Overview
The Electronic Producer program is a 12-month journey designed for aspiring electronic music producers who want to learn everything from beat-making and remixing to advanced sound design and synthesis. Whether you're just starting or looking to refine your skills, this program will guide you through the entire music production process, helping you create original tracks and develop your unique sound.
Program Breakdown
This artist program integrates four courses—Building Blocks, Making Waves, Secret Sauce, and Sending Signals—to ensure you develop all the essential skills to produce compelling original music and remixes while expressing yourself through software and hardware synthesizers. By the end of the program, you’ll have a portfolio of original tracks, a deeper understanding of music production tools, and hands-on experience with industry-standard gear.
Building Blocks (3 Months)
Building Blocks is the foundational course for music production, perfect for beginners and self-taught producers looking for structure. Over three months, you’ll learn the essentials of creating music with Ableton Live, focusing on musicianship, creativity, and self-expression. By the end of the course, you’ll have produced your first original track from start to finish.
What You’ll Learn:
• Beatmaking & Drum Programming
• Essential Music Theory
• Song Structure & Arrangement
• Session View vs. Arrangement View in Ableton Live
Learn more about Building Blocks
Making Waves (3 Months)
Making Waves is an intermediate-level course focused on sampling, remixing, and warping audio in Ableton Live. Whether you’re flipping a classic track or creating an original composition, this course will teach you how to manipulate audio creatively and produce remixes and original music using found sounds and acapellas.
What You’ll Learn:
• Sampling & Sourcing Sounds
• Audio Warping & Manipulation
• Remixing Techniques with Stems & Acapellas
• Music Theory for Remixing & Harmonizing
Secret Sauce (3 Months)
Find your favorite flavor in our 3-month Secret Sauce course. Tailored for intermediate producers, this immersive journey marries the rich history of electronic music with the cutting-edge techniques that shape today's hottest sounds.
• Learn How to Produce in Any Genre: Whether you’re focused on learning how to make house music, how to produce techno or another electronic genre, you’ll gain the tools needed to create professional-sounding tracks.
• Master Sound Design Techniques: Bring your music to life by developing the sound design skills necessary to create everything from punchy EDM synths to atmospheric techno textures.
• Enhance Your Rhythmic & Melodic Composition: Elevate your production skills by learning to craft intricate rhythms, melodic progressions, and unique soundscapes that stand out in today’s competitive music scene.
Sending Signals (3 Months)
Step into the world of synthesis and sound design with Sending Signals, an intermediate-level course for those ready to create their sounds from scratch. Whether you're looking for Serum or Wavetable tutorials or want to satisfy your curiosity by creating custom patches on analog synths, this course will provide the tools and knowledge needed to take sounds out of your head, and design sounds for any genre of music.
What You’ll Learn:
• Synthesis and Sound Design: Learn how to create original sounds using subtractive, FM, and wavetable synthesis.
• Recreate Classic Sounds: Recreate classic and contemporary sounds from your favorite tracks, whether you're into EDM, underground Techno, or cinematic scores.
• Sequence and Sample Hardware Gear: Get comfortable recording vintage and modern synths, sequencing them with your DAW, and sampling them to create new and exciting sounds.
Circle Community
As part of the IO Music Academy Circle, students gain exclusive access to an online hub where they can connect, collaborate, and receive feedback on their tracks. You'll get lifetime access to course materials such as class recordings, dynamic notes, and workshop videos.
Weekly workshops and collaboration opportunities with fellow students and alumni ensure that you stay engaged and continue to grow, even after completing the course.
Studio Access
As a student at IO Music Academy, you’ll receive a complimentary Studio Membership for the duration of your course or program, giving you unlimited access to our state-of-the-art studios in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Booking Studio Time
You can book as many sessions as you like during your time at IO. The only rule is that you must finish one session before booking another. This ensures studio availibility for all of our students.
Studio Membership
After your course, you can continue your membership for just $250/month. Learn more about our Studio Membership here.
What We Provide
In class, we provide students with workstations featuring gear from industry partners such as the Pioneer DJ DDJ-FLX4, Novation Launchkey, Ableton Push 2, Behringer Crave, and Native Instruments Komplete Audio 1. This gives students hands-on experience with professional tools and allows them to participate in interactive exercises.
Thanks to our partners WARM Audio and Shure, students can also check out our extension microphone collection.
Outside of class, students enjoy unlimited access to our recording studios and DJ booths, fully equipped for songwriting sessions, recording vocals, mixing, mastering, production, or practicing for your next gig.
What You Need to Bring
• Laptop (2019 or newer MacBook Pro recommended)
• Wired Headphones
• Ableton Live 12 (available at 40% off)
Ready to start producing?
Click your city below to enroll in the Electronic Producer program at IO Music Academy.
Still have questions? Click here to schedule a tour with one of our team members to learn more about our music production programs and find out if IO Music Academy is right for you.