Processing takes place at all stages of your production. Whether it’s sound design, mixing or mastering, you’ll at some point throw an EQ or a compressor on your track. While the following tip is pretty basic it’s overseen by many producers. Keep the input leveled with the output When you process your sound just keep…

With a digital audio workstation (DAW) it’s never been easier to write melodies and chord progessions. But with more and more time spent on creating such harmonies, you realize that it’s not sounding quite as human as if it would sound like if you played it by hand. You either can choose to record it…

Are you sometimes feel that you don’t use the time you have efficient enough? Or do you struggle to find time at all to make music? I was at this point as well and want to help you find a way to organize yourself and squeeze the most out of it. Find your big things…

Mixing your own music can be a challenge. After countless hours of tweaking and arranging it’s easy to lose perspective on your track. Therefore receiving visual feedback can be helpful to achieving a clean and powerful mix. Get things started Choose an analyzer and stick to it! You need to know how it responds to…

Drums are arguably the most important element to consider when creating a hip hop track. While the groove is essential, the sound of your drums can separate you strongly from the sea of producers. To achieve your very own sound, you won’t get far without layering. Layering is the technique of stacking sounds to create…

Getting ideas down quickly is essential for music producers to get in the state of flow and stay there. With these 3 simple tips you’ll be able to improve your workflow, and remain focused on your project. 1. Create a template Creating a standard template in your daw will not only help you have all…

In this blog post I’ll show you how to add some spice to your musical concepts. This particular little trick will lend atmosphere and space to your track. First you need a chord progression, melody, vocal – or any element you want to work with. Duplicate the track and reverse the whole section. Now insert a…

With lo-fi beats, you hear the old vinyl effect a lot. The pitch of the piano, guitar or even the whole beat goes up and down which creates a super old school, mellow vibe. I’m going to show how to rebuild this in Ableton Live using the Simple Delay. Get that old vinyl feeling Firstly…

In lo-fi hip hop, it’s all about the rhythm and feel of your track. To create a cool rhythmic vocal effect, try using this technique. 1. All about the grains. First, choose a sample where someone is talking. Background noises are ok – music is not. Then apply your chosen vocal to a granular synthesizer.…

Programming HiHats in a DAW is a quick and easy way to get your ideas down. But with more and more time spent on a project you may realize that  your hats sound too mechanical, too robotic. The problem with that is, that a real human drummer will always have a slight variation each time…