SOUNDS GOOD TO ME - Eliminate Throat Tension
July 15, 2009
As a vocal coach, I hear it all the time. I love to sing but when I do, I get hoarse and need to shout to be heard after only a few hours. Some days I just want to give up. What am I doing wrong? What can I do about it?
Sadly, this is an all too common problem for many singers. The good news is that it is not your fault. Many people sing from a place of passion without having the control to protect their voice. We are encouraged to do so from other musicians, choir leaders, friends, our audience etc. Oh yes, and because we love to belt out our favorite tunes. It is no wonder we forget that the voice is "our" instrument and that it is to be treated with care and respect.
Some singers are born with a gift to sing but most need to understand how the voice functions naturally and take considerable care not to sing in a way that will limit their ability.
An Interview with Jon Bon Jovi ? 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Cant Be Wrong
July 13, 2009
The idea originated with singer Jon Bon Jovi. Jon kept upping the ante with his label and ultimately they consented to a four-CD set of essentially new material. Here, he talks about this 20th anniversery project (100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong) and the things that make Bon Jovi unique.
100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong was released November 16, 2004
Steven:
Did it begin as a simple one or two CD box and then just started to grow?
Jon:
I didn’t know what it would be, to be honest with ya. It was dependent on what the record company would allow and what kind of package they would want to do. So, being brutally honest with you, it was dependent on what they were willing to pay for. It came down to what they would sell it for and there was this whole discussion [about that]. So they were cool. At first they were like, ‘Well, we’ll do a 24-song set’ and I said, ‘Keep it, that’s not a box to me, it’s a two-record set.’ And then they said, ‘Well, what do you want to do?’ and I said, ‘Well, how ’bout 50 songs?’ And they said, ‘OK, we’ll do that.’
Reasons to Ditch Your Guitar Pick
July 11, 2009
Lately, I haven’t been using my guitar pick all that much. I got this tab book of some good ol’ Gatemouth Brown finger picking blues. I’ve been enjoying myself so much trying to get this fingerpick thang goin’.”
I’m starting to understand the arpeggio-phrasing technique a lot more. Gatemouth Brown is a legend and a true musician. He plays acoustic / electric guitar in all genres. He can also play the fiddle like nobody’s business. He is also a drummer, harp player, and banjo playing fool.
So, let’s cover some of the techniques I’ve found to be very effective in my playing. Using these techniques can add color to your performance. Think of it as a small toolbox of tricks you can pull out to add character to your songs and live set. Effective pick-hand technique provides the kind tone and textures that can give a personal touch to an old classic or to provide a step off point for other creative musical endeavors.
Try Different Styles and Genre
Performance and Gigs
July 7, 2009
“For optimum amp tone onstage, plug your amp into your own AC outlet..” - Eric Johnson
DOING GIGS
In my opinion, there are two kinds of performers:
1 - Concert performers — who do well in front of a sit-down audience
2 - Club performers — who do well in a noisy atmosphere
Knowing which kind of performer you tend to be can help you a lot in deciding where to play. For a lot of people, it’s easy to be both types of performers but some people truly prefer playing in one atmosphere over another. If you want to be at your best, it’s smart to be comfortable. So if this is an issue for you, take the time to think about it.
Next you have to consider if you are going to be performing your own material or covers or both. If you decide to do covers, here are some good tips:
1) The song should really move you.
2) Make the song your own, otherwise after awhile you’ll just feel like “parrot” for someone else’s material (and to me there’s far less creativity in that - just my opinion mind you).
Internet Jams
July 5, 2009
Today’s technology for the recording musician has been getting better and better with each passing month it seems. Software and computer interfaces are getting much less sophisticated and more user friendly for the average Joe. And,let’s not forget, less expensive.
Software like Acid Pro 4.0 is what I use to create and upload music to the web. I’ve been using products from Sonic Foundry Sony) for 4 years now. Their software products are superb to say the least. I highly recommend this software to build your music creations.
Acidplanet is where I upload my music and Video for the whole world to see and hear. As a member, you can upload music and video files for free.
Software like Vegas Video (also made by Sonic Foundry-Sony), it is what I use to create music videos.
Now, don’t get me wrong? this is the software I use and recommend. There are many reliable programs out there to choose from.
I’ve been doing some online music collaborations as of late myself. This has been a great experience for me. However, as with anything else, there is a learning curve.
Musical Improvisation Basics - 8 Vital Things To Remember
July 3, 2009
This article discusses 8 vital things to remember as improvisers - whether advanced or just getting started:
1. Your technique is probably miles ahead of your ability to think.
This isn’t just true for classical players. I’ve known lots and lots (and lots) of jazz players who have let their technique run the show as opposed to their brains. Happens all the time.
