The Berkleemusic Blog Network brings together music industry professionals, music educators, and Berklee College of Music faculty to discuss topics and current events relating to the music business, music production, songwriting, music theory, performance, and online education.
Stefan Lessard is the bass player and a founding member of the Dave Matthews Band. He’s also taking courses at Berkleemusic.com. I caught up with Stefan when DMB played at the Comcast Center outside of Boston. The interview below is part of a larger piece, which we’ll be putting out soon.
Mike King: You’ve been playing with the Dave Matthews Band for 20 years. How did you go from playing small clubs in Virginia to this?
Stefan Lessard: This band, for a while, took every single gig that we were offered. We played every party, every rooftop party, every fraternity; we never said no, we just played everything. I think the most that we played was three gigs in one day and each one of those where about two and a half hours long. So we just worked ourselves silly for four years and when things started growing, we got on the Horde tour. And back when we started, taping was huge. We let people tape our shows and those tapes started getting everywhere and after a few years, we thought, “well, we should probably release a professional sounding live album for our first record.” So we did and we threw a few studio numbers on there but it was mostly just a live show and people loved it because all they had of us was these crappy sounding mix tapes. So finally there was this quality representation of who we were and what we did. It just really grew from there and it was a steady increase. After our first studio record, it really shot up to some sort of success.
Our business model was a lot different back then from most bands at that time, too. For a lot of bands, who are just struggling to play and keep afloat, a record company comes to them and says “We like you guys. We think we can make something out of you. Here’s X amount of dollars upfront and when you are done, we’ll give you X amount more and we’ll give you this amount for tour and give you this percent of merchandise.” What the bands didn’t realize is that the record company was pretty much taking control of the full aspect of things, like the merchandise and the booking and the touring and everything. Once you are theirs, everything went through record companies.
We had such a machine already happening by the time the record companies all got hip to who we were, that they were like, “Well, what do we do with this band? They’re already kind of doing it.” RCA was the first company that came out and saw what we did and said, “This is great! They have their touring and merch down, all we have to do is help them make a great studio record.” They signed us with that sort of freedom and we’ve had a lot of freedom from the start and only have been given more freedom throughout the years. It’s helped us not have to repay so much. It’s really helped us look at the future and move forward.
MK: Was Coran [Coran Capshaw, DMB Manager; founder of Red Light Management; co-founder of ATO Records] helping you set up your infrastructure at the beginning stage?
SL: Well, we were incorporated as a band, which was another thing that a lot of bands did not do, where the lead singer kind of owned the whole thing or the guitar player or whatever, but we came together, and incorporated. The merchandise thing…we just made t-shirts one day and just started selling the t-shirts and people loved them so we just kept doing that. Coran came around because he ran a club that we played at, and we started playing there every Tuesday and he became pretty interested in what we were doing because he saw that there was a lot of momentum. So when he came into it, there was already a lot of momentum, but he definitely helped sculpt the business model that we have used throughout our career. He’s a pretty powerful force when it comes to the business side of the music.
MK: I know you are active on Twitter and Facebook. Can you talk about how you are engaging your fans online?
SL: Our band has always tried to be at the forefront of cutting edge technology when it came to the fan site. When we first started, a fan site was more or less just a mailing list where you would sign a piece of paper and send it to a P.O. box and then maybe you got a t-shirt or a couple stickers or something. There wasn’t really too much incentive to be a fan member. So we created an online fan site and it just took off and that kind of became the model for every band after that.
I have started thinking about a solo record. It’s one of those things, in the history of music, most people that do that, their solo record isn’t something that carries because everyone sees it as project from the bass player for the Dave Matthews Band. So I decided that I would start a website – a platform that I could express myself, so people could see me outside of being the Dave Matthews Band bass player. So it worked and for a little while, people were signing up and talking and I would do little blogs on stuff. MySpace came up and it completely obliterated my whole concept because my concept was MySpace. All of the sudden, I signed up for an account to MySpace and I had 400 more people becoming my friends on Myspace than on my own site. I sort of left my site to the side and I went to MySpace and then from there, I went to Facebook and then from there, I went to Twitter. Next thing I know, I had a voice with the fans. Now it’s gotten to the point where I have to be really careful about what I say because people can take it one way or the other. Sometimes I like that because I don’t mind a little bit of controversy, other times, I want to go out there and squash the rumors. There are a lot of people pretending to be us online. If I find out I’ll go straight to the source, ask BT [Boyd Tinsley, violinist for DMB] if he had a Twitter account and he’d say, “what’s Twitter?” and I was like “Alright guys, FAKE! Don’t talk to him! He’s pretending to be BT”. I think I gained a sort of trust inside the community. Now its just fun and it’s a promotional thing for me. If something happens like the Grand Canyon Adventure [Stefan co-wrote the original music for Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk], I can just start talking about it. I’m taking courses at Berkleemusic, and fans love hearing about the homework I’m doing. I’ve been posting about homework and I think people are starting to think I’m crazy because it’s 4 in the morning and I’m like “still working!” and they’re like “When do you sleep?” It’s been a lot of fun for me and I think the fans enjoy it, so it is something that I’ll keep doing.
I was a huge fan of Kick back in the day, and seeing Berklee’s Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) cover “Need You Tonight” for Beck’s Record Club series makes me want to revisit the record.
Brian John is a Student Advisor at berkleemusic.com. He has a Bachelors in Piano Performance from Miami University of Ohio, and a Masters in Composition from Longy School of Music. Brian’s background is primarily in Classical music, but a 4 year stint in a home-grown jam band gives him a unique perspective on both genres. He continues to compose and perform for people across the US.
Alright, it’s time to come clean—we all feel the same way about music theory: who wants to study a bunch of stuffy old dead-guy music to learn what people did 200 years ago? There are so many other things to study that are more interesting, helpful, and fun, right? Well, not exactly. Even if you don’t find music theory fun, it’s our history, our tradition, and in essence, the platform upon which all of what we do is built.
Whether we realize it or not, music theory is essential to being a successful musician. It is all around us, built into the core of the Rock, Blues, Jazz, and Classical styles. What makes these styles distinguishable is how they utilize the basic elements of theory. What would Blues be without the 12 bar form? What would Classical be without the big V-I cadence? Our culture is steeped in these traditions, and our ears have been trained to listen for, and even expect, music that follows these rules.
Now, here is why I think music theory is fun, and even exciting (yes, yes I know—bear with me). Because our music follows these rules, and even casual listeners unconsciously expect these conventions, we can create a unique musical experience by messing with the rules. Musicians playing with, stretching, and even breaking musical convention goes back to those stuffy old dead-guys. (If you don’t believe me, check out Haydn’s Surprise Symphony—the guy had a sense of humor!) They realized that keeping the audience engaged was important, and since they did not have fancy flashing lights, background projectors, or fireworks, they used theory.
The clever songwriter, composer, and even soloist learns the rules and conventions of music so that, at the precise moment, they can break the rules and do something so surprising, so unexpected, that they command immediate attention. It doesn’t matter if the audience realizes that the artist threw in a tri-tone substitute dominant, or switched modes, or even just pulled a deceptive cadence—they just know that, instead of the same old patterns, something new just happened. That, my fellow musicians, is the beauty of music theory.
So, the next time you listen to your favorite artist, whether it’s B.B. King, the Beatles, or even Franz Joseph Haydn, think about the moments that really catch your ear and draw you in. Odds are that it’s no accident—that surprising, unexpected, attention-grabbing moment that is the crux of every classic piece has its genesis in music theory.
Berkleemusic’s online summer term begins June 28, 2010.
For a proper checklist, when you’re trying to approve your CD project, really, you should consult your local mastering engineer. They are the people who have the info on the complete, definitive word on such issues—engineers such as Berklee’s own Jonathan Wyner of M-Works, in Cambridge, MA, who is one of my gurus.
Me, I’m just a hack survivalist, but lately, I’ve found the need to develop my own little checklist. It’s meant to complement what your mastering engineer is doing, not replace it. Mastering engineers are better at this than I am.
So, here’s my own checklist for CD masters—specifically for CDs that accompany books about music. Many of these items have a horrific war story attached to them. If you are the unfortunate recipient of a CD that I had something to do with that doesn’t work due to one of these issues, or something else, please contact me privately about this at jfeist@berklee.edu.
Anyhow, here’s my current list. Let me know if you have other suggestions.
CD Master Checklist
Starting point: CDs should conform to Red Book standard.
Among the things to confirm:
CD:
74 minutes maximum; less is better
99 tracks maximum
1 second or more space between tracks (unless there’s a really good reason not to)
files are WAV or AIFF and not MP3 (iTunes likes to sneak in MP3s)
Works in audio-only CD player; don’t test it only on a computer
CD is labeled with project name and date of CD, what type of CD it is (audio, data, CD-plus, etc.), and whether it is a master or a draft
Content:
Notes on CD match notation in book
Examples are repeated in accordance with book’s notation
Tracks are in the correct order, matching CD Tracks page in the book
Countoffs/clicks are used consistently
No distortion
No pops
No random talking or other extraneous noise, particularly at beginning and end
No long spaces of silence at beginning or end of tracks
Track names are correctly spelled, and rendered just like CD tracks list, if there is one
Volume levels consistent from track to track
An important check to do is to use the >> button on an audio CD player to begin each track. It is possible for the start points to be out of sync, which you’d only notice by doing this, or otherwise starting each track fresh. (The track would not start at the beginning.)
I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day holiday! I joined much of the country in taking a quick vacation– a couple of days of international business, then off to a week-long respite from weaseling. So maybe that explains why my mind is on things global. Or maybe its a conversation I had last week with someone in the insurance industry who had just been offered a position in Singapore– he was telling me that in many of the world’s fastest growing economies there is a real shortage of people with expertise in many of the major industries. Or maybe it’s the video I just watched, forwarded to me by one of our faithful blog-watchers Quincy Wofford, of the first hit that built the career of Haim Saban, the subject of one of my most recent blogs. That video featured an Israeli teenager singing a French song in one of the earliest Japanese television cartoons. It doesn’t get much more international than that.
What all this worldly thinking does is to bring home to me the fact that most of us are missing opportunities all the time, simply because our sphere of awareness is not sufficiently global. In fact, much of the time, it’s barely even local. When I was a writer-producer, the world was frequently contained entirely within the four walls of the recording studio, for weeks or months at a time. We are all worrying so much about what we’re doing, that we forget that where we’re doing it could make all the difference. If you’re searching for gold (or platinum records), it’s usually easier if you go where the gold is found.
This does not mean that you should immediately join every other songwriter from New York, Nashville, and London in moving to Los Angeles. Quite the opposite in fact. The herd mentality is exactly what you want to avoid if you’re looking for opportunity. You can’t dominate a market that’s over-saturated. You become the big fish by going where all the other big fish are not.
Of course, those little placid pools of opportunity seldom feel terribly exciting when you first arrive at them. In fact, most of the time, when a songwriter is in a small town, or a mid-size city, or a relatively small country, or in an economy that is still developing and has little infrastructure for media or music businesses, all he or she wants to do it get out. I recall having a writer/producer from Denmark make a writing trip to New York, and within days of arriving, he was already talking about moving here. Now Denmark is actually a very vibrant country with a thriving music community. Nevertheless, it’s not a large market, and as such, certainly doesn’t offer the financial pay-off that making it in America does. I can easily understand the appeal of relocating to a city full of other artists, writers, and music business people.
