Free course
Think like a music producer
The essentials to make great beats and songs.
Music producer essentials: 9 hands-on lessons grouped into drums, bass, chords and melody. Every lesson has interactive, playable examples you can apply straight to your own music. It's completely free, with no sign-up.
Drums & rhythm
Beats that groove.
- Lesson 1Four on the floor: the beat behind every dance genreFour on the floor is a kick on every beat, the pulse under disco, house, techno and EDM. An interactive guide to the pattern and how to build a dance groove on it.
- Lesson 2How to make trap hi-hat rolls: a simple fills guideBuild trap hi-hat rolls from a steady 8th-note baseline: where to place fills, which subdivisions buzz, and how to dress them up with pitch, pan and effects.
- Lesson 3How to make better hi-hat rolls and patternsMatch the hi-hat pattern to the subgenre, then keep the groove from going lifeless with layering, variation and processing. Trap, drill, boom bap, lo-fi and electronic.
- Lesson 4How to make rhythms that don't get boringBuild a rhythm from a short groove atom and a structure like AABA, varying each repeat by shifting, removing or adding a note. Works for drums and melodic parts alike.
Bass
A low end that hits.
- Lesson 1How to make your 808 hit hard: a complete trap 808 guideEverything that makes a trap 808 knock: tuning it to the key, carving space against the kick, placement and patterns, and the advanced moves (slides, octave jumps, switching 808s, saturation and clipping).
- Lesson 2How to write a disco bassline that groovesBuild a disco bassline step by step: 16th-note syncopation around 110 BPM, octave jumps on the offbeats, chromatic approach notes, and chord-tone spice.
Chords & harmony
Progressions that set the mood.
Melody
Hooks people remember.
- Lesson 1How to write memorable melodiesFour principles for melodies that stick: keep the range narrow, anchor big jumps to a home note, lean on the second scale note, and shape the line with tension and release.
- Lesson 2How to write a counter melody that adds depthA counter melody adds depth by contrasting your main line in rhythm, register and timbre. Six steps to write one that reads as a new layer, not a copy.