Helpful Tools for Music Producers and Songwriters
As a music producer, oftentimes bands will send me their MP3 demos and I'll need to either help them transcribe the music or provide compositional suggestions. Here are a few of my favorite tools
Music Composition
-
Scalar 2 is my workhorse. For example, suppose you have a verse and a chorus but you're not sure what next set of chords to use for a bridge, this is the perfect tool for the job.
-
KeyFinder Github was designed for DJ's to quickly identify a song's key signature. I use it all the time when correcting a vocal using WavesTune or Melodyne.
-
Oolimo is a handy chord finder for guitarists.
Transposing Guitar to Piano
Suppose I'm playing a Gbm sus2 chord on guitar and I quickly want to play it on a MIDI keyboard, then I use Virtual Piano Chords Chart to help me figure out where to place my keys. If I later want to figure out the inversions of each chord, I use 8notes.
Tempo Finder
- MetroTimer is pretty much all I need to find a beat.
Glossaries
The glossary of recording terms is handy when you're trying to figure out how to work with plug-ins that simulate vintage gear.
Artistic Tools
Open Source Recordings
I use a lot of open source sounds to layer my music. A few great resources include:
- Archive.org offers execellent stuff. Here are a few queries I use to find royalty-free music.
- Smithsonian offers some interesting stuff.
- Music Archives.
- Harvard offers a ton of excellent resources.
- Mashable has a good list too.
Open Source Programmable Music
- Mutopia is great if you're looking for some inspiration found in PDF, MIDI, and editable LilyPond format.