Have you ever been asked to drum on a track that wasn't your own, or from your own band’s material? Maybe someone saw you play at a gig or online, liked what they heard, and decided you were the drummer they wanted on their songs? This is a very cool opportunity which can create many exciting new professional avenues for you, as well as expand your palette and help keep you feeling fresh musically. It’s a situation I’ve been fortunate to find myself in many times, and it’s why I ended up establishing myself as a freelance session drummer. If you do take on these opportunities, though, you also ..read more

Hello again! It’s Tom here, back with some more Ableton Live tips. If you’ve read my previous blog, you’ll know all about audio and MIDI tracks – so now it’s time to turn our attention to the third and final type of track: the return track. There are lots of benefits to using return tracks in Ableton Live (or in any other DAW). This blog will delve deep into how we can use return tracks within Ableton Live, and what the benefits are. Unlike audio and MIDI tracks, you don’t actually place any audio or MIDI data onto a return track. Instead, you send the audio from other tracks into the return t ..read more

Last month, we asked a big question: how do you choose a guitar to record with? Hopefully you enjoyed experimenting and coming to some conclusions on that – but now, there’s another dilemma to sort out… which amplifier do you plug into? While the tone of your guitar is principally important, the way your chosen amp produces it will have the final say on the sound that gets recorded in the studio. After all, the amp cabinet is where the microphone is sitting! In this blog, we’ll cover five basic factors to consider when choosing an amp for your studio guitar work – whether you’re going to buy o ..read more

Hey everyone, it's Joe here! If you want to get better at the basics of recording your own music at home, we've got the perfect guide to help you. This is Part 1 of our Recording & Audio 101 series of blogs - which will each focus on one or two important aspects of the recording process that you need to know. We're kicking off here with some reassurance about why home recording is a viable option, and covering the tools you need for the job. Bigger Isn't Necessarily Better We’ve all seen photos and videos of huge recording studios. In the movies, it’s pretty common to see massive studio sp ..read more

These days, we really are spoilt for choice when we go shopping for guitars. Walk into any major music store and you’ll be confronted by swathes of them, in probably as many shapes, sizes, colours, and price brackets as you can imagine. This creates a problem: which one do you need? Picture your music project like a home improvement task – you have a particular result in mind, and you need the right tools for the job. Different types of guitars will provide your recording with unique voices. And in the hi-fidelity audio environment of a recording studio, a guitar’s signature tonal characterist ..read more

Using Ableton Live can be a daunting experience, especially if you’re new to DAWs in general. It can be difficult to know where to begin… but you’ve come to the right place. This blog will serve as an introduction to producing electronic music in Ableton Live, and we’ll go over some of the essentials to get your first song well underway. Session View vs Arrangement View The first thing you need to know about Ableton Live is that there are two 'views': Session View and Arrangement View. Session View is primarily used for live performance and experimentation, while Arrangement View is where you ..read more

If you’ve recorded a song yourself, then firstly, congratulations - that’s a great achievement. Now you’re looking to get stuck into mixing, there are a few things you’ll need to do to make it a smooth process, whether you're doing it yourself or sending it to a mixing engineer. There are three main sections in this blog: essential first steps, additional steps if you’re mixing yourself, and additional steps if somebody else is mixing your music.  I’ll be covering the following tasks for your success: File management Editing your tracks Removing unwanted noises Applying fades Organising ..read more

Musicians often talk about 'having their own sound', so that whenever they're playing, people automatically recognise it's them. Any time Sting comes on the radio, you can instantly tell it's his voice… any time you hear a certain kind of riff, you know it’s an AC/DC riff… and any time you hear the bombastic drum sound of John Bonham, you can instantly tell you're listening to Led Zeppelin. These artists developed a sound in their music and a feel on their instrument that has become iconic. Whether we like it or not, we only have one lifetime - and that alone will dictate many aspects of who w ..read more

In the ever-evolving musical landscape, few names resonate as consistently as The Beatles. Decades after disbanding, their work still touches people of all generations - and now, we have one last new piece of music to enjoy. In this instalment of Reverse Engineering, we're looking at the recent release of the 'final song' from The Beatles: Now And Then. I think I could hear the collective gasp from Beatle mega-fans around the world when news broke about ongoing work on an unreleased track by John Lennon. Shortly before his death in 1980, John recorded a handful of demos to cassette, and all of ..read more

So far we’ve gone through quite a few details about artist branding - what it is, why you need it, and why it’s essential to know who your audience is. In this article, we’re going to put it all together and discuss how you go about creating your brand. To get started, let’s summarise some key considerations that make up your artist brand. Telling your story Understanding your core beliefs and values Defining your artistry Determining your ideal audience Defining the story that you want to tell Your artist’s visual identity Profile pictures Album artwork Creating a consistent aesthetic ..read more