With players who are just beginning to improvise, this is vital to keep in mind. Slow down! Even at furious tempi, you can “long meter” melodic phrases that dance and skip over the fast tempo - thinking them in real time. And you can have great precision and musicality in doing so.
FYI, most players who play so fast you are asking yourself how can they think that stuff in real time - probably aren’t really thinking that stuff in real time. Most are performing a memorized, yet impressive move. Sort of a human software, “sub- routine call.” To me, not the real thing.
Personally, I’d rather listen to simple ideas that are inspired than impressive, over- thought, over-prepared ideas any day. Particularly when they are masquerading as “improvisation.”
Beauchamp Brings Diversity to Music
June 29, 2009
Everyone has a talent. For Miami, Okla.’s, Brian Beauchamp, it’s playing music. Beauchamp who began playing guitar in 1998 while attending college at the University of Oklahoma said he first played after borrowing a guitar from his friend, Jamie Neal. He now plays rhythm guitar and is lead vocals. For this he was nominated for the Payne County Line 2005 New Artist of the Year award.
The first baby born in Alaska in 1976, Beauchamp was born in Anchorage and moved to Miami when he was six months old. He later graduated from Miami High School and attended college off and on at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma and a college in Kentucky, where he played soccer. He said that although he didn’t start playing music a lot until college, it has been a passion of his since grade school.
"I credit Priscilla Fullerton, a grade school teacher, for my interest in music," Beauchamp said. "I was interested in Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, as well as Garth Brooks, Clint Black and Keith Whitley, while in high school. So, my music taste has evolved. I like non-Nashville type stuff and I have my own style."
Effective Band Rehearsal
June 27, 2009
If your band is in rehearsals, either preparing for gigging, or practising new songs to add to your repertoire, the chances are you will have to hire a rehearsal room. The costs of hiring a room can soon mount up if you don’t organise your time effectively. You could be wasting time and money going around in circles, with a growing frustration that your band doesn’t seem to be making any progress.
The answer is to set a Schedule for your rehearsals. Without a schedule it’s difficult to monitor progress if in fact any is made. Disorganised rehearsals can soon turn into chaos, with everyone throwing in ideas and playing different things at the same time. The rehearsal is not the time for your guitarist to hone his right hand tapping skills, or your drummer to perfect his lightning fast paradiddles, it is valuable time for working together as a band, and should be used as such. Band members should have their own private schedules for practising instruments and learning new techniques. During a rehearsal you should all be working towards the same goal and making each other sound as good as possible. The rehearsal should never turn into a ‘who can play the loudest’ competition.
Musical Improvisation Basics - Four Strategies For Playing Wrong Notes
June 24, 2009
While it probably doesn’t seem like this would help - let’s face it - if you are unwilling to play a lot of wrong notes, you’re never going to learn how to do anything hard. And improvising is hard! It isn’t something that you can do safely, with the assurance that you will look good while trying to get good at it. You won’t look good. You won’t sound good — and the sooner you realize this, the sooner you will be able to do something of real value.
Strangely, we are from a culture that reinforces the idea that we should always look good. I mean there are actually people who think you should look good when you’re sick. When you get up in the middle of the night. Or when you haven’t slept for 36 hours.
Get the picture?
So, now that that’s said - what is the best strategy for playing wrong notes and actually making progress at the same time?
De-emphasizing Note Values
I have found that the best way to start is by de-emphasizing note values - focussing instead upon rhythm, texture, density and shape. Music is way more than just the notes you play, and note selection tends to be the very thing that stops people in their tracks. Thus, my “Wrong Note Strategy.”
Soul Band for a Party
June 22, 2009
Was the request six months ago, a sixtieth birthday party, the client said. It got me thinking. There is a whole untapped market out there for people who lived as teenagers and twenty somethings through the sixties and seventies. They are all coming up to this big sixtieth birthday date and they all love the kind of music I love to play and earn my living out of! More than that, their kids are off their hands, their mortgage is paid up and they can afford to splash out on a big celebration.
That isn’t the real reason for writing this article, in fact it has very little to do with the subject which is about the day in the life of a working professional London musician. It did get me thinking, however, how things have changed from my own youth. When I was young, sixty-year-old men smoked untipped fags, wore flat caps and suits and listened to Max Bygraves. Now the average sixty year old will be a fan of Wilson Pickett, Otis Reading, James Brown and The Stones and be dressing in Gap. He or she will definitely not be a smoker!!
