Practical advice and gear tips for integrating MIDI controllers into your live set up

The technical elements of a live performance have changed dramatically over the last two decades. Artists – including Foster the People, Passion Pit, and Capital Cities – have integrated samplers, triggered sound sources, and MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) control surfaces into their live shows. As a result, MIDI controllers have been steadily rising in popularity and are a prized piece of gear for beat makers from the hip-hop and electronic world, as well as across a host of other genres.

As mentioned in our MIDI recording post, MIDI controllers don’t produce musical sounds, but rather trigger bits of MIDI data from the output of the controller to either a computer using a DAW (digital audio workstation), soft synth (software based synthesizer), or analog synthesizer module. MIDI data protocol was invented by synthesizer manufactures in the early ’80s to create an industry standard that would allow multiple brands to be used in the same musicians’ setup, since the keyboard portion of a synthesizer could communicate with another brand’s sound module.

MIDI Controllers On Stage

A live performance option that is often overlooked by guitarists or other instrumentalists is incorporating a pad-based MIDI controller, many of which emulate old school drum machines. Since MIDI controllers don’t produce any sounds of their own, you’ll have to also incorporate your DAW of choice, one that has a sampler, or drum rack, usually available via a laptop. Using these types of controllers, you can quickly trigger samples in real time during a song and add a new dimension of timbre and uniqueness to your performance, no matter the genre, especially for groups that rely mainly on guitar, bass, and drums. To incorporate a MIDI controller to simply trigger loops or samples, you would not need a device that was heavy in features, and thus could purchase a controller for in the $50-150 price range, although more expensive models offering a broader feature sets are available for higher prices.

Akai's MPD 18 offers affordable MIDI control in a compact, reliable package.

Akai's LPD 8 is the little brother of the MPD 18.

Let’s assume you’re a guitarist who wants to have a few samples pre-loaded to trigger during a set without the need to manipulate volume or effects as you play. Two MIDI controllers that nicely fit such needs are the Akai MPD 18, which costs $80, and the Akai LPD8, which is only $45. The MPD 18 is a bit bigger and modeled after the iconic Akai MPC samplers in the design of its body and pad layout. With 16 pads (including three bank switches), a single fader, and a few function buttons, the MPD is a very simple controller that would be well suited for simple tasks on stage. The LPD is a bit smaller overall and offers eight smaller pads with four banks; it also has eight knobs that can utilize those banks as well.

Ableton Live's Drum Rack allows you to fine tune each drum sample in your mix.

A great way to incorporate these controllers would be to use them as triggers for a VST (Virtual Studio Technology) drum machine loaded with samples that aren’t necessarily drum or percussion samples. In Ableton Live (a popular $499 all-in one DAW and music creation program) there is a “Drum Rack” instrument that holds samples that can be individually manipulated. Using non-drum samples provides a way to easily bring different sounds and timbres to your live set. You can even create global settings, or “macros,” that allow you to control multiple parameters in each sample’s effects chain with one controller. As you begin to experiment with adding new sounds, the more possibilities will be discovered.

Some examples might include an orchestral sampled riff you want to use on a particular song, some electronic drums, hand claps, ambient sound effects, or other audio elements to mix in and out of a particular passage. You can also loop any sample as long as you want, as long as the pad is still pressed down. Ableton Live’s Drum Rack is a great choice when compared with some of the other DAW or VST drum rack products because of its intuitive and easy to use interface. Also, mapping Drum Rack to your MIDI controller of choice is a snap. Ableton Live 9 also offers an “audio to MIDI” feature that allows you to play a melodic line or chord pattern on your guitar and convert it directly to MIDI synth parts. Need a basic drum track? Just grab a SM-58 and beat box your drum pattern as an audio track – then convert it to sampled drums in minutes.

The Novation Launchpad is an Ableton-specific controller created for working with Ableton Live.

Finally, for any instrumentalist looking to add loop-based sampling to his set up, try pairing Ableton Live with a Novation Launchpad. Total investment is $648, $149 for Launchpad, and $499 for Ableton Live. The Launchpad is a controller that is built specifically for Ableton to take advantage of its Session mode. While the APC 40 (see Part 1 of this post) would likely be a better choice for EDM performance and composition, the Launchpad is a perfect controller for a traditional musician.

The screen in Ableton Live showing the vertical channel clips that allow for fast and intuitive music creation while using the software's Session mode.

If you are unfamiliar with Ableton, in addition to the traditional timeline and horizontal track layout that most DAWs have, it also has a view that displays the mixer with vertical channels and “clips” on each channel which are either audio sample or MIDI based loops that can be turned off and on. What the Launchpad does is create an 8×8 red box (shown on adjacent screen grab) outlining clips on your monitor that represent individual buttons on the controller. You can scroll through channels if you have more than eight channels or clips per channel and the Launchpad reflects the changes both horizontally and vertically on its LED illuminated pads.
Here’s a video of the Launchpad in action and here is a quick overview of how to use it.

Not having to pre-program the controller, along with the fact that it updates what is on the screen automatically, makes the Launchpad an extremely flexible and powerful controller. It also allows for on-the-fly changes as needed and as noted earlier, a very user-friendly interface. Using this type of setup would afford a group that wants a bigger sound, or more complex arrangements the opportunity to do so without bringing in new members to the band. Taken one step further, a solo artist or duo could program it to provide all necessary drum or synth parts in a live situation, giving one the ability to have a greater flexibility in timbres and widen the sonic palette available.

