I was recently asked how the tools and techniques I teach today differ from those I have taught in the past. Have I noticed any recent changes in successful songs and in the processes of writing them? I looked back over the thirty years that I have been teaching songwriting,… Read more...
BMI award-winning songwriters Jessica Agombar and David Stewart’s song “Dynamite,” recorded by superstar act BTS, has blown up the charts, surpassing 1 billion streams on Spotify since its release in August, 2020 – an amazing feat that typically takes years to accomplish. As the Korean band’s first English single, “Dynamite”… Read more...
Whether it’s switching microphones or switching off reverb, one thing I try to do is avoid using the same recording mechanics from song to song. This is particularly true of mixing—if the tendency is to have nearly identical ingredients in the same spot on every track, your album is likely… Read more...
In the earliest days of recording, there was essentially one way to ensure you left the studio with a good product—you came in and performed flawlessly. If there was even a minor miscue along the way, you and everyone else on the session would need to start all over again.… Read more...
If we were collaborating on a song and I suggested that one particular line of lyric – and the melody that accompanies it – be repeated eighteen times, would you think that would be entirely too repetitive to be successful? How about if, in the same song, I insisted that… Read more...
BMI is now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 season of the BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Librettist Workshop. This prestigious program is part of the Tony-honored BMI Workshop which has been developing professional musical theatre writers through education, peer critique and networking for more than four decades. The deadline to submit… Read more...
BMI is exceptionally proud of its many talented composers who have their music featured in projects at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. Celebrating its twentieth anniversary starting Wednesday, June 9, and running until Sunday, June 20, the 2021 festival mixes both live events and an immersive virtual experience. We are… Read more...
Last week, BMI’s Creative teams from London, Austin, Atlanta and Nashville curated a special Rap/R&B cross-office edition of “Speed Dating for Songwriters®.” Using Zoom’s Breakout Rooms feature, the unique event allowed some of the most promising songwriters, producers, and artists in the U.S. and U.K. to creatively collaborate with each… Read more...
BMI is saddened by the loss of one of our most talented recording engineers, Al Schmitt, who passed away Monday at the age of 91. During his long and continuously impressive career, Schmitt, who joined BMI in 1971, won a record-breaking 20 GRAMMYS for his creative recording talents on more… Read more...
Audio mixing can be defined as the process of combining individual tracks from a multitrack recording into a finished product. It includes determining the volume and adding effects such as reverb, delay, compression, and equalization to each track. In stereo and surround sound recordings, mixing also includes placing each track… Read more...
