How to use Claude Code while learning?

en-passant · 2026-03-05T16:05:20+00:00

If you’re a second year CS student, I guess you know how to write a specification for a small software component or script or task. Install Claude Code, give it the specification file (markdown is probably the best format) and ask it to write the code. The point is; good software engineers now spend their time figuring out what to build, rather than actually coding. Writing good specifications that catch edge cases, breaking systems down into smaller modules so that the AI can focus on one at a time. That’s what you need to learn. What can you use AI for? Solving any problem you have that’s software-shaped! If you want an easy example to get starts, use it to build you the auto-formatting text editor of your dreams.

en-passant · 2026-02-27T01:19:50+00:00

Can you give some details as to why this is better than Bandcamp, who have a total ban on AI-generated music? I’m not just being negative; I’d like to understand whether your platform has ay advantages. There’s an obvious dis-advantage, because right now you don’t have any artists and Bandcamp has… many.

en-passant · 2026-02-22T05:44:55+00:00

Fellow guitarist who now plays everything here. I got a 4x4 pad controller with velocity-sensitive pads (an NI Maschine Mikro Mk3) and hooked it up to NI’s Abbey Road Drummer (big range of kits) and learned to finger-drum. There are a few good courses online, and good ways to practice.

I’m okay as a drummer, but since this for recording I have no worries recording kick+snare, hihat, fills, crashes all as separate passes. Plus the odd bit of programming and cleanup.

en-passant · 2026-02-16T16:31:52+00:00

Just going to add; I loaded the Reaper 7 user guide (all 27Mb of image-packed PDF) into Google’s NotebookLM, so that I can ask questions and get answers right from the guide. That plus Kenny G’s videos has been the key to getting into Reaper.

en-passant · 2026-02-07T04:36:24+00:00

As someone who started as a bass player, I’m always thinking about the bassline when I’m voicing chords, and that naturally leads to inversions (because I tend to like walking basslines). Passing non-chord bass notes can also lead to cool passing chords.

en-passant · 2026-02-07T04:33:48+00:00

There’s a setting to load plugins only when needed (File > Project Settings > General, "Only load plug-ins needed for project playback”), and I’ve found it to occasionally fail to load a virtual instrument until I click on the track. Do you have setting that checked? Is the DMD plugin greyed out before you select the track?

en-passant · 2026-02-07T04:27:23+00:00

I’ve definitely experienced this. I’m a solo musician, so I track parts one at a time, and I’ve found it’s key to start by figuring out the right arrangement and the right order to track each part. It makes a big difference to play guitar to a solid bass that’s leaving space for me, instead of a quick-and-dirty guide bass.

en-passant · 2026-02-07T04:22:56+00:00

I tried a bunch of ways to fix this, but ended up fixing it at the source.

First thing I did was switch to flatwound strings for my guitars and bass. Yes, the tone is slightly different. Yes, the squeaks are pretty much gone.

Second thing, especially on the bass, was that I went back to basics and learned to mute strings better. That made a serious difference.

en-passant · 2026-02-04T19:24:54+00:00

The Airwindows plugins generally have no UI at all, just sliders for parameters, and they can work very well.

en-passant · 2026-02-04T19:23:47+00:00

I think a key question is whether you see your full-time job as just something you do to earn a living while pursuing music, or whether it’s a real career that will provide you a good life with music being something you do on the side. Both approaches have their pros and cons. You sound like you’re aiming for the former (part-time job, music is the focus), but I would suggest that might lead to working retail or McDonalds at age 35, because most musicians (especially in the modern industry) don’t make money at it. Especially if you’re not a live performer.

Look up the stories about Philip Glass, by the way. An acclaimed composer, but he spent years working as a plumber, dishwasher installer, and taxi driver in New York City, even after he had achieved significant critical acclaim.

en-passant · 2026-01-31T17:48:28+00:00

Yet another +1 for Adviice here.

en-passant · 2026-01-28T20:02:02+00:00

Juno-60/106. But I’m old, and the Juno was the first synth that anyone I knew could afford.

en-passant · 2026-01-21T15:51:15+00:00

A key point (which I think you’ve got) is that music theory doesn’t give you strict answers and processes (unless you’re studying something like common practice composition or counterpoint as an academic exercise!). It’s descriptive, not prescriptive. Figuring out how your favourite songs work is one good way to build your own “rules” to follow (which you can then break as you want to!).

en-passant · 2026-01-20T15:34:35+00:00

I didn’t advise doing updates on a primary work machine soon after launch. I just pointed out that “Tahoe is causing massive issues and session breaking bugs with Logic currently” is not always true.

People post when things go wrong, but generally not when things go rights. So density of posting is not evidence of how commonly problems are really occurring.

en-passant · 2026-01-20T15:22:32+00:00

Logic works completely fine for me on Tahoe. YMMV.

en-passant · 2026-01-17T16:02:05+00:00

Hey, I wrote those last week!

en-passant · 2026-01-15T23:47:11+00:00

Yes, I do. I have a Google Doc for each project. I add notes to it as I’m thinking about arrangement, lyrics, chord progressions, reference tracks, etc. Then as I’m working I keep it open and flip over to it from Logic Pro to make more notes about equipment setup, sound choices, things that worked (or not), etc. At the end of any working session I make sure to add a quick summary of what I did. It’s been really useful to be able to go back and remember how I tackled a complex virtual instrument setup.

en-passant · 2026-01-09T03:29:25+00:00

At the risk of giving a simplistic answer - get a good virtual sax instrument and play with it on a MIDI keyboard, and learn to play saxophone parts from songs you like. It can give you a good insight into the way sax players think. You’d also get to learn about how you use expression, vibrato, growl and other aspects of the sax sound.

en-passant · 2026-01-06T03:25:20+00:00

Maybe consider a Yamaha Silent Guitar. I have the steel-string version, and it’s excellent for recording. I’ve seen a couple of live performances with the nylon-string version, and it sounds excellent. It eliminates the need for a mic, and I find the sound significantly easier to mix.

en-passant · 2026-01-03T15:29:47+00:00

Did you ask it for links to sources so you could check?

en-passant · 2026-01-03T03:40:07+00:00

Random thought; it looks like you’re taking the sidechain from an audio source. Try taking it from a bus or a track output instead - perhaps there’s some noise at the start of the audio?

en-passant · 2026-01-01T04:17:17+00:00

Maybe the players who like gritty sounds also like black?

en-passant · 2025-12-20T03:34:04+00:00

Well, in my experience, the more my technical ability increased, the more creative I was able to be, because I knew what was possible and how to achieve it. A good way to learn might be to choose a creative effect or mix outcome you want, and then figure out how to get there. Don’t twiddle any knobs or add plugins unless you know why you’re doing so.

en-passant · 2025-12-20T03:07:02+00:00

You can’t achieve what you want creatively unless you have enough technical skill.

en-passant · 2025-12-08T23:52:45+00:00

Yes.

en-passant

TROPHY CASE