Music Production

Where Great Vocals Really Begin
Part One lays the foundation for everything that follows. Before microphones, before plugins, before a single take, this section is about the person in the room and the preparation behind the session. Through Simon Cohen’s own path from recording friends after hours to working on records heard around the world, learners see how trust, energy and preparation shape a vocal long before anyone presses record.

This is not about gear or tricks. It is about understanding that most of what makes a vocal great is decided before the singer opens their mouth, and building the habits that give every session its best chance.

Module One: Simon’s Hero Story - From After Hours Sessions With Friends to Billion Stream Records

Module Two: Setting the Tone - Building Trust With a Vocalist Before They Sing a Note

Module Three: The Ten Percent Rule - Why Preparation Beats Processing Every Time

Part One Workbook & Outcomes

Part One: Origins & Foundations

Coaching the Performance and Knowing When It Is Done.

Part Two moves into the heart of the session: the take itself. Simon shows how he reads a vocal within seconds, even on a song he has never heard, and how he coaches a singer towards the performance the song needs using energy, reference artists and small changes to the room. Learners then tackle one of the hardest calls in any session: knowing when you have got the take.

This section is about judgement and care. It replaces endless takes and perfectionism with a clearer way to recognise a great performance, guide a singer kindly, and protect a voice’s energy for the moments that count.

Module Four: The Blind Date - Reading and Coaching a Vocal Performance in the Room

Module Five: The High Watermark - Knowing When You’ve Got the Take

Part Two Workbook & Outcomes

Part Two: Capturing the Take

A Professional Vocal, Wherever You Are

Part Three takes the craft out of the big studio and into the rooms most people actually record in. Simon shows how to get a professional vocal in a bedroom, a lounge room or a hotel room, using simple fixes and a clear understanding of how sound behaves in a space. He then answers the question every producer and singer asks: which microphone should I use?

This section is about making better decisions with what you have. Instead of chasing new gear, learners come away knowing how to set up any room and choose the right microphone for the voice, the song and the space in front of them.

Module Six: Home Studio vs Pro Studio - Recording a Professional Vocal Almost Anywhere

Module Seven: The Microphone Question - Matching the Right Mic to Any Voice, in Any Room

Part Three Workbook & Outcomes

Part Three: Recording Anywhere, Choosing Your Tools

Finishing the Record and Building a Career That Lasts

Part Four looks at what happens when a vocal leaves the room, and what it takes to keep doing this work for years. Simon explains why a demo is already the final record in everyone else’s ears, and the five things every demo must land before it is sent. He then shares the career advice he gives every intern and mentee, from studio etiquette and revisions to difficult clients, burnout and valuing your expertise.

This section is about standards and sustainability: making work that stands up the first time it is heard, and building a career on the song, the best idea and the quiet work that makes great records possible.

Module Eight: The Demo Is the Final Record - Why Ears Don’t Have Imagination

Module Nine: The Long Game - Career Advice for a Sustainable Life in Vocal Production

Part Four Workbook & Outcomes

Part Four: From Demo to Career

From Raw Takes to a Vocal Ready to Mix

Part Five opens the technical Deep Dive, filmed at Simon’s hero studio console. Having covered why preparation and performance matter most, Simon now shows how he executes the technical side: a clean signal chain and headphone mix, the vocal template behind every session he runs, and the editing process that turns hours of takes into one vocal that still carries its emotion.

This section is about doing the simple things really well. It gives learners a repeatable workflow from the first input level to a comped, tuned vocal, with the judgement to know when to stop editing and let the performance speak.

Module Ten: Recording Foundations Deep Dive - Signal Flow, Gain Staging and a Headphone Mix That Works

Module Eleven: The Cohen Vocal Template - The Thinking Behind a Session Built for Speed and Repeatability

Module Twelve A: Comping With Feel - Building a Vocal That Keeps Its Emotion

Module Twelve B: All Things Tuning - Auto-Tune, Melodyne and Knowing When to Stop

Part Five Workbook & Outcomes

Part Five: Session Workflow & Editing

Simon’s Sound, From Vocal Chain to Final Mix

Part Six is where the vocal becomes a record. Simon opens up his own vocal chain, hardware and plugins, and explains why every piece earns its place. He then shows how he builds a full vocal arrangement from doubles, harmonies and ad-libs sung in the booth, shares the signature mix moves he returns to again and again, and closes with how he mixes a vocal so it sits inside the song and translates to any speaker.

This section brings the whole course together. Preparation, capture, comping, processing and layering all land in one vocal that sits exactly where the song needs it.

