Do I need prior Ableton knowledge?

Yes - this is an intermediate course, so a working knowledge of Ableton Live is expected.

Is this course suitable for DJs?

Yes - it's specifically pitched at DJs ready to take the leap into producing their own music.

What's covered about subtractive synthesis?

"Analog Heaven" - the fundamentals of subtractive synthesis using Ableton's Analog instrument, for warm, fuzzy or resonant classic sounds.

I have half-finished loops sitting on my hard drive - will this course actually help?

Yes - that's exactly the problem this course is built to solve, giving you the structure and momentum to finish tracks instead of abandoning them.

How long is the course?

36 hours as a group course, or 20 hours 1-on-1.

Sound Design & Synthesis Class

Name: Sound Design & Synthesis Class
Price: 1499 USD

Sound Design & Synthesis in Ableton Live

Sound Design & Synthesis in Ableton Live – Create the Sounds in Your Head

If you're ready to take a major step toward producing the kind of top-tier electronic music you love, our Sound Design & Synthesis in Ableton Live course is your launchpad. Pulled from our flagship Electronic Music Producer Program, this 36-hour course is packed with practical tools and deep creative insight to help you move beyond presets and unfinished loops—and finally bring your ideas to life.

You’ll learn how to

→Build your own unique sounds from scratch
→Design basses, leads, pads, drums, and FX that fit your style
→Structure and evolve a track as your sound design develops
→Understand the “why” behind synthesis, not just the “how”
→Finish a production you’re proud of—ready for mixdown

Prerequisite

→This is an intermediate course so all learners must have a good understanding of the latest version of Ableton Live. Taking our Ableton Live Production Course first is more than sufficient.

Overview and Goals

→Live’s Instruments and effects allow for any synthesis method or effect to be integrated in an easy workflow, along with automation. When doing sound design we learn not only how we can create sounds from scratch, but also how to control them in an evolving way with automation as part of our composition. This knowledge also enables us to tweak any library preset to our own specific needs when writing music and it will help us get a more exciting and personalized sound. The techniques learned here can also be applied to plug-in and hardware synths. A track with the right sound design is a track halfway mixed.

Analog Heaven

→Learn the ins and outs of Subtractive Synthesis using all the basic building blocks needed to make those warm, fuzzy or resonant sounds we know from many classic recordings. From crispy, funky baselines over acidy dance grooves, shiny leads, dreamy pads to talking synths. Everything can be created using Live’s Analog.

Smooth Operator

→FM Synthesis has been part of the bedrock of electronic music since the days of early Synthwave. While originally often used to mimic the sounds of conventional acoustic or electric instruments, i.e an electric bass, a sparkling e-piano, bells, harps or marimbas, It was later embraced for woofer shaking deep house basses until it was discovered by Dubstep and Grime producers for those grinding gritty and aggressive timbres. FM techniques are also an essential building block in modern Subtractive or Wavetable Synths.

Wavetable

→This latest edition to the Ableton palette is a true gem and combines many different synthesis methods and tools in one place. Unlike the previous two synths, it provides an extensive collection of different oscillator wavetables that are made up of sonically related timbres. This makes them ideal for complex, gradually evolving sounds to cover just about any musical genre. From grimey, synth wavy to more organic sounds. This synth uses subtractive and FM, but also wave folding and warping techniques to modify the wavetable source sound. The modulation possibilities with LFOs and Envelopes are deep, and Wavetable is a breeze to program, thanks to its great graphic interface.

Physical Modeling

→One of the later additions to the synthesis stable, due to its reliance on more advanced digital technology. It’s, ironically also the one that comes closest to exploring natural sound and real world acoustics. We can use this to recreate resonant behavior of conventional instruments and physical objects to create quasi acoustic timbres or even new sound of non-existing instruments. This is a totally different approach to create sound from scratch and is immensely rich and riveting in its possibilities. During this segment we will dive into Corpus, Tension, and Electric.

Simpler and Simpler

→While Synthesizers allow us to create sounds from ground up and therefore offer more flexibility, every type of instrumentation can be done with sample based sound design. Samples of conventional instruments or of any other acoustic event can be played from a keyboard or pad controller. However these instruments give us also far reaching synth-like possibilities to modify and process the sampled sources into something totally unrecognizable… or otherworldly with the help of granular synthesis.

Creative Effects

→We focus on the more transformative effects that help enhance the sound design, or even take it to another level. The standard mixing effects will be covered in the mixing classes. Spacial Echo, Spectral Time, Grain Delay, Drive and Color Redux, Saturator, (Pedal), Corpus, Reverb and Resonance Hybrid Reverb, Resonator, Spectral Resonator, Modulation Frequency Shifter, Chorus, Phaser, Flanger M4L. Some of the Max for Live devices help us expand Ableton’s functionality in essential ways, by creating movement and evolving sound changes that were otherwise not possible.

Still flicking through presets hoping to land on something “good enough”? Got half-finished loops stuck on your hard drive? Whether you're a beginner stuck at the sound design stage or an experienced producer ready to go deeper, this course will give you the techniques, structure, and momentum to break through.

All classes are live and interactive, either in-person or online, with the chance to ask questions and get feedback the moment inspiration—or confusion—strikes. That’s why many of our students say there’s no substitute for real-time, in-person learning.

Our instructors are electronic music pros and Ableton power users, not just teachers. They’ll share the workflow tips, tricks, and sound design strategies they’ve developed over years in the scene, helping you bridge the gap between idea and execution.

This course is also perfect for DJs ready to take the leap into production. You already know how to move a crowd—now it’s time to start playing your own music. Even if you don’t play a traditional instrument, you’ll leave this course with the knowledge and confidence to produce music that stands out—and gets noticed.

By the end of the course, if you’ve put in the work between sessions, your track should be complete—and ready to mix.

In Chicago, the city that gave the world house music, the Sound Design & Synthesis Class 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. Discover qualities that distinguish us, here.

Hear it from our students.

“The EMP course is a good time and super informative. I've been writing and producing music for the past year in Logic. There was so much I wanted to transcribe from my mind to my DAW, I just didn't fully know how. Fortunately, the EMP course changed that in just a few short weeks. Very exciting. Not to mention the Garnish LA folks are super cool.”

Patricia Seely

Frequently asked questions.