When producing music, whether for a band, a film, an album, or an instrumental ensemble, musicians have a tendency to stick with what they know. And while sticking to a particular genre will help you develop your distinct musical style, branching out to styles you are unfamiliar with will not only expand your horizons, but also will make you more marketable.  When working on a new project, I always ask myself what kind of style would work best? In 2002 I wrote some music for up and coming director Kalup Linzy 's film series  "All My Churen ". He wanted a dance music score. I didn't have much experience in dance music, besides some fiddling with a synth in class. Fortunately, there was a local dance music radio station which I tuned into for three months straight. Not only did I get the beats, I also learned how to change my vocal pitch to match the thin tones of many of the artists. The title track, World Order #1 , is still one of my more successful "pop"...

10 Tips on Creating a Quiet Acoustic Recording Environment in Your Home Music Studio Chances are, you don't have a ton of money to make your home studio into top of the line, soundproof, professional-level, recording studio. Doing so would most likely involve tearing down your whole house and beginning from the ground up with top architects specializing in acoustics.  Yet, home studios are giving professional studios a run for their money, as professional level consumer software makes the PC (or Mac), one's own audio/video editing workstations. So, how can you better soundproof your studio affordably? Here are some tips: FIND THE QUIETEST ROOM IN YOUR HOME/APARTMENT . Look out for things like air conditioners, being too close to the street, a noisy neighbor, an uninsulated window that lets in outside noise. And, while the garage is great for band practice, for recording, you want to be somewhere that you can control both the temperature (for the equipment) a...