Ableton Live is known as the sequencer you can play like an instrument. Since it’s introduction to the market in 2001, it has become the favoured solution for many high profile artists and DJs when creating original music, remixing, DJing or performing live.
Our 4 day weekend (or 6 week evening) course is aimed at complete beginners and those with a basic knowledge of Ableton Live or music production generally. Class sizes are small; we take a max of 9 students.
Initially, an “everyday” working knowledge of the software is taught, moving on to general music production and performance techniques as the course progresses. You will leave the course with a good understanding of how the software works, and plenty of ideas for how you might start to put tracks together at home.
“As the worldwide Ableton user community has grown, the demand for high quality Ableton Live training led to requests from educators and professionals for an official, Ableton-approved qualification. To meet these needs, the Certification Program was launched by Ableton in 2008. Since the Program’s inception we have certified only the best and most capable trainers and teachers in order to ensure that the Ableton user community has access to a high standard of training.”
The first half of the course is all about Ableton Live and looks at all the ‘everyday working’ functionality: learning what each part of the interface does, customising it to suit your working style, and how to start building and controlling Live Sets.
We begin by covering the main aspects of Session view, and organising Live’s browser window, before learning how to import and control the playback of audio samples. To this, we add effect devices, and take tactile remote control of the Set using MIDI controller keyboards.
We look at how and why Live handles Clip launch and playback, methods for turning a pre-existing audio sample into something more unique, and how to organise groups of Clips in to Scenes for convenient playback control. By the end of day one, you will learn how to comprehensively create a Live Set from pre-existing musical ideas. You will have complete control over all musical ideas and effects, and will be able to perform a live set.
We then begin to add MIDI instrument devices to create original drum beats, bass lines and lead lines/chords. All the essentials of MIDI Clip creation and editing are covered, necessary for controlling all the instruments at your disposal. We show you where to find great samples for building drum kits from scratch, and how to control different parameters such as velocity and envelope decay to add expression to your drum beats.
We then move on to creating melodic ideas from scratch. For those without a background in music theory, we cover some basic methods for quickly coming up with ideas, using both music theory, and some of Ableton Live’s effect devices to ensure you avoid writer’s block.
The audio ideas from the first sessions are combined with the unique ideas we create during this, where we learn the plus points and potential limitations of both pathways. Finally, this session culminates in the recording and editing of an arrangement in Arrangement view.
Over the halfway mark, this course takes for granted a working knowledge of Ableton Live, and starts to look more generally at different music production scenarios. Because of this, it’s important to practice what you learnt during the first half of the course before we move on!
The syllabus for the second half is fairly open-ended and can be adapted depending on what the class would like to focus on. Topics covered include things like advanced audio handling for the purposes of sampling, re-editing, creating a mash-up, recording a DJ set, and manipulating stems for remixing.
Other topics include ‘how do they do that’: students can bring in their favourite tracks which we dissect and recreate by looking at the sound design and arrangement techniques used by the original artist.
For the final part of your Ableton Live short course we will look at some of the more advanced aspects of Live such as racks, mix down techniques i.e compression, EQ, reverb etc. We cover Live’s ability to convert audio to MIDI, and slicing up audio to a drum rack – both great ways of coming up with new ideas.
This means you will have covered all the steps involved in producing music from the initial idea to final rendering.
Mixdown is a vital part of the music production process which turns your collection of ideas into a finished professional-sounding piece of work, and will set you apart from the plethora of bedroom producers out there. In short, you will leave us understanding the fundamental functions and techniques needed to make your mix stand out from the crowd.
Course information
Evenings
July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, & Aug 7th (Wed eves 7pm-10pm)
Weekend
Sept 14, 15, 21,22 Lessons Sat and Sun 10am – 3pm
Suitability
Beginners welcome or if you’ve dabbled at home and have questions!
Course fees
£495 advance. Monthly options also available.
Student Finance Options:
Options One and Two: Payment terms from 6 – 12 months. From £40 per month.
Minimum 5% registration fee (£25) payable upon successful application. Total loan value £470
Fund your own training:
Option Three: £495 advance payment.
Option Four: Reg fee (£50) to enrol + £475. Total £525. Balance due no later than 14 days prior to start date.
Enrol on course
When should I enrol?
In short: enrol as soon as you are ready. All live course dates are available for you to enrol on.
Unlike most training centres SEM has a limit on lecturer to student ratio and keeps its class sizes small. We therefore have limited availability and courses fill up in advance. We would recommend enrolling as soon as you are ready, to avoid disappointment.
If you are funding with Omni Capital finance (monthly payment options 1 and 2):
Apply online now via the course page
Monthly repayments to Omni Capital do not begin until 28 days after your finance has been accepted.
The initial downpayment is paid to SEM, which is required upon successful finance application.
If you have any questions please contact a course advisor on +44 (0)161 833 4722. They will be happy to help!
Can I get funding for the course?
If you have any questions, we would always recommend contacting a course advisor or calling us on +44 (0)161 833 4722.
Options 1 – 2: Get instant finance with Omni Capital (credit check required – you or the person applying for finance will need to be in employment to apply)
Prospective students are able to get an instant online decision to fund training though our partner Omni Capital. To apply, you must be 18 or over, and have been living in the UK for at least 3 years before your course starts. You can apply by selecting an affordable monthly repayment that suits your budget, then clicking ‘Pay in Full’ and then ‘Enrol on course’ on the course page to begin the finance application.
Please note, it is also possible for someone to apply for finance on your behalf. Enter your student details, and then when the Omni Capital application begins, enter the person applying for finance’s details at this point.
Benefits of Omni Capital finance are that the baseline course price is based on our ‘advanced’ cheaper price. You will need to pay a minimum 5% registration fee to SEM at the point of successful application, although you have the option to make anything up to a 50% downpayment on course fees if you wish to make your monthly payments (please contact SEM as we can set up a bespoke application for you).
Options 3 – 4: Fund the course yourself
Option 3 is an advance payment of £495, you can make this payment right up until 24hrs prior to the course start date, but you run the risk of the course filling if you wait too long.
Option 4 means you can secure your place for £50 at any point, and the remaining £475 balance you can pay at any point (just contact the SEM Office to pay), right up until 14 days before the course starts. If you have not paid the remaining balance and it is within 14 days of the course starting, then your place may be at risk as it cannot be held for you within 14 days if the remaining balance has not been received. Please note, registration fees cannot be refunded if you cancel or do not attend your course place. Please contact us about this if you need more advice.
Please note:
If you are European, a British citizen but have not lived in the UK for the past three years, or have low or no credit score, then payment options 3 and 4 are the relevant options for you.
Student Finance Calculator
You can use the finance calculator to try the potential options that suit your budget.
There is a minimum of 5% non-refundable registration fee (downpayment for the course fees) required from the student at the point of successful application. The calculator will tell you minimum deposit required on the right hand side. To pay a bigger registration fee to lower your monthly payments, please contact the school and we can create a bespoke finance application for you.
EG: Ableton Live Course. Fees: £495
£495 over 6 months: Deposit £25.00 : Monthly instalments of £78.33. Total finance £495.00
https://www.schoolofelectronicmusic.com/
https://www.schoolofelectronicmusic.com
https://www.schoolofelectronicmusic.com/music-production/introduction/
