But if the idea of pop princess Kesha covering a Dylan song doesn’t seem right, you may want to stay away from the newest 4-disc compilation “Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International.”  The project features newly-recorded Dylan covers by 80 artists, including Adele, Sting, Dave Matthews, punk rockers Bad Religion, country duo Sugarland, hip hop artist K’naan, and – yes, we’re not joking – Kesha.

Throughout his career, Dylan shared his talents and influence with fans all over the world, appearing on numerous television programs, headlining several music festivals, and touring extensively around Europe, Australia, and the U.S.  If you have a band of your own, it’s important to follow in Dylan’s footsteps – that is, get out there and start playing more shows.  Whether it be street performing, neighborhood gigs, or European tours (dream big!), here are 3 great reasons to play live:

1. You’ll Make New Fans
Fans – or your fans-to-be – can’t get excited about your music when you’re playing it for yourself in your rehearsal space, no matter how good it is. Recordings are good – and important – but there is nothing quite like a gig to really get your fans enthusiastic about your music. Think about your own experiences as a fan – are you ever quite as keyed up about music you love as you are when you walk out of a really great gig? A good live experience just makes your fans more loyal to you.

And what happens when your fans are loyal? They tell their friends. They bring their friends to your shows. Some of those friends will become your fans. And then they will tell their friends. And so on and so forth until you need to book a bigger venue to cram them all in.

2. You’ll Hone Your Craft
First of all, don’t shy away from playing live just because you’re not 100% sure you can hit every note without a flub 100% of the time. It’s fine to play when you’re a little rough around the edges – in fact, in some genres, getting too slick will lose you fans.

But the more you play live, the better you will get at it. Your sets will become tighter. Your confidence will grow. Getting comfortable on the stage is a crucial skill for a musician to have, and no, it didn’t just come naturally to all of your favorite bands. It’s something that takes practice, just like everything you do as a musician. You will only get better from show to show.

3. You’ll Open Doors
Live shows are the ultimate in networking opportunities for musicians. At every show, you have the chance of meeting (and making a good impression on) new bookers, promoters, music journalists, musicians, managers, agents and more. Even if, say, the local DJ you meet at your next show isn’t the one to put your new song in heavy rotation, maybe the journalist they mention your show to gets curious, seeks you out and writes a story about you. Maybe the manager of another band on the bill passes your music on to a label. The possibilities are endless – and every new face at a show is potentially the face that will make THE difference in your music career.

Not convinced yet?  Let us know your thoughts, comments, and questions by leaving a comment on our Facebook page!

You might also like…

- Hittin’ the Road with Your Band? 7 Must-Read Tips
- 4 Things You May Be Doing Wrong at Gigs
- How to Build Up Your On-Stage Confidence

Photo by Alberto Cabello.

Vedder’s passion-filled lyrics, ranging in topics from personal to political, have made him one of the most prominent songwriters of the rock and roll genre.  Pair that with his signature singing style, and you’ve got the makings of one of the most influential bands of all time.

If songwriting is something that you want to improve on, honing in on your creativity is an important skill to learn.  We suggest checking out our previous posts on writing lyrics and breaking songwriter’s block, but if you’re still not feeling creative, don’t stress too much.  For many musicians like yourself, finding new and unique ideas – and just plain motivation – are the hardest parts.  In order to help you out of that rut, here are 3 more exercises to find inspiration for song lyrics:

1.  Location Inspiration: Find lyric-writing inspiration through location

Location is very important when writing, because atmosphere affects your creative energy.

For example, it may be difficult to write sad or painful lyrics in a park. At a park you’d probably feel relaxed and maybe a little content or happy. This atmosphere wouldn’t work to channel sadness, unless you have a sad memory attached to the park (more on object inspiration next). In an empty and run-down apartment, you probably wouldn’t feel happiness, so it’d be the best location to write a “painful” lyric or two. Even your kitchen is different from your living room in evoking creative emotion. Choose the best location to write your song lyrics.

2. Object Inspiration: Find lyric-writing inspiration through objects

Rarely does inspiration just come from within. Songwriters surround themselves with things that will inspire their next creative work.

