Progression Studio for BandLab

A working school for BandLab Studio: 40 courses and 565 lessons, credentials, classes with assignments and grading, certificates anyone can verify, a moderated community, and a documented partner API.

Foundations

• Studio Orientation: Everything on the screen, and what it actually does. (Beginner, 18 lessons, about 3 h)
• How Sound Actually Works: The physics you need, and none that you do not. (Beginner, 18 lessons, about 3 h)
• Critical Listening: Train the only tool you cannot buy. (Beginner, 12 lessons, about 2 h)
• Singing Basics: Your voice is an instrument. Learn to play it well, and look after it. (Beginner, 12 lessons, about 2 h)
• Reading Music: Notes, rhythms and symbols on the page, explained one step at a time. (Beginner, 11 lessons, about 2 h)
• Ear Training: Hear it, name it, play it. (Intermediate, 11 lessons, about 2 h)

Studio skills

• The Mix Editor, End to End: Every panel, every control, nothing skipped. (Beginner, 18 lessons, about 3 h)
• MIDI & the Piano Roll: Writing music without playing an instrument. (Beginner, 17 lessons, about 3 h)
• Loops, Packs & the Browser: Using other people's sounds without sounding like everyone else. (Beginner, 10 lessons, about 2 h)
• Automation & Envelopes: Making a static mix move. (Intermediate, 11 lessons, about 2 h)
• The Effects Rack: Every processor, what it does, and when to reach for it. (Intermediate, 19 lessons, about 4 h)
• BandLab on Your Phone: A whole studio in your pocket. (Beginner, 10 lessons, about 2 h)

Instruments

• The Drum Machine: Programming kits that sound played, not typed. (Beginner, 18 lessons, about 3 h)
• Bass & Low End: The hardest part of a mix to get right. (Intermediate, 11 lessons, about 2 h)
• Keys, Pads & Synths: The harmonic middle of the track. (Beginner, 11 lessons, about 2 h)
• Guitar, Amps & Pedalboard: Real playing and modelled tone. (Intermediate, 10 lessons, about 2 h)
• Sampler & Slicer: Turning any sound into an instrument. (Advanced, 13 lessons, about 2 h)

Songwriting

• Songwriting Foundations: Chords, melody and form without reading music. (Beginner, 18 lessons, about 3 h)
• Lyric Writing & the Rhyme Pad: Words that scan, land and mean something. (Beginner, 27 lessons, about 4 h)
• Song Structure & Form: Why songs are shaped the way they are. (Intermediate, 12 lessons, about 2 h)
• Topline & Hook Writing: Writing the part people remember. (Advanced, 10 lessons, about 2 h)
• Co-Writing & Sessions: Writing with other people without it going wrong. (Advanced, 9 lessons, about 2 h)

Production

• Rhythm & Beat Construction: Drums that move, grooves that hold. (Beginner, 17 lessons, about 3 h)
• Arrangement & Production: Turning eight good bars into three good minutes. (Intermediate, 14 lessons, about 3 h)
• Recording & Audio Editing: Getting real sound in, and making it usable. (Intermediate, 16 lessons, about 3 h)
• Vocal Production: The part listeners actually hear. (Advanced, 18 lessons, about 3 h)
• Genre Workshop: The conventions that define a style, and how to use them. (Intermediate, 13 lessons, about 3 h)
• Remixes, Covers and Forks: Making something new from songs that already exist, the right way. (Intermediate, 11 lessons, about 2 h)

Mixing and mastering

• Mixing Fundamentals: Balance, EQ, dynamics and space. (Intermediate, 29 lessons, about 5 h)
• Advanced Mixing: The techniques that separate competent from good. (Advanced, 14 lessons, about 3 h)
• Audio Repair & Restoration: Rescuing recordings that are not right. (Advanced, 11 lessons, about 2 h)
• Mastering & Release: The last five percent, and getting it heard. (Advanced, 15 lessons, about 3 h)

Specialisms

• Sound Design & Synthesis: Building sounds nobody else has. (Advanced, 19 lessons, about 4 h)
• Music for Film, Games and Video: Writing music that tells a story alongside pictures. (Intermediate, 10 lessons, about 2 h)

Collaboration

• Advanced Studio Workflow: Speed, templates and working with others. (Advanced, 12 lessons, about 2 h)
• Cakewalk Sonar and Cakewalk Next: The desktop path, when the browser is not enough. (Advanced, 11 lessons, about 2 h)

Release and business

• Publishing, Splits & Rights: Who owns what, and how you get paid. (Advanced, 10 lessons, about 2 h)
• Releasing & Building an Audience: Getting the track in front of people. (Advanced, 11 lessons, about 2 h)
• Performing Live: From your bedroom to the stage, prepared and safe. (Intermediate, 11 lessons, about 2 h)

Teaching practice

• Teaching Practicum: How to run a class that people finish. (Advanced, 17 lessons, about 3 h)