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HEM Education

HEMe is a music producer training program founded by HEM Records' Liang Huan and taught live by music producer FatGuy.

180 lessons across 210 days, 2 hours a day, taught in Mandarin — with one goal: to make you able to independently produce world-standard, industrial-grade music.

Cohort 6 is currently running

Enrollment for HEMe Cohort 6 closed on 2026-03-11 at 20:00 Beijing time; the cohort is now in session. Cohort 7 is expected to open enrollment in February–March 2027 — to be notified when it opens, leave your email or add us on WeChat (search HEMRecords).

HEM Education

Program philosophy

HEMe is a music producer training program. It is designed for everyone from people with literally zero musical background — meaning no music theory and no instrument experience — to amateur producers who have yet to release any industrial-grade work.

The program runs for 180 lessons over 180 days, at two hours a day. Saturdays are off, so the full arc takes about 210 calendar days. The complete schedule is listed under 'Full schedule' further down this page.

Before HEMe existed, the best music production tutorial in human history was arguably the 800-page English Ableton Live manual. HEMe rewrites the parts of that manual that are wrong, imprecise, or simply too lazy to explain anything useful — and focuses instead on creative thinking, production technique, and broadening aesthetic taste, not the dry button-by-button feature reference the manual consists of.

Three design principles, in priority order

  1. 1. Sustain passion, broaden taste

    Technical problems are always solvable. Once technique is no longer the bottleneck, enduring passion and excellent taste are the two most important qualities of a great music producer.

  2. 2. Make you independently capable of world-standard, industrial-grade work

    When the number of Chinese producers with this capability reaches three digits, and a connected professional community forms around them, the entire Chinese music production industry can catch up to the world's cutting edge.

  3. 3. Feed exciting new blood into HEM Records

    Whenever trade-offs come up in course design, Liang Huan makes decisions in the order above.

What "world-standard, industrial-grade" actually means

"Industrial-grade" means that each of the five stages of a recording — composition, arrangement, recording, mixing, and mastering — has its own technical standard, and that all five are met within practical constraints. "World-standard" means that each stage is held to the most current international standard. In plainer terms: if you blind the producer credit, a listener should think "this was made by a top foreign producer."

By the time the program ends, you have already produced nine industrial-grade tracks as part of the coursework. The first track you release publicly is therefore, in practice, your tenth industrial-grade work. This gives you fluent craft before you ship anything publicly — and prevents you from regretting premature early releases years down the line.

Instructors

HEMe is run by one main teacher and one auditor-founder, who together hold the line on teaching quality.

Lead instructor

FatGuy

Music producer FatGuy delivers every live class. He pauses for about 5 minutes of student Q&A every 10 minutes of teaching, so nothing accumulates unanswered.

After each session, FatGuy sends his own class notes to every student, so they can compare against their own notes and revise.

Founder and in-class auditor

Liang Huan

Liang Huan, founder of HEM Records, wrote the full HEMe curriculum. He still sits in on every live class to take on the thornier questions in real time.

He is also the final mastering reviewer for each graduate's nine qualifying tracks — a review that typically goes through 2–10 rounds of feedback per track, until the result satisfies him, the student, and the student's ninja-captain.

A day in the program

HEMe runs on a strict daily rhythm: a live class in the evening, homework the same night, and one-on-one feedback the next day. All times below are Beijing time.

  1. 21:00 Beijing time

    FatGuy teaches a 1-hour live class

    Every ~10 minutes of teaching, he pauses for a 5-minute student Q&A. Students take notes live.

  2. 22:00 Beijing time

    Class ends, homework is assigned

    FatGuy's own class notes are sent out at the same time, so students can cross-check against their own notes and revise.

  3. 23:00 Beijing time

    Homework submitted to your ninja-captain

    Ninja-captains are top graduates from HEMe cohorts 1–5, all of whom have released substantial bodies of work. This year they handle homework review, early-producer mentorship, and (frankly) mental health check-ins. In other words: they are Kakashi-sensei.

  4. By 18:00 the next day

    You receive feedback and revise

    Your ninja-captain returns revision notes before 18:00 the following day. You then spend a few minutes understanding and applying the changes.

