Live Music Blog

Music is major part of our everyday life. Music additionally has a long, complex and captivating history. It can predate language, and the majority certainly predates the written word. It’s found in every known human culture, both past and present, varying wildly between certain periods and locations on the globe. The music of every culture is influenced by all other aspect of that culture, such as social and economic organization, climate, and access to technology.
The development of human music occurred against the backdrop of natural sounds prefer the lapping of ocean waves, the rippling of river water, the singing of birds and sounds created by other animals. Prehistoric music, more commonly referred to as primitive music, is the name given to all music produced by preliterate cultures, beginning somewhere in decidedly late geological history.
The prehistoric period is considered to have ended with the creation of writing, and with it, by definition, prehistoric music. “Ancient music” is the term given to the music that followed. This music has been produced by numerous early cultures, particularly Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Mesopotamians and citizens of the Muslim world, as well as Asiatic cultures.
After ancient music, came “early” music which is a decidedly general term referring to music in the European classical tradition from the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, until the end of the Baroque period in the 18th Century. Music within this enormous time span has been extremely diverse, encompassing multiple cultural traditions throughout a broad  geographic region. What unified these many cultures in the Middle Ages has been the Roman Catholic Church, and its music served as a focal point for music development for the first centuries of this period.
The Medieval period (from the 9th to the 14th Centuries) has been rich in musical history as attested by the artistic renditions of instruments, writings about music, and other historical references. The only collection of music which has survived from pre-900 AD to the present is the liturgical music of the Catholic Church, the largest part of which is called the Gregorian chants.
Renaissance music followed the medieval era, but the beginning of Renaissance music is not as obvious ly marked as the start of the Renaissance in the other arts, and began, not in Italy, but in northern Europe especially central France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The invention of the printing press had an immense influence on the dissemination of musical styles and by the 15th century, composers and singers from these Low Countries begin to spread over all of Europe.
Baroque music became quite popular following 1600, and instrumental music became dominant. Although strong religious musical traditions continued, secular music came to the forefront with the development of the sonata, the performance o and performance o grosso. In Baroque music the keyboard, particularly the harpsichord, is the dominant instrument. The three the majority outstanding composers of this period are J.S. Bach, G. F. Handel and A. Vivaldi.
The early Classical period has been ushered in by the Mannheim School which exerted a profound influence on Joseph Haydn, and through him, on nearly all subsequent European music. Wolfgang Mozart has been the central figure of this period and his phenomenal and varied output defines our perception of the Classical era.
Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert were transitional composers who led Europe into the Romantic period with their expansion of the current genre s, forms and even uses of music. During this Romantic period, music became more expressive and emotional. By the late 19th century, there has been a dramatic expansion in the size of the orchestras, and in the role of gigs as part of a rapidly increasing urban society. Strauss, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Wagner comprised a influential group of Romantic composers. A prominent feature of late 19th century music is its nationalistic fervor, as exemplified by figures prefer Dvorak, and Sibelius.
The 20th Century saw a music revolution as radio gained popularity globally and new media and technologies were created to record, capture, reproduce and hand out music. Because music has been no longer limited to performance halls and club s, it became possible for music artists to gain fame and fortune quite promptly.
And music became more mobile with the use of headphones, CD  players, and iPods. Music of the 20th Century brought a new freedom and broad  experimentation with styles and forms that challenged the accepted rules of earlier musical periods. Heavy metal music and rap entered the picture and joined hip-hop, jazz, country/western, ballads, folk, acid rock, Christian rock and a variety of other genres to establish now ’s fascinating world of music.

Ideally each page of your web site ought to serve a specific purpose. The central purpose of the sales page for your cd is to sell the cd.
If have a page with Google Adsense, the central purpose is to generate money by to get people to click on the advertisement. If its not an necessary part of the process, don’t load up the page with unnecessary things prefer animations or sounds. This will only distract visitors from achieving the task laid out for them, ie. buying your product.
