Music Downloads

Todd Arsenault
223

In this article I’ll explain how to make your guitar squeal with Pinch Harmonics. A lot of guitarists have trouble learning how to do these, but it’s really a simple technique.
I’m going to touch on all types of harmonics in an effort to explain how Pinch Harmonics work when your playing the guitar.
If your like me you like to add a little expression when playing your guitar, by adding some harmonics and pinch harmonics.
To get this started we’re going to go into a little detail about how the guitar strings actually work. Now I’m not going to be all technical, as that’s not who I am :o)
Basically the guitar string vibrates between the nut and the bridge. If you look closely you can see the string vibrating like a sine wave.
Natural harmonics happen at the spaces along the string where the “wave” stops and starts a new one. (Not technically correct but makes sense to me this way).
This normally happens just above the 5th fret, the 7th fret, and the 12th fret wires. If you take a minute in a well lit room you can see the spots where the vibration along the string actually seems to be stopped. When you lightly touch a ringing string on these points you will get a natural harmonic chime.
Tap harmonics are simply fretting a string and moving the natural harmonic spot up accordingly. For example: If you fret the Low E String at the 3rd fret and pluck the string, your “natural harmonics” would no longer be at the 5th, 7th, and 12th frets. You would Tap the string above the 8th, 10th, and 15th fret wire to sound the harmonic. Hence the name….Tap Harmonic.
Now..to the meat of this…the all powerful Pinch Harmonic!! I say all powerful just because I love the extra expression and sound you can get from them.
To do a Pinch Harmonic you basically “Pinch” the string between your Pick and the side of your thumb that’s holding the pick. This is the way I do them and have had excellent luck with this technique.
When you strike the string you let your thumb sound the harmonic you want. It takes a bit of trial and error to find the right areas above the pickups that sound the harmonics you want, but only a little.
The best way to learn the placement is to crank up your distortion (easier to sound them), and on put your fret hand on the Low E or A String on the 5th or 7th fret as if you were playing A note or D note.
Start with your pick in about the middle of the Neck and Bridge pickups and “Pinch” the string so that when your pick sounds it your thumb immediately touches the string. This should sound a Pinch Harmonic. The motion is similar to turning the ignition in a car, just not as drastic…it’s a slight “Turn” or “Pinch” on the string.
You may have to move your hand slightly higher or lower on the string to find the “sweet spots”. Keep trying different areas until you get it just right.
Once you’ve found the spots that give the sounds you want, make a mental note of where they are. When you move your fret hand higher or lower on the neck…the places you can hit the harmonics will move slightly. This falls in line with the way a Tap Harmonic works, so keep that in mind.
Keep practicing finding the “Sweet Spot” until you can do it each time you try. This part does take a little time and practice.
Just as a note: When you change to a different guitar, be prepared to relearn where the Pinch Harmonics sound. Every guitar I’ve played on has them in slightly different places. Differences in neck length, bridge placement, manufacturing tolerances all come into play.
So, that’s all there is to it…Keep practicing till you get the feel for it, try adding bends and sound another one, you’ll make that guitar scream like a wounded banshee in no time.
If you want to really increase your skill with Pinch harmonics after you get the feel for them, try practicing them with a clean sound. They can still be sounded and your accuracy will increase exponentially!

Charles Oakland
102

Downloading music is one of the greatest things about owning a computer. However, the most popular way to do it is illegal. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is trying to stop anyone from downloading music illegally and have recently been passing out hefty fines to prevent downloading. In the wake of a Supreme Court ruling, companies can be sued for encouraging illegal downloading, most notably and recently Kazaa. With the recent shutdown of the top music downloading networks, one has to ask:
Can I Still Download Music?
Yes, at plenty of Web sites, some requiring payments and some free. Pay sites that have licensing agreements with the entertainment industry — such as iTunes, Rhapsody, Yahoo Music and others — are panting for your business. Sites battling the industry such as Grokster and Morpheus — which were targeted in Monday’s decision — face a cloudier future. While the Supreme Court sent their case back to a federal appeals court for trial, they are almost sure to lose. They and other file-sharing services that allow for sharing of copyrighted files — and make money off it, through advertising and other means — may fold or have to change their sites drastically.
Unfortunately these top profile downloading sites often charge a hefty fee for their access. Basic membership fees often cost upwards of $30 a month, while tracks start at $1 a piece. Alternatives have arisen that promise to give you the same amount of content but at a cheaper price.
These alternatives include: MP3-share, mp3downloadhq, legal music access, and online download network. Reviews of these programs can be found at http://music.webreviews.ca managed by http://webreviews.ca

Angela Taylor
29

You may believe a thorough knowledge of filmmaking and the entertainment industry is enough to make you a good movie producer. While it certainly helps to know the nuts and bolts of movie production, and even the details of financing and marketing a movie, that knowledge is not enough to create a good producer. It might make for a good studio executive, or other job out of the fray, but you need to develop specific skills, to help you make an independent film.
The first and most important skill you need is organization. If you were the kid who kept the minutes of the club meetings, edited the yearbook, or organized the prop-closet by era, you already have this skill. It is something that is hard to teach, but you can certainly learn it, to become more organized.
If you are the person who can’t find his keys and has no idea how much is in your checking account, you need help. Get organized. There is simply no substitute for it.
Buy a book about getting organized. I recommend “How to Get Organized When You Don’t Have The Time,” by Stephanie Culp. http://snurl.com/gqg5
Or take a Franklin - Covey course. Do whatever you have to do, but get organized.
Second, you need to be able to make decisions quickly. Despite the best planning, things change moment-to-moment during production. You will have to decide right now whether to set up the next shot despite the looming storm clouds, or to move on to another location, completely disrupting the schedule.
The best way to develop this skill is to completely bury your doubt. Know that you are in charge, any mistakes to be made are yours to make and you will suffer the consequences of bad decisions. If you act decisively, and accept blame when necessary, your cast and crew will accept your decisions unquestioningly.
Third, you must be a good negotiator. You will have to make deals for every single thing on the set - the equipment, the sets, the crew, the film stock, everything. Even if you’re borrowing your mom’s station wagon, you will have to convince her you will take good care of it, and return it washed, and with a full tank of gas. Everything will have to be negotiated.
When negotiating rates, know the maximum you can pay for any one line item on your budget and try to shave 20 or 30 percent off of it. If they negotiate up, you may still save 15 percent or so off what you expected to pay.
There is one thing you need to know when negotiating: You can always say no. If you can’t get the deal you want, just say no. Practice it. No. There is no need to be a jerk, just make it clear that you will take your business or offer elsewhere. If a crew member doesn’t want to accept your day rate, he doesn’t have to. You will find someone else (assuming you set your rate at a reasonable low-budget level).
Fourth, a producer also needs diplomacy. It’s surprising how often a film shoot devolves into a third-grade playground. In just a few short weeks, cliques form, rumors start and friendships are formed and ruined. Crew members and actors will, believe it or not, come tattle to you. Sometimes you will have to intercede in petty squabbles and personality conflicts. The trick is to smooth ruffled feathers while not making one combatant feel like you’ve taken another’s side. That will only set factions against you, and that’s the last thing you want on your set.
And fifth, of course, you will need energy. Lots and lots of energy. Caffeine helps to get you started after only a few hours sleep, but it is no substitute for real, healthy human energy. One of the things you must do during pre-production is get yourself in shape for the rigorous weeks of shooting. You’re in training, not for a sprint, but for a marathon.
Working on lower budgets, independent films often have a much tighter schedule, making for longer days and fewer days off. Take it seriously beforehand, and train like a champion. Exercise, eat healthy, and take vitamins and supplements to build your energy stores, so you can get through it.
After you have these five basic producer skills down, you will be ready to develop your knowledge of the filmmaking process and the entertainment industry, by producing a successful independent film.
Z

