Friday, November 20th, 2009 at
2:38 am
In general guitarists learn their chords in a rather un-systematic way.
There might be a teacher or a guitar playing friend showing you some standard voicings. Then there’s the odd chord gleaned from a chord book or transcription. Some chords you find while experimenting and noodling on the instrument.
You get the picture.
So even though you might know quite a few chords, the question is: how well do you know your chords? Do you know them inside out so you can utilize them in a chord melody style?
If your answer is no, don’t worry, I’ve got good news for you.
It ain’t that difficult to get started on the road towards a personal chord melody system.
Let me show you how.
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Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at
11:56 am

TC Electronic M30
Reverb is one of the most important effects. From small, intimate settings to huge, cavernous spaces — used correctly, it adds dimension, atmosphere and shimmer to your tracks.
One of the most reputable reverb manufacturers is TC Electronic. Until Nov. 19th you can get their new M30 reverb plugin absolutely free. All you need to do is fill out a short form on their site and you can download the VST plugin.
Powered by AlgoFlex™ – a new high definition TC technology that enables hardware quality and predictability to be ported to native software — this unit has a great sound, yet is simple and easy to use.
Curious how it sounds?
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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at
8:25 pm
You need to develop many essential skills to move forward as a musician.
Skills like:
- good technique on your instrument
- a great rhythmic feel
- knowledge of stylistic interpretation
- improvising
- reading music, chord charts, tab
- the know-how to arrange music
- an understanding of (basic) recording technology
- “working” your equipment (synth, fx, pedals)
- promoting your music
- people skills (band members, managers, at venues)
But your most prized possession as a musician is:
Your ears!
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Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at
1:50 pm
I’m not 100% sure but I think the first time I heard Albinoni’s Adagio in G Minor was in the late 70’s or early 80’s watching TV commercials. Back then it was especially popular to use classical music as backdrop for TV ads, at least here in Austria.
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for a coffee brand, some local Bank (ab)used Mozart for their life insurance package — what the Adagio was supposed to peddle, I don’t remember.
I do remember though, that this haunting piece somehow grabbed me and I couldn’t get it out of my head and would constantly whistle and hum the melody anytime I had seen the TV spot.
After the ad got canceled, I forgot about the piece, until... Read the rest of this entry
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at
2:48 am

Image by Network Osaka via Flickr
Q: What’s the meaning of life?
A: 42!
I don’t know if 42 really is the meaning of life.
What I do know is that you can kill some serious time checking out 42 new VST plug-ins.
What kind of plug-ins?
- VST synths from Minimoog clones to FM and granular synthesis
- A multi-band compressor for that extra oomph
- How about a Tape Dynamics Simulator to fatten your mix with some saturation?
- Fancy a Twin Engine reverb unit with enhancer and filtering for extra character?
Best of all, what if those 42 plug-ins were free and wouldn’t cost you a cent?
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Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at
12:59 am

Image by *persiflage via Flickr
I’m excited to get started with the 1st installment of the monthly challenge. As I said in the main post explaining the concept, for me this will be the proverbial kick in the $%§$ to make sure I follow through and hopefully you will get some ideas out of this as well.
Here are my topics for the month of November:
Goal #1 — General Musicianship
You need to have good ears for truly expressing your musical potential. What a surprising revelation.
Thanks to my classes in college and my own continued practicing, my ear training skills are pretty good already. But sometimes I still second-guess myself and don’t trust my aural perception. Read the rest of this entry
Friday, October 30th, 2009 at
1:11 am
You do have a practice plan, right?
It’s one of the most important tools for any musician.
But what do you put on your practice plan?
List all the important basics, all the cool playing techniques, all the styles you’d like to get into, all the tunes to master — put everything on your plan and you end up with a gargantuan practice schedule that’s totally impractical and even counterproductive.
Why?
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