What I had to explain to the Danish writer was that much of his appeal to A&R people, American co-writers, and others in the industry was that he was something exotic. Simply by coming from a different place, and bringing different influences and ideas, he had a story that opened doors. It’s a lot easier to suggest to an A&R person that they take a meeting with the hot new writer in town for a week from Denmark, or Berlin, or Peru, than to interest them in another songwriter from Brooklyn or Hoboken. People in the music industry are constantly searching for something new and surprising, and more often than not, those things do not emerge from the same community of songwriters that is creating the current hits. The hot new thing comes from outsiders– whether it’s from a regional scene (think of the music coming out of places like Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, Memphis, Portland and Vancouver), or from another country. Today’s Hot 100 is full of international success stories, from RedOne to Stargate to David Guetta to The Phoenix to The Script to Greg Kurstin to Akon to Rihanna. Being from a place outside of the music centers can seem like a disadvantage, especially if there’s no local music community with whom to work. Yet, it’s also an advantage of sorts, as it gives a story and a new, fresh perspective. It also makes it relatively easy to become a dominant player in the local scene.
RedOne
That reality has a flip side for songwriters, producers, publishers and others who are located in a music center, like New York, London, Nashville or LA. While you might be fighting for every breath in a big but very crowded pond, perhaps you would be a big fish in a smaller, less competitive environment. I often find this to be especially true for melody and lyric writers working in the urban/r&b market. What if instead of struggling to break out of the pack of the hundreds or thousands of topline writers in a market like LA or Atlanta, you were to go to a European country, where people who could write believable, authentic lyrics with an American urban sensibility and slang were in relatively short supply? Countries like Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, or Amsterdam are full of fantastic programmers and producers who can compete with many of the top urban producers in the US. But they lack the topline writers who can provide lyrics that work for American audiences. It doesn’t always make sense to go where the action is. If you’re trying to get to first base, the best thing to do is “hit ‘em where they ain’t”.
That goes for the business side as well. Just as many developing countries are in need of experts in insurance, banking and medicine, they may also be in need of people to build their creative industries, like music, film, radio, and entertainment management. It’s hardly news to anyone that the music industry in America and much of Western Europe is contracting, or maybe even collapsing. But in places like Eastern Europe, China, and the Middle East, the music industry is just getting started. It’s often not very pretty, frequently lacking in infrastructure or even basic copyright law, and sometimes actually at odds with government authorities or local customs. That’s about what the industry looked like in America in the Forties and Fifties, when people like Leonard Chess, Ahmet Ertegun, Don Kirshner, and Col. Tom Parker first made their fortunes. If you want to strike it rich, the place with the least rules, the fewest entrenched power brokers, and the lowest number of competitors is an ideal place to do it.
Since it’s that time of year, I would then offer this up as advice to all of the graduates of music schools and music business programs this month:
Get outta here.
Don’t go where everyone else is going, wherever that might be. Find a place where there is an interesting local scene that’s just taking shape, or an economy that’s growing rapidly, or a place where whole segments of the music industry have never existed. Then bring your knowledge, talent and ambition to somewhere that really needs it. It will be very difficult, especially in places where there is relatively little legal or economic infrastructure on which to build. But trust me, trying to break through by gigging at the Mercury Lounge or the Whiskey is pretty difficult too– as is working your way up through the executive ranks of a major label teetering on extinction. At least this way, you have the chance to truly hit the jackpot, rather than just hoping for a decent advance or a good severance package.
Sooner or later, you will in all likelihood return to London, LA, New York, Stockholm, Munich or Tokyo– that’s why they call them music centers. These places are the ones with the lawyers, agents, major publishers and labels, and collection companies that make the business run. But when you return, you’ll come back with a story (hopefully a successful one), some momentum and credibility, and with any luck, the kind of power that comes from having created a thriving business model in unlikely circumstances. That’s very different than showing up in town with a degree and a suitcase full of resumes.
Realistically, in order to pull this off, you’ll need more than just a basic background in the music biz. You’ll want some foreign language skills, an understanding of the culture and economic system of wherever you’re headed, a musical knowledge that extends beyond the current US Top 40, and an understanding of how different aspects of the music business can change based on local custom, copyright laws (or lack thereof), and different collection systems. Needless to say, that will take some extensive studying and research.
At the moment, I’m knee-deep in updating my Berklee Music online class, Music Publishing 101. One of the key changes I’m hoping to make in the new course is a greater emphasis on the international differences in music publishing. It’s a very tough subject to address, simply because there are so many of those differences, some rooted in variances in the copyright laws between territories, others related to the size of the market, and still others based on custom and history. The US system is neither the oldest nor the most representative– it’s just one way among many of publishing music. You need to know the variations in each market, not just so that you can speak intelligently with sub-publishers and colleagues in other regions, but also so that you can take advantage of opportunities that lie outside of your own national borders. If you want to check out the new version of Music Publishing 101, visit Berkleemusic.com
When I first told my parents that I wanted to be in the music industry, they reminded me frequently that success in that field seemed to hinge entirely on being “in the right place at the right time”. Those words always drove me crazy, as they seemed to imply that anything that happened in music was all a matter of sheer luck—never a great basis upon which to build a business strategy. While I’m still not a big believer in the “lucky break” theory of career development, I now have to admit that Mom and Dad had a point. By doing a little research, keeping your eyes open, and being willing to go wherever it takes to grab an opportunity, you can put yourself in the “right place” at the “right time”, and make your own luck. Don’t be afraid to pack your bags and go west, east, north, or south to find a place where the pasture is greener.
A common question I hear from students is, “Do I need to hire a mastering engineer?” The answer is, it really depends, it depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. If you’re just making some homemade CDs to pass out to friends or sell at your gig, you don’t need to spend the money on a mastering engineer. If you’re submitting your songs to a music library, your songs need to be mastered, but you might be able to do this yourself using some of the awesome mastering software programs available. I’m certainly no mastering engineer but I’ve mastered a lot of my own songs that have gone on to be featured in T.V. shows and movies. However, if you’re planning on pressing up 1,000 or more mass produced CDs for worldwide distribution, and the album is important to you, spending the cash to hire a great mastering engineer is essential.
After writing, producing, and mixing the fourteen songs on my upcoming album I had seriously had it with listening to my own tracks over, and over, and over again. So, when I finally made the decision to spend a couple thousand to hire an experienced mastering engineer, I breathed a big sigh of relief. Even though it would be a significant dent in my pocketbook I knew the right mastering engineer would be worth the price.
My choice of a mastering engineer was Michael Denten at Infinite Studios (and, on Myspace). Uploading my project to him was an exciting moment because I knew he would listen to my project with fresh ears, in a completely different studio, and give me some honest feedback on my mixes. Having worked with Denten for a few years in the 90s, I knew how he liked his mixes, phat and present. I knew that with his extensive experience working with some of the biggest names in hip-hop, from Digital Underground to E-40, that he would naturally bring this big, round, bass heavy sound to my project. And, I was confident that my project would benefit from this sound. It’s critical to choose the right mastering engineer for a project, because as much as the right mastering engineer can blow up your sound, the wrong mastering engineer can totally screw up your sound.
Denten was busy so it took him awhile to get to my project, but when he did take his first listen he opened up my eyes and ears to some mistakes that I had made in my mixes. I figured he would have some suggestions, and I figured there was no way I was going to nail all my mixes right out of the gate, so I was able to listen to his feedback with an open mind. You’ve got to remove your ego from the equation in order to hear blunt feedback on your own material, especially material you’d been working on for months and months. You’ve got to remember that this is about what’s good for the song, not what’s good for your ego. Denten didn’t disappoint, he took me to school and made suggestions that where spot on and really helped me to improve my mixes. Let me paraphrase some of his suggestions so you understand what I’m talking about.
“This song is muddy in the 500 Hz range, you need to clean this up.”
“What happened to the kick drum here, it’s leaning to one side.”
“The lead vocals are way to dry on this song, they’re not sitting in the mix right.”
“The drum loop in this song isn’t punching through the mix enough, you need to split it out to different tracks so that you can treat the high, mid, and low frequencies separately.”
“You need to add some sub bass here for more bottom end. You should use the Waves MaxxBass plug-in.”
“Your mixes aren’t very wide. Don’t be so conservative on your panning, spread things out.”
Some pretty blunt criticisms, and those were just the main ones. There were many other smaller, equally helpful suggestions that he made throughout the process.
After receiving his initial feedback I went back to my studio and made the changes. My mixes sounded so much better, and, as a result, my masters sounded a whole lot better, and my entire album sounded better. Thank you Mr. Denten! This is what a great mastering engineer can do for your mixes before they’ve even touched them, they can be a second set of ears and give you crucial feedback to help you improve your sound. Then, when they actually do their job and master your music, your songs are going to sound a whole better than if you had skipped this step and gone straight to mastering all of the tracks on your own. So, if you’re serious about releasing an album worldwide, and you plan to spend the money on physical CDs, don’t skip this step, hire an experienced mastering engineer to take your project to the next level.
Some of the control room monitors at Infinite Studios.
Something that doesn’t get talked about enough (but is incredibly crucial to the success of how your music is performed) is how the individual parts are laid out for the players to read. I’ve uploaded several examples of various instrumental parts for you to use as models (you might even recognize the titles big. I like to think about creating individual parts as though every situation is going to be a “sight reading” situation because there is really never enough time to rehearse and teach a player their part. To this end, I make sure the part is very legible in the following ways:
First, print out the pdf’s I’ve uploaded on 8.5 X 11 inch paper (or something close because what you see on the computer screen is normally not what you REALLY see when printed). Then, when looking at the newly printed pages, note the following:
• Generally 3-5 measures on a line works well. If you have an 8 measure section (extremely common), then I would use 4 on each system. Generally, think of it this way – beginnings of sections start on the far left (like a paragraph of text), and end on the far right. As much as possible, place double bar lines on the far right as well.
• Rehearsal numbers, placed at the beginning of each section, can be the measure number that starts that particular section. Although you could use consecutive letters instead (A, B, C, D etc), when using computers to record with live musicians the measure numbers are consistent between the computer and the live player (computers don’t read letters).
• Measure numbers are easily placed below the clef at the beginning of each system. If you place measure numbers below each measure, the numbers easily collide with ties, notes and other dynamic information.
• I find that a percentage of 100 (% tool in Finale, then click on the upper left side of the page) with respect to the size of the image is a bit large when printed, so I reduce it down to about 94% or 95%. This also allows a little more space on the page. Be sure that the “hold margins” option is checked or else the image will shrink within the page.
• Lastly, when lyrics are involved (a vocal part), it might be necessary to have only 2-3 measures on a system because the lyrics do take up space. The bigger the syllable or word, the more space that is needed.
• All pages should be taped edge to edge with an individual part – not overlapped. Tape both the front and back of the page to avoid pages sticking together.
ALWAYS AVOID the idea that if you put more measures on a page it will save page turns (and you’ll be doing something “green” by saving paper). True, it DOES do that. But, if the player has a hard time reading the notes it won’t matter how many pages of paper you saved because it will sound terrible due to difficulty in reading. The player is reading from roughly three feet in front of their eyes in most cases (and shouldn’t have to be closer), so they need it to be large enough to read it.
If you ever have questions about this in the future, feel free to e-mail me anytime. Also, there is a great guide to score and part layout in the Berkleemusic Bookstore called, “Music Notation: Preparing Scores and Parts” by Matthew Nicholl and Richard Grudzinski – it’s a great resource for for this unheralded, but extremely important part of the writing process.
