ALL I WANT FOR XMAS…

Don’t forget also that our range of Crash Courses make great Xmas presents. If you or someone you know is taking their first steps towards learning to DJ or making their own tracks, then an intensive two-day Crash Course can give you a real head start. We offer courses in Basic and Advanced DJ skills, Radio Production and specific music software packages like Reason and Ableton Live. We’ve also started to offer female-only DJ courses due to the demand from all you she-jay’s out there so let us know if you’d be more comfortable in a girls-only class. With small intimate classes and an expert tutor on hand, you’ll be amazed what you can cover in a weekend. Call for details on 0207 729 4884

Oops we did it again!

Point Blank once again emerged victorious from the annual DJ magazine Tech Awards, racking up an incredible 5th consecutive award. We’d like to extend a huge “Thank You” to everyone who took the time to vote for us – it really is very much appreciated.

The ceremony took place at West London’s Cobden Club and the Point Blank team were in attendance to collect another shiny new award to add to their collection. Check the Point Blank website for pics of the post-match celebrations.

New tutorials now available

If you are a frustrated producer, sitting at home struggling with the Cubase manual thinking “There has to be a better way than this” then we have some good news for you…There is!!

Point Blank’s unrivalled tutors have put together a series of downloadable video workshops which will guide you through a range of music production skills using Cubase SX3, Battery, Recycle and various synths and sound modules. The tutorials are based on our award-winning “Introduction to Production “ course and teach you the essentials of music production in a concise, easy to follow format. Each tutorial comes bundled with all the Rex files, samples and project files you need to get your tunes moving in the right direction.

There are now six tutorials available with more to come covering the likes of Garageband, Logic, Reason and more.

Check out the trailers and download the tutorials at: http://www.pointblanktutorials.com/shop/
OR
Grab a copy of Music Tech magazine. There’s a free tutorial taster on the covermount DVD!!

Wow! We don’t keep you waiting long do we? The latest tutorial is now online, and it’s a good’un!

Hot on the heels of the popular Recycle 2 tutorial, Tutorial 5 shows you how to apply groove templates from your favourite loops to your own audio and MIDI parts. We also show you how to get your rhythm tracks sounding more professional by tuning the individual drum hits in line with the rest of your project. If that weren’t enough, we also talk you through using midi plugins such as StepDesigner, Chorder and Arpeggiator to do the hard work for you- now you don’t even need a MIDI keyboard to add musical parts to your track.

Oh, and listen out for the new voiceover from head of college Dave ‘Deptford’ Pine. Deptford’s long list of credits as an engineer / producer includes Leftfield, Massive Attack, Neneh Cherry, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, The Smiths, Erasure and many more.

What are you waiting for? Check out the trailer here.

Madonna got into it, Deelite said it’s in the heart, and Funkadelic reckon the whole nation’s under it… yep, we’re talking about groove, and now there’s a Point Blank Tutorial to unravel its mysteries.

When you listen to classic tunes from the 70s- funk, rock, jazz etc.- you may notice that the music has a vibe to it… a certain feel. Whether it’s relaxed and laid back or fast and hectic the reason is that real musicians played on the tracks- yep actual people, not sequencers. Loose timing, expressive playing, and good old mistakes create a charm that can be lacking in sequenced music. Luckily, the tools are at your disposal to bring some of that charm to your own tracks.

The latest online tutorial will show you how to use ReCycle 2.1 to create your own REX files, to alter independently the tempo or pitch of your loops, to extract timing or groove templates for use in your own Cubase SX3 projects, and more. So, if you want to give your tracks that extra bit of magic, this is the tutorial for you.

