datamusicata

Today I remastered Traces of the Old Road, (which I am now calling New Traces of the Old Road) at Drew Daniel's studio here in the valley. As I was mastering and listening carefully to the guitars I realized that there is a technique that really helped me with my guitar playing and I wanted to share it with you. It is simplicity itself, but so very difficult to put into practice.

I think I began thinking about it the other day when Buddy Mondlock (www.buddymondlock.com ) was staying here. We spent part of one morning trading songs in the studio and I noticed how very softly he played the guitar.

And then I was going over the DVD that I recorded at Kulak’s Woodshed (www.kulakswoodshed.com ) in May. I was forced to watch myself play and sing for two hours. Not an easy task no matter how fond of yourself you are. But I did notice how varied my playing was. Sometimes very loud and sometimes so very soft. And that’s what today’s tip is about.

How softly can you play your guitar, acoustic or electric? Because to play it softly leaves you enormous amount of room for dynamics and texture. If you play it loudly and you play it hard, you only have one place to go to create drama in a performance and that would be to play softly.

And when you play hard, you are only getting essentially one large colour out of the guitar and there are countless thousands. If you brush the strings lightly with your fingertips you not only get a kind of bell like whisper, but you hear overtones that disappear when you play loudly. They are overwhelmed by volume and attack.

And there are countless ways to attack the guitar strings. A pick gives a very specific sound. Fingerpicks also contribute a lot of percussion to a part. And skin on strings can be so magical. Tapping the neck at the nodes (where the harmonics are on the strings) will also give you some interesting effects. Check out Dononvan’s Fat Angel song on my Freelance Human Being CD. You can hear all kinds of overtones and I was so lightly tapping the neck. Then when I came back in with the full chords, it sounded like the band kicked in.

As an exercise for yourself. See what happens when you play your hardest song softly and vice versa. Try to hear the overtones that you are creating. It is very important to actually listen to yourself when you play. I don’t mean critique yourself. I mean just listen to the sounds coming out and respond to them.

You’ll get into a conversation with yourself that you won’t believe. And if you are in a group, try rehearsing really softly. It changes the entire dynamic of the rehearsal. Try it, you’ll like it. And this time I mean it.

Datamusicata has been growing by leaps and bounds and now many wonderful and informed people have been showing up with some amazing information for us all. Here are some valuable tips offered b y Julie Lyonn Lieberman. All of her contact info is at the end of the article:

It’s easy to build vocal habits when you sing a song over and over again. These habits can be useful to free us to focus on performance values; but all too often, we lock in tightness and inferior function, thereby creating a struggle during performance or hoarseness, sore throat, and the like. No matter how good you sound, how music business savvy you are, and how hard you’ve worked on your material and its presentation, if you don’t cultivate a ritual around how you care for your voice, you stand to compromise your future and potentially your level of success.

Pro-athletes work with their muscles intelligently. They understand that if they don’t warm up, respect the properties of muscle and joint function, and warm down, they may be beleaguered with aches and pains or injuries that thwart the level of success they are able to achieve. Taking responsibility represents potential longevity as well as quality of experience.

Most singers already know that warm-ups are important, but they may not understand why it’s essential to vocalize regularly before singing actual material. Let’s use our postural muscles as a metaphor. Let’s say you spend 10 hours a day hunched over. The muscles will gradually adapt and freeze you into that posture if you don’t stretch and strengthen your body to counterbalance repetitive motion.

Your sound is influenced by a combination of genetics; family and geographic influences on pronunciation/articulation; and the influence of your emotional/psychological gestalt on vocal anatomy. All of these factors culminate to create habitual muscular response. This, in turn, embeds/strengthens patterns that mobilize the tongue, lips, breath, and what I call “the cathedral” —the interior musculature of the mouth and throat.

Vocal exercises “aerobicize,” stretch and strengthen these muscle groups so that they remain balanced. Through this process, you can refine and detail mind-to-body response so that each sound you hear, each emotion you experience, and every thought you intend to communicate to your audience is received by this flexible “work station” and translated into a palette of color and texture.

Here is the ironic twist: we are least conscious of how we sing each time we learn a new song because our attention is focused almost entirely on learning the melody and words. Yet, this is when we sing the song the most in order to learn it. If it’s an original, this is also when we are the most emotional because the lyrics are intimately connected to and motivated by life experiences. Some singers, when they are imbued with feeling, tighten their throat or body to get express the emotion as it wells up. The brain can’t differentiate between the activity—singing that specific song—and how we are carrying out the activity, muscularly speaking. The brain takes all of that information, and locks it up together into a sensory engram (which I like to call a “barcode.”) From that moment forward, we will perform the song exactly as we rehearsed it!