As I’ve discussed at length on this blog, live events are crucial for developing musicians in acquiring new fans, building a buzz, and getting to the stage where they can monetize what they are doing effectively. For artists just starting off, smaller non-traditional outlets like open mic performances at coffee shops, church or library events, etc can be a good place to make this first plunge into the live performance arena. And for these non-traditional outlets (which are not solely focused on music), hosting live music can bring in some additional traffic, as well as provide a way to support local arts. It’s a symbiotic relationship, which helps musicians to hone their live performance chops, and smaller businesses to engage with their community.
Copyright law dictates that any venue that hosts live music is required to have a performance license, and pay the associated annual licensing fee. As Joan Anderman points out in her Boston Globe piece this morning, the Performance Rights Organizations (who are tasked with collecting these licensing fees and distributing the proceeds to their members) are aggressively pursing these smaller “venues,” many of which make little or no money from the music they present. As such, many of these smaller business owners are eliminating live music from their schedule. As Anderman points out:
Among them is Magret Gudmundsson, who until recently hosted a monthly acoustic open mike in her Middleborough, MA cafe, Coffee Milano. “I like having it here, but we’re not making any money from it and they wanted $332 a year,’’ Gudmundsson said. “The town really needs something like this. They ruined it.”
The PROs counter that the music provided by these artists is adding value to these businesses, and they should pay for this value in the same way they pay for other utilities. There is no doubt that music has value, but if tiny outlets truly are not generating enough revenue from these performances to cover the costs of the license, is it more beneficial for the artists (whom the PROs are representing) to consider these outlets as a way to get their live chops down and hopefully start their local following, as opposed to an income generating vehicle? Are the PROs, as my friend Milan might say, killing an ox for a pound of meat?
I’m all for artists collecting money for their work. But if the end result of PRO field agents (who get paid a commission based on the fees they collect) working coffee shops for a license fee means that there are fewer small outlets for developing artists to perform at and perfect their craft, I’m not sure the ends justify the means.
Check out a thought-provoking TED presentation from Johanna Blakley on how low IP industries like fashion outperform high IP industries (music/books) in both innovation and sales (thanks @guilhermeviotti).
The response to the last post was so enthusiastic, that I wanted to follow up with some more related pedalboard stuff and also post some detailed photos.
The first topic is the Trailer Trash Pedalboard Pro Series, that I mentioned briefly in my last post.
This is one I tricked out myself, using a Marinco inlet for AC leading to 2 T-Rex Fuel Tank Junior power supplies (5- 9v power outputs on each) provided power for 10- 9v pedals. These are velcro’d to the bottom of the board.
Of course, if you don’t know anything about electricity, please get a tech to wire it up for you… Don’t try this at home, kinda thing. But even for me, it was pretty easy to match green black and white wires to get what I needed for power. For a power chord from the wall, I just got an extension chord and attached the matching Marinco outlet that fits right into the inlet on the side of the board. In a pinch you can use any extension cord available since the housing is larger than most outlet plugs.
I also added some 1/4 inch input jacks on the right side of the board and soldered them to a couple of George L cables to feed through to the first and last pedal (just drill a hole through the bottom and attach a George L plug to the cable on the top side of the board). That way, you can just have the board wired up ready to go..all you have to do is plug a guitar in and a cable out to your amp.
This is a very practical approach to getting a board that would otherwise be quite expensive. And, of course, you have some options with the wiring and power supplies, depending on power requirements for your pedals.
This board is essentially the same as my other custom Trailer Trash Board (Though not as pretty! ahem!) Here are the photos.. you get the idea…
To follow up to some requests for more info on my other pedalboard, I am posting some photos of the latest incarnation of the Pedal Train Mini board.
My new recent addition is the Morley Mini Wah…Now!…finally a great sounding wah that does not take up most of the board. I am totally in love with the sound! It is just the right amount of traditional in most of the sweep, then at the end it gets really synth like and contemporary sounding. My favorite wah so far! Can’t beat the footprint for sure..!
Here are the photos:
The signal path is as follows:
1) Korg Pitch Black Tuner
2) Cusack Screamer
3) Morley Mini Wah
4) Love Pedal Magicboy Vibe
5) Dark Echo Delay
6) Fulltone Fatboost
This mini board has become my go-to board. Light, portable, sounds great, no noise! With this board, I can basically get pretty much what I get from my larger board (pictured in the previous post), but I only need a fraction of the floor space and no power chord/wall wart needed. I am very very happy with this board.
I also want to let you all know a little more about the power supply I built for this mini board. Here is one of the responses I wrote about the description of the power supply. I decided to put it in the body of a post so everyone can benefit:
The rechargeable power supply is really simple..with the help of my good friend who is an amp tech genius, we built a prototype with regular 9v batteries and tested it for a few weeks, measuring the voltage each day, while it powered a couple of pedals. I was amazed that it worked so well for so long (7 days continuously), and that it was impossible to find a product like this anywhere, even one that just allowed you to use non-recharge-ables in parallel.
So then I refined it in the next box that I built myself. I use 5 Li-Poly batteries in parallel and it works like a charm to power the whole board for a few gigs…I wired them into a aluminum project box the size of a phase 90. 5-9v Li-Poly batteries fit perfectly with a little organizing of the wires before you solder them together and then shrink wrap them.
The only part that is a little bit of a drag is that I take them out to use a special fast charger (about 45 min)…but I only do that, say once per week, and I play the board every night for the most part for a couple of hours. The good thing about Li-Poly is there is no memory problems….so I always charge them up to full right before an important gig regardless of when the last time was they were charged…..my next project would be to figure out how to fast-charge them while they are still housed in the box, which I am sure is easy, but I have not gotten around to it yet.
In my upcoming post, I will write about a pedal manufacturer who is making this Li-Poly recharge option available with his amazing pedal. His pedal actually charges with any regular 9v power supply. It is one of those ”How come someone has not thought of this yet?!!! ” kinda things.
Well there is a big company that is jumping on board with this concept, which is why I did not bother to try to go into manufacturing rechargeable power supplies after I refined and proved the concept.
I found out a few months after I made my power supply that SANYO is starting to make a product called an eneloop pedal power supply which is basically what I have made with a couple of extras. A company like SANYO can use their existing tech infrastructure to make what sounds like a great product at a great price (something like 160.00 or so). The 9v Li-Poly batteries are not cheap, at something like 20 each, so a small boutique manufacturer could not possible keep up and still make a profit.
But the SANYO product, from what I have seen, looks good and has battery strength indicator lights..I am waiting for it to hit the market. It was at the last Namm. I may even get one myself!
Here are pictures of my power supply: The stickers are just something I had lying around…my Independent Music Award Stickers! Putting them to good use!
I get a lot of questions about the power supply when I play live…
The University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) has awarded Berkleemusic.com, the online extension school of Boston’s Berklee College of Music, with its 2010 Best Online College Course Award for Professor Stephen Webber’s Music Production Analysis course. This is Berkleemusic’s sixth national award, having received the honor each year since 2005.
The award is the highest recognition possible for online curriculum from UCEA, a membership association that promotes excellence in continuing higher education. The competition judges courses from all colleges and universities nationwide, representing all disciplines. Online courses are judged on lesson content, assignments, student assessment, course layout, design, and the use of multi-media elements.
“Music Production Analysis is a visually engaging, beautifully designed, and masterfully constructed course. The instructional videos are stunning,” said Kay J. Kohl, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director of UCEA.
“We’ve taught over 25,000 students from around the world, from arena rock stars and music industry executives to hobbyists and developing musicians, and everyone in between,” said David Kusek, VP of Berkleemusic. “We’ve been changing musician’s lives for the past 8 years, and it’s fantastic that UCEA has continued to recognize the depth and content of our online music courses.”
A good friend of mine, one of the best “songpluggers” left in the music industry, has his own company through which he consults for a number of publishing companies and songwriters, pitching songs throughout the world. His company slogan, emblazoned on every email is:
Small is the new big.
He’s right– in more ways than one. Clearly, small companies with low overheads and fluid business plans are better suited to manage the challenges of the “new” music industry than the massive conglomerates that have been the dominating forces over the past several decades. In fact, even many large, well-established companies have realized that small profit ventures like low-percentage administration deals, music library businesses, gratis sync licenses that yield only performance income, and no-advance sub-publishing arrangements have replaced the big-money pay-offs on co-publishing, life of copyright deals and six-figure sync fees. Small money is not only the new big money. It seems to be the only money there is.
But “small is the new big” in another sense as well–perhaps it would be more accurate to say, “small is tomorrow’s big”, and it always has been. The music industry is full of niche markets, many of which are deemed too small or specialized to interest the major record labels, or their colleagues at the major publishers. These little pockets of activity probably don’t show up on the Billboard charts. The music may not even be sold through conventional music outlets (whatever those are anymore). The markets are too obscure to interest the big industry players, not nearly sexy or cutting-edge enough to bring up at an A&R meeting, and too limited in their earnings to attract the attention of the investment community or the financial guys at the major music corporations. And yet, if you look at some of these markets twenty years later, you’ll usually find that at some point, a smart, wily, unconventional entrepreneur came in and quietly made a killing, while all the rest of the industry slept. Out of nowhere, the small business person becomes the new big one.
Happened to read an article today about one such example– a very dramatic one at that. Check out an article called “The Influencer”, by Connie Bruck, in the New Yorker magazine.
New Yorker articles being what they are, this is a long and fascinating story of entertainment mogul and political powerbroker Haim Saban, full of complex political and ethical implications. But for music business weasels like myself, the primary point of interest was this one:
Saban made his initial fortune as a music publisher. He’s now estimated to be worth more than $3 billion dollars. Do I have your attention now?
In 1986, Saban sold his first music publishing catalog to Warner Communications for about $6 million dollars, which he then used to expand his empire, buying additional catalogs, and then expanding his media holdings to eventually include Fox’s Family Channel and now, Univision. Still, I feel fairly confident that most in the music business would hardly recognize his name, except for having seen it on the outside of office buildings or theaters in LA. For all his years in the music industry, Saban doesn’t seem to have any big hits or legendary acts to his credit. He probably didn’t often hang around the schmooze circuit of awards shows and music conferences. I can’t see him checking out bands at Stubbs at SXSW.
So how did he manage to make a fortune in the music business, anyway? The answer:
Cartoons.
Not exactly the mainstream of the industry. Indeed, it was even less so when Saban got into it, in the late 1970’s. At the time, Saban was managing a young French singer from Israel named Noam Kaniel. The manager brought Kaniel to Paris, taught him French, secured a recording contract and had a minor hit with the artist when he sang the theme to “Goldarak”, a Japanese cartoon series broadcast in France. You can’t get much further from the mainstream music business than that. Yet for Saban, it became the opportunity of a lifetime.
The exposure to the cartoon business allowed Saban to see that a huge amount of music publishing income could be generated by TV cartoons, which are licensed to television stations around the world and played countless times. If you’re wondering what the word “perennial” means, think about Bugs Bunny or the Road Runner, and how many times you’ve seen certain classic episodes– and how many times your kids have seen, or will see them as well. Now, imagine what those generate in performance income from ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and the other societies around the world.
Quickly, Saban seized the moment and began signing writers to create music as “works for hire”, which he then provided to the cartoon production companies for free– Saban registered the works and took the publisher share (and often the writer share as well). In less than ten years, he was selling the company for seven figures. Small got big and was getting bigger.
It’s a remarkable story, but not an entirely unique one. There are similar tales throughout the music and entertainment industry of people who found a spot in the shadows where they could quietly mint money, while others grabbed the headlines. Actually, the story of Saban reminded me of Clive Calder, the founder of Jive Records and Zomba Music, who I had the good fortune to work for in the late 90’s, before he sold his company for more than 3 billion dollars. Like Saban, Calder found his initial opportunity in niche markets like heavy metal and hip-hop, snapping up the publishing on early hip-hop artists and producers when the general consensus was that hip-hop was unlikely to yield any enduring copyrights. Rap was too small a business to matter much, and even many of the other entrepreneurs that were pivotal in the expansion of the genre failed to see the value of the publishing rights, and focused only on starting record labels.
