Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with musician

Sing It Slant

Sully — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:27:14 -0800

I am curious about karaoke musicians. What I mean by that is that I have noticed that a lot of karaoke music are re-creations of the original recordings. I am interested in the business, process, and culture of the musicians who re-create that music. We often get articles from reporters "embedded" in the entourage of a popular touring band - I was hoping that someone might recommend a feature article or book about the lives of these *ahem* unsung musicians. Thanks!

How can I loop audio in realtime?

supyo — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:09:14 -0800

What software should I use to replicate the delay/looping effect that this video employs? I would need a metronome monitor separate from the input mix. It would be amazing to tweak the length of the decay too. http://vimeo.com/7722804 I looked at the Vimeo comments and found some helpful information. But I would like to hear of any other software suggestions people have. I do not have access to Ableton Live. I'm a classical musician wanting to experiment with realtime looping.

Quoted from the Vimeo comments:
"I had a laptop in a bag over my shoulder with Ableton Live running, but it's just a long delay with feedback set to 90% so it dies out and allows for development rather than looping into a noisy blur!"
"this is pingpong delay right?"

Who designed this dress?

Joe Beese — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:11:57 -0800

Who designed the gorgeous dress Anne-Sophie Mutter wears on the cover of her box of Mozart sonatas and related DVD?

How do I help my amateur non-American singer get a U.S. visa?

malocchio — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:41:32 -0800

I've been working with a Finnish singer who hopes to come to the U.S. next spring. Ideally, we'd like to play some shows in the U.S., but it looks like obtaining a visa may be very challenging... She has contacted the U.S. Embassy, who informed her:

Even as an amateur musician you must have a work permit approved by the US immigration. The US-contact needs to file the work petition, Form I-129 (www.uscis.gov under ‘Forms’) with the USCIS.

I reviewed the I-129, and it looks like our best bet is to file as a P-3: "an alien coming temporarily to perform, teach, or coach, individually, or as part of a group, in the arts or entertainment fields in a program that is culturally unique."

In order to file as a P-3, we must submit

1) A written consultation from an appopriate labor organization

2) Evidence that all performances will be culturally unique and documentation that the performance of the alien or group is culturally unique as evidenced by actual reviews in newspapers, journals, or other published materials.

So, we are lacking in these items. And I suspect that a demo CD isn't really enough to get reviews in any type of publication that will be good enough for the DHS. She probably has until the end of January to file, so we have a couple of months to scrounge something up.

Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions?

Body and beats, for whom does he stain his sheets?

Jon_Evil — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:17:23 -0800

Celebrity Sexual Preference-filter: Does Gordon Gano, singer of the Violent Femmes, like boys, girls, or both?

if u live on the road theres a new highway code

Potomac Avenue — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:17:26 -0800

My band is going on a national rock tour: what should I know? Unexpectedly, a pretty big-time act wants this indie/psych group I play with to open for them on about 40 dates this fall. The dates are almost all booked, with a little break in the middle.

I have read this thread, and this thread, so I've got a pretty good idea about what to bring in the van, but mainly I'd like to know what you wish you'd known before your own band headed out on tour, or what you, as someone tangentially involved in the music scene in your town, wished that touring bands knew about.

Also: It's been 10 years since I went on the road what kinda stuff should I expect to have changed or be vital to know about now? What resources (besides BYOFL, which as far as I can tell is useless now) most came in handy when you were playing shows around?

FYI I am also the manager/publicist/booking agent and everything else. We have a self-released album and some t-shirts as a starter kit. We're buying a van. We walk the streets at night, we go where eagles dare.

I want to really understand the guitar.

Precision — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:08:33 -0800

How can I advance from being someone who plays the guitar to a real guitarist? I'm tired of the same old open chords and basic barres. How do I become a true musician on the instrument? Kinda long inside thingy. Some background on me: I took piano lessons through my childhood. I regret quitting, who doesn't? I played on the drumline in my middle school/high school band. I was quite proficient in mallet instruments, playing four mallet marimba parts in 8th grade.