Attendance and leave policy

Every student has two leave days per month; FatGuy sends a class recording to students who take leave. If something unavoidable comes up — time zones, illness, school, travel, overtime, a concert you cannot miss, a spouse giving birth, being called up for duty — additional leaves are permitted. The program wants every student to finish, but it actively discourages leaning on recordings: past cohorts show that student focus and homework quality are both visibly higher when attending live.

What you need before you start

HEMe requires no prior musical background, but you will need four things: a bit of genuine interest, a computer, one piece of software, and a basic listening setup.

  1. 01

    A love for music

    Love is the only real prerequisite for a craft, because a craft means endless fatigue, and love is what lets you enter flow, cushion the fatigue, and even enjoy it. "Liking" the work is not optional — it is the foundation.

  2. 02

    A computer

    PC or Mac, Intel i5 or higher, 85 GB or more of free disk space, 8 GB or more of RAM. FatGuy will teach you how to save memory, but long term, more RAM is always better.

  3. 03

    Ableton Live 12 Suite

    Must be the Suite edition, not Standard. If you already own it, great. If not, do not rush to buy — the HEMe team will negotiate bulk pricing with the vendor for the cohort.

  4. 04

    Audio interface, monitoring headphones, MIDI keyboard

    One of each. If you already own them, great. If not, do not rush to buy — the HEMe team will negotiate bulk pricing with vendors. Together, these three pieces will cost less than ¥2,500 total.

Full schedule

180 lessons, starting from 'what music is' and moving through music theory rebuilt from middle-school math and physics, drum design, bass lines, lead melodies, sound design, synthesis, effects, mixing, and mastering. Students then produce reference works in the styles of Defected House, Brian Eno, Hans Zimmer, Daft Punk, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Mr. Bill, and Aphex Twin, before finishing with originality drills, remix drills, and DJ-ear training.

Course arc

  1. 01Getting to know music and the Ableton Live workflow
  2. 02Rebuilding music theory from middle-school math and physics (pitch, scales, chords, rhythm)
  3. 03Drum design, bass lines, and writing your first original parts
  4. 04Sound design, synthesizer theory, and building a signature sound
  5. 05Mixing and mastering (loudness, frequency, width, depth, signal chains, references)
  6. 06Producing reference tracks in the styles of Defected House, Brian Eno, Hans Zimmer, Daft Punk, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Mr. Bill, and Aphex Twin
  7. 07Breaking out of fixed workflows, originality drills, remix drills, DJ ear-training
  8. 08Graduation — go produce the first track you release publicly
All 180 lessons

Lesson titles below are listed in Mandarin Chinese — the language the course is actually taught in.

