Music Production with Ableton Live: Intermediate Course

What you'll learn

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

This five-week program is designed for those who have already taken their first steps in music production and are now ready to elevate their skills to new heights! Whether you're a producer, DJ, or artist looking to enhance your sound, this course will empower you with advanced techniques and knowledge to take your music to the next level. Our hands-on approach allows you to directly apply the concepts learned, providing you with a comprehensive understanding of Ableton Live's capabilities. From refining mixes to exploring remixing and live performance, this course ensures you gain expertise across various facets of music production, preparing you and your music for the world.

Join us in this condensed yet impactful journey, where you'll not only refine your technical skills but also cultivate a unique artistic identity. By the end of this course, you'll be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to navigate the complexities of music production, setting the stage for a successful and fulfilling career through the world of electronic music.

Learning outcomes

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

• Perfect your grooves and creative approaches to composition
• Explore Simpler's versatility, master drum sequencing, and experiment with musical modes and orchestration
• Delve into advanced synthesis and instrument design, covering Wavetable, Operator, and Analog synthesisers
• Explore grouping, building, and create a library of signature sounds
• Deepen your skills in dynamic arrangement, transitions mastery, advanced mixing techniques, and even live performance, providing a well-rounded and holistic journey into music production

Course content

What will be covered in this beginner music production course?

Week 1: Explore, Enrich and Elevate Your Sound

• Prepare to up the standard of your sound, as we dive deep into rhythm and harmony.
• Utilising Simpler's versatility for shaping samples, master advanced drum sequencing, and inject human-like feel into your grooves with various groove templates. 
• Explore musical modes, craft expressive chord progressions, master basslines, and experiment with orchestration for well-rounded compositions.

Week 2:  Sonic Alchemy: Mastering Sound Design with Ableton Live

• Delve into the intricacies of sound design with Ableton Live. 
• Explore Wavetable, Operator, and Analog synthesisers to create your own unique presets. 
• Learn the art of grouping, building, and creating a library of signature sounds using Racks, MIDI Effects, and basic Max for Live devices. 
• Experiment, craft, and personalise your own synthesised and processed sounds.

Week 3: Dynamic Arrangements and Transitions

• Learn to craft a captivating musical journey by making thoughtful arrangement choices, establishing dynamic contrast, and drawing inspiration from genre-specific reference tracks. 
• Dive deeper as we master the art of seamless transitions, energy-boosting build-ups, and impactful breakdowns, applying all these skills as you go for a comprehensive journey into the art of arrangement.

Week 4: Refine Your Mix and Prepare for Mastering

• Dive into the intricacies of advanced mixing techniques, focusing on achieving clarity, spatial width, impact and dynamics. 
• Demystify compression, how to use it and why. 
• Take your EQ skills up a notch. 
• Exporting your project with optimal settings for mastering or label submission.

Week 5:  Introduction to Remixing and Live Performance

• Dive into the world of remixing with techniques like track deconstruction, working with STEMS and creative reinterpretation, mastering an effective workflow for creating. 
• Transition seamlessly into the realm of live performance, exploring advanced MIDI controller integration, dynamic set building, and interactive performance elements to unlock the true power of Ableton Live.

Intended audience

Who is this music production course for?

Participants of this course must:

• Be familiar with the basics of music production and have a foundational understanding of Ableton Live, or have completed Music Production with Ableton Live: Beginners Course.
• Understand basic music theory, such as scales, chords, and rhythm.

These prerequisites aim to provide a smooth learning experience, ensuring that participants have the necessary foundational knowledge to fully engage with the intermediate course content.

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 "wired" headphones with a 3.5mm Jack (TRS) connection (unfortunately no Bluetooth or wireless headphones)
• A USB if you would like to save your work

Additional information

Please note the following:

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