Musicians: What Chords Do You Absolutely Positively Have To Know?
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admin
Posted March 5th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
As you probably know, there are thousands and thousands of different chords in music - everything from basic major chords to minor 7ths to 13ths to suspensions to poly-chords. Someday, you might want to learn all those chords if you don't already know them.But meanwhile, there are 3 chords -- just 3 -- that you absolutely, positively have to know. If you don't know these three, there's hardly a song in the whole world that you could play. But by knowing just 3 chords, you can play hundreds, if n...
How To Pick The Right Musicians For A Band
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admin
Posted March 2nd, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Ready to start your own band? There are plenty of musicians out there willing to pursue a career in music with you, but how do you choose the right musician? Different musicians contribute different sounds to a band depending on their technical skills, innovations, and music diversity. For example, Metallica would not sound the way they do without James Hetfield, or Dream Theater would definitely not sound the same without the drumming talents of Mike Portnoy.Here are some tips on how to narrow ...
10 Ways For Unknown Musicians To Get The Word Out
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admin
Posted March 2nd, 2010 at 9:01 am
When Clear Channel controls the radio and the monopoly newspaper doesn't like you, how do you win over new audiences?The good news: there are many, many ways. Here are ten of my favorites.1. Approach a local college or alternative radio station or community access cable TV station with a programming idea, like a live songwriter showcase. Other musicians will want to be a part of your show, and you'll build an audience for your own music--and theirs.2. Write CD or concert reviews for a local alte...
Exciting Improvising: How To Make Up Music Out Of Your Head As You Play
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admin
Posted February 27th, 2010 at 12:59 am
Improvisation (also known as improvising) is the act of making something up as you go along -- an act with which we all have a little experience. Remember playing House or Doctor as a child, letting the game go wherever your mind would take you? That was improvisation. No rules, no boundaries, just the limitless potential of your imagination.Similarly, musical improvisation is the act of writing (creating it as you play) a song while performing it, a technique found most often in jazz and bluegr...
Radio Airplay For Newcomers: How We Did It
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admin
Posted February 22nd, 2010 at 9:02 pm
In the early and mid-90s, I did quite a bit of promotion work with local musicians. At that time, I was helping musicians who primarily played in coffeehouses get their first CDs played on college/public/community radio stations. We thought that with all the radio DJs out there in that market, we might find some who might be willing to listen to and take a chance on giving some unknown but talented person some airplay.The scene has changed a lot since then. You now have the explosion of the Inte...
Two Easy Steps To Describing Your Band For Greater Web Traffic And More Fans
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admin
Posted February 17th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
It continues to boggle my mind how many bands don't take the time to come up with a decent description of their music. It's extremely important, and when you're marketing yourself online, it's essential.So grab some paper, we're gonna create two simple band descriptions that will help you earn you web traffic and help you with all aspects of your music promotion. Whether you're looking to promote your band to someone in an elevator, on the phone or submitting to a directory, these two descriptio...
How To Make StateoftheArt Video Singles Cheaply
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admin
Posted August 13th, 2009 at 6:01 am
When it comes to promoting their new music releases, I have found that most musicians only consider radio as the vehicle for exposing their music to the public.Rarely do they consider publicity, in the form of print media, i.e., music magazines, weekly arts and entertainment publications and newspapers as support tools to help support their radio airplay (another subject I shall address shortly).But, even rarer, is their consideration of the importance of having videos for their singles. ...
Guitars Which Type Should I Start Off With?
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admin
Posted August 9th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
The age old beginners question of which type of guitar should I buy to start off with, is best answered by asking yourself which type of music you want to play. Here is a brief lowdown and the points to look out for when choosing a suitable acoustic.There are two main categories here - acoustic and electric guitars. Acoustic guitars are great for accompanying yourself singing in a singer-songwriter role and also can be used in a band situation for virtuoso style group playing, say in a soloing j...
Confessions Of A Master CD Sales Woman Part 2
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admin
Posted July 31st, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Well a great performance and an interactive sales crew is just the start to seling more CDs at gigs. The Rogues also employ other salespeople.Our sellers work off of a commission, with bonuses built in when an individual's sales total reaches a certain amount. Giving a salesperson a commission motivates them to sell more product than just giving them a flat rate. We do have minimum pay for a day's work when the sales are not good. In that case the band usually pays $50 day, or a 10% commission o...
Booking Agents Can Help You Get Gigs
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admin
Posted July 25th, 2009 at 10:01 am
If your band would rather concentrate on making music instead of spending precious time booking gigs, perhaps you should consider employing a booking agent. A booking agent (commonly referred to as a talent agent) shares similar duties to that of a band manager.Booking agents are the official representative of bands, ensembles, orchestras and other musicians. Their primary function is to arrange live performances for musicians, acting as a liaison between the artists and the producers.Like any p...
