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Indie music is a type of alternative rock which exists in the independent music world. The word is periodically used to refer to all underground music, and is the opposite of indie pop music. Indie rock music places an emphasis on electric instruments such guitars and drums. Musicians in the genre are also known for using abstract sounds. The term indie rock is used because musicians work under smaller record labels instead of the major record companies.

Though indie rock isn’t technically a genre, it is considered to represent the underground culture in many aspects. Indie artists are known for demanding a large amount of creative control over their music, and this is something which often alienates them from larger companies. Indie artists will strictly rely on word of mouth, tours, and independent radio stations in order to promote their music. Many of the popular artist will end up becoming popular with mainstream audiences, and may be signed by large record labels.

In the US indie music is considered to be a spin off from alternative rock. The movement is believed to have been started during the 1970s or 1980s. The indie rock music of the 1980s had a sounds which were described as being heavy and distorted. By the 1990s, indie music groups such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam became mainstream, and the genre became more widespread. Once the genre became popular, major record companies begin investing large amounts of money in it.

Once this happened, the term “alternative rock” became more of a misnomer. Traditionally, many musicians who have signed with major record companies were considered to be “sell outs” by their hardcore fans. My Original Music is a indie music site located at myoriginalmusic.com. Here you can find music by independent artists from all over the world. Today, indie rock is a term which has come to describe a wide variety of music. The term indie rock has been applied to psychedelic folk, synth-pop, and post-punk.

Sometimes the term indie rock becomes blurred, and some believe that the word will soon disappear much like alternative rock did. Mainstream artists such as Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys have been known to reach high levels on the indie music charts, especially in the United Kingdom. Some mainstream artists have even been signed to independent record labels. Many popular indie music artist become mainstream, and once this happens, they are no longer independent.

Despite the fact that many indie artists become mainstream, this is not always the case. In fact, most independent artists are not mainstream, and do not wish to be. Money may be a motivating factor, but many artists play their music for the passion and not the money. Many major record labels exert a large amount of control over their artists, and the music which is sold is more often the product of the record companies than the artists themselves. Because of this, many artists have fought with the major record labels over creative control of their music.

Today, the Internet provides unprecedented opportunities for independent music to find an audience. Unsigned bands and solo singers can now build a fan base that will not only listen to their music, but to buy MP3 downloads.

The Internet’s Grassroots Movement

It’s indisputable that the Web has created a paradigm shift in the way we live our lives. We’ve come to depend on the Internet for communications, information gathering, shopping, and so much more. With the advent of what is widely known as Web 2.0, the Internet has once again shifted into what could best be summed up by one word: democratization. For example, journalists are no longer affiliated with mainstream media outlets; they’re researching, blogging, and breaking some of the top news stories of the day. Experts no longer sit in their ivory towers and publish papers in academic journals; your family members, neighbors, and co-workers are constantly refining the compendium of expertise known as Wikipedia. Throw in MySpace, YouTube, and other social networking sites, and the top-down information structure is tossed out the window, replaced by a bottom-up, grassroots movement.

The Music Industry is Reeling

Nowhere is this revolution more apparent than in the music industry. The Internet hasn’t sent the industry rockin’ and rollin’ - it’s sent it reeling. Napster, the progenitor of music sharing on the Web, is now viewed as ancient history, but the insurrection lives on. While iTunes is here to stay, some major record labels continue to resist the opportunities that the Internet provides, instead opting to distribute music only through traditional sources.

During the first part of October, these dinosaurs faced another challenge to their survival when Radiohead released their much-anticipated “In Rainbows” on the band’s website. The kicker? Fans could get online downloads for free, or pay as much or as little as they wanted. So much for the business model that the music industry has traditionally employed.

How Independent Music Finds a Voice

Prior to the widespread use of the Internet, musicians and singers had to pound the pavement, sending demos to music labels and radio stations in the hope of breaking through to the big time. Today, however, independent music can take a page from Radiohead’s playbook, and speak directly to potential listeners and fans. Indeed, specialized music sites have sprung up to showcase independent music, and to give musicians, performers, artists, and bands a platform for promoting their work. These sites offer MP3 downloads for less than the cost of an iTune, while supporting artists’ work by giving them a 50-50 split of the proceeds. This is in start contrast to the deals that music labels give even the hottest bands, which typically receive only about 20 percent of the revenue generated by their music.