DJ Craig
49

Many “How To Hire A Disc Jockey” articles overlook one of the most important criteria for choosing entertainment. Your ears.
Forget checking for a business license (anyone can get one), or endorsement by some distant, “official” DJ association.
How the DJ’s system sounds is critical. Most DJs are not experts in the technical realm of sound technology. They may not even know what signal to noise ratio, total harmonic distortion or frequency response is. DJs often put together a sound system that is limited by how much they can afford to spend. The resulting sound may turn out to be shrill (too many highs), unclear or “muddy” and even distorted.
This is where your ears come in. Ask for a live audition so you can gage for yourself how the DJ’s equipment looks and sounds. We always offer a live listening experience to our clients. This is the only way to know if you like it. If your DJ is not willing to “audition” for you, it may be because he is embarrassed by the look or audio quality of his rig. This is a red flag.
Have your prospective DJ play a song you know. Think of one that that incorporates bass, drums, keyboards and vocals so you get a full range of sounds. Dance songs are usually good. Ask the DJ to turn it up for a moment. Now close your eyes and listen.
You don’t have to be an acoustic expert to know if you like it. Is it full and warm or hollow and “tinny”. Does it sound like an AM radio or more like what you might hear in a movie theatre? Is the base “punchy” but not overwhelming, allowing room for the mids and highs? Are the highs making dogs howl? Are the mid-range (vocals) present enough? Is the overall sound flat or is there “depth”?
Remember, this is what you and your guests will be hearing all night long.
While the sound can be enhanced by the use of equalizers and sonic enhancers, the right speakers are key. Whether it’s JBL, Yamaha, Mackie or others, speakers have their own sound characteristics. And off-brand, budget speakers are often lacking in sound quality. Ask the DJ why he chose the speakers he has.
I personally dislike “hissing” brass or cymbal sounds (highs) or too much bottom end (bass). For me, the midrange is where the melody is and I like to hear it. Warm and full vocals, keyboards and guitar with the highs and lows serving as complimentary bookends. For example, I’d rather hear emphasis on Sinatra’s voice over his bass player.
Now go find the sound YOU like. You’re already an expert as you’ve been listening all your life. And you will have piece of mind as your event approaches, knowing your guests will experience sonic satisfaction!
-DJ Craig
http://www.djcraig.net/

Ron Arthur
312

Disco Biscuits- a name too hard to forget. “Disco Biscuits” is perhaps the only Street Team non-profit volunteer program that is playing for kids, so that the kids can also take part in supporting and promoting The Disco Biscuits. The name Of “Disco Biscuits” was suggested by one of their friend’s Rob Hainey. They all liked the name and named their band after it, though later on they realized that the name doesn’t go with the band but with the time passing the sound of the band has developed to match the name. They distinct themselves from the conventional Philadelphian Grateful Dead-type jam band music by intermingling electronic beats and jams in their music.
This style of mixing is known as “Trance-fusion”, but with reference to “Disco Biscuits”, it is known as “Bisco”. For “Disco Biscuits” this is just a start, they knit innovation in anything they play. They are famous for their own unique trends of Music. They have the potential to sing long sets together. They use “inverted” and “dyslexic” style in their songs, in these styles they sing their songs backwards. In inverted adaptation of a song, a band sang a song by its ending segment first, which is followed immediately by its beginning segment and a jam carry on with inverted style and fuses into another song. Dyslexic song is somewhat similar to inverted but with the variation that the segments of a song are not played consecutively like, ending of 1, 2, 3, 4 songs but the beginning of 1 and 5. Additional technique used by “Disco Biscuits” is very famous known as fakeout. In fakeout the band plays jam which normally heads into one song, but continues into another unexpectedly.
Wow! Quite confusing hmmm, imagine “Disco Biscuits” use all these techniques in their music. God they are talented. Using inverted and dyslexic techniques their songs can begin on one night’s show and end the next night. Their approach toward music is at the same time highly interesting and confusing. One has to know their nature of music. Their die-hard fans enjoy their anticipating trend of singing. Actually these fans are very much in the game of fascination of guess like what song they are going to play next? And it lessens their enthusiasm to know it before hand. For their fans this mingling of different medium of music is the most electrifying part. On the other hand for a new listener it could be quite offending. Their technique of playing music indulges the listener immediately to their style of singing to enjoy. Which is rather a difficult task for a new comer.
Disco Biscuits is a Philadelphian band. The band having four principals Jon Gutwillig on guitar, Marc Brownstein on bass, Allen Aucoin on drums and Aron Magner on keyboards. Former drummer Sam Altman played his last concert as drummer for The Disco Biscuits on 8/27/2005.This four-member jam/rave band first began its career in 1996 after they met while attending a college in Pennsylvania. They all share vocal duties-with the drummer of the band Sam Altman. The Guitarist and the lead vocalist Jon Gutwillig once declared that the ambition of the band is to create the wildest — or craziest — music of all ages. And to a great extent they proved it. Another reason for fusion is to get the entire kids fan that like both jam and rave and it certainly worked. Their alluring dancing style has been dubbed “Trance Fusion”. Most of the people says that their dancing style have resemblances with Frank Zappa, though the group members always deny that. Disco biscuits are renowned to leap into a classical or a classic jazz slice in the middle of an extended rock jam. Their music beautifully intervenes rock, techno, jazz, soul, blues, and classical. This fusion took them to the upper level of the jam/groove outlook. Unconventionally Disco Biscuits’s songs are first written for live shows and then recorded. Normally musical bands first record their songs then sing them live. Disco Biscuits was signed by Hydro phonics Records in 1998 and then released their second CD “The Uncivilized Area”. Their third, “They Missed the Perfume”, was an overall hit in 2001. Continually moving into a more daring combo with the passage of time, the cruder “Senoir Boombox” came out in the fall of 2002.
Philadelphia has been a main force in Rock music, for almost half a century. Disco Biscuits are the jam/rave band, which is making Philadelphia’s history even richer; they are mixing culture and traditions along with music.
For more details visit: http://www.ticketnest.com/concert-tickets/Disco-Biscuitx.php

Mark Vurnum
103

35 mm film - short history.
When it comes to photography and motion picture it is impossible not to hear about 35 mm. film when going technical into the conversation. It is called 35 mm. film as it is 35 mm. wide and will have perforations on both edges at each 4.23 mm along it.
With a history dating back since 1889, when it was first introduced by Thomas Edison, the 35 mm film is still used today with some variations in format based on what it is used for but basically its form stayed the same all these years. It was first introduced into photography in 1913 and is still very popular amongst several professional photographers.
If we are to talk about film we have to talk about sound as well. In the beginning the idea of synchronizing sound and video was appreciated but was quite difficult to realize. That’s when the sound started to be stored directly to film, forming the analog soundtrack that takes out of the film a small margin to the left. In the search for perfection the display ratio changed together with new methods of storing the sound.
Nowadays digital soundtracks have been implemented. The technology break through behind this was the storage of the sound between perforations in Dolby Digital, in 2 strips along the outside part of the edges in SDDS and lately on a special compact disk synchronized thanks to a time code with the film in DTS.
With technology evolving as it does at the moment new techniques and features will probably be available in the future but so far the main format of the 35 mm film has remained unchanged with just mild modifications that are better suited for the purpose it was designed for. The most common aspects of the film nowadays is considered the one that has 4 perforations, a vertical pulldown and a density of around one frame in 19 mm.

