A Beginner’s Guide to Home Studio is now called Music Production Essentials. The content remains the same.
Music Production Essentials
I know how frustrating it feels if you want to create music but don’t know where to start. Thats why, after 10 years of trial, error, and discovery, I’ve turned everything I learned into a clear, beginner-friendly path I wish I’d had when I started.
Music Production Essentials is a video-on-demand online training that makes learning music production simple, human, and fun – helping you turn ideas into finished tracks faster than you thought possible. 🎶😊
A human made, joyful online course 🤗
Music Production Essentials
79,00 €
79,00 €
VAT calculated at checkout if applicable.
📖 9 Chapters with 60 Lessons
🎶 4 hours of in depth video tutorials
No prior knowledge needed.
Even if you’ve never opened a DAW (music program) or don’t own any equipment; I’ll walk you through everything from the very basics. You’ll learn exactly what you need, how everything is connected and how to use your music program to write, record, edit and finalize your music.
Explained super easy & hands-on.
I’ll explain everything in a clear, visual way, even the technical parts will feel simple and fun to follow. We’ll do everything together, not just theory, but actual practice. From buying & installing your first DAW, setting up your home studio, to recording, mixing and even mastering a track you could release on Spotify or YouTube.
Built around Cubase
We’ll work hands-on in Cubase throughout the entire course, so you can follow every step in real time. Even if you use a different DAW, you’ll still learn a lot, but you’ll get the most out of the course when working in Cubase since I show every workflow directly inside the software. There’s a free trial available on the Cubase website, and even after the trial, Cubase Elements is super affordable compared to other DAWs.
FREE Course Preview
Start making music today.😊
79,00 €
VAT calculated at checkout if applicable.
Who is this course for?
I made this course for absolute beginners, thinking that I could even show it to my mum – who has no understanding of computers tbh 😅. As I was creating this course, I kept the following people in mind:
● a songwriter or cover musician who wants to record at home
● a band musician who wants to record and share their band’s songs
● an aspiring cinematic composer who needs the basics before diving deeper
● a modern producer who needs the basics to start producing music
● anyone curious to explore music-making as a new creative outlet
This course focuses on the basics by explaining the setup of a Home Studio, gives an introduction into Cubase as well as recording, editing, mixing (basic) and mastering (basic) your music. If you need those basics, this one is for you! 😊
If you’re familiar with the basics of recording, editing, mixing and mastering, you might want to wait for the next course in The Cinematic Composer’s Journey series (coming soon).
✅ The content & community:
Learn at your own pace with 60 Lessons (over 4 hours) of clear, structured video tutorials, edited to make every step easy and fun to follow. You’ll get gear recommendations and downloadable PDF guides to support you along the way. Learning is easier when you’re not alone. That’s why you’re welcome to join our Discord community. It’s a place to ask questions, share ideas and stay motivated. Through this server, you’ll also have direct access to me if you ever need help.
✅How it works:
Once you’re enrolled, you’ll get access to a dedicated course website including all the videos I created exclusively for this course. Think of it like YouTube, but with a clear structure that takes away the struggles to find everything by yourself. I’ve filmed and sorted the videos so that they make sense as you move along the journey.
You can slow videos down, speed them up, or skip ahead. learn in any order and at any pace you like. The course even remembers where you left off, so you can continue anytime, completely at your own rhythm.
✅ Part 1 of The Cinematic Composer’s Journey:
This course is not only the foundation for your home studio journey – it’s also the starting point of my larger project: The Cinematic Composer’s Journey, a series that guides you from your first home-studio steps to cinematic composition. Owners will receive a special bundle price once Part 2 is released.
Who am I?
I believe the best way to teach music is not from above, but by taking people on a fun and inspiring journey of learning and creativity. That belief drives everything I do – from composing to teaching to sharing my passion for modern cinematic music online.
I’m Leo Brennauer, a musician and composer from Germany. I studied composition for film, theatre, and media at the Zurich University of Arts and now work as a YouTube content creator, where I share my love for music production and cinematic composing.