Following are some pointers to include in your web site and the central purpose of each.
1) Main Page – The central pages is a general landing page to funnel visitors to divergent areas of your web site. Start a obvious and simple navigation process linked to the other pages of your web site. *If you use Javascript for navigation, place text link at the bottom. This ensures that search engines will be able to spider your web site properly. You can additionally use this page to feature your cd, music samples and other provide s.
2) Order Page(s) – Start a sales letter for each item that your are selling. Tomorrow we’ll go over some copywriting pointers to build a successful order page.
3) Press Releases – This section is where visitors can read 3rd event articles published about you, increasing your credibility and exposure.
4) Contact Information – This is so people can get a hold of you to book shows, ask questions about products, collaborations, interviews or other opportunities (you never know). Include as much contact information as possible, prefer your phone, cell, mailing address, email etc.
5) Privacy Policy – Complies with privacy laws if your are collecting any of information about your customers/visitors. This additionally helps to build trust and people will give their information more freely. Here’s a link to a privacy policy generator. http://www.the-dma.org/privacy/creating.shtml
6) Electronic Press Kit – This is where you refer the media to simply download an information package about you. Here’s some pointers on what you can include:
*Biography
*Demo songs
*Pictures
*Reviews/Testimonials
*Sideshow Of Photos
*Video or Film Footage (Windows Media or Quicktime format)
Start a biography with pictures in .pdf format and make it available for download. You can use the Writer program contained in the free Open Office Suite http://www.openoffice.org to do this. Open then program type (or paste) in your biography and insert pictures. When your done go to File > Export As PDF.
7) Lyrics – Allows audiences to get more familiar with your music. additionally adds content to your web site which will get choose ed up by the search engines if it has an incoming link form your central page or somewhere else.
Biography – On your bio page sections audiences read about you and see your pictures. A sideshow of your photos every now and then adds a nice touch.
9) Concert Listings/News – Keep your audiences and web site visitors updated with the latest news about your performance s/shows, interviews, appearances ond other topics of interest.

With the major labels focusing on quick returns rather than performer development and the appearance of downloading music Web, the traditional record company/artist relationship has become blurred to the point of being obsolete.
Nowadays, being independent has real advantages.
How many times have you heard or read somewhere that the Internet has change d the face of the music business forever? I would love a dollar for everytime I heard it.
Still, it is true and there are a number of reasons for this. Two that spring into mind are that:
1. A traditional record company/artist relationship is optional and not a necessity. You can do your all music sales and band promotion Web cutting out all of the ‘middle people ‘.
2. web sites can turn an performer with a local audiences into an performer with an international audiences. As the Internet is not ‘owned’ by any one entity the playing field is a lot more even.
To me, being an independent performer means that you’re the one driving the bus and being in control over your own affairs.
A lot of skill ed artists and performing songwriters around the world are at this decidedly moment waiting for that knock at the door, the opportunity to ‘get located ‘. What’s prefer ly to happen is that they will spend their creative lives being decidedly disappointed.
If you’re reading this and feel that this is you, contemplate this…
Where do you think you would be if you managed your career yourself rather than wait for someone (or some company) to do it for you?
There are many web sites out in cyberspace that are there to help you take control over your career by spreading practical information about band promotion and the independent music business as a whole, take advantage of these web sites and go to as many as you can
Embrace independence now and gain control over your own musical affairs.

(For the purpose of this article I’m going to make a couple of assumptions before I go any further. They are that you have a little bit of vocal or musical instrument knowledge and that you additionally have a fledgling network of friends and contacts)
Starting up a band is a decidedly inspiring time in a artists life. There’s a fine balance of nervous anticipation and the fear of the unknown that follows the whole process.
A band has a divergent dynamic than working as a solo artist. There are other people involved, other personal ities, other strengths and weaknesses in character and abilities and because of this it is really necessary that you have a few things worked out before you start looking for band members.