Brent Wilson
141

Hip hop record labels are the companies that sponsor and produce the music that you love to hear. Hip hop is one of the hottest types of music on the market today and that is due at least in part to the advertisement and promotion of these artists by their hip hop record labels. So, we can thank them for bringing the artists we love to the forefront in music, but that is not all that they do. In fact, the hip hop record labels play a large part in the production of the music itself.
In hip hop music, the producer or the hip hop record label is responsible for much more. In fact, they often are responsible for composing the music along with arranging it. They often times create what is called an instrumental track or the beat of the music. Then, artists will often work with them to finish the recordings making them their own in their own way. But, there are still those hip hop record labels featuring producers who do it in the traditional way of supervising a team of musicians. One example of this is Dr. Dre.
Such hip hop record labels often have been founded by huge names within the music genre. For example, Dr. Dre’s record label that includes 50 Cent is one of the largest and most popular. Look for Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment to feature some of the best that is out there in hip hop. 50 Cent is also working under the record label of Eminem called Shady Records. Another famous hip hop record label is Death Row Records and No Limit Records. Both have been brought to light by some of the hottest names in hip hop including Snoop Dogg.
Hip hop record labels offer you the ability to find new music as well as to listen to the old. It is through their promotions and advertisements that stars like these come to light. If you want to learn more about the various hip hop record labels and who they have signed lately, check out the web where you will likely find all the information that you need.

Dominic Hough
154

Music marketing is by and large difficult for most artists, that is something we need to realise. Marketing yourself, being confident to allow people to listen to your tracks and most importantly, handling criticism takes a bit of time to get used to. In the majority of cases though, marketing plans do fail. you may have a great sounding track, but if it is not marketed properly then it will just be white noise.
However all is not lost.
The main reasons why music marketing fails is that 1) there is always some money involved, and 2) we market our music.
They all sound a bit strange I know, but my plan is for you to get over these hurdles and to get your music out there without any hassle. I will take each of the above points in turn, but remember they are interlinked:
1) Money marketing. This is bad. The economics of this is so: you have to sell slot of tracks to get back the amount you spent on marketing, then you need to sell a few more to make any profit. The problems is, why are we spending so much money on music marketing, or, why are we spending any money on marketing at all?! The Internet has greatly reduced the cost of marketing by 100%. Yep, marketing should be free, then any tracks that you do sell is pure profit. There are so many music marketing strategies, some of which are simple ideas that are not being utilised.
Here are some fantastic free marketing strategies are not being used, at all. How about leaflet distribution, flyers, making a mailing list then advertising your new tracks on that (they already like your tracks because they have signed upto your mailing list). Applying to competitions will always bring in some much needed traffic as competitions generate 1) leads and interest from the host site, 2) your tracks will get viral marketed especially if it has become in the top 3. Viral marketing is just another way of spreading interest, all the people who voted for your tracks will recommend the great track that they heard, and you name spreads. 3) You can always advertise the fact that you got in first, second or third in X competition (always state how many other competitors were there as well- coming third out of four entries is nothing to promote really).
Surely the ultimate advertising strategy is…give away your MP3s for FREE! A simple technique that promotes your tracks. People then trust you, they love quality items, they assume then, “hmm, if this is free, and it’s good, what would his selling tracks be like?” Free stuff sells pay goods, fact. Give away alot of free stuff…MP3s being the main one, and then be patient.
Once you have finished your free marketing, start again. Just keep on promoting yourself by free processes. It gets your name banded around, people will see your Webpage link and click on it increasing your traffic. It might not too successful in the first few months or maybe even a year, but stick with it, gaining visitor confidence will ultimately prevail.
2) The above is great, but why would anyone buy any track from you in the first place? To most surfers you are faceless, they don’t see you on the music videos, so why should they buy anything from you?
Harsh words I know, I’m sorry, but it is true. That is the real reason why there are thousands of good groups and artists out there in Internet land marketing away, spending cash and showing nothing for it. They marketed first, wanting cash, and their visitors are literally saying “I don’t think so”. You then become the banner ad- looks really good, but never gets the click.
What you need to do is create content within your site. Simple as that. Without content you are just another site that the visitor has no real reason to come back to. Content also increases the chances of you being picked up by the search engines. Please note:Google, and the other big search engines have stated that their thousands of calculations per site includes content search. This is a fundamental statement, even if you are a music site giving away your MP3s.
If you have ever looked for MP3s within the search engines, there are about 6 million sites dedicated to the term MP3. Now, your one site has to be found by a visitor, the chances are very low. However, if your site has content focused keywords, such as “good guitar riffs”, “how to gig” etc, then you will be picked up much easily than a simple MP3 search. Within the various pages that you have created you put, “download free guitar MP3s” or something that suits your music, and you then advertise your MP3s through the “back door”. Content will also bring back the visitors, they love a site that they are interested in, they sign up to your news-letter, and then you email them with new updates, your new MP3s etc. Then you start to create your own little buzz, you create people willing to listen to your tracks.
A sideline to content is always relevant, up-to-date content. Offering tapes with your tracks on is music marketing suicide. I have seen these actually being offered on some websites. Offering a tape states that 1. You are not up-to-date hence your sounds won’t be, 2. You are offering poor quality, hence your tracks won’t shine, and 3. You have to pay out for the tape (postage and packaging etc). People on the Internet want things now, not tomorrow, offering MP3s, even short WAV files is giving the visitor what they want- immediate access to your tracks.
Relevant content is just as important as current content. If you have a rock website stick to rock related web pages. If I was into hip-hop I wouldn’t go onto your rock site and look at hip-hop related articles. Obvious I know, but scarily this has been done. It also has another effect. The search engines see topic specific sites as just that, topic specific. If you stray away from your chosen topic it will not look good for you with the engines. They will see that your relevance has reduced and so to will your page ranking.
Content is not that easy to accomplish. It comes with time, you need to tweak, track whether that has done any good to your traffic or click throughs. You could also just be writing alot of drivel. Content needs to be “Search Engine Focused”, you need to honestly persuade people to buy from you, you need to have a one to one style (like you are talking to a friend), and definitely not be boring. Nearly forgot, you need to assess who your audience is. Are they young, middle aged, technophobic? You writing style should cater for your audience. For example, a younger audience will like more colour, more tech information, a friendly banter, and up-to-date chart acts. Generally if you write as you would talk to a friend then you will be on safe lines.