I picked up the guitar a little over three years ago. I took lessons for about a month, and after that decided I'd learned enough for myself for then. My teacher told me I was advancing stupidly fast (mostly because I played every night until my fingers bled, often 6-10 hours). I learned the open chords (C, D, E, A, G, Emin, Amin, Dmin, G7, etc...), and exactly one scale pattern. I've spent the last two and a half years or so learning four to six chord acoustic songs that I like to sing. I guess over the time I've become better at picking up strum patterns, chord changes, rhythm and such, but I'm feeling extremely stagnant, and for good reason. I have zero skill in soloing/improv. Somewhere along the way I had a year of college level music theory and ear training. My knowledge of modes and how they relate to soloing over progressions and changes is extremely lacking.

I'd like to learn the instrument very well, and I'm willing to put in some hard work. If I had to break my goals down simply, I'd do it like this:

1. Learn the fretboard backwards and forwards, up and down. It frustrates me that I can more quickly form complex extended chords on the piano than I can on the guitar still. I want to be able to put my finger on a fret at random and know precisely what note that is.

2. Learn to play jazz guitar, both rhythm and lead. But, I'm not looking to memorize 4820 "jazz chords", I'm looking to develop the ability to build them myself on the fly. I'm also not looking to be able to solo over one scale pattern in one position, but to be able to seamlessly use the entire neck. I have some classical theory education, but zero in jazz theory.

The music I listen to is probably only classified as "indie rock", and that's kinda what I see my style as. Mellow, very melodic, expressive. My hero on the guitar is Chris Walla, not Satriani or Vai.

Lessons are out of the question, as I simply cannot afford them. I'm hoping for a few books that I can work through independently that will advance my mastery of the instrument. I'm not looking for the suggestion that "music is not math--just keep playing and you'll get there." No true, I've just been "playing" for over two years. I'm perfectly willing to put in some hard work every day, just need some direction. Feel free to memail me or anything.

Guitarist with hyperhydrosis and oily skin needs help

sid abotu — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:27:22 -0800

I am a borderline professional guitarist who suffers from hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating) and also seems to have developed a very oil-extruding physiology. Is there anything I can do to make it so that I don't have to wash my hands between each and every song? If not, what is the most efficient way to clean up and dry off my hands every five minutes or so? I am 39 years old and I have been playing guitar for 30 years. I play acoustic fingerstyle and I am pretty aggressive/hard in my approach to the instrument (but I don't dance around!). I don't eat an overly fatty or greasy diet and I am overall a pretty healthy person. I live in Ottawa, Canada, and despite what you might have heard this is an incredibly hot and humid location and my problem is particularly acute this time of year. I am open to suggestions of more moderate (and musical!) climates.

During the last decade my physiology has changed or some kind of perfectly awful storm of the extreme sweating I have always had (I think it is getting worse) and oily excretions has combined to make my favourite activity extremely frustrating and frankly it has made the prospect of returning to gigging scary. I wash my hands thoroughly using a standard bar of soap, rinse and dry, pick up my guitar and play a song and by the end of the tune my hands are wet and greasy. Hell, even just typing this question thus far (after having washed my hands for the 20th time today) I can feel the stickiness.

I am not OCD, this is a real impediment. Do any other musicians or folks who have dealt with this kind of situation have any guidance for me re. techniques to cope with this kind of problem? I know that there are dubious (nerve-severing!) surgeries for hyperhydrosis but I am not there yet: I am more interested in coping mechanisms that you might have discovered.

While my guitar gently weeps...and I stand here like I am waiting for the bus.

oflinkey — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:15:39 -0800

Popular musicians on the absolute farthest end of the emotion scale during live performance: looking for the stiffest of the stiff. While watching a Youtube video (from a MeFi post) of Kraftwerk's Autobahn, my husband remarked that he could not understand why anyone would have wanted to see them live. All they did was stand there at computer terminals. I countered that there were plenty of musicians who made wonderful music, especially live, but who were like watching paint dry. I said that getting Kraftwerk together with Robert Fripp would probably sound fantastic but look like a morgue. Husband said he heard ZZ Top was an awesome concert but they are like sloths onstage.
So, who are the other artist who make wonderful live music but who push the boundaries of what we would even call "performance"? Which artists would you nominate for Stiffapalooza?

Where do the amateur classical/jazz musicians hang out online?

lemonade — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:36:13 -0800

Where do the amateur classical/jazz musicians hang out online? I'm looking for good forums or blogs for non-professional musicians...I want to hear about the latest repertoire, the latest hot violin soloist, pracise techniques, tricky piano fingering and phrasing discussions, why Glenn Gould's recording of Prelude in C is so stacatto...

Classical and jazz, piano, violin and guitar--but anything goes, really.

