Music production for your Duke of Edinburgh's Award

Learn to produce and mix your own tracks with a professional coach, in a real recording studio, a production room or online. Designed around the DofE Skills section.

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Three ways to learn

Immersive Recording Studio — £261.50 per hour

£179 studio and engineer + £82.50 one-to-one teaching. A fully immersive session in our professional recording studio, built around a Neve 8078 console. Your coach leads the session, with our recording engineer alongside to help produce, so students see how a professional session comes together.

Ritz Production Room — £82.50 per hour

A production room with Logic and professional equipment, including KRK studio monitors, so students learn to listen critically and hear the detail and balance in their mixes.

Online — £72.50 per hour

One-to-one on the student's own computer and home setup, so they become confident producing independently.

Mix and match any combination of sessions. Many students start with a few immersive sessions, then continue in the production room or online.

From idea to finished track

  1. Foundations: Setting DofE goals, the studio and DAW, starting a track.
  2. Building the track: MIDI, beat programming, virtual instruments, recording and editing, arrangement.
  3. Mixing: EQ, compression, reverb and delay, panning, gain staging, critical listening with reference tracks.
  4. Finishing and review: A polished final mix, exporting correctly, developing their own sound, and a final review.

Shown as a 12-week Bronze programme. For Silver and Gold, each stage runs for longer and students build a larger portfolio.

DofE support

  • Clear objectives set at the start
  • Weekly progress logs checked and signed by the coach
  • Regular listening reviews of tracks and mixes
  • A final review of finished productions, with the required sign-off and assessor's report

Choose your music production course

Bronze, Silver and Gold follow the same learning stages, with more time to develop your work at each level. Your coach sets goals with you, teaches each stage and reviews what you make. The session counts below are suggested pathways; you can choose the mix of studio, production room and online lessons that suits you.

  • Bronze course

    3 months · 12 guided one-hour sessions

    What you'll work on:

    • Set a production goal and learn the DAW
    • Build and record a track
    • Learn the basics of mixing

    Course project: Work towards a finished track and review the final mix with your coach.

    Suggested session mix: 3 immersive + 9 production room or online.

    Estimated total for this mix: £1,437 – £1,527

  • Silver course

    6 months · 24 guided one-hour sessions

    What you'll work on:

    • Develop arrangements and recording skills
    • Explore editing, effects and mixing
    • Review and refine each production

    Course project: Build a portfolio of tracks and mixes to discuss at the final review.

    Suggested session mix: 4 immersive + 20 production room or online.

    Estimated total for this mix: £2,496 – £2,696

  • Gold course

    12 months · 48 guided one-hour sessions

    What you'll work on:

    • Develop your own production approach
    • Work in greater depth on mixing and critical listening
    • Refine and present finished productions

    Course project: Build a larger portfolio of finished productions and review your progress with your coach.

    Suggested session mix: 6 immersive + 42 production room or online.

    Estimated total for this mix: £4,614 – £5,034

Questions parents ask

Can music production count towards the Duke of Edinburgh's Award?

Yes. Learning music production can count as an activity for the Skills section. Students need regular activity averaging at least an hour a week, and our weekly one-hour sessions, signed progress logs and final review are designed around that.

How long does the DofE Skills section take?

It depends on the level. At Bronze, the Skills section is usually 3 or 6 months; at Silver, 3 or 6 months if Bronze is done, or longer if not; at Gold, 6 or 12 months. Students choose which section they do for longer.

How old do you need to be for each DofE level?

Bronze can usually be started from age 14, Silver from the school year you turn 15, and Gold from age 16.

How much do music production lessons cost?

One-to-one production lessons are £82.50 an hour in our production room, £72.50 online, or £261.50 in our immersive recording studio with an engineer. DofE packages start from £1,437 for Bronze.

Can the lessons be online?

Yes. Online sessions are £72.50 an hour, and students can mix online, production room and immersive studio sessions however they like.

Will the coach sign my DofE logs?

Yes. Weekly progress logs are checked and signed, and we provide the final review and sign-off needed at the end of the section.

Where are you?

Ritz Music Studio, 88 Sheen Road, Richmond, TW9 1UF.

Enquire about a DofE programme

Enquire about a DofE programme

lessons@ritzmusicstudio.com · +44 7908 161007 · 88 Sheen Road, Richmond, TW9 1UF

Recording studio pricing · Lesson pricing