Final Thoughts

Moving forward, it seems likely that the power and flexibility MIDI control affords a “typical” instrumentalist will continue to become a bigger factor in the studio and on stage for non-keyboard players. We will not only see more hip-hop/electronic producers and beat makers using these devices, but perhaps that country band looking for something to distinguish them, or a new hybrid indie band with electronic influences.

Your sample library and your imagination are really the only two limits on creativity. Not only is the greatly enhanced functionality afforded by MIDI controllers powerful and appealing, but the cost of setting up a new live performance rig or home studio drops dramatically when utilizing some of the affordable MIDI controller options we’ve covered in this article compared to what would have been needed even a few years earlier to obtain comparable functionality. Long Live MIDI controllers!

Keith Hatschek is a contributing writer for Echoes and directs the Music Management Program at University of the Pacific. He’s also written two music industry books, How to Get a Job in the Music Industry and The Golden Moment: Recording Secrets from the Pros.

Anthony Sanchez is an EDM/Indie/Hip-Hop producer and musician based in the San Francisco Bay Area and recent graduate of University of the Pacific. In addition to music he is a multi-media marketer and event coordinator.

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The post Using MIDI Controllers On Stage appeared first on Disc Makers’ Echoes - Insight for Independent Artists.

Practical advice and gear tips for integrating a MIDI controller into your studio set up

The technical nuts and bolts that go into making a modern recording have changed dramatically over the last two decades. Customizable, affordable studio gear allows musicians to make records in their home studios that can often rival the quality of the professional recordings made in the past, and using a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) controller has become increasingly more commonplace for home recording enthusiast.

A MIDI controller can come in many forms, and can serve a wide range of purposes – for live performances and for recording applications. It’s worth mentioning that a MIDI controller doesn’t actually produce any musical sound on its own, but rather triggers bits of MIDI data from its output to either a computer using a DAW (digital audio workstation), soft synth (software based synthesizer), or analog synthesizer module.

MIDI data protocol was invented by synthesizer manufactures in the early 80’s to create an industry standard that would allow multiple brands to be used in the same musicians’ setup, since the keyboard portion of a synthesizer could communicate with another brand’s sound module.

A more recent rack of sound modules controlled by a MIDI keyboard controller. (Photo courtesy of Blurred Ren.)

Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman with various analog keyboards and synths in the pre-MIDI era

As the home studio has evolved, so too has the MIDI controller to fit the needs of the musician and the software that has become a part of the studio arsenal. Controllers now have moved well beyond acting as a keyboard for module synths and enhance any musician’s DAW and SoftSynth, enabling one to retain a tactile experience in an environment that seems to require more and longer use of the computer keyboard and mouse.

Bringing your DAW mixer to life with MIDI

One of the components that will expand your home studio’s functionality and flexibility is a controller to handle the mixing functions of your DAW. For the beginner or occasional home studio user, this may not seem like an essential purchase, but there are definite benefits to doing so, especially when you start doing a lot of tracking and mixing.

Mix board controllers can range widely in price and design with some looking more like a traditional analog mixer that you may find in a professional studio and others looking and functioning more like a hybrid DJ/studio mixer. Each knob and slider on this type of controller is assignable and can be programmed to control one or more parameters on the screen within a DAW. (We’ve opted to describe linear controls as “sliders” rather than the analog term “faders” for this article.) Even though some of the more high-end controllers look much like the analog desks mentioned above, they actually replicate a great many of a DAW’s most used functions without the need to be a slave to your mouse and keyboard.

The Behringer BCF 2000 is a good choice for an entry level MIDI controller.

The Novation ZeRO SL MkII provides more control options but a steeper learning curve than some basic models.

In the $200 – $350 range there are several cost-effective options that provide a lot of control for the dollar. The Behringer BCF 2000 is a very sturdy controller that offers the basics for a simple home studio setup. A very intuitive layout and motorized controllers make this product a good choice for someone who is looking to just plug and play. There are eight 100mm sliders in the controllers that give the user a great range of motion. With the “bank” feature, you can control as many tracks as you want, and assignable knobs up top give another level of control of the board to the user.

The Novation ZeRO SL MkII will give you a little more control of you DAW’s mixing functions than the BCF 2000, but may take longer to get used to as it has a slightly steeper learning curve. The design of this controller departs from traditional layout of a studio mixer somewhat, and its innovative design allows for Novation to pack more control into less space on its surface. In addition to the eight faders, the Novation has 32 buttons, eight encoders, eight knobs, and eight drum pads. This controller offers a tremendous amount of control in the $300 price range.

A close-up of the APC 40's smart knobs. The LED rings make adjustments a snap on a darkened stage or in the studio.

The AKAI APC 40 is a perfect complement to the Ableton Live DAW program.

The BCF 2000 and ZeRO SL MkII are geared more towards tracking-oriented DAWs such as Pro Tools or Logic, but if you’re an Ableton Live user, the Akai APC 40 is the must-have controller. Built specifically for Ableton Live, the APC 40 takes everything on the screen and gives you eight sliders, a dedicated bank of eight “smart” knobs for sends and pans, and another set of eight more “smart” knobs surrounded by LED rings, that adjust parameters to whatever Ableton effect is selected. These “smart” knobs auto update in real time as you select and adjust different features while you see it on your computer screen and hear the difference. All of this is pre-mapped and will work immediately out of the box, so all one has to do is literally plug-and-play. In addition to the mixer/effect controls there is a grid of buttons that control Ableton’s loop clips and give it the ability to be a solid live performance controller as well. It’s a great value and available for $300.

