Just to be clear, this blog is about traditional music composition, meaning it’s not going to deal with modern EDM-style workflows involving arpeggiators, drum loops, Ableton tools, and so on. So, if you know your way around a piano and want to start writing your own pieces, by all means, dig in!

Given the infinite list of plug-ins you can add to your DAW these days, it’s easy to forget that, back in the day, every single effect was a separate bit of kit that needed to be hooked up. Not only that, parts could break and spilling a cup of tea was a serious job hazard. That being said, hardware-based effects are still made to this very day.

If you just treated yourself to your first guitar, digital piano, drum kit, DJ controller or music production software, then chances are you’re already dreaming of performing on a stage one day. To get there though, you’re going to need a good way to hone your skills. Nowadays, there’s plenty of wisdom to be found online, ranging from tutorials on YouTube to free courses, which raises the question: how does self-teaching stack up against going for lessons with a real teacher?

Our guitar specialists could probably spit out a thousand-and-one facts about acoustic guitars but, since no one’s got all day, we’ll stick to just five!

Our string instrument specialists could probably spit out a thousand-and-one facts about ukuleles but, since no one’s got all day, we’ll stick to just five!

Proper posture is incredibly important when you’re singing. In fact, aligning your body correctly is a basic requirement for singing well and freely. So what’s the right posture? And what do you do when you want to move around or play an instrument while you sing?

One of the most common mistakes that creators make when producing videos is not paying proper attention to the audio. No matter how expensive your camera and film lights are, if the sound isn’t up to par, your viewers will probably feel like your videos are missing something. Want to know how to record dialogue more professionally? Then read on!

Making music doesn’t have to be limited to playing off a piece of paper or committing a library of songs to memory. Ask any jazz musician – in their line of work, almost every melody is conceived on the spot. Genius? You bet, but that’s not to say that less experienced musicians can’t or shouldn’t improvise, so read on and learn how it’s done.

The word ‘piano’ is a bit of an umbrella term since it can be used to refer to grand pianos, upright pianos, electric pianos and digital pianos, all of which generate sound in different ways. Want to know how? Just read on!

If you want to be a successful band, you can’t overlook the groove. It’s what every musician should always be after and, although the groove can be elusive and mythical, there are various tips, tricks and tools that can help you catch it. So in the famous words of Sam Cooke: get in the groove and let the good times roll.

Playing guitar with a tube amplifier at max power without the neighbours complaining – is it even possible? Well, yes. The only problem with playing through a tube amp is that it needs to be hooked up to a speaker cabinet before you flip it on. If you don’t, you risk doing irreparable damage to your amp. That’s because tube amps require a ‘load’, and that’s exactly where the loadbox comes in to replace your loud cab. Read on to learn how to use one and what it can do.

Ever spotted a set of ‘Send and Return’ ports round the back of a guitar amp and wondered what they’re for? These jack ports make up the effects loop, which is an infinitely useful feature when you’re trying to make external guitar effects sound as good as possible. In this article, we’ll tell you exactly which effects you should incorporate into your FX loop and why.