Diploma in Live Sound Engineering

DIPLOMA COURSE IN LIVE SOUND ENGINEERING
With the music industry relying more and more on live performance for profitability, the scope for employment in the live sound industry is proportionately increasing. Nearly half of all jobs lie in the live sector and the explosion of events and festivals large and small has led to a shortage of competent, trained live sound engineers.

Record labels have also adjusted their strategies to put live events at the heart of their business models. After all, a gig is one product you can't pirate.

Alchemea have therefore developed an exiting new Live Sound course. This will be an extremely intensive, practically focused 4-month program, which can be taken in addition to our SSC and Diploma courses or as a stand-alone module.

COURSE AIM:
our Live Sound Diploma Course aims to produce confident, skilled and employable personnel for the live sound industry – from Rock and Roll venues and hire companies, to theatre and corporate functions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Work safely with a clear understanding of the Health and Safety at Work regulations
• Confidently set up both small and large sound systems and configure them as per requirements (separate monitor and front of house/monitors run form front of house)
• Understand the principles and have practiced mixing both front of house and monitors, including using live musicians
• Confidently “ring out” a system to prevent feedback
• Understand the nature of sound and make intelligent decisions regarding loudspeaker placement, mix position placement and the best way to approach a space
• Be familiar with the standard range of microphones found in almost all live situations, know how to select the best microphone for the job and how to get the best sound out of it
• Have an in-depth understanding of cabling and connectors and be able to make up and maintain their own
• Understand how to safely distribute mains power on a stage
• Have an in-depth understanding of analogue mixers and two commonly found digital mixers (the Yamaha M7CL and Digidesign Venue)
• Understand and effectively use: EQ, Dynamics (compressors, limiters and gates) and all kinds of effects
• Understand how sound systems are put together and how to design their own to a given set of requirements
• Understand how to find the fault in a system that is not working
• Do a live multi-track recording in Protools via the Digidesign desk
• Have a basic understanding of loudspeaker design, and how to match amplifiers and loudspeakers
• Analyse a system within a space
• Understand the processes involved in rigging a large system
• Perform a Risk Assessment
• Have a basic knowledge of live sound for theatre and be introduced to this discipline as a possible career path
• Understand how a big show is put together, the personnel and roles involved and procedures for “getting in” and “getting out”
• Have a basic understanding of lighting in order to make our graduates more employable in small venues
• Set up DJs properly for club nights
• Run, as a group, a three-bands-and-a-DJ night from scratch. Students will be able to effectively communicate with the artistes, decide on the PA and monitor requirements, organise running orders for soundchecks and performances, stage manage the night, run all the mixes and pack away properly

Here is what you will cover:

Theoretical lectures:

• Health & Safety
• Nature of sound
• Capturing sound: Mics and Dis
• Interconnections and cable maintenance/repair
• Mains power
• Analogue mixing consoles and outboard (Midas XL3)
• Terminology, signal flow, EQ, Dynamics, FX, Routing
• Mixing Monitors
• Mixing FOH
• Wireless mics and in-ear monitoring
• Digital Theory
• Digital mixing consoles (Yamaha LS9 and Digidesign Venue)
• Recording shows
• Sound systems – from artist to loudspeakers
• Loudspeaker design (cabinets)
• Sound system design (point source v line array)
• Analysing PA
• Analysing rooms
• Specing PAs for events
• Rigging
• Onstage patching
• Theatre
• Lighting for Sound People
• Surround Sound
• Getting work, freelance working practice
• Advanced scenarios
• Tricks of the Trade

Practical Work

• Health & Safety
• Students will be setting up and breaking down the PA in various configurations every day.
• Microphone techniques
• Soldering and cable maintenance
• DJ set-ups
• Signal flow practice on all mixing consoles
• Feedback control
• FX parameters
• Dynamics
• Setting up separate FOH and monitor systems
• Setting up FOH and monitors to be operated from FOH
• Practice with wireless mic, in-ears and frequency changing
• Mixing practice – both FOH and monitors, using multi-track playback and live musicians
• Analogue and digital comparisons
• Using the mixing consoles in different set-ups
• Recording shows – both simple 2-track and multitrack- with live band
• Delay stacks
• Taking apart loudspeakers to see how they work

DIGIDESIGN 110V VENUE TRAINING INCLUDED
Digidesign's toffical VENUE 110V course and certification exam are integrated into our Live Sound Diploma Course. This module focuses on configuration, operation, mixing techniques and record/playback with Pro Tools systems. Gaining 110V certification will boost your CV and ultimatley make you more employable.

Topics include:

• VENUE configuration and basic troubleshooting
• Standalone D-Show software and remote control capability of VENUE
• Patchbay operation and assignments
• Basic operation (input, output, Assignable Center Section (ACS))
• Use of Auxes, Groups, Matrix, and PQ Mixers
• Advanced VENUE mixing techniques
• TDM Plug-Ins – installation, usuage, management
• Snapshot/recall automation modes
• Using VENUE as a FOH or Monitor board
• Using Pro Tools for record/playback from VENUE
• Using MIDI sequencing features