If you’re going to make music, you’ll need the proper tools to help you on your way, although a good sounding synth may help you get on your way, there are some software available on the Internet that can make your music sound professional.

One of them is Deckadence. It’s a DJ application for mixing music and different sounds. You can control most midi controllers and CD systems. Below is the system requirements to make the program work:

• Processor: PC: Intel Pentium III (or equivalent), Athlon XP or Mac: Intel Mac or G4 (1.25 GHz)
• OS: PC: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista orMac: OSX v10.4 (Universal Binary)
• Memory: 512MB ram
• Hard Disk Space: 200MB free space.
• GFX: A decent graphic card will make the Deckadance experience a lot more enjoyable.
• Monitor: Minimum horizontal resolution of 1024 pixels.
• Sound card: PC: DirectSound or ASIO compatible soundcard
• Mac: Sound card with CoreAudio drivers

If your computer hardware fits these requirements, you can download a demo from the site.

A typical techno production involves a compositional technique which is rooted in a Western music framework. Techno music is usually programmed rhythms and musical phrases that go with different types of signal processing and frequency filtering. Moreover, it does not necessarily make use of traditional methods of composition such as making use of notes, tonality and melody and much less, of accompaniment of vocals. Techno music is known for its rhythm and musical phrases, mostly due to the limitations of devices used to synchronize the sounds. In any case, it is this quality of techno music that makes it popular at clubs, as dance music.

If you’re going to put your Techno music online for sale, what would you rather use? MySpace or a blogging platform?Although you may notice these days that MySpace has a lot of musician patrons, according to a NYU Study made last year, blogging about your music is increases sales more.

Possibly it’s because that most music in MySpace can be downloaded for free while the blogs just link to amazon or ebay? Here’s what the researchers think:

Our hypothesis is that blogs and social networks matter independently for the following reasons. First, we believe that a considerable amount of effort goes into writing good blogs, and their authors feel passionate enough about the topic to spend the time writing and sharing them with others. Readers recognize good blogs and pay attention to them. Secondly, while blogs are largely unfiltered, some blog sites tend to have more authority than others. In other words, reputation helps them attract traffic that is in turn influenced by their content.

Yes, it’s the quality of the post content and the one who blogged you that’s important. If your music got a good review from Spin.com’s blogs, then most likely you will get noticed compared to someone blogging from MySpace.

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Here’s news from one of Techno’s major influences, Kraftwerk. NME says that the legendary group will be touring some US dates come spring. Although, they will only be playing three shows, this will eventually lead up to California’s Coachella Festival in April.

Tour Date are as follows:

April 19: Minneapolis

April 20: Milwaukee

April 23: Denver

April 26: Indio, CA Coachella Festival

Kraftwerk, as stated in Wikipedia, “…combines a driving rhythm section with catchy, synthesized melodies and harmony; mainly following a Western classical style of arrangement, accompanied by simple lyrics that are sometimes sung through a vocoder or generated by computer-speech software.”

If you’re anywhere near those places, we suggest you go on over there and hear them live.

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Acid Techno is loud and political. The primary instrument used is the Roland TB-303 for base and lead sounds, while the attitude, or lyrics in some, are more often political in nature. It’s no surprise since most of its originators were part of the early punk scene.

Its origins started from parties known as “Squat Party”. According to Wikipedia, it’s a party that takes place in a disused building or in an existing squat. Organizers usually just give flyers away or tell their friends to spread the news so the authorities can’t track them down easily. The party usually lasts for hours until either the organizers have had enough or the police catches them.

If you think you’re a rebel techno lover, Acid Techno’s for you.

Friends are usually the best people to make great music with. The founders of Techno, Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, and Derrick May started as good friends in school. They were further bonded together as they were the only African-American kids in school during that time.

Their after school hang-outs was an extension of their creative side. During their spare time, they would listen to Bootsy and Yellow Magic Orchestra in the dark. According to Derrick May, they “…never took it as just entertainment, we took it as a serious philosophy.”

These guys went on to create Techno. When they grew up they got together and called themselves the Belleville Three. The rest is history.

What’s a futurist? According to all-mighty Wikipedia, it’s “...the practice and art of postulating possible, probable, and preferable futures.” in short, it’s like predicting the future based on what happened in the past and what’s happening in the present. Mind you this is a complicated subject; but what does this have to do with Techno Music?

One of the founders of Techno, Juan Atkins was inspired by the books of author and futurist, Alvin Toffler. From his book, Future Shock, also came the terms, “cybotron” (Atkins’ first group) and “metroplex” (Atkins’ label).

So you guys out there, read your books: you never know how it’ll inspire you to create music.

So, you want to write your own music huh? Here are some tips to help you turn it on!

First and foremost, think about your audience. Who would they be? Would they be able to relate to your music? You must aim to connect with them emotionally, and you could do this by many ways: powerful lyrics, evocative music, catchy tunes, skilled use of instruments, and many others. In order to do just that, you must practice your technical and artistic skills and keep them at their toes by doing something new every now and then.

Seek inspiration, it’s all around you and deep within you. Listen to others’ songs and learn from them. Stop comparing yourself with other songwriters and create your own style.

to be continued…

Appearing in the western parts of London, the genre is also referred to as West London, mainly because Goya Music’s offices were in London’s Ladbroke Grove, W11, as were most of the participating artists studios.  Broken beat is an electronic music genre first appearing at the end of the 20th century and pioneered by Goya Music Distribution

Have you heard that music is used for therapy? Yup, you heard it right. It is currently an established health service comparable to physical therapy. And not only does it raise IQ of kids and keeps the party spirit going, but it also develops motor, social and cognitive skills, self-awareness, and spirituality as well! And oh…it is also used for pain relief and stress reduction and produces good ‘vibes’ and warm, fuzzy feelings.

Music therapy is a nice thing, it is used in developmental work with individuals with special needs, songwriting and listening in reminiscence/orientation work with the elderly, processing and relaxation work, and rhythmic entrainment for physical rehabilitation in stroke victims. Next time you turn on your mp3s, you can be sure you’re already having a new kind of therapy.