What If

What if or what would have been are not questions that I ask myself very often. In general, these questions refer to choices we have made in our lives where we are in control. When looking back, we can reflect on the choices we made because we see how they turned out. Even though I can think of a lot of significant moments in my life where it could have gone left or right or green or blue I am very happy with where I am at and what I do. Although I sometimes ask myself what would have happened if I had started gigging with X or played with Y I usually stop myself pretty quickly because I wouldn't have met my wife or we wouldn't have had our kids. So even if I spoke of choices earlier I do believe in destiny.

Last week, a very prominent figure in the music world died. Les Paul had probably more influence on the shape of modern popular music than Elvis and The Beatles together. Although he made numerous inventions, there are two that overshadow everything: the development of the electric guitar and the multi track recording device.

Granted, if it wasn't him someone else would probably have created similar instruments at the time. But it was his vision and perseverance that turned his equipment into the major successes that they were and still are to this day.

Both inventions are very important to me since I consider the electric guitar my primary instrument and I love nothing more than recording guitar tracks in my home studio.

I find it amazing that his passion for music had driven Les Paul to a constant stream of innovations. His creativity never stopped which especially shows in his music. He performed on a weekly basis in a club in New York until he died at age 94.

Thank you, Mr. Paul.

Face The Day

Sometimes great things happen. For example you write a CD review and the band that recorded the CD reads it. And then they ask you to leave the past behind and focus on their latest release. Who am I to turn them down? I feel honored.

The band I'm talking about is 24-7 Spyz and the topic of today's review is their 2006 release Face The Day. The band was separated for several years between 1998 and 2003 when they reformed as Jimi Hazel on guitar and vocals, Rick Skatore on bass and Tony Lewis on drums. They released a DVD in 2005 before recording and releasing Face The Day in 2006 with new member Tobias Ralph on drums.

Bare the title in mind when this CD hits you like a brick wall with the high-energy punk-rock opener Unknown Wellknown. While it makes sure you are awake for the rest of the 14 (!) song album it also teaches 24-7 Spyz history.
Heavy Metal Soul 4 Life is the description coined by the band itself for their music and I think it reached a new level of perfection on Face The Day. While some songs are heavier and others more soulful the border between styles disappeared almost completely. There are elements of both in most songs but not changing abruptly rather than smoothly integrated.

If you take Face The Day, Waiting For The Sun, Soul Sucker and Ride To Nowhere for example, they rock your socks off. You get hit by powerful metal riffs to bang your head to ecstatically while your booty moves at the same time. Tobias and Rick are an incredibly tight rhythm section that drives Jimi's vocals and guitar playing on and on.

Once you wipe the sweat off of your brows after this onslaught the pace slows down a little with Faithless, The Saturday Song and Angel. What surprised me most about these soulful songs is their groove and Jimi's vocal melodies and harmonies. The voice has a very distinctive sound and the harmonic arrangements are fantastic.

Now, don't think that this is what HMS4L is all about. It's a way of life and pushing the boundaries. This becomes very clear when you reach Blues for Dimebag. It is a tribute song to the late guitar hero Dimebag Darrell Abbott. It's a bluesy instrumental filled with guitar solos from Jimi and guest Bumblefoot. The blues is followed by Running, a ska song and Anything For You which is a mixture of pop-rock and ska.

Personally, I enjoy Plastique very much including the topic of the outer beauty obsession.
The album finishes off with a cover of Thin Lizzy's Bad Reputation and the inspirational Stand! The feeling I was left with after listening to the album was a longing for more. The arrangements are well thought out, the musicianship is great and everything is executed professionally. The CD is available at cdbaby.com and probably other outlets as well.

Music is a way of life

Music is an important piece of my life. Only my family takes priority over music. Sometimes it means that working to support my family comes before music. But in my mind, there is always music playing. It can be a song I started to write, the brand new song from fill-in-name-here or an old album from my collection.

Music is a language and full of stories. Last weekend I was blessed to share some of these stories with someone who was involved in making the music of those particular stories. As I probably pointed out one too many times already, the early 90s were a very active musical period for me, playing as well as listening. The rock music scene was alive with bands that were blending all kinds of different styles. Those were challenging and interesting times. While the industry was busy finding labels like crossover, funk-metal or rap-rock to categorize (and market) these bands and there music the bands were busy finding their own way to earn money and spread their music.

One of these bands was Victim's Family. It was a three-piece band with a sound so unique there was no label for them. The music was groovy and punky, it was slow and fast and full of dynamics. I saw them live in 91 and 94 and was mesmerized by the quality of their playing. There was a high level of energy in the air. Three individuals that merged their instrumental skills into a finished product. Bass player Larry Boothroyd played more than just bass, he played melody lines, slapped frantic rhythms and always grooved. Drummer Tim Solyan had the smallest kit I had ever seen, a kick, snare, tom, floor tom, hi-hat and one crash. But the limited amount of equipment wouldn't keep him from expanding the sound capabilities he had. The hi-hat bell would substitute for a ride cymbal and every groove sounded fresh. He would tread lightly but never shy away from hitting hard using the full range of dynamics available. Guitar player and singer Ralph Spight brought licks to the guitar that could be called unconventional at best. Power chords were often missing completely. It is a mystery to me to this day how he could sing or speak endless sentences over rhythmic passages.

In the beginning, they were called hardcore. But since there were so many elements present in their music that were not hardcore and other typical elements missing the phrase jazzcore was invented for them. Yet there really wasn't any jazz in the music. When I met Tim this weekend we talked about the style for a little bit. I learned that after the category was coined the band would actually work short jazzy pieces into their music just for fun. It was interesting to hear him talk about the band. They considered themselves punk rock not so much as a musical style but as an attitude of doing everything themselves. They had a small label for distribution purposes and that was it. They played the music they wanted to play. They took care of the recordings and the touring. Driving around in a van, sleeping on the floor if they had to.

All three members of Victim's Family are still playing music today. Everyone has their own projects and none of these sound anything like Victim's Family. It is refreshing to see people hone their skills and continue to develop.

Check them out at their website or myspace page and listen to the examples.

Video killed the radio star

When MTV started broadcasting music videos in the 1980's, a lot of people cried foul because it was going to kill the radio star. Someone even wrote a song about it. But did it really? Was it not just another revenue channel for the artists that were already played on the radio anyway? Or did the radio stations fear loss of income because of the new competitor? It could have been the perfect opportunity for them to redefine themselves and distinguish themselves from their visual counterpart. It could have added to the diversity in our media landscape and increased the exposure of lesser known bands and artists.

Video didn't kill the radio star. Marketing kills music and it keeps chipping away at it until today. Advertisers bring in the money. In order to get advertisers you need many listeners on the radio. To accomplish this, most radio stations play the same music by the same artists that are popular. Record companies supported this model because the return is greater if you spend a lot of money on your big dog instead of splitting the same budget on ten lesser known acts.

Why did no one invent LiveShowTV? A channel that would broadcast concerts 24 hours a day. Any style, any genre, just music played by people for people. I know VH1 has started a few shows on their classic rock channel but it is very limited. The problem is that a lot of acts in the charts can't perform live. They can't play or sing what we listen to. Britney Spears wouldn't be on LiveShowTV. Once again, the whole idea of LiveShowTV would fail due to the lack of viewers and thus the lack of advertising.

It's funny that we prefer to watch a cheap, amateurish clip placed under existing music rather than someone perform the music live. A few clips were created and filmed professionally and it shows, but the majority of them were not.

Even though there is a huge amount of material out on YouTube in varying degrees of (sound and video) quality it has a lot more to offer in terms of music videos than any cable network ever will. Seeing shows from bands or artists that no longer exist or perform can be a great experience and otherwise unthinkable. Because YouTube runs on user generated content it doesn't discriminate between styles and genres. Unlike radio or TV where you have to play a certain genre to fit in a certain show so you can attract viewers, listeners and advertisers you're free to view whatever is available on YouTube.

