12 Weeks
Level 2
3-Credit Tuition
$1,545Non-Credit Tuition
$1,290Ableton Live Fundamentals is a perfect point of entry if you’re looking to learn this fascinating program, which will open up new possibilities and change the way you think about making music. Ableton Live is not only an ideal tool for recording, but it can also be used for composing, arranging, mixing, and especially performing.
Ableton Live is a unique and fun environment for exploring sound, composition, and performance. This course will touch upon all of these fundamentals, also covering aspects of production, synthesis, sampling, effects processing, and workflow inside of this unique software. This course is for:
- Novices that want to learn to make music
- Experienced producers wanting to learn Ableton Live
- DJs wanting to expand into music production
- Performers wanting to add digital tools into their performance
Every week you’ll receive both technical and musical guidance which will allow you to create your own original productions inside of Ableton Live. You’ll engage in hands-on experimentation, always making music throughout the 12 weeks of this course. All types of creation and styles are supported.
Upon completion of Ableton Live Fundamentals, you will have composed and produced five original pieces of work and you’ll feel confident and empowered to challenge yourself even further inside Ableton Live.
By the end of the course, you'll be able to:
- Program drums in Ableton Live
- Compose in Ableton Live using MIDI sequencing and MIDI editing
- Create an arrangement using mappings, groupings, and tracks
- Export your arrangements
- Set up inputs and outputs
- Record audio
- Convert audio to MIDI
- Use the Simpler instrument
- Use automation
- Consolidate clips
- Build sounds using Racks
- Convert MIDI to audio
- Freeze tracks
- Mix your projects using dimension
- Perform gain staging
- Use Audio and MIDI effects to enhance your project
- Remix songs
- Manage your computer’s CPU usage
- Troubleshoot computer and session issues
- Prepare your session for live performance
- Record your live performance
Syllabus
Lesson 1: Drum Programming
- Sessions and Arrangements
- Audio Preferences
- Quantization
- MIDI
- MIDI Preferences
- MIDI Programming
- MIDI Editing
- Groove
- Assignment 1: Drum Programming
Lesson 2: MIDI Composing
- MIDI Sequencing
- Composition: Contrast and Repetition
- Motific Development
- Harmonies
- Using Apps to Implement Music Theory
- Session View Automation
- File Management
- Assignment 2: MIDI Composing
Lesson 3: Arranging
- Mappings
- Grouping
- Tracks
- Send/Return
- Controllers
- Moving From Session to Arrangement View
- Frequency Spectrum
- Automation in Session View
- Consolidating Clips
- Exporting Your Arrangement
- Assignment 3: Create Final Version of Project
Lesson 4: Audio Playground
- Setting up to Record
- Input/Output (I/O)
- Sampling Rate
- Bit Depth
- Buffer
- Recording Audio
- Audio to MIDI
- Simpler in Classic Mode
- Assignment 4: Create a Short Composition
Lesson 5: Building Sounds
- Racks
- Instrument Racks
- Key and Velocity Ranges (Splits)
- MIDI Effects
- Arpeggiator
- Pitch
- Macro Controls
- Saving to User Library
- MIDI to Audio
- Freezing Tracks
- Assignment 5: Building Sounds
Lesson 6: Mixing
- Dimension
- Width
- Depth
- Height
- Time
- Sectional Contrast and Timbre
- Critical Listening
- Managing Volume
- Gain Staging
- Session Organization
- Assignment 6: Create Your Arrangement and Mixing for Dimension
Lesson 7: FX Processing
- Audio Effects
- Brightness
- Autofilter
- EQ8
- Sends
- Time-Based Processors
- Effects Automation
- Assignment 7: Use Effects to Finish Your Project
Lesson 8: Remixing
- Warping
- Crossfader
- Simpler: a Second Look
- Remixing
- Assignment 8: Create a Remix
Lesson 9: Pre-Production
- Big Picture: What, How, and Why
- References
- Form
- Energy
- Sonic Palette
- Curation and Prep
- Session Prep
- Assignment 9: Generate Ideas in Pre-Production
Lesson 10: Production
- CPU Management
- Troubleshooting Computer and Session Issues
- Session File Management
- Relinking Missing Files
- Deleting Unused Files
- Collaboration
- Redundancies
- Mixing With a Controller
- Assignment 10: Compose, Sequence, and Record
Lesson 11: Performance
- Moving From Arrangement to Session View
- Performance Techniques
- Live Looping
- Record Quantization
- Launching
- Follow Actions
- Scene Changes
- Live Effects Processing
- MIDI Mapping
- Playing Along
- Recording Your Performance
- Assignment 11: Format Your Arrangement for Performance
Lesson 12: Looking Ahead
- Artist Interviews
- Home Studio Setups
- Exploring Additional Topics
- Synthesis, Sampling, and Digital Signal Processing
- Assignment 12: Review Your Classmates’ Final Performances
Requirements
Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements
Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills
This course does not have any prerequisites; it is designed for those with no experience with Ableton Live.