For the musician with a bigger budget there are more elaborate MIDI controllers that more accurately duplicate the functions of an analog desk. Why is that helpful? Because it allows you to spend less time manipulating your DAW with the keyboard and mouse, and achieve a real studio feel by doing everything directly on the board. Controllers at this mid-level will usually range between $900-$1,300, but the added investment will significantly improve your mixing workflow. Being able to mix on a physical layout frees you to use your ear more, and to rely less on pointing and clicking on everything that is laid out on the DAW screen.

Mackie's MCU Universal Control allows you to abandon the mouse and keyboard to take control of your session needs from the console.

The Mackie MCU Pro Control, which retails for $1,100, is among this class of desktop MIDI consoles, and is a very versatile controller. The system works with all of the major DAWs, which is not always the case with these types of controllers; other controllers may be built exclusively for Pro-Tools or Logic, so be sure any product you are shopping will be compatible with your programs. These controllers have dynamic encoders (meaning they are infinitely variable) on each channel strip that can easily be switched between several control features, allowing you to tweak pan, plug-in parameters, effects sends and returns, and EQ points, without having to be preprogrammed to do so. They typically will include other features such as jog wheels, sturdier construction, weighted/motorized sliders, zoom keys, and all of the function keys from a traditional computer keyboard, all of which keep your workflow concise and eliminate the need for the mouse and keyboard while tracking and mixing (other than to type track and song names).

While it’s beyond the scope of this article to look at even higher end MIDI controllers, Avid and Solid State Logic are just two of the designers that make more elaborate control systems costing tens of thousands of dollars should you happen to win the lottery.

MIDI for guitarists/bassists

Digital audio tools continue to impact the recording world, and evolving from that technology came VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plug-ins that are now integrated into all DAWs. Such programs allow for audio manipulation of thousands of virtual instruments and effects from hundreds of companies, all controllable by MIDI. For any guitarist or bassist recording at home, they’re a great alternative to collecting several head and cab combos, along with stomp boxes, in the quest to get the ultimate tone.

Guitar Rig 5 is the latest edition of the virtual collection of guitar and bass amps, cabinets, and mic set ups that cover nearly every type of gear.

Some of the major players in the amp-modeling world are Waves GTR3, IK Multimedia’s Amplitube and Line 6’s Gear Box, each of which offers an ever-increasing range of sound options as they have evolved. If you want the Mercedes-Benz of this product category, jump right to the Native Instruments Guitar Rig 5, which for $199, models 17 amps, 27 cabinets, 16 mics and 54 effects. All of these modeling software applications can also be manipulated with MIDI controllers (more on that below), while producing sounds so realistic that they are often indistinguishable from the actual amplifier recordings, not to mention they will set you back a tiny fraction of the price of collecting and maintaining the various vintage amps, heads and stomp boxes they emulate.

Guitarists, being the finicky bunch that we are, may complain about playing squeaky clean notes and chords straight into an audio interface and then adding all the tone and color by clicking away on a computer; and really who could blame anyone for that? If you’ve ever stood in front of a half stack and held out a long note with some sustain and feedback, it’s a lot of fun! But if you live in an apartment or your kids are sleeping on a week night, you may have to rethink that option. Thankfully, utilizing a combination of amp-modeling software and MIDI controllers give guitarists, bassists, keyboard players, and even vocalists a range of possibilities from traditional stomp box type setups to out of this world effect manipulation and flexibility that is unheard of for analog setups. Just add a modeled Big Muff-type distortion effect plus ultimate phase shifter with a dash of ring modulation for a weird and wild touch of modeled sonic spice!

The Behringer FCB 1010 is built for the studio.

The Roland FC-300 is sturdy enough for the stage.

In order to get the most out of these VST amp-modelers, one should consider adding a MIDI foot controller, so that just like with analog pedals, a guitarist or bassist can have all of their effects at the tip of their toe. Some foot controllers to consider incorporating into your studio or live performance set up that could replace traditional pedal boards are the Behringer FCB 1010, which retails in the $150 range and the Roland FC-300, in the $450 range. Both of these offer strikingly similar features when it comes to functionality; the major difference is that the Roland is made with metal pedals and built to take a beating if you take it on the road or have a heavy gigging schedule.

Both pedal boards contain MIDI in/out ports in the back, amp channel controls jack, and power supply sources. To incorporate the pedal board into your setup you’re going to need an audio interface that has a MIDI-in port to connect from the back of the pedal board. In your DAW or VST plug-in program, there will be a place to configure the MIDI routing to make sure that your computer is getting the signal. If you’re having difficulty configuring your MIDI pedal board, don’t stress, it’s likely that someone on YouTube already has done it and will gladly show you how. Once you have a connection going you should be able to assign each pedal to a different parameter within your DAW or VST modeler and use it to turn effects on and off just like an analog setup. An advantage to using a MIDI pedal board is the ability to use banks on the board, which could allow you to have more freedom – instantaneously changing tones, amps and cabinets for different songs and styles (especially handy in a cover band that may have a lot of styles and eras in a particular set.)

