Category: music production

Entrepreneur, learning environment, Music Composition, music performance, music production, piano performance, Review, synthesizer, Uncategorized

Arturia MiniFreak Stellar Review: Sounds from Another Galaxy

lizteachespiano

Arturia synthesizers, in my opinion are some of the best around. They have many different price ranges, and the quality I have found to be top notch. With the release of the limited edition MiniFreak Stellar, Arturia brings a new level of creativity and visual inspiration to the table. Let’s take a closer look and review what makes this spacey little synth a must-have for sound explorers.

🛸 A Cosmic New Look

The Stellar edition takes the classic MiniFreak and gives it a fresh look, featuring a matte black body, orange highlights, and whimsical star-map graphics. It’s compact, playful, and visually striking—perfect for anyone who wants their synth to spark ideas just by sitting on the desk. I could have bought the regular MiniFreak, but why not get the super cool one!?

Close-up of the Arturia MiniFreak Stellar synthesizer showcasing its sleek controls and vibrant orange accents. (Mine is a little dusty I know!)
Close-up of the Arturia MiniFreak Stellar synthesizer showcasing its sleek controls and vibrant orange accents. (Mine is a little dusty I know!)

Plus, when you buy the Arturia MiniFreak Stellar Edition, it comes with a free sound bank called “Stellar Infinity.” This collection features a range of synths, leads, sequences, and sound effects, all designed for ambient and atmospheric exploration. These sounds are compatible with both the MiniFreak hardware and the MiniFreak V software.

🎛️ Powerful Synth Engine

You’re getting the same dual-engine digital/virtual analog synth with:

  • 22 oscillator modes
  • Dual sound engines for layering
  • 6-voice polyphony
  • Built-in stereo effects and filters

Whether you’re after warm pads, chaotic textures, or rhythmic glitchiness, MiniFreak Stellar delivers with character. I have a Minilab too, and although that gives me outstanding sounds for the price, this does create a richness you can’t quite get with a controller. 

🎹 Performance & Playability

The synth features a 37-key velocity-sensitive keyboard, an OLED screen, a powerful arpeggiator/sequencer, and per-step modulation. While there’s no aftertouch on the keys themselves, it supports polyphonic aftertouch via MIDI. The Arturia MiniFreak Stellar is very easy to connect to your DAW, or should you want to play it live (as I will be shortly- see my special events here!), you can connect either with amp input like a guitar, or an aux cable, like a phone to a speaker. 

🎧 How It Sounds

Rich, punchy, and diverse. The sound engine shines with:

  • Lush pads and analog-style leads
  • Metallic FM and wavetable weirdness
  • Experimental glitch and ambient textures
  • Studio-grade FX: chorus, delay, reverb, phaser, and more

The sound when recording music is really professional!

Arturia MiniFreak sound is crisp clear and professional.

Pros & Cons

Pros:
Stunning limited-edition design
Versatile dual-engine sound design
Intuitive sequencer
High-quality built-in effects
Great value for the price

Cons:
No keybed aftertouch
Useful if you have experience of synthesizers- this little machine does A LOT
Limited edition—may be hard to find in the future

My review of the Arturia MiniFreak Stellar shows it is more than just a pretty face. It’s a serious sound design tool in a playful, inspiring package. Whether you’re a bedroom producer, live performer, or synth collector, it adds personality to your setup—and your music.

📦 Where to Buy

I bought mine directly from the Arturia website, but I believe you can also get the regular MiniFreak at Thomann, and probably many other online retailers.

Thanks for reading my review of the Arturia MiniFreak Stellar- Have you tried the MiniFreak or the Stellar edition yet? Let me know! Happy music making!

beginner tutorial, Entrepreneur, learning environment, Music Composition, Music Lessons, music performance, music production, Uncategorized

Building beats for beginners

lizteachespiano

If you’re a beginner in electronic music making, and you’ve ever wanted to build your own beats, read on!

Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide to help you get started and build your first electronic beat. Keep in mind this is building beats for beginners, so it’s a very very simplified guide, but I hope it can help you.

In my last post I talked about my new album, (which you can listen to here) and I’m so pleased its complete! This now means the creative process cycle begins again- and honestly- this early part is the most fun because you get to just play around with gadgets and see what ideas you come up with!

I’ve been making music for a very long time, and I think having a classical music background has really helped me structure sounds. However, maybe you don’t have the time or energy to learn music from the ground up, or you’re solely interested in playing around with some beats. How do you begin!? I’m assuming here that you already have a computer, and a DAW (if not, read my blog post about gear here) and you’re ready to try building beats that sound nice (or whatever sounds good to you.) I’m completely self taught when it comes to music production, but here are my building beats for beginners tips:

🎛️1. Start with a beat- the back bone of the track.

