The Sound Issue 2016 Education Focus: Abbey Road Institute

Answered by: Paul Ledingham, CEO

What makes your audio course stand out from the rest? The world's only audio production course designed in-house by the global leaders in the music industry. Graduates are certified directly by Abbey Road Studios London and Universal Music Group.

What kind of gear will students be learning on? Every lecture is conducted in front of fully equipped iMac and Universal Audio workstations. The studios feature consoles from API and AVID with a microphone collection that is the envy of most professional studios.

What software do you teach with? The Institute boasts an extensive collection of software being used across the industry, namely Pro Tools, Logic Audio and Ableton platforms. All students have access to plugins by Waves, Izotope, Universal Audio, Slate and more.

Who are the lecturers the students will be working with and what are their backgrounds? All Abbey Road Institute lecturers and master class and workshop presenters come from the highest levels of the global music production industry. Their credits include Madonna, Michael Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Justin Bieber, INXS, The Sex Pistols, U2 and more.

When every phone has an app for making music, why should students pursue an audio course? To truly master the craft of music production, one needs to work under the guidance of seasoned industry veterans. Abbey Road provides students a year of personalised mentorship by the industry's most successful names.

What kind of career paths can students expect after doing your course? While students will be qualified for a range of roles in professional music production — from live sound to post production — we envision graduates to be working at the very forefront of music creation.

What is your hot tip for students who want to get into the world of audio? The music industry revolves around people and your network is your most valuable asset next to your portfolio. Get to know all managers, producers and artists as they will be crucial to your success!