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Would you like to start finishing more music?
As a music producer, you may face some of these challenges:
• You are looking to take your production to the next level but are not sure where to focus your time and energy
• You are unsure if you are using the right production techniques correctly, in the context of your own music
• It’s hard to find other like-minded producers whose opinions you trust, to gain constructive feedback on your music
• You have good ideas but struggle to turn them into anything more than a 16-bar loop and finish a track
• You are unsure of which workflow to use to reach consistent results with your production and mixdowns
• You struggle to get your tracks sounding like the artists you like and the music you buy
If any of the above resonates with you, we believe the Production Sessions Start-to-Finish Course is the perfect place where you can truly develop as a music producer.
Let's take a look at the course in more detail...
“With my experience as a trainer and a coach, the Production Sessions are a perfect way for me to teach people something I’m really passionate about, which is music production”.
Lee Batchelor, Future Engineers
What is Production Sessions?
Production Sessions is an ongoing membership program managed through Patreon.
The Start-to-Finish Course offers a structured, step-by-step approach to learn and develop your music production skills gradually through the process of writing your own track, in your own DAW from start-to-finish.
While at the same time, offering ongoing support from me and our producer community, where you can share your work in progress, receive constructive feedback and guidance throughout each step of the process.
Regardless of your experience level, the program is designed to develop your skills and help you start achieving your goals to finish more music.
How does it Work?
Start-to-Finish Course: Start your own track, in your own DAW and source your own sounds, as you gradually progress through the course.
Live on Zoom: Each session will be hosted monthly, live on Zoom for 2 hours and will focus on one topic at a time. The live nature of the sessions allows you to ask questions in the context of real-life examples and learn about music production in a meaningful and engaging way.
Action Steps: Work on your own track during the month, and complete the action steps required to move forward to the next module.
Community Support: Share your work in progress in Discord to receive feedback and constructive critique from me and our producer community, to help you push through any technical challenges or creative blocks to ensure you keep on track.
Flexible Learning: With the on-demand options, you can learn at your own pace and revisit the content whenever you need a refresher.
Finished Track: By the end of the course, you will have a finished track that you have invested your time and energy into, giving you the experience of staying committed to a project and reaching your goals to finish more music.
Release your Music: We will help you find the right home for your music, either on Transference or on a suitable label, if it’s the right fit, using contacts in our community.
My goal is to empower a new wave of Atmospheric drum and bass producers, helping them take their production to a new level.
Lee Batchelor, Future Engineers
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What will you Gain?
- Engage with an online community of like-minded producers who offer ongoing support, guidance and accountability to each other as a collective, ensuring you receive the right advice.
- Learn a clear, step by step framework with techniques and workflows that are most effective for you, helping to streamline your process and give you the confidence to finish more music.
- Gain confident in your technical ability, know which production techniques to use and when to use them.
- Learn to program and process drums and bass, bringing power and punch to your mixes.
- Discover new and creative sound design techniques to build unique soundscapes, atmospheric textures and evolving pads, using plugins, samples and effects.
- Learn new methods to help stay inspired and maintain the momentum to overcome creative blocks.
- Master how to build energy and interest in your arrangements through sound progression, transitions and automation.
- Understand the principles of mixing and mastering to make your tracks polished and professional.
- Gain hands-on experience in all areas of the track writing process, to improve your overall proficiency, enabling you to create higher-quality music over time.
- By the end of the course, you will have a finished track. Reinforcing the habit of discipline, with a commitment towards reaching your goals and finishing what you started.
Module Overview
Series 4 is the first iteration of the course, so the curriculum is not set in stone and will be continuously developed and refined and therefore, is subject to change based on founding member feedback.
Module 1: Song Ideation
- Research and Inspiration
- Choosing a concept or theme
- Setting creative constraints
- Creating an idea using samples
- Sample manipulation - Part 1
Module 2: Workspace Organisation
- DAW Templates
- Sound and sample library preparation
- Sample management and auditioning
- Sample manipulation - Part 2
Module 3: Drums
- Choosing the right drums
- Kick and snare design
- Percussion
- Using loops and breaks
- Drum programming
- Drum processing
Module 4: Adding Supporting Elements
- Using MIDI instruments to create supporting elements
- Exploring melody and chords
- Atmospheric pad design
Module 5: Bassline
- Choosing the right bass sound
- Writing a bassline
- Sub bass processing
- Mid bass layering
- Bass sound design
- Bass bus processing
Module 6: Structure and Arrangement
- Breaking out of a loop
- Building an arrangement
- Maintaining energy and interest
- Defining sections using dynamics and contrast
Module 7: Sound Design
- Creating atmospherics and transition effects
- Designing new sounds using existing elements for continuity
Module 8: Mixdown
- Balancing
- Gain staging
- Analysis tools
- Frequency masking
- Low-end control
- Frequency dependant side-chaining
- EQ, compression, saturation, clipping, limiting, and stereo enhancement
Module 9: Master Buss Processing
- Preparing your pre-master
- Final processing to enhance loudness, clarity, and balance.