The Music Aficionado’s Advantage

From the perspective of the music fan, independent music sites are a dream come true. In the music mainstream, a tremendous amount of talent is overlooked by labels in favor of “packaged” acts that are perceived to be revenue generators. Now, thanks to the Internet, music fans from around the world can hear and experience songs that might otherwise never have found an audience.

There have been a number of new Ibanez guitar models at various NAMM shows and so there will be at winter 2006 NAMM. Ibanez unveiled a new Steve Vai JEM Signature model at the January 2005 NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA. It was named “Bad Horsie” after a Steve Vai song of the same name. This guitar features a “Rock Mirror” finish with matching mirror pick guard.

The new model also features the signature JEM appointments of a “Monkey Grip” handle carved into the basswood body and a scooped tremolo cavity so pitches can be raised as well as lowered with the tremolo arm.

“Bad Horsie” has joined a long line of variations Steve Vai’s JEM signature models, which were first introduced at the Chicago NAMM show in June 1987.

At the January 2005 show, Ibanez unveiled the new Exotic Wood acoustic guitar line featuring three different, visually striking and surprisingly inexpensive models in highly figured ash, curly maple and zebrawood. The introduction was so well received that Ibanez announced the first acoustic-electric version at the Indianapolis Summer NAMM show.

“Even more radical is what can’t be seen: a unique wooden top-support system under the bridge Ibanez calls “Sound Expand” construction allows us to use thinner bracing, which allows the top to vibrate more freely. It also provides a more even balance between highs, lows, and mids.” - commented Irene Shvartsman of Ibanez Acoustic Guitars.

“We found that the guitar sounds dramatically louder, and bigger in tone than the same guitar without Sound Expand construction.”

The amazing Ibanez guitar player Joe Satriani and Planet Waves Company will officially launch a line of new straps and picks at the 2006 Anaheim NAMM show at a private concert event during the show. The great news is, the concert will be webcast for Joe’s fans at Satriani.com in early February! Stay tuned to the site for more details.

Joe Satriani will also appear at the Planet Waves/D’Addario booth #4834 in Hall C of the Anaheim NAMM show on Saturday, January 21 at 1:30 PM.

As it is well-known talented bands consist of talented musicians. But it is also known that talents of these particular musicians are not necessarily equally strong. The situation when a few people become famous at the expense of one person’s abilities is pretty typical. But while the band lives the audience grasps its members as something whole and indivisible, not always of course but if one of them messes the things up all the rest are blamed too. However, everything takes its places after the band splits and its ex-members start making different efforts as solo artists. And it is here where true abilities of ex-superstars become apparent. As a rule only one survives. So it happened to a well-known band The Stone Roses, which managed to influence a whole cohort of British brit pop and indie acts with only two albums. The Stone Roses had two bright leaders guitarist John Squire and vocalist Ian Brown. When The Stone Roses broke up in 1996 the general consensus was that it would be John Squire who should be the most successful solo act. He wrote the songs, played guitar like a god and even designed the sleeves for the albums. But as the time has shown this opinion was inaccurate. Indeed, Squire didn’t quit the music and even recorded a number of albums but the result that he has achieved during post The Stone Roses era is simply not able to hold the candle to Ian Brown’s achievements.

Cult figure

In contrast to all the other members of The Stone Roses Ian Brown used his fame, brought by the band’s two memorable albums, as a jumping-off place for his future solo career. His name is still standing in close connection with The Stone Roses but for the majority of the people Ian Brown of today is a separate artistic unit. He’s got four successful albums behind him, he has worked with many notable musicians, he regularly gives concerts in different points of the planet and in fact he is a real cult figure for many young indie rockers. Thus for example Arctic Monkeys’ front man Alex Turner has stated that Ian Brown as the band’s musical hero. In a word, Ian Brown just keeps on developing so far and the main thing is that he does it free and easy, taking his fame as a true luck. His fifth album released this year is called The World Is Yours. This is a full-fledged studio record, which proves one more time that Ian Brown knows how to keep up with times. At his 44 he still sounds amazingly fresh and even modern and of course you can always feel his perennial musical experience at that.

