I’m hosting a FREE music theory gym in about half an hour on our Discord server. I’m going to demo the new Beat Kitchen 10 Chord Toolkit — WHEEL prototype. It will be available for free soon. Bring your questions and bonus points if you bring a song you’d like to explore. Beatkitchen.io/classroom

There are lots of fancy scales. They’re fun. But don’t forget these.

I need your help. You know those cartoons where someone dumps paint or flour on an invisible person or a ghost and it reveals them? Well that’s what music theory does to music — and I thought I could just find a good Scooby Doo or Tom and Jerry clip for a post but I’ve come up short. Anyone?

I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I don’t use a hi-hat mic because I want more hi-hat. It’s so I can color the hi-hat that’s bleeding into all the other microphones if I need to.

Audio compression has a couple flavors: upward and downward. What’s the difference? Join me for ear training gym. If you can’t make it, watch this video.

First Wednesday of the month I host a free Music theory gym to all Beat Kitchen guests on our discord server. Feel free to stop by at 8 AM Pacific or 6 PM Pacific. Bring your questions and let’s dive in to a song. Leave requests below or post them to our discord. See you there!

First songs – including yours – have tremendous power. If you could bottle and sell the beginner’s mind, you’d be a zillionaire. Don’t sleep on rookies. And don’t forget where you came from.

Join my full day harmony intensive, April 19–100 $ – it includes a full month of Beat Kitchen residency ❤️

What made that music magic? What made it urgent? What rhythm made you giddy? What chords moved you? Whatever you do, remember that feeling. It’s a vital source, a well that will never run dry. It will keep you young so long as you honor its source.

BREAKING: all Amazon prime members are eligible for $100 if they have seven months left on their prime membership and they cancel today.

What kind of microphone should I buy? When someone asks me for advice when it comes to buying their first microphone, it’s usually this:

The flat-side is the gateway to borrowed cords. #MusicTheory #PumpOrgan #Chords

Finishing songs is a skill just like anything else. If you don’t practice it, you don’t get better at it. Every time you abandon one, you reinforce the habit. Cinematography workshop tomorrow Vocal kitchen starts next week Orchestral kitchen March 8

From a Music Theory Gym a few weeks ago, this is another important bit of keyboard vocabulary. This song example was taken from the wonderful Nina Simone, “I wish I knew how it would feel to be free“, featuring pianist Billy Taylor. #MusicTheory #Chords

Best music theory gym question of the week: is a dominant chord a kind of suspension? 

If you live in #SEATTLE you may be familiar with democracy vouchers. @electrory.bsky.social was one of the architects of vouchers. Vouchers take big money out of local races.

YOUR JOB: Choose any person, living or dead, and make them a musical theme. Who do you choose. What’s the vibe?

If you want to understand how audio moves in a studio, go to the patchbay and learn it. The top row connects to the bottom. If you understand what a patchbay does, 90% of your questions will be answered there.

I have no idea if videos makes sense here, but I’d love to replace Instagram, so I’m going to try doing everything I do there over here. Let’s play some chords. #MusicTheory #Piano #Chords

Having an extra hard time feeling creative with everything going on around you? If you are too, you’re not alone. I guess part of feeling art is being tuned in to what happens around you. Just keep it up, you’re doing great.

“Use your ears“ is well-intentioned advice, but it can be profoundly frustrating advice to someone who doesn’t know what they are listening for.

BREAKING: Trump administration to spend millions changing the name of “avian flu” back to “bird flu”. Just kidding. But you totally believed that for a second didn’t you?

The declassification of JFK/MLK docs— my prediction: unless it sates the tinfoil hat crew invested in the sensationalism of a deep state scandal, a lot of people will either be nonplussed, or they will turn on Trump because they think he’s still holding out. But I guess we’ll see.

It’s been bugging me for days and now I finally know where I saw this before…

One of the best ways to make something loud is the artful use of silence. And I’m not just talking about music.

The answer to the question, “How do you mic a ____” pretty much always starts with “Put your ear in front of it”. **Be careful with the snare drum.

I would say he is just “monster-curious”. Like the first time you say bloody-mary three times in a mirror just to see what happens. But this isn’t a salute you try on for size. If you try it, it fits.

I’ve got the “ick”..

Let’s all stop clutching our pearls over that shut down message on TikTok. It’s like people don’t know what a grift looks like.

Why did we start conflicting “masculine energy” with “just being a dick”? That is seriously some shit branding.

Stereo doesn’t exist in nature. It isn’t real. The world is not in stereo. It’s you. You are in stereo.

Classic correlation ≠ causation. Maybe cybertrucks are just disproportionately driven by the incompetent.

The best spot on the cat is decidedly the cheek. That’s all.

One way to distinguish the source from the reverb is to use mono reverb on a stereo source and stereo reverb on a mono source. Pan to taste.

The Neapolitan 6th:1st inversion of a flat two cord, resolving to five, and then home in either major or minor. You don’t hear this often, but it’s always a surprise to learn that first one isn’t minor. New music theory class starts early in the coming year!

I wonder who could put a lot of drones in the sky in an attempt to make X/Twitter relevant again?

I’m only hearing drone talk on TikTok. Has anyone here actually seen one? Anomalies? Is it possible this is something TikTok is manufacturing because of the impending ban?

*Someone* has suggested abolishing daylight savings time — such a great example of the aphorism: even a broken clock is right twice a day.

This is about passing along institutional knowledge. For every little thing like this, there are 1000 others that won’t ever make it into a video. Finding the break:

No one has any business listening to my opinion about this, but on my bingo card for 2025: UHC folds.

I’ve been clean since 2009. I’m talking about Spotify, of course. Never touch the stuff.

I’ve never read a sentence with a semicolon that wasn’t made better with a period; or rewritten.

Sometimes you just turn on a holiday movie starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby and a fuck ton of racism.

One thing I think is interesting about the NYC shooting is that no one (excluding some CEOs) seems to feel particularly threatened. Even the DJT attempt, with its collateral damage created more fear. But New Yorkers – and maybe average Americans – seem to feel pretty safe around this guy.

I always thought lack of sympathy was binary. I never realized it was something that could grow. #uhc

Finish this sentence: “Tuning with or without an electronic tuner…”

It’s the time of year when I’m so excited to see everyone’s streaming stats shared on social media… said no one, ever.