All of this came to mind when I met this week with Chrisie Santoni, a talented songwriter, performer and publisher. In our discussion about her band and the success she’s had in creating a self-sustaining business around her music, she happened to mention that there was another element to her company which focused on children’s music. As it turns out, she has constructed an exciting new business, Dancing Bears Music, built around her work as a performer and music educator for children– playing shows and selling CDs. Still, I could tell that she was a little hesitant to mention it, knowing that music for children was something that rarely registered on the radar of most music business weasels.
http://www.dancingbearsmusic.com
That’s their loss. The fact that most of the major labels have entirely abandoned the children’s market is incredible, especially since it’s one of the few genres that can still move physical product. People who balk at paying a dollar to download a song for themselves will happily buy a fifteen dollar CD for their kids (especially if it keeps the kids quiet in the car!). Why label A&R’s and music publishers would rather wager money on a buzz band from Brooklyn, instead of a children’s project that could be sold to all the people wheeling strollers around Park Slope is utterly beyond me. But I know that it spells opportunity.
It’s not the only such opportunity out there. Niche markets like world music, foreign language releases, theater music, modern classical, jam bands, soca, dancehall and many others all have the potential to generate big money, and yet fall outside the purview of most major label and publishing A&R people, who are segregated into pop, rock, country, urban, and (maybe) Latin departments.
Of course, there are no guarantees. Many small niche markets never grow much, and others quickly become over-saturated to the point where no one can make any money. Niche markets probably won’t get you a profile in Billboard, or generate a major label bidding war. At worst, a niche market provides a small but steady income with a minimum of risk. At best, it could be tomorrow’s hot new thing, and you’ll be there before anyone else. So never be embarrassed or hesitant to focus your company in areas that the mainstream industry dismisses as marginal. There’s a lot of money to be made on the margins. For small publishers who want to get big– this is where you start.
A quick note in closing:
I want to be sure to let all of you who follow this blog know about my new business: Ask The Music Business Weasel! This is an hourly consulting service aimed at songwriters, artists, and publishers looking for information, feedback, or advice on confronting challenges in their business. The consultation can happen in person, over the phone, through skype, or whatever suits you– but it’s a chance to chat and try to brainstorm about opportunities and strategies for your music career. If you’re interested check out my brand new website:
www.ericbeall.com
If you go to the section marked: consulting, you’ll find more information about the service. Just drop me an email at ericbeall@ericbeall.com, and I’ll be in touch to set something up.
This often takes the form of a heated discussion between a music teacher and a student. Most likely, the teacher has said something along the lines of…
“Don’t use parallel fifths.”
This is followed by a Bach-style harmony assignment. The student, somewhere in there, uses some parallel fifths and gets scolded.
The student then gets annoyed, walks up to the piano, and pounds out a few bars of his favorite rock song. Parallel 5ths and octaves abound.
“See! It sounds good!”
Somewhere, Bach rolls over in his grave and the teacher can sense his unsettled soul.
For my part, students bring up the topic frequently.
“Are parallel fifths OK?”
So the following is my two cents on the topic. I’ve taken to answering that question in a bit of a long-winded manner. My answer, if you want to skip the details, will be, “If you want those parts to be perceived as independent voices, then no. If you want them to be perceived as a single voice, then yes.”
(Disclaimer: this blog post is my ***opinion***. So if you’re taking a test or something, don’t assume that your teacher will agree with me.)
So for a moment, let’s think about this logically…
First, what does parallel motion accomplish?
The answer is that parallel motion reduces the independence of two voices.
Let’s suppose you have two melodic lines that exist simultaneously. One is an ascending C major scale. The other is a descending C major scale. Those are two *very* independent voices and the listener would perceive them as two separate musical ideas.
Next, let’s suppose you have two melodic lines. The first is an ascending C major scale that begins on middle C. The second is an ascending C major scale that exists simultaneously, just an octave higher. The listener would perceive them as a single idea—an ascending C major scale.
In these and all cases, parallel motion reduces the independence of the two voices in question.
Second, why does the “parallel fifths are bad” rule exist?
The rule originated in music where the independence of voices was very important. In a four-part fugue, the independence of the voices is what gives the music momentum and forward motion. The voices fight against each other, building and building, until that tension is resolved at the end with a cadence.
Parallel motion in the middle of such a fugue would weaken the counterpoint and lessen the building tension. This contradicts the very point of the musical idea.
So…what are we to learn from “the rule”?
If independence between two voices is valuable in a given musical context, then parallel motion between those voices should be avoided. However, if for some reason the composer wishes the two voices to be perceived as a ***single musical idea*** by the listener, then parallel motion is not a problem.
Some situations…
Situation 1 – A 4-Part Fugue
The very point of a fugue is to build tension using four independent voices. If, somewhere in the fugue, you have parallel octaves or parallel fifths between two of the voices, then you have reduced the independence of those voices. You would end up with a 3-part fugue at that moment.
That would be a definite no-no. Fugues depend on keeping those voices independent, creating rhythmic and contrapuntal tension that builds as the piece progresses.
Situation 2 – A Melodic Doubling
Let’s suppose you are writing an orchestral masterpiece. You put a melody in the clarinet and you double it up an octave with a flute. Essentially, this is “parallel octaves”.
Is it a problem?
No.
In such a situation, you want the two voices to be perceived as a single entity by the listener. You don’t want the audience to perceive a melody and a countermelody. You want them to perceive a ***single melody***, played by clarinet and flute. Since you want the two voices to be perceived as a single idea, parallel motion is perfectly fine.
Situation 3 – A Melody and a Counter-Melody
Let’s suppose you are writing a brilliant film score. You have a sweeping melody in the violins and a countermelody in the horns. Likely, you have some harmonic parts in the low strings and low brass. For a couple of beats in the middle of a phrase, you have the violin melody and the horn countermelody move in parallel fifths.
Is this a problem?
Yes.
In this case, you want the voices to be independent. Here, you want the listener to perceive a three-layered texture–melody in the violins, countermelody in the horns, and harmony in the low strings/brass. When you use parallel motion between the horns and the violins, you fall back to a two-layered texture, which would be undesirable in the middle of a phrase.
Situation 4 – A Climax following a Contrapuntal Build
Let’s suppose you are writing along in 4-part counterpoint. All of those lines are creating a lot of rhythmic tension. You’re enhancing that by adding instrumentation, such as some percussion rolls and brass. At the end of the phrase, you arrive at a huge climax. Here, you come out into big parallel octaves.
Is this a problem?
No.
The act of going from four contrapuntal lines to a single melodic line can be very dramatic. This is particularly useful at the “climax” of a piece or at the end of a contrapuntal section. In this case, you are using the reduction in voices for a musical effect—to cap a climax. At such a climax you would want the listener to perceive a single musical idea and parallel motion is OK.
(Of course, had you used parallel octaves a couple of measures earlier—where the contrapuntal lines were being used to build tension—that would be a no-no.)
Situation 5 – Background Keyboard Part
Let’s suppose you are the keyboard player in a rock band. You’re back there jamming. There is also a drummer, a bass player, a guitarist and some vocalists completing the ensemble. You want to go from a vi chord to a IV chord. You do so, using some “turn Bach over in his grave” parallel fifths.
Is this a problem?
No.
In that situation, I’d argue that the listener perceives the keyboard part as a single entity—background chords in the keyboard. The point of the keyboard part is not to create rhythmic tension using perfect counterpoint in its inner voices. You have a drummer to create the needed rhythmic momentum (and the keyboard chords probably come in a rhythm as well…along with the bass and guitar).
Rather, the musical function of the keyboard part is to provide a harmonic foundation for the melody. As the writer, you want the listener to perceive the keyboard part as a single entity—background chords in the keyboard. In such a case, parallel motion is fine.
Summary
The key points are:
1) Parallel motion between two voices reduces the independence of those two voices.
2) If the effectiveness of the musical idea depends on those two voices remaining independent, then avoid using parallel motion.
3) If you intend for the two voices to be perceived as a single idea by the listener, then parallel motion is fine.
Anyway, that’s my two cents.
I bet I’m going to get a few emails about this one.
Mark Hopkins is a Student Advisor at Berkleemusic.com. He finished his studies at Berklee College of Music, as a Guitarist/Songwriting Major, in 2009. Mark is a regular gigging musician who has toured extensively and released 6 albums in the past 10 years. You can hear some of Mark’s music on myspace.com/markhopkinsmusic
Here’s a question I get all the time as an advisor for the online school and as a working musician: How do I get my own gig?
There is a fine art to becoming a successful working musician. Here’s the good news: you don’t have to be Picasso to do it (however, no finger painting, please). Half the battle is as simple as believing in your product. That’s right. I said your “product.” When you are a professional musician, you are in the sales industry. Don’t sweat it, though. You’re selling something you absolutely love: music!
Here’s a proof positive way to get ahead in your town’s music scene:
1) Fine tune your act. Whether it’s acoustic or a 7 piece funk/fusion band, you need to have a professional sounding product to turn some heads.
2) Explore Open Mic Nights. Where and when are they happening? What time do you need to be there to sign up? Grab the local city paper, scout it out online or in person. Be there early, shake a few hands, and get to know the other musicians. Most importantly, always be on time and make sure people know you are a reliable artist. That’s a rare commodity in the industry and you will shine amongst the group. Open Mics are a great resource to get your career started. Not only for the exposure, but also for the networking possibilities. I can’t tell you how many Open Mics I’ve done that have led to amazing opportunities.
3) Start thinking about how to market your product. You first and foremost need a Demo to start the grassroots campaign that will lead you to stardom. Don’t be afraid of rockin’ a Garageband demo. No need to be snobby about production quality—the most important thing is to have a solid song you can put in a future fan’s hand (we don’t notice how many hand claps are in your tune, and how they are mixed in perfectly with the snare drum).
4) Start handing out that Demo (with a flyer of your upcoming gigs) to every music lover you can find. “If you build it, they will come.” Sooner than later you’re gonna see some familiar faces at your shows. Sell your CD’s when you can, but don’t be afraid to hand them out in the beginning; consider it an investment in future merchandise sales.
5) Lastly, don’t forget to start an email list. Social networking is great, but Facebook and MySpace aren’t the alpha and omega. Fans still like getting personal emails from their favorite artists. On that note, give your fans a place to go besides typical social networking sites. Get an official website running where they can chat about how the new version, of that one tune, where you substituted a #9 chord for a regular old dominant seven, was mind blowing.
It’s a simple process, but it by no means takes minimal effort. Music is a business—the quicker you come to grips with that, the quicker you will see significant results. Most of all, as cheesy as it sounds, believe in what you’re doing. It will show through to your audience and the influential booking agents around you. Believe in what you do. It will take your career a long way.
Until next time, happy gigging!
Berkleemusic’s online summer term begins June 28, 2010.
Even with all the buzz around online Direct To Fan marketing tools and techniques, I still firmly believe that live events are one of the best ways to connect directly with fans in a meaningful way. Similar to how DTF initiatives have expanded the relationship between artist and fan as it pertains to retail, it’s encouraging to see artists expanding the boundaries of what constitutes a “tour” (such as David Bazan’s “living room” show series) as well.
