LoFi Hip Hop | July 13–Aug 7 | Noon-2pm PST

LoFi Hip Hop | July 13–Aug 7 | Noon-2pm PST

A focused dive into LoFi Hip Hop music production using Ableton Live 10.

4 weeks of online class (monday, wednesday, friday) where you’ll be able to share your screen to get input on your tracks from the instructor as well as your 5 classmates.

Access to nearly 100 on-demand videos on specific topics related to weekly projects / challenges.

Course Outline

Course Outline

Week 1

Here’s where it all starts! No matter what your skills are coming into this, we make sure that by the end of the first week you’ll have gained a solid understanding of the Ableton Live interface, workflow, and how to make it work for you! You’ll understand and be able to confidently utilize basic rhythm theory in your beats, and will be able design your own drums sounds from scratch, using your own unique kits to create effective and professional-sounding beats that are truly one-on-a-kind. You’ll also have had the opportunity to work collaboratively to craft a beat with another producer from your cohort, receiving personalized feedback along the way from knowledgeable Bleeps+Loops instructors.

 

    • Ableton Basics

      • The Interface

      • Navigating Live

      • Session/Arrangement View

      • Clip/Device View

      • Transport Controls and Browser

      • Preferences

      • Audio, MIDI, Return, and Master Channels

      • Signal Flow in Live

    • Rhythm Theory

    • Working with MIDI

    • Drum Programming

      • Drum Racks

      • Humanization

        • Swing and Groove

        • Dynamics and Velocity

        • Playing it in by Hand

      • Quantization

      • Fills/Variations/Transitions

      • Layering

    • Drum Sound Design

      • Kicks

      • Snares

      • Hats

      • Claps

      • Percussion

    • Collaboration/Project Management via Splice

Week 2

Week 2 is packed full of good stuff! By the end of this week, you’ll know how to process the beats you made in Week 1 to create a cohesive, flexible kit that sits well within your tracks. You’ll understand clip automation/modulation, and know how to use Reverb, Delay, and Distortion effects in ways that move beyond standard uses, transforming them into solid tools for mixing, spatialization, and sound design. You’ll end the week with a solid understanding of tonal music theory and will be able to implement those skills as we continue to build our tracks. Recording and sampling any sound will be second nature, and using Live’s Warping capabilities to manipulate those sounds into something entirely new and unique will set you well on your way to creating a totally unique sound that is 100% you. In this week we also dive headfirst into one of Live’s most powerful and most under-utilized features: Racks, a.k.a. your gateway into crafting a completely personalized set of tools and skills that will positively influence your production workflow for the rest of your career. This is advanced stuff, what all the producers you listen to do, and you can absolutely do it as well!

 

    • Drum Processing

      • Kick, Snare, and Hat Processing

      • Drum Busses

    • Tonal Music Theory I

      • Basic Notes, Intervals, and Scales

      • Minor, Relative, and Modal Scales

      • Intro to Chords

      • Circle of 5ths

      • The Other Minor Scales

      • Chord Progressions

    • Recording/Sampling/Warping

      • Recording Audio

      • Recording Synths and Other Instruments

      • Resampling

      • Warping (Time Stretching) Audio

    • Racks

      • Chains

      • Zones

      • Drum Racks

      • Macro Controls

      • Mixing Using Racks

      • Saving your Racks

      • Creative Uses for Racks

    • Audio Effects I

      • Reverb

      • Delay

      • Distortion

      • Saturation

    • Clip Envelopes and Modulation

      • Envelopes

      • Modulation vs Automation

Week 3

By the end of week 3, you’ll have a nearly-complete track or two and will be well on your way to remixing another song! Over the course of this week, we dive into synthesis and sound design in a big way: We’ll start off by learning how to synthesize sounds from scratch using several of the most useful and popular synthesis techniques, and you’ll be applying these skills to craft powerful basses, effective pads, and attention-grabbing leads. We also dive into compression and EQ, arguably the two MOST critical tools for any producer to have a solid understanding of. We’ll cap the week off by talking about Remixing and Song Arrangement as we finally start to see our tracks taking shape!

 

    • Synthesis

      • Subtractive

      • Additive

      • FM

      • Wavetable

    • Bass Sound Design

      • Mid/Top Bass

      • 808s

      • Sub Bass

    • MIDI Effects

      • Arpeggiators

      • Creative Uses for Live’s MIDI Effects

    • Lead/Pad Sound Design

      • Starting from Oscillators

      • Modulation

      • Adding Effects

      • Making it Playable

        • Velocity

        • Aftertouch

        • Keytracking

        • Microtuning

    • Audio Effects II

      • Compressors

      • EQs

    • Remixing

      • Types of Remixes

      • Why Remix

      • Gathering your Materials

      • Defining your Approach

      • How it’s Done

    • Arrangement

      • Sound Perception

      • Turning Loops Into Songs

      • Song Structure

      • Tension, Release, and Tangents

      • Elements of an Effective Transition

      • Builds and Drops

Week 4

The final week! By the end of this week you’ll have a totally complete, mixed and mastered release-ready original track, as well as a remix! We spend most of this week talking about the mixing and mastering process. Given that the mixing process has a huge impact on the overall vibe of your track, most producers opt to mix (and often master) their own tracks these days. It’s to have these skills in your pocket, and we make sure to dive deep into the process! Our instructors will provide you and your collaborators with personalized track feedback, and you’ll end this experience not only with new skills, abilities, and knowledge that some producers go their whole lives trying to learn, but also connections with other producers worldwide that will last for years to come! And ultimately, isn’t that music is about? Connection, people, shared experiences…We want you to have it all!

 

    • Sound Design Using Vocals

    • FX Sound Design 

    • Mixing

      • Mixing vs Mastering

      • The Phases of Mixing

      • Visualizing the Cube: Mixing 3 Dimensionally

      • Gain Staging

      • Managing Phase Issues

      • EQ when Mixing

      • Compression when Mixing

      • Stereoization and Width

      • Mixing for Loudness

      • Buss Processing

      • Sweetening the Mix

      • Bouncing your Mix

    • Mastering

      • Common Misconceptions

      • Goals of Mastering

      • Gentle Touch

      • Dithering

      • Final Track Bounce/Render

    • Remix Presentation

    • Final Song Presentation