Get a Good Sound on Stage

You've got your amplifiers, you've been practising in a garage or small rehearsal room and things sound pretty tight. Now you've got a chance to play down at the local pub/bar. How difficult could that be? Well, if you feel that all you have to do is set up and play just as you've been practising then there is a 99% chance of disaster. Many bands sound awful at their first gigs because they haven't balanced their on-stage sound.

You'll have grown accustomed to balancing to the drums when practising but you'll need to be louder for your gigs. The answer is not to simply crank everything to 11. If you are struggling to hear yourself don't get into a volume war with the other guitarist and/or bass player, it's the balance that is wrong. Guitars will need 30 to 50watts RMS to match the drums. The bass will need 50 to 100 watts. You'll notice that most decent combos will meet these needs for small to medium sized venues. The vocalist is the one band member who will not be able to hear himself without monitors. Keeping within sensible levels you can balance the volume of guitar/s and bass against drums, and keyboards if you have them. Each band member can move towards their back line kit to better hear what they are playing, and knows where to go to check the other guys too.

To get balanced, first set up the drums, back-line, the monitors and PA, and make sure everything is functioning. Your band should line up with the bassist to the drummer's left as it's the best eye-line for the drummer who needs eyes-on the other half of the band's rhythm section. Lead guitar is to the bass player's left with rhythm on the drummer's right, again in line of sight and carefully aimed drumstick! Vocalist front and centre. Start with your monitors up but the PA right down and send your sound engineer (or a willing volunteer with good ears) into the auditorium. Run through one of your best songs and check that everyone can hear what they need to hear on stage. Check with the sound engineer for how the instrument balance sounded. You'll need to make some compromises if one or two people are unhappy. Try moving them, or adjust the monitor positions, check the angle that speaker cabs are facing in, you may need to move people away from something or you may need to move them closer.

Guitarists, don't forget that you have a tone control as too much bass will create a muddiness, leave the bassier bass to the man with four strings. You can control this at the guitar. Many guitar players simply set the tone knob to 'max' and forget about it and at this setting you will get the widest range of frequencies your guitar will produce but try being more focused. Single coil pick-ups can, for example, be very bright, sometimes more than you might like; to add some depth simply roll off some top-end with the tone control.

The guitar also has a volume control and it's often used simply as an on-off switch, all or nothing, but it's a variable control, not a toggle switch, it's meant to be versatile, so use it like this: With the volume control at max, set the amp to the highest gain/volume settings you intend to use, now turn down the guitar volume control for a cleaner sound for the quieter stuff you play. When you want oomph, get a smooth change by turning your guitar volume control back up. This is a professional technique much used by great players including Jimi Hendrix. While you are checking those maximum amp settings for gain and volume levels, check them rolled back a couple of degrees, too; you'll often find a punchier and more cutting sound waiting for you. It's all too easy to tip over into a more squashed, thrashy, rock-out sound that is much more exciting on-stage than it is for the audience.

This, then, is the sound check, a time for all to give their opinions. It's very rarely possible for everyone to get exactly what they want so be professional and agree workable compromises; it's no good if people start turning up, or down, later. Both the guy that wants to rock out at 11 and the shy self-conscious player who backs off, share one thing: they can both ruin the mix, your band's sound.

This is the time to agree the on-stage sound and once it's set it doesn't get altered unless problems occur later, such as feedback issues or the crowd absorbing more, or less, of the front of house sound than you'd anticipated. This is being professional. The whole band needs to agree not to change individual settings once you've decided on the balance. The sound engineer is the only person who should adjust volumes once the balance is set and needs to remember that the mix he can hear in his headphones will sound different to someone in the middle of a crowded venue. The engineer, though, should never change that agreed on stage sound balance (unless individuals have been cranking things up!). Communication between band members, and between band and engineer, is essential. If anyone has a problem, use the time between songs to say so and sort it!

