What happens if I miss a class?

You can catch it up free on a future cycle, usually your first-choice schedule.

What does the course actually cover?

Getting comfortable in Ableton, working with MIDI and audio, live performance and DJing tools, composing with virtual instruments, and more advanced techniques in the Ableton Live Suite.

How long is the course?

36 hours, or 20 hours if you take it as 1-on-1 instruction.

Is private instruction available?

Yes - see Ableton Live Private Instruction to connect with a specialist.

Do I get anything to keep after the course ends?

Yes - expert-written reference materials so you can keep building on what you learned.

What if I don't have Ableton Live installed yet?

You don't need it before you start - once you enroll, you get a 40% EDU discount so you can buy your own copy.

Ableton Live Class

GARNISH█SEA

Talk to us

Course — Seattle

At a glance

Format

In-person in Seattle or Live Online

Duration

36 hours, or 20 hours one-to-one

You get straight in

Guided, practical sessions from the first hour - no tutorial rabbit holes

You leave with

Music you are proud of - not another folder of unfinished ideas

Built from

Our Electronic Music Producer Program

Ableton Live Production Course

A Real-World Intro to Music Production

Want to make the music you love but feel overwhelmed by YouTube tutorials and endless how-to books? You're not alone—and you’re in the right place.

Seattle students take the Ableton Live Class in a small group at our studio, or live online in the same session with the same instructor, using our specialist music collaboration software, Muse. The city has a deep electronic and independent music scene, and our teachers are part of it.

Let’s Get Going!

→How to set up: Audio and the preferences window
→Explore what makes Ableton different to other DAWs
→Applications of session view and arrangement view: when to use which
→Live concepts: clips / browser / scenes / library
→Launching clips
→The concept of Ableton’s unique warp engine
→An introduction to FX
→An introduction to instruments

Creating With MIDI & Audio

→How to quantize audio
→How warping works
→Clips – exploring clip view & properties of clips
→How to make beats with Drum Racks & Simpler sampling
→Live’s effects and employing third-party effects
→How to record MIDI and set up live looping
→Basic routing and resampling
→Automation – how to create dynamic change in arrangements

DJing and Live Performance

→Preparing whole tracks (warping) and harmonic mixing
→‘On-the-fly’DJ effects
→Grouping tracks and basic routing
→How to use MIDI controllers more effectively / mouse-free control
→Bespoke Ableton controllers – Akai, Push and Novation
→Structuring your sets & using loops
→How to record your performance & edit the arrangement view
→Bouncing down

MIDI Tracks and Composing with Virtual Instruments

→Simpler – Learn to unlock the full potential of this simple sampler
→Drum Rack – Programming beats, how to chop up loops, manipulating sounds, vocals and tracks – making rhythms from any sound source and also exploring the technique of Slice to MIDI.
→Grooves & how to extract them
→Using & controlling virtual instruments from third party developers
→Setting up controllers via MIDI keyboard or drum pad
→How to get creative with MIDI effects

Recording Techniques and an Introduction to Sound Design

→Balancing – an introduction to the art of mixing. Group tracks and advanced uses of routing
→The recording patch in detail, & an introduction to gain structure
→EQ and compression for recording
→Introduction to sound waves, frequency & amplitude
→Foldback, headphone mixes & latency
→Microphones overview and stereo mic-ing techniques
→Recording specific aspects of Ableton
→Digital, analog, sampling rate and bit-rate explained
→How to compile audio takes

Advanced Techniques

→Advanced warping – manipulate classical music, a capellas and anything else without beats!
→Clip envelopes – how to use the unique loop-based technique, unique to Ableton, for automation on audio fx,, midi fx and instruments. Learn to achieve complex music, sound and rhythm manipulation with ease.
→Multi-track warping
→An introduction to Racks & Chains – their powerful hidden features. Also includes how to layer FX and instruments
→Bringing all automation types together – and how to create build-ups and break-downs with complex sounds.

No guesswork. Just music, made by you.

“I needed to brush up on something, so I called Garnish, as they have the best instructors” – Jamie Jones Discover qualities that distinguish us, here.

Testimonials

In our students' words.

“This course helped me become a lot more confident in my ability within Ableton. I learnt a lot of tips and tricks, that even friends who are successful in the industry didn't know about. Every lesson was packed with useful knowledge and I never felt stupid asking ANY questions. I came to this course with very little knowledge of Ableton and had no recording/production knowledge. I am very happy with the level I am at for taking such a short course. 5 stars!”

Vanessa Jadesa

Instructors