The Top 10 Tools for All Musicians: Students, Performers and Recording Artists
Jason Zac's top 10 tools for musicians are a metronome, a tuner, drum loops, practice tracks, a recording app or DAW, notation software, a stem splitter, publishing tools, streaming services and a good listening environment, most of them free or usable on a trial.
Key points
- Use a metronome with one uniform click and explore subdivision and rhythm trainer modes.
- Phone tuners are for home practice; use clip-on or pedal tuners on stage.
- Drum loops and backing tracks such as YouTube searches and iReal Pro let you jam without a band, but play with real drummers when you can.
- Record everything, name and back up files, and learn a DAW such as Reaper with an audio interface.
- Use stem splitters to slow down and isolate parts, but work out chords yourself rather than relying on AI detection.
This lesson from Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music walks through ten tools that help musicians at every level. That includes complete beginners and seasoned gigging, touring and recording players. Most are software, web apps or mobile apps, and most are free or work well enough on a trial version. For each tool you will learn what it is for and how to use it well.
1. A Metronome
A metronome keeps time, and it can also get you playing on days when you feel distracted. Once the click is on, you start an exercise or a song, get into a zone, and then move on to creating or improvising. Jason recommends Pro Metronome.
- Use one uniform click in a tone you like. Avoid a high-pitched accented first beat while practising.
- Explore subdivision modes and groove modes, such as a salsa pattern.
- Try a rhythm trainer mode, which drops clicks at random so you have to keep the time yourself.
2. A Tuner
Choose a phone tuner that shows both frequency and note name and also has a reference pitch generator. That is handy for an a cappella group that needs a starting note. Jason uses insTuner, which also helps producers and sound engineers.
Phone tuners are for home practice only. Fans and traffic noise can throw them off, so on stage use a clip-on, pedal or processor tuner. A tuner with a spectral analyser shows frequency peaks. That can help you spot a room's resonant frequency, which often causes feedback. To find it, sing low notes chromatically, for example in a bathroom, and listen for the one note that rumbles.
3. Drum Loops
You will not always have a drummer to jam with. Search YouTube for loops by tempo and style, such as 85 BPM blues drums or 92 BPM funk drums. You can also use AI drummer features like the one in Logic Pro, loop libraries, or odd-metre loops for inspiration. Even so, nothing beats playing with a real drummer. It improves your timing, groove, composing and discipline.
4. Practice Tracks
Backing tracks give you most of a song without the melody. Search YouTube with specific terms, such as a blues backing track in Bb, then narrow it by feel (shuffle, funk) or by song title. iReal Pro is excellent for jazz standards. You can change the tempo and key in real time, view the chart at your instrument's pitch, change the groove and export.
5. Record Yourself
Start with a phone voice memo app. Treat every recording like a race you must finish. Name each file clearly and back it up to cloud storage.
Then learn a proper DAW. Jason uses Reaper; GarageBand, Logic and Pro Tools are alternatives. A four-channel audio interface and a few jack-to-jack (TS) cables let you record, for example, a drum machine and a keyboard on separate stereo tracks. Set it up neatly once, then record and export clean audio to share with your teacher or followers.
6. Notation Software
MuseScore is free and open source. You can notate ideas and hear them played back. You can also import MIDI files to read the notation, see a piano view and balance parts in its mixer. Its community shares peer-reviewed scores.
7. A Stem Splitter
Tools like SongMaster Pro and Moises help with transcription and practice:
- Adjust pitch in cents when a recording is not tuned to A440.
- Remove the vocals or solo your own part.
- Slow a fast lick down and isolate it, for example a saxophone line.
Jason switches off automatic chord detection. Use AI features that save you time, not ones that do the learning for you.
8. Publishing Tools
Start a YouTube channel and set a weekly or monthly goal to share your work, even if your audience is family or colleagues. LANDR offers mastering, distribution, plugins and loops.
9. Streaming Services
Use Spotify or Apple Music, but discover music deliberately rather than relying on the algorithm. Ask people for suggestions, and listen to whole albums instead of an artist's single hit.
10. A Good Listening Environment
Cheap earphones hide much of the music. Good headphones or monitor speakers let you hear far more detail, which trains your ears. Jason finds Apple Music sounds slightly better than Spotify, and YouTube weaker than both. Above all, protect your ears.
How to Practise With These Tools
- Turn on the metronome to start each session.
- Jam over drum loops or practice tracks.
- Record yourself, then label and back up the files.
- Use a stem splitter to slow down and learn parts.
- Share your progress regularly.
Questions about this lesson
Should I use a phone tuner on stage?
No. Phone tuners pick up background noise such as fans and traffic, so they are best for home practice. On stage, use a clip-on, pedal or processor tuner.
How should I set up my metronome for practice?
Keep the click one uniform tone you find comfortable, rather than a high-pitched accented first beat. Then explore subdivisions, groove modes and rhythm trainer modes that drop clicks.
What is a stem splitter useful for?
Apps like SongMaster Pro and Moises let you remove vocals, solo a single instrument, slow the tempo and fine-tune pitch in cents. This makes transcribing and practising along with recordings much easier.
How can I train my ears with better gear?
Listen through good headphones or monitor speakers on a higher-quality streaming service. You will hear much more detail in each song, and that sharpens your ears over time.
Practise it
- Groove MetronomeWork with tempo, accents and polyrhythms instead of a single unchanging click.
- DAW MentorExplore REAPER lessons, scripts and guided help for recording and production.
- All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.
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