SAE Liverpool and MTV Liverpool Music Week have announced an official program of exclusive audio educational events.

Taking place between the 30 Oct – 6 Nov, this year’s Liverpool Music Week line-up looks to be the most exciting yet and the perfect run up to the MTV Europe Music Awards. In conjunction with this prestigious event, SAE is proud to announce a Music Education Program that allows participants to gain an introduction and learn more about various aspects of the audio industry – from intimate recording sessions to mixing and sound design.

If you would like to reserve a place on any of these free seminars, please see the contact details below.

A full program of the educational events is available here.

For further information about Liverpool Music Week and for the full event listings visit the website.

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The Art of Mixing

Creating a professional mix is often the final hurdle that most DIY bands/Artist and producers will face. This workshop uses real-world examples to explore the workflow and methodology behind creating a professional mix, as well as understanding the subjective influences that make mixing as much an art as a technical endeavour.

Friday 31st October @ 18:00 – Venue: SAE Institute Liverpool Studio 1

Max Attendees: 20

Please register by emailing: saeliverpool@sae.edu

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In Session with NilaMusic

This intimate workshop setting puts the participants right in the middle of a recording session with NilaMusic. This promises to be an insightful look at recording procedures, methodologies and mic placement, as well as the importance of setting atmosphere and encouraging a creative workflow.

Saturday 1st November @ 12:00 – Venue: SAE Institute Liverpool Studio 1

Max Attendees: 10

Please register by emailing: saeliverpool@sae.edu

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The Ableton Road Show

Two workshops on the acclaimed Ableton Live software

18:00 – Ableton Live Introduction

Ableton’s Live software offers an unique way to exp[lore music production. This workshop is ideal for the beginner or those who would like an introduction to the software.

19:00 – Ableton Live Advanced Workshop

Geared toward the seasoned Ableton Live user, this masterclass will concentrate on advanced tricks and tips, and offer enhanced insights into workflow and production technique.

Monday 3rd Novemeber – Venue: SAE Institute Liverpool

Max attendees: 40

Register here

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Synthesis and Sound Design – An Introspective

In an increasingly cluttered world, it is often hard to stand out from the crowd and get yourself heard – especially where music is concerned. Good song writing is still of paramount importance together with creating that ‘new sound’.

Principles of synthesis and sound design are key to sounding different and breaking the mould. This workshop offers beginners a look at the mindset required together with an introductory understanding of the tools available.

Thursday 6th November @ 18:00 – Venue: SAE Institute Liverpool

Max Attendees: 20

Please register by emailing: saeliverpool@sae.edu

Special Guests:

• Fraser T Smith Kano, (Craig David, Plan B)

• Ren Swan in association with Songtank (KT Tunstall, Ronan Keating, The Faders)

• Simon Sherbourne Electronic music maker from lapjockey.com

• David Gould Pro Tools Product Specialist

• Free hands-on Pro Tools training sessions

In association with authorised Digidesign Pro Tools Training Facilities, you can learn the basics or pick up new time-saving techniques from our team of experts.

Demonstration Zones

Visitors will have the opportunity to see new Digidesign & M-Audio product releases and try Pro Tools software and Virtual Instruments on dedicated workstations, including:

A.I.R. Virtual Instruments including new Transfuser
For Guitarists: Digidesign Eleven amp emulator plug-in
The new range of Digidesign Studio Monitors
Pro Tools 7.4 software with Elastic Time
M-Audio products including Torq Digital DJ tools
Mix Rack – the latest VENUE live sound product

You can register for free here

In theory, anyone, anywhere in the world will be able to access the an SAE education… but things don’t really work like that. It’s the practical, hands-on nature of audio courses which make them worthwhile.

Let’s face it, you can find just about anything out on Google for free, including a massive array of tips, tricks and rules of the trade, all ready to be broken.

While SAE in the real world craves dominance, opening up schools on just about every street in the world, its founders are hoping to get a piece of the online action too.

Audiocourses has become a number one location for distance learning with several courses available in areas such as music technology, recording techniques, digital audio and audio for video. In many regards it’s a natural evolution as SAE already provide groundbreaking ‘offline’ courses in these areas, among others.

Audiocourses’ Chris Hambly says:

“The merging of SAE Institute, with its world leading face-to-face brand identity, and AC, with its pioneering methods and credibility for early adoption of online delivery, is a mouth-watering prospect. Bringing together these dominant brands really does provide a win- win situation for students globally, whereby regardless of location the student is able to immerse herself in the world’s best solution for media related education both offline and online. It’s perfect!”

Of course it is Chris…

Built by Digidesign, the rig is designed to give students the chance to recreate working the front of house position for some pretty big gigs!

The rig is part of the new digidesign studio at SSR, a technical training school for the music, audio and visual industries. SSR sound engineer Jay Beard said:

“I’ve travelled the world mixing live bands like Snow Patrol, Doves, Elbow and Cherry Ghost and this Virtual Stadium Mixing rig is amazing.”

“The rig gives you up to 64 channels of recorded show sound and vision from some of the world’s biggest bands and you can follow the show on the video plasma screen whilst mixing.”

Bill Devon, operational director at SSR, said:

“Most people are surprised to learn that the live sound industry is actually bigger than the construction industry, and with over 35 different jobs types available for technicians and engineers it is well worth exploring.”

SSR is holding an open evening to demonstrate the new rig to the public next Wednesday from 7pm.

Mike is the author of SOS cover features including Recording Guitars  , and the Piano Recording piece in Sound On Sound’s January 2008 issue. He will give live demonstrations of audio equipment and techniques so that atendees can compare different studio gear and recording approaches first-hand.

The courses cover topics such as vocal production, electric guitar recording, drum miking, piano recording, and mixing, with special emphasis on exploring the techniques employed by top-name producers.

Vocal

In the vocal production course, for example, participants will be able to take part in a shootout of mics costing between £80 and £2000, allowing them to make their own mind up about what yields the best results and value for money.

Mike has also recently appeared as a guest lecturer at London’s School of Audio Engineering (SAE), where he gave a talk to students about mixing on a budget.

Put your money where his mouth is!

The courses, delivered by Mike and his hand-picked team, cost £145
per person, and run from 10am to 4pm, with time for Q&A. They take
place on Saturdays in selected locations around Cambridge.

Course Dates:

Recording Electric Guitars: Compare the recording techniques of the
world’s top producers first-hand, and learn how to apply the same
principles in your own studio. Saturday 8th March 2008

Maximum Drums, Minimum Mics: Lots of famous producers can get a great
drum sound without using masses of mics. Find out how they do this,
and how you can make these tactics work for you. Saturday 15th March
2008

Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio: Over the years, professional
producers have worked out how to make consistently high-quality mixes
even when the gear and acoustics are far from perfect. Discover the
benefits of these skills for yourself and learn how to remedy the
mixing errors most commonly made by less experienced engineers.
Saturday 29th March 2008

Recording Pianos: Compare the wide variety of different mic
techniques for recording grand and upright pianos, so that you know
when to use them and how to get the best out of them. Saturday 5th
April 2008

Vocal Production: Learn how to make vocal performances shine in this
series of live recording, editing, and mixing demonstrations. Plus,
take part in a shootout of vocal mics of varying budgets. Saturday
12th April 2008