Free Music adds to your collection of songs

Type the word free music in any of the major search engines and trust me you will come up with an astounding number of results. The very word free has an uncanny ability to attract people and if it is free music you will find music buffs downloading songs from there. The web is in fact overpopulated with sites that claim to provide free music and such other stuffs to visitors. But you must be cautious and find out if the site is dishing out something that is improper in the name of free music. Chances are you may end up downloading a virus in your PC or cell phone if you are not catious about what you are downloading in the name of free music. There are certain sites on the web that actually allow music fans to download free music of their choice from the site without any hassles. So what you need to do is find such sites and download free music from there.

One of the very popular things today is downloading free ringtones for cell phones from the web. Take a look around and you will find that the number of people who own a cell phone is very high. And if you take an even closer look you will find that a majority of them have ringtones of their favorite music or song in the phone. Free music provided by many sites is the main reason for the surge in the number of people who have ringtones in their phones instead of the boring standard tone used
to make and receive calls. Free music has opened up a whole world for people to experiment with different things and express their mood clearly. Among the tunes that are used today for ringtones and caller tunes, polyphonic ringtones are the most popular. The choice of tunes is huge and you can find any tune that you are looking for to use as ringtones from the sites that offer free music.

Now it is not that you get just ringtones from the free music sites, you can also get to download full songs from the site. If you have been searching for an old song sung by one of your favorite bands and could not find it, try one of the free music sites. Such sites have a huge database of songs of all genres and all you have to do is find the song. To do this just log in to the site, type the name of the song or the name of the album or the name of the singer and if that song is present in the database of the site, you will find this instantly. For downloading free music you need to install some software that will help in downloading the song properly and quickly.

Surely you will not like to sit and wait if the song takes ages to download from the free music site. The software can also be obtained free of cost, simply search for free music download software programs and you will get the software immediately. It is not difficult to download free music from an online site.

Source: Free Articles

Online Music Promotion for Newbies

Are you tired of playing miniscule gig after miniscule gig only to generate pennies? Are you tired or working that second job, just to scrape up enough dough to put gas in the van to get to gigs? Maybe you are one of those people who feel the have exhausted every option there is? Well, if that sounds like you, then you have come to the right place. Have you considered or even explored online music promotion?

If you are a newbie to this concept then hold on because you are in for a ride. Once you discover how many music promotion resources there are online, then you will be amazed at where your career goes. You can be the most talented artist out there, but if no one knows who you are then it won't mean a thing.

Independent music promotion is on the rise. Artists and musicians alike are sick of sitting around waiting to get signed. They are ready to reach the masses on their own. And the awesome thing is, they have all the music promotion resources they need and all within arms reach. These artists are sick of waiting and you should be too. But you have to do something about it.

First things first, get a website to start with online music promotion! Chances are that since you are a musician, you are not an internet savvy tech guy or gal but that's ok. There is a plethora of help out there, you just have to want it and get it! Do you realize that by acquiring a website, you can sell CDs, build an immense fan base, write and send newsletters, book gigs, post bios and have a specific place of reference for anyone to go to who wants to know more about you or your band?

Another bonus of independent music promotion is that you keep basically all of your profits! Doesn't get much sweeter than that, does it? You might be thinking, how can I do this on my own? Well, you can and you will with the right guidance. So, now you know your first step in your quest to conquer online music promotion. Now all you have to do is make a plan and accomplish those goals, one by one. My suggestion is to find powerful music promotion resources that will guide you through creating, designing and marketing your website.

Source: Free Articles

ANGKLUNG-Musical Instruments Of Malaysia

Name: ANGKLUNG
Classification: idiophone
Origin: Indonesia

Photo credits: Julie Tan

The angklung consists of 2 or 3 bamboo tubes of specific pitch set in a bamboo frame. It is used in sets to play music for entertainment. It is also used to accompany the kuda kepang dance found in the Malaysian state of Johor. (Matusky, 1985).

