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Archive for January, 2009
The Downside to Record Deals
Many bands feel that being signed to a label is the best thing that can happen. This is often true but more often than not this starts a whole new set of problem no band ever wants.
Today, recording contracts are nothing more than a bank loan. If it doesn’t sell to expectation you still have to pay the money back somehow. Music companies are a business and they are there to make money not lose it. It is no different than going to a bank and getting a loan to market your music your self, except the recording companies have the methods to make the product sell, get airplay and distribute the product throughout the country or even the world. Recording companies loan you the money to make the music and get their money back by distributing it. Typically artists make a small fraction on CDs- most of the money comes through merchandise and tours.
If you can get a recording company to get behind your music, that’s good. But beware of recording companies who try to influence and change your sound, often to the point of rewriting your songs and even changing members of your band or, worse still forcing you to record songs made by other peoples.
Here are some horror stories that can happen to musicians who get signed and think they are on their way to fill stadiums around the world.
Getting shelved!
A band gets signed; get some money advanced for recording. The songs are recorded and completed but the record company ‘shelves’ your act and you never sees the light of day but you can’t take your product anywhere else because you are already signed. Often you can’t even play live gigs without giving some of your performance fee to the record company. This happened to Billy Joel who waited his five year contract out playing in piano bars.
The song gets changed.
Often you will be all ready to record your songs and the record company will bring in a co-writer or producer who alters your compositions beyond all recognition to “fit in with label’s style.” You started to make a hard rock album and you end up with a rap album with all your instruments removed and samples replacing them. You thought you were Metallica only to end up like Jack Johnson. Then you have to go and promote something you really hate and your product is no longer recognizable.
Where did all the money go?
Beware the big advance of money, to make and promote your music. If it doesn’t sell you will have to pay the money back, with interest, just like the banks. How do you pay the record company back? Live gigs, touring, radio shows, shopping centres etc for the next ten years. How do all those artists who make millions of dollars end up bankrupt? All the bills they didn’t know they had to pay. They had so much fun, they never saw where their money went.
Where did my band go?
Record companies fire and replace a lot of musicians and band members who don't agree with their policies. They are always trying to get work for their own players and artists who have already been signed. Quite often you will find all your guitar player’s work re-recorded by the studio guy or producer to fit in with the label’s sound or smooth over tensions within the band.
I thought I was a musician not a pop star.
Increasingly recording companies are trying to “cross media” any act in anyway they can. They will market you anyway they can, and they will get you to do things to increase your and their exposure any way they can. You may end up on dog food commercial, on big brother or, god forbid, on Australian Idol. Most recording companies are part of large corporations. Since most bands are only around for a short time, companies try to get as much as they can now before people stop listening. (We’ve all heard of the sophomore slump!)
Remember that the music business is mostly about the business. Try to go independent if you can, market yourself on the web at sites like Axebay and build your own presence in the world by networking in its guitar forums. If you are very successful in the beginning of you career, you can get more favorable terms from the recording company. If you do get an offer, get a good lawyer. You don't want to have to wait out your contract.
My First Music Gig
When I was 14 years old, I was in a band (I had a used guitar) as we all like to think we were, even if we couldn’t really play anything. With two school mates in tow, we rehearsed about once a week and made quite a lot of rather nasty noises we thought was great music!! We loved the idea of being rock stars.”
We never really thought about gigs or anything serious, we just plodded along rehearsing in my mates lounge with our 10 watt amps when his parents were at work and we were skipping school. We had no idea how bad we were and I thought I could play anything, anytime, anywhere. None of us knew about scales or keys or being in tune!! I liked to play anything!!!
We eventually went to a dinner at the local memorial hall for some older students. We always had live bands back then. DJs didn’t really exist (yes, it was that long ago!) and so bands were hired. By an act of god, we were that band.
The band that was performing was rather lame, performing songs not really suited for a bunch of hormonally challenged 14 – 15 year old youths. In fact, they reminded me of the scene in the “American pie” movie where the band is doing an awful version of ‘don’t you forget about me’ and all the kids are bored.
A few of friends at school knew my friends and I had ‘a bit of a band going” and suggested we get up and play. All of a sudden our self assurance disappeared and we got all shy. We said we weren't ready. We just play because we like it. Fright entered all of us and none of us wanted to go.
However, next thing we know, the “tough boys” who played football and were athletic heroes came over and told us we should play. We didn't want to play but they insisted. We pushed back. They told us to get on stage or they would punch our heads in.” It appeared we didn’t have a choice.
