Curious about the music industry? Find out stuff.
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I'm not going to reveal where I teach.lolelemental said:
I saw an advert in the paper, rung the guy up, turned up for an interview and got the job. I think maybe about a dozen people went for it. I got it probably because me and the boss had a similar teaching philosophy and general attitude, and also having both experience and qualifications might have helped a bit too. But I stress it's the former that was probably the clincher rather than the latter.
None of these. I teach out of a private music school/studio which caters to all ages. I've previously done a little work in primary schools but I dislike the amount of "crowd control" required, one-on-one teaching is far better for my sanity, not to mention the student's learning because it allows me to customise content to the individual.lolelemental said:
Can you suggest a good musical notation program for the computer? I ask this because I'm unorganized and sloppy if i write it on paper, plus I could just email or print out the music whenever I feel like.
Sibelius is definitely the best one for the PC and it can do literally everything, plus it has the best interface, but it's not cheap. Finale is also pretty good and worth a look, especially if you're into Macs as Mac users tend to prefer Finale for some reason. There's probably others out there too but I'd recommend the above two.Ham_authority95 said:
If you're going to Uni soon try and find out what they use, so you can buy the same thing. I almost guarantee you it'll be one of the two programs I just mentioned. You might even be able to get a student discounted "educational" version...
I'm about 3 years away from Uni, but I'm sure that I can ask my band teacher about which one to use...BonsaiK said:
I don't know shit about making electronic music(like Drum and Bass, Hip-Hop beats, etc), and considering that one out of five kids above 10 where I live have started listening to Dubstep more than Pop, Hip-hop, or Metal, it's a genre I want to know how to do.
Could you give me an overview on production, composition, or hell, even history?
EDIT: Also, any way to not get caught up in the whole party-drug-rave culture attached to electronic dance music? Is it just a matter of saying "no" at the right times?
Could you give me an overview on production, composition, or hell, even history?
EDIT: Also, any way to not get caught up in the whole party-drug-rave culture attached to electronic dance music? Is it just a matter of saying "no" at the right times?
That's actually really hard to do without taking a couple of hours out of my life. As much as I don't like dubstep, there's a lot to it so it's hard to sum up briefly. I'm always hesitant to recommend wikis but the wiki article on dubstep is actually really good (even though it uses the word 'trope' - ugh) and will answer pretty much everything you have on your mind. Read it first and get back to me if you have further questions.Ham_authority95 said:
As for the culture, you can always choose to participate in the elements that appeal to you and forego the rest. I attend lots of parties but I never take drugs if they're offered. You'll have to get used to saying no a lot but that's not such a bad thing, I think it's a good skill to have quite frankly. However if you're going to make dance music you'll want to participate in dance culture on some level because if you don't people are going to think you're being a snob. No-one important will really think any less of you if you don't do that line of meth though, if anything they'll admire you for having the self-control that they themselves lack.
Okay. I read the article...BonsaiK said:
A further question I have is about the actual creation of the music. They mention Sythesizers and drum machines, but how would I go about put those together?
To be honest you could create convincing dubstep using only a computer and a free tracker program such as Fruityloops, which is basically a program that takes samples and loops them in layers. There's no need to outlay any money at all. But essentially what you need is:Ham_authority95 said:
1. Something to create beats with
2. A way to arrange those beats in some kind of compositional form
3. Some way to do some other shit over the top
Now Fruityloops can cover all three of those bases, which is great for recording a dubstep piece, but not quite so great for playing it live, because it would just consist of someone pressing 'go' and 'stop' on a computer which is the most boring live music experience imaginable. So you could choose to have drum sequences on a computer and play the other parts live on a synth or sample keyboard, or get other people to play them. Or, cut your dubstep tracks onto vinyl and DJ them yourself, creatively mixing them for maximum effect, and you could add synths to that as well if you wanted. Or for maximum fun you could try something very daring and have a full dubstep live band with a live drummer (probably playing an electronic kit) and synth player, plus whatever else you felt was appropriate, vocals, bass guitar, flugelhorn, whatever. The beauty of electronic styles of music is that there's several ways to skin a cat. Going completely the other route you could just leave it all on the computer but maybe get hold of a projector and some cool video footage and project that on the back wall of the stage to give people something to look at.
On the Fruitloops site they only have the demo to download for free, so that should do for now...BonsaiK said:
An electronic band called Pendulum actually does this, guitar, bass, drums, everything through about 17 computers to get the full range of effects. I've heard that their live shows are(obviously) pretty kickass.
I've noticed that in old music videos and performances, it wasn't common for the band members to be flipping the fuck out on stage like later acts would. Is there a reason for this?
Just changes in music and performance fashion. Gradually over time bands in the same field would try to outdo each other not just musically but also performance-wise. A really wild performance is a way to get noticed, it has flow-on effects into the musical side of things, and also it's fun, bridging the gap between music and dance.Ham_authority95 said:
Here's an early example:
Rock and roll of this style had a lot of "flipping out" performers because it was highly rhythmic music (at least for its day). Generally speaking, music which emphasizes rhythm over melody is more likely to generate a similarly rhythmic visual performance from the musicians involved, and as time has gone on, rhythm has gradually become the dominant force in popular music, hence the visual performance has changed to suit.
