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Bumbershoot Festival 2024: A Creative Celebration in Seattle

August 8, 2024

This Labor Day weekend, Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival returns to Seattle Center from August 31 to September 1, 2024. With a rich history spanning over 50 years, Bumbershoot continues to be a...

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Ohana Festival 2024: A Must-Attend Event for Music Creators

August 8, 2024

As the summer winds down and the crisp autumn air begins to roll in, music enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating one of California’s premier music festivals. The Ohana Festival, set to take place...

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Desert Daze 2024: A Creative Oasis for Music Enthusiasts

August 8, 2024

As the vibrant hues of summer give way to the golden tones of fall, the anticipation for one of California’s most eclectic music festivals begins to build. This October, the 2024 Desert Daze music...

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How to Create a Joyful Song Like "Happy" by Pharrell Williams

July 24, 2024

Creating a song that radiates joy and energy, much like Pharrell Williams' hit "Happy," is an exciting challenge for any music creator. Whether you're a seasoned producer or just starting out...

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Blackpink’s Lisa Dominates iTunes with New Single ‘Rockstar’

July 24, 2024

Music enthusiasts and aspiring creators, take note! Blackpink’s Lisa is making waves in the U.S. with her latest single, "Rockstar." Released late on Thursday, June 27, the song quickly shot up the...

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Why Nas' Illmatic Deserves the Top Spot: Rap Lyricism at its Finest

July 17, 2024

Nas’ debut album, Illmatic, has been crowned the greatest rap album of all time by Billboard, and for good reason. Celebrated for its lyrical brilliance and profound storytelling, Illmatic set...

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How to Create a Viral Chart-Topping Song Like Tommy Richman's "Million Dollar Baby"

July 8, 2024

Creating a viral, chart-topping song is the pinnacle of success for many music creators. Tommy Richman’s "Million Dollar Baby" exemplifies how to craft a hit that resonates with a wide audience...

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Crafting Music Like Jeff Bhasker: A Guide for Aspiring Music Creators

July 2, 2024

Jeff Bhasker is a legendary figure in the music industry, celebrated for his outstanding contributions as a producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His Grammy-winning career has seen...

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The Magic of K-pop: Insights from "Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory"

June 30, 2024

In the ever-evolving world of pop music, K-pop has emerged as a global powerhouse, captivating audiences with its unique sound and stunning visuals. John Seabrook’s book, "Song Machine: Inside the...

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Blackpink’s Lisa Dominates iTunes with New Single ‘Rockstar’

June 30, 2024

Music enthusiasts and aspiring creators, take note! Blackpink’s Lisa is making waves in the U.S. with her latest single, "Rockstar." Released late on Thursday, June 27, the song quickly shot up the...

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Unlocking the Secrets of Pop Hits: Insights from "Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory"

June 30, 2024

Have you ever wondered what makes a pop song stick in your head, or how some artists consistently produce hit after hit? John Seabrook's "Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory" pulls back the...

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TWICE’s Nayeon on Solo Debut, Songwriting, and Spoilers: Insights for Aspiring Music Creators

June 27, 2024

As the eldest member of the global K-pop group TWICE, Im Nayeon embodies big sister energy: she's protective, loving, and playful. Her playful nature sometimes leads to spoilers, much to the...

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Ryan Tedder’s Studio Review: Writing Three Songs From Scratch

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Photo: Studio

Ryan Tedder is a highly accomplished and sought-after music producer and songwriter. He is known for his work with a wide range of artists including: Adele, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and OneRepublic. He has won multiple awards for his production and songwriting, including multiple Grammys. In his pop songwriting and production class with Studio, he teaches a class about the best way to efficiently create music starting from conception all the way to mastering. The cost for this course begins at $19/month and goes to $279/year if you want to utilize more of Studio’s classes. There is great demand for this course and it even has a waitlist at times, when it isn’t running, but is it worth waiting for?

The course promises that you’ll leave the course with three fully completed songs. From concept to recording to production and mastering, Ryan guides you through the process in four short weeks, including helpful plugins, tech like MIDIs and audio interfaces, and melodic inspiration. In comparison to other popular online music courses, the output is much greater and Ryan helps by providing time management skills he has picked up for the artistic process throughout his career. The output promise of the course also comes with a time commitment on the student’s part, with most reviewers saying that they spent more than 10 hours a week to complete the assignment requirements. So if you don’t have that much time in a week, it may need to be put off until you have that kind of time. 

To help you with the time dependent process, each student is put into a small group to work through ideas together and give each other feedback. The small groups really support students in their process and encourage each other to create. These small groups are very important for building the community base that many people enjoy about the course. From these groups, students will find collaborating partners whom they’ll make their third song with. Many students said that this process was very helpful in making them create much more efficiently with a partner as they are given about 4-5 days to finish a collaborative song. Within this, they learn to give each other feedback live and grow in their own respects. Feedback is also a core base of the course and how musicians learn to create better melodies and supporting sound for their tracks. In some instances, Ryan Tedder also will give feedback on some group’s tracks. The students who received feedback said that having an industry professional view their work and respond with constructive praise and criticism, was very helpful and supportive to their process. That being said, very few people got feedback on their songs and for most reviewers, they only had one group of songs have a feedback session from Ryan. For this course, it is very self-directed so don’t expect to be guided along the way, and feedback may be far and few between from Ryan.

Photo: Inc. Magazine

This course will challenge you. From time constraints to fast-paced collaboration to sharing music for feedback, this course will take you out of your comfort zone, in the best of ways. Many reviewers loved the challenge of having to create in such an intense time frame and said it made them create some of their best work. 

Many said that this course would be good for beginner to intermediate songwriters because it succinctly describes some of the basics of melody writing and song structure. Sometimes, it does jump around between concepts, and skip over some explanations of harder concepts though. 

Overall, Ryan Tedder’s Studio Course is an excellent resource for those looking to get into music production or take their skills up a notch. With its comprehensive approach and clear explanations from one of today’s top producers, this course is sure to provide viewers with valuable insight into the world of music production. For the price, the course is worth it for a self-directed and passionate music maker. Be ready to be challenged and sign up!

If you want to watch Ryan react to songwriter’s songs from his class follow the link below!