Here are some simple procedures you can institute to improve your practice habits:

1) warm up before singing lyrics:

Assess your voice each day and choose exercises that stimulate desired response from breath support, lip action, tongue behavior, and the tone you produce. This is detailed in my DVD, “Vocal Aerobics: Essentials for Today’s’ Singer.” (see JulieLyonn.com for details).

2) When learning a new song, sing the melody on the vowel that’s most comfortable to you; then use the actual vowels of the words without consonants.

3) To prevent any habitual muscular associations, speak the lyrics to learn them, but use varying accents from around the world or country, personalities, pitch settings, and emotional contexts to avoid inadvertently embedding negative muscular habits.

Example:

… become a British school teacher

… become a sea nymph

… speak wistfully, then angrily, then lovingly

… use your low range and then your high range

… vary volume as you speak

… vary pitch as you speak

4) Join the lyrics and melody together, singing softly without emotion; then try singing the song in various keys as well as with variations in volume.

5) Now sing emotionally. Notice what happens to you physically when you become more expressive and try varying how you express emotion by using imagery:

“I will pour my anger out the bottom of my feet like a pitcher with a leak.”

“I will inhale and exhale on an “ah” between each sentence as if I’m filling the sails of a sailboat with my breath and emulate that image when I sing each sentence of the song.”

There is a popular quote, sometimes attributed to Albert Einstein, and other times to Benjamin Franklin or Rita Mae Brown, that goes something like, “Insanity is doing the same thing the same way over and over again and expecting different results.” The above practice procedures will give you an opportunity to step out of old practice habits and thereby gain new results.

Vocal Aerobics: Essentials for Today’s Singers

with Julie Lyonn Lieberman

60-minute instructional DVD distributed by Hal Leonard

World-renowned music educator, Julie Lyonn Lieberman, has cre ­ ated an instructional DVD for singers. Her practice system focuses on cognitive illumination and muscular facility. This system can help develop a vibrating palette that communi ­ cates spirit, emotion, and viewpoint—all riding effortlessly on the breath. It is supported by science yet connected to individuality. By first guiding the exercises in silence, her intent is to prevent the tension and misuse that often occur when the main impetus for the creation of musical sound is fueled by a brew of yearning and fear mixed with a fixation on the end product.

Topics covered include:

Section I …Introduction, Creating a Cathedral, Breath Anatomy

Section II …Aerobicizing the Tongue, Mobilizing the Lips

Section III …Balancing the non-dominant side of the mouth, Posture, The Power of Imagery, Warming Up and Warming Down, Vocal Health

Ms. Lieberman trusts the innate intelligence of the client by making sure that they understand how and why each region of their vocal anatomy works the way it does. Through extensive experience teaching, she has developed ergonomically based exercises that are fulcrum triggers: they get the job done more efficiently and faster. Lieberman has discovered that when the lights are turned on and the equipment is illuminated, epiphanies abound and can continue to be generated by the singer, long after the teacher leaves the room.

Her in-depth studies while creating her critically acclaimed book “You Are Your Instrument,” followed by her three spin-off DVDs (The Vocalist’s Guide to Fitness, Health and Musicianship, The Instrumentalist’s Guide to Fitness, Health and Musicianship, and The Violin in Motion) place a unique spin on this body of work.

Most voice teachers use exercises that are effective in the long run or they would be put out of business, but the older model for mentorship entailed a “do as I do” and “do as I say” approach. It was a faith-based relationship; the student was expected to blindly follow the teacher’s directions without specifics, context, or adequate rapport with the musculature required to do the job smoothly and consciously. The belief behind that style of work was that if you repeated each exercise enough times (often while inadvertently thinking about something else), that it would help you sing better. This is the long, slow train to success.

Julie believes that it’s time to replace unconscious repetition with less activity, more awareness, and targeted control. She will help you convert the butcher’s knife into a laser beam!

About the author …

Julie Lyonn Lieberman has specialized in working with creative vocalists in her NYC music studio over the last 3 decades. Her students have included artists such as Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton, Indie music award winner Kara Suzanne (best new folk-singer/songwriter album of the year) , and critically acclaimed lyricist Julie Flanders, to name a few.

Ms. Lieberman is an improvising violinist/singer, composer, recording artist, journalist, educator, and the author of nine books and six instructional DVDs. A dynamic, participatory workshop leader, her ability to stimulate participants to think and grow in new ways has earned respect for her work throughout the world. In addition to currently teaching improvisation at Juilliard, she has presented for organizations like Music Educators Association, International Association of Jazz Educators, the Juilliard MAP Program, Carnegie/Weill Hall/Juilliard’s “The Academy,“ National Young Audiences, and the Carnegie Hall LinkUp.

