Mark Ronson has partnered with the BBC to launch an online course in which he will share some of his production secrets.
- READ MORE: The Big Read – Mark Ronson: “Amy Winehouse turned my song off after about five fucking seconds”
BBC Maestro is an 18-class virtual course that will show aspiring producers and musicians exactly how Ronson creates a new track, from writing a song to laying down instruments and playing with digital effects.
Ronson said that the goal of the course, which will be released in full on July 5, is to show students “everything I do, and then you can apply this to your own process”.
In addition to sharing tips about how to craft a song the ‘Uptown Funk’ hitmaker will talk through the process of collaborating with others and deconstruct some of his own records including Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’.
Episodes of BBC Maestro will feature Ronson working with rapper Jon Bellion, singer Niya Norwood, engineer/mixer/producer Ricky Damian, and the Frighteners’ Richard Terrana.
“Forget about all those things – commercial constraints, who will listen to this,” Ronson says at the end of the trailer for the course. “Just concentrate on making something that you truly find exciting, and that you would listen to. That being said – let’s make a hit.”
Check out the trailer for Mark Ronson’s BBC Maestro below:
Ronson is among the names set to play at a tribute gig for the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins at London’s Wembley Stadium later this summer.
Last week Foo Fighters announced that, together with the drummer’s family, the band will celebrate Hawkins’ memory and music at two special gigs in London and Los Angeles. ‘The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts’ take place at Wembley Stadium on September 3 before taking over LA’s Kia Forum on September 27.
The first wave of acts for the London show have been announced, with Ronson joined by Liam Gallagher, Queens Of The Stone Age‘s Josh Homme, Supergrass, Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, Wolfgang Van Halen, The Pretenders‘ Chrissie Hynde and many more.
Meanwhile, Ronson recently gave fans a behind-the-scenes insight into working with Winehouse by sharing a demo vocal for ‘Back To Black’.