Music Technology and Production
Lessons in Ableton, Logic and more
We offer one on one lessons in Music Technology and Production via our in-house production school.
We teach Music and Sound Recording, Mixing, Mastering, Sound Design for Film, Tv and Video Games using Pro Tools, Garage Band, Logic Pro, Native Instruments, Maschine and many third party plug-ins.
We teach all levels from beginner through to advanced in our sound treated rooms:
How to record yourself or your band.
How to make music using your computer and Midi instruments (Keyboards, Drum Pads).
How to master software instruments including VST's, AU's and AAX/RTAS
How to make your recordings or own songs sound like whats on the radio (using your own equipment).
With years of experience as a producer and artist, we are privileged to have Levi Dowset as our in house production teacher.
“Everything is dictated by the song. I love to work with songs that have a genuine message or idea. I base almost every production and arrangement decision on what the song is trying to say and what emotion its trying convey at that point, i think thats what people really connect with.”
“I love pop music and making records that really connect with people on an emotional level, but at the same time i get tired of monotony very easily so Im constantly searching for new and exciting ways of delivering music that people will love, in a way they’ve never heard.”
At age 28 Levi Dowsett has already performed at some of Australia's biggest venues including The Sidney Myer Music Bowl and Melbourne's iconic St Kilda Festival and has received critical acclaim from industry greats including Simon Raymond (Bella Union, UK) and Sebastian Chase (MGM) and Julian Mendelsohn. Levi has performed solo and in groups weekly for the past ten years throughout Melbourne's late night music scene and released on some of Australia's premier independent labels.
Only speeding up Levi is currently producing and remixing under the name Friends In Common while also being one half of the Australian Art Pop duo Kings and Commoners. The emerging act has seen great success in the past year and already having music performed at the 5th IMC World Music Forum in Brisbane and at Woodford Folk Festival in collaboration with Deep Blue Orchestra and has an Ep scheduled for release .
Levi has developed a sound and style of his own combined of his influences of Jazz, Pop, Electronic Music, Art Rock, Folk, Minimalism and Music Concréte. Levi blends these influences to create unique Artistic Pop Music. Growing up performing Folk, Rock and Blues Levi has always valued the power of Music that has something to say.
Making the transition to the studio after a chance early encounter with Ableton Live Levi developed a love for the manipulation of sound through new and old techniques. Embracing tape machines and vintage recording equipment along with cutting edge digital techniques Levi is constantly using contrast to create new exciting music.
Levi is currently based in Melbourne, Australia and is teaching Music Technology, Production, Audio Engineering and Sound design for film, Tv and Video games at Richmond Music Academy. Levi holds a Bachelor of Applied Music and a Master of Fine Arts.
RMA PRODUCTION CLASSES
Our Production lessons are progressive with each class taking you one step towards
greater knowledge and skill in production and creating music.
Below is a taste of what a course of our one on one lessons look like:
Introduction: Brief, Audio Basics.
At RMA we have found that it is valuable for both the teacher and student to sit down and meet each other before any lessons are taken. We use this time to gather information about the student, so that we can construct a plan and set some realistic goals and expectations.
After the brief, we move into a short introductory lesson where we cover some of the very basics of Audio & Production.
These basics include:
Basic Levelling,
Gain Staging,
The Frequency Spectrum,
Stereo Imaging,
Busses, Sends, Aux's, Outputs, Master Faders.
File Organisation,
File Types,
Basic DAW Workflow.
Introduction to Splice.
Drum Programming
Lesson 01:
Programming & Designing your own Drum Kits.
In this lesson we dive straight in to producing your very first drum loop. We also discuss the differences between pre made drum loops and self made drum loops. We take a look at how professional producers go about designing and programming a variety of different drum timbres. We also take a look into drum synthesis, samplers, drum tuning, drum layering and creating your very own electronic drum kits.
Lesson 02:
Groove, Tension, Bringing Drums to life!
In this lesson we take a look into how professional producers are able to make their drums come 'alive'. This is crucial when producing your own music in a software environment because the sounds that you might come up with can sometimes sound very computerised. The aim is to give the drums character, a personality as well as to let them breath and feel realistic when being played back.
Lesson 03:
Drum Processing.
In this lesson we look at how dance musicians use different types of effects and processing on drums to make them really stand out, we take a look at into the 'New York Technique' and how Dance Producers can use it to make their drum kits and drum loops sound huge! We also look at transient shaping, Equalisation, Compression and Side chaining.
Basslines
Lesson 01:
Introduction to Musical Scales & Modes
In this first lesson we look at musical scales and key signatures and how they're formed.
We also introduce you to the circle of fifths and take a look at how the different modes in music are created and how knowing these will help you create better and smarter basslines.
Lesson 02:
Introduction to Groove
In this lesson we create our first bassline, we examine how timing, velocity and note lengths play a key role in the creation of groove, we also look at how the use of pitch as well as strong and weak notes can affect the strength of our basslines.
