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Session Player Kitchen

What does it take to be a professional musician? First, learn to program like one

In this course you will learn to make your programmed instruments sound like they were played by human hands. To this end, your instructor will show what is expected of a session player, and what tools and techniques you will need to record a perfect take every time. Learn how to communicate with engineers and artists to save yourself unnecessary time and frustration.

In this course you will learn to make your programmed instruments sound like they were played by human hands. To this end, your instructor will show what is expected of a session player, and what tools and techniques you will need to record a perfect take every time. Learn how to communicate with engineers and artists to save yourself unnecessary time and frustration.

Only then can you approach programming these instruments in a realistic manner.

Key Topics

Communication/Vocabulary
Drums
Drum Programming
Fills
Understanding Stringed Instruments
Programming Guitars and Bass
Expression
Rhythm Section
Mixing Considerations

Prerequisites: DAW Core Skills or equivalent proficiency in your platform.

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What students say

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Nathan was extremely helpful in helping better understand the basics of harmony and music theory. The instruction style is small group and having the ability to communicate and not just listen to a lecture makes the learning process more

—Ira, Los Angeles, CA

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Nathan has a great understanding of sound and music theory. He got me thinking and excited to dive deeper.

—Michael, Seattle, WA

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great instructor!

—Sunita, California

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Online session very informative and Nathan is a kind and gifted teacher

—Gaston, New York, NY

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Had an Awesome class about Music Theory! It was short but sweet! Being only a music enthusiast and curious on what the class has to offer, Nathan (Instructor) was able to explain it so well and had me captivated on what it is all about. Pretty sure I’ll be attending more classes and just expand my knowledge for sure! -Timothy

—Timmy, San Francisco, CA

Explore Classes

Office Hours Weekly. Ask questions, get help, and connect. Included with residency. Production Gym Weekly. Production breakdown of your favorite songs. Included with residency. Theory Gym Weekly. Morning music theory workout. Included with residency. Ear Training Weekly. Test your ears and discuss — music, mixing, and more. Included with residency. Instrument Gym Weekly. Practice and workout on instruments. Included with residency. Weekly Beat Review Weekly. Listen to Beat Challenge song ideas together. Included with residency.

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Beat Kitchen At-A-Glance

Beat Ktichen Calendar

See the full calendar
Recent Resident Gyms
- OFFICE HOURS: Worked through mixing challenges on a live tracking session recorded in Ecuador — a 16-song project with guitars, bass, and drums. Covered fader-setting fundamentals before compression and EQ, sidechain compression between kick and bass, region gain as an alternative to volume automation, and parallel distortion as an approach to recovering sub-bass content from an extended-range bass instrument. Also discussed multing as an organizational strategy for handling tonal variation across a bass performance.
- EAR-TRAINING-GYM: Listened to 3 chord progressions blocked and arpeggiated. Students to identify which chords contained 7ths. Followed by aural breakdown of each chord—strategies for hearing 7ths in chords vertically AND horizontally through chord progressions. Interesting notes, triads and open 5ths sounds clearer than 7th chords which tend to add bits of heaviness. Explored different colors achieved through various voicings.
- OFFICE HOURS: Listened to David's new tracks. He is experimenting with Ableton. Went over some new stuff in his studio, and talked about distribution. I recommended one of the songs as something that caught my ear to develop more. Standish came in with 15-20 minutes left. We talked about his new studio setup, and listened to David's tracks. He suggested another song idea to develop that caught his ear. We talked about distribution a little more, and goals for releasing music. We recommended Soundcloud, Bandcamp, and Distrokid as three places to look based on his goals.
- WEEKLY-BEAT-CHALLENGE: Reviewed two student beats this session — one built around a stereo-widened percussive element, one centered on a sliced vocal and Serum leads. Covered stereo widening and its behavior in mono playback environments, and worked through harmony options for a track in E minor, including the IV chord, relative minor relationships, Dorian mode, and vertical vs. horizontal approaches to songwriting. Also introduced the chord wheel as a tool for finding diatonic chord options within a key.
- INSTRUMENT-GYM: Worked through diatonic 7th chord arpeggios across the C major scale in first position, exploring multiple fingering options for each chord degree (Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7, Bm7♭5). Discussed how staying in a fixed position versus traveling up the neck reveals different trade-offs in efficiency, reach, and fretboard knowledge. Connected the exercise to ear training, vocal training parallels, and fretboard note literacy.
- OFFICE HOURS: We discussed what the tonic is, some local jam sessions, songs/work in progress. Standish shared a demo, and we shared some feed back in return. We also briefly discussed mobile recording and songwriting inspiration on the go.
- THEORY-GYM: We worked through a full harmonic and rhythmic analysis of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," using it as a vehicle for introducing modal interchange, borrowed chords, and chromatic mediants. The song's three-section structure (verse, chorus, bridge) was mapped out chord by chord, with particular attention to how the parallel major/minor relationship between C and C minor explains the borrowed chords, and how third-motion between tonal centers creates the chromatic mediant shifts. We also examined the groove's rhythmic foundation — the swung or near-triplet sixteenth-note feel programmed into the drum machine — and how that rhythmic language informs the vocal phrasing throughout.
- EAR-TRAINING-GYM: Today's class focused on drum ear training using a deceptively simple premise: five songs from the '80s — Rebel Yell (Billy Idol), Kids in America (Kim Wilde), Never Say Never (Romeo Void), Turbo Lover (Judas Priest), and Maniac (Michael Sembello) — all built around the same basic drum beat at similar tempos. By holding the pattern and tempo constant, students could focus entirely on how the drums sounded rather than what they were playing — specifically drum tuning and mix balance within the kit. The real ear-opener came when we muted the Romeo Void drums and swapped in the drum tracks from each of the other four songs. Hearing a different kit and mix drop into the same song made it immediately obvious how much the drum sound shapes the feel and identity of a track — sometimes the swap sounded jarring and wrong, other times surprisingly natural. The takeaway: even when drummers are playing identical patterns, the sound of the kit is a creative decision with enormous impact on the finished record.
- OFFICE HOURS: 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.
- WEEKLY-BEAT-CHALLENGE: Reviewed submitted beats from Paul and Jon, with feedback on chord progressions, bass tone, arrangement, and structure. Discussed modal interchange in the context of a minor-chord submission built around a destabilized fifth. Explored a potential new challenge format: scoring original music to a provided video clip.
Learn more about Residency
Upcoming Resident Events
- Production Gym: Jam
  Jun. 09, 5am (PT) | 8am (ET) | 1pm (UK)
- Office Hours: Cato Zane
  Jun. 09, 2pm (PT) | 5pm (ET) | 10pm (UK)
- Instrument Gym: Jon Mattox
  Jun. 09, 5am (PT) | 8am (ET) | 1pm (UK)
- Ear Training: Jam
  Jun. 10, 7am (PT) | 10am (ET) | 3pm (UK)
- Weekly Beat Challenge: Nathan
  Jun. 10, 6pm (PT) | 9pm (ET) | 2am (UK)
- Office Hours: Jon Mattox
  Jun. 10, 2pm (PT) | 5pm (ET) | 10pm (UK)
Learn more about Residency
Upcoming Courses
- Apr 19, 2026 Theory: Musician Basics
- Apr 22, 2026 Mixing: Effects, Synths & Tools
- Apr 27, 2026 DAW Core Skills
- Apr 27, 2026 FL Studio
- May 23, 2026 Logic Pro 1-Day Intensive
- Jun 10, 2026 Hardware & Recording Primer
- Jul 8, 2026 Hardware & Recording Primer
- Jul 12, 2026 DAW Core Skills
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