In the next few posts I will present a few more acts that never made it big although they are probably a lot more musically talented than the majority of the chart toppers.

A sad day for music

It was sad to see Farrah Fawcett lose her long and strenuous battle against cancer yesterday. I was shocked later in the day when I heard of the death of Michael Jackson. My first reaction was disbelief. Surely, he wasn't done yet. He just booked 50 shows in London. They were all sold out and the king of pop was going to do what he does best, perform his music.

When I realized that the news story was real I felt sad. Sad about the loss of a true and great artist that has influenced music and all of us in so many ways. There are few people who had such a huge impact on music as we know it today. Michael wrote and published such ground-breaking songs in the 80s that changed the musical landscape forever. His greatest hits are timeless and I cannot say that about many artists from the past 30 years.

My thoughts are with both Michael's and Farrah's families. Every death is a tremendous loss.

Unfortunately, in recent times Michael was more in the spotlight for his alleged behavior with children. To this day I don't know if any of it is true or not and I leave this to others to judge. What I know is that Michael had a rough childhood and he probably never had the chance to work through issues that were caused by that. But when it comes to celebrities, everyone is fair game in our society and every action in the public and private life will be observed through a magnifying glass until it is distorted.

Let's remember one of the greatest musicians of the late 20th century, the king of pop for his musical legacy. It lives on through all of us, especially the ones growing up during his years of fame.

Clarification

Yesterday I received a comment from Dave Grossman on my metronome blog and I wanted to thank Dave for reading my blog, contemplating the contents and taking the time to comment. One of my goals is to have a discussion with readers and appreciate the input.

I wanted to clarify a few points regarding the metronome issue. Many musicians and music educators believe in metronomes and the value thereof. I don't have a problem with that. My personal issue is that people put too much emphasis on the use of metronomes. I find it interesting that the supporters of metronomes in musical education constantly ask for proof that metronomes aren't effective in learning and developing an inner time source.

Personally, I believe that no one will be able to prove the effectiveness of metronomes in a positive or negative way unless scientific studies are conducted. Since this question is really not of the greatest importance there will never be funding available to conduct such a study. In the meantime we can look at results from different music schools that heavily utilize metronomes or condemn them. But the results of such comparisons are always flawed since the students at these schools have different backgrounds in their music education prior to taking lessons.

What Jeff Berlin reports from his Players school (and this is reported as well by review boards) is that he sees great improvement and success rates with his students. This is great for him and the method he employs. Undoubtedly there are other schools worldwide that reach similar results even though they use metronomes during lessons.

Another issue raised is that it is vitally important for aspiring musicians today to be able to play with a click track. What you would accomplish by practicing with a metronome is exactly that, being able to play with a click track. However, if you practice your instrument and develop a good sense of time by doing so, you will automatically be able to play with a click track. You don't have to dedicate time to learn playing with a click track.

When I first read about Jeff's outspoken opinion about metronomes I reacted similar to most musicians, surely he can't be serious! A metronome was something every musician would have in their home and use when they saw fit. I also overlooked the subtle statement that the metronome simply doesn't contribute to the improvement of the internal sense of time in Jeff's opinion until he explained that to me. Misunderstanding and misinterpretation of statements is easy and widespread. After Jeff's explanation I started to think about my own development on the guitar for the past 25+ years. I was quite surprised when I came to the following conclusion:

When I started learning to play guitar in 1982 I received classic guitar lessons. My teachers over the next 10 years did not use a metronome during lessons or advised me to do so. I must have done some good practicing because in the late 80s I even made it to State championships.

I bought my first electric guitar in 1986 and taught myself Blues and improvisation through books and listening to records. In 1989 I went to a popular music school to take electric guitar lessons and participate in band and studio workshops. During the studio workshops we would record tracks with a click and the results good. At the time, I never even thought that playing with a click would impose a challenge. I didn't experience any. If you know your instrument, the material you play and you developed a good sense of time you will be able to play with a click.

It wasn't until I started college in 1992 that I experienced lessons with metronomes. However, these were not individual lessons but groups with bass, piano and guitar for example. Overall, I can say I never used a metronome much, I never even thought about it much in the first place.

What surprises me is that no matter how progressive musicians are in developing their own art they tend to be quite conservative in their views on teaching and slow in adapting new methods. Just because a majority of people does things a certain way doesn't mean it's the right way or the best way. If you create good and positive results with your method, I am happy for you and can only encourage you to carry on. If another method causes you to reflect on your method and incorporate changes I encourage you as well. To me life is not black and white or right and wrong. And the majority doesn't always get it right.

To be perfectly clear, I don't condemn metronomes. They have never been important to me. I don't believe that they help develop ones sense of time or speed up the process. Learning music and an instrument takes time, practice and focus. There are millions of people in the world over the course of history and today that learned playing in time without ever using a metronome.

A lesson in music

When people hear that I play guitar quite a few times they asked me for lessons. I usually respond that I don't give lessons. This does not mean that I won't be posting instructional videos for everyone's pleasure and entertainment at some point. I might just do that. There are a number of reasons why I don't sit down and teach.

It is very hard to keep a steady income going with a private practice and positions at music schools are rare and not very well paid. Also, a network of contacts is necessary but by moving from country to country and continent to continent it is hard to establish one. I have created an online network with people from all over the world but that hardly counts for my immediate environment.

My main interest is music and most students are looking for quick lessons on the instrument. This sounds snobbish and arrogant but it is not. Just like there are kindergarten teachers and college professors there are people that like to teach others the first steps on an instrument or broaden the mind of an advanced player. Also, this doesn't mean that I'm the greatest player and guitar guru. But I have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the musical field.

If you want to learn to play guitar mainly to play Metallica riffs I would like to join you and play those riffs with you but I wouldn't have much to teach you. One of the most important things to do for you is to listen and in this case transcribe the music you want to play.

It is important for beginners to learn about theory but to many it is boring and in the case above the student won't benefit from it. In other words I would be driving my Metallica fan student away by introducing material that he/she is not interested in.

Once the student decides that just playing Metallica is not enough it gets interesting. Now I could provide further reaching information that would help the student develop their own musicality. Unfortunately, this brings me back to the first point where in the end not enough students would be left to have a successful teaching practice.

At this point there are too many things in my life that I barely have time for and I cannot shell out a couple of hours a night to give just a few lessons. Lessons take preparation time. I do engage in information exchange and embrace every conversation when people have questions or asking for my opinion.

The most important thing for the aspiring player are a set of good ears, an open mind and the conviction to dive into one of the greatest adventures which is called music. Learn to read, learn to listen, learn the theory and practice. It works.

The power of YouTube

You can say many things about YouTube. It's a tool, it's a nuisance, it's old, it's new, it's fun, it's annoying and the list goes on and on. What attracts my attention is the vast supply of music related videos. These can be music videos, concerts or other presentations. While others are posting or looking for new hilarious videos or the latest events on video I dive in to look for footage from bands, recent and especially past.

It is a goldmine. I am seriously surprised by what footage is out there. Videos from concerts in an age where there were only few video cameras around, and the ones available were expensive, huge and heavy. I've been wishing for years I could see a Tubes show from the 70s and I already gave up hope that they would ever release a DVD from their "What do you want from live" tour just for old times sake and sentimentalists like me. Thanks to YouTube I didn't have to look much further and found a wealth clips. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Fee Waybill entertaining live and it was even better than I expected.

Although I did see Living Colour and the 24-7 Spyz live I was happy to enjoy a few minutes of their shows and music videos.

Just recently I stumbled upon a gem that I had never dreamed of finding. A video released by Mind over 4. It is a music video and is a rapid-fire onslaught on your eyes. The bits and pieces of the band members playing are mere second fragments and it is quite tough to get the full impression but it's better than nothing.



Unfortunately, Mind over 4 never reached the success and acclaim that I thought they deserved. Maybe their music is too difficult to categorize or for some too difficult to digest. Either way, in the late 80s when hair metal ruled the world these four individuals proceeded to make music without compromises that oozed creativity. It is rare that artists express themselves so completely in disregard of commercial success. I'm still hoping for more material or maybe a reunion show to experience the energy.

