Dubspot

In this week’s Ableton Live tutorial, Professor Nalepa demonstrates three effect techniques for spicing up your vocals. Inspired by the field trip his Advanced Tech class took this week to Low End Theory to catch a secret DJ set by Thom Yorke, he uses the lead vocal of Radiohead ‘Reckoner’ to demonstrate the first technique: reversing it, routing it out through reverb, resampling the reverb, reversing the resampled reverb and laying that back underneath the original forward vocal to get a haunting, ghostly premonition-style effect used in a lot of popular dance tracks.

He also deconstructs tracks from his friend Nosaj Thing and former students It’s Not Over Quebec, showing how they utilized sidechain compression and sidechain gating to achieve impressive results. Nosaj released his debut album Drift and the follow up Drift Remixes on Alpha Pup Records. He is currently putting the finishing touches on his second album and will be playing an audiovisual set at Coachella on Friday (April 15th) this year. Here is a free download of “Coat of Arms”, the song used in this example.

Nosaj Thing: Coat of Arms by ALPHA PUP

It’s Not Over Quebec are former students from Professor Nalepa’s Advanced Tech class. Their new EP Postcards showcases their masterful musicianship, catchy hooks, and indie electronic sound. Check out the title track from Postcards.

Postcards by It’s Not Over Quebec

For a deeper exploration of Ableton Live I recommend checking out Dubspot’s new (in-house or online) courses on the program.

Working together with Dubspot, we have created an online Ableton Live curriculum designed to take you through the complete process of finding your own unique style and creating a body of work – learning Ableton inside and out! (inspired by my advanced classes I teach at Chapman University Conservatory of Music). The goal: to become a well rounded producer. I am thrilled with how it has turned out, Dubspot’s talented Pat Cupo created the videos for the online class, taking my course design and actualizing it in a brilliant way. The weekly video tutorials will supplement this great course.

Steve Nalepa is an LA-based producer, professor, Dubspot Instructor and Ableton Live expert. He’s produced tracks and collaborated with everyone from legends like Bill Laswell and Pharoah Sanders to rising electronic music artists Nosaj Thing and The Glitch Mob.

Ableton Live Producer Certificate Program

All six levels / 48 sessions / 132 hours of hands-on instruction + labs

Courses:

• Ableton Live Level 1: Shake Hands with Live
• Ableton Live Level 2: Completing Your First Track
• Ableton Live Level 3: Production Essentials
• Ableton Live Level 4: Sound Design & Instrumentation
• Ableton Live Level 5: Advanced Composition & Production
• Ableton Live Level 6: Taking Your EP Global

This program is about learning Ableton Live by going through the entire process of being an artist, from developing your sound through a series of sketches while getting familiar with the application to creating a fully-fleshed out four song EP. You will create a remix and submit it to an active remix contest, score a commercial, and learn valuable insider tips and techniques.

Includes:

• Ableton Live Core & Advanced: 6 levels
• 132 hours of in-class instruction
• Additional instructor-supervised lab hours
• Dubspot’s complete Ableton course load

Program Goal:
After completing this program, you will leave with a multi-track EP, a remix entered in an active remix contest, a scored commercial to widen your scope, and the Dubspot Producer’s Certificate in Ableton Live.