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If you are a musician then you are a business yourself. You are in the business of marketing yourself or figuring out how to promote your CD. This requires a lot of work and sometimes it may seem endless. You are constantly trying to solicit new “customers” for your business, your fans. Not only do you want your fans to enjoy your music but you also would love to turn some profits in the process. Marketing is going to be your best musician’s resource out there and you should take full advantage of.

You marketing ideas need to go beyond just a t-shirt and a CD because that is unoriginal. You want something that is distinctive and fresh. Don’t get me wrong, some of the best music promotional ideas are CD’s and t-shirts but you can do so much more now-a-days.

1. Have you considered an email address list? Each visitor to your website and your shows should have their email address collected. This will allow you to send them information like when your next show is going to be or when you new album will be released.

2. MP3 ringtones are hot music promotional ideas and you should definitely have some recorded. They are an awesome way for people to advertise your music every single time their phone rings. You also have the possibility of bringing in some profits from the sale of these.

3. Another hot music promotional idea has to do with the new mini DVD’s called pocketreels. Not only would you look technologically up to date when handing these out, but people are going to be super impressed. Look no further for ideas on how to promote your CD because these little mini DVDs are it. You can put your bands music video on there or anything else you think of. Be creative!

4. Sure, everyone has pictures of their band but have you ever thought of using a professional photographer. The price range varies immensely depending on what you are looking for. But, there is good news. You can try hiring a student photographer for relatively cheap. This way you will have a plethora of photos or videos to use for all types of marketing.

5. An awesome musician’s resource is a publicist. Of course, there prices can be a bit expensive but honestly, there services are worth it. They really know how to promote your CD and your band. A great publicist can get your band in magazines and newspapers all over the place.

If you have the opportunity to use any of the above marketing tools then you are guaranteed some results. The trick to all any music promotional idea is that you have to be persistent, consistent and creative. Constantly be searching for how to promote your CD in innovative ways. Technology is the key and will give you ideas you are looking for. Don’t get lost in the dust!

Owner of Platinum Millennium publishing, former record label owner & national music industry seminar speaker/panelist. Author & creator of best-selling music biz books, courses, audio products & “How to” resources that helped 1000s. Go to http://www.musiccontracts101.com/docs/products/002/ for more.

One great way to create motivation to practice on your guitar is to perform in front of other people in different ways. Do you like to perform in front of others? Let’s see how to enjoy performing and also give other people enjoyment!

Performing really doesn’t need to be so formal!

A way to create momentum to practise your guitar repertoire is to set up an informal concert with a couple of pieces in the setting of your own home.

The members of your own family could be the public.

There are many occasions when you can perform and play your music in the home and maybe you will also encourage others in your family or among your friends to play on their instruments in such a setting.

Of course you have to plan ahead in order to suggest a performance and in order to prepare yourself.

But if you don’t like to perform?

You can actually practice the art of performing on your guitar without people present. One way is to use your imagination and pretend that you perform in front of others.

If you want to help your imagination a bit you can put empty chairs in front of you representing the audience. One step further is to put your children’s teddies on the chairs.

On such an occasion you have to exercise self discipline and play those pieces in your actual program from beginning to end. If you would make a mistake in front of a public, what would you do?

Probably you would want to minimize the effect of this mistake and just play on. This is what you have to practice even in this relaxed setting.

What will happen is that you create self confidence in your ability to handle mistakes and you will also find weaknesses you can improve upon in your guitar playing.

This is also an excellent time to record your performance for later evaluation.

Don’t make this recording thing to complicated. In these days with cell phones and mp3 players it’s an easy task to accomplish.

The act of recording is like having a critic in the public.

Listening to other artists recordings will also be of great benefit.

You have to look upwards in order to climb to a higher level in your guitar playing and this will be accomplished by listening to guitar players on a higher artistic level than yourself.

When you practice and memorize your guitar pieces or songs remember to always play your music at the same artistic level as when you perform.

As you memorize your music you will also memorize your attitude, posture and your tension level.

