What Are Études, and Why Do Composers Write Them?
An in-depth look at the historical foundations and the compositional development of the étude, and why musicians still use them today!
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Songs That Use Found Sounds in Intriguing Ways
That’s what we’re talking about today in Episode 14 of our podcast, “Themes and Variation” with guest Sam Friedman (Past Palms).
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Quick Tracks Nº 10: Write a Song Like a Machine Might
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. Just in time for your…
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5 Moments in the History of Tape That Shaped Modern Music
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…
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5 Compositional Elements That Define the Music of Ennio Morricone
You know these iconic sounds of movie Westerns, now dive deeper into the makeup of Ennio Morricone’s signature works via these five compositional elements.
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Listening and Liberation: The World Is Sound
When you enter a Tibetan shrine, you see objects lit by the flicker of candles, hear the sounds of chanting, and inhale the smell of incense. We are trained to look at art, but these objects have lives and relationships with humans that are contingent on all of our senses. In a museum we typically prioritize…
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Intersections: 8 Classical Musicians Killing It Right Now Using Live Electronics
Throughout my examination of the wide world of musical electronics, I’ve gazed longingly at the spider-web patches of modular and done an in-depth analyses of notable synths and their inner workings. One area we haven’t investigated deeply is the intersection of acoustic instruments with the electronic world — specifically, the burgeoning intersection of “classical,” or solo concert instrumentalists,…
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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…