Angklung Tube
Photo credits: Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism of Malaysia

Malaysian schools also often have angklung orchestras in which each child plays an angklung of a different size, in a manner similar to a handbell choir. (Nik Mustapha, 1998)

Malaysian Music Instruments_SERUNAI

Name: SERUNAI
Classification: aerophone
Origin: Malay

The Malay serunai is a reed wind instrument, with a quadruple reed made from rice stalk. The body has 7 front finger holes and 1 at the back. Circular breathing technique is used so that once a melody is started it does not stop until the tune ends. (Matusky 1985).

The "serunai daun kelapa" is made from coconut leaves and is shaped like a horn. It was designed during the olden days by the Malay community, to communicate with its sound.

The "serunai batang padi" is made from padi stems. Part of the serunai from which sound is produced is the same like the "double reed" instruments in the Middle East.
This serunai is held vertically and is blown at the smaller end. It is usually played by children, who play the experimental music inspired from wayang kulit and silat songs. (Nik Mustapha, 1998).

Malaysian Music Instrument_SERULING

Name: SERULING
Classification: aerophone
Origin: South East Asia

The seruling is made from bamboo. It comes in a few types of designs and shapes and has different numbers of holes. This instrument is said to be an indigenous instrument of this region. It exists everywhere in Southeast Asia. In caklempong that flourishes in Negeri Sembilan, this instrument comes in 3 shapes with different names like 'salung', 'bangsi', 'puput' and 'seruling.

It is often blown across the edge and held straight during playing, for entertainment, either in ensemble or played alone. The 'persol' type of seruling, is blown and held horizontally. This instrument is a nose flute.
(Nik Mustapha, 1998)

Jimi Hendrix The Legend Of Classical Rockers

James Marshall Hendrix (November 27,1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, producer, innovator and guitarist. Widely hailed by music fans and critics alike as the greatest electric guitarist of all time, there is no disputing that he remains one of the most influential rock guitarists (and songwriters).

Jimi was not very popular in America at the outset of his musical career, only later gaining recognition after taking a trip to England with the Animals' Chas Chandler, where he subsequently formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. While the Experience quickly became popular in England, they remained relatively unrecognized outside of the country. It was not until their performance at the Monterey International Pop Festival in the States that the Experience became, quite literally overnight, one of the most popular bands of the era.
Another interesting fact is that Jimi Hendrix used Marshall Amps exclusively, bar a very short period during which he experimented with SUNN amps, later switching back. Jimi also modified his amps, having the roadies switch the caps for the High tone setting, which would produce the insane screeching feedback and that trademark Hendrix sound. It is said that Hendrix loved the British Marshall amps, which ran on 220V while the American Versions ran on 110V, which made the sound different. He also on occasion "enhanced" his sound by running his wah-wah pedal in the fully open position.

Jimi Hendrix helped to popularize several effects pedals, several of these being:
1. Fuzz Face Distortion Box (Or the Blackfinger Sustain Pedal when a fuzz face couldn't be located, typically in England)
2. Univibe (which was used on "Machine Gun) (it was an effect that simulated a Leslie Speaker)
3. Several Wah Wah pedals, most notably the Vox Clyde McCoy model - slightly modded by his equipment tech

Contrary to what has been incorrectly reported, Jimi Hendrix never used an Echoplex during live situations.

Malaysia Underground Music Scenes

The Malaysian underground music scene (also known as the Malaysian independent or urban music scene, with the term "urban" introduced in the late 90s)

The first signs of a underground music scene, as in real bands and original recordings, in Malaysia actually started in the city of Kuala Lumpur in the mid-80s.

Musicians involved in the underground scene are usually guitar-driven bands with inclination towards rock music, although there are a number of acts with differing musical influences such as Folk, hip-hop, electronica and dance music. The current rise of singer-songwriters in the acoustic or folk vein in the underground scene. The first wave of singer-songwriters who have established and gained reputation in this genre include Meor Aziddin Yusof, Sherry and Kit Lee (now known as Antares). The new generation of singer-songwriters include Pete Teo, Azmyl Yunor and Shanon Shah.

