Tips To Improve Your Rhythmic Technique

Although I am a drummer, this article has some gems for other instrumentalists. Although I’ve been playing drums for over twenty years, I didn’t start using serious rhythm enhancement techniques until … well, I’d rather not say that. But if I had taken advice from this article, I would have been WAY more prepared for auditions, performances and studio recordings. I wouldn’t have spent so many years with the bad habit of speeding up my pace, especially not while playing drunk! Truth be told, that habit does NOT set my rhythm technique!

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MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: Promote Your Crowdfunding Campaign & More

• Mary Ivanova | 10 Ideas To Promote Your Crowdfunding Campaign
• Matt Rockatansky | How Does Music Influence Study Mood
• Sam Bowman | Temporarily During The Coronavirus Outbreak
• Ethan Harrison Smith | Why Taking A Break From Music Sometimes A Good Idea

10 Ideas To Promote Your Concert Crowdfunding Campaign

Concert crowdfunding is a great way to finance and promote your own shows, without having to wait to get booked – you plan out your campaign, calculate the budget and create promo materials, and then invite fans to preorder tickets (automatically refundable if the show does not raise enough money to be produced). And while it’s vital to make the campaign description as exciting and enticing as possible, the promotional campaign around your crowdfunded show is what is likely going to make or break your event.

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How Does Music Influence Your Study Mood

Music has positive and negative impacts on an individual regardless of the genre. And according to psychological research, the mechanisms which result in mood regulation have an association with music. Listening to different types of music helps with focus, reduces anxiety, as well as induces happiness. Also, some students believe that listening to music helps influence their study mood and this article seeks to elaborate much on that. 

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Jobs You Can Pick Up Temporarily During The Coronavirus Outbreak

To say these are trying times would be an understatement. While we won’t go over all of the ins and outs of the Coronavirus outbreak since it’s on the news every day, we do want to focus on how it’s impacting musicians and artists, and what you can do, financially, to get through this rough patch. Obviously, musicians aren’t touring or playing their most popular gigs right now to avoid gathering large groups together.

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Why Taking A Break From Music Is Sometimes A Good Idea

If you’ve been taking your music career seriously for a long time, it’s possible that you may start feeling a bit of “burnout” at some point. No matter how much you love music, it’s sometimes important to take a step back and let yourself relax for a few weeks, months, or even longer.

Luckily, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Here are a few reasons why taking a break from music can sometimes be a pretty good idea.

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MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: How Musicians Use Style As A Tool & More

• Sam Bowman | How Musicians Use Fashion, Style As A Tool 
• Magnolia Potter  | What You Must Know If You Want To Tour In Europe
• Brooke Chaplan  | 4 Tips For Taking Your Band On The Road
• Caleb J. Murphy  | COVID-19: Being A Musician Amidst A Global Pandemic

How Musicians Use Fashion Style As A Tool

Music and fashion have always gone hand-in-hand. You can’t think about Michael Jackson without picturing his famous sequined white glove or Madonna without her cone bra. No one can imagine KISS without their signature face paint and black and silver jumpsuits. The fashion choices of musicians can quickly become a part of their permanent look and their brand. 

There have been many iconic outfit choices musicians are still associated with over the years. These fashion statements have meant more than just signifying whatever phase a musician was going through. Some of them have become tools to tell audiences exactly who that musician is, the kind of music they play, and what they can come to expect. 

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What You Must Know If You Want To Tour In Europe

Touring European cities like Paris, Barcelona, and Berlin is a performing artist’s dream. Europe’s cultural scene is vibrant and supports up-and-coming musicians. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, travel to Europe is currently restricted. Foreign travelers are banned from the EU bloc for 30 days, and France is in near-total lockdown.

Thankfully, governments are hopeful everything should return back to normal by summer, which just happens to be prime music festival season. Sadly, the United Kingdom’s legendary Glastonbury Festival is one of the casualties of the pandemic, canceling its 50th anniversary. Without Glastonbury, there were still be plenty of festivals and shows to play in the coming months as the continent comes back to social life.

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4 Tips For Taking Your Band On The Road

So you’ve hit the big time (or maybe just big enough) and have decided to go on tour with your band. Veterans and newbies alike need some guidance before they put rubber to the road.

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COVID-19: Being A Musician Amidst A Global Pandemic

As COVID-19 spreads across the world, I see musicians getting hit hard.

Concerts cancelled. Work lost. Jobs temporarily gone. 

The coronavirus and musicians seem like mortal enemies. It’s scary out there. 

As of March 20, 2020, the CDC reports there are more than 15,000 cases and 201 deaths in the United States from the “coronavirus,” as people are calling it. 

This thing is more than just the flu. And that’s why cities and states have been implementing lockdowns. 

Social distancing (or quarantining for those who are at risk or elderly) is crucial to slowing the spread and ultimately for saving lives. 

So how do we musicians deal with this crisis? We’re stuck indoors, so how can we make the most of this pandemic?

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MusicThinkTank Weekly Recap: How Artists Can Protect Themselves Online & More

• D4 Nguyen  | 7 Ways Musicians Can Protect Themselves Online
• Dave Cool | Fan Support During The Coronavirus Pandemic
  
• D4 Nguyen   | The Basics Of Branding For Musicians
• Dan Matthews | How #MeToo Has Impacted The Music Industry?

7 Ways Musicians Can Protect Themselves Online From Stalkers

You don’t have to be a celebrity to have stalkers. As an artist, especially if you’re a woman, putting yourself out there on stage or even behind the screen on social media, generates a lot of attention, making you a potential target of identity theft or a victim of stalking or harassment.

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The Basics Of Branding For Musicians: Figuring Out What Makes You Unique

One of the common challenges I’m noticing artists have about branding is figuring out that one thing that sets them apart from everyone else.

You hear it often in regard to branding. I have even said it in my previous blogs. Because there’s so much competition for attention in the digital era, you have to be able to distinguish yourself to stand out. You need to find what is “unique” about you.

I realize now that this could be misunderstood.

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