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Songwriting Incubator

4 sessions · Tuesdays, Thursdays · 2hr each

Listen Actively, Create Fearlessly

The Incubator will foster iteration in a guided, collaborative spirit. You don’t need to have any work prepared in order to join. But you should definitely come ready to listen actively, create fearlessly, and share as you go…whether or not it’s a bop. Remember: The main ingredient of success is unabashed failure.

Prerequisites: None. Come as you are.

Building This Class

Share your availability and we'll build the next cohort around it.

The more times you select, the more likely we are to build a class that works for you.

What's a residency?

Residency is your Beat Kitchen membership —$85/mo or $700/yr. It includes office hours, gyms, beat challenges, and a community of producers on Discord.

Non-residents can take any class — residency months are bundled into the price. If you're already a resident, check the box above and you'll see the lower class-only price.

Learn more about residency →

Other start dates and times (1 more)

More Dates

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Oct 24, 2027 – Dec 19, 2027 Sundays, 10 AM Pacific | 1 PM Eastern | 6 PM UK

Building This Class

Songwriting Incubator

Workshop ideas into songs. Peer feedback. Instructor support. Prep for production

Sundays, 10 AM Pacific | 1 PM Eastern | 6 PM UK

Oct 24, 2027 - Dec 19, 2027

8 x 1hr Classes

Are you a current BKS resident?

No Yes

$355.00

* This price includes 3 months required BKS Residency

None of these times work?

Building This Class

Looking for this class at a different time? Share your availability and we'll build it.

The more times you select, the more likely we are to build a class that works for you.

Related videos

What students say

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

—Gaston, New York, NY

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I’ve been a student at Nathan’s audio engineering school - Beat Kitchen, for seven months, and the experience has been invaluable. Coming back to music after years focused on family and business, I wanted a learning environment that was

—Lotus, Bali

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Lots of foundational and important information happens in this class. For producers this class is a MUST, for artists its a PRIORITY and for theorists its a MOST DEFINITELY. You will leave the class with something no matter how skilled of a

—ivan, New York, NY

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Incredibly knowledge-packed and the teacher has a great, passionate personality.

—Taylor

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Took a lesson over music theory and learned a lot in a short amount of time! Amazing teacher and lots of great information!

—J4de

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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Songwriting Incubator Workshop ideas into songs. Peer feedback. Instructor support. Prep for production

Mixing & Mixcraft Advanced live mixing course: parallel compression, sidechain, vocal chains, drum mixing, stereo imaging, automation, and … Recording Studio Masterclass Hands-on recording studio masterclass with professional equipment. Learn large format consoles, studio etiquette, and … Songwriter Masterclass Master songwriting techniques with professional composers. Learn melody writing, chord progressions, song structure, … Synthesist Masterclass Advanced synthesis masterclass covering wavetable, granular, FM synthesis, and sound design. Learn professional …

Beat Kitchen At-A-Glance

Beat Ktichen Calendar

See the full calendar
Recent Resident Gyms
- THEORY-GYM: We used "Strawberry Fields Forever" as a full analysis vehicle, working through its unusual pitch center, the opening line cliché, and the chord-by-chord breakdown of the intro progression. Concepts covered included passing tones versus functional harmony, borrowed chords, chromatic median motion, secondary dominants, and the historical context of the Mellotron as an early sampler. We also discussed songwriting process — specifically whether melody or chords tend to come first, and how the song's harmonic choices serve its lyrical theme.
- OFFICE HOURS: Covered streaming loudness targets and master fader signal chain in Pro Tools, walking through EQ, compression, hardware compressor, limiting, and metering in sequence. Discussed studio acoustic treatment — bass traps, early reflections, diffusion, and material choices — with reference to a specific room setup shared by a student. Also addressed the current state of commercial recording studios, the shift toward home-based production, and how that has affected mentorship pipelines in the industry.
- OFFICE HOURS: Covered bass line construction in the context of Afrobeat and Afrobeats production, including how to conform bass notes to chord roots and the relationship between bass lines and chord progressions. Introduced funklet.com as a resource for studying classic drum patterns and groove analysis. Also discussed Afrobeat vs. Afrobeats as distinct genres, with reference to key artists and historical context.
- OFFICE HOURS: general audio and time signature questions. Talked about signing up for upcoming classes as waitlist
- THEORY-GYM: We used "Hotel California" by the Eagles as a case study in harmonic minor usage, modal interchange, and cadential function. Covered the role of the raised seventh (G-sharp) in producing a dominant E chord over an A minor tonic, the distinction between functional and notational chord identity (e.g., the flat-six versus an inverted F chord), and how the song's chord progression generates a repeating sense of plagal motion. Also discussed the song's rhythmic feel and its relationship to reggae and the one-drop pattern.
- INSTRUMENT-GYM: non-sequential scale exercises on guitar, picking patterns, use of hybrid picking, switching positions when playing through more than one octave
- EAR-TRAINING-GYM: Covered the difference between saturation and distortion, with live demonstrations on kick drum, bass, and vocals using the Abbey Road Saturator and a virtual guitar amp. Worked through multi-stage compression on a vocal chain — three compressors in sequence for peak reduction and makeup gain — and explained why reverb belongs on an auxiliary bus rather than directly on a track, including how to EQ and automate the reverb tail independently. Also addressed gain staging, headroom management, microphone selection for noisy rooms, and tracking levels for vocals.
- PRODUCTION-GYM: PRODUCTION GYM — 862 words across 2 speakers (14 wpm). Insufficient instructional content for a summary.
- OFFICE HOURS: Worked through the phase rotation control on the custom additive synthesizer plugin — traced its origin in the commit history, diagnosed why it behaves differently on the left half of its bipolar range, and discussed whether to keep or remove it. Also covered automation and MIDI mapping of plugin parameters in Logic Pro, and talked through strategies for organizing a sync-licensing music website, including keyword taxonomy, slider-based filtering UIs, and using AI mastering for catalog preparation.
- OFFICE HOURS: Covered music distribution strategy, with a focus on artist-friendly and cooperative streaming platforms as alternatives to major streaming services. Discussed physical vs. digital releasing, Bandcamp Friday scheduling, and platforms including AmpWall and Resonate. Also touched on unconventional microphone techniques drawn from the book *Recording Unhinged* by Sylvia Massey.
Learn more about Residency
Upcoming Resident Events
- Theory Gym: Scott Hampton
  May. 20, 8am (PT) | 11am (ET) | 4pm (UK)
- Weekly Beat Challenge: Nathan
  May. 20, 6pm (PT) | 9pm (ET) | 2am (UK)
- Office Hours: Jon Mattox
  May. 20, 8pm (PT) | 11pm (ET) | 4am (UK)
- Production Gym: Kallie
  May. 21, 5am (PT) | 8am (ET) | 1pm (UK)
- Office Hours: Ben Krueger
  May. 21, 2pm (PT) | 5pm (ET) | 10pm (UK)
- Office Hours: Nathan
  May. 21, 5pm (PT) | 8pm (ET) | 1am (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
See All Courses
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