  1. 001认识音乐（使用玄门正宗的方式）
  2. 002两轨造歌
  3. 003鼠标点按艺术家（认识 MIDI 轨道 - 使用 MIDI 做鼓组）
  4. 004鼠标画线艺术家（认识 Audio 轨道 - 使用 Automation 做特效）
  5. 005加个混响
  6. 006加个延时
  7. 007加个回声
  8. 008加个饱和
  9. 009重新加个 EQ - 职业混音师是如何使用 EQ 的
  10. 010加个压缩
  11. 011加个限制
  12. 012不懂乐理写爵士（真爵士，不是伪爵士那种）
  13. 013使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（一）- 音高
  14. 014使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（二）- 调式（大调上行）
  15. 015使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（三）- 调式（大调下行）
  16. 016使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（四）- 调式（小调）
  17. 017使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（五）- 调式（其他各种调式）
  18. 018使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（六）- 和弦（基础和弦）
  19. 019使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（七）- 和弦（基础功能）
  20. 020使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（八）- 和弦（高级和弦）
  21. 021使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（九）- 和弦（高级功能）
  22. 022使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（十）- 和弦（比大调和弦麻烦一点的小调和弦）
  23. 023使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（十一）- 和弦（把五度圈拿来当复习）
  24. 024使用初中数学与物理知识学习乐理（十二）- 节奏（各种节奏型）
  25. 025现在你可以写中文流行歌了
  26. 026如何不像中文流行歌一样傻逼
  27. 027正儿八经设计你的第一个原创鼓组
  28. 028正儿八经优化你的第一个原创鼓组
  29. 029如果你想被多数国产乐评人们评价为音乐做很好那么只需要写好贝斯线因为他们的装逼途径仅限于此
  30. 030比上节课更好的贝斯线
  31. 031「酸零酸」，一种永远不会出错的贝斯音色（拆解 Ableton 的复杂预置音色）
  32. 032Moog，最贵的贝斯音色（拆解 Ableton 的复杂预置音色）
  33. 033808，天天听到的贝斯（太傻了，没啥好学的，我们主要学 Simpler 的全功能）
  34. 034鼓和贝斯都会了，一节课学会写 Drum&Bass（国歌级节奏 Amen Brother 拆解）
  35. 035你要做自己的第一首原创歌曲了（没关系，反正这个阶段做的歌都是狗屎）
  36. 036开始写主旋律线（上节课作业有一万个狗屎的原因，但首要原因是主旋律线）
  37. 037学会使用琶音器来偷懒写旋律线
  38. 038学会创作主旋律线，顺便学会改琶音器来创作更好的第二旋律线
  39. 039给主旋律线配三和弦（国内绝大多数民谣歌手的和弦水准）
  40. 040给主旋律线配第七和弦（国内绝大多数摇滚乐队的和弦水准）
  41. 041给主旋律线配第九和弦（国内绝大多数被认为牛逼的音乐人的和弦水准，或者日本高中生水准）
  42. 042给主旋律线配第十一和弦、十三和弦（真正牛逼的音乐人的和弦水准）
  43. 043「现代性」，丧失听众的第一步·给主旋律配奇怪的非功能性和弦（上）
  44. 044「现代性」，丧失听众的第一步·给主旋律配奇怪的非功能性和弦（下）
  45. 045律动·正儿八经设计你的第二个原创鼓组（自组 Drum Racks，以及初识 Pattern）
