The Musicians Toolbox

Win A Robin Trower Custom Shop Stratocaster

2009-08-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

Fender Guitars is giving away a Robin Trower custom shop Stratocaster. You can register here:

http://fender.com/robintrower/signup.php

Keep Rockin.....Jake

Win one of 3 Fender guitars

2009-08-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.johnelefante.com/jmla/

Register to win one of (3) Fender guitars. John will personally autograph each guitar, and the registered winners will receive a personal phone call congratulating them on the win! Please use the register link on the left hand side of this page to register today!

Good luck and hope I win one...lol....jake

Free Online Music courses....and....20 online resources for music teachers

2009-05-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

The internet has made it possible for any one to increase their musical knowledge at their own pace from the privacy of there own home. Here are several sites with free online lessons and some other tools to expand your musical skills.

http://www.berkleeshares.com/ from the famous berklee school of music.

20 online resouces for music teachers.... http://musicteachersblog.com/?p=88

http://www.guitarnoise.com/ online guitar, songwriting tips and more.

Enjoy.....still in search of the lost cord.....Jake

Free Home Recording Software and Plugins

2009-05-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a great site for anyone wanting to get started with Home recording. Free software links, free plugin links, tips and more.

http://www.homerecording.us/documents/recording_software.html

Untill next time.....push the faders up.....Jake

Hard to find Musical Gear Manuals.....

2009-04-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

I buy a lot of used musical gear and one of the biggest frustrations is no manual.....If you can't find a free copy of a manual online, there is a good chance that Mark Glinsky can help you. His Manual Manor page is updated regularly and lists hundreds of manuals you can purchase.

http://www.markglinsky.com/ManualManor.html

Until next time..... keep listening for the click track....Jacob

Stupid Deal Of The Day! | Musician's Friend

2009-04-15T06:16:00.001-07:00

Stupid Deal Of The Day! | Musician's Friend

$9.99

Was: $17.99

MSRP: $35.99 Savings: $26.00(72%)

Musicians Gear Folding Tiltback Amp Stand (Black Folds Flat*)

#450727

This tough-constructed Musicians Gear metal amp stand holds your amp in a tilt-back position where it can be heard better by both you and your audience at lower volumes. Folds flat to pack away easily.

Order today and get your amp where you can hear it.

Posted using ShareThis

Alternate tunings and online guitar tuner

2009-04-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

Information about alternative tunings and a link below for an online tuner that does standard tuning as well as alternative tunings.

Alternate Guitar Tunings Introduction by Dave Long

Most new guitarists are overly suspicious of alternate guitar tunings.

The major stumbling block is the need to re-tune the guitar which can be a pain. This is especially true for new guitarists who have enough trouble tuning the guitar to standard tuning.

Before we get started I better point out that standard tuning is E-A-D-G-B-E.

Alternate guitar tunings tend to be named for a variety of reasons.

Open tunings are normally called after the chord which sounds when you play the open strings (open D tuning is D-A-D-G-A-D).

Sometimes tunings are named after the instrument that tunes the same way and sometimes tunings are just pick up names (think of Drop D tuning.There are also several tunings named after the songs that inspired them)

Advantages of alternate guitar tunings

The most obvious advantage is that with different pitches on the open strings we have a whole new variety of sounds and chords we can use to express ourselves.

It's really a lot of fun playing around with different riffs that were impossible before and for a lot of guitarists playing alternate tunings is the first time they come across the concept of modes.

Also, in some cases songs may be very difficult to play in standard tuning. Once you start using internet tabs (especially guitar pro tabs) you'll notice that some tabs are impossible to play because your fingers are not made of rubber.

The reason for this is the songs were probably originally written and played in alternate guitar tuning. The tab has been transcribed into standard tuning. I have to admit I sometimes wonder if people do this on purpose to frustrate beginners.

The same holds true for a lot of simple chord songs. If you ever come across chords progressions like D, D/C, D/B, D/A or A, A/G, A/F#, A/F you should suspect an open chord Celtic Guitar type of tuning.

Chord progressions like the ones above can be played in an open tuning using just one finger to change the bass note. In standard tuning playing the same progression requires all four fingers and sometimes the thumb!

http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/

Until next time....anda one and atwo....Jake

10 Tips For Playing In A Band ....#2

2009-03-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

2. Know the People

Working with people outside the band is also important - know your agents, promoters, employers (the ones who pay you) and your customers (the ones you're playing to). Find out what they want, and treat them as people.

Understand that your average (non-musician) audience will notice more than your music alone.

* In this order, people will notice:

* 1st - Your presentation - how you do what you do

* 2nd - You're appearance - what you look like

* 3rd - Your music - what you sound like

This is a very uncomfortable concept for many musicians. The only way to make your music more noticeable is to be exceptionally brilliant, or exceptionally bad.

Don't despair; performing music live is just a package deal. Don't kid yourself either, that when you play people somehow switch onto a principle that your music is everything, and everything else is nothing.

More importantly music, like all art forms, is about giving. I think the way to enhance the perception of your music is to combine the above three elements into your performance. If you really like the music you play, you'll find it easy to get into the feel of the songs, and that affects the way you look on stage, and allows you to present your music by giving something of yourself by expressing your feelings in a musical form, and making it real and credible experience for yourself and your audience.