- Open a photo album and reminisce on old memories attached to your target emotion.
- Read old letters and remember where you were and what you felt when you first read them.
- Visit friends or family member you haven’t seen in a while, to get inspired.
- Watch a television show or film where your target emotion is prevalent.
- Go to a familiar place and think about old memories from there.

Use whatever object you need to channel your target emotion.

3. Topic Inspiration: Find lyric-writing inspiration through a topic or idea

Imagine yourself in particular situation. It could be a situation that’s happened to you, someone close to you, a group of people, or someone well-known.  Now put yourself there mentally and emotionally. How does it make you feel? Explore those feelings until you’ve found your target emotion. One way to make sure your lyric idea has the strongest inspiration is to brainstorm on universal topics – issues that large groups of people are experiencing.  Successful topics are often ones that many people find relatable.

Where do you go for inspiration?  Do you write in a specific room or place to get the creativity flowing?  Share your tips with the community on our Facebook page!

Photo by marco annunziata.

Still, the music industry has several other opportunities to shine throughout the year, such as the American Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, and the upcoming Grammy Awards.  And if you dream of one day taking home one of those awards, you better start working hard!

With hard work, however, may come frustration.  Maybe you’re not mastering a piece as quickly as you’d like, or you’re having trouble with a specific section.  Perhaps it’s stage fright that’s holding you back.  Wherever your frustration stems from, it’s important to learn how to handle it to your advantage.  Read on for a few helpful tips for dealing with those musical frustrations:

Tip #1. Give Yourself Credit – Before looking to improve something, look at the progress that has already been made. Appreciate and be thankful for that. Remember when you were a beginner and you couldn’t play at all? You would have been happy to have the skills you have now.  Appreciate this, and feel good about what you have achieved up to this point.  Many people beat themselves up over their own playing when they are pretty good already. This does not mean that you should become complacent or lose motivation to improve, it only means be happy with yourself and your playing as you continue to improve and move forward as a musician.

Tip #2. Become Aware of That Which Empowers and Inspires You – There may be certain things, moments, scenarios, events, places or people that make you feel good about yourself as a musician.  These things are different for each musician.  Perhaps you become very inspired by going to see a concert.  Or maybe you get very motivated by watching or jamming with musicians who are currently better than you.  Or, maybe you become inspired by revisiting some of your old recordings and seeing how much you have improved.  Being able to realize (and have tangible proof of) how much you have grown as a musician is a powerful inspirational force for some people.  Whatever these things are, anything that gets you away from concentrating on the temporary frustrations and setbacks and focuses you on your motivation and inspiration is what you should surround yourself with.

Tip #3. Let Time Be On Your Side – Many musicians feel frustrated when big progress does not seem to come in a short period of time.  As a result, time is perceived as an enemy.  However, if you are making at least some progress over time and you are patient enough and let accumulated time work for you, then time in fact becomes your biggest advantage. Learning an instrument is much like investing money with a fixed rate of compound interest.  In the beginning, the investment seems to grow so slowly that it seems like you are watching grass grow, but over the years, the growth will explode because of the exponential power of compound interest. If you know that time is on your side, you will be sure to feel much better about your musical future.

How do you handle your stress when you’re feeling frustrated?  Let us know – leave a comment on our Facebook page and share with the community!

Photo by Saltmiser.

First, take a look at our previous blog about how to change your attitude when it comes to making mistakes.  Once the deed is done, however, the key then is how well you keep your composure.  You might be frustrated, and you might be disappointed in yourself, but don’t let it show.  Here are some key tips for keeping your composure when you make a mistake:

1. If the mistake is so bad that you need to start over, feel free to take a moment to breathe, adjust your positioning, or take a sip of water. Smile or nod at the audience if you feel the need to ease any tension, or simply get back into the music – you’re more affected by the mistake than they are.

2. Set a comfortable rhythm in your head (or metronome).

3. Start again from the beginning of the song (if you’re not too far in) or restart the page or line.

4. Stay calm! Your energy is better aimed toward playing and enjoying the song.

5. Don’t worry about perfection; it’s about conveying a feeling through music, and the opportunity to do so is never lost.

