In case you’ve been living under a rock lately, this Sunday marks Super Bowl XLVI, with the New York Giants and the New England Patriots playing for this year’s title.  We don’t know about you all, but we’re ready to sit back, eat some chicken wings, and enjoy the game (and commercials, of course).

But don’t be surprised if afterward, you have a jingle or two stuck in your head.  With all of those commercial breaks, it’s bound to happen.  (If you’re the type to skip out on the commercials, at least listen up for the dubstep remix of the NFL theme song this year.)

With a lot of hard work, creativity, and networking, maybe your own tune could be featured in the next Super Bowl.  Here are a few great tips from the DiscMakers Blog, Echoes, to get you started writing and selling jingles:

1. Research Other Jingles
“Listen to everything,” says Richard Leiter, a California-based composer who has created jingles for Walmart, Tropicana, the American Red Cross, and Microsoft, among others. “When it comes to the quality of your work, you need to match what’s on TV.”

Lloyd Landesman, a New York-based musician and jingle writer who has worked with Budweiser, Capital One, Dr. Pepper, Ford, and many others, agrees. “Pay attention to commercials and watch channels that are more youth-oriented, like MTV and Fuse,” he says. “What kinds of music are being used in those commercials? Are they dance tracks and electronica, or more quirky, acoustic songs from artists like Ingrid Michaelson? Watching and listening to what’s out there can give you an idea of what the industry is looking for.”

2. Understand Your Role
“Jingles are custom-written works for specific companies that have both words and music,” says Leiter. “Your goal as a jingle writer is to understand what a company’s message is and to translate that into a song. In other words, it’s their message, but your illumination of it.”

Landesman echoes the point, emphasizing that aspiring jingle writers need to be open to suggestions and compromise. “You’re providing a service,” he says. “You want the client to be happy with what you’ve done, so if within the 30 seconds of music you’re writing there are 10 seconds that the client isn’t thrilled with, it’s your job to find out what’s wrong and correct it. Don’t be married to anything you’ve done and be very careful about picking your creative battles. Will changing this guitar part to make your client happy ruin your spot? Probably not — and sometimes listening to your client’s ideas can actually make your work that much better.”

3. Shamelessly Self-Promote
“One way to get into jingle writing is to start a dialog with somebody at an ad agency – a writer, creative director, or producer,” says Leiter. “If you can figure out what their specific needs are at the time, then you can offer to help. They may have focused messages that they need to convey that you’d never be able to guess otherwise.”

Getting access to such people can be tricky, Leiter says, so he advises taking every possible route. “Call them, figure out their email addresses and write to them, send them homemade chocolate chip cookies,” he says. “Tell everybody you know that you write jingles, and see who knows a creative director at an ad agency. Then go in and try to meet with them, tell them you’ll work for free for the first one. You want to open doors, so do what’s necessary to get there, even if it means putting together a free demo.”

Readers, do any of you have experience writing and selling jingles?  We’d love to hear your own tips and expertise – head on over to our Facebook page and leave a comment!

Photo by rockmixer.

As a singer, you’ve no doubt heard about the importance of proper breathing.  In fact, deep breathing can help all musicians, as it helps to relieve tension, enhance focus, and even alleviate stage fright.  It doesn’t surprise us, then, when musicians sing the praises of practicing yoga to improve vocal skills.  Can yoga really help you sing better?  It certainly won’t hurt.  But consider it your warm-up – and with any warm-up, there are both effective and ineffective strategies.  Here, speech pathologist Joanna Cazden shares some important guidelines to keep in mind when it comes to yoga and singing, as published on SingerUniverse.com.

Inside your voice box, or larynx, your vocal cords function as a valve in the airway, and they are exquisitely sensitive to airflow. They can get dry, tired, or irritated if the airflow is too forceful. If it’s too weak, the cords tend to tighten and squeeze, rubbing against each other and thickening over time. So while hatha yoga postures (asanas) are generally good for singers, the way you use your breath during those postures is even more important. Advanced breathing exercises (pranayama) should be approached with extra care.

First, the singing breath does not use the balanced, equal-in-and-out rhythm common to most yoga teaching. Voice production requires a very swift inhalation followed by a long, slow exhalation. You do this automatically when you talk, but it takes practice to quickly inhale enough to sing and then exhale very gradually. Try occasional cycles of breathing in fast and out slow during your asanas, with a relaxed throat, to reinforce this asymmetrical rhythm.

Second, some yoga teachers train a particular sequence of inhalation, such as drawing air into the belly first, then the waist, then the upper chest. These techniques are not harmful, but when singing, you don’t have time to inhale in stages—the whole breath system must open simultaneously. Again, just being aware of the difference can help you switch gears from yoga practice to vocal rehearsal.

