Jump to content

Your Ad Could Be Here

Songstuff

Admin
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    13,066

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    9

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Songstuff

  1. Musician?

    By Songstuff ,

    Musician? Songstuff is end to end targetted at helping at every stage from begining to play an instrument through writing a song to selling the final product.

    Get a great start, come visit our Instruments and Performance boards.

    Looking to improve your writing? Try our Creativity boards.

    If you are interested in recording, making a video or discussing album artwork take a look at our Recording and Media boards

    If you are into your music gear then drop into Gear boards

    For talking music business, general music and off topic chat try the Musicians boards
  2. If you are a singer and you are interested in improving your singing technique then our vocals area and vocals board are an ideal place to pick up tips and exchange ideas with other singers.

    Vocals Area

    Vocals Board

    Vocals editor Cheryl Hodge has been teacher to many students; including pop icons Grammy winner Paula Cole, Juno winner Frazee Ford, and Canadian Idol finalist, Alyssa Klazek. She graduated from and taught at Berklee College of Music (voice faculty for 8 years), and for the last 18 years she has been the head of the Selkirk College Vocal Department. Cheryl has recorded 7 CDs and writes and gigs regularly with jazz guitar great, John Stowell.


  4. The development of a 3 finger style playing technique on the bass guitar is one way for a finger style bassist to achieve speed.

    By clear demonstration on video and accompanying text including some exercises this tutorial by Graeme Carswell will bring your skills up to speed.

    Three Finger Technique On The Bass Guitar



    In addition to the music segments of the article a complete video of the lesson is also available on the Songstuff Channel
  5. Ever wondered about the role of rolls? This article explores the basics of drum rolls and how they are used by trap-set drummers, giving clear demonstration by video accompanied by an clear written explanation.

    Role of Rolls
  6. AmpliTube 3 Now Shipping!
    The New King of Tone
    More Gear, More Feel, More Power, More Tone



    March 2010, Modena, Italy – IK Multimedia is proud to announce that AmpliTube 3, a massive upgrade of the leading guitar and bass tone gear-modeling software, is now shipping! AmpliTube 3 raises the industry standard of sound variety, realism and creative power - with over 160 precisely modeled pieces of vintage and modern gear available in one package - it is the ultimate gear tone collection for players, producers and engineers.

    More Gear, More Feel, More Power, More Tone. AmpliTube 3 gives you More!

    More Gear. In fact, twice as much gear!
    - Over 160 gear models included (with nearly 100 added models), more than double the amount of other packages, from the most sought-after vintage collections to modern-day workhorses

    - 51 Stompbox effects, 31 Amps, 46 Cabinets, 15 Studio Mics and 17 Rack effects

    - 30 brand new models for the most complete anthology of gear, ever

    - 70 re-worked and superior sounding models from packages like AmpliTube Metal™ and AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix™

    - A new collection of bass gear models also makes it the most complete package for recording and performance of bass by the engineer or musician

    - Can be directly expanded with packages like AmpliTube Fender™, Ampeg® SVX™ and future packages

    - New preset management and keyword system allows you to organize and quickly recall the massive library of included and custom preset tones


    More Feel. Nothing even comes close.
    - New cabinet module inside now provides double miking per cabinet, with freely movable microphones thanks to IK’s VRM™ (Volumetric Response Modeling) technology, giving you a level of control and sound accuracy never experienced before in software

    - All models in AmpliTube 3 have been ultra-accurately “remastered” with our new 3rd generation modeling technology (the same found in AmpliTube Fender™), using IK’s exclusive DSM™ technology (Dynamic Saturation Modeling), then painstakingly compared with the originals in “A/B” style to ensure that the sound you hear from the software is the same sound you’ll be hearing from the gear.

