Live Musician Central

Author: Live Musician Central

  • What Is The Typical Band Lineup

    The Beatles – 4-piece perfection

       So you’re a musician and you want to become a live performing musician. You want to start a band and you’re not sure what instruments you need to get a functional band together. The beautiful thing about playing in a band is the fact that you’re going to be playing with other people. You won’t be a solo artist anymore when you play in a band. In fact, the definition of band is “An unofficial association of people or groups.” So I guess technically you only need two people to start a band. The first thing you need to decide is what type of music you’re going to be playing. If you decide you want to play hard rock then the lineup requirements will be different than if you are playing bluegrass. How many people you have in your band can really affect your band chemistry as well. Musician’s tend to have large personalities and the more you add, the more interesting and challenging things can become. Let’s take a look at some typical band lineups.

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  • Save Money On Accessories With Coupon Code From Music123

    Save 15% On Hearos Ear Plugs

       There’s a couple of really good deals going on at Music123 that I wanted to make you aware of. Right now all the accessories ship free on orders over $49. That’s half the usual amount to get free shipping. You usually have to order $99 to get free shipping but for the accessories you only have to order $49 worth of stuff to get free shipping.

       Second, there’s a great coupon code that you can use to get a 15% discount on all accessories. You can save a bunch of money by entering this coupon code during checkout when ordering accessories. Just click this link: 15% Off All Accessories with Coupon Code: B2S15 at Music123.com That’s a great deal and it’s not going to last forever. So if you’re a live musician, now is the perfect time to pick up some much needed accessories for you and your band.

       Here’s a list of links to accessories that you can buy using the 15% discount code.

    Horizon Concert Series 24-Channel/4-Return Stage Snake Standard

    Mogami Gold High-Definition Neutrik 1/4″ Straight Instrument Cable 18 Foot

    Mogami Silver Series Microphone Cable 50 Foot

    Nova 12-Pair Hickory Drumsticks Wood Rock

    Roc-N-Soc NRX Nitro Rider Drum Throne Black

    Furman PM-8 II Power Conditioner with Digital Volt And Current Meters Standard

    Yamaha Portable Keyboard Survival Kit B Standard

    Drum One Shield Two Drum Shield Standard

    Fingerease Guitar String Lubricant Standard

    Fender Instrument Care Kit by Meguiar’s Standard

    Big Bends Nut Sauce Tuning Lubricant Standard

    Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker Pickup Black

    EBow PlusEbow Electronic Bow for Guitar Standard

    Clayton Acetal Standard Guitar Picks .80MM 1 Dozen

    Dean Markley 2556 Blue Steel Regular Gauge Electric Guitar Strings Standard

    M-Audio SP-2 Sustain Pedal Standard

       That’s just a small sampling of the types of accessories that you can get right now at Music123. With the combined discounts of 15% off the price of the accessory and free shipping on orders over $49.00 you can save a bundle. So make sure you get in on the sale while you still can!

    15% Off All Accessories with Coupon Code: B2S15

  • Improve Your Skills By Playing With Other People

    Matt Rushton and Tom Warnick

       I remember when I was starting to learn guitar, I wanted to be in a band so bad but I didn’t think I would ever be good enough to do it. I would practice in my room for hours and I finally got to a point where I was pretty good. The next logical step was to start playing with other people. I was nervous, but when the chance presented itself, I seized the opportunity. When I got together with other people to play music, my skills as a live musician increased more than I ever could have imagined. There’s just nothing like the interaction that you get playing with other musicians.

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  • Hiwatt Echo-Theremin

    Hiwatt Echo-Theremin


    Music123.com      
       This weeks Offbeat Product from Music123 is such a cool device that I just had to post about it on Live Musician Central. It’s the Hiwatt Echo-Theremin. If you don’t know what a Theremin is it’s an extremely unique instrument. You’ve probably heard it in many old Sci-Fi movies making a ghostly whistling noise. Musically it was made famous in the Rock-N-Roll world when the Beach Boys played a Theremin solo on their song “Good Vibrations”, it’s that whistling, synth type sound. Yes the Theremin is cool and it’s a fun instrument to play around with.