Artists are becoming more adept at using technological tools and third party partners to bring the spirit and energy of a live event to folks that are unable to attend in person. Sheila Hash, a former Online Music Marketing with Topspin student, is engaging in a wonderful “take-away show” initiative with her band Crush Luther, which provides their hard core fans with an opportunity to check out a unique and personal acoustic performance, and perhaps more importantly, also works as a compelling introduction for casual and potential fans. Take a look at an example, here:
In terms of music marketing, videos events like this can also help to extend the life cycle of a band’s release by providing serialized content well past release date, which is crucial in keeping fans engaged with your band.
Of course traditional live club events still provide an opportunity for artists to establish long-term fan relationships, and Christopher Grant Ward from The Elk (another former student in my Online Music Marketing with Topspin course) has created a wonderful data-driven analysis on the techniques he used to promote his show, with a focus on increasing his number of fans (in this case, defined as permission-based email contacts) and maximizing traffic at the event. While data analysis is key to guiding a successful online music marketing campaign, it’s rare to see an artist go into such detail around a live event. I think what Christopher created is a valuable case study, and I’m psyched to be able to present the details:
Overview:
* Campaign duration: 40 days (02/10 – 03/31)
* Goals:
1) Maximize audience turn-out for the “Rock The Pink Slip” concert
2) Grow the band’s permission-based email list.
Data Analysis of Campaign
(click to enlarge)
Campaign Details
Site Visibility, Pricing, and Acquisition Techniques
A month out from the event, Christopher implemented a tiered approach to selling tickets to the show on his own Website. As mentioned above, the goal of this campaign was focused on increasing the draw to the show and acquiring new fans (as opposed to focusing strictly on monetization), and as such Christopher offered the tickets at extremely reasonable prices: 1 ticket cost $4.00, 2 tickets cost $7, and 4 cost for $10. Because Christopher was using Topspin to facilitate the ticket sales, he was able to collect the email addresses of everyone that purchased from him (thus capturing the fan relationship). PDFs of the tickets were created, and all purchasers were put on a list that the bouncer checked at the door.
Advertising
14 days prior to the event, a small online ad campaign was initiated on Facebook and Google AdWords. Christopher experimented with several sets of ads over the course of the campaign, which correlated to two periods of high click rates (see graph above). The 1st of these high periods targeted a larger, more broad audience and directly promoted the show. This ad yielded the highest click rates but had no conversions.
The 2nd of these periods targeted smaller audiences and promoted the band’s music. These ads yielded somewhat fewer clicks but a significantly higher lift in plays (via a Topspin widget) and emails collected. Messages that directly promoted the show yielded significantly fewer visits, plays and emails collected.
Facebook Video Share Initiative
One month out from the event, Christopher released a video on Facebook, with prominent calls to action and direct links to the ticket offer information on his site. While the video was responsible for the largest spike in plays (Christopher was also using Topspin’s Email for Media and streaming player widgets) during the live event campaign, the video was ineffective at driving traffic or ticket sales.
Campaign Results
Again, as this campaign was focused on growing the band’s permission-based email list, the fan relationship statistics were the main gauge of success.
* Concert Attendees: 211
* # of New Email Addresses: 83. This translated into a 94% increase in the band’s email list.
* Unique Visits to band site: 1384 (based on Google Analytics data from 02/10 – 03/31)
* Total Page Views: 2910 (based on Google Analytics data from 02/10 – 03/31)
While revenue was not the main focus of the campaign, the band didn’t want to lose money, either. Details on expenses and sales for the event:
Ticket Breakdown:
Average ticket price: $5.46
# of $8 (door) tickets sold: 98 ($784)
# of $4 tickets sold: 46 ($184)
# of $3.50 tickets sold: 18 ($66)
# of $2.50 tickets sold: 48 ($120)
Gross Earnings: $1154
less advertising expenses: $325
less club take: $235
================
Net Earnings: $594
Cost Analysis of Emails Collected
It’s difficult to estimate the lifetime value of an email address. Christopher took a stab at estimating the cost of acquiring the 83 emails by dividing the money left on the table if the band did not discount the tickets by the amount of emails collected to come up with a cost of $3.54 per email. The math looks like this:
The band made $370 on tickets sold through direct sales on the site.
If those tickets were sold at full cost (assuming they got the
same number of concertgoers) they would have earned $664 on that same
segment. The money left on the table was $294. Divided by 83 emails, the cost
of each email collected could be calculated as $3.54.
This number was valuable to the band in estimating how they should price their
products and to help them gauge what expenses are cost-effective to building their
Network.
Post-Show Campaign and Analysis
About 30% of total visits to the site and 10% of emails collected occurred *after* the show. The band prepped an HTML page and Topspin widget before the concert. At the show, they used a photographer, videographer and audio engineer to capture live content from the show, and by the time the fans got up the next morning after the show, they had live audio and photos from the show in their inbox. The following weekend, the band released live video of the concert as well, paired with an album purchase offer. Following up with fans after gigs was a great way to continue driving traffic and getting new play and email conversions.
Here’s the video that was sent out post-show:
Further Analysis and Findings
1. Club ticket sales are time sensitive. Sales of concert tickets on the site were quite low until right before the show. In fact, 95% of ticket sales occurred less than 48 hours before show time (a spike in emails collected on show night can be attributed to these sales.) Even during the band’s largest spike in visits (200+) on March 17th, the band yielded fewer than $10 in sales. Overall, it is impossible to tell how many of these prior visitors may have returned to purchase tickets. Most people probably decide to see a club show within three days of gig night, especially when there is no stated limit on ticket sales.
2. Advertising data showed a lift in the number of visits to the band’s site, but few conversions. The good news is that targeted ads drove traffic, even for an unknown band and small club events. The bad news is that it was impossible to correlate ad clicks to returning visitors who purchased tickets.
3. Christopher’s targeted campaign more than doubled his permission based email list, and created dozens of new fan connections which he can use for re-marketing down the line, for free (as opposed to starting over with his next marketing campaign).
I’d like to thank Christopher for sharing this fantastic data. Follow up with him and The Elk, here.
Hello all, this is the first of a series of posts centered around Racks in Live. Racks are Live’s way to handle all things parallel, and one of the major reasons why I choose Live over any other DAW.
As a kid’s/family performing group, Debbie and Friends are always looking for new ways to actively engage our audience. A typical D&F concert includes our fan families doing everything from starting up the band with a clapping beat, to fixing rhymes, playing the “Simon Says” song game, dancing, singing, and interacting with all five members of the band.
Our good friend and booking agent for the Midwest region, Jeni Cosgrove, challenged us to find a way to to incorporate our animated cartoons into our live show format. It sounded like great fun so we decided to give it a try!
How?
First, we created a version of one of our cartoon music videos without recorded music. Then, we added a click track. During the performance, the click track is sent to our drummer, Bill D’Agostino’s wireless earphones so that he can lock in with the click and remain in sync with the video from start to finish. The band plays along with Bill so that we are all in sync playing, singing and dancing along with the video.
The Result?
The families in our audience LOVE it! And we do, too. In addition to adding a multimedia dimension to our show, we’re promoting our music video catalog and visits to our Web site, You Tube channel, and Jitterbug.tv. The cartoons all contain movement parts, so the families in our audience continue to be active participants throughout the show.
I highly recommend giving live performance with a music video a try! (Thanks Jeni!) I’d love to hear from other bands doing this sort of thing. Please share your experience.
The following is our “Little Red Riding Hood” animated music video. This is one of the animated music videos that families sing and dance along with during our shows.
Just recently returned from a trip to California– the usual business schmooze in LA, a couple of days in Santa Monica, a venture up to Malibu and Topenga Canyon– and as always, I had to wonder why I battle the New York winters when the sun is always shining in the other music capital, and you get cultural advantages like better Mexican food and surfing. It’s a beautiful state, and seems like a pretty chill place to live.
However, political junkies will tell you that it is a state in total political meltdown (not that New York is much better), and not surprisingly, even the laid-back Californians are now starting to work up a little rage. So it’s only appropriate that the king of California rock, Don Henley, should find himself embroiled in a political battle, which actually has some interesting publishing issues at the heart of the matter.
It seems that a right-wing candidate for the California Senate seat, Republican Chuck DeVore, borrowed two classic Don Henley songs, “Boys of Summer” and “All She Wants To Do Is Dance”, altered some of the lyrics himself and had his campaign strategist re-record some of the vocals to make attack spots on his opposing candidates– he then put the ads up on the internet. I’m not sure which part of this is actually the most egregious: the fact that a politician is now thinking he can write song lyrics, that he thinks he is a comedian, or that he considers his campaign strategist qualified to replace vocals by Don Henley. First there’s an action hero that wants to be governor, now there’s a politician who thinks he’s a co-writer with the guy who wrote “Hotel California”.
Of course, none of those concerns are the primary ones for Don Henley, who has a reputation for a healthy temper, an unwillingness to suffer fools, and a staunchly liberal political point of view. Henley and his co-writers, Mike Campbell (“Boys of Summer”) and Danny Kortchmar (“All She Wants To Do Is Dance”) reacted quickly and have already sued DeVore for copyright infringement in the US District Court, on the basis that the new versions implied that they were supporting DeVore’s candidacy, a prospect that Henley probably found more upsetting than a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.
Those that follow this blog (I KNOW YOU’RE OUT THERE) will recall a similar situation around the McCain-Obama campaign, which I discussed in “Weapon of Choice” back in the politically-charged days of November 2008. The blog mentioned a number of song uses, including “Barracuda” (for Sarah Palin) and “Running On Empty”, which the McCain campaign (in one of the wackier campaign strategies ever devised) tried to use to ridicule Obama. Both of those uses were immediately attacked by the songwriters, who made clear that they had no interest in their songs being used for a candidate whom they did not support. While campaigns usually escape from such situations with little more than a pledge to cease and desist, the rumor is that Jackson Browne, a very politically active Democratic supporter, actually pursued the case and walked away with a six-figure settlement from the Republican Party.
So the Don Henley-DeVore case would seem to be something of a no-brainer, based on the precedent set by such a similar battle with Browne and McCain. But interestingly, in part because of the lyric re-writes, this fight actually could be considerably more substantial, as it raises the question of “fair use” for parodies, one of the trickier areas of copyright protection. In fact, much of the case comes down to whether the DeVore’s re-writes are “parodies” or “satire”, which under the law, are two different things.
Since the one thing that both liberals and conservatives seem to be able to agree on is the value of “free speech”, the copyright laws do provide for the “fair use” (that is, without the author’s permission) of well-known songs in parodies, which is defined as something that “at least in part, comments on the original author’s works”. On the other hand, the rights to “fair use” are diminished when the song is used as “satire”, which is when the use “has no critical bearing on the substance or style of the original composition”.
In other words, if the DeVore version of “Boys of Summer” pokes fun at Don Henley, the song itself, or the style of the songwriters involved, then it’s a “parody”. And if it’s “parody”, then it falls into the category of those things that you hear on the morning radio shows. However, if “All She Wants To Do Is Tax” is solely an effort to discredit a political opponent, and doesn’t actually comment on the original song or artist at all, then it’s “satire”. In that case, DeVore likely would need the permission of Henley, the co-writers, and their publishers in order to use the song.
Obviously, this is a pretty tough distinction to make, and in fact, even many of the “morning show” spoofs would probably fall more in the territory of satire than parody. But most songwriters and artists don’t care much about those uses, as they don’t imply the “endorsement” of someone antithetical to their own values. In the cases where the “parodies” are in truly bad taste (in the judgment of the original writers and publishers), there is some ability for publishers to argue that “fair use” does not apply in an instance where the parody is doing serious damage to the long-term value of the original copyright.
