music career success 5 ways to thrive as a musician today

Music Career Success: 5 Ways to Thrive as a Musician TodayWriten by Peter Spellman

Music is too big a world for a one-size-fits-all model of music career success. Musicians career paths are as unique as their individual finger prints. Nevertheless, there are a few guidelines that I believe apply to anyone trying to make a living career out of their love of music. Here are five:

1. Hone your talent and realize there is a place for you. Not everyone is a Quincy Jones, a Beatles, or a Bruce Springsteen, but if an artist like Tom Waits is a vocalist, then there is definitely room for you too. Do the work necessary to excel in your niche, whether its writing a chart, engineering a session, providing backup vocals, or teaching kids the basics of music.

Your goal, to use marketing lingo, is to position yourself in your market as the go-to person for that particular skill or talent. Dont worry too much about industry rejection. Every record label in Britain initially passed on the Beatles and The Rolling Stones. The key is believing in yourself and persevering beyond others opinions (even those of the industry).

2. Connect with as many people as you can because relationships drive music careers more that anything else, even talent. Music is a who-you-know/who-knows-you kind of business. The quality and quantity of your relationships will be the primary engines of your progress. Try developing creative projects with fellow-musicians. Perhaps you can combine your live show with two other acts and present the package to a local promoter. There is strength in numbers. Finding the right combinations takes experimentation.

If youre interested in working in the business side of music, then interning at a music company is the best way to both learn how the biz works and connect with those who can help move your career along.

3. Accept the new powers in your corner and take responsibility for creating your own success.The last twenty years has given you the means to both produce and distribute your own music on a global scale. New models of business are emerging in the world of music. A record deal is not necessarily the goal any longer. The Internet has clearly become your open mic to the world, and desktop technologies provide you with ways to have the look, reach and efficiency of larger companies. Dare to be different.

Remember, new power also means new responsibilities. Global reach means a potentially far-flung audience. You need to be ready for the incoming messages and questions from this new market. Have you created the best business structures to hold and express your work? Are you setting up effective systems to communicate with your audience? Its up to you to create your own success and not merely rely on a record company or agent to do the work of making you visible in the marketplace.

4. Understand that every business is becoming a music business and so musical opportunities are multiplying. It took a coffee company and a computer manufacturer to teach the music industry how to sell music in the digital age! Non-music businesses everywhere are seeking creative ways to add music-related services to their mix. This means that you neednt be dependent on the traditional music industrial complex for music career success.

Think of companies you already resonate with and try brainstorming ways you can link up. Start on a local scale. It might be a gift shop, bookstore or arts organization. It may even evolve into a full-fledged sponsorship for a tour or recording project. Finds ways to add value to what these businesses are doing with what you have to offer. Forging creative alliances is key to building a multi-dimensional music career.

5. Prepare to be versatile and to wear several hats initially, until your brand is established. Most musicians I know have had to cobble together several revenue streams in the early stages of their careers in order to make enough money to support themselves. Many have also had to take on a non-music lifeline careers just to make ends meet, pay down debt, or supplement what they earn from music.

I tell musicians to not so much look for a job, but to seek out the work that needs to be done. It might be arranging a song, playing a wedding gig, helping organize a concert series, doing a jingle session, offering private music instruction, or writing a review of your favorite bands new CD. Eventually, all the different experiences merge together into the roaring river that will be your music career. At that point youll be visible, in demand and able to name your price. And thats career success.

Peter Spellman is Director of Career Development at Berklee College of Music, Boston, and author of the new book, Indie Marketing Power: The Guide for Maximizing Your Music Marketing

More Guitar Learning Site : http://www.guitarready.com/

music for the cageddead

Music for the, Caged-deadWriten by Dennis Siluk

Music for the, Caged-dead

(Dead)

When worms have eaten from thy flesh

And no longer will songs help thee rest

On thy tomb crawls: vipers, toads, pests;

So shall your liars tongue beheld, sealed

From ashes burnt deep in hells tumult.

You have hours to consume, from thy tomb

Glories all solvent, now of oblivion.

Browless! Speak loud, so I can hear thee

Deep down within your dreadful cage

I hear the music for the deadwith rage;

Their heart is full of stillness, as they gaze;

Murmur their music of the caged-dead,

With a haunting battle-cry, dethroning.

Mute harps play shrewdly the banquet:

Silent gazes from the scattered skulls

Muffled light, spurn hearts, lizard-fear

Its all wrinkled here in the grotto!...

(Witness)

I see in my dream-vision, silent clouds

Silent clouds, over head, with no sky

Only eyes, eyes, so many eyes

They turn to see me on their sides,

What stirs them so, I cannot say,

They fade and fade (away) in their cage.

(They Speak)

Said they to me: Long weve been weary

They claim there is no rest from strife and pain

Nor peace from the redly gapenights

They speak of roots winding round their cage

And dead flowers on some grassy tomb

Innocent in their death, so they seem

I notice the winds cover up their weeping.

Eternally: they wish they were sleeping.

