Japan is one of the best places to share your music. If you weren’t already planning your tour there when this article popped up, you might as well start now! I just got off the plane not three hours ago, and looking back it was the best tour of my life. Let me share with…
Perhaps inspired by the recent rash of high-profile copyright cases, a bunch of our favorite music blogs have lately been providing interesting tips for legally recording and performing covers of other musician’s songs. Unlike the more complicated forms of musical imitation involved in those lawsuits, covering a song is actually quite straightforward. A “cover” is a new performance of…
Happy Friday! This week’s edition of Off Notes is coming to you from Japan, where the masterminds behind Soundfly’s “Touring on a Shoestring” course have booked a tour of their very own (and where this Soundflyer tagged along in search of weird and wonderful goodies to spice up your Friday afternoon!). So read on for a (mostly) Asian-inspired…
About a year ago, I was fortunate enough to meet Jen Baron — a remarkable musician and passionate educator. Her zeal for teaching music as a means of building confidence and fostering self-expression in her students is nothing short of inspirational. Jen launched the Santa Barbara branch of Girls Rock just a few years ago and already it’s given hundreds…
I recently decided to hurl myself full-throttle back into saxophonist, composer and painter John Lurie’s intensely bizarre fishing program from the early 90s, Fishing with John, by binge watching every single episode in one sitting. This was not a difficult feat considering there were only 6 short episodes and each features a lovable celebrity guest fishing,…
By Brendan O’Brien Techno is unpleasant. For the many it’s music reserved for eccentrics who have nothing better to do than hang out in poorly lit warehouses until 6am. Techno is basic music made by basic people who don’t know… stuff. That Family Guy clip is totally right, there isn’t even a key. What a bunch of…
Setting up a proper workspace can make practice time infinitely more productive — at least, it definitely did for me. Here’s a list of things to keep at hand when you’re honing your craft. 1. A notebook Okay, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be a literal notebook (though I personally feel pretty tied to…
Happy Friday! Spring is in the air! Temperatures are rising, birds are singing, and creatures are coming out of hibernation. This week it seems everyone had animals on the mind. Friends sent me not one, but two different videos of dogs playing piano and singing. (Fear not, I agree with you. You probably should see them both.)…
Allen Tate is best known for his distinctively baritone serenades as one of the lead vocalists for San Fermin. Their self-titled first album was released in 2013 to rave reviews. It is an operatic musical journey of serious proportions, not least because of the full complement of orchestral instruments they employ, but also the male…
A soundwalk can be a lot of things. It can require headphones as easily as it can require that you take them off and listen to your surroundings. It can be experienced on an actual walk, guiding you through a live excursion, or it can be listened to as a standalone piece in the comfort…
