In Sean McGowan's Jazz Standard edition of Trading Solos, you'll comp and then also trade solos with Sean over five jazz standard progressions commonly encountered on the gig or in the jam. The progressions range over a variety of keys, tempos, and feels.

”This course will give you the opportunity to explore a number of approaches to improvisation through soloing and comping - all in real-time. The best way to learn music and improve your playing is to play with others in as many different situations as possible. 

Whether you’re composing a solo or improvising one, you’re connecting a series of musical ideas to express yourself. Developing a vocabulary of licks is the first step. Learning how to connect them is the next and that’s the primary focus of Alex Skolnick’s Heavy Rock edition of Solo Factory.

"I’ll perform 5 full-length solos across a variety of heavy rock feels, tempos, and keys. I’ll then extract what I consider to be 5 key licks from each of the solos and break them down for you. I’ll show you how to play them, explain their harmonic make-up and you’ll get a sense for they help connect the preceding and subsequent sections of the solo. Everything is tabbed and notated, so feel free to pick out any of the other licks or in the solo.”

One of the most challenging skills, yet the most satisfying, is to become a great blues rhythm guitar player. Comping opens up a whole new world of creativity and allows you to become an integral part of the rhythm section.

Jeff McErlain’s Blues Comping edition of Take 5 kicks off with a quick primer on comping. He’ll then take you through what he considers to be the six essential chord voicings that you can use to take your blues guitar playing up a few notches. He'll also show you some right-hand techniques to help you lock in with the rhythm section

The Boston Globe calls singer-songwriter Willy Porter "an acoustic picker with the Olympian speed of Leo Kottke, bolstered by rootsy vocals and twisting, offbeat lyrics.” Listen To This agrees; "If you’ve never heard of this guy before, you are in for the musical discovery for a lifetime - he plays guitar perhaps greater than anyone else on the planet."

The Washington Times says Willy "captivates an audience as completely as can an entire rock band," which is why he has toured the planet opening for the likes of Paul Simon, Sting, Jeff Beck, Jethro Tull, Tori Amos, Rickie Lee Jones and The Cranberries amongst many others.

It's not unusual to find that your vocabulary of traditional jazz scales and arpeggios do not serve the improvisational colors and textures that you hear in your head for a particular situation. Easy fix - design your own!

Jane Getter's Scale Design for Improvisation presents three core concepts for designing your own scales and arpeggios. By way of example, Jane will demonstrate the approaches using nine scales of her own design: Minor Pentatonic 6, Minor Pentatonic 6 Flat 9, Chennai, Snake Charmer, Altered Pentatonic, Over the Edge, 2 Major Triads, 2 Minor Triads, and Mixed Bag Triads.

Studio pro Doug Zangar delivers comprehensive Rogue Amoeba Loopback video tutorials! Learn everything you need to know to use this amazing MacOS application that can easily pass and record audio from one application to another, in ways you thought impossible. These videos are designed for new Loopback users.

Doug greets you and starts with a detailed tour of the Loopback interface covering Menu and Device Setup items, Sources, Output Channels and Monitors, so you know exactly what everything does. Then learn how to pass-thru audio from one application to another for monitoring and recording, followed by how to set up a virtual device with an audio interface, and then route to Pro Tools, Logic, and Apple’s Music app.

Logic wiz Larry Holcombe presents detailed Logic Pro video tutorials! Watch and see how come up with new ideas, parts and performances using numerous features and functions in Logic Pro, that all work together in the same key and tempo. No music theory knowledge is required to use these tips, techniques and hacks, and the methods shown result in interesting and creative new parts that you can use for your songs and productions. The Logic project and audio files that are used in the videos are included via the course extras link so you can follow along with your Logic system! These videos are designed for those who already have an understanding of Logic Pro.

Learn the fundamentals of music production to make modern trap beats.

Do you listen to modern trap songs by artists like Juice WRLD, Gunna, and Internet Money?

How they're able to achieve that modern sound?

Do you wish you could make your own beats to vibe, sing, or rap to?

Now you can.

You might be wondering...

Back by popular demand Techno legend Christian Vance is more than welcome once again here at Sonic Academy with an all-new 'How To Make' course where he creates a fierce Peak Time Techno banger in Ableton Live!

Christian's courses are renowned for their clever use of macros and Ableton's rack generators, and this one is no exception. Using a single MIDI line that feeds three different instruments along with an unconventional use of two separate kicks, this is not only a music creation course but also a lesson in utilising Ableton's capabilities to jam and have fun with your sounds!

To make the production sound more like a finished record during the tracking process, Jacquire often calls on producers like Spencer Thomson to add programming and additional production to songs. Now that the band's sounds are dialed in, it's time to dissect and review the tracks sent from Spencer to see what compliments the band, what might work better with some editing, and what can go to give the band the right energy while they track.

See how Jacquire King: