Music Mixing & Mastering Diploma

The ability to focus on subtle differences in sound is an essential skill of music producers and recording engineers. This course will introduce students to the techniques used by those audio professionals to develop their own critical listening skills. Students will utilize weekly in-class exercises, and comparative analysis of different styles of mixing to help identify the sonic features which can positively or negatively impact a final audio mix.

In this hands-on course, students will be introduced to the techniques used by today’s audio professionals for advanced signal processing. Students will explore the use of parallel compression, instrument-specific compression, not to mention gain-based and time-based signal processing. Our course will also introduce students to stereo bus compression, equalization, final master processing, stereo and surround plug-ins, and 5.1 processing. Through several in-class exercises and practical assignments, students will explore processing individual tracks in a multi-track recording, and final master mixes.

As the music industry has evolved over the past two decades, music producers and engineers have had to evolve with it. Today’s audio professionals must have the entrepreneurial skills needed to develop and manage their own business. Our Business Strategies for Audio Professionals course will provide students with insight into the business and financial knowledge required by today’s professional engineers and producers. Students will be given much-needed personal financial management tools, and learn to understand fundamental economic and financial terms and terminology. Through lectures and in-class exercises and assignments, students will also learn the ins-and-outs of developing and managing their own small business. Finally, we will discuss the numerous music funding opportunities available in Canada, and review some of the standard contracts used in the music business.

In this course, students will learn how sound works, why we hear what we hear, and how our ears receive and conceive of sounds. This exploration of sound will involve a basic overview of physics, allowing students to understand the important principles of acoustics, wave propagation, and auditory perception. Students will learn how to apply those acoustical theories to the design and construction of studio control rooms.

In this course, students will experience various in-class projects and exercises designed to develop their skills and techniques in mixing music via a Digital Audio Workstation. Students will gain hands-on knowledge of the numerous stages in the mixing process, including equalization, panning, dynamic processing, effects processing, and automation techniques, all from the perspective of the artist and the producer. Using their own laptops, students will delve into the more popular desktop audio software applications, including Logic, Pro Tools, and UAD Apollo. They’ll also be introduced to digital mastering software, and learn to create that final master for delivery in multiple formats.

Creating that brilliant song or mix is only part of the process: in today’s FYI music industry environment, producers, songwriters and artists also need to know how to get their music to the public. In this course, students will learn the fundamental marketing and promotional skills and techniques used by industry professionals to get music to the masses. Our industry-experienced instructors will explore the basic concepts of marketing, target marketing, and marketing segmentation and analytics. Students will also discuss the vital roles of promotion and publicity, and the ideal ways to use both traditional and modern digital and social media to distribute your music and capture new fans.

In this course, students will explore the technologies and techniques used by today’s engineers and producers in the editing and mastering of recordings. Students will get hands-on experience with the most current, industry- standard tools, applications, and systems used in the mastering, editing, and delivery of professional recordings. During this course, students will tackle a number of different assignments, from mastering audio mixes as single songs to mastering and editing full production projects. Along the way, students will learn to use same technologies and systems used by top audio professionals to deliver industry-quality recordings.

The mastering of a record is, in essence, the final realization of the artist and producer’s vision for that recording. And yet, the mastering process is still somewhat of a mystery to a great many audio professionals. Our Mastering Workshop will utilize a number of in-class projects and exercises to help students enhance their digital audio skills and knowledge, while also developing the critical listening skills needed to properly master recordings. Students will explore CD and DVD mastering technologies, including multi-channel audio formats, such as 5.1, and streaming audio. Students will learn the techniques used by today’s top mastering engineers to create industry- standard master recordings in a variety of delivery formats.

This course allows students to better understand the basic principles of audio signal flow, and how it’s vital to the mixing process in both the analog and digital environments. Music Mixing Systems explores the integration of Digital Audio Workstations such as Pro Tools with large format analog consoles, SSL signal flow, operation and automation, Neve signal flow, operation and automation, the SSL X-Desk System, and the UAD Apollo System. Our experienced industry professionals will offer demonstrations of popular mixing techniques and gain-staging in stereo and 5.1 formats.

This practical workshop will allow students to build upon the skills and know-how gained in the Music Mixing Systems course. Through in-class projects and exercises, students will apply the techniques of mixing in an analog or hybrid format, via pre-existing multi-track recordings, student-produced projects, and HD 5.1 music for broadcast.