Author: publisher

Almost every music student will agree that playing their first music recital was never easy, if not nerve wracking.

Truth be told, it’s the first of many recitals that you might have to perform at in the future, and so it’s important to pull it off successfully, if only to build your confidence as a performing musician.

So, here are 4 tips that can ensure that you perform with ease at your first recital:

#1: Pick pieces that you are particularly interested in

While some teachers might pick a particular piece for you to perform, other cases require you to pick one for yourself. If you fall into the latter category, it’s a good idea to pick a piece that you are interested in playing rather than an easy one that doesn’t interest you that much. This is because your desire in mastering the piece will be greater especially if you like it very much.

#2: Practice Everyday

It goes without saying that you have practice literally everyday. For this, it is important to set aside practice time and diligently follow this planned schedule. Depending on how difficult the piece is, ensure you vary your time accordingly. Also, if you are playing more than one piece, begin with the difficult ones before moving on to the easier pieces.

#3: Play in front of your family and friends

Stage fright is common to all musicians whether just beginners or experienced. It takes some time to get used to performing in front of an audience. So, once you think you are ready with a couple of pieces, perform it (as if you were in front of an audience already) with your family and friends.

#5: Don’t bother about making mistakes

Every musician makes mistakes – remember when playing your first recital. If you make a mistake, don’t stop. Keep playing. After all, this is only your first recital and mistakes are bound to happen.

Even if you are attending a classical concert for the first time, it should be obvious that the ambience at these recitals are often very different from that of a rock concert. In other words, attending one of these concerts requires one to be at their best behavior.

So, here are 5 simple tips that you should keep in mind when attending a classical concert:

#1: Formal Dress Code
Unlike a rock concert, where you can dress casually, a classical concert requires you to dress formally. It’s imperative that you keep this in mind or else you will feel out of place. For starters, wear clothes that you would wear to an interview or to the workplace.

#2: Stay Quiet
This is probably the most important rule to keep in mind when attending a concert. Talking, whispering, chewing gum, whistling or humming along with the music is frowned upon. It’s also best to leave items such as cell phones and watches with alarms at home. If this is not possible, turn it off completely. Also, stay as still as possible.

#3: Arrive in time
This is an important rule that must be adhered to when attending a classical concert. Arrive in time so that you can find your seat before the concert begins. Look at it this way: would you like anyone disturbing you when looking for their seat since they’ve arrived late.

#4: Hold your applause
Unlike a rock concert, it’s considered rude to applaud abruptly and while the artist is still performing his or her piece of music. If you’re not sure when to applaud, wait for the audience to applaud and then you can join in.

#5: Leave your seat at the intermission
Intermissions is the right time to leave your seat, make that all-important phone call, get to the restroom or even get a snack or drink yourself. Leaving at any other time means disturbing other attendees who are watching the concert.

Label executives are constantly barraged by demos all day and night with people trying to get in touch with them so as to get a record deal.

You can be sure that many of these demos aren’t heard at all, and end up in the trash can sometimes because of a few simple mistakes.

So, here are 3 tips to remember when presenting a demo so as to gain the listener’s respect:

#1: Put your best (and most sellable) song first

In most cases, listeners tend to judge whether or not they like the demo by the time they’re done listening to the first song itself. More often than not, that impression made by the first song might be the only shot that you’ve got, so if you’ve got a nice upbeat song, then it’s a good idea to put that at the top of the list of the demo.

#2: Avoid sending more than three songs at a time

Sending a demo CD with ten songs means not necessarily respecting the listener’s time. Moreover, with other demos to listen to, you can sure that the ones with fewer songs will be given a preference. So, send your best (and most sellable) songs but if more are requested then it’s a good idea to send them a list of a few songs but also remembering to highlight the songs you’d like for them to listen to first.

#3: Send a lyrics sheet along with your demo

Doing this gives the listener the impression that you are serious about making it in the music business and are willing to be as professional as you need to be.

While some listeners would like to listen to the music first before reading the lyrics sheet, several others would really appreciate this extra step taken. However, ensure that you avoid sending lead sheets because that practice ended about 50 years ago.

Any independent and unsigned musician knows how difficult it is to get noticed in the fast-paced and competitive music industry.

Probably the only way by which one can make a career out of music is by standing out amongst a long list of unsigned musicians.

