We've all been there, we have the creative juices and energy to jump in the DAW and write a song, we're super excited, and then after spending hours cycling through different possible presets and VSTs, we've completely lost all motivation and have maybe 1 note to show for it. Some of us may be more highly inclined to delve deep into sound design, but if you're like me, at least 90% of the time you just want to have good sounds ready to go so you can express yourself by writing music. In this article I will dive into some of the best hassle-free virtual instruments that will let you get straigh ..read more

Atlanta based, independent artist Ethan Senger released his 4-song sophomore EP, Standing Still, available now on all platforms. The EP was produced & mixed by Andy D. Park (Ciara, Noah Gundersen, Macklemore, Death Cab for Cutie) and mastered by Grammy Award winners Greg Calbi and Steven Fallone (Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, John Mayer, Bruno Mars, Tony Bennett, etc.) of Sterling Sound. Standing Still represents Senger’s most qualitative work production wise and effortfull to date. Everything is a song about the lingering effects of unresolved emotional wounds from childhood, a song with a ch ..read more

As a music producer, we all know that our craft is something that takes a lot of care, inspiration, and dedication. It can be tons of fun and the most exciting thing in the world if you're the type of person to dive into it. Even so, most of us who have been at it for long enough know that it's possible to get burnt out, and even emotionally distraught when we get too obsessed and attached to the work. Let's discuss some of the ways we can harness the passion we have for our work without sacrificing our physical and mental health. Staying Grounded This is a multi faceted idea, but staying gro ..read more

Let me start by telling you a little story. When I was about 20 years old, I went to my first dance music concert. The artist was Porter Robinson, and he was performing the tour of his album "Worlds". I had never experienced anything like this in my life. The music was so moving, it felt so deep and visceral, I could not only feel the bass in my chest and my feet, but also the powerful emotions the music evoked as well. The visuals took me to a whole other world and it was perhaps the most incredible escape from reality and into a fantastical world that I had ever experienced. It blew me away ..read more

1. Who comprises the band, and what roles do they fulfill in the group? Maccie is the vocalist and lyricist. JPRiZM is the music producer, composer and keyboardist. 2. ,Could you share the story of how you all came together and where this happened? We met at Canadian Music Week in Toronto. We each musically came from a place that we admired about the other person. Our chemistry was instant. This led to Maccie visiting JPRiZM at his Boston US recording studio and recorded and wrote several songs with him, one of which is their latest release "Back to Me". Previous releases of Maccie x JPRiZM w ..read more

When a lot of people think of Music Theory, their brain starts looking a bit like the image below. Even if you know a bit of music theory, you may not think of it that way, and you might still find the concept in general a bit intimidating. But no need to panic! When making music, you can make great music completely without the need to know too many complex things, unless you feel particularly inclined to dive into them. However, there are a few basic concepts that will help you make the most of your time in the DAW. Scales You may have heard people ask before "what key is this song in?" Well ..read more

Do you want to get your tracks louder, but feel like limiters are ruining your mix? Clipping might be able to save you! Clipping is a way of squashing the dynamics of a waveform, similar to compression and limiting. The key difference, though, is with compression and limiting, it's reacting to the audio to turn the volume down dynamically as it gets louder, creating a smoother squashing effect, whereas clipping simply chops off and flattens any peaks that cross the loudness threshold. This can create digital distortion and make your track sound bad if done in excess. However, this can also be ..read more

Are you having trouble getting your music onto your favorite playlists or labels? Are you just trying to make music that stands up to your favorite artist? This one technique might be the thing that's holding you back. Let's talk about referencing and all the ways it can help you take your music to the next level and get people adding it to their playlists! Referencing is simply comparing your music directly to other music that you know sounds good, to ensure your song stands up to it in every way. Referencing can be extremely helpful in mixing and even in arranging and writing your music! Get ..read more

Making sounds using synths can feel as confusing and technical as it gets, but it's really more simple than one might think, especially if you are using a visually intuitive synth like Serum, one of the most versatile and powerful synths available. Let's take a quick dive into the basics of this super synth. Oscillators There are 4 oscillators available in Serum. An oscillator is a sound generator, and this is where you'll begin in creating any sound. One of these oscillators is called Sub, this one you can choose one of six basic shapes, adjust the level, panning, and octave, and route it ei ..read more

Are you interested in recording your own voice on your music, but don't know where to start? Or are you starting to receive vocal recordings from vocalists and don't know what to do with them? This is the most important step in working with any vocal for music, so stay tuned! When you first record or receive a raw vocal for your music, there are some steps involved in getting it from the booth to a polished, final product in your track. One of those steps involves tuning the vocal. Even great singers such as Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey use tuning to help make sure their recordings are as po ..read more