       Here’s a little history, the theremin was invented in 1920 by a Russian physicist named Lev Sergeiyvich Termin, his name was later changed toe Leon Theremin. So the instrument has been around for a while and has assumed many forms over the years. The unique thing is you play the instrument without touching it. A theremin usually has an antenna that works by changing the pitch as you move your hand closer or further away from the antenna. As you move your hand closer, the pitch gets higher. Move your hand away and the pitch gets lower. If you practice you can play some real music on the Theremin.

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  • How To Get People To Come To Your Shows

    Shufflin Noah Flyer

       One of the biggest challenges you’ll face as a band is getting people to come out and see you when you play. It’s not as big of a problem when you’re in a cover band that’s playing in clubs where there’s a regular crowd every weekend that enjoys music by live musician‘s. If you’re playing original music, it can be difficult to fill up a room consistently. Whatever type of band you’re in, there are a few methods you can use to get people out to your shows.

       The first thing you need to do of course is network all of the bands friends and family. They’ll be your biggest source of quality audience because they should already like you, at least personally. In a lot of clubs you can set up a guest list to get family members in for free. It’s always nice when you can tell your family that you’ll get them in to see you for free and it’s a way to encourage them to show up knowing that they’ll be expected at the door. (more…)

  • Sunday Funnies – South Park Lil’ Rush Intro to Tom Sawyer

       Live Musician Central presents, The Sunday Funnies!

       If you got to see world famous “Rush” on their latest tour then you got to enjoy the South Park gang introducing the classic Rush song, Tom Sawyer. It’s a hilarious intro to one of Rush’s greatest songs. I hope you get a good laugh at the South Park gang as Lil’ Rush!

    South Park Lil’ Rush – Tom Sawyer Intro



  • Live Musician Central – Weekend Album Picks 9-20-08

       Every weekend I pick several albums to post on Live Musician Central. The albums I put up are determined by a couple factors. I usually put up a couple that are being heavily promoted by the music industry. These may not be albums that I particularly like but they are albums that are going to be prominent in the public conscience. It’s good for us as musicians to stay current with what’s being promoted by the industry. We can gauge what we’re doing with what is being pushed out there. It’s also a good source to choose new music for your band to learn and play live or to have on the iPod to play during band breaks. The reasoning here is that you want to play music that people will know and since the albums I post on Live Musician Central are being so heavily promoted, your chances of people knowing the music at your shows is very high.

       The rest of the albums that I post are either personal favorites or they are certified classic albums that have sold millions of copies and are familiar to a lot of people. I also like to post a few links to iTunes and a few links to Amazon’s music service. Amazon has DRM free MP3’s that are ripped at 256kbps which is excellent quality at a killer price. So make sure you check them out!
    Apple iTunes (more…)

  • The Crowd At Your Gigs

    Crowd View Of In Stereo Band

       The other day I came across a really funny cartoon which depicts the type of crowds that come out to see a rock show. You can check it out here: The Crowd At A Rock Show. It’s really funny because it’s so accurate in it’s depiction of the makeup of a typical rock show audience. Being a live musician up there onstage, I’ve made a lot of observations about the crowd at our gigs.    (more…)

  • Carl Verheyen Discusses The Fender Stratocaster

    Fender American Stratocaster

       This is a really good YouTube video of famous guitarist Carl Verheyen discussing what he looks for in a Stratocaster and why the Stratocaster is his favorite guitar. I agree with Carl that the Stratocaster is the best electric guitar ever designed. Carl is not only a world famous session player but is also a very accomplished live musician who has been a member of Supertramp as well as his own live performing groups. This video lets you see Carl in action.

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  • Planet Waves S.O.S. Guitar And Bass Tuner

    Planet Waves S.O.S. Strobe Tuner

    If you’ve read up on electronic tuners then I’m sure you know that strobe tuners are the most accurate tuners in the world. You can’t get any closer to perfect tuning electronically than with a strobe tuner. I have an excellent Peterson 490-ST Strobe Tuner that cost me around $750.00 to buy. I use that tuner at home to tune my piano and setup my guitars. I certainly don’t haul it around to gigs with me. What if I told you you could get a strobe tuner for $14.95?

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