Textbook(s)
- No textbooks required
Software
- Ableton Live 12 Suite
Hardware
- Audio interface
- XLR microphone and cable
- One of the following studio monitoring options (both recommended):
- Studio monitors (pair), such as JBL 305Ps or better, as well as necessary cables
- Over-ear studio headphones, such as Sennheiser HD 600, Sony MDR-7506, Philips SHP9500, Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, etc.
- Recommended: MIDI controller
Student Deals
After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact support@online.berklee.edu with any questions.
General Course Requirements
Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Classes. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course.
Mac Users
PC Users
All Users
- Latest version of Google Chrome
- Zoom meeting software
- Webcam
- Speakers or headphones
- External or internal microphone
- Broadband Internet connection
Instructors
Author
Erin Barra has been a key player in the creative process of many projects from conception to final master to stage performance. With a wide ranging skill set (educator, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, music technology consultant), she enables people to create content they’re personally invested in and execute their ideas.
Specializing in music technology integration, she works with artists and bands looking to integrate laptops and digital technologies into their writing, production and stage setups, and has developed, taught and executed several music technology curriculums at the open source (Coursera and ROLI), K-12 (Beats By Girlz), and collegiate levels (Berklee College of Music, Berklee Online).
An authoritative voice in music, tech, and education, Barra is the Director of Popular Music at Arizona State University, Executive Director of Beats By Girlz, course developer for Berklee Online and former Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Specializing in composition, performance, and creative music technology application, she has worked with and represented companies such as Ableton, Splice, ROLI, MusicTech, Moog, and iZotope. She has presented at Loop, NAMM, SXSW, Moogfest, Gearfest, KIEM, Future of Music Coalition, Yale’s EXPOL, and Re-Mixed Media Festival. Check out Barra’s work as an artist on all platforms, and catch her live electronic performances on YouTube. Read Less
Author
Loudon Stearns is an associate professor at Berklee College of Music, a course author and instructor at Berklee Online, and an active media-artist. Within the Contemporary Writing and Production department at Berklee College of Music, he prepares students to work as independent composers and producers in a technology-laden music industry. Online, he focuses on the latest electronic music styles and music-technology innovations, showing students how to analyze contemporary styles and use the latest music technology in their own works. An innovator in both education and art, Loudon authored a Massive Open Online Class, "Introduction to Music Production," that has provided high-quality free education to hundreds of thousands of students, received an award from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association for "Excellence in Teaching" and received the "Excellence in Media Art" award from the Emerson College Visual and Media Art department.
Holding a Bachelor of Music in Contemporary Writing and Production and Bass Performance from Berklee College of Music, and a Master of Fine Arts in Media Art from Emerson College, Loudon pulls from a broad range of skills in the creation of his own multi-media performances that include live music, projection-mapping, dance, visual art and interactivity. Of particular interest is using the entire world as a performance space by using internet streaming to coordinate numerous performers and audiences on vastly different parts of the globe. The technical and aesthetic challenges of this type of performance are new and exciting and require the sort of broad skill-set that Loudon has developed through his extensive institutional and self education in music, sound, performance, motion graphics, photography, programming, and construction. Read Less
Instructor
Seth Richardson is an audio engineer, system designer, and producer with diverse experience across the media and live experience landscape. Seth currently works as Technical Director for Spotify’s flagship daily morning show The Get Up, leading the technical team through a zero-down time live-to-tape production heard by millions of listeners globally.
