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How Can Ambitious Musicians Find Great Advice From Professionals?

July 1, 2013 by Chris

While becoming a success in any occupation is difficult, the music industry is notorious for being one of the toughest to ‘crack.’ Of course, the industry itself isn’t actually that tough anymore.

In the days before social media and polarizing television talent shows, becoming a success was dependent on someone at a record label listening to your tape, or having the good fortune to be playing a venue where someone with influence just happened to be having a drink that night.

Easier Yet More Difficult

GuitaristAlthough the various avenues to enter the music industry today make it easier to do so, it is also true that a career in the business can be much shorter than was the case when people had to do it the hard way. Yes, it might be easier to become known, but how will you endure?

How many of today’s artists do you honestly believe will have the longevity of a David Bowie or an Elton John?

If you’re an ambitious musician looking to boost your profile in the industry and set yourself up for a successful, long career, professional advice can go a long way. Where can you find it?

Social Media Interaction

While you might not want to simply log onto social media and start approaching successful artists with questions, you should keep an eye out for when they do online Q&A sessions, as many people will probably ask the sort of questions that you want to.

Sometimes, advice might be something simple, such as to keep practicing, never stop believing in yourself, and upload your music to YouTube and other sites. On other occasions you might receive some specific advice about a technique, or realize you’ve been doing something counterproductive to your hopes without realizing it.

Music Tutoringmusic tutor

Music tutors are a great source of information, and much of the time they will also be session musicians or otherwise play in a live band themselves.

Their knowledge will often go far beyond simply how to play an instrument, and they might be able to get you where you want to be. If you’re a musician looking to develop your skill set, then finding the best online guitar lessons, or those relevant to whatever instrument you play, can help. Sites such as Pro Music Tutor feature advice from world-famous musicians, and there’s probably no one better to ask for advice.

Find a Studio You Know Someone Uses

There are recording studios in towns and cities around the world. While hiring one of these might not always be particularly cheap, if you can find a studio that is used by a big artist, you’ll often find yourself with the opportunity to speak with someone and pick their brains about what you should be doing differently.

Many will even listen to you and help to develop your sound, but you shouldn’t take that for granted when you start seeking studio space.

Unearthing Music Advice

As well as pursuing these avenues, you should continue doing what you already do; practice regularly, expand your horizons, and try to secure gigs, even small ones, at whatever venues you possibly can.

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Nidia Guerra is a lifestyle consultant who works with clients from all occupations and demographics. Nidia currently has a large client base of ambitious musicians and sportspeople whom she is helping to pursue their life goals.

Filed Under: Musicians, Playing Styles Tagged With: Ambitious Musicians, career, Great Advice, instrument, music industry, Music Tutoring, musician, Professionals, recording studio, social media

Things To Know When Beginning A Career In Music

June 3, 2013 by Chris

The internet has not only impacted the way people shop and find information but also the way people pursue careers. The internet began to make a slight change to the music industry just a few years ago when Justin Bieber, now a global superstar, as we all know, was discovered. Bieber decided that posting videos online and getting thousands of views was going to be his best opportunity of success. Thankfully for Bieber, one of those viewers happened to be a musician’s manager.

Beginning a career in the music industry is difficult and might even seem impossible to some artists.

However, as with everything else, the music industry is always evolving, thus resulting in the process and road to success many aspiring musicians will face.

It Takes Time

Whether you are a solo artist or a member of a band, getting involved and seeing success in music can take a lot of time. The key is to be patient, however, as it is very easy you may lose motivation and stop practicing or meeting up with band mates. Patience doesn’t just consist of waiting around for something to happen and not doing anything about it.

You must be and stay active; every day should consist of an effort to better improve yourself as a musician. Just have belief in what you are doing and keep moving yourself forward. If you’re good, you will be discovered.

Have an Open Mind

Whether it is about your strategies or even music genre, focus on looking at your position and even strategies from another point of view. When putting together ideas to promote and market yourself or band, an open mind will allow you to expand your resources.

If you are a solo artist and play an instrument, consider teaching kids or adults on how to play an instrument. This will allow you to gain some publicity and more people will hear about your solo career.

However, make sure you tell all your clients about your side career and in fact, if you have a gig or performance, be sure to invite them and kindly ask if they wouldn’t mind spreading the word a bit.

The Internet

Whether you are experienced or just a newbie looking to get started, make sure you turn to the internet. As an experienced artist, you would be able to post videos of your music, or even you performing live in front of the camera.

