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Beat Kitchen at-a-glance
Course Primary Skills bk-HWR_p

Hardware & Recording

10 sessions · Mondays, Wednesdays · 2hr each

The physical side of making music

In a digital production world, there are only a handful of things you can actually touch, hear, and interact with. Microphones, speakers, interfaces, cables — these are the objects that connect your ideas to the air. This class is about understanding them.

20 chapters of ground covered

  • Sound and transduction — how sound becomes electricity, becomes digital, becomes sound again. The signal chain from source to speaker
  • Microphones — types, polar patterns, selection for different sources, and how to get the right mic on the right thing
  • Cables, connectors, and balanced audio — the wiring that holds a studio together (and why some of it fails)
  • Audio interfaces and digital audio — sample rate, bit depth, AD/DA conversion, and what the numbers actually mean for your recordings
  • Recording technique — mono, stereo, mid/side, working with vocalists, recording instruments. Several chapters because each situation has different problems
  • Monitoring — speakers, headphones, room acoustics, and treatment. What your listening environment is doing to your perception and how to account for it
  • Routing and hardware integration — patchbays, MIDI, sync, controllers, and connecting external gear to a DAW-based workflow
  • Practical knowledge — cable repair and soldering, session planning, and a gear buying guide that skips the marketing and tells you what to actually spend money on

Prerequisites: None. Useful at any stage — pairs well with DAW Core Skills or as a standalone.

Ready for more? The Recording Studio Masterclass puts these skills to work in a professional studio.

Building This Class

Jun 10, 2026 – Jul 13, 2026

Mondays, Wednesdays, 10 AM Pacific | 1 PM Eastern | 6 PM UK

10 × 2hr classes

$620.00 includes 2 mo. residency
What's a residency?

Residency is your Beat Kitchen membership —$85/mo or $700/yr. It includes office hours, gyms, beat challenges, and a community of producers on Discord.

Non-residents can take any class — residency months are bundled into the price. If you're already a resident, check the box above and you'll see the lower class-only price.

Learn more about residency →

Other start dates and times (2 more)
More Dates
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Jul 8, 2026 – Sep 16, 2026 Mondays, Wednesdays, 6 PM Pacific | 9 PM Eastern | 2 AM UK
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Oct 6, 2026 – Nov 5, 2026 Tuesdays, Thursdays, 4 PM Pacific | 7 PM Eastern | 12 AM UK
None of these times work?
Building This Class

Looking for this class at a different time? Share your availability and we'll build it.

The more times you select, the more likely we are to build a class that works for you.

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What students say
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Incredible value in every class. It’s a super fun and engaging way to learn, with excellent instructors and a supportive community. Can’t recommend Beat Kitchen enough if you want to learn any aspect of music production!

—Johanna, Toronto, Canada

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I loved the class I took on music theory. I am a theory nerd, and a music teacher since 2008. I got new insights in this class about things I had learned before. I also thought Nathan did a great job of establishing basic ideas before using

—Jon, Seattle, WA

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I’ve been a student at Nathan’s audio engineering school - Beat Kitchen, for seven months, and the experience has been invaluable. Coming back to music after years focused on family and business, I wanted a learning environment that was

—Lotus, Bali

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Nathan is one of the great few teachers that care. As a graduate of a prestigious music school, I was whisked through a massive amount of knowledge, with many teachers. None of them stood up to parr as Nathan does, simply due to the quality and dedication he takes into account when explaining even the simplest of concepts. Amazing.

—Maxwell, Reno, NV

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Nathan was extremely helpful in helping better understand the basics of harmony and music theory. The instruction style is small group and having the ability to communicate and not just listen to a lecture makes the learning process more

—Ira, Los Angeles, CA

Explore Classes

Office Hours Weekly. Ask questions, get help, and connect. Included with residency. Production Gym Weekly. Production breakdown of your favorite songs. Included with residency. Theory Gym Weekly. Morning music theory workout. Included with residency. Ear Training Weekly. Test your ears and discuss — music, mixing, and more. Included with residency. Instrument Gym Weekly. Practice and workout on instruments. Included with residency. Weekly Beat Review Weekly. Listen to Beat Challenge song ideas together. Included with residency.
Logic Pro X Core Live Logic Pro course in small groups — navigation, recording, editing, signal flow, and production workflow with a real … Ableton Core Live Ableton course in small groups — learn navigation, recording, effects, synthesis, mixing, and automation with a … Pro Tools Core Master Pro Tools, the industry standard DAW for recording and production. Learn essential operations, workflow, signal … FL Studio Core Master FL Studio with expert instruction. Learn navigation, workflow, MIDI programming, loop building, session …
Music Theory Learn fundamental musician skills including music theory, performance basics, and foundational concepts essential for … Mixing and Synthesis Tools Live course covering EQ, compression, reverb, delay, subtractive synthesis, gain staging, signal chain, and mastering — …
Hardware & Recording Live recording course: microphones, audio interfaces, studio acoustics, stereo technique, and session workflow — …
Logic Pro 1-Day Intensive Full-day Logic Pro workshop for producers. Master navigation, recording workflow, editing, signal flow, and session … Ableton 1-Day Intensive THE TEN CHORDS WORKSHOP Master chord function and write instantly better music in one day. Unlock advanced harmony using the 10-Chord Toolkit … Orchestral 1-Day Intensive
Electronic Music Kitchen Master electronic music production fundamentals. Learn trance, bass music, EDM composition techniques, MIDI programming, … Hip Hop Kitchen Learn to create unique hip hop beats with professional structure, sound design, and mixing techniques. Master looping, … Orchestral Kitchen Master orchestral production techniques including articulation, arrangement, and realistic programming for brass, … Session Player Kitchen Learn professional session player techniques and realistic instrument programming. Master drums, guitars, bass … Soundtrack Kitchen Learn film scoring and soundtrack composition techniques. Master orchestral production, sound design, and music for … Vocal Kitchen Learn professional vocal recording, production, and processing techniques. Master microphone placement, vocal chains, …
Beat Building Jam Workshop ideas into songs. Peer feedback. Instructor support. Prep for production Mix & Production Incubator Workshop ideas into songs. Peer feedback. Instructor support. Prep for production Recording Incubator Songwriting Incubator Workshop ideas into songs. Peer feedback. Instructor support. Prep for production
Mixing & Mixcraft Advanced live mixing course: parallel compression, sidechain, vocal chains, drum mixing, stereo imaging, automation, and … Recording Studio Masterclass Hands-on recording studio masterclass with professional equipment. Learn large format consoles, studio etiquette, and … Songwriter Masterclass Master songwriting techniques with professional composers. Learn melody writing, chord progressions, song structure, … Synthesist Masterclass Advanced synthesis masterclass covering wavetable, granular, FM synthesis, and sound design. Learn professional …

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