If all else fails, you can also amaze (and, ahem, distract) your audience with an awesome stage trick.  Hey, every little bit helps!

Readers, what other strategies help you when you make a mistake?  Let us know on Facebook and join the conversation!

Photo by Song Lyrics .

As with many soul singers, a voice that powerful demands a commanding stage presence as well.  If you’re on the shy side, sometimes all it takes is some extra performing experience to break out of that habit.  Anytime you see an opportunity to perform, grab it!  And yes, that includes karaoke, as cheesy as it sounds.  Check out this great list of other ways to gain experience and increase your on-stage confidence:

- Open mic nights. Great for getting used to singing with a live band, and for getting seen.  Many bands started as a result of people meeting each other at open mic nights.
- Peruse Craigslist for bands looking for lead or backup singers.  (Being a backup singer is a great place to start if you have no prior live band experience.  You’ll learn a lot even as a backup singer.)
- Start or join an a cappella group.
- Student recitals. If you are taking lessons with a voice coach or at a music school, there are probably performance opportunities through there.  They may not be the rock-star performance situations you ultimately envision yourself in, but they’re valuable stage time nonetheless.
- Start a duo. Team up with a pianist, develop a repertoire, and start playing in restaurants and bars.
- Start a band. Easiest if you are a teen or twenty-something, before your peers have real jobs, kids, and mortgages.
- Hire a band. For those with deep pockets:  if you’re willing to pay for a professional band’s rehearsal time, even a novice could start a rock trio and play standard covers in bars.
- Try out for a role in a musical theater production.
- Join a choir. There are lots of community choirs – some are open to all ages and levels, others require auditions.
- Prepare yourself to sub in a party band. Even if you don’t win an audition to be a party band’s new lead singer, they may find themselves in a tight spot one day if their lead singer gets sick.  If you prepare a standard party repertoire, you’ll be ready to step in if and when a last-minute opportunity arises.
- Make a live music video. Design a stage area somewhere – your basement, your garage – and videotape yourself performing to backing tracks.  When you’re ready, call some musician friends and have them come over and play the song(s) live with you performing up front.  Videotape that and put it up on YouTube and on your own web site to help you connect with bands looking for singers.
- Learn an instrument. If you don’t play any instruments, guitar is a great one to start with because an acoustic guitar is very portable and is enough accompaniment.  This opens the door for you to write your own music and get hired for small gigs.
- Play on the street. If you do play guitar – or, once you have learned a few chords – go out somewhere and practice playing in front of people.

What are YOUR favorite ways to get performing experience, and what has helped your on-stage confidence?  Stop by our Facebook page and let us know!

Photo by Roland Godefroy.

American Idol

Whether you’re auditioning for American Idol or your school orchestra, a lot of factors tie into preparing for an audition, beyond just practicing your piece – we’re talking what you eat, what you wear, and what you think about beforehand.  Here, The Bulletproof Musician gives us 5 non-conventional things to consider when preparing for an audition:

1. Food
What are you going to eat the night before? The morning of? What are you going to drink? How much? If you are a regular coffee drinker, are you going to wean yourself off weeks ahead of your audition so you don’t get caffeine withdrawal headaches? Plan all of this out and test it in advance, so that it is part of a familiar routine come audition day.

Keep in mind that you may be out of town on audition day, and may not feel like dragging yourself around in a new neighborhood just to find breakfast. Be sure to practice being somewhat flexible and adaptable in your preparation.

2. Clothing
Practice performing in the clothes you plan on wearing, even down to the socks and shoes you plan on wearing (this impacts pianists more than other instrumentalists, but still).

Here, too, practice being somewhat flexible – if you’re flying to an audition, you never know when the airline might misplace your luggage and lose your lucky socks.

3. Instrument
Run a few mock auditions on different pianos, a sub-par set of timpani, or a string slightly out of tune. Don’t allow yourself to be thrown off, even if the instruments aren’t exactly to your liking.

4. Environment
Conduct your mock auditions in less than ideal environments. Try big rooms, small rooms, cold rooms, hot rooms and rooms with acoustics of various types.  If at all possible, scope out the room you will be auditioning in the day before. Walk around in it, play a few notes if you can, and take a mental snapshot of the space so that you can mentally rehearse having a great audition in that space.