They were those in the scene who practically refused to play the mainstream music industry game due to the lack of transparency and fair-play in the dealings of the music companies, including one-sided and exploitative recording deals which they see as grossly unfair.

The underground scene in Malaysia used to be a strong and unified community, especially from its birth in the mid-80s to the mid-90s. Bands or acts of different persuasions, such as punk, hardcore, Oi!/street punk, metal and ska usually performed together. The scene became less united by 1996 when most hardcore punk bands then started to apply a more staunch anti-corporate and DIY ideals into their activities.

It was also the days when fascist and right-wing elements started to rear its head via gangs of "chaos punk" and some skinhead bands. Metal bands had also removed itself from the usual multi-genre gig circuit, preferring to play only with other metal bands. Anti-corporate DIY punk bands, with anarchist ideals also started to be on their own, cutting off all ties to the others; building their own network and starting small distros and labels. On the other hand, bands who originally started in the underground scene such as Butterfingers and OAG began to work with major label-affliated record companies; which was seen by some as a betrayal of the DIY underground spirit.

This resulted in the break-up of the larger scene into smaller pockets which refused to acknowledge the other. The scene essentially split into two larger camps, on one hand the mainstream-friendly bands and the other, a deeper underground scene alienating themselves from the larger picture or any form of media exposure apart from their own fanzines.

Lately,major shows features bands from the mainstream hardcore scene with established bands (Cassandra, Love Me Butch) and also from the burgeoning folk singer-songwriter scene with established performers such as Azmyl Yunor.

Malaysian Music 'Pop Yeh Yeh'

Pop Yeh-yeh

In the 1960s, western-influenced Pop Yeh-yeh musicians came to the forefront. The Pop Yeh-yeh genre was popular in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei in the 1960s. Pop Yeh-yeh ruled the Malay music scene from 1965 to 1971. The music and fashion of The Beatles and other British rock and roll bands during the 1960s were a strong influence of the pop yeh-yeh bands and also generally influenced the Malay music industry of that period. In fact, the term "pop yeh-yeh" was taken from a line from the popular Beatles song, "She Loves You" ("she loves you, yeah-yeah-yeah".)This may not be a fact as the term "pop yeh yeh" was never used in the 1960s but much later when such music was revived in the 1980s by M. Shariff & The Zurah. It might be that music journalists of the 1980s coined the term.

The first local song in the Pop Yeh-yeh vein was a song called "Suzanna", sung by M Osman in 1964. During the height of the pop yeh-yeh craze, a lot of the bands that were formed tried their best to mimic The Beatles in their look, songwriting and performance style. But still the musical style was taken from The Shadows and The Ventures. Usually the bands (also referred to as "kumpulan gitar rancak" - "rhythmic guitar bands" – or its acronym "kugiran") consists of four members who sings on top of handling the basic four musical instruments (two electric guitars, electric bass and drums). Most of the bands were formed in Singapore but also in Malaysia. The southern state of Johore and Singapore were the hub of activity for these bands. Most of the recordings were done in Singapore such as at the old EMI Studio at MacDonald's House in Orchard Road and many small studios owned privately.

The word "Kugiran" was first aired on Radio Singapore in the weekly Top Chart "Lagu Pujaan Minggu Ini" programme on Radio Singapore and hosted by the 1st Malay DJ M.I.A. (Mohd Ismail Abdullah). It was understood the acronym "Ku-Gi-Ran" was the idea of a subtitling officer, Daud Abdul Rahman. It is also said that it was P. Ramli who coined the term to differentiate it from the combo styled Malay bands of earlier times. "Kugiran" comprises 5 piece band members and a vocalist, one lead-guitarist, one bassist, one rhythm-guitarist, one organist (keyboardist)and a drummer.