Third, the vocal cords are vulnerable to dryness and fatigue when vigorous forms of audible breathing, sometimes called ujaya, are focused in the throat. The louder the breath sounds and the longer such practice, the greater the risk of vocal cord irritation. If you do this type of pranayama, place the friction higher, near the soft palate, and allow at least half an hour of rest before vocalizing.

In general, politely avoid any teacher who always wants to hear you breathe. Effective breathing for most styles of yoga can be totally silent, and experienced teachers can check on you by sight rather than sound. Vocalists need this extra safety to avoid drying the cords.

Keep these guidelines in mind when you reach for your yoga mat – and if you’re not currently a yoga fan, why not give it a try?  As long as it’s done correctly, any breathing exercise can benefit musicians of all types and levels.  Have you seen improvements with the help of yoga?  Leave a comment on our Facebook page and join the discussion!

You might also like…

- Do You Sing? Prevent a Vocal Hemorrhage and Keep Your Voice Healthy
- Just Breathe: Tricks for Mastering Breathing for ALL Instruments
- A Santa-Approved Warm-Up Exercise

Photo by Synergy by Jasmine.

With many schools still cutting music and arts programs, the initiative gives hope to students and teachers alike.  If your child participates in his or her school music program, you probably know all about the benefits of taking music lessons.  But often, parents are left out in the dark in terms of how to provide support along the way.  It’s more than just attending the concerts and recitals, and you don’t even need to know anything about music to help.

So how can you support your child in music?  Check out these tips for parents from FamilyEducation.com:

Choosing the right instrument
- Ask your child what sounds he/she likes and what instruments appeal to him/her.
- Talk to the school band or strings teacher about your child’s interest before making a decision. Most beginning band and orchestra teachers let students hold and try out different instruments to help them make a choice.
- Allow your child to explore. Many musicians started out on one instrument only to switch a few years later to another instrument with much greater success.

Practice Tips for Elementary School Kids
- Help your child set up a special place at home to practice.
- Establish a time each day to play. Some children are at their best in the morning, before school. Others may do better right after school, or later in the evening.
- Consider using the phrase “playing time” rather than “practice time.”
- If possible, be a positive part of your child’s playing time. Sit with your child while he or she plays and ask, “Show me what you’re learning.” Or, consider learning to play the instrument with your child.
- Praise your child for each step forward.
- Never make negative remarks about how your child’s playing sounds. It takes time and effort to produce musical sounds.
- Provide positive role models. Bring your child to hear amateur or professional musicians perform, or take your child to movies that show musicians in a positive light.
- When seeking private lessons, find a qualified teacher you can talk to easily and make sure your child is comfortable with the teacher.

Practice Tips for Middle and High School Kids
- Help your child set up a regular time every day to practice, and help establish a routine.  This may require some consultation with your child’s teacher.
- Explain to your child that learning happens in stages. Sometimes a student will work on something for a long time with no apparent improvement, and then discover a sudden leap in ability. Other times, learning happens very quickly. The important thing to stress is that consistent practice will yield results.
- Help your young musician set practice goals. Keeping a journal, not just a practice chart, helps track the peaks and valleys of learning a new piece or improving fundamental skills.
- As a parent, don’t make judgments about the musical quality of your child’s practicing. Learning an instrument requires lots of squeaks, scratches, and wrong notes.

Parents, what do you think?  Teachers, what other advice can you offer?  Leave a comment on our Facebook page and join the discussion!  Like this post?  Don’t forget to share on your favorite social media site!

Photo by USAG-Humphreys.

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.

If country is your top genre, you know that your guitar is your best weapon.  For beginners, however, there are often a few things that might hold you back.  First, the painful process of building calluses can drive many to stop practicing.  Second, there’s always that awkward stage of learning to seamlessly transition to different chords.  You know the drill -  practice makes perfect.  But here are some additional tips from Teachstreet.com to help with switching chords:

1. Keep your fingers as close to the fret board as possible.  When that pinkie and third finger start flying out in space it takes longer for them to come back down.

2. Build your chords from the bottom string up.  For some reason a lot of us get in the habit of building our chords from the top down.  Like in an open C major chord, starting with the 2nd string, then 4th, then 5th.  The problem with that is your pick is going to hit the bottom strings first, so get those notes placed first.  That extra split second will give you a chance to get the last top bits of the chord in place.  I know it seems like a negligible amount of time, but you’ll be surprised how it can improve your guitar playing.

3. When moving from one chord to the next, move the finger that has the farthest to go first.  For instance, in moving from G major to C major in the open position, your first finger has to move all the way from the 5th string to the second.  Lead with that finger and you’ll find that your other fingers naturally pull along behind to end up close to their intended frets as well.

