Music Production & Vocal Performance Diploma

Program Overview

Embark on an immersive 12-month journey with Point Blank's Music Production & Vocal Performance Diploma. Guided by industry professionals, you'll master vocal technique, production skills, songwriting, and mixing, building a portfolio that showcases your talents as a singer, producer, and songwriter. Choose the Intensive Format to complete the program in just 9 months, or the Regular Format to spread it over 12 months.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

Our 12-month Music Production & Vocal Performance Diploma is an intensive, practical, and comprehensive journey into areas such as live vocal performance, studio singing, rapping, vocal production, composition, songwriting, and mixing. Developed and taught by professionals who’ve worked with the likes of Amy Winehouse, Pharrell, and Skrillex (to name just a few), this cutting-edge college-level program will teach you all you need to know about vocal technique, performance, writing, recording, and mixing in order to create your own professional-grade portfolio of tracks with stunning vocals. If you want to complete in just 9 months, click Enroll Now and choose the more rigorous "Intensive Format" in Step 1. Throughout this diploma program you will attend exclusive masterclasses from industry professionals such as Mark de Clive-Lowe, Laura Escude (Jay Z, Kanye West), Daddy Kev (Low End Theory), and Jimmy Mac (Lorde). You’ll be learning your trade on the latest industry tech including Ableton Live, Push, Logic Pro, NI Komplete, Roland Cloud, and more. You’ll take courses relevant to you and receive a free copy of Ableton Live Suite ($749 value) or Apple Logic Pro ($199 value). Spaces are limited to 16 students per class, so Enroll Now to guarantee your spot! Point Blank offers exclusive features and partner discounts to students in our LA School.

Outline:

• Duration: 1 Year or 9 Months
• Available start dates:
• 2024
• 2025
• July: 8th, September 30th
• January: 13th, March 17th, April 14th
• Weekly timetable: Three to four 4-hour classes per week for 3 to 4 terms.
Daytime, evening & weekend class sessions available. Contact us for more details.
• Download Catalog:
• Have questions?

Courses:

Select your study status:

• Regular Format (12 Months)
• Intensive Format (9 Months)

TERM 1

• Course 1:1.
• Singing - Level 1
• Point Blank Music School's unique Singing - Level 1 course shows you how to deliver an accomplished vocal performance on stage and in the studio.
Develop your vocal talents with professional warm up routines and learn vocal techniques to gain confidence in your performance. You'll learn to perform classic songs before exploring your own songwriting ideas with a Grammy-winning instructor. All styles are welcome and no previous experience is required.
• Modules:
• Warm Ups & Practice Routines
• Scales, Arpeggios, Vibrato
• Articulation, Dynamics & Pitching
• Breathing & Diction
• Current Timbre/Styles
• Music Theory
• Triads & Harmony
• Harmonies & Double Tracking
• Intonation, Tone & Ad Libs
• Voice Projection Techniques
• Confidence & Stage Presence
• Live Performance
• Course 2:2.
• One of the following modules:
• Music Production: Ableton Live
• Our Music Production: Ableton Live course gives students a thorough grounding in essential music production skills in Ableton Live.
If you are serious about becoming a professional producer or sound engineer, then it is crucial to master these skills before you can progress further. This course also incorporates Ableton's hardware controller, Push.
• Modules:
• Introduction to Ableton Live
• MIDI & Making Beats
• Melody & Harmony
• Audio Warping, Recording & Editing
• Audio Effects & Controllers
• Push
• Introduction to the Instruments
• Sampling
• Track Arrangement & Automation
• Mixing Tools: EQ & Compression
• Finalizing the Mix
• Live's Extended Capabilities
• Music Production: Logic Pro
• Recently updated to include the exciting new features of Logic 10.8, Music Production: Logic Pro gives students a thorough grounding in essential music production skills in Logic Pro.
If you are serious about becoming a professional producer or sound engineer, then it is crucial to master these skills before you can progress further. It is perfect for beginners, but even if you have been making music for some time you will benefit from learning professional techniques from an experienced producer with major artist credits.
• Modules:
• Drum Programming
• Drummer & MIDI Editing
• Drum Machine Designer & Drum Synth
• Music Basics & MIDI Effects
• Virtual Instruments & Other Features in Logic X
• Audio Processing & Quick Sampler
• Flex Time & Flex Pitch
• Live Loops & Step Sequencer
• Creating Parts & Structure
• Mixing & Final Mixdown
• Apple Certified Pro Exam
• Course 3:3.
• Vocal Musicianship - Level 1
• Listening is the key to developing your vocal performance and honing your songwriting craft.
Understand the musical language through ear training and familiarize yourself with musical notation. You will also analyze song form through reading lead sheets and listening to repertoire, as well as studying basic vocal tone production technique for accurate intonation, phrasing, and feel.
• Modules:
• Ear Training
• Music Notation & Lead Sheets
• Pitch & Rhythm Transcription
• Intervals, Scales, & Chords
• Keyboard Skills
• Musical Analysis
• Aural Recognition
• Transcription of Melody
• Vocal Tone Production
• Intonation
• Standard Repertoire Development
• Student-Selected Repertoire Development
• Course 4:4.
• Piano Keyboard Skills - Level 1
• Gain confidence in the most fundamental techniques for writing and performing music at the piano keyboard, including scales, chords, melody, harmony, sight-reading, and more.
Perform popular chord progressions from tracks in modern styles before writing your own keyboard parts with the help of an expert instructor. Improve your keyboard abilities, harmonic vocabulary, and skills for composing and producing.
• Modules:
• Musicianship Fundamentals
• Keyboard Techniques
• Harmony & Theory
• Scales & Intervals
• Key Signatures & Transposing
• Melodies & Phrasing
• Rhythm & Tempo
• Sight-reading Notation
• Major & Minor Keys
• Interval & Chord Inversions
• Chord Types & Voicings
• Reading & Writing Chord Progressions

