samsung

Synthwave: The Music Genre You Didn’t Know You Needed

Imagine cruising down an empty highway, neon lights reflecting off your windshield, and a pulsating beat carrying you through the night. This is the essence of synthwave—a genre that effortlessly blends nostalgia with modern flair. Born from the sounds of the ’80s and infused with futuristic vibes, synthwave has quietly carved out its own niche in today’s music landscape. If you’re working late at home or just looking to escape into a retro-inspired world, this captivating genre might be exactly what you’ve been missing. Here, you’ll find out why synthwave deserves a spot on your playlist.

Retro Cool

Retro CoolSynthwave is the quintessential soundtrack for anyone who longs for the aesthetic of a bygone era. It captures that unmistakable vibe of the ’80s, drawing inspiration from vintage video games, neon lights, and classic sci-fi films. The genre boasts rich synth melodies and driving beats that evoke feelings of nostalgia. It’s not just music; it’s an experience wrapped in retro coolness. Artists like Kavinsky and Gunship have taken this sound to new heights while staying true to its roots.

Great for Focus

Synthwave is more than just a nostalgic nod to the past; it’s an incredible tool for enhancing focus. The genre’s smooth, pulsating beats create an atmospheric soundscape that helps drown out distractions. Its melodic structure and repetitive rhythms guide your mind into a state of flow. The absence of lyrics means there’s nothing pulling you away from your thoughts. Instead, it allows ideas to flourish without interruption. Many creatives find that this music perfectly sparks inspiration while keeping them grounded in their tasks. It’s like having a personal soundtrack tailored for productivity.

Cinematic Feel

Its lush synth melodies and pulsating rhythms evoke images of neon-lit cityscapes and retro-futuristic adventures. So imagine yourself in an 80s action film, cruising down the highway with the wind in your hair. The music swells, building tension as you navigate through dramatic twists and turns. Each track paints vivid scenes that feel almost like a movie score. The genre blends nostalgia with modern flair. It creates soundscapes where every note feels purposeful, immersing you into its vibrant universe. Whether it’s an emotional moment or an adrenaline-pumping chase, synthwave has the perfect backdrop for it all.

Endless Variety

Endless VarietySynthwave isn’t just a single sound; it’s a sprawling landscape of creativity. Artists blend elements from the 80s with modern flair, creating tracks that can feel both nostalgic and fresh. You might encounter pulsating beats mixed with dreamy synths, or gritty basslines layered over ethereal melodies. The genre draws inspiration from various influences like pop, electronic dance music, and even movie scores. This versatility means you’ll find something for every mood.

From solo artists producing intimate pieces to full-fledged bands rocking out in neon-lit venues, the diversity is staggering. Each artist brings their own twist, ensuring that no two playlists ever feel quite the same. Synthwave is more than just a genre; it’s an experience. It captures the essence of nostalgia while inviting listeners to explore new sonic landscapes. With synthwave, you might find that it’s exactly what you’ve been missing all along. There’s no doubt you’ll discover something uniquely captivating in this musical realm.

accordion

Beginner’s Tips to Master Playing Accordion

From classic accordions, and piano accordions, to button accordions, there are many types of accordions. But all of them can be a lot of fun to play and create such an excellent sound. Now let me ask you. Do you want to learn how to play the accordion? Check out the McNeela Music Accordion For Sale to buy yours. Also, it can be a lot of fun and confusing as you get started. Lucky for you, today, we will provide some tips for beginners who want to get started. We will go over the basics of how to hold and play the instrument and some simple songs that you can start with.

Get Started With the Basic Chords and Melodies

bandOne of the great things about playing the accordion is that you can create a wide range of sounds and chords, limited only by your imagination. But before you can start experimenting with different sounds, it is essential to master the basics. It means learning how to play some simple chords and melodies. There are three main types of chords that you need to know. These are major chords, minor chords, and seventh chords. Major chords are made up of a major scale’s first, third, and fifth notes. For example, the C Major chord consists of the notes C (the first note), E (the third note), and G (the fifth note).

Meanwhile, minor chords are made up of a major scale’s first, flattened third, and fifth notes. For example, the A Minor chord consists of the notes A (the first note), C (the flattened third note), and E (the fifth note). Finally, seventh chords comprise the first, third, fifth, and flattened seventh notes of a major scale. For example, the B Seventh chord consists of the notes B (the first note), D (the third note), F (the fifth note), and A (the flattened seventh note).

Get the Feel With the Bellows

The bellows are the essential part of the accordion. It is responsible for providing air to the reeds, which produces sound. You need to alternately compress and expand the bellows with your right hand to play the accordion. When you compress the bellows, air will be forced into the reeds, causing them to vibrate and produce sound. On the other hand, when you expand the bellows, air will be sucked out of the reeds, causing them to stop vibrating and producing sound.

