Music Theory

Producertech

Beginner's Guide to Music Theory for Producers

With so many producers today approaching the art without any classical training in music, composing tracks with more melodic elements can be a challenging task. This course is designed to help students with little to no knowledge of music theory get a solid grasp on the basics, to help with creating quality basslines, leadlines, hooks and riffs in their music. Going right from the very start, with a guide to the different musical notes, Rob then progresses onto the most popular scales, showing how they can be figured out and played in various ways, depending on your preferred workflow. These skills are then applied into some lengthier lessons that provide basic guidelines for making basslines and melodies. Subsequent lessons then introduce students to polyphonic accompaniment, with simple intervals and chords, including the major and minor triads in their regular, transposed and inverted forms. All techniques are shown in practice along the way, through the construction of various phrases inside projects, including a guide to building your own chord progression. There’s also a lesson dedicated to arpeggios, showing what they are and how different MIDI tools can be utilised to create engaging rhythmic sequences. Signing up to the course provides instant access to the streamed lessons, plus MIDI files of all the patterns made throughout the tutorials, in addition to a cheat sheet and even theory quiz, for putting any newly-acquired knowledge to the test. By the end of the course, students will be armed with all the necessary skills to confidently create musical parts in the key of their song, and have a deeper understanding of the theoretical side of music production. Course Aims: • be able to locate notes on a piano keyboard • know what the key of a song is • understand the meaning of scale, and basic types like major and minor • be able to create basslines and melodies in key • know what intervals and chords are, including the triad • know the basics of rhythm and using it to create more interesting melodic phrases • know the MIDI tools available to help with playing and composing in key • know how to compose without any MIDI tools or hardware • be able to make riffs with single intervals • be able to make simple chord progressions • know how to create arp lines, with or without an arpeggiator

£ 19 .95*

Producertech

Advanced Guide to Music Theory for Producers

Following on from the success of the Beginner’s Guide to Music Theory for Producers, this Advanced Guide promises to expand your knowledge of music theory to greatly assist in the creation of more musical tracks. Whatever your level of music theory, there are tonnes of useful techniques and workflows for working both with a keyboard and purely in the DAW, all demonstrated in the production of various popular genres like Hip Hop, House, DnB and Trap. The course begins with a summary of the Beginner’s Course, showing how to create melodic accompaniment and chords to go with a jazzy break, before moving onto the first advanced topic of modulation, meaning moving to a different key, starting off with the relative major and minor. There is also a thorough look at diatonic triad harmonies, covering the ways that triads change when shifted to different positions in the scale, and how this affects the mood of a song. A funky organ phrase is then put together with a House beat, which moves through a series of regular and inverted triads to create a catchy hook. The next section shows how a track can move to a different key in a breakdown, and how the harmony and so rules for other melodic parts changes when doing so. There is also a focus on the circle of fifths relationship, showing how it connects all 12 chromatic tones, and the many different ways it’s been used to create popular music from the Baroque period right through to classic House! After exploring a lush bassline, which is used as the basis for a Liquid DnB groove, there are a series of lessons that work through some of the more advanced chord types, including 7ths and 9ths, with both used to construct Hip Hop and Trap grooves, working mostly with the mouse. The course ends with a module on advanced scales, covering modes, pentatonic and chromatic, as well as a workflow for creating your own scale based purely on note selection in the piano roll. In addition to all the streamed tutorials, signing up to the course provides access to a download pack containing all the projects, MIDI patterns and samples from the course, as well as a bonus assessment, for testing your newly acquired skills.

