February 2012
3 posts
7 tags
Rebel With a Dremel Installs New Life In an Old... →
by Dave Currans
Editor’s note: Dave Currans is a guitarist, live sound engineer, and recording studio owner from Woodstock, Georgia. He plays guitar for Fineline and works as a monitor engineer for Northpoint Church. This is the first of several guest blogs he has offered to write for Sketchbook. “Rebel With a Dremel” provides detailed instructions on how to install a pickup...
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10 Essential Tips for Making a Living With Your... →
“Hey, buddy, got any advice for making it in the music business?”
Ask 10 people this question and you’ll get as many different answers. Even Christopher Knab, the author of this article, says as much in an introduction to Tip Number Nine:
Everybody has their own list of Do’s and Don’ts and the only real value they have is that they present you with...
How To Wear a Bow Tie Undone
The right way:
Looks cool and casual.
The fail way:
Looks like you are trying to look cool and casual when in fact you need more practice.
January 2012
7 posts
7 tags
How to Start a Music Career →
In their haste to become household names, private jet owners, and paparazzi magnets, most people who want to become musicians seem to miss the basics. “They have no game plan to go by,” says blog author and agent David Lowry, “or even goals set to measure their progress.”
The first step, according to Lowry, is to define who you are in a vision statement. Once you have...
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Must read article if you're a "jazz" musician.... →
4 tags
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20 Ways to Get More Gigs, Part 1 →
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a band in possession of talented musicians and expensive gear must be in want of a gig.
I must sincerely apologize for maligning Jane Austen so horribly, but I just couldn’t help it. It’s true. Show me a band, and I’ll show you a group of people who want to play out. But how does one get those gigs? Is it as difficult as the Bennett...
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December 2011
10 posts
6 tags
Should Musicians Ever Work for Free? →
Such a simple question. Such a simple answer. Most us quickly realize the answer after adding up the costs of instruments, lessons, transportation to and from the gig, CDs, and so on. Yet for those who still struggle with the issue, here’s a flowchart that will lay it all out for you.
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Post-Op Opera: Music Helps Surgery Patients... →
My second post on the relationship between music and the mind deals with how music can speed up the healing process after surgery. This article by Tom Jacobs describes two separate studies that suggest that patients recover from surgery faster if they are allowed to listen to relaxing music. Cardiac bypass patients who listened to soft piano music got out of ICU about 5 hours faster than those...
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Middle School Music Lessons Enhance Algebra... →
Can studying music really help students increase their SAT scores? Here’s an interesting study that seems to lend at least some support to that conventional wisdom. It points out that middle school students who received instrumental instruction scored the highest on a high school algebra assessment exam. Hopefully that’s news that will keep middle school music programs off...
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Know Your Synth, Know Your Meme
There actually was a CAT synthesizer once upon a time (1977 - 1981), a 37-note, two-voice board that was played by such keyboard luminaries as Rod Argent, Devo, and The Chemical Brothers. According to David Wilson, curator of the New England Synthesizer Museum, the Cat bore some similarities to the more popular ARP Odyssey, but the two were hardly identical. The Cat sported a triangle waveform...
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Start Your Own Wedding Band →
It isn’t guaranteed work, and it certainly has a peak season. But, once established, a working wedding band is a good way for a musician to have a solid income base. As author Joe Beech says, “starting up … a wedding band offers a better guarantee of regular income than you might have with your original music.”
Most musicians may think only of the reception, assuming the...
6 tags
Are You Too Old to Become a Full-Time Musician? →
I’ll have to admit, I was irked when I first saw this headline. Exactly how old does one have to be before playing music full-time is out of the question? And who determines this number?
But that question makes an erroneous assumption: all full-time musicians have “made it” big. Really? There are plenty of people I know, both old and young, that are making good money as...
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Home Recording For Beginners →
Adrian Try has written an article for those who want to get into home recording, and it’s a really good place to start your research. Regardless of what you want to record, he makes clear that your studio must have a recording device (computer or stand-alone recorder), a way to get sound into that device (microphones or line-in), and a way to listen to the recording (monitors and...
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November 2011
5 posts
4 tags
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100 Essential Jazz Albums: The Playlist →
teabyrd:
Based on this New Yorker list curated by David Remnick and Richard Brody, here’s around 100 essential jazz albums. Rdio is missing a couple albums, but you’ll find most of them.
What follows is a list compiled with the help of my New Yorker colleague Richard Brody. These hundred titles…
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The New Live Music Venue: The Living Room
Wondering where to book your next act? You might want to look no farther than the living room of one of your fans.
Over the past few years, house concerts have grown in popularity for many reasons. According to the New York Times, house concerts provide a more intimate and less expensive alternative than large venues. They also appeal to artists because the audience is there specifically for...
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Sponsor Me: The Pairing of Band and Brand →
As cool as it could be, the sponsorship should be nothing more than another tool in your business plan. The last thing you want to do is start measuring your success by how many brands are backing you up.
All musicians dream about it. Ever since our early days of learning to play we saw ads in Guitar Player and Keyboard and wanted to be like Them. You know. The guys in the ads. The Musicians...
October 2011
6 posts
6 tags
How (not) to Promote a Show →
Can you handle the truth?
After having a poorly attended show, it’s easy to point the fingers at everyone else. The bottom line, though, is that the turnout is entirely your responsibly. As Chris Jackson points out in this article, the only real person you can count on in the music business is you. While it may fly in the face of logic, clubs don’t have a real interest in booking you,...
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Pete Seeger, Friends Join Occupy Wall Street →
While Sketchbook does not pretend to be a political blog, it is nevertheless difficult to ignore cultural icon Pete Seeger when he shows up at the Occupy Wall Street protest. The 92-year-old folk singer, who helped write the soundtrack to the ’60s Civil Rights and Vietnam War protest movements, sang songs with the crowd Friday night as he marched with the aid of other musicians and two...