My musical journey began at the age of five and has taken me through rock bands, jazz ensembles, church groups, and symphonic orchestras – experiences that have shaped my diverse approach to music. Along the way, I’ve played a wide variety of instruments and gained hands-on experience in studios, instrument retail, and live performance; all of which now feed into my work as a composer and educator.
Over the years, I’ve taught one-on-one lessons and spent more than a decade working in a music store, an experience that connected me with countless beginners taking their first steps in music.
If you’d like to join me on this journey, I’d be happy to welcome you to my course. And if you’d like to get a feel for my style first, feel free to check out some of my YouTube videos. Hope to see you!
What do you need for this course?
You don’t need to buy anything before starting the course, we’ll go through the options together. That said, once we get to the part where we install and use the DAW (music program), Cubase will be the best choice to get the most out of this course. There’s a free trial and even a light version (elements) that works just fine, so you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on a DAW.
Course Curriculum
9 Chapters · 60 Lessons · 4 hours of in depth video tutorials
I - Introduction
▶️ Welcome & Learning Objectives (free preview)
🔒 Before we start
II – Home Studio Setup (Theory)
🔒 1 – Pro Studio vs Home Studio
🔒 2 – The Two Worlds of Home Studios
🔒 3 – PC / Mac
🔒 4 – DAW
🔒 5 – Interface
🔒 6 – Speaker & Headphones
🔒 7 – Soundcard vs Interface
🔒 8 – Virtual Instruments / Plugins
🔒 9 – Midi Keyboard
🔒 10 – Gear Recommendations
III – Home Studio Setup (Hands On)
🔒 1 – How You Set Everything Up
🔒 2 – Speaker Placement
IV – Setting up Cubase
🔒 1 – Choosing your Cubase version
🔒 2 – Buying and installing Cubase
🔒 3 – Installing your audio driver
🔒 4 – Starting Cubase for the first time
🔒 5 – Exploring the three main views in Cubase
🔒 6 – Understanding buffer size
🔒 7 – Understanding sample rate
🔒 8 – Understanding how a DAW works
V – Recording & Editing Audio
🔒 1 – Adding your first tracks
🔒 2 – Using the metronome
▶️ 3 – Placing your microphone: Free Preview
🔒 4 – Setting up inputs and creating a bus
🔒 5 – Setting the right input gain
🔒 6 – Recording your first track
🔒 7 – Connecting your guitar and using the tuner
🔒 8 – Recording a guitar & bass
▶️ 9 – Editing clips and fades: Free Preview
🔒 10 – Adjusting track and clip volume
🔒 11 – Recording a flute & shaker
🔒 12 – Recording your voice
VI – Recording & Editing Virtual Instruments
🔒 1 – Setting up and recording a VST instrument
🔒 2 – Editing MIDI recordings
🔒 3 – Understanding MIDI Quantize
🔒 4 – Reducing latency
🔒 5 – Duplicating MIDI
🔒 6 – Editing pedal data & Upgrading Sound
VII – Mixing
🔒 1 – How to think about a mix
▶️ 2 – The three basic tools of mixing: Free Preview
🔒 3 – Mixing with volume and pan
🔒 4 – Adding reverb to a track
🔒 5 – Adding FX tracks, buses and sends
▶️ 6 – Mixing with a reverb: Free Preview
🔒 7 – Understanding the equalizer
🔒 8 – Working with an equalizer
🔒 9 – Exploring additional effects
VIII – Mastering, Exporting & Uploading
🔒 1 – Understanding mastering
🔒 2 – Mastering your song
🔒 3 – Exporting your song
🔒 4 – Uploading and sharing your music
🔒 5 – Whats next?
