Computer Music

Computer Music's goal is to help its readers create great music with a PC or Mac. Each month find easy-to-follow tutorials for all sorts of music software, unbiased reviews of the latest products and answers to technical questions. Our Zinio edition does not include the DVD but it DOES INCLUDE the full software, samples and tutorial files to download. Full details inside. Download does not include Producer Masterclass in-studio video. This digital edition is not printable.

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SECRETS OF SOUNDTRACKS • Making music for picture is now one of the most rewarding roads that a music-maker can travel. So, sit back as we arm you with the knowledge and tools to start your own soundtracking journey...

Writing to picture • Shifting to ‘writing to picture’ mode requires you to respond musically in conjunction with the visual events on-screen. In this first section, we’ll explore some of the best practices that will serve you well during this process

Sound design approaches in modern scores • The boundary between sound design and score has blurred in recent years, as melody and abstract sonics fuse to create today’s modern soundtracking norm

The composer’s core toolkit • With such a massive array of soundtrack-aimed products out there, it can be tricky to know how to start. From expansive orchestral libraries, malleable atmosphere-carvers and thunderous impact engines, let us guide you through some of the best big-screen tailored tools around…

Sync and placement • Sync licensing and production music creation can be a stable route for jobbing soundtrack composers, but it can be a tricky world to navigate for those not familiar with the related rights and licensing factors...

The future of soundtracking • With a constant stream of visual content competing for our eyes and ears, we wonder what the future will look like for soundtrack composers. And wonder whether AI is friend or foe?

6 of the best sound design plugins • An integral facet of modern soundtracking, sound design is a practice well catered for by any of the following…

6 of the best writing to picture DAWs • Not all DAWs can handle the processing required to run video, but these are all more than capable...

6 of the best orchestral libraries • The power of an orchestra lay behind many of the best scores ever…

Create classic Depeche Mode sounds • This month, to celebrate the new Depeche Mode album, Memento Mori, we take a look back at some of the band’s classic sounds and sequences: from See You to, yes, The Last Of Us!

#05 Metering tools • Mixing might be mostly about using our ears, but there are other senses we can bring in too, specifically our eyes

FabFilter Twin 3 €129 • Twin is one of the few softsynths to have reached ‘legendary’ status. After 14 years, it now reaches version 3, but was it worth the wait?

Arturia MiniFreak V €199 • Having emulated practically every significant synth ever made, Arturia turns its attention to one of its own creations

Spitfire Audio Albion Colossus £399.00 • Should the world ever entertain an Apocalypse, it’s great to know that we have the correct scoring tools to hand. Spitfire’s latest epic goes colossal!

Tracktion/Dawesome Kult $129 • With ‘Strange Attractor’ oscillators – 30 of them – plus easy FM and AM synthesis, Kult might well be the synth of the year. And it’s only March

Modartt Pianoteq 8 €139 to €799 • The highly-regarded piano – and so much more – instrument reaches version 8, but is Pianoteq still one of the best you can buy?

Audient iD24 £299 • If input audio fidelity is important to you, Audient’s latest analogue-inspired desktop interface could...