Trash metal, metalcore, djent, death metal, doom metal, grindcore, nu-metal, speed metal… Metal has at least 666 subgenres to it, and every last one of them has its own distinct characteristics. But when you want to be a metal drummer, there are some solid basics you can learn to help you cover all of them. In this blog, you’ll find out what you need to know and what kind of exercises you need to be drilling so that, after all your hard work, you can truly call yourself a metal drummer and join the immortal ranks of the anti-gods.

Struggling to expand your fanbase and have no idea what you need to be posting on Facebook and Instagram? Of course, you want more likes, more exposure and more gigs. You want your music to be pulling more attention, and you know that, to get that attention, you need to be more visible. But how?! The answer is ‘positioning’. Here, guest-blogger and musician Mirjam Sieben reveals the tips she used to help out the band Stompin’ Grounds.

Turn your fans into walking billboards for your work by selling some good merchandise online and at your gigs. It’s all part of growing your brand awareness, so at the very least, you should have some T-shirts printed with your band logo. In fact, you can slap your logo on anything you want: badges, caps, sweatbands, beermats, iPhone cases – you name it.

Love horror film music and want to know more about how it’s composed? In this article, I’m going to discuss three types of suspenseful, tension-building styles that are the cornerstone of many-a scary movie, and then give you ten examples of stellar horror soundtracks. In the second half, I’ll share a few writing tips for aspiring horror/thriller film composers. And don’t worry, there are no jumpscares!

Whether you’re a casual or a professional DJ, you no doubt know that the DJ-world can be harsh and unforgiving, especially since popularity has seemingly been taking precedence over performance and skill. If you’ve been wondering how to improve and promote yourself in order to get booked more often, then the tips and advice offered up by guest-blogger-and-DJ Brian van Bogaert aka DJ BRIVE might be useful. Read on and learn how to claim a bigger piece of the spotlight and market yourself.

When you’re watching a band play live on stage, it’s easy to forget that it’s the light tech who’s made sure that everything and everyone is clearly visible. And yes, light technicians do way more than simply flick the lights on. Pay special attention to the lighting the next time you’re at a venue and you’ll notice how the lights dynamically react to the sound. In this blog, our lighting gear expert Floris explains what it takes to become a light tech, followed by an interview with a professional in the field.

Live coding: type programming code in and spit music out. It might sound a bit much, but if you’re an Ableton Live user looking for a new way to get creative, you’ve just found it. If you want to impress your hoards of fans on stage or at home, it’s time to set that inner nerd free and invite Sonic Pi into your Ableton software. Here, Guestblogger Hens Zimmerman shows you the way.

Overdrive remains one of the most essential tools in any musician’s kit box. The answer to the immortal question: ‘Which overdrive pedal is the best of all time?’ will differ depending on which guitarist you’re talking to. This is because no overdrive can weave its magic on its own, instead, it all happens in the delicate interplay between your amplifier and your chosen pedal – not to mention, your carefully sculpted go-to settings. The world of overdrive is filled with myths and mysterious legends about the magic ingredients involved, but we’re here to find the truth behind it all, with a little help from the stone-cold classic that is the Ibanez Tube Screamer.

If you want to make your bread and butter as a musician, besides investing in your skills, it’s also essential to invest in building your fanbase. If you don’t have people listening to what you’re making or coming to your gigs, it’s going to be pretty hard to make a living from your music. With that in mind, the question is: how do you gain new fans? Guestblogger Maaike van Steenis offers up her top tips!

By its very nature, music can be a noisy phenomenon which is exactly why any live venue, pub, rehearsal room and recording studio will always need good isolation. For the average musician, playing at full volume in their own home just isn’t an option – there are nagging neighbours to think about. Is it a problem that can be solved once and for all? You’ve heard that some good isolation will keep the noise in and keep your neighbours sweet, but before you start collecting egg boxes, it’s worth learning a little bit about the theory behind sound isolation. Your first lesson: egg boxes make for terrible sound proofing.

Naturally, everything has to be perfect when it comes to wedding parties. This includes the toast, the speeches given by best men and women, and of course the music — in other words, the sound system on location has to be up to snuff. Not sure what you need or where to start? No worries, wedding DJ Sebastian is here to give you some pointers and a couple of recommendations.

In this article, we dive deep into hard rock and the closely related style that is heavy metal. What even is hard rock? How do you play great hard rock? And what do classical music and jazz have to do with it?