£ 19 .95*

Producertech

Beginner's Guide to Song Arranging

Making loops and jamming with musical ideas, although fun, can be a trap we get stuck in all too often, sometimes finding it hard to get out of ‘loop mode’ and start putting an actual track together. On this course, you’ll be provided with the knowledge required to gain a good understanding of how music is arranged, from how and why song sections are structured, to specific techniques for improving the arrangement. The course begins with a detailed look at 2 successful tracks in varying styles, one a vocal-based pop track and the other a Tech House banger! The arrangements are completely broken down and scrutinised, then a summary of the main similarities and differences is given, with an explanation of why each song is arranged the way it is. The subsequent modules then show the main stages of building up an arrangement, starting with the beats and creating drum fills, then introducing melodic parts and discussing the hierarchy and placement of each. Introduction, breakdown and drop sections are then laid out, showing the main concepts behind a breakdown and different methods for achieving it. Sections are then bolstered with additional layers to support the melodies and create more engagement, including vocal textures and chords. The latter part of the course focuses heavily on FX, starting with samples that are used to enhance definition and flow, and then moving on to devices like reverb and delay, used to add character and depth, as well as improve transitions. More advanced techniques like automation and send effects are covered that, although technically more challenging, are explained slowly and clearly so that even those with little experience should be able to follow along without issues. There is also some focus on tonality and tuning, working out the key of parts and the track, and exploring other keys to move to temporarily during the arrangement. By the end of the course, students should have a good idea of the necessary considerations and different approaches to arranging a track, ultimately helping construct clear goals to work to when making music. Signing up grants immediate access to almost 3 hours of tutorials, plus supporting materials like written guides and software projects, providing all the teachings and support needed to start arranging quality music of your own.

£ 19 .95*

Producertech

Ableton Live 12 MIDI Tools Masterclass

Of all the new features in Ableton Live 12, the MIDI Generators are perhaps the most revolutionary, providing the ability to not only transform MIDI notes in unique ways but also generate them, in order to instantly create a multitude of different patterns. This has the potential to radically transform the workflows and compositional processes of everyone from beginners right through to more advanced producers. On this new masterclass from Course Director and Certified Ableton Live Trainer Rob Jones, you’ll learn to fully get to grips with all of the MIDI Generators on offer, as well as acquire a wealth of new techniques and inspiration for how to implement them in your production. The course starts with a few lessons that tackle the general operational features and quirks of these new devices, all of which reside on the generator tab within the MIDI Editor. These aim to teach the basics when it comes to note generation, to help with understanding what they act on and when and how they can be made to create patterns. This leads to the first tool, Rhythm, which is introduced slowly via a demonstration of how very simple drum patterns are made, helping ferment a good knowledge of the main pattern controls on all tools of step length, pattern length and density. Once the basics are out the way, there’s a detailed look at a number of different practical uses of Rhythm, showing different approaches for making interesting percussion grooves, before looking exclusively at velocity handling. In the following module, Rob dives into Stacks, a tool that makes chord and chord progression creation simpler than ever. Starting slowly in the first lesson, there’s an explanation of the controls on offer and how they’re used to select and modify chords, whilst the next lesson picks up the pace and shows the creation of a more complex chord sequence. Rob then moves onto the last 2 main generators - Shape and Seed - both used to create melodies for the most part, although Seed has the ability to produce multiple voices in combination for dense, evolving harmonies. The 2 lessons walk through every part of each tool, showing all the functionality and various directions they can both go in. The final main module is a lengthy set of lessons that put everything into practice by showing seven separate examples of composition, including a whole host of percussion, bass, lead and atmos creation. Despite mainly focussing on the generation and transformation of MIDI notes using tools, there are also many tips for using instruments and effects within Live to make the most of each process, helping to improve sound design, mixing and effects skills along the way. A bonus lesson on Euclidean is also included, giving an intro to the tool and showing a number of techniques for making unique basslines. Enrolling on the course gives students instant access to 4 hours of streamed tutorials plus the Live projects from the lessons, so sign up now to master these incredible new tools and level up your MIDI programming skills today.

