Article Author Series: Kevin Sinclair - How To Write A Song

Have you ever had the dream of writing a song that one day you or a big star will sing? Or it may be that you want to write a piece of music for an orchestra to play. Have you already written a few songs but have not gotten any response or good feedback yet? Well, instead of giving up, just keep trying and with a push in the right direction, you may gain the confidence to and know how to actually succeed.

Knowing Which Technique Suits You

You may ask yourself “is writing music easy or hard?” Well basically, the answer is that it can be as easy or as hard as the person makes it for himself or herself.

If you are stuck and are wondering what will come first - the music or the words - then experiment. There is no correct answer on whether you should work on the music or the words first. It is basically all down to the individual and what he or she prefers. A good tip is that you should try them both out, just to see what works best for you. It could be that the music will inspire you enough to write song lyrics to go with it, so what ever works, then do that. It may even change from song to song. Some lyrics might come before the music and some music might come before the lyrics.

Prepare and Improvise!

If you are writing a piece of music, you will need to definitely prepare each part carefully to get the right flow and technique down to a tee. Break it down starting with the verse first and then afterwards the chorus. If you are stuck for ideas, try listening to other songs for inspiration. You could then think of ways to improve on these songs that will inspire you to write better music yourself. It is best to try to learn from the mistakes of others to perfect your own techniques.

The key to writing good music is the ability to improvise. If you try to learn all of the different techniques and chord changes, it will help you to develop and give you more confidence to produce good quality music. Just sit down and start playing a few chords. If they go together, write them down and then try and find the next chord that goes perfectly with the ones you just played. Eventually you will find that you have created the perfect music for your song.

Know Your Taste and Stick With it!

One obvious tip that many people forget to follow when writing music is to stick to music that you are interested in. For example, if you are interested in rock music and you hate ballads, there is absolutely no point sitting down and trying to write a ballad! It will not flow, you will end up becoming extremely frustrated and you will not want to carry on writing it.

So, if you are interested in rock music, collect some of your favorite rock songs together and listen to them while jotting down bits in the songs that you like. Do you want your lyrics to rhyme? A lot of songs do tend to have rhyming lyrics because they tend to stick in people’s heads better. However, there really are no rules with that, so do not worry too much about it.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Anyone in the music business will tell you that practice makes perfect and this is the case for you. You shouldn’t give up when the going gets tough. Just keep practicing and you will get there in the end. You will notice your skills will improve over time, giving you the confidence to succeed.

So why not try to write music today and show the world your song writing skills. The main thing to remember is that writing music takes time. You cannot expect to write a really good song overnight. It literally takes good songwriters months, if not years to prepare an album and write all of their own material. The key thing is to be patient!

About Author:
Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of MusicianHome.com, a site that provides information and articles for musicians at all stages of their development.

Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com

Article Author Series: Kevin Sinclair - Steps To Find Singing Gigs

For a singer to survive there will need to be a booking for several gigs, you need an audience to offer your heartfelt songs too. To survive in the field of music, you must have successful gigs. Every singer lives and breathes gigs; it is an essential aspect of following the path that leads to stardom.

So how do you find singing gigs? You need to simply follow these steps and let your imagination run free.

- Find an agent. Once you prove your talent you will taken in. Agents find gigs for you. Then you simply practice your singing and live life, while managing your schedule.

- Look through the advertisements in such places as newspapers, magazines and newsletters that relate to music. You should find listing for such places like a music lounge or bar. You will also be able to find television and radio announcements online. If you do the research, you will find opportunities to make the most of your talents.

- Advertise yourself. There is nothing wrong with singing your own song, so to speak. Singing skills are sell able. Remember to include your contact information on all your promotional material, since there is no telling who may be interested in hiring you.

- To be successful in the entertainment field, you must be active. Affiliate yourself with others, by joining music and singing associations and groups. There you will have the opportunity to meet others who can help you now as well as in the future.

- Package yourself and your talent. Build an official you website, to sell yourself and your talent and other comparable means of advertising your talent. For instance, you could record a sample song to provide to a variety of recording companies, as audition material.

- Bring together all your potential contacts. When you have the option to change from one music label to another, take the chance if it sounds good, while putting those companies that hold auditions on a regularly. Be sure to check out any entertainment establishment such as hotels, since they also employ singers.

If you have the talent, you only need one regular big gig to uphold you. Before you know it, people will be searching to find you, rather than you finding them. Practice your singing and relax - the best singing gig for you may soon be found in one of these steps to finding a singing gig.

About Author:
Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of MusicianHome.com, a site that provides information and articles for musicians at all stages of their development.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/

Article Author Series: Kevin Sinclair - How To Market Your Music Online

As a musician you know that marketing your work is extremely important if you want people to purchase your work. One particularly good way of marketing your music is through the Internet, though many musicians are left confused as to where they should start. So just how do you market music online, what are the best ways to go about it and why exactly should you market your music online?

Why Market Music Online?

While many musicians have found the Internet to be extremely helpful when it comes to marketing their work, others are left wondering what exactly the benefits would be. After all, surely you want to target the people in your area and marketing to people that you can actually see is surely better than marketing to virtual people? Well, not necessarily! All you really want to do is encourage people to buy your music, so it doesn't really matter where they live, just as long as they like it.

The fact is, by marketing your music online, you are getting your music noticed by a lot more people than you would through marketing offline. There are literally millions of people who use the Internet daily. Some are in your own area, but you also manage to market your music to a much wider audience too. This means that more people from around the world are likely to purchase the music that you have made and you will become much more widely recognized because of it.

Marketing online gives you a much larger chance of becoming a successful musician than marketing offline. So if you have not yet considered it, then now is the time!

