Live Musician Central

Category: 1. Live Musician Central

Welcome page for Live Musician Central

  • To Be A Great Musician, Be A Fan Of Music

    Ringo Listening To Some New Music

       I have people ask me all the time who my biggest influences are in music. I always just keep it simple and say “The Beatles, The Who and Pink Floyd”. While that’s true to a large degree they’re obviously not my only influence. When I first started to get really excited about music those three bands really turned me on to a lot of great things. But then naturally I wanted to hear more new and exciting music. Which brings me to my topic today. I can honestly say that I’m a huge fan of all music and that every piece of music I hear influences me in some way or another.

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  • Standard Practice, Dress Rehearsal and Live Show Setups

    Bill Likes Pepsi At Rehearsal

       I’ve been playing in bands for 27 years now and have been to lots of band practices and rehearsals. Today I’m going to talk a bit about how your band sets up for practice and gigs. I want you to think about how your band sets up during a standard band practice. I’ll bet you that you stand in some kind of circle or oval facing each other with all the amplifiers and speakers pointing at you. That’s really the standard setup for a regular band practice.

       Now think of your setup at your gigs and live shows. I’ll bet your backs are to the drummer and all your speakers and amplifiers are pointing forward. (more…)

  • Weekend Gig Report – In Stereo at Canyon Inn July 25-26, 2008

       My band In Stereo played the Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City, Utah this weekend. It was a lot of fun to get out and play. We’ve had about a month off and the break has been nice but I start getting restless to get out and play when we sit for so long. Overall the weekend went really well and it was a good success.

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  • A Classic Performance From Sister Rosetta Tharpe

       After playing music for so many years and being in the business I do tend to get a bit ho-hum about all the greatness out there. I start saying “Well, another Van Halen clone…yawn.” Or “Wow, 500 notes per second…snore.” Then something truly great will catch my attention.

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  • Follow-up To Yesterdays “Importance Of Learning Piano” Post

       Yesterday I posted about how much learning to play the piano has helped me throughout my career as a musician. My post is titled “The Most Important Instrument To Learn – The Piano“. Dr. Christopher Foley who teaches at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Canada and is also the author of The Collaborative Piano Blog has written a fine article referencing my post. His article is titled “Piano as a Second Language” and you can read it by clicking on the title.

       Chris makes some excellent points in his article that I’m sure you will want to check out.

  • The Most Important Instrument To Learn – The Piano

    Steinway Concert Grand

    My first step into my music career was learning to play the trumpet when I was 10 years old. It came naturally for me and I enjoyed the instrument. When I turned 11 years old my sister began taking piano lessons. One day I sat down at the piano and my sisters beginning piano book was on the piano. I opened it up and proceeded to play the entire book in one afternoon. That book was John Thompson’s – Teaching Little Fingers To Play. It was easy to read and learn from and my soul as a musician drank it all in. Naturally my parents had been listening to me working on that book and suggested that I may want to take piano lessons along with my sister. I did and from that point on the piano became the musical root of everything I have done musically since.

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  • A Good Show Is A Collective Effort

       I always figured if I practiced long and hard enough that I would become a good enough musician that my skills would guarantee a successful show every time I played. So I practiced and I became a good musician but I found that a good show doesn’t just depend on musical skill. A good show is a collective effort between several different factors.

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  • Judy Carmichael Jazz Pianist – Sundance Under The Stars Concert Review

    Judy Carmichael At The Piano
    Judy Carmichael

       On Saturday night I was invited to attend the Sundance Under The Stars summer music concert series. It’s in a small amphitheater setting just off the ski run at Sundance Ski Resort in Utah. This summer Sundance is featuring a handful of jazz artists playing in the absolutely stunning outdoor setting.

       It was my pleasure to listen to Judy Charmichael with a trio of jazz artists. Judy Charmichael is a master of jazz Stride Piano. The musicians who were playing in the jazz quartet were (more…)

  • Am I A Good Musician?

    Prince - The Complete Musician
    Prince – The Complete Musician

    If you’re like me you’ve probably pondered the question “Am I a good musician?”. I know that for me, I’ll just get to the point where I think I’m a really good musician and then something will happen and humble me back down. I’ll go hear a great band or jam with an unbelievable guitarist and I’ll be back in the practice shed trying to get better at what I do.

    It’s not a bad thing to get humbled like that if it motivates you to do better. We all feel like giving up from time to time but what makes you a great musician is rising to the challenge. I’ve always been able to use those times where I’m blown away by another musician and use them to make myself better. You can learn so much from other musicians that it’s in your best interest to search out musicians that are already great to see if you can learn from them.

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  • Happy 4th Of July From Live Musician Central

    Gibson Rocks The U.S.A.

       I hope everybody is having a great 4th of July! It’s my personal favorite summer holiday and my 2nd favorite after Christmas. I’ve played a lot of memorable 4th of July gigs over the years. I guess you could say my earliest 4th of July gigs were marching in parades from 5th grade to when I graduated High School. So I’ve played a lot of music on the 4th of July.

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