William Hopson

If you hang around musicians long enough, you eventually hear someone say, “That’s not how this genre works. ” Sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re gatekeeping, and sometimes they’re just repeating rules someone else told them. But here’s the truth I’ve learned from years of writing in too many styles to count: Genre blending is one of the fastest, easiest, and most joyful ways to grow as a musician. It opens doors. It breaks ruts. It unlocks creativity you didn’t know you had. And best...

Let’s talk about how. The Power of What You Already Have : Logic Pro for iPad comes with one of Apple’s most underrated features: the Session Player. It feels human, reacts to your music, and gives you a starting point that already sounds like a drummer. Once you take control of the MIDI mapping — assigning every pad, trigger, and velocity to the sound you want — the Session Player becomes a creative instrument, not just a preset. And here’s the best part: You don’t need more gear. You don’t...

When I first started The Backpack Composer , my only goal was to show the process — me, my iPad, and whatever idea happened to show up that week. Somewhere along the way, I drifted into explaining how everything works, and while that’s valuable, I realized something this week: explanations are useless if you don’t see  the tools being used in context. So this week’s video wasn’t a tutorial. It was a demonstration . A reminder that every musician, regardless of setup, has to learn to truly...