COURSES
2 x 2.5 hours of live-stream lessons every week
1 x 30 minute live 1-2-1 session with a tutor every week
SEM has training centre credentials with industry-leading giants Ableton Live, Apple, Pioneer and Native Instruments. Train with the best, enjoying amazing studio facilities, industry-active teaching staff, and cutting-edge curriculums designed to get you ahead.
All of our online tutors have years of experience teaching our professional in-house courses, so you can rest assured you’re in safe hands.
Yoss who taught this Free Music Production Taster Course Series is just one of our online tutors. He has decades of experience producing music, which he brings to the classroom in an informative and friendly way. Yoss also has expertise in mixdown and mastering through his work at 80Hz Studios (the UK’s largest independent studio) where he has worked alongside Diana Ross (EMI), Peter Asher (Apple Records), and Matthew Halsall (Gondwana Records).
Which course is right for me?
We would ask for you to think about what level of music production you would like to get to – are you curious, a hobbyist, or taking it seriously and wanting to get to a professional level? We have 3 music production courses that are all totally suitable for beginners, but that will get you to 3 different levels by the end.
We would also recommend these 3 courses if you have produced music before but on a different DAW, if you are looking to learn Ableton Live. If you are unsure what is right for you, book a call with a course advisor or send us an email.
*Ableton Live 11 Suite music production software included with the training.
If however you are already making music and want to specialise further, check out our Producer’s Bundle which includes 4 of the 6 modules taught on the Ultimate Course.
Are there any entry requirements?
There are no formal academic requirements for our online training. Our courses are hands-on, and aimed at improving your skillset as a music producer. We only ask that you’ve checked you are at the right ability level for the course you pick – see ‘Which course is right for me?‘ or book a call with a course advisor.
For your own enjoyment, we also ask that you feel comfortable with the tuition in English. You can get a feel for this by watching our free online 3-part series.
At the end of your training, once you have completed all the course quizzes you will receive a certificate of completion.
Will I learn to produce specific genres on the training?
Lessons will generally focus around the more “popular” electronic genres such as techno, house, drum and bass, and the majority of sub-genres within these areas. More in-depth questions about genres outside of this can be brought up during your 1-2-1 sessions, or during the regular sound surgeries that will happen twice every week. Feel free to drop in and ask away.
What courses can I study if I’m not producing on Ableton Live?
The Producer’s Bundle focusses heavily on 3rd party plugins, and only uses basic DAW functionality outside of this. Although the lessons are delivered on Ableton Live, you should be able to follow along using any DAW that you are comfortable with. Or should you wish to follow along using Ableton Live, you can download a full free trial of Ableton Live Suite here.
The techniques and topics covered on this course will help you develop transferable skills that can be used in the majority of DAWs and other plugin bundles. You can view the recommended 3rd party plugins for the Producer’s Bundle here.
What is the difference between lessons and 1-2-1s?
Lessons
Where the main content of your training is delivered to your class. Lessons are:
1-2-1 sessions
1-2-1s are quality time to cover anything you need answers for, in order to help you progress. 1-2-1s are:
How do the payments work?
There are several ways to pay for your training. You can choose to pay in advance, you can pay in instalments, or if you are based in the UK you may be able to apply for finance to spread the cost over 6 – 12 months 0%, or over 24, 36 or 48 months 9.9%. Read more on the finance options here.
Instalments
If you choose the instalment plan, the first monthly instalment books your place on the course, and then instalments are paid in monthly intervals starting from the point of enrolment.
Our instalment payments are setup through Stripe, which accepts all major debit and credit cards. There are no credit checks required. Payment plans are only offered as a way to spread the cost, it does not negate that the full fees for any course you enrol for will still be due. Should you cancel your instalment payments at any point during your training, you will be removed from the training programme until course fee payment can be resolved.