Professional confidence and a fresh flavor of today

Ian Brown’s good point is that he never tries to copy somebody else’s ideas, he’s got his own and fairly recognizable style and doesn’t want to change it, he simply adds new colors and observes what comes out of it. In this sense The World Is Yours takes a position of an album with a post classic sound. Brown always loved two things: good beat and massive keyboards, therefore any production exploring he used to make concerned mostly these very things. This time around the situation looks as follows: beat sound dense, velvet and not as synthesized as it was on some of his previous records. The sounding keeps the balance somewhere between good pop rock and modern Hip Hop production. It is fairly audible on the title track for instance. The keyboards remain almost unchanged but only because Brown decided to use a huge amount of orchestral instruments on this record. They sound pretty appropriate and never spoil the rock sprit. It all imparts some sort of soundtrack flavor to the record, well, at least when you listen to, let’s say, On Track you have a feeling that a helicopter with James Bond aboard is about to fly by your widow or that Frodo Baggins is going to enter your room when you have Sister Rose playing. But as it was said earlier the orchestration never kills the rock constituent of the album. The World Is Yours is probably the most proper rock album recorded with classical instruments, everything sounds really measured and balanced. The album as a whole has a very warm and massive sound, it is pretty hard to attach it to any concrete genre but saying it in simple terms The World Is Yours is a mature alternative rock with a notable influence of Hip Hop. Overall The World Is Yours is a very felicitous disc - it is both interesting and accessible, you can feel professional confidence and a fresh flavor of today. It is quite possible that it has some disadvantages too but you have to be Ian Brown’s real hater to dig them out. If you are not one of them than you’ll certainly like this album. In a word, give it a chance; it is worthy of your attention indeed.

So you still wanna be a star?

Part 2

Whatever genre of music you’re in, you need to define your definition of success. If your definition is ‘being a rich and famous superstar’, then, well ‘good luck’… but if your definition is ‘being a creative artist doing what you want to do in life by sharing your music with those who will listen’, then you should succeed. And if you’ve got the bottle to stick to your own sound and style, your own beliefs of how your music should sound, then you’ve even more chance of success in the long term.

But be warned - flying in the face of convention, of what is current, is always difficult. But trends fade and die - original talent and music does not!

If you’ve recorded an album yourself then get independent feedback, both musical and technical. Friends and family will always say your music is “great” (and hey, that’s fine, you need that support). But, the person who tells you everything you do is great may be good for your ego, but they’re of no practical use at all! The harsh reality is that you need good constructive criticism from independent sources who know what they’re talking about. Okay, easier said than done, but there are publications like “Sound on Sound”, for example, who provide demo reviews.

Another tip is seek out your local recording studio and pay for a studio engineers time (or better still the studio owner if you can), just to listen to your recording. Pick their brains and ask their advice on all aspects of your recording. I did this myself and it was invaluable. You’ve got to make sure you can relate to the studio engineer and that they can relate to what you’re doing. But at the end of the day, you’re paying them just to listen and to give you the benefit of their experience. Believe me, many studios will be glad to do this when they realize you’re serious about accepting constructive criticism and you’re willing to pay the going studio rate for it. But I reiterate, ensure you find someone who has experience and some empathy with the music you’re doing.

The reason that this is so important is because often, when starting out doing a first album you wont have the knowledge or equipment to make it sound anything more than a demo. Unfortunately, so many aspiring musicians get so close to their “creation” that they fail to hear that the music isn’t as good as they think it is, particularly on the technical side!

It’s always good to remember that there are probably tens of thousands of people around the world (maybe millions, who knows?!) doing the same thing you are. There’s no shortage of home studios turning out music and no shortage of organizations, particularly on the Internet, telling you how to “Make it Big”.

So, the trick is to stand out as being ‘different from the rest’ while achieving a standard that is ‘professional’. How do I define professional? Where someone has taken the time and effort to take the recording beyond a home demo. Okay, I know that may seem a little opaque, but the truth is that it’s difficult to define, you just “know”.

