Music Production 101

Syllabus

Lesson 1: Setting Up an Electronic Music Studio

• So What’s a Producer?
• The Music Production Process
• Developing Musical Ideas
• Practice Exercise: Example of Producing a Musical Idea
• Audio Recording
• Digital Audio Workstations
• Sample Loops
• Editing
• Mixing
• Mastering
• Music Production Tools
• Audio Interfaces: USB and Thunderbolt
• Monitor Speakers and Microphones
• MIDI Performance Controllers
• Control Surfaces and Grid Controllers
• Connections and Connectors
• Specific Connectors Used with Analog Audio
• Computer Connections in the Home Studio
• Studio Configuration Example
• Practice Exercise: Getting Set Up to Produce Music
• The Ableton Live Workspace
• Software Instruments and Effects in Live
• Synthesizers
• Software Synthesizers and Samplers
• Operator and Wavetable Synthesizers
• Effect Processing Tools and Processors
• Mixing in Ableton Live
• Assignment 1.1: Desktop Production Project Plan and Toolset
• Assignment 1.2: Designing Your Studio

Lesson 2: Sound and Signals

• Sound Basics
• Properties of Sound
• Pitch
• Musical Notes
• Timbre
• Loudness
• Analog Audio
• Practice Exercise: Standard Operating Levels and Reference Levels
• Analog Audio Connections
• Audio Specifications and Fidelity
• The Noise Floor and Signal to Noise Ratio
• Frequency Bandwidth and Response
• Distortion, Headroom, and Dynamic Range
• Measuring Dynamic Range
• Practice Exercise: Reading Audio Specification
• Assignment 2: Sound and Signals

Lesson 3: MIDI Sequencing

• MIDI and MIDI Commands
• MIDI Message Types: Channel
• MIDI Message Types: System
• Commonly Used MIDI Messages
• MIDI Monitor
• MIDI Sequencing in Ableton Live
• The Control Bar
• Practice Exercise: The Control Bar
• Practice Exercise: Transport Functions and Location
• Practice Exercise: Song Position Display
• Practice Exercise: Arrangement View
• Getting Ready to Record
• Practice Exercise: Tracks and Instruments
• Setting Up for Real-Time Recording
• Practice Exercise: Metronome Settings
• Practice Exercise: Count-in Options
• Practice Exercise: Recording
• Practice Exercise: Viewing MIDI Recordings
• Record Modes in Ableton Live
• Practice Exercise: Overdub Recording
• Practice Exercise: Overdub Mode
• Practice Exercise: Loop Recording
• Practice Exercise: Quantization and Q-Record
• Step Recording
• Practice Exercise: Step Recording
• Assignment 2: MIDI Sequencing, Part 1

Lesson 4: MIDI Editing

• Editing MIDI Sequences
• Practice Exercise: Editing MIDI Sequences
• Practice Exercise: Transposition
• Practice Exercise: Changing a Time Signature
• Practice Exercise: Setting the Clip Length
• MIDI Editing
• Practice Exercise: Editing Individual Notes
• Bars, Beats, and Subdivisions
• Practice Exercise: Editing Note Length (Part 1)
• Practice Exercise: Editing Note Length (Part 2)
• Practice Exercise: Event-Level Editing
• Practice Exercise: Fixing Mistakes
• Practice Exercise: Correcting Timing
• Quantization
• Practice Exercise: Using Quantization
• Practice Exercise: Correcting Durations
• Practice Exercise: Correcting Dynamics
• Practice Exercise: Editing Pitch
• Practice Exercise: Editing Song Form: Cut/Copy/Paste Operations
• Practice Exercise: Using Ableton Live Editing Commands
• Assignment 4: MIDI Editing, Part 2

Lesson 5: Working with Synthesizers

• What's a Synthesizer?
• Synthesizer Overview
• Hardware: Integrated Instruments
• Sound Modules
• Subtractive Synthesizers
• Samplers
• Physical Modeling
• FM Synthesis
• Synthesizer Architecture: Generators and Processors
• Properties of Sound: Pitch, Timbre, and Loudness
• Practice Exercise: The Oscillator–Signal Generation and Pitch
• Practice Exercise: Controlling Timbre
• Practice Exercise: Envelope Generators
• Software Instruments: Standalone, Plug-In, or DAW-Specific
• Practice Exercise: Loading an Ableton Live Instrument
• Going Deeper: Digital Samplers and Software Samplers
• Practice Exercise: Loading Sampler Patches in Ableton Live’s Sampler Instrument
• Assignment 5: Electronic Orchestration

Lesson 6: Working with Time, Tempo, and Rhythm: Drum Programming, Pattern Devices, and Arpeggiators