4.  Stay relaxed and let the natural movement of your hands help you get to the chord.  Believe it or not, the guitar is actually designed very well to accommodate the natural movement of the human hand.  When you use tip #3 and lead with the farthest finger, your other fingers will follow along behind it naturally and you can get them to settle in the right place.  If you tighten up they won’t move as naturally, so stay loose.

5. Keep your right hand moving.  The way your brain works has a lot to do with how your hands react.  As a beginner, your brain is giving you permission to stop in between chords and rationalizes it as “we’ll get it eventually.”  It’s normal and happens on a subconscious level.  You can easily change that by setting up a dissonance in your brain.  That means presenting your brain with a problem it needs to fix.  Here’s the way it works:  You brain loves when your hands are moving together.  So if you force your right hand to keep strumming, no matter what happens in your left, your brain will want to solve that dissonance by making your left hand move faster to keep up with your right.  Exactly what we’re looking for.

Did these tips help?  What other advice can you give to the beginner guitarist?  Leave a comment on our Facebook page and share your expertise!  Like this article?  Don’t forget to share on your favorite social network!

Photo by lemuelinchrist.

Wherever you find yourself in the creative world – filmmaker, musician, artist, teacher – one important part of surviving is being a great learner.  After all, how else can you improve your craft without learning along the way?  It’s about learning from your last audition, learning from your peers, and learning about yourself.  Especially for teachers, who are often great learners by nature, it’s important to be able to pass that mindset on to your students.  And for us creative types, this is often the best part of the job.  We found a great article on the NAfME website detailing the 7 qualities of great learners, as written by researcher and author Kirsten Olson – read on to discover these qualities:

1. Great learners see learning as pleasurable. Develop your passion through intensive learning that involves focused concentration and a sense of challenge. Recognize that “failure is a huge part of the enterprise.”

2. Great learners have learned that effort is more important than inborn ability. Kids with disabilities sometimes can deal with these through their other abilities and through persistence. In Olson’s words, “Thinking of yourself as an entity always ripe for development is a mark of learners who go boldly forward.”

3. Great learners tend to have a strengths-based view of themselves and others. “This attitude,” says Olson, “is at the heart of learning resilience.” Figuring out what you excel at and practicing being satisfied with these traits can help you learn.

4. Great learners practice letting go of negative emotions, of flipping the script on what might be regarded as a failure. Let failure go—don’t brood on it. Pick up where you fell and move on.

5. Great learners are unusual problem-solvers who know how to ask for help. These people are both supported and supporters of others in their quests.

6. Great learners don’t let the institution define them. Although they take their educations seriously, they often question labels and define their own paths.

7. Great learners have passions. According to Olson, “research literature describes the importance of passion, curiosity, and deep interests” in dealing with challenges.

Do you see any of these qualities in yourself?  If so, you’re on the right track.  Stop by our Facebook page and let us know if you have any thoughts, questions, or comments!

Photo by nathanrussell.

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.

What makes a guitarist a genius, exactly?  With previous winners like Dave Grohl, the Clash, and the Cure, Gallagher has some big shoes to fill.

Don’t have hours upon hours to commit to practicing?  That’s ok.  In fact, there are ways of practicing your guitar skills without actually having your guitar with you.  Check out these great tips from Jemsite.com about how to practice sans guitar:

1. Learn The Fretboard
The better you know your fretboard, the better you know your instrument and the more easily you can move around it. Here’s one technique to try: slip a small fretboard diagram into your wallet so you’ll carry it around with you everywhere. When you have two spare minutes, you can pull out your chart and name notes to help memorize them. If you don’t have the slip of paper handy, you can use visualization exercises. Picture a fretboard in your mind, pick some notes, and “see” where they occur on the fretboard image.

2. Learn About Chords
No matter how long you’ve been playing, there is always something new to learn about chords. Look around for sources of new ideas or information, find yourself some chord theory books, or study the chords used by great songwriters.

3. Visualization
Use visualization to work on all kinds of guitar skills. Visualization is the process of picturing a situation in your mind as if it were real. It has been proven that visualization stimulates the same nerve paths as actually performing actions, so it helps to reinforce your learning.  Use visualization to practice chord changes and progressions, scales and licks, picking patterns, and whole songs.

4. Develop Your Ears
As you listen to music and other sounds in the street, try to pick out the sound of certain intervals or notes. For example, you can designate a “major thirds day” where you try to spot major third sounds around you.

5. Study Music Notation
Many self-taught guitarists neglect music reading and writing skills. Carry around some sheet music and you can practice reading it during your lunch break or on the bus.

And there you have it – now having a “day job” is no excuse to forgo practicing!  Even if you’re strained for time, you can find a way to make it work.  What do you think of these tips? Anything you’d like to add?  Sound off on our Facebook page – and don’t forget to share with your friends if you liked these ideas!

Photo by Anirudh Koul.

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 .