Posts Tagged ‘music’
Hope everyone had a good, relaxing 4th of July. Mine was all right.
While we’re still in the mood, blogger Ig posted his take on the Bill of Rights late last week. He calls it the Guitar Player’s Bill of Rights.
Favorite:
Right 3: You have the right to enjoy playing guitar.
Let’s face it. Too many guitar players think “difficult” when it comes to playing. That’s why many end up quitting… Turn your playing into something you enjoy. That’s why you chose to play guitar in the first place.
Too true. I think this is actually the case with lots of instruments. Take piano, for example. Many parents sign their kids up for piano lessons, thinking it’ll help them develop a hidden talent, or, at the very least, get them away from a TV for awhile. While that’s all fine and true, more often than not, forcing a kid to take music lessons saps away any appreciation for music he or she might have; after the lessons are done, they’ll spend the rest of their life rarely touching the instrument.
This might be a bigger thought process than I’m willing to blog here. Hmph. Maybe it’ll be food for another post. Anyway, my point is: Just enjoy playing music. You don’t have to be the best to express yourself. You just have to be you.
Link:http://igblog.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/guitar-players-bill-of-rights/
Jon Clarke of the band Secret Echoes wrote an interesting article called “Why changing styles is good for a band” earlier this week about the importance of change to music and why musicians, even within a very defined genre, ought to keep their minds open to new sounds.
“It is only by changing what is commonly expected as the norm that new styles of music will be discovered.”
He uses as reference the Smashing Pumpkins’ transitions within grunge and their willingness to change from album to album. From Gish to Siamese Dream to Melon Collie, they knew what their fans wanted and gave it to them, all while exploring their art and their music.
Sounds like sound advice to me! (You get it? It’s a pun! …. I’m sorry…)
Link:http://secretechoes.co.uk/2008/07/02/why-changing-styles-is-good-for-a-band/
Oh, I almost forgot… Happy 4th of July!!
In the neighborhood of guitar manufacturers, Brazen is the new kid on the block that everybody’s talking about… Well, everybody that’s hip, at least. Get with it, man!
Since they’re a pretty new, small company, there’s not a ton of press about them, nor will you find their products in a lot of the bigger shops and catalogs, but they sum themselves up pretty well on their website:
“As a third generation from a line of musicians and instrument builders, we understand the importance of musicians being able to perform on finely crafted instruments. That’s why we take great pride in releasing our new brand, Brazen Guitars. Our mission is to develop top line guitars at an affordable price without compromising the sound that is essential for artists to thrive.
The producers of Brazen Guitars have more than fifty years of experience in crafting fine instruments. We have dedicated the past forty of these years to making quality guitars. We’re always updating, and improving-but the satisfaction of our customers will continue to be our highest priority.”
Most of their gear ranges from around $400 for their Strat-a-likes to $800 for their PRS-type models. Though their specs vary, many of them feature AAA-grade and AAAA-grade flamed maple tops, high-end pickups like Seymour Duncans, thru-necks, Grover tuners, and other features you’d expect to see on a boutique, $3,000 guitar… There really aren’t a lot of other guitars in their price range that can boast these features.
From left to right: the Dynasty Vintage-T, Fantasy Deluxe, and Dynasty P-90.
Beautiful, elegant, retro, contemporary, vintage. A new Brazen is at the top of my list of most-wanted gear… and that’s a pretty long list!
Oh, yeah!!
Link:http://brazenguitars.com/
Link:http://www.worldmusicsupply.com/guitars/Brazen.asp
World Music Supply is a music instrument retail website from Indiana. Their YouTube channel has something like 270 video demonstations of the products they sell, almost all shot in-house.
Here’s one of their best, a demo of the Boss DS-1 distortion pedal:
Their archive is one of the first places I search through when considering buying a new effects pedal or guitar.
“What is the best way to do this? PayPal? Are there other options than PayPal? Other options that don’t cost money (like receiving Credit Cards)?”
There’s an interesting discussion over in the Harmony Central forums about the best ways to sell singles on your site. If you’re a musician, it may be worth a gander.
Link: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1866274
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