Any Sound Will Do

Making Music from Everyday Items

Learn how to turn the sounds you can get from a single everyday object into a song, with YouTube star Andrew Huang.

1 Hour
3 Sections

Andrew Huang is best known as the mad scientist behind a number of YouTube viral hits, including songs made using only red balloons, water, car tires, dental equipment, and much more. In this course he will take you through a quick demonstration of his process by creating a song using only sounds he captures from a kitchen pot. 

By the end of this free course, you'll be able to mimic Andrew's process for capturing sounds from an everyday item and transforming them from random clicks, bangs, and dinks into beats, melody, and more, creating a complete track in Ableton Live. If you need a quick refresher on how to set up your mic and workstation, visit part one of this series. Otherwise, dive in and let the music begin! 


Andrew Huang

Composer, Producer, YouTube Star

Andrew makes a lot of genres of music with a lot of different instruments, including things that aren't instruments like pants and balloons. His YouTube Channel has more than 340,000 subscribers. He has 30+ albums and EPs out which you can find by searching his name on Spotify, Bandcamp, iTunes, the usual places. You can hear more of his stuff on YouTube or Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/andrewhuang

More About Andrew
Less About Andrew
andrew huang
found sounds
ableton live
recording
production
any sound will do: making music from everyday items
sampling
microphones
melody
beat making
drums
beats
rhythm
inspiration and creativity
sound design

Course Outline

  1. Section 1

    Getting Started

  2. Section 2

    Capturing and Manipulating

  3. Section 3

    Wrapping Up

MORE INFORMATION

Who is this course for?

This course is for producers looking to take their use of found sounds to the next level and go from just using samples to creating lush tracks entirely out of recorded sounds; or for students who are fans of Andrew Huang's work and just want a more detailed insight into his music-making process.

What are the requirements?

If you're new to using found sounds in Ableton, check out part one of this series, Capturing & Warping Samples in Ableton Live. If you want to follow along and make your own track, you'll also want a copy of Ableton Live and a microphone. If you don't have it already, can download a free trial of Ableton here.

How long does it take?

You can dive into how Andrew created his track in about an hour. If you're following along and creating your own track, plan on taking a few additional hours.

What will I get out of it?

We'll learn the ins and outs of Andrew's approach to capturing sounds from everyday objects and turning them into complete songs. This means learning how to craft drumbeats, harmonies, and melodies out of sounds we can get from hitting, plucking, rubbing, or blowing on everyday items. If you need a refresher on how to capture sounds with a mic and Ableton Live, check out our first course in this series on Capturing & Warping Samples in Ableton Live.