Lieberman is a J. D’Addario Elite Clinician. Alfred Publishing publishes her scores.

To Order:

This DVD is distributed by Hal Leonard through your local music, book store, and amazon.com

or …

Purchase through Paypal by emailing Julie@julielyonn.com with your registered email address on paypal, and you will receive a paypal invoice

or …

Send a check to Julie Lyonn Music, P.O. Box 268, Worthington, MA 01098

$23.95 + $5.00 shipping in the U.S. Add $5 outside the U.S.

Yesterday I was talking to a dear friend who works for corporate America. She was complaining about the fact that people she depended upon in the corporation were letting her down in a variety of ways. Having known her for a long time, I realized that I had heard this before and I figured out what to give you all today. A clue to help you recognize what the process is and not get enraged, discouraged or insulted by it.

Here’s the thing. Whatever you want to do, or have happen, you are going to be dealing with other people. Some of them will be as good as their word, but most of them will not. This is not because they are evil bastards. When they say that they are going to do it, deliver it, etc, they actually mean it. It’s their follow through that needs some work. And no amount of work from you will change them.

You can only change how you respond to them and one of the ways to do that is to do an inventory of what can happen; what usually happens; and, of course, what you want to have happen. Being surprised or enraged when someone does what they always do is just a waste of energy, time and focus. It’s what happens. Factor it into your game plan.

So, let’s do an imaginary inventory. If the people that you must depend on are always late, then factor that in as part of the process. If they are not comprehensive and always make mistakes that you must correct, then that is part of the process. If the club owner that you send your stuff to says he didn’t receive it, that is part of the process.

It’s not something that personally happened to you that slowed you down, it is simply part of the process and you have to recognize that and take it into account when you are attempting to get something done, whatever it is.

These people are not letting you down; making mistakes; not living up to their word as a personal affront to you. This is the way that they do business. And I must admit, I try to weed these folks out of the process if at all possible, but if it is not, then factor it into the process.

If you are sending promotional materials to a club, get the name of someone specific to send it to; get their contact info; and follow up several times. First let them know when and how you sent it and when they can expect it. Then around the time that they should get it, you contact them again to ascertain that they’ve gotten it. Finally you contact them a third time to ask if they’ve had a chance to review it and if there is anything else that you can forward to them to make their job easier.

They will not think that you are a pain in the ass. They will think that you are professional and competent. They are getting lots of stuff in the mail and no one cares as much about your stuff as you do. They understand and appreciate that you are making their job easier.

And if they don’t understand that, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what you want to have happen. How do you affect the outcome?

So when you are about to do something, deliver something, try to get something started, booked, created, etc. make an actual inventory of what will probably happen. Accept that that is part of the process, so that you won’t be surprised, enraged and/or insulted when it--the lateness, the mistakes, the lost document, the dog ate my homework,etc-- happens. It’s not personal. It just is.

Recognize what it is that actually happens when you try to do whatever it is you are trying to do and incorporate that into your expectations.

If someone is always late, then see if you can give them a deadline that is actually earlier than the real deadline. See, that allows them to do what they always do, be late, while you still have some wiggle room.

If they make mistakes, accept that you will have to proofread what they have done and make corrections yourself. Do not expect to NOT have to do this. Then when someone actually gets something right, it’s gravy. A wonderful surprise.

I wanted to let you all know what happened on Monday. Due to some clerical mismanagement, the domain name was inadvertently suspended. I noticed it on Tuesday morning and took care of it immediately. I hope that it didn’t cause any of you any anxiety. We were back up in a couple of hours and have taken care to make certain that that never happens again.

I have been working on the Traces of the Old Road CD. It began with a the simple idea of resequencing the CD, as I mentioned before and the next time I looked up, I was rerecording parts of and remixing the seventh song. So I have stopped as of today, and the CD will be remastered on Monday and sent off to manufacturing on Tuesday to be ready for a September 11, 2008 release date.

I am going to do a re-release party for it, probably at Kulak’s Woodshed in North Hollywood, where I shot the two hour concert DVD, which I just got back from them. I’ll start the editing in a few weeks. I wanted to talk about remixing a little today.

What I did with Traces, was to listen to the original release and decide what things I really did not like about it and fix them. Then it turned into me deciding to re-do everything and then I stepped back from that and decided that I would simply stop.

