Guest Blogs

Rock-‘n-roll… it’s not just a genre, it’s a lifestyle, it’s the sound of one of the most influential eras in music history and it’s… a parallel universe? Who knows? Venerable guestblogger, Teo from Chordify does know one thing for sure: how to play classic rock-’n-roll. And here, in three simple steps, he explains the basics.

Professional pianist and founder of the Institut de Musique de Paris, Celine Gaurier-Joubert has been teaching piano lessons for over twenty years. Throughout her career, she’s already shown hundreds of students the ropes and, in this article, she’ll be sharing some of her expertise so you can be a better student, build a good relationship with your teacher and make the most of your piano lessons.

Guestblogger Wietse Hendriks lays down the ins and outs of the drum solo. Where does the drum solo come from? Are there different kinds of solos? And, how can you build a great solo that delivers maximum impact? Here, Wietse puts the drummer in the spotlight and explains how to get the most out of every second of your solos.

Dance music relies on rhythm, contrast and… tension. If your listener is just hearing the same thing again and again, they can quickly drift off, so any good EDM producer wants to keep things interesting and keep the tension building. The break is a great opportunity to build tension, since it gives your listener a chance to catch their breath before you shift things up a gear with the build-up and smack them with the inevitable drop. Here, Guestblogger and DJ/producer Rutger Steenbergen offers up seven tips for building up to the ultimate drop.

Nothing is more boring and unappealing than a song that doesn’t go anywhere, which is why any successful song needs to build tension and make sure that the listener is kept curious about what will happen next. So what can you do to keep a song fresh and surprising? How do you make a song instantly recognizable but a pleasure to listen to? Songwriting teacher, Peter van Vleuten offers some handy tips and tricks.

Guestblogger, Sander is a professional voiceover artist. Every working day, you’ll find him sitting behind his microphone in his booth at home, recording voice overs for everything from web videos to commercials – including Bax Music ads. In fact, Sander has been the ‘voice’ of Bax Music for ten years already. In this blog, he shares his trade secrets when it comes to recording the perfect voiceover.

Finding the right chords for a new tune is never easy. Thankfully, guest-blogger Hens Zimmerman is here to help ease the process with Ableton Live, but first, let’s look at a little music theory.

In this guitar-focussed article, guest-blogger Marc serves up a step-by-step guide on how to swap out the standard strap buttons of your acoustic guitar, electric guitar or bass with strap locks. Rest assured, it’s easier than you think and all it takes is a screwdriver and a little bit of your time. Let’s get started.

Since he once struggled to grasp music theory himself, guest-blogger Lode Habex knows exactly how to help out beginners. In this article, Lode breaks down the circle of fifths and explains why it’s one of the most practical tools that musicians can use to match scales, find notes, create chord progressions, and more.

You’ve just picked up your first guitar and you’re already itching to start learning to play some songs. Whether you want to impress your mates, serenade your soulmate or more importantly, start making some music, our Guestblogger Alexousky is here to guide you through six classic pop tracks that you don’t just know already, but are actually really easy to learn. Have a look through, pick something that works for you, and get to grips with a nice and short, classic little riff or an immediately familiar set of chords that you can get your mates singing along to.

Whether you’re making pure electronic music, indie-rock or pop, the humble synthesizer is near-indivisible from the modern music landscape. Since synths are only getting cheaper, it’s likely that you’re already busy twiddling knobs and pushing faders, but what if you want to actually record the sound of your synth? Here, our Guestblogger Melvin Rijlaarsdam explains what’s involved and how to get the best out of your synth in the studio.

Guest-blogger and multi-instrumentalist Nigel Hubée reveals how he bumped the foot percussion of the acoustic duo he’s one half of (The Tickets) up to the next level with a mix of self-contrived drums, a fresh take on an old-school hi-hat, and modern digital technology. Read on and learn!