Category Archives: Articles

The Pros & Cons of Signing A Publishing Deal

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Dan Harr
For most songwriters in the early stages of their careers, the idea of being hired as a staff songwriter for a publishing company is close to the Holy Grail. It represents that most coveted prize of industry recognition and validation of your talent along with a gateway to cuts, movie placements and any one of a number of other exciting possibilities. However, keep in mind that wanting or entering …
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Concert Review: Yngwie Malmsteen

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Dan Harr
Whenever the topic of the greatest guitar shredders arises, Yngwie Malmsteen’s name inevitably comes up, usually first. The Super Swede’s “Spellbound” tour rolled into Homestead, PA’s historic Carnegie Library Music Hall where he put on pyrotechnic clinic showcasing his blazing speed, delicate textures and ear splitting decibel levels. Malmsteen’s shows are unburdened by traditional elements such as vocals and linear melodies. Like his albums, they are almost completely instrumental…
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20 Tips for Improving Your Facebook Artist Page

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Dan Harr
Good old Facebook. It seems like everyone knows how to use it these days; from those mischievous 10 year olds brazenly lying about their age in order to sign up, to the new breed of highly intelligent super-pets who’ve managed to set up their very own profiles, complete with a neatly cropped selfie, and then ever-so-casually added all of their owners’ friends. What a truly incredible age to be living in! But in all seriousness, there are literally bus-loads of musicians…
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How To Collect Music in These Overwhelming Times

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Dan Harr
Our pal Sean Adams of the music reviews and community site Drowned In Sound picked up on our frustration about how hard it is to collect music these days, even as we are quite figuratively “drowning in sound.” Music is everywhere, and yet, perversely, it’s harder to collect. Now, the DiS community is talking about how they stop the music they like from getting away. (Indeed, the Evolver.fm community feels the same way, having just picked the fictional music-collecting app …
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How To Become a Better Songwriter by NOT Writing Songs

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Dan Harr
I remember when I was kid playing softball, our coach would always make us go back and practice the basics if we were on a losing streak or playing poorly. That’s a tool that I’ve kept with me all my life. It’s often way too easy to get into lazy or bad habits, particularly in things we do on a regular basis. We get tend to get sloppy. The same thing can happen with songwriting. If you aren’t writing anything that has a magic to it or just doesn’t feel real – maybe it’s time to go…
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Paramore and Kitten at The Tabernacle in Atlanta

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Dan Harr
Hit rock band Paramore, along with newbie rockers Kitten, made a stop on their tour at The Tabernacle in Atlanta in support of their new, self-titled album released April 5th. Performing for a sold-out crowd, singer Haley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis and Taylor York on guitar gave the crowd a high-energy show comprised of material from their new album including “Now” and “Still Into You,” as well as their well-known hits “Conspiracy,” “Ignorance” and many more. Widely described as “Emo” and “Pop Punk,” Paramore,,,
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How Trey Songz’s Fan Club App Earns More Than $50K a Month

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Dan Harr
On a sleepy Monday afternoon, a music fan who goes by the handle “sexycharizma37” shelled out somewhere between $12.50 and $25 to be an “Instant VIP” in an online fan club for Trey Songz, the R&B singer who’s had a host of No. 1s on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop charts with songs like “I Invented Sex” and “Heart Attack.” Sexycharizma37 isn’t alone. More than 45,300 people have downloaded Songz’ app for tablets and smartphones since it launched…
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Guerrilla Marketing, Viral Marketing & Behind-the-Scenes Marketing for Musicians

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Dan Harr
According to Wikipedia, “Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla marketing tactics are unexpected and unconventional; consumers are targeted in unexpected places, which can make the idea that’s being marketed memorable, generate buzz, and even spread virally.” This is ideal and it’s also one of our main goals. Get creative with all the ideas and tactics …
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10 Things To Keep Your Guitar In Top Condition

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Dan Harr
Here are 10 suggestions you can follow without the help of a luthier to keep your guitar performing and looking its best: Maintain the nut: Dirt and gummy smoke residue can build up in the notches of your guitar’s nut, impeding the strings’ ability to slide without resistance within those grooves. That causes tuning problems. Be sure to clean the interior of the nut periodically with a thin nail file or dental floss to avoid that issue. Clean and condition the fretboard: Lemon oil or …
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Music Theory Demystified – Harmony and Counterpoint

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Dan Harr
Music theory can be a thorny and intimidating topic, and something many songwriters and players may actively avoid. A student of mine told me he heard a songwriter say once “I don’t want to know any of that theory stuff, I want to stay pure.” I can only guess why, I wasn’t there to ask…but I suspect it has something to do with a fear that learning “the rules” could limit his creativity. Ironically for this particular person, he had it backwards. Theory is not a set of rules to be followed like traffic laws…
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10 Great Rock Guitar Instrumentals