5.  Sleep
Think of all the practicing you are doing, and combine this with the other daily responsibilities and demands that life and school place on you. What is the result? Physical, mental and emotional fatigue. In a study of Stanford University athletes, researchers found that increasing sleep led to greater alertness and vigor, faster reaction times, greater accuracy, speed, and explosive power.  Note that just a couple nights of good sleep won’t cut it. Since most of us are operating on what sleep researchers call a sleep debt, you’ll probably need at least several weeks of sleeping 9-10 hours a day in order to begin reaping the benefits.

Keep things in mind and you’ll be prepared for anything that may come up during your audition.  Readers, what other tips have helped you ace your auditions?  Head on over to our Facebook page and share them with the community!

Photo by eflon, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.

Even if you’re not jumping around on stage, musicians of all kinds are prone to injuries.  Especially if you’re a beginner, it’s important to know how to play your instrument properly in order to avoid injuring yourself over time.

In order to protect yourself, consider these important tips for musicians to prevent injuries:

Assess Your Instrument: Is your instrument the right size, shape, weight and height for you? Would an adjustable chair, footstool, strap or cushion make you more comfortable?

Know Your Body: Choose pieces that are reasonable for your body to play. If you have small fingers, playing repertoire that requires you to stretch beyond your finger span is a recipe for disaster. However, if you really want to learn a particular piece (or you need to learn it), make adjustments to make it easier to play. If you are a student, let your teacher know right away whether a piece or technical exercise is causing you pain.

Appraise Your Playing Technique: Is your body relaxed? Are your hands, arms, neck, head and core positioned to allow for fluid and comfortable playing or singing? Are you moving with the music? Are you using excess movements? Is your fingering logical and comfortable?  Videotaping yourself is a valuable method to assess your playing technique.

Evaluate Your Non-Musical Activities: Desk and computer work, sports, dancing, carrying heavy objects and hobbies can adversely affect your body.

Do Warm-Up Exercises and Stretches: Musicians are sometimes called “small muscle athletes.” Stretching exercises and gentle warm-ups result in increased range of motion, strength, coordination and flexibility.

Take Breaks: One’s muscles, ears and vocal chords need regular breaks to return to their relaxed state. Not doing so tricks the body into thinking that “tense” is the “relaxed state,” resulting in chronic pain and stress.

Engage in Active Sitting: Most musicians remain in a seated position for extended periods of time. Active seating helps ease chronic back pain, promotes correct posture and maintains general health.

Overall lesson here?  Music should be fun, not painful!  Take care of yourself to ensure many musical years to come.

What other precautionary advice has helped you?  Share your thoughts by leaving a comment on our Facebook page!

Image courtesy of http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/red-hot-chili-peppers.

While it may seem simple to put together a bunch of words without a melody, writing rap lyrics – when done right – is often more of an art form.  If you’re thinking of trying it out, check out these 7 great tips for writing your rhymes:

1. Get inspired. Pick a topic for your rap song that you have a unique perspective or understanding of to share with your audience. Without inspiration, your lyrics won’t have very much meaning.

2. Write a hook. If you were writing a term paper, you’d start with a thesis. But this is a rap song, so start with a hook. The hook should summarize the entire inspiration for the song.

3. Brainstorm. Start to make a list of every concept, unique perspective, or point you can think of related to your inspired topic. This will become the content of your song.

4. Write lyrics. Go through each of the points from your brainstorm list and express them in rhyme. Of course, this is where your skills as a lyricist will show through.

5. Pick a beat. If you don’t make beats yourself, search for a beat on YouTube or download from the internet. Pick a beat that invokes the emotion that inspired you to write your song.

6. Structure the song. Now that you have a good idea of the sound your completed song will have, arrange your rhyme into verses (16 bars apiece). You can start each verse with nearly any rhyme, but it’s a good practice to end with a rhyme that makes a point. This way your verse doesn’t seem to be left hanging. A popular song structure is: Intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, middle 8 (breakdown), chorus, outro.

