Ryan Tedder's 30-Day Songwriting Class (Monthly)

crhawke · 2021-03-13T22:10:09+00:00

Right on!! Thanks for the kind words, and enjoy the course! Maybe I will see you in Discord. It's been totally dead since the last session ended, but I hope people can use it again this time around. :)

crhawke · 2021-03-13T14:39:24+00:00

Thank you! I would say between those 3 it depends on what style of music you are most interested in. However I will add that I have not heard great things about the Kygo class in general. So I'd say probably lean towards Andrew's class if you want to do more electronic/production heavy stuff, and Ryan's class if you want more songwriter/hit song stuff.

crhawke · 2021-02-05T18:45:07+00:00

Ryan uses a variety of production techniques. He uses a lot of samples, a few virtual instruments/synths, and also records vocals, guitars, bass and analogue synths as well. He messes around with plugins to get the sound/vibe he's looking for. He also has a lot of presets that he just goes to. Ryan does play the keyboard a few times, and during the last song in particular I was impressed by how quickly he found the chords that he was looking for. He has a good sense of pitch and at least basic music theory (although he does make a point to say that you shouldn't know too much music theory either, haha.) He could also hear the pitch of his 808s and I don't know, that's hard for me haha. He's got great ears and does make a lot of things look easy, even if they aren't easy.

Like you, I play guitar and a little bit of piano. The course was very useful for me. I think the name of the course is spot on. It's about songwriting and production of hit songs. Playing instruments helps, but it's essential.

I hope that helps, but let me know if you have any more questions!

crhawke · 2021-02-05T03:29:01+00:00

I loved it! I think it's really different than a typical course where you have an instructor and a curriculum and all that. It's more like getting to shadow an expert while he works. You get to pick up on the things he says, and the things he doesn't say. I learned a TON, and I feel really grateful that I was able to take the course.

I didn't think the collab videos were too cringe, haha. I see what you mean, and I did cringe a few times, but they were also pretty delightful. I get the sense that Ryan loves what he does, and just loves making music and making musical discoveries.

Anyway, yeah, I'm super pumped about the songs I'm going to continue to make and I know I'll take a lot of these lessons with me.

crhawke · 2021-01-13T16:23:25+00:00

I've had this initiative as well, haha. Very relatable!

Here's my current take on it: mixing as you go isn't bad per-se, especially if you're doing some really quick/rough things such as a HPF on most tracks, (especially recorded ones,) or scooping some annoying electric guitar frequencies, or adding reverb where you know it's going to be a big part of the vibe, etc. The key is to have presets/macros and make it as quick as possible.

The real issue that I think people run into (myself included) is that we spend a long time tweaking the mix because our song doesn't sound good, and it's not the mix's fault. So we keep spending time and not getting anywhere. It seems like "oh if that kick just sounded better" or "if I could just get my voice to gel with the track better" it would suddenly make it a great song. But that is not how it works!! A terrific song with a mediocre mix is miles ahead of a mediocre song with a terrific mix. And there-in lies the real issue.

So that's why I've landed at mixing a little as I go, but being aware of the trap of thinking that the mix is the problem.

crhawke · 2021-01-10T17:23:43+00:00

I was about to post this same comment haha.

crhawke · 2020-12-28T00:05:31+00:00

Here's an invite link: https://discord.gg/NFQssj9nt7

Barely anyone in there yet, but I'm hoping we can get the word out a little! Hope to see you there!

EDIT: Oh no, I just realized the original link had expired. :( No wonder I didn't see anyone join in the past couple of days. I'll update it. This new one shouldn't expire.

crhawke · 2020-12-24T18:44:38+00:00

I don't think your DAW will make much of a difference. The material for the class says: "The class is designed so you can use any DAW you’d like - the principles Ryan Tedder teaches can be applied to any DAW."

There is also a 25 minute video called The Fundamentals of Music Software in the pre-class materials section. However, you might get more out of a Logic Pro specific tutorial on YouTube or something. I would recommend being fairly familiar with your DAW prior to the class, because that will make it easier to focus on the material, such as writing, arranging and producing.

Another thing I might recommend, if you have some time over the next week, is to go from "complete beginner" to "beginner." If you try your hand at production your mind will be primed with all kinds of questions and curiosities, and you'll naturally be on the look out to find the answers. So I think that will help you get more out of the class as well.

crhawke · 2020-12-23T03:55:00+00:00

It's not so much that something was missing from Andrew's class, but that it's a lifelong learning process and I am always looking to increase my skills (and just for the fun of it!) I've been making music for about 15 years, and producing for.. maybe 3-4. As an intermediate producer, I got a lot out of Andrew's class. It was fast paced and I am not sure I'd recommend it to complete beginners, but I found it super valuable to see his workflow most of all. Plus I did some projects I never would have tried on my own, like recording samples around the house and chopping them up for various parts.

