Woods & Strings

This is a hard truth about the music industry today: You are not unique or exceptional, and the music isn’t the product you’re selling. See, music used to be the product, and talent was rare. That was in the days when it cost a lot of money to find, develop, record, distribute, and market a musician. Today, we find that there are remarkably talented musicians everywhere, and everyone has the ability and resources to record as much as they like. It’s a buyer’s market, meaning fans can get music in any genre for free at the click of a button. Because there is no barrier to entry, there’s no commodity value in the music itself anymore. Take a look at American Idol this year: among the top 5, only one artist had never sung in public or recorded before. They all released singles as part of the competition(‘s money-making marketing machine). All of those singles charted to #1. Fritz’ self-produced and self-released EP charted to #1 on the iTunes pop charts. Why? Because he was on TV (it’s al...

There are a few factors at play here. You have to first recognize that the music industry in the first half of the 18th century was not what it is today. In order for a composer’s music to become well known, a pair of factors needed to come into play: First, that composer had to have a great publisher. Publishing was expensive in those days, and involved very careful and painstaking engraving of each note and staff. It was even more costly than printing text, and significantly more expensive than hiring a team of copyists to do it by hand. So, the publisher needed a really REALLY good reason to run things to print and distribute them. Oh, also, distribution was a horse and carriage. So again, really expensive. And SLOW. By the time Bach reached his apex as a composer, there were composers of secular music (Vivaldi, Handel, et al) who had better publishing deals and better court appointments. Bach was a church musician first and foremost, and by this time the style he was using for chur...

 Some years ago, I wrote an essay on how I perceived the steps to mastery. These steps were partly derived from my study of history and the historical context of artist training and education, and partly from some of Bruce Lee's terminology when applied to mastery in martial arts training. That essay was lost -- which is sad, because it was one of the best things I've ever written -- but the fundamental principals haven't changed. These are the stages as I interpret them: How do you become a good bass player? The same way you get good at anything: Take lessons, pay attention, and practice. That said, over the years I’ve developed a sort of theory of pedagogy (teaching) that deals with the stages of mastery. It goes something like this: Stage 1: Rudiments Learn what the bass is, how it works, how to create notes, and what notes are. Stage 2: Techniques Learn how to play correctly and efficiently. Develop the muscle mechanics involved in the task. Understand how different sty...

Quora Q:  If you had only 30 min a day, every day, to learn piano in a year, how/where would you start & how would you progress? You’re missing the first part, which is an explanation of the level you’re at currently. But, since you said “to learn piano in a year,” I’m going to infer that you mean starting from scratch. Piano is a very physical instrument, and that demands consistent exercise. You wouldn’t, for example, expect to compete in a figure model competition exercising only 30 minutes a day for a year. That said, there are several different methods of approach. Most classically-trained musicians are going to suggest that you might be able to finish a level one within a year at just 30 minutes per day. I’m going to suggest something completely different, and that you take a guitarist’s approach. You need to concentrate on PATTERNS and SONGS, not on dexterity and increasing complexity. To do this: The first 10 minutes of your practice should be scales. DO NOT start with ...

Quora Q: Hi, not gonna say my name. I'm a minor, and I write music. I wanna post my songs and signing be my career. My voice could be better, but I can't go to a recording studio or a vocal coach. Any ideas, tips, help. This is my dream and I'm not sure what to do. First of all, if it’s your dream you need to be resourceful. “Can’t go to a recording studio or vocal coach” doesn’t explain why you can’t, so my first suggestion is that you explain to YOURSELF why you “can’t,” and then really think hard about whether that statement is true or not. Second, if you’re really not able to get to a coach (always get a coach before spending money on studio time), look into joining a choir. A school or church choir is a great place to start. You’ll get the skills and training you need for the basics. Singing isn’t like playing an instrument. On an instrument, you touch a thing or pluck a string and the sound comes out. With singing, you have to use your ear to direct your voice, an...

Quora Q: As a guitarist, what is something you wish you knew sooner about playing guitar? Kit guitars are every bit as playable and sound just as good (sometimes with minor modifications) as major brand guitars, for 1/10 of the price. Here’s a “Strat” I built from a kit last summer: The kit cost less that $130. I replaced the pickups with Fishmans, the tuners and nut with Graphtechs, and the bridge with a special GFS bridge (the only short-block Strat bridge with a full-sized block). In total, about $1,100. But out of the box, this guitar was 100% gig-ready with the usual minimal setup. It’s currently the main go-to guitar for everything I do in the studio. Had I known this 30 years ago when I started, I would have had a full wall of guitars by the time I was out of high school.