Musicians Blog | The Musicians blog

Tempo of Music…

Tempo continues to come-up in discussions amongst band members. I’ve noticed that when I play live the average listener wont notice a slight tempo change, as long as you’re all still following each other. Musicians might notice, but if you try to force the other player back to tempo it tends to hurt the song rather than help it. I stumbled across a couple of comments on a Bass forum thread and was appreciative of their notations (no music pun intended)…
Ron-

(via an interesting discussion on the TalkBass forum between, SevenYearsDown and Jack Clark)
I was a “rock slab” guy for years who transitioned to upright about 5 years ago. I play in an old time string band now. Someone already described what beat you should be countering on so I wont go into that…
read their two comments on this thread here ->
https://www.talkbass.com/forum/f179/tips-holding-tempo-992386/#postcount14704771

Revisting Shredding Fusion Genious, Hugh Ferguson…

Although it was the early part of 2012 when fusion guitar extraordinaire, Hugh Ferguson passed-away… it just seemed like a good time to revisit his wonderful writings and sounds. The first article I found was from a Truth in Shredding blog, which spends some time devoted to Hugh’s past. The other site I found fascinating was the actual (still exists as of today) Hugh Ferguson .net website. The section I really found intriguing was his ‘ask’ section of the blog. The questions were the type that real players would ask, eg., gear, recording, sounds, scales, etc (you know, deeper stuff)…
Ron-

(by Laurie Monk via, Truth in Shredding blog)
Hugh started his career in music on the drums at the age of six, playing his first concert at eight. Originally from the Boston area, he grew up in a musical family with two older guitar-playing brothers. Switching to guitar at eleven. Hugh grew up with the sounds of rock and roll through the 60’s and early 70’s. By the ripe old age of 14 he was already playing the Boston Club scene…
>read more here->
https://www.truthinshredding.com/2013/07/hugh-ferguson-bostonian-legato-legend.html

AND, be sure to read this section of ‘Ask Hugh’ on Hugh Ferguson’s blog… good, deep musician questions and answers to be had…
https://www.hughferguson.net/ask_hugh.php

4 Good Bass Guitar Practice Routines…

These very same tips for practicing and expanding on the Bass Guitar can be applied to your guitar and keyboard. A reminder of the basics is handy now and then to remain tuned-up on our instruments…
Ron-

(By Robert Paul – via Street Articles)
Ever wonder what you should be practicing? Is what I’m practicing really helping me become a better player? Very good questions to be asking yourself. If you’re serious about developing your skill as a bass player, a good practice routine is essential…
Get the ‘4’ Bass Guitar Practice Elements here ->

https://www.streetarticles.com/music-instruction/4-elements-to-a-healthy-bass-guitar-practice-routine

Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan Remastered…

Associated with the Cool Jazz Period of the mid 50s, Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan had a ‘cool’ thing going… and lucky for us a re-mastered edition has been released, inclusive of a bonus studio track. Cool, man.
Ron

(By David Bowling – via BlogCritics)
Pianist Thelonious Monk and baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan came together in 1957 to record Mulligan Meets Monk. That album has now been reissued as a part of the ongoing Original Jazz Classics Remasters Series…

Drummer in the Band…

Would you consider the drummer the backbone of the band? Obviously, these statements could be applied to all instruments, but it is arguably more of a truism (in general) when applied to drummers. I have to give the drummer in a band credit for their, forever being a part of the groove… I mean, none stop involvement gives them an important position in the group’s partnership…
Ron

(By Erik Stams… Rhythm Magz. via Music Radar)
By providing secure time, dynamic intensity and the right feel a drummer can make a song come to life. Why else would producers continue to use live drummers when everything else is programmed?…

More Here…
https://www.musicradar.com/news/drums/why-drummers-really-are-the-backbone-of-the-band-580362

Music Piracy and Musicians Lacking in Royalties Fees

Ever since the distribution of streaming songwriters music online the concerns over royalties for such remain. The payouts for musicians for their efforts seem dismal at best. You might this story an interesting read.
Ron

( by Lucille Keen… via Financial Review)

The music industry needs to repair the royalties paid by music streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora, or else the shift to streaming will “fail” individual artists even as it benefits the music industry as a whole, Australia’s royalty collection agency has warned…

Pick up the rest of the story here:
https://www.afr.com/p/technology/music_streaming_fails_artists_royalties_N3NDRMkH4TZXAEVHQoMAUJ

Crazy Regulations for Live Entertainment…

OMG… As a live performance musician this story might get your distortion frequencies going crazy. Hard to believe that Homeland Security has now expanded its role to include issuing permits without which restaurant owners are barred from playing live music. FGS… it’s hard enough for a small venue owner to hire musical talent (and pay them decent fees)…
Ron

(By Rick Yencer via Muncie Free Press)

Mike Martin, musician and owner of a local Indiana music venue, Folly Moon, was claimed to be in violation of state law by failing to obtain an entertainment permit for live music at the downtown establishment…
Worth the further read here: (musicians unite!)
https://www.munciefreepress.com/node/29089

10 Great Places to Promote Your Music Online

Besides your announcements on FaceBook, your Blog, YouTube, Press Releases, email alerts to your existing fans, you might find this story on the 10 great places to promote your music online a decent guideline to assist with your resolve to ‘get your songs heard’ on the Internet.
Ron

(via Wix Blog)
It’s no earth-shattering news that the internet has basically changed the music industry for good. Technologies like file sharing, social media and eCommerce are giving artists more opportunities to expose their music to larger audiences and increase their fan base…

10 good sites to promote your music, here:
https://www.wix.com/blog/2013/07/promote-your-music/

Sad Music Makes Folks Happy…

I found this research rather interesting. Gives another meaning to music theory. Sure hope happy music also makes people ‘happy’!
Ron

(By Kenny Doan via VR-Zone)
A recent study conducted by researchers from the Tokyo University of Arts has revealed that sad music does, in fact, invoke ‘pleasant emotion.’ …
more on this story here:
https://vr-zone.com/articles/sad-music-makes-people-happy/46646.html

Saving Bob Dylan’s Dinkytown Guitar Store…

So… they want to tear-down (for Condos) the distinguished district, inclusive of the original music store where Bob Dylan purchased his earliest guitar for recording, Blood on the Tracks. The music store, the Podium, has been saved and will move down the street and kept for nostalgia.
Ron

(by Maury Glover – via Fox Twin Cities)
The place still holds a special spot in Dylan’s heart. The native of Hibbing, Minn., spent a good portion of his past at the shop while studying at the University of Minnesota before he moved to New York and became an American icon…

Further on this story here:
https://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/22799855/bob-dylans-old-dinkytown-hangout-gets-new-life