    - New impulse-based reverbs are now used in the entire chain, from spring reverb to room ambience, which ensures the most realistic possible representation of your recording environment

    - New rotary speaker module sets the new standard for accurate emulation of these types of cabinets – until now, there had never been such a great sounding rotary cabinet in software


    More Power. Unleash more creative power.
    - New creative Effects: featuring the new Step Filter, Step Slicer, TapDelay, Rezo and Swell stomp and rack effects that allow you to sculpt your sound and create inspiring rhythmic patterns or amazing drone and pad-like effects

    - New full-stereo path allows you to use the huge collection of analog and digital effects on your vocal tracks, keyboards and drums

    - New Drag & Drop functions in the stomp and rack modules make experimenting with effects’ combinations a breeze

    - New “MIDI Learn” feature allows you to assign any software control or parameter to an external controller with a simple click on the parameter’s knob

    - New, integrated 4-track recorder/player allows you to capture and layer your ideas quickly and easily - right at the moment of inspiration!



    More Tone. Every Sound You Can Imagine.

    AmpliTube 3 is the voice for your soul. With the largest collection of ultra-accurately modeled gear, creative effects and flexible routing features, you’ll never run out of sonic possibilities. Every sound you’ve heard before, and even new ones you haven’t dreamed of yet…find them here in AmpliTube 3.

    Pricing and Availability:

    AmpliTube 3 is now shipping as VST, RTAS and Audio Unit plug-in formats, and also as stand-alone software for Mac OSX® and Windows®, currently available in the following versions and MSRP prices*:

    • AmpliTube 3 $349.99/€269.99

    • AmpliTube 3 Crossgrade $269.99/€199.99 (available to any IK registered user)

    • AmpliTube 3 Upgrade $199.99/€149.99 (available to all previous AmpliTube 2, AmpliTube Metal, AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix™, AmpliTube Fender™ or Ampeg® SVX™ registered users)

    • AmpliTube 3 Pedal $399.99/€299.99 (AmpliTube 3 bundled with StealthPedal™ USB/MIDI controller and audio interface)


    These products are already available in the IK Online Store, and through our network of dealers and distributors worldwide.


    * All prices excluding taxes.

    For more information on AmpliTube 3, please visit:

    www.amplitube.com

  7. Two New Boards

    By Songstuff ,

    We have created two new boards:

    Musical Arrangement Critique

    Melody, Harmony and Musical Arrangement

    These boards have been needed for some time... please make the most of them.

    Click now to come along and take part!
  9. Mastering with T-RackS 3

    IK Multimedia's new T-RackS 3 mastering software provides all of the essential tools required to create superb quality, transparent and compelling masters.

    Here is your chance to book your place on our special T-RackS 3 Masterclass featuring guest engineer/producer Ben Fenner, whose credits include Radiohead, The Feeling, Brian Eno and many more. Ben will be using T-RackS 3 Deluxe to illustrate how its key features can be used in production and mastering scenarios. He will be using its superb emulations of the vintage Fairchild 670 and Pulteq EQP-1 modules together with the other features of T-RackS 3.

    There will be opportunities to talk to Ben and have your questions answered as well as to meet the IK team.

    Every registered participant will receive a free copy of the T-RackS 3 Shell module following each session.

    Special offers will be available on the day, courtesy of Digital Village.


    WHEN AND WHERE:

    Saturday, 27th February 2010
    London School of Sound
    (South Campus)
    16 Bromells Road, Clapham
    London SW4 0BG
    Tel. 020 7720 6183
  11. Please welcome joe hanley to the Songstuff fold.

    Joe will be writing for Songstuff on a number of subjects concerning musicians and writers.



    Joe Hanley is a composer and songwriter in NYC and has spent 29 long, A.D.D.-ridden years on this big, beautiful Earth, jumping frenetically from one part of the music world to the next. He's toured with Universal-Motown recording artist Tina Parol, released a CMJ chart-ranking jazz album, and written and composed music for advertising, websites, artists and TV. Joe also writes for the blog www.WriteRecordMix.com which publishes articles about the challenges musicians face bringing their music to reality. His original compositions and songs can be heard on his website at www.JoeHanleyMusic.com.
  12. BMI has released its 2009 Annual Review highlighting several aspects of their operations, admitting that it had been perhaps the most challenging in the organizations 70-year history.