So with the prospect of our heads being smashed heads and loss of any degree of cool we ever thought we had, we trundled toward the stage. It never feels right playing someone else's instruments- it is like wearing someone elses's underwear!!! But we got up there any way, ready to be booed off the stage and into the dark recesses of the hall. The place went wild when we played and everyone was having a good time. We thought “hey this ain’t so bad” so we kept paying whatever we knew. No one, especially us, seemed to really mind at all. Everybody loved it. We kept going and going. The tough boys applauded and the girls smiled. My guitar solos still not in any scale or key but hey, there we were a real band on a real stage!! We were suddenly too cool for school and the “it” thing at school.
What we thought was hell turned out to be heaven and we ended up getting a gig with the other band. It was the start of a long musical career that still continues to this day.
Unsung Heroes of Classic Rock
Classic Rock is a term used to describe bands and artists from the 1970s.”
Most of the musicians were very original and have become a big influence on subsequent generations. No matter what era you were born in, almost any band you listen to has been influenced by artists and bands from the 1970s. Moreover, even if you are only in your teens and you think your favourite band is “totally original,” chances are they were influenced by a musician or group from that era, even if they don’t consciously know it.
This decade was one of the best decades for groundbreaking music. Nothing was copied or rehashed and everyone had their own sound. The 1970s represented a culmination and expansion of sounds that were experimented on in the 1960s. Bands such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Free, Allman Brothers, Queen, Black Sabbath, Cream, David Bowie, Status Quo are all examples of acts who made their start in the 60’s but found their sound and style in the 70’s, and therefore gave rise to many other bands who then added their own flavour to these styles. All of these acts were guitar legends.
Lesser known bands such as Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Grand Funk Railroad, Scorpions (who became quite huge in the 80’s), and Thin Lizzy are worthy of mentions but would not necessarily legends, where as other acts such as Queen became absolutely huge and remain so to this day.
It is the same with other rock bands. Every guitarist has heard of the greats but there are other, less known musicians, who were equally influential and deserve attention. Two such examples are Richie Blackmore from Deep purple and Michael Schenker from UFO. You will find some modern players such as Kirk Hammet and Dimebag Darrel were heavily influenced by Michael Schenker, but Schenker has not really achieved THE “god like” status some of his contemporaries like Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton have.
I could go on for hours about classic rock and there are hundreds of excellent albums that are still available today but some songs and albums deserve special mention for their guitar prowess and are worth your time to have at least a quick listen. Here’s a quick list of four lesser known gems of classic musical genius that are worth a listen:
Deep purple:
Guitarist: Richie Blackmore:
Choice albums: Made in Japan and Deep Purple in Rock
Songs: Highway Star, Child in Time.
Some of the most blistering guitar work you will ever hear recorded in the early 70’s and held the Guinness Book of Records title as the loudest recording ever made!
UFO:
Guitarist: Michael Schenker.
Choice Albums: Phenomenon and Force It.
Songs: Rock Bottom
One of the most exciting and dynamic solos ever recorded, he was about 18 at the time!
FREE: (later to become” bad company” another excellent act!!)
Guitarist Paul Kossof
Album: Best of Free.
Songs: All Right Now, Fire and Water, Mr. Big [live]
It had a simplistic and slow natural style!!! A Les Paul plugged straight into a marshal, no pedals and no tricks.
WISHBONE ASH:
Guitarists: Andy Powell & Ted Turner.
Choice albums: Argus and There’s The Rub.
Excellent melody and twin harmony lead breaks, copied by many acts since! Very complex arrangements.
Your First Music Gig
Your first musical gig is always an exciting event for a band. Many hours slogging it out in the garage or rehearsal room finally come to fruition with the offer of your first gig.
These days, bands usually get a school or party gig or a shared bill with a few other bands or even a band competition as their first gig. Either way, the experience of the first gig should be enjoyable and exciting. You don’t want it to turn into a nasty experience with everything going wrong, which it will if you are not prepared.
Like Murphy’s Law says “what can go wrong, will go wrong.” Every musician in the world can remember the first time they performed on staged, so make it a good experience not a frightful mess.
First, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! No matter how many times you have performed your songs in the garage, when you get on stage it will all sound different, and, if you don’t know your part 110%, you will get it wrong. In the garage, you are in one small room and quite close to your fellow band mates. On stage, you can be separated a lot and you may not be able to hear the other guys or what they are playing. If you know your songs very well, you will be able play no matter what sound problems you have.