- Referencing
- Mix translation
Module 10: Next Steps
- Sharing your track for feedback
- Sending demos to labels
- Digital presence / brand
- Social media
- Promoting your music
How do I Join?
Production Sessions is managed through Patreon and is based on 4 tiers, designed to suit your commitment level, schedule and budget.
Choose your Patreon Tier HERE.
The focus is on modern Atmospheric drum and bass, but the techniques covered will apply to all forms of electronic music.
Lee Batchelor, Future Engineers
If you'd like to join our community of like-minded producers and take the next steps towards achieving your goals and start finishing more music, join us on this new journey and take your music production to the next level.
See you inside...
Lee Batchelor / Future Engineers
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Testimonials
"I’ve admired Lee Batchelor’s music production for many years now, I even signed some of his Future Engineers tracks to my 720 Degrees label. Lee is always at the cutting edge of music creation, with the highest level of sound design and production values out there. The sessions are a phenomenal way for any artist, new or experienced, to up their game and reach new levels with their music production."
Blame – Moving Shadow, Good Looking, 720 Degrees, Over/Shadow, Violet Nights Recordings
"I’ve absolutely loved the Future Engineers Production Sessions. I’ve picked up a lot of techniques from them which I’ve incorporated into my recent productions: workflow, ambience tricks, controlling the dynamics of ambience, progression tricks such as evolving baselines and many more. The open group for discussion is great too, highly recommended!"
Andy James (Coda) – Charge Recordings, 31 Recordings, Natty Dub Recordings
"I’ve been making music for many years but participating in the Future Engineers Production Sessions has helped take my production skills to a whole new level, making me feel more confident about putting into practice the knowledge that I already had. I come away from each friendly and engaging session with renewed inspiration to create".
Graham Fisken (Lucida) – Timeless Recordings, Violet Nights Recordings
"I have learned more from Lee in the first few sessions than I have in the previous two decades. The group itself is extremely welcoming and it’s a fantastic environment to learn. You also have access to the Future Engineers Discord to ask for help and advice, track feedback, and tips and tricks".
Dan Hicks (Azimuth) – Atmospheals, SenZeru, Okbron
"Lee's production sessions have provided a fun and inspiring environment in which I've been able to query, scrutinise and grasp specific areas of contemporary music production I previously found challenging. The process of unpacking, demystifying, and deliberating approaches to topics such as gain staging, referencing, and mix-bus processing within the context of a commercial release in the making, has been incredibly worthwhile and pertinent to my own work regardless of genre."
Patrick Collins – Media Composer
I heard about Lee's production sessions after he already had a group of people and had been working on the first track together with them. It's a no-brainer for me, looking back if I knew earlier I would have joined from the start. I have personally never had a shortage of ideas for my tracks but I heavily struggled with the rest of the production process, mixdown, making your track sound good, and preparing it for release. I feel like I have learned tons in the past year, and my tracks definitely sound better thanks to all knowledge that Lee has transferred to us".
Robert Kondrat (Woken Balance) - Omni Music, Metius Music
“The way production techniques are explained and demonstrated is very well done and helpful. I’ve benefited greatly from the feedback provided by the group on my own productions.
Al Wilson (Trident) - Omni Music, Code Name: RCRDS
"The production sessions are live, real-time meetings. So not only do I have a chance to learn from Lee's comprehensive music production knowledge and experience that he shares during the production sessions, but I also have the opportunity to do so *interactively*. This means that I have a chance to participate, ask questions, and learn about music production in an incredibly meaningful way!".
Jacob Bell - Production Sessions member
"The sessions have helped cement my core skills, building a foundation for better-sounding mixes. The group is an awesome bunch of like-minded individuals, sharing their knowledge, growth, and passion for the music we all love".
Den Donovan - Production Sessions member
“The group has been a comforting experience on many levels. A mix of cheeky banter, stories from the golden era, connection with a group of people with similar passions, and incredible production talents to be inspired by. I’ve learned so much about mixing, layering of sounds, effects, sample matching, and the challenges of refining a track all the way from initial conception to public release. I feel like I’m building strong foundations for a whole range of music production beyond drum and bass”.
Jason Mesut - Production Sessions member
“Future Engineers wrote some of the most unique songs in the early days of drum and bass that inspired me from a young age. I’ve really enjoyed getting an insight into their workflow and sound creation in these sessions, along with anecdotes about the earlier days of production. I’ve really enjoyed getting an insight into the Future Engineers workflow”.
Dan O’Reilly - Production Sessions member
"Being a part of the group has encouraged me to work on my production skills on a regular basis and contribute my sounds to tracks of a high standard, ready for release. The monthly sessions are engaging and the group members are always friendly and supportive of one another. I highly recommend the Production Sessions to anyone looking to learn more about creating music or developing their existing skills”.
