About the course

What you’ll learn

Our music production course focuses on 3 key subject areas, which are then made up of individual specialist modules. The three subject areas are engineering, music production and business.

We teach the Advanced Diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering across an intensive one year period, which is divided into three terms. Throughout the three terms you will go deeper into each of these subject areas to so that you’re constantly building on your knowledge and skills.

Our Abbey Road heritage is important in giving context to today’s music industry. You’ll learn about the evolution of the studios and how innovation at Abbey Road helped drive the music industry forward. Alongside the history and theory the course puts a strong emphasis on learning technical skills, so you’ll spend time both in dedicated lectures and independently working with ProTools and Logic as well as Ableton Live.

We encourage all of our students to participate in the many practical opportunities that are available. These include a wide range of ensembles, recording sessions and performance/composition workshops. You will develop an understanding of the studio environment and how to navigate and thrive in this space, building your confidence, interpersonal skills and studio etiquette. You’ll learn on industry-standard equipment, including the latest Apple generation computers, Pro Tools and Logic professional studio software as well as a wide array of native plug-ins from our industry partners.

Through our broad range of industry professionals, from sound engineers to music producers, artists and music business professionals you’ll gain insights into the breadth of the recording industry and establish your personal career path.

We host regular recording sessions in Abbey Road Studios, with sessions throughout the year in Studios One, Two and Three as well as the mastering rooms. You can find out more about these masterclasses on our blog.

Progressive Continuous Learning

You’ll learn through our unique teaching method, Progressive Continuous Learning. The course is broken down into modules with short sessions which are linked together and delivered in a progressive logical manner, combining theory and practice. This is different from more traditional styles of teaching, where programmes are delivered in self-contained isolated modules. We’ve found this method really embeds the practical skills you will learn alongside the context and theory in a way that brings everything together and supports your learning.

You’ll be taught in an apprenticeship style, with practical hands-on lessons in all the modules, so you can develop a broad range of new skills, confidence and experience that you can take into the workplace.

education Partners

PFE (Private Further Education) is a division of the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) which provides Educational Oversight inspections of private further education colleges and English language schools in England and Wales on behalf of the Home Office. PFE inspections are for the benefit of colleges and learners. Their purpose is to improve the quality and effectiveness of education by helping colleges recognise and build on their strengths and remedy any weaknesses.

In 2024 we undertook an inspection at Abbey Road Institute London. Here are some highlights from the inspection report:

• “The college exceeds expectations.”
• “The quality of the curriculum, teaching and learners’ achievements is excellent.”
• “Teaching and its impact on learning is excellent.”
• “Students’ welfare, including health and safety, is excellent.”

You can read the full report here.

NCFE is an awarding organisation recognised by the qualification regulators for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our qualification has been developed to meet the specific needs of our students and has been accredited by NCFE as demonstrating quality and rigour.

Our Advanced Diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering has been accredited as a Customised Qualification and we have benchmarked the qualification’s learning outcomes and assessment criteria at Level 5 (using a national framework’s level descriptors) to allow us to demonstrate the difficulty and depth of study.

On successful completion of the course, you will receive a certificate of achievement. The certificate is evidence of the knowledge and skills gained by completing the qualification. This qualification has been accredited by NCFE under the Customised Qualification and the certificate of achievement will be issued directly by NCFE.

We integrate an official Avid Pro Tools Certification into our Advanced Diploma in Music Production and Sound Engineering. To become a Certified User for Pro Tools, you must take two foundational courses, Pro Tools Fundamentals I (PT101) and Pro Tools Fundamentals II (PT110), before sitting and passing the associated certification exam.

Becoming an Avid Certified User for Pro Tools will show employers that you possess a fundamental understanding of and the capability to use Avid Pro Tools to engineer a project through to completion, with all of the fundamental operational skills to record, edit, mix and output the finished session.