain the knowledge to set up and map MIDI controllers
• Play, record and edit a basic bass line idea to suit drums
• Use MIDI effects in Ableton to generate arpeggios & chords

Week 2: Digital Audio

• Record your own audio files using a mic or direct input
• Manipulate and edit audio files to match the musical idea
• Create drum racks from loops or your own recordings
• Rearrange and remix your own recordings
• Create unique sonic textures and basic sound design
• Remix existing ideas into your own

Week 3: Intro to Sound Design and FX

• Distinguish audio effects and their respective names
• Knowledge of the basic features in each effect unit
• Use reverb, delay to give depth and space in your productions
• Understand basic sound design principles and how a synthesiser works
• Modulation of sounds using filters, ADRS and LFOs
• Familiar with the physics behind the sounds
• Start developing your personal ‘sound’

Week 4: Arrangement

• Transfer the ideas from the session view to the arrangement view
• Transform short musical ideas into a complete track
• Learn from the best: reference tracks, radio edits and popular arrangement formulas that work
• Record, edit and automate (volume, effects, pitch etc.)
• Tips on good habits and how to avoid bad ones

Week 5: Intro to Mixing and Mastering

• Understands the fundamentals of audio mixing
• Familiar with the basic mixer features in Ableton
• Apply a good balance of the elements
• Understand the fundamental difference between mixing and mastering
• Polishing the mix and final touches

Intended audience

Who is this music production course for?

This course is for anyone who wants to gain skills in electronic music production.

Course materials

Materials provided

• Apple iMac with 27in screen
• Ableton Live 10 Suite
• Novation Launchkey Mk 2 MIDI controller

What to bring to class

• A pair of headphones or earphones
• A basic to intermediate knowledge of computers as this Ableton Live course is highly technical
• A USB if you would like to save your work
• If you wish, your own laptop to the class (Apple or Windows) provided you have installed a copy of Ableton Live 8, 9 or 10 (preferably 10) before attending, this can be a trial version
• If you wish, your own MIDI controller, provided it will fit on the desks provided. The tutor is happy to adapt the class to suit students who bring in their own gear, but reserves the right to ask you to use the College facilities if technical complications affect the learning environment

Additional information

Please note the following:

This Music Production for Ableton live course runs in our computer lab, fitted with 27-inch Apple computers.