MAKE SOME WAVES · SEMESTER 02
Advanced Composition & Electronic Music Course Berlin
“This journey changed my life. I really appreciate all that I learned from the course.”
— Antonio D.F., Make Some Waves · Berlin School of Sound
Berlin School of Sound is an experimental, artist-run music school in Berlin. With its 12-week Make Some Waves semestral course in music production and sound art, it offers one of the best entry points into the world of electronic music for beginners and experienced artists alike.
12 weeks. Advanced music theory. Your compositions. Your live set.
Make Some Waves Semester 2 is our advanced music production and composition course in Berlin — where foundation becomes creation. You already know the tools. Now you use them. Over 12 weeks you’ll compose complete tracks, build complex modular patches, study harmony and music theory with one of Berlin’s finest jazz pianists, and perform your work live at ACUD at the end of the semester.
This semester adds something Semester 1 doesn’t have: Nadia Struiwigh — Tresor Berlin resident, Dekmantel artist, one of the most distinctive voices in European electronic music — teaching hardware performance and sound identity over three weeks. It also includes a dedicated week of advanced music theory taught by jazz pianist Igor Zavatski, consistently named by past students as one of the highlights of the entire program, and closes with two weeks of mixing and mastering with Henning Grambow once every student has a semester’s worth of material to work with.
3 groups available · Max 10 students per group · 48 hours total
SCHEDULE
Learning Hours — Semester 02
Tuesdays · 17:30–21:30
12 sessions × 4 hours = 48 hours per group
OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, you will:
- Have composed complete electronic music tracks from concept to finished production
- Know how to apply music theory — harmony, chords, scales, chord progressions — to your own work
- Master advanced Ableton Live production and arrangement
- Create complex generative compositions using modular synthesizers
- Have mixed and mastered your own tracks at a professional level
- Have performed live with hardware and software at ACUD Kunsthaus
- Have a portfolio and demo reel you can actually send to labels and promoters
- Have direct connections to Berlin’s electronic music scene
FACULTY
Your Instructors
Nadia Struiwigh
Dutch electronic musician, DJ and live performer based in Berlin. Tresor resident. Releases on Dekmantel, Central Processing Unit, Nous’klaer Audio, Blueprint and SPAT*R. Her work moves between ambient depth, jungle energy and hypnotic techno — always hardware, always intuition, always in motion.
RETHE
Berlin-based producer and live performer. Releases on ARTS, Illegal Alien and BCCO. Expert at track selection, storytelling through music, and hardware/software integration. Core instructor at Berlin School of Sound.
Stéphane Lefrançois
Drummer, recording engineer, performing artist and teacher based in Berlin. Studios in London, Ibiza and Berlin. Founder of Secret Music label. Leads the modular synthesis curriculum at Berlin School of Sound.
Igor Zavatski — Berlin-based jazz pianist and contemporary music theory educator. His lecture on harmony, chords, and modal composition was described by students from the last edition as one of the highlights of the entire semester.
Henning Grambow — Berlin-based producer, mixing engineer and co-shareholder of Berlin School of Sound. Closes the semester once every student has a full set of solo and collaborative material to mix and master, taking the semester’s work to a finished, performance-ready standard.
CURRICULUM
Course Structure
Compositional Workflow & Arrangement
Building tracks from initial idea to full arrangement. Advanced arrangement techniques, narrative and progression in electronic music, Session vs Arrangement view strategies. Practical: start a track from scratch in class.
Sound Design for Composition
Designing sounds that serve the composition. Advanced synthesis in Ableton — Wavetable, Operator. Sampling and resampling as compositional tools, custom instrument racks, MIDI effects for generative composition.
Live Performance Setup in Ableton
Preparing sets for live performance. Session view performance techniques, MIDI mapping and controller integration, looping and live sampling. Building a performance-ready set.
Composing with Modular Systems
Generative composition techniques, evolving musical structures, sequencing strategies, clock division, polyrhythms. Practical: create a complete modular composition.
Collaborative Modular Jamming
Multi-person modular patching, synchronizing multiple systems, listening and responding collaboratively, integrating modular with DAW workflow. Group project begins.
Advanced Patching for Live Performance
Building performable modular systems, feedback and controlled chaos, modular effects processing. Finishing and polishing collaborative tracks, technical riders, final rehearsal.
Jazz Harmony & Modal Composition
A full week on advanced music theory: harmony, chord construction, common progressions in electronic music, jazz harmony basics, modal scales — Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian. Practical: building progressions in MIDI.
Finding Your Sound Identity
How to develop a distinctive artistic voice. Hardware-based performance philosophy. Working intuitively with electronics. Nadia’s approach to composition and live performance.
Performance & Presence
Building a live set with hardware. Improvisation and control. Stage presence and energy. Preparing for the final showcase.
Live Set Refinement & Stage Craft
Refining your full live set with hardware — pacing, transitions, energy arcs. Dress rehearsal and individual coaching ahead of the final showcase.
Mixing & Creative Processing
Now that you have a semester’s worth of solo and collaborative material, mixing as a compositional tool — advanced EQ, compression, creative reverb, delay, and modulation, parallel processing, mid-side processing for width.
Final Mix, Mastering & Showcase Prep
Mastering fundamentals applied to your finished tracks. Final polish across your solo and collaborative pieces, then straight into preparation for the live showcase at ACUD.
DELIVERABLES
Your Final Project
- Solo composition — one complete electronic music track (4–8 min), professionally mixed and mastered, with written artist statement
- Collaborative composition — one track made with fellow students (4–8 min)
- Live performance — 10–15 minutes at the final showcase at ACUD
- Portfolio — updated artist bio, demo reel, SoundCloud/Bandcamp presence
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Everything You Get
- 44 hours of instruction across 12 sessions
- RETHE, Stéphane Lefrançois, Igor Zavatski, Nadia Struiwigh, Henning Grambow
- A full week of advanced music theory instruction with a professional jazz pianist
- Maximum 10 participants per group
- Full access to ACUD studio — Eurorack systems, Ableton Live 12 Suite, Genelec monitors, Universal Audio & RME interfaces, Push, Launchpad, hardware synths and drum machines
- Group critiques and peer feedback sessions
- Public final showcase concert at ACUD Kunsthaus
- Certificate of completion
PREREQUISITES
What You Need to Bring
- Completion of Make Some Waves Semester 1 — or equivalent experience
- Basic Ableton Live knowledge
- Own laptop with Ableton Live 10 or later
- Professional headphones
- USB drive for project backup, and a notebook
- Commitment to all 12 sessions
LOGISTICS
Details
Questions? Write to us at makesomewaves@berlinschoolofsound.com — we reply within 24 hours.