A beat is the foundation of most electronic tracks, and are typically made with drum sound or samples. Here’s how you can start building yours:

  • Kick Drum: Start with the kick drum (the bass drum sound) to set the rhythm. Place it at regular intervals to create a steady pulse for your track.
  • Samples: If making your own beat seems a bit daunting to start with, choose a sample from your DAW and manipulate it (take out a snare, change the kick drum sound, etc…)

💻2. Building the bassline- the ongoing pulse.

The bassline gives your track some depth and usually has a low tone.

  • You can use a synth bass or sample a bass sound to create a simple bassline.
  • Play around with different patterns, and use a repeating motif you like.

🎧3. Add melody and chords.

Now that you have the rhythm section, it’s time to add some melody!

  • Chords: Use synths or keyboard sounds to create chords. Start with basic chord progressions like C-G-Am-F.
  • Melodies: Create a catchy melody to complement the chords. This could be a lead sound or a soft pad sound- go crazy!

🛸4. Bringing It All Together

Now you have beats, basslines, and melodies you need to create a bit of structyure.

Most electronic tracks have a structure that includes an intro, drop, breakdown, and outro (my songs do not always follow a set structure, so pick and choose what you want.) Here’s a building beats for beginners simple structure to start with:

  • Intro: Start with a simple beat or a melody to ease the listener in.
  • Build-up: Slowly add elements (drums, bass, synths) to build anticipation.
  • Drop: This is the high-energy part of your track. It’s often where the full beat and bassline come in with more intensity.
  • Breakdown: A quieter section where you pull back elements, create some tension, and then build back up to the drop (like a middle 8 in a pop song)
  • Outro: Finish the track by slowly fading out or repeating the intro elements.

Now you’ve built your first beat and it sounds awesome! What else can you do? Here are some next steps to consider as you learn:

  • Transitions: Smooth transitions between sections (such as from the verse to the chorus ) rely on how elements interact.
  • Reverb: Adds depth to your sounds.
  • Equalise: Use EQ to balance the frequencies of different elements (e.g make the bass punchier, or softer to make space for vocals).

🚀5. A step Further: Mixing and Finalizing Your Track

Mixing is a difficult process, but ensures all elements sound balanced and work well together.

  • Volume Levels: Adjust the volume of each track to ensure nothing is too loud or too quiet.
  • Compression: Apply compression to keep the volume levels consistent and tighten up the sound.

Building your first electronic beat can seem very overwhelming and complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. By trying these building beats for beginners tips, focusing on a beat, bassline, melody, and perhaps later on some simple effects and mixing, you can create a track that sounds great!

As you learn and experiment, you’ll develop your own style and techniques. The beauty of electronic music lies in how these elements can be endlessly changed, manipulated and layered, resulting in an infinite range of possibilities.

Happy beat-making!

beginner tutorial, Business, Entrepreneur, learning environment, Music Composition, music performance, music production, Uncategorized

New Album Release: Orion Felt

lizteachespiano

I’m excited to announce the release of my latest album, Orion Felt.  After months of hard work, passion, and creativity, this collection of tracks is finally out in the world, and I can’t wait for you to hear it.

With a blend of EDM, pop and ambient, Orion Felt showcases my growth as an artist, experimenting with fresh sounds in this new album release while staying true to the core elements of my music. Each track carries its own story and emotion, (along with the overall story- this is the prequel to Solar flower- both are concept albums) and I hope they resonate with you just as much as they did with me while creating them.

From the sparseness of Monotown to the grandeur of Letter, there’s something for everyone. Whether you’re into EDM, pop, or experimental music, or just looking for something new, this album has something to offer.

Stream it now on Spotify ( available on other platforms too) and let me know your thoughts—I’d like to hear what you think of my latest album! You can also go to my music page to read more on my music.

Exciting New Release: Orion Felt: My new album is available to listen to now.
My new album is available to listen to now.

Thank you all for the support, and stay tuned for more!

Liz 🎶✨

beginner tutorial, Entrepreneur, learning environment, Music Composition, Music Lessons, music production, piano practice, piano teacher, singing lessons, Singing teacher, Uncategorized

Exploring music with Google.

lizteachespiano

As a musician and teacher, you’re always looking for new ways of exploring music. Looking for fun innovative tools to expand your musical lessons? Then Chrome Music Lab and experiment with google are for you!

What are they? 

Chrome Music Lab and Experiment with google are web-based platforms created by Google that provide a variety of experiments so you try exploring music in a visual and intuitive way.

They are very simple, visually engaging, and offer a range of features that appeal to both beginners and experienced musicians.

Here’s why I enjoy using Google experiments in my music lessons:

Easy to Use: The interface is user-friendly for both beginners and experienced musicians. Chrome Music Lab allows you to explore sound and rhythm without needing much music knowledge, making it ideal for young learners. While Experiment with Google is more experimental and less structured, I prefer the visuals and ideas, and it’s not significantly more complicated.

