Hello, I’ve been trying to get started in the world of music production using Ardour for a few months now, but I feel like I can’t make progress. I don’t have a clear path. I’m looking for a worthwhile course with a structure that allows me to advance, I don’t mind if it’s online or in-person. The problem I encounter is that almost all of them teach Ableton. Do you know of any course that teaches the concepts and practice in such a way that it can be followed with any DAW, so I can continue progressing with Ardour as well?
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Sadly no. Almost every course I see picks a DAW and sticks with it, and there are practical reasons for this. For instance I teach a course in Mixbus that is based off Ardour, and while I focus entirely on the basics that would apply in any DAW, if I allowed my students to work in any DAW I would have exponentially higher workloads than I do currently (That I already don’t have time for) as I would get non-stop questions of “Well how do I do this in ‘X’ DAW”.
As of right now I don’t teach my course online though sadly, so unless you happen to be near Richmond VA in the USA I don’t think it is an option for you. If I somehow manage to find time to pre-record my lessons and post them up as a self guided course almost then maybe, but I haven’t had time yet, sorry. I focus on the basics of understanding basic toolsets (Editing, and basic Processing like EQ, Dynamics, and time based processing such as Reverb and Delay) along with a focus on ear training for my students, so my course isn’t for everyone anyways.
Seablade
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When I learned audio production with a DAW (+15 years ago), I bought the script for an mixing & mastering course offered by a German audio training company (https://audio-workshop.net) and worked my way through it using the Tracktion DAW, which back then came with a several hundred pages long manual in PDF format.
The script came with a CD, which included all the audio tracks of the songs, which were used as example projects in the course. Also, the script had parameter listings for all the plugin presets used given in general terms (i.e. often using real SI units not just 0-100 values), so that these could be applied to different plugins of the same kind with some amount of careful thinking and experimentation. The course was using Cubase as the example DAW, but with the extensive manual for Tracktion I had, I was mostly able to translate each mixing step to the DAW I was using. If not, I was usually able to do something, which lead to the same effect, or just ignored that step for the time being, until I had learned more.
This gave me a general understanding of how DAWs work in general, which I then could apply when learning Ardour a few years later (around version 5.x). One thing that was crucial to understand, was general signal flow, i.e. what are tracks/channels, busses, aux sends/returns, inserts/send effects. pre/post routing etc.
To get this understanding, it actually helped my to read the manual of the Yamaha hardware mixer I was using at the time, which had a well-written, extensive section on these basic concepts, plus a few articles on German music-related sites like bonedo.de.
You could probably do something similar with the online Ardour manual and using some other online mixing course, either one, which makes the example projects available as audio stems (i.e. audio files with single vocal/instrument tracks), or using such projects, which are available online for free (see for example here and here), but having something, which works through some example projects step by step and explaining not only the how but also the why was very valuable to me.
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The term “music production” is very vague, and for a course which uses Ableton it is likely that what specifically meant is EDM production, or hip-hop production, or pop music production, which would be different than for example a course using ProTools teaching rock band production, or soundtrack recording, or classical music recording.
Many of the concepts transfer between different tools when you get to mixing, but as a tool for creating music there are fairly significant differences in the work flow for various tools.
Perhaps a first step is to think about what styles of music you have in mind, and what you mean by “production,” and determine if Ardour is the right tool for the job you have in mind.
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Personally I started with Ardour at point 0. Learning by doing.
One acoustic guitar, one voice.
Added sount fonts, drum kits, synths, step by step, plugins. Self-taught.
Maybe you have a look at this video which is 4 years old and based on Ardour version 6, but might still be useful for a quick start on Ardour.
Once you know the basics and technical terms you might be able to translate a course for a different DAW to Ardour (I did some courses on Udemy.com - f. i. look out for the courses of Anthony Allen)
But in the end - already mentioned - you need to know what you really want to do.
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Hello,
It is somehow a little less than ten years that I switched to Ardour.
I agree with spotlightkid.
I went from another software, but all daws can make, more or less, the same job and also, more or less, the same way, once you know the main actions of theese pieces of software.
The only thing I could say, is that all theese softwares have almost an infinite numbers of possibilities, and, as it was said above, imho, the thing is to decide what you want to do and how to reach the result.
Personally, I think I use ten per cent of what can be done with Ardour, but that’ s fine for me, and when I need to get more efficient with a process, I look only in the area of my needs.
Also, there is a kind of logical with daws which demands to be understood( where the files are situated, in which file plug-ins are stored and what is the path to get there?) but, once again, this becomes quite intuitive once you understand what theese softwares are made for.
