CourseMusic ProductionContemporaryIntermediate

Creative Composition & Production in Ableton Live

Name: Creative Composition & Production in Ableton Live
Price: 13.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5.0 (1 reviews)

with

John Watson

$13/month

Unlocks this course + 5,000+ other lessons across every instrument.

Subscribe to Watch

Cancel anytime30-day refund

$13/month

Unlocks this course + 5,000+ other lessons across every instrument.

Subscribe to Watch

Cancel anytime30-day refund

Duration1h 38m

Modules14

LevelIntermediate

LanguageEnglish

Lesson Plan (1h 38m)

- 01. Getting started & gear setup
  11:07
- 02. Generating ideas with MIDI - intro to MIDI
  Free lesson
  6:12
- 03. Recording a simple rhythm guide track
  7:41
- 04. Recording audio: setup & levels
  6:21
- 05. Recording audio
  6:25
- 06. Using an external instrument
  3:27
- 07. Creating the bassline
  11:05
- 08. Adding one more rhythm part
  2:50
- 09. Premixing & session view
  9:59
- 10. Song structure & arrange view
  8:47
- 11. Mixing EQ and compression
  7:37
- 12. Spatial effects
  4:04
- 13. Modulation effects
  5:26
- 14. BONUS: Creating a bassline with Doepfer Dark Energy II
  Free lesson
  7:26

About this course

John Watson has been a producer & DJ for over a decade, working with clients such as Channel 4, BBC, Sony, touring extensively and composing with Patrick Wolf, and releasing his own music under the 'Johnathan Krisp' moniker for labels like Cookshop Music. He also teaches music production at London's Point Blank music school.

In this course, you'll learn how to produce a track from beginning to end using Ableton Live & external instruments, watching John walk you through each step of the process, in detail:

Setup
Generating ideas in MIDI
Recording audio and defining the structure of the track (session view, arrange view)
Mixing - EQ & Compression
Spatial & Modulation effects

John's gear includes:

Korg Microkorg
Doepfer Dark Energy synth II
Korg Electribe
Macbook pro with Ableton Live
Stereo sound card with MIDI interface

Who it's for

Producers comfortable in Ableton wanting a full track workflow
Self-taught beatmakers who finish loops but rarely songs
Hardware-curious producers ready to bring synths into the box

What you'll learn

Build a track from first idea to finished arrangement
Record external synths cleanly alongside MIDI parts
Mix with EQ, compression, spatial and modulation effects

What you'll need

Ableton Live and a basic audio interface
Any MIDI controller or external synth you already own
A few minutes most days, plus longer studio sessions when inspired

Meet the Guru

John Watson

After work experience with Depeche Mode and The Cure producer Dave Allen, John was inspired to study Music Technology in London. His music career took off after a successful signing to CookShop Records, releasing 9 singles and an album in 2007 that received rave reviews from Q, Uncut and Lowdown Magazine, plus radio play from XFM and Radio One.

John began training as an audio engineer at Bonafide studio in 2005, where he refined his talents, and later that year set up Jackdaw Recordings. He has collaborated with many successful artists, and in 2007 began playing for pop musician Patrick Wolf, performing at leading venues here in the UK and internationally - including The Astoria and Shepherds Bush Empire.

Based in his London studio, John now writes music, with two more releases on CookShop, does sound engineering for prominent artists, and creates sound design for TV ads, film, theatre and corporate video.

That rare mix of songwriter, producer and working studio engineer is exactly what John brings to his teaching. In Creative Composition & Production in Ableton Live and Creative Sampling & Production in Ableton Live, he shows you how he turns raw ideas into finished, release-ready tracks - the writing, the sampling, the sound design and the hands-on engineering know-how behind a professional record.

View artist page

$13/monthSubscription

Subscribe to Watch