singingpretty

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Know your song keys

or prepare to lose the respect of your fellow musicians.

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Everything great that ever happens in your career will always start with Someone You Know.

http://www.soloperformer.com/index.php?article=0024

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How To Book Yourself

http://www.soloperformer.com/index.php?article=0004

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I have learned is that you never know what to expect, so you have to be ready for anything.

http://www.soloperformer.com/index.php?article=0007

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Approaching Venue Managers

Talking To Promoters + Club Managers: The Art Of The Approach (scroll down to “5 STEPS TO APPROACH PROMOTERS/MANAGERS“)

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What should an artist make? They should make their art, whatever that is. Your voice is exactly what people will want and exactly what you should wrestle for.

http://natureofthebeat.svbtle.com/whats-a-creative-to-do

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Copyright is confusing - Do it anyway.

Copyright laws are complex and more than a little confusing.  This is not an excuse to ignore them.  If you wish for your music to be valued, begin by making sure that you hold the music of other artists in the highest esteem.  Respect copyright; you will never regret doing so. 

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Recording a Cover Song

If you plan to cover another artist’s song in your recording efforts, you must obtain the rights to do so.  If your listening audience is relatively small, the easiest way to do so is via compulsory mechanical licensing.  This overview by the US Copyright office is well-worth the read so that you understand what you need to do and why.  At the time of this post there are three online compulsory licensing services: loudr.fm, songclearance.com and harryfox.com.  (Note: The Harry Fox Agency will only provide licensing for artists they represent.  Unless HF represents 100% of the owners, I recommend using one of the other services listed.)

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Upside of a Bad Photo

The more unattractive the picture they posted, the more likely that the music enthralled the photo taker. That’s my theory; I’m sticking to it.

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Mics and Levels

Vocalists should consider the microphone to be part of their instrument.  Just like different types of guitars have different sound qualities and strengths and weaknesses, so do mics.  A good mic compliments and amplifies the voice.

Test the volume and levels (gain, treble, mids, and bass) of your mic before each performance.   Both the PA system and the room acoustics can have a great influence on what is heard.  Adjust yourself and the levels so you can hear and you like what you're hearing. 

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Music mixing is akin to moving into a new house or apartment. Your furniture and belongings represent all the individual performances that you have recorded in a song. Your job is to situate those performances in a manner much like you would the furniture you are moving to your new home. If done right, it is something that you can enjoy for years to come. Whether the results are good or not depends on the decisions you make along the way.

http://www.music-production-guide.com/music-mixing-2.html

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Understanding Mix

I found this post very helpful in conceptualizing how to approach mixing raw audio. 

Also, once I’ve got the mix sounding as good as I can, I always take this most excellent advice and listen to the mixed recording through a variety of speakers.

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Demo Recording Ingredients

Microphones Mic Stands Cables Audio Interface Headphones Recording Software Space/Location to Record Lots of time (4x)

Resist the urge to buy.  Borrow what you can and make do with what you already have.   If you absolutely must buy, take a look at these suggestions.

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A Demo Might Help

Getting gigs seems to be one of the great mysteries of the music business.  Aside from working with an booking agency and having them figure it out, there don’t appear to be any “rules” about how to get “in” with venues.  But one suggestion that keeps popping up as I ask for advice is this: Record a few songs so that you have something to give a potential venue.  The suggestion also comes with a warning - Don’t get too picky and think you need to go into a recording studio.  Decent is good enough.

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A Great Song...Just Not Now

Don’t let a great song pass you by just because you don’t have the time to learn the song immediately!  Shove them all into a giant playlist in spotify.  (I call mine  “Songs to Consider” and it’s currently 500 songs strong.)  When you need a new song, put your massive, eclectic list on shuffle until you hit one that inspires and excites.