Category: musics

Making The Most Of Your Owned Music Production Hardware

Lets face it — nothing in the music production arm of the music recording industry is cheap. If you were to list out the prices of all music production products and services that are used to make an album, the bottom line would be staggeringly high. From the unnecessarily posh recording studios to the outrageous hourly rates they charge, traditional music recording is not for the stingy.

However, thanks to the improvement in DIY music recording technology over the past twenty years and the accessibility of those qualified to educate on such products and their uses, the music recording playing field is being leveled. Thanks to this great shift, musicians of all kinds (beat makers, producers, instrumentalists) can now justify the cost of recording over a long period of time, whereas before the more you recorded, the more you paid. Not the case today! With products like GRAMMY award winning producer Dallas Austins new music production tool Beat Thang, what you get for your money is entirely dependent on how much you use it.

But DIY does not equal cheap. However, these music production suites often make up for their sometimes steep price point in other ways. For instance, Beat Thang comes pre-packaged with assets at no extra cost that a traditional music recording studio could never offer you, like 24/7 technical support from professional producers.

Additionally, I dont think youll ever come across a music recording studio that will give you your money back if youre not pleased within the first day of recording, like Beat Thang does. Most importantly, a studio will never be able to upgrade the sound of your recording once its finished. On home recording tool sets like Beat Thang, you get free software upgrades included for life.

Thanks to the digital connection on this music production device, no software on the Beat Thang will ever be obsolete, so long as its creators continue updating it to align with the progress of other music recording sounds and standards. Instead of having to spend a few hundred dollars an hour to master beats and record samples in the studio and know that the price is fixed, the more you use a product like Beat Thang, the more youre getting for your money with each and every usage.

As beat makers continue their experimentation with Beat Thang, theyre also learning the ropes of music recording and beat-oriented music production as well, thus controlling their own creative destiny. No squabbling over artistic differences with anyone when using Beat Thang, just your own inner conflict.

Once you start to tally up all the features and see how much youll be using any music production device, not to mention learning from it, prices begin to seem more reasonable.

Beat Thang or no, it is important that you seek out information regarding portability, intuitiveness, and capability before purchasing any music production tool. The grade any piece of equipment gets in each of those categories will go a long way in determining if youll get your moneys worth.

Running An Underground Death Metal Music Record Label

My first injection of Extreme Metal Music was back in 1985, i was 13 and a Metallica – “Ride The Lighning” cassette crossed my paths (Yes back then that was considered Extreme). I remember being at home alone with my crappy old “Ghetto Blaster” (that ‘ate tapes’) and fascinated at the cool “Electric Chair” cover art, it was at that moment within the first 30 seconds of “Fight Fire with fire” that my life would no doubt be set down a new path and Extreme Death Metal Music would be my fate. I remember being blown-away and scared shitless at the same time. The shear aggression and speed of the music was unlike anything i had ever heard (remember this was 1984 and i was 13 and Def Leppard was about the heaviest i had ever heard) and it was that very song that forever changed my life (thanx James) and led me to investigate this style of music even more. Bands like Slayer, Venom, Possessed and Death became the metal music that “Got me thru the day”

Well, the year is now 2008 and even though Metallica’s “Ride The Lighning” is still one of my top 20 favorite albums of all time, Extreme Metal Music is like drugs, one is too many and a thousand is not enough. The need for faster, heavier, more brutal and intense music dosages becomes the addiction. In today’s world of Extreme Metal Music – Metallica would probably be considered choir boys.

I guess it’s time to talk about what this article is actually about… running an underground Death Metal Record Label. First off, running an underground death metal label like this usually means running it from your parents basement, or if your a grown man who just can’t seem to grow up, your running it from your own basement and are constantly having to remind your wife, “would you rather me be here at home with you wasting all our money, or at the strip clubs wasting all our money). Truth be told probably 90% of Death Metal Record Labels that exist do it for the pure love of the music and do it on top of working 40 – 50 hours a week doing something that actually makes money, and to those who continue to do it while investing their own money and risking their marriages and relationships i raise my Corona and “Cheers You!”… But that’s just what Extreme Metal does to people, there is a devotion to it, there is just this undeniable force that encapsulates you… it’s likebeing in a gang… a really large gang!

