Music Production using Pro Tools
$12,600
Complete certificate tuition
(Plus Registration Fee $175)
Our most thorough Pro Tools certificate program, Music Production using Pro Tools provides a complete guided education of Avid’s Pro Tools software, from setting up your studio to advanced mixing, mastering and remixing techniques, all from the perspective and experience of Berklee’s renowned music production faculty.
The program begins with Pro Tools 101. Berkleemusic is the exclusive online provider of Avid’s Pro Tools 101 curriculum, and this course constitutes the first stage of their Pro Tools certification program. In weekly exercises, you’ll explore the software’s capabilities, learn the basics of Pro Tools terminology, the software’s interface, session design, how to record tracks, MIDI sequencing, audio looping, and even get a taste of advanced features to be covered in detail later. This course provides real-world examples and frequent hands-on assignments that you’ll submit for feedback from your instructor and fellow students. This interactive component is a major part of the learning experience in this class, and will remain so throughout your certificate course work. At the end of the course, you will have an opportunity to take the Avid Pro Tools 101 Exam online.
Next up is Critical Listening 1 where instructor Dan Thompson will train you to recognize and evaluate a wide variety of recording tricks, effects, and techniques and then reproduce them in the studio. The course will help you fine-tune your listening and analytical skills – to listen to recordings in a deeper, more active and involved way, and on a number of simultaneous levels. You’ll learn to take listening a step further, to recognize what delay parameters were used in specific recordings, to listen for frequency context, to identify the specific kind types of reverb at work, and various other parameters of a mix. Using interactive exercises and features, and Thompson’s textbook Understanding Audio, you’ll learn how to listen for and use EQ, reverb, and other signal processors in a variety of contexts, from jazz to rock to hip-hop, how to tell the sound of a Telecaster from a Les Paul, understand dynamic and frequency range in a mix, and more. These critical listening skills will give you more control over your productions – whether you’re trying to grab some ideas from other artists or you’re doing something totally new.
The program moves on to cover Avid’s Pro Tools 110 curriculum (exclusively provided online by Berkleemusic), the second stage of Avid’s Pro Tools certification program. Building on the foundational skills you learned in Pro Tools 101, you’ll learn work through a broader range of tools and Berklee production techniques that will help you to tackle more complex Pro Tools projects. You’ll focus on working with expanded hardware and software configurations, developing versatile tools for manipulating and editing both audio and MIDI data, and implementing various techniques to facilitate larger and more sophisticated mixing scenarios. Following Avid’s Pro Tools curriculum is Advanced Music Production with Pro Tools, where you’ll learn to play the new virtual instruments and effects found in Pro Tools 8 and beyond, and improve your overall musical productions, whether for TV, film, commercials, Web sites, video games, or the productions of artists you may be working with.
Once you have gotten a good Pro Tools base, it’s time to put the software through its paces. In Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools, instructor Jeff Baust will take you deep into the software’s capabilities. Students will get an inside view on some shortcuts and ‘power tools’ that help them continue to build up their Pro Tools chops. You’ll learn principles of mixing and mastering that can be applied to any mixing situation, whether you use Pro Tools, other digital workstations, or analog gear. You work through interactive activities, and each week submit a completed mix for evaluation. The course addresses topics like: mix balance; effects processing from simple EQ to complex topics like using bussing and key signals to trigger dynamics processors; approaches to using reverb; and ways to manipulate time such as delay, flanging, and chorusing. Finally you’ll discuss the technical and creative issues involved with mastering recordings.
The required courses in this program wrap up with Advanced Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools. In this course you’ll gain a deeper understanding of mixing and mastering tools and techniques that can be applied to a wide variety of styles. In this course, you’ll conduct in-depth, hands-on examinations of several mix techniques, such as EQ, compression, reverb, delays, and tempo maps, that are unique to Jazz, pop/rock and electronica. As you progress through the course, you will learn to add character to your mix by using "Lo-Fi" techniques, use multi-band compression in mastering, and master your mix using EQ and limiting. Again, although the course uses Pro Tools as the audio engineering tool, many of these skills will be portable to any kind of studio; regardless of software, hardware, or if the studio is digital or analog based. Berkleemusic, Waves, and AmpliTube have also come together to offer a generous educational discount on a number of required plug-ins for this course.
By the end of this program you will not only have the most extensive Pro Tools background that we can provide, as well as the first two stages of Avid’s certification program. You’ll also learn a tremendous amount of production tips and techniques from Berklee’s faculty that is portable to any number of digital workstations or analog gear. In addition to the 6 required courses in this program, this master certificate provides 3 elective choices designed to allow you to personalize your study experience.
