Topic

DAW 101

  • Write a melody in your DAW, even if you can't play

    To write a melody in a DAW without playing an instrument, draw single notes in the piano roll on the notes of your chords, keep the rhythm simple, repeat a short phrase and change its ending. The AI-assisted way lets you describe a hook or hum it into a microphone and turn it into any instrument as editable notes. Both routes, side by side.

    Workflows

  • Chords without theory: write a progression in your DAW

    To write chords in a DAW without theory, stack three notes in the piano roll (a root, the note four semitones up and the note seven up for a major chord), repeat that shape on different roots, and loop four chords. The AI-assisted way drafts progressions in a mood or key that you pick from and edit note by note. Both routes, and how to use one to learn the other.

    Workflows

  • Your first bassline: lock it to the kick

    To write a bassline in a DAW, play the root note of each chord, put those notes where the kick drum hits, keep them in a low octave and leave gaps where the kick is silent. The AI-assisted way writes the bass after reading the kick and chord notes actually on your timeline, so it starts locked. Both routes, side by side, with the fixes for a muddy low end.

    Workflows

  • Your first mix: the five moves that matter

    To mix a song as a beginner, make five moves in order: balance the faders, pan parts apart, cut clashing frequencies with EQ, even out dynamics with gentle compression, and add a shared reverb for space. The traditional way does each by hand; the AI-assisted way runs a mix pass on the real faders and effects, which you then adjust. Both, side by side.

    Workflows

  • What is a DAW? The studio in your laptop, and the AI DAWs rewriting it

    A DAW, or digital audio workstation, is the software (or device) you record, edit, arrange and mix music in. It replaced the tape machine and the mixing desk, and now a new kind, the AI DAW, adds a producer you can talk to. Here is what a DAW does, the kinds that exist, and the 50-page DAW 101 series that walks a beginner from zero to a finished song.

    Workflows

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