The joy you feel when you practice will probably be present when you perform the piece of music in front of public and will also reach your audience.

Peter Edvinsson at Capotasto Music invites you to download your free sheet music, guitar tabs, ebooks, music lessons and read his music blog at http://www.capotastomusic.com

Pianos, for beginning musicians, are one of the essential, first instruments to learn. Just about every type and style of music can be played on a piano. This gives a student a wide variety to choose from and learn from when starting out.

For many students, however, purchasing a traditional piano can be a little out of their budget and they can be quite large. This makes it difficult for someone in a small living space to find room for them. There are other alternatives, such as a digital piano. This is one space saving option. A digital piano comes with the feel of a regular piano but takes up considerably less space. There are also smaller versions for those just beginning.

Types of Pianos

There are a wide variety of digital pianos. Digital pianos range from small keyboards with minimal options like volume and on/off and nothing else to larger digital pianos that can handle remixes and allow synthesized playing, as well as everything in between. There are plenty of different makes, models and variety so that a student can get exactly that he or she needs.

The Advantages of a digital piano

There are a number of advantages of a digital piano that you won’t find with traditional ones. First, of course, is the fact that a digital piano can be a real space saver. It also has the features of volume control and usually comes with a place to put a set of ear phones in. This is great with small apartments or if you want to play without any background noises. It also keeps the piano from being a distraction.

Digital pianos also come with the added benefit, in some models, of allowing you to save your music directly from the machine, either to its internal memory or an external data storage media. Digital pianos often come with additional instrument sounds. This allows you to experiment with different sounds without having to get the different instruments. Another useful feature is that digital pianos, because of their smaller size, are easily transportable.

Disadvantages of a digital piano

There are some disadvantages of having a digital piano. The first and major one is that the sound will always be electronic and never sound as good as the real thing. The value decreases rapidly because every few years a new model comes out. Compared to a real piano, a digital piano’s keys have a lighter touch and a different balance, sometimes making transitioning from digital to real and vice versa, more difficult.

The case for a digital piano can be easily damaged and expensive to repair. So extra care has to be given when moving it around. A digital piano is an electronic device. Like all electronic devices, if something breaks, it can be impossible or very costly to repair.

What to look for when buying a digital piano

When looking to purchase a digital piano there are a few things that need to be considered. First, take a look realistically at what you are going to need and what features you are going to use. There is no reason to spend extra money on a set of features you’ll never touch. So it’s a good idea to figure out what features you are really going to use.

Depending on the type of student you are, you may want to consider features that offer you a full keyboard range or offer a variety of instrument types in order to allow for experimentation. Also, you might want to consider music saving features, so that you can record the music you make for classes. It’s also a good idea to check out the warranty of the digital piano. Most come with limited warranties and only for a short time. If you know you might be hard on your digital piano, getting a digital piano with a longer and more extensive warranty might be something to look into.

Conclusion

Digital pianos are a great way to bring the music of a piano into your home at less expense. They are also great for students to be able to learn on especially with their space saving options and easy transportability. Make sure you know the features you need from your digital piano before you purchase. This is to make sure you get the digital piano that is just right for you.

Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of MusicianHome.com, a site that provides information and articles for musicians at all stages of their development. http://www.musicianhome.com

If you are trying to learn how to start and run your own record label then you have come to the right place. Positioning your record label, along with producing and selling your first records will take time. But how quickly things progress along will depend on how much time and dough you are able to put into the label itself. It also depends on what genre and format of music you are releasing.

If you have no experience in knowing how to start a record label, it might be worth gaining some work experience at a label, getting some advice from a trusted label owner you know, or attending some training or workshops. There are also a number of music industry books and websites you can check for advice on how to start an independent record label. Don’t ever be afraid of getting help from people who have succeeded themselves.

An alternative way when figuring out how to start a record label may be to start small. Do this by licensing a recording to a compilation or to another label, or by releasing a small run of singles. Sometimes selling recordings at gigs or through your website, and aiding the band in booking gigs is a great place to start. Also, building a fan base is a good way to build up music industry contacts, a market for your recordings, and some powerful experience.

