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It's Episode 200! What Have I Learned? | 52 Cues Podcast, 2024 Week 48
In this epic 200th episode, Dave shares lessons learned from four years of the 52 Cues Podcast, working towards sustainability, growth, and embracing imperfection.
Understanding Ominous Tension | 52 Cues Podcast, 2024 Week 47
In this episode, we revisit the art of crafting ominous tension cues as Dave explores the harmonic and rhythmic techniques behind these cues, emphasizing drone-based harmony, slow-moving melodies, and evolving layers.
Is Originality Overrated? | 52 Cues Podcast, 2024 Week 46
Dave questions whether originality is overrated in production music, suggesting that unique expression matters more than being entirely original. He discusses techniques like modeling and referencing to meet industry expectations while staying creatively fulfilled.
How to Use Transition SFX | 52 Cues Podcast, 2024 Week 45
Boost your music with transition SFX! 🎶 Discover how booms, risers, impacts, and downers add drama and flow to your tracks. This guide breaks down each effect’s purpose, tips for organizing and layering SFX in your DAW, and techniques for mixing without muddying the audio. Perfect for adding intensity and depth to hip-hop or orchestral pieces—elevate your production with these essential tools!
What Makes a "Good" Cue? | 52 Cues Podcast, 2024 Week 34
In this episode, Dave unpacks the essential elements that make a cue truly stand out in the competitive world of production music. He explores the often-overlooked qualities that can elevate one cue above another and the fundamental components that every professional cue must have.
How Do I Stay So Positive? | 52 Cues Podcast, 2024 Week 33
Discover how to stay positive and motivated as a production music composer. Learn four key strategies to overcome industry challenges, celebrate small wins, and build a supportive community. Boost your mindset and thrive in your music career with these practical tips!
How To Use Your Superpower (with Nathan Toft)
In this episode of the 52 Cues podcast, Dave Kropf discusses production music challenges with Nathan Toft, a trombonist and winner of the "What's Your Superpower?" Composer Quest. Nathan shares his journey, trombone integration, and genre versatility. They also highlight leveraging unique skills and effective project management.
Production Music Is A Team Sport
Dave Kropf highlights the importance of community and mentorship in the production music industry. This episode features a unique gathering of the 52 Cues community in Orlando, where members shared music and life experiences, emphasizing support, collaboration, and how personal connections enhance professional growth.
More Inconvenient Truths About Production Music
In this episode, Dave shares five more "Inconvenient Truths" for sync composers, including insights on how to stand out in an increasingly competitive industry and reveals some hard-to-hear realities every production music composer should know.
Plus, we reveal the winner of the "What's Your Superpower" Composer Quest, and Dave talks about rekindling the spark with drumming.
I Got Copyright Notices for Using AI Loops
Now, I know what you're thinking—you’re probably sick of hearing about AI. I know I’m sick of talking about AI and the constant handwringing about it, but recent events have brought AI screaming to the forefront.
During a recent live stream, I used Sumo AI to generate a custom reference track, but after the session, I was hit with not one, not two, but four copyright notices for the same section of the AI-generated drum loop.
Yeah, we've got some things to talk about.
Sync Gems, Part 1 (with Roy Matz)
In this episode of the 52 Cues podcast, we chat with Roy Matz of the Sync Gems podcast about his transition from beatboxing to music production and the importance of authenticity in the industry. We explore personal growth, recognizing when to move on from past identities, and the significance of setting goals.
Production Music Q&A Live! Podcast Episode
In this live Q&A episode of the 52 Cues podcast, Dave tackles questions on the importance of reference tracks, offering tips on using them creatively while analyzing harmonic structures, instrumental textures, and rhythmic languages. He also talks about LUFS targets for quiet music, layering strategies for various cue types, managing low-end frequencies in hip-hop, the impact of AI on music, and the evolving role of analog vs. digital equipment.
Hello From PMC!
Jerome Detotto, Paul Croteau, Greg Fellman, Michal Sinka attended the annual Production Music Conference 2023. It’s always great to be in the same room—not just a Zoom room!—and get a little time together.
We hope you had a productive and inspiring trip!
FRIGHT NIGHT Composer Quest
It’s that spine-tingling time of year again! Introducing the 52 Cues Fright Night Composer Quest, where we'll fill the crisp autumn air with echoes of haunted harmonies!
Slink, crawl or skitter over to the FRIGHT NIGHT Composer Quest info page to find out more.
Kontakt Behind-The-Scenes with Jon Meyer!
Join special guest Jon Meyer (Merge Production Music, Atomica Music, YouTube), as he gives a behind-the-scenes tour of his brand new Soft Drums sample instrument in Kontakt!
He'll show his process, talk best practices, and take your questions!
Community Member Doug Knight Featured on TAXI
52 Cues Community member Doug Knight is currently featured on TAXI Favorites!
Member Paul Croteau featured on TAXI TV
We were thrilled to see 52 Cues Community Member Paul Croteau featured on TAXI TV’s “Passenger Profile.”
Another exciting moment? Seeing his name in the music credits of “Spirited,” one of our new favorite Christmas movies!
Playing Guitar with Chopsticks
52 Cues member Nigel M. shared this video with us!
“I'm sure I'm not the first one in this group to have discovered this incredibly talented guitarist on YouTube, but my oh my, what an amazing sound.”
The 10 Commandments of Production Music
So much of this gig is frustratingly inconsistent! But I’ve found there are some overarching guidelines which can help govern a lot of our choices. In this episode, I share my 10 Commandments of Production Music! Plus this week’s Featured Composer, Mojo X!
Is One Cue Per Week Really Enough?
I’ve said before that you need 100’s of cues to make a living in the production music industry, but is one cue per week really enough? Today I’m going to unpack and illustrate how productivity and output might not be the linear journey we think it is.
We’ll take a listen to “Waltz of Shame,” the latest submission in my “Year of Taxi” and check in on any forwards or returns.