Anybody can play guitar

It's funny when I talk to people and tell them that I am a musician and play guitar everyone and their cousin plays guitar or can find another instrument they used to play in high school or band. I understand that by abiding by the laws of conversation this comes from the deeper sense of trying to find a common ground. Everybody should have played or tried an instrument at some point in their life. Music helps children develop skills and forms an outlet of energy and feelings for everyone. If you've read prior posts you are already familiar with my findings that adults play instruments for many different reasons ranging from recreation to business.

I often wonder why people stop playing instruments and making music. Most often I hear the lack of time as a reason or the interest in other hobbies. Although I believe that there are so many things in this world that are interesting and we generally only scratch the surface of what we try, I also believe in balance. Picking up an instrument every once in a while can be a welcome change of pace from going to the gym for the eighth time this week. Another reason I hear quite often is that people were not making progress or developing the skills they desired.

There can be a couple of reasons for the failure of reaching ones goals. First and foremost you need to practice. If you don't practice you will not see any improvements. Music doesn't give instant gratification and by sitting down for half an hour today you are not a stellar player tomorrow. You need to be aware of the hard work and commitment it takes to make music and improve instrumental skills.

Let's assume for a moment that you practice diligently. Do you have the right expectations? Do you have a clear image what you want to accomplish? Do you listen to music, listen to people that do what you are trying to achieve? Seriously, I have met quite a few people that I taught in my life that never listened to anything they wanted to play. I had students that wanted to go to college to study music. They wanted to play Jazz. Jazz is quite a big umbrella of styles so I was interested in their preference. Someone said Be-Bop and others just insisted on Jazz. When I asked about artists they listened to I got a blank stare. Others knew a few names to throw out there but when I inquired about albums or songs they listened to I got the same reaction. You cannot learn music if you don't listen. Listening to the charts does not help you develop skills and an ear for Jazz or Blues.

There is another reason why people quit playing their instruments. It's the teachers. Not every city has a music school. Not every primary school has a music class. While most of the teachers in music school have at least a degree and some knowledge of their instrument, a lot of people take lessons from individuals who offer music lessons. I am not saying that either one is bad. There are good individual teachers and good teachers in school. But there are also the bad and the ugly ones. There are teachers that push their own agendas instead of listening to students’ needs and desires. There are teachers that don't know how to teach or don't know how to play.

A good lesson should be driven by two forces: The basic knowledge about music that the teacher has to offer to the student and the goal of the student. No good teacher says my student only wants to play Metallica so that's what we do. If the student only wants to play Metallica he doesn't need a teacher, should go home and start practicing by listening to Metallica as I mentioned above. If the student wants to learn more about music and the instrument and the teacher has them practice scales in all 12 keys all day long the student will go home and quit playing.

A good teacher will offer their students insights on music and their instruments. They will offer practices to understand harmony, melody and rhythm. They will teach tonality and techniques. If you follow these simple rules you will actually have fun learning, playing and on the other side teaching. It is a win-win situation.

Final words on Idol (this season)

Two weeks after the finale of season 8 of American Idol I cannot resist offering up my thoughts on the season one last time. The truth is that Idol plays quite a significant role in today's entertainment industry. It doesn't only touch the music industry or television but also the internet and especially the blogosphere. While the music industry is changing rapidly, Idol has become one of the few opportunities for discovery of talent. Backed by this huge financial machine 19 entertainment can actually do what record companies used to do, invest in little known talent. Some make it and some don't but the losses of the flops are still more than re-gained by the sales of the stars.

Did you notice how many actual stars perform during the results shows? I thought this last year already; apparently Idol is the place to be. Some artists are there because the show can afford them and their presence brings in more viewers. Others are likely very inclined to show up to boost their popularity.

What about the contestants? I was very pleased to see an actual singer on the show this year. A person with talent, skills and actual training. What made Adam even more attractive in my mind (and turned me on to the show to see him perform or what he would do the next time) was his experience as a performer and the knowledge of what he was capable of. He never took on a song that he couldn't do or didn't achieve the effect that he intended to. This is even more impressive than his vocal technique. No other contestant has brought a great performance and arrangement every single week no matter what style in the history of the show. I watched a few of his performances back and get chills over and over again when I hear melodies developing and being executed in perfection. Also, while watching interviews I just noticed what a genuinely nice guy and open book Adam is. There's nothing fake about him that so many people accuse him of. The guy likes to perform. He likes to sing, dress up and stand in the spotlight. He also likes music and doesn't pay any disrespect.

What about the voting? Every year there are complaints about the voting being rigged and something fishy going on. Get over it. Conspiracy theories are everywhere, in politics, sports and entertainment. I am not surprised that the majority of viewers voted for the "conservative" candidate in the finale. I think he won for that reason and that reason only. Was he original? Not really. The toned down, half acoustic style has been exploited for a while now. None of the arrangements were really original. I wish Kris good luck in his future endeavors.

Did Adam get robbed? No. Adam made the best out of his appearance on Idol. The only person getting robbed was Alexis. When she had to leave prior to the TOP 10 it became clear that no one votes on talent. She was singing the TOP 4 under the table (with the exception of Adam) but her image didn't work with the public. This girl has music running in her veins and she has the skills to express it.

Let's see what the producers come up with next year to keep the number of viewers up and the buzz about the show going. I'll bring the popcorn.

Sounds like ... to me

You might have read the story about Wal-Mart refusing to sell Green Day's latest CD 21st Century Breakdown if they don't release a clean version without "objectionable content". Wow, that is a big pill to swallow. I can't even begin to tell you what a diversity of feelings that evoked in me from anger to frustration. I applaud Green Day for sticking to their guns and taking a pass on Wal-Mart.

My wife and I used to make fun of Green Day in the heyday of pop-punk. Whenever a song would play on the radio or TV we would say: "sounds like Green Day to me". Although I am still not a fan of their music I have to give them kudos for not being afraid to speak out about current issues.

My concerns in this matter come from the interpretive nature of the topic. A retail store can sell whatever they want to sell. An artist can create art freely unless they violate other's rights. There is art, especially in music, which is not suitable for all audiences. I agree that we need to protect and especially educate children in this matter. The PMRC took some steps in the right direction to classify content with a parental advisory label. Although I don't necessarily agree with this approach it seems to at least warn parents that are involved with their children.

There is a lot of obscenity and violence in music. But there is also critical thinking and uneasy content. I can understand when stores or radio stations ban or censor music that contains matter of obscenity and violence. Like I said, stores can rely on parents and the PMRC label and there are "clean" versions of songs for radio airplay. The freedom of speech argument holds up because you can acquire said music when you're old enough. Problems arise when stores are starting to censor content because they consider it offensive otherwise. If this was a single store you would say big deal, I go to the next one. What Wal-Mart tries to do is use their power to keep different opinions out of their stores. Do they have the right to do it? Sure. But it's a scary thought to see a retailer do what the government and the constitution are trying to prevent, the censorship of free speech. There is a constant struggle going on in every free country on what is free speech and when someone's rights are violated. It is not the retailer's role to impose rules on a big part of society. What's next, they're not selling books that discuss the evolution theory because it offends some of their customers? This is just an example to illustrate my point. What type of precedence for all other artists would this have set if Green Day had caved?

Fortunately, there are other ways of purchasing the music of choice and although Wal-Mart is huge we're not depending on it as a music provider.

Education is more important than censorship. If you place works of art into their respective context and explain their content to kids they will actually learn something and process the information given to them. By censoring or prohibiting art they will be more inclined to try and get a hold of it. And they might just repeat slogans and phrases that can be misused, abused and interpreted in offensive ways.

What are your thoughts?

Instant Gratification

Playing music is one of the best things you can do in this world. There are hundreds of reasons why you would want to play an instrument. You like to play for yourself and enjoy the music or you prefer to play with others and have fun together. You can play to relax or because you're curious.

