Take Your First Steps as a Music Producer!

Join us for the essential first step for any budding music producer and create your first beats on Ableton Live. Hone your MIDI skills through copying, pasting, duplicating, looping, recording, editing and quantizing. Experiment with MIDI controllers, drum machines and the mixer. Harness the power of structure and rhythm for programming drums. Finally, analyze the stylistic features of various genres to make your productions more authentic and/or commercially viable.

This course forms part of Digital Media Academy’s Tech Accelerator program, our deep learning journey for 13-18-year-olds. Tech Accelerators fuse expert instruction with real-world partnerships to get you university- and industry-ready. Over sequential Levels, you’ll curate a portfolio of Real-world Client Briefs from our leading tech and creative partners, attend Industry Masterclasses, get one-to-one Pro Mentor support and build a Career Network. Tech Accelerators: Fuel your 21st-century career.

Standards Alignment

This course is aligned to national and international standards for technology education. Standards include: International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), International Baccalaureate , UK National Curriculum, New Zealand Curriculum, and more!

Course Requirements:

• Laptop or desktop computer running Windows or macOS that meets the minimum specifications of the hardware and software listed below.
• Built-in or external microphone
• Built-in or external speakers or headphones
• Google Chrome browser
• Additional computer screen/monitor (recommended)

Hardware:

• 2+ octave MIDI controller (recommended: Akai MPK mini mk3)

Software:

• Ableton Live 11 Standard
  N.B. You are eligible to save 40% on Live Standard or Suite if you are in full-time education. You will need to verify your educational status within four weeks of purchasing.

By the End of This Course:

Graduate with up to three two-minute hip hop, dance, pop or film score productions that feature 6+ MIDI instruments and secure drum programming.

Throughout this course:

Deep dive into the following areas of MIDI & Beatmaking, as meticulously planned by our expert industry professional curriculum designers:

• Using a Drum Machine
  
• Drawing in MIDI
  
• Rhythm Basics
  
• MIDI Duration
  
• Recording MIDI
  
• Quantizing
  
• MIDI Controllers
  
• Intro to Song Sections
  
• Duplicating MIDI Sections
  
• EDM Beat Essentials: House & Techno
  
• EDM Beat Essentials: Dubstep & Downtempo
  
• Masterclass
  
• Pop Beat Essentials
  
• Hip Hop Beat Essentials
  
• Film Score Track Essentials
  
• Mixing Basics