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Ableton Live users,
Sign up for Ableton Live Coaching
It isn't hard for you to imagine exactly the kind of producer you want to be:
🟪 A producer that finishes and releases songs
🟪 A producer that knows Ableton Live like the back of their hand
🟪 A producer that feels creatively and artistically satisfied
And yet, despite watching endless YouTube tutorials and investing in excellent courses, you're still nowhere closer to where you want to be. Despite having access to these great resources, they aren't helping you grow like they used to and now you're stuck.
When you first started producing music with Ableton Live, it felt like you were picking it up effortlessly. Every YouTube tutorial and course amplified your skills even further and you were on a roll... right up until the moment it all stopped.
✅ Tutorials and courses teach you skills, techniques, and provide inspiration but that's only half of what's necessary for being a good producer.
❌ What they don't do is teach you how to synthesize all that information into a set of best practices and workflow that lets you make the most of Ableton Live.
As a result, you're production skills are like a puzzle with a missing piece. A piece that you don't even realize is missing until it becomes a pain point. Now you're not even sure where the missing piece is and what it even looks like.
Like an actual puzzle, sometimes the best way to find that missing piece is to get another set of eyes (or in this case, ears) on the problem.
Get more out of yourself and ableton live
My name's ZW Buckley. I'm a music producer, video game and opera composer, and educator. I composed the soundtrack for the first Barbie VR game. My first chamber opera premiered at Seattle Opera. I produce and release my own electronic music. I teach for the award winning Point Blank Music School and I have the honor of coaching music producer's like you.
In the last three years alone, I've taught and coached hundreds of Ableton Live users and while they all made different music and had different struggles, a common pattern emerged.
For many of them, getting one on one perspective, feedback, and education helped them identify their missing piece and find breakthroughs with their Ableton Live and music production skills.
Your breakthrough comes when you find that missing piece in your production process that's stopping you from growing. That piece looks different for everybody, for some producers it's filling in a missing gap in their knowledge of the fundamentals, for others it can be something more abstract like learning how to always be inspired. But, like a puzzle, once you've found the piece that you've been hunting for, other pieces quickly fall into place.
My approach to Ableton Live coaching is simple.
✅ Identify your single greatest pain point with Ableton Live and music production
✅ Set an achievable goal that addresses that pain point
✅ Establish an actionable plan to help you achieve that goal
Too often, when trying to get better at Ableton Live and music production, we look too big picture and get trapped in negative, emotionally-driven patterns of thinking.
My coaching does the opposite: together, we'll zoom in, get surgical, and objectively identify and address the problem that's holding you back by setting a goal and sticking to a plan.
Coaching looks differently for every producer. Here are just a few goals I've helped my clients achieve in the past year alone:
🟪 Synthesis, Sampling, Sound Design: learn Ableton Live's powerful devices and create your sound
🟪 Songwriting and Creativity: grow as a songwriter and an artist
🟪 Production Workflow: how to get from start to finish with a song every single time
🟪 Mixing and Release Prep: finally finishing that single, EP, or album and getting it out the door
🟪 Ableton Live Fluency: learn to treat Ableton Live as an instrument and extension of yourself as an artist
in their own words
"Signing up for coaching with ZW was one of the best decisions I've made in my music career. I came to ZW as a shy, scared composer who lacked the confidence to show off his work to others. Through ZW's tailored coaching plans, creative exercises, and continuous optimism in the work I was doing, I began to not just develop my skills to be a better/more rounded composer, but see the good in my work that ZW saw from day one. I've gone on to compose music for video games, podcasts, and as a solo artist, but I don't think I'd have made it this far without ZW's guidance. I can't recommend ZW enough as an instructor, he's the best!"