While YouTube might seem like the obvious choice, building a following on Twitter or Facebook, for example, will help you to reach the best possible audience. In addition to this, produce some t-shirts featuring the URL of your pages, and whenever you start to play gigs ensure that your social media is featured heavily on flyerr and posters at your gigs. If you want to be creative, you can even put your hashtag on your drum kit!

However, if you are new, then why not try to learn guitar online or even another instrument. The internet offers numerous resources for both newbies and existing artists.

Robert is a professional musician. At a very young age Robert decided to learn guitar online by watching various videos and as he became older he received professional training.




Filed Under: Musicians Tagged With: Artist, band, Beginning, career, gig, instrument, internet, Know, Music, Open Mind, performance, time

The Three Musical Amigos!

November 10, 2010 by Chris

threestringedmusicians

I’m not sure who these guys are, but they look like they’d be fun to watch playing this instrument somewhere!

I think that it would be quite the challenge playing in such close proximity to each other. Little things like bad breath could be the beginning of the end real fast for the musicians in this band!

To me, the worst thing about being one of the three people performing with this instrument is tuning. I am one of those guitarists who are forever tuning! I can’t tune my guitar while everyone is jamming like crazy. Maybe it’s the ADD in me I’m not sure! How about you?

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Custom Made, Entertainment, Humor, Instruments, musical instruments Tagged With: challenge, close, funny, guitar, guys, huge, Humor, instrument, jamming, photo, playing, strings, three amigos

Beginners Guide to Percussion Instruments

October 15, 2009 by Chris

Ask almost anyone what exactly is percussion and I bet you they can’t name more than one instrument, if that.

Some instruments in the percussion family are not often thought of as being a percussion instrument. Cymbals and timpani are often thought of as the main focus of percussion and drums in general. The drums in a band one could not do without and are thought of as being the beat or foundation of the sound and rightly so. Drums are not the only percussion as we will see. You will greatly expand your knowledge of music as a whole if you learn one or more of the instruments in the percussion category.

Percussion can be defined as striking one body against another; especially such as gives a sound or report. When you learn piano you are seldom made privy to the manner of its sound production and the fact that it is a percussion instrument. The piano straddles two groups, chordophones and percussion; being a stringed instrument but having the sound produced by hammers striking the strings. Open the piano and see how the hammers strike the strings to grasp the effects of percussion. The sounds of music are produced in many and various ways.

Percussion is divided into other classifications as well. Percussion instruments are either idiophones or membranophones and are defined as instruments that produce sounds through the vibration of their entire body when struck or instruments that have a stretched membrane that vibrates. Some examples of idiophones are the triangle, cymbals and the vibraphone. Membranophone examples are congas, bongos and the tom tom. Whether a definite pitch is produced or not is a further division of percussion instruments.

As many instruments in this area can produce defined pitches, players are often required to learn to read music as it is essential to playing.

Percussion can be much more than what you might think. Percussion instruments can play not only rhythm, but harmony and melody as well. The beat of the music is found in marching band music as well as the modern jazz quartet. Percussion is the soul of music.

Filed Under: Music Tagged With: drum, drums, instrument, instruments, Music, percussion

The Carillon at Metro United Church in Toronto

October 7, 2009 by Chris

A carillon is an instrument that used bells instead of strings to produce music. It’s been around since the 15th century and you’d think that I would of heard more about this thing but nope, never really heard of it before the other day.

thecarillon While waiting for a medical appointment in downtown Toronto the other day, I had some time to kill so I walked outside of the building. Across the street I found a very old house of worship called The Metropolitan United Church of Canada. That morning the church happened to be open to the public, so I walked in. I couldn’t help but fall in love with the ancient style of architecture in this building.

I found myself strolling up to this women at a table in the front foyer, under the bell tower. We talked about the architectural and historical aspects of the building. She was quite informative and witty to boot! She told me to walk in and check out the inside of the sacristy of the church.

I was spellbound by it’s beauty! Unfortunately I had to rush through the building because I had an appointment to be at in around 20 minutes.

As I walked out I ran into this man who said that he was the church’s Carilloneur? I then realized that the instrument he was referring to was called the carillon. I had just read about it in the flyer that the women gave me as I walked in before we talked.

We started this really cool conversation and it lead to him asking me if I wanted to see it! I said “Wow, would I ever!”.Then I almost forgot again about my medical consultation and asked him nicely if I could do it at a later date and he said sure. He also told me to and bring your video camera if I wanted.

