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Go at your own pace
4 Sessions / 7 hours of work per session
Price
Free
Included w/ premium membership ($20/month)
Skill Level
Beginner
Video Transcripts
English
Topics
Composition, Native Instruments, Sampling, Kontakt, DAW

Not available for purchase in India

Open for Enrollment

Sound Design with Kontakt

Open for Enrollment
You can also start immediately after joining!

Would you like to enroll?

Enrollment for this course has closed. But you can enroll in a future offering (please select)

Enrollment has closed

Go at your own pace
4 Sessions / 7 hours of work per session
Price
Free
Included w/ premium membership ($20/month)
Skill Level
Beginner
Video Transcripts
English
Topics
Composition, Native Instruments, Sampling, Kontakt, DAW

Not available for purchase in India

Course Description

This four-session course explores a practical approach to composing and producing music with Native Instruments Kontakt. We will cover the most important technical and aesthetic aspects of creating music with the industry-standard Kontakt sampler. Weekly assignments will give you practical experience in putting these technical skills in a musical context. Topics include Kontakt library, signal flow, layering, working with drums, building custom sampled instruments, file management, modulation, audio FX, automation, and DAW integration. At the end of this course, you will have created four original compositions with Kontakt, in addition to numerous custom sampled instruments.

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schedule

This course is in adaptive mode and is open for enrollment. Learn more about adaptive courses here.

Session 1: Using the Kontakt interface and factory library (December 17, 2024)
Compose original music using Kontakt library patches within a Digital Audio Workstation.
9 lessons
1. Introductions and Philosophy
2. Browsing for Factory Sounds
3. Performance View Interfaces
4. Multis and Layering
5. Effects: Mixer Insert and Mixer Send Effect
6. Automation in Kontakt
7. Composition Philosophy with Annotated Example
8. Coming up in Session 2: Grading Procedure
9. Coming up in Session 2: Kontakt Grader
Session 2: Creating custom single-sample instruments (December 24, 2024)
Compose original music with numerous instruments built from a single sample.
8 lessons
1. Sampling Hierarchy: Samples, Zones, Groups, Instruments, Multis
2. Custom Scripts: Creating a Performance View
3. Samples: looping and tuning
4. Modulation: LFO's
5. Modulation: Built-in Modulation
6. Modulation: Envelopes
7. Effects: Filtering with Group FX
8. Assignment Philosophy
Session 3: Creating custom multi-sampled instruments (December 31, 2024)
Compose original music with custom multi-sampled instruments.
6 lessons
1. Sample recording, processing, and management
2. Sample Editing
3. Zone Editing
4. Group Editing
5. Modulation: Per-group modulation
6. Slicing
Session 4: Using advanced modulation and scripting (January 7, 2025)
Create a piece of music using advanced sampling techniques and build a custom performance view for an original Kontakt instrument.
4 lessons
1. Factory Scripts - Portamento
2. Custom Knobs
3. Custom Scripts: Creating a Performance View
4. Wrap-up
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Learning Outcomes

Below you will find an overview of the Learning Outcomes you will achieve as you complete this course.

Instructors And Guests
What You Need to Take This Course

Equipment: Computer, a DAW, which must be able to host Kontakt as a plugin (AAX, AU, VST), and a MIDI keyboard which will need to work with the DAW to control Kontakt. A simple keyboard with Modwheel and Pitchbend.

Software: Kontakt (recent version). Please refer to course resources for more information.

Pre-Requisite Knowledge: Basic DAW production skills are recommended: Recording audio and MIDI, editing Audio and MIDI, automation of volume and FX parameters, exporting audio.

Additional Information

Please note: Taking part in a Kadenze course as a Premium Member does not affirm that the learner has been enrolled or accepted for enrollment by Berklee.

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