Finally, the PA. Everyone imagines this is the sound check - all that "one, two, one two" stuff. It's actually the last part. Remember that the PA needs to be set up so you can adjust the sound separately from that going to the monitors. Run through a song, this time setting the initial volume for the vocals, they will sound loud without a crowd to soak them up and the sound will bounce back from the rear walls and floors. Adjust the back-line if necessary. Run through the noisiest songs for vocals and for guitars, checking what happens when effects kick in or heavy distortion is added. Check the quietest bits too. This is a time for gentle tweaking and fine tuning, hopefully you'll have created the right balance in that first stage above! Play through a couple of numbers and make sure that everyone is as happy as possible. Once the crowd is in you'll need to fine tune some more but with the initial balance right, that's the easy part. Good luck!

How to Rap

How to rap We had an email the other day about learning how to improve your rapping ability. So here is a little guide to improving this ability. All musicians and artist should try it – even if rap is not your genre, it is good to experience another type of music, it will widen you horizons! things you'll need: Pen Paper Thinking time Motivation o 1 First off, you should understand yourself and your principals, as well as the image you wish to convey when selling yourself. Find some time to sit alone or alternatively in a group of like minded people, as they are less likely to hinder your growth and development than people who do not share this interest. o 2 Take out a pen or pencil or whatever writing instrument you prefer and pick a random word and write it down on a piece of paper. I suggest starting with your own name, as you may often find yourself using it later on. With your chosen word written (some refer to this as the 'starter word') down on your piece of paper, write down anything you can possibly think of that rhymes with that word.Here's an example:say your rapping name is Dr. Snot, I would write:Snot-*pot, trot, aught, plot, rot, clot, dot, blot, naught. o 3 Now, look at the words that you have written and decide how you can use them on the fly. Often when freestyling, you will say your initial line and have another one (or a follow up line) ready as soon as you've said the last word in the first line. You will find it helpful to have as many of these follow up lines ready as possible for a natural and impressive performance.If your name is Jon, and you wanted a battle freestyle -you may for example say:(initial line) You are (other's name) but I am Jon-(follow up line 1) Ex-Con phenomenon drinkin (your choice) till dawn (tip-even better if you choose something you are drinking at the moment) (follow up line 2) Move on before you get trampled by this mastadon(follow up line 3) (other's name) is soft and creamy like a bon bon(follow up line 4) (other's name) is more likely to get paid mowing my lawn. You could then use these lines in any order and after commiting the lines to memory pull them out as you need them. I recommend memorizing your lines in a random order to help sharpen your non-linear thinking skills. -try reading one of your written lines and then cover them all up and spit one of your other lines. o 4 Repeat the process of word rhyme grouping by choosing other words you commonly use and writing them out into lines. The more of these you can commit to memory, the easier it will be for you to train your mind to pull these groupings out randomly and seemingly instantly. o 5 Find a test subject, preferably a friend who shares the same interest and rhyme around. Have them throw out a line randomly and try finishing each other's lines. This may prove awkward and difficult at first, but over time you will further train your brain to work more quickly and efficiently. o 6 Go to events and learn how to improve yourself by watching others while at the same time making as many friends or contacts as possible. Who knows, if you shine at the right time you might catch a break and/or earn a reputation. (preferably a good one)

Some More Unsigned Band Tips

Get your music on Spotify, for the exposure, not for the royalties.

It’s easier than ever to get your music on Spotify so there is no real excuse not to if you have good quality recordings that you’re happy for the world to hear. The sharing and playlist functionalities on Spotify by far outweigh emailing a social networking link to a friend and it could really boost the viral spread of your music. I’m constantly creating and sharing playlists to friends/industry and if I really like one of your tracks then it’ll be slotted in there between a Muse B-Side and a Susan Boyle cover of Sympathy For The Devil.

Prepare a 12 month plan, setting yourself SMART objectives.