Just like everyone else out there, I find that there is never enough time in one’s day to do what they really want to do! I hope that someday I will make it up the tower and check out this unique instrument up close!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Culture, History, musical instruments, Recreation, Toronto Tagged With: ancient instrument, Carillon, church bells, church organ, instrument, Metropolitan United Church, mid evil, mid evil instrument, United Church of Canada

A cardboard grand piano

May 20, 2009 by Chris

A Swedish packaging company, SCA Packaging, has created a grand piano that is made of cardboard. I guess it’s for people who find the real thing a little bit too heavy to lug around for gigs! Anyone one up to tickling the old cardboard?

The cardboard piano uses integrated circuits that are pressed onto paper instead of silicon chips or circuit boards. It’s based on technology developed to make paper products that change colour or include radio-frequency tags for inventory control. Ulf Carlsson, SCA’s head of development and research, said the cardboard piano features all 88 keys. Press one, and the circuit beneath it sends a signal to an external loudspeaker, which plays the appropriate sound.
Source: www.usatoday.com 3 June 2004 Copyright Associated Press

For now, the company has only generated a few of the futuristic keyboards. They have not developed a plan to send them to market as of yet. SCA is probably using this as a gimmick to create a buzz for the company. They also admit that this may be used as a vehicle to introduce the next generation highlighting the development of printing techniques. I’d still love to hear one!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Entertainment, musical instruments Tagged With: 88_key, 88_keyboard, 88_key_keyboard, cardboard, cardboard_grand_piano, cardboard_piano, future_instrument, future_piano, ic_chips, instrument, integrated_circuits, keyboards, SCA, SCA_Packaging, Ulf_Carlsson

Cindy Blackman a modern women drummer

June 18, 2008 by Chris

Cindy Blackman is truly a modern day women drummer who should be admired for the many styles she plays.

Best known as the drummer for arena rocker Lenny Kravitz for 11 years, she seems to float effortlessly from one genre to another. Don’t let this fact make you think that he stifled her creative side for all those years!

She is originally from Ohio and possesses some rock solid jazz chops! Her imaginative drumming technique’s and writing ability are the reason why her album Music for the New Millennium is so well received by many lovers of music.

cindyblackman1.jpg While playing with some of the best in R & R (Mick Jagger, James Brown, Iggy Pop and Prince just to name a few) she sure seems to love it! I know would, wouldn’t you? Being a women and excelling very nicely on an instrument that traditionally is reserved for men, she holds her own!

Cindy Blackman has quite a few heavy hitters that she uses for guidance. Art Blakey (nice chops on that guy), Elvin Jones and everyone’s favorite John Bonham! with inspiration from these guys, it’s no wonder she solo’s like no other women we know.

She’s a lover of horns and singers. Her love of Charlie “Bird” Parker and Miles Davis is apparent on her new album. She has a liking for Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane (man that guy had a God given talent) and Wayne Shorter.

cindyblackman2.jpgThe singers she likes is Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald with a sprinkling of Johnny Hartman for good measure. The best in delivery is Billie holiday hands down! I couldn’t agree with her any more. Billie holiday was big part of her musical education and mine too!

As you know I’m a huge lover of John Mayer on guitar, but Billie Holiday is the women who just can’t be beat for emotion. Her phrasing is just like getting hit by a bus, and you wanna know what, I honestly got hit by one as a kid and boy can that change your outlook on life a bit. I picked up a cheap Billie Holiday CD somewhere and it all started to snowball from there. Besides, if I had 2 acts to see live (that I never got the chance to) Max Webster is 1st and she is 2nd!

So if you are in your favorite record store go and treat yourself to her new album! Heaven knows, I just might be onto something here folks!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Entertainment, Music, Musicians, Recreation Tagged With: album, art blakey, Billie, billie holiday, Bird, bit, CD, Charlie, charlie bird, cindy blackman, creative side, Davis, Dizzy, dizzy gillespie, Don, drummer, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvin, everyones favorite, folk, genre, God, heavy hitters, holiday cd, Iggy Pop, inspiration, instrument, jazz, jazz chops, john bonham, john coltrane, John Mayer, johnny hartman, Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Live, Max Webster, mick jagger, Millennium, Music, new millennium, Ohio, Parker, playing, rock, sarah vaughan, singer, solid jazz, style, technique

Guitar World has a fantastic selection of guitar tabs

April 20, 2008 by Chris

In all honesty, good readership, when I first started to pick up my axe again after a huge break, I didn’t even think about using the internet to look up how to play tunes. Yes, what a rookie move. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until I started searching online that I began to use tabs at all!

