[The deals listed here are long gone but the recommendations are still good]
I get quite annoyed by social media posts urging us all to be productive and/or learn new skills during THE END OF THE BLOODY WORLD but I also get really bored when I’m stuck at home and I find messing around with music helps enormously.
If you’re a musician or want to be one, there are currently some really useful offers you can take advantage of.
First up, Fender Play is currently offering three months free. That’s three months of really good lessons for beginners and more experienced players alike. The lessons are for acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar and ukulele. The deal was originally limited to 100,000 people but it’s been upped to half a million now. Fender:
We’re all going to be spending more time inside so we might as well make some noise.
Apple has announced a 90-day trial of its music production studio, Logic Pro X.
That’s the app I use for almost all of my music, and it’s usually £200. It’s a digital recording studio that’s ideal for any genre of music, and three months is long enough to make some really cool musical projects and/or learn transferable skills that’ll stand you in good stead for any other music production app. There are some really good, free Logic Pro X tutorials to help you get started here.
If video is more your thing, Final Cut Pro is free for 90 days too.
For electronic musicians, the mighty (and to me, terrifying) Ableton Live is also free for 90 days. And Avid, makers of Pro Tools, Media Composer and others, is offering 90-day trials too.
Korg’s wonderful Minimoog synth app is free for another couple of days, alongside its excellent iKaossilator beat-maker.