Free resources to teach yourself music production and sound engineering.
Studying at London School of Sound is a great experience and but you if you really want to learn, you don't need a school to get started.
In fact, the more you teach yourself, the further we can take you with some advanced short course later.
Remember that we do not accept students that have not already demonstrated their ability to produce on their own.
Please note London School of Sound is not recommending or endorsing any product or service related to the external links provided on this page.
Contact our office to suggest additional resources if you can, and let us know if you find any broken link.
Teach yourself synthesis with the free manual for Logic's instruments. Aside form detailed explanations for each one of Logic's instruments this e-book has an excellent generic introduction to subtractive synthesis and a decent quick introduction to almost every other synthesis technique you can imagine. Get it from Apple's book store and read it on your mac, iPhone and iPad.
Also worth a look, the manual for Logic's effects and the full Logic reference manual.
Izotope's books on Mixing, Mastering, Dithering, and Audio Repair. Available in PDF and E-Book format, so you can read them on phones, tablets, old windows machines... The guides are written for Izotope's products but in reality all the advice and explanations are good for any choice of software or hardware. Get them from Izotope's website or search for them on iBooks, Kindle, and other e-book stores - they are all free.
Universal Audio makes some of the best software emulations in the world, but if you can't afford a UAD device you can certainly afford the free downloadable manual: this is probably the best way to learn all about all the classic equipment they emulate, particularly when it comes to understanding the difference between one type of compressor from another. This information is useful even if you never get close to one of their plugins, because almost every other software you are ever going to use has its own version of the same 'classic' devices. Get it here (it's a big PDF) or search directly for 'manual' on Universal Audio's website.
http://music.razerzone.com/category/videos/
The best online resource for advanced mixing and recording tips: pensadosplace.tv (also available on YouTube, iTunes podcasts, and other platforms).
This online school is dedicated primarily to live sound; it's not a free site but every month you find some free videos which are worth watching. www.soulsound.co.uk
http://synthesizeracademy.com/
Coursera hosts a few good courses from Berlkleeonline, which would otherwise be quite expensive if taken directly from Berklee's. Browse through the list of courses for anything related to music production, music business, songwriting. At first it will look like most of these courses cost some money, but in reality you can choose to enrol for free if you don't want a certification at the end. Coursera
The world's largest database of virtual instruments and effects; search for 'pricing:free'
Tons of great articles all available for free, you need to be a paying subscriber only to have access to the most recent issues and to get printable PDF versions of the articles.
Awesome FREE Interactive Music Learning Tool: start from zero (great for kids) and get to scales and modes in just a few clicks. Highly recommended!
The best website for Music Business news, jobs, educational resources and more (UK) - www.completemusicupdate.com
Best source of news on music business (global) - check the link to Music Think Tank too - www.hyperbot.com
Some useful PDF guides for do-it-yourself promotion and marketing, free in exchange for your email address - http://members.cdbaby.com/musician-guides.aspx
Miscellaneous tutorials, mostly Logic - blog I am a music mogul
Series of articles about synthesis from Sound on Sound magazine - Synth Secrets