£ 29 .95*

Producertech

Lead Fundamentals

Once a groove consisting of beats and bass has been locked down, adding accompanying leads can be a daunting next step for beginners. With so many different options available, it’s hard to know where to even begin! This series of courses goes from the very top, showing simple workflows for coming up with engaging rhythms and melodies, then moving onto more advanced areas of sound design and FX processing, to arm you with a wide array of techniques for making captivating leads. This first course is designed as the perfect next step after our Bassline Fundamentals course and begins with the absolute essentials when it comes to rhythm and pitch, helping you understand what notes to play and the timing to play them with. As leads can often be very simple whilst still being effective in a lot of styles of electronic music, the first module focuses mostly on timing, showing how a wide range of ideas can be conceived purely from a repeating sample with an interesting rhythm. This is developed later in the module by introducing various level adjustments when it comes to overall volume and also waveform envelope, all carried out by straight forward editing of samples directly on audio tracks. The next module then moves away from one-note patterns and into the world of melodies, starting with a brief explanation of key signatures and scales, before a demonstration of 3 ideas for coming up with melodic phrases, which are put to practice in both the major and minor key. There is also a bonus lesson showing how to create your own arps, or arpeggios, which are rhythmic melodies that can be applied to both a main lead or background element with great effect, so a very useful concept to know about. By the end of the course, you’ll be armed with a multitude of simple techniques for working with audio and MIDI to come up with a whole host of leads that can be added to electronic music of any style. Enrolling on the course provides immediate access to the streamed tutorials, as well as the Ableton projects from the lessons and a selection of bonus lead samples to practice with - all you need to start making quality leads today!

£ 19 .95*

Producertech

Bassline Fundamentals

Bassline composition knowledge is a huge part of producing electronic music, ensuring that the low end of a track is delivering the necessary components that complete the groove. On this series of courses, you’ll learn the fundamentals of bassline creation from the ground up, covering all the principles and theory, as well as a wide range of techniques and specific examples that put everything into practice. On this first part designed for beginners, the main focuses are the cornerstones of any bassline, which are its rhythm and pitch. By the end of the course, you’ll have a good understanding of the core aspects of timing of a bassline along with the different pitches it can play, all of which can be applied in a wide range of styles. The rhythm module starts at the very beginning with the main note timings and demonstrations of how to create a continuous bassline with a fixed speed, showing workflows for working with samples on audio tracks in addition to within sampler instruments on MIDI tracks, explaining the differences and pros and cons of each method. Concepts like syncopation are then explained as patterns are made by repeating rhythmic motifs with varying levels, which are expanded to form longer phrases at the end of the module, taking a single oneshot sample right up to a 4-bar bassline. At the start of the next module, a number of 1-bar basslines are added to a fixed chord loop, to show how different complimentary rhythms and octave shifts can create a series of contrasting grooves. One of the basslines is then expanded in the subsequent lesson to produce multiple 4- and 8- bar bassline examples that explore the relationship between the bassline and chords loop, as they both either remain static or move to different pitches, to understand how the harmony of the song is affected as a result. The last lesson changes up the style as a string of funky, live-sounding, melodic basslines in G minor are made, emulating a real bass guitar player through the handling of pitch and also level and timing editing techniques that create a more natural sound. Signing up to the course gets you immediate access to the streamed tutorials, along with all the projects from the course and a selection of bonus bass samples to practice with; the complete package to take you from zero understanding to someone who can competently construct interesting and dynamic basslines in the key of your music.

£ 19 .95*

Producertech

Groove Fundamentals

Groove is a ubiquitous term in music production, appearing on hardware like drum machines, within editors in DAWs and on many software instruments too, but what is it actually referring to? This course answers this very question, with a detailed exploration of groove handling within a range of different applications, to help you become a master of the groove! Most people tend to think of groove when producing beats, as it’s a parameter most commonly found when creating rhythmic patterns like drums. As such, the lessons begin by explaining the most popular forms of groove, which are 1/8- and 1/16- note swing. This is done through the creation of a classic jazz cymbal pattern at full and half speeds. After some initial theory is covered, the next module shows how that theory applies when making House beats, as more syncopated percussion is combined with the main drums. This is developed further as rhythmic melodies like basslines and arps are added into the mix, which need a similar treatment when it comes to groove, to ensure all sounds are working together. Another module looks at manual groove handling, showing how loop timing can be adjusted through audio warping and regular editing, so that a consistent groove is achieved. The last module demonstrates the ways groove is handled in 2 popular DAWs, Logic Pro and Ableton Live, with the latter being investigated further in a subsequent lesson to show more unique features like groove extraction, randomisation and volume modulation. Enrolling on the course provides instant access to over 90 minutes of tutorials, as well as the software projects and written notes from the lessons, so sign up now to firm up your production knowledge and start making tight grooves today!

