I've taken the Building Blocks and Making Waves courses, and they've been an incredible way to learn music production. The teachers are top-notch professional, patient, and deeply knowledgeable, which made the learning experience both approachable and inspiring. The facility itself is outstanding, equipped with all the latest gear and technology, creating the perfect environment to grow as a producer. Thanks to these classes, I feel far more confident not only in Ableton but also in my understanding of music theory. I can't recommend these courses enough, no matter your skill level! read more

IO music academy has been a great way to go from zero to hero with making electronic music. Really enjoyed the remix class, secret sauce, the synthesizers class going deep on sound design, claim your sound, and live performance (OK that's all the classes I took). Nice homework assignments and final projects to push yourself, and community workshops too. Being in person is awesome-- I enjoy the structure of the weekly night classes, fits nicely into my schedule. I love the private lessons and studio time to really lock in and refine an idea with the instructors. They're all great! read more

IO music academy is an amazing place. I had several friends that took classes before me and they all told me that if I want to learn music production, this is the place to go. all four of my friends took all their courses and they are all producing amazing music! I started taking the Building Blocks course with Josh earlier this year. I'm on week 9/10 and I feel really great about what I have learned and how far I have come along. Prior to taking the Building Blocks course I had very little music theory knowledge (played by ear) and every time I would open Ableton I would quit after 10 mins due to having zero direction. having gone thro most of the Building Blocks course, I now have the fundamentals of music theory in the bag and I am able to navigate Ableton confidently enough to get my tracks started off right. I'm currently working on my final project and I am excited for what is in store for me in the Making Waves course that starts in Spring. 5 stars, 100% recommend for anyone that wants to learn how to do it right from the star! Rolland read more

This is the best music production school in Los Angeles. I never knew anything about producing music before I started this academy and thanks tol the teachers at the school I've learned so much and I'm so honored that they are around to share all their knowledge. Not only is this a great school for complete beginners, but it's also great for people who are knowledgeable as well as they have so many programs to offer advanced knowledge. I've been coming here for almost a year, and I feel so comfortable and excited about my music journey. The teachers are very patient and kind and are really good at explaining things to someone who has no idea on where to begin. read more

I meant to leave this review at week 3 in my IO program (the artist program: building blocks, making waves, vocal chops) .....at that point, after just 6 hours of class time, I had already learned more about the Ableton DAW & moved fluidly through it than what i was able to accomplish in over 10 years working on logic and protools. What ive learned and accomplished in the last 9 weeks has shocked me - as an artist who always struggled navigating DAWS and recording. I never imagined it would be possible to know as much as I know now... & especially after only a few weeks. I have one more week before I'm done with the basics of production course (building blocks) & i fully know how to produce songs & navigate the DAW in a way that allows me to accomplish basically whatever I want... The class is structured in a way that teaches how to approach the software - how & why to approach it a certain way, & the steps in order of importance. It is very simply a brilliant way to teach people how to make music. The pace of the class is fast, but very management. It is completely hands on. I've only taken Josh's class so far, but the other instructors are always on site, ready to help in any way. Josh is such an outstanding teacher. Just breaks things down in a way that is so accessible & logical. I noticed this literally from day 1. I knew his method of teaching would make this whole course so understandable for me, personally... The entire team of instructors are really incredible, as i said, theyre always there, & are helpful in every way. I've reached out to my instructor and other staff members outside of campus hours regarding various things, but also with Ableton & homework questions, & they have gone above and beyond to help. The campus is so dope. The facilities we have access to are beyond what I expected. The perks, like studio time & unlimited access to the lab is so generous. What the takeaway here should be: i must underscore just how effective the class curriculum is. I know I'm only one class in, but like I said, I meant to leave this review after less than 6hours of instruction time. This is the best investment I've ever made as an artist. Do it. read more

I gotta say music has always been a passion of mine and I've wanted to make it into a career and had no idea with where to start and knew very little about music theory and no knowledge of Abelton, and then I found IO and decided to take the building blocks course, Josh wen was my instructor and I couldn't have asked for a better person to teach than him, his dedication towards his students is like no other, he also is able to teach in a way that I can understand, his lessons and curriculum are very well structured, if you had a question he would always have a right answer, at the end of the semester of building blocks, I was able to put together music that I never thought I'd be able to do thanks to Josh and the amazing team at IO, thank you for helping me start my journey on my music career!!! read more

