8 Reasons to Be a Lousy Musician

I’m a crappy guitarist. In the 20 years that I’ve been playing, I can’t once remember playing scales, and I’ve never sat down to practice. I still have trouble with F-chords, I have awful right-hand t...Full Article

Music for the Christmas Holidays

In our multi-cultural societies today the run up to Christmas is experienced in many different ways. The commercial version pioneered by Coca Colas magazine advertisements which established the red su...Full Article

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME - Eliminate Throat Tension

As a vocal coach, I hear it all the time. I love to sing but when I do, I get hoarse and need to shout to be heard after only a few hours. Some days I just want to give up. What am I doing wrong? ...Full Article

An Interview with Jon Bon Jovi - 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Cant Be Wrong

The idea originated with singer Jon Bon Jovi. Jon kept upping the ante with his label and ultimately they consented to a four-CD set of essentially new material. Here, he talks about this 20th anniv...Full Article

Reasons to Ditch Your Guitar Pick

Lately, I havent been using my guitar pick all that much. I got this tab book of some good ol Gatemouth Brown finger picking blues. Ive been enjoying myself so much trying to get this fingerpick thang...Full Article

Performance and Gigs

For optimum amp tone onstage, plug your amp into your own AC outlet.. - Eric Johnson DOING GIGS In my opinion, there are two kinds of performers: 1 - Concert performers -- who do well in front of a si...Full Article

Internet Jams

Todays technology for the recording musician has been getting better and better with each passing month it seems. Software and computer interfaces are getting much less sophisticated and more user fri...Full Article

Musical Improvisation Basics - 8 Vital Things To Remember

This article discusses 8 vital things to remember as improvisers - whether advanced or just getting started:1. Your technique is probably miles ahead of your ability to think.This isnt just true for c...Full Article

Beauchamp Brings Diversity to Music

Everyone has a talent. For Miami, Okla.s, Brian Beauchamp, its playing music. Beauchamp who began playing guitar in 1998 while attending college at the University of Oklahoma said he first played afte...Full Article

Effective Band Rehearsal

If your band is in rehearsals, either preparing for gigging, or practising new songs to add to your repertoire, the chances are you will have to hire a rehearsal room. The costs of hiring a room can s...Full Article

Musical Improvisation Basics - Four Strategies For Playing Wrong Notes

While it probably doesnt seem like this would help - lets face it - if you are unwilling to play a lot of wrong notes, youre never going to learn how to do anything hard. And improvising is hard! It i...Full Article

Soul Band for a Party

Was the request six months ago, a sixtieth birthday party, the client said. It got me thinking. There is a whole untapped market out there for people who lived as teenagers and twenty somethings throu...Full Article

Painting with Sound

Whenever I go to a Borders bookstore here in San Diego, I make it a point to look at the art instruction books. Im not a visual artist, but Ive always enjoyed the step-by-step approach authors of the ...Full Article

Why Play Guitar?

As a full-time guitar instructor, I am constantly faced with people in all walks of life who, for all different kinds of reasons, believe that playing the guitar will add something to their lives. Mos...Full Article

Copyright Basics for Songwriters

Should you copyright your song? If youre a songwriter, sooner or later you will probably have some questions about getting your material copyrighted. Since Ive already been down this road before, you ...Full Article

How Much of Your Potential Will You Release?

Do you ever feel there is an inner voice speaking to you, telling you that youre not very good, or you cant do it, or theres just not enough confidence and repertoire with you? This is the voice that ...Full Article

The Need To Perform

I cant believe how much of the year has gone by, but all the same, its unbelievable how much Ive grown through the year and most of it, from demolishing my need to perform.I grew up playing a lot of h...Full Article

Discover The Perfect Place To Perform

Once you know what your Unique Selling Proposition is as a musician (we covered this in the last issue), its time to ask yourself what kind of venue you want to be letting those talents out in. This i...Full Article

Does Your Band Need a Manager?

New bands looking to book gigs and establish contacts often start looking for a manager to handle the business aspects of their music. This is especially the case in cities with big music scenes, lik...Full Article

The Bagpipe and Its History

You may have heard that bagpipes are a Scottish invention; you may have heard that they are an Irish invention. The truth (of course) is neither one. The bagpipe was invented in ancient Samaria, in Is...Full Article