So, here are 3 tips to get noticed in the music industry today:

#1: A Superior Product

What has and will always get any musician noticed is to have a superior product compared to the rest of the musicians trying to get signed. Without a doubt, ensuring that your demo/ EP is created with the greatest quality, in terms of production and writing, is imperative if you wish to get noticed.

#2: A strong fan-base

Almost every independent musician knows that without an actual fan base, making a career out of music. The reason for this is because record executives are also interested in not only the quality of your music but also whether you have a fan base that will, quite honestly, put down the money if you release a record. So, if you are an independent musician, it’s important for you to build and maintain a loyal fan base in order to increase your chances of being noticed by label executives.

#3: Follow up with label executives consistently

The fact is that with almost 5 million independent artists working hard for a record deal, it’s pretty difficult to stand out but worse still, expect a label executive to knock at your door with a contract waiting to be signed.

Yet despite the competition, technology, by means of social media networks have made it possible for people to get in touch with CEOs at the mere click of a button. This is one of the best ways by which you can follow up with label executives consistently.

Even if the harmonica is one of the easiest instruments to play, the truth is that it is one of the hardest instruments to master.

Among the types of harmonicas that are available to play, the Diatonic, Tremolo, Orchestral and Echo harmonicas.

As mentioned earlier, playing the harmonica might be an easy one to begin with, and so here are a few steps (and tips) to playing the harmonica:

#1: Start off by breathing through the harmonica but don’t think about breathing or sucking. It’s important to focus on breathing with your diaphragm and not your lungs.

#2: Another aspect to keep in mind when it comes to breathing is to breathe as deeply as possible, and some of the ways by which you can improve your breathing is by taking up meditation and aerobics.

#3: Learning to inhale and exhale slowly while also breathing in and out quickly is also important as well.

#4: Once you’ve begun to master the basics of breathing, it’s time to purchase a diatonic harmonica and start playing simple tunes such as “Oh, Susannah”.

#5: What you should also keep in mind is to play these songs in first position, also called the straight harp, where the key you play the song in, should be the same as the one the song is in.

#6: The next step would be to play the songs in the middle range, or the middle octave, of the harmonica, which would not require any bends and gives you the entire diatonic scale.

What can be said about the electric guitar that hasn’t been expressed through the music of Jimmy Page, B.B King, Brian May and even the immortal Hendrix.

It’s a good reason that the electric guitar remains an important element of popular music today whether it is blues, jazz, rock and so on and so forth – and an instrument that most people would love to play.

However, before picks one up to strum a tune,, it’s important to understand its components.

So, here are the part of the electric guitar:

#1: Body

While an acoustic guitar is usually made from wood, considering how the guitar sound is produced, this isn’t a thumb of rule wit the rule. In fact, its inventor clearly mentioned that not only can its shape vary but different materials can be used as well. As opposed to an acoustic guitar, the body is also solid and thin as opposed to being hollow.

#2: Neck, Frets and Strings

While at the end of the neck and frets are the tuning keys, six strings usually run through the length. Simply put, as you press any string on different frets, the tension that is produced creates a unique note or frequency, and that’s really how the guitar is played.

#3: Bridge and Whammy Bar

The bridge serves an important function of holding the strings to the body of the electric guitar while the whammy bar is designed to create a wavering sound as it tightens or loosens the strings on the electric guitar.

#4: Volume, Tone and Pickup Selector

All three of these options determine what sound the guitar makes, with the volume and tone being the first of the lot. As for the pickup selector, if you choose a pick up closest to the bridge you amplify sounds of higher frequencies while the pickup closest to the next ampified sounds of lower frequencies, and which is also known as bass.

#5: Pickups & Amp

Based on Faraday’s Law of Induction, which states that a changing magnetic field will generate electricity, a string when plucked, will vibrate at a certain frequency and induce an electric current in the pickup which is filtered for noise reduction in the preamp and is amplified with the amp, and then played on the amp’s speakers.

It’s evident that networking is a very important factor if you want to find recognition (money and fame) as a musician. You are nothing without the fans, aren’t you? If you understand that, you’d also understand why it is important for you to remain in ‘networking mode’ almost all of the time.
So, here are 3 tips when networking in the music industry:

#1: Remain in Networking Mode
It’s funny how networking opportunities can be found in the most unlikeliest places. Interestingly, the influential people in the music industry are usually people who are not well-known. You won’t even know who they are until they have gotten to know and which is why you should be prepared to network no matter where you go.

