Most songs arent just drums and vocals, so what about the other stuff?  In this course we will get into standard and not-so-standard ways to record bass, guitars and keyboards.

Week one will be all about that bass.  Is DI the best way to record bass guitar?  Does the type of DI matter?   What about compression?   Do I need a bass amp?   What mic would sound best for that?   Do I need to worry about phase?  What is the best way to record an upright bass?  Synth bass through a bass amp?

Week two we will get into the glorious land of guitars.   Acoustic, electric, amps, di, pedals, to room mic or not to room mic, what if someone wants to play acoustic guitar and sing at the same time?   There is a lot to cover with guitars and at June Audio we are well equipped to cover it.   You will get to hear many different options and learn why and when to use the many options available.

Week 3 will cover keyboards.   There are so many different types of keyboard instruments beyond synthesizers.   If you want to learn more about synths we have a great course on that taught by Nate Pyfer.   In this course we will listen and learn about the many ways to treat and mic a piano - upright, grand and spinet.   We will also work with Wurlitzer and  Rhodes electric pianos and the many ways to record those.   Micing a celeste, pump organ, and Hammond B3 with a Leslie speaker will round out this week.

Week 4 will be student directed and allow time to answer questions, deep dive or test any ideas that came up in weeks 1-3.   

Songwriting is an ever changing landscape and the best way to keep your songs sounding fresh, is to keep tabs on what is happening today. In this class, we’ll take a look at songwriting trends, techniques, and tools, that are seen dominating the charts. 

How long should my song be? Are all the good chords taken? To bridge or not to bridge? Are key changes still cool? What’s the ideal tempo? Sax solo? Down chorus? Hooks, rhyme scheme, you name it we’ll take a look at it.

Week 1: ARRANGEMENT. Common arrangements, bridges, third verses, guitar solos?

Week 2: CHORDS. Common progressions, 4 chord glory, minor vs major, key changes?

Week 3: MELODY. Repetition, variation, range, rhythm?

Week 4: LYRICS. Rhyme schemes, content, stories vs feelings, happy vs sad?

Recording drums is one of our specialties and a favorite thing that we do here at June Audio.  This course will teach you how to capture the many sounds available from acoustic drums.  

Week one will kick things off with an introduction to acoustics and the different microphone types, as well as the basics of drum prep, treatment and an understanding of how different spaces play a part in recorded drum sounds.

Week two and three will feature a live drummer playing multiple drum sets in multiple locations as well as variations in mic techniques.   Students will learn how to capture that sound by utilizing the many microphone, mic pre, EQ, and processing options available in the studio.  We will also get into how to balance, adjust, fix, polish or mangle drums to fit a particular song.

Week four will cover editing, fixing, timing, and sampling options used by today’s top engineers, as well mixing drum sounds, including those recorded by someone else.

ProTools is the number one choice of DAW for large studios, mixers, and engineers. It’s called ProTools for a reason. It’s a beast for anything audio related - tracking, editing, and mixing. Although I prefer other DAW’s for some production needs, I will always use ProTools when it comes time to track a vocal, record a band, or mix a record.

Week 1: BASIC WORKFLOW. Setup, layout, routing, navigation, transport

Week 2: TRACKING. Record, input recording, punch mode, playlisting

Week 3: EDITING. Comping, editing, beat detective, audio suite

Week 4: MIXING. Advanced routing, master faders, auxes, bouncing, print tracks