"Coaching from ZW is what enabled me to put out my first EP this year, straight up. I truly could not have done it without his thoughtful feedback and guidance. Learning music production with ZW, in these one on one sessions, has been inspiring, illuminating, and a total pleasure. As a coach and teacher, he is passionate, enthusiastic, warm, personable, patient, and skilled at breaking down musical and technical concepts in clear, understandable ways. During the sometimes challenging process of putting my EP together, ZW was the perfect blend of supportive and encouraging, while also holding me to a high standard and gently letting me know when parts of my tracks stood to improve. I’m so excited to continue my learning journey with ZW. If you’re interested in growing as a music producer, I 110% recommend signing up for coaching with him."
"I can’t imagine 2021 without ZW. Having access to his guidance, his voice, and his knowledge has been invaluable to my growth this year. At the end of 2020, I had some goals I wanted to reach personally, professionally, as well as creatively and I owe ZW so much credit in terms of being able to reach those goals. ZW took time to understand where I was with my musicianship and catered sessions towards what we both agreed were my areas that needed improvement. Having this level of personal dedication helped me feel listened to, and like I truly had a friend that had my back while I worked on my craft. ZW shared his knowledge and experience with kindness, patience, and respect. If you are wanting to work one on one with someone on your production skills I cannot recommend ZW Buckley enough."
✅ Producers who use Ableton Live and want to get the most out of their DAW
✅ Producers who have have a problem or goal they haven't been able to address with tutorials or courses
✅ Producers who are driven, dedicated, and self-motivated
✅ Producers who have the time and desire to commit to coaching
❌ Producers who use a DAW other than Ableton Live or who work exclusively with 3rd party plugins
❌ Producers who are getting by with just tutorials or courses and don't really have a problem or goal in mind
❌ Producers just messing around, relaxing, or unable to self-direct
❌ Producers who do not have the time and desire to commit to coaching
❌ Producers under the age of 18 years old.
Figure out if Ableton Live Coaching is right for you
Once you've purchased a coaching package, you'll be directed to my Calendly where you'll be able to schedule your first session with me.
We'll schedule any additional session(s) you purchased at the end of our first session together. This will allow us to take into account how much time you need between sessions to work on your established goal.
If your goal is a large one, like producing a whole album, that may require several sessions. If your goal is a smaller one, like understanding FM synthesis, then you may only need one or two coaching sessions.
Yes! I've had many students treat coaching more as private lessons and that's great! In this format, some students have been with me for over a year.
If you'd like to sign up for more than four sessions, let me know during your first coaching session. I'll then issue you a separate invoice and we'll schedule a regular meeting time.
Ableton Live, a free Zoom* account, a computer with a webcam, and an internet connection strong enough to handle video conferencing.
*I highly recommend downloading the Zoom app to your computer as opposed to joining via your web browser.
This depends upon your goal. A session can look more like a lesson, with me teaching and demonstrating concepts and devices in Ableton Live for you. A session could also be focused on feedback and review of a project. A session could even look like what I sometimes call "producer therapy" where we work through aesthetic and artistic challenges together.
What your sessions will look like wholly depends on your goal and action plan?
Life is understandably busy, but don't sign up for coaching until you're able to make the time to invest in yourself and your craft. Most of the work is done by you in the time between our sessions.
Absolutely not. My job is to support you and help you achieve your goals.
My approach to coaching is that of a gardener (provide the right conditions for growth) as opposed to that of a miner (apply overwhelming pressure until a diamond is produced).
While I am indeed bald like J.K. Simmons, my approach to coaching and education is completely different than his character's in Whiplash.
Yes. I will only ever have 10 active students at once. I will close enrollment when that happens and not open it again until my number of active clients drop below 10.
If coaching is right for you, I'd recommend signing up today.
Possibly. I'd really recommend having the fundamentals of Ableton Live down and try your hand at producing a few songs before signing up.
It's okay to be a beginner but be at a stage where you've built enough skills to take advantage of this investment and have decided to be serious about music production.
Book a single session or purchase a bundle. You'll save $50 when purchasing a 2x pack and $150 when purchasing a 4x pack.