One of the interesting aspects of making music is that there is always something new to learn. As you're practicing and learning you are becoming better and more proficient, but with every step you take and every level you reach new doors and passages are opening up.

In this day and age there is a conflict between the rising expectation of instant gratification and the study and practicing of skills. When I look around me I see more and more people acting results driven instead of purpose driven. While I would be the first person to acknowledge that we need both ways to succeed in our quest through life I noticed that there is no balance between them anymore. I am afraid and think it is a shame that we are missing out on the little things.

In music, there is no instant gratification. Although, I will immediately revoke that statement. It takes a long time to become proficient in your instrument. It might take a long time to acquire the skills for the style and genre that you want to play. You aren't able to play after just a half hour of practice. The beauty is that practicing and learning gives you instant gratification. And this is where the paragraph about results driven and purpose driven comes into play.

If you're only in it for the results, you will miss out on the beauty of the learning process. You're closing your eyes before the new path that opens up once you achieve the desired result. Music is dynamic. You are never there. You need to have goals you are working towards but while you do so you will learn about new possibilities, opportunities and further reaching goals. I am not advertising to get lost and overloaded with ideas. There are many ways to achieve your goals but you need to stay focused and at the same time open for new things.

Whenever you decide that you are done, you don't have to learn anything anymore you stop making music. That might be a harsh statement but it holds the truth. The minute you decide that you know everything you need to know about your instrument you are able to mechanically reproduce pieces without depth or innovation.

Music will go on and continue to evolve. Are you onboard?

Personal Note

So far, I have refrained from using this service to promote my personal activities. Today I will make an exception. It has been 4 months since I changed hosting providers and for the past 4 months I had only a placeholder page up at my website.

Yesterday I finally uploaded a working site with informational material about myself and music samples to listen to. It's nothing fancy, just a few simple html pages. I still haven't gotten the hang of it and probably never will but the result is presentable. Also, I didn't put too mush time into it since there is so much else to do. Think about all the music I need to write and record, music I need to promote, kids I need to raise and last but not least my day job.

I hope you will enjoy visiting my site and come back often as the content is dynamic. For the media sections I use youtube for videos and reverbnation as music-players. The blog links to this page and the bio pages are faily static until I have some great news to report.

Thanks for your interest and support. You can always leave a comment here or email me. Do you like reading my blog? Do you have suggestions on topics? Do you have questions?

Have a safe holiday weekend. I will be back on Tuesday with another music related topic.

On metronomes, tuners and gadgets

Jeff Berlin is a great bass player. He is also a great teacher and engages in discussion with his friends, fans and students. Another characteristic that I like is that he is very opinionated and not afraid to issue his thoughts.

In his words it is a waste of time to use a metronome when practicing your instrument because it doesn't help making you play better. You will reach the same level of proficiency by practicing without a metronome. Also, if you know how to play your instrument, you should be able to tune your instrument.

Those are some powerful statements and they usually force many responses (especially from people that use these tools).

In order to fully comprehend the message behind these statements I am going to introduce two scenarios that need clearly distinguished between:

1. Making music or learning an instrument
2. Making money with music or playing an instrument

When I interpret Jeff's statements I immediately think about the first case. When learning or making music, there is no need for tuners and metronomes. To make music, you need an instrument and a set of ears. To learn said instrument and make music with it you need to practice. One of the things you need to learn to play your instrument is tuning. This might not apply to players of instruments with keys but it does apply to all stringed instruments, brass, woodwinds and drums. Not many people have absolute hearing by nature so you might need a reference point in the beginning but by practice you can develop good hearing and soon enough tune your instrument without reference points.

A metronome does not improve your internal clock or beat. I think this is one of the biggest misconceptions in the history of music. The ability to play with a relative time source doesn't change and is not comparable to playing to your internal time source. It shows that you can play with a relative time source. The only way to improve the internal time source is by practice.

Since the internal time source is a human element there are variations between people. In my musical career I have played with hundreds of people. Some of them I have always been in synch with and others not. This is natural. When it comes to bigger groups of people making music together chances are increasing that there are slight differences in time among the players. Contributors to Jeff's discussion mentioned a conductor and drummer as the "keepers of time". In my opinion that is not the case at all and it wouldn't surprise me if drummers and conductors were offended by that statement. The conductor is a musician who interprets the score and leads a number of instrumentalists. Once again, the bigger the group, the more variety in time and the need for a driving force. The case of the drummer is slightly different. A drummer is not a human metronome. Take a look at a big band. Once again, the size of the band exceeds a handful of people that can communicate easily aurally and visually when making music together. Big bands have a band leader as well that conducts the music. In popular music drums add color and expression to the music more than just being a time source. Interpretation and groove are much more important than that. Any musician that relies on the drummer to keep the time for whatever reason should start some soul searching.

When I turn my focus to case number two I would like to offer my personal insights as follows:
Using metronomes and tuners can be practical in certain situations and I noticed that most of the participants in the discussion used examples that were non-musical to justify the use of both metronomes and tuners. If you're on stage and need to tune your instrument in between songs without interfering or even to save valuable recording time in the studio the tuner is very handy. I have used a metronome before to learn certain technical skills and I know Jeff is going to say that I would have mastered those skills anyway. He's probably right; you can consider it a shortcut at best.

When I speak as a songwriter I can utilize non-musical elements like a rhythmic pattern that doesn't stem from musical instruments or players and work it into my music. But that's all it is, an element within the music like a train or a ticking of a clock. It is not a metronome or click-track and shouldn't be considered as such. It doesn't add to or take away from my playing; it is a choice of artistic freedom that adds flavor to the end result.

A final word on practice:
Always start by listening. Listening to recordings, others playing or yourself always helps to develop your skills. Also, you don't always need an instrument to practice. I find driving in the car a great place to practice time by snapping fingers, slapping the wheel or humming. The most important thing is to visualize the groove in your head. Once you hear the beat in your head and your body starts moving to it you will be surprised how well you can keep time. Take your time to feel the beat before you start playing or practicing.

Where is my crystal ball?

Sometimes I wish I had a crystal ball and I could see what the future holds. The development of digital recording equipment and interfaces has occurred and continues to occur at such a rapid pace that it is sometimes hard to keep up. Technologies come and go, some work together and others are incompatible.

One of my goals in my home studio is that I'm trying to create a better sound with every song I write and record. Also, I like to have a studio that is expandable and flexible.

When I first started out recording my music I used a 4-track tape recorder with an Atari to create midi tracks. A Roland soundcanvas served as my only source of sounds. Granted, this was 20 years ago and sounded like crap. By the time I was able to upgrade my studio in the mid 90's there was a whole different world out there with hard disk recorders, Macintosh had long ago replaced Atari and samplers offered great audio capabilities and realistic sounding instruments.

I chose a setup with my Mac at the hub of the studio. I purchased Logic Audio 3.5 and an Emagic sound card. The sampler and keyboard were connected through midi and the audio output was going through a mixer. There were even vst plug-ins available at the time. I believed I was going to be set for years to come. I could add infinite amounts of samples to the sampler, record unlimited guitar, bass and vocal tracks in Logic and MIDI wouldn't go out of style.

In a way that was a good choice. It helped me create some cool music that sounded fairly decent. However, it hurts to see that you can now create recordings that sound much better with a lot less. My assumption of using the Mac as the central unit was good and paid off. Where I lost track was the importance of this piece of equipment. Believing that truly great sounds can only come out of hardware, be it effects, mixers, samplers or synthesizers, I overlooked the versatility and flexibility of plug-ins.

The studio technology of today is software based. Software is cheap and the expansion and interfacing possibilities are limitless. There is only one obstacle. The processing power needed for the recording process has increased at a steady pace over the years. By throwing more and more tasks at the central CPU it needs to calculate more and more in less time. If you look at the system requirements of "simple" software that fulfills a single task my original Mac won't suffice in many cases.

