Welcome to the Jungle of the Recording Industry…

As this article presents a great insight [and it is] – there are some important variables one might consider before launching an attachment to the record industry (the commercial dudes).  One is simply the fact that if you’ve already built a (package) following, why would you want/need to sell-out to the record labels? One the other side… if they are willing to toss-out a good bunch of bucks up-front and not mess with you regarding spending a good portion of your advance $ on studio and post-production on your very next release, then… maybe it’s worth it. And, if they can guarantee that (because of their promotional juice) you’ll get some good exposure in larger venues, then.. maybe. But remember, if you’ve created a decent following the ‘snow-ball’ effect just may take you where your original journeys had already chartered…
– Ron

Welcome to the Jungle

(by Christopher Patton via:Cleveland Music Examiner)

There was a time when A&R personnel (employees working for record labels) would find musicians with high musical abilities and quickly sign them to a record deal. They would bring these musicians to the labels’ artist development department to enhance the musicians’ music and marketing image. As a result, those musicians became hit stars. This may be a bit oversimplified, but…
More Hear -> https://www.examiner.com/article/why-record-labels-won-t-sign-great-artists

New Orleans noise ordinance a mixed bag for musicians…

Wow, as of today New Orleans is going through a strange noise ordinance change, which will make a marked notation on her music heritage…
Ron-

New Orlean noise - trumpet

(By Richard A. Webster, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
A new report commissioned by the New Orleans City Council on how best to revise the city’s noise ordinance was challenged as too lenient by several residents who spoke Monday at a meeting of the council’s Housing and Human Needs Committee. On the other side, members of the local music community urged the council to tread lightly and respect the city’s cultural heritage…

More on this noise compensation here…>
https://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/08/new_report_on_noise_ordinance.html

Intro to Sound and Hearing…

I found a great resource for some basic foundations in the art of sound and sound engineering. Many musicians do a fair amount of their own production work in the studio and live… getting back to the basic via the Synposis of sound, is a good way to secure your understanding of how it relates to your work. You might find this site of interest and this page starts with… Vibrations via our Ears, Velocity, Waveform, Pitch, Intensity and more…
Ron-

ear anatomy

A waveform of a signal is a pictorial representation of the changes in the signal’s amplitude over a period of time. Imagine dropping a rock into a calm pond of water. If you took a picture of a cross-section of the water, that picture would be a graphic depiction of the amplitude of the water versus distance…
-> see more @ ->
https://www.recordingconnection.com.au/curriculum/audio-engineering/lesson-01

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-

Tempo in a Band

(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-

hugh ferguson tribute

(by 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-

bass guitar post

(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

Music Dials Cool Jazz

(By – 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…

read more about this release here ->

https://blogcritics.org/music-review-thelonious-monk-and-gerry-mulligan-mulligan-meets-monk-remastered/

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

drummer in the band

(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

No dollar sign

( 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

no-music

(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