I used to read music all the time no matter which instrument I was playing. So over the years I eventually drifted away from this method of playing and used my memory for most tunes. After a while there were far too many little parts that I had forgotten and it made me quit disappointed in my playing ability! Nowadays, I don’t know what I’d do without guitar tabs. They certainly make it easier to learn a new song!

Although I’ve only used a couple of sites in the past, this site, Guitar World, really stands out to me. Browsing through the site I soon realized that if I was either a beginner, or advanced player of most common instruments, this would be a website to seriously bookmark.

This is a fabulous site to use if you’re looking for some great tunes to add to your repertoire no matter what instrument you play!

I’m a huge Beatles nut from way back in the day so I decided to see what they had. I actually found some refreshing new ways to approach some old standbys that made a lot of sense in my mind. The Guitar World’s Beatles guitar tabs section is very impressive to say the least! The videos in this section were nice, and simple to understand, just the way I like them!

They had so many unique interpretations of how to play certain tunes that I just had to stop and think about where in the song could I squeeze them in. Besides, there is nothing better than having the ability to change up and improve songs when you’re playing live. Always remember that when playing live in front of other musicians, they will take apart everything you do on or off stage. If you add different approaches to a song, you make it that much more appealing to those in the know and they WILL be impressed!

Their nirvana guitar tabs category is a must check out area as well! The tabs here have that subtle differences that you’re looking for in order to keep the crowd attentive and wanting to hear more from ya.

This is a must site to see, I’ll guarantee you!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Guitars, Music, Musicians, Playing Styles, Recreation, Songs to play Tagged With: advanced, axe, Beatles, beatles guitar tabs, beatles tabs, beginner, Browsing, category, crowd, front, guitar, guitar world, how to, instrument, instruments, intermediate, jammin, learn, Live, memory, Music, musician, Musicians, new ways, nirvan, nirvana guitar tabs, nirvana tabs, perform, play, player, playing, repertoire, rookie, selection, sense, sound, stage, style, tablature guitar, Tabs, tabs beatles, tabs guitar, tabs nirvana, tabs section, technique, tunes, Video

So who is and isn’t a musician here

April 17, 2008 by Chris

I was just wondering to myself today about how many of you, my good readership, are musicians and who isn’t. I’d like to know for a number of reasons. No, this is not to embarrass anyone or start some kind of mid evil Inquisition folks.

It’s just to:

(1) to tailor topics.
(2) and concentrate on certain categories

Just a simple answer would do here folks, nothing earth shattering.

You could state “Musician” or “Non-Musician”. What instruments you play and maybe what type of gear you have. If your a “non-Musician”, then tell us what genre of music gets you going! If you have any interesting or entertaining events might be good for a laugh, I know we all have 1 or 2 of them up our sleeves!

So state your case and get back to us … we’re waiting!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Culture, Electronics, Entertainment, General, Home and Lifestyle, Humor, Sales and Marketing, Shopping, Technology Tagged With: art, blog categories, blog topics, folk, genre, genre of music, informal survey, inquisition, instrument, instruments, interest, jammin, laugh, mid evil, Music, music genre, musicans, musician, Musicians, non-musicians, play, readership, simple answer, type, your interests

Serial number info on RD Artists

December 6, 2007 by Chris

Gibson has a section in their site dedicated to the identification and meanings behind their serial numbering system.

So my serial number is 72657067.
YDDDYPPP

YY is the production year
DDD is the day of the year
PPP is the plant designation and/or instrument rank

YY = 72657067 : 77 = 1977
DDD = 72657067 : 265 =
PPP = 72657067 : 067 = 67th made on that day

Can anyone help me in figuring out what the DDD is the day of the year is because it is just baffling me to know end! I took this quote directly from the Gibson website and it’s hard to follow.

Thanx in advance!

Keep on Jammin’


Filed Under: Guitar Equipment, Guitars, My Equipment Tagged With: 1970 s gibson guitars, artists, day of the year, ddd, design, designation, gibson, gibson guitars, instrument, numbering system, RD Artist, S N for gibson guitars, serial number, serial number info on RD Artists, yy

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