Haruki Murakami is not (quite) a musician, but he has a greater command of music as an art form than most musicians I know, myself included. How is that possible? Read on. Murakami is considered by many to be Japan’s finest contemporary author. He burst onto the scene in 1979 with his gritty novella, Hear the…
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. Mark Cuban has this terrifying saying that I once heard him throw at a budding entrepreneur on Shark Tank: “Work like there is someone working 24 hours…
In the age of the internet, DIY musicians have access to promotion, booking, and their fans easier than ever. But does the downside outweigh the good?
At Soundfly, we’re really excited about our new model of mentor-driven learning. Yes, we have a ton of fun making high-quality videos and content, but having a human being there working alongside you to answer questions, offer feedback, and push you in the direction you want to go can make all the difference! “Personalized learning”…
It’s show day! You’ve rehearsed your set until there’s no more room for improvement, changed your strings, sent all the Facebook invites weeks ago (right?), and you’re ready to bring down a packed house tonight. But before you melt any faces, you have to arrive early to the venue and soundcheck. You’re a band full of…
Strengthen the connection between mind and body while easing your aches and pains through these musician-friendly yoga poses.
It’s a new year and among all the many resolutions you and your artistic family are bound to be pursuing, perhaps 2017 is the year your band finally decides it’s ready to take your presence to a level beyond that of your local, hometown scene. The question that immediately follows, of course, is, “Okay, but how?”…
What makes a great debut album? Its reflection on its time and place in contemporary society? The hype it generates? An ethereal and indescribable showing of artistic genius and virtuosity? While there are certainly patterns and similarities within the athenaeum of commercial music — the “sophomore slump,” the “edgy cover artwork,” or the scorched-earth PR campaigns…
By Uche Ibe What if I told you that combating writer’s block is easy? That all you need to do is to follow the right steps and advice, and you’ll be able to come up with awesome lyrics in no time, even if you’re stuck at the beginning? Solutions never need to cost an arm and…
You just got hired to play a cover gig with a band. You’ve got about a week to prepare, and it pays pretty well. But you’re expected to play about 20 new tunes (give or take), and most likely, you won’t be rehearsing with the band, save for running a few things at soundcheck. What…
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it: subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. Perhaps one of the biggest differences between a professional and an amateur musician is what I call “showing up.” Now, obviously, this can take many forms. When faced…
Four albums top my all-time favorite records list. They’re some of my favorite albums musically, but their impact and significance to me and other listeners run deeper than that. After spending so many cumulative hours engaging deeply with these works, I realized that these four great covers can teach us everything we need to know about…
Guitarists like to spill ink all the time about distortion boxes, classic overdrives, boutique delay pedals, and bucket-brigade modulation effects. It’s understandable why: These attention-grabbing stompboxes lead to dramatic and satisfying changes in sound. Like a great vintage amp or a top-notch guitar, it’s these larger-than-life pedals that help a player define his or her…
By Mike Casey Raise your hand if you’ve heard this cliché before: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Well, as cheesy as that sounds, I happen to believe it’s right on the money. After all, advanced musical devices, concepts, and patterns are usually just a slew of basic fundamentals stacked on top of one another, inverted,…
Sometimes “no” isn’t the only word that means “no.” When offers to co-write or play a gig go cold, you may be getting a “Nashville No.”
It’s only May, but we’re already pretty sure that 2017 is going to be our favorite year ever! This year, Soundfly has nearly doubled our repertoire of available courses and partnered with some of the world’s best instructors. But best of all, we’ve been continually inspired and excited by the work that student artists have shared with us.…
Nothing gets me thinking about sacrifice more than going out on the road. Everyone’s making sacrifices to be there. Leila and John are both working their day jobs remotely using wifi hotspots that don’t function all that well in the-middle-of-nowhere US. Lots of nowhere. And my written log feels like something out of Oregon Trail. Phil fractured…
Drummers today are expected to come prepared and ready to play every session and every night on the road. After you’ve done the work to learn the music you need for a performance, the next step is to make sure you have the right tools to get the job done. In most performance situations, you may…
It might seem like a good idea at the time, but saying yes to every gig your band is offered could spell catastrophe for you and your bandmates.
With the explosion of boutique guitar pedal manufacturers in recent years, there’s never been a better time to get that certain sound under your stage toes. But it’s also in the nature of specialty pedals to be, well, specialized. In addition to being less versatile, they also tend to be a bit more expensive. Here…
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. It’s true. The album might be dead. Or at least the album as we once knew it is dead. Before you start throwing all your record sleeves…
Just two months after releasing his 64th studio album entitled Adiós, it’s the world who now has to bid farewell to Glen Campbell. A true titan of the fast-changing music industry, Campbell, who passed away on August 8, 2017, was a bonafide crossover sensation who released over 70 albums over the span of his career, appeared on…
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. I’m one of those people you look at and think, there’s no way that guy listens to Billy Joel. I even look at myself and imagine a person…
Does opting for short-term help from a teacher equate less long-term comprehension and problem-solving? Productive failure might hold a clue.
