by harlowmedia | Feb 7, 2020 | Pro Tips
It’s not a no brainier.
by Sam Wilder
How many times have you wished you could be better at your instrument? Or wished you could be a better singer? We all know that the best way to get better is to practice our craft. It’s the biggest no-brainer there is about being a musician. To get better, one has to practice. I’ve read interviews with some of the world’s best musicians and they’re quoted all the time saying things like “I practiced 8 hours a day.” or “I even practice my guitar on the toilet.” That’s all good and fine but how many of us really have that kind of time, or actually want to practice on the toilet? Not me, but I have found a couple ways to practice that really work and won’t take all your time.
I’m going to give you a quick list of practice tips today that really work for me when it comes to practicing my guitar. Here they are:
1. Make it easy to pick up your instrument.
2. Have something to practice.
3. Practice a little every day.
4. Practice to a beat.
5. Practice with other people.
6. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
That’s a simple little list right? It’s easy and it works!
1. First of all make sure you can get to your instrument easily. I don’t like to have to set up my amp, dig my guitar out of it’s case, find a strap or track down picks everytime I want to practice. I always have a guitar and amp set up right by my computer. The guitar has a strap on it and picks sitting by it. It’s within arms reach even while I’m typing this. I can grab that guitar anytime I want and play it. So invest in a permanent practice setup if you don’t have one already.
2. Next, make sure you have something to practice. You don’t always have to practice a scale or particular song but it’s good to have a list of things you want to learn or work on. I keep a couple Guitar Player magazines sitting around which are full of lessons I can work on. It’s fine if you just want to pick up your guitar and noodle. The important thing is to play.
3. Now that you have something setup all the time that’s easy to get to, and you have something to practice. Grab that instrument and play it! You can play for 5 minutes and that will be 5 minutes more practice than you would have gotten if you hadn’t picked up that instrument at all. If you pick up your instrument for 5 minutes, 4 times a day, then you have just completed 20 minutes a day of practice. Just do a little here and there and those practice times will increase and so will your skill.
4. It’s a great idea to practice as much as possible to a beat or track. The track is what keeps you in sync with all the other musicians in the band. If you practice too much without a track/beat you will struggle to play with other musicians. It’s not fun at all if you can’t stay together with your band because you can’t play on the beat.
5. Finally, practice with other people. Nothing is more fun than sitting around jamming. Jamming is learning on a very high level. You learn about your abilities and you learn tips and tricks from those around you as well. After all the best way to get better is to play with people better than you. You’ll also learn how to function with other musicians and that increases your skill level for playing live with your band.
6. Playing something correctly once isn’t enough, especially if you’ve played it incorrectly several times before that. The human body cannot distinguish between “right” and “wrong” it only remembers what you have done repeatedly. In other words, if you make the same mistake 10 times and then play it correctly once, your body will remember the mistake instead of the correct version. It has been said that for every wrong performance of a song the brain needs 25 correct repetitions to “undo” what it has learned.
I promise if you follow these tips, your skills will increase by leaps and bounds. Then one day when you’re giving an interview and the interviewer asks you how you got to be so skilled on your instrument you can say, “I practiced 8 hours a day…on the toilet!”
by harlowmedia | Jan 28, 2020 | Pro Tips
By Sam Wilder
Whether you answered a musician “want ad” or someone reached out to you, the next step in the process is actually going to the audition. So let’s talk about it. I’ve played in several bands and projects over the years and have been to my share of band auditions too. Auditions are always an interesting process and I’ve always learned something going through it. Today I’m going to give you a few tips on preparing to audition for a band.
The first thing you want to do is make sure you have the correct address for where the audition is going to be held. I remember once getting so lost going to an audition that I was an hour late. Needless to say, it didn’t make a good impression and I didn’t get the gig. Get directions and a phone number you can call in case you get lost or stuck in traffic.
Which brings me to my second tip, be on time. Showing up late to an audition is the ultimate way to show you don’t care about being a part of the band. If you have a lot of equipment to set up then you should ask if you can show up a few minutes early. Don’t just show up early, because you’ll look a little too eager which isn’t cool. But if you let the people know you have extra equipment to set up then they’ll appreciate you asking if you can show up early to set up.
The next tip is, don’t bring any unnecessary equipment. It’s a good idea to ask what equipment you should bring to the audition. Just bring along what you will need to complete the audition. Believe me, you don’t want to be stuck setting up and tearing down for an hour if everyone is uncomfortable with each other.