Tips on Image and Relationships

As with every other type of business, if you want to market to the right type of people then your image is everything. You need to be able to create a web presence that shows potential clients exactly what you and your music is about. The best way to go about doing this is creating your own website.

Creating a website allows you to link potential customers to your website whenever you post on forums, or whenever you create a web presence elsewhere such as on MySpace, etc. It is basically a space where potential customers get to see what you are all about and as first impressions are everything, you need to be able to leave a good image of both you and your music on your website.

So how exactly do you do this? Well, think about what type of music you are making. Is it Indie/Rock/Pop/Country music? The type of music you are making will reflect entirely on the image you want to give out. So if you are creating Country music, you will want to have a country theme to your website, not something with a modern and retro type style. Think about it, if you were visiting a musician's website that created Rap music, you wouldn't expect to see a Country theme on it would you? So create a website that reflects your theme and that is the first step to marketing both you and your website.

Using Blogs, Podcasts and MySpace

If you really want to draw in a lot of potential customers, then blogs, podcasts and websites such as MySpace and YouTube are certainly the way to go.

Blogs are great because you get to add a voice to your music. Allowing you to link back to your website, people will get an idea of the type of music you make, who you are and what is new with your music. People love getting to know musicians before trying out their songs and so if you do create a blog, it will draw in a lot of new customers for you. Another advantage to a blog is that if you use the right keywords, you can get it recognized by search engines and therefore more people will discover your music. It is by far one of the best methods of online marketing.

Podcasts are also very popular and you can create your own quickly and easily by visiting MySpace and selecting "MySpace Music". Literally millions of people use MySpace and they are constantly looking at new music on there. So if you want to get recognized fairly quickly, creating a profile and releasing your music on there is definitely a good idea.

Using websites such as the ones mentioned above, you can easily market your music online. YouTube is another website that allows you to record yourself or whatever you like and millions of people will view your video. So get recording, place your songs online, set up a website and start blogging and you should end up with potentially thousands of new customers!

About Author:
Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of MusicianHome.com, a site that provides information and articles for musicians at all stages of their development.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

Article Author Series: Kevin Sinclair - Guitar Care And Maintenance Tips

Every good guitarist will want to take care of their guitar in order to keep it in the best condition. A large part of caring for your guitar is by cleaning it on a regular basis. And as a guitarist, it is your solemn duty to ensure that your guitar it maintained to the best of conditions, in order for it to deliver a quality sound. No matter whether you are a professional guitarist or a beginner, it is essential to undertake the care and maintenance of your guitar.

Your guitar will become dirty with sweat and dust just by playing it. Using a soft cloth is the best way to clean it. Special cloths can be purchased in music stores, or you can simply use an old t-shirt, providing that it is 100% cotton. It is imperative however, that if the t-shirt contains a logo, you firstly remove it, as this can cause damage by scratching the surface of your guitar.

If the surface of your guitar is French polished or lacquered, then cleaning items such as paper towels must be avoided at all times, as these will also cause scratches. If you feel that it is necessary to clean your guitar with paper towels, then it is advised to purchase non-woven shop towels which are available on a roll. These do cost a little more, but they will not scratch your guitar.

You will find that dust accumulates under the strings. Therefore particular attention should be paid to this area of your guitar. Do not be hesitant in inserting a cloth behind the strings and giving it a good rub, at the same time as you are wiping the entire body of your guitar. If you pay close attention to cleaning the strings of your guitar, then their life will be extended. In addition to a normal cleaning routine, it is advised that after every jam session with your guitar, you give the strings a good wipe by holding them firmly through a cloth and rubbing the cloth up and down their length. This will remove any dust, grease from your fingers, perspiration build-up, and skin cells etc.

If you find that you are having difficulty in removing finger prints on your guitar, then you can blow a gentle breath, just as you would with spectacles, to create a little moisture. You will then find that by rubbing your guitar vigorously that the finger prints will be removed. It is also possible to use a slightly moistened soft cloth and a small amount of mild detergent. However, do not overdo it. It is essential that you avoid at all times, getting moisture into the small spaces on the guitar surface. However you choose to remove finger prints from your guitar, it is advised to rub it well afterwards with a soft dry cloth. It is also recommended to change to a clean cloth on a regular basis, to avoid rubbing the dirt from an old cloth back on to the guitar.

There are also various types of commercial guitar cleaners available to purchase, most of which are good products. When purchasing such products, it is essential that you primarily read all instructions on the bottle carefully, and use a water-based product for water-soluble dirt. There are creamy polishes available on the market, but they do have a tendency to be slightly abrasive. Therefore, if your guitar has a matte finish, then it is recommended not to use a cream product.

If your guitar should have a sticky residue from tape or stickers on it, then this will need to be removed by using mineral spirits. It is also possible to use lighter fluid, which is otherwise known as naphtha. Neither of these products will cause any harm to the finish of your guitar. However, you will need to remove the solvent with a damp cloth to buff your guitar clean after removing tape or stickers. Ensure that you are careful when cleaning sticky residue off your guitar, as you do not want to spread it around the rest of the guitar.

The fingerboard of a guitar, along with the strings and the fret wire are subject to acidity in the player's hands. Therefore it is advised to completely remove the strings and rub up and down the fingerboard with a piece of extra fine grade steel wool. When rubbing the frets, it is essential that you take care not to catch the ends of them with the steel wool. The steel wool does not need to be wet before undertaking this process. It is after a few motions that the frets should be shiny. Obviously this depends on how dirty the fingerboard initially is. If the surface of the fingerboard is not cracked or damaged, then you can apply a little lemon oil to prevent the wood from cracking, which is caused by temperature and humidity.

About Author:
Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of MusicianHome.com, a site that provides information and articles for musicians at all stages of their development.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/