Office Hours
Weekly. Ask questions, get help, and connect. Included with residency.
Drop in with questions, get real-time help from an instructor, or just connect with other residents. Office Hours are your open door to the Beat Kitchen community.
Recent Sessions
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Office hours this afternoon covered a chord and harmony detection tool currently in development, including how it identifies chords from live audio or pre-recorded music, displays them on a keyboard, and maps them to a harmony wheel to help determine key. Discussed distribution logistics for the tool across desktop (standalone and plugin), Discord-authorized, and potential iOS versions. No formal instruction was given; the session was primarily check-in and tool-testing coordination.
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We explored chromatic mediants, modal ambiguity, and the harmonic character of specific chord relationships — particularly E minor as the mediant in C major, and D major to F major as a chromatic mediant movement. We also discussed tertiary harmony as the structural basis for these ambiguous chord relationships, and worked through how augmented chords function as pivot points between multiple key centers. Additionally, we troubleshot the Harmony Wheel app with a participant experiencing a MIDI audio issue, and Nathan pushed a live update to resolve it.
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Vibe coding plugins Building a studio room with a business partner Focusing on songs, and artistry versus production vs mixing
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Covered mix decisions from a completed original song, walking through manual pan automation, ping pong delay routing, reverb on snare, and processing approaches for bassoon (Fresh Air plug-in, horn-style EQ preset, light compression). Also discussed genre specialization in mixing, when to outsource versus learn to mix yourself, and the value of building a complementary creative partnership rather than wearing all hats.
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Worked through sound design and production feedback with a student exploring industrial-influenced beats built around filter automation and Serum. Covered level automation, ear candy placement, long-phrase repetition hooks, harmonic vocabulary, and the value of a single signature sound that sets a track apart. Also addressed questions about educational software licensing and discussed the school's local SEO and live event strategy.
All resident events are included with your Beat Kitchen Residency.
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