Music is very subjective - we all hear different things in it, indeed, we all need different things from music to make it acceptable to us, whether as a composer or a listener. There are great musicians who are technically amazing playing various instruments but record music that is devoid of soul or passion and restricted by self imposed musical constraints. Conversely there are musicians with little or no training who can blow your mind with fabulous and inventive music because they are not constrained by formal musical training. It’s also worth pointing out that being a competent musician doesn’t make for a competent composer of music! And even a competent composer can’t necessarily imbue the composition with that special ingredient that make people sit up and take notice.

It’s also true to say that a good musician/composer is not necessarily a good studio engineer! This is a fact that in my opinion, is often overlooked. Too many composers think that because they have access to an all singing, all dancing workstation and/or computer, they can turn out a great recording. More often than not, nothing is further from the truth. Composing is a talent, and engineering an album is another, very different talent. Mastering an album is yet another, very different talent. I’m not suggesting an individual cannot do all these things well. Of course they can, with years of experience, and even then, with input from other sources.

Too many times I’ve sat listening to a demo where the composer is convinced that the music and the recording is “great” when in fact it isn’t. The recording and use of sounds is cheesy and naff, but the composer can’t hear it because they haven’t “stepped outside the box”, as I would say. They haven’t stood back from the music and really listened to the recording and compared like for like against professional recordings of the genre.

It’s a hard lesson to learn, to be self critical of your own creations and sometimes to realize that your creation is actually far from perfect and that sometimes, the best place for the creation is in the bin and that you need to start again on another idea. But this is probably one of the most important lessons to be learned on the musical journey.

It also important to consider this one unpalatable fact. Your album may be great. It may have nice songs, be well recorded etc. etc. but it simply may not be good enough to be anything more than an inde album that sells a few hundred copies. That’s Life!

It’s a simple fact that record companies will listen to the first 20 seconds of a demo and then switch it off and consign the demo to the bin if it doesn’t make an instant impression.

That’s not just A/R men either. Some years ago, a major label had so many demos that its A/R department couldn’t handle them all so it gave piles of demos to everyone, even the cleaners to sift through. Everyone ended up doing the same thing - if the CD didn’t make an instant impression, then it was “on to the next”.

Sure, that may seem unfair, but if you’re the record label exec trawling thru thousands of demos, how would you do it? Again, I run a small inde label, so I know what it’s like.

I’m not suggesting you record your demo to send to a big label. I’m relating the story to hammer home the point that with so many people making music, all thinking theirs is “the best album ever”, that you have to be realistic - you probably have more chance of winning the UK lottery and the Euro lottery in the same week than getting a record deal!

But that shouldn’t stop you!! Your demo should be well recorded and recorded well enough that you could press it and sell it yourself. In this day and age, that’s probably the best way forward. Sure, still send copy to record labels, but also remember that record labels will be looking for a lot, lot more than just the music. They’ll be looking for experience, an image, a malleable artist and lots more besides for today’s music industry.

Your music should have an identity that stands out from the rest and it should have an emotional presence. Achieving this is very, very difficult and in truth, it cannot be taught or learned. I truly believe music either has that magic ingredient to make the listeners hair stand on end, to perk people interest, or it doesn’t. And that comes from the musician - not the production, the engineering, the mastering the record label or anywhere else - it is the defining essence of the artist.

So, what am I trying to tell you here? Well, to summarize, embark on the road of being a musician with passion and belief but accept that the chance of major success thru a record deal is virtually impossible. Understand that you must listen with open ears to what you do and learn to be critical of your music. Make constructive criticism your closest ally through people whose opinion you value and trust. And however hard you think it’s going to be to have any measure of success, realize that it will be even harder!

For me, the piano is the symbol of what is stiff, proper and elegant. It doesn’t have faults, it is perfect. Pianists are the most perfectionist people in the world. They should not and can not make mistakes especially when performing. That is how I viewed the piano and the pianists. But then, I just found out I was wrong. A few researches and I have once again proven that appearances can be deceiving.