Don’t bring your best equipment either, especially if you’re auditioning for people you’ve never met before. If you have a vintage collectors Les Paul, you should leave it home and just bring your Les Paul Studio guitar. You never know when you will run into some shady types that might want to relieve you of your best equipment.
Make sure you know how to play the songs you are going to audition on. If you’ve been told “just come over and we’ll jam on something”, I can guarantee you that the band is completely unorganized. If you just show up and jam on 12-bar blues for an hour, that’s not a lot to go on when choosing musicians to form a band. You have to remember that you’re auditioning the band as much as you are being auditioned. You’ll want to hear how the other musicians learn their individual parts and function together as a band. That’s why it’s a necessity to choose at least 3 songs that everyone will know to audition.
Remember to relax and have fun! Whether you get in the band or not, at least you’re getting the chance to play with some new musicians. It’s always a learning experience to get with some other musicians and see how they do things. It’s good to see how the members interact with each other. If you’re in a band, you will be spending a lot of time together so pay attention to how everyone is getting along.
When the audition is over, ask them what they thought. They may tell you that they’ll call you and let you know. It’s a good idea to say something to the effect of “If I don’t hear from you in a week, can I call to find out if you’ve filled the position?”. Auditions are a lot like job interviews that way and it’s important that you follow up. Good luck!
by harlowmedia | Jan 22, 2020 | Pro Tips
By Sam Wilder
So your show is booked and your band is heading out to the venue, ready to play a great show. Nothing else to worry about, right? Not necessarily.
You see, while wowing the crowd from the stage is definitely a priority at any gig, your off-stage antics can still mean that you won’t be invited back for another show, no matter how amazing you sound. Making the wrong moves before and after your stage time can impact your ability to get new fans, can destroy your reviews — not to mention make some venues and promoters never want to work with you again.
So how can you avoid all that nastiness and make sure this show isn’t a one time deal? The next time your band plays live avoid these things.
1. Don’t Show Up Late
Promoters and venues ask you to arrive at a certain time for a good reason. They need that time to load you in and get soundcheck set up. They are asking you to be there at that time so they can give you everything you need to have a great show. They’re not doing it to inconvenience you, and they’re not doing it because they just like to stand around for hours before a show actually begins.
Don’t decide that YOU think load-in is too early or that you won’t really need all that time for soundcheck. When you don’t arrive on time, no one else can do their jobs. Plus, it means that the promoter and venue may be paying people to stand around and do nothing while they await your fashionably late arrival — something that is not going to endear you to them. When you come late, you send the whole operation into panic mode and make what should be a calm time of prepping for a good show a completely stressful few hours instead – and that could affect your set.
If you are going to be late for load-in, call and let someone know as soon as you can. If you don’t plan to show up on time, arrange a later time up front, so you don’t waste everyone else’s time.
2. Don’t Abuse the Guest List
Even if a promoter or venue loves your music, that doesn’t mean that they want to lose money on your show. It may seem to you like you should be able to bring anyone into your show you want for free, but the thing is, your guest list spots aren’t really free — they may just feel that way to you. Somewhere, someone is giving up the ticket price of every person who walks through the door. You should negotiate with the promoter or venue up front how many guest list places you’ll get — and then leave it at that. Don’t go out before the show, stroll around town, pick up an entourage and promise them all free entry to the show. What you’re really doing then is asking the promoter or venue to fund your friends nights out. How is that fair?
If something happens at the last minute like a journalist or manager wants to come out and see you or your grandma flew into town to surprise you and see you play, have a word with the promoter or venue. They’re likely to be flexible for good reasons — just don’t play “big man”(or woman) with their tickets and expect to win the friends you really need (the people who put on shows).
3. Don’t Drink Up The Whole Bar
I know, I know. You’re in a club. There’s a bar. People are going to it frequently and buying things. It looks like so much fun.
Here’s the thing – if you want to be a musician, the show is your job. The sooner you make peace with that, the better. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have a drink before you hit the stage, but it does mean that you need to manage your drinking pre-performance so that you’re still in control of all your facilities to the extent required to deliver a great performance. Make no mistake about it — if you get all sloppy drunk, hit the stage and act all crazy, the audience may well cheer for you. However what they won’t do is decide they need to see that again enough to buy a ticket to your next show. What they really want you to do is play the songs they like.