    According to the report, BMI realized revenues in the 2008-2009 fiscal year of over $905 million with royalty distributions totaling more than $788 million, both figures higher than BMI's results from the previous year. An operating expense of approximately 13% was recorded for the year 2008-2009.

    The report states that BMI recognized that the opportunities in the digital shift in its very early stages. They go on to reveal that more songwriters affiliate online than via any other method, with more than 30,000 affiliates being added to the BMI roster over the past year.

    The figures published include a categorized breakdown of domestic licensing income of:

    Cable and Satellite: 29%
    Broadcast Television: 17%
    Radio: 36%
    General Licensing: 16%
    New Media: 2%

    International revenue was dominated by income from Western Europe:

    Western Europe: 68.8%
    Asia Pacific: 13.6%
    Other: 17.6%

    The organization’s New Media and Strategic Development grew revenues by 11%, with a portfolio of 6,700 digital media properties under license to BMI.

    “As BMI marks its 70th anniversary in the year ahead,” said BMI’s President & CEO Del Bryant, “we know we will be looking at an extremely difficult economic environment. We will maintain our intense focus on efficiency and cost containment. We anticipate tough discussions as we negotiate new agreements for the use of our repertoire. However, we are encouraged by the steady growth in our market share, and by the expanded use of music by both traditional and digital media, two dynamics that drive our licensing revenues. These factors reinforce our ability to meet the challenges of this volatile economic landscape, provide a point of stability to our songwriters, and produce added value to our customers as the economy works its way toward recovery.”

    Follow the link to read the full BMI Annual Review 2008 - 2009.
  13. Celtic Connections 2010 comes to a close tonight, after an extremely successful 17th year. For the third year running, attendances topped 100,000 with gross ticket sales reaching over £1 million. This was the festival’s fourth successful year of working with principal sponsor ScottishPower.

    Music fans attended approximately 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, which took place in 18 venues across Glasgow over 18 days in January and February.

    The festival’s final night sees performances from The Peatbog Faeries, Saltfishforty, a very special 15th birthday bash for Chemikal Underground ­– headlined by The Phantom Band – and the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year Final.

    The diverse and ambitious programme explored the links between Celtic and world music and brought musicians from all over the world to Glasgow, with acts from as far afield as Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, India, Africa, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Norway, Serbia, Romania, Canada and the USA visiting the city.

    Festival highlights have included an extraordinary performance by Bobby McFerrin, with the singer also holding a workshop for local choirs and entertaining school children from all over Scotland in a Celtic Connections schools concert as part of the festival’s Education Programme. Other highlights have included the ScottishPower Pipe Band joining The Chieftains and Ry Cooder on stage at their show at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and The Treacherous Orchestra performing around Glasgow on an open-top bus to celebrate their sold-out show in the Old Fruitmarket.

    Other sold-out shows have included The Chieftains with Ry Cooder, Danny Thompson and Friends, Natalie Merchant and the hugely popular Transatlantic Sessions, which will go on tour immediately after the festival bringing a dazzling international cast of Celtic and Americana musicians to concert halls across the UK following its sell-out success in Glasgow.

    The final weekend of the festival also featured a major showcase of Scottish music, with over 150 international music industry delegates in town to sample the cream of Scottish musical talent performing as part of Showcase Scotland at Celtic Connections. The largest gathering of the international music community in Scotland, Showcase Scotland provides acts with the opportunity to perform in front of promoters, record labels and agents from over 20 different countries. The exposure that artists gain leads to record deals and overseas touring contracts, promoting Scottish music and artists to new audiences around the world.

    Showcase Scotland works with an international partner each year and in 2010 shared the stage with Norway, with top Norwegian acts Majorstuen, Synnøve S. Bjørset, Gjermund Larsen Trio, Unni Boksasp Ensemble, Skaidi and Valkyrien Allstars appearing over Celtic Connections’ final weekend.