Keith McMillen Instruments has a reputation for thinking outside the box with their innovative products.

While the Roland and Behringer offer great alternatives to the traditional analog stomp boxes and accompanying pedal boards that most guitarists are used to, Keith McMillen Instruments have created a pedal board MIDI controller, called the SoftStep, that embraces the fact it’s a MIDI device, and isn’t trying to virtually recreate analog setups. The SoftStep controller does not require being routed through an audio interface like the other controllers; it can be plugged directly into your computer using a USB cable. This controller can be used similarly to the Behringer or Roland pedal boards since it can trigger virtual pedals and effects on your computer, but it does much more. The SoftStep does not have pedals on its board, they feel more like drum pads and have a flexible and rubbery feeling to them. These pads not only detect on and off, but also are sensitive to where your foot is putting pressure on the pad in relation to an imaginary X/Y axis, similar to the way a laptop track pad works. Pressure along either the X- or Y-axis of the controller sends different MIDI data out into whatever is receiving your MIDI information, such as your DAW program, so you can use each pad as an expression pedal if you wish and map it to multiple parameters.

This can be used in a wide variety of ways including controlling LFO rates, chorus intensity, distortion amount, DJ filter sweep type effects, and nearly anything else you can imagine. A controller with as many options as the SoftStep would require a bit more practice for someone who is new to it since there is no analog equivalent, but once it has been incorporated into your set, it allows you to “play” the MIDI controller more like an instrument, as opposed to being a row of on/off switches. Check out this video demo.

Part two of this post will focus on MIDI applications in a live setting.

Keith Hatschek is a contributing writer for Echoes and directs the Music Management Program at University of the Pacific. He’s also written two music industry books, How to Get a Job in the Music Industry and The Golden Moment: Recording Secrets from the Pros.

Anthony Sanchez is an EDM/Indie/Hip-Hop producer and musician based in the San Francisco Bay Area and recent graduate of University of the Pacific. In addition to music he is a multi-media marketer and event coordinator.

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Happy Birthday, MIDI
Here’s a Marketplace Tech news report explaining why MIDI is still cool 30 years after its invention, including a conversation with one of its founders, Dave Smith.

LEO, the Live Electronic Orchestra
Don Lewis is a visionary inventor and keyboard artist who helped inspire Roland to come up with what would become MIDI technology – here’s an article from Electronic Musician that explains Don’s quest to have an entire orchestra’s sound pallet at his fingertips. The LEO can be seen today at NAMM’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, CA.

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The post Using a MIDI Controller In Your Home Studio appeared first on Disc Makers’ Echoes - Insight for Independent Artists.

CD Baby Pro ensures you collect all your global songwriting and music royalties

CD Baby has launched CD Baby Pro, a new service for independent music artists that helps collect the songwriting and music royalties you’ve earned worldwide. Even if you’ve registered your works with a PRO (performance rights organization), it’s virtually impossible to collect all the publishing royalties owed to you every time one of your songs is purchased, streamed, or played in a public setting (including radio, TV, Internet, venues, and more). CD Baby Pro solves this problem and makes it easy for you to get paid what you’ve earned.

With CD Baby Pro:

• You get affiliated as a songwriter with ASCAP or BMI. (Already affiliated? Not a problem! CD Baby Pro registers your songs worldwide – something the PROs won’t do – so you’ll be sure to collect maximum performance royalties. Plus, your mechanical royalties for international downloads and worldwide plays on streaming sites like Spotify and Rdio are collected for you as well.)
• Your original songs are registered with ASCAP or BMI, as well as collection agencies from around the world.
• Your global publishing royalties are collected on your behalf.

“Whenever music is used in TV, radio, the Internet, live performances, video games, or film,” says CD Baby president Brian Felsen, “music royalties are owed to the songwriter. Signing up for a performing rights organization like ASCAP or BMI is not enough. Hundreds of organizations around the world collect music royalties for songwriters. The challenge is actually claiming your money. You can’t knock on all those doors yourself. That’s why we created CD Baby Pro; we’re doing all the door-knocking for you.

“Any time you sell a download overseas, you’re owed mechanical royalties that can only be collected from the local performance rights organization. Any time your music is played on a streaming site like Spotify, you’re owed publishing royalties in addition to the normal streaming fee you’re paid by the retailer. Any time your music is placed in a TV show, you’re owed performance royalties beyond the fee you’ve already been paid for the sync license. With CD Baby Pro, we’ll make sure you get paid every time.”

CD Baby has partnered with digital publishing service SongTrust to interface with performance rights organizations and collect music royalties on your behalf. CD Baby Pro is designed to give you the same royalty collection resources that major label artists have benefited from for years, plus the benefit of worldwide music distribution.

CD Baby Pro’s 4 primary services include:

• Worldwide music distribution (iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and more).
• Songwriter affiliation/registration with ASCAP or BMI.
• Song registration with ASCAP or BMI, as well as collection agencies from around the world.
• Global Royalty Collection on the artist’s behalf.

CD Baby Pro is available for all US-based artists. It costs just $99 per album and $39 per single. For existing CD Baby artists, CD Baby Pro is now available as an add-on: the upgrade to CD Baby Pro takes only minutes to complete and costs $59 per album or $39 per single.

