Talking Points: Ableton’s Music Education and Technology Panel
In this edition of “Talking Points,” we take a look at a panel held at this year’s Ableton Loop Conference on the uses of technology in music education.
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On Decoda’s ‘Music For Transformation’ – A Collaborative Songwriting Program
Read about an incredible project that pairs a NYC string quartet with inmates at a South Carolina prison, where the results and changes go both ways.
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Announcing Our New Course With RJD2: From Samples to Songs
We’re excited to announce Soundfly’s new course with instrumental hip-hop producer, RJD2: From Samples to Songs. Learn more and sign up.
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What Exactly Is a Nocturne, and How Do You Write One?
Despite what many people think, classical music isn’t just a single, monolithic genre of music written by an old, stuffy bunch of dead guys. In fact, European classical music is so diverse that the only common denominator shared amongst pieces in its vast repertoire is that modern Western musical notation was basically invented in order to be…
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Essential Resources on the History of Punk Music
If you’re interested to learn about the storied histories of punk music, read, watch, and listen to these incredible hand-picked resources.
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What Is a Cantus Firmus? (and How to Write One)
This compositional form and tool was used emblematically throughout the Middle Ages, here’s how it works and how to write one.
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An Introduction to Sam Amidon — Experimental Folk “Crate Digger”
Some personal notes on the first time I listened to the highly personal, lyrical music of avant-garde folk balladier Sam Amidon.
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10 of the Most Interesting Field Recordists Working Across Aesthetic Boundaries
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. The roots of field recording go all the way back to early 1900s when pioneer musicologist John Lomax began recording cowboy songs in Texas. His son Alan…
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The COMPASS: Vancouver, BC
By Sarah Davachi Vancouver is Canada’s West Coast conglomerate, a unique mix of every convention you encounter as you cross the border and traverse south: rainy Pacific North West weather, insanely high rental prices, palm trees interspersed with Douglas firs, loads of concrete, and a fair amount of mid-century modernist masterpieces. Having grown up in Calgary,…
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Sampling as Instrumentation: How Recorded Noise Found Its Way Into Music
+ Learn to create and arrange original, instrumental hip-hop music from sampling pioneer RJD2 himself in his new course on Soundfly, RJD2: From Samples to Songs. When we turn on the radio to any pop station, we hear sampling. When we utilize any MIDI instrument technology within our DAWs and hardware, we hear sampling. It’s everywhere, and it’s due…
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What Is a Music Engraver? (And What Does It Take to Become One?)
Whether you’re a composer or musician dabbling in writing arrangements, creating legible sheet music is an important and often overlooked skill. Some may never be required to learn how to read sheet music, while many others write the bare minimum, creating basic charts for their band and working out the details during rehearsal. But when a professional…
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8 Incredible Songs of the Sea to Celebrate the International Day of the Seafarer
By Daniel Merrill It’s June 23, and that means this weekend, we celebrate the International Day of the Seafarer! I know what you’re thinking… how on Earth did I forget (again)!? Well, I’ll cut you some slack; it’s easy to let it slip when the other major seafarer’s holiday, International Talk Like a Pirate Day, just around…
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Composer Erik Satie Was So Much Weirder Than You Realize
Erik Satie (1866-1925) is praised by historians for helping to provide the pre-war pathway to minimalism in classical music. His piano compositions, most famously the Gymnopédies suite of 1888 and the Gnossiennes suite of 1893, set the tone for experimentation within the next century of composers. These composers traversed new understandings of tonality, space, and emotion, even as academic trends in…
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Journey East: An Extended Introduction to the Enchanting Sound World of the Oud
By Lee Dynes The instrument goes by many names, takes several shapes, and can be played in a number of styles both traditional and modern. The oud or ud, sometimes referred to as barbat in Iran or kaban in Somalia and Sudan, is an instrument predominantly found in the Middle East, Spain, Greece, as well as…
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On Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize Drama, and Other Brilliant Songwriting Poets
By RE Katz When Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature last week “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,” the literary world promptly ripped itself in half trying to respond to the announcement. Some folks stood right up and applauded Dylan, and have since commended the Nobel committee…
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10 Essential Music Conferences Coming Up in 2019
The year’s half over but tons of great conferences are still ahead. Here are our favorite North American music gatherings that you need in your calendar.
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Taiwan’s Sunset Rollercoaster on Taking Inspirational Scooter Rides
Welcome back to our interview series, Incorrect Music, curated by guitarist, singer, and composer Lora-Faye Åshuvud (of the band Arthur Moon). In this series, we present intimate conversations with artists who are striving to push the boundaries of their process and craft. Join our weekly email newsletter to get more insights like this into how professional artists are making music,…
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Brooklyn’s Melt Fest Organizers on How to Throw Your Own Music Festival
Last December, our friends in Brooklyn band Madam West recognized an opportunity: Because so many bands are busy making the pilgrimage to Austin for SXSW this time of year, if you happen to be a band staying put in New York in March, there are loads of amazing venues with big chunks of their normally-swamped booking calendar wide open.…
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5 Ways to Set Yourself Up for a Successful Year
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. There’s something beautiful about a new year beginning. While I don’t put a lot of stock in New Year’s resolutions, it’s exciting to have the opportunity to…
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17 of the Greatest Televised Moments in Music History
If you missed these 17 moments when they were broadcast on television, relive them and learn their historical impact on not only music but also pop culture.
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Why You Producers Need to Get Yourselves a MIDI Controller
We lay out some of the best reasons why all musicians and producers working at home right now need to pick up a MIDI controller.
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My Personal Kimbra Songbook
We’re still reeling on Soundfly’s brand new course with Kimbra, so here are four superb tracks of hers that show her innovation and range!
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7 Hip-Hop Producers Pushing the Genre in New Directions
Hip-hop has been pulled in so many directions over the years, here are 7 producers who we think will do the pulling for years to come.
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How The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” Takes Beethoven’s Ideas to #1
In this analysis, pop music theorist Ben Morss shows how The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” is built from four-note scale segments.
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How to Create a Vocal Chain From Start to Finish
Using processing tools like EQ, delay, reverb, and compression, here’s how to get a solid mix on your lead vocal takes in just a few steps.
