Music students take masterclass on high-tech sound system from award-winning Nashville producer

Throughout the year, Liberty University’s Michael W. Smith Center for Commercial Music invites seasoned artists and music industry professionals to teach and provide hands-on instruction to students. On Tuesday, mixer, producer, and engineer Warren David, who has worked on many Grammy- and Dove Award-winning projects, taught a group of recording, engineering, and producing students in Liberty’s Mathena Recording Studio remote from his home office in Nashville.

The studio was recently equipped with the Dolby Atmos Immersive Listening System, a revolutionary sound and production system that offers a three-dimensional audio experience, where sounds can be placed and moved in different directions. David, who has worked with many big-name artists like David Crowder, Brandon Lake, For King & Country, Hillsong Worship, Bethel Music, Jelly Roll, Zach Williams, and more, taught lessons on recording and mixing in Dolby Atmos, a format that has recently emerged on the commercial music scene.

Associate Professor of Audio Engineering & Music Production Nathan Zwald, director of audio production, said the school has been integrating Dolby Atmos into the curriculum to provide “the most relevant training possible.”

“Dolby Atmos is important for our students to be exposed to because it is a new music listening format with quite a bit of momentum in the music industry,” he said.

Zwald said the technology is being embraced by powerhouse music streaming services such as Apple Music, Amazon Music, and TIDAL, who want to offer music content in both the stereo and Dolby Atmos formats.

“They have financially incentivized content creators to submit their work in both formats,” he said. “As we observe the music industry heavily investing into Atmos, it is clear to us that this format is important and here to stay.”

During Tuesday’s masterclass, David took a new song by the band Citizens that he had never heard before and demonstrated mixing it using Dolby Atmos. He will teach another class next week.

“Just as seasoned industry professionals took time to meet with and pour into me, I’m grateful for the opportunity to pass on knowledge and wisdom to music-makers,” David said. “Beyond just showing someone how I do something, I love sharing why I do something.  My hope is that students come away as better problem solvers, hunting for ways to create music more efficiently and excellently.  You can easily find ‘how to record a drum kit’ anywhere on YouTube, but what is harder to find is ‘why did you set up your system in that way, how and why do you operate business the way you do, how do you scale and sustain a career?’ Sharing that information is so gratifying.”

Lachlan King, a senior studying recording, engineering, and producing, said the class was beneficial: “I definitely gained a lot from this masterclass. Since I have had very little experience working with this audio format, watching a professional go through the process from top to bottom helped me to understand the mixing workflow a lot better.”

The School of Music typically holds at least one masterclass for commercial music students per semester, in addition to Nashville Sessions workshops, where a rotating group of professional recording session musicians and music producers visit for a multi-day event to record original music with students. All songs that are recorded are student-written originals. Through masterclasses and Nashville Sessions, students have had the opportunity to work with artists like award-winning composer and artist Tommee Proffit, arranger and musician Ben Shive, Nashville mix engineer and producer Sean Moffitt; and producer Greg Nelson, who has produced 13 gold records and three platinum records and received 20 Dove Awards and 30 nominations, as well as seven Grammy awards.

“The unique and important workflows, creative process, communication, technical skills, and team building aspects of the recording studio are all demonstrated and discussed (during these workshops),” Zwald said. “Beyond recording sessions, we hold panel discussions, Q&A times, and more where the professionals share about life, family, the Christian walk, and much more.  Because this event spans multiple days, it provides ample opportunity for our students to interact and build real relationships with our guests.”

School of Music Dean Stephen Müller said one of the most important components of Liberty’s curriculum is the inclusion of its industry partners.

“Connecting these Nashville professionals adds another layer to the overall student experience. The pros seem to love it, and the students get so much out of the interactions. There’s a relevance there when they take what they are learning from their classes and professors and see in it action from people making a living doing that very thing.”

The center’s namesake, Michael W. Smith, who also serves as its executive director, makes regular visits to Liberty, speaking in classes and offering advice and counsel from his many years of industry experience. He also conducts classes virtually from his office in Nashville. The center launched in 2019 with the mission to train competent, proficient, marketplace musicians to serve as commercial music industry practitioners. Smith will be a guest artist at the School of Music Night of Worship on April 13, hosted at Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Smith recently taught a masterclass where he heard an original song by junior songwriting student Jessica Marshall, and he collaborated with her to bring it to life. Smith recorded piano for the song in his own studio and sent it back to Marshall, who added her vocals to it along with instrumentation from other Liberty students. The recording was finished in the Mathena Recording Studio using Dolby Atmos.

Senior recording and engineering student Brandon Marshall said when he enrolled at Liberty he didn’t expect to receive instruction from so many successful professionals.

“It’s really very beneficial to work with these people who have really big talent,” he said. “Being able to have tools to work in Atmos, through how our classes are structured and this masterclass, that’s going to give you a leg up on some people in the industry that might be on the same level of skill for mixing, but now you have this extra facet that you can apply to your business mode. You’re going to look more desirable to people that want your work. It’s super cool to do this kind of thing that makes you more valuable to the field you are in.”

Zwald said the music industry is “all about relationships.”

“Creating opportunities for our students to get in the same room with industry professionals can be the start of their journey, not only in gaining technical skills but in making those critical connections that can be difference makers for them as they begin their careers in music.”