Musician

In this edition of our blog series on singing technique, we look at singing with vibrato. Pop singers tend to use vibrato much less than classical singers, but by using a little vibrato, you can add some real flavour to your vocals – just as long as you do it the right way and at the right moment.

If you want to hit those high notes with enough volume and do it without damaging your vocal cords, then there’s only one way to do it: belt and twang. While belting gives you the necessary volume, twanging stabilises everything – and is also a helpful technique at a lower volume and pitch.

In our series on vocal technique, the term compression has already popped up quite a few times. In this fourth instalment, we’re going to take a closer look at compression so you can learn to sing with and without it and enhance your sound.

Welcome to part two of our blog series on vocal technique. Today, we’re focusing on the breathing cycle. Controlling your breathing while you sing is absolutely essential, and proper breath support is a huge part of it. Read on and learn more!

Throughout the centuries, various different techniques have developed to help boost the volume and character of the human singing voice. But the technique that best fits your voice depends on the kind of sound you prefer. In the first edition of this blog series about vocal techniques, we dip into the history of singing.

The third edition of our blog series on vocal technique focuses on how to make your vocals flow. By maintaining dynamic breath support, your melodies and lyrics can sound flowing and open. Another important factor of this technique is ‘blending’, which has a lot to do with enunciation. Master blending and harness your breath support, and your vocals will flow like never before.

Ibanez is proving that having a guitar with just one soundhole might be a thing of the past. Sure, it’s nice that the assembled masses are able to enjoy every note you play, but it might also be just as nice if you were able to enjoy the beauty of your guitar skills in all their glory too. I mean, as a musician, actually being able to hear yourself is essential, right?

Effects are a great way to make the most of an electric guitar, which is why a lot of guitarists kit themselves out with a pedalboard and furnish it with can’t-go-wrong effects like overdrive/distortion, modulation and reverb/delay. However, there’s a host of stompboxes that you won’t find on most pedalboards that are no less inspiring than the aforementioned fan-favourites. Pitch-shifters and harmonizers are a great example and will be the focus of this first article in a series on special guitar effects. Also, if you don’t have a pedalboard yet and you’re not sure where to start, it’s probably a good idea to look at our Pedalboard Buyer’s Guide first!

When building their first pedalboard, most fresh-faced guitarists will go for the same type of pedals: an overdrive pedal for souped-up rock sounds, a reverb or delay pedal for fuller tone, and possibly a modulation pedal for warping the sound to taste. In reality, there are many more flavours to choose from, including effects that you don’t come across all the time but are actually a lot of fun to play with and can easily get your creative juices flowing. Last time, we looked at pitch shifters and harmonizers. Today, we’re checking out organ simulators!

Playing percussion is an art, just like playing any other musical instrument and, if you’re the percussionist in a band, then you also need to learn how to work seamlessly with the drummer and other musicians. In this blog, you’ll find out what’s involved in being a percussionist, including the kind of attitude you need to have, and who the masters of the percussion craft are. Right here, the ultra-experienced, all-round percussionist Martin Verdonk tells all!

Maybe you’ve just joined a new band, spent a lot of hard hours learning the setlist and finally, it’s time for the first rehearsal… or maybe even the first gig. However, on arrival, you quickly realise that the drum kit provided is not just less than optimal, but sounds like pounding on a pile of protesting margarine tubs. Everything has been set up badly and there’s a list of other small, potentially frustrating issues that’ll need fixing before anything will sound good. Luckily, you’ve come prepared, because you remembered to stash just seven magic tools and accessories away in your drumstick bag!

A lot of drummers suffer from back and wrist injuries, and often unnecessarily since a lot of afflictions can be quite easily prevented. There are just a handful of things you have to pay attention to in order to get through long practice sessions and physically demanding gigs without trouble. Read on to learn five simple tips.