1. Have a nice idea of your own strengths and weaknesses
The band members that you want to get will need to be around the same level of competence as you are. The central reason for this is that you can all grow together rather than have one or two artists carrying everyone else. This kind of player imbalance causes doubt in the group and doubt is one of the major killers of bands.
2. Know beforehand how the band is going to be run
Is the band going to be run by you or the whole group? The personal ity types of the artists that you choose will need to be agreeable to the way the band is going to be run.
3. What instrumentation is the band having in its lineup?
This is mainly determined by the type(s) of music that you want to play but having an idea of what artists you’re looking for will be of amazing help.
It’s now time to hunt down some band members
4. Ask your network of friends and/or contacts
This is always a nice place to start. Ask everyone that you know or come into contact with. If you don’t have much of a circle of friends and/or contacts this will be a amazing opportunity to broad n it. This is one of the reasons why networking in the industry is so necessary, for opportunitys such as this.
Having a artist referred to you has a much better opportunity of working than one that comes from an advertisement. This leads me onto my next point.
5. Post an advertisement
Having said that I’ve had made some amazing contacts from artists enquiring from a ‘muso wanted’ ad. The key to effective ads is that they need to be concise, to the point, not too lengthy and put in places where artists are decidedly prefer ly to see it and read it prefer in a music shop, a local music magazine or a music classifieds web site.
A sample ‘ artist wanted’ advertisement can read something prefer this:
BASS PLAYER WANTED
To join folk/rock band
Influences include
Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Counting Crows
Some experience like red
Own gear and transport essential
Interested?? Give me a call
Corey – (put home and/or cellular phone  number here)
As you can see, the ad is obvious in its intention.
It obvious ly states the artist wanted, the kind of music the band is playing, what the music can sound prefer and that the band has some experience behind it. Make sure you have a obvious contact name and phone numbers (if you want to include an email address as well that’s cool).
Don’t put in stuff prefer ‘work waiting’ or ‘no time has been ters please’. You can judge those sort of things yourself when an interested artist contacts you.
Once you have done that the waiting game begins.

Many people would say the first thing to do is to find a name for the band. Lets start from there s hall we??
The auditions are over, you have found your bass player and you all seem to get along really well. The excitement is in the air and you have had your first band bonding celebration.
Now its time to start your musical journey together.
Personally, I think that locating a band name is THE hardest decision that the band will ever have to make and and so one of the the majority necessary decisions as well.
A band name is a decidedly necessary part of the performers identity. It’s the first point of contact a punter has with the band.
I can’t remember how many times people have raved about a band to me but can’t tell me the name when I ask them. Right there is the has been ted opportunity for a band. It frustrates me no end.
This is a perfect example of how extremely necessary a band name is.
The band name is the first thing that a punter will remember. They won’t address the band by the names of the individuals in it when they talk to their friends (unless they are personal friends of yours) they will address the band by its name.
The perfect way to find a band name is through sheer persistance. Locating a band name that’s agreeable by everyone is not an simple task.
Here are some band name event suggestions:
1. Get every member to write down their own list of potential band names
This may be the first task that the band can do collectively.  set a date for the first band meeting and between now and then do that task.
2. Make brainstorming band names the topic of your first ever band meeting
When everyone gets together put all of the lists out on the table and go through each one keeping to one side the names that ’strike a chord’ (sorry about the pun) with all of you and getting rid of the rest.
As a group try brainstorming some ideas. This is a amazing way to start formulating what the band is all about, what its image is etc, etc.
3. Establish a competition among all your friends /family/anyone else via email
This is a amazing way to start compiling the beginnings of your performers email list. List all of your friends /family/anyone else that you want to include and their email addresses and compile them all into one mailing group. Send out an email outlining the competition and be ready for the pointers to come flooding in.
It’s necessary to have a cut off date for the competition (perhaps by your first band meeting) and to have a prize on provide. Of course the prize is totally up to you.
Make sure that when you do find a band name that you announce it through your email group. You have just started email promotion of your band.