What is the 'proper' title for someone who is a graphic designer, music composer, photographer and a videographer all together.

bostonhill — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:43:59 -0800

What is the 'proper' title for someone who is a graphic designer, music composer, photographer and a videographer all together.

What is the quote regarding someone's unavoidable career path in music?

unknowncommand — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:56:08 -0800

Looking for a quote where a rock star(?) says that he became a musician because he couldn't do anything else. Or wasn't good at anything else. Or had no other option/choice. Or something to that effect. Help?

Help me become a (real) Guitar Hero

davey_darling — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:20:52 -0800

What do I need to be doing in order to transition from being a strictly open chords style guitar player to a lead/riff oriented player? I have been playing the guitar for about 12 years now. Throughout this time, I have rarely ventured past the acoustic open chord type stuff. I began playing the guitar to accompany myself when singing. I've played tons of open mics/shows with bands/innumerable campfires and house parties. I really think that being a decent singer has taken away the impetus to improve my lead technique.

Now I'm in a situation where being able to play some more advanced lead stuff would really open up some possibilities as far as playing out. A good friend is a drummer, and we have been playing with a few bassists. We're doing fine, but it'd be nice to strap on an electric guitar for a lot of the music we'd like to do (my dreaming of rock stardom days are long past - I'd be perfectly happy churning out music for folks to dance to at bars and weddings)

I need help with understanding the hows and whys of what to play when - I have fiddled around with some basic blues scales over the past decade, but nothing has really stuck.

Would switching to a straight electric guitar approach help me get the sound and feel that would move me along to mastering some lead technique?

Is there a canonical band or style of music that I should start learning that will set me down the right path?

My hands are reasonably agile - I can pick out random riffs all day long. I just need to know how to learn to know what to play and when to play it. A guitar teacher where I am right now is unfortunately not an option for me.

Any advice/personal stories/tips are welcome.

Whatever happened to Lamya?

sergeant sandwich — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:00:52 -0800

Whatever happened to Lamya? She released an album in 2002 complete with publicity tours etc., but since then seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. No news stories since early 2003, her official site is now a squatter's linkfarm, and her old record label [warning, annoying music autoplays] doesn't list her as one of their artists. I'm sad, because I've been looking forward to new music from her for a while now.

Anyone have any recent information or know anything about why she just vanished?

How to meet other not-old-but-not-so-young-either musicians?

El Curioso — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:58:34 -0800

Where do gainfully employed, moderately settled, experienced mid-30s musicians connect to play together casually and on occasion rawk out? How can an experienced 35-year-old musician (guitar, learning drums) relatively new to a musically inclined town (Portland OR, 1 year) meet other decent players?

My stylistic interests are wide--rock, funk, soul, even electronica or something jazzy or hiphoppish--but I can't seem to meet other musicians like I used to.

I'm not interested in anything too intense off the bat, just having fun & jamming, maybe eventually writing some songs and/or gigging.

Ten years ago I would have just put an ad in the paper. Now I don't get out quite as much, and hanging in a smoky club trying to strike up a conversation isn't really my thing.

There's Craigslist and the normal classifieds, I know, although everybody seems to be looking for a solid 22-year-old drummer with MySpace clips to complete a band and go on tour. Not many of my friends are that musical. I've got a list of a few blues-jam nights I'm planning on swinging by.

What other avenues are there?

Which football club does Billy Bragg support?

MetaK9 — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:33:44 -0800

Which football club does Billy Bragg support? I understand he was born in Bridport, Dorset, and grew up in Barking, a suburb of the east Greater London area. Does Billy support Bridport FC, Barking FC, or some other club? I've Googled like mad (including in MeFi) without finding an answer. I know Billy is football-mad, so I really need to know which club he supports - please help! Hoping someone can help me within the next 3 hours... Cheers!