I’m not expecting a full business plan here guys, just have a think about what you want to happen in 2010. Do you want to record an album? Focus on touring? Improve your online presence? Think of 5 achievable targets for the rest of 2011, being realistic here is key – if you formed 3 months age don’t put down “Headline Reading Festival”. Like anything your music career is about small steps. So if you have been going 3 months maybe one objective should be to play your first gig by May? If you have been around for a few years maybe your aims should be to play 3 new cities this year, or get on a smaller festival or get over 100 people to a gig. When you have your 5 objectives you need to draw up a battle plan of how to get there. More soon.....

Writing Bass Lines

How to write KILLER bass lines

This gets a bit techie from our bass specialist but ask any questions and I will pass them on!

Here goes

One thing that seems to give students a headache is choosing notes to construct a walking bass line. More often then not, the hang-ups are mental and can be easily remedied with some practice and a little theory knowledge. Let's look "under the hood" of walking lines to help and remove some of the mystery behind their construction.



One thing that seems to give students a headache is choosing notes to construct a walking bass line. More often then not, the hang-ups are mental and can be easily remedied with some practice and a little theory knowledge. Let's look "under the hood" of walking lines to help and remove some of the mystery behind their construction. First off when dealing with theory, there are really only three types of walking bass line phases:



1. Chord-Tone Based Lines
These are walking phrases which focus on the use of the chord tones. For example, if a Cmaj7 chord is seen, then the line would be utilizing the notes CEGB and we'll throw the 9 (D) in there as well.


2. Diatonic (or scalar) Based Lines
Scalar lines are walking phrases that use the notes of the parent scale for the chord symbol seen. This requires a little more in depth knowledge of jazz theory. For example, for the chord symbol Cmaj7 the notes from the C major scale would be used, and for a G7 chord the notes from the G mixolydian scale would be used and so forth.

3. Chromatic Based Lines
This type of line is a little trickier to master as it involves mixing chromatic or Non-Chord tones into the first two types of lines. The best way to begin using chromatic notes in walking lines is to use them to lead into another non-chromatic note. A great example of this is found in the bass line for "Killer Joe" where the chords alternate between C7 and Bb7. The bass line is C G

The Importance of Band Website

The Importance of Websites

We are often asked if in the times of Facebook, MySpace and Twitter whether you really need your own website. Our answer is always the same.Band websites are extremely important. Having your own domain name is also a key to your success. Let us show you just a few reasons why:



Band Website vs. MySpace/Facebook/Other
First of all, you never want to put all of your eggs in one basket. Relying on a service like MySpace, and not having your own website is extremely dangerous. Many bands think that due to MySpace's popularity, it's the website that they should focus all of their time and energy on. Yes, MySpace/Facebook,etc is important for musicians, but relying on someone else's service can be a ticking time-bomb waiting to go off. What would happen if MySpace was suddenly shut down? It's not as impossible as it may seem. Just think of all of the problems that MySpace has had, with predators using the social-media site for preying on people and how much trouble MySpace has gotten into with parental-control groups. Having your own site, and mailing listeliminates a lot of those issues because you have complete control of what happens to your site and gives you the ability to contact your fans, should something go wrong with MySpace (or similar sites). One other reason why it is important that you have your own domain name, is that it's usually much easier to remember than a MySpace URL!



Your Band's Domain Name
You want to have a domain name that is easy to remember; hopefully your band's name, if it is available. You'll want to put it on everything that your band puts out, postcard mailers, flyers, cds, t-shirts, everything! Matter of fact, make some t-shirts up and wear them all the time! You also want to make sure that every person you know, knows your web address. Make absolutely sure that your fans are told, many times a night, what your website is...and tell them to go there!
Registering Your Band's Domain Name
Registering your own domain name is no longer expensive (under £10/year for .com's). Some of the most popular domain registration sites out there also have web hosting available.

How to Tune a Drum Kit

Tuning Drum Kits

Hi All

We had an interesting question from one of our new members about how to tune a drum kit and if you actually can – so your wish is our command and heres some advice for ya!