Ian Waugh
246

You know what they say about rules? Actually they say lots of things about rules but here’s two - rules were made to be broken, and you have to know what the rules are before you can break them. While Judge Dredd may not agree with the first, the second is certainly true and nevermore so than in writing a song.
The song structure may not be the first thing you think about when you start writing. You probably work on the verse or chorus, or maybe you have a good riff that you want to expand into a song. So you get that down and then you start to think about the other parts - the intro, how many verses, middle eight, do you want an instrumental, the ending…
Some song genres have a fairly rigid format, others are more flexible, and you need to know where you can bend the rules and why you may not want to do so in order to make your song stand out from the others. Let’s look at the sections you’ll find in most songs and the part they play in song construction.
Song parts
Intro. Yes, this leads you into the song. It may be two, four or eight bars long or longer. Some songs don’t have any intro at all. A pop song intro will often be reminiscent of the chorus or the hook. In a club song, it’s often a good idea to have eight bars of rhythm to help the DJ to mix match your song. They say that music publishers typically only listen to the first 20 seconds of a song before deciding whether to reject it so if you’re sending material to a publisher, keep the intro short and get into the song as quickly as possible. Save the 5 minute intros for the CD version.
Verse. This is the preamble to the chorus. It sets the scene, certainly lyrically, and as the verses progress they often tell a story or recount episodes from a situation although that’s by no means essential. They are typically eight or sixteen bars long and melodically not usually as strong as the chorus although, again, that’s by no means essential. However, it often seems as if the songwriter ran out of ideas when writing the verse. One of the strengths of The Beatles’ songs is that verses and choruses are equally strong and most people could hum or sing their way through most Beatles hits. Not so with many songs where the verses are little more than fillers to get you to the chorus.
Chorus. This the bit everyone remembers, whistles and sings along to. It should be the strongest part of the song and generally is or contains the hook. It’s usually eight or sixteen bars long.
Middle eight. As a song progresses, there’s a danger of boredom setting for the listener. The middle eight offers them a break and typically comes after a couple of verses and choruses. Some people think of it as an alternative verse and that’s one way to look at it. It often modulates to a different key or introduces a new chord progression and it usually doesn’t include the song title. However, all too often it’s simply an excuse for waffling on for a few bars. Although it’s called the middle eight it could be four or sixteen bars long.
Bridge. Many people use the terms ‘middle eight’ and ‘bridge’ synonymously and so popular is this usage that it would be churlish to disagree. However, among those who prefer to note the difference, a bridge is a short section used to bridge the gap between verse and chorus. It may only be two or four bars long and it’s often used when the verse and chorus are so different from each other that a ‘joining’ phrase helps bring them together.
Instrumental. This is part of the song without any vocals. Yeah, okay. It’s often an instrumental version of the verse or chorus, it may be an improvised variation on one of these, or it may be an entirely different tune and set of chords altogether. Sometimes it fits into a song where a vocal middle eight would otherwise go.
Breakdown/Break. This term has been high jacked from songs from the early 1900s when it was common to either to reduce the instrumentation or stop it altogether while a tap dancer would strut his stuff. The term ‘break’ is still sometimes used to indicate an instrumental section. ‘Breakdown’ is now most commonly used in dance music for the section where the percussion breaks down or is reduced, and it may be the dance equivalent of the middle eight.
Outro/Ending. Once upon a time, songs had definite endings but the mid 1950s heralded in the era of the fade-out and songwriters thought they would never have to write an ending again. However, fade-outs became such clichés to the extent that fade out meant cop out so songwriters started writing endings again. With that in mind, you can do as you wish, and considering that the endings of most songs get talked over or cut short by radio DJs and mixed over by club DJs, you have only your artistic integrity and your CD listeners to answer to. Some songs work extremely well with fade outs but listen to songs in your chosen genre to see how other writers approach endings. But whatever you do, avoid like the plague the three time tag ending.
Hook. The hook is not a song part as such; rather it’s the term used to describe the part of the song that people remember and sing. It’s what they buy the record for. It’s usually the chorus although it need not be the entire chorus, but simply a two- or four-bar phrase. It could be an instrumental riff as in Whiter Shade of Pale or Smoke on the Water, or a processed vocal as in Cher’s Believe.
All together now
Having described the parts of a song, let’s see how they are commonly arranged. The most popular arrangement by far is simply verse-chorus and repeat. Here are two variations on the theme:

Intro
Verse 1
Chorus
Verse 2
Chorus
Chorus
Outro

Intro
Verse 1
Verse 2
Chorus
Verse 3
Middle eight
Chorus
Chorus
Outro

You get the picture. However, these are conventions rather than rules so you can adapt, change or ignore them as you see fit. But they have developed for a reason and that is simply to make the song as immediately appealing to the listener as possible.
Listen to some of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman hits of the 80s (it’s not compulsory if you really can’t bear to) and you’ll see that most follow the simplest format, guaranteed to brainwash the listener with as many repeats of the hook as possible. They tend to be:
Intro (similar to the chorus)
Verse 1
Chorus
Verse 2
Middle eight
Chorus
Chorus
Outro
Notice that the hook’s there straight away in the intro, there’s only one verse before the chorus so you get to it quicker, and the chorus tends to repeat at the end, just to imprint the hook firmly in your mind.
There are obvious exceptions to these formats. Ambient, trance, chill-out music and the like, are obvious candidates. With these you can start at the beginning and work through to the end creating an evolving music form without any clear verse/chorus structure. Genres such as trance tend to build to a series of crescendos several times throughout the song. However, even these types of song often have a hook or two on which listeners can hang their hat.
Build ups and downs
Bearing in mind that the purpose of a song is to keep the listeners listening and not allow them to get bored, you need variety within the song. Simply strumming a guitar and singing verse/chorus/verse/chorus won’t cut the mustard unless you’re in a folk club. The usual method is to start with a simple arrangement and add to it as the song progresses.
So, the first verse might consist of light drums, bass and rhythm guitar. As you move into the second verse you could add strings or a synth pad. A drum fill takes you into the chorus which would include busier drums, maybe some additional percussion, a fuller string arrangement and perhaps a lead line. When you dip back to the verse, you revert to the simpler arrangement.
The middle eight is usually a lighter arrangement than the chorus and gives you the opportunity to use different instrumentation if you want to. When you hit the second chorus, add backing vocals and a lead riff. The final chorus is the culmination the song and you can add more backing vocals, more percussion and additional lead lines.
Listen to songs in the style you are writing and analyse their formats to see how far other exponents have stuck to or departed from the traditional formats. when you’re familiar with the rules or conventions that they use, then you can experiment by breaking them.
There’s lots more about making music plus a free book to download at www.making-music.com.

Cynthia Bates
301

Gossip and scandal are everywhere when it comes to stars and celebrities around the world. And no matter how much you deny that you don’t pay attention to celebrity news, how often do you find yourself joining in a hot discussion at work or around the dinner table? Keeping your eye on the stars is one way to amuse yourself and keep smiling.
Not many people can resist a bit of gossip about the celebrities that make the news. Award ceremonies are a great way to see what everyone is wearing and how bad or good they look wearing it. Watching a popular starlet stumble her way to the podium wearing an unflattering dress can lead to weeks of gossip about what not to wear when the cameras are hot and ready. Magazines are filled with the latest fashion mistakes that the stars make when they venture out into public places.
Celebrity relationships continue to baffle most of us. What makes motion picture stars such as Brad Pitt leave one relationship for another? Celebrity gossip has followed Mr. Pitt as he baffles the media with his behavior. The scandal of celebrity relationships gone wrong is always at the forefront of the news, covering the pages of serious newspapers all the way to gossip magazines that line the shelves at the grocery store.
Stars range from movie starlets such as Meg Ryan to music icons such as Madonna. Society loves to follow their actions whether they are performing in front of a camera or on stage. And when these stars are caught at their worst, even more gossip hits that media.
Celebrity news and gossip can be found in magazines, on the radio, and on the television screen. Gossip is a great way to take a break from the more serious news that is found both locally and around the world. As a society we like to follow the actions of those people we see in the media light. After all, do you really want to miss out seeing the next outrageous outfit that Paris Hilton is going to wear?
Copyright http://www.celebritysocial.com

