Category Archives: Kim Lajoie’s Blog

New Year’s Resolutions… really?

This is a nice big long post and I’m going to give you some gold in the second half, but first let’s talk about New Year’s Resolutions. Ok, what are some of the usual suspects? “I’ll spend more time making music” &...

Are you a producer or an engineer?

Grizzly Bear producer Chris Taylor: “Speaking personally, the biggest benefit is not having to worry about it anymore,” Taylor says. “After I’ve recorded and produced the thing, and wrote the thing and played on the thing for 5 months, I don...

Don’t rush mastering!

Don’t rush mastering! I know sometimes it’s boring and tedious and not very creative. And you’re probably excited to get your song or EP or album released and out in the world. But mastering is important. It’s the final stage w...

The difference between exploring and finishing

There are two different mindsets that are required when making music – ‘exploring’ and ‘finishing’. ‘Exploring’ is the more artistic and creative of the two mindsets. It’s when you’re trying things out...

The next guide – Mixing Tools Reference Guide

Ok! The next one is out. This is a big one – more that twice as big as Emotion in Music. But not twice the price. It’s the same $20. I actually distributed an early pre-release version of this guide to blog subscribers a while ago, and sinc...

What does it mean to ‘make a record’?

A recording used to be a record of an event. A record of musicians playing a song. Recording (the verb) was what we did to make A Record (the noun). As you know, studios become more capable, and we developed greater capabilities for modifying the reco...

Anywhere can be a studio, but not everywhere should be a studio

Modern technology is astonishing if you think about it. At one end of the scale, I’m currently in a hotel with little more than my laptop and headphones. And it’s not slowing me down – being away from the studio for a few days doesn&...

Don’t make music. Make experiences.

When most people hear music, they’re not listening to each individual note. They’re not paying attention to the mix. They’re not tuned into the intricate harmony structures or waveform modulation. When most people hear music, they...

How to increase your productivity in the studio

Drew Vespers: Meditation strengthens your mind’s ability to focus, which is essential in the studio.  Just as you go to the gym and lift weights to strengthen your muscles, meditation develops your brain’s “focus muscle”. Lots of good personal...

Masculine and Feminine sounds

In my ‘Emotion in Music’ guide, I explore eight different types of emotions that you can use to organise the sections in a song or the different kinds of sounds in a track. While that’s rather involved (and beyond the scope of a sing...