Also, think of tribal drummers and how crazy-looking some of them get. It's all in the rhythm. Other folk and tribal musics with little or no emphasis on rhythm don't have the performers "flipping out" at all.
Sorry, you posted this, like, ages ago and I only just saw it now. My apologies.Shivarage said:
I don't see any connection between The Cure and emo. At all, not even indirectly. In fact I'd almost say they're opposites. I'll give them goth-rock and shoegaze though for sure.
Why they're not in some hall of fame? Don't know, don't really care. I doubt The Cure care either. You'd be amazed how little most working musicians give a fuck about things like this, most of them acutely realise award ceremonies and halls of fame are one big circle-jerk just like the rest of us do.
It's no problemBonsaiK said:
This actually explains a lot... how much does profitability matter to bands these days?
Or even, how has the economy problems affected upcoming talents? have they been slowed down or even prevented from making a living from music?
Looking back on my attitude to what I was and still am doing, I thought maybe I have the wrong idea in focusing on money rather than just enjoying the music... it's just I was thinking if my music wasn't profitiable then I couldn't continue doing it if you know what I mean...
You mentioned a few times in this thread that you've either met or know some big time artists. You said at one point that you were given the opportunity to meet KISS and you've also mentioned knowing someone with a "massive national hit" and another group who won't play festivals for less than a million, and I doubt that they are the extent of the people you know. My question being, does this kind of thing come with anyone with a reasonable amount of success (and networking skills) in the music industry or are you, for lack of a better term, a "big player". I mean, are you reasonably well known in the sector you work in? Do people approach you and know who you are? etc.
(These next couple of questions are more questions about your musical tastes and aren't really about the industry so you don't have to answer them if you don't wanna)
What are your favourite genres? Who is the most underrated/underrated artist in your opinion? Favourite band?
(These next couple of questions are more questions about your musical tastes and aren't really about the industry so you don't have to answer them if you don't wanna)
What are your favourite genres? Who is the most underrated/underrated artist in your opinion? Favourite band?
Whether profitability matters to a band depends on whether the band is relying on their music to make an income. I've done various personal musical projects over the years and I've always been quite content for them not to be successful, because I make my money behind the scenes regardless anyway. This then frees me up to explore whatever side of music I want. Another band who is relying solely on their income from touring and sales to live is walking much more of a tightrope, so they need to be more careful.Shivarage said:It's no problemBonsaiK said:
This actually explains a lot... how much does profitability matter to bands these days?
Or even, how has the economy problems affected upcoming talents? have they been slowed down or even prevented from making a living from music?
Looking back on my attitude to what I was and still am doing, I thought maybe I have the wrong idea in focusing on money rather than just enjoying the music... it's just I was thinking if my music wasn't profitiable then I couldn't continue doing it if you know what I mean...
Where I live there was no "economy problem", Australia never even technically entered a recession. However the music industry here and in most other western countries has been on a steady recession of its own for over a decade. It's a pity we didn't have an overall recession, because in times of economic hardship, entertainers have always done well historically - people want to forget about their troubles so they turn to music, theatre, art, etc - so the music side of things might have picked up a little. The main problem young artists face right now from an economic perspective is that people just can't make much money out of CDs anymore.
Ultimately, sure, money is important but it's more important to love what you're doing, otherwise it'll all pale into insignificance for you in the 500th hour of vocal practice, you might as well be behind a supermarket checkout. I think all artists need a genuine love of it to fuel the persistence that they'll need to sustain a career.
I definitely wouldn't say I'm a "big player", no way. I'm well known in a couple of very specific circles, but that's all. When touring, I've had people recognise me walk down the street carrying my instrument, go "oh that's him", check their gig guide, notice that I'm doing a show in their town and turn up that night to see it. However that's a tiny, tiny fraction of people in the world who would be able to do that. I can't stress enough how tiny it is.Squarez said:
I don't know a lot of famous people very well, but I do know a few really well, and I've had conversations with quite a few others. Not personal conversations, mostly just boring stuff like lining up interviews, saying "we got your CD", organising advertising or other mundane things. (Sometimes I do interviews myself but only if it's someone I'd really like to talk to and that's pretty rare.) Also, within the specific scenes I'm known in, I know most of the famous people in those scenes. Not through any effort of my own, more just because when touring you tend to meet these people because you're on the same bills a lot, or you're doing the same promotional stuff or meeting at the same radio stations, etc etc. I guess it's the same reason why most famous actors are always at least acquainted with most other famous actors, and also why they tend to be hooking up together all the time. They don't deliberately socialise together or seek each other out, it's just that they tend to be thrust into the same situations a lot while on the job, so naturally they get to know each other.
I don't really have a favourite band, and I don't feel comfortable answering your other questions simply because I like to leave my personal preferences out of a thread like this. I want to keep this thread more about information and trivia that someone like me could address in a very specific way due to my occupation, as opposed to "stuff I like" - I don't think my opinions on what is good/bad music are any more or less important than anyone else's.