Managing and promoting artists is a standard way of getting into the how to start an independent record label side of the biz. Once you are confident that you can handle a release, a typical lead in time for promoting an album release could be around ten to fifteen weeks on average. This allows time to pick up coverage from monthly magazines, radio, and reviewers.

You will need to have absolutely everything in place. Organize the contacts with the press and your distribution deal before starting your promotions. It is imperative to build momentum and break into the marketplace at the peak of the public’s recognition of your merchandise.

Both the media and business partners involved will want to hear “the plan” the story about the artist/s, and what makes them and their music so special. But this doesn’t have to be as much work as it seems. Stay organized, have a plan of attack so that you can ensure your artists, your label and your name will succeed. See, planning how to start and run an independent record label is not as difficult as you thought.

Owner of Platinum Millennium publishing, former record label owner & national music industry seminar speaker/panelist. Author & creator of best-selling music biz books, courses, audio products & “How to” resources that helped 1000s. Go to http://www.TheUltimateRecordLabel.com for more.

Is it truly harder to get a recording contract than ever before? Maybe it is because the music biz seems more about the business side rather than the music side these days. It is true that the music and the people making it is still how they make their money, but the approach is much different when it comes to giving out music contracts.

Remember when record companies actually opened the unsolicited demo tapes that were sent to them and listened to them in hopes to find the next big thing. Now, it is too difficult to listen to every single one of them because everyone has the ability to have a demo tape made. Music contracts seem scarce. Now, it seems too difficult or to risky to accept demos from just anyone.

Don’t worry there is still a chance for you or your band to be noticed and get heard. It just may not be done the old fashioned way. It is all about the self-promotion tactic. You have to market your band in such a way that A&R and record labels will be dying to offer recording contracts.

Self-promotion isn’t as easy as it sounds. This does require a lot of planning and organizing. One way to do this is make and sell your own CDs. If you can prove to a label that you can sell CDs on your own, then they will know a music business contract with you is not so risky.

You need to make sure your album is good quality and sell it as fast as you can. Also, take a mini tour. Network with places in your region or tri-state area so you can book gigs and be seen! Build a resume with tons of recommendations from club and bar owners. Start out at places 30 miles away then move to 100 miles then 200 and so on. Building a solid fan base is a sure fire way to get the attention of a major label and get offered music contracts.

Keep in mind that before you make thousands of CDs, put a marketing plan in place. Make sure you have a clear cut and concise idea of just how you will sell all those bad boys.

It is all about planning and some killer self-promotions. You have to be seen, known and heard by and at as many place and by as many people as possible. The industry isn’t what it used to be. You have to work for the attention of a label and to be offered music contracts. But luckily, it isn’t impossible so get to planning!

Owner of Platinum Millennium publishing, former record label owner & national music industry seminar speaker/panelist. Author & creator of best-selling music biz books, courses, audio products & “How to” resources that helped 1000s. Go to http://www.order-yours-now.com/ for more.

E-major is a very common key for guitar oriented songs. Many blues songs are written in this key and a lot of riffs can also be found. We will now explore some of the exciting open chords you will find in this key!

We will start this guitar lesson by playing the most common E-major chord:

E: 0/6 2/5 2/4 1/3 0/2 0/1

What type of tab notation is this?

I use this type of guitar tablature notation because the more common tablature staffs are sometimes displayed incorrectly on article sites.

The first number indicates the fret to press down. The number after the slash shows which string to play. For example, 2/5 means: Press down the second fret on string five.

This E-major chord can be slided to various frets on the guitar creating a lot of nice sounding chords.

In order not to complicate this guitar lesson too much I will use a very easy notation only showing which fret to put your left index finger on with the assumption that you use the most common left hand fingering for this chord.

Here you have the fingering I am referring to:

Index finger on 1/3
Ring finger on 2/4
Middle finger on 2/5

The other notes in the chord are on open strings so by sliding the chord we will now create a lot of different guitar chord progressions that can be used as intros to songs or in other ways.