The pianists we see play appear to be the most formal and respectable stars on the stage. They hold the power and the breath of the audiences. They could look intimidating in their formal suits not to mention the authority and the air of arrogance they exude while on stage. They can be captivating.

But before we forget, these pianists are also human. And humans do make mistakes. Most of these mistakes can be frustrating and depressing. But then, there are also mistakes that are amusing and could also be totally hilarious. It shows how fun could be inserted even in the most seemingly stuffy and proper event.

Here are some examples:

When asked for their definition of a piano, some famous musicians and musical enthusiasts have some famous replies:

• For David W. Barber (The Musician’s Dictionary), a piano is a cumbersome piece of furniture found in many homes, where playing it ensures the early departure of unwanted guests.

• Piano (n.) is a parlor utensil for subduing the impertinent visitor. It is operated by depressing the keys of the machine and the spirits of the audience, according to Ambrose Bierce, an American journalist (The Devil’s Dictionary).

• A piano tuner is a person employed to come into the home, rearrange the furniture, and annoy the cat. The tuner’s chief purpose is to ascertain the breaking point of the piano’s strings.

Though these definitions may sound humorous, you can never miss the ironies in it. Coming from people who live and breathe the piano, these definitions seem odd.

Here’s more &ndash when asked about their secrets in playing, you would certainly be surprised at how simple their secrets can be, and definitely applicable.

• Australian pianist Artur Schnabel said, “I always make sure that the lid over the keyboard is open before I start to play”.

• “Nothing soothes me more after a long and maddening course of pianoforte recitals than to sit and have my teeth drilled”, said George Bernard Shaw, a writer and a music critic.

I definitely agree with Artur Schnabel’s top secret! I wonder why George found it relaxing to have his teeth drilled after hearing the pianoforte recitals. Check out more of the piano’s funny side:

• Bob Hope, an American comedian commented on fellow comedian Phyllis Diller on her playing the piano: “When she started to play, Steinway himself came down personally and rubbed his name off the piano.”

• A band teacher recalled the title of the song “Claire de Lune” played by a student as “Claire de Loonie”.

• The audiences at a piano recital were appalled when a telephone rang just off stage. Without missing a note, the soloist glanced toward the wings and called, “If that’s my agent, tell him I’m working!”

Now, let’s check out some famous questions and answers in the funny world of piano:

• What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft? A flat minor

• What do you get when you drop a piano on an army base? A flat major

• Why is an 11-foot concert grand better than a studio upright? Because is makes a much bigger kaboom when dropped over a cliff.

• Why was the piano invented? So that the musician would have a place to put his beer.

• Why did they say that the pianist had fingers like lightning? They never struck the same place twice.

• What did they find when they dug up Beethoven’s grave? He was decomposing.

• Why did Mozart kill his chicken? Because they always ran around going, “Bach! Bach! Bach!”

• Imagine a singer, a piano player, a bass player and a drummer sitting around the table. Now if you drop a hundred-dollar bill right in the middle and tell them they’re free to take it, who’s getting it? The piano player. Because the bass player is too slow, for the winger it’s too little money and the drummer didn’t get the assignment.

Now that we’ve seen the humor under they keyboards, the piano and the pianists are not as elusive as they seem to be. It is just like discovering a new type of music. The piano and the pianist can take not just the breath out of the audiences but also the laughter as they present not only fine music but terrific humor as well. Having fun is what life is all about.

So you wanna be a star?

Part 1

So, you’ve made the decision! You’ve finished recording your album and it’s the “best” - it deserves to be heard by the world and you’re deserving of the adulation afforded to the creation of such a masterpiece! Of course, you know in your own mind that it won’t be easy to become a star. After all, everyone says that the music business is difficult’. But hey, you’ve got what it takes, you’ve got talent, and this really is a great album - all your friends and family agree - so what can possibly stop you? What indeed…?

Few people outside of the Music Business have any idea just how difficult it is to survive, let alone succeed, in the ever-changing and unforgiving world of entertainment. Being a musician is much, much more than simply writing, recording and performing.

