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Head Above Music is a community of musicians providing tips and advice
about music, songwriting, gear, booking, touring, travel and health.
Here is some insight on what performing musicians have learned from
their journeys.
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Monday, March 8, 2010 |
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Every Song Tells A Story…But Does It Need To Be An Abstract Novel?
By Sheena Metal
For a musician, your songs are your art. They are the physical embodiment of your creative gifts. Every bit of anger, happiness, angst, joy, pain, elation, knowledge or humor goes into the story known as your song. You write and re-write it, scouring over each note and word…perfecting it for recording and live performance.
But when you play it for others, you’re not getting the reaction you expected. Your friends, fans and family seem less than enthusiastic as they dully respond, “Yeah. That was…um…good.” How could this be? You poured your soul into this piece. This was your “Stairway To Heaven”! This was your “Smells Like Team Spirit”! It’s a lyrically amazing ode about the persecution of pagan midwives in grass hut tribes! It flows, it breathes, and it’s seven and a half minutes of pure musical perfection!
Whoa. Stop right there, Mozart. You wrote a seven and a half minute song about the persecution of pagan midwives in grass hut tribes and you’re wondering why you’re thirteen year-old cousin fell asleep in the middle of the fourth verse? You wrote a seven and a half minute song about the persecution of pagan midwives in grass hut tribes and you’re confused as to why your drummer’s girlfriend began calling her friends on her cell phone before the song had reached its bridge?
It may be hard to believe when you’re penning an opus such as this, but the normal human brain is wired a little differently than an accomplished musician’s, like yourself. And although music is art, it’s also popular culture and the goal should be for others to enjoy your creative efforts as much as you do.
So, how can you make sure that your writing experience is as positive as your audience’s listening experience? What can you, as musicians do, to eliminate aspects of your songs that may alienate, confuse or just plain bore your fans?
The following are a few tips that may add success to your songwriting experience:
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Posted by admin at 09:26 AM
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1 Comment |
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Thursday, March 4, 2010 |
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To the artists, music lovers and industry insiders that make up the OurStage community,
Since the inception of OurStage the founders have aspired to change the landscape of the music industry by finding a way to discover tomorrow’s stars. With your help we have been hugely successful at ranking the quality of talent within our arsenal of artists. With the help of our partners we have been fortunate enough to provide some of our most promising artists career enhancing opportunities. Now it’s time to raise the bar even higher.
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Posted by admin at 02:40 PM
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Wednesday, March 3, 2010 |
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Limitations, Goals and Inspiration
By Spy Nation
Quebec, Canada
Click to Listen
 
Well, the first place to start is don’t put any limitations on yourself. If someone else can do it, you can too. You know deep down if music is your calling, go for it. You can only go as far as you think you can so whatever your goals are just don’t be afraid of making them as big as you want  ! Not to say everyone wants to top the billboard charts or whatnot, your goals might be very personal (excellence for your own personal growth, being able to play live in front of a local audience… for example) and that fine too  Everyone has something special to bring, in their own unique way so don’t be afraid to be yourself! That means dint try to mold yourself to the current styles or what you think is good music or whatever, just don’t be afraid to be different. The world doesn’t need another copy of. It does need your own special expression though ! And ya sure, its true that you do get more opposition when you are different, but authentic IS the only way to go and the only way great music ever came to be in the first place! So be true to yourself, if you are truly passionate about what you are doing, chances are others will love it too. So keep it real. Keep it authentic.
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Posted by admin at 09:13 AM
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Tuesday, March 2, 2010 |
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The Seven Essentials to Writing A Press Release
It’s your connection to your audience: conveying your brand, your event, and your story
By Michele Wilson-Morris
Working in the music industry has its perks, privileges, and pains as anyone who works in it knows. No matter what your genre is, one thing remains the same for all artists: You need to bring attention to yourself, your music, and your events. And while there are several ways to do so, few are as effective (in terms of cost or exposure) as a well written press release.
Writing a press release may prove to be a challenge to those whose focus is solely on their musical ability and efforts, but it doesn’t have to be. There’s an art to writing a good press release just like there’s an art to making good music. In fact, a well written press release is simply you on paper. There are many tricks to the trade, and I’m going to share some of several of them with you: The Seven Essentials of Press Release Writing.
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Posted by admin at 11:12 AM
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Monday, March 1, 2010 |
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3rd album – What I’ve Learned This Time Around
By Victor Pender
Click to Listen
When Head Above Music asked me to do an article on my experiences for the 3rd album it got me thinking. The biggest thing I noticed about producing a 3rd album is that you learn more to play to your strengths instead of trying to be all things to all people. I write all the songs, play piano and sing. The first 2 albums teach you where your strengths are. It’s like an apprenticeship. Sometimes you can lose confidence doing something a little beyond you and you realize that’s not necessarily your thing. You should focus on your core strengths. For me it’s my writing, my piano and putting it all together. I can’t necessarily sing everything I write. I find my voice and delivery adequate within a certain range. It’s definitely is a strong point when I’m in my comfort zone, but outside of that I’m happy to bring in people with better voices. You have to do what is best for the track. I love the texture of girls and guys voices, especially with harmony.
If you continue with the same team, you build on the relationships you developed, and you become more efficient in the studio because you know how each other works. Same for the musicians you bring in to team on the recording. You bounce off each other better and the chemistry is more intense.
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Posted by admin at 09:09 AM
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Saturday, February 27, 2010 |
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Tickle the Ivories.
Transform iPhone into a full 88-key piano with Pianist. With authentic sound and great features like soft and sustaining pedals, dual keyboard layout, and overdubbing, you can play and compose anywhere. The interface between the tunes and which keys to press is easy to master. Once you catch on you’ll want to play at least one song all the way through.
Available on the App Store
Record music.
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Posted by admin at 09:38 AM
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Friday, February 26, 2010 |
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Vocal Mic Shootout
By Keith Hatschek
Permission given by Keith Hatschek.
February 2008 This month, PSE took three large-diaphragm condenser mics into the studio and ran them through their paces. On the block were Audio-Technica’s 3035, MXL’s V-88, and Shure’s KSM 27. We tested them with a both male and female vocalist, in addition to finding a few other applications to explore how flexible these cost-effective mics are in a real studio setting.
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Posted by admin at 10:17 AM
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Thursday, February 25, 2010 |
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On the Topic of Playing Music for a Living
By Paul Allodi
Chicago, IL
I’m still trying to do that! Just kidding but not. Its a tough road out there and your level of success can vary from month to month and year to year. There are many levels of success in this business as well- from local coffee house gigs to fancy restaurants to the bigger clubs in your immediate area and beyond. You really have to know what level of success you desire. Is it enough to just play once in a while or weekend warrior style? Do you desire more than that- playing 4-6 times a week to make your bills but doing what you love? Writing and recording and ultimately selling your original music? Touring regionally or nationwide or even internationally?
It can all be done if you want it.
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Posted by admin at 10:33 AM
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3 Comments |
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Tuesday, February 23, 2010 |
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Singers and Smoking
Here’s the thing with smoking and singing:
Smoking won’t keep you from singing.
But..
Smoke of any kind burns away the little hairs (cilia) that line the vocal folds. These hairs keep the vocal cords moist. When the hairs are gone the cords cannot keep moisture on them and become dry and irritated.
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Posted by admin at 12:38 PM
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keep looking »
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Mar 09, 2010
