A broadcast microphone on a boom arm in amber stage haze, with a blurred musician behind it

Recorded music production courses

Finish it. Mix it. Release it.

13 recorded courses and programmes on writing, sound, mixing and putting music out. You watch at your own pace for 24 months. There is no live class and no tutor, only the lessons.

Browse the courses Build a pathway
Courses and programmes
13
Lessons
803
Hours of video
221

Four situations

Where are you stuck?

Courses here are grouped by the problem in front of you, not by the software. Find the channel that sounds like your week.

CH 01

Making the first sounds

You have a laptop and ideas but nothing finished. You want a track that starts, develops and ends. 4 courses · 262145513–262145829 See this shelf CH 02

Making it sound right

The ideas are there, the recording is not. It sounds smaller and muddier in your headphones than on the radio. 3 courses and 1 programme · 262145947–2621452,704 See this shelf CH 03

Playing it for a room

You will be on a stage or behind the decks soon, and the room will tell you straight away if it works. 2 courses · 2621451,473–2621451,612 See this shelf CH 04

Getting it heard

The music is finished. Now it needs a release, a rights set-up, or a place on a screen. 2 courses and 1 programme · 2621451,327–2621453,189 See this shelf

One track

One track, six stages

Every track passes through the same six jobs. Each has one course that deals with it, so you can start where you are stuck and skip what you already do well.

Stage 1/6 Write

Prefer one continuous route? The Producer Programme: Idea to Release follows a single track through all of it, for 2621453,189.

  1. Write

    Ideas pile up and none of them turns into a song. This stage is about giving one of them a shape.

    “I have forty good eight-bar ideas and no finished songs.”

    Songs That Finish: Writing and Arranging 262145774
    A man in a plaid shirt writing a song on an acoustic guitar in warm light

  2. Sound

    The sound in your head and the sound on the screen are not the same. Build the first from nothing instead of scrolling for it.

    “I only ever scroll presets, and I cannot make the sound in my head.”

    Synth Voices: Sound Design from an Init Patch 262145651
    A MIDI keyboard glowing electric blue with lit pads and knobs

  3. Arrange

    Eight good bars are not yet a track. Learn to make them develop, change and end.

    “I opened the software three times and closed it three times.”

    Ten Beats: Your First Month in a DAW 262145513
    A silhouetted producer typing on a laptop beside a MIDI keyboard in a dark room

  4. Mix

    The parts are all there but they fight each other. Balance them so the track holds up in any room.

    “It sounds fine on my headphones and awful everywhere else.”

    Mixing at Home: From Muddy to Balanced 262145947
    Two stacked monitors showing a mixing timeline in a blue-lit control room

  5. Master

    The last pass: set the level and tone so the finished file plays properly where people will hear it.

    “I want it to be loud enough without being crushed, and I do not know where that line is.”

    Mastering for the Streaming Era 2621451,218
    A row of silver faders on a black mixing console

  6. Release

    Agree who owns what, send it out through a distributor, and set it up so the right people get paid.

    “The track is finished. Everyone tells me something different about what happens next.”

    Release It: Distribution, Rights and Royalties 2621451,327
    A vinyl record spinning on a turntable against black

Some of the unit titles from inside the courses

Some of what is inside — from 13 courses and programmes

  • Layering without mud8 lessons
  • Working with clients10 lessons
  • Automation and movement8 lessons
  • Foley on a budget9 lessons
  • Troubleshooting under pressure8 lessons
  • Drums that groove8 lessons
  • Collecting societies and royalties9 lessons
  • Mixing: balance, tone, dynamics18 lessons
  • Distribution and metadata8 lessons
  • Melody and hook9 lessons
  • Mixing and delivery9 lessons
  • Genre studies and your portfolio12 lessons
  • What mastering is, and is not6 lessons
  • Slicing and the grid8 lessons
  • Checking and finishing a mix8 lessons
  • EQ: cutting before boosting10 lessons
  • Ears, rooms and monitoring12 lessons
  • Harmony and melody12 lessons
  • From fragment to form8 lessons
  • Compression you can hear10 lessons
  • Verse, chorus, bridge8 lessons
  • Chords that serve the tune9 lessons
  • Placement, level and headphones7 lessons
  • Tuning and timing9 lessons
  • Games and interactive audio11 lessons
  • The release timeline6 lessons
  • Bass that sits7 lessons
  • Signal flow from mic to speaker8 lessons
  • Finishing and letting go6 lessons
  • Hearing the room you mix in7 lessons
Two monitors, a studio speaker and rack gear on a wooden desk in a dark studio Illustration of the course player

