Guildhall Young Artists Online Media Music and Production

About Media Music and Production

This course is for students aged 14–18 who would like to develop existing skills in music technology, composition, and production. By the end of the course they will be able to compose, arrange and mix their own music. 

Who is it for?

Students aged 14–18 with a basic knowledge of Logic Pro or Reaper, who want to move to the next level within music production.

What can I expect? 

A mixture of group sessions and one-to-one feedback to ensure that you collaborate and learn from other participants, as well as getting individual guidance and support.

This course takes students through the process and craft of music for media and entertainment such as films, trailers, games and commercials. Throughout the year, students will have various assignments to complete small projects in various mediums, creating musical scores to accompany various chosen visual works. The course is led by Jon Daou, a prolific media composer and alumnus of Guildhall.

Course Outline 

Term one
You will learn how to approach a very short-form composition for a video such as a commercial or trailer, composing and producing a piece of music for a tightly-scored sequence, following a very specific brief.

Term two
You will learn how to create music for video games, including the technical aspects of looping, modular and layered music, and the generation of audio assets for games and interactive media.

Term three
You will score a short film (approx. 2-5 mins), extending the composition and production knowledge learned in the first two terms, and covering concepts such as emotive/dramatic composition, motif development and narrative structure.

Please note: This course requires a time commitment from students to work on your compositions between lessons.

This course will be taught primarily using Logic Pro. It is advisable to use Logic Pro or Reaper as the course tutors can help with those DAWs. If you use any other DAW, the tutors cannot help with any DAW-related issues, so it will be essential that you are proficient in using it.

Please note that class content could be subject to change.

About the Course Tutor

Jon Daou is an award-winning composer best known for rich cinematic orchestral scores and adept electronic music production. He composes and directs music on commercial projects for Riot Games, Netflix, Spotify, THX, Google, Universal Studios, Razer, Uber and Bose.

Do I need anything?

• Access to Logic Pro or Reaper and a basic understanding of this software
• An email address
• A reliable internet connection
• A computer/laptop/tablet with a microphone and a camera
• Your browser fully updated to be able to use the most recent version of Zoom (if using an Apple device we recommend installing an alternative browser such as Google Chrome or Mozilla)

Please ensure you are able to work in a well-lit and quiet environment so that your tutor is able to fully assess your work and performance.