This becomes a controversial topic when we stray into less credible musical territory. For example, if your entire audience pleads with you to play The Chicken Dance, would you play it? If not, why not? Would you be concerned about what other band members might think of you and how it might affect your credibility or reputation? Or is it your own pride telling you not to play anything musically trite? Are you above this sort of thing? Even if you never play The Chicken Dance it might be interesting for you to honestly answer some of these questions for yourself.

Then there's the show-band field, where presentation and appearance is intentionally the main focus of the performance. Whether its a Grease revival or your own concept, it usually requires some theatrics and dressing up. This can be a genuine additional artistic outlet for those with acting and dramatic skills, although I think it can be a minefield for musicians who do not have this flair. It again raises questions of credibility and musical integrity.

For what its worth, I recently played 2 shows in a row with the same lineup of musicians. The first night was a birthday party, all aged around mid forties. They wanted 70's classics; rock, soul and a dash of blues, which we played. Next night we played at a wedding with ages from teenagers through to 60 year olds. It took us about set to figure it out, but they loved the old corny sing-along hits (like "Singin' the Blues", "Runaway", "Personality" and so on).

Now in my view, what we played the first night had a fair amount of musical credibility, while the second night did not. Nevertheless, our audiences loved the band on both nights, and we will get repeat work out of both shows. I choose to have a great night every night, and enjoy whatever I play, and these 2 nights were no exception.

Build Your Own Clone......

2009-03-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

Love high end or vintage stomp boxes but not the price tag? This DIY site is a great alternative to the crazy prices of vintage stomp boxes. They sell a number of kits to satisfy your gas cravings and get some great tone at reasonable prices. Some info from their website..........

B.Y.O.C. offers a full line of DIY guitar effects kits that are based on some of the most famous circuits ever conceived and use top shelf components to provide you with superb sounding boutique level effects pedals that are both fun to build and save you money. And you will also enjoy your pedal so much more because you built it yourself (your friends will be thoroughly impressed too!).

Our kits come with absolutely EVERYTHING you need to build a complete pedal right down to the hook up wire. The circuit board is ready-to-solder and the enclosure is pre-drilled. The only thing you'll need are a few basic tools and a little patience. And they're easy to build too. The step by step instructions make it as simple as paint by numbers and the layouts are extremely intuitive.

But the most important thing with any guitar FX stompbox is how the end result sounds and holds up. A BYOC kit is not just some DIY project that simply "works". A properly built BYOC kit will rival or surpass even the most coveted and expensive handmade versions of a comparable circuit in tone, construction, and every other aspect of what makes pedal great.

With so many pedal companies that all seem to offer the same things, why not try something different?

Why not build your own clone and Take Tone Into Your Own Hands?

Here is the link to the website.....click on FX kits on the right hand side of the page.

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/index1.html

Until next time.....can anybody find the bridge......Jacob

Top 10 Tips for Playing in a Band #1

2009-03-23T07:06:00.000-07:00

Don't let any of this put you off; none of this is rocket science, just common-sense. Remember, these aren't rules, just ideas to think about. Maybe some will work for you and some won't. Maybe some could if you tried them.

1. Be on a Winning Team

A band is about working and playing together, so being a good player is fine, but unless you're so phenomenally brilliant that you're in constant demand (sorry, but most of us are not), then it's actually more important to know how to work in a team of people.

Some artists think its cool to be temperamental (half temper and half mental!), but you're making your own life harder than it needs to be if you put up with these people in your band, or even worse, if you're one yourself. Working in a good team can be fantastic (you know: the power of the team is greater than the sum of its individuals). You can get a real buzz when you pull off a successful gig together. In the band, it benefits you, as a band member, to leave space for others to grow, learn and make mistakes.

Reprinted from: http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/index.html

Check out the site....some other neat stuff there about guitar gear and Roland Synths...waiting for the next downbeat....Jake

Neve 1030 Mic Preamp/EQ giveaway

2009-03-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Vintage King Audio is giving away a Neve 1030 Mic Preamp/EQ. You need to enter by April 14th and the drawing will be April 15th 2009. The Vintage King site is cool because have because they have audio samples of the gear they are selling.

You can read a review about this preamp here.

http://www.eqmag.com/article/ams-neve-1073/Dec-04/2262

Enter the give away here:

https://forms.netsuite.com/app/site/crm/externalleadpage.nl?compid=360669&formid=16&h=2953955042a60c71471d

The Mail Vintage King site is here:

http://www.vintageking.com/

Good luck on your entry....and.....until the next downbeat.....Jake

OurStage

2009-03-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

I am always on the lookout for sites that promote good music and make away for musicians to connect to the public. This site has a lot of cool music to offer and another platform to get your music heard and connect with new fans. Here is a little info about how it works:

How does it work?

As an artist, your first step is to upload your music or video and decide which channel competition to enter. Then, fans judge the work side by side with the work of others. Our unique judging capability (called Peer Relative Ranking, but don't worry about that) makes sure that each piece is judged fairly by the real audience- with no rigging, no cheating, and no celebrity judges. At the end of each month, the top 20 and the top 10 in each channel go head-to-head in a special judging channel to determine the winner of that channel, and then a site-wide judging contest to determine our Grand Prize winner. For more information about that, see the Judging section below! As a fan, all you have to do is listen to some great music and give feedback about just how great you think it is. Find your favorite artists and follow them as they grow!

Another tool to reach new fans and for the music fan another way to discover great new music.

http://www.ourstage.com/about/how

Until the next downbeat......Jake