At a Glance
Over a decade of college-level audio production instruction across two programs — recording arts, live sound reinforcement, production sound for film and TV, and digital audio. Art Institute curriculum built from the ground up; at Ex'pression, integrated Pro Tools into an established analog program, extending existing curriculum with a full digital workflow layer.
On Understanding
Audio engineering is not a subject where understanding can be measured by recall. Anyone can memorize that a compressor's threshold sets the level at which gain reduction begins. What matters is whether a student can route a microphone through a large-format console, set gain structure correctly across the signal chain, apply 4:1 compression, and tell you — in their own words — exactly why each step matters. That's the difference between knowledge and understanding.
— Raven A. Biederman, Educational Philosophy
Every course I design is built around that principle. Written assessments check step-by-step operational understanding. Lab exercises scaffold from small practice rooms into full professional studios. Multi-week projects require students to employ a broad range of concepts simultaneously — and the quality of those projects is the truest measure of whether the instruction worked.
How I Teach
Scaffold From Small to Complex
Students begin in small practice suites where signal chains are short and feedback loops are tight. Every concept mastered there maps directly onto full-size professional studios — because I designed both environments to use the same vocabulary and logic. The suites aren't simplified; they're precise.
Theory Earns Its Place in Practice
I don't teach acoustics for its own sake. I teach acoustics because it explains why the room sounds the way it does and why you have to compensate when mixing. Every concept is introduced alongside the practical scenario where it becomes necessary — reducing the gap between "learning it" and "using it."
Break It Into Learnable Chunks
In-line console signal flow is one of the most intimidating things a recording student faces. It can be taught as an overwhelming whole, or built up systematically — channel input section, then routing matrix, then monitor path, then mode changes. I do the latter. Each layer makes sense before the next one is added.
Assess What Actually Matters
Performance evaluations — timed, practical, hands-on — sit alongside written exams in my assessment model. A student who can write about compression but can't set it up under mild pressure hasn't learned what they need. Both modes of assessment are designed to be fair, specific, and tied directly to real professional tasks.
Information Literacy in Technical Courses
In advanced courses I embedded structured database research cycles directly into the technical curriculum. Students searched ProQuest and professional journals to find current expert articles on assigned topics — the class's collective submissions became the course reading material, assessed by quiz. By term's end, all five topic collections together formed that term's course "textbook," self-assembled and always current. Technical fluency and information literacy, built in parallel.
Real-World Stakes in Every Major Project
Course projects had real stakes built in: real budgets, real deliverables, real professional standards. A $15K project studio design, a $75K corporate live sound system spec for a Fortune 500 client, offline console programming sessions for a full-band setup. Students didn't simulate professional work — they did it.
Teaching History
Independent / Recoil Studio
Ex'pression College for Digital Arts
Art Institute of California – San Francisco
Courses Designed & Taught
Audio Fundamentals
Entry-level production course giving students their first structured encounter with audio technology — spanning both music production and the role of audio in film and media. The course moved from the physics of sound and MIDI theory through practical DAW operation, establishing the vocabulary and mental models that all subsequent courses would build on.
- MIDI theory and sequencer setup
- Basic mixing procedures and gain concepts
- Step-by-step EQ approach
- Effects routing and audio bouncing in Pro Tools
- Logic Pro fundamentals and session workflow
- Film music and the role of audio in media
- MIDI theory and setup handout
- Step-by-step mixing procedures document
- Step-by-step EQ handout
- Logic Pro workflow documentation
- Film and music role handout
- Multi-part mixing handout series
Production Sound
Specialized course in film and television production sound — a separate vertical from the recording arts track, covering the post-production world: how audio is structured, organized, and delivered for film and TV. The course taught students both the technical vocabulary and the professional roles — who does what on a film/TV audio team and how decisions get made.
- D/M/E stems — Dialog, Music, Effects structure
- Diegetic vs. non-diegetic sound
- 11 functions of a film score
- Leitmotif, source music, mickey-mousing
- Parallel action and scoring technique
- Parts of a soundtrack
- Spot logs and sync documentation
- Visual audio monitoring systems
- "Parts of a Soundtrack"
- "11 Functions of a Film Score"
- "Film and Music Glossary of Terms"
- "Who Does What in Film/TV Music Business"
- SPOT LOG template
- Visual audio monitoring reference
Audio Technology
The flagship course in the Art Institute audio curriculum — a broad-coverage technical foundation designed as a deeply interconnected progression, not a survey. Every concept purposefully linked to the ones before and after it, with one guiding question in every lecture: why does this matter to the work we do? Developed all materials from scratch including 10+ lecture documents, six progressive lab assignments, multiple quiz versions, midterm, and final exam.
$15,000 Project Studio Design
Students designed a complete project studio within a $15,000 budget — researching real gear, creating accurate block diagrams, documenting all wiring and interconnections, and writing a detailed workflow plan. Projects were evaluated on technical accuracy, depth of reasoning, and professional presentation standard.
Digital Audio II
Advanced digital audio and Pro Tools mixing course, positioned as the second step in the program's digital sequence after Digital Audio I (taught by other faculty). Students in this course were no longer learning what a tool is — they were learning how to deploy it at a professional level across multi-part, multi-session projects.
Course materials included an advanced mixing procedures document, detailed step-by-step EQ methodology, and multi-part project assignments.
Live Sound Reinforcement I
A full professional-grade live sound course built around the Yamaha M7CL 48-channel digital console. Covered not just console operation but systems-level thinking: how rooms work, how monitoring systems are designed, how complex signal routing is managed, and how to make decisions under real-time pressure. The course also incorporated an early implementation of Dante networked audio via a Yamaha MY16-AUD card installed in the M7CL, running to two 16×8 Yamaha stage boxes over standard Ethernet — well before Dante became a mainstream industry standard. The network allowed a computer to feed pre-recorded audio directly into the console as live inputs, giving students real material to mix on a professional rig without requiring a live band in the room.