    The Celtic Connections Education Programme celebrated an extremely successful 12th year, with the schools concert strand featuring its most high profile line-up ever as Bobby McFerrin, Naturally 7, The Treacherous Orchestra and Le Vent du Nord gave free concerts for school children across Scotland in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

    For the first time ever, the Celtic Connections Education Programme worked in partnership with Culture and Sport Glasgow to take the festival out of the city centre and into local areas with the Celtic Connections Community Concerts as BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winners Bodega performed in Barlanark, Knightswood, Penilee and Langside.

    Every year at Celtic Connections the cream of new musical talent perform at the Danny Kyle Open Stage. A diverse panel of judges – from industry stalwarts to members of the general public – then pick six winners from the eighty acts which took part. The Danny Kyle Open Stage 2010 finalists – all of whom will perform a support slot at next year’s festival – are Ben Powell, Seonaid Aitken, Kilairum, Michael Clark Trio, Rachel Sermanni and Lurach. The Open Stage was broadcast live on Celtic Music Radio, which also broadcast Iain Anderson In Conversation, the Gordon Hotchkiss Afternoon Session as well as New Voices from the Strathclyde Suite.

    Celtic Connections continues to attract visitors from all over the world, expanding the international profile of the city as a tourist destination and affirming Glasgow’s place on the cultural map. The results of an economic impact survey carried out at the 2009 festival revealed that Celtic Connections generated a total of £6.6 million of new output to Scotland in 2009.

    Donald Shaw, Celtic Connections Artistic Director, said:

    “We’re delighted with the continued success of Celtic Connections. This year we had some really amazing acts on the bill, and fans and performers came to Glasgow from all over the world to enjoy two and a half weeks of great music.”

    “A personal highlight was Bobby McFerrin’s phenomenal show in the Concert Hall – it was a really special night. We were so thrilled that he agreed to give a concert as part of our Education Programme too, it was a real coup for us.”

    Celtic Connections 2011 will run from Thursday 20th January - Sunday 6th February.
  14. The blog and gallery have been updated with a number of small bug fixes and a list of major improvements:

    Blog

    User Interface
    The user interface has had a complete facelift to bring it up to standard. The new look feels more 'bloggish' and enhances the experience. We have added drop down menus at the top so that you can quickly access common areas and start new entries where you have permission to. The post screen has been overhauled to add functionality. You should find the new version much easier to navigate and easier to use.

    Blog This!
    This is a brand new feature that adds a "Blog This" button to every post. This allows you to use post content in your blog entry. Furthermore, the relationship is remembered and all linked blog entries appear at the bottom of the topic when viewed.

    Per-Entry Rating
    You can now rate each blog entry rather than just the entire blog itself. The blog rating is still shown on the homepage as an aggregate of all rated entries.

    Report Item and Reputation
    You can now report an entire blog entry, or just a single comment. You can now also give someone a reputation increase/decrease in comments.

    List View
    A common request was the return of a fully sortable and filterable list view for blogs that emulated a forum view. We have added this in. You'll notice you can click the table headers to sort on that column and click again to reverse the sort. There is also a "List Blogs" sidebar block to quickly filter and list the blogs. There's even a little 'preview the latest entry' icon that shows the entry excerpt in a pop-up so you don't have to leave the page to preview it.

    Dynamic Sidebar
    We have moved some the footer links (Top 10 bloggers, etc) into a dynamic sidebar along with Recent Entries. This makes it easier to locate and saves a bit of space.

    RSS Imports
    Another long requested feature was to be able to create entries from an RSS feed. This is now a feature. You can control which member groups have access to this as well as limit the number of items imported on each cycle.

    Gallery

    Friendly URLs
    We've integrated gallery into the global FURL system used by IP.Board 3, this will allow gallery to create friendly URLs for categories, albums, and images.

    Category/Album Covers
    When viewing an image, you will have a new option to set that image as the 'cover' for the category or album that contains the image. When a cover image is specified for a category or album, that image will always be displayed, in place of the last uploaded image thumbnail. Permission dependent.

