Hi everyone, I thought I’d share a little about why I started this community. For the past 20 years I’ve worked as a mix engineer and producer. I’ve also written a few books about mixing, and for several years I’ve been running a mixing community called The Mixing Circle, where we do mixing challenges and talk about the craft of mixing. I love doing that and I’ll keep doing it. But over time I noticed something interesting. Not everyone joined those spaces only for the technical side of music. A lot of people were there because they loved being around other musicians, sharing ideas, and simply being in a creative environment. I especially felt this during some workshops and recording retreats we’ve done at Sonic Ranch in Texas. There were moments where it felt less like a workshop and more like a big musical playground — people experimenting, inspiring each other, and leaving energized just from being around music and other creative people. That experience stayed with me. It made me realize there should be a space that focuses more on the joy of making music, not just the technical side of recording and mixing. That’s what this community is about. Here the focus is simply music and creativity. You can write songs if that’s what you enjoy, but you can also create small musical ideas, experiments, sketches, or anything else that comes naturally. Each week I’ll post a small creative prompt. You can interpret it however you like. There are no expectations and no rules about what it should sound like. The goal is just to create, share, and inspire each other. There’s no industry pressure here. No need to make something perfect or commercial. Just a space for music and creativity. I’m really excited to see what grows out of this. And of course, if you’re ever interested in the more technical side of things, I still run workshops and retreats where we explore recording and mixing together. But more on that another time. For now, welcome to the community 🙃 And if you have questions, ideas, or suggestions along the way, please feel free to share them.

A warm welcome to The Music Playground :) This community is a space for musicians who want a reason to create more often. Every week we explore small creative prompts designed to spark ideas. Sometimes they’re simple limitations, sometimes unusual concepts — the goal is just to experiment and have fun making music. You’re free to participate as much or as little as you like. Some people will post something every week, others may just join occasionally. Both are perfectly fine. At the end of each month we’ll also have a relaxed listening session on Zoom where we can hear some of the pieces people made and hang out for a bit. Before you dive in, please introduce yourself in the Introductions post. Glad you’re here. Thomas

Hi everyone, If you’re new here, please introduce yourself. You can share things like: ✔ Where you’re from ✔ What kind of music you like making ✔ Instruments or tools you use ✔ Anything else you’d like people to know No need to write a lot — just a few lines is perfect. Looking forward to meeting everyone. Thomas

Every now and then it’s nice to share things that spark ideas. If you’ve heard something recently that inspired you — a song, a sound, a production idea, anything — feel free to share it here. You can also explain what you liked about it. Sometimes one small idea can lead to a new piece of music. Thomas

This is where you can share music you made. It could be something inspired by the weekly prompt, or just something you’re working on. Finished or unfinished is completely fine. Feel free to include: ✔️ a short description ✔️ how you made it ✔️ what you experimented with And if you listen to someone else’s piece, leaving a small comment or encouragement always helps. Thomas