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Dan Harr
There’s no denying that from the ‘80s onwards, the guitar instrumental has ventured into hitherto unexplored territories, with virtuosos such as Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen and others setting new standards for the concept. For the purposes of the list below, however, virtuosity is less a consideration than pioneering impact. Feel free to chime in with great instrumentals we missed — especially those with longstanding impact — in the comments section.
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Growlin’ and Howlin’: Guide to Electric Guitar Distortion

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Dan Harr
Ah, distortion! That beautiful growl that makes the electric guitar the perfect 20th and 21st century instrument — the sound of the blues colliding with noisy urban environs; the sound of the space age; the sound of anger or a wide range of other emotions, writ in howling detail; the sound of the future, stuttering to the beat of global warming and chaos, or crushed to the roar of digital feedback, zeros and ones beaten into hideous submission. Distortion can be all of those things and more.
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Concert Review: Tim McGraw’s Two Lanes of Freedom Tour

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Dan Harr
Despite the fact that Tim McGraw is five years sober, fit as a triathlete and touring behind a number One album, he is still in an unenviable position. As he approaches 50, McGraw has to stay a step ahead of the current crop of young country hunks with TV shows, cross format radio airplay and wider appeal. But as he proved Saturday night at First Niagara’s inaugural show, the seasoned veteran still has plenty of fight left. The 20-song, two hour set was fueled by slick production, McGraw’s boundless energy …
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The LoCash Cowboys Stay Focused for the Long Haul

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Dan Harr
The LoCash Cowboys have been down on their luck more than a few times during their 10-year career. But the high-energy, fun-spirited duo is still betting that the odds are in its favor as it prepares to release its first album. Preston Brust and Chris Lucas met when they were working as DJs at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon. Soon, they landed additional work at Tootsies Orchid Lounge. But when they were offered the coveted Friday night gig at Tootsies, having signed with the booking agency Buddy Lee Attractions, they elected to hit the road. “I saw a wild side in them that maybe had not…
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Inside Story: The Lost Rory Gallagher Album

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Dan Harr
When Rory Gallagher left us in 1995, he also left behind a rich body of work. From hard-hitting blues to tender acoustic music to R&B to Celtic influences, Gallagher was an engaging performer and an astonishingly gifted guitarist. His discography includes well over a dozen albums, between power trio Taste (beginning in 1969) and his solo works (from 1971’s self-titled album to 1990’s Fresh Evidence), but hardcore fans have long known about a mysterious lost record, an album which was recorded in the…
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Gary Moore: Celebrating the Les Paul Master

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Dan Harr
The late guitar giant Gary Moore was a true titan of tone. Moore, who died of heart failure two months shy of his April 4 birthday in 2011, was a rare six-stringer — as comfortable with blues, his first musical love, as he was with blistering rock and exploratory jazz. Moore was also a superb technical player. His speed and articulation were exemplary, and his vibrato was absolutely exquisite. “Textbook” would be an accurate adjective to describe the latter, if he wasn’t so purely soulful as well.
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The Gibson SG: 50 Essential Facts

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Dan Harr
The SG has been played by a huge number of legendary guitarists, taking in blues, pop, gospel, metal and jazz, and remains a classic marque of the Gibson brand. Do you need 50 essential Gibson SG facts to impress your guitar-playing buds? Of course you do! Read on. 1. The SG stands for “solid guitar.” 2. It was introduced to replace the single-cutaway Les Paul Standard. Although 1958-60 Les Pauls are now some of the most-coveted guitars ever made, the single-cutaway Les Paul’s sales were flagging…
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Gun For Hire: Slash the Sideman

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Dan Harr
Slash has been the guitar star for Guns N’ Roses, Snakepit, Velvet Revolver and, currently, his own “solo” band. But Slash also has played sessions that would make many guitarists-for-hire weep. Sure, the fame of his name got him many gigs, but Slash’s session story is a whole world in itself: 2004 and 2007 are the only years since 1988 when Slash hasn’t guested on at least one other artist’s recordings. From rock to metal, from blues to R&B, from hip-hop to pop, Slash’s Gibson Les Pauls have been…
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The Power Of Melody (From Presentation at NSAI event, March 2013)

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Dan Harr
The melody’s main job is to sell the emotion of the song! Lyrics sell the message (though melody can also help to sell the message). Music sells the attitude (though melody can also play an important role is delivering the attitude of the song). Melody sells the emotion! Since songs are an exchange of emotional energy, and emotion is what sells a song to the listener, melody is a very powerful and important part of the equation! The key elements of melody are intervals and movement. An interval is the distance…
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From the Bottom of a Song’s Heart

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Dan Harr
I am a song. Not just any song. I am the song that you first thought of, who knows when or where. Do you remember? I am unique, I can be easy to forget. So, I hope you remembered to write down my meager beginnings, or sing my half spun melody into your smart phone. I am a song, your song, and I’m going to be something special one day. I will be able to spill a message, make people think, cry, dance, be inspired, be angry, change a life, foster love, or be silly. But how will you treat me? Because right…
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