    Sub Albums
    Albums now support unlimited sub albums, which work exactly like gallery sub categories.(Permission dependent)

    Profile Picture Album
    You can now create a new kind of album, a 'Profile Picture' Album. After this album has been created, any images that you upload to it will be displayed on the change picture page in your User CP, making them easy to select as your profile image.

    Image notes
    Image owners are now able to add notes to sections of their images, positioning and resizing them to suit. Other members will be able to see the notes when hovering over the image. (An example)

    Image rotation
    Images can now be rotated in 90° increments, to compensate for those photos taken in landscape or portrait, but saved in the wrong orientation.

    New slideshow
    Completely rewritten slideshow feature! It is now a unified interface, loading images on demand as necessary. Users can play or pause the slideshow at will, or jump to specific photos using the thumbnail bar.

    Friends-only albums
    When creating an album, users can now choose to restrict viewing to only those users who are on their friends list.

    Reputation support in comments
    We have added support for IP.Board's reputation feature in comments posted within IP.Gallery.
  15. (Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA) January 29, 2010 – Teen phenom Sarah Lonsert won the Overall Grand Prize of the 14th Annual USA Songwriting Competition along with co-writers Jonathan George and Jami Templeton. Her winning song “Dancing Through Life” will be on the USA Songwriting Competition's compilation CD this year. Sarah is only 17 years old and she not only broke the first prize record of being the youngest winner but also the overall grand prize winner of being the youngest winner ever. The previous youngest first prize winner was Kate Voegele, who won in 2005 at 18 years old. Adrianne Gonzalez was the youngest overall grand prize winner at 22 years old when she won in 1999. Sarah also won first prize in the Dance/Electronica category, making her the first from that category to ever win the overall grand prize. Sarah Lonsert will be releasing a full length CD this year. Although Sarah suffers from autism, she is a budding singer-songwriter and has also won an award at the L.A. Music Awards last year.

    Eric Colville (from Ipswich, MA) won the overall second prize and Anne Simoni (from Brazil) won the overall third prize. This year also marks the first time that USA Songwriting Competition had two winners from Spain. Ariel Queupumil from Guadalajara, Spain won the first prize in the Latin Category while Eduardo de la Iglesia Nieto from Madrid, Spain won the First Prize in the instrumental category. Nicole Morier and Fabien Waltman from Los Angeles won the first prize in the Pop category. Nicole is has written songs for Britney Spears and is also an artist. Other winners came from Indonesia, Canada, Australia, Norway and Denmark.

    Entries are currently being accepted for the 2010 15th Annual USA Songwriting Competition. Winning songs of the 15th Annual USA Songwriting Competition will receive airplay on a nationally syndicated radio program “Acoustic Café” as well as Sirius XM Satellite Radio. This is the first Songwriting Competition that gives airplay to the winning songs, giving deserving bands, songwriters the recognition and exposure they deserve. Entrants stand to win a grand prize of over US$50,000 in cash and music gear from sponsors such as Sony, D’Addario Strings, Ibanez Guitars, Audio-Technica, IK Multimedia, and more, making this the largest prize package for any annual songwriting competition.

    Many USA Songwriting Competition winners in the past have received recording and publishing contracts, have their songs placed on the charts as well as having their songs placed on film and television. 2005 First Prize winner (Pop) Kate Voegele was signed to Myspace/Interscope Records the year after she won and had her winning song hit top 40 on the Billboard Charts, her latest album hit Top 10 on the Billboard 200 Album charts this summer. 2007 Overall Grand Prize Winner Ari Gold had his winning song “Where The Music Takes You” hit #10 on the Billboard Dance Charts. Darrell Scott, winner of the country category of the 2005 USA Song writing Competition had his winning song "Good Ol USA" cut by award winning country singer Faith Hill and the song was renamed “We've Got Nothing But Love to Prove.” Also, Kyler England, 2009 first prize winner just got signed to Universal Records. Judges include A&R managers from record labels such as Warner, Capitol Records, Universal, BMG/SONY Music. "It seems to be a competition that draws a solid talent base", said Kirk Boyer, A&R director at Lyric Street Records. "A healthy and important competition, good outlet for creative people", said Andy Karp, Executive VP/Head of A&R, Atlantic Records.