#2: Avoid Gherming
The term ‘gherming’ is one which is used to describe a situation where in meeting someone influential, you throw a song demo or CD in their face. It’s not the best thing to do considering the reality that there is a time and a place to ask for such favors. If you are at an industry networking event, at their office, that’s alright but doing this when they’re out eating with their family at a restaurant can very annoying. Respecting people’s privacy is good manners.

#3: Ask for What You Need Professionally
It’s a golden rule to help someone else first and then ask for help. If you’ve done this before, the next step is to ask for help that is realistic and specific. Just saying that you need a big break isn’t the way to as for help. An example of being specific and realistic would be to say “ I am good at writing melodies but need the assistance of a lyricist”.

Becoming a musician takes some work but it isn’t all that hard as it is made out to be. Sometimes, keeping track of the small things often is enough to get you where you want to go. So, what will help you get to where you want to go, as a budding musician?
Here are 3 simple (but important) tips to consider no matter where you are as a musician:

#1: People are most important
As a rule, it is most important that you not only keep in touch with people you’ve met in the recent past while also meeting 3 new people every week. Setting aside some time in order get in touch with people you’ve just met can lead to new opportunities. As for the former, it’s a good idea to schedule a lunch or a coffee to see how they can help you.

#2: Don’t be Afraid to be Weird
Pick a niche even if it’s weird and excel in it not forgetting to sell yourself as much as possible. The best part about being a musician is that there are an innumerable number of niches available to specialize in.

Bottom line: it’s better to be the best in a niche or your choosing rather than being just another musician in a band.
#3: Get off your Computer Even if you have to finish that song you just composed, it’s important to note that the path to your
success isn’t by means of a computer but by improving your skills as a musician. Turn off the computer and practice if you must.

Buying a used musical instrument can leave you with more money. However, if you find yourself at the wrong end of a deal, with an instrument that’s in poor condition, not getting a warranty with your purchase can mean that you were better off buying a new instrument in the first place.

So, here are 3 tips that you must keep in mind when buying a used instrument:

#1: Ask questions

If you are purchasing the instrument from a garage sale, make sure you talk to the owner and find information that will clue you in on the instrument’s condition. Asking him why he wants to sell it or how long he or she used it should help you make a smart decision before buying. You can also ask the same questions to the salesman if you are buying it from a brick-and-mortar music store. If you are buying it at online store, ensure that the store enjoys an excellent customer service rating.

#2: Determine its overall condition

One of the best ways to determine an instrument’s overall condition is to take a musician friend or music teacher along with you when you visit the store or the owner.  They can tell you whether it’s worth the money just listening to how it sounds when playing it or

#3: Value for money

As mentioned earlier buying a used instrument in good condition for a lesser price can give you value for money. For that, it’s a good idea to check whether the price you are paying for the instrument you’ve picked is actually worth that much. So, in order to get value for money, it’s a good idea to do some homework by visiting different shops and comparing prices for old models in similar condition.

As a child, we memorize historical facts and numbers as a part of our course curriculum. This is no different when it comes to music either, thanks to the necessity to memorize note names, their position on the staff among other music concepts.

Once you grasp the rudiments of the basics of sheet music, the next stage for any musician involves putting it all together in playing a music piece using sheet music. However, the act of memorization can also prove to be advantageous here are well.

So, here are 3 benefits to committing a music piece to memory that budding musician will appreciate:

#1: Improves Technique

Since you won’t be looking at the sheet music at all when playing, the musician can focus on improving the way in which he or she will play the piece – as effectively as possible.

#2: Spontaneity

Since you won’t need the sheet music in front of you to play, you won’t have a problem playing the piece you’ve memorized spontaneously for an audience – which happens more often than not.

#3: Improves finger positions

With no need for the sheet music, you can now shift your focus on improving your finger or hand positions on the instrument – an aspect that can help you interpret the piece in your own way, bringing out the best in you.

#4: Helps aural memory

Even if you do get distracted, a common experience shared by most musicians, memorizing the music piece will ensure that you get back on track as soon as possible, without having to scour through sheet music.