And few people have any idea of what is involved in the recording of a good sounding CD, of the time and effort involved to get that polished sound that every artist who ever produced a demo aspires to create.

Don’t be fooled by inane rubbish like Pop Idol or X-factor. Not only do these sort of programs give a totally false impression of the reality of the music industry, but they totally undermine the integrity of it! And just for the record, I don’t dispute the obvious talent of some of the participants, but the ends do not justify the means! It is indicative of just how low we have sunk as a society that we are happy to watch and laugh at ‘hopefuls’ who clearly have no talent at all, make embarrassing fools of themselves because they really think they do have the talent.

Then, when the competition proper really gets going, we can watch the music business do what it does best, that is, chew up and spit out varying degrees of talent live on our screens in the name of TV entertainment!

The programs are designed to maximize TV ratings and to manufacture a “Pop Star” who’ll be long forgotten in 10 years time. Of course, they’ll say that isn’t so, but then, they would, wouldn’t they!?

We live in an “Instant Fame” society. Celebs and their lifestyles are thrust in our faces 24/7 and far too many people, particularly but not exclusively the young, think fame can be achieved. They are fed the belief that it’s possible to give up the day job and become a star. In reality, it’s virtually impossible. For a greater insight into the realities of the Pop world, check out the Simon Cowel book “I don’t mean to be rude”.

Being a musician, an artist, is a vocation. It’s a way of life in which everything and everyone else, absolutely everything and everyone else, take second place. Musicians are selfish - they have to be by definition, and I know because I am one.

It’s about “The Journey” (much like life) - the journey of self discovery that starts when you realize that being a musician is what you want to do, continues and evolves as you make music and friends along the road, experiencing the highs and the lows and culminates in the realization that the journey doesn’t have an end because you’re always seeking to do something new, always forging new ideas - seeking to write ‘The perfect song’ or ‘The perfect album’. But a word of warning, if you’re fortunate enough to find success, the pressures and the demands will become greater, they’ll not get less!

You can’t do it on a “part time” basis and expect to succeed beyond a bit of fun at amateur level (not that there’s anything at all wrong with that). So, if you really want to ‘succeed’, the very thing that you have to accept is… that you probably wont’! And that isn’t as crazy as it sounds!

You see, the most important thing in music is simply that you love doing it. It’s a way of life that’s in your blood, in your soul, and it takes precedence over everything else. And as mentioned earlier, it’s about the journey.

Now, I can hear you saying things like; “That’s all right for you to say, you’re in the music business”.

Or maybe you’re thinking; “Well I have all these attributes, but how do I pay the bills and still make my way as a musician?”

Yes, I am fortunate enough to be involved in music, enjoying moderate success and recognition in a specific music genre. But what I have learned is, that success is relative.

My life and everything in my life revolves around music. But over the years, and particularly in the early days, my private life and finances paid a very heavy price.

Being involved in music is about being in it for the long haul, not the short term - you don’t even consider the short term. Ask most musicians and they’ll tell you the process is a painful one. When I hear young musicians say they’ve ‘given up everything to be in music’, my reply is, that they have no idea what “everything” is!

Being a musician requires many things, many attributes. Selfishness we’ve already mentioned. Stubbornness is a key factor to - you just have to keep going, then there’s dedication, passion and belief. An acceptance that there will be a lot of hard times. You must be prepared to give everything and more, and even then, even with all those things, if you’re not ‘in the right place at the right time’, success can still pass you by.

And thru all this, you keep smiling. You don’t question why you’re doing what you’re doing or the cost of it in broken relationships and heavy debt. You just keep going because music is such a big part of you!

The one remaining prerequisite for a musician is an understanding and supportive partner - without whom you’ve no chance at all. Reminds me of the old joke: What do you call a musician without a significant and supportive partner? Homeless!

So, finally, what’s the difference between a musician and someone who wants to be a musician? It’s simple. A musician is someone who gets on with it. They step outside of the box of conventional 9-5 and all that goes with it and live the life and all it entails. They probably won’t make it big, but they define their own success and whatever happens, they’ll never lose sight of why they’re doing what they’re doing.

And someone who wants to be a musician, a star? Well, they’re unable to do the above!

