Music Production for Songwriters, Level 1

We have revamped this essential class for this ONLINE-ONLY format to address directly the world you find yourself in: how to make great productions with your laptop, MIDI, your voice, your instruments, and a mic, in your space. Making the limitations become the strengths in your creative workflow. Study with an accomplished songwriter/producer/remixer who is composer for HBO/Max's top reality show and learn not only to create your own productions, but how to collaborate professionally in the digital or any other space.

Who knows better than the writer how their song should be produced? Gain the conceptual understanding of what makes for a powerful production and then begin to develop the skills to take matters into your own hands. You will learn to envision the entire production before you record a note--and then to create pre-production tracks for your project, or to take your tracks all the way toward a finished record. 

Develop confidence and understanding to create work you can believe in from either side of the glass AND learn to get what's in your head to come through your speakers. Get feedback on your own productions from an in-demand pro.

Some of the many topics to be covered in this class:

• understanding production and arrangement concepts and elements
• developing critical listening skills to perceive and imagine productions
• the concept of PROSODY, in songwriting and in production
• understanding the essential and unique relationship between the SONG and the PRODUCTION and learning the kinds of questions to ask in order to have the production honor the song and the artist
• the concept of sonic windows and the melodic center of a song
• the concept of arrangement density
• the dimensions of the sonic canvas -- the stereo field, front to back, and top to bottom
• timbre and emotion
• production as interpretation and genre
• Drum Tracks Creation
• The Guide Track
• Dynamics and Arrangement
• Rhythm Guitar and keyboard parts
• Lead Instruments
• Background Vocals
• The Lead Vocal
• EQ Concepts and Techniques for Instruments and Vocals
• Effects: Reverbs Delays Chorus Etc.
• Using Compressors on Instruments and Vocals
• Mixing approaches

The instructor will mainly be using LOGIC PRO & Ableton Live, but users of all digital audio workstation platforms are welcome, including beginners. The class is "platform agnostic": in other words, it's not how to produce in Logic, it's how to understand and build powerful productions in any tool.