Now enrolling
Dream Big Studios Audio Engineering Academy
Three standalone modules that take you from your first Pro Tools session to mixed and mastered songs. Take one, or all three over time. Learn in person in Killeen or online from anywhere.
What you’ll walk away with
Confidence running a session from setup to final bounce, using keyboard shortcuts.
Microphone choice and placement, gain staging, tracking vocals and instruments with an artist in the room.
Comping, timing, tuning, clean fades and session organization.
Balance, EQ, compression, reverb and delay, automation, and delivering revisions to a client.
Loudness for streaming, final checks and delivering release-ready files.
Finished, release-ready work and a starter plan for getting paid work.
Curriculum
Each module is its own short course: you sign up and pay for one at a time, and you never have to take the others. Every week has class with the instructor, lab time in Studio B, and homework that builds toward a finished project.
Module A Standalone · 8 weeks in person · 4 weeks online
How sound works, Pro Tools from scratch, and recording vocals and instruments. By the end, every student can build, organize, route and bounce a Pro Tools session and record a vocal and an instrument at healthy levels.
Week1
Welcome, studio tour and rules. How sound works: frequency, amplitude, decibels, phase. Signal flow from mic to speaker.
Listening tour of Studio A and B; ear-training warm-ups.
Listening journal: pick 3 favorite songs and describe the low end, the vocal and the space in each (1 page).
Week2
The Pro Tools interface: Edit and Mix windows, track types, sessions, sample rate and bit depth, where files live.
Create a session, name and color tracks, save it as a template.
Build an 8-track session template. Learn the 15 shortcuts on the handout; quiz next class.
Week3
Edit modes (Grid, Slip, Shuffle, Spot), the Smart Tool, clips, playlists, fades, markers.
Chop and arrange a provided beat to a grid.
Rearrange a provided 2-minute instrumental into intro / verse / hook / verse / hook / outro with clean fades.
Week4
Routing: I/O setup, inserts, sends, aux tracks, buses, bouncing and file formats.
Build a headphone mix and an effects bus.
Project 1 due.
Week5
Microphones: dynamic, condenser and ribbon; polar patterns; proximity effect. The studio’s mics and when to use each.
Mic shootout: the same voice on 3 mics at 3 distances.
Write a half-page comparison of the shootout recordings: which mic fit which voice, and why.
Week6
Gain staging: preamp gain, healthy levels (peaks around −10 dBFS, average near −18 dBFS), clipping, headphone mixes, talkback.
Record spoken word and sung lines at correct levels; fix a clipped take.
Record 3 vocal takes (lab or home) and log the input levels for each.
Week7
Tracking vocals: booth setup, pop filter, distance, punch-ins, loop record, playlists. Coaching an artist: how to give direction without killing the vibe.
Students take turns engineering a vocal session for a classmate.
Finish a lead vocal with at least 3 full playlists plus doubles and ad-libs.
Week8
Instruments and MIDI: guitar and bass through a DI, keys, virtual instruments, MIDI editing and quantizing.
Record a DI guitar or bass part and a MIDI keys part.
Program a 16-bar MIDI part (drums, keys or bass) that fits the week 3 instrumental. Project 2 due.
Apply for Module A $495 in person · $325 online
Module B Standalone · 8 weeks in person · 4 weeks online
Run a session, then balance, EQ and compress a song into a mix that translates.
The week-by-week outline for this module is coming soon. Every week will have class, lab time in Studio B and homework that builds toward a finished project.
Apply for Module B $495 in person · $325 online
Module C Standalone · 8 weeks in person · 4 weeks online
Advanced mixing, mastering for release, and a finished portfolio piece.
The week-by-week outline for this module is coming soon. Every week will have class, lab time in Studio B and homework that builds toward a finished project.
Apply for Module C $495 in person · $325 online
Coming soon
Two new standalone courses are in the works for writers and producers. Tell us you are interested and we will let you know the moment enrollment opens.
Coming soon
Turn ideas into finished songs: hooks, verses, bridges and the structure that holds a song together, plus writing with a producer in the room.
Coming soon
Build beats from a blank session: drums, samples, melody and arrangement, finished into a track ready for an artist to record over.
Course at a glance
Mac or Windows, able to run Pro Tools, for homework. Students without one can do homework during lab time on studio computers.
Use the studio’s systems in class and lab. For home use, students buy their own subscription.
Closed-back studio headphones and a 500 GB+ external drive for session files.
About certification: The official Avid Certified Specialist: Pro Tools credential requires completing PT101 and PT110 at an Avid Learning Partner school and passing Avid’s exam. The modules teach hands-on studio skills, and the Academy is not an Avid Learning Partner.
Now enrolling
Applications take a few minutes in the Academy app. Pick in person or online, choose your module, and we email you about next steps. Already enrolled? Log in to see your classes, homework and messages.
Questions? Text us.
Three standalone modules. Tap a tab to compare, then apply in the Academy app.
Standalone module
How sound works, Pro Tools from scratch, and recording vocals and instruments.
Standalone module
Run a session, then balance, EQ and compress a song into a mix that translates.
Standalone module
Advanced mixing, mastering for release, and a finished portfolio piece.
Already enrolled? Log in to the student portal
Applications and the student portal live at app.dreambigctx.com.
No. Module A starts with how sound works and your first Pro Tools session. If you already record, you can apply for Module B or C directly.
No. Each module is its own short course. You can take one, skip one, or take them over time. Signing up for a module does not commit you to another one.
Each in-person module is $495, paid in full or as $247.50 a month for 2 months. Each online module is $325. You pay for one module at a time, and there is no payment to apply.
In person, 8 weeks with one 3-hour class a week (24 class hours). Online, 4 weeks with 4 live video sessions, recordings of every session and office hours.
Yes. The online modules cover the same skills, taught live over video, and you can join from anywhere. Choose the online track when you apply.
Not directly. The official Avid Certified Specialist: Pro Tools credential requires completing PT101 and PT110 at an Avid Learning Partner school and passing Avid’s exam. The Academy is not an Avid Learning Partner, so the modules teach hands-on studio skills rather than that credential.
Yes. Your parent or guardian gets a consent form by email to sign.
Apply at app.dreambigctx.com/apply. Enrolled students log in at app.dreambigctx.com/login to see classes, homework, feedback and messages.