Learn hands-on, over 24 weeks, in rooms you’ve heard on countless records
At The Blackbird Academy, you will have 700+ hours in the classroom/recording lab and studios. Classes meet five days a week, 30-40 hours per week. Half of the program is spent in the studio, where groups of five students focus on pre-production, recording live musicians, overdubbing, and mixing. The other half of the program takes place in our classroom/recording lab – also a working recording studio – featuring an API console, two isolation booths, patch bay, individual Pro Tools HD stations, and three 65″ flat-screen TVs. When in the studio, it is always a maximum 5:1 student-to-teacher ratio. Every student:
has their own workstation. The student Pro Tools rigs are driven by Universal Audio’s Apollo X interface, featuring every plugin in the UAD collection.
has access to audio labs and equipment outside of regular hours, to work on assignments and/or practice recording and mixing.
works alongside industry professionals and special guest mentors in the classroom and studio.
benefits from on-site visits to studios, mastering houses, venues, equipment factories, and other audio-related businesses.
Here’s what you’ll be learning:
Recording, Overdubbing, Editing & Mixing
Signal Flow
Troubleshooting
Patchbay Layout & Operation
API, Neve & SSL Console Operation
Desktop Audio Workstation Production (ProTools. Logic)
Microphone Placement & Comparisons
Operation of Dangerous Music 2 Buss, Liaison, BAX EQ & Monitor ST
The best school I could have gone to for what I want to do. Amazing teachers who have real world experience and know exactly how to teach it to students. Would recommend to any aspiring audio engineers of any kind.Caleb Hurst
The Blackbird Academy was the best schooling experience I’ve ever had, period. Not only will you learn all the ‘book Knowledge’ required to be an audio engineer at the highest level, but you will also learn invaluable lessons about studio recording culture while forming relationships with industry pros in an ACTUAL professional recording studio. The Blackbird Academy is doing audio education the right way, and I’m so thankful that I went!Will Mikkelson
If you're considering enrolling at this school, it could be the best decision you'll ever make. It definitely was mine. Industry professionals are constantly popping in-and-out, utilizing and appreciating everything that Blackbird has to offer. The entire studio (from microphones to outboard gear to all of the studio rooms) is available for the Academy. This school is ‘the real-world experience.’ The Academy also provides tremendous support for their soon-to-be graduates and helps them land internship/work opportunities all over the globe! Connor Johnson
At The Blackbird Academy, we’re all about learning by doing. Our hands-on approach, based on the same mentor-driven philosophy that has produced generations of Grammy-winning engineers and producers, ensures you learn directly from industry pros. You learn from and have access to real professionals with lengthy credits: engineers, producers, artists, technicians, acousticians, and other audio pros currently working in the industry. By the time you graduate, you’ll be fully prepared for a career as an audio engineer, thanks to real-world training and invaluable mentorship.
As a student, your schedule alternates between the classroom and Blackbird Studio every two weeks.
In the Classroom, each student has an Apollo/Pro Tools system that can record from the room’s two iso booths through the API console/outboard equipment, as well as record directly. Expect a mix of sessions, demos, guest speakers, hands-on” and “ears-on” recording training, and site visits to some of the amazing studios around Nashville.
In the Studio, students work in groups of five in one of Blackbird’s many world-class rooms recording live musicians – giving you maximum hands-on time and contact with the musical talent, instructor, and guest engineers.
Do you have what it takes?
The studio business has its own set of rules for etiquette. Find out how well you react under pressure with our Studio Situations quiz.
Graduate ready to work! Sessions fill up quickly.Reserve your seat today.
