Getting Noticed – Part 3: Working Your Local Music Scene
Editor’s note: Damian wraps up his series on Getting Noticed Out There with some advice on connecting with your local music scene. Check out Part 1: Your Demo and Part 2: Social Media. Q: I’ve reached the point where I know I need to meet new people to get my career up to the next level, but I don’t know...
Getting Noticed – Part 2: Social Media
Editor’s note: Damian continues his series on Getting Noticed Out There this week, focusing on social media. Check out Part 1: Your Demo. Q: I’ve reached the point where I know I need to meet new people to get my career up to the next level, but I don’t know where to start. What do you think makes effective networking...
App Review: Set List Maker
If you lead your own project, Set List Maker is probably going to be a game changer for you. If you’re like me, getting organized for a gig means being strapped to your desk with iTunes open, messing around with a playlist of all of your tunes, desperately playing with various song orders, playing the beginning and end of tunes...
Getting Noticed – Part 1: Your Demo
Q: I’ve reached the point where I know I need to meet new people to get my career up to the next level, but I don’t know where to start. What do you think makes effective networking in the context of being a musician as opposed to an artist who has written songs? How do you know the right person...
The Bass Solo: A Guide to Soloing More Freely
Q: I am at a stage with playing jazz where I feel confident playing bass lines, such as walking through challenging pieces. Given time to learn the chord sequence, I am pretty confident at playing solos over the top of backing tracks and grooves. My problem is that when playing with a jazz band – when everyone cuts out for...
SmartMusic: A Look at the New Music Education App
SmartMusic’s website is already a fantastic resource for students and educators, and they’ve recently started to expand their software to the iPad. If you already have a Smartmusic account, you can use that login to gain instant access to the full library available to you as if you were operating through the web portal. Future updates promise additional abilities like...
Performing Live: Memorization vs. Reading vs. Improvisation
Q: I’m not a professional musician, but lately I’ve been performing a lot more often. I play both upright bass and bass guitar, and I like to play just about any style of music: pop, funk, folk, jazz. These two things have made me somewhat “in demand” in part-timers’ circles and has led me to get involved in two or...
Right Hand Technique for Bassists: Expanding Your Finger Patterns
Q: How do I improve my playing by using the three-finger technique and yet maintain the groove with my thumb? A: Something I’ve come across with many students is a preconception of how they want to use their thumb. With some students, this has actually stood as an obstacle to their growth. I think this is primarily because they become...
insTuner: A Look at the Chromatic Tuner for iOS
For quite some time, my go-to tuner app for iOS has been ClearTune (see my earlier review). So when I was asked to check out insTuner, I figured that if nothing else, I would be able to write a review about it. As it turns out, I’m switching iOS tuners. insTuner is a fantastically pleasing tuner to use. Not only...
Consistency: From the Practice Shed to the Bandstand
Q: I seem to have an issue with consistency. I seem to be able to pull certain licks and lines together when practicing, but it always falls apart when I’m actually playing with the band. Any tricks to develop consistency? A: Tricks? No. But I do have some thoughts. 1. Context I had a realization after something similar to what...
Instinct vs. Learning: Ideas for Musical Growth
Q: I’ve been learning to play the bass for about a year now, and I have a concern: I am a very instinctual bassist. I tried playing guitar when I was younger, but didn’t connect. I took to the bass right away. I “hear” a groove in my head, and I’m able to reproduce it on the bass. So my...
Jazz ScaleHelper: A Look at the Scale Analysis and Study App for iOS and Android
Jazz ScaleHelper is, at it’s essence, a discerning ear. The app listens to you play your scales and arpeggios and gives you feedback on what you just played, as well as a grade. It judges your note stability, intonation, time and shows you how many notes per minute you played. The app’s analysis screen presents your scale in notation. My...