How to Organise a Gig or a Live Music Event - the Budget

Three times in the last month I’ve been asked the question, "what do I need to do to organise a gig?" In reality, when this question is asked it can mean several things: How do I find a venue? How do I sort out the PA? How do I get an audience? And so on.

Avoiding Injuries When Playing Guitar

To avoid any sort of injuries when playing guitar a common sense approach is recommended. Just what do I mean by that?

Well, there are many simple and obvious precautions you can take that will prevent most injuries.

To start with you can adopt the proper technique, posture and hand position.

A good book like Scott Tenant’s Pumping Nylon or David Braid’s Play Classical Guitar can give you sound basic fundamentals in this area.

Bang on Your Drum All Day Long - Without Annoying Your Neighbors!

Bang! Bam! Bang! Have you always wanted to play the drums, but are afraid your neighbors would call the police on you?

Do you want to bang on your drum all day, but are worried you’ll drive you loved ones away. Don’t worry; your dreams of becoming the next great drummer can still come true! There are quick and easy ways to help keep your family, friends, and neighbors happy while still allowing you to drum it up.

Greg Koch Fender Guitar History

The Greg Koch Fender guitar began to take shape all the way back when Greg Koch was in the third grade. Greg cut out cardboard Fender Stratocaster guitars, then Koch used his sisters sewing machine pedal as a wah-wah. By watching, listening and copying what he heard on records he was able to advance quickly.

Radio - What?s Happened To It?

Remember when radio stations played great music?

OK, before you accuse me of sounding like your dad, I’ll rephrase that. Remember when radio stations played an exciting variety of music and artists and you never knew what they would play and when?

Well my friends if you do remember that, you’ve probably been around awhile.

Growing and Keeping Loyal Fan Support

Fan support for musicians is a two way street. You make the music, release the CDs, and play the shows. You need fans to show up at the gigs, buy the CDs, or spread the buzz about you or you don’t have an audience. When these two elements are out of balance, your musical endeavors can get sidelined.

Music as Therapy?

Frustrated in a gridlocked?

Job got you stressed out?

The children have you going crazy?

You pop in your favorite tune and you take a deep breath and as if by magic for a few minutes nothing matters anymore!

No it’s no magic! It’s music and it’s power!

Truly amazing isn’t it?

Even plants responds to music as was proven by some researcher at a well known university in the USA.

Paint Your Own Musical Landscapes!

I don’t know why, but I find the idea of interpreting nature musically to be very appealing. Maybe it’s because I’m attracted to nature’s beauty, but the notion of communicating that beauty musically has always intrigued me.

Not being a very patient person, I wanted to find a way to capture a musical idea very quickly and sketch out an entire piece all at once.

Guitar Practicing or Guitar Playing?

Just because you’re holding your guitar doesn’t mean that you’re playing it, and just because you’re playing your guitar doesn’t mean that you’re practicing. There is a real difference and it needs to be acknowledged if you want to improve your level of playing skill. Some people say they have spent the entire day practicing their guitar when in reality, all they’ve done was sit in front of the TV all day eating cheesy poofs.

The Various Countries - A Rant About Country Music

It is no secret that over the past couple decades country music has struggled with it’s identity far more than any other genre in the industry. At this point nobody can really claim to be a country music fan without being questioned what kind of country fan? The answers being seemingly endless, I’ve broken them down into a few main categories (but really, there could be so many more).