Here is a quick list of websites I have used to put my own music "out there:"
www.soundclick.com create a band profile, announce shows and other things, make friends with other artists. My favorite thing about this site is that it has charts to track song popularity. Although it isn't really an accurate gauge of how your songs might be viewed on a large scale, it is fun to see your song make it to the top of a chart. www.soundclick.com/readyornot - my old band.
www.purevolume.com like SoundClick, but better, in my opinion. I know more well-known bands on PureVolume. I have found some really good bands through this site. www.purevolume.com/paulbrodie - my solo stuff
www.grooveshark.com a music streaming site. free to listen, search out all kinds of music, such as mine. I uploaded my songs just to have somewhere else to tell people to go to listen to my stuff.
www.jango.com also a music streaming place. I uploaded my songs, again to have another place to make them available. Jango has some nice stats information to give you feedback.
www.tunecore.com of course, TuneCore, this is how you get your songs into the web stores. if you have quality music and really want to sell it, this is a place to go.
Monday, December 13, 2010
How To Tune a Guitar
This is the first time I tried the built-in web cam and microphone on my new laptop, obviously the mic doesn't do so well.
The website I refer to and you might hear playing a note in the background is www.howtotuneaguitar.org
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Learn to Play the Guitar
"The Metal Sign,” “Rock Fingers,” “Devil Horns:” whatever you call it, you probably know what I’m talking about. If you don’t know what these phrases refer to then why do you want to play the guitar? There are probably more names, but these will suffice to describe the extended index finger and pinky with middle finger, ring finger, and thumb folded safely into the palm. You see this symbol thrown up at all sorts of shows; sometimes people use it in everyday life. It is used to express a feeling of “rock.” Rock means many things to many people, but that’s not the topic of discussion here. Maybe it is.
If you can make the rock sign, you can play the guitar. That’s all I’m saying. Go ahead, do it now, extend the outside fingers and bring the middle two into your palm. That’s it; you have the proper structure of a power chord. The hand shape also resembles “I love you” in American Sign Language and the way Spiderman holds his hand when he dispenses web from his wrists (speaking of that, does Stan Lee have any idea how Spiders spin web? Perhaps he was just trying to keep it PG for the kids. I can respect that).
I taught myself how to play guitar by looking at guitar tablature. Tablature is a type of notation for guitars. There are six lines running horizontally, much like a treble clef set-up, only six instead of five. Each line of the tablature model represents a string on the guitar. Numbers on the lines correlate with frets on the guitar. Just like sheet music using clefs and notes, tablature runs from left to right. As you scan across the lines, you know what order to play a note or chord. Some tablature even adds notation for how to strum the strings, whether or not palm muting is used, and how long a note is played for. A great web page to visit for tablature is Ultimate Guitar.
Aside from the title of this post, I haven’t mentioned that my purpose here is to teach you to play guitar, so that’s what I am doing now, mentioning that purpose. With an understanding of how tablature works, if that last paragraph was enough, and knowing that the rock sign is equivalent to a chord finger-structure, you are nearly all set to play. Maybe understanding chords and the notes on a guitar will help as well. A chord is a combination of three or more notes. On a guitar this means that you are incorporating three or more strings by either strumming them open, or pressing a finger down at a specific fret. There are the basic chords from A to G, with all sorts of flats, sharps, diminished, minors, and majors mixed in. I probably don’t know more than thirty unique chords, but I can still play pretty much any song I want to (with sufficient practice) by using power chords.
A barre chord is a type of structure where your index finger becomes like a capo (a device that clamps around the neck of a guitar to serve as a new starting point for the string tension). By using a capo you can shorten the length of the string being vibrated, this effectively changes the key of the string and the notes that can be played on it. In a barre chord you use your index finger to press all of the strings within one fret. Your other fingers then form either an Am or Em chord, I believe. I’m not proficient at barre chords, they are too hard, I just stick with power chords, which I will explain shortly. When you bar all of the strings at one fret, the top string indicates what your root note is, meaning, the base of your chord. If you then use an Em or an Am chord structure you have the chord for whatever your root note is.
A power chord is a variation of the barre chord, actually, it is more of an abbreviation. In a barre chord you utilize all of the strings, sometimes, in a power chord it is only the top four strings, and even then it is only three at a time. Using the Em structure you play the root note across the top E string. Some people call it the low E string because on the tonal scale it is the lowest note, but I call it the top because when you are playing a guitar the top E is the highest string vertically speaking. Anyway, the E is the foundation string for the Em structure power chord and the A string is the foundation for the Am structure power chord. With the Em you play the top three strings; with the Am you play the next three strings, muting the E.
This “how-to” guide seems convoluted and drawn out. How about some pictures?