How can I find a list of compatible audio cards for Dell Dimension 9100?

cheero — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:01:45 -0800

How can I find a list of compatible audio cards for Dell Dimension 9100? I'd like to upgrade to a top of a line one for this machine since I am a home-studio musician and the C-Media mixer I currently have is full of static and sucks real bad. Thank you in advance!

what are some excellent places on then internet to talk about music?

messiahwannabe — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:43:51 -0800

i want to find some good music forums online. i'm a musician/dj, and i live in the 3rd world. thus, i dont get to hear a lot of new music in random places (clubs, stores, record shops, radio stations etc) like i would in a big city or college town. the best way i've found to keep up with various music scenes, as well as finding good random recommendations, is through music forums, such as this one:

forums.SOHH.com

however, i'm pretty dissapointed with the results i'm getting from google. the above forum seems ok, but none of the ones i've found seem as good as the few i used to hang out on (before they changed for various reasons)

i figure it's probably a word-of-keyboard thing, so i'm asking you guys if you can recommend some good ones. i'm specifically looking for a good forum for each of the following genres/concepts:

1. rap/r&b
2. dance music (house/electro/minimal/d&b etc)
3. indie/alternative
4. world music
5. professional musicians talking about their jobs

ideally they would cover both popular and obscure/edgy ends of the genre spectrum (though one for mainstream and one for edgy would be ok) and be populated by interesting, friendly, knowledgable people with better stuff to do than start flame wars or spam me with ads.

i'm sure they're out there! any ideas?

ps. i did google "genrename forum" for each genre, and wasn't too impressed after digging around in the sites towards the top of the results - i basically spent an entire evening googling, clicking and bookmarking, but didn't come up with any forums that really wowed me. though if i'm being too hasty to dismiss something obvious, feel free to let me know i'm not giving it enough of a chance.

I'm buying a drum set for the first time. What advice would you offer me?

Afroblanco — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:01:11 -0800

AskMe Musicians - I'm buying a drum set for the first time. What advice would you offer me? Hey all,

I've been playing hand drums for the last 11 years, and a few months ago I decided to make the switch to playing a full drum kit. I've been practicing on a friend's set for the past five months, and am finally ready to buy my own. However, I don't really know where to begin!

I'm looking for a pretty basic kit - snare, bass, tom-tom, floor tom, big crash, small crash, hi-hat, ride, and throne. I don't need anything fancy, but I do want it to be durable and high-quality. Even though I'm a beginner, I don't want to buy another kit any time soon.

Although I would appreciate any help that you have to offer, a few big questions stick out in my mind :

1) How much should I spend, really? Some kits are ridiculously expensive, some cheap. How much should I expect to spend for a decent kit?

2) Does it make sense to buy a full kit at once, or does it make more sense to buy the kit piece-by-piece? I don't really know much about drum kits, so I'm a little hesitant to put it together myself.

3) What brands are good for the various pieces of a drum kit? Are there any particular models that you would recommend? Any that you would stay away from? I've noticed that some of the name brands have subsidiary "discount brands" - should I avoid these?

4) Where should I buy it? I live in NYC, and if I bought it locally I'd have to pay NYC sales tax, which is almost 9%. Plus, everything here is ridiculously overpriced. Are there local stores that would give me a good deal? What about online? Will I lose on shipping any gains that I would otherwise make from buying online?

5) This is more of a general question - what should I know about the various pieces of a kit before making this investment? As I said, I don't know much about drum kits, so I wouldn't know, say, the difference in sound between one type of crash cymbal and another. Are there any websites that you would recommend for this type information?

Thanks for the help.

Play it again, Sam! Uh... Sam? Where'd Sam go?

Shecky — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:59:45 -0800

Where would I look/advertise to find a improvisational keyboard player for an improv group in the Los Angeles area? I'm in the Los Angeles area. I run a musical improv comedy performance group. We need to find an piano/keyboard accompanist for our shows and rehearsals. We've posted notices before on craigslist and similar services, but the responses we got were not up to snuff. What website(s) would I want to look at to find/advertise for people who fit this qualification? I know where to find actors, but none of the services I use for that purpose seem to be suited to finding musicians. Thanks!

All your bass are belong to us

ludwig_van — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 09:32:53 -0800

How can I find the right bass player for my band in the Philadelphia area? I'm getting frustrated trying to find a new bassist for my (indie pop) band. It has to be the right sort of person, but it shouldn't be that hard in a city like this, right? I grew up around here, but I went to college and formed my band/participated in the music scene elsewhere.

I've been posting to the Philly craigslist for weeks, and I can tell from my site's referral logs that a few people (around 70 this month) are clicking through to my web site from the postings. I've only gotten 4 or 5 responses, though, and no one has actually gotten to the point of auditioning. It makes sense that I don't hear from some people after I say "Learn these two songs for the audition, here are the chords and recordings," but I'm at a loss for why someone would read my ad, e-mail me about it, and then ignore my response.

