Musical Composition for Short Films with Ableton Live

A course by Jonah Schwartz , Musician and Composer

Musician and Composer. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Joined June 2020

Learn how to create an original score by exploring the process of recording, editing, and syncing your music to a film

95% positive reviews (85)
3,299 students
Audio: English
English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Learn how to create an original score by exploring the process of recording, editing, and syncing your music to a film

Can you think of your favorite soundtrack? Music is the element that ties everything together in any great film. It helps relay the message the writers, actors, and directors are trying to convey. Musician and composer Jonah Schwartz creates original scores for feature and short films, as well as commercials and other productions.

In this course, he gives you a complete walkthrough of how to compose your own song, ready to be synced with a short film. Learn how to use Ableton Live to create original melodies that harmonize with the mood of a scene, and align seamlessly with the atmosphere and tone of a narrative.

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What will you learn in this online course?

20 lessons & 21 downloads

Playing a Melody in Ableton
14 minutes, 57 seconds
Rhythm, Harmony and Melody
18 minutes, 35 seconds
How to Create an Idea
8 minutes, 45 seconds
Film Music and Structure 1
11 minutes, 37 seconds
Recording a Melody 1
16 minutes, 15 seconds
Recording a Melody 2
8 minutes, 26 seconds
  • 95% positive reviews (85)
  • 3,299 students
  • 20 lessons (4h 8m)
  • 21 additional resources (2 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: English
  • English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Compose and record a song for a film from scratch with Ableton Live.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

Musicians, filmmakers, animators, or anyone curious about making music and learning compositional techniques for film.

Requirements and materials

Previous musical knowledge is welcomed, but not required.

To take this course, you need access to Ableton Live, or similar software.


Reviews

3,299 Students
85 Reviews
95% Positive ratings

Jonah Schwartz

A course by Jonah Schwartz

Teacher Plus
Musician and Composer

Jonah Schwartz is an American musician and composer living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He taught himself how to play the guitar, mandolin, and banjo when he was a teenager, and after studying film studies in university, he discovered his passion for film scoring. In 2004, he moved to Argentina and soon became part of the music community in Buenos Aires. The following year, his band was named “Best New Band” by Rolling Stone Argentina.

With his band Los Alamos, Jonah toured through Latin America and Europe, sharing a stage with names like Lee Perry, Calexico, Devendra Banhart and The Evens. After the split of his band in 2009, he started working in film scoring, and has worked on numerous productions, from films to commercials. Jonah wrote the musical score for the Hollywood film Hide (2008), Noche sin fortuna (2011), and others. He has also worked with well-known Argentinian production companies such as Tronco, Bamba, Can Can, and Plently.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • About Me
    • Influences
  • U2

    What Makes a Melody?

    • How Does Melody Work 1
    • How Does Melody Work 2
    • Playing a Melody in Ableton
    • Rhythm, Harmony and Melody
  • U3

    Recording Your Music

    • How to Create an Idea
    • Film Music and Structure 1
    • Film Music and Structure 2
    • Recording a Melody 1
    • Recording a Melody 2
    • Adding Layers 1
    • Adding Layers 2
    • Vertical Integration 1
    • Vertical Integration 2
    • Effects and Final Sync 1
    • Effects and Final Sync 2
  • U4

    Finishing Your Piece

    • Exporting the Project
    • Feedback
    • Registering Your Work
  • FP

    Final project

    • Musical Composition for Short Films with Ableton Live

What to expect from a Domestika course

  • Learn at your own pace

    Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.

  • Learn from the best professionals

    Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.

  • Meet expert teachers

    Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.

  • Certificates
    Plus

    If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

  • Get front-row seats

    Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

  • Share knowledge and ideas

    Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

  • Connect with a global creative community

    The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

  • Watch professionally produced courses

    Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.


FAQs

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Musical Composition for Short Films with Ableton Live. Music, and Audio course by Jonah Schwartz

Musical Composition for Short Films with Ableton Live

A course by Jonah Schwartz
Musician and Composer. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Joined June 2020
  • 95% positive reviews (85)
  • 3,299 students