Included in the zip file-

1. A 45 mins video tutorial in QuickTime format.
2. Tutorial Cubase file
3. Two Kits for Battery 2 (you will need these to practice the demo)
4. Three Live drums loops to use with Recycle (AIFF & REX formats)
5. A Read me pdf file with extra notes

Why not come and pay us a visit? We’d love to meet you, show you round the studio facilities and talk you through the courses on offer. To make an appointment give us a call on +44 (0) 207 729 4884 (London) or +44 (0) 114 275 5933 (Sheffield)

Open Day at Point Blank Sheffield
The next Point Blank Sheffield Open Day takes place on Friday March 10th from 1pm – 7pm. It’s the perfect opportunity to meet the tutors face to face and check out the unrivalled studio facilities.
It has now been a year since Point Blank opened its doors in Sheffield and the college continues to go from strength to strength. Recent successes have included Stevie G who is not only a resident DJ for Gatecrasher, but has also been taken on as an employee by computer giant Apple and Tom Ingamells (aka Ingo, The Phat Controller and Neutron Tom) ,one of the brightest talents on the hard house scene. Both studied Music Production at the Sheffield college.

New tutor at Point Blank Sheffield
We are very proud to announce the arrival of a new tutor at Point Blank Sheffield. Former Massive Attack vocalist Sarah Jay is now the regular Songwriting tutor at the college. Sarah will be covering skills including structure, arrangement, harmony and lyric writing as well as giving students first hand insights into the business side of the industry. Proof once again that Point Blank’s teaching talent is second to none!

We receive emails from all over the world from people who want to sharpen their studio skills, but cannot travel to London or Sheffield to study with us in person.

Well, now we have the answer…A range of downloadable video tutorials which will guide you through a range of skills using Cubase SX3 and related software. There are now 3 tutorials available which include basic rhythm and bassline programming, creating bass sounds, using modulation, filters and fx, Rex files, shaping sounds using envelopes and much much more.

Tutorial 3 includes the following:

1. A 50 minute video tutorial in Quicktime format
2. Cubase tutorial song file
3. A Drum & Bass kit, a bass patch (including 2 sounds), a percussion kit for Battery
4. PDF Read me file

And all for the princely sum of £20.00!

Dear All,

A big thanks to those of you who downloaded the first of Point Blank’s online tutorials. We hope you enjoyed it and that your music is starting to take shape.

Thanks for all your feedback so far. As you know, we are constantly striving to improve our courses and your comments help us to do this -creating tutorials that cover the studio skills that you want to master. With this in mind, you may be interested to know that Session 2 is now available for download.

This session shows you how to use MIDI files in Cubase SX and how to use basic functions in the software drum sampler Battery 2. If you’re looking to get some pumpin’ rhythm tracks up and running quickly and effectively then this is for you.

What’s included in the zip file?

1. A 45 mins video tutorial in QuickTime format.
2. Cubase tutorial song file
3. A Drum & Bass Kit for Battery 2 (including 2 extra midi files),
taken from Point Blank Sample CD Vol.1
4. Read Me pdf file

First of all we’d like to wish you all a very Happy New Year. There are all manner of exciting things going on at Point Blank in the next twelve months, so stand by for regular updates on activity at the college, including music from current and former students, plus the latest info on new courses, products and opportunities to get involved and get creative. A special welcome also goes out to all the new students who started on their courses this week. It’s great to have you with us and we look forward to getting to know you and hearing your music over the coming weeks and months.

Special guests at Point Blank
They’re the kings of the cut-up, the mash-up masters, the bootleg bad boys. Their “Mash Up Mix” on Ministry of Sound Records reached no.1 on the compilation chart and their weekly mixes are the highlight of Judge Jules’ Radio One show. And they’re coming to Point Blank…
Continuing our series of guest lectures, Radio One’s Cut Up Boys will be visiting the college on WEDNESDAY 18th JANUARY to talk to students about the ins and outs of production, remixing and what makes the perfect mash-up. This guest spot is open to all current PB students and kicks off at 3pm. Numbers are limited so please reply to this email if you would like to attend so we canyou’re your name. Hope to see you there.

www.ministryofsound.com/music/albums/TheCutUpBoys-TheMashUpMix

Sample CD now available
If you are a reader of Music Tech, Future Music or DJ magazine then you may already be aware of Point Blank’s latest innovation. It comes in the shape of the awesome “Point Blank Sample CD vol.1” which is currently getting rave reviews across the board. Music Tech featured it on the cover of their January issue, FM awarded it 7 out of 10 and DJ mag descrbed it as “a bargain at £25”. You can check out the reviews and find out more on our website. Order your copy direct from the PB store at: http://www.pointblanklondon.com/music_college/store/sample_cd.asp