Unit 4 · Sound design and layeringabout 19 min

  1. Starting and choosing a direction 3 h 29 min
  2. Rhythm and groove 3 h 48 min
  3. Harmony and melody 3 h 48 min
  4. Sound design and layering 4 h 26 min
  5. Arranging the track 3 h 48 min
  6. Vocals and recording 3 h 48 min
  7. Mixing 5 h 4 min
  8. Mastering 3 h 10 min
  9. Releasing and rights 3 h 48 min

Your task for this unit

Pick one sound in your track that you chose from a preset. Write down what it is doing, then say what you would change and why.

Answered on screen · nobody marks it

Units shown are from The Producer Programme: Idea to Release

Inside a lesson

Short, watched, then done

  1. 01

    Lessons are short: they average about 16 minutes, so one fits into an evening.

  2. 02

    Each unit ends with something you do and answer on screen. It is for you; nobody grades it.

  3. 03

    Everything is streamed online, so you can pause on a screen, go back and watch a moment again.

See a lesson, step by step

Pathway sketch

Roughly how long would it take?

Choose what you want to do and how many hours a week you can watch. You get a first sketch here; the full planner opens when you press the button.

What do you want to do?

Preview

  1. 01Ten Beats: Your First Month in a DAW8 h 53 min
  2. 02Synth Voices: Sound Design from an Init Patch13 h
  3. 03Songs That Finish: Writing and Arranging16 h

About 38 hours of video in total, so roughly 10 weeks at 4 hours a week. Together 2621451,938. This counts watching time only; allow extra for the tasks.

The catalogue in numbers

courses and programmes
13
lessons in all of them
803
hours of recorded video
221
months of access after payment
24

Before you buy

What this is — and isn’t

These are recorded courses you watch on your own. If that suits how you learn, read on. If you need a person to correct your work, they are not the right choice, and it is better that you know now.

Recorded only
Every lesson is a video that already exists. Nothing is live and there are no set times.
No tutor, no marking
Nobody reviews your tracks or grades your tasks. You answer prompts for your own benefit.
Streamed, not downloaded
Lessons play online for 24 months from payment. There are no video files to keep.
No certificate
You do not receive a certificate, and the courses are not accredited by any awarding body.
Education, not advice
The lessons on releasing, rights and royalties explain how things commonly work. They are not legal or financial advice.

Questions

Things people ask first

Not covered here? Write to us through the chat or the contact page and a person will answer.

How do I buy, and how does access work?

Add courses to your cart, fill in the checkout form, pay on the secure payment page, and you arrive at your order page. Your access details are emailed within one working day of payment. The session guide walks through each step.

Which devices can I watch on?

Lessons are streamed video watched online, so a laptop, tablet or phone with a steady connection will do. Nothing can be downloaded.

How long does my access last?

Each course stays available for 24 months from payment. You can rewatch any lesson in that time.

Can I get a refund?

Cancelling digital content is covered in the cancellation section of the Terms of Sale. Please read it before you order.

Which course should I start with?

Start with the situation that sounds most like yours.

If you are not sure, the pathway planner will suggest an order.

Do I need a particular DAW?

No. The courses teach the ideas rather than one program, and where a lesson shows software it covers more than one. Ten Beats: Your First Month in a DAW, for example, is built to be followed in whichever DAW you own. You will need some music software to do the tasks.

Is there a tutor?

No. The courses are recorded only, with no live teacher and no marking. If you have a question about a course before you buy, ask in the chat.

Lighting truss with spotlights seen from below against a deep teal night sky

Pick the course that matches where you are stuck.

Browse the courses