The New York and Stavanger, Norway-based contemporary artist Cory Arcangel is widely known and respected for his use of hacked technology such as video games and software to produce thought-provoking, beautiful artwork across a range of media. His largely absurdist oeuvre explores technology from a number of theoretical angles and offers commentary on cultures that…
+ Bridge the worlds of theory, improvisation, and jazzy hip-hop, and improve your piano chops with Grammy-winner Kiefer in his course, Kiefer: Keys, Chords, & Beats. As a piano player, I used to detest the idea of digital pianos replacing the need for acoustic craftsmanship. While I still think that there will never be an equal…
So many important things happened out in the world of music this week, and we weren’t about to let a single one slip by unnoticed. From opera in living rooms, to the demise of mail-order music, to a fond harkening back to that time when Dave Matthews Band spilled poop on everybody, we’ve got all of the…
College radio is one of the most effective and fun ways to promote your music to new audiences. Here are ten great stations currently serving indie artists.
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,…
Graduation has come and gone. You defied your parents’ wishes of having a doctor in the family and instead majored in classical guitar with a minor in music of the late 1790s. Four years of expensive music school later—hours of practice, recitals, juries—you’re about to embark on a strange new world. All-in-all, music school was…
Gabriel Berezin is a guitarist, singer and the frontman of Brooklyn-based Monuments. I sat down with him at Manhattan Inn recently to pick his brain on his musical process over many rounds of Bulleit Old Fashioneds. His band’s sophomore album Brigadune, released last year, was an exploration in duality (as he explained in a great interview with Greenpointers),…
Happy Friday! We here at Soundfly HQ spend an inordinate amount of time on the internet reading and listening and generally consuming far too much music media. And it’s awesome! So we wanted to start sharing our weeks with you. Presenting Off Notes: a weekly round-up of all the musical goodies the rest of the…
Last week at Soundfly Sessions, I took in the final set from (le) poisson rouge‘s sound booth, watching lighting designer Sharif Mekawy at work. What resulted was an impressive and dynamic light show that wove Delicate Steve’s incredible guitar riffs with visual artistry. Sharif is a freelance audio engineer and lighting designer by trade, yet his…
There aren’t many musicians who are able to balance organic emotion and technical prowess in their playing. Most of us lean in one direction or the other. However, in the time I’ve known him, I have never seen Jared play a solo that wasn’t equal parts instinct and practiced skill. As a performer, he is…
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…
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.)…
+ 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. By Jack McCarthy The art of songwriting is a noble one. The task of storytelling through music, whether fictional or inspired by events in one’s life, is…
So you’ve been checking out some piano lessons online (shameless plug: our beginner piano courses are totally free!) and you’ve decided to dive into the deep end. Congratulations! You’re taking the first major step toward complete keyboard wizardry! Here are some quick tips to help you on your way to buying the best instrument for your lifestyle…
The guzheng (古筝) is one of my favorite instruments in the world. An ancient Chinese plucked-string instrument, today it’s featured prominently in both classical Chinese and modern international compositions. I think of the guzheng as a perfectly balanced mix between a harp and a zither. + Read more: Curious what the heck a theremin, shruti box, djembe, or glockenspiel…
Happy Friday! Some of our all-time favorite musical combinations come from artists referencing their idols or putting songs and styles they love into their own musical voice. This week we found remixes and covers all over the web, resulting in genre-bending collaborations that have turned music we thought we knew into something else entirely. Check out Guns…
We at Soundfly love the piano. In many ways, it’s the Mother of Modern Instruments, a musical Khaleesi that’s ruled the stage for hundreds of years. Since its birth in the 1700s, the piano has appeared in almost every style of music you can think of — jazz, rock, classical, blues, cat music — and been played…
Here at Soundfly HQ we love instrument innovation. We’ve hit PVC pipes with flip flops and tuned the spokes of a bicycle wheel, all in the name of creativity. So of course we take notice when we find musicians going the extra mile to get just the right tone out of their instrument. In this case, musicians are innovating to great…
Welcome back! It’s been a few weeks since our last internet round up, because — as you may have noticed — we’ve been hard at work giving both Soundfly and Flypaper quite the makeover! And the redesign has inspired our theme for the week: finding new in the old. Below we’ve got all kinds of innovations and…
Need a boost of inspiration? Try any of these fool-proof chord progressions to jumpstart your writing process.
+ Learn the nuances of producing beats, arranging tracks, and creative sampling, drawing on the rich history and influence of hip-hop in Soundfly’s acclaimed online course, The Art of Hip-Hop Production. The Middle East is quite the hot topic of today’s dinner discussions regardless of whether they’re actually occurring at the dinner table, or on the…
“The song form is a great central theme in a life well lived.” – Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks occupies a very distinct corner of the 20th century. His is a world of imagination, wonder, and the sublime. His stylistic interests pair a considerable appreciation for the music of the past with an almost complete…
A canon (or round) is a single melody line that provides a counterpoint to itself. Canons can, at times, feel lighthearted and happy go lucky (“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” or “Frere Jacques” for example), but even the simplest sounding pieces require careful attention and are difficult to craft well, especially where more than two voices are…
Each month, we start a new Mainstage session, welcoming in a fresh batch of uniquely talented student-artists, ready to step up their game and take their music farther than ever before. Our team of Soundfly Mentors works with these creative artists, striving to help them reach their learning goals and build confidence in several areas…
Here at Soundfly, we’ve set out to create the most effective learning model possible. Sometimes that means going against what everyone else is doing.
