Music Production Podcast

How do we take an 8 bar loop and turn it into a finished song? It's probably the question people ask me most. As my students at Berklee are putting the finishing touches on their final project, it has been a major point of discussion. Then I received an email from a listener named Ed, who was seeking some advice on how to finish tracks. In this episode, I discuss the issues we all face in finishing songs. This is definitely not an end all be all - there's certainly room for a part 2 and 3 and 53 - but this episode answers attempts to answer the particular problems that have come up in the last few days. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: DREAM KEYS Ableton Live Pack - a collection of bedtime, mellow synth-keys instruments for Ableton Live. Check out the free DREAM KEYS Lite Pack. Making Music - Dennis DeSantis's absolute must-read book of 74 creative strategies for electronic music producers. A Simple Mistake That Will Ruin Your Mixdown - A 2 minute Ableton Live Tip that shows how to end your tracks smoothly. How to Make Music Like Marshmello - Using one song as a guide can be a powerful education experience.

Do you really need that new piece of gear? The truth is, probably not. Our modern day smart phones have more music making power than state of the art studios from just a few decades ago. In this episode, we talk about gear lust and how it gets in the way of our creative process. Plus I offer a few challenges you can give yourself to overcome the urge to buy new gear, accomplish goals, and perhaps reward yourself with a new toy when appropriate. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: AfroDJMac Music Production Club - My monthly subscription service that gets you a download every month, as well as LOTS of other cool stuff when you join. You Already Have Everything You Need to Make Music - My article for Berklee Online's Take Note Blog. Peaceful Synths - Ableton Live Pack of softer, mellow synth sounds. Use this link (or input the code: podcast) to get it for half price. SUBS - A collection of sub bass synthesizers or Ableton Live. Take Note - Berklee Online's Blog. Lots of great information, tutorials, and interviews about making music. Take Note Podcast - Berklee's podcast. This is the episode with Marlon Williams. Waterfalls - My 150th Free Ableton Live Pack, made from samples of the waterfalls of Norway's Fjords.

Vincent Musolino is a physicist and the author of How Audio Works. In the book, Vincent gives important information about how sound originates from the instrument, is recorded by the microphone, converted to digital in the DAW, and then back to analog when it leaves the speakers. It's a very musician friendly guide to a very technical subject. It's a great book for anyone interested in understanding the physics behind sound. In this episode, Vincent gives a detailed explanation of the journey sound takes and the nearly miraculous result that is music. We discuss the odd juxtaposition of the mathematical and emotional, the creative and the technical, that makes sound music. Enjoy this episode as there are powerful lessons that can dramatically enhance our musical productions. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: How Audio Works - Vincent's book about the journey sound takes from the instrument to the computer and out the speaker. Official Website Fletcher-Munson Curve - How humans hear different frequencies. Jon Hopkins on Song Exploder - Listen to Jon Hopkins break down a track from his new album. Adam Neely at Loop - Adam Neely shows how everything is a rhythm.

Dan Carr runs the site ReverbMachine, which is one my favorite new discoveries. On the site, Dan dissects and recreates the synthesizer patches used on popular songs by artists such as Tame Impala, Kanye West, Beach House, Nine Inch Nails, and more. At the end of each post you can download the presets and project files he creates. It's a powerful tool for learning how to program synthesizers and apply effects to achieve popular sounds. Like me, Dan also began his journey into music by playing guitar. I find his approach to sound design reflects the mentality of guitar players with their pedals and amplifiers. Those techniques translate to synthesizer sound design in exciting ways. I sat down for a conversation with Dan about his work and music production in general. Dan shared his process for dissecting the sounds from his favorite artists. It was a really fun conversation with a person doing some really exciting work for the music production community. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: ReverbMachine - Dan's Site where he dissects songs, recreates synth patches, and explores how artists make their music. Recreating Frank Ocean Tracks - Dan's piece for Reverb.com all about the sounds of Frank Ocean. Recreating Gone Girl - Another Reverb.com piece where Dan rebuilds Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' soundtrack for the film Gone Girl. Synth Patches - Dan's collections of presets for popular synth plugins. Ableton Sessions - Take a look under the hood as Dan recreates tracks by a wide range of artists. ReverbMachine on Facebook ReverbMachine on Twitter ReverbMachine on Instagram Moog Prodigy - Vintage Synth Explorer review of a classic synth. Soundtoys - We spoke a bit about their great plugins. Tame Impala - A favorite artist for both me and Dan. Tal Juno Chorus Plugin - It's free and sounds awesome.

Isaac Cotec is a musician, producer, and Ableton Certified Trainer. He makes music as Subaqueous and runs a website and YouTube channel about all things music production and Ableton Live. This summer he will run his 3rd Audio Grove Music Retreat. I first met Isaac in 2013 when we were going for our Ableton certification. Since then, I've followed his work closely and collaborated with him on a few Ableton Live Packs. This conversation with Isaac covers a lot of topics, including his Audio Grove Music Retreats, how he likes to batch his work together to be more productive, and his own workflow for the album writing process. It was a lot of fun catching up with Isaac and learning some of his tips and tricks to stay productive and inspired. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Official Site - Subaqueousmusic.com is where you will find all of Isaac's tutorials, music, and downloads. Music - Check out Isaac's music on SoundCloud. YouTube - Learn from Isaac and get some free downloads. Silk Drop - Isaac's collaboration with Heather Christie. Audio Grove Music Retreat - A peaceful getaway for music making. Ableton - Isaac's bio on Ableton's web site. Wavetable Course - Isaac created an in-depth course for Ableton's Wavetable Synthesizer. The Round Wavetable - 32 free Wavetable Instruments that Isaac contributed to. Wavetable Preset Tutorials - Learn to make Wavetable presets with Isaac. Ice Caves Free Ableton Live Pack #99 - This is a really cool collection of Casio SK-1 instruments I made, combined with Ice Cave samples Isaac made. Free Dubstep Beat Builder - Isaac is kind enough to offer his Dubstep Beat Builder for free to all AfroDJMac Music Production Club members!

