1500 Sound Academy: Unleash Your Inner Composer

iD Tech is proud to announce its partnership with 1500 Sound Academy! With this new collaboration, we’re bringing you a brand new course, Music Production with GRAMMY-Winning Producers from 1500 Sound Academy, which begins in March! 

Music is a form of expression. It takes passion, brings energy, and can be a form of healing for many people—including our teens. This, among many other reasons, is why we are so excited about this new course that was made with music-minded teens at the forefront of our focus. Specifically, teens who have dreamed of making their own songs and have an interest in learning the ropes of music production and sound design can now explore those passions with iD Tech! 

1500 Sound Academy and Its Founders

1500 Sound Academy founders James Fauntleroy and Larrance “Rance” Dopson are juggernauts in the music industry. 

James Fauntleroy is a four-time Grammy award winner who has worked with the biggest names in the business, including Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Beyonce, Nipsey Hussle, Drake, Travis Scott, and countless others. 

The founder also has ties to the tech world with a background in 3D modeling, web design, and coding—which undoubtedly led to his interest in working with iD Tech. Last year he even collaborated with Disney for their 100th Anniversary for which he designed a 12-foot statue, Disney 100 Mickey Mouse: Icon of Wonder.

Larrance “Rance” Dopson is also a Grammy award-winning producer who is behind some of music’s most popular songs like “Boo’d Up” by Ella Mai, Justin Timberlake’s “Say Something,” Jay-Z’s “Show Me What You Got,” “Pray” by Sam Smith, and so many more.

These artists began their partnered journey in church, where they first learned about the power of music, how inspirational it can be, and its unwavering ability to bring people together. In church they learned the passion behind music—how chords are connected to emotions from happy to sad and everything in between. One of the biggest reasons Fauntleroy loves music is because it is connected to memories, and memories are a powerful experience that every human can understand. 

In the next part of their journey together, Fauntleroy and Dopson founded 1500 or Nothin’, a music collective based in Los Angeles. The pair produced music that was too good to ignore, and pretty soon every big industry name imaginable was lined up outside their studio. 

The duo has now been at the core of the music industry for decades. They’ve seen it grow from instrumentals to soundboards to TikTok trends, and they are also excited for the future that lies ahead. 

And that’s where 1500 Sound Academy comes in. 

The Making of 1500 Sound Academy

Fauntleroy and Dopson describe that 1500 Sound Academy was an idea years in the making, and it is now a state-of-the-art music school in LA with comprehensive courses from mixing and songwriting to business management and branding. 

However, it began simply as an idea and a dream. 

The duo lives and breathes music from meaningful lyrics to the technical nitty gritty, and they wanted to show their creative process and inner workings of music production with the youth of the community in a bigger way.

With the goals of creativity and computer literacy for the next generation in mind, 1500 Sound Academy was born. Today, their mission instills the idea that collaboration, learning from others, and young people realizing their full potential will ultimately change the world. And here at iD Tech, we couldn’t agree more. 

iD Tech and 1500 Sound Academy

With iD Tech and 1500 Sound Academy’s belief in tech and the next generation, Music Production with GRAMMY-Winning Producers from 1500 Sound Academy, is the perfect union. 

The course encourages teens to unleash their inner composer, as they get to the heart of music production through lessons designed by Fauntleroy and Dopson, themselves. iD Tech’s rockstar instructors will guide your teen through a curriculum powered by industry experts. Students will learn to use Ableton Live, one of the industry’s leading Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs), understand key music mixing concepts like EQ, reverb, and delay, as well as use music theory fundamentals to create their own emotionally-charged songs. 

“Music is something so many people love and connect with. I know firsthand how mind blowing it is to create a hit song that impacts people. To be able to equip kids with the skills to make those things happen is really powerful. We want kids to understand the value of learning and to give them the skills they need to reach their dreams” Fauntleroy says. 

Dopson continues that thought with, “1500 Sound Academy is all about taking our experiences, what we’ve learned from the business, and creating a curriculum that will set kids up to be whatever part of the industry’s future they want to be. Partnering with iD Tech to reach an even bigger group of kids is something that means a lot to us.”

Music Production with GRAMMY-Winning Producers from 1500 Sound Academy is meant for all experience levels and all unique learning styles. Whether your teen is interested in exploring tech through music or is passionate about pursuing a major in Sound Engineering, Sound Design, Electronic Music Production, Music Technology, Music Business, Music Theory or Composition, this course is the perfect way to dig in. 

Your teen will build finger dexterity, improve their sense of timing, and gain confidence in their ability to execute their creative visions. And, as an awesome perk of program completion, your teen will earn an official certificate endorsed by James Fauntleroy, Larrance Dopson, and our CEO, Pete Ingram-Cauchi, as well as a portfolio of music projects to jumpstart their online fanbase and make their college apps shine.

The ability to create music from scratch is right at their fingertips. Whether they dream of producing Billie Eilish’s next hit album or becoming their own musician, Music Production with GRAMMY-Winning Producers from 1500 Sound Academy encourages your teen to take a seat at the soundboard, learn from the best, and take the next step towards their music dreams. We can’t wait to see the heights your teen reaches and all the notes they hit!