Tutorials · 28 articles · 20 tools

Electronic music production tutorials.

There are more production tutorials than anyone could watch in a lifetime, and the problem is rarely a lack of information. It is the order. Here are the OHXALA RECORDS tutorials in the order a track gets made.

Start with phase 00 Open the tools
  • Free
  • Examples in Ableton Live
  • In English and Portuguese
The map
Phases
00 to 08From day one to choosing a course
Articles
28Each one listed once
Tools
20In the browser, no install, no account
DAW
Ableton LiveIn the article examples

The path

Listening, rhythm, sound, harmony, arrangement and mixing.

A sidechain video watched before you can program a convincing beat teaches a technique you cannot use yet. So each phase builds on the one before, and the tools for each phase sit right after its articles. If you are new, start with phase 00.

Phase 00 · 6 articles

Where to start

Before any technique: how to organize your learning, which DAW to pick and what you do, or do not, need to buy.

  1. 01How to learn electronic music productionStart hereThe five-phase path this page follows, explained step by step. Start here.
  2. 02Sketch your first track in the browserA beat, a bassline and a first structure using only the tools on this site, with nothing to install.
  3. 03Best DAW for electronic musicThe main DAWs compared on what matters when you are starting out.
  4. 04You don't need expensive gearWhat you actually need at the start, and where spending money does not help.
  5. 05Unlocking your DAWFrom an empty project to your first beat: the parts of the screen and the moves you will use in every session.
  6. 06Less is more: native pluginsWhy the instruments and effects that ship with your DAW are enough for a finished track.
Tools for this phaseOHXALA RECORDS Studio

Phase 01 · 2 articles

Listening

Production starts with your ears. Before touching any knob, you train what to listen for.

  1. 07Producer's ear 2.0Active listening exercises to hear frequency, dynamics and space in a mix.
  2. 08Producer's ear 3.0How to use reference tracks to compare your track with the ones you admire.
Tools for this phaseSpectrum analyzerOscilloscope

Phase 02 · 3 articles

Rhythm and groove

In dance music, rhythm comes before melody. The kick and the groove hold the track together.

  1. 09Build your drum rack in AbletonSet up your drums in a drum rack with the kick on its own track, so you can process it separately.
  2. 10Design your kickWhat changes in a house, techno or afro house kick, one parameter at a time.
  3. 11The human side of rhythmSwing, variation and small moves off the grid that take a beat out of machine mode.
Tools for this phaseDrum machineKick designer

Phase 03 · 3 articles

Sound and synthesis

Understanding how a sound is built is what gets you out of presets.

  1. 12How synthesizers workOscillators, filter and envelope, and how to build your first sounds from scratch.
  2. 13ADSR envelopes explainedAttack, decay, sustain and release, heard in real time.
  3. 14The power of sound designBuild your own textures and signature sounds with few plugins and a lot of processing.
Tools for this phaseSynthADSR envelopeFilter sweep

Phase 04 · 2 articles

Harmony and melody

Theory only as far as it helps: scales, chords and what makes a progression work.

  1. 15Music theory for electronic musicScales and chords in the service of groove and emotion, without the classroom.
  2. 16How to make a melody for electronic musicScale, rhythm, motif and chord tones: a method for writing melodies that stick, and what changes in each genre.
Tools for this phaseChord progressionsProgression generatorMelodic sequencer

Phase 05 · 3 articles

Arrangement and finishing tracks

This is where most people get stuck: turning an eight-bar loop into a track with a beginning, a middle and an end.

  1. 17From loop to full trackA method to stop starting tracks and start finishing them.
  2. 18The art of arrangementBuild a journey through a track with tension, breaks and release.
  3. 19Your first collaborationSplit the work, share sessions and stems, and finish a track with someone else.
Tools for this phaseStructure mapTension builderArrangement canvas

Phase 06 · 4 articles

Mixing and mastering

Balance, dynamics and final loudness, with every process heard before it is explained.

  1. 20EQ basics for electronic musicCut and boost frequencies so every element has its own place.
  2. 21How compressors actually workThreshold, ratio, attack and release, with the effect of each one shown and heard.
  3. 22Creative sidechainingSidechain beyond kick and bass: rhythm, space and movement.
  4. 23LUFS, loudness and limitingHow loud your master needs to be, and how to get there without crushing the track.
Tools for this phaseEQ visualizerCompressor visualizerSidechain compressionReverbDelayStereo panningLimiter

Phase 07 · 4 articles

By genre

The same fundamentals applied to specific genres.

  1. 24How to make organic houseGroove, texture and restraint in a genre that lives on space.
  2. 25Afro house drum patternsProgramming percussion with groove beyond the grid.
  3. 26House chord progressionsThe progressions you hear in house, and why they work.
  4. 27How to make technoKick, rumble and tension, the foundation of club techno.

Phase 08 · 1 article

Choosing a path

For people who would rather learn with a fixed structure and feedback.

  1. 28Online production courses in 2026Point Blank, Berklee Online, Futureproof, Sonic Academy, EDMProd and EMPB compared on clear criteria.

Would you rather learn with feedback?

The EMPB course follows these phases in ten chapters, with the same tools inside the lessons, a quiz in every chapter and assignments that come back with personal feedback. You finish with a track of your own. The in-person workshops walk the whole path in two days, currently taught in Portuguese.

See the EMPB course In-person workshops
OHXALA RECORDS ACADEMY

Electronic music production, courses and interactive tools. Made in Portugal.

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