Finally got a little time to add another entry. from Off Off Indie

artists today face a daunting challenge. it's exceedingly difficult to get heard and develop an audience. never mind make some money. the aural landscape is glutted with self produced, amateur wanna be artists. there are somewhere between 7 and 8 million my space music pages alone. not to mention the hundreds of competing music publishing sites. you tube is awash in grainy poorly shot never ending shite. how does one stick out in all that amorphous mass of mediocrity? how does one get the attention of over solicited and increasingly jaded listeners.? it's a real problem.

we can thank technology for it. cheap computer technology has put into the hands of the average joe recording power and quality that would have literally cost 100's of thousand of dollars 10-15 years ago, if it was even available. this means that almost anyone with a modicum of patience and computer skill can record and codify any idea or half an idea into something resembling produced music. all that at CD quality or better. cheap plug-ins loaded with presets that reproduce quite accurately classic production hardware make the mix down almost fool proof. and even the most daunting requisite that used to prevent the average person from becoming a musician, mastering a musical instrument or even just playing one period, has been removed. loops of all kinds, sample chords, notes and runs, pre made canned phrases and melodies has given anyone wanting to, the ability to create music. the only skill still needed is dexterity with a mouse. ad while i'm all for giving power to the people, i don't believe in the democratization of art. (plato called democracy 'glorified mob-rule) music creation is a highly complex skill that requires years of hard work and devotion to master and be good at.

now don't get me wrong. i'm not a luddite. i have benefited as much as anyone from technology. i have recording power in my small production studio that was not even possible a few years ago. computers have revolutionized the recording process. we can move notes around, tighten up poorly played phrases, correct pitch problems. all with a click here and a click there. who would want to go back to the days of poorly calibrated tape recorders, splicing with a razor blade and scotch tape, 8 hand mix downs, degrading tape copies, $120 a pop for a reel of 2" tape which at 30 ips would last about 15 minutes, not to mention the fact that most of that was only available in hugely overpriced studios that were completely out of reach of your average musician. no. while there is a certain nostalgia for that era by some young artists and musicians, like all nostalgia, it's not based on reality. many artists, and fans included, mistake their longing for authenticity and something real and honest with a return to more primitive techniques. but as one who was there, let me tell you, it wasn't always fun. a lot of things were impossible to do. as a matter of fact, many of the recordings a lot of musicians reference today sounded the way they did because there was no other option. musicians rehearsed and rehearsed until they had the tunes down, then they went in and recorded as many takes as their budget would allow. and at $250-300 an hour, there weren't a lot of takes. so they would listen and pick the best one. if there were a few mistakes or some timing errors, they either laboriously punched in if they could, or they lived with it. listen to some of seminal albums from the 60s and 70s. Led Zep 1 or Gasoline Alley by rod stewart and faces, as examples. there are timing issues all over. today we would probably be tempted to cut and splice or fly good takes around or fix bad notes. and in the process, probably kill the groove. because here's the point.

what makes those classic albums and many others shine today is the performances. yes, folks. imagine. it wasn't the technology. as a matter of fact, it was despite the technology available to them. these people were first and foremost artists, players, singers, and more importantly writers. they worked at their craft, honed their skills until they had something worth listening to.

so we come back to the basic point: how does an artist get himself heard today above the deafening cacophony out there?

simple: develop your craft. find out who you are as a person and think about what you'd like to say. if you have nothing really interesting to say at this point, then don't. (the world is already awash in 'she likes it in the back and she takes it in the front' and 'lick my loolipop,' thank-you very much ) there are plenty of great songwriters who do have something worthwhile to say. so cover one of their tunes.

learn to play an instrument well. you don't have to be a virtuoso. that's another gig entirely with a whole different set of requirements. but learn to play in time and in tune. there's nothing arty about bad notes or poorly tuned instruments. unless you're john mclaughlin and you're playing micro-tonal music.

learn the basics of music theory. you'll need it. music is a language that has an alphabet. you need to understand a minimum so you can communicate well with other musicians. and in the process, stay in better control of your art. learn chords and notes. it'll improve your writing.

and above all else: listen, listen, listen. especially in your formative stages. expand your palate. the great artists do. listen to roots music, early folk and blues, jazz, classical, all of it will become part of your tonal repertoire. music is a collaborative process. or at least the best music is.

finally, keep working at it. you don't become an artist overnight. there are dues that need to be paid. there's no secret. just dedication and hard work. if you want to be a songwriter, then you have to write songs. listen to the masters and try to understand the craft behind it. writing a great 3 minute hit song is a very difficult thing to do. ( listen to 'a day in a life' by the beatles. a masterpiece of human emotion wrapped into a 3 minute melody) if you want to be a great singer, then sing. if you want to be a great performer, then perform. night after night. that's the only way. especially now. with the industry in tatters, the only way an artist will rise out of the mass is by being special. and taking care of their business. but that will be another discussion.

thanks
michael
www.offoffindie.com

oh. BTW. an interesting link from a great artist...
http://www.side-line.com/interviews_commen...=29640_0_16_0_C