Tuning Your SetUnlike guitars or pianos, drums can be tuned any way you want! However, to sound their best, they need to be tuned carefully. Follow the instructions below and you'll have great sounding drums in no time!1) Tune each head evenly: Choose any drum (other than the snare drum...we'll save it for last) and loosen all of the tuning rods on one side then retighten them finger tight. Tighten each rod 1/2 turn using the criss-cross sequence shown below.

Repeat this procedure until the drumhead is free of wrinkles and a tone is produced. Tap the head next to each tension rod as shown and listen to the sound.

If the sounds you hear are the same note or pitch all the way around, you're in luck—this is what you want! However, chances are you won't be this lucky and the sounds will be "high" at some tension rods and "low" at others. Our goal is to get them to be the same note all around…here's how we do it. At the places where the pitches were "high," loosen the rods by 1/8 turn. Where the pitches were "low," tighten the rods by 1/8 turn.

Again, tap the head at each tension rod and note your progress. Continue this procedure until the head has the same pitch all around, or as drummers say, "is in tune with itself."Turn the drum over and repeat the entire process on the other head.2) Tune the heads to each other: Next we need to tune the top and bottom heads relative to each other.

Note: There are three ways that this can be done:

1) the top and bottom heads can be tuned to the same pitch;

2) the top head can be tuned higher than the bottom; or

3) the top head tuned can be tuned lower than the bottom. There's no right or wrong method…experiment to see which sounds best to you.For now, we're going to tune the top and bottom heads to the same note. Select a drum and tap the top and bottom heads to determine which is higher. If the pitches are the same, you're in luck—go to the next drum. If they're different, do the following: lower the pitch of the "high" head and raise the pitch of the "low" one*. Repeat this procedure until the top and bottom heads are tuned to the same pitch. Move on to the next drum.

Once a head is in tune with itself, it can be tuned higher or lower by tightening or loosening each tension rod by the same amount. Most of the time, the head will remain in tune with itself; however, if it should change, simply fine-tune using the tuning procedure we practiced above.3) Tune the drums to each other: You're now ready to tune the whole set. The smallest diameter drums are tuned the highest; the largest diameters, the lowest. Many drummers like to tune their toms a 4th apart. If you want to try this tuning, sing the first two notes of the wedding march, "Here Comes the Bride." "Here" and "Comes" are a 4th apart. Use these notes as a guide.If you prefer the "free-form" method of tuning your drum, go right ahead…as mentioned before, there's no right or wrong notes to tune drums. However, every drum has a range of pitches where it sounds best. Tune it too high and it'll sound "choked;" tune it too low and it'll sound "flappy." Experiment until you find the notes that work for you.

How to Audition New Band Members

How to Audition New Band Members

Forming a band is a fun thing to do. You can create a band through friends or you can audition people for the band that you are creating. Usually this takes time. Making a band requires a lot of patience to audition the right members, in order to have that amazing chemistry to perform together and to create music.

Here are a few steps on How to Audition Potential Band Members:

1. Put an ad in the paper, posters, flyers, or through word of mouth. Before doing anything, you must first decide what type of music you want your band to play, how many members you will need and whether this is just for past time or as a career. Whether you are looking for singers, guitarists, bassists, keyboard players, drummers to form a band, putting an ad or through word of mouth is the best way for you to attract some musicians to audition for your band. You can create flyers, posters, or placing and ad in your local news paper. Post them at music stores, coffee shops, or at the walls of your school. Another way to do this is through the Internet, post your ad and create a blog so that you can invite and attract potential musicians to create your band. After posting your ads, don’t just wait for their response. Tell some friends or invite some musicians to audition for the band your creating.

2. Find the right place to rehearse and setting up the auditions. After you have talked to some of the musicians that are interested in your band, set the date for them to jam or audition with you. Give them a few songs to learn so you can use it on the day of their auditions. This is one of the best ways to find out how good they can play or whether they have the right chemistry to be in your band. You should also require each of them to have their own instruments.

3. Don’t rush things. Take your time auditioning potential players. If you want your band to come together successfully, you should have patience so that the right people will come. Let them play solos, this is one of the best ways for you to have a good idea of their skills. You should also require them to sing, since it is important for a band to have backup singers so that the music will be more enhanced.

