The Rise Of The Sampling Pad In The Modern Drummer’s Setup

No matter how many times I hear the term “modern drummer,” I can’t help but imagine a player that has a smaller setup which includes a Roland SPD-SX. This product is part of a family of instruments known as drum sampling pads. Nearly all drummers I have toured with in the past few years have all had an SPD-SX or something similar. In fact, it’s almost uncommon that they don’t have one!

Sampling pads allow drummers to play grooves with electronic percussion, trigger synth lines, and even use backing tracks with a band. With the amount of expression and flexibility they offer a drummer, it makes sense why they have become so popular in the last ten years. Sure, electronic drums have been around since the 80s, but nothing has become as portable until now.

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Getting To The Top Of The Pile When Submitting Your Music For Licensing

Guest post by Evan Zwisler. This article originally appeared on Soundfly’s Flypaper

These days, music licensing seems to be one of the most lucrative ways to make money as a musician. Record deals usually just amount to distribution, earning money playing shows can be spotty, and merch sales are unreliable. But selling one of your songs to a movie, TV show, or video game is a great way to earn a solid chunk of royalties that could last the entirety of your career, if you’re lucky. If you’re someone who is able to write and produce your own songs, this is a particularly reliable way to earn a living.

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How To Read Piano Notes And Keys - Visual Teaching Material For Piano Teachers

Sight reading plays a huge role in instrument learning, not just piano. 

And yes, most beginners hesitate and neglect in sight reading because it requires left brain functions: memorizing stuff and thinking logically.

That’s why I created a visual guide on how to read piano notes and keys. With friendly illustrations, it would help students acquire the information much faster, easier.

Below is the summary infographic for the guide. You can click here to learn more about the original guide with two different approaches to learn the pitch names: Left-brained and right-brained.

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MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: Formal Education For Musicians

• Lucas Cappel | Is Formal Education Important For Musicians
• Patrick McGuire | Getting Through A Show When Everything Goes Wrong
• Dan Richardson | The Huge Growth In Electric Pianos - Modern Digital Pianos
• Mark Knight | How YouTube Betrayed The Friendship Of Unsigned Musicians

Is Formal Education Important For Musicians

The issue of whether musicians should pursue formal education or remain self-taught is causing heated debate in recent days. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, therefore, as a musician, do not be pushed by what people are saying. It’s important that you do your due diligence, weigh the pros and cons of going to college then make your decision yourself.

According to some self-taught individuals in the music industry who range from singers to guitarists and producers, being self-taught gives you the opportunity to be adventurous and therefore, more creative. They are not limited by any guidelines unlike those that went to college. In music schools, people are taught the same things which just gets them set on the same ground and mostly tend to release the same kind of music. That sounds boring, doesn’t it? There is hope though, since the making of music does not only depend on one factor and formal education might be more helpful than you thought.

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Getting Through A Show When Everything Goes Wrong

Guest post by Patrick McGuire. This article originally appeared on Soundfly’s Flypaper

The thought of playing a show fraught with performance mistakes, sound problems, and an unengaged crowd is one that keeps musicians of all stripes awake at night. It makes perfect sense, too! After spending god knows much time, money, and personal sacrifice writing and creating great music, you feel a lot of pressure to deliver a flawless live show every time you hit the stage.

But here’s the rub: Things go wrong in live shows constantly, and the problems you’re likely to experience aren’t always predictable or preventable, nor are they abnormal in any way. Especially when you’re on the road playing night after night, with different sound in different rooms with different support acts and different audiences, it’s a miracle we’re even able to perform well at all!

Here are a few ways to get through shows where nothing seems to be going your way.

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The Huge Growth In Electric Pianos - Modern Digital Pianos

The electric or digital piano has come so far in the last 10-15 years with the increase of technology. I still have an older Yamaha digital piano that I purchased 15 years ago and it is crazy to compare them to what is coming out now. These keyboards are used all over music from studio musicians all the way to live performers. The good thing about these instruments is that they come in at all different price ranges. You can find a keyboard that is fairly cheap that still will get the job done for you depending on what you’re trying to do. 

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How YouTube Betrayed The Friendship Of Unsigned Musicians

This article questions the value of YouTube to unsigned artists. Why are YouTube still not paying unsigned artists for every stream?  There are 400 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every day, driving projected net advertising revenues of $3.96 billion in 2018. Google are starting to look evil.

YouTube a new distribution channel for unsigned artists

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MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: On The Road

• Emma Sturgis | On The Road: 5 Tips To Help Your Band Travel Light When On Tour
• MusicThinkTank | Breaking Through In The Age Of Social Media
• Herman Poleschuk | Top 5 Ways How To Promote Your Music Video
• Hailey Stratton | Things To Consider When Creating Your Band’s Website

On The Road: 5 Tips To Help Your Band Travel Light When On Tour

Getting your band’s name out there is not simple. One thing you might have to do is plan tours and commit to being on the road. One of the hardest things about being on the road is carrying a heavy load but you actually do not have to. The following are five tips for traveling light.

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Breaking Through In The Age Of Social Media

Back in the day, the average YouTube video was short and hilarious. Then it became informative, covering everything from mobile pokies reviewed to game walkthroughs (cut in 10-minute pieces), DIY hacks, life tips, and lots of music. Actually, YouTube was always perfect for sharing music videos, and today, it has also become the perfect medium for emerging artists to show their worth to the world. And to show that it can indeed be a medium through which new artists can be discovered, here are a few artists who went from YouTube to world fame (we won’t mention JB on our list, promise).

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Top 5 Ways How To Promote Your Music Video

Today popularity on Youtube and social platforms is the most important part for success of any artist.

But you need to do more than just to create a great music videos to maximize its full potential. There is no point for you to produce music videos if nobody would watch it. If no one is interested to see it, and more so share it, then your video is practically worthless. Therefore, you should also come up with promotions and advertisements to boost your videos online visibility.

Below we outline 5 of the most important ways you should do to promote and boost your music video to achieve outstanding results.

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Things To Consider When Creating Your Band's Website

These days, it’s impossible to get by as a musician without a great web presence. Of course, one of the most effective ways to manage this will be with your own website where you can quickly send anyone who’s interested in learning more about you, finding merch, streaming your music, or booking you for your next gig. Sure, you can probably get by with a Facebook profile and a Bandcamp page, but an attractive website hosted on a domain that you own will make you appear more professional than most other new bands in your area. 

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MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: Vinyl

• Adam Clapton | How To Clean Vinyl Records
• Kenzie Fitzpatrick | Tips For First-Time Instrument And Audio Equipment Buyers
• Courtney Myers | Four Ways That Music Actually Makes You Healthier
• Rachelle Wilber | Stage Creation: How To Set Up The Venue For A Fabulous Show
• Monique Hernandez-Fuentes | How To Get An Endorsement As A Musician