  46. 046律动·正儿八经设计你的第二个原创贝斯线（私货，十步写出好贝斯）
  47. 047律动·如何让你的第二个原创鼓组和第二个原创贝斯线不打架
  48. 048律动·Funk 到底律动在哪儿了？（Swing！以及听歌 + 鉴赏）
  49. 049律动·写你的第一首 Funk 鼓组 + 贝斯 + 旋律线（没关系，依旧狗屎）
  50. 050律动·Techno 到底律动在哪儿了？（这节课主要是听歌 + 鉴赏）
  51. 051律动·写你的第一首 Techno（没关系，依旧狗屎）
  52. 052音色·优化你的第一首 Techno
  53. 053音色·认识经典音色（这节课主要是鉴赏）
  54. 054音色·修改经典音色（Wavetable 初解）
  55. 055音色·使用 Operator 第一次设计复杂音色（Operator 初解）
  56. 056音色·使用 Drift 第二次设计复杂音色（Drift 全解）
  57. 057音色·设计原创音色最重要的概念——分层（以及 Ableton 的分组）
  58. 058音色·设计一种独属于自己的标志性音色
  59. 059电子音乐的普遍歌曲结构
  60. 060电子音乐的普遍配器结构
  61. 061打破电子音乐的普遍歌曲结构和普遍配器结构
  62. 062什么是采样（Clip Edit 全解）
  63. 063录制自己咳嗽的声音做成音乐（上·Sampler 全解）
  64. 064录制自己咳嗽的声音做成音乐（下·用 Sampler 调制出所有乐器的要诀）
  65. 065懒人利器——采样切片重组
  66. 066录音·如何录出更好的乱七八糟采样（内录）
  67. 067录音·如何录出更好的人声（外录）
  68. 068录音·如何录出更好的真实乐器（解决相位抵消）
  69. 069合成器·比较不枯燥的合成器原理但依旧很枯燥（上）
  70. 070合成器·比较不枯燥的合成器原理但依旧很枯燥（中）
  71. 071合成器·比较不枯燥的合成器原理但依旧很枯燥（下）
  72. 072合成器·成为一名光荣的「电工」（电工 = 电气工人）
  73. 073合成器·成为一名光荣的「电工」（电工 = 电气工程师）
  74. 074合成器·只用合成器，合出你的第一个 32 小节
  75. 075合成器·只用合成器，合出你的第二个 32 小节
  76. 076效果器·啊！大氛围！Ambient！坂本龙一了！
  77. 077效果器·魔改你用合成器合出的第一个 32 小节（自学课，朋友，要学会看说明书啊）
  78. 078效果器·魔改你用合成器合出的第二个 32 小节（自学课，朋友，要学会看说明书啊）
  79. 079效果器·认识各种尖端效果器（这节课主要是看设备）
  80. 080效果器·截止到 2025 年，市面上最好用的免费效果器
  81. 081效果器·炸裂起来！效果器叠效果器
  82. 082效果器·稳重一点！制作你的效果器组合包
  83. 083可以制作第一首不是狗屎的音乐了，就 LoFi Hip-Hop（上）
  84. 084可以制作第一首不是狗屎的音乐了，就 LoFi Hip-Hop（中）
  85. 085可以制作第一首不是狗屎的音乐了，就 LoFi Hip-Hop（下）
  86. 086让我们把这首得来不易的歌，改到国产音乐的普遍标准
  87. 087让我们把这首得来不易的歌，改到超出国产音乐的普遍标准
  88. 088开始混音·重新认识响度（Volume、Loudness、Peak、True Peak、RMS、LUFS）
  89. 089开始混音·重新认识频率（侧链压缩——新手与高手的分水岭，人民的大救星）
  90. 090开始混音·重新认识宽度
  91. 091开始混音·重新认识深度
  92. 092开始混音·摆放声道
  93. 093开始混音·主次分明，治好选择恐惧症
  94. 094开始混音·让我们把那首得来不易的歌给终混了
  95. 095开始母带·认识母带
  96. 096开始母带·母带的「风格」
  97. 097开始母带·很少人知道的母带细节（虽然你做了以后绝大多数人听不出来但只要有一个听得出那他就值得被你打动）
  98. 098开始母带·打造你自己的「母带流程串」
  99. 099开始母带·母带的「参考」
  100. 100开始母带·让我们把那首得来不易的歌给最终母带了
  101. 101恭喜你，完成了第一首工业级的音乐作品，这节课我们开始批判它
  102. 102重新做人，开始第二首工业级作品，这次的风格是 Defected 厂牌的 House 风格（是的，上来就顶级商务大厂水准，比他们差那不能忍了）