Ron Arthur
233

Il Divo is not a band, it’s an addiction………! Il Divo is a new dawn of innovative music. Il Divo didn’t travel a long way, just in few years it soared high and emerged as a top ranked band in several countries. Il Divo originally started gathering in 2001 with the idea to remake popular new and old songs in a different way. And this experiment turned to be a magical journey of success for the band. But finally Il Divo came together in Dec 2003. Since then they have stolen millions of hearts of their die-hard fans through out the world. Il Divo is now very firmly standing on the world stage. It broke new grounds in the era of music with their classic and ravishing masterpieces like “Nella Fantasia”, “Regresa A Mi” and “A Mi Manera”. Il Divo’s heart throbbing lyrics and amazing vocals performances rated them number one in 13 countries. Besides this Il Divo also acquire top 5 placing in 25 countries.
Il Divo’s musical debut self titled album sold over 5 million copies out pacing Led Zeppelins 25 year-old record. Il Divo is the only band to produce a number 1 album without a single release! The four highly innovative and multi-talented members of Il Divo also took classics such as “Mariah Careys Hero”, “Unchained Melody” and gave them a classical twist. Whereas “I Believe in You” is a spell bounding duet performed with Celine Dion. This album containing evergreen tracks were recorded in London and Sweden with recording giants Per Magnusson and David Kreuger and world-recognized producer Steve Mac who produced their debut album also. In short the four principals of have a Midas touch for music and fame.
The band produced six albums Ancora, The Christmas Collection, Il Divo, Encore, Mama, Regresa A Mi, which proved to add only magnificence and glory in its music career one by one. Il Divo has performed all over the world and still continuing it’s pace gracefully with every new coming track. David, Urs, Sebastien,Carlos united together to make this mystical band. They all have such a pure passion for music which ensnares the audiences in their stunning performances. Their love for music bonds them together though they all enjoy their own individuality outside Il Divo.
David Miller was born in San Diego, California on 14th April, 1973. His personal ambition is “To be musical in my life, as well as in my work”. Besides this David wants to make electronic techno music and short film pieces about Il Divo. Sebastien Izambard was born in Paris on 7th March, 1973. Sebastien loves to fly and is also interested in writing an opera with the rest of the members of Il Divo. Another striking feature about Sebastien is the only self-taught but remarkably talented member of the band. Sebastien is an accomplished songwriter also plays guitar and piano. He has produced for many other French artistes. He performed with Johnny Haliday in 2001 as a guest in his sold-out performances at the Paris Olympia. Sebastien also played a leading role in the Richard Cocciante penned musical Le Petit Prince in 2002. In 2003 when he joined Il Divo, he was working on a solo album. Sabestien wants to produce original material for the group’s repertoire. The third member of Il Divo is Urs Toni Buhler. He was born in Switzerland on 19th July 1971. He loves to stay in home and work in garden. Urs also has a couple of motorbikes. His ambition is to do best in life in everything, right now it means giving his best to his band. Urs started singing publically at an early age. He started singing with a hard rock band “Conspiracy” when he was 17 in Luzern. He also attended the Academy for School and Church Music. He studied Voice at the Amsterdam Conservatory under the tutorage of Udo Reinemann after moving to Amsterdam. He has benefited from private tuition with the late Swedish tenor, Gosta Winbergh and the French tenor, Christian Papis. Urs has spent the past seven years in Holland performing and singing oratorios with the Netherlands Opera. The last but not the least is Carlos Marin, who is the forth member of the band. He was born in Germany but originally Spanish on 13th Oct 1968. He is very devoted to his band. Carlos says that his life doesn’t exist outside Il Divo. He established a significant reputation singing leading roles in the Spanish versions of Les Miserables based in Madrid. The Man from La Mancha and Beauty and the Beast. After vocal master classes with Alfredo Kraus, Monserrat Caballe and Jaime Aragall, in current years Carlos has captivated audiences worldwide and won critical compliments as ‘primo baritono’ in many operas, including renowned works such as La Traviata, The Barber of Seville, La Boheme and Madame Butterfly.
This band is rocking the world. And the entire band members together share an extra ordinary combination which proves a catalyst in their music career.
For more information visit http://www.ticketnest.com/concert-tickets/Il-Divo/ihp

Jason Hahn
259

In the upcoming James Bond film, “Casino Royale,” British actor Daniel Craig will play the lead role of James Bond. This, however, does not sit well with a group of James Bond fans, who have launched a Web site, http://www.craignotbond.com.
A statement on the site said that “EON Productions angered fans around the world when they fired Pierce Brosnan at the height of his popularity as Bond. To add insult to injury, EON cast a short, blond, odd-looking Daniel Craig in the role of Bond.”
The site goes on to ask, “How can a short, blond actor with the rough face of a professional boxer and a penchant for playing killers, cranks, cads, and gigolos pull off the role of a tall, dark, handsome and suave secret agent?”
The angry group of Bond fans have threatened to boycott “Casino Royale” and any other Bond films that Craig will star in.
Though Craig may have a wounded pride from all of these happenings, he does have a big supporter in his predecessor, Pierce Brosnan.
“I think Daniel is a very fine actor. These are rocky waters, and they’re going to get him one way or another, but I think he will have the last laugh at the end of it,” Brosnan said.
Craig has had roles in “Munich” and “The Jacket.” He accepted the role of Bond last October, and filming for the movie began last month in Prague. Last week the producers of the film cast French actress Eva Green as Bond girl Vesper Lynd and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen as the villain le Chi

Eve Pynoei
115

Getting your act right!

Acting began because of the man’s need to express, emote and
to tell stories. Acting is said to have found its origins in
the religious rituals of the primitive times and the first
performers were the religious leaders of the tribes. The
development of theater, as we see today, is largely
attributed to the Greeks.

Drama dates back to 534 BC. Contest were held to determine
who was the best actor. This person was called “Thespis”
who was also one of the first actors. He played many roles
to perfection which ranged from women to children. None of
the writings of Thespis are known today. The term
“thespian” is desrived from Thespis.

In those days, actors wore mask to portray different
characters. The chorus usually ranged from 15 to 50 people.
Acting in the beginning was just about monologues. Actors
acted out the thoughts going on in the mind of the
characters. Aeschylus introduced a new paradigm to acting by
introducing a second actor. This closely resembles the
acting that we see today. The performances underwent a huge
change. From simply stating the internal voice, thoughts and
motivations of a single actor, the oncoming of the second
actor brought in face-to-face conversations as well as
dramatic conflict. Later, Sophocles added the third actor
and extras.

Gradually, acting evolved to its present day form. Certain
basics of acting never change, like what goes into making of
an actor. The aptitude of the actor is chief determinant in
the acting of the performers. Acting is all about the
ability to visualize feelings. You can draw on your own
experiences also to enact certain characters. Actors are
born with an aptitude but a good acting school can help to
hone this skill.

A misconception that people generally harbor is that acting
is what they get to see on the screens, but that is just
half the picture as you can find actors in theatre,
television studio, circus, or comedy club. One important
thing that an actor nursing the dreams of making it on the
big screen, needs to keep in mind is that the going can be
tough initially. Thus, they should be prepared to take
rejections in stride. They may also have to put up with long
periods of being unemployed. Experience counts a lot in
acting thus you might even have to settle for lesser roles.
Even the established actors during their lean times accept
smaller roles or commercials. Acting might be a tough
proposition for some, but the passionate ones endure the
rigors to get a chance to show their histrionics.