Ableton Live Suite Licence
If you are studying our Music Production Ultimate Course you will receive Ableton Live 11 Suite (rrp: £539) as part of your training. If you have paid in advance for this course, the Ableton licence will be issued to you 14-days after your enrolment once the cooling-off period has ended, or on your first module lesson, whichever comes first.
If you are on a monthly instalment plan, you will receive your Ableton licence after all your course fees have been paid. Alternatively if you wish to receive the Ableton licence earlier, we offer a £250 deposit scheme. Once you have paid the £250 deposit, we can issue the licence to you. Then once your final course payment has been received, we will then refund the £250 deposit back to you. An administrator will be in touch to organise this with you.
Please note that once entered onto a monthly payment plan, you have entered into a legally binding and all course fees will be due. Any unpaid course fees will be recouped, along with the cost of the Ableton licence (valued at £539).
Course Pricing
Depending on which level of training you want to study, the payments are as follows:
1 module courses (Basics of Music Production)
2 module courses (Music Production Fundamentals)
4 modules (Producer’s Bundle)
6 modules (Ultimate Music Production Course)
If you have any queries regarding course fees, please book a call or email us.
How does the monthly finance option work? (UK students only)
Get instant monthly finance with Omni Capital (the finance applicant will need to be in employment)
Prospective students are able to get an instant online decision to fund training though our partner Omni Capital.
Benefits of the monthly finance are that the baseline course price is based on our ‘advanced’ cheaper price – although payment durations longer than 12 months will have interest of 9.9% applied. You can however overpay the finance plan at any point either in part or in full – there are no fees for doing so. Paying the finance off faster will also reduce the interest paid.
Please note, the person applying for Omni Capital finance does not have to be the student, for example a parent could apply for finance on behalf of a student.
Payment durations of 6 months or 12 months are 0% interest. Duration of 24, 36 or 48 months have interest of 9.9% applied. Please note Omni Capital will undertake a credit check when you apply for finance.
To apply, the applicant must be 18 or over, earning over £5000 annually and have been living in the UK for at least 3 years before your course starts. Omni Capital will also take into consideration additional factors such as credit score.
You will need to pay a minimum 5% downpayment on the course fees to SEM at the point of successful finance application, although you have the option to make anything up to a 50% downpayment on course fees (a larger downpayment will make your monthly instalments cheaper).
Book a call with a course advisor now who can setup and walk you through the finance application, and then enrol you to onto the online course of your choice.
You can view the finance calculator below to look at the options that suit your budget. Start by entering the total ‘advanced’ course fees (Fundamentals: £695, Ultimate: £1995, Producer’s Bundle: £1095) and change the finance product dropdown.
As mentioned, there is a minimum of 5% non-refundable deposit (downpayment for the course fees) required from the student at the point of successful application. The calculator will tell you minimum deposit required.
EG: Music Production Ultimate Course. Fees: £1995
£1995 over 36 months : Deposit £99.75 : Monthly instalments of £60.69. Total finance: £2184.86
What if I already have Ableton Live, but want to study the Ultimate course?
Already got Ableton? Awesome!
If you’re wanting to study the Music Production Ultimate Course, this normally comes with Ableton Live Suite included. We would therefore advise booking a call with a course advisor or emailing us so we can look at some options with you to discount your training.
What language are the courses taught in?
Our online training is all taught in English. Please be mindful of this when enrolling.
If English isn’t your first language, remember that your lessons will all be recorded so you can watch these back as much as you need. You can also record your 1-2-1 sessions should you wish.
What happens when I enrol?
We look forward to welcoming you as a SEM student! Once you enrol, join the community online and give us a shout on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, by tagging us and using the hashtag #SEMONLINE to tell us what course you’ve enrolled for. Please add info@semmanchester.com to your email address book so that you receive the admin emails for getting you setup, and keep an eye on your inbox as this is the main way we will liaise with you throughout your training.
Once enrolled, you will be taken to your course player, which contains all the getting started information to ensure you’re all ready for online training. Your course content will unlock as your course progresses.
If you have any questions about enrolling, please book a call or email us.