So, lets go back to the beginning - If you still want to be a musician, a recording artist, then I’ll give some hints and advice on demos in part 2.

Studios fall into three basic categories, Home studios, Project studios and Commercial studios. It’s pretty obvious what a home studio is. Many people working in the music industry, and even the TV and film industries, have their own studios at home. They put them in the spare room, the garage, the basement, an outhouse - even in a corner of a bedroom sometimes. And there is no reason why a home studio shouldn’t produce recordings that challenge top commercial facilities. Obviously in a top commercial studio helpful staff will make it easier for you to do your best work, the equipment and acoustics will be first class, and you will probably be working with top musicians too - there may even be a restaurant and bar! Of course the top studio is always going to be that little bit better - but it really is just a little bit. You can do professional work in a bedroom. Sometimes simplicity sells, and you don’t always need a twenty-four track studio to make a song demo or a soundtrack for a documentary.

There really isn’t any difference between a home studio and a so-called project studio. A home studio is a project studio that you have at home, so that’s easily dealt with. So what’s the difference between a project studio and a commercial studio? Simply, a commercial studio is available to all comers at an hourly or daily rate. Make a booking, do your stuff in the studio, pay the invoice and collect the tape. A project studio is something owned by one person, or maybe a partnership, where the owner or owners work on their own projects. The owner may be a musician working on a CD, or a composer working on a TV soundtrack. Commercial bookings are not welcome in a project studio because a) they are taking up studio time that the owner would probably rather use, and b) once you start hiring your studio out as a facility you become involved in many more health and safety regulations and your insurance premiums will probably go through the roof.

What people do in their project studios is of course literally their own business! But I have identified at least five distinct categories of project studio. Take a look at what you can achieve, if you have a mind to…

Are you interested in how to set up a karaoke system so you, your friends, and your family can have hours of fun singing your favorite songs? Here’s what you need to set up your own karaoke system; one that’s adequate for small events and won’t send you to the poorhouse.

The first thing you’ve got to decide is what the media type is that you want to use. The karaoke CDG disc system is one of the most popular systems, but more and more professionals are turning towards MP3 and other digital formats. That’s because these types of files can easily be stored and played right from a laptop using hosting software. Talk about convenience!

The karaoke system components you need include 2 speakers, 2 speaker stands, a mixer and amp, a Karaoke CDG player, 2 wireless microphones, RF converter, a Color TV that is a minimum of 19”, a disk storage system, and all the necessary cables and accessories.

Choose a CDG player that’s a name you can trust. Quality is worth a few extra dollars. Make sure it has the features you want, but don’t pay for features you will never use.

When it comes to your mixer/amp, you don’t need a huge mixing board. It’s not a necessary item for karaoke. You need a mixer with separate channel controls and a minimum of a 7 band graphic equalizer, plus the power to drive your speakers.

When it comes to amps Fender, Berhringer, Peavey, Mackie, and Samson are just a few of the companies that make good quality affordable amps.

You need to pay attention to your speaker choices. They are what will be responsible for the quality of your sound. You can have the best components, but if your speakers are poor quality your sound quality will also be poor. Not all speakers are created equal. Speakers that work great for the DJ might not be the right choice for someone to sing through. Peavey, JBL, and SoundTech all make good karaoke speakers.

Speaker stands have gotten very trendy in the past few years. No more big ugly heavy stands; now you can get cool aluminum or fiberglass stands that are light and easy to pack. And they look real good too.

Cordless microphones don’t have better sound than wire mikes but they sure are more convenient. And it’s nice not to have all that ugly wire to get caught up in, so consider going wireless.

In order to display your lyrics on a standard television you will need an RF converter. Just run a RCA cable from the converter to the player and then cable coax from the converter to the TV. Your TV should be a minimum of 19” so that it’s big enough to see the lyrics. Other than that, no fancy buttons are required.

The disk storage system is real helpful when it comes to staying organized and being able to find the disc you want. There are all kinds of CD disk systems on the market to choose from.