In these pictures you can see a little bit of what I explained above. Having put this all together I am beginning to think that the best format for a guitar lesson online is video. But the primary purpose of this blog is to complete a class assignment, so the pictures and jumbled thoughts typed out are all you will get. If you get nothing else from this post (and likely you won't) I hope you realize that playing the guitar can be as easy as saying "I love you" (in ASL). That's a joke. You know, because people think it is hard to say they love someone. It's a joke. I'm going back to my day job now.
If you can make the rock sign, you can play the guitar. That’s all I’m saying. Go ahead, do it now, extend the outside fingers and bring the middle two into your palm. That’s it; you have the proper structure of a power chord. The hand shape also resembles “I love you” in American Sign Language and the way Spiderman holds his hand when he dispenses web from his wrists (speaking of that, does Stan Lee have any idea how Spiders spin web? Perhaps he was just trying to keep it PG for the kids. I can respect that).
I taught myself how to play guitar by looking at guitar tablature. Tablature is a type of notation for guitars. There are six lines running horizontally, much like a treble clef set-up, only six instead of five. Each line of the tablature model represents a string on the guitar. Numbers on the lines correlate with frets on the guitar. Just like sheet music using clefs and notes, tablature runs from left to right. As you scan across the lines, you know what order to play a note or chord. Some tablature even adds notation for how to strum the strings, whether or not palm muting is used, and how long a note is played for. A great web page to visit for tablature is Ultimate Guitar.
Aside from the title of this post, I haven’t mentioned that my purpose here is to teach you to play guitar, so that’s what I am doing now, mentioning that purpose. With an understanding of how tablature works, if that last paragraph was enough, and knowing that the rock sign is equivalent to a chord finger-structure, you are nearly all set to play. Maybe understanding chords and the notes on a guitar will help as well. A chord is a combination of three or more notes. On a guitar this means that you are incorporating three or more strings by either strumming them open, or pressing a finger down at a specific fret. There are the basic chords from A to G, with all sorts of flats, sharps, diminished, minors, and majors mixed in. I probably don’t know more than thirty unique chords, but I can still play pretty much any song I want to (with sufficient practice) by using power chords.
A barre chord is a type of structure where your index finger becomes like a capo (a device that clamps around the neck of a guitar to serve as a new starting point for the string tension). By using a capo you can shorten the length of the string being vibrated, this effectively changes the key of the string and the notes that can be played on it. In a barre chord you use your index finger to press all of the strings within one fret. Your other fingers then form either an Am or Em chord, I believe. I’m not proficient at barre chords, they are too hard, I just stick with power chords, which I will explain shortly. When you bar all of the strings at one fret, the top string indicates what your root note is, meaning, the base of your chord. If you then use an Em or an Am chord structure you have the chord for whatever your root note is.
A power chord is a variation of the barre chord, actually, it is more of an abbreviation. In a barre chord you utilize all of the strings, sometimes, in a power chord it is only the top four strings, and even then it is only three at a time. Using the Em structure you play the root note across the top E string. Some people call it the low E string because on the tonal scale it is the lowest note, but I call it the top because when you are playing a guitar the top E is the highest string vertically speaking. Anyway, the E is the foundation string for the Em structure power chord and the A string is the foundation for the Am structure power chord. With the Em you play the top three strings; with the Am you play the next three strings, muting the E.
This “how-to” guide seems convoluted and drawn out. How about some pictures?
In these pictures you can see a little bit of what I explained above. Having put this all together I am beginning to think that the best format for a guitar lesson online is video. But the primary purpose of this blog is to complete a class assignment, so the pictures and jumbled thoughts typed out are all you will get. If you get nothing else from this post (and likely you won't) I hope you realize that playing the guitar can be as easy as saying "I love you" (in ASL). That's a joke. You know, because people think it is hard to say they love someone. It's a joke. I'm going back to my day job now.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Become a Professional Musician Today, or Tomorrow, Whichever is Best For You
By standard definition, being a professional musician means you get paid to perform music. Amateur musicians fill basements, garages and rented halls every week performing music for free with hopes of becoming a professional some day. Technically, a professional would probably be someone who can earn enough money to survive without another income, but looking solely at the essence of the matter, a professional musician is one who has earned any income from their craft.
Musical artists can earn money in a variety of ways: live performance ticket sales, recorded music sales, merchandise sales, etc. For some artists just starting out, the fastest way to making money is to perform for free, everywhere and anywhere they can until they establish a name for themselves. Once they are locally recognized they can usually start requesting payment for performance. In today’s social networking world, with Internet sites such as MySpace and Facebook, musicians are able to collect a fan base and foster local support, or travelling support for their performances.