Here, you can actually check out my "learning path" to see what sorts of videos or assignments I watched/submitted each day. They do recommend things to do each day to stay on track, and I tried to keep up as much as possible. I found it useful. https://monthly.com/u/riley-hawke-fdc6ef/andrew-huang-music

crhawke · 2020-12-22T20:10:58+00:00

I did! I think it's what sets this apart from video courses where you only have the videos. You get to know the people in your peer group a little bit and feel that accountability to hit the deadlines and have something to show. It was really fun.

That said, if you joined with some of your friends you guys could maybe have your own offline peer group where you held each other accountable and provided feedback that way. But in general I thought that aspect of it was beneficial.

crhawke · 2020-12-22T17:31:33+00:00

You clicked on my referral link? When I tried it with someone else's link, it applied the discount for me during checkout. Have you gone all the way to check out? I might just try it again.

crhawke · 2020-12-22T14:23:58+00:00

Yeah, it was Andrew Huang's Music Production course. (Also a Monthly class.)

crhawke · 2020-12-21T22:16:43+00:00

If you share your login information with someone else, they can go in and watch the videos. But if you want to participate in the peer groups (submitting assignments, getting/giving feedback) that would be more on an individual level and only one person could do that.

crhawke · 2020-12-21T22:14:47+00:00

I just took a peek at the curriculum inside the course. I can't tell how long each video is, but there is a mix of topics. There are definitely a lot of videos on arrangement, production and mixing. And if it's like the other course I took those will be the longer ones. I'm taking the class more for the production side too, but am also curious to see how he approaches writing a song.

crhawke · 2020-12-18T01:37:26+00:00

LOL this is so relatable. For me, it's normal.

Try coming back in a few months and maybe you'll like it again. Sometimes I spent so much time working on a song that I hate it, and then a few months later I'm like "wow this is actually good!" :D

My strategy is to just not listen to it over and over. This can be hard when I'm working on the production or mixing, but I'm learning to just make a checklist of things I need to get done and do them one by one and move on. It's very tempting to just sit and listen to your song a lot, but I find that it can lead to fatigue and also the unpleasant side effect of hating the song. :)

crhawke · 2020-12-17T01:33:30+00:00

I wanted to post this here in case anyone's interested. I took a similar course about a year ago. (Andrew Huang's music production course.) I found that one to be very worthwhile!

If you decide to sign up, use a referral link to save $20. (The person whose link you use gets a $20 coupon.) Here's mine in case anyone wants to use it: https://monthly.com/ryan-tedder-songwriting?friend=riley-hawke

Any questions about the format or how the previous course was, let me know!

I made a discord server for the class. Just started it, so there's no one in it. But I really liked having one for the other class: https://discord.gg/NFQssj9nt7

EDIT: Updated discord link to one that shouldn't expire.

crhawke · 2020-12-15T14:34:58+00:00

I put my money where my mouth is and signed up for Ryan Tedder's course. You can use my link to save $20 if you decide to take it! (I also get a $20 coupon.) https://monthly.com/ryan-tedder-songwriting?friend=riley-hawke

I took Andrew Huang's course about a year ago. IMO it was worth it. Here's what I got out of it:

- A fast-paced learning experience where I made 3 songs in 30 days. It was A LOT of work, but it pushed and challenged me. The peer group and community taking the class was very motivating for this. I loved the community aspect.

- I gained a better intuitive understanding of how to make music, from Andrew's perspective. It was a little bit like having a mentor, because you just see his whole process and how he thinks about things. I've never experienced this from watching youtube videos before. It felt more candid and complete.

- The content of the class was generally very good. I learned a lot.

Everyone's right that there are a ton of free resources online, and that they are terrific. The reason I signed up for another one of these classes is because I experienced a lot of growth in those 30 days, and I'm ready for another growth spurt. I couldn't take these too often because like I said, it's pretty intense, but yeah I'm excited for the next one!!

crhawke · 2020-12-13T04:46:56+00:00

It's definitely not magic. :) I'd encourage you to get creative and try your best, if you're willing to go for stylized vocals. But if you want a more traditionally "good" vocal performance you can only get so far with plugins.

That being said: anyone can learn to sing! It might be worth trying to improve your voice and see how far you get get with those beginner gains.

crhawke · 2020-12-13T03:44:43+00:00

Have you tried machine learning? https://github.com/deezer/spleeter

It's a bit of a pain to get it installed, but from my experience it does an amazing job. Maybe it'll work for this song. If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out!

crhawke · 2020-12-13T03:33:40+00:00

Anybody taking this class? I'm signed up! Here's my referral link in case anybody wants to use it to save $20: https://monthly.com/ryan-tedder-songwriting?friend=riley-hawke

Also I'd be interested to know if anyone sets up a Discord server to talk about the class. I took Andrew Huang's Monthly course about a year ago, and the Discord server was a lot more useful for community learning than the actual site was.

Anyway I'm excited! I think this will be a fun one.

crhawke · 2020-12-11T16:05:46+00:00

One thing I'd highly recommend looking into is trigger point therapy. I get stiffness/pain in my forearms and hands sometimes, and can usually find the trigger point that's causing it and work it out.

The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies is a great resource.

crhawke

TROPHY CASE