I am about to complete quarter 1 of 2 for my certificate program, this review is for the Building Blocks class. I will update my review in a few months after I have completed the Making Waves class. So far I only have good things to say. This is my first time attending a technical school. I've attended several institutions to learn about music, composition, performance, music tech, etc. which were very structured. IO is to the point, specific, and meets every individual unique need, being a class of 1:10 or less teacher to student ratio. Just for comparison/context, I took a music tech class at Glendale Community College in Fall 2022; it was fine, learned a lot. However, it was very basic, only scratching the surface of your DAW, while also throwing in a history lesson so that the students can obtain context as to why we do the things we do now in music production vs how it was executed before. The GCC professor was fine, but I could tell he knew the minimum about Abelton. Here at IO however, they have the best. The Building Blocks instructor is Josh, who is crazy good at what he does. He can map out a cool drum beat in 10 seconds to get his point across. He knows the ins and outs of Abelton, knows all the specifics on BOTH Mac and PC and makes sure that no student gets left behind. He is a whiz at piano and saxophone as well. Lectures are always flawless and he's always down to chat. At IO Music Academy, the Building Blocks class (as well as the other classes) are about 8-10 lectures, once per week. No history lesson! We get down to business right away. Though once in a while Josh has brought up facts about early music production to correlate it to the lesson plan. I love how the 10 lectures build up on each other so well. Every class period is 2 hours (when you enroll, you can pick from a weekday class or a Saturday slot, which is amazing for working students). The 2 hours is enough time to learn about the topic of the day and use it in an exercise. At the end of the lecture, we are sent home with instructions for the homework assignment, which are explained in simple terms. They definitely leave you with everything you need to be able to do the assignments comfortably without straining to remember what was explained during lecture. We are also given a guidebook (Course Notes) in Circle with the lecture notes and class recordings for future reference. I have learned so much in the 10-week Building Blocks course, such as giving me new ways/perspectives on how to approach and produce your tracks. I always start a new track, but then I get writer's block and never finish or know how to flush out my ideas. I have so many unfinished pieces, but now I can confidently say I have the knowledge and skills to be able to complete them. IO shows you multiple ways you can write music, not just one. Student Discounts: A variety available! While enrolled, you get Melodics and Splice for free depending on the course you're taking. You must have Abelton, which is **60% off with the proof of student enrollment. IO also has discounts for certain sample packs, plug-ins, and hardware. Location and environment: Hollywood, right across from the Paramount building on Hollywood Blvd and Gower. The school is a small building that has multiple studio spaces that they share with other companies/producers. The classroom is on the second floor, each desk has a midi controller (Push or keyboard), a laptop stand, and an audio interface for lecture usage. Must provide your own laptop, mixing headphones, and headphone jack to plug into audio interface. Studio spaces and private lessons are worth going to IO Music Academy. Parking: Street parking, metered parking, or park at the LA Fitness outdoor lot 1 block away (IO provides a parking voucher, pack of 5 for $40) read more

IO Music Academy - IO Music Academy classroom - Vocational & Technical School Near Me - Los Angeles, California

This is my go-to school for in-person music production education in Los Angeles. I love that you don't have to commit. You can go for just a 2-hour workshop or a 4-week mini course, or a full semester course, there's no obligation to commit long-term. The instructors are super nice, grounded, and talented and the classes are fun (I can't handle academia sans humour). Almost all classes are recorded and available online to review as well. I highly recommend IO! read more

I have been so impressed with the quality of content and teachers at IO Music Academy. It is clear from the way the class is structured and assignments are sequenced that they have developed a proven method for how to help artists learn how to produce music from core components up, not just mimicking or copying existing song structures within a given genre. I love the emphasis on electronic music for production and overlap with DJs within the community. read more

This is the best value you'll get in LA to learn to produce music. The commitment to learn how to produce music as a beginner is one, 2-hour class per week for one year. During this time, you take one class per quarter/10 weeks. The instructors are great. Class one is led by Joshua Wen, an experienced and credentialed music teacher - he is amazing. I am just finishing my first quarter, and now know how to use Ableton to create a full length song. Our final project is playing our finished song to all students at IO. I chose to attend IO to learn to produce house music and because my boyfriend who graduated from IO 3 years ago from highly recommended the program. Perks of attending IO Academy, aside from the curriculum: 1) 40% off Ableton ($400+ value) + other student discounts on products and plug-ins 2) 3, 1:1 hour-long private tutoring with any instructor at the school - this comes with the course. You can purchase additional sessions for less than $100/hr. I am in a production class and I signed up to use some of my 1:1 sessions to learn DJ skills, unrelated to my class. The DJ instructor is Juliet Mendoza, who is about to play the Yuma tent at Coachella next week. I figured, let me learn from pros who are doing what I want to do. 3) Free weekly workshops on topics like "music theory basics" 4) Unlimited access to their recording studios and equipment. 5) Unlimited access to online recordings of all of their courses, while you are an enrolled student. 6) If you miss a class AND want to review what your instructor said in class, each class is recorded and posted online for easy access. 7) Accountability partners to check in on you, help you, and make you do the work to learn to make music. Unlike what it would be like to learn it on your own. 8) A community! For $549/month on a monthly payment plan, this school is an amazing deal. I highly recommend attending IO. read more