£ 9 .95*

Producertech

Beginner's Guide to Beats Production

If you’re wanting to produce beats but clueless about where to start, this course is for you! In a little over 90 minutes, you’ll be taught all the basics of beats production and acquire a bonus pack of drum samples to kick off your collection. The course starts with lessons on the kinds of sounds or individual instruments that make up a beat, and some of the fundamentals when it comes to the theory side, covering all things tempo and timing. After the main principles of rhythm have been outlined, the subsequent modules go through each of the most popular methods for producing beats, from working with samples to playing various instruments. The first process shows how beats can be made with simple placement of oneshots along the arrangement timeline, whatever music software you use, following basic guidelines of alternating kicks and snares. Loopcloud is then demonstrated as a way of simplifying the process further, with its built-in pattern presets for creating instant loops for you. Once sampling techniques have been covered, the lessons turn to MIDI, looking at the differences and similarities to producing beats with a drum instrument, such as the factory devices that come with virtually all music software. Taking this a stage further, 3rd-party plugins are then incorporated, with Loopcloud Drum being an example of how their included kits and ability to sequence drums within the instrument provide instant options for creating beats. By the end of the course, you can expect to have a decent understanding of the main ways of producing drums and can start to make more educated decisions about which direction to go in. You’ll also have a bonus pack of samples to put your newly-acquired knowledge to use!

£ 9 .95*

Producertech

Scaler Modulation Masterclass

Plugin Boutique’s incredible plugin Scaler, now in version 2.4, is an essential tool for any producer wanting easier and faster tracks to creating chords progressions, melodies and basslines in any key. The comprehensive modulation section also provides a number of modes for making chords sequences more exciting and dramatic, as well as helping transpose to different keys. This course explores each of the modulations modes, whilst providing complete workflows in 4 different musical genres: Neo Soul, Pop, Indie Dance and Drum & Bass. The first module makes a Neo Soul arrangement in 2 different keys, from setting up the project and working out chords, to recording in MIDI notes for the 3 sounds in the track, covering every step along the way. The second module then focuses on secondary scale mode, using it to jam with sounds in different keys, to create a suitable vibe for a pop-style track. Secondary dominants are taught, as a way of moving to different chords in original and destination keys, then all parts are laid out in the arrangement. The other 3 modes are all superb ways of coming up with engaging chords patterns, by using parallel scales, mediant chords or Neo-Riemannian techniques to create suitable flows. Module 3 uses modal interchange mode to make an Indie Dance groove, and module 4 employs the other 2 modes to make an old school DnB break. All workflows are shown in Ableton Live, but all techniques are completely transferable to other DAWs. Furthermore, Live projects are supplied for all modules, with samples, MIDI patterns and Scaler sessions all provided in addition, for anyone working with other software. So, regardless of the DAW you use, this masterclass will help you fully grasp the powerful modulation capabilities of Scaler and give you the knowledge required to create interesting and musical tracks of your own.

£ 19 .95*

Producertech

Producer's Guide to Scaler 2

Scaler 2 makes creating musical patterns simpler and more enjoyable than ever, with a hugely-expanded feature set and improved interface, which make the software even more flexible and fun to work with than the already popular version 1. In this comprehensive course from Producertech Senior Tutor Rob Jones, you’ll be taken through every part of the plugin, whilst creating chords patterns, basslines, leadlines and arpeggios, working in a number of different DAW setups. The first 2 modules are a slow and steady journey through each of the main sections, to help familiarise students with the interface, whilst learning how to make simple but dynamic orchestral and synth chord progressions. Following on from this are a number of different workflow modules, showing how Scaler can be used in various situations, like creating chords to accompany a House groove, using a oneshot sample as the foundations for a track, and having Scaler detect the chords in a longer loop so it can be recreated and extended to form chords, leads, basslines and more! The last workflow is a lengthy, realtime session, where Rob creates all the melodic parts in a retro-sounding Synthwave track, from a rhythmic bassline, to swelling chords and psychedelic arp patterns. The arrangement is then expanded to include a section that modulates to a related key, as well as bridges made from Scaler chord suggestions, to help ease the flow of harmony from one section to the next. Signing up to the course provides instant access to the streamed tutorials, as well as downloads of all the projects and samples featured in each module. Check out the free module excerpt for an example of the style and content before signing up to the course, which will have you creating luscious melodies and sweet harmonies in your music with Scaler 2 in no time!

