Diverse and knowledgeable Music Producer. Berklee Graduate. Relaxed, informative lessons based on your goals as a musician, from beginners to advanced. Credits with Minecraft, Monstercat, NCS, & more

Find out more about Connor

• 1) When did you first develop a passion for music and your favorite instrument?

  I was at a friend’s house in high school… He turned on Skrillex’s Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites while we were playing Halo. It completely blew my mind. I decided that night I was going to dedicate my life to producing music. I grew up playing normal instruments like piano, drums, and guitar, but the sounds in that EP made me realize how creatively limitless music could be.

• 2) Is there a particular type of music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?

  I know almost every word to every The 1975 song. They’ve been on loop since 2016… Lately though, I've been listening to PinkPantheress. There’s something so perfectly unique and cohesive about her music.

• 3) Explain to us the most difficult or riveting course you could personally give to a student of music.

  Remaking songs with 99% accuracy is one of the most difficult and rewarding ways to learn music production. It forces you to use techniques outside of the box you are used to, and some sounds require a very particular order of choices to replicate.
  
  Making a great song may only require creative freedom, but remaking a great song requires detective skills, a deep understanding of your tools, and a lot of discipline.

• 4) What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?

  FM Synthesis, in general, is the most complicated type of sound design to understand thoroughly. When you have multiple operators modulating the pitch of each other to create new frequencies, it can become a mess really quick. However, you can make the coolest stuff using FM (it’s how Skrillex makes his most iconic sounds)

• 5) What are your keys to success?

  My greatest key to success is asking “why?”
  
  As someone who wasn’t naturally good at making music, focusing on understanding music as completely as possible became my way to stop making bad songs! My students that grow the fastest are the ones with a lot of questions.
  
  My other greatest key is being able to change course when a better path presents itself. It’s common for new producers to get attached to an idea, even after they have a better one. Being able to get rid of bad mixing habits, bad melodies, or bad sounds, is essential to evolving as a producer.

• 6) Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.

  I’d love to run into Weird Al. Not only is he a great person who makes very authentic music; he seems like a good hang.
  
  
  If I had just gotten a full night’s sleep, Skrillex would be the next person I’d like to run into. I’ve got 100 questions for him, but it might be a lot for 6 AM.
  
  I’d also love to meet Brian Eno. He must have a valuable perspective on modern sound design tools versus what it was like when he began producing music. Showing him specific techniques and getting his reaction to them would be so fulfilling.

• 7) Provide a valuable anecdote related to music or your days at music school.

  In the midst of learning intervals in my high school music theory class, I heard a bird chirping in my backyard. I’d heard this exact bird my entire life, but this time was different- I recognized what it was singing. It was singing a perfect 5th. The third frequency in the harmonic series, and one of the three essential notes in every major and minor triad.
  
  Birds didn’t steal that interval from us. The wavelength of the 5th aligns perfectly with the wavelength of the 1st, and that phenomenon is a universal fact. Hearing that harmony is a pleasant experience, no matter what kind of living thing you are. Birds use musical intervals to express their love, just like us.
  
  This is what makes music truly universal. While there may be heavy personal reasons that make us enjoy different types of music; at its core, good music is rooted in real, physical properties. We didn’t just arbitrarily decide the major scale was powerful; we discovered it.

• 8) What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?

  I’m just as passionate (if not more) about teaching as I am about my own goals in the music industry. My students' successes become my own, and there is no better feeling than breaking down a roadblock or making something click for a student.
  
  I’m great at understanding my students' goals and showing them the clearest path to achieving them.
  
  As a kid, I was mystified by so many things in music production. Getting to de-mystify those same things for other people is why I do this job! Let me help you make music!