8 of SoundFly’s best free course lessons for musicians

From lessons on music theory to production to even playing drums like Anderson Park, frequent Hipebot contributor SoundFly has something for every musician, some of which is free!

by Soundfly Team of SoundFly

If there’s one thing that’s always true, it’s that free stuff… rules. 

And there’s a ton of free content on Soundfly.com just waiting to be discovered.

So, here are some Staff Picks for a few of our favorite free course lessons — on topics ranging from sampling random objects to open guitar tunings to Katy Perry’s use of the Lydian scale mode and the funkiness of Anderson .Paak. 

Go ahead and check any or all of these lessons out this week on Soundfly, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for tons more free content.

Recording & Collecting Sounds

Watch YouTuber and exploratory musical creator Andrew Huang go through his process of recording, collecting, and sampling strange sounds to use in his unique beats, step-by-step. Visit this free lesson now.

The Lydian Mode & Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream”

If Katy Perry can figure it out, so you can you! The Lydian scale mode is a great set of pitches and intervals to use if you’re aiming for an airy, dreamlike feeling in your music (hence: “Teenage Dream…”). Visit this free lesson now.

Humanizing the Timing of Your MIDI Strings

Humans don’t have perfect rhythm. Even the best players often play notes a bit early or late, learn to harness that expressiveness even when working with VSTs and digital instrument samples. Visit this free lesson now.

Exploring Synth Filter Types

Low Pass Filter, High Pass Filter, Band Pass Filter, Notch Filter… Learn what each and every one of these sound sculpting devices can do to your synth tone and patches here. Visit this free lesson now.

Analyzing the Drum Groove in Anderson .Paak’s “Come Down”

With a funk drum groove driven by well-placed accents, this groove features intricate hi-hat and the syncopated kick drum patterns that help give it that fluid, “in the pocket” sound. Visit this free lesson now.

Learning About Open D Tuning

In this lesson, get to know a popular open tuning used by artists like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, and Pearl Jam (among many others). Visit this free lesson now.

What Are Dots & Ties?

In music notation, adding a dot to a note makes it 1.5 times its original length in the measure. Adding a tie between two notes is a bit more complex, check it out here. Visit this free lesson now.

John Coltrane & the Economy of the Blues

Coltrane was known for compositions that get a lot of mileage out of just a small progression of open-ended chords and modalities. This is exemplified beautifully in his “Blues Minor.” Visit this free lesson now.