I recently tried to add a new drum sampler to my setup. I am not going to bore you with the complex workaround that I came up with to make this work. It was a nightmare and clunky to say the least. If only I had invested in a new Mac whenever a new model came out, stayed up to date with the OS and I had saved my money on all the hardware items that I purchased. I would have money left over today and the drum sampler would just plug into the recording software.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and there are a lot of ifs and buts in the post today. Once I have my new drum sampler working the way it should I will post an example or two. If you're planning on building your own studio, do research. Create a list of things that you absolutely need. If you have to have a mobile setup other rules apply than with a fixed setup in the basement. But if there is a PC or a Mac somewhere in the plan, make sure it is a powerful machine. It might be the most expensive piece but it will pay off over time.

We're in business

In the ever changing landscape of the music business it is a constant struggle to stay afloat as an artist. As it has become easier for the individual to promote and distribute digital media it has become increasingly difficult to make a living in music. With a greater number of free downloads than ever before and the decline of physical CD sales artists now not only need to be marketing specialists but also continuously find new revenue streams. At this point it is almost necessary to have a business plan in place. Basically, you should answer a few simple questions for yourself to avoid wasting time and energy on a lot of endeavors with little return (if any).

Who are your fans?
Know who is interested in the type of music you play. Are there specific age groups or genders that like what you do? What can you do to appeal to your fans even more?

How can you reach your fans and grow your fan base?
Do you have a website, a mailing list, do you play live shows, and is your music played by (internet) radio? What about social networking sites or a blog where you can interact with your fans?

What do your fans want?
First of all they want your music of course and preferably at the lowest price. Many fans like a good live show. Are they into buying merchandise?

Another decision you have to make comes after that stellar recording you just finished:
Do you sell CD's or only offer digital downloads?

My personal belief is that there are still people out there that prefer buying a physical product that they can hold in their hands. It really depends on your target audience and their purchasing habits though. Even if they are not interested in CD's I would get a small number printed for promotional purposes. It looks better when you send someone a professionally packaged CD for whatever opportunity you are seeking.

How to sell?
Different items require different services. If you don't want to send out CD's and deal with shipping and handling yourself you can easily utilize a service like CDBaby. There are plenty of other sites out there that offer your own personalized store for all your merchandise. Nimbit for example offers a great solution and has the lowest percentage taken out of your sales out of all the available digital stores. If you don't want to go that far, you can get a PayPal account and offer items directly through your website or MySpace page for example. Once again, you are in control of shipping and handling and that may or may not fit in your schedule. Either way it would be a shame if your fan 1000 miles away cannot buy your T-shirt because they are unable to attend your show where you sell your merchandise.

Other income opportunities:
Nowadays there are a few more ways of making money from your music. One of them is music licensing in film, TV, games and commercials. It is a big market with many players and you will have to look for the representatives that are right for you. But it may be worth it in the end. Branding is very important and might get you a sponsorship deal if you're into that.

All in all there is a wealth of possibilities and new opportunities are constantly being explored. It takes some effort to "get the foot in the door" but there is still money to be made for the independent artist.

Tone

In previous posts I have talked about musical expression when playing an instrument or singing. I tried to explain the basic components of a song and shared the vision of one of my favorite guitar players, Scott Henderson.
When playing any style of music you need to know your basics like the rhythm, the harmonic and the melodic structures. To elevate your playing and add your interpretation to a song you utilize dynamics, phrasing and timing among others. There is one characteristic however that falls outside of all these categories. It's the tone.

The tone is part of your actual instrumental skills. Yet at the same time it is probably the most personal touch in your play. The tone comes before the sound. It is what comes out of your fingers (or your throat when singing). Even drummers, who usually play without physical contact, create the tone with their body in the way they use their arms, hands and feet and the force and technique they apply when hitting the drums.

Why is tone important? It is probably one of the most distinguishing characteristics of a player. When you listen to a singer, what is the most important feature that you base your preference on? A singer can have great technical skills, terrific phrasing and incredible timing yet you don't like them because you don't like the tone of their voice. The same example is valid for any other instrumentalist.

But wait a minute you are going to say, with instruments it depends on what brand and quality of instrument you play. This would only apply to the sound but not to the tone. For example, there is a practice room in school or college. Everybody constantly complains that the electric guitar amps sound pretty crappy and nobody can hear how good anyone really sounds. I would like you to invite a great player like Robben Ford or any other of the countless great guitarists in the world to give a workshop in your school only providing the crappy amps from the practice room. When you listen to your guest you will be surprised how great the amp sounds. Granted, your guest will not likely choose the crappy amp for their next recording. In the end, the sound of the instruments is just another color added to the music but the tone is you. That's one of the cool things I learned about great players. They can make any equipment sound great.

The next time you sit down with your instrument I would like you to listen to your playing in a different way. Listen for your tone. Play with a few variations and try to enhance it and make it stand out. If you can, use different equipment and instruments and notice the similarities in your tone. The more you become aware of your tone, the more you can define goals where you want to take it and what improvements you want to make. It is actually the cheapest way of improving your sound.

They don't make 'em like that anymore

Everyone has their own little favorite things. The special something that makes life easier, makes your work easier or is simply best suited for the job. The runner has the shoes that are the most comfortable for the foot, the graphic designer has Photoshop on their Macintosh and the mechanic swears by WD-40.

Musicians like me have their own little pet peeves and favorite items that they can't do without anymore. Just imagine all the different things you're using on a daily basis. If I look at my studio, I see guitars of course and amps, an electric piano, a sampler, a Mac, a mixer, microphones and all kinds of other guitar gear. It is a collection of artifacts from the last 25 years. Some of my equipment is so vitally important to what I do that I could hardly live without it (or would have to spend a lot of money).

As technology progresses and everything is getting bigger, better and cheaper some older products fall off the wagon. They didn't generate the revenue that was expected or the manufacturing company simply chose a different path. There are hundreds of reasons why products are no longer made.

Today I would like to highlight three products that in my opinion are far underrated and manufacturing has stopped. In my opinion it is a shame because these items are of great quality, longevity and versatility.

Marshall JMP1
The Marshall JMP1 is a guitar pre-amp with a built-in midi interface. It uses two tubes for very characteristic sounds. The beauty is that you can use the amp for different clean and distorted sounds and equalization adds to the flavoring. It also has an effects loop with volume and mix control. Changing sounds is easy with a Midi-Foot Controller. Use the amp with a power amp and a speaker cabinet and you have endless possibilities at your fingertips. One of the nice things is that you store your sounds electronically so you can use let's say sound #11 and five years later sound #11 sounds exactly the same as when you last used it. This can be very helpful when you record a lot like me. Working on different songs over the course of a week or a month you can come back to a song without having to worry that the guitar will sound different because you adjusted the level, the gain is not quite right or you are using more treble. You simply plug in and dial the knob to the same sound#.

Blade RH-3
I've recently celebrated the 20th anniversary (yes, I am that old) of my Blade RH-3. The guitar initially came with active electronics and pick-ups that have been replaced or "customized" with passive pick-ups of my liking. But the hardware of the guitar is phenomenal. It has a sustain that is unrivalled and it sounds beautifully before ever plugged into an amp. There are no tuning issues with locking tuners that allow you to take advantage of the full length of the strings. What bothers me in today's guitar market is that there is a gap between the average quality guitars and the high quality guitars. If I translate this into dollars I would say that there is an overwhelming amount of guitars available up to $1000 and a great amount is available starting at $2000. But there is not much in between anymore. The Blade used to fit right into that gap and it still satisfies all my needs in a guitar.

Yamaha MFC05
You would think that this is only a Midi-Foot Controller and all it does is switch between banks or programs. That is correct. It doesn't make your fridge dance, make your guitar sound like a keyboard or get the crowd going. It is beautiful in its simplicity and robust for stage (ab)use. It is a metal box with six pedals on it. Think about how many sounds you really use on stage. More than three? That's rare. More than five? Weird sounds and variations must be your specialty. What makes the whole setup so versatile is that you can use any Midi enabled effects processor with the Marshall in the effects loop. You can change both, the Marshall sound and the effects processor bank with the touch of one button. Granted, there are a million multi-effects processors out there for guitar but when it comes down to it, which ones offer high-quality effects that don't influence the sound from your amp? Most of them don't.