Don’t know if I am clear!!!
Hope it helps
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In my view ANY course that you can find in studio music production will teach you what you need to know. The specific DAW that is used in the course may not be Ardour, but the principles will be the same. Once you know WHAT to do, you’ll just need to learn HOW to do it in Ardour. And the best way to do that is by doing, as @peter.zenk mentioned.
I’m also a (very) amateur musician and producer, and that’s how I did it. I took a first 6-hour course from a store that sold instruments, and then took a university-level course in the summer session a number of years ago. Both courses used Pro Tools from Avid as a DAW. I followed that path for a while (using Pro Tools First, the “free” version of the software) until Avid’s licensing models changed to more of a subscription-based service. I had been very aware of Ardour - being a heavy Linux user in my daily work as a chip design engineer for many years. I produced one of my songs under both tools and (after investing time to learn the Ardour ways of doing things) found that I could get pretty much the same results under either DAW. So some years ago I decided I would focus my efforts on Ardour and it’s worked out very very well.
In fact about a year ago I also switched my “daily driver” computer from Win10 to Linux as well.
I choose Ardour for the following reasons:
- It produces a quality audio result, equivalent to what I can get in Pro Tools
- It is unbelievably well supported via these discussion forums (I mean, I can’t imagine any actual Pro Tools developers even thinking about interacting with users on a daily basis)
- Its subscription/licensing model meshes perfectly with my usage model.
There are of course innumerable tutorials on YouTube that discuss how to produce good music using a DAW. The one I choose to follow is Joe Gilder’s Home Studio Corner. He uses a DAW called Studio One, but he repeats frequently that the techniques he teaches are applicable to any DAW. I have found that to be true.
TL;DR: pick a DAW and dedicate some time to learn it by doing. Ardour is an excellent choice for several reasons.
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I see someone above posted Unfa’s qukckstart video, may I also recommend his Ardour MIDI masterclass. I also started from 0 on music production a year ago and @unfa is who really taught me Ardour:
https://youtu.be/ACJ1suTVouw?si=_dwBeJA8zpa9AavH
He also has bunch of other videos on Ardour you can learn from.
May I also recommend Seids Youtube channel, she uses Logic Pro in her videos but these concepts can easily be applied to Ardour, she has a whole series on learning music production for free:
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Sorry to come back here, but just to mention that if you are interested with how « MIDI » works, then, maybe you will have to dive a little bit into it….
It is, a little bit like « music »! If you want to understand and feel how it can work, you have to put hands in the oil……
BTW: In case you are also out for some books in addition to video courses I have the following:
Bobby Owsinski - The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook
Warren Huart & Jerry Hammack - Home Studio Recording
Both are not written for a specific DAW
I don’t have a clear path
Figure that out first
The Art of Mixing. Also available as videos on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEjOdqZFvhY
Groove3 has a series on Harrison Mixbus 6, which is of course based on Ardour. Harrison Mixbus Explained® - Groove3.com Video Tutorial
Hi curlsei
Although the different courses you can find online use a specific DAW, in general most of them can be followed independently of the DAW you use.
Mixing, editing, equalization and other processes involved in music production have a basis that applies to any software you use.
Ardour, Mixbus, Protools, Cubase, Nuendo, Ableton, Fruity Loops, Studio One, Reaper, etc. are DAWS and in all of them you record, edit, mix, and each one has its differences.
Reaper and Ableton are masters of looping and quick editing and tempo adjustment of samples (Ardour and Mixbus now have sample launching like Ableton.
Ardour, Cubase, Protools, Studio One and perhaps Fruity Loops could be compared in capabilities, although Ardour does not work with scores, and Cubase does, Protools is the “standard” although it has its limitations.
Mixbus and Nuendo are somewhat more complete, somewhat more advanced for example more detailed mastering, working with film images, but almost all of the above are used for this as well.
This is at least my opinion.
Regarding music production, not necessarily specifying a specific DAW, I usually consult one of these sites:
Tutorials on Ardour
Ardour
Girga
Whanake
Mu.Lix.
https://www.youtube.com/@Mu.Lix.
Your Home Recording
music theory and production courses, (there are many more)
https://www.jamesonnathanjones.com/
Music production youtube channels, some have courses available:
Álvaro Rodríguez Cabezas – Film Music
Underdog Electronic Music School
SpectreSoundStudios
CaptainPikant
ThinkSpaceEducation
Sounds Human
Unfa
greetings and happy holidays
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Here is another tutorial with Ardour that I forgot to put before
John Jannone channel
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