Besides delivering a garbage set, in turn making the promoter not want to book you anymore, and perhaps embarrassing yourself in front of fans, family and the media, getting hammered can breed other issues. As the drink keeps flowing and things get crazier, you may do things like fight with the sound person, break stuff backstage and other rock and roll fantasy crap that may make good stories but does little to make a venue or promoter want to work with you again. Save it for the afterparty.
4. Don’t Overstay (or Understay) Your Welcome
This one is especially important if you are not the headlining band — but even if you are, it is important to adhere as closely to any pre-determined set length as possible. These stage times are drawn up to make sure the whole night runs smoothly, from changeovers to giving the venue enough time after your show to get everyone out and clean up. If you’re one of the support bands, if you go over, you’re taking time away from the headliners (a big, huge no no). If you are the headliners, the time you’re asked to wrap things up may have something to do with noise ordinance laws, licensing laws and all sorts of other regulations. Your failure to stick to the plan could have serious consequences for the venue.
The timetables are cast in stone at most venues, and there may be some wiggle room. The best way to deal with this, especially if you are the headliner, is to ask before you play exactly when you need to be done. That way there is no confusion.
On a similar note, if you’re expected to play for a certain amount of time, try to get as close as possible to that requested set length. If for some reason you can’t, discuss it in advance. If you’re unhappy with the size of the audience or anything else about the show, you need to handle that off stage with the promoters and venue. In other words, don’t handle it by leaving the stage eight minutes into your set because you think you deserve better.
5. Don’t Be a Diva
For a live show to really work, it takes a team effort. The people working at the venue and the promoter don’t work FOR you. They work with you. Treat them as such. It’s cool to ask for things you need to make your show great, but your approach makes all the difference. Give them the respect you’d like to have from them, and when things go well, thank everyone. Even if you played the worst show of your life and only five people paid to get in, your good attitude will be in the bank that will help you get another shot at another show.
by harlowmedia | Jan 15, 2020 | Pro Tips
By Sam Wilder
Ok so you want to be in a band (who doesn’t) but there’s some things you need to know in order to build a successful band. We’ll call them rules for the sake of this Pro Tip.
Rule 1: If you are surrounded by musicians who are truly success minded, there are no limits to what you can accomplish.
Rule 2: If you have a band full of unmotivated musicians, the chances of succeeding with your music business are close to 0.
Rule 3: In order to build success for your band, you will need to consistently put out a great deal of effort (this applies even once you’ve begun to “make it”). If your band only contains a couple of people who do all of the work, the amount of work will simply be too much to handle. As a result, the band will likely not achieve real success. Once you start to notice that the other musicians in your band are not putting out much effort to help the band (i.e. not doing homework, showing up late, leaving early) bring this up to them. Tell them that they have only one shot to change their ways. If they don’t, cut them from the band. These people will only drag your band down.
Rule 4: It is common for musicians to talk about becoming successful, but not actually follow up on what they say. Every musician wants to become highly successful in music, but very few musicians will truly put out the effort in order to achieve success. You will run into these kinds of people all the time. People like this will want to join your band, but won’t be able to help your band in the long run (they will only slow down your progress). Steer clear of these types of musicians.
Rule 5: Some musicians make for excellent band members from a purely musical standpoint. However, it is a very common situation that talented musicians actually prevent their band from making progress in music. This is because talented musicians (like any musician) can still be the ‘wrong’ people for your band. If you want to achieve success with your band, you will need to focus on the bigger picture of where your band is going. This means, if someone is the wrong person for your band, you need to let them go (even if they can “play” great).
Rule 6: Finding the right band members may sometimes seem like an impossible task. However, remember that the most dedicated musicians are also looking for you at the same time that you are looking for them. These people are also going through the same difficulties as you, and share the same desire to play in a successful band as you do.
Rule 7: There are many bands that have already achieved high success in music who are unsatisfied with some of their current band members. It is a mistake to assume that because a band is already successful, they are not actively looking to find the right musicians. It is very possible that people from these bands could join with your band instead or even that you could replace a member in their band.
