As the music industry enters its death throes, musicians can no longer count on a Rick Rubin or Max Martin to swoop in and give their GarageBand ditties some added oomph. Fortunately, Friedrichshain’s Noisy Academy is giving you a chance to learn the ins and outs of DIY production – in English, no less.
With their top-notch recording and production facilities, 20 fully-rentable rehearsal spaces and the only 24-hour music supply shop in the entire city (where else would Mötley Crüe buy a set of kick-ass drumsticks at 4am on a Wednesday?), the Noisy Rooms have a well-manicured reputation amongst Berlin’s musical know-alls.
As well as providing the setting and tools for fledgling musicians to find their wings, the adjoining Noisy Academy also offers a number of courses, the latest of which is “polishing my music”, which allows participants to shape their existing ideas into something a little more ‘finished’. Under the keen guidance of Noisy guru and tutor Jane Arnison, an Aussie expat whom ear-to-the-ground types may recognise from the band Kool Thing, the course pledges to demystify complex technical music programmes for beginners and experts alike in just four days spread over two weeks.
Geared towards the self-producing artist, the course allows participants to get to grips with industry-standard software such as Ableton and Logic. Though Arnison is a professional electronic musician herself, her class is suitable for music-makers of any genre as long as they have a digital recording of their work.
So whether you’re the Next Big Thing or forever doomed to play the school disco circuit, why not embrace Berlin’s rich history of musical underdogs and sign yourself up? Deadline for booking is February 10 and spaces are limited to 12, so get your skates on if you want a Grammy award this side of 2013.
“Polishing My Music: Producing and Mixing Music to a Professional Quality”, Noisy Academy, Warschauer Str. 70A, Friedrichshain, U-Bhf Frankfurter Tor, Feb 13, 14, 27 and 28, 3pm-7pm, sign up at www.noisy-musicworld.com/academy, €199