• Patterns in Music
• Pattern Sequencing
• The Grid
• Duple Time in Step Sequencing
• Triple Time in Step Sequencing
• Orchestrating a Rhythm
• Defining a Rhythmic Feel
• Session View in Ableton Live
• Practice Exercise: Session View
• Practice Exercise: Entering a Basic Pattern
• Practice Exercise: Adding Accents
• Creating Variations
• Practice Exercise: Changing Accents
• Practice Exercise: Adding or Removing Instruments
• Practice Exercise: Adding Fills
• Building an Arrangement from Patterns
• Sequencing Pattern Changes
• Practice Exercise: Recording Pattern Changes
• Practice Exercise: Copying Clips to Arrangement View
• Practice Exercise: Adding Instruments to a Drum Arrangement
• Working with External Hardware Instruments
• Rhythmic Feel and Groove Quantization
• Practice Exercise: The Groove Pool
• Practice Exercise: Randomization and Chance
• The Arpeggiator
• Practice Exercise: The Arpeggiator
• Practice Exercise: Recording Arpeggio Patterns to a Track
• Assignment 6: Rhythms and Patterns

Lesson 7: Audio Recording

• Digital Audio Basics
• Sample Rate
• Sample Resolution
• Overview of Hard-Disk Recording
• How Digital Audio Is Used
• Applications
• How Audio Is Stored to Disk
• File Formats
• Tracks, Channels, and Voices
• Hard-Disk Issues
• Channels
• Microphones
• Unipolar Response Patterns
• Microphone Types
• Frequency Response
• Getting Set Up to Record with an Audio Interface
• Audio Interface Configuration
• Practice Exercise: Setting the Buffer Size in Ableton Live
• Practice Exercise: Monitoring Options
• Practice Exercise: Making Your First Recording
• A Word about File Management
• Recording Demonstrations
• Assignment 7: Final Project MIDI Arrangement

Lesson 8: Audio Editing and Processing

• Non-Destructive Editing
• Practice Exercise: Defining Regions
• Practice Exercise: Using Clips in Ableton Live’s Sampler Instrument
• Practice Exercise: Launching Audio Clips in Ableton Live’s Session View
• Practice Exercise: Editing a Song Form
• Destructive Editing
• Using DSP to Edit Audio
• Practice Exercise: Using the Change Gain and Normalize Commands
• Fade In/Out
• Practice Exercise: Using the Fade In/Out Commands
• Practice Exercise: Using the Reverse Tool
• Practice Exercise: Changing Tempo and Pitch
• Assignment 8: Final Project Audio Recording

Lesson 9: Loops and Digital Audio Production Techniques

• A Word about Loops
• Making Audio Loops
• Practice Exercise: Editing a Loop
• Practice Exercise: Audio Tempo vs. Sequence Tempo
• Rendering MIDI Tracks to Audio
• Practice Exercise: Freezing Tracks
• Practice Exercise: Exporting Tracks
• Loop File Formats
• Beat Slicing
• Practice Exercise: Audio Slicing
• Strengthening a Weak Performance
• Practice Exercise: Audio Quantization
• Practice Exercise: Quantizing a Vocal Performance
• Pitch Processing
• Practice Exercise: Pitch Correction
• Practice Exercise: Pitch Effects
• Assignment 9: Final Project Loops, Audio Editing, and Processing

Lesson 10: Mixing and Audio Effects 1

• The Ableton Live Mixer
• Controls in the Ableton Live Mixer
• Practice Exercise Part 1: Fader
• Practice Exercise Part 2: Panning
• Practice Exercise Part 3: Mute and Solo
• Practice Exercise Part 4: Equalization
• Practice Exercise Part 5: Auxiliary Bus Controls
• Practice Exercise Part 6: Main Output Fader
• Mixer Review
• Technical Issues in Mixing
• Aesthetic Issues in Mixing
• Effects Processing
• Ableton Live’s Filters
• Practice Exercise: EQ Eight
• Cutoff Filters
• Practice Exercise: Filter Slope
• Practice Exercise: EQing the Piano Track with a Cutoff Filter, Part 1
• Shelving Filters
• Practice Exercise: EQing the Piano Track with a Shelving Filter, Part 2
• Parametric EQ
• Practice Exercise: EQing the Piano Track with a Parametric EQ, Part 3
• Practice Exercise: Mixing Practice
• Assignment 10: Final Project Mixing: Levels, Panning, and EQ

Lesson 11: Mixing and Audio Effects 2

• Dynamics Processing
• Typical Parameters of Dynamics Processors
• The Compressors in Ableton Live
• Types of Dynamics Processing
• Practice Exercise: Using Compression in Our Mix
• Limiting
• Practice Exercise: Setting Up a Limiter
• Practice Exercise: Gating
• Time-Based Effects
• Delay Effects in Ableton Live
• Categories of Delay Effects
• Practice Exercise: Delay
• Doubling/Flanging/Chorus Effects
• Practice Exercise: Doubling the Violin Melody
• Practice Exercise: Flanging/Chorus on the Guitar
• Reverb
• Practice Exercise: Reverb on the Drums
• Practice Exercise: Mixing and Automation
• Assignment 11: Final Project Mixing: Dynamics, Reverb, and Automation

Lesson 12: Cloud Collaboration, Mastering, Music Distribution, and Course Wrap-up

• Collaboration via the Cloud
• Practice Exercise: Using Dropbox Cloud Collaboration
• Mastering
• Mastering Tools
• Audio Distribution Formats
• Practice Exercise: Mastering Your Project for Distribution
• Practice Exercise: Practice Mastering
• Audio File Compression Overview
• Practice Exercise: Creating MP3 Files with Audacity
• Distributing Audio Files
• Assignment 12: Final Project Mastering and Submission