I am sad that the direction in guitar amplification development went away from the building blocks technology. This technology was easy to use, versatile and uncompromising when it came to sound.
I would like to hear from you about items are no longer manufactured although they should.
Stay tuned for another post on great new technology that offers fantastic tools for all your recording needs.

Spyz in da house

Every once in a while you listen to a CD or an album that has it all. It stays with you for years and you can listen to it almost at any time. One of those albums that has this effect on me is Strength in Numbers from the 24-7 Spyz.

The Spyz are a Heavy Metal Soul crossover band from New York that started out in the late 80s. The driving forces behind the band are Jimi Hazel on guitars (and nowadays on vocals) and Rick Skatore on bass guitar. Initially, the band released a couple of albums with P. Fluid on vocals and Anthony Johnson on drums. The music on both albums was very diverse from straight up metal to soul and r&b type ballads. When Anthony Johnson and P. Fluid left the band, Joel Maitoza and Jeff Brodnax joined the band. Their label released the EP Harder Than You first to measure their marketability. Since they received a lot of praise they proceeded with the release of the full album Strength in Numbers.

Strength in Numbers will rock your socks off.
I have owned the CD since 1992 and played it over and over when I wanted some good groovy head banging. The album starts out with Break The Chains and it literally breaks the chains and boundaries of conventional music classification into genres and styles. Starting out as a funky masterpiece with clean guitars and a rhythm section that will make you get off your butt and DANCE, it easily breaks into a hard hitting heavy rock song with an unforgettable hook. Now that's an opener. It also sets the stage and raises the expectations for the album. How many times did you listen to an album only to discover that there are only three or four songs really worth listening to? On Strength In Numbers there are maybe three or four songs out of fourteen (!) that are a little weaker.
The change of pace and mixture of styles is seamless. Other songs that follow the example of Break The Chains are for example Judgment Day with the funky verse that turns into a stomping chorus, My Desire, a song that hits you in the face from the first note or I'm Not Going.

If you're still not convinced that these guys can rock check out Crime Story, Purple, Stuntman and Last Call. The guitar riffs go far beyond a simple onslaught of power chords and are paired with intricate rhythms that are full of intensity.

With such a tour de force of energy you need a break at some point. Strategically placed are two ballads, Earth And Sky and Traveling Day and a very soulful Got It Goin' On.

But wait, there's more. The group shows its versatility by adding the fantastic reggae-like Understanding that also carries a mellow vibe and pushes the groove out of the well-known structures of the genre. Also, Sireality is a four minute guitar solo with Rick and Joel jamming along which turns into some kind of obscure cacophony of noises.

Adding to the overall listening pleasure are the arrangements that are well thought out and the excellent musicianship of each member.

Food for thought

The internet offers endless possibilities. You can find everything. You can offer and promote everything easier than ever. The main impact of the internet is change. Change of the way we think, change of the way we do things and change to existing structures and processes. With change and the availability of an abundance of resources comes confusion. There are many areas where change and confusion have shaken things up, broken down barriers and created new opportunities. In the music industry the effects of the emerging new technology have been felt deeply.

I have been thinking and reading about the state of the industry a lot lately. There is a wealth of opportunities for musicians. It is easier than ever to reach fans and sell music. It is easier to collaborate with others without being physically in the same location. There is a whole new market of licensing opportunities for online content. On the other hand, there are so many services and platforms that the artist can easily get overwhelmed. Also, the fans are having a hard time finding music that appeals to their taste. We all have to find ways to deal with the new situation and utilize the tools that fit our needs.

The music industry as we know it doesn't exist any longer. We're in the process of creating new business models to fill the vacuum that was left behind. I could attempt to list many of the challenges we face but I will refrain from doing so and urge everyone to follow this link to an article I found on the restoringmusic.com website. It is probably one of the best articles I've read about this topic. I hope it will inspire you to think about new opportunities and solving existing issues.

Sound Obsession

As much as I love music, I am obsessed with sound as well. It's like a compulsive disorder. When I listen to music sound plays an important role to complete the experience. Although I wouldn't go as far as the fanatic that will still argue ten years from now that the analog sound from vinyl beats digital quality by a mile any day there are huge differences in today's recordings.

Sound can be affected on many levels. There are instruments with their specific sound, the mixture of instruments and sounds in a band, recording equipment, media and finally the broadcasting or amplification system. The end result, a combination of all of the above, can only be as good as the weakest individual link. You can have the highest quality recording on your disc of choice; if you listen to it through a pair of cardboard speakers it will sound abominable. You can have the latest high-end hifi surround sound system, if the studio used crappy microphones it will not sound good. I have to make two annotations here:
The most expensive equipment is not necessarily the best and some artists are aiming for a "crappy" sound that in itself holds a certain beauty or appeal.

Instruments play a vital role in the chain of sound. Today we have a wealth of instruments available for a wide range of prices. Although in general the price/quality balance seems to be intact, the broad range of available and affordable instruments raises the bar in quality from just a few years ago. Having said that, it is always important to look for instruments for a specific purpose or sound that one is trying to achieve. If I want to play metal I probably wouldn't use a Fender tweed blues combo. If I want to hear a full round jazz sound I probably shouldn't play an Ibanez JEM guitar. Of course this goes for any instrument, not only guitars and amps.

Another very important aspect of sound is the collaboration of instruments and players. Here is a tip for bands that often goes unnoticed and leads to a catastrophic live and studio sound: Play together and listen to each other. Tweak the sound as a band so that the individual instruments mix nicely. More often than not band members crank up their amps or monitors because they can't hear themselves or want to tone out the others. All it does is create a cacophony. Please, if you can't hear yourself, work it out together, adjust equalization to easier distinguish between instruments and vocals. My rule of thumb is that if a band sounds good on stage or in the rehearsal room it will sound good amplified or recorded. There is nothing worse for an engineer at a live show than to mix a band that sounds like a wall of noise on stage. The best part is that the audience usually blames the sound guy for the crappy sound.

When playing live the PA system and equipment plays an important role because it actually presents the end result to the listener. It is the recording piece, medium and broadcasting or amplification system in one. Although the artists and listeners have usually very little impact on the equipment and how it is used or operated it can make or break the band that I watch and listen to.

When it comes to recording there are many factors that play a role in creating that awesome sound. There are microphones, the recording medium, effects and countless other little things that take away from or add to the sound. Don't underestimate the cost/quality relationship in this area. I record all my music myself and it will always sound mediocre trying to come as close to what I envision as possible. But unless I have a professional studio with a professional engineer at my fingertips it will never excel above and beyond. Having said that, I believe that there is a bunch of horribly sounding music out there that has been released by major labels. Think about over-compressed, buttered up with effects or simply poorly mixed music.

I am not talking about the medium fro recorded music here because I don't want to spark the whole CD versus record discussion or analog versus digital for that matter. In my opinion, the differences in both are better scientifically measurable than actually physically noticeable with our ears.

When it comes to broadcasting or simply playing music on the home stereo or iPod good sound can be destroyed very easily. I understand that radio stations have the problem that a lot of music they play has different volume levels but please don't overdo the compression to even out the levels. There is nothing more annoying than having an acoustic guitar intro louder than the whole band coming in for the verse. That's like a huge anti-climax whereas the music was written to start out soft and then explode in your face. It's more like an implosion fading away. And believe me, the sound quality of instruments gets lost with compression and in some cases even the balance or mix goes to the dogs. There is a standard in the recording industry nowadays that implies that the higher the output levels the better. I wonder how far that will go and how much longer we can crank up those levels.

