Blue Steer Studios Blog

As I sit down to write a new track for my album Gypsy Road I encounter the same difficulty that possibly you do too.  How do I start the darn thing!   So many paths to take depending on what has inspired the song in the first place.  The number of choices is quite frankly  [ Read More ]

I thought I’ describe the process of releasing a CD for those of you that might want to know what goes into the distribution area of music.  It seems a shame to go to all that hard work and then not distribute your work for others to hear and/or buy.  Everyone has their own comfort  [ Read More ]

If you are already using the best samples money can buy then that’s half the battle.  But it isn’t ALL the battle.   Just like any other crafting field having the best tools doesn’t automatically translate to making the best product.  You still have to know what to do with the tool!   I currently use many  [ Read More ]

First off,  if you really want a realistic sound from your samples you MUST use a DAW. (Digital Audio Workstation).  It doesn’t matter if its Cubase, ProTools, or SONAR but you must have the ability to fine tune your midi data at sometimes a microscopic level.   Also the more tracks your CPU can handle the  [ Read More ]

Many of you out there tend to write your music in Finale or Sibelius notation software.  You can choose to leave it there for a basic mockup and use the sample libraries that come with these packages.   Modern notation software now has some form of “human playback” that is often quite good enough for your  [ Read More ]

Many books and articles that I’ve read spend a great deal of time discussing orchestration techniques rather than the actual techniques of using sampled sounds.  I think this is because the majority of issues that people are having in realizing their compositions is orchestration related.  Its an amazing thing we have now with technology in  [ Read More ]

Scoring for Border Guardians of Ackernon is finished.  Now its time to move to the next phase of every good production, the soundtrack album.  Mixing, mixing, and mastering.   Just in case anyone is wondering about the services offered at Blue Steer Studios, yes I can make a complete retail-ready CD complete with ISRC codes,  [ Read More ]

Congratulations to Border Guardians of Ackernon for its Silver Ace Award in the TV Pilot category!   I have been so proud to be a part of this dynamic show.  And now its a web series!   I went to Las Vegas International Film Festival as a member of the team picking up the award.  [ Read More ]

After a long night of bouncing tracks and my DAW crashing once every half hour I finally finished the music for the first episode of the fantasy webseries Border Guardians of Ackernon: The University. What did we learn (dorothy)? Well- its important to save as soon as you think you wont remember what the last  [ Read More ]

So I’ve started my next album. It has a little different spin than Mossflower Country. Mossflower Country was mostly orchestral in a film score style whereas Gypsy Road is more electronic. It still features the orchestral instruments because as a long-time symphony player I just cant stop loving the sound of a great orchestra. But  [ Read More ]