If you are serious about improving your singing, nothing will beat having a professional give you private, structured lessons. Working with somebody one-on-one allows a relationship to develop between the teacher and student, which can be just as important as learning technique. Having in-person instruction also allows for personalized feedback, which is important. Everybody has…
Bassists don’t always get to branch out with their sound. Typically, in a band situation, they are asked to hold down the beat and basic structure of the song. But branching out can be worthwhile. There are a lot of great effects out there, and you can broaden your tonal palette and even add some…
Different types of strings are made for acoustic and electric guitars. But that raises a question. Can you use electric guitar strings on an acoustic guitar? What about the other way around? The answer to this question isn’t as straightforward as you might think, and it might even surprise you. Here’s what you need to…
Even though I started taking piano lessons at the age of four, reading music has never been my strong suit. I have always been better at learning by ear and improvising. Sight reading (the act of reading music you’ve never played and playing it as you read) has always been a major source of insecurity…
When you think “musician” there’s probably a certain image that immediately comes to mind. But the truth of the matter is that there are many types of musicians. And some musicians even belong to multiple categories. There are many types of careers one can pursue in music, and the industry keeps splitting up responsibilities to…
If you’re shopping for a baritone ukulele specifically, it’s probably because you know what you’re looking for. A baritone ukulele usually measures 30” in length and features a slightly lower tuning compared to a soprano, concert, or tenor ukulele (it’s also bigger). People who love ukuleles generally end up with multiple models. In this guide,…
Humans love to sing! Almost all of us sing to ourselves in our downtime. Singing relieves stress and makes us happy. It also helps keep you healthy, and leads to living a longer life – seriously, it’s proven! In fact, the scientific evidence correlating singing to better mood, better health, and better social connectivity is…
So, you’re interested in learning the bass. But you’re not interested in buying a big bass. You want something a little easier to hold and play. Or maybe you’re looking for a bass that’s more portable, and easier to carry around. It could even be that you’re looking for a gift for a friend. Whatever…
Japanese guitar brands are more common than you might think. It’s entirely possible you have a Japanese manufactured guitar sitting at home in your collection already. And once upon a time, Japanese made Stratocasters far exceeded the quality of American Starts. Fender was relatively quick to put an end to that. So, we know that…
The guitar can be a lot of fun to play. But the instrument requires some ongoing maintenance, such as when you break a string. When you break a string, the only thing you can do is replace it. You can take your axe to a professional, or you can replace the string yourself, but either…
Songwriting contests vary in their size and scope, but they are great ways to test your skills and try to gain exposure. Winning a song competition provides more than prizes – they can be a great intro to the music industry and help you build a compelling story too. Some contests have thousands of entrants,…
Ear training software is a relatively new development. Until recently, you had to purchase or borrow cassette tape and CD based programs that were kind of clunky and hard to use. Now we have apps that help you accomplish more in considerably less time! Whether you’re a sound engineer or music producer, there’s great value…
As with any industry or niche, music production comes with a lot of proprietary jargon. Terms like “track” and “fader” might be basic and easy to understand, but then you have things like “NLE” and “VST,” which might cause some confusion. What is a VST plugin? In this guide, we look at what VST stands…
So, what part of your tenor saxophone affects your instrument’s tone? The right answer is every part. And, of course, it depends a lot on the person playing the sax too. But in this guide, we’re talking tenor saxophone ligatures. The ligature can affect your instrument’s performance, tone, as well as its overall “tightness” (how…
I firmly believe that if you can talk, you can sing. However, learning to sing in tune is not easy for everyone. For some, it seems to come naturally. For many more, it is something we have to learn and practice. Children can imitate instruments and sing purposefully as early as 12 months old. Through…