As the worldwide Ableton user community has grown, the demand for high quality Ableton Live training led to requests for an official, Ableton-approved qualification. To meet these needs, the Certification Program was launched by Ableton in 2008.
Since the Program's inception we have certified only the best and most capable trainers in order to ensure that the Ableton user community has access to a high standard of training. Today, more than 360 professional educators, private tutors, professional DJs, producers, engineers, musicians and consultants specialize in helping the world make music with Live. Currently there are trainers in 50 countries offering instruction in 38 languages.
The Certification Program emphasizes quality over quantity and only a select group of trainers and institutions in each geographical region receive certification. Prospective students can therefore expect Certified Trainers to have both exceptional teaching skills and platform proficiency in Live, Max for Live and Push.
Ableton Certification testing events take place at various locations around the world, and are hosted by Ableton Certification staff.
Ableton Certified Trainers can take advantage of a number of benefits, including:
Moreover, institutions that employ Ableton Certified Trainers to offer courses in Ableton Live may apply to become Ableton Certified Training Centers, and be listed online in Ableton's list of recommended institutions.
Each Certified Trainer has been thoroughly tested in all of the following:
A Certified Trainer knows the Ableton products inside out and is able to explain functions and features in a detailed but clear way.
A Certified Trainer has exemplary teaching skills and knows how to explain simple facts as well as complex concepts in any situation.
Certified Trainers know their way around audio/music technology and music theory, and are also comfortable adapting to a quickly-changing product landscape.
If you’re interested in becoming an Ableton Certified Trainer you will first need to apply to participate in an Ableton Certification event. Currently scheduled events are listed below.
Certification Events are in-person events involving staff from Ableton; we do not provide certification online, via “test centers,” or via third-parties. Each Certification Event happens in a location sourced especially for this purpose.
We only accept applications for events once they are actually scheduled (see the list of events below).
To apply, you will need to send us a complete application via email or online transfer service to certification@ableton.com. A complete application consists of the following items:
We examine each complete application that we receive. From there we conduct phone interviews with the applicants and eventually invite the five most promising candidates to the next event.
A Certification Event lasts for several days. Each participant is expected to demonstrate their teaching and Live skills in several different presentations during over these days. Three weeks before the actual event, each invited participant will receive preparation material that will thoroughly explain exactly what is expected.