NEXT START DATE: July 6, 2026!

Veterans’ Benefits

Be ready to start work as a Live Sound Engineer or Studio Engineer in as little as 24 weeks.

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If your passion is music, but a four-year program isn’t right for you, we can help! The Blackbird Academy offers intensive,  24-week audio engineering programs where you learn from the greatest names in the industry.

  • Located in the music mecca of Nashville, TN, your teachers are professional audio engineers.
  • We have no ordinary classrooms, and our gear is unprecedented.
  • Being a part of the world-renowned Blackbird Studio, your education will be 100% hands-on in one of our nine world-class studios or our 14,000-square-foot live production facility.
  • With four start dates per year, you decide when you are ready to learn and start your next adventure!
  • After ten years of teaching, we are known for producing top-notch graduates in the industry. We currently have a 94% placement rate for our Live Sound graduates and 70% for our Studio Engineering grads. 

The Blackbird Academy is approved to accept GI Bill® education assistance for our Live Sound Engineering and Studio Engineering programs by the Tennessee State Approving Agency (SAA) for Veterans, a division of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

Student with arm outreached adjusting a setting on a sound board.

Benefits include:

  • Chapter 30 MGIB
  • Chapter 31 (VocRehab)
  • Chapter 32 VEAP (Vietnam Educational Assistance Program)
  •  Chapter 33 Post-9/11

Dependents’ and spouses’ benefits include:

  • Chapter 33 Post-9/11 TEB (Transfer of Eligible Benefits)
  • Chapter 35 DEA (Dependent Educational Assistance)

Helpful Info

What we need before you start

Before you are eligible to start classes, The Blackbird Academy must receive a copy of your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) as well as a copy of your DD-214.

Getting approval

It takes approximately 60-120 days for the VA Office to approve claims for benefits and issue your COE. The earlier you prepare and submit your paperwork, the more likely you are to receive your benefits in a timely manner.

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.
John McBride in Studio A giving hands-on instruction to a student
Robert John "Mutt" LangeProducer, Songwriter

Reserve your seat today!

Join the next generation of audio professionals. Limited seats available for our upcoming programs. Apply now or get in touch to learn more about your path into the industry.

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