Beat Kitchen Articles

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double harmonic scale

Most scales are created by taking the one you already know and starting on a different note.

How Many Musical Keys Are There

How many musical keys are there?

Weather Sonification

What if you could hear everything? Sound waves are spheres with pressure in one dimension and time in the other.

polarity and phase

One thing that tends to confuse new engineers is the difference between phase and polarity.

vocal overdubs

Inexperienced producers tend to make a tactical mistake when they’re working with vocalists.

Video thumbnail: When you’re arranging you have to think a lot like a mix engineer because every instrument is going...

Arrange Like a Mix Engineer

When you’re arranging you have to think a lot like a mix engineer because every instrument is going to speak differently in every register So the chord that sounds great here May not sound great down here But this note sounds fabulous so we restructure the core And oftentimes when we’re looking at chords like this we’re trying to find the spot where the instrument growls without becoming overly dark *Music* *Music* *Music*

piano vs guitar tuning inharmonicity

So why can’t you use a guitar tuner on a piano?

Video thumbnail: Whether you call it a bus or whether you call it a send and a return, the utility of running...

A dedicated space

Whether you call it a bus or whether you call it a send and a return, the utility of running effects like reverbs and delays in parallel rather than in series is more than just a matter of resource management.

Video thumbnail: I didn’t make something clear when I said the difference for me in moving from tape to digital was...

Certification

I didn’t make something clear when I said the difference for me in moving from tape to digital was in that pause when you had to rewind after you did a take.

Video thumbnail: Your instruments and really anything organic, in other words wood, cloth, leather, they like the...

Humidity

Your instruments and really anything organic, in other words wood, cloth, leather, they like the same conditions you do.

Don't Look for a Job in Audio

Don’t look for a job in audio if you don’t understand this.

If You Like Your Reverb: eq before reverb

Your reverb has a job to do.

Reverb is like garlic

Jack Nietzsche used to say, "Reverb is like garlic." You can never have too much.

Workhorse: suspended chord shape

You’ll get unexpected mileage out of this suspended chord shape.

Noise: white pink green

Are you using green noise in your recordings because they’ll sell you anything?

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Video thumbnail: The next time someone asks you if you know all of your scales, ask them if they know the Hungarian...

Scales: utility knots

The next time someone asks you if you know all of your scales, ask them if they know the Hungarian minor or the double harmonic.

Your Fader Has a Sweet Spot

I think it’s time we talked about your fader.

Video thumbnail: This is a directional microphone and when I point it away from my face You might expect it to be...

Directional Mic: two signals, room sound

This is a directional microphone and when I point it away from my face You might expect it to be quieter than this But the thing is when you hear me, …

The Flat Side

Don’t underestimate the power of these three chords, 1, 5, and 4, to paint an evocative landscape.

Lament Bass

This chord progression is so useful, it basically has a name.

The Martini Chord

The seventh is the top note of your chord before it reaches the octave.

Reverb: phonons diffusion density

Diffusion and density.

Wavelength Time Frequency

The speed of sound is constant.

Sample and Hold: the most slept on waveform

The most slept on waveform in audio.

Video thumbnail: Here’s a cool little trick you can do that’ll help you with your ear and with your DAW skills at...

Harmonies In One Take

Here’s a cool little trick you can do that’ll help you with your ear and with your DAW skills at the same time.

Packing Light: HPF at mic pre or post

You have a choice when it comes to engaging a filter.

Pan Law

If you max out your signal and pan it to one side, you’re probably gonna clip your output.