Independent Artists

Do you like to hear new music? Do you like to discover new artists that you haven't heard before? Are you getting excited when an unknown song grabs you by the ears and doesn't let go? You have to play the song over and over again and feel the need to tell all of your friends about it? Well, you're in luck because the internet offers endless possibilities of music discovery. In fact, there is such a wealth of undiscovered artists out there that you will be overwhelmed by the mere thought of trying to find something. The available music streaming and download services use complicated algorithms to determine similarity in music and artists based on information that you feed them about your favorite artists, playlists and other available data. Sometimes they compare your taste to the tastes of other listeners. In the end, this method can work out or completely fail. Since every person perceives music in a different way and every artist puts their own talent and creativity into their music it is hard to find a common denominator. In many cases I can appreciate someone's talent and ability of playing an instrument or writing a song but the emotional content of the song might not appeal to me at all. Or there can be a beautiful song out there but I don't like the singer's voice. The reasons why our favorites are our favorites are manifold. I usually enjoy the artists the most that I stumble upon by accident. Something draws me in to hit that play button on the stream on a profile page.

At this point I would like to introduce a few artists to you that I came across over the last year that I find intriguing, fascinating and that I can't stop listening to. This is just an overview but I am working on reviews of their CDs and music in future posts. One thing that all the following artists have in common is that they venture outside the mainstream and make no compromises when creating their music. Their sound is unique and identifiable.

When I started out on MySpace with my page I received a friend request from Jesse Adams. Since I didn't know him I checked out his page and I was surprised to find a great variety of styles and sounds in his music. Although he describes his music as metal and experimental there is so much more. Jesse has the talent of creating music based on themes, emotions and images. In some songs he is a sound architect creating a beautiful atmosphere by blending guitars with keyboards in syncopated rhythms and unconventional harmonies. Did I mention that he plays all the instruments himself? Drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and he can sing. Listen to "Home" and imagine you are sitting on the front porch of a farm in the Midwest on a lush summer night. The crickets are singing their song and a slow guitar tells the story of life at a different pace. On other songs Jesse can be funny or rocking out. His first CD will be available at the end of the month.

Another one of my early MySpace acquaintances is Karen Stever. In early 2008 Karen released her debut Playground Isolator. If you missed some depth and emotion in your musical diet lately you have to check it out. Working as a producer with Frank Gryner in Los Angeles, Karen uses the tools she has available to create a fantastic sound. This album is a rollercoaster ride that you have to experience to believe. The music has a hard rocking beat with lots of dynamics from orchestral arrangements to quiet piano accompaniments. Karen's vocals are sensational and incredibly versatile.

Just recently I heard music from Jennifer Spengler. I have to admit that I need to do my homework and research her CD availability but I'm sure she has one for sale. Think Tori Amos with electronic beats Jennifer creates the most hauntingly beautiful songs. The first time I listened to "Miss Mercury" the hook stuck with me over the next several days. Her message is emotional yet powerful, a true gem. Jennifer does all the programming herself as well as the keyboards and piano. Top it off with her immaculate vocals and addiction could very well be a side effect.

When I played a show with Reigning Heir at Pop's in Sauget, IL Tunghook was another band on the roster. They are a great band playing some serious metal. When I checked out their singer and guitar player Matt Tebow's page a few days later I was blown away by his solo stuff. What a professional musician with several solo and band releases. Heavy and groovy guitar riffs are chasing each other. In addition, Matt sings beautiful melodies with an incredible voice. Go listen!

Last but not least I would like to introduce Featured on Fridays. If you ever wondered what power trio means and what it sounds like I have the answer. It sounds like Brev Sullivan shredding the most mind boggling solos out of his guitar while Crystal Fawn's bass keeps pumping and Etienne's drumming makes a horde of elephants jealous. Yep, it's that good. Stay tuned for the upcoming release of their debut CD. It's worth the wait. It's metal chicken pickin' at its best.

Now go and check out these fantastic artists before I think of many more.

Why aren't you on facebook?

Are you a musician or in a band? Are you trying to get the word out about your shows, grow your fan base or sell music and merchandise? It's easier and yet harder than ever before.
You can replace facebook in the headline with any other social networking site.

There is a flood of social networking sites out there. There are hundreds of online music platforms out there. Where should you start and what should you do? It depends on your goals, level of determination and time to spare. Some sites are a must simply because of the amount of visitors and members they have. Others have tools to offer that will help increase your chances of success.

Let me begin by putting out the disclaimer that I don't have all the answers. There are people out there that are in the music marketing business and they scour the web for marketing opportunities each and every day. I can't and don't want to compete with them in the least. But I might have a few pointers that make you want to try some of the sites and greatly improve your visibility.

Before I get started I would like you to reflect on how you want to present yourself, who you want to reach and how much time you have available to keep up with your efforts.

If time is of the essence since we are all musicians that try to make music first and don't want to invest too much of our valuable time into marketing I would suggest the following sites to establish a presence:

MySpace - I still rank myspace as the number one must have site because of the vast amount of users. Even though I believe that myspace in some cases has missed the bus and got behind others in technological development it is a great all-round site that offers a lot of services. Your page can basically be a digital press kit with in addition a tour schedule, fan communication, music, videos and your biography. The layout is customizable so you can really brand your act.

YouTube - If you have a video of a live show, a music video or just an impression from the rehearsal room having a page on YouTube and offering a couple of videos gives your fans a chance to catch a glimpse of your band. Involving your fans is more important than ever and YouTube provides a great platform. Also, you can embed videos easily on other sites without having to upload them again and again.

Facebook - When you think of facebook you don't think about a music presence in the first place. However, where myspace falls behind facebook is the front runner of the new technology. Their API services allow applications from all kinds of sites to tie into your profile if it's a reverbnation band page or an iLike playlist for example. You can make it all accessible through facebook.

Reverbnation - I really like reverbnation for several reasons. You get a lot of tools that you can use on your sites. Granted, there are by far not that many visitors and fans on reverbnation than there are on facebook or myspace, but you can utilize your tools from reverbnation on both. There is for example a fan collector. It is a simple text box where your fans can provide their email address for your mailing list. What about the tune widget? I haven't seen any other widget as comprehensive as that one. All your songs on your reverbnation profile, biography, schedule, videos and photos are packed into this power tool. All you have to do is deploy the code to all your pages. And you can always use the extra fan or two that stumbles across your profile on reverbnation.

Now that you have your presence established you can look at gaining more exposure. Unfortunately, most online activities require some sort of engagement that will definitely cost you a lot of time. This might not be a big deal since you spend a lot of time online anyway or you like hanging around in chat rooms. It is just not for everybody.

Internet Radio - There are thousands of stations out there that play independent music. Make sure you check out their preferred musical genres. Go to their chat rooms and listen to a show or two. Get acquainted with the dj's and get contact information to send your music to. One site that could help you is airplay direct. On airplay direct you can establish a press kit with music, videos, bio and photos and you can send a link to it to any dj or station. This also applies to regular radio stations. One difficulty is to find the right contact for regular radio stations.

Last.fm, iLike, garageband, imeem and others - All these sites can help you promote your band. A word of advice: it takes a lot of effort to get started and get a following because your ranking in various charts improves when you listen to and review music from others. Just posting a comment or a banner is not enough to make people find your profile. If you want to use these services to their full advantage you need to get out there and listen to others.

There are a lot more social media sites that could help you promote your band. Keep in mind that there is only so much you can do. In order to have your profiles branded and keeping up with fresh content it takes a lot of work and time.

The last service I would like to present here is twitter. Even though you cannot post music or anything else here it is a very important tool. As I mentioned earlier, it is important to engage your fans in your creative activity. By allowing them to look behind the scenes into your life you are doing just that.

As always, feel free to leave your comments. I hope this post gave you a few ideas.

Improvisation

It surprises me time and again how few guitar solos can be heard on the radio today. Although the guitar is probably one of the most played instruments in the world and in popular music, its presence is often overshadowed by keyboards, programming or simply doesn't exist. Over more than the last decade even rock music had most of the solos eliminated. There are a few acts that still incorporate solos in their arrangements. I have no idea why things are the way they are. Do bands skip solos to become more marketable and adhere to the "a hit song can't be longer than three and a half minutes" rule? Or is there a legion of hundreds of thousands of guitar players that can play great rhythm but no lead? It will probably remain a mystery to me. However, I do think that it is a shame because guitar solos were an integral part in the rise of rock music in the late 60's, 70's and still in the 80's.