The thing about recording, particularly when you have your own studio, is that you can always go and fix something, re-do something, remix something. And the fact of the matter is, that as artists, you are never going to be satisfied with what you have done. You always want to make it better. You always think, when you are done, that this isn’t exactly what you had in mind.

Artistic projects take on a life of their own. They go where they are going to go. I CAN say that this new sequence seems to pull the CD together in a way that it wasn’t before. Beginning with the storm and then the song, Last Day of Summer, followed by a reprise of the storm and the rain, which leads right into “When you’re lost in the rain in Juarez” , the Dylan song, Just Like Thom Thumb’s Blues, simply sets up the whole CD.

And when we come to Stop This Rain (cut 8) on what I refer to as side two (I like to do an instrumental in the very middle of a recording to delineate the two sides of the project. This is obviously a hold over from when I made vinyl albums and we had only twenty mintues or so for each side.) it is a thematic continuation of the perspective that has been maintained throughout the CD.

The most wonderful part is that I didn’t consciously put all the songs in an order that would work lyrically. I was looking for which piece of music naturally led into the next piece of music. But now I see the lyric connection and find it very rewarding. Just not consciously intended, tho all the songs were created for that CD, so that accounts for some of the continuity.

But when remixing, you have to take into account how the CD sounded before and how the songs that are not being remixed sound along side the songs that are being remixed. You need to maintain a sonic integrity or the CD will sound like a badly produced compilation.

You must give special attention to the eq, echo’s and stereo placement. All those things are subliminal, but contribute to the overall continuity.

In any event, I invite you to revisit some of your older projects and see if you could actually maintain their integrity and improve on what you did before. It is an exercise both humbling and extremely rewarding.

My friend Jamie O'Reilly wrote this article and passed it on to me. I hope that it answers even more questions:

Jamie O'Reilly Musician Strategies

Chicago Artists Resource http://chicagoartistsresource.org/music/node/10224

Artist Question:

I really want this gig. How do I price myself? How do you talk about money and how much should I ask for?

I have been a singer all my life. I've performed professionally for over 25 years.

I am my own booking agent and run J. O'Reilly Productions, a cultural arts company through which I book a roster of talent.

At this point in my career I rarely perform for free. I am no longer uncomfortable talking about money and asking for what I expect, plus expenses. I require a deposit and a contract. If I donate my time, or receive a modest honorarium, it is as a choice. I may ask for a professional trade or perk in exchange for my time. What the client gets is my complete attention, a rehearsed and often tailor-made program, promotional support and materials, and the emotional commitment that is required of a ballad singer like myself.

As for putting a price on your work, the way I look at it is we are market society.

That which we find of value, we pay for-- the invitations to weddings, tips for servers in restaurants, and plumbers to unclog our sinks. If we can pay for the florist at the party,

we can pay for the musician(s), whose rendition of "Happy Birthday" may be the most memorable part of the night.

That being said, I also adhere to the belief that money can't buy everything. A true musical experience is priceless. I want my effort as a musician who is willing to present the vulnerability and focus demanded by my style of performance, to be listened to, enjoyed, remembered. In the end, I also want it dignified by receiving a fair wage.

I have been advising artists on the navigation of their careers for fifteen years. One of the main dilemmas performers face is figuring out HOW to price themselves confidently, and how to relay that information to a potential venue, client or organization.

Economic need notwithstanding, how much (or if) we are paid (and how and when) affects us in myriad ways--our self-esteem, dreams, scope of an act or project, future plans, ability to bring others into a project, and attitude towards our work in general, can all be tested by whether, or how much, we get paid.

Soliciting work and finding paid gigs is a constant part of our lives. Most gigs are a negotiation-we are selling our service and talent. In the same way that we need to describe our style of music and why we are a good fit for a gig, we need to price ourselves in terms of 'what the market will bear,' and what we find acceptable to ourselves.

Ultimately, we want the final decision, to do it or not, to be our own.

Here are things to keep in mind as a freelance performer when pitching and pricing your services.

* Do your homework

* Practice your pitch

* Use common sense

* Be willing to say yes

* Be willing to say no

* Build your reputation and viability

Do Your Homework:

I have written a guide called "Scoping a Gig" (on my website www.jamieoreilly.com). It is an informal informational survey I use when checking out a venue or situation. Fill it out and keep it on file so that you have a point of reference when you pitch a gig.

Know your market-do some research. I read ads and music listings in the papers and online to see what a venue's ticket prices and cover charges are.

For cultural arts scenarios, I may look at a non-profit's programming budget (this is often public information), to see what they spend on programming. I may ask other performers what to expect money-wise, if they've played there before. (Some fellow artists are open about sharing this information; others are close to the vest.)

