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Larry Nguyen

How I Make Music

My process, start to finish - and what I am and am not. I play by ear and I'm formally trained (classical lessons, music theory, a music minor); I learned production from an online mentor after nobody else would take me seriously. That story is here.

The process

  1. Start on piano

    Every song starts at the piano. I learned by ear - working out songs from the radio through trial and error - so this is where I go looking for what a song wants to be.

  2. Build the track in Logic

    I lay down the chords, then the beat, in Logic Pro on a cheap MIDI keyboard. Where the track needs texture, I pull samples from Splice.

  3. Structure the song

    Once a barebones track exists, I map the shape: verse, chorus, bridge - the journey the song takes.

  4. Find the melody by humming

    I hum and sing random things over the track until something sticks, and write down what works.

  5. Write the lyrics on paper

    I sit down with a piece of paper and write what I'm actually feeling and what I care about at that point in my life. Then I adjust the lines - what feels like thousands of times.

  6. Guide vocal, then a session singer

    I'm not a great singer, but I record the guide vocal myself so the song's intent is on tape. Then I hire a session singer - these days through SoundBetter, originally through Fiverr - to perform the final vocal.

  7. Mix, master, release

    I mix and master everything myself, then release the song.

What I use

  • Logic Pro (DAW)
  • Nektar SE MIDI keyboard
  • Shure SM7B microphone
  • Taylor GS Mini Koa acoustic guitar
  • Epiphone Casino hollowbody electric guitar

The mixing and mastering chain runs on professional tools I've invested in over time - FabFilter, iZotope, Melodyne, Soundtoys, Valhalla, Serum 2, Keyscape, and more.

What I'm not

  • Not the voice on the final records - I write every song, produce it, and sing the guide vocal; session singers perform the final vocals.
  • Not studio-trained - I learned production from an online music mentor, and I'm still learning.
  • Not a certified instructor - everything on this site is my firsthand experience as an artist, not professional music advice.

Hear where it all ends up on the Music page.