  103. 103这次我们把贝斯的细节做好一点
  104. 104这次我们把鼓组的细节做好一点
  105. 105这次我们把其他合成器和采样的细节做好一点
  106. 106这次我们让所有细节「有机结合」起来
  107. 107这次我们把混音做细一点，确定流程（上）
  108. 108这次我们把混音做细一点，确定流程（中）
  109. 109这次我们把混音做细一点，确定流程（下）
  110. 110这次我们把母带流程串优化一下，固定下来
  111. 111恭喜你，完成了第二首工业级作品，这节课我们开始批判它
  112. 112重新做人，开始第三首工业级作品，这次的风格是 Brian Eno 的 Minimal 风格（是的，已经开始以大师标准要求自己了）
  113. 113认识各种极简主义音乐（这节课主要是听歌 + 点评鉴赏）
  114. 114以一个简单动机创作一整首极简主义作品
  115. 115极简主义的其他音乐创作思路若干（课后作业是任选其一思路制作另一首极简主义作品，不需要混音和母带）
  116. 116怎么可能不需要混音和母带，来我们把这首极简音乐混音加母带
  117. 117恭喜你，完成了第三首工业级作品，这节课我们开始批判它
  118. 118重新做人，开始自己的第四首工业级作品，这次的风格是 Hans Zimmer 的电影配乐（是的，我们已经开始考虑商业化了。这节课主要是听歌 + 点评鉴赏）
  119. 119技法学习·Hans Zimmer 表彰与批斗大会（主要是批斗，这节课带大家认识一首歌预算充足后的工作流程）
  120. 120Philip Glass 极简作曲 + 合成器，来，让我们制作 Hans Zimmer 风格的电影配乐，包含混音 + 母带（使用固化后的混音流程和母带串）
  121. 121恭喜你，完成了第四首工业级作品。好消息是，你已经可以接影视配乐的活儿了（宏大叙事没有灵魂那种），坏消息是，依旧要批判它
  122. 122重新做人，开始第五首工业级作品，这次的风格是 Daft Punk（是的，我们不仅考虑商业化，还考虑人民群众喜闻乐见的商业化。这节课主要是听歌 + 点评鉴赏）
  123. 123技法学习·使用 Daft Punk 惯用的和弦走向写一首 Daft Punk 风格的歌
  124. 124技法学习·使用 Daft Punk 惯用的人声 Vocoder 处理方式来录制并处理自己的人声（上）
  125. 125技法学习·使用 Daft Punk 惯用的人声 Vocoder 处理方式来录制并处理自己的人声（下）
  126. 126技法学习·使用 Daft Punk 惯用的采样切片方式切一首经典 Disco 老歌
  127. 127完成 Daft Punk 的一整首歌，包含混音 + 母带（使用固化后的混音流程和母带串）
  128. 128恭喜你，完成了第五首工业级作品。好消息是，你的音乐会被绝大多数中国听众定义为「牛逼」，坏消息是，你事实上还没牛逼，继续批判
  129. 129重新做人，开始第六首和第七首工业级作品，两次的风格都是坂本龙一（这是个大活儿，这节课主要是听歌 + 点评鉴赏）
  130. 130技法学习·作为作曲家存在的坂本龙一（上）
  131. 131技法学习·作为作曲家存在的坂本龙一（下）
  132. 132技法学习·作为 YMO 成员存在的坂本龙一
  133. 133以作曲家坂本龙一的标准，创作 48 小节的旋律性电影配乐，包含混音 + 母带（使用固化后的混音流程和母带串）
  134. 134以 YMO 成员坂本龙一的标准，创作 48 小节基于合成器的电子音乐，包含混音 + 母带（顺带学习四部和声）
  135. 135恭喜你，完成了第六首和第七首工业级作品。好消息是，你的音乐真正意义上「有逼格」了，坏消息是，只写了 48 小节，这与一整首歌的智力密度是两个量级，让我们轻微批判
  136. 136重新做人，开始第八首工业级音乐作品，这次的风格是 Mr.Bill（这节课主要是听歌 + 点评鉴赏）
  137. 137成为 Mr.Bill 那样的现代 Nerd（上）
  138. 138成为 Mr.Bill 那样的现代 Nerd（下）
  139. 139跳出 Mr.Bill 那样的现代 Nerd（一年多的血泪经验）
  140. 140使用 Mr.Bill 的 Chop 手法，制作 48 小节的 Bass 类音乐，包含混音 + 母带（使用固化后的混音流程和母带串）