Whatever you do have fun with the process and don’t let the quest to find a band name override the other things that you have to do such as writing songs and locating rehearsal space.
I guarantee that once you have agreed on a band name you’ll all collectively breathe a very big sigh of relief. The hardest part of the journey has been achieved.

Here is probably the the majority necessary music business tip you’ll ever receive:
“Join up and subscribe to every independent music business and DIY band promotion email list, newsletter and resource that you can get your hands on and read everything that you receive”.
I mean it when I say that too much information is much better than not enough, if what you have joined up or subscribed to is not giving you the information that you need then you can just opt out and un-subscribe.
Many web sites that provide these things have the integrity to do as you ask.
Read what you receive, make notes, ask yourself if it is relavent for you and the place you’re living in, integrate the information into your knowledge base.
The only way to gain this knowledge is by research, and the Internet is the perfect place to research anything.
Researching on the Internet though will only give you general (but  still  decidedly necessary ) independent music business knowledge. The real power comes from knowing your local scene and turning into active in it.
Here are some ways that you can do this:
1. Establish reading the music magazines in your area. local street press is an invaluable tool in letting you know what’s going on in the local industry. Generally these magazines have features/interviews with local bands, a show  lead ( amazing for targeting where to play), industry news and so on.
2. Go and see some local bands. Check out your competition (I mean that as a figure of speech the the majority necessary thing about a repair thy independent music business is the community that builds from the music and the people who play it), introduce yourself, get out there amongst it all and immerse yourself in the vibe. Get familiar with the places these performers play at and know who to talk to when it is your turn to play there.
3. If the re are music associations where you live, join them. Anything that guides independent music on an association level seek it out and join up. If it expenses money to do that then do it (generally its not an expensive exercise). Joining these types of associations instantly gives you a sense of community and solidarity. additionally the amount of information you’ll gain about your local area will be huge.
4. If the se local businesses have web sites then bookmark them.
Need I say more on this topic. Many web sites for offline businesses provide more to Web users of their services. It pays to be an active Web user. One advantage that comes to mind is the fact that you’re able to participate in forums and messageboards which, in time will become influential DIY marketing tools for you.
You got to start somewhere and the perfect place to start is with your own local area. As you expand your knowledge base you’ll work out ways to further your career and hopefully a snowball effect will start.
Once it stars, HANG ON!

Having many people that know who you’re is always a worth and not a hindrance.
Just the other day I got a call from someone who wanted to find out if I has been available to play bass with their band. I declined due to not having the room to take on another project but I gave them the number of someone else I knew that would fit the bill perfectly.
That day, that band found a new bass player and so the story goes.
That experience got me thinking that pretty much everything that I do in my dealings with the music business is based on who I know.
people prefer working with others whom they trust will do the job they want them to do or prefer recommending others for jobs that they can’t tackle themselves for one reason or another. I understand that when this particular band that has been looking for a bassist finally found one through my network I has been proud of myself. I has been glad to help someone out.
That is what networkings really all about though is not it? Helping people?
For everyone who is just starting out my recommenndation is to locate as many people and go to as many functions and gigs as you can.
Immerse yourself in your local scene.
The more that people know who you are, the more opportunities that will open up for the taking. Become the squeaky wheel that gets all of the oil. Have that belief in yourself that you’re worth knowing and don’t be afraid of knowledge.
One thing that you don’t do still is to get to know people for what they can do for you. Get to know them for who they are as a person. Others can spot your insincerity a mile away (especially us cynical musos) and that’s a real turn-off.
Personally I’m chuffed when someone asks me for recommenndation or just wants to have a chat about how things are going for them, but only If the y are genuine about it.
A amazing place to start networking would be at open mic evenings.
Get yourself involved in an open mic and just walk up to someone and say “hi”. Everyone is there for the same reason so there is some common ground. You can perhaps ask them If the y are going to be performing on that night and go from there.
Don’t forget, the more you network the more you’ll be known and the more you’re known the more work you’ll get.