Should I keep trying craigslist? I found my drummer quite easily six months ago from an ad on the Pittsburgh craigslist, and he's really awesome, and the Philly list seems more active. Is there something else I can do that will have a better effort/payoff ratio? A place I can post something where the right kind of people will see it? I'm not interested in wasting my time printing a bunch of tear-off flyers and hanging them in music stores where only pop-punkers and metal dudes will see them.

Here's the ad I've been posting so you can get a sense of what I'm looking for/tell me if there's something wrong with it that I'm not seeing. I don't want to waste my time on people who are not coming from the right place, but I also don't want to scare everyone away.

Seeking details about black sixties soul suits.

IZ — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 08:58:01 -0800

What kind of (black) suits, shirts, ties, shoes did sixties soul musicians wear on stage? I'm a musician, playing in a classic style soul/funk outfit. We are looking at outfits to wear during gigs. We are inspired by the outfits of the classic soul bands. The kind of suits worn in Pulp Fiction by John Travolta / Samuel Jackson, the suits that were worn on stage by the (Motown) Funk Brothers and the suits that are worn by the Dap-Kings etc.

Does anyone know what kind of suits soul / funk musicians used to wear back in the days? Normally they appear to be single breasted three button black suits with small black ties and black shoes. Any particular brands, styles, details we should be looking at?

Thanks!

I need a job title

yorick — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:12:25 -0800

Looking for a concise title / job description for the music-related service I provide. I'm running into many musicians (especially computer based ones) that have an arsenal of "almost done" material. Most of it is there, but they have difficulty getting through the final 10-20% needed to make it complete. Lately, people have been hiring me to take care of that final 10-20% of their song, whether it's drum fills, modifying the arrangement, or whatever else is needed to make it a song they like. It's enjoyable work, and it's looking like there are more people interested in this kind of service than I realized.

This being the case, I'd like to be more active about getting new clients, but I'm not sure how to describe the service I provide. "Song finishing" sounds kinda goofy, and "Mixing & arrangment services" sound too much like what conventional studios already offer. Remixing is the closest I can think of, but it's not exactly it either. Help me pimp my skillz!

Calling the whambulance. Whine-One-One.

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 21:49:40 -0800

For the next seven weeks or so, I'm a tour widow. Yes, my boyfriend is going on tour for the first time since we've been dating. How do I stop being such a whiny baby about it? Ever since I found out about the tour a month or so ago, any time the topic has been breached, it's thrown me into an "all consuming sadness" (his words. his ANNOYED words.). Well, dammit, I'm sad about it. My boyfriend's my partner, my companion, my lover, my all around favorite guy. And yes, maybe I'm a little jealous that he gets to go all around the country and not work for a several weeks, but for the most part I'm just - plain - sad. Worried too. About the normal stuff: car crashes, flash floods, alien abduction, accordion-player groupies. Well the groupies part, not so much. I trust him. But still, I guess I'd be a fool not to wonder.

This is his favorite thing to do on earth, and I feel as if I'm bringing him down about it. And he's pretty much told me so. Apparently his former girlfriends didn't care as much as I do, but I still feel like I have a right to be sad at SOME level.

Its not as if he's going to war, gone for a year hiking the Amazon or anything remotely so serious. I have friends, it's a really busy time at work, and even have a little vacation soon. But still, I'm pretty dang depressed. Showing how depressed I am to him is just making him annoyed. And then I get more depressed. Am I overreacting? Should I just act like nothing's wrong so I don’t piss him off more? Any fellow tour widows/widowers with any tips?

Where can I practise and record my music?

Ira.metafilter — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 19:59:06 -0800

Where can I practise and record my music? I'm only looking for very basic demo quality, and need to do it very, very cheaply. The flat I live in (London) has terrible sound, and such thin walls and floorboards that I can't really play or sing any music freely without having to worry about disturbing the neighbours. I'd like to pay for some time in a recording space somewhere, but really can't afford to spend much. I'm only looking for very basic, demo-quality sound - not looking for any special equipment, just a half decent mike in a half decent room would be great. I'm very inexperienced as a musician anyway and know little about production. A piano there would be absolutely wonderful, but otherwise just a space to myself to practise and record. Did I mention cheaply?

Any suggestions? I've been asked to write and record a song for a friend's little girl's 4th birthday, and I really would like it to sound better than the recordings I've managed so far. Thanks!