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Yet Another Piano Lesson Scam E-Mail →
We read about cons like this all the time: some wealthy foreigner needs to move some money around - never mind the reasons. You stand to make big bucks in this transaction. Then complications arise, bribes need to be paid, and you cough up a few thousand to cover these minor “incidentals” in the mistaken belief it’s just the cost of doing business and that you’ll get it...
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Building Your Portfolio Career Part 1: Imagining... →
David Cutler, author of the book The Savvy Musician, begins his 3-part series on making money in the music business by offering some sage financial advice: diversify your income. Don’t rely solely on one income stream (say, gigs, for example), because if that stream dries up, you’ll be left scrambling for a way to replace it. Make sure you have several ways to make money. That way,...
September 2011
6 posts
6 tags
How To Find Work as a Gigging Musician →
Cameron Mizell of musicianwages.com writes that, while there is plenty of work for musicians out there, success is based on your skills as a musician and your ability to network. To learn how to improve both skill sets and for more solid advice, read on.
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Here’s a tune from the Double Helix CD...
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The Skinny on Promotional Packages and Booking... →
Even a musician who has thousands of tunes in his or her repertoire, a press kit with professional and expensive headshots, and a killer web site can miss out on well-paying gigs. Harry Schnur explains that it’s just not enough to have those things; musicians must know what makes them unique and how to present that point to others. It is that aspect of your marketing plan (you do have a...
How The ’70s Majorly Screwed The Major Labels →
Between mood rings and lava lamps, a law was passed stating that 35 years after 1978, rights to copyrights would revert back to the artists. Counting on a peaceful transition? Get ready for World War III.
August 2011
8 posts
5 tags
Steve Jobs’ Greatest Legacy: Persuading The World... →
If you’re wondering how Steve Jobs’s departure affects the media world, consider that it’s the loss of one of the biggest boosters of paid-for content the business ever had. Who’s going to replace that?
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Falling in Love With Practicing: Gretchen...
In this book, my goal is to help teachers and students alike make steady progress in learning music.
Gretchen Saathoff’s concludes her introduction to her e-book, Goal-oriented Practice, with this humble yet powerful statement, and it doesn’t take one very long to find out that she delivers on her promise. In fact, it is her humility (“I was not a prodigy”) that...
Mike McCready’s Music Xray: Is A&R Ready for the... →
How can new and independent artists and songwriters get their music heard by the key industry decision makers who determine what songs get cut, promoted, and licensed? The answer should be easy: isn’t that what A&R is for?
The problem with a traditional A&R approach is that it’s expensive and often has a high miss-to-hit ratio.
Enter Mike McCready’s new company,...
Gretchen Saathoff: When All Systems are NO:... →
Investors and big companies aren’t the only ones feeling the sting of the sagging economy these days - musicians are having a bumpy ride as well. In this blog post, Gretchen Saathoff looks at her own wide open calendar, ponders the reason for the problem, and comes up with a unique solution.
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The Talent Myth →
Does talent always propel one to the top? Of course not, says David J. Hahn, but it’s an important attribute to have in getting there. In fact, a musician won’t make it too far without it. But if it’s all a musician has, then he’ll find himself able to go just so far and no further in his career.
To be successful as a working musician, you must first make it to the level...
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Tunecore: Song Writer App Captures Musical... →
This new iPhone app, reviewed by the folks at Tunecore, makes it real easy to capture that fleeting idea for a tune. You can go from idea to completed song, add and edit chords, record a track, and send it to any email address you like. And at only $0.99, you’d better stop reading this and download it quickly, before you lose another idea.
Musicians Unite to Rebuild Joplin Music Store →
A touching story of how musicians reached out to help a music store owner rebuild his business.
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How To Make a Living Playing Music: Sage Advice... →
I first ran across this post when Jason Parker (@1WorkinMusician on Twitter) tweeted it well over a year or so ago. I blogged it then, but I lost that blog when I updated my website. I never forgot the post, however, and long story short, I’ve decided to repost the link.
Danny gives such excellent, folksy, common sense advice that you’ll smack your forehead and wonder why you...
July 2011
15 posts
4 tags
Creating a Great Press Kit
A previous article covered some essential self-promotion elements: social media sites, business cards, voice mail, and press kits. A press kit is the link between your band and those who will hire or promote your band. It makes sense, then, to understand the correct way to put one together, as well as what pitfalls to avoid.
Mike King, an instructor at Berkleemusic.com, notes that while creating...
10 Tips To Advance Your Music Business Career →
Blogger Hisham Dahud maintains that it’s important keep revisiting the basics to keep your music career on track. Doing so allows you to think like a beginner again, back to when you could see clearly what you wanted. Unsuprisingly, the first tip regards revisiting and restating your original goals.
These suggestions are taken from a NARIP event in San Francisco, and they will help move...
Erica Sipes: Conquering Rhythm, Baking Cakes →
Collaborative pianist Erica Sipes writes that music without accurate rhythm or a steady pulse is like a cake without a recipe. Straying from the fundamentals is inviting disaster, and it’s really worth spending the time to get it right.
Jam Tomorrow: Why You Should Get Paid For Your... →
Are you waiting to start charging for your music until you’re a national star? It just doesn’t work like that: you are in a business, not a charity. You should start making money as soon as possible to grow your business. A successful music venture never relies on exposure. People can die from that.
Behind the music: Should the music industry put... →
While digital distribution offers convenience and control to the consumer, studies show that what consumers really want is the CD (and in some cases, the vinyl!).