Music tuition

Create unique pads and drones to use in your songs

This pop maverick has serious chord chops in his songwriting

Step out of the box with these experimentation ideas

Separate the stereo and learn this fantastic EQ technique

Classic effects and techniques brought bang up to date for the modern producer

This new plugin, free to Live 11 users, allows you to escape the boundaries of conventional tonality

Key chords from Hurt, Head Like A Hole, The Hand That Feeds and Sanctified

Reaching for a preset shouldn't be taboo… Here are the tricks the professional use to proudly make presets all their own

How to power-up your sounds with a little LFO modulation magic

Make waves fast with our quick and easy guide to speedy synthesis

Let the arpeggiator take the creative strain out of your next track. Here's how to make the most of your synth's autopilot chord and melody buddy

They're not just there to 'pad' out the sound. A fulsome synth pad can convey chords, movement, tension and more. Here's how

In this tutorial we show you how to write a harmonically engaging four-chord cycle for use in ambient soundscapes

In this tutorial we layer evolving sounds from two different synths to produce a drone-like texture

Take your tracks back in time with six simple methods for injecting the six sonic hallmarks of synth-pop

Build your own attention-grabbing risers, sweeps and soundscapes as we make pro sound effects with your own synths – no sound packs required

Analogue synth-heads will always claim that you can't beat the real thing. But virtual tech getting better all the time can we really tell the difference? Let's find out

Take some inspiration from a legend

Classics from Bob Dylan, Hendrix, Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac – and you'll just need some simple chords

We deconstruct this powerful freeware synthesizer and show you how to build a patch from the ground up