Fun and Creative: They encourage you to experiment and play with sound. Create melodies with “Song Maker” and explore the synthesizers in “Synthesizer AR”

Exploring Sound and Rhythm: The ability to experiment with rhythm, tempo, and pitch in real time helps develop an understanding of how music works. It’s like a virtual playground for musical creativity.

Accessible and Free: It’s  completely free and accessible through any web browser. You don’t need to download anything or set up an account to start creating. It’s perfect for anyone who wants to try making music on the go. I think it is particularly good if you demonstrate and discuss with your student whilst using it. My younger students need different activities in their workshop style lessons, and this is great for that. There is also a function to share your creation with most of the experiments. This means they can continue working on it at home, or share with friends and family what they did in music class!

Educational: Whether you’re just getting started with music or are an advanced learner, Chrome Music Lab and Expeiremtn with google offer great educational tools that can help explain musical concepts.

Some experiments to Explore:

  1. Song Maker: Create your own melodies by drawing and clicking on a grid. It’s a great tool to experiment with rhythm, pitch, and scale. You can even share your creations with others!
  2. Rhythm: This tool lets you experiment with rhythmic patterns. It’s a fantastic way for young musicians to develop their sense of rhythm and groove.
  3. blokdust – Build a visually engaging synthesizer.
  4. Yume- you alter the music in the world. Really pretty and great for students who like computer games

By diving into these experiments, you can gain fresh insights into music production, music theory or simply have fun discovering new musical concepts. And since it’s all web-based, you can use these tools anywhere, anytime, with just a browser.

Why Should Musicians, teachers and students Experiment?

It’s easy to get stuck in your creative process. Using tools like Chrome Music Lab and exploring other experiments with Google can help you think outside the box- For your own professional growth and for planning lessons. Keep in mind that they are activities, not lessons– it’s up to you to incorporate them into your lesson and work out how they will demonstrate aspects of music you want learnt. If incorporated creatively, you’ll be exposed to new methods of music that might inspire your next big project!

beginner tutorial, Music Composition, Music Lessons, music performance, music production, piano lessons, piano performance, piano practice, piano teacher, Uncategorized

Simple music composition: 4 useful chords for creativity!

lizteachespiano

When it comes to making music, sometimes all you need to begin for simple music composition are 4 chords to spark creativity and build something memorable. Here are four versatile chords, and the simple formula they follow.

A chord is a group of notes- to build a chord I would recommend starting with the Root (first), Third (3rd note) and Fifth (Dominant/ 5th note) in a scale. Music theory can seem very complicated, but once you know some building blocks, the more complex steps also follow the same logic.

C major piano scale

The starting scale. I call it this, because it is the first scale students will learn. The reason for this is :

a) It establishes middle C as the anchor for students to look for and recognise notes using C as a guide.

b) It is 12 o clock on the circle of 5ths- the Major scale with no sharps or flats.

For more on the Circle of 5ths , or more complex music theory, you can of course research. I’ve added a link to a website explaining in more detail, but there are many!

It is also extremely useful to find a music teacher who can guide you on what theory is useful to learn to begin with, and help you build up slowly. They can demonstrate the theory in practice.

The formula for 4 useful chords to know, using the scale of C major as the guide:

  1. C Major (I) The “Root” chord. C Major is often the starting point for many pieces and offers a sense of stability. Its bright sound makes it ideal for both happy and reflective moments in a song.
  2. A Minor (vi) A Minor is the relative minor of C Major, meaning it shares the same notes but has a more melancholic tone. The Minor Harmonic is more frequently used for popular music- the harmonic scale raises the 7th note- but we are getting a little too complicated for simple music composition! This chord brings emotional depth to your progressions and creates contrast.
  3. G Major (V) Known as the dominant chord. G Major has a strong, energetic pull towards resolving back to C Major. It provides a sense of tension that begs to be resolved, making it a perfect choice for building musical anticipation.
  4. F Major (IV) F Major gives your progression a smooth, uplifting feel. As the subdominant chord, it has a soft tension that leads naturally back to the tonic (C Major) or moves to the dominant (G Major), making it a staple in many iconic progressions.

Together, these four chords (C, Am, G, F) create a I-vi-V-IV progression, which is the foundation of countless hit songs.

In classical music this does not follow the rule of Cadences (Cadences don’t end on IV in classical music). However, in modern music it does happen. Think of ending on the IV as an interrupted cadence- the feeling of moving on going somewhere. More the end of a phrase than an official cadence.

Although I was classically trained, it is wise to learn different styles of music to help a variety of students achieve what they want to achieve. Some of my students want to learn music composition and popular music, so learning chord progressions such as these is useful for a well rounded music education. You can play around with these chords in a different order for more options as well.

They’re easy to play, but give endless ideas for crafting melodies, lyrics, and harmonies. Whether you’re writing pop, rock, or even more experimental genres, or looking for more classically structured lessons, please take a look at my music packages. If you’re local maybe try a trial lesson. Thanks for reading!