Worth a Look (and a Listen): The Science of Music

Being the geek I am, I fell in love with Exploratorium's Science of Music. Visit the site and you'll never again look at music in quite the same way.

For example, have you ever heard The Star Spangled Banner played in a Middle Eastern scale? Believe it or not, it is still recognizable. Did you know that the violin has a pitch range very close to the human voice and is often used to mimic human sounds of despair? Fascinating. What kind of music causes goose bumps? It's not what you think.

Check out the exhibits for entertaining and enlightening ear candy. I spent close to an hour playing around with - and listening to - the Dot Mixer. And when I clicked on the "What's going on?" link, I gained a new insight into what mixing is all about. Kitchen Sink-o-Pation, besides being fun to play with, is a revealing look at how what we see affects what we hear. Is that a baby crying or a cat howling? Only the eyes will tell.

And "What do you get when you mix a tunnel, two musicians, and a physicist?" The Headlands Experiments, featuring such tunes as Tunnel Duet #1, Weird Balloon Song, and 18 other pieces of "music" made using unlikely items as "instruments."

Though the question "What is music?" is never answered in so many words, you are certain to have a new viewpoint by the time you finish browsing The Science of Music.

But don't take my word for it; go see and listen for yourself.

The Lighter Side: Welcome to Zombo.com!

Zombo.com is arguably the best site on the Internet. You can do anything at Zombo.com, anything at all. The only limit is yourself.
Visit Zombo.com today!

Book: The Indie Bible

From Indie-Music.com:

"The Independent Recording Artist's Number One Resource...

"The Indie Bible lists THOUSANDS of places where you can get your music REVIEWED and your songs PLAYED on the radio. ALL genres of music are covered!

"The contacts listed are music reviewers and radio personalities from around the world that will listen to your music, and if they like it, will present it to their readers and listeners. The Indie Bible shows you where to promote your music, regardless of your musical style, and will save you MONTHS of valuable time!

"The Indie Bible is over 330 pages and contains:
[view sample page]

* 4000 publications from around the world that will REVIEW your CD!
* 3200 radio stations from around the world that will PLAY your songs!
* 500 vendors and services that will help you to SELL your music!
* 200 sites where you can UPLOAD your band's music files!
* 500 useful resources to help PROMOTE your band!
* Over 50 articles that will help your career to MOVE forward rapidly! Authors include Tim Sweeney, Daylle Deanna Schwartz, Jeri Goldstein, Brian Austin Whitney, Derek Sivers, Diane Rapaport, Janet Fisher, Jodi Krangle, Lord Litter and many more!
[view list of articles]"

To purchase The Indie Bible, click on my affiliate banner below, or this link.

Book: 2005 edition of Songwriter's Market

From Writer's Digest:

"The 2005 edition of Songwriter's Market (Writer's Digest Books) offers more than 1,000 updated listings for record companies, booking agents and music producers. For nearly 30 years, this book has been helping aspiring songwriters get started on the road to a successful songwriting career.

"The book also contains a list of rules to help you avoid scams. Here are a few:

"1. Don’t sell your songs outright! If your song becomes successful, you’ll never get any royalties from it.

"2. Never pay for any sort of "submission fees," "review fees," "service fees," "filing fees," etc. Reputable companies review material free of charge.

"3. Never pay to have your song published. If a reputable company believes in your song, it’ll accept the costs involved.

"4. Never pay to have your lyrics or poems set to music. This is a classic rip-off.

"Get more tips from the 2005 edition of Songwriter's Market ($24.99), available at the WritersDigest.com bookstore:

http://www.writersdigest.com/store/booksdisplay.asp?id=10923"

Review: Amy Annette's Starting Over

Although Amy Annette has performed cover tunes most of her life, most recently with her now-disbanded group, Knyght Blynde, she also demonstrates a talent for songwriting. Starting Over is a debut showcase of Annette's writing and entertaining talents. Eight well-crafted, well-performed original songs along with fitting performances of three diverse covers, take you on a passionate, emotional journey through the lows, mids, and highs of living and loving.

An Ohio native and graduate of the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Annette began performing with her family's band at age 12. Whether or not this is how all that music got in her blood makes little difference--it's there. She's a dynamic performer, and her sultry, smokey vocals are captivating. Because of her expert use of digital music sequencing technology, Annette's live performances duplicate her recordings.

