Before the synthesizer, electronic experimenters were already at work with another instrument — the tape recorder. Before the ability to record, musical excellence, virtuosity, and authenticity were associated with playing a live instrument. In fact, recording was often perceived as a “dishonest” activity by some artists at its introduction. Until it fell into the hands of those willing…
Welcome back to Soundfly’s weekly 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. Richmond, Virginia’s Kenneka Cook credits her early explorations in arranging to the loop pedal, which she started experimenting…
+ 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. It’s Presidents’ Day! And while there are a multitude of ways that we, as musicians, could be reflecting on politics, I think something we might all like…
We polled members of the Soundfly staff and mentor community to ask about their go-to chords and progressions for certain emotional outcomes. Check it out!
Who will win Best Original Score at the Oscars this year? With a powerhouse list of nominees, the choice isn’t going to be easy…
+ 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. This article originally appeared on Ethan Hein’s blog. You can put all recorded music techniques and gestures into three categories: realist, hyperrealist, and surrealist. These categories have soft boundaries that broadly overlap.…
Tom Hanks: “Do you mind this music? Do you like opera?” Denzel Washington: “I am…not that familiar with opera.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b0p9mTJOJI For many, the question isn’t whether or not they like opera — it’s whether or not they’ve ever taken the time to find out. Opera tends to play a cameo role in our culture, hovering around…
Welcome back to Soundfly’s weekly 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. Often compared to the mystical Karen Dalton, Montreal’s Ora Cogan makes experimental folk music that draws from…
What may be institutionally indefinable, the obscure genre term “indie pop” is considered an umbrella for most of the accessible-yet-alternative pop music being made today by predominantly young, western songwriters. Indie pop is hard to define because it covers an enormous range of sounds, from electronic synth-driven voyages to jangly and reverby guitar-based music, to warm harmonies…
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. Saltland is the solo cello and voice project of Montreal’s Rebecca Foon, who also plays in Esmerine, and…
Orchestral music doesn’t necessarily require EQ and compression to sculpt the sound you want.
I grew up on the coast, so I’m all too familiar with “June gloom.” Still, there’s something eerie about the gray skies that start showing up right when you least expect them every year. Lucky for me, our Mainstage students have been hard at work, and at least metaphorically parting the clouds long enough for…
Last year, Rihanna’s hit single “Work” started an argument here at Soundfly. We come from an array of different musical backgrounds, styles, training, and instruments, and the question that kicked us off was: What key is “Work” actually in? It’s got that super repetitive synth bass line that returns to C# every time, giving the…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdy8qQhfTy8 “Buy this course to get 56 hours of content!” If you’ve ever considered taking an online course, you’ve probably seen that line before, or something like it. The problem is that too many online courses and learning experiences mistake quantity for quality. The best way to learn things is not to passively watch endless…
Compared to most instruments, the modern guitar is a relatively new instrument. While classical instruments like piano, brass, and woodwinds all have hundreds of years of pedagogy behind them, the language of guitar music and how we learn to play is new and constantly changing. Today, we can find chords to any song on the internet…
+ 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. Arguably one of the most important skills in mixing audio is the ability to listen. Listening to what others have done with their songs specifically and being able…
+ Learning to record and mix at home? Soundfly’s online courses on mixing, producing, and beat making can help! Preview them all for free and subscribe for full access. One of the most essential mixing tips when working with low frequencies is to exercise the “less is more” approach. These days, low frequencies are more pronounced than ever…
+ 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. A fire roars with life on a cool summer night somewhere in the north of France, possibly even just over the Belgian border. Music drifts into the night…
In November 2016, Peter Pillitteri, an aspiring composer and one of the students in Ian Davis’ popular Orchestration for Strings course, emailed us out of the blue to tell us this incredible story: “‘Round Midnight is a 1986 film by Bertrand Tavernier about a fictitious jazzman, Dale Turner, who was played by the great jazz saxophonist, Dexter Gordon.…
By Natalie Wilson As a guitar teacher, I see a lot of common mistakes in my beginner students. While it’s okay to have lofty goals and aspirations, all too often, beginner students get discouraged early on by not being able to achieve the tone, smoothness, and power of famous guitarists like Jimi Hendrix and Eric…
As a composer, finding that string library that can do everything you want can often feel like a never-ending quest to find the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. New libraries pop up every month or so, all professing to be the best and urging you to press the “buy” button as soon as they’re…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35CHvQM_2rg&feature=youtu.be + 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 Major Scale (also known as the Ionian Mode) is really common and often used as the scale all others are defined against. It’s the “Do,…
+ 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. Most of us record albums with budgetary constraints — that’s just our reality. Imagine waking up one day with unlimited resources at your fingertips. Here and now, there’s…
Entrepreneurship in Music Series: 013 DIGGERS FACTORY Founder Alexis Castiel Diggers Factory is an online vinyl pre-order and production service built like a crowdfunding platform and with an international network of digital “crate-diggers” to back it up. Founder Alexis Castiel actually calls it “a community platform,” as it offers fans and professionals a chance to work…
Welcome back to the dance floor, Quick Trackers! Once a month, we hook you up with a short production or songwriting challenge, aimed at helping to up your musicianship. To respond to the challenge, just email us, leave a comment, or post to social media with the hashtag #quicktracks and tag us @learntosoundfly. …And we’re back! This week, we challenge you…