Michael Oster
168

There is one simple way to improve the production quality of your music and it requires zero money invested as long as you have a simple setup which includes: CDs, CD player, speakers, your ears, your time. That’s it. I think of this exercise as a “million dollar improvement” in that doing this has taught me things about production and music that have improved my production skills without me paying millions in new equipment and studio time.
The absolute best thing that I ever did (and still do) to improve my production quality is to listen to CDs in my studio. What’s key to this is that my studio is an environment that I’m very familiar with when it comes to sound. So what? Well, the “so what” is HOW I listen that makes the difference. I listen to the elements of the recording, not the recording itself. I’m listening to the vocals, and the effects on the vocals, I’m listening to how they relate to the other things going on at the same time. I’m listening to how the bass sounds. I know, you’ll tell me that it sounds like a bass. But, how does it sound? What is really going on with that instrument? I listen to the kick drum, snare drum, cymbals, the guitars, synths, the “ear candy”, and whatever else happens to come up during the song. I also listen for where these instruments are placed within the stereo field. I listen to the song many times over, concentrating on a specific element with each pass.
This process takes time to really get the hang of, but the rewards can pay off in ways that are unbelievable. See, once you really study the song, you can get “inside” the song. You can hear what’s going on in an almost “behind the scenes” nature. Everything that was done to produce, record, mix, and master the song is right there in front of you. And it doesn’t take magic or some special talent to be able to figure it out. It does take time and dedication, however. Zero money (assuming you have a CD, a CD player, speakers - headphones work too) and a listening environment that you know well.
So here are the keys to using this exercise to improve your sound: First, you must be in a listening environment that you are familiar with (a place where you listen to a lot of music). If you don’t have one, then make one. To “make one” you need to listen to a lot of music in a room or space where you are in the same position relative to the speakers. Focus on the “same position relative to the speakers” part of the last sentence. Also, the playback volume should be constant. You can use any CD as long as it’s been properly mastered (major label recordings pretty much qualify). It’s important to keep the playback volume constant. Why? So that you can hear the differences from song to song and CD to CD with “all else” being the same.
How does all this kind of listening improve your sound? Well, once you have an established baseline for how a finished production really sounds, you can compare your work with “finished” work from the most skilled producers (and engineers) in the business. The best part about this listening exercise is that you can improve your listening abilities over time. The more you acoustically “dissect” music, the more it reveals to you about how it was made and the more you can learn from it. It’s important, however, that you work on this exercise often so that you can develop and maintain your skills. And remember that it doesn’t take special talents, education, or magic to benefit from this exercise. Just listen and learn.

Brent Wilson
139

Hip hop pendants are one of the core pieces of jewelry in the hip hop jewels. These pendants can represent just about any aspect of hip hop that the customer wants them to wear. And, because they are offered in some very unique styles, there are sure to be enough options out there to fit everyone’s needs. Having a few great hip hop pendants shows off a love for the music, the bands, and the people in the hip hop world. A little bling bling never hurt anyone!
Hip hop pendants are offered in a number of various styles. Many of them represent a specific band or a specific group, but others show off dollar signs and various other hip hop elements. They can be quite flashy or they can be simple pieces. Really, there is a large selection of objects that they can represent. Many of the individuals who purchase hip hop pendants are looking for a unique look or one that they are copying from their favorite hip hop star.
In fact, the concept as well as the look of these hip hop pendants has come from many of the hottest hip hop bands and groups out there today. These stars have some of the most awesome pieces of hip hop jewelry that are out there. These often larger than life pieces of jewelry are then represented to fans. Who doesn’t want to look like their favorite singer? And, it doesn’t stop there because there are a number of stars that aren’t singing that are showing off some bling bling. Everyone has to have it!
There are a number of different things that hip hop pendants can represent. Many of those who are wearing them are sporting their favorite singers and bands. 50 cent and G Unit are some of the largest and hottest stars out there. There are a number of great pieces that people can purchase available right online. They don’t have to spend a ton of money on them either. They can have the hip hop pendants that they want at great prices right here on the web.

Christopher Jon Luke Dowgin
221

With a recent article in the La Times, Star Wars has gone political. George Lucas has attended a Capital Hill meeting for Democrats.
“Star Wars” filmmaker George Lucas joined House Democratic leaders at a town hall meeting on Capitol Hill to roll out an “innovation agenda” that aims to prepare the next generation of technological entrepreneurs.
Star wars has always been in our collective unconsciousness since its inception after Lucas read Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces. But has this movie entered the political arena?
Students asked Lucas what he meant by the line from “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith”: “So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.” Lucas answered that when Rome, Nazi Germany, and after the French Revolution, “In all of those countries, a democracy fell through nefarious manipulations behind the scenes, and the people didn’t seem to mind.” Is he pointing the finger at us, the american public with our crossed messages. Support the troops automatically means you are for war, in this mixed up country it is not sure. Also strikes the cord is Anakin’s line to Obi Won, :”If you are not for the Empire, you are against it!”
Further more Anakin is persuaded by the Emperor, vaguely disguised as a rising Senator much like the younger Bush Senior, to bring in a reign of terror and death to bring safety to the Republic. Another one nudge for the French Revolution and our modern Freedom Fry eaters on Capital Hill. For true Patriots like Samuel Adams, Thomas Paine, and Thomas jefferson; today would be called terrorists. For indeed if they lost the war, history would of gone to the victors and they would of been called so.
In olden days we might walk away from a Myth like Star Wars or the Matrix, and know that some how it pertained to our real lives. But for too long now, media such as TV and the movies have been art for art sake. No longer do we hear the words of Pinnochio or Plato’s Cave and find our lives informed on a better way of life. Or do the papers offer a voice to the workers and the people. This has been replaced by the tabloids on cable and the check out line. Maybe we should go back to believing in our myths handed down for thousand of years throughout the world, and give incredulous glances to the tv news and newspapers. For Myths worked for us since we crawled out of the ocean, of our minds!
So what is this latest episode of the famous trilogy trying to tell us. Or how does Lucas emphasize this by going to Capital Hill. Watch the movie again and see what springs to mind!Z

