Five introductory courses on Ableton software.
Five classes of auditory perception.
(Prepare your mix).
Three options to choose from:
(Subtitles 
)
Including 10 videos of 50 minutes each, for a total of 9 hours of recorded training.
Including 10 videos of 50 minutes each, for a total of 9 hours of recorded training.
(+2h Live with Terence)
Including 10 videos of 50 minutes each, for a total of 9 hours of recorded training.
(+4h Live with Terence)
Discover a digital audio workstation (DAW) that pushes the boundaries of ingenuity and flexibility for musicians and producers. This software offers flexible MIDI and audio routing, allowing for unrestricted creativity. Its unique Session mode, specific to Ableton, provides a distinctive approach to composition, enabling you to create and experiment in real-time without any time constraints whether you want to improvise new ideas or edit complete tracks.
Dive into the heart of this vast sound library, where quality and originality abound! This module will help you accurately represent the vibrations that generate sounds, known as frequencies, and how they propagate or convert according to the rules governing audio protocols. We will begin with an essential reminder of MIDI and audio protocols to refresh your understanding of how all computer-assisted music production programs function. You will find indispensable reminders whether you are a beginner or a professional.
Discover my techniques for producing professional beats in this chapter. We offer you an optimized workflow that highlights the tips and shortcuts I regularly use. Additionally, I present a free Max for Live module specifically designed to enhance your grooves (and there are many), allowing you to create solid phrases ready to complement your main beat. Toward a new approach.
The audio and MIDI clip system in Ableton Live is at the heart of its unique approach to music production. Each clip acts as an independent module. Whether you're recording spontaneous ideas or testing new variations, you have total control over how the clips interact with each other. Thanks to the flexibility of Session mode, you can organize and reorganize your ideas endlessly, without time constraints, while maintaining a continuous creative flow. It’s a new tool for rapidly developing ideas, allowing for improvisation, especially with the Unlinked mode and its envelopes. Let’s dive!
Synthesizers are at the heart of our creation. Understanding the concepts of virtual and analogue synthesis, while similar in approach, is essential due to their different outputs. Virtual synthesis, powered by digital algorithms, offers exceptional versatility for creating complex and personalized sounds. By combining analogue synthesis, Ableton Live and other DAWs provide a hybrid environment, merging the precision of digital with the warmth of analogue recordings. We will review the fundamentals while exploring my favourite plugins.
Gain staging involves determining the sound levels in decibels (dB) of priority elements based on the musical genre. How do we approach this step and establish our setup? It is an essential stage in the audio mixing process, as it allows for controlling and optimizing sound levels to avoid distortion and ensure good dynamics in the mix. This involves adjusting the input levels (or gains) of the various tracks so that the signal is neither too weak nor too strong before moving on to audio processing stages such as equalization, compression, and effects: the mixing. We will explore, in three simple steps, how to position this famous second ceiling by applying a gain/value to some of our signals.
Mono uses a single audio channel to reproduce sound, creating a uniform and centred sound image, while stereo employs two distinct channels to offer a more immersive audio experience, allowing the spatialization of audio elements in space, thus creating depth and directionality. How do we control these two types of signals? Nothing complicated, but extremely useful for achieving a good balance
Corrective equalization is a process aimed at improving the sound quality of a recording by adjusting unwanted frequencies. It helps reduce or mitigate issues such as excessive resonances, background noise, or frequency imbalances. By using equalizers, the sound engineer can target specific frequency bands to cut or boost them, resulting in a clearer and more balanced sound. This technique is essential to ensure that each element of the mix stands out clearly. I will show you my approach using my favourite tools.
Compressors regulate the dynamics of an audio signal by reducing the volume of the loudest parts, resulting in a more balanced sound (we would refer to it as a set of frequencies). Dynamic equalizers, on the other hand, adjust specific frequencies based on the signal level. I’ve always preferred to approach amplitude and dynamics by visualizing with dynamic equalizers and then introducing dynamic processors like compressors. This way, the student can first visualize, and then listen, making it easier to distinguish between the two tools.
The balance between the kick and bass is crucial for a solid mix, as these primary elements often occupy similar frequencies in the lower end of the spectrum. In dance music, the kick and bass form the backbone of the mix, providing the rhythmic and energetic foundation upon which the entire production rests. We will explore what I have investigated over many years and the conclusions I've drawn (definition, space, and optimization)
