Musician

These days, bands have to do almost everything for themselves: getting the right gear, writing the right music, setting up some good lighting, all of the admin and even organising the shows. When it comes to designing stage decor, it can be a bit of an afterthought – if it’s thought about at all. But placing the music in a visual context can immediately get the audience in the right vibe even before you’ve played a note. Here, we get four solid stage-dressing tips from one of the professionals.

Flipping back through the tomes of music history, the so-called ‘British invasion’ has happened more than once. In the ‘60s, of course, we exported the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. In the early 2000s, it was names like Coldplay, Adele and Sam Smith who managed to break beyond the shores of our wee islands. But in the ‘90s, emerging from buzz-words like ‘Cool Britannia’, we had Britpop – which, if you believed the music rags of the time, was dominated by two giants of guitar-driven pop: Blur and Oasis. Here, Guestbloggers Nick and Martin have a quick look at the short-lived but oh-so impacting phenomenon that was Britpop.

What would you say if I told you twenty years? Granted, most manufacturers ‘only’ offer a few years of warranty, but anyone who’s ever owned a digital piano from one of the big-name brands will know that a fifteen to twenty year lifespan isn’t unusual. What about maintenance, you ask?

As a band, whether it’s conscious or not, you develop your own unique character and image, which not only gives your music some colour and identity but your gigs as well. Some well styled photos can do wonders when it comes to putting your band in the spotlight and presenting the right image, but how do you go about making a good set of photos?

Know the deal? I’d be surprised if you didn’t: another rejection letter in your inbox in response to your latest gig-fishing email. It seems that the majority of the bands that are sending out their bio and demo to venues receive a ‘no’ – if they receive a reply at all.

An epic guitar riff, a majestic drum solo or a piano recital worthy of a virtuoso… To really know how to play a musical instrument inside and out, you’ll need at least a few years. Luckily, there are also instruments that have a really flat learning curve, meaning that pretty much anyone can pick one up and play.

In this new age of countless plectrum variations, Guestblogger and multi-instrumentalist Nigel Hubee talks about what got him thinking more deeply about his pick of plectrum and his happy surprise at finding out how cheaply he could experiment with using picks made of different materials, picks with different shapes, and picks with different thicknesses – and what a massive difference it made to the sound of his instrument. If you’re on your own pick-related journey of self-discovery then allow Nigel to help you take your tone to a level you didn’t know existed.

More musicians suffer from stage fright than you might think. In this blog, we interview two professionals to find out where the fear comes from and how you can overcome it.

While you’re busy mastering any musical instrument, inevitably, a relationship is also busy developing between your instrument and your body. For any musician, the art lies in moving the body as efficiently as possible to guard off any possible aches, pains and even injuries. The Alexander Technique (AT for short) has already helped countless musicians, and here, we lay out the basics so you can start playing better and playing healthy.

Most guitarists want to up their game by playing faster. The secret? The right approach and plenty of practice. Forget ‘talent’ and experiment with these seven tips and train yourself to speed up your playing.

BB King, Janis Joplin, Rod Stewart, Tracy Chapman, Beck and Ed Sheeran all started their careers as busking street musicians. Guestblogger Marlies shares her top 10 list of street musicians from around the world. These musicians have just as much talent as the big names mentioned above, so expect to hear more from them soon!

At some point, it’s going to happen to every band: great gig, shabby sound. While sometimes it’s the venue or local sound tech that’s to blame, the band also has a hand in how they sound. Every band’s stage sound partly determines their success, so whether you’re playing a small café or a big venue, you’ll want to make sure that you come prepared.