As you would expect, DeVore is arguing that he is indeed making fun of Henley, and his left-wing political leanings, by deciding to use his well-known hits for the political ad. He points out that there are millions of other songs and artists that he could have chosen for the “parody”, but that part of the humor is based on the use of songs by such a well-known supporter of Democratic candidates. Henley apparently doesn’t get the joke. As far as he’s concerned, DeVore has used the music to solicit campaign donations online, a use for which Henley assesses an approximate value of $1.2 million dollars (in endorsement and licensing fees).
Indeed, the first thing that occurred to me was that there is more than just the issue of “parody” versus “satire” here. There is also an unlicensed synchronization use. When he created a visual advertisement and put music to it, any music, DeVore was required to obtain a synchronization license, just as any advertiser would need. The “fair use” principle does not exempt the need for a proper license when it comes to putting music with a moving picture. Nor does the fact that the ad appeared only on the Web make it any less necessary to obtain the permission of the publishers involved. In fact, that kind of unauthorized use in venues like YouTube is one of the fundamental copyright violations that all of the major publishers and labels, not to mention film studios and everyone else involved in the entertainment world, have been fighting against. Given the importance of show business to the California economy, it’s not a great look for the aspiring senator to be using unlicensed material in his web-based advertising efforts.
Perhaps that’s the most important point. The scariest part of this seemingly endless effort by politicians to use music for their own political ends is that it points out, again and again, that the political community has very little understanding of the principles of music licensing and copyright protection, and not much good taste either. It’s no wonder we can’t make any headway on legislative issues related to file-sharing or performance royalties for artists, when a candidate for president can’t figure out that using “Running On Empty” without permission is a bad idea. Or when an aspiring senator, from the capital of the entertainment business, doesn’t recognize that re-writing Don Henley lyrics, even if you were a real songwriter, is somewhere on the level of painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.
The case goes to court for hearing on June 1st, but the judge may or may not make a decision at that time. Needless to say, the challenge of distinguishing between “parody” and “satire” makes this a more complex issue than one might think. Neither Henley nor DeVore may get the quick decision for which they’re hoping. If the case winds up dragging on beyond next month, it’s worth noting that DeVore will already be costing California taxpayers money, and he hasn’t even been elected to office yet. Meanwhile, as Don himself said, “the lawyers dwell on small details”… Not sure if that’s parody, satire, or just plain old irony.
The term “available tensions” is sometimes tossed around relatively loosely, in jazz parlance. The concept, though, is greatly clarified and made more useful by contextualizing it in terms of functional harmony.
Joe Mulholland, chair of Berklee’s harmony department, was kind enough to sit down with me to discuss the formal definition of available tensions.
Jonathan Feist: What is an available tension?
Joe Mulholland: An available tension is a diatonic note added to a chord, reinforcing that chord’s function while sounding “good” with it.
JF: So you make a distinction between “tensions” and “available tensions.” Not all diatonic 9, 11, and 13 notes are “available?”
Joe: Right. Like, you don’t normally have an 11 on a V chord. Though it is diatonic, it sounds poorly with that chord and interferes with the chord’s function.
For example, if you put the tonic of the key against the V chord, you will get something that is functionally at war with itself. The function of a dominant chord is to provide harmonic tension that is resolved by the sounding of the tonic chord. The dominant chord has the leading tone of the key as well as the 4th degree (11 of the V chord), both of which are unstable notes in the parent scale by virtue of their half-step relationship to the note below or above. If you mix the tonic of the key with that chord, you’ve got the most stable note of the key mixed into this highly unstable chord, and it sounds like you just don’t know where you’re going with it.
Fig. 1. G7 Chord with C (V7 with 11)
JF: The V stops functioning like a dominant chord.
JM: Yes, that tonic note C interferes with the dominant function of the chord, G7. Adding the C gives the feeling that you’ve peaked too early—that you’ve confused the target with the means of getting there.
There’s also a mechanical/acoustical reason why it’s not considered available. If you play the tonic of the key against the dominant chord, such as C against a G7, that minor 9th (C against B) sounds very dissonant.
This is really most evident in the V chord, as I mentioned. But it’s also an issue with the III chord. You might think that on an E minor chord in C major, the note C would work fine, because the E and C are both tonic chords. But that minor 9th relationship comes into play here as well, between the B and the C. Best-case scenario, instead of sounding like an E minor chord with a tension, it sounds instead like an inverted C major 7 chord. It won’t sound like a III chord any more. And if you’re not careful with how you voice it, that dissonant minor 9th will pop out.
Fig. 2. E–7 Chord with C (III–7 with 13)
JF: So, does the word “available” just mean that you can use it?
Joe: It means you can use it freely, with no constraints. On our G7 chord, the 9 and the 13 will let you thicken the sound of your chord easily and effectively. They will sound great with the other notes, while reinforcing that chord’s harmonic function.
Fig. 3. G7 (V7) with 9 and 13
Now, one can imagine a C played against a G7 chord, but just not on a rhythmically strong beat, not in a sustained manner, not in a repeated way. It could be used as part of a melodic line, or a passing line. But it shouldn’t be used as a harmonic addition to the chord.
Fig. 4. Modal use of 11 (C) on V (G7)
The term “available tension” primarily refers to harmonic, vertical processes. If you’re doing something melodic, or horizontal, like passing tones between one chord and the next, as long you don’t accent, sustain, or repeat that note, it will be just subsumed into the flow of the line; but if you add it to the chord as an extension, it will sound very wrong. So, they are not harmonically available.
JF: What would you call a tension that isn’t available?
Joe: It might be an “altered tension.” Or, it might make more sense to analyze it as a melodic note: a passing tone, or a neighbor, or an approach tone, depending on where it exists in the line and what its rhythmic nature is.
JF: So, to be “available” implies a simple diatonic context. If you’re the key of C major, on a C7 chord, b9 wouldn’t be an “available tension.”
Joe: Correct, because Db is not in the key. You might call it an “optional” or “creative” tension, but not “available.” As soon as you do something chromatic like that, other implications occur.
The underlying assumption in the diatonic world is that you’re working within a closed system. That’s the baseline—the default position. Now, of course, a lot of music is not that simple, but that’s the baseline that we come from and return to, when discussing harmony in technical terms.
When you introduce chromaticism, you introduce the possibility that other, non-diatonic outcomes might occur. So, if you put b9 on the V7 of IV chord, the implication to the listener is that a IV minor chord is coming instead. It’s because that tension, the b9 on the dominant chord, mimics the sound of V7(b9) in the minor key.
JF: Exactly what does the word “available” refer to? What makes a note “available?”
Joe: The key signature; these notes that are in the key. Your chromatic alteration to my V chord is not coming from the key. You’ve brought another sonic realm into play. The available notes are those available in the key signature’s parent scale. While you might be able to use a chromatic alteration effectively, it’s not called “available,” even if it sounds good. Again, the note has to be contained in the key signature’s parent scale.
JF: Isn’t it subjective to say that a note sounds “good?”
Joe: Not really, not to Western ears. I mean, you can play the melody in figure 4, but that’s really a modal phrase. In that kind of harmonic context, the G chord isn’t really functioning as a dominant. That style is not about functional harmony, it’s about the sound of the G Mixolydian mode. So, in that melody, the note works because it reinforces the sound of the mode.
But if we take as our framework that we’re in a traditional harmonic context, where V7 creates a strong expectation to resolve to I, then a C in a G7 chord would be working contrary to the chord’s dominant sound. If you violate the rules of available tensions, you will be interfering with the rules of functional harmony. We’re talking about functional, diatonic harmony.
Once you make a creative choice to go outside that system, then you have a lot more wiggle room. At that point, reasonable people can disagree about what sounds good and what doesn’t. But within a functional harmonic context, while violating the rules like that might not make you run screaming, most people would agree that it sounds kind of odd. There’s just something kind of whacky about it. The note is just not congruent with what we’re used to hearing.
JF: So, to try to narrow your definition, an available tension can’t be a semi-tone away from a chord tone?
Joe: That’s a good starting point. Be careful to say minor 9th, rather than semi-tone. If you play just a semi-tone above, it’s not as terrible sounding. It’s not as dissonant to the ear. If it’s a minor 9 away, the dissonance is much more evident, because it doesn’t sound like a cluster. Once it sounds like a cluster, pretty much anything sounds okay. GBCD is a cluster and has its own character. But take that C an octave up, and it really jumps out as being much more dissonant, and more like a wrong note.
Fig. 5. Cluster vs. Open Voicing
The exception to the rule you’re suggesting is that some minor 9ths actually sound okay: on dominant chords, for example. It’s safe to say that on a diatonic major chord (I, IV or V), the minor 9 above the third of the chord doesn’t sound good; C against B in a G7 chord sounds terrible in context. But on a dominant chord, if you go chromatic—go outside the key and add a b9 or b13 to a dominant chord—that will sound okay. Just remember that those notes are not called “available” because they are not in the key. The key doesn’t give you those chords. The tensions are chromatic alterations, not available tensions.
Fig. 6. G7 with b9 and b13
JF: Are people surprised by this definition of available tensions?
Joe: Many people haven’t thought about available tensions in this systematically defined way, but when they do, it seems to help clarify things; they have a better framework for defining the musical situation and making informed choices about what to change or accept.
JF: Without this approach, how do people typically learn what would or would not be an available tension?
Joe: Many people learn this intuitively. And in trying to make their chords sound richer, they might commonly reach for altered tensions right away, and then call those “available tensions” because they sound good. But again, I would call them “altered tensions” instead, to acknowledge that they are taken from outside the diatonic system. And someone narrowly trained might think, that’s not fair! They’re not playing by “the rules,” and yet it sounds so cool, and so fresh. They might go, “Oh man, I didn’t know I was allowed to paint outside the lines! Or jump across the fence for a minute!”
The difficulty with this sort of thing is that it is overly simplistic, and ultimately limiting. If the only thing you know how to do is add a 9th to everything, you’ll get pleasant enough results, but you will never discover the creative challenges you face when having to work around “difficult” notes. Sort of like the pearl in the oyster, right? It’s the irritant that results in the beauty! Within a seven-chord major key system, everyone agrees that if you put an 11 on a V chord, or a b9 on a III chord, it just sounds like it doesn’t work, as well as being acoustically unpleasing. The question is, how will you find a way to circumvent those issues and still make music that has a natural flow.
Thinking about available tensions in this way—that they are diatonic notes that reinforce the functional harmony and sound good—makes them easier to use, and helps us to make more effective and deliberate note choices.
I’ve been intrigued by the tiny music applications on the iPod. They’re fun to play but you can’t really make serious music on them, right? Well, maybe not, unless you have the super powers of iPod Girl!
Then, I saw the iPad, and the first thing I thought was, “Wouldn’t it be cool if somebody developed some music applications for that.” I can imagine myself relaxing on the couch writing beats, with everything I need directly on the screen. Or, better yet, playing a couple of these live in a club. For example, one on either side of a DJ mixer. How cool would that be? Sure, neat idea, but we’ll see when this becomes reality, probably not for a long time.
Well, I had the right idea, but, wow, was my projected time line off. Korg just released the iElectribe for iPad. It looks really cool. I’m nearly ready to drop some cash for an iPad just so I can run this app. I think this is the future of laptop synths and music making programs. Rather than having one Korg Kaoss unit sitting on my desk, next to an Access Virus, next to a Dave Smith Tetra, next to an Adrenalinn, next to a . . . well, you get the idea. Instead of all this, I’d have one or two iPads sitting on my desk ready to be turned into any effect device or synth I can imagine. Obviously, this level of power and connectivity in an iPad is still a long ways off, but I can see the future and it looks fabulous!
