Maintaining an energized fan base is one of the foundations for success as an indie musician — and if you’re active on YouTube, turning those fans into an engaged subscriber base is critical. YouTube is essentially FREE marketing! And even better, it’s a platform that can bring you all kinds of incredible opportunities. What many musicians don’t realize is…
Every songwriter knows that painful moment: Staring at a blank page, unsure of what to write. But I believe it’s much worse to stare at a half-finished song. You desperately try to think of what to do next, yet still feel locked into the style, chords, and rhythms that you have already established. It can seem hopeless at times to continue a…
Improvisation looks effortless and cool — until you try to do it. In reality, spontaneously composing is one of the most difficult things a musician can attempt, and it takes practice. There are a number of crafts that a musician must master to be a good improviser. Technical ability and music theory knowledge are important,…
Feedback can be a valuable tool in a songwriter’s toolbox. Especially for new writers, gathering advice from professional songwriters can give your song a big leg up. Most importantly, getting feedback on your songs is instrumental (pun intended) in helping you grow as a songwriter. A pro will be able to point out ways to make your…
By Harvey Grant As musicians, we can spend so long trying to improve our technique in terms of scales and “speed” that we bypass one of the most important factors in the success of a piece: timing. Sure, you may say that Glenn Gould didn’t stick precisely to the given measures of Bach’s Goldberg Variations,…
Back in high school, my senior project advisor told me, “there’s no such thing as a perfect performance.” And then immediately bust out an incredible drum solo. I’ve never forgotten that moment. I just assumed that being able to pull out a great solo on a whim meant he must be telling the truth. While that’s…
By Kathy Dickson If you have been a guitarist for any length of time, you’ve no doubt heard about scales and how you need to know them. But let’s face it, the sheer number of scales to learn can be overwhelming. They smack of theory and are boring to play, right? In truth, scales are…
+ Learning to record and mix at home? Check out Soundfly’s acclaimed online courses on mixing, production, beat making and more — Subscribe for access. If you’re looking to set up your own laptop rig for live performance using click tracks and backing tracks, you’re going to need quite a bit of gear. Seeing as most of us…
The sound guy/gal: The final piece between the killer show you have been rehearsing for for months, bringing down the house… or going up in smoke. The thing is though, sometimes they’re tired (they often work days and nights), or still irritated about the band last night who got too drunk and spilled beer all over the DI…
If there’s one thing I’ve heard guitar students say over and over again, it’s that they love guitar and can’t wait to practice every single day of the week until they lose feeling in their fingers. But if there’s a second thing I’ve heard from guitar players, it’s that they feel trapped inside the patterns and…
