Welcome to The Blackbird Academy
A New Standard of Excellence in Audio Education
Your passion for audio has led you to The Blackbird Academy, a professional audio engineering school located at the center of the music production universe – Nashville, Tennessee. Our campus is built on the foundation of Blackbird Studio – a multi-studio production facility that’s home to a community of engineers, producers, musicians, and technical staff who have taken the art of audio to new heights. Here, you will graduate with the technical skills you need to work in the trade and learn the art of audio production from some of the top names in the business. Training at The Blackbird Academy gives you the best foundation to establish and build your career in sound.
What’s the Blackbird Difference?
It’s the mentor-driven, experience-based education only surpassed by our world-class facilities & amazing collection of gear.
The Blackbird Academy is built for the next generation of music pros. Depending on the program you choose, you’ll spend 100% of your time getting hands-on experience — either at Blackbird Studio or inside our massive live sound facility—working on the same gear the pros rely on every day. Classes are taught by professional engineers and an incredible lineup of award-winning guest lecturers like Ken Scott, Chris Lord-Alge, Joe Chiccarelli, George Massenburg, Nick Raskulinecz, Bob Heil, Dave Natale, Ronald Prent, and many more. If you’re ready for real-world training and access to world-class gear, Blackbird is the place!
RANKED WITH THE BEST
We do one thing, and we do it really well – teach you how to create amazing audio.
Since its founding in 2013 by John and Martina McBride, The Blackbird Academy has quickly risen to a top-tier school for professional audio (consistently ranked in the top 5 audio engineering schools) and has a world-renowned reputation for outstanding graduates. Nearly 92% of our LIVE SOUND ENGINEERING and 70% of our STUDIO ENGINEERING students find placement in the industry upon graduating.
MUSIC FIRST
The music business is exactly that. Music first and then the business of star making, marketing and more. The music side comprises writing, arranging, recording and mixing of the songs.
The Blackbird Academy gives its students a natural fusion of new recording technology and the old and eternal recording techniques that have been used over the last 50+ years.
The Blackbird Academy will be a very exciting and life-changing experience for any aspiring artist, producer or engineer. It can also provide a great foundation from which to springboard one’s natural talent. If I was starting all over again, this is exactly where you would find me – a great place to learn and to keep one’s creativity intact.
Blackbird Studio is the finest recording studio on Planet Earth. What better place could there be to learn?