4. Take your time to decide. After you have auditioned a set of players for your band. Take time to think and decide which one to hire. By this time it will be easier for you to decide which one to chose, since you have thoroughly examined and listened what he/she is capable of.
With these steps it would give you some insights on how to audition potential band members in forming a band. it will also make it easier for you to select the best players that can bring potential to the band that you are making. There are a lot of potential players around, but these simple steps will help you make the right decisions in finding the right players for your band.

Dealing with a broken string onstage

Dealing with a broken string on stage

If you’re anything like me, breaking a string on stage is your biggest fear about playing a gig. Well, maybe you aren’t as scared as me about this, but every guitarist will agree that breaking a string on stage is not fun. And what about breaking TWO strings?
Over the years, i have considered and tried different methods to get around this.

You can bring a spare guitar to the gig. Well, i’ve never tried it myself because i play solo and rely on public transport to get around so carrying one guitar is enough, thank you very much. However, i know plenty of guitarists in bands with a van who do this. For it to work smoothly, make sure you tune your spare guitar during soundcheck, you have a quick soundcheck with it (eg check something hasn’t gone wrong with the instrument during transport), and use one of those cables you can switch off (also known as Neutrik “silent” guitar cable), so you don’t make a horrible pop sound while switching guitars.

As an alternative to bringing a spare guitar, i used to ask another band if i could borrow their guitar. They usually agreed but thought i was a bit weird; i later learnt that many guitarists don’t like to lend their guitars to strangers but they were too polite to refuse (i’ve never had to actually use any of those guitars but i’m sure they wouldn’t have been so happy if i had).
I considered learning how to change a guitar string under 10 seconds. Well, my problem with this was that, well, i couldn’t!

Now, i don’t sweat over it. If i break it, i break it. In fact, i have on some occasions broken 2 guitar strings on stage, because usually, when one goes, another one follows a few songs after. Once, i broke the string i was playing a riff on. So I just moved up to the next string and played as if nothing wrong was happening. Being a solo performer makes it easier for me to change the music, though of course, it also means that every note i play is noticeable and i can’t afford to stop playing for a few seconds.

It’s safe to assume that people at your gigs either know your songs or not.
Well, people who don’t know your songs aren’t a problem - you can change the tune, change the lyrics, change whatever you like and pretend that’s the way it’s meant to be played. Keep your cool and they won’t notice.

What about people who know your songs? Well, they aren’t a problem either, as long as you treat them with honesty. Basically, what i do, i carry on as if nothing happened, i change the music/guitar riff is necessary, but when i finish the song, i acknowledge i broke a string and i joke about the changes i had to make when playing. Fans are always happy to go home with a story like “he/she broke the guitar string, that was so cool the way he/she just carried on playing”.

Not convinced? Recently, i went to see PJ Harvey live in London. She was using a drum machine and couldn’t get the right beat for the song she wanted to play next. She joked about it and her inability with technical things, then gave up and played the song without the drum machine. Now, that is first class performance - no matter what the technicalities of it, she came through as a musicians and an artist. This is all that matters to the audience - no one will judge you badly for breaking a string, so get on with the set and make it a memory for the audience to take home!

Improve your Singing Voice

Improve your singing voice

So today we are looking at improving your vocal skills. I know most unsigned bands don’t do this but does the drummer practice? Or the guitar player? Of course they do, they might call it jamming or just f@*king about but it is still practicing. So singers should too – here’s some tips to get you started:

Tip 1: Think about breath. Without proper breathing, you aren't using your voice to its full potential. To find out if you're breathing correctly for singing, place your hand on your stomach and inhale. Your hand should move out--your stomach should be expanding, not your ribcage and chest. That's because you need to support your breath with your diaphragm--the muscle underneath the lungs that inflates them. The diaphragm is activated by abdominal muscles, and it's much stronger than the muscles between your ribs--the muscles you're using if your chest, not your stomach, expands with your breath.