Second, be confident. Rehearse your songs in the order you will perform them especially if you are doing a short set. If you are playing the whole night, rehearse the whole set beforehand. This will alert you to any problems such as guitar changes, pedal set up changes, singers might need a “breather” that may make you look disorganized.
Make sure your guitars have new guitar strings (but put them on at least two hours before you play and stretch them in), your drums have at least a new snare skin, check the condition of the kick drum skin too.
Make sure you have new batteries for pedals and especially tuners, and for any wireless systems you may be using. And don’t forget a guitar stand or two!! Have a spare lead close by even if you are using wireless system as it is a good back up.
If you are doing a gig with a bunch of other bands, make sure your accessories such as leads, tuners , and microphones are clearly marked with your name or at least some special markings, it is strange how much gear goes “walking” at these gigs.
Create a song list for band members and have a few spares for other people. Make notes for the sound guy if you want any special effects done during your set. Each member should write notes on his or her list if they need to remember certain things such as pedal adjustments or guitar changes. Singers can use a cheat sheet and write down parts of a song to jog their memory. However, if you rehearse well, you won't need to do that!
Get to the gig early so you have plenty of time and bring lots of friends to fill out the crowd. Audiences generally have a ‘sheep’ mentality and if they see or hear a bunch of people making a lot of favourable noises they too will go along and get the vibe.
Enjoy your self and get the whole thing recorded on audio and visual mediums so you can show it to your family and friends and to your grand kids when your old! No matter whay, you won't forget this gig!
Taking A Look At Acoustic Vs Electric Guitar
There are so many choices when it comes to picking out a guitar, and that is after you have decided which category your guitar is going to belong to. You decide that you definitely want to learn guitar, but you are torn between acoustic or electric. On one hand it was so cool to see Kurt Cobain jamming out in a special acoustic performance on MTV, but it was also fun to see KISS back in the day. What are you supposed to do? The best thing to do is to learn the difference between the two before deciding where to go from there.
The difference between an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar is simply amplification. An electric guitar needs an amplifier, but they are much easier to play. The electric guitar will cost more because you will have to purchase a good amp, and they both cost quite a bit of money. The acoustic guitar is more limited in shape and size because both shape and size make a difference on the sound that comes from the guitar. Therefore, you do get more of a selection when you choose an electric guitar. Although the electric guitar is easier to learn on, there are obviously limited types of music that you can play with it. So, if you learn with an acoustic guitar, you might find yourself a better musician in the long run.
An acoustic guitar does have choices as well. You can get a steel string or a nylon string guitar. A nylon string guitar is good for playing music styles such as classical, flamenco, and folk. The reason for the particular styles is that the nylon string produces a more tranquil sound. The steel string guitars are louder and you find that they gravitate more towards rock, country, and any other style that requires a louder, more crisp sound. The steel string is played with a pick while the nylon is almost always played with fingers.
If you are truly stuck deciding between the two guitars, you could choose an acoustic/electric guitar and kill two birds with one stone. The blended guitar has a longer neck that resembles an electric guitar, but it also has a more shallow body than the typical acoustic. The draw back to these guitars is that they sound better with an amplifier. They do all right without an amp, but there is a distinct difference in the quality of the sound. The benefit to these guitars is that they are easier to learn on because of the resemblance that they have to the electric guitar.
One thing that is never a good idea is to bite off more than you can chew. You should master whatever you feel the most comfortable with first. For example, many people fall in love with the sound of a twelve-string guitar. This guitar is known for a rich sound that resembles two guitars playing at once. However, the twelve-string guitar would be frustrating and infinitely harder to learn before mastering a simpler six string guitar. You should also pay close attention to your own person preferences. If you want to be a rock star, and you love Aerosmith, buying a huge acoustic guitar would not be the wisest decision because you will hate learning to play. The same rule applies for the next James Taylor; don’t invest in an expensive amplifier if it is just not your style.
Play The Violin By Being Self Taught
Trying to figure out how to play violin for beginners and on your own can be extremely difficult and frustrating. It can be an uphill struggle for anyone but your musical education on the instrument need not end before it has begun. You can turn things around and make them fun with disciplined commitment and dedicated learning. Hundreds of thousands of musicians worldwide have sworn on the same commitment. They all ended up pursuing successful professional careers in music. This can apply just as easily to anyone interested in learning the violin but wishing to do it on his own. It is not always necessary to have a personal violin teacher when trying to master the instrument, as long as one has the patience, understanding and determination to succeed by being self taught.