We will call the E-major chord previously explained for I because I is the roman numeral for one and the index finger is on fret one in this normal E-major position.

If we slide the chord up so that we preserve the chord shape and place the index finger on fret 4 we will call the chord IV because this is the roman numeral 4 and roman numerals are often used to indicate positions on the guitar.

This sliding will result in a chord sounding like a mix between G-major and E-minor actually Em7.

We will now slide the chord up to position VI and we will get a new nice chord sounding like A-major.

Time for our first chord progression:

I / / / IV / / / VI / / / I / / /

We will now add just one more chord by sliding the E-major chord up to the eigth position notated VIII. It is a B-major chord with some spices added.

Time for a new guitar chord progression:

I / / / IV / / / VI / / / VIII / / /

Of course there are many other possibilities. You might have come up with other ones already. We will now try a flamenco flavoured chord progression. We will use the F-major chord with some added notes.

We will find this special F-major chord by sliding up the E-major chord just one fret. We will notate this chord position as II.

Time to listen to the flamenco progression:

I / / / II / / / IV / / / II / / / I

Try a rassgueado

Rasgueado is a strumming technique that can be used in conjunction with the previous chords.

Rasgueado generally uses only one digit (finger, thumb, etc) for each strum; this means that multiple strums can be done more quickly than usual by using multiple digits in quick succession.

Let us make a fist with the right hand fingers. Try to make one finger at a time explode on the strings. For example in the order pinky, ring finger, middle finger and index.

There are two remaining progressions for you to explore. The first one with the E-major shape moved to the eleventh position meaning as you already know that the left hand index finger presses down fret eleven. This will result in a D-major chord with some flavours.

Here is the guitar progression:

I / / / XI / / / VI / / / VIII / / /

In the next progression we will use a version of the F#7 chord by sliding the E-major up to the third position:

I / / / III / / / VI / / / VIII / / /

These are some of the exciting guitar chords you will find in the key of E. This key really gives many opportunities for the inventive guitarist to find interesting chord changes!

Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your free sheet music and read his music blog at http://www.capotastomusic.com

The most commonly asked question to the A&R Reps is how can I get noticed by the people the man? The answer is that your efforts need to start locally and work your way out. Following are some very useful tips, suggestions and music promotional ideas that should be applied in your plan of attack for getting noticed.

#1.Rule to live by: Never send your package to a label that doesn’t accept unsolicited material. Unfortunately, these days, this applies to most major labels.

#2. Build a Press Pack: This is the best musician resource for you to use because it is an independent piece of product that can be used for booking your band, writing or reviewing your material or perhaps just forwarding it to a friend. It should include the following: Your CD, properly labeled, band name, song titles, and contact person.

#3. Live Shows: Have your stuff together at your show! Know that this is how to promote your CD and promote yourselves to whoever may show up.

#4. Your Photo: One of the best music promotional ideas is a killer photo of you or your band.

#5. Fanbase: Constantly grow your fan base because they know how to promote your CD. How many people come to your shows? Do you have a mailing list? How many CDs have you sold independently? How many T-shirts have you sold? Make sure you have a place where new fans can sign up for your mailing list which is a powerful musician resource itself.

#6. Don’t underestimate the power of local press: Get all of the willing and able local media involved in the happenings of your band.

#7. Identify Local Resources: Make use of all your local resources , such as record stores, schools, colleges, festivals, holiday events. Build locally, first then work on expanding. Never consider yourself to big for anyone’s music promotional ideas.

#8. Network! Network! Network!: People are the best musician resources there are. Meet as many people as possible and give your card to everyone. Remember, it is not always what you know, but who you know.

As a musician searching for how to promote your CD or looking to get noticed by A&R then live by these tips. A career-minded artist never should sit back and wait for things to happen to them. Start small with big goals and only good things can come your way!

Owner of Platinum Millennium publishing, former record label owner & national music industry seminar speaker/panelist. Author & creator of best-selling music biz books, courses, audio products & “How to” resources that helped 1000s. Go to http://www.musiccontracts101.com/docs/products/002/ for more.