TERM 2

Music Composition will help you achieve this. It shifts the focus from the technical to the musical elements within your track. Even if you don't make music with lyrics you still need to understand how tracks are structured in order to elevate your music above that of your competitors.

• Modules:
• Music & Time
• Rhythm & Beats
• Harmony 1
• Melodies & Creating Riffs
• Basslines
• Hooks
• Harmony 2
• Structure & Arrangement
• Applying Vocals
• Finishing Tracks
• Creative Tactics & Workflow
• Intro to Copyright & Publishing
• Course 6:6.
• Production Styles
• In Production Styles we break down your favorite artists' music so you can understand how it was made: which recording and production techniques were used and which instruments are featured?
What is the culture and history of your favorite music? In learning these techniques you'll be able to use them creatively in your own music.
• Modules:
• Technology & Electronic Music
• The Roots of Dance Music: Dub & Disco
• The Rise of the Machines
• Sample Culture
• Hip Hop, Turntablism & Rap
• UK Urban Beats
• Bass Music & MCs
• D.I.Y.
Culture
• Underground Pop Music
• Dance Music Now
• Critical Listening
• Course 7:7.
• Vocal Musicianship - Level 2
• Go further with your vocal musicianship skills, including chord extensions, voice leading, progressive sight-reading, chord progressions, musical analysis, and more.
Develop abilities for progressive ear training, more advanced dictation/transcription, and aural recognition with the help of an expert instructor. Improve your sight-reading abilities, harmonic fluency, and skills for producing and singing. Manifest your unique musical ideas within your productions by mastering musicianship at a progressive level.
• Modules:
• Progressive Ear Training
• Sight-Reading Skill Building
• Extended Harmony
• Voice-Leading
• Compound Intervals
• Progressive Dictation
• Transcribing Chord Progressions
• Further Rhythm Training
• Diatonic Modes
• Exotic Scales
• Blue Notes
• Focus on Minor Keys
• Course 8:8.
• Piano Keyboard Skills - Level 2
• Go further with your creative musical skills at the piano keyboard, including exotic scales, extended chords, melodic articulation, voice-leading, sight-reading, and more.
Improvise over popular chord progressions in modern styles and craft creative piano keyboard parts with the help of an expert instructor. Improve your chart-reading abilities, harmonic vocabulary, and skills for producing and improvising.
• Modules:
• All-Around Musicianship
• Progressive Keyboard Techniques
• Extended Harmony & Chord Voicings
• Improvisation
• Transposing Full Songs
• Modes & Exotic Scales
• Voice-Leading & Arrangement
• Sight-reading Lead Sheets
• Touch, Dynamic, & Ornamentation
• Slash Chords & Bass Motion
• Seventh Chords
• Writing Harmonies & Singable Melodies