The formation and development of these kugiran's encouraged the establishment and existence of various recording companies in Singapore in the 1960s and a lot of these songs were recorded on vinyl and sold well commercially. Some of the singers who made their name during that period include M Osman, A Ramlie, Jeffrydin, Roziah Latiff & The Jayhawkers, Adnan Othman, Halim "Jandaku" Yatim, Afidah Es, J Kamisah, Siti Zaiton, J. Sham, A Rahman Onn, Hasnah Haron, J Kamisah, Fatimah M Amin, Asmah Atan, Orkid Abdullah, A. Remie, Zamzam, Salim I, Kassim Selamat, M Rahmat, A Karim Jais, M Ishak, Hussien Ismail, Jaafor O, A Halim, Azizah Mohamed, S Jibeng and L Ramlee. Other popular rock and pop bands of the period include The Rhythm Boys, The Siglap Five, The Hooks which featured A Romzi as their lead vocalist (they scored a hit with the song "Dendang Remaja"), Siglap Boys, Les Kafilas, Cliffters featuring Rikieno Bajuri, Impian Bateks featuring Rudyn Al-Haj with his popular number "Naik Kereta Ku" and a cappella like "Oh Posmen", "Gadis Sekolah" etc, The Swallows featuring "La Aube", "Angkut-angkut Bilis" etc whose vocalist was Kassim Selamat and the EP was featured in a radio station in Germany. There, "La Aube" was in the German pop chart. Almost all the above mentioned artistes were Singaporeans. The most popular ones from the Malaysian side of the divide must include L. Ramli, Roziah Latiff & The Jayhawkers, J.Sham,Orkes Nirvana, The Sangam Boys and Les Flingers. The music and lyrics were usually composed by the bands themselves. The band leaders were also the producers of the albums of the period.

The golden age of pop yeh-yeh started to dwindle in 1971. Since the fall of the popularity of pop yeh-yeh, the center of the Malay music industry shifted up north from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. A lot of composers, songwriters, lyricists, singers, and producers started to gain foothold not only in Kuala Lumpur but also in other cities including Johor Bahru and Ipoh to grab the opportunity of the emerging and rapidly changing Malay music industry.

Photoshop Tutorial For Actions

In this Photoshop tutorial, I'd like to express how important Photoshop Actions can be by saving you time and making your work more consistent.

Let's describe what an action is first.

An action is essentially a recording of things you do in Photoshop, which can then be played back at any time. Most everything can be recorded as an action.

So, for example, something as simple as creating a document (which is one of the things I use Actions for). Anything that you find yourself doing repeatedly is a good candidate for an action.

Let's say that I need to create a 400 x 100 banner, frequently. Instead of having to remember the dimensions, and settings like background, I can simply create an action called "Small Client Banner". Then, whenever I want to create that banner, I simply click that action.

Fortunately, this Photoshop tutorial is very simple. Launch Photoshop. Click the Window menu and select Actions (you can also press Alt/Option + F9).

This opens the Actions panel. Click the 'Create new set' button in the Actions panel. I do this to keep things organized. Name your set something like 'Create New Banners'.

Next, click the 'Create new action' button and name your action something descriptive, like "400x100" or "Client A Small Banner".

As far as Photoshop tutorials go, that's about as easy as it gets. From this point on, whatever you do will be recorded as an action (and NOT in real time) until you press the 'Stop recording' button.

Just create a new document how you normally would, with all the settings for your 400x100 banner (or whatever else you're doing). Once you have the blank document created, click the 'Stop recording' button and your action is made.

Now, whenever you want that size document created, just select that action and run it! I love the time savings and consistency created by using actions like this.

Ken walker is a National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) member and professional Photoshop trainer. He has created over 40 hours of Photoshop video tutorials. You can see some of his video training and Photoshop tutorials on his site, KillerPhotoshopTechniques.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ken_D_Walker

Camcorders Buying Guide

To capture HD videos is the standard today, so what are you waiting for. Most of the camcorders price range between $600 to $1000 and up. These camcorders have all great quality and the big advantage is that they are already in digital domain. All the camcorders are easy it use, very user friendly. The overall zoom standard is 10x and 12x, there is camcorders with a higher zoom capability. The disadvantage with a camcorder zoom bigger than 12 xs is the video is vibrating; the human hand is not steady enough to keep the camcorder still so you will need a tripod. Some of the cameras come out with a stabilizer unit build in which helps.

