Not available for purchase in India
Enrollment for this course has closed. But you can enroll in a future offering (please select)
Not available for purchase in India
This course provides hands-on experience in producing, mixing, and sound design with a digital audio workstation. Students will learn the fundamentals (physics) of sound and digital audio, proper gain staging, where and how distortion enters recordings and mixes, how to set levels and panning, effective sub group mixing, and an introduction to signal processing such as equalization, compression, delay, and reverb. In addition to core audio and mixing concepts, students will learn various production techniques, such as sequencing, arranging, automation, using virtual instruments (e.g. synths, samplers, and drum machine plugins), working with MIDI, plugin formats such as VST/Audio-Units, and mapping digital USB controllers for the studio and live performance.
The material covered in this course will range from the foundations of producing music and sound design, to more advanced topics such as Ableton "racks" (Audio Effect Racks, MIDI Effect Racks, Instrument Racks, and Drum Racks), multi-band effects processing, advanced modulation, warping, time-stretching, and mangling audio, as well as taking advantage of Live's audio analysis tools for extracting grooves, melody, harmony, and drums from recorded sound.
Below you will find an overview of the Learning Outcomes you will achieve as you complete this course.
Understanding of the basic properties (physics) of sound, the perception of sound, and its relationship to music.
Understanding of digital audio, including concepts such as (but not limited to) analog-to-digital conversion, digital-to-analog conversion, bit-depth, sample-rate, headroom and gain-staging.
Ability to use core mixing techniques such as balancing levels, panning, equalization, compression, and reverb.
Ability to use advanced routing and signal flow such as buss channels, sends/returns, groups, and parallel processing.
Ability to use many facets of digital audio workstations such as sequencers, arrangement, and automation.
Introduction to synthesis and sampling concepts such as envelopes (ADSR), LFOs, and advanced modulation.
Ability to use MIDI and a core understanding of the MIDI protocol specification.
Ability to use a digital audio workstation to realize a piece of music or sound design from scratch.
Advanced use of Ableton Live Instrument Racks, Audio Effects Racks, MIDI Effects Racks, and Drum Racks for creative expression.
Jordan Natan Hochenbaum is an artist concerned with finding meaningful connections among music, art, and technology. His work involves designing novel interfaces for musical performance, multimodal sensor systems, and playing and composing in a wide range of musical styles. Hochenbaum actively releases music under the Natan H moniker. As co-founder of FlipMu, he has explored interactive works for large-scale multitouch surfaces, real-time data sonification, generative audio/visual systems, and open-source interface design. Together with Owen Vallis and Jasmin Ruiz Blasco, he has been working as The Noise Index, an art-and-research platform that explores questions emerging from increased access to information in the digital age.
In 2013 Jordan completed his PhD titled L’Arte di Interazione Musicale: New Musical Possibilities through Multimodal Techniques. Recently he has worked on anomaly detection at Twitter, while also on faculty at California Institute of the Arts, where he teaches a variety of classes in the Music Technology department. Jordan’s work has been featured online and in print, including Wired, Computer Arts, Make, and XLR8R Magazine, The Creators Project, on Processing.org and Rhizome.org, and at festivals and conferences including Google I/O, NASA’s Yuri’s Night, the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, the International Society for Music Information Retrieval, and the International Computer Music Conference.
• Equipment: Computer with installation privileges
• Software: Ableton Live (Discounts available for premium members including $70 off Standard, $100 off Suite, and $100 off Push. Please see Course Resources for more information.)
PLEASE NOTE: Taking part in a Kadenze course as a Premium Member, does not affirm that the student has been enrolled or accepted for enrollment by California Institute of the Arts.
If a student signs up for the Foundations of Music Technology program, it is recommended that these courses are taken sequentially.
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