EQ Eight Explained – More Than Just Cuts & Boosts
EQ Eight Explained What Is An Equalizer? Have you ever noticed the “Bass” and “Treble” options on an amplifier? Or the “Low, Mid, High” filters on a DJ Mixer? Chances are you’ve used an equalizer (or EQ) in some way or another. An equalizer is a device that can increase or decrease a specific range of frequencies in a track. In music production, EQ’s help producers reduce problematic frequencies, enhance musical ones, and help shape the overall sound to achieve depth & clarity. In this article, you’ll get an overview of a popular, modern equalizer – and a breakdown of the types of filters found in it. su_divider top=”no” size=”1″ All About EQ Eight So what does a modern EQ look like? Watch the video below to see our head of education, Yeuda Ben-Atar, take you through the ins and outs of Ableton’s “EQ Eight” – the stock EQ that …
Read More
MIDI 2.0 & MPE – A Gamechanger For Electronic Music
MIDI 2.0 & MPE The world of music production is quickly evolving – and it’s recently experienced two game-changing introductions: MIDI 2.0 & MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE). This article covers what these changes imply, an overview of the technicalities involved, and how they will change the face of music forever. su_divider top=”no” size=”1″ What Is MIDI? MIDI (or Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a communication protocol that was created in the early ‘80s that enables digital music equipment to communicate with one another. Its invention allowed a MIDI instrument to generate a digital MIDI message that could then trigger a note on another instrument (such as a synthesizer). Dave Smith (the founder of Sequential) & Ikutaro Kakehashi (the founder of Roland) are attributed as the founders of MIDI. Hear Smith tell the tale of how MIDI was born in this 6-minute clip below. su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq6_vy4Pcwk” width=”200″ height=”200″ Fast …
Read More
Loop Create – A New Event For Music Makers
Loop Create – A New Event For Music Makers In 2015, Ableton introduced Loop – an annual summit for music makers. Six years later, they’ve just announced Loop Create – a new event for music makers happening June 26–27th 2021. The best part? It’s online – and admission is free. su_divider top=”no” size=”1″ Beat Lab @ Loop su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDA5Nmf8e88″ width=”200″ height=”200″ In 2019, our head of education & the founder of Beat Lab Academy, Yeuda Ben-Atar, spoke at Loop on the beauty of repetition. Watch the video above to see how randomly crowdsourced chords can become musical simply by being placed in a – well – ‘Loop’! divider style=”clear” What To Expect This Year This year’s one-day online event is designed to bring people together across different time zones. If you’re hungry to watch workshops on how musicians make music, perform, and use Ableton in unique ways – …
Read More
Student Spotlight – Nolo Grace | Debut Single “Wake Up” – feat. Sean Kingston
Nolo Grace shares inside her process to create her debut single “Wake Up” feat. Sean Kingston, creating during lockdown, and leaving the corporate world behind. su_divider top=”no” size=”1″ Watch our full Interview Watch our full interview with Nolo Grace discussing her debut single “Wake Up” – feat. Sean Kingston Listen to “Wake Up” here on Spotify. su_divider top=”no” size=”1″ About Nolo Grace Nolo Grace is a Korean-American singer/songwriter/producer making her debut with “Wake Up,” featuring pop artist Sean Kingston ( known for his Billboard Hot 100 song “Beautiful Girls” and other hit songs like “Fire Burning” and “Eenie Meanie.”) Nolo Grace charted an unconventional path into music. After building a business career as a successful corporate executive in New York City, she decided to leave that behind and traveled the world as a digital nomad before moving to Los Angeles in 2017. As she discovered a path of her …
Read More
All About Max for Live Packs | PitchLoop 89
All About Max for Live Packs | PitchLoop 89 Created in collaboration with Robert Henke, this Ableton 11 Max for Live device is based on an early digital effects processor. The outcome is jittery glitch effects, delayed digital shimmers, and outlandish vibrato. Watch guest host Lillian Frances breakdown this unique device for sound design and beat making. Video Tutorial su_youtube_advanced url=”https://youtu.be/CeLxElsRTPc” width=”400″ height=”200″ autohide=”yes” rel=”no” fs=”no” modestbranding=”yes” For more on Max for Live Packs check out our All About Max for Live Packs Playlist. Subscribe for more awesome tutorials! divider style=”clear” About Lillian Frances Lillian Frances is a sonic collager hailing from Sacramento, CA. Frances attended Beat Lab in 2015 and 2019 and has since taught Ableton courses at The Library of MusicLandria in Sacramento. Her unique alt-pop style has been compared to Lorde, Sylvan Esso, and Billie Eilish. Her 2018 EP, Timeism, was praised by NPR’s Heavy …
Read More
ABLETON 11 Devices – Inspired by Nature, Interview with creator Dillon Bastan
Ableton 11 Devices – ‘Inspired by Nature’ Interview with creator Dillon Bastan Ableton 11 has a lot of great new features coming out in 2021. We had the pleasure of speaking with device designer Dillon Bastan about his 6 new devices for Ableton Live 11 – “Inspired By Nature”. You can see Dillon’s demo for each device at the bottom of the page. What is your background, are you a physicist? What got you interested in making sounds based on natural phenomena? I’m not a physicist at all and am coming from a music background/self-taught programming, my academic math level is low. For some of the devices I make I try to get to a game-like/playful approach to sound generation/design. A couple of years ago I began to learn more about coding simulations of natural phenomena, particularly simple particle systems in the case of these devices, so it was …
Read MoreFeatured Masterclass
