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The Secret of High SAT Scores is Hidden in Your Taste in Music
We recently scoured scholarly journals, collegiate records, and data collected from self-reported social media profiles to perform a meta-analysis from various angles on the relationship between musical tastes and SAT scores. With enough single-blind and self-reported data from large, randomized populations we were able to create interactive charts, graphs, and maps to explore this data and draw accurate conclusions. Although the conclusions are accurate on […]
Chap Hop & the Gentleman's Battle Beef
Most of you likely have never even heard of Chap Hop, let alone realized there's already a feud amongst the two leaders of the rap sub-genre. This feud is between Professor Elemental and Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer, already leading to battle tracks and disses in various songs. Of course, the beef is satire just like the entire culture and library of work these jolly […]
Musical Modes Explained: The Music Theory Behind Them
It's easy to run into musical modes and think, "What the heck is going on? Why does all of this need to be so convoluted and complicated?" It does seem that way at first until you work with modes enough to spot the pattern. Then not only does it click into place but you can even work your way through it in your head! The […]
Bass Programming Tips for MIDI & Synths
Bass programming is my second favorite part of making beats right after the drums. Laying down the initial, fundamental groove of the song helps the rest of the process move along without any problems. And that needs to be the order of operations: Bass then drums or drums then bass. The problem is most of us are going to have a real hard time dealing […]
The Circle of Fifths Explained
Typical discussion about the Circle of Fifths is largely for beginners and intermediate music theorists, and the tricky part is there's no way to avoid using other technical jargon that a beginner may not know when explaining it. We're going to keep it as simple as possible with explanations of any new terms. So get ready for a wild ride made easy as we work […]
10 MIDI Programming & Sequencing Tips
There's nothing better than MIDI programming for getting ideas out of your head quickly and accurately. The faster you can do this without the distractions of tinkering with hardware and software, the better. Staying in the left-brain mode can be the difference between a #1 hit and a dud. When it's time to pump out a beat and the ideas are rolling, the last thing […]
Zildjian is One of the Oldest Companies In the World!
Anyone even slightly familiar with music instruments knows about Zildjian. Their name is synonymous with the cymbals that can be found on almost every drum set you come across. That's amazing and is likely due to one of the most interesting facts about them... Beyond totally dominating an entire sector of the music instrument industry... The Avedis Zildjian Company is among the oldest companies in […]
The Best Studio Monitors & Speakers for Home & Pro Audio
We should clarify immediately that if you are reading this post, then you're looking for studio monitors and not speakers. People still trying to find their footing in this topic will use all kinds of phrases when talking about it, such as "monitor speakers"and "studio speakers," but this is just a matter of nomenclature and the reason we all hate industry-specific jargon. The correct term […]
Open Back vs Closed Back Headphones: There's a Clear Winner
There's so much more to the story when it comes to choosing a set of headphones. If you score even a higher tier of consumer level headphones then that's about all you'll need. They'll have a 1/8th inch headphone jack and probably a 1/4 inch adaptor. You can plug them into your smart phone or MP3 player and you're rocking and rolling. But what about […]
Condenser vs Dynamic Mics: 10 Myths Busted!
Some of these issues are flat out mythology and categorically false, while others are true in some applications and false in other scenarios. No wonder there's a lot of contradiction to be found on message boards and websites. Couple that with people pretending to be more knowledgeable than they are and others simply parroting bad advice and you can quickly see how the confusion continues […]
What is a Headphone Amplifier? Do I Need One?
Even beyond that, many headphones that could benefit from an amplifier can still be used without one at low volumes and you'd never know the difference. But eventually in the professional music industry you run into a headphone amp… Just what is it and why do we need them? Even once a person discovers headphone amps, they usually first encounter the snake oil audiophile type […]
Acoustic Treatment: Where Does the Absorbed Sound Go?
Today we received a common question that gets asked by the insightful, but not scientifically inclined members of the music community: That's a really clever question. Another way of asking it is 'How does acoustic treatment work?' We have the quick and easy answer for you right here. Where Does Absorbed Sound Go in Acoustic Treatment? Question: I was thinking about how sound bounces off […]
How Does MP3 Compression Work?
How does MP3 compression work? That's a common question that deserves a fast answer. I actually searched around the net before sitting down to write this and noticed that everyone was writing novels about the topic but nobody could explain it in a quick, normal-person manner. So here we go! "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke For most of […]
7 Home Studio Must-Haves for Comfort & Productivity
As you continually visit the same room day in and day out and start accumulating years of your life spent in it, you begin to get hyper-sensitive. Little things can become giant distractions. Minor annoyances can cause you to flip out out of frustration. The big things can make you throw your hands up and be ready to quit forever. There are moments when you […]
25 Crazy Science-Supported Facts About Music
The mental_floss magazine tasked John Green of their List Show to compile 25 Facts About the Science of Music... He went above and beyond to make sure these were actually surprising, amazing, and conversation-inducing. Check out the 10 minute video below or scroll down for our TL;DR version: While won't suck all the life out of the video above because it deserves a watch, we'll […]
Are Expensive Studio Cables Worth the Money?
Are these crazy expensive studio cables worth the cash? How come I can buy a Livewire XLR cable for a literal fraction of the price of a Monster cable? And then I see these ridiculous audiophile cables asking a thousand dollars or more for a single cable? What's the deal? Do they actually produce better quality audio? It all boils down to some folks not […]
13 More Vocal Recording Tips
The difference between solid production and perfect production all boils down to which recording engineer is willing to go the extra mile to take advantage of those last diminishing returns. Most of the time, the temptation is to grab your best mic that's probably already plugged in and on a mic stand, stick it in front of the vocalist, and press record. The reality is […]
Close Miking in Recording: Why, When, & How?
Everyone has heard of this term. It's so common that people who have zero clue what they're talking about will offer up the solution: "Just close mic it!" But what does this really mean? Why was the technique developed? What does it offer over other techniques such as distance miking? How do we use it and when should we use it? There are other microphone […]
Anticipate Success: Make Marketing Easier With These 8 Music Production Tips
Imagine this scenario. You or your band release an EP of six tracks and three of them are awesome. You've printed CD labels and slip covers into those thin jewel cases and started handing them out to friends. One of your friends went the corporate route and ended up playing your music in the car with a wealthy businessman on their lunch break. It just […]
Technical Prowess or Authenticity? What's More Enjoyable in Music?
This is a question I've been pondering since I was a teenager and found myself becoming involved with music. There seems to be three classes of musicians: Those who focus on technical prowess. Those who focus on authenticity and expression. Those who've mastered both. Now completely disregard the pop star machine that compartmentalizes these factors. I'm not talking about music that has 50 writers and […]
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