Practice Your Pitch: Though awkward at first, there are a variety of ways to bring up the subject of MONEY. -Should I start high and be willing to negotiate down? Should I state a flat rate and they can take it or leave it? Again, remember that finding a price is a negotiation. There may be uncomfortable moments when you begin bargaining.

If I am returning a call or e-mail to a potential employer and I know what it's about, I may have a chance to check out the job ahead. I often feel safer sending an e-mail response. I state my fee, my stipulations, and may cover myself by typing "(negotiable)." Then I may follow up with an e-mail or phone call, at which point I can say, "How did my fee sound to you?"

Use common sense when pricing yourself. Examine your costs. Be aware that this takes practice. We've all thrown caution to the wind at times-spending more on publicity than we make on a job, or expecting a CD release party to pay back an expensive recording.

Consider these things: Will you be paying others as well as yourself?

If so, what's the going rate for 'side musicians'? If you are the booking agent for the job, have you included a percentage for yourself? Will you be paying for parking? Paying for a sound engineer? Staying overnight? (In touring situations venues often have perdiums or pay transportation costs. Having airfare and hotels covered can make or break a deal when you are touring.)

Flat Rates: If I get a call asking me to perform for, say, a concert series or gala, the client may say, "How much do you charge?" and I might respond by asking, "What's your budget for the entertainment?" This requires the client to be specific about their offer.

If I have no idea what to charge, I may ask the client to describe the event. If it is clear that it will be for a crowd in a high profile setting, I may price myself on the high end.

In addition, I may ask how long a program they desire, or whether I need to create something new for them. The amount of time and effort that this will entail is then figured into my fee.

If the event is a 'benefit' situation and I am asked to donate my time, there is often money in a separate budget for expenses. I may still request an honorarium, for transportation and parking reimbursements, and perhaps ask for prominent placement in their promotional materials. (Later I can use their material in my promo kit.)

If I am stymied in the moment and unable to quote a price, I say 'let me get back to you.' Then I think things through and come back with an offer. We musicians often chomp at the bit, afraid we'll lose the chance to score a gig, and may make hasty decisions we come to regret. It is fine to take time to think it over, and return the call or e-mail with an offer you've had time to consider.

Working on a Percentage Basis: Where clubs are concerned, YOU make the call to them. Remember they are in the business of booking acts, so your asking for a gig is not putting them out! Clubs are used to talking to artists and agents and negotiating. Club owners may offer a percentage of the door to their acts. (Cover charges are based on experience, night of the week they are booking, and what they pay other acts.) As for your 'cut' of the door, for many venues, it is 70% performer/30% club. An offer of a percentage against a guarantee means that if you bring in enough ticket revenue to exceed the guarantee, you 'go into percentages', and can come away with more cash then you expected.

In general, be willing to say no to a situation that seems demeaning, or doesn't pay fairly. A promise of 'good exposure' should be just that. Ask, How are you advertising? Who will be at the event? Be willing to say yes as well, especially early in your career. Getting seen and heard is essential in building an audience base. The musical arena is competitive. If you honestly see a lower paying gig as a steppingstone-go for it! But be willing to ask for some of the perks I mentioned above, and let it be your choice.

Get your agreements in writing. No exceptions!!

(I have a sample contract on my website.)

Build your reputation and viability: Our rates are adjusted by whatever stage we are in career-wise, based on the extent of our resume of experience, and what our standing is as emerging, established, or veteran performers. I started my career with people telling me I had a 'gift from god' and that I would be famous. However, talent is not everything. It is what we do with your gift that brings success. As cliche as that may sound, most performers are NOT 'discovered' and made famous over night. In any given city there are performers who are excellent, and have gained a loyal following of fans. We stick it out and make a name for ourselves and work very hard! We refine our craft-take lessons-try new things - listen to other performers, and get seen. As you develop into a seasoned performer, keep in touch with your audience, through myspace, e-mail, and by shopping features to print media. Listen to what the PEOPLE say about you. Use it!

As you develop a niche and a track record, you can price yourself accordingly.

Lastly, the music business can be difficult, if you choose to have a music career, make sure that you really love what you do. Your audience will remember your fire and passion, and they will come back for more. To me, that's money in the bank!

Jamie O'Reilly

Cultural Arts Producer

Visit myspace.com/jamieoreillymusic

J. O'Reilly Productions: Making Art, Making a Difference

E: jamiejoan@aol.com

www.jamieoreilly.com

PO Box 25675

Chicago, IL 60625