Your cables and accessories should include 2 heavy duty 30’ speaker cables, 2 light duty

For a newbie, this may seem a little intimidating. But with the right tools, a little knowledge and some practice, you’ll be able to restring an electric guitar like a professional guitar tech. When I was gigging regularly, I would restring my guitar every week. My body chemistry is acidic and the sweat and oils from my hands would tend to dull the brightness of the strings as well as make them feel “dirty”. For me, the bright sound and smooth feel of a new set of strings would inspire my playing. It became a ritual for me the night before the weekend’s gigs started. I would sit in front of the TV and restring my electric guitar; my acoustic was much less frequent.

OK, so you’ve decided you don’t want to pay the guys at the music store and you want to know how to restring an electric guitar yourself. Here is the list of tools and supplies you will need:

• A new set of strings (naturally!) Click here for info on string sizes

• A string winder (not required but very handy)

• A pair of wire cutters

• A guitar tuner (again, not required but helpful)

You will need to set aside about an hour of time to do this correctly, but like I stated earlier, with practice you will know how to restring your electric guitar in about 20-30 minutes.

First thing to remember, do NOT remove all six strings at the same time. The guitar neck is designed to withstand the tension of the strings and if all of the tension is removed for any significant amount of time you could damage your guitar.

Also, there are some guitars that are literally held together by the string tension. I remember reading a story about a guy who had recently gotten hired as a guitar tech for the Ramones. Wanting to make a good impression on Johnny Ramone he decided to restring his guitar for him right before the show. He removed all six strings and Johnny’s Mosrite guitar literally fell apart in his hands. The string tension held the whole guitar together! What’s worse, the bridge of the guitar bounced across the floor and fell down the air conditioning duct.

If I remember the story correctly, they spent quite some time using a coat hanger and chewing gum trying to rescue the bridge from the duct. He retrieved it and managed to keep his job, living to restring the guitar another day. But not all six strings at once!

But I digress. Some people work in pairs of strings at a time, I prefer to work on individual strings. You will quickly decide what works best for you. Use this article as a guideline to get you up to speed quickly.

OK, let’s get down to it. I always start with the high E string (personal preference); it helps keep me organized.

If your guitar has a locking nut tremolo (whammy bar) system you will have to unlock it. It works best if you remove the clamps completely and work with just the nut until the restringing process is done and the strings are stretched and tuned. Then replace the locking clamps and fine tune using the tuners on the tremolo bridge.

• Use your string winder and loosen the string until there is enough slack that you can unwind the string from the tuning post by hand.

• Use your wire cutters to cut off the curled end of the string and discard. Do this to minimize the chance of scratching the finish of your guitar. Push/pull the string back through the bridge slowly making sure it does not drag across the body. You don’t want restringing your guitar to result in refinishing your guitar!

• Next, unwrap the appropriate new string. Insert it through the bridge of the guitar, over the saddle, up the neck, over the nut and into the hole in the tuning post. Again make sure the trailing end of the string doesn’t drag across the guitar body.

• Start turning the tuner by hand making sure the string wraps over the top of the tuning post. Ideally you want to have 3-4 wraps of the string around the tuner, but this in nothing to stress over.

• Turn the tuner until the slack is out and the string is properly seated in the nut and over the bridge saddle.

• Next clip the excess string off close to the tuner and use your string winder to bring the string up to pitch.

• Use your digital tuner and tune to pitch.

• Next, grab the string with your picking hand halfway between the bridge and the nut and lightly tug the string away from the fretboard. Do not pull real hard, just hard enough to pull the stretch out of the string and tighten it around the tuner post.

• Tune to pitch and repeat the stretching process until the string stays in tune.

Now repeat the entire process for the remaining five strings. Know that the pitch of the new strings may fluctuate as you work on the remaining strings. This is especially true with a Floyd Rose or similar type floating bridge. When you have replaced and stretched the last string make sure all six strings are still in tune. If you have a locking tremolo system, replace the clamps for the

locking nut, tighten, and use the bridge fine tuners to get the proper pitch.

The final step is the best one; sit back, crank up your amp and enjoy. Make sure you play something with lots of note bending in it and make sure the stretch is all played.

Take satisfaction in knowing that you now know how to restring an electric guitar.