If you intend to be self taught on the violin, one important question needs to be asked of you. How serious are you about doing it? Is your passion for the instrument strong or just something that is on the spur of the moment? A natural love for music is also necessary. It helps to increase tenfold the enjoyment of pursuing your musical education. Dealing with any obstacles will be less difficult if your passion and love for what you do is strong as it pushes you on.
While it is admirable to be self taught, do not exempt the fact that some form of sharing and learning from others would be necessary during your journey. Look for other violin players and learn from each other. Learning from others' experience could speed up your own progress. Inculcate their experiences in your own lessons and progression might result quicker. Do not neglect other resources such as picking up a learn violin dvd to gather more insight from other professionals.
Students with teachers often have an extra push or motivation from the latter. If you decide to teach yourself how to play the violin, then self discipline is something you must cultivate and master in order to fulfill your dreams. You must not shirk your responsibilities with regards to violin practice and more effort might be required compared to one who has a personal coach. You also need to examine your progress regularly so that areas of improvement can be determined and worked on.
Many self taught musicians neglect classical musical theory. Not only is it difficult to do so on your own, but it takes many hours of work to understand and memorize them. But it helps to make you a better violinist. It is also really necessary to know musical theory in order to become a better violin player as there is no alternative theory system for the instrument. There are many violin lessons online that can provide help in this area and you should turn to them for extra knowledge.
At the end of the day, whether you are enrolled in a music school or choose the self taught path, becoming proficient in the violin requires all your attention to detail, dedication, passion and commitment. There will be no limits to your progress as a violinist if you remain persistent and continue to grow your strengths. The journey will be long but fruitful till the end.
Guitar Strings
Guitar Strings should be changed whenever they start to look or feel rusty, start breaking, lose their tone and sound, or look dull. It is difficult to know how long strings will last as factors such as climate, how often (or not) you play your guitar, whether you are working in a band or just playing at home, all effect the longevity of your strings. In general, when playing a full night, guitar strings will only last about 6 gigs. After that, you risk the embarrassment of snapping a string during one of your glorious solos.
When changing strings leave enough slack to ensure that there is going to be 3 – 5 turns of string around the tuning head. Do no not use too many turns or wraps as this leads to tuning instability and constant string stretching. Make sure you gently but firmly stretch the strings when they are new. While connected to your tuner keep pulling and stretching the string and re-tune as necessary. Remember that nylon strings will always take a great deal of stretching to remain in tune.
There are many interesting products which can assist in tuning stability and make changing strings easy. Two good ones are the Spertzel or Grover locking machine heads. They don't need turns or wraps at all since they lock the string into the machine head.
A good idea on electric guitars with tremelo bridges such Floyd Rose types and also on Gibson style ‘tune o matic’ bridges is to change the strings one at a time. This stops the tremolo going completely out of adjustment and, in the case of the tune o matic, from falling off the guitar and losing the whole set up.
Always keep your new strings as clean as possible by wiping them down after each playing and using string life products such as Fast Fret or Finger Ease before and after each playing session. It makes a HUGE difference on the life of your strings and length of a good string tone. You can greatly extend string life by also using strings brands such as Elixir strings, which add about 8 times to the life of strings. However, they are about 3 times more expensive than normal strings.
A essential tool to have is an all in one string crank or winder or string cutter and bridge pin remover such as those made by Planet Waves or similar.
Music Industry looses battle in illegal downloads
Eventually, the music industry has decided to embrace and accept illegal downloads of music from around the world. According to executives at the Midem conference in Cannes they have decided that illegal downloads of music is un-avoidable. Until very recently, the music industry was in a blind panic about illegal peer-to-peer downloading, they couldn’t stop it! And the industry still can’t! Millions of absolute millions of people from around the world seem to download music free of charge and it seems that the people who made it don’t seem to make a single penny.
An incredible 95% of all digital music in the music industry is downloaded off the internet and comes from un-licensed sources like Limewire and Imesh. However the blind panic regarding illegal downloaded music seems to have calmed down a lot. Regardless of how many hard hours he musician has put into playing his classic guitar or grand pianos. The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents US labels, has traditionally been the most aggressive and direct about chasing people who share music files over the internet. However, the association has announced that it will no longer sue suspected offenders at it considers the crime as far too broad and generic to prosecute one person.
