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Chord Maps - How to Choose Chord Progressions
Chord maps are the secret to the musical universe. All musicians face a set of similar challenges when it comes to writing chord progressions. We've already provided a shortcut on musical key characteristics, which helps you match specific emotions to certain keys to achieve the feeling you're looking for in your song. But what about after that? You still need a chord progression or two […]
Musical Key Characteristics & Emotions
Musical key characteristics are something that are never talked about for some odd reason. It's not like professional songwriters choose a random key and slap some random chord changes in there and magically end up with the perfect feeling that matches the lyrics. It's not some hidden secret. I can almost guarantee you most songwriters think "Is this a positive emotion or a negative one?" […]
Recording Studio Cables: All You Need to Know
"No, no! Not the Cat-5, bring me the XLR. No, that's the TRS to TS! No, not the optical... Nevermind, I'll get it myself." It's easy to get frustrated and have zero tolerance for audio cable confusion, but that was all of us at one time or another. You have to start at the beginning, but that doesn't mean you can't take the accelerated course […]
The In-The-Box vs. Outboard Mixing Squabble
A lot of us take the art and science of mixing and mastering music very seriously. Most of us focus on one thing: the quality of the outcome, not mixing in the box or out of it. Who cares how you do it as long as the end result rocks, right? NOPE. People like drama. People like to be different and unique. People also experience […]
10 Compression Myths & Mistruths
Most of us in the recording industry have a solid understanding of how compressors work. We know how to tweak the settings to achieve our goals in a mix. But even the most well-informed of us are hanging on to some misconceptions about the technical aspects of how these crazy machines function. Let's start with the most simple myths and misguidance that's out there and […]
What is a Studio Compressor? What Does It Do?
An audio compressor is one of those pieces of gear that everyone tries to get by without for some odd reason. Guitar players, for instance, feel they should be able to achieve the effect with their fingers. Vocalists try to do the job of the compressor by moving closer and further away from the mic. Some mixing engineers will even automate the volume or literally […]
Music Streams are Ad Impressions... Welcome to Internet Advertising
Musicians (including myself), I hate to break it to you... it's time to stop crying and start playing by the different and new set of rules. You're not going to get paid more for your streams, and even if companies pacify you by doubling the amount they pay you, that's still negligible. Nobody is going to say "Yay, I'm getting two-one-hundreds of a penny instead […]
What is a Preamplifier? Why Do We Need Them?
It goes like this: If you're recording with a microphone then you need to use a preamplifier, no questions asked. It is 100% possible to record without one and you have the same percentage of a chance to get horrible results. The reason I'm so adamant about this is that I recorded my first 30 songs or so without one because I had no clue […]
BabyMetal - Japan Keeps it's Crown as King of the Weird
This post isn't your typical "Culture" post on Ledger Note. This has more to do with various sub-cultures smashing together and solidifying Japan's spot as #1 in weird! Meet BabyMetal... BABYMETAL is the next level heavy metal devil stuff. Some mad genius in a laboratory deep in the bowels of Japan decided to take the metal culture, dash in some karate, and take the prototypal […]
5 Tips to Bring Your Drum Programming to Life
There's a ton of advice out there being spewed every time someone asks "How do I program realistic drums?" "Drum programming isn't hard, dummy," they say. The answers are always the same... Learn how a real drummer drums Use real drum samples instead of synth-based Layer your sounds on top of each other Yeah yeah yeah. Here's the problem with that nonsense. Knowing how a […]
Scatman John Stuttered His Way to Stardom!
If ever there was an inspirational story, the story of Scatman John as told through his own lyrics fits the bill: Everybody stutters one way or the otherSo check out my message to youAs a matter of fact, don't let nothin' hold you backIf the Scatman can do it, so can you Scatman John's Early Life The Scatman was born as John Paul Larkin on […]
Mixing with Reverb: How to Use Reverb for Depth Without Creating a Mess
Do you ever listen to professional mixes and wonder how in the world they have so many lush reverbs flowing throughout the soundscape, yet everything still sounds crystal clear? How come you can't achieve the same? The answers are here. Most of the time we jump in, grab a reverb that has a sound we like, dial it in to a certain volume on varying […]
What is Tape Saturation? Which Are The Best Saturation Plugins?
Lots of listeners hear older recordings and realize that something sounds different than the new crystal clear, extremely sterilized, computerized recordings of today. It's not just a sense of nostalgia. There is definitely a difference but it's hard to put your finger on it. Even audiophiles have a difficulty nailing down just what that subtle feeling is that separates the new from old. There's a […]
The Healing Benefits of 528 Hz & the Solfeggio Frequencies
In my adventures through the cynical side of the internet, I came across an interesting conspiracy idea that strikes at the very core of Western music. The concept is that there has been a deliberate shifting of the fundamental frequencies of our Western scales away from an ancient and sacred 6-tone scale of solfeggio frequencies towards a less auspicious set of tones... While there's a […]
Vocal Warm Up Exercises for Singing
There are countless occupations that ask for you to put your best voice forward. From singers, actors, and radio personalities, to teachers, salesmen, and almost any other professional... it's not only what you say but how you say it. The key is preparation through vocal warm up exercises. Confidence and trust arises out of consistent daily practice and pre-performance warm up routines. Knowing your material […]
14 Tips for Recording and Mixing Vocals - The Right Way...
The two most important aspects to "recording and mixing vocals" is implied in that phrase right there. There is the recording phase and then there is the mixing phase. When recording, representing your voice in the most accurate and pristine way is about what not to do. It's a somewhat passive stage where as long as you nail your performance while dodging specific recording mistakes […]
Listen to the First Song Ever Written Over 3,300 Years Ago!
The Sumerian culture was this planets first true civilization, as far as we know thus far, to spring up around the 14th century B.C.E. It grew around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southern Mesopotamia. In modern times this would be in southern Iraq. The civilization flourished in what we call the Copper and Early Bronze ages. That's over 3,300 years ago! This is what […]
Ariana Grande's SNL Singer Impressions Vs. Original Artists
Ariana Grande has had a long career, being raised and promoted as another Disney darling (that never ends well, there's some real creepy stuff going on over there behind the scenes). I don't know if they pick these kids based on talent or groom them for it (or grow them in a lab), but they did a great job with Ariana, especially in the music […]
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole & the Music of Hawaii
Few people live a life of such authenticity and genuine realness that it impacts entire cultures. Even fewer do that while sharing positivity with the entire world. The Bruddah Iz's Backstory Israel Kamakawiwo'ole has quite the name, which is why people took to calling him Bruddah Iz. He was born on May 20th, 1959 and passed away on June 26th, 1997. Iz came up in […]
Music Industry Artist Networking & Branding Basics
We all believe that success in the music industry should be based on musical skill of some sort, whether that's songwriting, technical playing prowess, or some other talent. But unfortunately the industry has been taken over by businessmen who have their sights set on one goal... profit. This means that these record executives, A&R scouts, and anyone else looking to turn a buck or two […]
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