Basic Guitar Chords - Guitar essentials for writing songs and playing with other musicians
LearningSome people may just want to learn the basic guitar chords to impress girls (or boys) on the beach or to modestly accompany themselves when singing. Whatever your reasons, here are some basic chords …
Avoiding Feedback with an Acoustic Guitar - Tips for Playing Acoustic Guitar Live - Part 1
LearningCommonly used by electric guitar players, especially to liven things up, feedback is the worst enemy of acoustic musicians. In this series of articles we'll look into the solutions to play a relaxed …
An Interview With Producer, Engineer and Guitarist Eyal… - Production Insights from a Metal Master
Interview / PodcastOver the last 15 years, Eyal Levi has become a highly respected producer, engineer and musician in the world of metal music. He’s worked on 40 albums that have made it to the Billboard Top 200 chart,…
Of Sync Fees, Royalties and Exclusive Deals - Making Money From Music Licensing - Part 2
LearningIn part 1, we discussed what licensing is, and described how music libraries work. In this second and final part, we’ll look at the different ways you can make money from a licensed piece of music, t…
Sound Synthesis, Sound Design and Audio Processing - Pa… - What's the Frequency?
LearningAs we saw in the previous article of this series, if a waveform is recurrent, it is called a periodic wave. From a theoretical point of view, for example, musical notes are all based on a periodic wa…
How to Get Started Licensing Your Music - Making Money From Music Licensing - Part 1
LearningOne of the few avenues left where you can still make money from selling your music is through licensing. Although the market has become saturated over the last several years, there are still opportun…
Surviving as a Hired Gun in the Studio - Advice on How to be Successful as a Studio Musician
LearningBetween the proliferation of home studios, digital music technology, the Internet, and the development of music genres that are programmed rather than played, the amount of session work available, as…
Wave's Anatomy - Sound Synthesis, Sound Design and Audio Processing - Part 2
LearningIn the previous article we saw that sound is made of waves. Like many things in life, they can be simple or complex. You can't find an absolutely "pure" sound in nature. The closest to that is the s…
Classic Gear Spotlight: The Vox AC30 - The Amp That Armed the British Invasion
LearningIn today’s digitally dominated world of music gear, one way to tell how highly a guitar amp is regarded is whether it’s been emulated in major amp-modeling software packages. One of the amps you'll f…
An iPhone, iPod touch, and Especially an iPad, Can Grea… - iOS Onstage
LearningWith the right apps and accessories, an iPhone, an iPod touch and especially an iPad can be a real boon to your live performance setup. Your iDevice can function as a sound source, effects processo…
Getting Down to "Bassics" - Create Authentic Sounding MIDI Bass Guitar Parts
LearningIf you're a recording musician who doesn't play bass, creating realistic MIDI bass guitar parts can be a challenge. The tips and techniques offered in this article will help you put together authenti…
Richard Devine on sound design, synths, software, studi… - A Sonic Guru Speaks
LearningYou may have heard Richard Devine’s distinctive electronic compositions, or seen his name on patch collections in various synths, but most likely when you hear his work it’s a system sound in a compu…
Improve Your Mix with A/B Referencing -Part 2 - What to Listen For When Comparing a Mix
LearningIn part 1 we looked at different ways to setup your gear for an A/B comparison. This time, we’ll offer some suggestions for specific aspects to focus on during your referencing session.
Tips on Alternate Tunings - How to Adapt Your Electric Guitar to Your Alternate Tuning
LearningFans of alternate tunings (especially metalheads) will often find themselves with overcooked noodles instead of strings, compromising their sound. Here are a couple of recipes to make sure your strin…
Improve Your Mix with A/B Referencing - Part 1 - Compare Your Mix to That of a Professional for Valuable Sonic Guidance
LearningReferencing your mix against an existing recording via the process known as “A/B-ing,” is a great way to check the quality of your work and help you overcome inaccurate studio acoustics. Here in part…