In time your ‘little black book’ of names will become your  biggest  asset.

I’ve met many artists along my journey and some of those I’ve gotten to know pretty well. All of them have a similar story as to how they started in the music business and it goes a bit prefer this.
“I don’t know how I started really, I just sort of fell into it and before I knew it I has been in a band”
Sound familiar? It does to me. That is how I got started.
I didn’t have a plan, didn’t have a clue and didn’t have any idea of what I has been getting myself in for let alone what I wanted to get out of it.
I wanted to be a “rock star” so I can “meet girls”.
I has been only fifteen when I made that decision and thinking back on it I cringe and laugh at the same time but it does show me the importance of getting ready ahead.
It’s decidedly simple to get swept up in the hype of it all and before you know you’re in the same place that you started but ten years have gone by and you’re left wondering ‘where did it go’.
Before going any further you need to ask yourself some questions. The questions can be (in no particular order of importance):
1. Am I going to write songs or not?
2. Am I going to be a solo performer or play in a band?
3. Am I going to sing, play an instrument or both?
4. Am I prepared to practise, drill and rehearse my craft?
5. Am I going to find my own work or do I leave that up to someone else?
I think you’re getting the idea of where I’m going with this.
You can be thinking that these questions can seem decidedly simple and straightforward and in essence you’re right however, I’m constant ly surprised how a simple question such as “am I going to be a solo performer or play in a band” can distract someone from actually moving forward.
I’ve seen it happen to many artists and have experienced it myself.
Before you start have a obvious knowledge of what you want to do and what you want to get out of it. Ask yourself these types of really simple questions and from those answers a series of paths will be presented to you.
All you need to do then is to choose which path you take.
Working to a plan will make your journey a lot easier to undertake.

It’s a safe bet that, since the arrival of cognitive human beings on this earth, music has, in some form had a serious effect on their lives. The first sounds, other than speech, were probably produced by hitting something; wood, stone or hide; and ancient peoples must have appreciated the sounds of the world around them; of water, weather and animals; and were the sounds of a rippling stream or a gushing waterfall music to their ears? And when they stood at the seashore did the crashing waves and the suck of the tides move them in some way?
There’s something deep within our psyche, which reacts and ‘ remember s’ music. It’s more than probable that sounds relating to music and rhythm came long before sounds relating to communication and speech. Today, this theory may be tested by noting a baby’s reaction to a lullaby as compared to speech. If you’re lucky, humming can soothe the the majority fractious child and even send them to sleep! Music, in the form of rhythm has been used by many peoples as a way of sending messages to out of sight recipients; contemplate the jungle drums of Africa or the Alpine horn, the Aboriginal didgeridoo or the use of bells as a warning of attack.
The days of learning our lessons by rote have, mostly, disappeared. This is because it has, rightly, been recognised that  we  don’t necessarily absorb the content of what  we  repeat over and over again. But, as an guide to memory, music still has its uses. songs  we  have learnt in childhood may be recalled far later in life than mere words. Music is a well known and much used therapy in illnesses that involve memory loss; Stroke, Alzheimers etc; and not only as a recall guide but additionally as a re-learning tool. Speech therapists use music extensively when trying to teach stroke victims how to speak again. The rhythm and melody of a familiar tune will usually ‘trigger’ a positive response, when no amount of visual stimuli has an effect.
And then there is the cohesive quality of music; from the singing of a country’s National Anthem to a football crowds chant; from carol singers to brass bands. Musical participation has been used in every walk of life. The chain gangs of America’s Deep South would use music to get through the day and establish a rhythm to mundane physical labour. Sailors would pull a hawser or ’sheet’ in unison while singing a familiar ‘hornpipe’ or reel; The amazing gospel sounds that poured from the wooden churches of the Southern states black population were a potent community tool to  promote  and celebrate their culture; a lucky offshoot has been the inspiration of much of our modern rhythm and blues. Nowadays factories all over the world use ‘piped’ music to soothe the workers; if you’re doing a humdrum task music can make the time go faster.