You might not think that telling people they suck at producing is a good way to win over fans, but Underbelly has managed to take that approach and build a community of eager producers around it. His YouTube channel, You Suck at Producing, is growing at a hyper pace thanks to his powerful lessons and hilarious sense of humor. Underbelly packages important lessons in concise videos laced with a lighthearted attitude and dry humor. As a fan of his work, I had a great time talking with Underbelly. He's a classically trained pianist and an adept producer. During our conversation, Underbelly discusses his approach to his work as a teacher and a musician. He highlights the importance of not taking ourselves so seriously as artists, but being serious about discipline and producing quality music. I found him especially nice to talk to because he has a balance of deep knowledge and skill, but is open and honest about his own struggles as a musician. Enjoy! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: You Suck at Producing - Underbelly's official page. Underbelly's Youtube - A seriously hilarious and helpful channel for music production. Music - Check out Underbelly's music on Soundcloud. Private Lessons - Get some one-on-one time with Underbelly. Live Looping Tutorial - A nice live looping tutorial Underbelly did for DJ TechTools. Pyramind - Learn in the classroom with Underbelly. Discord - Join in the conversation and perhaps your song will be roasted on Underbelly's live stream. Endtroducing by DJ Shadow FKJ - Live looping guitarist. StickK - Punish yourself for not accomplishing your goals by helping causes you don't like.

Recently, Dan from pATCHES asked me write a musical manifesto for his site. I was just finishing Samuel Adoquei's Origin of Inspiration: Seven Short Essays for Creative People. The book had struck me in a powerful way, so I wrote my manifesto based on 3 lessons I took from the book. This episode is my reading of that manifesto over some ambient music made from my Wind Chimes instruments and Isotonik Studios' Arcade Series Returns. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Origin of Inspiration - Samuel Adoquei's amazing book of "Seven Short Essays for Creative People." My Manifesto on pATCHES - This is the original post on pATCHES of my essay on Origin of Inspiration. Manifestos on pATCHES - Words of wisdom from some great minds in the music world. pATCHES on the Music Production Podcast - A great talk with the men behind pATCHES.zone. Ethan Hein on the Music Production Podcast - Ethan Hein drops some powerful knowledge. Free Flutes for Ableton Live - Rozalind MacPhail supplied me with some great flute samples, which I turned into 7 free Ableton Live instruments. Rozalind MacPhail on the Music Production Podcast - Rozalind speaks about her work. Wind Chimes Ableton Live Pack - I used two of the instruments from this collection for the background music. Isotonik Studios Arcade Series Returns - I used the Arkanoid to sequence the notes in the background music. Mark Towers on the Music Production Podcast - Mark Towers is the creator of the Arcade Series.

This podcast was inspired by a student question. He asked "How do I get inspired to make music?" It's a great question, but I think it contains some underlying beliefs that need to be addressed. In this episode I encourage you to hunt for inspiration. To make yourself inspired. If you wait for inspiration, you'll never get anything done. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: The AfroDJMac Music Production Club - Get new production tools in your inbox every month. The War of Art - Steven Pressfield's life changing book on making great art. DiViNCi - Some powerful lessons on creativity and productivity from DiViNCi's talk on the Music Production Podcast. No Such Thing As Writer's Block - I meant to mention this in the episode but forgot :( Great take on a common excuse!

Emilio Guarino is a bassist, music producer, and author of Make It: A Guide For Recent Music Graduates. His music ranges from orchestral to jazz and electronic. In his book, Make It, Emilio picks up where music school left off and offers practical tactics and insights one can use to begin a career as a musician. It was really nice talking to Emilio about his experiences in the academic music world and how he has managed to bridge that world with the day to day life of a working musician. In this conversation, we talked about what it means to "make it," and the practices and philosophies one must embrace to find success in music. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Official Website - The hub for Emilio's work. Make It - This book is not only covers the philosophical and practical path to finding success as a musician, but it just as easily serves as a metaphor for any creative endeavor. Chromatic Endpin - An angled endpin Emilio designed for upright bassists. Instagram - Follow Emilio visually. You've Never Hear Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" - An NPR review of the classic album. Akimbo - Seth Godin's new podcast. Visit the Music Production Podcast webpage! If you enjoy the show, please leave a review!

Ethan Hein teaches music technology NYU and Montclair State University. His blog covers all kinds of related topics on music theory and technology. Ethan's work is a must for anyone looking to go deep into studying music and the culture surrounding it. Ethan and I had a great conversation about creating music, overcoming obstacles, and finding meaning in one's work. I really enjoy how Ethan is able to tie together concepts and illuminate new ways of understanding what music means and how it impacts us and reflects the state of our world. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Ethan Hein Blog- Tons of great writings on all things making music. NYC Ableton Live User Group- Full video of an advanced user group meeting, featuring Ethan Hein, Ben Casey, Thomas Piper, and AfroDJMac. Disquiet- The work of Mark Weindenbaum, where you can find the weekly Junto Project Ethan spoke about. 33 1/3- A series of books about albums. Music Technology Syllabus- Ethan's syllabus for his Music Tech course at New York University.