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Brad Barnett

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Everything posted by Brad Barnett

  1. Brad Barnett
    I'm dreaming about being able to play an upright!
  2. Brad Barnett
    Although I do have a great collection of music equipment, I've never owned a fretless bass. I would love to get a fretless 5 string American Fender Jazz!
  3. Brad Barnett
    My favorite bass player would have to be Victor Wooten. A lot of the techniques I use were learned from him. In a close second, Les Claypool!
  4. Brad Barnett
    I would say it is my 5 string Ernie Ball Sterling Musicman. In a close second my 5 string American Fender P Bass.
  5. Brad Barnett
    I have said it on here before and I will say it again. I have never used a pic with a bass guitar before and I will not ever use one in the future. I am all about fingers, slapping and popping!
  6. Brad Barnett
    I have 4, 5 and 6 string basses but I only use 5 when performing live. That low B string is killer for rock songs, especially when guitar players play in drop D.
  7. Brad Barnett
    You can use an interval trainer online to help improve your ears. I know how frustrating it can be cause I have been there. It took a lot of practice, writing and theory training before I was able to hear something and play it on bass or guitar. I'd recommend learning theory. It may not seem like it would help, but it the single most important thing that helped me get the ear I have today.
  8. Brad Barnett
    I have never, and will never use a pic to play the bass! I really hate it lol. Not trying to knock you because it is all a matter of opinion. As a bass player I am much faster with fingers and love slapping and popping!
  9. Brad Barnett
    Playing the same songs at the same venue every week could be what made you want to quit. I would never want to put myself through that lol. You are going to have times when you feel like quitting when trying to learn anything that takes years to master. It is the people who persevere through the negative thoughts that end up becoming professionals.
  10. Brad Barnett
    The SM57 is a great mic for recording acoustic guitar. I think you would be better off getting a condenser mic for vocals though.
  11. Brad Barnett

    Melody

    Brad Barnett replied to john's topic in Songwriting

    When writing melodies it's all about using your ear. When playing a progression think of melodies in your head and when you have one you like start to hum it out loud or figure out the notes and play it on the guitar. Using your ear is the best method because you can come up with a melody without thinking about what scales to use. Using your ear is not an easy thing to do, but it is the best way to write your songs. It took years of playing, performing and learning theory to get to the point of being about to use my ear, but it was well worth it.
  12. Brad Barnett

    Harmony

    Brad Barnett replied to john's topic in Songwriting

    For my bands it's all about trial and error with harmonies, and all other aspects of song writing. Put in the time to perfect your art and you will be rewarded. We usually have our backup singer come up with a harmony while jamming and then somebody in the band will offer advice on a better harmony if a better one is thought of. We always at least try new ideas anyone comes up with because don't truly know how something is going to sound until you actually hear it.
  13. Brad Barnett
    There really isn't an answer to that because there are a number of songs that use each interval in just about every genre.
  14. Brad Barnett
    If your melody isn't flowing with your rhythm then you should probably tweak your melody to be more in line with the rhythm being played. Something as simple as slightly moving a note in the melody to hit at the same time as a snare or kick could do the trick. Keep tweaking the song until it sounds exactly how you want it. The more work you put into it the better it will sound!
  15. Brad Barnett
    Do you plan on putting these songs on the radio? If so then I would aim for about 3:30 but that is just my opinion. There are lots of songs on the radio much longer than that. If you aren't worried about radio play then it really depends on the type of audience you are trying to attract.
  16. Brad Barnett
    This is great advice. Something you should have on you at all times. The singers in my band use the recording device on their iPhones to record melodies or riffs they think of as soon as they think of them.
  17. Brad Barnett
    You shouldn't be looking at it from a length perspective. It's all about how it sounds. Every song will sound better using different lengths and times repeated. Sometimes my band repeats a chorus 3 times, or even 2 and a half. It all depends on what we think works best for the song.
  18. Brad Barnett
    I would say the most important thing on this list is email marketing. Barely any bands I ever come across are doing it, yet it is THE best thing you can be doing to increase music sales. If you have a large mailing list of fans then you can earn money with every email!
  19. Brad Barnett
    Creating a buzz using social media is something all bands should strive for. If you want to get people talking about you on social networks then you have to keep your accounts updated on a consistent basis. Shows people you are having fun and show people that you love what you are doing. Communicate and respond to all fans and create relationships with them. Most important of all, post quality updates that people will actually want to share with their friends.
  20. Brad Barnett
    Not enough bands even think to do this. I hope you post inspires a few to change their minds!
  21. Brad Barnett
    Seo is something that should be more natural than anything. Pasting a link on as many sites as you can just to get a link isn't going to help. If you are keeping your website and social media accounts up to date you are already off to a good start. Searching for indie/music blogs to get interviewed on is another way to get you good natural backlinks. Just make sure they post a link back to your website in the article.
  22. Brad Barnett
    Band image is extremely important to a bands success, especially with things like social media around. Often times a photo or video of you or your band is the first thing a potential fan sees. If they see something that looks unprofessional then they are going to assume your ARE unprofessional and won't likely care to learn more about you.
  23. Brad Barnett
    Buying likes is not only a waste of money, it will also do nothing but hurt your pages reach. If you are thinking about spending money to promote something or get more likes then you should do it through Facebook ads. That way you can target people by location, age, gender and even relationship status if necessary. Facebook ads can be a very effective way to advertise your music, or any other business for that matter.
  24. Brad Barnett
    One social network you need to be promoting your music on is Sound Cloud. I didn't even really think it was a social network until I realized you could follow people and like their tracks etc. My personal profile only has 200 followers at the moment and my bands songs on my profile are currently getting about 50 - 100 plays a day. You can also put buy links up so people can buy your music if they like what they hear. Although my personal profile is new, I am getting that many plays because I am active on the site. I recommend getting a Souncloud account and becoming an active member!
  25. Brad Barnett
    Good post. The thing is if you really want to make a living doing something you love like music then you have to treat it like a business. Most musicians that want their music careers to become something more than a hobby don't do anything to make that change. Bands and artists should be doing things like tracking all sales and expenses so they know where their money is going. They should also be testing different price points to see what price each piece of merch sells best at. Things that actual business are doing on a daily basis. I love how you mentioned Hootsuite. Buffer is also a great site that does the same thing as Hootsuite does. Having access to update multiple social media accounts through one website saves me hours of time each week. I will be getting the pro version of Buffer soon so I can schedule and store a weeks worth of content at a time. If you aren't updated your social media accounts on a regular basis, then you are missing out on tons of free exposure!
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