If you’re a musician or engineer, you’ve probably come across plugins that utilize Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) for audio analysis, audio restoration, and sound design. The Fourier Transform allows us to dissect a complex waveform into its component simple sine waves. It’s an amazing and powerful tool, but can be a little difficult to get your head around. The 3Blue1Brown YouTube channel has created an entertaining and the easiest to understand explanation of the math behind the Fourier Transform that we have seen. Watch the video and see for yourself.
TRACK OF THE MONTH / january 2022: Headed to the Top /
Music Orange -> Expertly created original music for commercials and other advertising.
TRACK OF THE MONTH / january 2022*
Headed to the Top
This month…"Headed to the Top" is a perfect title for this uplifting instrumental. Played at the sauntering tempo of a victory lap, this one struts like a vintage soul single on 45 rpm vinyl. With wall-to-wall horn arrangements, a grinding Hammond B-3 sounding organ, classic electric guitar tones, swaggering basslines, and funky bellbottomed beats; "Headed to the Top" would be best boogied to in suede platform boots.
Find this one filed under SUPERFUNK…SOUL in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).
library.musicorange.com/
*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. If you like what you hear, please visit and check out some of our latest tracks. Enjoy the Music!
TRACK OF THE MONTH / december 2021: The Enchanted Hat /
The Enchanted Hat: TRACK OF THE MONTH / december 2021*
This month…With its fluttering glockenspiel notes, spritely string arrangements, and whimsical woodwinds, "The Enchanted Hat" lives somewhere in between a classic Disney soundtrack and a more modern Wes Anderson film score. This festive instrumental moves with the rhythmic bounce of blinking lights and would do well to garnish any of your Holiday themes.
Find this one filed under INDIE ORCHESTRAL…FILM in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).
*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!
TRACK OF THE MONTH / november 2021: The Way Up /
The Way Up: TRACK OF THE MONTH / november 2021*
This month…About half a minute through "The Way Up," murky lo-fi beats ease into a hi-fi clarity, sounding like the song is slowly stepping out of a swimming pool. The smooth electric piano chords help build a sultry vibe before an orchestra saunters in, bringing with it a palpably romantic atmosphere.
Find this one filed under HIP HOP…R&B in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).
*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!
Tips & Tricks: The CORRECT Guitar Tuning for Norma Tanega's "You're Dead" /
If you’re both a guitar player and a fan of the FX series “What We Do In the Shadows”, you’ve no doubt tried to pick out the great Norma Tanega tune “You’re Dead” which is used as the series theme song. It’s not too difficult to get close using an open-G tuning, but try to execute some of the riffs that Tanega plays between verses and you’ll soon realize that open-G tuning is not quite right. Here is the tuning I am 99% certain that she uses: D2-G2-F3-A3-B3-D4. One of the riffs that clinched this for me is this one that she plays right after the first verse:
There really is no other way she would have played this. Of course this means you can’t just strum the open strings to get your G chord like you can if you use open-G. You’ll have to play one of these two chords (Tanega plays both at various times) and do that hammer on using your ring finger:
It should also be mentioned that Tanega does not flatpick - she plays fingerstyle and is likely using a thumb pick.
-Michael
TRACK OF THE MONTH / october 2021: This Is Us /
This Is Us: TRACK OF THE MONTH / october 2021*
This month…The only thing more romantic than a barefoot walk across a gorgeous tropical shoreline with your favorite person is the right soundtrack. With its warm, wooden, acoustic tones and a slightly flirty melody, "This Is Us" could be that soundtrack. It opens on a sunny ukulele melody and accompanying banjo arpeggios before finger-snapping rhythms and syncopated handclaps help build an instrumental ditty that's amorous, uplifting, and playful.
Find this one filed under WORLD…EXOTIC in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).
*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!
Check It Out: Google Guitar Tuner /
Google has added a guitar tuner to its arsenal of apps. To access it, just type ‘google guitar tuner’ into Google’s search bar. It’s simple, but works accurately and easily and is pretty handy if you’re playing along with a song on your computer, doing notation, or checking out a YouTube instructional video.
Things We Like: An Introduction to Synthesis /
I used to own a Moog Prodigy synthesizer as a teenager. Unfortunately, it was stolen from my car when I moved to college (along with almost everything else I owned). I spent many, many hours with that thing and it did a great job of teaching me the basics of synthesis. If you don't own a synthesizer but are even mildly interested, here's a pretty great introduction to synthesis from the BBC archives:
-Michael
TRACK OF THE MONTH / september 2021: Weight of the World /
Weight of the World: TRACK OF THE MONTH / september 2021*
This month…You'd be hard pressed to find a better title for this composition. "Weight of the World" opens on the subtle tension of minimal, repetitive, piano notes falling like sparsely dripping water from a gradually ascending storm of strings. Drums drop like thunder alongside frantic violin swipes, creating a beautifully dramatic score with cinematic arrangements. The uplifting coda provides essential levity as the "Weight of the World" still resonates heavily in your mind's ear.
