WAM Academy
Your Future in Audio Starts at WAM Academy
WAM Academy is a hands-on training program designed to help you learn audio skills and explore careers in music, recording, live sound, and audio production.
In Level 1, you’ll learn the basics of audio, including how sound travels through recording equipment, how microphones work, and how to build your own XLR audio cable.
In Level 2, you’ll take your skills further with hands-on recording experience in professional studios, including WAM Studios in San Francisco and a partner studio in Los Angeles. You’ll also learn the fundamentals of mixing music using Pro Tools, the industry-standard recording software.
By the end of the program, you’ll have a strong foundation in audio recording, production, and mixing. Whether you’re interested in working in a recording studio, live events, podcasts, film, gaming, or simply creating better-sounding projects of your own, WAM Academy will give you practical skills you can use right away. To get the most out of WAM’s training program and maximize your learning, we recommend combining WAM Academy with our Pro Tools Fundamentals classes. Get a discount when you bundle!
Classes are taught by professional recording engineers and are designed to be welcoming, fun, and accessible for all experience levels. WAM Academy is offered in person only.
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Level 1: Understanding Basic Audio Production
This 7-class beginner series helps you understand how sound works and how it is used in recording and music production. You’ll learn the basics step by step through hands-on activities and easy-to-follow lessons. No prior experience needed.
We recommend taking Level 1 as a prerequisite to all other WAM classes.
What You’ll Learn
Learn the physics behind what sound actually is and how it travels. You’ll explore how sound moves through air, how pitch, frequency and amplitude work, and how sound is turned into something you can record and play back. This gives you the foundation for everything else in audio.
Understand how audio moves through recording equipment – from a microphone, through cables and mixers, and into a computer or recorder. You’ll learn simple recording setups and how to get clean, usable sound when you press record.
Discover how microphones capture sound in different ways. You’ll learn the differences between common microphone types and how to choose the right one depending on the source (voice or instrument) and the setting (live sound or recording).
Get your first look at digital recording. You’ll learn how audio is recorded and edited on a computer using Pro Tools, a professional software used in studios around the world.
Learn about basic audio connections and how to build your own XLR cable. You’ll get hands-on experience with soldering tools and understand how reliable connections are made for professional audio setups.
Level 2: Intermediate Studio Recording & Mixing Course
This 9-class intermediate course is designed for students who already understand the basics of audio recording. You’ll step into a professional recording studio and gain real-world experience working with industry tools, equipment, and workflows.
You’ll build confidence using studio consoles, outboard gear, and Pro Tools while working alongside a supportive community and experienced instructors.
What You’ll Learn
Learn how sound moves through a professional recording console. You’ll explore how patchbays work and how engineers connect different pieces of studio gear to build complex recording setups.
Understand how engineers use auxiliary sends (auxes) to create monitor mixes for artists via headphone monitor systems, and explore how auxes and inserts are used in a professional studio environment to add effects like reverb, equalization (EQ) and compression.
Go beyond the basics and learn how microphone choice and placement changes the sound of vocals and instruments. You’ll practice positioning microphones to capture the best tone, clarity, and emotion in a recording.
Take part in a real recording session where students help lead the process. You’ll apply what you’ve learned by working as a team to record music in a professional studio setting.
Learn how to shape sound using equalization (EQ), compression, and effects like delay and reverb. You’ll understand how these tools are used to add definition and dimension to create a polished, professional mix.
Build skills in editing and arranging audio inside Pro Tools. You’ll learn how to combine the best takes, clean up recordings, and understand the structure of crafting a full mix from start to finish.
Level 2 Prerequisites:
Academy Level 1 or equivalent basic recording training and some experience with DAWs is strongly recommended. Attendees should have a basic understanding of signal flow, types of microphones, and recording and mixing properties going into this course.
Registered class participants can receive refunds up to 7 days before the course start date. Please request the refund through Eventbrite and/or email education@womensaudiomission.org for assistance.
If for any reason WAM Academy participants have cut short their participation in academy classes their credits can roll over to a future academy session. Contact the WAM education coordinator to notify them should this happen. Unfortunately, WAM cannot offer reimbursements or refunds after classes have started. If you know that you will need to miss several classes, it may be better to enroll in a future session. Graduation certificates will only be handed out to students who don’t have to miss more than 2 classes.
No, WAM Academy teaches the fundamentals of audio with hands-on experience in a professional recording studio. Materials covered in classes can help learners interested in DIY home-recording, podcasting, live sound, etc understand the basics of audio production.
No, you will not need to own Pro Tools. WAM has Pro Tools installed at our Education Labs.
Both Academy classes Level 1 and Level 2 are in-person only and take place in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Once you register for a WAM Membership please email education@womensaudiomission.org for your WAM member discount code to register for classes at checkout in Eventbrite.
Great! We would love to have you join our more advanced classes. Contact our team at education@womensaudiomission.org to assess which courses will be most appropriate for your level of expertise. You can register for WAM Academy Level 2 with the instructor’s permission. Also, consider applying for WAM’s internship program, which offers lots of hands-on experience, industry connections, and community building.
About the Organization
Women’s Audio Mission courses focus on increasing the gender balance in audio production and technology sectors since fewer than 5% of the population employed in these sectors are women and gender-expansive individuals.
There are limited spots available in WAM classes, and they often sell out, so we ask that if you are not woman-identified (cisgender or transgender), nonbinary, or gender-expansive, you reconsider enrolling in the class. We will not turn anyone away, but please be mindful that if you take up a seat in the class, that is one less woman, non-binary, or gender-expansive individual that we can serve. We thank you for your understanding in advance and for joining us in our mission to advance women and girls in music production and the recording arts.
BECOME A WAM MEMBER
Join the WAM Membership program for a discount on WAM Academy, along with other masterclasses, educational programs, 20% off recording services at WAM Studios, invitation to exclusive member events and so much more!