Music Production Podcast

January 2018 was spent creating a small piece of music every single day for the #Jamuary2018 challenge. It was a lot of fun and pretty challenging. Lots of people participated and there were a ton of really cool jams. Now we are going to do something with them! It's time to begin #FinishFebruary2018 !!  The first thing I think we are all entitled to is a short break. Take a step back from your music making and assess what you have. It's probably pretty likely you've forgotten about some of those jams.  After a couple days of rest, let's look at the situation. I've built a spreadsheet on Google Sheets to help categorize your jams. There are eight columns to fill out for each day. Jam Name: Give your jam a name to help identify it (this can change). Notes: List anything that might be relevant. Instruments used, style, groove, feel... anything that will help you identify the track. What still needs to be done? BPM: List the BPM of your jam. Key: What key is your jam in? Mood-Theme-Genre: What is the emotion of the track? Any interesting theme? The Musical Genre. Group: Label these with letters. If a jam is similar in some way to another jam, give it the same letter. It is ok to have multiple letters on a single jam if it has something in common with multiple jams. % Complete: Estimate how close this jam is to completion. Rating 1-4: How likely are you to use this jam. 1-Not likely, 2-Maybe, 3-Probably, 4-Definitely.  Feel free to add your own columns. If you do, let me know what you added!  You may notice that I added ten addition spots for jams after day 31 (A-J). I'm going to use this to add some unfinished ideas I've had over the last year that I think might fit in with some of the other jams. I encourage you to go back and pick 10 of your favorite unfinished ideas from the past year and keep them in mind as we go through the month. If you did not participate in Jamuary, that doesn't mean you can't do Finish February! Look through your unfinished ideas and pick your favorites and list them in the spreadsheet! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Google Spreadsheet: Use this spreadsheet to categorize your jams and organize your thoughts on each one. Fact TV Against the Clock: Producers get 10 minutes to make a track. Very inspiring! My Instagram: Find my jams and thoughts for Finish February. Jamuary2018: Check out the work of everyone involved in Jamuary 2018! FinishFebruary2018: Here's a hashtag to follow on Instagram. My #Jamuary2018 Jams. These are the full-length videos, in reverse chronological order. Enjoy :)

Merlyn Silva is a musician, sound artist, and educator from Denmark. His work spans many different genres, with a focus on electronics and glitch. A background in drama helps Merlyn shape both his music and teachings.  I had a great conversation with Merlyn, spanning a wide range of topics. He's got some great thoughts on being productive. I especially liked his "hats" method. In this talk, Merlyn shares his thoughts on making music, teaching, and his musical collaboration with a cup of coffee. Merlyn's enthusiasm is infectious. Enjoy this talk! *A little disclaimer... Unfortunately, there were some errors on my end of the audio. I believe it was merely a bad microphone cable that caused some bothersome clicks and pops. I actually found that adding a layer of vinyl record crackling helped to mask the glitches and make the listening experience more enjoyable. Although it's certainly not ideal, I don't think that it takes away from the valuable wisdom Merlyn shared with me. Thanks for your understanding!* Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: YouTube - Merlyn's channel with some great performances and tutorials. Twitter - Merlyn's Twitter. SoundCloud - Listen to Merlyn's music. Warp Academy - Great tutorial by Merlyn on creating interesting vocal chops.

I am ten days into #Jamuary2018, and productivity is at a high. Jamuary is a challenge to create a piece of music every day. It doesn't have to be great; it can be a jam, loop, idea, performance... it doesn't matter. The point is to just make music.  I've learned some valuable lessons in these first ten days. I've managed to create and put out a jam every day. It's become extremely empowering to know that it can be done. It's led to some important insights and discoveries. In this episode, I will tell you the story behind the experience and some of the specific things I've discovered, as well as some of the improvements to my workflow that have happened as a result of the Jamuary discipline. Plus I will let you hear some of the music.  If you aren't involved in #Jamuary2018, it's not too late. Join in now! Start making little jams each day for the rest of January. You will be amazed at how much it will help! Enjoy! Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: AfroDJMac Instagram - I'm posting all of my #Jamuary2018 jams here. COIN OP Ableton Live Template - Ready to go 8-Bit music Ableton Live Project. Gibson Ebow Ableton Live Instrument - This is the 2nd free Ableton Live Pack I ever made! World Collection - Isotonik Studios Music Reactive Visuals. Samsara - Customized Granular Looping Plogue Chip Speech - Incredible Singing Robot Plug in. Izotope Nectar - Vocal Suite Plug in. Fugue Machine - iOS MIDI Sequencer. Patterning - iOS Drum Machine. Figure - iOS Beat Maker. Samplr - iOS Sampler Audiobus - iOS Audio Router.

