The thought of being able to connect a keyboard to your phone and make it mimic sounds of a real piano would have sounded like science fiction a few years ago. But technology has advanced such a long way in recent times that it is now entirely possible and you don’t need…
I received an email from a blog reader who had recently bought a MIDI keyboard so they could start practicing a bit of piano at home. My previous blog posts on MIDI keyboards had all said something along the lines of “plug in your MIDI device and open up you DAW software to play”….
The ‘classic’ rock band template features three instruments: electric guitar, drums, and bass guitar – in addition to the human voice. Many bands will include two or more guitarists, and plenty will include additional instruments – keyboards, trumpets or saxophones, for instance. But a guitar-drums-bass trinity has formed the foundation of most bands since…
Capos are a popular way of transposing the key of a guitar quickly and easily, allowing the player to produce notes of a higher pitch without changing the shape of their fingers. They are essential weapons in the arsenal of both acoustic and electric guitarists, yet it is far less common to see a…
Practising bass guitar without an amplifier just doesn’t sound the same. All you can hear is an annoying twang and not the deep bass sound we all know and love. But with more of us living in apartments or wanting to practice late into the night, using an amplifier isn’t really an option. This leaves…
Recording audio is something that both professional musicians and at-home enthusiasts can participate in. It is a process that seems complex to those starting out, and quite a few components can be involved. Many people wonder: what exactly do you need to record audio? Do you need an audio interface to record anything?…
Monitor speakers are one of the key components of any home recording studio. They allow you to accurately listen back to the masterpieces you’ve created and tweak till you have that perfect sound. But most monitor speakers come with a variety of inputs and not only that but there are a variety of different…
For many people (myself included) Garageband is the first piece of software they use to try and produce music. This is probably because it is free and comes pre-installed on many Apple devices from laptops to iPads. It comes loaded with free samples and loops so even the true beginner can create something resembling…
While listening to live music, I try not to get irritated by people who talk over the bass solo. If you frequently attend live shows, you’ve seen it before. Half of me is just wishing they would shush and listen, but then the other half remembers that it’s not exactly their fault. Bass is…
The recording is done, it’s time for mixing, you’ve read about compression but where to start? If you really want to learn about the theory you can read this article, but you may just want to get on with it. So, how to compress female vocals? When compressing female vocals, you’ll want to…