For more information, visit members.cdbaby.com/Pro.

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The post Get Every Penny You’ve Earned In Music Royalties With CD Baby Pro appeared first on Disc Makers’ Echoes - Insight for Independent Artists.

Veteran vocal coach Cari Cole shares five singing tips to make your voice sound better

This post originally appeared on Cari Cole’s “Standing in the Spotlight” blog. Reprinted with permission.

As one of the top vocal coaches in the country, I’m frequently asked, “What are your top singing tips for vocalists?” Well, I could rattle off a long list, and yammer on for hours. I’m a nerd’s nerd when it comes to vocals, and I have a long list of favorite tricks up my sleeve from more than 20 years of coaching singers… But I love a challenge – so I pretended I had only five minutes to tell you my best singing tips, and I wracked my brain to come up with the Top 5.

First, one of the things I am constantly teaching my private clients is that the voice is an instrument inside your body and you have to learn how to use it to get the most out of it. It’s very “physical” on the foundational level.

To have a strong voice and to have vocal consistency there are certain things you have to know and do, and there are some really simple methods you can use, right now, to get a great sound out of your instrument.

And the truth is most singers, even professionals, unless they’ve trained, don’t know this stuff. I’m going to give these singing tips to you as if I were actually giving you a voice lesson: right here, right now.

So, stand in front of a mirror, because I’m going to ask you to watch your jaw and your head position to control movement as you sing.

Cari’s Top 5 Singing Tips

1. The “instant fix”
This is a quick trick that makes you sound better instantly, so I call it the “Instant Fix.” Say A-E-I-O-U (watch your jaw movement in the mirror). Did your jaw close on any of the vowels? Chances are your jaw closed on the “E” and the “U” – and most likely on others too, if not all of them. Take your first two fingers and pull your jaw down two inches – or even better, use a plastic bottle cap or a wine cork to prop your jaw open. Now speak the vowels again. And repeat again (we’re trying to re-program muscle memory – so the more the better).

Now sing the vowels on one pitch. A-E-I-O-U. Your goal is to keep your jaw open (long not wide) without closing for all of your vowels. Repeat until you can do it. Now sing a phrase of one of your songs – and make sure your jaw opens to the same position on all of your vowels. You have to practice this a bunch before it becomes natural – but the more you do, the sooner this new movement is programmed into your muscle memory.

And you might be one of those lucky ones who notice the improvement in the sound right away (it will sound louder and more resonant with less vocal strain). If you don’t, don’t sweat it, you will. It just takes a little practice. You might have some unwanted tension in your neck, jaw and throat muscles – try loosening them up and try it again. The next time you perform open your jaw more on your vowels, it’s one of my quick singing tips that makes you sound better instantly!

2. “Think down” for high notes
When you sing a scale, try thinking of the way an elevator works: a heavy weight is attached to a pulley, and as the weight pulls down, the elevator goes up to the higher floors. So, the highest floor is reached when the weight is the heaviest. Similarly, you should use the most “weight” on your highest notes.

3. More power without strain
Who doesn’t want more power without strain? This is one of those simple singing tips that’s easy to apply – easier than the one above. All you have to do is to keep your chin pointed slightly down and your pectoral muscles slightly flexed (sometimes it’s a lot flexed) when you go for more power. Most singers reach forward or lift their chin up to sing with more power. While it may temporarily work, it causes vocal problems. Tipping your chin down not only works better and saves your voice, it actually SOUNDS better!

Stand in front of the good ‘ol mirror. Sing an “ah” scale up and down in one phrase (1-2-3-4-3-2-1). Press your chin slightly in (point your chin towards the floor), usually only 1 inch or so. Don’t let your head bob up as you raise pitch – keep it firmly in place. Go all the way up the scale of your voice keeping this position. Notice how the chin wants to move up as you raise pitch. Keep it planted. This will give you more power and control and eliminate strain. Practice it until it becomes natural!

4. Vibrato
Here’s a quick tip to get your vibrato working. Stand in front of a mirror; press on your chest with both hands, then raise your chest higher than normal. Take a breath in and then exhale, but don’t drop your chest. Sing one note and hold it as long as possible with your chest raised. Press on your chest halfway through the note (press kind of hard and raise your chest to meet the pressure). Relax the back of your neck and keep your jaw open as you’re singing “ahhh.” Imagine the air spinning around in your mouth while keeping your chin tucked down a bit and your chest raised. Keep in mind, overuse of vibrato is not a good thing in contemporary singing (pop, rock and R&B). At the same time, no vibrato is also not a good thing. So, try ending phrases with straight tone, then into a little bit of vibrato. The bottom line is to do what’s best for you.

5. HearFones®
A good vocal tone is not established by singing loudly, it’s established at medium volume. Good tone happens when vocal folds are strong enough to have a good closure but not touch.

Releasing too much air creates a “breathy” tone and releasing too little air creates a “nasal” tone. Unless you’re really going for breathy or nasal as a stylistic choice, somewhere right in between the two is the perfect balance. HearFones allow you to really hear yourself and work on your tone at medium volumes.

Image of vocalist vis ShutterStock.com.

Cari Cole is a singer and vocal instructor with over 25 years’ experience working with independent artists and A-list performers. Cari’s website offers tools and materials for serious vocalists, and her “Standing in the Spotlight” blog is a great resource for vocal and music industry info.