Graham Howard
78

It is very difficult to trace a line back to the exact birth of the instrument we know as the guitar today, as there is a lot of myth and uncertainty surrounding its origins.
This is mainly due to the fact there have been a number of similar instruments throughout the ages. Many historians claim the guitar originated at various points in time. Some believe the guitar in its earliest form dates back some 4000 years, however no-one really knows for sure. This is due to a number of artworks that depict guitar-like instruments being used at various times throughout history. Many ancient Egyptian paintings portray musical instruments that could be mistaken for the guitar.
A popular theory is that the guitar could have been invented by the classical-era Greeks. This is due to confusion, however, mainly with the similarity of its name with the Kithara. The Kithara was in fact a type of harp or lyra, which bares little resemblance with the guitar other than in name.
The guitar as we know today appears to be an ancestor of the lute. The lute had four strings which would be plucked, not strummed as with a guitar. The body was oval in shape and had a rounded back. The downside of this construction was that the lute was not a very loud instrument, meaning it could not be played along side other instruments. Although missing many of the elements of today’s guitar, it is an important step in the guitars evolution.
The first written mention of the guitar as a distinct instrument is from the 14th century. In this very early form the instrument had three double courses (or pairs) of strings plus a single string (tuned the highest in pitch), similar in comparison to the lute, as mentioned earlier.
The next step was in the vihuela, which originated in Spain sometime in the 15th century. The vihuela had a slightly ‘pinched’ waist – less pronounced than today’s guitar and a smaller body then the lute. It also had added treble strings, again arranged in pairs and was made to be strummed rather than plucked as the lute was.
It wasn’t until the 16th century that the two instruments were ‘combined’, in a manner of speaking, when an instrument was made with a body like that of the vihuela but closer in size to the lute.
The guitar became popular throughout Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries and by the late 17th century a fifth course of strings had been added below the other four. By the mid-18th century the guitar began to take its modern form. The double courses were changed to single strings, and a sixth string was added above the existing five. It is very unclear whether this took place in France or in Italy, but the resulting instrument was very similar to that of which we know today.
The late 18th-19th century, guitar makers changed many aspects of the instruments design. These included broadening the width and thinning the depth of the body, increasing the curve of the waist, and adding internal bracing – all in effort to amplify the sound. The end result meant the guitar could now be played along side other instruments without struggling to compete in terms of volume.
The guitar became very popular with people because it was a very easy instrument to learn at least a few basic chords and songs. However, the guitar was not accepted well with the ’serious’ musical community, hence the reason there is very few concertos written for the instrument – and is still dismissed by many classically trained musicians today. In the early 19th century, Fernando Sor became one of the most prolific composers for, and promoters of, the guitar as a ‘concert’ instrument. It was him, and others like him, which paved the way for Andrés Segovia to emerge and help bring the guitar to the immense popularity it enjoys today.
The 20th century has seen the majority of the instrument’s improvements. Firstly the strings used, which were cat gut until that time, were replaced by metal and nylon ones. The classical guitar was then modified to make the steel string acoustic guitar we know today. This required additional bracing to strengthen the body, and the introduction of the truss rod to give support to the neck. Again this resulted in an even louder instrument.
Many tried to amplify the sound further by electrifying the guitar. Many of the first attempts were made by the Martin Company in the 1930’s. It was here the invention of the magnetic pick-up occurred. The first amplifiers came about around the same time and were pioneered by Leo Fender.
The first ‘electric’ guitars were nothing more then existing acoustic guitars that had been modified to include a magnetic pick-up. This caused many problems due to the fact that they had hollow bodies, which would resonate the sound produced by the amp as well as the strings of the guitar – which creates ‘feedback’.
It was Les Paul that developed the first ’solid’ bodied guitar which he named ‘The Log’ – due to it being little more then a plank of wood with a neck and two double coil pick-ups attached. To make his invention more appealing he stuck two halves of an acoustic guitar on either side, giving it a more traditional look. He went on to sell the idea to Gibson who still produce the ‘Les Paul’ model that you see today.
It was Leo Fender however, that really brought the electric guitar into mass production and made it available at far less a cost then all previous attempts (more on the Fender story can be seen on our ‘History of Fender’ section). The first mass production guitar was the Broadcaster, which we now know as the Telecaster, which waseleased in 1948. He later went on to design and produce the Stratocaster, in 1954, probably the most well known electric guitar to date. Leo Fender was also the innovator of the electric bass guitar which he invented for live use along side the guitar, as a normal contrabass could not compete in terms of volume - The first model being the Fender Precision Bass.
Since then various forms of the guitar have come and gone but the main form of the instrument has rarely differed far from what we have seen from the 1950’s onwards. The main differences have been in the choice of materials used in the manufacture of the guitar. This has mainly been in the attempt of producing increased sustain or simply due to the scarcity of certain woods. Nowadays a complete range of guitars are available, from the lower priced entry level models to the premium custom shop models for all of us to enjoy, what ever our level lity.

Michael P. Connelly
192

Commitment is an independent filmmaker’s most valuable resource. Without a lot of money to grease the wheels of production, a low budget film producer must rely on creativity and determination to get their films made. If a person wants to get their film made badly enough, there is not much in this world that can stop it from happening.
Making a film on your own with your own money is a very daunting task. It can also be very rewarding. When you decide to take on the awesome responsibility of writing, directing, and producing your own independent film, you better know what you are getting into beforehand. Once you set the ball in motion, there is no going back. You either succeed and your film makes to the film festival circuit (which is a major accomplishment in and of itself), or you crash and burn halfway through the film production process and your film vision never sees the light of day.
The next time you watch a movie I suggest that you pay particular attention to the credits at the end of the film. Take a look at how many names scroll across the screen and this will give you an idea of how much work goes into the making of a motion picture. Then take away all of the names on the screen and picture your name in front of every credit for every job and this will give you an idea of much work YOU will have to do to make your own movie.
When I first graduated from film school I hit the ground running. I landed a decent job as the Director and Animator on an independent film that had Pat Boone’s name attached to it. I was to hired to film clay animation stories about The Bible. I worked on that job for about four months and was paid fairly well for my efforts. I decided that the best thing I could do with the money I saved was to make another film. I would take the knowledge and money I gained and use it for my own benefit. I decided to make my own movie with the idea in mind that I would enter it in on the film festival circuit and hopefully win some awards. If that happened it would almost certainly be a boost for my fledgling film career.
I wrote a script for a short film that involved a combination of clay animation and live action, and I was ready to make a film. My plan was to use all of my knowledge and talent and do almost all the work. For the parts that I could not do myself I would hire friends and business associates at a substantially discounted rate. These people agreed to work for cheap in return for a little creative control, a credit for their demo reel, and possibly exposure if the film does well at any major film festivals. I only had to hire them for the filming of the live action scenes and for some of the post production work (like sound design, mixing, foley sound effects, etc…). The animation I would do entirely on my own.
I contacted a couple of friends of mine that managed camera and sound equipment rental houses. They set me up with a 16mm camera package and a DAT (digital audio tape) package to rent at discounted prices. I rented these packages on a weekend (to get the extra 2 days for free) and I started filming the live action part of my film right away.
I worked extremely hard that first weekend. I basically filmed most of the time with only about two to three hours of sleep each day. When I was not filming/acting/directing, I was setting up lights, moving furniture, making meals for everyone, setting up props, distributing and apply makeup, rehearsing with actors, fixing costumes, and performing script rewrites on the set, to name only a few things. By the time Monday morning rolled around, I was mentally and physically exhausted, but I still had to bring back the camera and sound equipment packages by 10:00 am or I would be charged for another day of rental. You do not have that luxury to just sleep in and not worry about it when you are making an independent film on a shoestring budget. There is no rest for the weary when you are making your own movie. Time is money, and you do not have a lot of either one of these resources.
I returned the camera and sound equipment packages just in time on Monday morning. Then I went straight to the film lab and dropped off my film. I then made an appointment for the following week (the soonest date I could get) to see my dailies (developed film), and counted the days until the day of my appointment arrived.
I arrived at the film lab a half hour early for my appointment to see my dailies. As I sat in the lobby waiting for my big moment, I began to get very nervous. Unnerving thoughts began to fill my head. What if one of the rolls of film somehow got damaged in the lab? Maybe the machine that develops the film broke when my film was running through it and all of my film rolls are scratched? What if the cameraman I hired was not as good as his demo reel implied and all my rolls are under or over exposed? What if the guy who took my film at the front desk of the film lab is a disgruntled filmmaker who only took that job so he can ruin other people’s film when they hand it over to him? What if there was a mishap in the film vault involving fire sprinklers and all my rolls of film got ruined? Of course, all of these are irrational thoughts, but nonetheless they are the kind of thoughts that go through the mind of an independent filmmaker as they are quietly waiting in the lobby of a film lab facility prior to their appointment to see the fruits of their efforts.
As it turned out, everything was fine. My dailies looked great and that only inspired me to keep the ball rolling with my film project. I put every ounce of effort that my body and soul possessed into that project, and it paid off. That film (Mike And The Magic Lamp) won several awards at several film contests that year (1998) including a Silver Award at the Houston Worldfest in the same category that had seen past winners with such names as Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, and Quentin Tarantino. It was a perfect springboard for my film career. I have made several films since then and all of them have led to bigger and better projects. My latest film is a ninety minute science fiction love story. I already have a couple of distribution offers for this film, and I have yet to enter it in a single film festival. I should be able to make a very decent profit if it does well on the film festival circuit, and I owe it all to my iron resolve to make my film career dream a reality. Where my budget was lacking, my determination picked up the slack.
Copyright 2006. Michael P. Connelly
http://www.makealowbudgetmovie.com Z