You'll need to have strong breath to give your voice adequate support for singing. To do this, you'll need to use your stomach and lower abdominal muscles to support your breath. Ab crunches and sit-ups can help you build up strength in this area that you can use to project your voice.

Tip 2: Focus on posture. Your breath travels from your lungs straight up through your mouth. If its passage is twisted, kinked, or blocked in any way, it won't be able to get out efficiently. How you stand has a big effect on how you sound. You should be standing with your legs about shoulder-width apart. Your chest should be lifted to give your lungs plenty of room to expand. Your shoulders should be back and relaxed.

Tip 3: Relax. If there's tension anywhere from your abdomen to your head, it'll affect your sound. Your facial muscles, tongue and throat muscles, vocal cords, jaw and shoulders should all be as relaxed as possible. There are plenty of jaw and facial exercises as well as warm-up activities that will help you relax the muscles in your shoulders, face, and vocal cords.

Tip 4: Know where to put your tongue and soft palate. The soft palate should be raised--this will give more space for your voice to resonate. The tip of your tongue should be placed at the back of your teeth. This will keep it from blocking your throat if it's positioned too far back.

Tip 5: Watch what you eat. There's nothing better for your voice than water. Period. If you have a performance coming up, avoid dairy and thick drinks for at least three days beforehand. Drink only water the day of the performance.

Tip 6: Don't strain. Pay attention to your body. If something hurts when you sing, you're either at the limit of your range or you're doing something wrong. You should be able to sing at a strong, healthy volume if you're maintaining proper breath control; if something hurts because you're singing too loudly, you're probably not supporting your voice well with your breath--the vocal cords are doing all the work. If you hurt when trying to hit certain high or low notes, however, it may be that you're trying for a note that's outside of your range. It's true that good breath control can expand your range, but the size of your vocal cords determines the pitches you can reach. You may not be able to hit certain notes no matter how well you support your voice. It's important to choose songs you can sing comfortably. Above all, don't try to sing if you have a sore throat--you may make it worse.

Tip 7: Warm up before singing. Don't go straight into a song without a good warm-up first. A good warm-up routine should concentrate on relaxing your body and getting your breath ready, and should start with simple deep breaths. It should progress to light humming from there, and then some scale work once you feel ready. It's important not to strain too hard during the warm-up process--don't reach for notes that aren't comfortable, and don't sing at the top of your volume.

Tip 8: Get a teacher. A good voice teacher can really help you improve your voice. It's sometimes hard to determine how you sound when you're by yourself; even the most dedicated singer can get into bad habits without feedback. A teacher can give you immediate feedback on how you're doing and address specific problems you may have.

It's a shame that so many people think they can't sing--and wouldn't be caught dead singing in public. In truth, singing is something anyone can learn to do. Follow these tips and practice, and you'll have a singing voice you'll be proud to show off.

Dealing with THE ENEMY

Only Joking, the press used to be known as the enemy but for the unsigned acts they will pretty much be your best friend. However you need to go into interviews and press pieces with your eyes open. The amount of acts I have interviewed who mumble, giggle or sit in silence when you interview them is incredible. To be totally honest about 50-75% of the interviews I undertake I simply can’t do anything with. Again, to make it in this business you need to have a certain level of professionalism.

There are 2 core things that you need to keep in your mind every time you do an interview. Firstly and most importantly what do you want to get out of the interview? What is your aim? Secondly you need to think about why the press person is interviewing you and what do they want to get from you? The second part is usually pretty easy, they want readers to be interested in what you say and ultimately push their Magazine, Fanzine, etc. So they want interest and entertainment. The first part is core for you. What do you need to let them know? Are you playing a gig soon, hosting and event, releasing a CD – you simply must get this across and always have something to talk about.