Think about all that you will be able to do once you have found the right musicians for your band. This means being surrounded by musicians who not only “talk big”, but “do big”. These are people who are highly motivated, and work hard on a continual basis to make progress in their music. Once you have these people on your side, you will be totally unstoppable!
by harlowmedia | Jan 10, 2020 | Pro Tips
Written by Ken Kirkland
“What do you want to do with your life?!” the crazed dad shouts to the 14 year-old kid, barging into the bedroom, fed up with the sound of loud, non-stop music practicing. “I wanna rock!” the kid says. (Enter long-haired rock musicians. Cue loud music. Exit dad, crashing backwards through the window, from the force of the decibels.) They sing, “We’ve got the right to choose it. There ain’t no way we’ll lose it. This is our life; this is our song!”
Do you remember driving your parents crazy with your music listening and endless practicing? Hours of practice is a given. You’ve got to know how to play your axe. But what else do you need to do to get out of the practice room and onto the stage, especially when you’re playing other people’s music?
Cover bands have an extra challenge when they perform: Everyone in the room already has an idea of what the song is supposed to sound like.
Here are Five Things Every Cover Band Needs to Know
1. You’ve got to get out of yourself-imposed shell.
Open your eyes and open your ears. When playing with other musicians, you’ve got to get out of your own little sonic world and listen to your band mates, not just yourself. Endless solo practice in your room isn’t enough. Making eye contact while you play is critical. If you’re a guitar player, practice standing in front of a mirror and look ahead instead of watching your hands. You need to be so comfortable with your own playing that you can focus on what the other people are playing at the same time. The band will be tighter, you’ll make fewer mistakes, and you’ll develop the ability to send signals to each other while you’re playing. This interaction is key to a good performance. Nothing will kill a band’s sound and stage presence quicker than everyone being in their own world, making no eye contact with each other or the audience. Boring.
2. You are entertainers.
Think about the purpose for your performing. If you’re playing in a bar or some kind of restaurant or night club, you’re not just background music. You’re there because people want to hear you play and they want to watch you, listen to you and enjoy the whole experience. The key is to be relaxed. A musician who is moving with the groove and showing the pleasure of the moment on her face is entertaining. When someone takes a solo, turn and watch them. Being “in the moment” is what is entertaining. Finally, keep the vibe between songs. Avoid any discussion and talking between you. Make up your set list and stick to it. There is nothing entertaining about two people arguing about what went wrong in the previous song.
3. You exist for your audience.
Every musician has a double task when performing. First, you are paying homage to the composer. You’re responsible for interpreting or reproducing what the composer intended. Second, you’re entertaining the audience. If the audience is educated in the music you’re playing, they’re also judging how well you pull it off. That’s pretty intense. Those people out there pay your bills. They are the ones who are supposed to benefit from your work.
If your audience is happy, the event organizer is happy. You are partners with the event organizer, or whoever happens to be in charge of the room you’re in. And the goal of your partnership is to make the people happy. Satisfied audiences mean they’ll want you back!
4. People will treat you like servants.
Plato said, “He who is not a good servant will not be a good master.” Everyone talks about being there to serve the audience, but no one likes being treated like a servant! You really have to be careful out there as a professional. Depending on the type of gig, any number of unplanned events could befall you. People will make unreasonable, last minute requests. They will shout things out at you. They will talk to you while you’re singing, or when you actually playing guitar. They will come up and ask if they can play the tambourine. They’ll want their nephew to come up and play his trombone during your wedding gig. Or, God forbid it should happen, on a crowded dance floor, someone will smash into your microphone stand and potentially knock your teeth out.
As musicians, we’re putting ourselves out there, and quite a few things are beyond our control. The worst thing is to give and say, “I don’t need to take this crap!” and walk away. The main thing is to be super flexible, and be nice.
5. You need to respect each other.
What kind of person are you when you’re not playing? Guaranteed at some point your real personality will influence your on-stage behaviour. If you know you’ve got a short fuse or are a perfectionist, then you’ll need to be extra careful when on stage, especially since you’re under pressure.
Picture this. You’re playing along and someone totally screws up: e.g. hits a blaring wrong note, forgets the changes, her equipment fails, feedback squeals, screws up that special part you practiced. Argh! Everyone makes mistakes. The biggest musical train wreck should leave you visibly unflapped. Rescue the music as quickly as possible. Count it in again and start over. Don’t let any frustration show on your face while you’re playing. The audience might not even notice if they don’t see you looking worried!
Remember, you are the performance as much as the music. You can crucify your band mate in private, after the gig. At least you’ll be able to talk about the musical rescue feat you accomplished in front of your audience. Work out your differences. Man up and move on. No-one wants to work with an *@^*% and it had better not be you!