Since graduating from Berklee’s Music Production and Engineering program in 2014, Seth has had the pleasure of leading world-wide audio teams in support of a wide variety of events.
- Corporate clients include: Apple, CNN, IBM, MasterCard, Audible, Women’s Wear Daily, Dow Jones, and Lego.
- Fashion Week NYC clients include leading fashion brands Gucci, Hermes, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Carolina Herrera, Tiffany Co, and Cartier
- Concerts and live experiences for artists including John Legend, Maggie Rogers, Andrea Bocelli, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Jennifer Hudson, En Vogue, New Edition, Betty Who, Shallou, Sofi Tukker, The Knocks, and Hayden James
Instructor
Ever evolving in music and art, Christina McGeehan comes from the land of meditative avant jazz improvisations, classical composition, electronic beat making, and interactive multi-medium performance. Currently, residing in LA, Christina is composing and producing music for film, dance, immersive installation performance and teaching production and composition. She is a member of the Recording Academy and Women In Women in Music.
Being a pioneer with the software Ableton Live, Christina has been teaching master classes in Ableton Live since 2006 at establishments like University of California, Kutztown University, Beats By Girls, Apogee Studio, Ableton Live, Leeway Foundation and University of the Arts. Artist in residencies include UCLA CAP, Fringe Arts Center Philadelphia, PIFA Festival, Fidget Space and New York Parks Commission for Summer Stage.Christina’s latest film score for, Tasting The Moon, has won several awards, including Best Music Video at the 6th Annual Los Angeles International Underground Film Festival 2016 and Best Short at the 10th Annual Indie Fest USA International Film Festival 2016. Her composer debut was featured with a live Orchestra, presented by the prestigious Echo Society, a collective top composers in Los Angeles. Read Less
Instructor
Rishabh Rajan is an educator with eight years of experience in higher education, having taught in schools in India, Malaysia, and the US. He is an Ableton Certified Trainer, Apple Certified Trainer for Logic Pro, and an Avid Certified Instructor for Pro Tools. He is also an accomplished electronic music producer, writing future bass music and performing mashups under the alias code: MONO. He has worked as a sound designer for Twisted Tools, Meta Function, and Bela D Media, and is currently developing sample libraries of Indian instruments with Crypto Cipher. His products have been used by BAFTA-, Emmy-, and Grammy-nominated composers from around the world. He has written three eBooks on sound design, which are all available on the Apple iBookStore. He has also developed over 30 sound design and music production streaming video courses for macProVideo and AskVideo. Aside from being a regular contributor to the online music production news blog Ask.Audio, he also hosts a YouTube channel where he regularly posts sound design/synthesizer tutorials & mashup performances.
Instructor
Chris Annibell is a musician, DJ,
electronic music educator, and multimedia technologist with a passion
for connecting people through music, and a commitment to diversity and
representation through education and community building. He has
collaborated with like-minded artists on stage, in the studio, in the DJ
booth, and on the dance floor. In addition, he has taught at Oberlin
College and the Roc Nation School of Music at Long Island University,
Brooklyn and Berklee NYC.
Over the course of his career, Annibell has produced,
remixed, and performed with a wide array of music luminaries, including
Kenny "Dope" Gonzales (Masters at Work), Rich Medina, Gilles Peterson,
Zap Mama, Erykah Badu, Victor Wooten, Ursula Rucker, Bonobo, Thievery
Corporation, Tony Touch, Casey Benjamin (Heavy, Robert Glasper
Experiment), Bernie Worrell (Parliament-Funkadelic), Alice Smith, and Nova Lima.
What's Next?
When taken for credit, Ableton Live Fundamentals can be applied towards the completion of these related programs:
Related Certificate Programs
Related Degree Majors
Related Music Career Roles
Employers look for skills learned in this course, when hiring for the following music career roles:
Questions?
Contact our Academic Advisors by phone at 1-866-BERKLEE (U.S.), 1-617-747-2146 (INT'L), or by email at advisors@online.berklee.edu.