7. Rap and refine. Practice rapping your song on your chosen beat to work out the bugs and optimize your written verses. Cut out as many words as possible and then cut out some more. Remember, a rap song is not an English paper. Only use the words that are needed to make your point, nothing more. Don’t be afraid to add a pause or two, as this can help to enhance a certain point in the song.

What other tips have helped you?  Leave a comment on our Facebook page and share it with the TakeLessons community!

Image courtesy of wikipedia.org.

Performing live certainly gives you and your band a kind of power.  All eyes are on you, and at that moment, you can make or break your career as a musician.  But there are also a few common-sense rules to follow to ensure many performances to come.  Here are a few tips for what NOT to do at a gig:

1. DON’T…Show Up Late

Promoters and venues ask you to arrive at a certain time for a good reason. They need that time to load you in and get soundcheck set up. They are asking you to be there at that time so they can give you everything you need to have a great show. They’re not doing it to inconvenience you, and they’re not doing it because they just like to stand around for hours before a show actually begins.

Don’t arbitrarily decide that you think load-in is too early or that you won’t really need all that time for soundcheck. When you don’t arrive on time, no one else can do their jobs. Plus, it means that the promoter and venue may be paying people to stand around and do nothing while they await your fashionably late arrival – something that is not going to endear you to them. When you come late, you send the whole operation into panic mode and make what should be a calm time of prepping for a good show a completely stressful few hours instead – and that could affect your set.

2. DON’T…Abuse the Guest List

Even if a promoter or venue loves your music, that doesn’t mean that they want to lose money on your show. It may seem to you like you should be able to bring anyone into your show you want for free, but the thing is, your guest list spots aren’t REALLY free – they may just feel that way to you. Somewhere, someone is giving up the ticket price of every person who walks through the door gratis. You should negotiate with the promoter or venue up front how many guest list places you’ll get – and then leave it at that. Don’t go out before the show, waltz around town, pick up an entourage and promise them all free entry to the show. What you’re really doing then is asking the promoter or venue to fund your friends’ nights out. How is that fair?

3. DON’T…Overstay (or Understay) Your Welcome

This one is especially important if you are not the headlining band – but even if you are, it is important to adhere as closely to any pre-determined set length as possible. These stage times are drawn up to make sure the whole night runs smoothly, from changeovers to giving the venue enough time after your show to get everyone out and clean up. If you’re one of the support bands, if you go over, you’re taking time away from the headliners – a big, big no-no. If you are the headliners, the time you’re asked to wrap things up may have something to do with noise ordinance laws, licensing laws and all sorts of other regulations – your failure to stick by the plan could have serious consequences for the venue.

Image courtesy of http://studio21music.com/music/performances.html

Here at TakeLessons, we are strong believers in the power of goal-setting.  Just make sure they are S.M.A.R.T. goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound.  Establish some concrete criteria for measuring and you’ll be able to better evaluate if you met that goal.  For example, don’t just say “Practice more.”  How often do you want to practice?  How long should each practice session be?  Break each goal down into attainable chunks, get even more specific with the exact steps you’ll be taking, and write down a realistic timeline for completing each step.

If you’re still stuck, don’t worry.  Here are some great questions to get you thinking about your music goals:

- What do you want to get out of playing your instrument?
- If you could do anything you wanted with your instrument (and had the skills to pull it off), what would you do?
- What kind of places do you want to be performing at in 6 months? 3 years? 5 years?
- Do you want to travel around the world to perform? Or stay in your home town?
- To what specific places do you want to travel when you play?
- Do you want to perform your own original songs or cover songs written by other people?
- Do you want to be paid as a musician, or just do it for the enjoyment of playing?
- If you want to get paid to play, do you want to do this full-time or only part-time while you pursue something else?
- What size audiences do you want to be performing for in 6 months? 3 years? 5 years?
- What specific techniques do you want to be able to perform?
- By what date do you want to be able to perform them?
- What songs do you want to be able to play?
- What honors and awards do you want to receive?
- How do you want to share your skills and knowledge with younger, up-and-coming musicians?

What are you own music-related resolutions or goals?  Head on over to our Facebook page and share them with us!