KORG’s first dedicated iPad musical instrument app!
For over a decade, Korg’s Electribe•R has been go-to gear for creative musicians from around the world and across multiple electronic and dance music genres. Now, you can take the power of the Electribe•R with you thanks to iElectribe, Korg’s first dedicated app; bringing the fun of analog-synth style beat making to your iPad. Best of all, the iElectribe takes full advantage of iPad’s 9.7 inch multi touch display to deliver a new style of musical instrument.
Main Features
Faithful recreation of the Electribe•R’s entire sound engine and sequencer
64 Preset patterns ready for immediate use
8 Supercharged effects
Advanced Motion Sequencing takes the iElectribe to new frontiers
Available now at Apple’s App Store (inside iTunes Store) for a special introductory price of $ 9.99 (US Dollars). Promotional pricing expires June 30, 2010 (regular price is $19.99 USD).
Classic must-have Korg dance gear, now available as a dedicated iPad application
Since its debut in 1999, the aggressive sound, unique functionality, and intuitive beat-building style of the Korg Electribe series has continued to make it a favorite of creative artists around the world. Over the years, the Electribe series has continued to evolve in new directions. The vacuum-tube equipped Electribe•MX and SX went on sale in 2003, followed by the updated MKII versions of the Electribe•A and Electribe•R. The year 2010 marks another chapter for the Electribe family with the iElectribe – one of the world’s first dedicated iPad musical instrument applications.
While fun to use, the iElectribe is no toy; it brings to the iPad the legendary capabilities of the Electribe series. Sound creation is easy and intuitive. Simply touch the step-sequencer’s sixteen individual step keys to quickly start a groove, pick another part and repeat. This simple and understandable interface offers an intuitive “hardware” feel that will captivate the imagination of anyone – those familiar with the Electribe’s power, and those who are experiencing it for the first time!
Faithful recreation of the Electribe•R’s entire sound engine and sequencer
Like its hardware counterpart, the iElectribe offers a four-part percussion synthesizer and a four-part PCM synthesizer. The percussion synthesizer features analog synth-style versatility, including exciting cross modulation! The sample-based PCM parts deliver realistic drum hits, cymbals, and more. Using the Accent function adds emphasis where you need it – vital for creating compelling grooves. All in all, that’s eight programmable parts combined with the easy-to-use 16-step sequencer, so anyone can start creating powerful beats instantly!
64 preset patterns ready for immediate use
The 64 preset patterns include familiar patterns from the Electribe•R as well as new patterns created especially for the iElectribe. The preset patterns cover a wide variety of dance music styles including techno, house, electro, trance, drum ‘n’ bass, dubstep, hip-hop, and R&B. Of course, there is plenty of room to program patterns that are all your own.
Supercharged Master Effect with 8 effect types
The Master Effect has been enhanced from the original Electribe•R, and has been optimized for use in today’s music scene. The eight effect types can spice up your beats in a variety of ways that can become indispensable. Included are a chorus/flanger that fits any type of sound; a tempo-matching BPM delay; plus effects such as a grain shifter and decimator which can dramatically transform the sound.
Advanced Motion Sequencing makes patterns come alive
Simply stated, Motion Sequencing records all of your sound enhancing knob-twisting and tweaking so it can be memorized and replayed as part of a pattern. The knob motion of all parameters, for each and every part, can be recorded – so you can go wild and create diverse and complex patterns like never before.
This post I am going to talk a little about my experiences with owning too many different makes and sizes of pedalboards and the 2 boards I have finally settled on as best for me and for folks that have similar gig lives. So you finally get some of the sounds you like, and you need to organize them in a fashion that creates smooth accessibility and convenience, together with a quick set-up time.
For those of you who are like me, there is no such thing as a multi-effect unit (Why doesn’t someone make a boutique handmade custom multi effects unit? There is an idea!) and when you play, you have to string your collection of boutique pedals in the order you see fit for your gig life. The phone rings and you are playing gigs across the board. One day you are a sideman, the other you are the only act for the night, and you have all the time in the world to set up for your evenings 2 sets. On another day you are one of the 10 acts at a festival where you have 10 minutes tops on either side of your show to plug in and plug out. (And hope that everything sounds the way it sounded at the rehearsal space!)
It is hardly practical to carry a string of pedals connected by loops of cable and power connectors and expect everything to fall into place while the stage manager is giving you the 5 finger 5 minute warning sign.
So through the years after trying a lot of pedal boards and I have come up with 2 that work for me and I will share the reasons why.
The first is the ultimate and I think, quite frankly the best:
One year, about 5 years ago, I literally stumbled across the Trailer Trash Pedalboard website while surfing the web, looking for a manufacturer who might have their sights on making the real deal. It was like a light at the end of a long and frustrating tunnel. Prior, I had spent mucho time making, buying trying, plugging in, ripping apart, cutting, setttling. I had a box filled with Velcro attachments and plugs and cables that were just for pedalboard-related geeking.
I decided that my requirements were:
1. Must be light!! Too many years of carrying around a pedalboard that was the weight of an amp!
2. Power supply must be underneath: Well… it only makes sense, use the top for the pedals! Best use of real estate!
3. Must allow me to wire up from underneath: Well I guess that is just an esthetic thing..no clutter.
4. Velcro!!! Must allow me to easily change pedals..hey, what was I going to do with that box of bulk velcro in my closet? In addition, there just might the rare, rare, chance that I find another pedal that I like that I want to add to the mix… right? (Ok… Usually once a month… I confess… but it happens very rarely now!)
5. Must have a gig bag with a handle and a carry strap. For the average sideman gig, my guitar is on my back, my pedalboard is in my left hand and my amp in my right. If I park far from where I play, I dolly the amp, depending on size. No road case for the pedalboard for me! Working musicians don’t need more to carry!
6. Must be angled. Easier access to the pedals on top.
Trailer Trash Pedalboards pretty much sealed the deal for me… It really is unlikely to find lighter and still be able to stand and dance on it… Rooster (the owner) makes an amazing product and does any number of custom options. Of course the custom options are simply the icing on the cake but the basic construction is as rock solid as it gets. His custom work is spectacular, anything from boards that match your amplifier finish to boards that have lighting, various shapes and sizes and materials. In addition, if you know what you are using for pedals and have been using the same set-up for a long time, you can have Rooster do the entire custom wiring and installation for the whole board. Just send your pedals. and voila, back comes your baby. No job is too small or too large.
With my board, I option for installation of the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power Plus under the unit. I have an input and an output on the right side; 2 Neutrik connectors that lock your cables in… no tripping up on a cable and pulling out or damaging the inputs. The board plugs directly into the wall via a power inlet on the right side. In the event of losing or having problems with the power cable, I can run to the corner store and grab a generic power extension cord and make it through the gig. No proprietary stuff here.
I also opted for a courtesy power outlet on the left side of the board, so if I have a pedal that needs a wall wart, I can just use the power on the side of the board to make it through the gig. Of course, if I were using one permanently, I would install the wart under the board. It would be a rarity, since one of my recs for pedals that make it to my board is that they use standard 9v battery or DC… just my thing. I can even plug my board into the wall and use the courtesy plug to run my amp, in the rare situation where there is only one AC input on my side of the stage.
For those of your that are working on a budget and to whom the thought of custom pricing makes you recoil, consider Rooster’s budget version of the Trailer Trash Board for around $150. This is the same basic foundation for the custom board, but you can trick it out yourself! You don’t need to know much about wiring to drill a few holes to run some cable and to install an inlet yourself that you can buy either on line or at your local supply store. Use velcro to install your power supply under the board, and voila, you have the same reliability and rock solid performance in the pedalboard that I have. There is something for every pro musician at the Trailer Trash website… You wont regret it!!!
I highly recommend George L cables for all your connection needs. They are solderless and deliver much better audio quality to my ears than many of the other high priced cable options that seem to have cropped up in the past few years. I have done many A/B blindfold tests with many folks who instantly hear the difference in audio quality. George L has pre-packaged pedalboard kits with cable and plugs that you can custom fit to whatever your pedalboard requirements might be. The cables are small enough that you can drill very small holes in your Trailer Trash Pedalboard and wire your entire board from below, keeping the top free from all clutter.
There are many pedal power supply companies that make great products. I use the Voodoo Lab Power Plus pedal power unit and it is quite sturdy and reliable and has a few different power options in addition to Sag (low battery) control. However it does add a little weight, so if you are a simply pedal user and all of your pedals require 9v only, then you can get away with a smaller budget 1 Spot Pedal Power Supply unit This works like a charm!
For those of your who are wondering what my pedal choices are in the photos and what the signal path is:
1. Guitar into Neutrik input on the Trailer Trash Pedalboard: Locked solid!
2. Neutrik into
a) Ethos Overdrive for normal use
b) momentary use with a Samson Airline Wireless if I decide for this song I am playing, I will solo and walk out into the crowd or maybe crowd surf..yknow..showmanship stuff but I usually plug back directly after this visual effect, since there is nothing like the real thing when it comes to signal path!
3. Lovepedal Babyface Mini Tremolo. (After I saw Oz doing his thing, I had to get a tremolo that could chop the wave! Thanks Oz…) I use it here for interesting choppy sounds with OD or just with clean rhythm.
4. Wah Wah Crybaby 95Q: So I can Wah my OD solo sound. I use the 95Q because it is switchless and I need to get back to singing instead of figuring out if I turned my wah off correctly, no not true bypass, but hey, works fine. Sounds great with a volume boost too.
5. Envelope Filter: Electro harmonix Micro Q-Tron (simply the fattest sounding and easiest to use… I sold my original Mu-Tron III when I bought this!)
6. Fulltone Deja-Vibe: Well the original Uni-Vibe is too large and too expensive. Fulltone makes a great product. (See my previous post about the Jetter Gear Vibe for an even smaller alternative that sounds great too. I use that in my mini pedalboard.)
7. Korg Pitch Black Tuner: True Bypass, for whatever it’s worth, so It does not really matter where this goes in the chain for me. As long as it shuts everything off when I tune. Hey, after seeing the Vin Diesel movie with the same name, I had to get this…oh, btw way…it really is a great pedal and the display options are amazing…probably visible for miles…)
8. Tuner into Neutrik output under the board to the Amp.
So that’s it for my dream pedalboard rig. I have a velcro top custom board, with a vintage wheat grill cloth that matched one of the Groove Tube Amps I used to use. George L connectors and power connectors from the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power Plus unit, that is fixed under the board. The connectors snake through the two openings at the top of the board. I have had this set up for some time now and it feels pretty permanent, so at some point, I will permanently wire everything from under the board!
I am also posting a photo of my Baby Pedalboard. This is the Pedaltrain Mini. This is one for really quick gigs where I want the basics, usually for side-man gigs that don’t require much in the way of effects, so this board has a basic coloring pedal line up. Simple and battery operated, I can throw this on the floor and be up and running in 10 seconds.
Here is the signal path on this one.
1. Korg Pitch Black.
2. Cusack Screamer Version 2.
3. Lovepedal MagicBoy Vibe.
4. Dark Echo Analog signal path, Digital Echo (really lush). See previous post for a review on this one!!
5. Fulltone Fatboost.
I use a rechargeable 9v power supply that I built specifically for this board (pictured second from the left). It lasts for about 2 weeks, playing it for a couple hours each night.
Michael Moyes is a Student Advisor at Berkleemusic.com. He finished his studies at Baylor University, where he studied Piano Performance and Business. Michael has performed Piano as a soloist, in a combo, and accompanied by full Orchestra. He is currently working towards his Master Certificate in Arranging and Orchestration from Berkleemusic. You can hear some of Michael’s music on the Berklee Music Network.