Get the Levels Right

If you are just starting, it is vital to get the levels right. The level is essentially the amount of air being forced into the reeds. If the level is too low, the sound produced will be weak and faint. On the other hand, if the level is too high, the sound produced will be harsh and piercing. The best way to find the right level is to experiment and see what sounds good to you.

Now that you know the basics of playing the accordion, it’s time to start practicing. Be sure to check out our sheet music section for some great songs to get started with. And don’t forget, McNeela Music has a great selection of accordions for sale. So what are you waiting for? Get started today.

music mixer

3 main factors that makes a good audio mixing and mastering service

Mixing and mastering are the main components of quality producing. If you want to make a good track, you need to know the basic rules of these two components. With edm mixing and mastering services, the task will be so much easier. This helps the process of combining some different layers of audio to come up with one final track or basically modifying an existing track.

Mastering on the other hand, is the process of optimizing a final track by using different mastering elements like stereo enhancement, equalization, compression and many more. But what makes a good audio mixing and mastering service? A mix is broken down into 3 main factors, they include

Equalization

Equalizing is the process of cutting, balancing and boosting all the frequencies in a track or mix in order to give you the ideal sound you want. Every track or sound is comprised of frequencies. Frequency spectrum can be described as the mids, lows and highs.

bandBass instruments have a low-heavy booming sound and that is why their output is in the low-frequency spectrum whereas a high-hat or a snare are kinds of tiny, so they will automatically appear in the high or mid frequencies. In order to make a good audio mixing and mastering service, all sounds need to have information in both the lows and highs. Always remember this while doing your mixing because it will help you get the quality sound you need.

Compression

Most music producers are quite familiar with what compression is, but unfortunately, they don’t use it appropriately. This is a technique that is used in almost every track to ensure that the song does not clip. In other words, compression enables the audio not to exceed decibels limits thus ensuring that the audio isn’t too loud.

The compressor will automatically take the peaks of the recorded audio when it exceeds the given decibel limits and will compress them within the given decibel limits and in a way that will not bee too loud.

 Reverberation

 ReverberationThis is the reflection of the sound (echo). All music sound is some type of reverberation. An echo is generated whenever you apply reverberation to your track and this will result in a more energetic and realistic sound. This technique is commonly used with virtual instrument but also live recorded music track can also be applied. This will give your track a more relaxed and warm feeling but you need to be familiar with using reverberation in order to know how you can apply different reverb times on different instruments.

How do musicians make money

falling cashThe question how do musicians make money is difficult to answer since how much a musician makes depends on several factors such as branding, type of music, the artists’ management team, type of listeners and the list is endless.

A classic example is the comparison between Adele and Katy Perry.

Whereas Adele’s song Hello received airplay from major radio stations globally, and even got renditions from all leading musicians globally, Ketty Perry still remained the top paid artist in 2015.

Thus, how does she do it?

  • Tours

Taking a world tour is one of the best ways artists can make money.

This is why all major artists line up at least one world tour every year particularly after launching an album or releasing a new song.

People still buy concerts tickets particularly for celebrated artists and since the tour usually involves several stops, the artists can make enough to cover the expenses for the tour and save a reasonable amount.

  • Product franchisingmusician on the street

This is a major source of revenue for artists whose music appeals to young adults and teenagers.

This is a group struggling with identity issues and being associated with a famous rock band is a source of pride to them.

Further, this group has money, mainly an allowance from their parents and has little or no expenses to pay for. One direction, one of the leading rock bands made a bulk of its revenue selling branded T-shirts and hats in 2015.

  • Licensing on a movie or TV

Although most artists don’t make money from selling records anymore, a substantial number still makes money through royalties by licensing their music to TV, radio or a movie.

The potential earnings from this source range from $250,000 to $600,000 depending on some factors.

Celine Dion’s song titled My Heart Will Go On’ is a classical example of this, soon after being licensed on the movie, the sales rose to over 2 million with undisclosed millions of dollars paid to her in royalties by Titanic producers.

  • Digital platforms

In this era of free downloads, it is easy to think that artists don’t make money through digital platforms.

I-tunes, You Tube and Shopify are great platforms that have enabled artists make millions.

These platforms pay artists depending on the number of views, subscription or how many times their music is listened to. Apart from paying for subscription, YouTube pays artists for advertisements thus generating an extra stream of income.

  • Fashion lineband

Having a fashion line can earn artists some good money, sometimes even more than what they make from music.

Jessica Simpson’s line which includes hats, jeggings and other products earns her between 750 million and a billion dollars annually.

Justin Bieber is another great artist making millions through his fashion line including perfume which made 3 million dollars within the first three weeks after being launched.

Fashion line seems to be the in thing in the world of celebrities as more artists are either launching or planning to launch a fashion line including controversial Kanye West.

Thus, although traditional sources of revenue like selling records are shrinking, artists are finding new and innovative ways to make money.
Hence, the question how do musicians make money does not have one simple answer but rather depends on how aggressive and creative an artist’s is in identifying revenue sources.