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The post Singing Tips – How to Sing Better Right Now appeared first on Disc Makers’ Echoes - Insight for Independent Artists.

Industry advice to music entrepreneurs can help your music career

Marcus Taylor at Venture Harbour asked 30 people in the music industry to give one piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. Of course, most everything included translates to building a music career and is definitely worth a read. Echoes’ Andre Calilhanna is among those polled, and his insights are to "continually re-prioritize."

"Keep a running check list and continually re-prioritize. You need to define your goals, and the steps involved in reaching them include writing them out, completing each, and moving on to the next. It’s an organic process, and some items will drop off your list and others will get added."

Check out the post, 30 Pieces of Advice From Music Industry Entrepreneurs.

Name tag image via ShutterStock.com.

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Invincible

Two Steps From Hell

SkyWorld

Two Steps From Hell

Archangel

Two Steps From Hell

Kuntry

Jawga Boyz

Can’t Stop Now

Vincent Ingala

Illusions

Thomas Bergersen

Summer Rain

Jeanette Harris

Folk Songs of the American Longhair

Brother Dege

Sacred Cello

Steven Sharp Nelson

Papercuts

Melvil Dewey

The post Top 10 CD Baby Albums: April 2013 appeared first on Disc Makers’ Echoes - Insight for Independent Artists.

Online music PR takes patience, follow up, and a three-phase plan

For any emerging brand (yes musicians, this means you), a music PR campaign is a great way to spark new conversations, build visibility within key markets, and grow your overall influence over a long-term. The problem is, your budget may be tied up in basic costs such as recording, production, touring, rent, food, etc.

Working with an established, professional publicity or marketing firm might be the ideal, as they will have a proven process and a network of strong media connections, but unless you have a few thousand dollars available in your budget, you may need to design your own publicity campaign.

A self-propelled music PR campaign can absolutely be effective if executed properly, which means you’re effective at managing the three key phases:
1. Pre-PR phase: Planning
2. During-PR phase: Pitching
3. Post-PR phase: The Eagle Has Landed

Unfortunately for those new to digital publicity (and even for those with experience) there are several pitfalls that can derail the success of a campaign.

I’ve outlined several mistakes that must be avoided in each of the three phases so that your time and efforts are maximized.

Music PR Phase 1: Planning

Ineffective (or unrealistic) goal setting
PR is meant to do three things for you:
1. Build conversations with potential fans
2. Increase overall visibility with a target market
3. Establish influence within a market

Will success in these three things lead to sales in some way? Hopefully. Is the purpose of PR to increase your bottom line? No.

Unfortunately there is no guarantee that PR will lead to an increase in sales, as the feature placements (blog features, podcast features, magazine features, etc.) only guarantee that you are being seen by more people who could potentially become your fans. These placements are only the beginning of a much bigger sales funnel.

With that said, setting unrealistic goals will kill ANY PR campaign, as it sets a campaign up for failure from the get-go. Setting effective goals is a critical staple to Pre-PR planning!

Underdeveloped Branding
As a full-time digital publicist, I receive inquires on a daily basis from independent artists who would like us to do their PR. When exploring each artist to decide if we are the right fit for them, we look at the music (obviously), but we also take a look at their overall branding with almost equal weight. This includes the messaging in their bio and the assets that they have available for the promotional work, such as photos, videos, and the look and feel of their website and social networks.

From my experience, the music must be good, but so must the branding. An artist can have great music, but when it comes to a music PR campaign, if the photos don’t pop, the bio doesn’t weave a compelling story, and the videos look under-baked, getting media makers to sign on for a feature becomes incredibly difficult. Each of these components is an extension of your online brand and will do just as much to help (or harm) you as does the quality of your music.

Lack of Targeting
Far too often I see artists compile their target list of media makers to reach out to, and it is just a list of the biggest 1% of blogs in the world (i.e. Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, Gorilla Vs. Bear, NPR), along with blogs in the wrong genre and even worse, blogs that focus on the hyper-local (and they are not in that location).

It is very important to understand that the type of music you play (specifically the music you are promoting NOW), where you are from, how old you are, how big your fan base is and what passions drive the influence of your music dictate which blogs you should, and should NEVER be targeting.

Music PR Phase 2: Pitching

A Bad Elevator Pitch
The purpose of an elevator pitch is to create a quick description in a sentence or two of your sound that not only gives people a frame of reference (who might you may sound like), but also to paint a strong, compelling picture of your sound that is so intriguing they want to go check out your music: "The raw power of Led Zeppelin meets the danceability of Lady Gaga."

On the other hand, a bad pitch gives no frame of reference and isn’t at all compelling: "Eclectic Pop."

And a word to the wise, using obscure artists is fine if you are SURE that your intended audience will know who it is. If they have to ask "Who?" once you’ve given your pitch, you’ve already lost them…

CCing (or BCCing) everyone pitched
This is a HUGE no-no if you are trying to get any media maker to work with you. Besides the fact that CCing dozens of people at once shows an utter disregard for respecting privacy, it actually goes against US anti-spam laws. BCCing people, although respecting people’s privacy, is still considered spam.

Another major issue with BCCing people is that it leave no opportunity for you to personally address each media makers, which can play a critical role in establishing new long-term relationships with media makers.

