Techno Blueprint: Making Techno Music with Ableton 12

In this hands-on two-day workshop, students will learn how to produce techno music in Ableton Live 12 using classic analog hardware techniques and sounds. Participants will explore essential, elemental sound design techniques inspired by analog synthesizers, drum machines, and modular gear, learning how to emulate these sounds using Ableton’s stock instruments and effects. You will also learn composition strategies essential to early and modern techno, including hypnotic loop construction, evolving rhythmic patterns, and minimalist arrangement approaches. By blending a modern digital workflow with timeless analog techniques, we will create a blueprint for making analog-style techno while mastering Ableton Live 12’s powerful sound design and compositional tools. Dates: Monday, November 3 & Wednesday, November 5, 2025 Experience Level: Intermediate: A basic working knowledge of Ableton Live is expected. Requirements: • Laptop running Ableton Live 12 (Earlier editions of Ableton will not be compatible with the class.) • Headphones Additional Information: • No Refunds or Exchanges. • View our FAQ here. • Contact [email protected] with any questions. About Technologies: Ableton Live is fast, fluid and flexible software for music creation and performance. It comes with effects, instruments, sounds and all kinds of creative features—everything you need to make any kind of music. Gray Area Members enjoy extraordinary access to our interdisciplinary arts & education programs, while supporting our mission to catalyze creative action for social transformation. Get free admission, exclusive content, and more! A long time touring musician with the band Caribou, Ryan also produces futuristic techno music under the moniker Taraval, makes modular ambient music in the live electronic duo Bathing, and has a long running collaboration with Jeremy Greenspan of the Junior Boys, both producing experimental electronic music and running the label Geej. He produced a collaborative performance of a 1973 graphics score by avant-garde composer Frank McCarty called Tactus Tempus, a controlled improvisational process for 9 audio visual performers live at Gray Area. He is an expert level user of Ableton and Max For Live, VCV Rack (virtual modular synthesis environment), numerous hardware instruments and an accomplished guitar player. This two-day workshop takes place in the form of two 3-hour sessions over the course of two days. Dates: Monday, November 3 & Wednesday, November 5, 2025