IO Music Academy is a music production education facility located in Hollywood California. When the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the globe, IO Music Academy saw an opportunity to help provide artists with a bit of income by offering online courses with some of the electronic music scene’s finest producers, and invite students to learn the secret sauce of some of their favorite acts.
Free Ableton & Music Production Courses
I was an early adopter of their online curriculum’s and watched the online community flourish over the past 18 months. I have connected with so many artists like Lubelski, Wyatt Marshall, Nick Garcia, Joluca, Rinzen, GAWP, and so many others. Having signed up for their online offerings, I’ve compiled a list of recommended courses to take someone from 0 Music Production knowledge, to Label Ready demos. Even if you’ve been using Ableton for years such as myself, some of the courses in this list have indispensable knowledge.
Dipping The Feet In
Intro to Ableton – This course covers the basics of music production in Ableton Live. Split into 3 days, the first video explores Ableton and discussion of the overall application. The second and third videos each cover MIDI and Audio and sequencing each one. Best of all, its absolutely free!
Intro to Synthesis – With the basics of Ableton under your feet, the next free course on our list covers synthesis. Ableton Live comes with a plethora of synthesizers built in and knowing the basics of how a synthesizer works can really help you understand synthesizer interfaces and deconstruct presets.
Every Effect in Ableton – Another free Ableton Live course from IO Music Academy with Adam Johan from Joluca, dive deep into every built in effect inside of Ableton Live.
Better Beats with Adam Johan – Next up in our free Ableton Live production courses is a one day course that covers different ways to improve your drums. Drums/Percussion is the fundamental backing of nearly every type of modern music in existence. Learn how to spice up and write killer drums so your songs have a solid foundation.
House Chords with Nick Garcia – Most styles of music have progressions consisting of chords and little stabs that help give ambience and soul to a song. Covering some basic music theory and synthesis, Nick Garcia breaks down secrets to writing great chord progressions most commonly found in house and techno.
Bonus Courses
Sampling in Ableton with Nick Garcia – When you listen to any hip hop or house song from almost any point in time, you’ve most likely heard a piece of the song created with bits of another song. The art of sampling can help fuel creativity and lend swagger to a track. It can also lead to a world of legal problems if not done carefully or without paying the appropriate rights holders.Walk through different means and techniques for sampling audio from other sources to use in your own music.
Ableton Push Workflow – If you have access to an Ableton Push device, this course will get you up and running with the Ableton Push to help generate ideas. This one is not necessary if you don’t have an Ableton Push device, but if you’re on the fence about buying one, watch this.
Making DJ Edits with Nick Garcia – If you’re getting into music production you’re more than likely also a DJ. Having an exclusive version of track can be a great way to help your sets stand out amongst the crowd of other DJs that might be playing the same track. This 3 day course goes into detail on how to put your own spin on a classic track or the latest bangers.
Up Next
In addition to the above listed classes, IO Music Academy has more free courses available on the website that go into mixing and mastering. Once you decide to invest into music education resources check out some of their paid courses featuring artists from labels such as: Mau5trap, Dirtybird, and Desert Hearts. We’ll be compiling a list of their paid courses that we recommend to take your productions even further.