The small HD camcorder doesn't always have the stabilizer unit build in. The cameras offer a similar storage devises like: MiniDV tape, DVD, hard-drive, and flash-memory card. There is camcorder that uses a variety of formats. This is so you can shoot long videos in one take. Not all the formats have big storage capability.

HD cameras have internal flash memory or flash memory card to store all the video and audio on. Flash memory or flash memory card is used by almost all cameras. Most of the HD camera manufactures have stopped to build cameras with DVD storage; you may still find this camcorder on the market. The DVD storage capability is 4.7 GB; the flash memory goes a lot higher like 16 GB 32 GB and more.

Flash-memory card models tend to be lighter and more compact than other types, although none have the viewfinders found on most other models
With the camcorders so small you can always have a HD camcorders with you for all your video memories and funny clips that happens all around you.

HDD camcorders. HD camcorders. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kate_Nell

Wedding Photographers - A Beginner's Guide

Although wedding photographers may appear to have an easy job, this is quite simply not the case. There is much more involved in wedding photography than many might realize. The bride and groom and their families are counting on the photographer to capture every detail of their special day. They expect to see beautiful, timeless images that they will be able to treasure for years to come. It is important to be well prepared when photographing a wedding.

The first thing a photographer should know before accepting the contract for a wedding, is their camera. A DSLR is the most highly recommended type of camera for wedding photography. Setting the camera on auto does not work in every situation. It is necessary to be able to manually manipulate the controls to create the proper exposure. It is equally important to have the right equipment to go along with the right camera when photographing a wedding. It may be necessary to have a large external flash depending on the time and location of the wedding. Additional lighting, types of lenses, and battery power also need to be considered.

Many weddings are an all day event, which means that having the necessary battery power is extremely important. Camera batteries can be extremely expensive, especially name brand batteries. Fortunately, there are third party batteries available on online auction sites, such as eBay. Some are poor quality, but with a little careful research, photographers can have great success and save a little money as well.

Having extra batteries may not be enough. It is a great idea to take a charger along as well, so that batteries that are low on power can be charged. An external flash usually requires four AA batteries, and wedding photographers should have at least one extra set of these available as well. Once a potential photographer is confident in their equipment and skill level, photographing weddings can be a great source of income. They are a joyful occasion, and usually fun to photograph, as long as the photographer is properly prepared.

Author Tom Ely is Head of Photography for Liverpool, Merseyside and Manchester based company Atmosferik. With huge experience in the industry, Tom has encountered most things when photographing weddings. To view his work, visit http://www.atmosferik.com (Atmosferik Wedding photography)

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Ely

Learn The Basics Of Guitar Playing

When you first undertake to learn a new skill, the natural reaction is to jump in "head first" as you are so keen to learn it all. What a lot of people seem to forget is that you need to learn the basics first.

The same applies to learning how to play the guitar. A lot of people will have unrealistic short term goals of becoming an expert guitar player, being able to play the hardest riffs and using the most difficult techniques. If this is you...slow down my friend, Rome wasn't built in a day you know.

Surely it makes better sense to learn the basics of guitar playing first. If you can't afford an instructor or don't have the time, then you can always use one of the many tuition software products, such as Emedia Guitar Method. Even the best guitar players in the world had to start somewhere first. Learn the basics and the rest will follow.

At first, learning how to play the guitar will seem a bit daunting. There's a lot to learn, the chords, scales, different techniques and, most importantly for the novice, is learning what all the various parts of the guitar are and how it's constructed.

Here are some answers to some frequently asked basic questions;

Q. What are the body and the neck of the guitar?
A. The body is the main bulk of the instrument and the neck is the long, narrow part attached to the body.

Q. What is the bridge of the guitar and where is it situated?
A. The bridge is a device which supports the strings of the guitar and its purpose is to transmit the vibration of the strings to the body. It is located near to the hole of the body, under the strings.

