Studio & Recording

John Williams needs no introduction. Known for soundtracking classics like Superman, E.T., Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones and Star Wars, the distinguished film composer has his own chapter in the Hollywood history book. Want to mimic the master? Allow me to divulge some classic John Williams hallmarks.

With all of the incredible music production tools we now have beneath our fingertips, it’s easier and easier to make an end product that lacks the particular warmth of good old human error. You probably didn’t start writing with the idea that you wanted to create something that sounded like it was generated by a machine, so how do you add that all-important human touch? Here, Ableton Live expert Hens Zimmerman shares some very human words of wisdom.

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.

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.

No matter how good you are at mixing and mastering, the quality of the original recording will always largely determine the final result. Guest-blogger Freek Roffel from Freaky Studio is here to share five tips that can help you get the recording stage right, where preparation is key.

For up-and-coming musicians, a music video is a great way to promote a new single. But how do you do it when your budget is limited? There are actually examples of great music videos that were shot using an iPhone or digital camera out there, but to pull it off, you need to know the basics of filming. Music video director Zeno Groenewegen is here to explain how you can achieve pro-grade results in twelve steps.

The drum machine had its real break-through back in the eighties but never really lost momentum. New models are frequently released while older models are regularly reissued and priced more generously than the original hardware. Curious about how legendary bits of kit like the TR-808 and the LM-1 came to exist? Read on!

In 2021, the moment finally came when Anni-Frid (1945), Björn (1945), Benny (1946) and Agnetha (1950) treated the world to a completely new album. Who’d have thought it? The band had long since broken up and even the promise of a billion dollar paycheck for a tour wasn’t tempting enough to bring them back together. However, this blog isn’t going to dig through the ABBA legend (you’ll be able to find plenty of ABBA history lessons documented in countless books and YouTube clips). Instead, we’re going to look at the musicality of this special band and the technical details that made it all possible. What are the necessary elements of the ABBA sound? Where do you start if you want to write a song like ABBA and how do you capture that distinct ABBA style?

The number of available DAW plugins is still growing every day. In this article, guest-blogger Davey Jonez looks into the biggest differences between the standard plugins you get with your DAW pack, and separately available, commercial plugins. Are the latter worth the investment?

We don’t just buy records based on what we hear, but what we see. According to research, colours, images and even shapes influence our decision-making, so let’s take a closer look at how this works in the context of album artwork.

What exactly is hearing damage and how can it affect you? As a musician, how does hearing damage happen? How easily can it happen and, more importantly, how can you best prevent or limit its effects? Read on to find out more.