The harmonica is a small and seemingly easy to play wind instrument. They’re also pretty cheap, and in the right hands, can wield incredible power, not to mention masses of expression. This humble little instrument is sometimes referred to as a blues harp and has managed to weed its way into a broad array of genres, and in this blog, you’ll learn about the illustrious history of the harmonica, the various forms a harmonica can take, as well as some of its essential playing techniques.

If you are ready to produce a large body of work, you may be wondering how to make an album sound cohesive and consistent, while still engaging the listener throughout. There’s more to it than simply using repetitive production techniques throughout your album. Our guest blogger, music producer and songwriter, De Ana, explains further, starting at the source…

If you’re reading this, that means you’ve probably been thinking about how you can use your beat-making tools and talents and turn them into a business model. But which platform are you going to use? And how do you sell your beats to the right artists? In this blog, guest-blogger and full-time producer Daddynervs shares a handful of ins and outs that you can use to propel your beat-brewing career.

If you’ve been playing the guitar for a while now, the standard EADGBE tuning might feel a bit like a musical straitjacket. If you want to go beyond standard tuning however, you’ll need to get off the beaten path. Open tunings open up a whole new world and can make playing guitar feel like an adventure again. “You’re forced to learn how to play guitar from scratch again,” says fingerstyle guitarist Hans Laduc.

In this helpful, purpose written guide, Guestblogger Karlynn explains how to replace the scratchplate of an acoustic guitar. Along the way, you’ll also find out why your scratchplate is so important; why it might need replacing at all; how to start, and what you need to watch out for.

An instrument that fits in your pocket and makes a pleasant yet arguably hilarious ploinky-ploink sound is pretty hard to take seriously and much easier to just dismiss. If the mouth harp is your musical weapon of choice, no fame, glory, or fortune awaits; such is the life of the humble mouth harpist. Also known as a jaw harp or even a Jew’s harp, the mouth harp actually wields a secret power that’s at least 4,000 years old, and this power is able to slot seamlessly into contemporary music whether it’s noticed or not. Here, master of the mystical mouth harp, Danibal helps to explain how and why this wee and weird instrument is well worth your time.

Known for soundtracking countless B-movies in the fifties and leading the orchestra that played the original Star Trek theme tune, we’re going to take a look at one of the weirder, more sequestered instruments of the music-making world: the theremin. The theremin is also the oldest electronic musical instrument in existence, and what marks it out from the synthesizers that followed is not just that UFO-like whine, but the bizarre hands-off gesturing technique that’s used to play it. This is the only musical instrument you can play without even touching it.

If your band is busy laying roots across the country, playing every gig it can, whether in a fully set up venue or grubby backstreet pub, the idea of kitting yourselves out with a good PA system has probably come up already. But as soon as you’ve decided to take the leap, you’re faced with a whole new set of questions. Do you need active or passive speakers? Do you just need a little vocal setup or a complete PA system? What do you need to look for in your perfect mixer, your monitors, your microphones…? And so on. Not to worry, in this blog, we will lend a generous helping hand and set you up with the knowledge you need to make all the right decisions.

We all know what today’s youngsters are like. If it’s not bloated with colour and employs touchscreen technology, their attention disintegrates quickly. The concentration threshold of myriad children means they turn off faster than the kitchen light. They flutter from one entertainment to another without embracing the necessary hardship to master a new skill set. How can such uniformity be consoled? Well, you could encourage them to write songs. Guest blogger Steven Brooks explores the benefits.

Unfortunately, there comes a time when everything breaks, and the same is definitely true of music gear, whether it’s speakers, valve amplifiers, or your electric guitar or bass. In the worst case, you’ll need to get it fixed by a professional, but there are some smaller, more simple repairs that you can actually carry out yourself. With a voltmeter, a soldering iron and a little solder on your side, you can get more done than you might think.

Sharp outfits mean nothing if you’re not a sharp, tight band. Good timing is the essence of playing in a band, and if you don’t have it, then you risk sounding like a shambles. So, how do you hone your skills to make sure you’re hitting every beat and that you’re part of a super-tight band? We offer up fifteen exercises and some handy tips to help you get there.

Do you get irked whenever you hear a successful producer proclaim: “and I didn’t even know any music theory”? Say they’re telling the truth (usually, it’s far from the truth), so what? Not everyone is going to be a natural, and just think, how good would those same producers be if they had bothered to learn music theory. Right here, right now, Guestblogger Daddynervs tells us why every producer, even humble beat producers, should arm themselves with some good old fashioned music theory – and what music theory actually is.