Venue managers want to know that the act they are about to hire can fill the seats with paying customers. There are some artists who are able to build a fan base very quickly, but for most it takes some time. E-mail lists, flyers, and web site groups are all effective ways to drum up an audience. It takes work but it is well worth it when the venue managers see your following and offer you a cut of the ticket sales for your performance. Venues want customers, so if you are able to draw customers, venues want you. As live performance experiences can be very rewarding, this is an excellent path toward being a professional musician.
Playing live and building a fan base through social network sites also enables you to sell merchandise. Whether at the performance or via the Internet, you need buyers for your merchandise. When people like your music they will be more likely to buy your wares. They can’t like your music if they don’t hear it, however, so you’ve got to be getting the music to them before they start wearing your shirts. Merchandise can be expensive at the start, but pays off over time, if you have a large enough audience. Web sites such as Custom Ink are a valuable resource.
Not everyone wants to work so hard, however. Some musicians want to be professionals from the start. While there are instances where you can get paid to play rather quickly, unless you are a musical phenom, chances are these opportunities wouldn’t yield long term payoff. The fastest way to earning the title of professional musician is through recorded music sales. Home computers and standalone recording systems make this task easier than ever. With the right tools you could write and record a song and have it uploaded to iTunes or Amazon in a matter of weeks.
Though it does require a little bit of knowledge and skill, the process of recording a song and getting it into a retail format isn’t that hard. Making a product that people will actually want to listen to is a whole other story. Provided you have the talent, but even if you don’t, it doesn’t take long to figure out how to get a basic recording completed and on the “shelves.” With services such as TuneCore, which broker your music files to digital distributors (iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody), it is no hassle to sell your music. Tutorials are available from any number of web sites regarding home recording, mixing, mastering and producing music. Start clicking around and see what you can find.
What has been recorded here might not be an accurate representation of what it takes to become a professional musician. It all depends upon what your definition of professional musician is. The Internet might just be the best thing to happen to aspiring musicians since the home cassette recorder. Anyone with an instrument, a microphone, a computer and an idea can create, share and sell music all from the privacy of their bedroom. To be a professional musician today, you don’t even need to put your shoes on. There are various ways to get paid to play music, find what works for you and make it happen.
Musical artists can earn money in a variety of ways: live performance ticket sales, recorded music sales, merchandise sales, etc. For some artists just starting out, the fastest way to making money is to perform for free, everywhere and anywhere they can until they establish a name for themselves. Once they are locally recognized they can usually start requesting payment for performance. In today’s social networking world, with Internet sites such as MySpace and Facebook, musicians are able to collect a fan base and foster local support, or travelling support for their performances.
Venue managers want to know that the act they are about to hire can fill the seats with paying customers. There are some artists who are able to build a fan base very quickly, but for most it takes some time. E-mail lists, flyers, and web site groups are all effective ways to drum up an audience. It takes work but it is well worth it when the venue managers see your following and offer you a cut of the ticket sales for your performance. Venues want customers, so if you are able to draw customers, venues want you. As live performance experiences can be very rewarding, this is an excellent path toward being a professional musician.
Playing live and building a fan base through social network sites also enables you to sell merchandise. Whether at the performance or via the Internet, you need buyers for your merchandise. When people like your music they will be more likely to buy your wares. They can’t like your music if they don’t hear it, however, so you’ve got to be getting the music to them before they start wearing your shirts. Merchandise can be expensive at the start, but pays off over time, if you have a large enough audience. Web sites such as Custom Ink are a valuable resource.
Not everyone wants to work so hard, however. Some musicians want to be professionals from the start. While there are instances where you can get paid to play rather quickly, unless you are a musical phenom, chances are these opportunities wouldn’t yield long term payoff. The fastest way to earning the title of professional musician is through recorded music sales. Home computers and standalone recording systems make this task easier than ever. With the right tools you could write and record a song and have it uploaded to iTunes or Amazon in a matter of weeks.
Though it does require a little bit of knowledge and skill, the process of recording a song and getting it into a retail format isn’t that hard. Making a product that people will actually want to listen to is a whole other story. Provided you have the talent, but even if you don’t, it doesn’t take long to figure out how to get a basic recording completed and on the “shelves.” With services such as TuneCore, which broker your music files to digital distributors (iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody), it is no hassle to sell your music. Tutorials are available from any number of web sites regarding home recording, mixing, mastering and producing music. Start clicking around and see what you can find.
What has been recorded here might not be an accurate representation of what it takes to become a professional musician. It all depends upon what your definition of professional musician is. The Internet might just be the best thing to happen to aspiring musicians since the home cassette recorder. Anyone with an instrument, a microphone, a computer and an idea can create, share and sell music all from the privacy of their bedroom. To be a professional musician today, you don’t even need to put your shoes on. There are various ways to get paid to play music, find what works for you and make it happen.
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