Full Band Setup in Yamaha Studio Manager
Students programmed a complete live band configuration offline — lead vocal, guitar, bass, full drum kit with background vocals — before touching the physical console. Every channel required fader levels, DSP allocation, EQ settings, and individual monitor mixes per musician. The session was then loaded into the M7CL and verified against the programmed specs.
Full System Specification for Fortune 500 Client
Students designed and documented a complete live sound system for a corporate Fortune 500 client within a $75,000 budget — handling live music, theatre, DJ, and permanent installation; scaling from club setup to 250-person venue. Deliverables included spec sheets, wiring diagrams, system block diagrams, budget, and a written operations manual for non-technical staff.
Live Sound Reinforcement II
Advanced sequel to LSR I — continuing on the Yamaha M7CL platform but moving into complex multi-room routing architectures, deep digital console signal processing, and professional system engineering at scale. The Yamaha MY16-AUD Dante card with two 16×8 stage boxes over Ethernet was part of the platform throughout both LSR courses — students were routing and mixing via Dante as a practical tool before it became an industry standard. Also where the Class-Created Textbook (CCT) research cycles were integrated directly into the technical curriculum.
- Multi-room complex routing architectures
- Deep digital console signal processing
- Advanced session creation for complex events
- System design and scalability
- Digital console deep-dive analysis
- Line array speakers — advantages, tech, usage
- Room acoustics, psychoacoustics, critical distance
- Room tuning, RTA, and FFT measurement
- Input/output transformers — usage and applicability
- Distributed systems, church sound, digital protocols
Basic Recording & Production 1
Foundation course in an established analog recording program — in-line console architecture, studio signal flow, and hands-on studio operation. Students began in small practice suites before advancing to full studios. Each session paired a lecture concept with an immediate hands-on lab exercise.
84 contact hours across a 7.5-week intensive term. Took over from an established analog program and integrated Pro Tools into the pedagogy — the SSL and Neve rooms ran exclusively to 24-track reel-to-reel before my arrival. Pro Tools was patched in as channels 25–48, accessible via the existing patchbay, and I updated the curriculum to incorporate the digital workflow fully alongside the analog framework.
Basic Recording & Production 2
Advanced studio operations on SSL 4000 and Neve large-format consoles — professional session workflow, multi-mic recording technique, and troubleshooting real problems on real gear. Students moved from conceptual understanding of signal flow into actual sessions.
84 contact hours. 7.5-week intensive term. Prerequisites: SA201.
What I Bring to a Program
Art Institute materials were developed from the ground up — written to match the specific gear, studio layout, and learning sequence of each course. At Ex'pression, the contribution was integrating Pro Tools into an established analog program, updating and extending existing curriculum with a full digital workflow layer.
Full Lecture Notes
15+ complete lecture documents per course sequence, covering every major topic with explanation, diagrams, and real-world examples.
Lab Assignments
Hands-on lab documents with explicit learning objectives, step-by-step tasks, deliverables, and equipment lists. Designed for both suite and full-studio environments.
Written Assessments
Multiple quiz versions, midterms, and finals — short-answer format emphasizing step-by-step operational reasoning over passive recall.
Performance Evaluations
Timed practical exams requiring students to complete real engineering tasks on live equipment. Point penalties for feedback or disruptions mirror actual professional accountability.
Custom Handouts
Original signal flow diagrams for Neve, SSL, and in-line console architectures; film scoring reference sheets; visual audio monitoring guides — designed as in-lab reference material.
Recorded Lectures
Audio recordings of live class sessions made available to students — extending access beyond class hours and supporting varied learning paces.
Rubrics
Detailed grading rubrics for project work with explicit criteria, making feedback consistent and transparent across student submissions.
Syllabi
Full course syllabi with learning objectives, grading breakdowns, weekly schedules, attendance policy, and Canvas LMS integration.
Major Projects
Multi-week capstone assignments with real deliverables: $15K project studio design, $75K corporate live sound system spec, full offline console session programming.
CCT Research Cycles
Five research cycles per term — students sourced current expert articles via ProQuest; instructor built quizzes from the collective submissions. By term's end, all five topics together formed that term's course "textbook," self-assembled and always current.
Film Audio Reference Docs
Original handouts on D/M/E structure, film scoring vocabulary, industry roles in film/TV audio, and spotting procedures — built for the Production Sound curriculum.
Live Event Documentation
Real-show documentation and student session work preserved from LSR courses — evidence of student outcomes in professional live sound contexts.
Authored Textbook
Basic Live Sound Reinforcement: A Practical Guide for Starting Live Audio
Co-authored with P. Pattison · Burlington, MA: Focal Press, 2013
A ground-up practical guide to live sound reinforcement, written to give new engineers a clear, accessible path into a field that is often learned through trial, error, and hard-won experience. Grew directly out of the Live Sound Reinforcement curriculum developed at the Art Institute of California–SF.
Education & Credentials
M.Ed., Adult Education & Training
Argosy University · Thesis: "Research Proposal: Music and Test Performance"
Advisor: Dr. Cynthia Mishlove
B.S., Computer Science
University of California, Santa Cruz · 1999
Pro Tools HD Operator Certification
The Recording Arts Center (Studio West)
Waves Certification
The Recording Arts Center (Studio West)
Audio Production Certification
City College San Francisco
Sound Design Certification
City College San Francisco
Available for Instructor Positions
Open to adjunct and full-time teaching roles in audio production, recording arts, live sound reinforcement, film/TV production sound, and related audio technology programs.