If you are going to pitch media makers you don’t know, it is always best to check their website for a submission guideline, and then email each one directly with a personalized introduction and sign off to the email.

Poor Timing
Timing is everything when it comes to PR, because the hot topic at any given moment within an industry (or around the world) can dictate how relevant your story will be to a media maker’s audience.

SXSW is a great example of how music PR efforts can be affected by timing. For a week or two in mid-March, much of the music blogosphere has its eyes on Austin to see who the best up-and-coming acts are. Unfortunately for those NOT heading down to Austin, it means a lack of interest from many media makers. If you’re not going to play SXSW, don’t schedule your PR efforts during this time.

When you dive into your pitching, make sure that you do some research in the surrounding area, look at industry-news, and check the calendar for any significant holidays or events.

Overly Hyped
I can think of nothing that will damage a PR campaign more than when an artist is overly hyped. Not only do most media makers not care, but most often they won’t even believe you when you say that you sound like "nothing they have ever heard before." Especially because, if you’re being honest, it probably isn’t true.

With the exception of the biggest blogs in the world (i.e. the Pitchfork’s of the world) most media makers are ONLY doing so because it is their passion. Most don’t make any money at all from it. It is always more effective to approach media makers genuinely with a story that is not only honest and compelling, but speaks to creating value for THEM and THEIR audience.

Not Following Up
PR is a process and the results are in no way immediate. Once an initial pitch is sent out, it may sit for days in the abyss of the recipient’s inbox before it is seen, if it is ever seen at all.

Very often I’ll hear back from media makers that I have pitched three weeks later saying they were so glad I followed up because they had missed my other emails.

And that right there is your problem. By not following up, you are leaving your pitch up to the unknown. People may see it and respond, or they may delete it, or maybe they just missed it entirely. Without following up, how will you ever know?

From my own personal experience, the only way to make an effective pitch is if you follow up on a weekly basis for a few weeks (typically three or four weeks after the pitch is sent).

Music PR Phase 3: The Eagle Has Landed

Not Building Relationships With Your Supporters
Any feature can be a one time thing if you let it be that way. However, if you take the time to build a relationship with the media maker, there is no end to how often and how long they may continue to support you.

If you leverage each feature you get into a relationship, the promotion for each project you release in the future becomes that much easier to execute (not to mention the results of which will be far greater). On the other hand, if you DON’T leverage each feature, you’ll have to start from square one every time you release a new project…

Here are a few great ways to turn a one time feature into a new relationship with a valuable supporter:
1. Follow up with the media maker and thank them for featuring you
2. Share the feature on all of your social networks and tag the media maker whenever possible
3. Include the media maker in a #FF (Follow Friday) tweet
4. Share OTHER features theirs on a regular basis

Not maintaining a presence where you are featured
As mentioned earlier, the purpose of PR is to build new conversations with potential fans. Believe it or not, but the features themselves (i.e. a blogger writing about your music) are often not enough to get a conversation stated.

You need to maintain an active presence on any and every place you are featured so you can directly interact with anyone willing to join the conversation. THIS is how these conversations will eventually be turned into more fans — and down the line, into more sales!

Not monitoring the virality of your features
Quite often, media makers will be involved with a network of other media makers either in a similar niche or similar location and they will support each other. This can lead to posts being mentioned in other places, or even fully re-published on other websites.

By not monitoring the virality of a feature, in other words not monitoring where ELSE people are talking about you because of a single feature, you are once again missing critical opportunities to build your fan base.

A great way to do this is to set up Google Alerts for yourself so that any time your name (or your name + your single, or your name + your music video title) is mentioned online, you will be notified via email.

Note: Unfortunately Google Alerts will be retired as of July 1, 2014, so I suggest Mention.Net as a fantastic alternative. However, if you have any other Google Alert alternatives, please leave your suggestion below in the form of a comment!

PR Puzzle image via ShutterStock.com.

Jon Ostrow is the Campaigns Director for Cyber PR. Follow him on Twitter @jon_ostrow.

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The post Critical Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Music PR Campaign appeared first on Disc Makers’ Echoes - Insight for Independent Artists.

Procrastinating is just a creative way to sabotage your music career

Is there a next step that you really need to take with your music career, but you keep procrastinating and putting your dream on hold because things are not perfect yet?

Here’s something I’ve learned that completely transformed my music career when I finally got it: Done is better than perfect, because when people wait for perfect, nothing gets done.

From one music artist to another, I totally relate to wanting your work to be perfect before you get it out there. After all, the music industry feeds you that. But, here’s what I REALLY think happens with musicians… Waiting for things to be perfect before you move forward is a way of hiding behind fears of rejection.

Put simply, procrastination is an excuse for not taking control of your music career. Then, years down the road, you look back and your heart sinks because your dream collected dust on the shelf labeled "someday." Don’t let this happen to you.

Are you ready to be in the minority? About 85% of the musicians I coach have been putting their dream on hold for years now. Whatever your next step is that you need to take, out of love, I’m calling you out and pushing you over the edge.

So many music artists became successful because they just took action when other, more talented artists were "waiting for the right time."

What is that next big step that you need to take? More importantly, ask yourself why you’re not taking it — and then DO something about it!

To support you, I’m here to nudge you to the edge. Sound scary? Ok, but how much is your dream REALLY worth to you?