Digital rights management – the lock placed on a track to attempt to stop people from sharing it was once the central tool to stop piracy from happening. However Apple is now removing DRM from their leading music software, itunes and the leading download store. This move from Apple marks almost a complete defeat for DRM and the music industry as they have been trying to battle illegal music piracy for an extremely long period of time.
The music industry seems to of reached a dramtic conclusion regarding the sharing of music and it looks as though people have prevailed in the battle. Although, I do feel slightly sorry for the people who were caught out in this rather pointless war. After all, I’m sure we could all say that we have downloaded material off the net and not thought about the consequences.
Helping You Find The Best Audio Book Download
The audio book download industry has been simplified and expanded through the convenience of the internet. With the internet, anybody can easily get MP3 books to download and save on a home computer or take along on a portable device player. This is convenient for people from all lifestyles. Business people can listen to a variety of business audio books on a long trip. Parents will appreciate their options for children’s audio books, too. Whatever your preference, you will undoubtedly find a download that will meet your needs.
With the wide selection available online, the audio book download industry is surely going to have something you will find interesting. Business books make up a considerable part of the audio book industry. You can find a wide array of business categories with a large number of titles in each category just by surfing the internet. When you find one you like, you can get an MP3 download in a matter of minutes. You can even find lectures and motivational materials that you can download and listen to as well as tips for a successful business.
Audio book downloads are available through many companies and websites. One of the most popular places to get your MP3 books is through www.audible.com. Users can download digital recordings of their favorite books for a cost that is less than buying the actual book. With thousands of available titles, users are certain to find something that fits their preferences while expanding their reading perspectives. Internet users can also download their favorite audio book free from popular sites like www.free-books.org and www.freeclassicaudiobooks.com, as well as other sites that are non-profit.
Besides convenience, the audio book download industry provides other services to customers to encourage them to explore other possibilities. Many websites offer a subscription service where subscribers can buy or rent an audio book the same way others rent videos from their local video store. With a membership, you have unlimited access to thousands of audio books. At www.simplyaudiobooks.com, the cost of membership includes the shipping charges and late fees so you just pay a low monthly rate to enjoy your favorite books. You can listen to a wider selection of books to expose yourself to ones you might have otherwise missed by utilizing a low-cost subscription service.
The audio book download industry caters to people who are typically too busy to sit back and enjoy reading a favorite book. With CD players in cars and portable media capabilities, you can listen to your choice of books on your way to work or on long car trips. With the internet, you can even get free educational audio books or rent books through one of many subscriptions services.
Rocket Piano Review – What You Should Know
As a course, RocketPiano shares the characteristics of a tutorial, but it nevertheless gives an insight into the professional approach of music making. Hours of practice, lots of piano exercises, theoretical studies and music reading, these are the elements that best define the experience one should expect from Rocket Piano. Most of the people who order this program are usually interested in the hobby dimension of music playing, thus, they will receive instructions from a professional without necessarily aiming at becoming one themselves.
What to expect from Rocket Piano
The Rocket Piano course is trainee-oriented, this means that the accessibility and the entertainment part are also taken into consideration given the fact that most people think that music theory is boring and a waste of time. Fortunately, the way Rocket Piano tackles with specific tasks is usually considered easy and fun at the same time. Thus, the learner will see that the method is suitable for anyone particularly since it relies on the interesting, catchy and challenging side of things.
Even if it is designed as a rapid learning course, Rocket Piano won’t teach you how to play piano over night; it still takes a lot of patience and plenty of time for rehearsal in order to evolve to a good knowledge level. The exercises included in the course correspond to high quality standards, and once you get the technique right, ten minutes of practice will work magic for the interpretation of one piece or another. A major achievement of Rocket Piano is that it will guide you on the path to understanding music language.
When you finish the training with Rocket Piano, you should be able to read chord symbols, improvise, use scales and arpeggios. The difficulty of such goals is only apparent as things tend to get simpler as the piano study progresses.
Taking Rocket Piano with a grain of salt!
The big disappointment in using Rocket Piano is to discover that you cannot play as expected. Such cases are pretty often since Rocket Piano doesn’t prepare only true musicians. Talent is something innate and it is this divine gift that allows one to develop the art further on and achieve astonishing things.
Take things easily and consider Rocket Piano a tool for learning, a form of entertainment or a mode of enriching your knowledge of things! Rocket Piano has been created by a professional, but it doesn’t have to create professionals!