Radio Show
January also sees the start of “Deeper Sensations” a regular music show on PBR –Point Blank’s online radio station. At the controls each week will be PB students D’FunK and Ben Rau alongside special guests including both students and tutors. D’Funk was the mastermind behind the orginal “Deeper sensations” a popular underground radio show which broadcast from Southern Spain. Ben you might remember was the winner of IDJ magazine’s “Raw Talent” competition a couple of months back. The show will broadcast from 1600 to 1900 GMT each Friday. Log on, tune in and let us know what you think.

One to watch
Keep an ear out for student Rob Conlon aka Blue Bear -currently making waves on one of the hottest UK mixtapes around. “Eye of The Tiger” volume 1 features Blue Bear alongside the likes of Wiley & Skepta from Roll Deep, Ghetto, Bruza, Plan B, Essentials, Heartless Crew, Gemma Fox, Rukus, Virus Syndicate + many more. You’re going to have to move pretty quick to get yourself a copy, but you can hear the latest beats from the Blue Bear camp at: http://www.myspace.com/bluebearuk

PB tutor signs to Defected
As you no doubt know, each and every tutor at Point Blank is a pro producer, remixer or sound engineer. It looks like being another busy year for Music Production tutor Danny Lewis –he recently completed a mix of Martin Solveig’s “Jealousy” for Defected Records. The label were so impressed that they will be releasing his next single “Ballistica” after promoing it at this years Winter Music Conference in Miami. The track is already being supported by a select bunch of DJs including Martin Solveig, Claude Monnet, Ashley Beedle, Simon Dunmore and Paul Murphy and you can hear it here:
www.ballistica.info
Also check out Danny’s MySpace page: www.myspace.com/dannyjlewis

Online Courses now available
Point Blank welcomes students from all over the world each term, but of course it’s not everyone who is able to come and study at the UK’s leading Production school. With this in mind, Point Blank have launched a series of downloadable tutorials so that you can benefit from PB’s expert tuition from the comfort of home. The first of these tutorials is now available for download from the website and there are more on the way.

You can find all the info here:
http://www.pointblanktutorials.com/shop/

PB wins Apple seal of approval
Point Blank is very pleased to announce that we are now an Apple Approved Training Centre for Logic Pro. In order to meet with Apple’s approval, both the training centre and its tutors have to meet with Apple’s exacting standards. With this in mind, we are particularly proud of the fact that one of our resident tutors, JC Concato scored the highest pass rate recorded on the Apple Training program. His score of 96% is proof once again (if proof were needed!) that Point Blank’s tutors are highly experienced studio professionals, with a wealth of knowledge to pass on to their students.
What this means for students is that by studying at Point Blank, you can now achieve certification status in Apple’s professional audio application plus they will benefit from educational discounts on Aple’s awesome range of professional music production technology.

PB student scoops job at premier studio
Huge congratulations to Music Production student Tristan Lillingston who started work last week at the Legendary Sarm West studios. Tristan has been studying at Point Blank for the last 12 months and is nearing completion of his course. However, he’s wasted no time in taking his talents out into the “real world” and now finds himself in the studio complex where the likes of Coldplay, Gorillaz, Ian Brown, Madonna, Oasis and Radiohead have all recorded. His course will have prepared him well and we’re certain that the future is bright…good luck Tristan!!
Check out Tristan’s MySpace profile: www.myspace.com/esqproductions

Finely crafted and ready for your viewing pleasure:

Introduction to Production: Session 1 - £19.99

Designed for beginners, this tutorial shows you how to programme and balance beats and a bassline using instruments within Cubase SX3.

Contents:

Style templates for SX3: hip hop, drum n bass and house.

Files:
pbtutorial1 (pbtutorial1.zip)
81.71 Mb in 1 files

Enjoy, and thanks from the team at www.pointblanktutorials.com