Module Thirteen: Get That Vocal Chain - Simon’s Hardware, Plugins and Signature Sound

Module Fourteen: Layering - Harmonies, Doubles, Ad-Libs and Simon’s Signature Layering Moves

Module Fifteen: Signature Mix Moves - Delay Throws, Reverse Swells, Chops and the Lauryn Hill Delay

Module Sixteen: Final Vocal Mixing - The Five Decision Layers and a Vocal That Translates Anywhere

Part Six Workbook & Outcomes

Part Six: Processing, Layering & Mixing

The Advice Behind the Records

Part Seven closes the masterclass with Simon’s most personal advice, for anyone who wants to record, produce or sing on great vocal records, drawn from a career spent in the room with artists at every stage.

This part also holds Simon’s Full Workbook & Outcomes PDF, bringing together every checklist, worksheet and self-assessment prompt from the course in one place, so you can keep using it every time you set up a session.

Module Seventeen: Simon’s Best Advice - What He Wants Every Vocalist and Producer to Know

Simon’s Full Workbook & Outcomes PDF

Part Seven: Simon’s Best Advice

Step behind the curtain with a vocal producer whose work runs from Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself to Masked Wolf and Genesis Owusu, and discover what actually happens before, during and after a great take. This is not a plugin tutorial, it is an insider’s account of the preparation, coaching and judgement calls that turn a good singer into a compelling recording.Across major label sessions, independent artists and his own home setup, Simon distils years of experience into practical, repeatable lessons.&nbsp; His impressive credits include Justin Bieber’s worldwide #1 hit “Love Yourself” and Masked Wolf’s global smash “Astronaut in the Ocean”, along with an ever-growing list of collaborations with Rita Ora, Genesis Owusu, Troye Sivan, Robbie Williams,<a target="_blank" href="http://will.i.am" style="text-decoration: none;"> </a><a target="_blank" href="http://Will.I.Am"><span style="color: rgb(13, 13, 13); font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Will.I.Am</a> &amp; Black Eyed Peas, Tones &amp; I, Jessica Mauboy, Meg Mac, Will Sparks, Savage, Starley, Guy Sebastian, Illy, Thundamentals, Thelma Plum, Justice Crew, and more.His philosophy is that once a note has left a singer’s mouth, only about ten percent of what makes it great can be fixed afterwards, so the real work of vocal production happens in the room, in the preparation and in how you coach a performance, not in the plugins.You’ll learn how to:<ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: -6pt; padding-left: 6pt;">Set up a session before the artist arrives, so the room, the headphones and your own preparation never get in the way of a great take.</li><li aria-level="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: -6pt; padding-left: 6pt;">Read a vocal in the first thirty seconds, matching the energy of the song and using reference artists to guide a performance.</li><li aria-level="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: -6pt; padding-left: 6pt;">Know when you have got the take, using the difference between a high watermark and perfectionism to stop chasing a performance you already have.</li><li aria-level="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: -6pt; padding-left: 6pt;">Record a professional vocal almost anywhere, using simple room fixes that work in a bedroom, a lounge room or a hotel room.</li><li aria-level="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: -6pt; padding-left: 6pt;">Choose the right microphone for any voice, using a three step framework instead of spec sheets and gear reviews.</li><li aria-level="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: -6pt; padding-left: 6pt;">Treat every demo like the final record, understanding why most listeners hear exactly what you give them and nothing more.</li><li aria-level="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: -6pt; padding-left: 6pt;">A detailed DAW screen cap companion across 6 modules covering Simon's vocal chain, tips and tricks and how to finish a track</li><li aria-level="1" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); list-style-type: disc; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria, serif; background-color: transparent; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre; margin-left: -6pt; padding-left: 6pt;">Take a vocal from raw takes to a finished mix, using Simon’s session template, comping and tuning approach, vocal chain, layering and signature mix moves.</li></ul>You’ll get exclusive access to Simon’s pre-session checklist, his reference song coaching approach, his microphone decision worksheet and his own self-assessment prompts, giving you a toolkit to prepare with confidence, coach a performance with clarity, and know when a session is genuinely done. By the end of the course, you’ll understand not just how to record a vocal, but how to make the judgement calls that separate a good take from a great one.Whether you’re a bedroom producer recording your first vocal, a working engineer wanting a clearer process, a singer wanting to understand what is happening on the other side of the glass, or an artist preparing to record your own demo, this course is your blueprint to getting a better vocal take, wherever you are recording it.Join Simon Cohen as he shares the preparation, coaching and judgement calls behind some of the biggest vocal records to come out of Australia, so you can bring that same care to every session you run.

Mentor Academy - SMS by Simon Cohen.mp4

Recording Great Vocals - In this exclusive mentor session, Simon Cohen breaks down how he coaches, captures and finishes a professional vocal performance, so you can get a better take out of any singer in any room, including your own.

Course content

Simon Cohen - Recording Great Vocals

Helen Marx

What you will learn

This Course Includes