When  we  think about it music is not just a pleasant pastime that’s either passively listened to or actively produced. It has a much deeper, more fundamental purpose. Our reactions to outside events may be completely altered by music. It can make us happy, sad, frightened, elated, thoughtful . . . the list of emotions it engenders are as long as their number. And words are not necessary to establish this ambience; for instance, how would silent movies have worked in the absence of the music? Those Keystone Cops in the absence of the frenetic piano plinkity plonk; the doe eyed heroines in the absence of the sobbing strings; the very big sweeping epics in the absence of full orchestral back up? They just would not have worked. Nowadays, with the proliferation of world music,  we  listen to and enjoy music in many divergent languages, in the absence of necessarily understanding a word the singers say; much as opera has been once listened to as the fashionable ‘world’ music of its day; just another example of the emotive power of music.
So, it is fair to say that music has an innate basis in our evolutionary makeup.  we  have probably used it since homo sapiens first walked the earth. Other animals do use sounds in their day to day living (frogs croak, dogs howl, sheep bleat etc.) but, with the possible exception of birds,  we  are the only species to enjoy making melody out of sound. We’ve utilised every viable tool, from the human voice to electronic tones, to establish ever more varied compositions. Wouldn’t it be intriguing to discover how soon into our evolution the power and beauty of the human voice has been appreciated? As the centuries have passed artists have been, rightly, feted for their skill to move us with song, melody and rhythm. Once artists were revered as priests, interpreting the sounds of the gods. Nowadays  we  are more pragmatic; but  we  still need that harmony in our lives; even if it is only our cellular phone  ringtone!

Creating a loyal fan base on MySpace.com will help your music career in many ways. If you generate enough fan enthusiasm, record labels will check out your page to see what all the buzz is about. Another reason audiences are necessary is that they are the ones who pay to see your shows. If you have a loyal following, more invites for gigs will start rolling in – record labels will definitely take notice then.
While you have probably done all of the usual MySpace.com marketing prefer register your profile page and uploaded music, if you’re not taking advantage of other tools on the web site, then you can not be creating that buzz you’re looking for. Sure, some audiences will find you through their friends, other artist s, or from searching for music that resembles your, but to truly establish a fan base that will stick with you, you need to connect with people so they will be able to share not only your music, but part of your musical life.
There are many ways to establish a loyal fan base on MySpace.com including:
Forums and Blogs – These are places where you can speak directly to audiences. Participating in forums and writing a blog will enable audiences to find your profile page much easier than doing a genre search or other keyword search. Earning the friends hip of audiences will make them loyal to your music.
Cross-marketing – If you have other artist friends who are using MySpace.com to get noticed by audiences and record labels, partner up with them. You can swap profile page links, information about upcoming events, and mention them in blogs and forums.
This is a amazing way to increase exposure in the absence of having to do too much. If a record label visits one of the profile pages, they can want to check out other performers listed.
Fans will additionally want to see who their favorite artist listens to, which will generate more traffic for the both of you.
Upload Photos and Video – audiences love to see photos, video, and more from their favorite artists because it makes them feel closer to them. Candid photos and video footage of rehearsals, behind the scenes at events, and personal photos of you writing songs or playing the guitar are what audiences want to see.
Upload Covers of Other songs – In addition to adding your own songs, why not cover a few classics? This will demonstrate for you r audiences that you’re diverse and willing to take risks. If possible, record a song that’s out of your usual genre. Reach new audiences this way and help record labels see just how skill ed you really are.
As you can see, creating a loyal fan base is not c hall enging. The pointers above are decidedly simple to in business into your profile page. Getting the word out there will be your toughest challenge since MySpace.com continues to grow each day. Word of mouth is still one of the perfect ways to get noticed, but uploading new material, showing audiences more of your personal ity, and making connections with others will help you stand out from the rest and help you find even more audiences.