I work for a small record label CDN Records, a basement run 2 person operation managing over 2000 Extreme titles in the genres of Death Metal, Brutal Death Metal, Melodic Death metal, Grindcore, Goregrind, Black Metal, Thrash Metal and more. The other person involved again and actually the one who started the label, a grown man like myself in his late 30’s obsessed with metal music in it’s most extreme form and probably the biggest “Death” (the band) fan you will ever meet. He started the label over 15 years ago, originally called “Civilian Death Network”, but after 9-11 it was apparent that we needed to change the name, hence (CDN Records). The label started out mostly as a “Tape Trading” network trading various Death metal bands demos with other Death Metal music fans around the world, and back then without the internet and low-cost’s of producing cd’s the cost involved could bankrupt most people. Most of us doing this tape trading stuff usually spent every last extra penny we had, we begged borrowed and stole just so we could pay for postage.But with the advent of the internet and the ability to manufacture “CD’s” cheap the label was able to evolve into a full-blown record label, signing and releasingbands.

Currently we have over 15 of our own titles, and what we do is trade our titles with other Extreme Labels around the world which increases our distro catalogue. It’s a great system, and its probably the only form a music in the world (that i know of) that operates like this… again reminding me of the bond and devotion to Extreme Music us “Metalheads” have. It’s like there is no competition between all Underground metal labels, we work together to create an even larger network. Its and even better deal for alot of the bands in the Death Metal, Extreme Music genre. We have taken bands who would never have been able to get their music on a cd let alone shipped out and into the hands of metalheads around the world… and that’s a great feeling and what fuels us to keep going.

Although, we first do this for the love of Death Metal music, we definitely work very hard at trying to get “Death Metal Music” to pay the bills. How much better could it get? promoting the music you love and making a living do it…

Tips for staring your own Death Metal Record label:
1. Find a band that you really like and has already recorded their own full-length cd (This saves you money)
2. Sign the band to a simple distribution deal, you press 1000 copies and give the band a few hundred copies (most death metal bands will jump at the chance for this)
3. Get yourself a simple web site and the ability to sell your product online.
4. Spend countless hours surfing the internet looking for other small Extreme Death Metal labels… create a long list
5. Contact all the labels you found online and ask if they do “Trades”, usually trades are based on a point system you’ll figure that out quick.
6. Most labels will trade 3-5 copies to start, trade with 100 labels you now have 300-500 titles to add to your web sites online catalogue
7. Don not take more than 10 copies of any one title… 3-5 at most
8. Promote online, Promote Online, Promote online… forums, blogs, myspace etc etc.
9. Repeat steps 1 thru 7 once you have no more of the original 1000 cd’s you pressed, of the cd traded well press the same release, if you struggled
to get other labels to take it on trade, search for a new band and try again.
10. You will be very lucky to sell more than a few thousand copies of any 1 Extreme Death metal cd, Grindcore cd or Black Metal CD (unless you happy to get lucky enough to sign the next Cannibal Corpse or Cradle of Filth) release so don’t get frustrated, the key is to
build your online catalogue with 1000’s of titles to chose from and enjoy the fact that you are now promoting and selling 100’s of Extreme Metal bands.

For all you Death Metal, Brutal Death metal, Melodic Death metal, Grindcore, Goregrind, Black Metal and Thrash Metal needs, stop on by www.cdnrecords.com

Musical Instruments Of Colombia

Everybody deeply appreciate the great treasure that is Colombian musical instruments, such as Colombian tiple, made in coral wood, with clear lines and awesome authentic color, with twelve metal strings arranged in four courses. Any professional or student guitarist will find it easy to use in Colombian folk music, and in many Latin American songs. Musicians can use it in Latin American folk jazz music, but also in original songs as well. Tiple’s ethereal and clear sound is also used in classic guitar music creations.

Colombian Cuatro is concert grade guitar; it is made of slices and blocks from curly maple. It has a violin shape and has a great pitch accuracy and finish. The ‘seis’ is a hybrid of the cuatro and a supplementary sixth course tunes a fourth below the usual fifth bottom course. It is also a very popular Colombian musical instrument. This feature allows an expanded bass range. It can be used also for guitar intervals as well, and it makes a awesome music, It sounds as a guitar, but sweeter, faster and louder.

