Hello everybody! 

I am excited to begin our course and am looking forward to meeting those of you that I have not already.

We have a fantastic 8 weeks of learning ahead of us! And I can’t wait to see you all grow comfortable with making music through the use of this amazing tool.

You are going to LOVE this course, and you will be surprised at the depth of music production understanding you’re going to walk away with.

Some final reminders and requests before we begin:

Please arrive 15 minutes early at 10:45am each session to get set up and comfortable in the space.

It is important that all students have laptops set up and ready to go for a timely start each class, to ensure we make it through each week’s topics. This course is jam packed with content, and in order to successfully make it through everything without rushing, starting on time is necessary. Late arrivals mean that the class will be interrupted and held up while students arriving late are setting up their laptops, and this means we will inevitably need to go over-time.

If you arrive before 10:40am, please wait outside, as the classroom will still be being prepared.

We will be starting at 11:00am sharp each Saturday. Thank you!

Please note that doors close at 11:00am each session – as such a timely arrival is crucial for your participation in each class – and late arrivals are directed to book a catch-up session.

Be sure to arrive with your version of Ableton Live installed, running, and ready to go for week 1.
The software comes in four versions: Lite, Intro, Standard, and Suite. Version 10 or later is required. If you are able to get a copy of Suite, that is ideal! This will equip you with all the tools you need for your ongoing musical adventure for years to come. The course is designed to be suitable for all versions. The Standard edition is recommended as a good middle ground. If you are not set up yet and still considering purchasing, Ableton offers a free 30 day trial of the fully featured Suite version. You can buy Live or start a free trial at ableton.com.

Bring a pair of headphones, and a computer mouse.
Wired headphones are required, and Bluetooth headphones are unsuitable. Using a mouse with Ableton Live is important, and will make your learning process much easier. It’s much more comfortable than using the trackpad! Be sure to also bring your laptop charging adaptor, as the 2.5 hour session will run most laptops flat (even brand new ones).

Please add john@snedmusic.com to your email contacts.

After each class, I will be sending out weekly follow-up emails recapping the topics we have covered, and links to YouTube tutorials that will help your studies. Because these are group emails, Google sometimes thinks they are spam! Adding me as a contact will help prevent these emails landing in spam.

Below is a link to a sample pack.

Also included is an instructional video on getting this set up within Ableton Live – Please make sure you get your samples downloaded and set up before arriving at our first session, in order to not hold up the class. Please ensure your samples are saved on the actual hard drive of your computer, and, importantly, not in a cloud service such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, etc. If your samples are saved on a cloud service, Ableton Live will always have trouble accessing them, potentially leading to loss of your work.

Download the sample pack here: Sample pack (Google Drive)

Mac users: keep your course files on your Mac

Open Finder, click Go > Home, then open your Music folder. Make a new folder called Music Production, extract the sample pack into it, and save your course projects there too.

Keep this folder out of iCloud Drive, Dropbox and Google Drive. If iCloud’s Desktop & Documents Folders option is turned on, don’t use Desktop or Documents for course files.

Windows users: keep your course files off OneDrive

On many Windows laptops, OneDrive backs up your Desktop and Documents folders without asking. Ableton keeps its library in Documents, so your samples can end up in the cloud. When a sample is only in the cloud, Ableton can’t find it and your projects open with missing sounds. This takes about ten minutes.

1. Make one folder for the course. Open File Explorer, click This PC, open Local Disk (C:) and make a new folder called Music Production. Its address is C:\Music Production. OneDrive doesn’t touch this folder.

2. Put the sample pack in it. Download the sample pack, right-click the zip file and choose Extract All. Click Browse, pick C:\Music Production and click Extract. Save all your course projects in this folder too.

3. Point Ableton at it. In Ableton Live open Options > Settings (Options > Preferences in Live 10 and 11) and click the Library tab. Set Location of User Library and Installation folder for Packs to C:\Music Production. If Live asks whether to move your existing files, say yes.

4. Check it. Open C:\Music Production in File Explorer. The address bar should not say OneDrive, and you should see no blue cloud icons next to your files.

Already have course files in OneDrive? Right-click the folder, choose Always keep on this device and wait until the icons turn green. Then cut it (Ctrl+X) and paste it (Ctrl+V) into C:\Music Production.

Optional: stop OneDrive backing up Documents and Desktop. Click the OneDrive cloud icon near the clock, then the gear icon, then Settings. Open Sync and back up > Manage back up and turn off Documents and Desktop. If it asks where your files should go, choose This computer only.

Stuck? Bring your laptop 15 minutes early to the first class and we’ll sort it out together.

Our classes will be taking place in Coburg North at The Snedlab.

Address: 4/36 Norfolk Court, Coburg North 3058

Parking: See parking map below! There is generally plenty of space around here, however I’ve included some tips if the visitor parking spots are filled up. Please only park in the areas specified.

The venue is part of a shared lot of small warehouses, which has a front gate that closes at night time. If the gate is closed when you arrive, please call or text me on 0449 705 424 and I’ll open it straight away for you.