Berlin School of Sound

Sound Art Education and Community Center for Music

What does sound art have to do with community music? Education for music and sound can become a sound art of social composition – an aesthetic of contrasting collectives. We curate our education program to go beyond categorical (for example “serious” vs “commercial”) musical aesthetics and engage in listening as an art and a social practice. What can an art of sound tell us not only about music, but about our ways of being in the world (that then feeds back into our musical consciousness)?

We offer a practice-led training in sound art, composition, electronic music, audio production and other related topics. Participants are artists, musicians, researchers and students who learn while producing publications, art, and music. Our courses, which usually consist of workshops and seminars taken on a specific subject, supply theoretical and practical underpinnings for ongoing artistic work. A Diploma is awarded upon completion of several courses and the presentation of a portfolio of works with the Studio Project course. Our artist guests regularly offer performances, workshops, seminars, and talks and direct our ensembles.

The facilities include a state-of-the-art/ vintage recording studio, sound lab (in development), and a performance space. The synergy between events and education enliven the campus at Kunsthaus Acud, a place with an emphasis on diversity, uniquely intertwined with the history of the experimental art and music scene in Berlin since 1990.

The DIY philosophy of the Berlin School of Sound, program and space for art, in the heart of Berlin-Mitte is inspired by the pragmatism of John Dewey and others, by collaborative student-teacher, working-by-doing methods in the lineage of Black Mountain College, Pauline Oliveros, David Tudor/Composers-Inside-Electronics, Cecil Taylor, and inspired politically by Ultra-red, Amiri Baraka, and the People’s Microphone of Occupy Wall Street.

Students gain hands on experience and a theoretical grounding for sound art in the context of an interdisciplinary training. In the Studio Project course, along with individual supervision, students design their own meetings at the school with a group of peers, artists and professionals they choose themselves who form their support structure for their continued practice. Students work on their portfolio, with feedback from the work group, while they utilise our vintage recording studio and sound lab and take part in performances and/or installations. In this way students learn while simultaneously building up their professional profile. Their works are featured at the Acud Club, in radio programs with Colaboradio, on FRBB 88.4 FM and with affiliated institutions throughout Berlin like the Errant Sound art gallery.

The Acud Club (performance and installation space) is also the site of ongoing collaboration with local affiliated ensembles from the Berlin music scene and a community space for sonic exchange.

Facilities

Berlin School of Sound is based in Kunsthaus ACUD, a legendary center for culture right in the center of Berlin near Rosenthaler Platz, Mitte. ACUD has been continually fostering the evolving alternative scene in Berlin since right after the reunification of Germany.

Acud Club
(performance/installation space)

The Acud Club room is 120 square meters, situated on the ground floor off the Courtyard. Our rotating program showcases a diverse range of interdisciplinary performance genres that are transversally interrelated through the medium of sound, providing a platform and a hub for a network of international and local artistic communities. It’s also the site of Acud Kunst Haus’ training/educational programs with whom we cooperate, like the former Amplify Berlin Creative Development Program and Error Music. Featuring a hi-end sound system and connected to the vintage recording studio, it also boasts a Steinway grand piano. The layout of the performance space is multipurpose and multi-directional allowing for many layouts and uses. It also opens out to a public who can listen and observe from outside in the courtyard. Acud’s Club Room is connected to the vintage recording studio for state of the art zero-latency digital recording. The Club Room is equipped with stage lights and (coming soon) 4K cameras and the latest streaming tools. Essential sound and lighting equipment is part of the hall.

Sound Lab

On the second floor our Sound Lab is in development. It currently functions as an additional classroom and workshop space with essential instruments and a PA. In the future it will house a twelve-channel surround mixing environment for Dolby Atmos and other sound dispersion systems.

Recording Studio

On the first floor, the recording studio features some of the most sought after vintage microphones and preamps available for an all-encompassing production process. It is powered by a 2021 state-of-the-art latency-free 24 track ProTools Carbon – HDX DSP-accelerated audio interface and 2021 Mac tower.

Studio Equipment

Faculty