  141. 141恭喜你，完成了第八首工业级作品。好消息是，你的音乐会被全世界听众定义为「技术高超」；坏消息是，这是别人的技术，何况才 48 小节，继续轻微批判
  142. 142重新做人，开始第九首工业级作品，这次的风格是 Aphex Twin（这节课主要是听歌 + 点评鉴赏）
  143. 143技法学习·Aphex Twin 的声音设计（Beat Repeat 全功能）
  144. 144技法学习·Aphex Twin 的鼓组编写
  145. 145使用三轨（鼓组为一轨、合成器为一轨、零碎为一轨），制作一整首 Aphex Twin 风格的电子音乐，包含混音 + 母带（使用固化后的混音流程和母带串）
  146. 146恭喜你，完成了第九首工业级作品，好消息是，你已经真正意义上「会做音乐了」，坏消息是，你做的音乐目前「简单」，我们如何让它「不简单」？
  147. 147为什么混音是艺术范畴而不是技术范畴？因为它允许「个人化」。打破固化后的混音流程
  148. 148为什么母带是艺术范畴而不是技术范畴？因为它允许「个人化」。打破固化后的母带串
  149. 149不可能每首歌都单独设计工作流程（商业作品与实验作品也不是一种事物），我们如何安排一首歌的制作时间？
  150. 150DJ 养成·教学最后一个月冲刺！听歌习惯的建立
  151. 151DJ 养成·暂时侵犯一下隐私，把你昨天的歌单发给我（这节课主要是听歌 + 点评鉴赏）
  152. 152选定你的主乐器，钢琴、鼓、贝斯、吉他，四者各自优劣分析
  153. 153和声冲刺·超负荷练习法·一小时设计 24 个和弦连接
  154. 154音色冲刺·超负荷练习法·一小时设计 24 种音色
  155. 155节奏冲刺·超负荷练习法·一小时设计 24 个鼓组
  156. 156旋律冲刺·超负荷练习法·一小时设计 24 个旋律线
  157. 157复习加一轨·为你的第一首工业级作品添加一轨 Pad，并重做混音和母带
  158. 158复习加一轨·为你的第二首工业级作品添加一轨来自于自己的采样录音，并重做混音和母带
  159. 159复习加一轨·为你的第三首工业级作品添加一轨尽可能复杂的 glitch 音色组，并重做混音和母带
  160. 160复习加一轨·为你的第四首工业级作品添加一轨打击乐，并重做混音和母带
  161. 161复习加一轨·为你的第五首工业级作品添加一轨旋律全新的 Vocoder，并重做混音和母带
  162. 162复习加一轨·为你的第六首工业级作品添加一轨大提琴，并重做混音和母带
  163. 163复习加一轨·为你的第七首工业级作品添加一轨尽可能「现代」的音色，并重做混音和母带
  164. 164复习加一轨·为你的第八首工业级作品添加一轨逻辑自洽的噪音，并重做混音和母带
  165. 165复习加一轨·为你的第九首工业级作品添加一轨主旋律，并重做混音和母带
  166. 166原创力大激发·五分钟内制作一首 Trap 的 Drop
  167. 167原创力大激发·十分钟内制作一首 Drum&Bass 的 Drop
  168. 168原创力大激发·二十分钟内以塞尔兹尼克（电影《乱世佳人》制片人）所说「生命终止于被镜头拍下的那一瞬间。这几乎是好莱坞的象征。塔里（《乱世佳人》里那个庄园的名字）里面没有房间。它只是房子的正面。」这四句为题，写四个非功能性和弦，并阐述每个和弦的用意
  169. 169原创力大激发·半小时内使用赋格手法，写 64 小节的弦乐四重奏（合奏部分至少 32 小节）
  170. 170原创力大激发·一小时内制作一首完整的 Techno，不含混音母带
  171. 171Remix·把你的第一首工业级作品重编、重制作为 Disco 风格
  172. 172Remix·把你的第二首工业级作品重编、重制作为华语流行情歌风格
  173. 173Remix·把你的第三首工业级作品重编、重制作为 Techno 风格
  174. 174Remix·把你的第四首工业级作品重编、重制作为 House 风格
  175. 175Remix·把你的第五首工业级作品重编、重制作为 Trance 风格
  176. 176Remix·把你的第六首工业级作品重编、重制作为 YMO 风格
  177. 177Remix·把你的第七首工业级作品重编、重制作为 Ambient 风格
  178. 178Remix·把你的第八首工业级作品重编、重制作为 Minimal 风格
  179. 179Remix·把你的第九首工业级作品重编、重制作为你目前最喜欢风格，以此决定你的第十首工业级作品的风格
  180. 180结业·来一些务虚的婆婆妈妈，请去制作第一首公开发表的作品吧！