Q. What are the strings?
A. The strings are located between the bridge and the pegs at the head of the guitar.

Q. What are frets, where can I find them and what do they do?
A. Frets are strips made of metal which are located at exact points along the neck. When a string is pressed against a fret, the string's vibrating length is altered along with the pitch.

So, if you're serious about learning how to play the guitar, take my advice. Concentrate on learning the basics first and in a relatively short space of time you will begin to develop and nurture your blossoming relationship with the fabulous instrument known as the guitar.

Are you really interested in learning how to play the guitar? If so, you must check out Cliff James's site where he reviews probably the best guitar tuition software on the internet, Emedia Guitar Method.

Cliff James comes from London, England and is married with two children. He is still using Emedia Guitar Method software to build on his vastly improved guitar playing skills. He has granted his permission for you to re-produce this article should you so wish. However, it must be re-produced in full, including this resource box, with all links intact.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cliff_James

Home Recording Equipment

When it comes to home recording equipment what you get depends on your budget. I do however believe that equipment doesn't make the recording, the artist does. Moving forward with the mind set that most of you will have a budget and still want to make quality recordings we will continue. Home recording equipment can be as simple as a computer, recording software, audio interface, microphone and powered speakers. We will look deeper into these individual elements and understand the importance of them because once you understand what each piece of equipment does you can expand your equipment in your home music studio.

The computer serves as the central piece of equipment where everything will be connected to; a central machine where you can control all your equipment. The set up I recommend to get started requires a computer that has at least the minimum requirements recommended by the home recording software you have chosen. In my opinion for a home music studio the platform you choose whether PC or Mac doesn't play an enormous role, there are great products that support both platforms so don't let deciding on a platform derail you from things that are more important.

An audio interface is another piece of the home recording equipment that will be required in your signal flow. The audio interface serves the function of transforming an analague input, such as an instrument or microphone and transforming that input signal into a digital signal that a computer can understand. Vice Versa an audio interface will have outputs that you can connect your speakers so digital audio signal from the computer will be transformed into an analogue signal for your speakers to play. An external audio interface is extremely handy and is basically your sound card that connects via fire wire or usb to your computer. There is plenty of variety when it comes to picking an audio interface and it is important to pick one that will work best for what you want to record.

Your audio interface isn't much use until you get a microphone to hook into it. Microphones are very important tools and there are lots of different types at different price points. If you're choosing your very first microphone you need to think about what you plan on recording. There are microphones with different varieties of diaphragms, frequency responses, prices...etc. Read my article on microphones to learn more about microphones and microphone placement.

Last and maybe one of the most important pieces of home recording equipment is the speakers. There are powered speakers, which are speakers with amplifiers built into them which can be directly connected to an output channel. Un-powered speakers, which are speakers that just contain a speaker and a box and you can pick and choose an amplifier to connect to it. You see this type of speaker in car audio systems where you have a sub woofer connected to an amplifier separately. The main thing to keep in mind when choosing your speakers (monitors) for your home studio is actually the frequency response of the speakers and that they play back sound without any coloring of certain frequencies. In other words your monitors should have a flat frequency response and be powered so that it plays back sound as close to the original recording.

http://www.homemusicstudio.net http://www.homemusicstudio.net/category/home-recording-equipment Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Moe_Khajavi

TOP 1O MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE WHEN TRYING TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS

If you want to become successful in the music industry, there many things you need to know and do. But even if you get all that right, you can prevent yourself from reaching big success by making critical mistakes along the way (and there are many potential mistakes one could make, when not being careful). After coaching and mentoring many musicians and bands seeking a career in music, the same patterns of false assumptions, problems and mistakes appear over and over again. Here are the top 10.

Mistake #10 - Not having a compelling image that is congruent with your music. Most musicians (and bands) severely underestimate the importance of their image. Yes, music is about 'music', but music business success is about a total package that includes music, image and visual stage show among other things that need to be fully developed in a congruent way.

Mistake #9 - Trying to 'get your name out there'. Although this seems to be a main goal of most musicians and bands, it is the wrong approach to start with. Before trying to be seen and heard as much as possible, it is often more important to focus on 'converting' the people who hear and see you into becoming actual fans. This 'conversion' is the first key to your promotional success, NOT getting seen or heard as much as possible.