Let’s say you have been working on an arrangement or an original piece. You have all the notes down but something is missing. If you’re arrangement doesn’t catch your interest and hold it, then you can be sure it won’t hold the interest of publishers, teachers, girlfriends, boyfriends, pets, or most important, paying fans.
Does your arrangement really hold your interest? This is the first question you want to address when critiquing your work. If you find yourself falling asleep at first listen, never fear! We can help you break it down.
Here are some questions I got from the Arranging 1: Rhythm Section course which helped me improve my arrangements drastically!
Do you like your intro?
Does it draw you into the tune the way you wanted it to?
Do you like the first eight measures of your “A” section?
Did you make any variations in the following eight bars of your “B” section?
If not, are you really happy with hearing the same exact thing again, if the music repeats here?
If you’re doing a song, and you have a transitional bridge next, is it really effective moving into the chorus?
Do you feel you’ve achieved a climactic point in the chorus?
Do you feel that your arrangement overall has effective ebbs and flows—an “emotional contour?”
Do you really like your ending?
Is there any part in the arrangement where you get bored and want to be hearing the next section already?
Here is an assignment I worked on in this course. I have included the “before” version—
—and the “final” version which was recorded after going through these questions.
Beyond changing some of the samples and slowing the piece down, I made some variations in the B section, built on the transitional bridge, added a unison chorus with a descending bass line, and wrapped up with a bluegrass “tag” ending. All in all, this arrangement holds my attention more than the first one.
Although much could still be improved, this process plus feedback from my instructor Sarah Brindell and my peers helped a great deal!
What do you think?
Berkleemusic’s online summer term begins June 28, 2010.
Find out more at berkleemusic.com or contact a Student Advisor:
1-866-BERKLEE (USA) | +1 617 747 2146 (Intl) | advisors@berkleemusic.com
One topic that garners quite a bit of confusion (and admittedly, a bit of tedious boredom) is the basic layout of a page of orchestral score. For a moment, let’s look at a page of score—minus all of the notes—and look at the brackets, sub-brackets, braces, etc.
First, a bracket looks much like the [ figure on your keyboard. Brackets are used on the leftmost barline to group the staves within each instrumental family. A single bracket surrounds the woodwinds. Another bracket surrounds the brass. And so on.
Below is the woodwind family surrounded by a bracket.
Within each family, there may be cause to use a sub-bracket. Sub-brackets are used when more than one staff is needed for multiple players of the same instrument. For instance, a sub-bracket is used when you have four horn players and they are given two staves.
Below, sub-brackets are used to group six horn players on three staves and four trumpet players on two staves. The full brass section is surrounded by a bracket.
Braces look much like the { figure on your keyboard and are used when a single instrumentalist requires multiple staves. Most commonly, this is the case with piano and harp, but it is also used for celesta and other keyboard instruments.
Below, braces are used to group the staves for harp and piano.
To clarify the difference between a brace and a sub-bracket… Braces are used when asingle instrumentalist requires multiple staves. Sub-brackets are used when multiple instrumentalists, playing the same instrument, require multiple staves.
The percussion section is the least standardized portion of the orchestral score. When looking at scores (particularly those from past centuries), you will see a great deal of variety in the layout.
That said, we should make an effort to keep it as standardized as possible. In the most common current practice, the full percussion section is not grouped with a single bracket, as one might expect. Rather, the percussion section is broken into three sections:
Timpani
Percussion
Harp and Keyboards
The timpani and percussion each get their own bracket, while the harp and keyboards use any braces that are required.
Below is the layout for timpani, four percussionists, harp and piano.
Last, let’s look at a page of blank score. Notice that the leftmost barline connects from top to bottom. The remaining barlines connect only when the staves are connected by a bracket or brace.
Below is a page of blank score for: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, Eb clarinet, 2 Bb clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, 4 percussionists, harp, piano and strings.
When it comes to rites of spring, the big ones for me are Easter, the arrival of royalty statements, Opening Day, and the ASCAP Pop Awards and “I Create Music” Expo. It looks like it’s that time again. The “I Create Music” Expo, probably the best and biggest songwriter conference of the year, took place last weekend in Los Angeles at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, from Thursday, April 22 through Saturday, April 24.
If you’re an aspiring songwriter, or even a well-established one, this is a decade’s worth of education crammed into three days, with dozens of panels on everything from film & television licensing to the international market, interviews with superstars like John Mayer, master sessions with writers from Dr. Luke to jazz legend Kenny Burrell, and listening and critique sessions to allow everyone’s music to be heard.
The Expo is useful not only for the amazing networking opportunity it presents, or all of the information and resources it provides. One of the most important things that the ASCAP Expo does is remind all of us, whatever our level of experience in the business, how many different elements and factors go into making a professional songwriter, and how many skills one needs to really be at the top of his or her game. Success is not merely a matter of songwriting skill, or who you know, or finding the right career path, or marketing savvy, or simple, sheer ambition. It’s a matter of having all of those things at once.
I thought of this as I prepared for my own ASCAP Expo event– a workshop called “The Nuts and Bolts of the Music Business”, which I led on Friday, April 23, from 11:15 to 12:30 in the Grand Ballroom. To all of those who turned out– and there was a big group– thanks so much for all of your support!
The title of the panel was not my own, but rather one that ASCAP has used in the past, and I started thinking about what it really meant. Of course, it refers to the “basics” of the music business– the fundamentals of publishing and licensing, and the various legal and negotiation principles that go along with those things. But it also struck me that “Nuts and Bolts” are essentially tools. They’re things that you use to build something. And the truth is, the things that are necessary to build a career as a songwriter go far beyond a reading of “This Business of Music” and a few sample sync agreements.
So what are the tools that it takes to be effective as a songwriter in today’s music industry? Here are a couple of ideas that you might want to consider. In fact, if you’re going to other events like the ASCAP Expo, you might even want to take a good look at yourself in relation to these tools, figure out where you’re weak and where you’re strong, then try to focus your efforts on strengthening those areas where you feel a little weak. The tendency of most songwriters is to focus all their energies on the spots where they feel most confident. But the point is to be well-rounded, to have all it takes to get to the top. Here’s what you need:
1. An understanding of your audience.
The first thing a professional songwriter needs is an audience. Songwriting without an audience is a hobby. Who is your market? Is it a hip-hop market, made up of young, urban or suburban teenagers, or a country audience of rural and suburban women in their twenties and thirties in the mid-South and Southern states?
And just as importantly as “who is your audience”, it’s important to know “what does this audience want or need from the music they purchase?” Successful songwriters have a very clear understanding of who their target audience is. Sometimes it’s because they themselves are representative of that audience. Other times, it’s because the songwriters have studied it carefully. Star songwriters know exactly what kind of people make up their market and what those people want in the music to which they listen. Beyond that, smart writers know what magazines their audience purchase, what clothes they wear, what TV shows they watch and what kind of cars they drive. If you’re going out hunting bear, it’s a good thing to know what a bear looks like.
2. A network of people.
I’ve yet to see any songwriter actually become successful in isolation– breaking into the big time without any music community to support and nurture him or her. An essential survival skill is to learn how to choose the right people with whom to surround yourself, Your team should include a music lawyer, a representative from ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, possibly a manager, or perhaps an outside publisher. It can go further. If you’re breaking into the urban world, you might want to join forces with a well-known production team. If you’re a rock artist, you need a booking agent. The ability to build an effective team is crucial to the success of any music creator.
3. A strategic approach.
This is where the first two skills meet. Strategy is just the ability to discern what direction to go, and what the ultimate goal is is, then to figure out a way to use your network to get you there. Most songwriters fail because they don’t know where they’re going or what they’re aiming at. Many who may have that knowledge are too shut off from the industry or even their own musical community to be able to find a way to reach their goals. You have to be able to see the destination, find a path, then call upon the people you need to help guide you down the path.
To go to the ASCAP Expo is a positive career move and an aggressive approach to your career. Still, it’s not by itself strategic. If you were to look at the names on the list of panelists in advance and identify the ten key players who you need to meet… then you were to research them enough so that you could ask one knowledgeable, interesting question at their panel… all with the intention of creating a reason to be able to approach them after their panel– now that’s strategic!
4. A demo reel with hits on it!
There’s no better weapon in the war of the music weasels than a hit song. A band with one sure-fire radio single and nine mediocre songs will get signed to a record label long before a band with ten pretty good songs and no single. A songwriter with one song hitting the charts will get a publishing deal faster than a songwriter with dozens of big album cuts. Hit songs are the currency of the industry and if you have them, doors will open and things will happen. Having hits is a sure-fire strategy.
5. An entrepreneurial spirit.
If you went to hear the top songwriters speak while you were at Expo, I can assure you that you will not have heard any of them, including those signed to big publishing deals, speaking like an employee at a company. You will never hear an A-level songwriter imply that they just write the songs and leave the business to someone else. Successful songwriters view themselves as the driving force of their own career– as the CEOs of their publishing companies, their own best song-plugger, and their own toughest critic.
Life being what it is, not every top songwriter has all of these tools in equal measure. Some make up in hit-songwriting ability what they lack in team-building skills. Others let networking, strategic thinking and overwhelming ambition carry them beyond where their talent alone could have placed them. Most importantly, the great songwriters recognize what they’re missing, compensate for it, and then try to improve their weakness by any means necessary.
Opening Day at Yankee Stadium always brings to mind the legendary Mickey Mantle, who along with his rival Willie Mays, was described as one of the quintessential “five-tool ballplayers”– that is, a baseball player who can run, hit for power, hit for average, field his position, and throw accurately. There’s not many of those around at any time. The same could be said for songwriters. The five-tool songwriters are the ones who know their audience, have a network of people on whom to call, take a strategic approach, bring the hit songs, and keep an entrepreneurial spirit toward their business. They were the ones on stage, accepting the ASCAP Pop Awards at the Wednesday night event prior to the Expo.
Tools are a way of making things easier. If you have the right ones and you know how to use them, you can do the job faster and better than you could without them. The ASCAP Expo is an unparalleled opportunity to pick up those tools that you’ve been missing, or that you haven’t yet learned to use. Don’t miss the chance to get your game up to a big league level. If you didn’t make it there last weekend, try to put it on your calendar for next year. There is no better event than this one to learn from the top songwriters and publishers, and to hone your skills in every aspect of the music business.
For those of you who were there– thanks so much for dropping by to say hello. It’s always great to connect with all of you in person…
You want a relationship with your fans? Why not go to their houses and play. No way to get to know people better than invading their homes and doing your thing right in the middle of their living rooms. Right?
Over the past year I interviewed many successful people from all walks of the music business. They talk about what is working for them, their artists and writers and how to get ahead in the music business today.
Alright, it’s time to come clean—we all feel the same way about music theory: who wants to study a bunch of stuffy old dead-guy music to learn what people did 200 years ago? There are so many other things to study that are more interesting, helpful, and fun, right? Well, not exactly. Even if you don’t find music theory fun, it’s our history, our tradition, and in essence, the platform upon which all of what we do is built.
For a power chord from the wall, I just got an extension chord and attached the matching Marinco outlet that fits right into the inlet on the side of the board. In a pinch you can use any extension cord available since the housing is larger than most outlet plugs.
Here’s a question I get all the time as an advisor for the online school and as a working musician: How do I get my own gig?
Let’s say you have been working on an arrangement or an original piece. You have all the notes down but something is missing. If you’re arrangement doesn’t catch your interest and hold it, then you can be sure it won’t hold the interest of publishers, teachers, girlfriends, boyfriends, pets, or most important, paying fans.