TERM 3

• Course 9:9.
• Singing - Level 2
• The Singing - Level 2 course is designed to bring your skill level up to that of a professional vocalist.
With an emphasis on developing your own unique voice, this journey shows you warm up routines to protect and stretch you, creative vocalizing, covers jazz, blues, gospel, background vocals, duets, plus three studio sessions with professional producers. One of the benefits of studying at Point Blank as a singer is the access you gain to LA's finest upcoming producing talent.
• Modules:
• Vocal Exercises & Warm Up Routines
• Vocal Technique/Control
• Harmony
• Studio Sessions
• Learning Different Styles/Genres
• Jazz/Soul/Freestyling
• Creative Vocalizing
• Interpreting Songs & Making Them Your Own
• Tones & Expressing Emotion
• Backing Vocals
• Session Singing
• Music Performance
• Course 10:10.
• Songwriting
• At Point Blank, the Songwriting course teaches students how contemporary songs are put together and what makes them successful.
Practical exercises form an integral part of this course so students are expected to be able to either play an instrument, sing, or have some experience in music production software such as Ableton Live or Logic Pro.
• Modules:
• Songs & Songwriting
• Basic DAW Skills
• Music Theory for Songwriters
• Song Analysis
• Writing Lyrics
• Rhyming Structures
• Topline & Melody
• Writing Songs to a Backing Track
• Harmony
• Chord Progressions
• Structure & Arrangement
• Workflow
Build on your music production knowledge by exploring specialist vocal methods and recording techniques. To create a polished professional vocal performance we'll look at timing and pitch correction.
• Modules:
• Vocal Microphones and Preamps
• Vocal Recording Techniques
• Comping and looping
• Vocal EQ & Dynamic Processing
• FX for Voice
• Compression and Processing
• Editing Techniques
• Creative and Corrective Auto-Tuning
• Correcting Vocal Timing and Syncing
• Background Vocals (BVs)
• Studio Performance Techniques
• Ad Libs
• Communication and getting the best out of the performer

TERM 4

• Course 12:12.
• Art of Mixing
• Point Blank's Art of Mixing course reveals how to mix audio from start to finish.
A good mix can lift your music to the next level - whatever style you are into. Whether you want to get your track signed to a label or to ensure that it's in every DJ's record box, a solid mix is essential. Using Native Instruments software and Waves plugins, our professional sound engineers break the process down and explain exactly how to make your music sound bright, punchy, and professional. Taught by professional mix engineers.
• Modules:
• The Mixing Environment & Critical Listening
• Hardware & Plug-ins
• Starting a Mix
• Controlling Dynamics
• EQ & Separation in the Mix
• Reverb, Space & Depth
• Echos, Delays & Related Effects
• Creative Mixing
• Mixing Vocals
• The Mix Process
• Final Mix
• Basic Mastering
• Course 13:13.
• Composing for Film & TV
• In Composing for Film & TV, you'll apply the skills you've learned so far to the type of audio projects you might find yourself working on in the professional film & TV production world.
Here, your instructor will share years of experience on a range of commercial projects to ensure that you can work well to a brief and a deadline. We regularly encourage students to pitch for TV commercials.
• Modules:
• The Sound of Media
• Creative Sound Design for Film & TV
• Creating Beds & Variations
• Film Music Composition
• Identifying & Reinforcing Mood
• Harmony & Rhythm in Film
• Music for Television
• Production Music & Sync
• Music for Advertising
• Working as a Composer
• Interpreting Briefs
• Spot FX: Music & Effects for Media
• Course 14:14.
• Showcase
• As the culmination of your vocal performance studies, it's time to showcase your talent to the world.
Prepare an extended set which effectively sells your musical style and expertise in vocal technique to a public audience. You'll hone your visual style and persona as an artist to effectively convey your brand. Keep your audience entertained and engaged during your performance. Manage your set and lighting to create a dynamic overall performance.
• Modules:
• Brand Style
• Visual Communication
• Developing Vocal Stamina
• Performing an Extended Set
• Support Acts
• Engaging an Audience
• Set flow and Segues
• Creating Tech Riders
• Channel lists
• Rehearsal process
• Guest Masterclass

Teaching:

• Expert Instructors:
• Arabian Prince:
Music Business
• Sameer Sengupta:
Mixing & Mastering
• Markman:
Composition & Mixing
• Sweatson Klank:
Music Production
• Mecha:
Music Production & DJing
• David Harrow:
Music Production & Sound Design

Careers:

• Singer/Songwriter
• Solo Artist/Performer
• Music Producer
• Composer
• Mixing Engineer
• Lead Vocalist
• Session/Backup Vocalist
• Vocal Arranger
• Studio Vocal Producer
• Voice Teacher
• Top 40 Singer
• Musical Theatre Singer
• Cruise/Wedding Singer
• Music Director
As a producer, I work regularly with singers and rappers so my lack of vocal knowledge often left me in a frustrating position.
• Keshava, Singing student