For the past year I have taken 4 intermediate courses in music production. Prior to this, I had only 2 years of experience in music production on Ableton and little music theory (by ear production). I felt after my first two years I had progressed okay, but my sound wasn't to the level I heard in polished music today, and creatively, I felt stuck. I found IO from an Ad on IG and went to a free workshop. I knew after the free workshop it was the place to elevate my sound to a higher polished level. After my first course, I put out a track I that I was proud of; one that can play along with big artists today and not tell a difference. It's been 4 classes now, and I feel each course I gain important aspects to get the sound I want, and I am becoming my own artist with my own sound. I have one more year planned to finish all the courses. The courses are well designed, fun, and well structured. The teachers are all great, informative helpful, nice, and realistic for what you need to focus on. The community of students is awsome as well, even if you aren't currently a student, there is social board for everything; from collabs to track critques, or self promotion, just to name a few. If you are looking to push your sound to the next level, really learn what ableton has to offer, and are looking for a great community, IO is it. The value for the experience and community is worth the price per semester with many other perks that come along with the school. From Beginner to advanced, IO can teach you to be the artist/producer/singer/DJ you want to be. read more

I am about to complete a year long program at IO. I started with a pretty elementary understanding of Ableton and had never DJ'd before. I've since DJ'd Burning Man, a handful of clubs and raves and got my first radio residency. As a producer I have three solid original tracks, a remix, and a much better understanding of what Ableton is truly capable of but still have a long ways to go. I learned in a year what would have taken me at least several years of dedicated independent study. If you're looking to dive in and get a head start on your electronic music journey, I would highly recommend IO. read more

I love everything about this school. The studio is beautiful and the teachers are attentive and fun to be around. I've learned so much during my first course and am very tempted to join the next one. This is structured like a real school which I love and it's fun being a part of a community especially when you're first starting out in production. I had my doubts but it has all exceeded my expectations. Also shout out to my teacher Josh who you can tell if very passionate about his job. Also very very knowledgable. 10/10 recommend! read more

Love IO. I just finished my first quarter last night. I have a little music background on the piano, DJ experience, and general electronic music love -- but no Ableton experience. In just one quarter I've become proficient at composing, arranging, and even remixing in Ableton -- and I had a load of fun doing it. We learned how to use the Push 2, some keyboard playing basics as well as music theory. The instructors are great -- both Adam and Andy were always sharing little nuggets of wisdom and their own little tricks and tips -- It might sound silly but I felt really lucky to learn from these guys since they are real producers offering up real world tips. They'll often share their own professionally produced tracks in class and breakdown how and why they did what they did -- and encourage you to ask questions. One of the best things about IO though is the vibe -- the instructors really encourage you to create and explore and experiment in a space that non judgmental -- everyone was really supportive including my classmates. We all clap for each other in class and generally encourage and push each other to do better. I really can't say enough good things about IO. I'm updating this now for 2020 -- I've also been taking some of their online courses during lockdown, and they've all been great. read more

I am currently enrolled in the school and love every aspect of it -it's a hands-on boutique collaborative experience That allows you to share your creative self in a room with like minded people! I would highly recommend anyone contemplating about getting into it to go take the tour you'll be glad you did. read more

The vibe here is awesome and all the students and teachers are super nice, I have learned a lot so far few weeks, definitely recommended especially with this tuition. read more

Made the decision to finally learn how to make electronic music after 15 years of djing and I couldn't have chosen a better school. Just finished a year long course and I'm not gonna lie, kinda sad it's over. All the teachers at IO are super knowledgeable with Ableton (Adam probably created Ableton and didn't tell us) and will go out of their way to help you create. Classes are small and the private one on one sessions are a great addition. You won't find a better school or price in LA. read more

I've been to a few similar schools and iO is the best for the money no question. It's the only place you will you get this much insight into ableton music production and just music business in general. I love the masterclasses and just being around all the creative people with good energy. Got to check it out for yourself. read more

Might be a bit biased, as I've been with them since the beginning, but IO is a unique and amazing space to learn music production and it's exactly the kind of spot I wish I had when I started. read more