Courses
So I invite you to take a look and see if they might offer something that you can add to your skillset.
If you want to cover a topic that is not listed below, or are looking for feedback on a project you are working on, feel free to contact me as well. :)
- Fernando
For several years now I have been teaching students from all over the world, from different backgrounds and musical genres; from beginners to professionals.
Often times I find the same questions popping up over and over again. That is why I have designed these courses to tackle people's most frequent concerns. Although they give a general outline of the classes, I always tailor the contents of my lessons to each person's specific needs.
SETTING UP A
HOME STUDIO
Being able to record themselves constitutes a key skill for any musician. That is why I have designed this introductory course to accompany you as you set up your own home studio.
In it we will have a look at the necessary tools and how to use them. At the end of the course I will also offer free advice and guidance suited to your specific needs.
CONTENTS
1. Gear and other tools: Audio interface, DAWs, controllers, etc.
2. Stages of the recording process: From the idea to the final master.
3. DAW: First steps recording on Ableton Live.
4. Basic concepts of audio and sound: sample rate, bit depth, file formats, levels, etc.
+ INFO
DURATION
4 1-hour lessons
PRICE
US $ 50
.png)
INTRO TO
ABLETON LIVE I
Ableton Live is currently one of the most popular production softwares. Both live and in the studio, it serves musicians with a vast assortment of tools.
This course is meant to provide you with a general overview of the possibilities Live has to offer, as well as help make sure your first steps on it go as smoothly as possible.
CONTENTS
1. General overview of the software. Setting up a project. File management.
2. Recording and editing: Loops. Overdubbing. Quantization. Latency.
3. MIDI: Creation of midi parts. Piano roll editing. Velocity & Chance.
4. Session View: Characteristics and uses of Live's most iconic feature.
+ INFO
DURATION
4 1-hour lessons
PRICE
US $ 50
SAMPLING IN
ABLETON LIVE
From hip-hop to EDM, from academic music to rock and pop, sampling has been used by artists from all sorts of genres.
This course will introduce you the world of sampling. You will learn how to compose using it, design sounds and create your own virtual instruments using Live.
CONTENTS
1. Sampler & Simpler: Main parameters. Pros & cons of each one.
2. Instrument racks: Creating virtual instruments.
3. Sample flipping: Time-stretching, pitch-shifting and more.
4. Erosion: Implementing lo-fi textures via downsampling, tape effects and saturation.
+ INFO
DURATION
4 1-hour lessons
PRICE
US $ 50
INTRODUCTION
TO MIXING I
Audio mixing is both a technical as well as a creative process that weighs heavily on the final character of a track. It can make a chorus hit harder, as well as preserve the essence of a track while played back on different speakers.
In this course we will learn what a mixing engineer does, what tools they employ, different workflows, and above all, the mentality that goes behind the process.
CONTENTS
1. ¿What is mixing?:
Features of a mixer. Routing, gain staging, volume and panning. Monitoring.
2. Equalizers: Types of EQ's and their uses.
3. Reverb & Delay: Types and features. Main parameters.
4. Automation: Creating a dynamic mix that complements a track's structure.
+ INFO
DURATION
4 1-hour lessons
PRICE
US $ 50
SOUND & AUDIO:
BASIC THEORY
You don't need to be heavily into science in order to understand some fundamental notions, and it is impossible to overestimate the value that knowing a bit of theory adds to our musical work.
This course will enable you to better understand many of the technical and musical decisions that are made during the production process. It will also allow you to resolve several everyday problems in a much more intuitive way.
CONTENTS
1. Sound: Nature of sound. Frequency, phase, wavelength. Simple and complex waves. Measuring tools. Psychoacoustics: beats, combination tones, masking, directionality of sound. Fletcher-Munson curve.
2. Audio: Digital vs analog. Resolution and sample rate. Aliasing. Gain vs. volume.
+ INFO
DURATION
2 1-hour lessons
PRICE
US $ 30
INTRO TO
ABLETON LIVE II
Part two of the introductory course, in which we delve deeper and cover some of the other basic tools and functionalities that Live offers. Drums, samplers, audio and midi effects and mixing tools.
Once you are finished with this course you will be well equipped to employ Live in your productions and live shows.
CONTENTS
1. Drum rack: Main parameters and drum programming.
2. Racks & Automation: Create your own FX chains and learn how to introduce changes throughout a track using automation.
3. Samplers & Synths: Main parameters of simpler and sampler. Intro to synthesis using Wavetable.
4. Effects: Overview of a mixer and introduction to the use of effects.
+ INFO
DURATION
4 1-hour lessons
PRICE
US $ 50
DRUMS IN
ABLETON LIVE
Drums play a key role in popular music, often being ranked as the most important element after the vocals.
This course will teach you how to program drums (acoustic and electronic), design your own drum sounds as well as create arrangements for your tracks.
CONTENTS
1. Understanding drums: Parts of a kit, types of hits, rolls, flams and ghost notes. Programming acoustic drums
2. Electronic drums: Synthesized and sampled. Sonic characteristics of each. Famous drum machines.
3. Sound design: processing and customizing your sounds.
4. Composition: Creating arrangements to fit the different parts of a track. How to create contrast and complement other instrument's parts.
+ INFO
DURATION
4 1-hour lessons
PRICE
US $ 50
INTRODUCTION
TO MIXING II
Second half of the Introduction to Mixing course. Here we cover take extra time to cover compression, a key tool to achieving a successful mix.
We will also learn about modulation tools. Finally, we will see how to finish a mix and have a brief introduction to mastering.
CONTENTS
1. Compression I: Envelope. Main parameters.
2. Compression II: Types and uses. Mix buss compression. Parallel compression.
3. Modulators: Vibrato, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser and more.
4. Finishing a mix: Rendering options. Creating stems and backups. Intro to mastering.
+ INFO
DURATION
4 1-hour lessons
PRICE
US $ 50