Lesson 03:
Programming Basslines and using Effects.
In this lesson we look at some of the techniques you can use to program electronic bass timbres, we also look at how the use of effects, layering and processing can be applied to make your basslines cut through the mix.
We take a look at the differences between having your bassline sitting above or below your kick in the mix.
And finally we go through advanced processing to help you get your basslines sound as Energetic as possible!
Harmony
Lesson 01:
Building Major & Minor Chords and their Extensions
For this lesson, we go over some of the fundamental basic theory behind how different chords, triads, suspensions and extended colour notes are constructed.
We look at the difference between Major & Minor chords and how to build them and their extensions.
We also examine root chords, 1st & 2nd Inversion chords and how extended chords such as 7th and 9th chords are created.
Lesson 02:
Furthering Chord Progressions
In this Lesson we look at how to join different chords together to create a chord progression, we also look at basic harmonisation, harmonic rhythm, tension & release and Phrasing.
Lesson 03:
The Different types of Minor Harmony.
There are a few different types of Minor Harmony, in this lesson we will go over them and also discover which types best suit the sort of music you wish to write.
In this lesson we will also go over some examples of songs that are using Minor harmony, we will then sit down and create our own Minor Chord Progression.
Lesson 04:
Strings, Padding and Synthesis
In this lesson we look into basic voice leading, how we can rewrite our chords to be smoother and how we can create padding to sit behind our chord progressions. We will also look into different types of pads including synthesised and string padding.
Lesson 05:
Chromatic Harmony (Advanced)
Chromatic Harmony can be found in many different styles of music, one example would be Adagio For Strings. This lesson is for Advanced students only, who have completed all other lessons on Harmony. In this lesson we look into Chromatic Harmony, Contour, Development, Tension & Release.
Melody
Lesson 01: Motif's & Moods.
In this session, we look at the theory and composition of Motif’s and how they can help to set a mood and form the beginning of any great melody. We also look at the different ways in which we can alter a Motif, including Inversion, Retrograde & Retrograde Inversion.
Lesson 02:
Melody, Harmony. Call & Response.
In this lesson we will aim to combine all of the theory we have learnt so far for both Melody & Harmony.
We will look into the idea behind call and response, we will then write melodies and harmonise them using different scales and different chords, showing you the various approaches one can take to create effective chord progressions.
Arranging
Lesson 01:
8, 16 or 32 Bars?
In this first lesson, we will discuss the difference between writing 8, 16 and 32 Bars. We will then construct a passage using all that we have learnt. This passage will include Drums, Basslines, Harmony & Melody. We will then begin to create variations of our passage for the purpose of arranging an entire song.
Lesson 02:
Structure and Development.
In this lesson we continue building our arrangement focusing on writing interesting variations, ones that we can glue together with our original 8, 16 or 32 Bar passage.
We will take a look into development and how techniques like the Motif, Arpeggiations and hyper meter/ build ups can be used to create tension before the next passage.
Lesson 03:
Recapitulation & Further Development.
In this lesson we dive into recapitulation, a common technique used by producers. We will also aim on finishing our arrangement.
Equalisation
Lesson 01:
EQ Parameters.
In this lesson we will look into the harmonic series, different frequencies and the Fletcher Munson curve.
We will also take a look at the many different parameters on a software EQ, including Q width and the different EQ curve types.
Lesson 02:
Musical Vs Surgical EQ
In this lesson we will discuss the difference between Musical vs Surgical EQ. We will look into the different octave ranges and how the choices we make when equalising depend and vary based upon which key signature we are working in.
Dynamic Compression
Lesson 01:
Compression & The Different Types of Compressors
In this lesson we take a look at what a compressor is, how to set up a compressor and how producers use them to prevent peaks and level audio.
We also discuss the differences between Opto, FET, and VCA compressors.
Lastly we take a quick look at some advanced compression techniques consisting of The New York Technique, serial compression and EQ/Sibilance control.
Introduction to Synthesis
Lesson 01:
Oscillators, Wavetable Positioning, ADSR, Gliding, Automation & Presets.
In this lesson we take a look at many basic parameters of synthesis and how we can take advantage of what soft synths have to offer!
Lesson 02:
Reverse Engineering
In this session we take a look at how we can recreate and reverse engineer a synth sound to use within our own productions.
Lesson 03:
Synth Processing, Bussing, Separation, Panning, M/S Processing and Saturation.
In this lesson we examine how to create various types of synth sounds. We take a look at how we can layer different synths, how to balance them and give them their own frequency space, how we can take advantage of mid/ side processing and how we can finally heat them up.
Masterclasses
These Masterclass lessons are 1 on 1 lessons, available for you to book at any time. In these 1 on 1 masterclasses we will go over whatever questions you have to ask. Some examples may include:
“I'm having trouble mixing my synths, how can I give them more space?”
“How do I get my work ready for a Mastering?”
“I want to get signed to a label and start DJing, how do I do that?”