BE the dream!

FREE webinar on Wednesday, May 1st at 8 pm ET (5 pm PT). Reserve your spot for Tiamo’s free webinar, sponsored by Disc Makers, called "10 Secret Income Streams For Musicians: Alternative Ways To Make Great Full Time Income With Your Music While Getting Massive Exposure."

Streetsign image via ShutterStock.com.

Tiamo De Vettori is a music success coach who has spoken to over 47,000 people around the world at colleges, universities, conferences, and seminars. He has been featured on FOX, CBS, NBC, and MSNBC, and was named L.A. Music Award’s "Singer/Songwriter of the Year." With a passion for empowering independent artists, Tiamo teaches musicians, singers, and songwriters about new and creative ways to make great full-time income with their musical gifts. Click to reserve your spot for Tiamo’s free webinar on May 1st (8 pm ET), 10 Secret Income Streams For Musicians.

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The post Done is Better Than Perfect for Your Music Career appeared first on Disc Makers’ Echoes - Insight for Independent Artists.

The talented designers in our Design Studio at Disc Makers created twelve original works of art (one for each month) that feature some of our favorite songs. Each month we will post a new design, in six common desktop sizes, so you can use them as your desktop wallpaper.

May’s wallpaper features “Love Is like a Butterfly” by Dolly Parton

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Previous Months or take me back to Echoes

April 2013 desktop wallpaper inspired by The Beatles! “Octopus’s Garden”

March 2013 desktop wallpaper inspired by Kate Bush’s “And Dream of Sheep”

February 2013 desktop wallpaper inspired by Wailing Souls’ “Shark Attack”

January 2013 desktop wallpaper inspired by the Stray Cats’ “Stray Cat Strut”

December 2012 desktop wallpaper inspired by Tombs’ “Golden Eyes”

See All of the Design Studio at Disc Makers’ desktop wallpaper

The post Desktop Wallpaper May 2013 Edition – Inspired by Dolly Parton’s “Love Is like a Butterfly” appeared first on Disc Makers’ Echoes - Insight for Independent Artists.

The starving artist routine can help derail your music career, so focus on the positive

As indie musicians devoting ourselves to the demands of a music career, we know that many (most?) musicians are always broke. Like Ramen broke. PB&J broke. Rice and beans BROKE.

You know who doesn’t know that musicians are broke? Non-musicians. And let’s keep it that way.

Music lovers (your fans) don’t want to hear how you are a "struggling/starving musician." It’s not romantic. The starving artist thing is romantic to reflect back on (once you’re successful) and you can talk all about it in interviews with Rolling Stone in five years. But don’t talk about it now.

Building a grassroots fan base is about showcasing that you’re on the up and up. No one wants to be a fan of a failing, starving, broke-ass band. They want to support bands who have their act together, have a budding music career, and are about to take over the world. They can then say "I knew them when…"

There is a difference between talking about how broke you are and being humble and (for the most part) transparent. I see bands post all the time on Twitter and Facebook about how broke they are and can’t afford to eat so "buy my music." Big no no. Guilting them into buying your music never works. You’ll be sure to get an "unfollow" rather than a sale.

You can, however, post about how you’re looking for a crashing pad. Just because you need a place to stay doesn’t mean you’re broke. It could mean that you’d rather spend that $100 on gas, inventory, blow, whatever. Or that you just want the comfort of a friend/fan’s hospitality. Amanda Palmer STILL crashes with fans all over the world and she raised over a million bucks on Kickstarter!

Your fans are living vicariously through you. All of your successes are their successes. If you keep talking about all your music career failures, they’re not going to be so excited to be your fans as they already have enough failures going on in their own lives and don’t need any of yours.

Also, I made the mistake when I first moved to LA by telling everyone I met how tough it was to make ends meat in LA (vs. Minneapolis). I thought people would empathize and we would share in our collective misery. The thing I soon realized was that most people thrive on positivity and enthusiasm out here (not misery — go figure). I lost a few early connections because I revealed too much struggle and not enough inspiring drive.

Sure, misery loves company. But you know what also loves company? Awesome. Be awesome and you’ll attract awesome people.

STAY POSITIVE and keep the uplifting, exciting success stories (as seemingly small as they are to you) coming. That keeps people inspired. Talking about how you lost a gig, can’t pay for gas or food, and are thinking of quitting music because it’s too expensive is just a bummer. Don’t bum people out with your negative tweets, posts, or in person conversations. Leave that for your music.

Since quitting his day job at Starbucks in January 2008, Ari Herstand has played over 500 clubs, colleges and festivals in 40 states, opened for Ben Folds, Cake, Eric Hutchinson, Matt Nathanson, Joshua Radin, and Ron Pope, and had his music featured on popular TV shows like One Tree Hill and various Showtime and MTV shows. Ari relocated from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in the fall of 2010 to begin the next phase of his artistic journey. This year he landed two co-starring roles on 2 Broke Girls and TOUCH, as well as a lead role in feature film. Check out his independent music business advice blog, Ari’s Take.

Check out his independent music business advice blog Ari’s Take, follow Ari’s Take on Twitter, and on Facebook, and sign up for Ari’s Take newsletter.

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The post Telling People You’re Broke Won’t Help Your Music Career appeared first on Disc Makers’ Echoes - Insight for Independent Artists.