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Showing posts from November, 2014

Musician Pro Insider: 20 Amateur Recording Mistakes that Taylor Swift would NEVER Make

Musician Pro Insider: 20 Amateur Recording Mistakes that Taylor Swift would NEVER Make Mix , Record , Repeat Taylor Swift Rocking the Polaroid Let's say you are aspiring to be the most memorable singer/songwriter/performer of all time, but it's the first time in that you have been in the studio and you are creating your first masterpiece. Whether you are slamming together some sweet dance beats, crooning out a ballad, trippin' on rock n roll, composing your first string quartet, or trying to be the next Taylor Swift, there are some things that will guarantee that your latest CD will end up at the bottom of the discard pile. So here you go, in no particular order 20 Amateur Mistakes that Taylor Swift would NEVER make: 1) Make sure that your demo tape sounds like you recorded it at a construction site. The extra racket from the bulldozers and jackhammers will add a little bit of finesse to your delicate lyrics. 2) Make sure every lyric rhymes with the word &q

Buffalo Author Launches "The Flockless Shepherd"

Buffalo Author Launches "The Flockless Shepherd" Launch & Book Signing  The Flockless Shepherd Tuesday, November 18, 2014 6:00-8:00pm Canisius College Bouwhuis Library, 1st floor  Buffalo, NY The Flockless Shepherd by Gary Friedman 140 pages, $14.95 This is a story of redemption, forgiveness, integrity and love. It’s about finding our path in life and discovering our gifts. It is the story of a young man who, lying on his death bed, makes a promise to God. “If You save me, I will live my life in service to You.” Who among us has not made a similar promise at some point in our life. But what would happen if we were held to that promise? David was. Accompany him on his journey from New York to Georgia and back again, touching the lives of everyone he meets along the way. Gary Friedman is a Canisius College alumnus, and coached the Canisius women’s soccer team for 11 years. His three vastly different careers: retail management, education, and working for the federa

SCI Region II Student Mix Tape - Call for Recordings

SCI Region II Student Mix Tape - Call for Recordings Deadline:  Dec. 12, 2014 Fee: None Open to: All student composers in New York, New Jersey , and Puerto Rico The Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI) will be compiling a series of online “Mix Tapes” showcasing recordings from student composers across various regions.  These recordings will be curated into a collection and made available on the SCI website ( http://www. societyofcomposers.org ), to promote and highlight the depth and variety of new music being created by students nationwide.  One Mix Tape will be created for each of SCI’s nine geographic regions.  The present call is limited to Region II.     Eligibility Students at any point in their academic career are eligible to submit up to two recordings for consideration.  As this call is specific to SCI’s Region II, composers must reside in or attend school in New York, New Jersey, or Puerto Rico.   Works under 10 minutes in length are preferred, though longe

What is Atonal Music? Music Theory in a Nutshell

What is Atonal Music? Music Theory in a Nutshell The atonal system was a large break from the traditions of before. Western music first began with simple intervals in the time of Pythagorus . This system marked intervals like a unison and an octave as the most tonal and pleasing to the ear. In the middle ages, musicians used church modes . Monks even attributed certain religious qualities to specific music intervals like the fourth. In the Baroque Era , composers began to use what is now considered major and minor scales which escalated into the mathematical perfection or Mozart . True Western harmony was born. The 20th century saw a break from traditional Western harmony. When Arnold Schoenberg experimented with atonality, he developed a complex musical and mathematical system. Essentially, a composer would arrange the twelve notes of a scale in a specific row, and then compose using those rows (in that order alone) to eliminate any sense of tonality. Eventually compos

Classical Music History 101: Spirtual Polymath Hildegard Von Bingen

Composer Hildegard von Bingen rocked the Middle Ages with her incredible music, talent in medicinal arts, and dramatic plays. A Lill-of-all-trades, Hildegard remained one of the most prolific composers during the Middle Ages. When we think about prominent classical composers of the Middle Ages, few musicians can compare to German poet , herbalist, and composer St. Hildegard von Bingen. According to the Fordham University sourcebook "The Life and Works of Hildegard von Bingen," her best known works include the morality play Ordo Virtutum , or the Play of Virtues, and the liturgical vocal compositions. Typical of the time period, Hildegard von Bingen's works were simple compared to the complex contrapuntal lines of Bach in the Baroque Era or the perfectly mathematical harmonies of Mozart during the Classical Period. Much of the music that von Bingen wrote was spiritual in nature, as was common during the period of Gregorian Chant. As a university music and med