Sign up to receive my newsletter directly to your inbox (in advance of when they’re posted on this site)!
Vocals are, in my opinion, the most expressive instrument we have. From singing to rapping, screaming to vocalize (singing without lyrics), vocals are prominent in much of our music, and often as the lead element in the mix. Therefore, it’s worth understanding the tools and techniques available to produce better vocals, which is what we’ll…
Effects sends and returns are popular routing options in both hardware and software (DAW) mixers, affording us independent control over our “dry” unprocessed tracks and our “wet” return channels. In the case of modern digital audio workstations, where our track counts can be exceedingly high, the creative potential of effects sends and returns are practically…
As music producers, it’s critical to understand the signals we work with, whether it’s the audio itself, the control signals used to modulate other signals and parameters, or the overall signal flow within a session. Understanding the basic waveforms is an essential part of the job, a great place to start learning audio and a…
In the world of music production, the studio is often viewed as a creative space for getting work done, made up of a collection of tools and technology. However, I’d invite you to philosophize with me and consider the studio not just as a workspace, but as an expansive musical instrument in its own right….
The use of samples is common practice in modern music production. However, a common challenge many producers face is preventing these samples from sounding too repetitive or monotonous. To address this, I’ve explored several effective techniques that can inject life and variety into your samples, ensuring your tracks stand out with a unique and realistic…
Drum programming has plenty of advantages (we don’t have to rent a drum room, set up multiple mics, hire a drummer, deal with phase and bleed issues, and more). The flip side to that is that to make programmed drums sound realistic can be incredibly difficult. In this article, we’ll go through each of these…
MIDI has become so commonplace in music recording and production that it can sometimes be confused with audio information. Though the two are certainly related, MIDI and audio are indeed two separate subjects and should be understood as such. In this article, we’ll discuss audio and MIDI in greater detail to better understand the difference…
As we become proficient music producers, we must develop a wide variety of production techniques. We’ll undoubtedly use some techniques more than others. Some are more commonplace while others are fairly niche. However, it’s worth having these techniques at our disposal, if not for the techniques themselves then at least for the understanding of the…
Copyright in music can be an intimidating subject, and while the laws are written vaguely, developing a solid understanding doesn’t have to be difficult. You may have heard that copyright will automatically protect your work as soon as you come up with a song while, at the same time, hearing about lawsuits between major label…
As music producers, it’s important to understand the overarching goal that drives us forward with our work. The simple goal of music production is, as the name would suggest, to produce a piece of music (to record it and store it for later playback). Having a music “product” is having something that can be listened…
In my opinion, music is the perfect art and craft to combine creativity and technicality. For those interested in potential career opportunities or music as a hobby, there may be some confusion about the differences between mixing and producing. In this article, we’ll discuss the differences between mixing and producing and how the lines have…
End of content
End of content