BONUS
🔒 Appendix: Terminology
🔒 Music Term Quiz
🔒 Bonus: Coming up with a Melody
🔒 Bonus: Finding Chords for your Melody
🔒 Bonus: Affordable Acoustic Treatment
🔒 Bonus: Install third party plugins / virtual instruments
Ready to start your Home Studio Journey? 🤗
Start your home studio journey today 🙂
79,00 €
79,00 €
VAT calculated at checkout if applicable.
FAQ
You already compose music. Is this course still for you?
This course is for absolute beginners. If you’ve already spent some time with a DAW, a lot of the basics in this course will probably feel familiar and maybe not super relevant to you. On the other hand, you might still pick up a few basics you haven’t come across yet, and those can give you a solid foundation for everything that comes next.
Can you ask questions? Share music?
Absolutely.
I have a Discord server with a very active and helpful community of composers and music producers. You can always ask for help there, share your music, get feedback or give some in return.
There’s also an Ask Leo Anything thread for questions that need my perspective:
You don’t use Cubase. Can you still follow the course?
Absolutely!
You can work with any DAW. That said, once we get to the part where we use the DAW, Cubase will be the best choice to get the most out of this course. There’s a free trial and even a beginner friendly version called "elements":
https://link.leo-brennauer.com/cubase (affiliate link)
I’ll be buying, downloading, and installing Cubase Elements as we go. You don’t need a higher version - Elements is all you’ll need for this course - and you don't need to buy it yet.
If you have any other version (Artist or Pro), you can still follow the course 100%.
Do you need any additional plugins or VSTs?
No. In this course we'll only use what comes with Cubase Elements (most affordable version). Also we'll download some free plugins, but everything will be shown!
I even work on a completely fresh installation with all Pro features turned off. That was important to me when creating this course: I want to work with exactly the same tools as anyone taking the course.
Are there discounts for low-income countries?
Yes, I offer regional discounts. The countries listed below are selected based on general purchasing-power levels. If you live in one of these countries, just send me a DM and I’ll provide you with an appropriate discount code. Please note that the waitlist early-bird price will still be the lowest price the course will ever have:
Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Mail: hello@leo-brennauer.com
PS: If your country isn’t on the list but you feel it should be, feel free to contact me and I’ll take a look.
Are there student discounts?
Yes, I offer student discounts. Just send me a DM with your proof of enrollment (student ID) and I’ll provide you with an appropriate discount code. Please note that the waitlist early-bird price will still be the lowest price the course will ever have:
Mail: hello@leo-brennauer.com
Is there a money-back guarantee?
Yes, there is.
You may request a refund for purchased courses within thirty (30) days of the purchase date. Refund requests are only eligible if no more than thirty percent (30%) of the course content has been completed or no more than thirty (30) lessons have been started, whichever occurs first. Refund requests must be submitted via email within the thirty (30) day refund period: hello@leo-brennauer.com
Access to the course content is provided immediately after purchase. By accepting my Terms of Use and completing your purchase, you acknowledge that course access begins immediately upon purchase.
If you are a consumer residing in a jurisdiction that grants statutory withdrawal rights, such rights are governed by the applicable laws of your jurisdiction. Nothing in this Refund Policy or these Terms of Use is intended to limit or exclude any mandatory consumer rights that cannot be waived under applicable law.
Please note that some courses include downloadable digital products that are also available for separate purchase. If you access and download any of these materials, their value will be deducted from any refund amount.
Additionally, the money-back guarantee does not apply if you have redeemed the VSL EDU status offer or the Exclusive Steinberg Discount included in Cinematic Orchestration Essentials.
Please note:
I’ve tried to describe everything on this page as clearly as possible. If something is unclear, feel free to read through the FAQs so you know where to start and what to expect. You can also check out the free previews and the full course curriculum to get a real sense of how the course works. And if you still have questions before buying, feel free to ask me in the Ask Leo Anything thread on our Discord:
https://link.leo-brennauer.com/discord
That said, I want you to feel completely confident in your purchase. If, despite everything, you’re not satisfied, just email me within seven days and I’ll gladly refund you.