Substitutions may be requested for electives. Please contact our Continuing Education Registrar at registrar@berkleemusic.com or call (617) 747-2146 to see if your request suits the overall academic requirements for your chosen program.
Required Courses
-
Pro Tools 101
Andy Edelstein, Digidesign (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Pro Tools 101 constitutes the first stage of Digidesign’s Pro Tools certification program. Learn the foundational skills needed to understand Pro Tools technology and software. This course instructs you on recording, editing, and mixing on a basic level, and will get on the road to becoming a Pro Tools operator from home.
-
Critical Listening 1
Dan Thompson (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Create compelling, professional-sounding songs by learning to identify the production elements that contribute to a well balanced, artful and professional-sounding mix.
-
Pro Tools 110
Andy Edelstein (12 weeks, 3 credits)
This second stage of Digidesign’s Pro Tools certification program teaches a broad range of tools and Berklee production techniques that will help you tackle more complex Pro Tools projects and enhance your capabilities in all aspects of Pro Tools production.
-
Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools
Jeff Baust (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Gain a greater understanding of two key elements of music production by learning the Berklee approach to mixing and mastering using the Pro Tools software.
-
Advanced Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools
Jeff Baust, Mark Wessel (12 weeks, 3 credits)
This advanced music production course provides students with a deep understanding of mixing and mastering tools and techniques that can be applied to a wide variety of styles.
-
Advanced Music Production with Pro Tools
David Franz (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn to play the new virtual instruments and effects found in Pro Tools and beyond, and improve your overall musical productions, whether for TV, film, commercials, Web sites, video games, or the productions of artists you may be working with.
-
+ 3 Elective Courses ↓
Recommended Electives
Please contact our Continuing Education Registrar to request elective substitutions.
-
Sampling and Audio Production
David Doms (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Explore the art of sampling and audio production, and learn Berklee's approach to recording, editing, and programming using the software samplers provided in Reason.
-
Sound Design for the Electronic Musician
Michael Bierylo, David Mash (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn to create your own electronic sounds and musical productions using Propellerhead's Reason and Native Instruments' Absynth.
-
Producing Music with Ableton Live
Kai Turnbull (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Remix and produce in any number of contemporary styles, including drum and bass, R&B, breakbeat/trance and house music using Ableton's Live audio and MIDI sequencing software, a sequencer you can play like an instrument.
-
Advanced Music Production with Ableton Live
Loudon Stearns (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Based on feedback from Ableton Live users, this advanced course offers a forward-thinking approach to recording, editing mixing and mastering using Ableton Live.
-
Producing Music with Reason
Erik Hawkins (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Gain a firm understanding of the functionalities and capabilities of Reason software. Explore Reason's rack of virtual instruments, effects, mixers, built-in sequencer and patching system, and learn real-world production setups and techniques used by today's top producers.
-
Audio Mastering Techniques
Jonathan Wyner, Marc-Dieter Einstmann (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Mastering is the final, critical, step in the post-production process. Gain a thorough understanding of what is involved in creating a final master recording ready for duplication, replication, or online distribution.
-
Hip-Hop Writing and Production
Michael Hamilton (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn the techniques that hip-hop producers use to create hit songs. Learn writing and production considerations unique to hip-hop, how to analyze and recreate different styles of hip-hop, and how to use this foundation to produce your own songs using Propellerhead’s Reason software.
-
Advanced Audio Ear Training for Mix Engineers
Dan Thompson (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Expand your production skills and take your critical listening to the next level by learning to identify and implement mix strategies, compression and panning techniques, and a wide array of professional mix approaches across multiple genres of music.
-
Music Notation Using Sibelius
Tom Rudolph (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Learn to create lead sheets, choral and instrumental scores, drum maps and guitar notation, and explore many other ways to use Sibelius for your own personal and professional needs.
-
Music Production Analysis
Stephen Webber (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Develop the skills to listen to music like a seasoned music producer. Learn to identify the elements of effective records, and gain the skills to bring these elements to your own productions.
-
Remixing
Erik Hawkins (12 weeks, 3 credits)
Remix production has become a mission critical skill for many working producers and hip-hop and EDM (electronic dance music) artists. Business savvy music industry entrepreneurs recognize that remixing songs is a great way to generate income, publicity, attract new fans, and keep their catalog relevant. Remixing is also a whole lot of fun and gives you the opportunity to join a thriving online community of remixers who share their music on the Web (such as through soundcloud.com) and enter remix competitions with substantial prizes (such as indabamusic.com).
©2001-2013 Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