£ 19 .95*

Producertech

Bundle - Maschine MKII Complete Courses Collection

After this massive 20-hour tutorial package, you’ll find yourself knowing Maschine inside and out, having learned every aspect of the software and hardware, been shown numerous examples of track production and even had lessons on music theory. So whether you’re a complete beginner or have a fair bit of experience already, our expert tutors will provide you with an abundance of production knowledge to help advance your music making skills to a professional level.

£ 140 .00*

Producertech

Bundle - Maschine Studio Complete Courses Collection

£ 140 .00*

Producertech

Bundle - Complete Guide to Maschine Studio and Producer's Guide to Music Theory

Signing up to this bundle gives you all of the lessons from the Complete Guide to Maschine Studio, as well as the Producer's Guide to Music Theory, for a discounted rate, allowing you to learn not just every technical aspect of Maschine, but also how to play it like an instrument.Check out the trailer on the media tab to see exactly what you get with this course bundle.

£ 54 .95*

Producertech

Producer's Guide to Music Theory with Maschine

If you own Maschine and feel you could do with a bit more knowledge on the theoretical side of music, to help you understand how to create basslines, chord sequences and other musical parts in a particular key, then this course is for you.Created by accomplished music producer and classically trained musician, Rob Jones, the course begins by explaining the principles of the key of a song and what major and minor scales are, before showing how that knowledge can be used to make melodies or riffs using various intervals and chords, in order to produce basslines, a main hook, lead or pad sound, to create the main groove or form the breakdown of a track.As well as showing many examples of all of the techniques taught, which are outlined in the written notes and saved into the Maschine project files that come with the course, there are also exercise projects, for practicing identifying keys and making basslines or chord sequences, to put your newly acquired skills to the test.

£ 19 .95*

Producertech

Making Music With Ableton Push

Push, the hardware controller from Ableton, gives you powerful control over Live's many features and the expressive abilities to create truly musical productions. With years of experience as a producer and DJ, Ableton Live Trainer and Course Director at Producertech, Rob Jones has both a wealth of knowledge and huge experience as a presenter, making him the best person to give you a deep insight into how to put Push at the centre of your workflow. In this comprehensive three hour course, you'll discover the massive functionality of Push. You won't just be shown how it works, instead, Rob gives a detailed tour of its many features, following the natural order you would use to make a track. Individually tackling areas including sampling, drum programming and sequencing, you'll build drum parts, create basslines and program chords and melodies - truly discovering how to use Push like an instrument. In addition, the course includes a variety of exercises that will have you drumming and playing Push like a pro. Available 24/7/365, the course includes over three hours of videos, multiple project files and 200MB of bonus samples, courtesy of Loopmasters. Check out the trailer and free sample modules in the Academy now, and take your first steps to mastering this tactile, music-making machine!

£ 29 .99*

Producertech

Workflow Techniques with Ableton Push

Ableton’s powerful control surface for Live has transformed the way people use the software to create music, allowing rapid and tactile manipulation of sounds and instruments. This course explores a number of creative Push workflow ideas that begin in different ways but all result in the construction of original rhythmic or melodic parts. Kicking off with three groove modules, the tutorials show how various drum samples can be used as starting points, which go in their own totally unique directions, whilst a default synth preset is easily transformed into a versatile FX loop. The focus then moves onto melodic part creation, showing how to turn chord shapes into the foundations of a track, from which all harmonies and basslines can be made, and how to extract notes from a chord oneshot sample for resampling and sequencing. The last melodic module then teaches how to make vocoded sounds, before the course ends by showing all the ways in which a single sample can be shaped to make a wide range of both percussive and melodic sounds. As well as learning the workflow techniques themselves, Producertech senior tutor Rob Jones explains a wealth of other considerations along the way, from music theory principles to sonic mixing characteristics. There are also tutorials that go into detail on various effects in the Live collection, including Grain Delay and a number of MIDI effects. In addition to the streamed tutorials, which are accessible 24/7/365, the course comes with the Live projects made in the lessons, as well as a 100MB bonus samples pack from Loopmasters. Before signing up, check out the free sample modules on the course page, for an example of the lesson content and delivery.

£ 24 .95*