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.
News, Reviews, and More!
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Portable 8-track, Tascam DP-02CF Portastud (Mislabeled) Portastudio 1139
Tascam DP-02CF Portastud In an earlier article I mentioned how important it was to record your band live. Having live recordings of your band will help you learn where you need improvement. Club owners also prefer having a live demo of the band instead of a studio recording. While looking for collectible equipment I stumbled across and incredible deal at Musician’s Friend. Today I’m going to tell you about the
TASCAM DP-02CF Portastud (Mislabeled) Portastudio 1139. -
Judy Carmichael Jazz Pianist – Sundance Under The Stars Concert Review
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…)
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Sunday Funnies, Leonard Nimoy – The Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins
Here you go folks, this clip has it all. Spock, pointy ears, great choreography, incredible cinematography, fabulous dance moves and a great tune. Feel free to hum this song all day long!
I bet Spock got some from that blond too. 😉 (more…)
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Live Musician Central Weekend Album Picks 7-12-2008
Here are your weekend album picks from Live Musician Central. We pick mostly new releases so your band can stay on top of the current music scene. This helps your band in two ways. First, you stay in touch with what’s new in music and that helps you stay relevant in todays music culture. Second, you can learn the latest releases to play with your band which will give you the edge in the live music clubs. (Oh, and the Ringo Starr album, just for fun.) Enjoy!
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Preparing For A Studio Recording Session
Abby Road Recording Studio So you’ve finally got enough songs, enough time and enough cash to get yourself some studio time and record that album you’ve always dreamed about. So what else do you need to do to get ready to make every minute count?
The number one most important thing is to have the songs fully written and learned before going into the studio. You don’t want to waste valuable studio time making changes to the songwriting in the studio. You should have all your instrument parts learned including solos. Your singer should have all the lyrics memorized and everyone should have their backup vocal parts learned and memorized. (more…)
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Equipment Protection – The Furman PL-Plus II Power Conditioner
Furman PL-Plus II Power Conditioner with Voltmeter Being a guitar player and using very voltage sensitive amplifiers, I have always struggled with getting good clean power to my equipment. Bad power can cause all sorts of problems from strange noises to complete equipment failure. Today I’m going to recommend the power conditioner I use on my guitar rig, the
Furman PL-Plus II Power Conditioner with Voltmeter. -
Writing Lyrics That People Can Relate To
Billy Joel – Piano Man There are a lot of great songwriters out there. Some writers can write a tune that will stick in your head for days on end. Some writers will write a set of lyrics that will really touch you on a deeper level. The lyrics that I enjoy the most are lyrics that I can personally relate to and that mean something to me. I like a song that will make me say “Yeah man, I’ve been there myself.”
So how can you as a writer write lyrics that other people can relate to? The best and easiest way is to write what you know. Write about what you have personally experienced in your life. The best things to write about that other people can relate to are the times in your life when you’ve felt really strong emotions. (more…)
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Why You Need A Sound Level SPL Meter
Get A Good SPL Meter First off, let me say that I love my music loud! As I mentioned in an earlier post I take protecting my hearing very seriously so I like to know exactly how loud things are. Today I’m going to talk about Sound Level Meters or SPL Meters. They’re also known as Decibel Meters and are very useful in many situations.
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Am I A Good 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.
