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Music production tips, tutorials, and insights from our mentors and team.
Can AI Make You a Better Music Producer?
Can AI make you a better music producer? I got asked exactly that on the AI Experience podcast with Julien Redelsperger, and it turned into a long conversation about how electronic music actually gets made, what AI is good and bad at, and who owns a track when a machine touched it.
How to Make Phonk: The Complete Guide to Digital Grit
Learn how to make Phonk music with this complete guide. 808s, cowbells, mixing tips, and subgenres explained. Start producing today.
What Is Phonk? The Dark, Distorted Genre Rooted in Memphis Rap
Phonk is the dark, cowbell-driven sound that grew out of 90s Memphis rap and blew up on TikTok. Here's where it actually came from, the main sub-genres, and what gives it that grimy character.
EDM Chord Progressions: 6 Famous Tracks Broken Down (Avicii, Guetta, Garrix)
Broke down the actual chord progressions behind Levels, Titanium, Sweet Nothing, Don't You Worry Child, Animals, and Clarity. Keys, Roman numerals, and why each loop works, with the videos.
How to Use Voxengo SPAN: The Free Spectrum Analyzer Every Producer Needs
SPAN is a spectral analyzer. It's like reading the rings of a tree stump, you can tell how old it is. This tool will be your best friend. If you have a second monitor, keep this thing up on the second monitor at all times. Let me show you how to set it up. Watch the Video Prefer reading? Here's the full breakdown. Setting it up When you open SPAN, click into the settings: * Block size: yours may be a different number, but let's set it to 4096.
Serum 2 Spectral Mode: A Producer's Deep Dive, the Dankest New Feature
Serum 2 is here and it's amazing. So many new features, so much to talk about. Based off all the questions y'all had, I wanted to talk about one of the most exciting new features for me, which is spectral synthesis, and the unique way we can now use Serum to get access to it. It feels like a really fresh type of synthesis.
Reese Bass Sound Design: Everything You Need to Know
Bass is the other most important element in drum and bass. Across every subgenre there are a few commonalities all the basses share: punchy heavy subs, drop subs, or 808 style basses that really punch and crunch. And then there's probably the most iconic bass of all drum and bass basses, the Reese. Here's where it came from, what actually makes a bass a Reese, and how to build one from scratch. Watch the Video Prefer reading?
Parallel Compression Explained: NYC, Meat, and Spank Techniques for Bigger Mixes
Parallel compression really is just blending a compressed signal and a dry signal together. But what we're getting into here is true parallel compression, which uses send and return buses to apply compression to a bus track. Three flavors below, with the exact settings. One thing trips people up first. Certain compressors have a mix control on them, but that is not a true parallel bus. It's just a balance pot for the dry and wet signal.
What Is Vaporwave? The Genre's Origins, Sound, and Why It Still Matters
spent the weekend going down the vaporwave rabbit hole again. the genre is older than most of my students now and still doesn't fit any of the boxes people try to put it in. wrote up where it came from and why it keeps coming back.
Vibe Coding for Music Producers
Most music producers can describe a tool clearly enough that an AI could build it for them. Almost nobody knows that yet. Here's what it looks like in practice, what it actually unlocks, and how to start without making the obvious mistakes.
What Is Hard Techno? A Practitioner's Guide to the Sound, History, and Scene
145 bpm doesn't make it hard. the kicks do. wrote up what actually defines the genre, where it came from, and who's pushing it now.
How to Make Vaporwave: Tools, Samples & Sound (2026 Guide)
Learn how to make Vaporwave music with this complete production guide. Sampling, synths, Lo-Fi effects, mixing tips, and arrangement techniques for authentic Vaporwave production.