You quickly discover that Annette writes what she means and means what she sings: Every word speaks from the heart, every note rings from the soul. With influences ranging from Janis Joplin, Melissa Etheridge and Elton John, Annette's mix of hard-hitting rock and intensely personal love songs shows a passion for music that is contagious and engaging--you end up wanting more.

There is no title track. The album jumps off the starting line like a nitro-powered dragster with "Spider Lady," an attack on that evil personality type who lures us into trusting them, only to destroy us. This is a common theme in rock music, but Annette's tag line, "You're a thread in the web in the corner of the Devil's soul," is a fresh image.

In an artful switch, Annette takes us from searing to soaring with the crown jewel of the album, "Our Song," an uplifting love-will-conquer-all number that is familiar, yet fresh. But you can' stop there; Annette shines in her torchy interpretation of the Quincy Jones/Rod Temperton/Lionel Richie blues number "Miss Celia's Blues (Sister)."

And so you don't get too serious, "Pull Those Suckers Up," is a light-hearted novelty tune reminiscent of Dr. Hook. It'll have you laughing until the "crack of dawn" with a whole new meaning for the word "crack".

The slow ballad "You're My Everything" has a nice '70s feel while "Welcome To The New World" has the emotional impact of a post-nuclear-holocaust shock film. Here is social commentary in the form of musical blunt-force trauma. Annette follows with more commentary in "Sticks And Stones," a pretty, pleading ballad that says the old rhyme isn't--and never was--true: "...the names can burn your soul right through..."

Covers of Linda Perry's "What's Up" and Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz"--complete with a well-done imitation of Joplin's gravelly growl--round out the album.

The more you listen to this album, the more you come to realize that Amy Annette has lived her music. Here is an artist who knows how to touch a soul with her art, and if you get through the 11 tracks on this album without at least one good outbreak of gooseflesh, it's time you had a reality check.

Worth a Look: Tracks Magazine Focuses on "Music for Grown-ups"

While shopping with my wife at our local grocery store last week, I glimpsed the cover of Tracks magazine. I didn't have time to browse through the mag, so I made a note to check it out later on the web. After surfing their concise, well-designed site at www.tracksmusic.com, I immediately subscribed. Here's why, according to their own description:

Tracks magazine [targets] adults over age 30, an important music audience without a publication dedicated specifically to it. The 30-plus demographic accounts for 56 percent of music purchasers in the U.S., according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The magazine [appeals] to music lovers by featuring a wide variety of musical genres and multiple generations of artists, all highlighting what Tracks calls “Music Built to Last.” All existing national music magazines target younger audiences.

Finally! If, like me, the rest of that 56 percent of music purchasers are tired of being force fed repetitive, formulaic, commercial music--the vast majority of which will be forever forgotten after its brief life on some chart--then Tracks magazine is sure to be around for a long time.

I can't wait to read my first issue, to board their train for what they promise to be "...a journey...[to]...where music has been and where it's headed."

I'll let you know how she rides.

Secret Formulas for Great Home Studio Recordings

The trouble with owning recording equipment is that you have to know how to record things to get the best possible sound; my biggest problem has always been figuring out how to do this. My second biggest problem has always been remembering how I did it.

Studio Buddy™ to the rescue!

I found Studio Buddy™, "The Home Recording Helper", on TAXI's website. (TAXI is "...the World's Leading Independent A&R [artist & repertoire] Company helping bands, artists, composers, and songwriters get record deals, publishing deals and placements in film and TV.") It's a free program designed to help you "Engineer like the pros! Platinum engineers give you their secret formulas for making great recordings in your home studio." It lives up to its billing, all in a simple two-pane interface like any other help file -- topics on left, info on the right. You can even print out each topic.

Here's just a teeny-tiny sample of the gems of wisdom you'll find:

Question: "How do I get rid of distortion?"
Answer (excerpt): "Start by visualizing the problem. Somewhere in the chain there's a circuit that's being overloaded or has become incompatible. Eliminate each variable, one at a time, until the distortion goes away." (It goes on to describe the various types of distortion and the causes. Good stuff!)

So far, I've learned how to find the "sweet spot" for placing a mic in front of an acoustic guitar (get down on your hands and knees and listen) and several techniques for recording vocals (use condenser mics and a good headphone mix). There's even a good guide to buying the right microphones (a Shure SM-57 is a must-have, AKG's C3000B is a great condenser mic).

I think I'll be up late tonight -- I'll be hangin' with my new "Buddy".