Daniel Dwyer - Production Sessions member
"Since joining the group, I have learned so much from seeing and discussing the end-to-end process of creating a modern-day, professional drum and bass track. I've been very impressed by Lee's depth of knowledge, attention to detail, and ability to explain the occasionally complex, technical areas of music production in a clear and concise way. It also helps that Lee is very personable and patient!"
Wayne Joseph - Production Sessions member
"The Productions Sessions group support has been invaluable in getting me back up to speed. The members are friendly and willing to help and share on a personal level. It's a great environment from the first session, it just felt comfortable".
Chris English - Production Sessions member
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I am new to music production?
If you’re just starting out and would like to join the program, there is a separate Beginners Group, plus there is additional support available through the Patreon VIP tier, which includes 1 hour of personalised 1-to-1 tuition from me each month to help you work through the modules.
Additional coaching is available at 20% discount on the standard rate.
What software do I need for the course?
You’ll need a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) such as Logic Pro, Ableton Live, FL Studio or Cubase.
You will work in your own DAW throughout the course, so there is no need to learn a new one.
For the best experience, you’ll also need:
- Stable internet connection
- Desktop or laptop computer
- Microphone and built-in or external webcam (if you’re attending live)
- Headphones.
I don’t write Drum and Bass, will the course still apply to me?
Yes, the concepts and production techniques covered during the course apply to all forms of electronic music and all genres of music are welcome.
When does the course start?
The launch date for the course is Saturday 8th February 2025.
How long does the course take?
Series 4 is the first iteration of the course, so the curriculum is not set in stone and will be continuously developed and refined and therefore, is subject to change based on founding member feedback.
As the live sessions are held monthly, the initial timeline for the course is approximately 10 months.
I like to work quickly on music, can I work on more than one track?
Yes, you can apply the framework of the course to any new or existing projects that you are working on.
You can allocate one project to work on during the course, and then apply the knowlegde you have gained to other projects in your portfolio.
You can even work on multiple tracks during the course and dip in and out of each track when the module topic becomes relevant to a specific track.
What time is the monthly live Zoom session?
The live sessions run on the second Saturday of every month at the following times:
Group 1: 10:00 - 12:00 AEST
Group 2: 21:00 - 23:00 GMT
How do I sign up for the course?
Production Sessions is managed through Patreon and is based on 4 tiers, designed to suit your commitment level, schedule and budget.
Review Patreon tiers HERE.
Click HERE to join the waitlist and we will be in touch soon with more information.
Important: If you’re joining series 4, do not join Patreon before 1st February 2025.
Once you have joined the waitlist, you will receive an email on the 1st February 2025 with further information on how to join Patreon.
What if I decide the program isn’t right for me?
If you're not satisfied with the course, simply contact us within 30 days of joining for a full refund.
What if I can’t attend every live session?
Each month you will also receive a recording of the live session to download and watch at your convenience. Therefore, if you miss a session you can watch the replay in your own time and ask any questions in our Discord community.
Alternatively, if your busy schedule doesn't allow you the time to attend the live sessions, you can join the On-Demand Tier, which allows you to watch each module in your own time, and still follow the group as it moves through the course in real-time.
Can I just watch the content and not have to commit to the course?
Yes, the Retrospective Replay Tier allows you to access the module replays without having to participate in the course.
Can I join Patreon at any time during the course?
Joining at the beginning of the course is the best way for you to get the most out of the program, as this will ensure you gain as much exposure as possible to each concept and production technique as it’s introduced through the natural progression of the track writing process.
However, you can join the course after it has started and catch up by referring back to the session replays and asking any questions in the Discord community.
How long do I have access to the course content?
You will have access to support from me and our producer community for as long as you remain a Patreon.
You also have the option to download the video content, so you can learn at your own pace and revisit the content whenever you like.
What happens at the end of the course?
Production Sessions is an ongoing membership and you will continue to receive support from me and our community of like-minded producers after the course, for as long as you remain a Patreon.
Unless you state otherwise, you will be automatically enrolled in the next series and the course will start again from the beginning.
You have the option to start a brand new track or continue to refine or revisit existing projects, while applying the same framework with the support of our community.
What will happen to my music once the course is finished?
All tracks will be considered for release on Transference, If your music is the right fit for the label.
Alternatively, if your music is ready, we will help you find an appropriate home for your music, using our contacts and other producers in the community.
How will I receive feedback on my track?
You will receive personalised feedback from me and our like-minded producer community at each step of the track writing process through our Discord.
You can request detialed feedback from me via email or Zoom.
You will also have the opportunity to provide feedback to others, ensuring that you all learn and grow together, and push through any technical challenges or creative blocks.
What additional support is available to me?
You can ask me or our producer community a question at any time through our Discord.
Additional 1-to-1 support is also available through the Patreon VIP Tier which includes 1 hour of personalised 1-to-1 tuition from me each month to help you work through the modules and any stumbling blocks.
You can also request for ad hoc 1-to-1 tuition at 20% discount on the standard rate.
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FACEBOOK COMMUNITY
If you want a taste of what to expect in the Production Sessions, why not chat with other producers in the Facebook group
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