Mistake #8 - Believing that social media websites are the keys to online music promotion for musicians and bands. Social media websites are a tool. They are ONE piece of the online music marketing puzzle. Music industry companies (record labels, artist managers, booking agents, etc.) are far more interested in the popularity of YOUR website, not how many friends you have at MySpace, YouTube, Facebook or any other website that you do not own and control. Want to impress the industry with your band's promotion? Build your website traffic.

Mistake #7 - Not investing enough time into building your music career. Most musicians spend most of their time on music, but put very little effort into the many other critical elements needed to make it in the music business. If you are already a talented musician, you should invest at least 50% of your time into starting or advancing your music career. If you are still developing your musical skills, you should still invest around 25% of your 'music' time into building a future music career.

Mistake #6 - Surrounding yourself with people who are negative, lazy and lack ambition. If you are very serious about becoming a professional musician and building a great career in music, then you absolutely must surround yourself with like-minded musicians.

Mistake #5 - Having merely mediocre live performing skills. Many musicians, who are not yet in a good band, put off developing their live performing and stage presence skills. This is a big reason why talented musicians don't get into really good bands that they audition for. Your music may be good, but a live 'show' requires more than great music. If people only wanted to hear the music, they would listen to you at home. Both fans and record labels want (and expect) to see a REAL show. Neglecting this area results in talented musicians and bands becoming quickly forgotten.

Mistake #4 - Focusing on increasing the 'quantity' of fans instead of the 'intensity' of your fans. The 'number' of fans you have should always be your secondary focus (not your primary one) if you want to become successful in the music industry. The fact is, it is not the number of 'fans' that matters most, it's the number of FANATICS which will contribute more directly to your success (or lack of it). This is particularly true in the beginning of a band's music career. Focus more effort on converting your existing fans into raving fanatics. Learn to do this and the number of your overall fans will increase through powerful word of mouth.

Mistake #3 - Not enough cash flow to support your music career. Like it or not, it takes money to build a music career. Even if other people/companies are paying for your record, tour support, merchandise, etc. you still need to have the freedom to pursue opportunities as they come. Sadly, many musicians miss opportunities because they can't afford to take advantage of them.In addition to a decent income, you also need the flexibility of being able to take time away from that income source to go into the studio, go on tour, etc. That is why learning how to teach guitar is such a great way to achieve both if you learn how to become a highly successful guitar teacher.

Mistake #2 - Not enough depth in your music relationships. There's an old expression, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." In music this is often modified to, "It's not who you know, it's who knows you." The truth is, it's not about either. The most important aspect of connections within the music industry is how deep are the current relationships you have now and will develop in the future. You don't want to simply know people or be known, you want people who know you to have a real deep connection with you so that you are always on the top of their mind when opportunities present themselves. Ask yourself, "What can I do right now to deepen my existing relationships further on an ongoing basis?"

Mistake #1 - Having a fundamental misunderstanding about what record companies look for - and expect from new bands. This is a huge topic, but in a nutshell it's very useful to think of record companies like a bank that lends money to people or small businesses. Record companies make most of their decisions about whom they will work with and what the terms will be in much the same way that a bank will determine who they will loan money to and what the terms of the loan will be. Both record companies and banks basically want to see 3 things:

1. How much value do you bring to the deal right now.
2. How much risk do you bring with you right now.
3. How much potential value and risk might you bring to them in the future after they invest in you.

If you want to buy a house, the bank wants to know a lot about the specific house you want to buy and EVEN MORE about YOU. Record companies are the exact same, they want to know about your music, your talent and your band, but they also care as much (or more) about YOU (and your band mates) as people. What about YOU makes a record deal a good or bad investment for them.

To learn more about avoiding these big mistakes and building a successful music career, get my free music career tips.

About the author: Tom Hess is a highly successful guitar teacher, professional touring guitarist and recording artist. He mentors musicians online to develop their own professional music careers and provides free music career resources.

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