refused. ACADEMY: Introduction To Electronic Music Production Through Ableton Live

refused.ACADEMY
INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCTION THROUGH ABLETON LIVE
Introduction to Electronic Music Production Through Ableton Live
Duration: 5 Weeks / 10 Hours
Format: 10 students + 2 scholarship positions
Session: 2 hours per week
Level: Beginner — no prior Ableton Live experience required
Cost: $300 + HST
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
WEEK 1 — GETTING STARTED
• Understanding Ableton Live
• Session View vs. Arrangement View
• BPM, bars/beats, MIDI, audio, clips and tracks
• Navigating the Ableton interface
• Creating your first beat
• Drum Rack, MIDI clips, quantization and velocity
• Building a simple bassline
• Basic scales and loop construction
Assignment:
Create a 16-bar drum + bass loop.
WEEK 2 — RHYTHM, MIDI & SOUND
• Groove, swing and velocity
• Humanizing programmed drums
• MIDI editing and Piano Roll
• Chords and melodies
• Introduction to synthesis
• Oscillators, filters, envelopes and amps
• Creating bass, lead and pad sounds
• EQ, compression, reverb, delay and saturation
Assignment:
Turn your original loop into a 30–60 second musical idea.
WEEK 3 — ARRANGEMENT & SAMPLING
• Turning loops into complete tracks
• Basic electronic music structures
• Energy, repetition, contrast and tension/release
• Building intros, breakdowns, builds and transitions
• Automation
• Sampling in Ableton
• Warping, slicing, chopping, pitching and reversing
• Resampling and creative sound manipulation
Creative challenge:
Everyone gets the same sample. Make something completely different.
Assignment:
Create a 1–2 minute arrangement.
WEEK 4 — PRODUCTION & MIXING
• Listening critically to your own work
• Gain staging
• Volume and panning
• EQ and frequency ranges
• Low-end management
• Kick + bass relationships
• Compression
• Reverb and delay
• Creating space and depth
• Automation and movement
Students will also listen to each other's projects and receive constructive feedback.
Assignment:
Finish the arrangement and create a rough final mix.
WEEK 5 — FINISH & PRESENT
• Final production checklist
• Arrangement
• Levels
• Low end
• Transitions
• Automation
• Removing unnecessary sounds
• Clipping and basic final checks
• Individual studio time
• One-on-one feedback
The course finishes with a listening session where everyone plays their track.
No grades.
Instead:
• What did you make?
• What did you learn?
• Where would you take it next?
WHAT'S NEXT?
We'll also explore where you can take your production skills after the course:
• Music production
• DJing
• Live performance
• Sound design
• Sampling
• Synthesis
• Mixing
• Mastering
• Recording
• Max for Live
COURSE DETAILS
• 5 weeks
• 2 hours per week
• 10 students + 2 scholarship positions
• Beginner level
• No previous Ableton experience required
• $300 + HST
All you need is a laptop and a demo version of Ableton Live 12.
Students enrolled in the course are also eligible for Ableton's educational pricing, which can provide 50% off the software for eligible students.
FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.