Since I started jazzlessonsonskype.com, I’ve been teaching production lessons via Skype on the art of producing music in Apple’s Logic software. The process is very slick, and my students are ending up with some great tracks and learning how to produce in Logic at the same time. 3 of them are close to releasing their first CDs!
Here’s how our production lessons work:
- You send me a chart of your tune.
- I send you a Logic song that’s kind of a “production kit”, with great drum sounds, a couple basses, a good piano, a pad sound, and maybe some strings to get our production lessons started (all internal Logic sounds if you’d like). This way we both have the song on our computers.
- We connect via Skype, and start to create your track in Logic! If you already have a track going, we can start there, too. We work the production lessons via Skype’s Screen Share feature, where I can share my screen with you so you can see every move I’m making, with me explaining how and why I’m doing everything I’m doing as we create your track.
- I usually begin production lessons by demonstrating how I would go about working on the song, and the tricks, techniques and workflow I’ve developed over working in Logic for 25 years. Maybe we start with a reference piano part, come up with a groove on the drums and bass, add in some cool harmony if we hear it, figure out the form, come up with changes to solo on. There is MUCH TO KNOW about creating music this way, and we will cover it all as we go! From there, we’ll continue to build and shape the track; we can work on it together during our lessons, and you can develop it at home on your own computer, working with it at the same time as you learn master techniques for computer music production. Making a killer track, or even your own CD, can be within your grasp!
- If you’d like to add some audio (trumpet, sax, vocal, guitar, bass…) to the track, go for it! I will set you up with audio tracks with nice reverbs and instruct you on how best to capture your instrument or voice.
- Finally, once the arrangement is finished and all the parts are in, we MIX the track via Skype as well (an essential part of our production lessons), and you will be “over my shoulder” as I add the plug-ins, shape the sounds and get a great finalized, mixed and mastered track. You can work with it from there if you’d like, using the techniques you’ll learn as we do these lessons.
In the end, you get a great-sounding track, and you are well on your way to producing them for yourself! We’ll do as many as you’d like to do; each tune has a wealth of things to teach us about the way production, arranging and mixing works.
If you’d like to hear an example of what one of my student’s CDs-in-progress sounds like, check it out here!
In addition, if you’re considering releasing your own CD, I love to mentor people through the process, from writing the music, to creating the charts and arrangements, rehearsing any live players, preparing a track on the sequencer, producing the sessions, mixing the disc, and getting it mastered and marketed. Contact me for more information; I am your guide to a successful process!
NEXT: My teaching philosophy