Articles

These articles were originally published for hyperbitsmusic.com, an online music production school I finished in 2018. I highly recommend Serik’s course for intermediate producers looking to take their technical mixing and mastering skills to the next level.

Click into the text to view the full articles.

Dynamics: The Master Key

You can imagine my surprise when I discovered how many words within our musical vocabulary allude to the same theme. Balance, Difference, Contrast, Change, A and B, Separation, Depth — the list goes on and on.

These words all  bring us home to one thing: Dynamics.

The concept of Dynamics is at the heart of what makes music memorable, special, and relatable to our lives.

The Artist’s Library

In 2018, my goal was to read 52 books. I did not achieve my goal, but I was proud to end the year at 41. These are the books that stuck with me the most.

How To Use Compression

Compression was built for one purpose: to reduce the dynamic range of a signal. But it can be used to achieve many specific results within a mix.

You can use a compressor for evening out a performance, tonal enhancements, glueing sounds together, trying something new, making microphones sound more natural, or sidechaining to create groove in your track.

Chances are, you’ll use a compressor for all of these purposes within a single song.

Why Writer’s Block Isn’t Real

Any time you feel stranded in the sea of writer’s block, know that there’s always a way out: action.

You don’t write music by thinking. You write music by doing.

The purpose of this article is to give you four actionable strategies to help you let go of the limiting mindsets that are developed in the early years of producing music.

The Art Of Arranging A Song

Imagine I gave you a sunflower, a dozen carnations, and then asked you to arrange them into a bouquet. What would you do?

Now what if I gave you a dozen assorted flowers – all different shapes and colors –  and asked you to arrange those.

Not as easy, right?

That leads me to the first and most important point about arrangement:
Find Your Centerpiece.