Daniel N Brown
314

There are many ways to increase the quality of your drumming and they can all be summarized into these 3 vital steps…
1. Develop Confidence
Many wanna-be musicians will choose the drums because they are shy and want to remain in the background (that’s where I was when I started drumming back in 1976).
The truth is your body may be in the background, but your musical presence will definitely be noticed!
If you are going to be the drummer in a band, then you will be the anchor of the band. The other musicians will be relying on you to provide strong beats that will keep everything together. Everything you do behind your drum set will not only be heard, but felt, simply because you will be the all-important time keeper.
This notion of wanting to be a drummer so you can hide behind a drum set is ridiculous. You’re gonna hide from no one! That’s why it is imperitive to develop confidence in your drumming, and the first way to do that is to forget about the notion that you are hidden. Your mind set should be to establish your place in the band. Know who you are and why you’re there. The rest will then fall into place.
2. Love Your Instrument
If any musician really wants to master their instrument they must absolutely love it. What do I mean “love it?” The best way to understand this is to relate loving your drums to loving a person.
Many people think “love” is a feeling, but it’s not a feeling. For example; I love my wife, but I don’t always like her (I suppose she can probably say the same thing about me).
Love is an action word. It means to adore, care for, learn about, edify, be loyal to, be devoted to, be committed to, support, protect, and promote. When you do these things the feeling of love automatically comes.
So, how can you tell if you really love your drums? You can tell if you love your drums by the priority you put on them. They must have some priority in your life , otherwise your drums are just a little hobby that you will only be mediocre at.
3. Remain Humble
If a drummer really wants to increase his or her level of playing it is critical to remain open minded.
The mind is like a parachute, it only functions when it is open. That’s why it is so important to remain humble. Arrogant drummers never grow beyond their current level of drumming because they don’t think there is any more they can learn. How foolish! There is always more to learn… and any advanced drummer can learn from an intermediate, or even a beginner!
As you continue to learn you will then be able to teach. When you begin teaching, you will be amazed at the additional things you will learn (if you are currently teaching you will understand).
It’s critical to continue to learn and grow if you want to increase your level of drumming, and remaining humble is the only avenue through which you can do this. As with anything else, you must absolutely be confident in what you’re doing and knowledge can make you confident.
Please don’t mistake confidence with arrogance. Confidence is what makes a good drummer a great drummer. Arrogance is what makes a good drummer a lonely drummer! I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to play music with some cocky jerk who thinks he or she is better than everyone else.
Conclusion
When you develop confidence in your purpose as a drummer, learn to love your drums by giving them some priority in your life, altogether with remaining humble, your level of drumming will increase considerably.
Copyright 2006 Daniel N Brown

Dennis Walsh
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Once you’ve been around the block a few times and tasted what success sounds and feels like, you’ll want to record your own CD. People are drawn to make recordings for many different reasons. Sometimes it’s to advance (or start) a career. Sometimes it’s to give life to new songs or share the music with a wider audience. On a personal level, it can be a memorable creative experience.
Choosing what to record is not the same as selecting music to perform on stage. Your stage how is as much a matter of style and taste as it is image and direction. Concerts are about entertainment and exposing your music. It’s about rapport and applause, giving and taking; building an audience you hope will one day become a following. Concerts promote your music.
Recording is different. A CD is a musical painting. Without the visual benefit of live performance, it comes to matters of hearing and listening. Technology makes it possible to record and market your music at an affordable cost especially if you decide to self-produce your recordings. That can work, up to a point. The production process and studio you select must live up to your expectations and those of your fans.
I’ve had more than a few recording experiences. My first encounter was with a jazz-blues-rock group called Celebration. We couldn’t afford to record but we were writing original material and our fans were asking us to record. In desperation I suppose - better to do something than nothing - we set up a two track recording system in an old church. The acoustics were incredible and the atmosphere was terrific. Looking back, we looking for and expecting a miracle. We were finished in a few hours. Delivering the master tape to an independent record pressing factory, a month later, we sold out the first 500 copies overnight. The sound was awful but somehow we managed to capture the spirit and intent of the band. There wasn’t a single complaint. Still, for obvious reasons, we didn’t make any more copies.
It’s a commonly held belief that all you need is a computer with a sound card and a ‘multimedia microphone’ to record at home. In a sense that’s true. A home studio can be as simple as a cassette deck and an inexpensive microphone set up in the corner of your basement. Roland, Korg and Yamaha offer all-in-one combination digital mixer/hard disk recorder/effects units that are as close to a true ’studio-in-a-box’ as you can get. You may not be entirely satisfied with the results any more than we were with Celebrations first effort..
Moving up in the world, a few years later we recorded at the old Masters Workshop studio on a four track. The sound was a little better. The difference was that I had few expectations. The recording was a demo to be played for a Capitol records A & R man. The quality didn’t have to be there or so I thought. Regrettably, I was wrong. He failed to be impressed by what he considered to be an unprofessional effort. The session was over in thirty seconds; a missed opportunity to impress someone who could have done wonders in launching my career.
There were other experiences and good lessons learned. Don’t expect too much from a home recording. If you want a professional CD good enough to get radio air play or to sell in stores, you’re probably better off making a professional studio recording. The only problem with that is studio time is expensive, unless you have money to burn, you’re going to have to live with the final recording for a long time. It’s a tough decision to make; certainly food for thought.
On a bad day you can’t see the stars. Clouds cover the sun. The air is tough to breathe. Everything seems to go wrong. Nothing feels right. You’ll need all the help you can get. You’ve got nothing to lose. You’ll be ready to try anything. The hottest new Britney Spears recording will sell off the shelf in no time flat. You won’t find it that easy. Music industry dumpsters are filled to overflowing with music that failed to sell. You’ll take what you can get; even a recording contract if it might give you the chance of getting anywhere.
On a good day, the birds sing. The flowers bloom. Everything seems right. It’s a joy to be alive. Nothing can harm you. You’re strong and bold and beautiful. You believe in yourself and know without a doubt that you can’t lose. You’ll do your best to go it alone.
Mass merchandising is a fools game. Sometimes it seems that the only ones who make any money are retailers. Even they make very little in spite of high volume of cash and merchandise changing hands. There are no shortcuts. You’ll need to sell your CD one at a time. If you’re like me, you live in a real world with real problems and real opportunities; a world that doesn’t care. Whether you succeed or fail is of no consequence to anyone but you. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Only you can decide what kind of day you’re going to have.
As your market grows geographically, covering more and more territory, you’ll find more than a few independent music and book stores will sell your CD. It will get a little easier all the time. Who knows, maybe some day a major label will discover you and make a offer you can’t refuse to record the music you’ve been playing all along.
Dennis Walsh