(Dream)

Shadows now filled my dream, the dead fading The in-descript formlessness of the dead My mind free from them, and they from me Ah yes! So many vaults in the mind Filled with rainbows and darkness Undiscovered mysteries, seas deep Vines that stretch to eternity Roots that storm Olympus Throne.

(Heaven)

When I woke up, the harps of heaven played Twilight had a hundred shades of green Souls gazed down from above the clouds Tears had turned to sapphires and gold And hearts renewed, their need for God; Everything, even me, was comforting The night had flutes and graceful tenderness, And this was the end of my vision quest.

#933 11/26/05

See Dennis' web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

See Piano Learning Info Here > http://www.learntomasterpiano.com/

musical scales why change the minor scale

Musical Scales - Why change the Minor Scale?Writen by Brian Farley

Surely one minor scale is enough! It would certainly make things easier, but in a lot of cases it would not sound as easy on the ear. OK, so we need to use the notes of the major scale in a way that makes the whole thing sound sad or haunting.

Playing the major scale pitches downwards starting on the 6th degree for an octave (the natural or relative minor) does produce a sad sound but has two serious drawbacks. Firstly, the same scale doesnt sound quite right when going upwards. The reason for this is our second drawback the scale does not have a leading-note. This is the note that makes all the difference to the chords at the end of a section or piece (the cadence), when the harmonies move pleasantly to the home or tonic chord by using the familiar sounding 7th note going up a semitone to the 8th note. Since all harmonies (chords) are built using the notes of the scale, without the leading note the cadences just dont seem to do their job, sounding more like just two unrelated chords. It was decided that this just wasnt good enough, and the scale must be given a leading note by raising its 7th degree by a semitone, and because we could use this scale going up or down and we built all the harmonies from it, it became known as the Harmonic Minor scale.

So far, so good, but now it was the turn of the vocalists to complain! Singers found it difficult to pitch the gap between the 6th note and the now raised 7th note of the Harmonic Minor scale, this gap now being 3 semitones or a tone and a half. It was decided therefore to adjust the Minor scale so that it was easier to sing but still pleasing to the ear whilst retaining its sad quality. It was also decided that in order to best achieve this, the scale would be made slightly different according to whether the notes were rising or falling. This was the birth of our Melodic Minor scale, named because it was derived from the melody sung, which, compared to the Major scale starting on its 6th degree, had a raised 6th and 7th when ascending but lowered these notes again when falling to revert back to the natural minor scale.

So now we can please everyone. Singers have the Melodic Minor scale that is easy to sing upwards and downwards, and instrumentalists have the Harmonic Minor scale with which to form all our harmonies and chords. As a plus, everyone can also borrow from the other just to be different!

Brian Farley has been a worldwide professional Musical Director and pianist since 1974. His duet sheet music website Easy Duets, Sheet Music for Schools, Musical Instrument Students provides original musical duets and trios for early level students and some good free eading musical notation information.

More Guitar Learning Site : http://www.guitarready.com/

how to download music on psp

How To Download Music On PSPWriten by Dylan Graves

The first thing that one must understand when they are asking how to download music on psp is that the process is one that will take music from the computer and load it onto the handheld. This is a simple process, but must be done or the music files will be no good on the psp.

The first and foremost thing to understand is that the psp will only play mp3 formats. This means that when you want to play your favorite cd off of the psp, you will have to rip to audio files from the cd to the hard drive of the computer. These will then need to be converted to an MP3 format. This may sound easy, but this will require the use of custom programs. Many of these can be downloaded from the internet so that the tracks can be ripped and the conversion can be done properly. Once these two things have been done the person can then hook the psp to the pc as a portable media device and copy the must to the psp.

Some people have tried to use Windows media player to rip the music, but there is one problem with this. The settings on the media player have to be set to not encode the music files or they will be garbage no matter what you do with them for the psp. This one option in Windows Media Player encodes the music so that it is only usable on the PC that they were copied onto. This may seem like a jip, but it is a security method that Microsoft had set up so that people couldnt put music from CDs to other media.

PSP has been making itself more functional and is in many ways a portable PC that needs the foundation that the traditional pc can offer. This means that they can use the PC to set up many of the options that are housed in the psp. The music process is just one example where this is proven.

Another option that people can consider is if they have the psp configured to access the internet they can go to websites that support MP3 audio files. These can then be downloaded and the music can be pulled directly to the psp. This can make it possible to bypass the PC entirely, but only if the internet is properly set up and if the web sites are found on the internet. This can require some research, but will make it possible for someone to get the music they like any where they are at.

The next thing that the person should remember is that it would be ideal to have a large memory stick for this purpose. The sound files, even in mp3, will be large and should have a place to be stored. A good sized memory stick can hold multiple songs and will not bog down the psp with the space that they will require this way.

Some people have found that they psp can be a good alternate to an ipod or a cd player in a car or on long trips using this method. That can make the psp that much more of a tool as there is only one item that needs to be taken instead of a batch. Many people have found this useful when they are having to carry luggage or are in a long trip where space and keeping track of items is required.

Dylan Graves is an intense PSP fanatic. You can find out more about PSP Downgrading at PSP Blender