This tutorial intends to give a short introduction into the difference between audio and midi. The main idea is: Midi is a language, a protocol, a way to go from A to B. Audio is sound, air pressure fluctuations in time (analog) or a quantized, discrete version c.q. representation of it (digital). So, what does midi stand for anyway? It stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. Please compare this with the word audio. Audio comes from Latin, meaning ‘I hear’. It is related, but not the same, right? Just like a guitar can produce audio but isn’t audio itself, so can midi produce audio without being audio itself. Midi is a language. With a language you can send and receive messages. You can communicate with it. To use a language, you have to follow some grammar and b  Read more...

This time the article will be about tuning. If you make music, you use it all the time. The case might be you just didn’t realise it until after this article. There are multiple aspects in music which all are related to this subject. Instruments which sound together can be in or out of tune. An octave exists out of 12 semitones with a certain tuning. A lot of fat sounding electronic tracks use a little trick with tuning. A little trick you say? Well ok, let’s start off. The second string of a guitar is usually tuned as an A. In this example we will asume it is the standard A of 440 Hz. Now, say a bass player tunes his A just a little different so you’ll get 442 Hz. Will you hear the difference? Probably not, if the difference is very small it will still sound like the sam  Read more...

This time I’d like to talk about the overall structure of a track. Back in the days when Mozart was the wickedest producer alive very clear structures or forms were more or less mandatory. If he wanted to write a piece he would have to follow certain rules. For example; If he wanted to write a, let’s say a sonata he would write an exposition with two themes, two scales and a bridge. Then he would write a development of this material, make a recapitulation of it in the starting key, and voilá , his sonata was complete. Time for some Maecenas to give the dough and make a new hit! Off course I am simplifying the truth. Just like a pop track can have a jazz chord, so can a sonata form have many variations. I just gave you a classical example because, ehm, well, I just like Mozart,  Read more...

Making a track is like making dinner. You have your ingredients; the instruments. You have your tools for preparing it; the mixing desk, cables, amplifiers, etc. And finally you have your sauces and spices -the effects- to turn a palatable dish into something divine that can be served in a five star restaurant. Now, just like you don't want steak swimming in ketchup, you don't want your vocals swimming in reverb; “What the hell is he singing? I can't tell, it sounds like he's standing in a big bathroom and doesn't want the world to understand him.” Before using a effect, think about what it adds to (or takes away from) your song. Does it actually make the whole song better? You really need to think about the things you want to achieve. For instance; drums wi  Read more...

Many people have stood behind a mixer at least once in their life. Some of us are even behind them on a daily basis for producing, DJ-ing or even mixing DJ's or bands. Most of them know this much: “If I put the gain up, the sound gets louder. If I put the channel fader up, it gets louder as well.” So, what's up with that? Well… I'll try to explain by setting an example. Imagine an ice-making machine with a temporary storage place in the middle. Water comes in at a certain speed, ice comes out at a certain speed. Fairly easy not? Now, if the water comes in too quickly, it will not be ice before it gets stored. If it comes in too slow, it will be ice before getting to the storage part. And if the ice comes out too slowly, you are wasting energy cooling something  Read more...

These days, compressors have become very creative tools and it is fair to say that the use of a compressor in an electronic music production has become a must. If used correctly it will blend your beats and sounds together into a perfectly balanced mix. It will also bring the harrmonic richness you are searching for in your tracks wich was previously ‘unfixable’ with EQ, reverb or other effects. Most effects processors are fairly simple to use; plug in an equalizer or a reverb (for example), twiddle the controls, listen to the output, and you pretty much know what you’re doing, Compressors however don’t fall into this category. You plug them in, play with the controls and listen… but  Read more...

Equalisation (EQ) is one of the most powerful tools in the world of music production. It can be your greatest enemy or your best friend in the battle for the perfect sound… Unfortunately it's one of the most ignored and easily overlooked pieces of equipment. EQ comes in many forms, you can see it as ‘tone control’. By understanding how this tone control works your production will sound fuller, louder and better. A simple and short explanation about what happens with your sounds: your sounds come toghether in your ’sonic space’ on different frequencies. They could conflict by being on the same or on the wrong frequency. See it as a battle between sounds. That's why you have to make sure that the sounds ‘fit’ properly; only then they will hav  Read more...