Styles that to this day enjoy the presence of guitar solos are blues and jazz. It could very well be that because of the lack of the mass appeal of these styles and the persistence and longevity of the fans and audience artists feel encouraged to continue to deliver the highest quality of their playing.

During my tenure in college I have seen and heard many great players. But the one that I have learned from the most (and still do) is Scott Henderson. Not only do I own most of his discography and have listened to the CD's and vinyl (!) albums till my ears bled but I saw him play live three times and during a clinic as well. Simply amazing.

Scott is originally a blues player that turned to jazz and incorporated many different genres in his playing. Lately, he returned to his blues roots only to enhance the music with some jazz and rock flavors. During his career that started out with gigs with Chick Corea, Steve Smith, Jeff Berlin and other greats from the jazz rock scene he was a founding member of Tribal Tech together with bass player Gary Willis. The development of Tribal Tech was interesting in a sense that the music started out extremely complicated and arranged (Scott studied composition as well) and turned to jamming on the final two albums. At first the musical structures were much defined and 15 years later the structures were almost gone bringing out the best of the players.

I don't own many instructional videos. I have seen some that completely turned me off because the instructors used them to make a quick buck without really teaching you anything. I do own the two videos that Scott has published quite a long time ago, Jazz Fusion Improvisation and Melodic Phrasing. Even though every aspiring guitar player is eager to learn all about the jazz fusion improvisation with the scales and the modality and all the "interesting" stuff it is the melodic phrasing video that captures my attention every time. I believe that every serious guitar player no matter what style or genre should watch this video at least once.

The video focuses on the similarity of language and music. The major musical element in the video is rhythm. Scott uses very easily understandable examples to support his theory and bring his point across. He takes solos and melodies and splits them up into paragraphs, phrases and words. In summary, the player becomes a storyteller to capture the audience. It's a very powerful message.

I would like to encourage everyone to take a fresh approach at improvising and playing solos. Check out examples from Scott's videos and sit down with the story in mind before you start playing. You don't have to play as many notes in as little time possible. That's impressive but neither interesting nor entertaining. You don't have to play scales as far out as the moon. Chances are your listeners won't be able to follow you. Put your heart and soul into your playing, don't forget to breathe, listen and play in full sentences. You will be amazed at how different and intriguing you sound.

Idol thoughts

Watching American Idol is one of my biggest pet peeves. I admit it. If you know me you'd probably wonder why since I am extremely picky with everything I listen to or watch. Growing up in Europe I wasn't exposed to too many live shows on TV with live music, at least not at a decent time of day. After I emigrated I embraced the opportunity to watch live performances (good and bad) on a weekly basis during season 2. Also, I am fascinated with the marketing idea behind the show that is pure genius. If you look at the success of the show over 8 seasons with mostly mediocre entertainment you have to admit that someone had a bright idea leading up to this phenomenon.

What is Idol?
It is a reality TV show dressed up as a singing competition. It is also a marketing campaign to find the public's favorite before they get signed to a record deal. This idea in and of itself is probably the smartest one I've seen in a long time. You ask the public whose record they want to buy and who they want to see performing live on stage. It is so simple yet so powerful an idea, it's like getting a big bonus once the revenue from the actual show dries up.

Is this show trying to find the best singer?
No. I believe that really great singers (if they audition) are generally turned down during pre-auditions by the producer's staff. Unless they can generate a buzz that is, but more on that later. The singers on the show need to be able to carry a tune. They should also have at least some stage presence and be able to perform well. But honestly, there are thousands of singers out there that are better at both disciplines than most contestants.

Monetary considerations:
If a show is successful, the ratings go up and the advertising income grows. By season two or three Idol was established as such a big audience hog that other networks re-scheduled their best and highest rated shows at other non-conflicting times.
I don't know how much the show earns with the voting system. But let's face it, if you can generate more than 30 million phone calls in two hours, there's probably a slice of the cake for you.

Buzz:
The buzz is what makes the show. Contrary to popular belief that this show is a singing competition it is all about controversy and the public's interaction. While I write this I realize that I am feeding right into the shows ratings.

Here is why it works:
If you want a real singing competition and find a fantastic singer, you wouldn't let the public vote. You would use a panel of real industry specialists judge the contestants week after week. The problem is that nobody would watch the show after three seasons. The public needs to have the power to vote for their favorites, and favorites don’t mean the best. By allowing the public to vote as much as they want you generate a ton of phone and text traffic. Why would you want to have a voting mechanism where anyone can vote once for or against each contestant? You would run the risk that the bad and sometimes colorful ones go home early and the buzz dies. What better marketing than millions of people fighting in forums and bulletin boards? Talking about the show day after day, everyone trying to bring their point across to non-believers? You can't get advertising like that for free.

LA, we have a problem?
What's different this year is not the judge's save that is being beat to death every week. It's a small spice compared to the one contestant that slipped by the producers. Or did he?
There is one contestant that could hold his own in a real talent competition. His consistent solid performances are way above everyone else's. And he has not only the talent but the experience and knowledge of his instrument. Yet he is a very colorful character that causes a bigger stir than a tornado in Kansas. Once again, it will be the image reigning supreme over the singing in the end. And the cash cow will be filled to the top when this season is over. Thank you for watching, voting, blogging and breathing Idol.

I have to admit that I was quite surprised this season when a most prominent judge proclaimed on the show that "this show is not artistic". That sums it up nicely.

Three Elements of Music

As far as I can remember music fascinated me. I've been told that as soon as I was tall enough to reach the top of my parent's record player I played my mom's old 45s.
Throughout my childhood and adolescence I would listen to music, learn instruments and play with others.

Apparently I was pretty good at math in high school. Many people told me they were not surprised that I would be good at both disciplines, math and music since they had so much in common. But do they?

In my twenties I went to college to study guitar and music. But what was music? That question always stuck with me and I even wrote half my thesis about it. I guess that's where my analytical skills come in. At this point I could translate my thesis and copy and paste it here but that would take up days and way too much space.

What brought all this up? Two friends of mine sparked my interest last week by touching on this topic. Ed, one of my favorite internet radio DJ's confronted me with his 4 elements of music and Pete, a fellow guitar player who wrote a blog about phrasing. I went back into the darkest corners of my brain to drag out those old theories I had and had to re-think them. Maybe this can lead to an interesting discussion.

The three elements of music
At the source, music consists of three basic elements:
Melody, the horizontal movement of notes over time.
Harmony, the vertical movement of notes over time.
Rhythm, the rhythmical order of the movement.

No matter how hard I thought about this, I still feel the same way about it today. Even though melodies, harmonies and rhythms require even smaller particles like notes and frequencies, we need these three basic elements to make music.

At this point music is pretty much still basic math that can be displayed in vectors, graphs and notation. What does it sound like...that depends. There are children's songs that sound good to the human ear and there are also pieces of modern composers that test everyone's patience (because of the form of graphical/mathematical notation).

In any kind of music, it takes a lot more than the three basic elements to make music interesting, good, bad, fun, intriguing or any other adjective possible.
Once a basic song or piece of music has been established, another set of elements comes along to "bring the music to life". These are mainly:
Groove, transforming the rhythm from the notation and infusing a human beat or pulse. Music has a groove when it makes you want to move.
Phrasing, mainly applies to the melody but also sometimes comping. You can compare this to the flow and accentuation of a sentence. Phrasing is the unique interpretation of a melody by the player. No matter how I look at it, phrasing is a personal touch and is added to the listening experience by the player.
Dynamics are the differences in volume within a piece of music.
These elements give the music color and allow the musician to express their emotions.

Of course there are a few more elements that add flavor to the music like slowing down, speeding up and all kinds of ways of influencing the tone of an instrument. I could probably write a book about this topic. For now I will leave you with the statement I made above and encourage you to think about the elements of music.