During the month of January 2018, I will be participating in #Jamuary2018, and I encourage you to do the same. The challenge is to create and share a piece of music every day. It doesn't matter how good or complete it is, the point is to create music each day during the month of January. Feel free to share ideas, grooves, jams, musical explorations, full songs... whatever you come up with for the day. You can share your jam however you like, but it seems like Instagram, using #Jamuary2018, is the most popular place to do it. In this episode, I explain what #Jamuary2018 is, what the goals are, and how my participation in #Jamuary2017 helped me grow as an artist. Embedded in the episode are thoughts on how #Jamuary2018 will help you with discipline, separating left and right brain tasks, and exploring and experimentation. I will be posting my jams each day on Instagram and this podcast. Each day I will share the music I make, how I made it, and what I learned. Today, we get ourselves ready for a busy and productive #Jamuary2018! I hope you join me in the challenge! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Cuckoo's Thoughts on #Jamuary2018 How to be More Creative - a post I wrote about the early stages of the creative process. Maximum Productivity from Proper Use of Left and Right Brain - Jason Timothy's Ableton Forum post about making music. Jason Timothy on the Music Production Podcast Against the Clock - Fact Magazine challenges producers to make a track in 10 minutes. Cuckoo on Instagram #Jamuary2018 on Instagram - Follow this thread and share your jams. My #Jamuary2017 tracks

Dustin Ragland is a musician, educator, and engineer. He teaches at the Academy of Contemporary Music at UCO in Oklahoma City. Dustin creates music under the name Young Weather and is an Ableton Certified Trainer. He owns and operates Mir Studio in Oklahoma City. In this episode of the Music Production Podcast, Dustin and I discuss a wide range of topics related to making music. Dustin shares his thoughts on how to work well with other musicians, his role at the Academy of Contemporary Music, and the importance of preserving curiosity.  Show Notes: Young Weather - The musical project of Dustin Ragland Bandcamp - Young Weather on Bandcamp iTunes - Young Weather on iTunes Pyramind - A wealth of video tutorials by Dustin Instagram - Dustin's Instagram Max for Live - Dustin's free Max for Live creations Mir Studio - Dustin's recording studio in Oklahoma City. AMC@UCO - The Academy of Contemporary Music at University of Central Oklahoma.  

Josh Spoon is a musician, producer, and Ableton Certified Trainer living in Los Angeles. His music pulls inspiration from hip hop and alternative rock. Think Dr. Dre meets the Flaming Lips. Josh runs the site Producerskitchen.com, where he shares his deep knowledge of music production and live performance. In this episode, Josh and I talk about staying creative, losing yourself in the moment, and how to stay in that creative moment.  Show Notes: Josh Spoon.com - Josh's site for his music and teaching The Producer's Kitchen - Tutorials on music production Bandcamp - Listen to and get Josh's music SAMPLEnHOLD - Performance collective of "electronic weirdos" Reverb.com - How to Make Your Drums Sound Like Ringo Starr Music Production Podcast web page. AfroDJMac.com

Sam Gribben is the founder and CEO of Melodics, as well as the former CEO of Serato. Melodics teaches people how to play MIDI pad controllers, electronic drum kits, and now keyboards. What makes Melodics unique is that it uses aspects of video gaming to teach the discipline of practice. Melodics makes practicing fun and productive in a few minutes a day. I've been using it for finger drumming for over a year and my skills have grown tremendously. Sam was kind enough to spend some time with me to discuss the newest version of Melodics, the importance of discipline, and how to make learning both fun and productive.  Download Melodics and use the promo code: MusicProduction-Podcast to unlock extra lessons for free.   Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Melodics - Learn finger drumming, electronic drumming, and keys. Unlock extra lessons for free with the special promo code: MusicProduction-Podcast  Jane McGonigal - Game designer and author

Kristoffer Lislegaard is an electronic musician, producer, and sound artist from Norway. He is one half of the duo, Sgrow. Sgrow combines influences from pop, ambient, and club music. They've just released their new album, Circumstance.  I wanted to speak with Kristoffer after hearing the new album because I was intrigued by the interesting palette of sounds made from a combination of real world instruments, field recordings, and synthesizers. Kristoffer has some really inspiring takes on sound design and manipulating samples. Our conversation covers various topics from unusual sound design techniques, some of his favorite gear, and learning how to leave the ego behind to have successful collaborations. Show Notes: Sgrow - Kristoffer's electronic duo with Vilde Nupen Sgrow on Facebook Sgrow YouTube Channel Kristoffer's YouTube Channel Critter & Guitari Organelle LOM Elektrosluch Lo-Fi Loop Junky Monome   Check out my website AfroDJMac.com for more music production materials.

What is the most important lesson? If my students remember just one thing, what would it be?  Check out AfroDJMac.com/podcast for the full show notes, featuring some very useful videos and links.  Support this podcast on Patreon and by shopping the AfroDJMac Store!

Ableton has just announced Live 10, the latest development of the popular DAW. It’s currently becoming available to beta testers now and will be released in early 2018. I’ve had access to Live 10 for the last few months and have quite a lot to say about it. In this episode, I discuss some of my favorite features and devices. There are some sound examples to help demonstrate my points, as well as some thoughts on how Live 10 has improved my music making experience. Basically, an Ableton Live nerd reveling in his new toys. Enjoy! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Support the Podcast on Patreon Show Notes: Free Ableton Live Pack 162: Mitchell's Harpsichord New in Ableton Live 10 - My YouTube Playlist with in-depth tutorials and walkthroughs of some of my favorite new features