Tuition and deposit

HEMe Cohort 6 costs ¥19,800 in tuition plus a ¥9,000 deposit. The deposit is fully refundable — the refund mechanic is described below.

Tuition

¥19,800

Paid in full up front. No installment plans currently.

Deposit

¥9,000

Refunded in nine installments as your nine qualifying tracks are approved.

How the deposit is refunded

After you finish the 210-day HEMe program, you have the following 180 days to publicly release nine brand-new, industrial-grade tracks, each approved by Liang Huan.

Every track goes through multiple revision rounds with your ninja-captain, and then through a mastering review with Liang Huan himself that typically takes 2–10 rounds of notes — until you, Liang Huan, and the ninja-captain are all satisfied.

Each approved track refunds ¥1,000 of the deposit. You are free to decide whether HEM Records releases the track for you. When all nine tracks are approved, the full ¥9,000 deposit is returned.

HEM Records offers what is arguably the most producer-friendly contract in the industry: it contracts songs, not people, to preserve the producer's full independence. It provides free global distribution to new producers, guarantees lifetime royalty splits, and stays financially transparent with every producer it signs.

On payment methods

HEMe does not currently support installment plans. The administrative cost would be low, but the HEMe team's bandwidth is not.

Alumni and graduation outcomes

Students in the first five HEMe cohorts arrived with very different backgrounds, but after 210 days of training, they became capable producers and released work across a wide range of genres on HEM Records.

Cohorts completed
5
Alumni who have debuted via HEM Records
138
Industrial-grade works each student finishes in-program
9

HEM Underground: the release outlet for graduate work

HEM Underground is a sub-label of HEM Records, dedicated to releasing the strongest graduation works from HEMe students. Students are free to choose whether they want HEM Records to release their work at all — there is no obligation.

If they do choose to release, HEM Records offers a contract that is effectively as producer-friendly as it gets: songs, not people, are signed. HEM Records provides free global distribution to new producers, guarantees lifetime royalty splits, and maintains financial transparency with each producer. Over the past five years, 138 HEMe alumni have released work through HEM Records and debuted as producers.

Alumni work by cohort

A representative selection of tracks released by graduates of HEMe cohorts 1–5. Each one can be found by searching the artist and track name on any major streaming service.

Cohort 1

  • Zero musical background before HEMe

    bongbong — Overthinking

  • Near-zero before HEMe (had learned or was learning an instrument)

    杭于 — After the Soda

  • Some experience before HEMe, but no released industrial-grade work

    alanz — 绝命镇

Cohort 2

  • Zero musical background before HEMe

    小蛇心肠 — Fake Moon

  • Near-zero before HEMe (had learned or was learning an instrument)

    東急亞雪 — Chasing Dog

  • Some experience before HEMe, but no released industrial-grade work

    杜征 — My Comrade

Cohort 3

  • Zero musical background before HEMe

    MoeMoe — Turquoise Island

  • Near-zero before HEMe (had learned or was learning an instrument)

    CesareStox — 318

  • Some experience before HEMe, but no released industrial-grade work

    Ken Song — Light Touch

Cohort 4

  • Zero musical background before HEMe

    ycgalaxy — aright

  • Near-zero before HEMe (had learned or was learning an instrument)

    AshiWalking — Drum&Bass Need No Reason

  • Some experience before HEMe, but no released industrial-grade work

    YuChan 林玉蝉 — Embered Phantasm

Cohort 5

  • Zero musical background before HEMe

    WOTOWANG — Dancing Is FREE

  • Near-zero before HEMe (had learned or was learning an instrument)

    Jillusion — 别急，去吃冰激凌

  • Some experience before HEMe, but no released industrial-grade work

    陈力萌 Gothic — Drive

House rules

A handful of rules keep the program running cleanly. Please read them before applying.

  1. 01If you drop out mid-program, neither tuition nor deposit is refunded. The tuition goes into the HEMc Fund, which funds a future HEM Music Producer Conference; the deposit is taken by Liang Huan for his own software and gear. In practice, past cohorts show that daily classes are easy to stick with — it is the daily homework that separates finishers from dropouts.
  2. 02Using pirated Ableton Live results in immediate removal from the program with no refund. That money is then used to buy legal Ableton Live Suite licenses for other beginners who need them.
  3. 03No installment plans for tuition or deposit, currently.
  4. 04HEMe is revised every year. Every alumnus automatically receives Liang Huan's latest class notes every subsequent year, so graduates stay current with the latest technical standards.
  5. 05Ninja-captain roles pay meaningfully and feed into commercial work opportunities. Students who become outstanding graduates are on track to earn their tuition back within the following year.
  6. 06In a world this uncertain, being able to make something — and making it, day after day — is how you push back against panic and emptiness.

Frequently asked questions

If you are considering applying, these are the questions most people ask.

Who is HEMe for?

HEMe is for anyone from a complete beginner — no music theory, no instrument experience — to an amateur producer who has never released an industrial-grade track. The curriculum is structured from a zero-knowledge starting point, so students with prior experience simply move through the early lessons faster.

What language is the class taught in? Can I join if I don't speak Chinese?

HEMe is currently taught entirely in Mandarin Chinese, including lectures, class notes, homework review, and feedback. Students need to be comfortable listening to and reading Mandarin. There is no English-language version of the program at this time.