To be totally honest you will always get a set of pretty similar questions but the true pro will do their home work. Read the publications previous interviews and prepare answers (loosely, don’t learn them parrot fashion). Have a few anecdotes to roll out, a few gig stories, a few interesting facts – sure you will end up rolling these out in most interviews but if you keep reinforcing your image people and potential fans will start to become familiar with you.



More Soon

Gettin Over Writers Block

Getting over Writers Block

Writer’s block is the nemesis of songwriters - and even non songwriters. There are tons of suggestions and songwriting tips out there for what might work, and various suggestions on overcoming. These are the top 5 that consistently work for me.

Mash random words togetherMany songwriters say that once they have a good song title the “song practically writes itself”. If you are one of these people, then this tip is for you. If you are not one of these people, perhaps this exercise will help spur on creativity.

90% of the time the words in the following exercise will be cheesy. But 10% of the time you will come up with really cool phrases and word pairings. Just keep at it for a bit.

For example, (1)write a list of 10 adjectives, then (2) fold the paper in half so you can’t see the words, and (3) write 10 nouns on the other half. Now (4) unfold the paper so you can see two words on each line. Perhaps you will find some song titles there?
I did an example in MS Excel, just hiding a column while I listed my nouns/adjectives. When I unhide the column - voila! - possible song titles:

Then try some sorting of the columns for even more possibilities.

Listen to other music/Listen to no musicFor me it is Tom Waits. His songs just tell me, “Relax, enjoy the vibe. Mix yourself a martini, belly up to the piano and wax poetic about life.” Other people like listening to the music their parents listened to … because takes them back to an innocent time of music and inspires them. Others like to listen to music diametrically opposite to the style they write in. Others like to listen to music that is very similar to their style. Some prefer to learn 2-3 cover songs and then write a new song based on what they learned through the cover songs. Whatever works for you.

Still others go in the opposite extreme and listen to no music at all. They don’t listen to any music until their inner songwriter begins screaming for music of some type - any type. THAT is when they pick up a guitar or scoot up to the piano and start creating. They say it creates a hunger and yearning they would not achieve otherwise. I’ve never tried it but many people swear by that method.

Read a quotes dictionary or visit a quotes websiteThere’s nothing quite like a great quote to give a song direction.

Allow yourself to write cheesy songs.Many songwriters, including myself, tend to feel that if a song isn’t going in the direction where it sounds like a worldwide top ten smash, then it’s not worth writing. True, it might not be worth “performing” live, but it is definitely worth it to finish the song out. Many songwriters say that “to write good songs you have to get the bad ones out of the way".

Go to a concert, open mic, or some other live performance eventBeing with the crowd, seeing how a performance moves people, and feeling the human electricity that comes with a live event often leaves me with a desire to get home and start creating new music as soon as possible. There’s nothing like seeing a great artist/musician living and performing their dream to give someone else inspiration to go create.

Naturally there are dozens, if not hundreds, of other ways to kill writer’s block. What are your favorites? What works for you?

Recording Live

Recording live music can be one of the most gratifying aspects of being a musician or producer. It is a unique challenge in the world of recording. The key to conquering it is to have an array of techniques ready to be deployed as the situation dictates.

Technology has made this job much easier. Many musicians in this era are turning to digital devices to record their work, due to the ease of use and superior performance. The key here is picking the right one.

A firepod is the most popular choice. Many MP3 players also have recording capability. Anything that can record onto a CD is ideal, but if you prefer to stay purely digital, look into the MP3s. The next step will be to get the proper microphone to connect to it.

You probably want a ribbon microphone for this situation, because a directional mic will often not catch the full spectrum of sounds the band is producing. Directional mics usually focus in one one instrument or the vocals at the exclusion of everything else.

Microphone placement is also vital. You will need many. One for every singer, at least two for the drums, and two on each side of any instrument being played. Place a windscreen between your recorder and the music to filter out unwanted sounds. Since you will be using ribbon microphones, the closer you can get with them the better.

Recording live music can be a headache but with this basic outline your strategy going in will be solid. The key is being able to adapt and gow over time. Nothing replaces experience, especially in this volatile facet of the recording industry.