Is Garnish accredited to teach Ableton?

Yes - the program is Ableton certified and Apple authorized.

Is this course focused on production, sound design, or both?

Both - it covers the full spectrum, from sampling and sound design through audio manipulation and live performance technique.

What perks come with enrolling?

A free boutique sample library, an exclusive Mark Ronson Mellotron sample pack, and discounted or free access to premium synths and effects.

How big are the classes?

Capped at 10 students per class.

What plugins does the course actually use?

Mostly stock Ableton tools and Max4Live devices, plus Serum as the one third-party plugin featured.

Electronic Music Producer Certificate Program

Certified Ableton Music Producer Program

If you're ready to take your music seriously and want to master one of the world’s most powerful DAWs, this is where your journey begins. Whether you're starting from scratch or you’ve been self-teaching and want to fill in workflow gaps, our 120-hour Music Producer Program in Ableton Live Suite is built to help you produce high-quality, release-ready tracks while earning a certificate that proves your skills.

Ableton DAW

→Session and Arrangement View, Workflow and Warping Basics
→Warping Loops and Using the Browser
→Intro to Simpler and Drum Racks
→Drum Sampler
→MIDI Recording of Melodic Instruments
→Scales, Key and Tuning Systems
→MIDI Generators and Transformations
→Mapping for Remote Control
→Audio and MIDI Effects and Racks
→Using Third Party Plugins
→Recording Audio and Warping Full Tracks
→Comping: Take Lanes
→Stem Separation
→Mixing Basics, Grouping and Routing
→Auto Shift

Advanced Ableton

→Sub: Waveforms and Harmonics, Sine
→Sub: Ableton’s Analog: Oscillators
→Sub: LFO, Polyphony, Unison and Glide
→Pulse Width Modulation and Serial Filtering
→Drift: Subtractive, Done Properly
→FM: Intro to FM
→FM: Ableton’s FM synth: Operator Overview
→FM: Algorithms, Filter
→FM: Making FM Drum Sounds
→Wave: Wavetable Categories
→Wave: Auditioning Wavetables Using an Envelope
→Wave: Oscillator Effects
→Wave: Multiple Filters with Different Routings
→PM: Physical Modeling Synthesis
→PM: Collision and Corpus: Sound Design
→PM: Tension
→Filter, LFO FX and Modulation Matrix
→Waveshaping with Roar: Saturation, Dist
→Sampler: Mapping Key and Velocity Zones, Looping
→Sampler: Filter, Drive and Shaper
→Sampler: AUX Env and LFOs
→Granular: Creative Time Stretching
→Granular: Beat Mode, Warping Using Quantized
→Granular: Grain Delay
→Granular: Granular Synthesis with Granulator III
→Granular: Filter, Modulators and Capture
→Additive synthesis: in Operator
→Creative Audio Effects: Shifter
→Creative Audio Effects: Resonators
→Creative Audio Effects: PitchLoop89
→Spectral Resonator and Spectral Time
→Hybrid Reverb
→M4L Devices: M4L Modulators

Mixing & Mastering

→Choosing Monitors
→Monitor Placement
→Acoustics: The Basics
→Signal Flow
→Mixing Desk Basics
→Basic panning techniques
→Mid/Side and Stereo Width
→Equalization
→Filtering
→Dynamics
→Reverb
→Delay
→Phaser and Flanger
→The Vocoder
→Modulation
→Vocals
→Automation: Mixing as a Performance
→More Creative Mixing Techniques
→Mixing Electronic Music
→Mastering

Mentoring

→20 hours of working on your music in class!

Designed for the next generation of artists and producers, this immersive course is hands-on, practical, and focused on results. You’ll work directly on your own music, receiving detailed feedback and guidance tailored to your goals and your genre.

You’ll dive deep into Ableton Live Suite, learning how to use it as a creative weapon. From sampling and sound design to audio manipulation and live performance techniques, this course covers the entire spectrum of music production. We’ll also show you how to seamlessly integrate hardware, turning your workflow into a fast, expressive, hands-on experience.

Sound design is a big focus too—you’ll explore the best of Max4Live devices and get under the hood with Serum, the only third-party plugin featured in the course, to create truly unique sounds.

Our class sizes are intentionally small—no more than 10 students per class—so you can learn in a relaxed, collaborative environment. Our purpose-built labs encourage experimentation, creativity, and even the occasional class jam. Because learning to produce the music you love should be inspiring, not overwhelming.

And the perks? Yeah, we’ve got those: Thanks to our exclusive licensing partnerships, you’ll get access to a suite of premium synths, samples, and effects—worth thousands. Many are yours to keep. Others are free to use during the course, with exclusive discounts available if you want to upgrade later.

And there’s more: as a Garnish student, you’ll receive our full boutique sample library—created by Garnish instructors and producers—for free. Plus, you’ll get an exclusive student-only pack featuring individually sampled keys from Mark Ronson’s Mellotron M4000D, lovingly recorded in Mark’s Hollywood studio by our own Zack Johnson. Huge thanks to Mark and Zack for making this one-of-a-kind resource available to our students.

Whether you want to make club bangers, cinematic soundscapes, or experimental grooves, this program gives you the tools, knowledge, and mentorship to make it happen.

In Chicago, the city that gave the world house music, the Certified Electronic Music Producer Program runs the way it does everywhere we teach: small groups, hands-on, with working producers as instructors. If getting to the studio is not practical, the same sessions run live online, using our specialist music collaboration software, Muse.

Hear it from our students.

“This kind of material and skill needs to be well TAUGHT. The instructors were excellent teachers and mentors. They are very passionate about the craft - and are extremely knowledgeable as well as experienced. But they also are very good at articulating the lessons and passing along that wisdom so we can learn... The course was an excellent mix of discussion as well as hands-on training. The instructors also set an exceptional tone for our classroom and created an environment that was motivating and optimal for learning. Great job!”

Eugene KirillovAlan Guno

Frequently asked questions.