The music you hear on television sounds so good because it’s been carefully recorded and mixed. While you enjoy the beautiful sound, a lot of work is happening behind the scenes to translate that audio as well as possible to different sound systems. Who makes sure a concert sounds its best on your system at home? One of the people responsible is the broadcast audio engineer. In this blog, we take a look behind the scenes with an experienced audio engineer, as he guides us through his fascinating work.

You’ve decided to learn a big, low-sounding bowed string instrument and you’re torn between the cello and the double bass. Both instruments are so large that you need to place them on the floor to play. And with both, you can feel those deep notes resonating through your body. But… they’re used differently. Read on and listen.

We all know the struggle: no inspiration! Or maybe even worse: plenty of inspiration, but no idea how to turn it into a solid result. Since version 12, Ableton Live has included a brilliant set of tools to help with exactly that. In Ableton Live they’re called MIDI Generative tools and MIDI Transformation tools.

Finding a good, interesting, fun or distinctive subject for song lyrics always takes time and energy. Not only because the subject needs to be ‘describable’ and singable, but also because you’ll eventually need a complete set of lyrics on paper — not just a promising first line.

Don Vliet — does that ring a bell for anyone? Don Ván Vliet, perhaps? Captain Beefheart sounds a lot more familiar — and a good deal more magical. This singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and painter was, with his Magic Band behind him, a legend throughout his entire career.

Do you ever do studio recordings? Then you’ll know: once tracking is done, the real work begins. Painstaking work, to be precise. At Lewitt, they’ve found a way to make that heavy lifting a whole lot lighter. And no, not with a plugin. Discover the magic of the Lewitt RAY.

In his previous article, guest blogger and songwriting teacher Lex Hakker explained how to get your first ideas for lyrics down on paper. Now it’s time to give the text more structure. We’ll be working on the build-up of your ‘story’. We’ll cover perspective, verse, chorus, prep/pre-chorus and contrast/bridge.

A melodica looks like a mini piano, but you have to blow into it to get any sound. It’s easy to take with you, simple to learn, yet versatile enough to earn a place in all sorts of styles — from reggae to jazz. Let’s take a closer look at this unusual instrument, where it came from, and how it’s used today.

You’ve been DJing at home every evening for a year on the DJ controller you bought from Bax Music. And then, suddenly, the question comes up: “Will you DJ at our party?” Even more exciting: they expect you to provide the sound and lighting yourself. Uh-oh… what kind of setup do you need, and how do you prepare? Luckily, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Bax Music points you in the right direction with 7 golden rules for the beginner mobile DJ.

You play live shows or mix music in a studio. And your big wish is for your speakers to sound deeper: more bass! So now you reckon it’s time for a subwoofer (or two). Not a bad idea. Only… how do you connect one? We’ll explain.

If you ask (home) studio owners what their most important tools are, there’s often one element missing from their list: the studio room itself — and its acoustics in particular. That’s a shame, because acoustics can be the difference between a production that sounds professional and one that doesn’t.

What do others think of me? What if I sing out of tune? With performance-focused hobbies like singing, we tend to put all our focus on how well we’re doing, says guest blogger and VocalFeedback coach Nandy Mannaert. But fixating on perfection leads to tension. And it holds back your progress and your enjoyment of singing, says Nandy.