Do I need to know music theory beforehand?

No. HEMe rebuilds music theory from scratch using middle-school math and physics, covering pitch, scales (major ascending and descending, minor, and other modes), chords, the circle of fifths, and rhythm. Complete beginners are explicitly the target audience.

How much time does it take per day?

About two hours per day: a 1-hour live class at 21:00 Beijing time, followed by 1 hour of homework that you submit to your ninja-captain by 23:00. Saturdays are off. Over the full arc, that is 180 lessons in roughly 210 calendar days.

Who teaches the class? Does Liang Huan teach it himself?

The live lectures are taught by music producer FatGuy. Liang Huan is the program's founder and wrote every lesson in the schedule; he sits in on every live class to handle tough questions in real time, and personally runs the final mastering review for every graduate's nine qualifying tracks.

What is a "ninja-captain"?

Ninja-captains are top graduates from HEMe cohorts 1–5 who have released significant bodies of work of their own. Each current student is assigned a ninja-captain who reviews their daily homework, mentors them on early-producer questions, and checks in on their mental state. The program cheerfully calls them "Kakashi-senseis."

What software and hardware do I need?

A PC or Mac with an Intel i5 or higher, 85 GB+ of free disk space, and 8 GB+ of RAM. Ableton Live 12 Suite (it must be the Suite edition, not Standard). One audio interface, one pair of monitoring headphones, and one MIDI keyboard. The three pieces of hardware together will not cost more than ¥2,500. If you do not already own these, the HEMe team negotiates cohort-wide bulk pricing with vendors, so don't rush to buy.

How much does it cost, and how is the deposit refunded?

Cohort 6 costs ¥19,800 in tuition plus a ¥9,000 deposit. After finishing the 210-day program, you have 180 days to release nine brand-new, industrial-grade tracks, each approved by Liang Huan. Each approved track refunds ¥1,000 of the deposit; all nine approved returns the full ¥9,000.

Do I have to release my tracks through HEM Records?

No. Students choose whether HEM Records releases their graduation tracks. HEM Records' contracts sign songs, not people, so producers retain full freedom. New producers get free global distribution, lifetime royalty splits, and financial transparency on every release.

What happens if I drop out partway?

Both tuition and deposit are non-refundable in that case. The tuition portion goes into the HEMc Fund, which will eventually pay for a HEM Music Producer Conference. The deposit portion is taken by Liang Huan for his own software and gear budget. He explicitly jokes: "You are a person with backbone — don't let me get away with it."

Can I use pirated Ableton Live?

No. Using pirated Ableton Live leads to immediate removal from the program with no refund of tuition or deposit. That money is then used to buy legal copies of Ableton Live Suite for other beginners the team deems deserving. A producer, the program insists, must respect the developers who built their production tools.

Are installment plans available?

Not currently. The administrative cost would not be high, but the HEMe team does not have the bandwidth for it at this stage.

When does Cohort 7 start, now that Cohort 6 has closed enrollment?

HEMe runs one cohort per year, with enrollment always opening in February–March. Cohort 7 is expected to open enrollment in February–March 2027. To be notified, email contact@hem.fm and ask to be put on the next-cohort reminder list.

Do alumni keep getting updates after finishing the program?

Yes. HEMe is revised every year. Any graduate — from any cohort — receives Liang Huan's updated class notes for every subsequent year's revisions, so that alumni stay current with the latest technical standards.

Still have questions? Ask an AI

How to apply

HEMe accepts applications by email. Enrollment for Cohort 7 is expected to open in February–March 2027. You can email contact@hem.fm now to be added to the next-cohort reminder list.

  1. 01Send an email to contact@hem.fm
  2. 02Subject line format: "HEMe - Real Name - Handle" (example: "HEMe - Wei Xiaobao - Yangzhou Beethoven")
  3. 03Attach a scan of one of: passport photo page, national ID headshot page, or driver's license headshot page, for the course contract. This file is not shared with any third party.
Email contact@hem.fm

Where to follow program news

You can follow HEM on RedNote, Weibo, and X for the latest program updates and enrollment news, or simply leave your email to be reminded when the next cohort opens.