Original Colombian music instruments
Spanish and African traditions are strongly represented in Colombian music. Traditional quena, a king of flute, and Spanish guitar are very popular. Colombian bandolina has fifteen strings and its sound is beautiful, sweet and clear. It is usually made by hand, of unexcelled quality. The marimba is another Colombian musical instrument; it looks like a xylophone and its keys are made in wood. The arpa is a local version of the harp, the guassa is a rattle. The songs from the Pacific coast are using drums and are tinged with Spanish influence. Due to the Spanish influence, piano music is also very popular in Colombia. The newest music style in Colombia is “valenato”, based on the European accordion.

Many Colombian musical instruments are beautifully crafted, from the ancient times until our century. The charango, a kind of guitar made in wood, the vessel whistle, the erkencho, a kind of clarinet, the chirimia, an oboe, are carefully made and original Colombian folk music sounds great with them. There are six ethnic zones in Colombia; the music is a hybrid between Indian roots and Spanish traditions. In some regions, there is also a strong Negro influence. Guitars, flutes and drums are always necessary; in the Caribbean zone the most important Colombian musical instrument is gaita, a kind of oboe. In Colombia, music is a tradition. There is a habit to pass folk songs from one generation to the other.

How To Improve Your Sight-reading (organ, Piano And Keyboard)

As an organist, I have been working in club land in the North of England for the past 30 years or so and one of the crucial qualifications in this environment is the ability to sight read music on demand.
When I say music this can be anything from a beer matt to a ripped piece of paper repaired with selotape and stained with beer.

To be fair most of the music is written by professionals and is nice to read but not always easy.
As a club organist, you do not get a band call. In fact, you are lucky to get five minutes to scan through between 10 and 15 pieces of music. Some written in different keys, and every organist will tell you they hate it when they get the dreaded 6 sharps or 6 flats or even 7 sharp keys in a piece of music that just happens to contain a solo especially written for you.

So how do you improve your sight-reading? Well I asked my music teacher this very question as I embarked on my club land career. His answer was to practice sight-reading. He went on to tell me that session musicians practice by picking up any music book start playing on page one and continue until they have finished the book.

Does it work? Yes it does. Try it for yourself, pick up any piece of music you can find, preferably one that you are not that familiar with, then start to play, but do not stop. If you make a mistake it does not matter, you are not practising how to play this piece of music you are practising sight-reading this piece of music.

If you really want to test yourself. Get yourself an audience. I practice my sight-reading every week in front of a 200 plus audience. Its surprising how your concentration improves.

House Music – The Origins

Establishing “House”

The birth of the words “house music” is a hotly argued question amidst artists and DJ’s. Some people assert it originated from a night club called “The Warehouse” where longtime resident Producer/DJ Frankie Knuckles played a distinctive brand of dance music until 1982 when the establishment closed down. Knuckles himself suggested he initially witnessed the term when driving by a bar on the south side of Chicago that hung a sign in its window reading “We play house music”. DJ Leonard “Remix” Rroy suggests the sign was likely a reference to the style of soulful songs one would listen to at your own house.

A second sentiment is that the phrase referenced the production of music in the residences of groundbreaking DJ’s and dance producers. These early creations would be recorded with synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers. Many others assert that “house” references the relationship of particular tracks with their respective DJ’s, as in the house DJ’s played their very own house records.

The Fathers of House Music

The Chicago night club scene of the early 80’s was spurred by DJ’s spinning a number of styles of music like disco, hip hop, funk, pop, and R&B. The beginning of somewhat economical electronic instruments led to some DJ’s crafting their own combination of existing tunes by mixing in drum machines and effects.

Seen by many to be the very first original house music record, “On & On” by Jesse Saunders was published in 1984. The album’s prosperity ignited a wave of tracks from the earlier DJ’s attempting their hand at putting out house music. The music soon branched off into subgenres of house such as deep house and acid house.

Through the support of club DJ’s such as Lil Louis, Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, and radio stations like WBMX, house music quickly gained popularity in Chicago. Concurrently, house began to spread to nearby DJ’s and producers of Detroit, Michigan. Artists like Marshall Jefferson helped push house outside of Chicago with his hugely well known track “Move Your Body”. From the middle to late 1980’s artists such as Larry Heard, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Farley Keith, and Steve Hurley, persisted to popularize the style.

Now, house music is more prevalent than ever and can be heard in a variety of forms in night clubs spanning the earth. The genre has continued to fork off into subgenres including progressive house, electro house, techno house, breakbeat, and the list goes on. House isn’t just a style of music, but is a religion protected by loyal followers the world over.