Find this one filed under INDIE ORCHESTRAL…FILM in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).
*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!
Check It Out: Learn Music Scoring from Music Orange /
MUSIC067A: Music for Film, TV, and Gaming: Foundations
Interested in learning the foundations of scoring music to film, tv, and games? Music Orange composer Michael Lande will be teaching just that in an online class this Fall at West Valley College! There's still time to register at https://www.westvalley.edu/.
TRACK OF THE MONTH / august 2021: Clave y Mambo /
Clave y Mambo: TRACK OF THE MONTH / august 2021*
This month…The first few festive notes of "Clave y Mambo" feel like a walk-up song to a 1970s party in Puerto Rico - the kind where musicians like Ray Barretto and Chico O'Farrill are mingling with other Afro-Cubano notables. This track's fidelity is so deep, it sounds panoramic. Under bouncy Latin jazz rhythms, you can hear claves clicking in the distance as a trumpet on the left ushers in more horns to blast on the right side. Everything sounds so present - with decent speakers, your neighbors might just think you're having a salsa party.
Find this one filed under LATIN…TANGO in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).
*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!
We figured out a way around the flying restrictions. /
TRACK OF THE MONTH / july 2021: SummerFest /
Music Orange -> Expertly created original music for commercials and other advertising.
TRACK OF THE MONTH / july 2021*
SummerFest
This month…Opening with playful piano notes, firecracker beats, and a sprightly horn melody is a perfect way to usher in the summertime. But the aptly titled "SummerFest" heats things up to another level once the uplifting and soulful vocals join the party. "SummerFest" has more flavorful layers than your favorite casserole at a backyard summer potluck.
Find this one filed under HIP HOP in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).
library.musicorange.com/
*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. If you like what you hear, please visit and check out some of our latest tracks. Enjoy the Music!
Things We Like: "ModulAir" Modular Polyphonic Software Synthesizer (Free Plugin) /
ModulAir is a modular polyphonic software synthesizer for both Mac and PC from Full Bucket Music. The list of features include:
Fully modular architecture
Up to 18 modules per patch
43 module types available
Polyphonic Voice and monophonic Master modules
Up to 64 voices polyphony
External signal processing possible
TUN/SCL micro-tuning file import
MIDI Learn – all parameters can be controlled by MIDI CC
Double precision audio processing
Plug-in supports Windows and macOS (32 bit and 64 bit)
VST and AU plugin formats
It sounds great, is a lot of fun to play around with, and is free/donationware. Download it here.
TRACK OF THE MONTH / june 2021: El Caribe /
El Caribe: TRACK OF THE MONTH / june 2021*
This month…If you haven't traveled for a while, it's easy to fantasize about unwinding beneath the palm trees of a tropical paradise with "El Caribe" playing in the background. Bouncing on mid-tempo beats and a grooving bass line, this one is somehow both chill and energetic. The soothing instrumental melody and the slightly robotic vocals create an otherworldly ambience, while synth textures bubble up with the effervescence of a cold carbonated beverage.
Find this one filed under DANCE…ELECTRONICA in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).
*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!
Things We Like: Zupiter Online Modular Synthesizer /
Maxime Chevalier-Boisvert has created a free/donationware online modular synth called Zupiter that sounds great and is a lot of fun to mess around with. It includes all the basics you’d expect and can be controlled via your computer keyboard, the app’s programmable step sequencers, or externally via MIDI. You can even map your external controller’s knobs to the app’s virtual ones. While the site’s About page say, “Its interface is designed to be minimalistic and simple, so as not to put off beginners”, there is a bit of learning curve. Luckily, users can (and do) post their patches for others to load and play. It’s a great way to get your head around the interface or to hear what it can do. Check it out!
TRACK OF THE MONTH / may 2021: Dreambox /
Dreambox: TRACK OF THE MONTH / may 2021*
This month…"Dreambox" is a perfect song title for this hazy, ethereal track. It opens sounding like a dusty tape loop of a lo-fi recorded piano set to simple beats under a whistled melody. But this soon unfurls into a clear soundscape of sunny, uplifting notes and chords - an optimistic instrumental built on negative space.
Find this one filed under HIP HOP in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).
*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!
Working From Home /
TRACK OF THE MONTH / april 2021: No Going Back /
No Going Back: TRACK OF THE MONTH / april 2021*
This month…The opening organ notes bounce playfully, sounding like vintage vinyl before the beats strut into the mix with more modernized aplomb. But it's the subsequent layering of spirited sounds that give "No Going Back" its deeper dimensionality. An uplifting horn section, ethereal synthesizer tones, and cheerful backing vocals all do their part to turn a simple song into a radiant anthem.
Find this one filed under INDIE…ALT POP in The Music Orange Library Online (MOLO).
*Each month, we feature a new track from the Music Orange Library online—the easiest, most intuitive online library in the industry. Enjoy the Music!
Check It Out: MO/OW Design Available /
Design available as a hoodie or t-shirt at the Music Orange Shop.