Berkleemusic has announced upgrades to Pro Tools 8 for many of its online Digidesign courses, including Pro Tools 101, Pro Tools 110, Mixing & Mastering with Pro Tools, Producing with Pro Tools, and Remixing with Pro Tools and Reason. The Spring Term begins April 6, 2009.

Berkleemusic.com is the online continuing education division of Boston’s renowned Berklee College of Music, and the exclusive online provider of Digidesign’s Pro Tools 101 and 110 curriculums.

Close to 4000 students from over 60 countries have taken Berkleemusic’s Pro Tools courses since 2003, with scores becoming Digi Certified in the process.

“Producing with Pro Tools made it possible for me to have the confidence and core skills to jump right into a job at The Studio,” says Berkleemusic student Pete Nenortas, who landed a job at the Portland, Maine-based recording facility two months after completing his course. “You get further along in a shorter amount of time with these online courses. The one-on-one connection with your instructor is invaluable, and you also get a chance to network with people all around the country to see how they’re setting up their studios and what challenges they’re facing.”

Already the industry standard, Pro Tools has cemented its hold on that position even further with the release of Pro Tools 8. Thirty well-designed session templates allow users to start making music within minutes of launching the new program.

Twenty new effects enhance mixes, making music production more creative than ever. The new look of the interface makes working with Pro Tools more enjoyable and customizable.

With Berkleemusic’s online Pro Tools courses, students explore the full breadth of options available in Pro Tools 8 and learn Berklee’s music production techniques in the process. These extensive courses start with the basics – Pro Tools terminology; the software’s interface; session design; and how to record tracks – and move onto cover more advanced techniques such as manipulating and editing both audio and MIDI data; approaches to using reverb; and ways to manipulate time such as delay, flanging, and chorusing. Instructors lead weekly online real-time chats with the entire class to discuss course content and address and questions on the week’s lesson. Students can also post questions and communicate with other students through the dedicated discussion board and private messages.

Students who enroll in Producing with Pro Tools learn about version 8 from David Franz, the instructor who wrote the first book about using Pro Tools. In Franz’s course, students learn the fundamentals of creating music with Pro Tools 8 as well as music production techniques that successful professionals use.

Students who enroll in Mixing and Mastering with Pro Tools acquire a thorough understanding of the entire mixing and mastering process using Pro Tools 8, knowledge that can be applied to a vast variety of music projects.

Learn more about the new Pro Tools 8 courses at http://www.berkleemusic.com