Music Making Tutorials, Guides, Articles

What is so appealing about the cello? Is it its sound? Its shape? And why do so many people overlook this beautiful instrument? Well probably for these reasons: It’s big It’s expensive It’s hard to play I have some good news though: these are also all  excellent  reasons to actually play the  cello. So if your dream is to play Bach like Yo Yo Ma or actually  not  even play classical music… Well, you’ve come to the right place as I have for you in today’s article everything you need to know to get started on the cello

Few, if no instruments are as  typical  as the  banjo . In fact, you could probably call it the one, single most American instrument existing. And the time where its sound was associated with hillbillies playing on their porch is long past.

In the world of instruments, the mandolin is kind of an ugly duckling. Ask mandolin players how they’ve ended up playing the mandolin, and chances are many of them will tell you: Well I wanted to play in a band but there was already a guitarist and a fiddler, so I had to go with the mandolin Others are actually guitar or banjo players who wanted to experiment a different sound, some are even violin players who wanted a cross between the violin and the guitar.

When you think of Latin and Afro-Cuban music… Congas  are very often one of the first instruments to come to mind… And, along with bongos, they are inseparable from the rhythmic foundation of this music. But why is that? Well, first of all, one of the main characteristics of Afro-Cuban music is  Rhythm .

They might go unnoticed many times, but pay attention and you’ll hear bongos in almost all musical genres. From the most obvious ones, like latin music, to the ones you wouldn’t even suspect, like mainstream pop, bongos always manage to add a unique touch to the rhythm section of a song. And whether you’re a drummer looking to try out a new percussion instrument or just a curious newbie attracted by its exhilarating pitch… Bongos are a great way to start playing afro cuban rhythms.

These days the djembe has gotten pretty damn popular. In fact it’s one of the trendiest percussion instruments around. Decades ago, if you played the djembe, you were either: Some African virtuoso master who’d been playing everyday since birth, or… Some hippie stoner in a drum circle who really can’t play at all. Today though, the instrument has found a happy middle-ground with average musicians all around the world.

Remember that one friend of yours that first introduced you to the cajon? Remember how you thought “wow, this thing sure sounds good, and you can sit on it too!”… Many people like the sound of the cajon, but it seems as though drummers come to develop a special relationship with the instrument… Maybe because some model have a real snare built-in, maybe because you can actually turn it into a true portable drumset … Or maybe simply because it’s a percussion instrument.

With rappers recording at a nonstop clip, and sampling more difficult than ever,  hip-hop producers are increasingly outsourcing their melodies to a global network of loopmakers. High school sophomore Vikas Prasad has one main goal: score a production placement with a major rap artist before the end of the school year. When he’s not in class, the 16-year-old spends most of his time making music in his bedroom in the suburbs of San Jose, California. Online, he’s part of a producer community that congregates around livestreams and beat marketplaces, hoping to learn the production trick or make the connection that will land them their big break.

Sampling is far from a new concept, having first become popular in the 1970s and 1980s. What is new, however, are the modern methods and techniques used as technology develops and music trends change. It’s fair to say music sampling has advanced through time. Today, a musical masterpiece can be created with just a laptop.

Apple Inc. has held a significantly large fan-base among music producers for close to two decades now, since the acquisition of the German software company Emagic . The primary intention of the acquisition was to get control over the development of Emagic’s flagship product, Notator Logic (now Logic Pro), a full-fledged music production software. The Logic Pro flourished under Apple to become one of the most favored Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) in the world. Loaded with hundreds of virtual instruments and premium features, the Logic Pro X is worth every penny if you are a full-time music professional. However if you are just a beginner, purchasing the latest version of Logic Pro X isn’t a necessity. You can start composing and producing your own music with GarageBand, another offering from Apple that runs on the legendary Logic Pro audio engine. For Apple (MacOS and iOS) users, the application is available for free download from the Mac App store.