Welcome to The Blackbird Academy
The Standard of Excellence in Audio Education
You’re not here by accident. You’ve been chasing sound your whole life—spending late nights mixing or listening to songs to figure out how they were made. The Blackbird Academy is where your passion turns pro. Based inside the world-renowned Blackbird Studio in Nashville, TN, you’ll train where the industry’s biggest records are made. You’ll learn from the engineers, producers, techs, and musicians who live and breathe this work—people shaping the future of sound.
The Blackbird Academy isn’t classroom training. It’s like the real world. And the program works. Our graduates are out there making records or touring the world—building careers at top studios, live sound companies, and with major artists. If you’re ready to work, this is where your career in audio begins.
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. You’ll spend your time here getting true hands-on experience—either at Blackbird Studio or inside our massive live sound facility—working on the same gear the pros use every day. Classes are taught by professional engineers and an impressive 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 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?