    Sponsors include Sony, Audio-Technica, Ibanez Guitars, D'Addario Strings, New Music Weekly, and Guitar Player Magazine. Songs may be entered in 15 different categories including Pop, Rock/Alternative, R&B and Country. Entries are accepted from now through May 28, 2010. For more information, visit:
    http://www.songwriting.net

  16. Tecamp Puma 350

    By Songstuff ,

    In Graeme Carswell's first article for Sonstuff he reviews the TecAmp Puma 350 bass amp

    TecAmp Puma 350 review

    Prepare to be impressed... a video of Graeme playing the bass part for Lenny Kravitz's "Always On The Run" is the currently featured video on the Songstuff Channel
  17. As musicians we often hear that the internet has "levelled the playing field" between indie artists and record labels. While that may be closer to the truth regarding small labels the marketing machines of larger labels are still miles ahead of what most artists and labels can expect. So what can you do? Realistically most bands are short of money... so what can you do for free?

    This article is intended to give an overview of the possibilities, the strategies and the tools.

    Read Make The Most Of Your Music On The Web
  18. Please welcome Graeme Carswell to Songstuff as a new writer!



    Graeme will be writing regularly for the guitar section of our site, focusing on the bass guitar, and taking part in the bass guitar board discussions.

    Graeme has been playing bass for 19yrs now, having first found his love for the instrument after hearing The Spirit Of Radio by Rush. He considers Geddy Lee as his teacher in the early days as he tried to learn all Rush's back catalogue, and since then has caught onto other inspiring artists like Marcus Miller, Billy Sheehan, Victor Wooton, Chris Squire, Adam Nitti, Jaco and many more to influence his playing. "The internet has been a godsend...it makes it so easy to find, hear and watch inspiring musicians from across the globe".

    Graeme has played in venues up and down the UK from small pubs with thriving music scenes in Pollockshaws, to The Armadillo in Glasgow. He is currently involved with recording artist John Gilmour Smith, who was signed last year to Aquarian Nation Records. Graeme recorded bass on this John's first album on the label, due for release in 2010. Other than this he has been involved with many corporate acts as 'dep of choice', with his own prog rock covers band and newly formed functions bands Graeme is busier than ever it seems and is happy to be part of the Songstuff collaborative and looks forward to reviewing gear and taking care of bass-related articles.

  21. Band Promo Videos

    By Songstuff ,

    Over the last year there has been a big increase in the number of bands creating promo videos, and not just gig footage. At Songstuff we try to help artists develop and hopefully improve the standard of the songs that they produce. If you are making or planning to make a band promo video then you'll find the Cutting Room a useful resource.

    Post up your video links and get constructive criticism from fellow musicians and video creators:

    http://forums.songstuff.com/forum/86-the-cutting-room/
  23. We are not always the best singer for our own songs. If we are going to sing it we may not always sing it in the best way. This is a great little article, by Cheryl Hodge, if you have written a song and you are planning on singing it yourself.

    When (and How) To Sing Your Own Songs
  25. Please welcome professional singer, vocal coach and singing teacher Cheryl Hodge to Songstuff!

    Cheryl will be writing regularly for the vocals section of our site, and taking part in the vocals board discussions.

    Cheryl has been teacher to many students; including pop icons Grammy winner Paula Cole, Juno winner Frazee Ford, and Canadian Idol finalist, Alyssa Klazek. She graduated from and taught at Berklee College of Music (voice faculty for 8 years), and for the last 18 years she has been the head of the Selkirk College Vocal Department. Cheryl has recorded 7 CDs and writes and gigs regularly with jazz guitar great, John Stowell.

    Vocals Area

    Vocals Board
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By continuing to use our site you indicate acceptance of our Terms Of Service: Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy, our Community Guidelines: Guidelines and our use of Cookies We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.