The Good Musician

I’ve been reading Sounding the Inner Landscape: Music as Medicine by Kay Gardner. She references Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of music and the sciences. I once had a teacher who said that music was like mathematics in technicolor.
Gardner also illustrates the relationship of the chakras to the overtone series. When you produce a pure tone, either vocally or instrumentally, it sets up vibrations that are strong enough to be heard, occurring mathematically on a vibrating string. Going from the root to the octave, the fifth, fourth, third, and so on…
This is one of the most effective, quick warm-ups for …read more

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I was delighted when I began to hear Nina again, just here and there, then on my daughter’s player. She said, “Claudia, listen to this.” Then she put on Feeling Good. I was blown away that she was blown away that I knew about her and she didn’t. Then she clued me in that Nina is on the Six Feet Under soundtrack. It’s such a wonderment to share an appreciation for music with someone you love. And Nina’s songs speak deeply to women. She does it the way you wish you could.
I must have been 17 or so when …read more

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Everything The Good Musician wants (and needs) to know about leveraging cool tech to be successful. The Austin Music Foundation Music Industry Boot Camp is a goldmine of tips and tools for artists and bands to integrate online Web 2.0 technologies and internet best practices to most effectively promote yourself and your music.
Best of all, Music Industry Boot Camp is free and open to the public!
Monday, July 14, 6:30 p.m., Scholz Garden, 1607 San Jacinto, Austin TX
Image details: Consumer Electronics Show Previews Latest Products served by picapp.com

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Image details: Young Violinist served by picapp.com
Lots of good classical and jazz going on in Austin and regions this week. The Cactus Pear Music Festival features aspiring young musicians. Here’s a partial listing:
Sunday, July 6, 6:00 till 9:00 pm,
& Tuesday, July 8, 5:30 till 9:30 pm:
Shawn Ellison, jazz pianist
Truluck’s Seafood Restaurant
183 & Great Hills Trail
794-8300 (no cover)
Wednesday, July 9, 1:00 pm:
Cactus Pear Music Festival: Young People’s Concert
Thiry Auditorium, Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio
210-838-2218 FREE
Wednesday, July 9, 1:30 pm:
Brian Lewis, violin, master class
Edythe Bates Chapel, Festival Hill, 237 & Jaster Road, Round Top
979-249-3129 FREE
Thursday, …read more

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Musical instruments hanging from the rafters in a very old, family restaurant in Szentendre, Hungary. Photo by TGM.
Szentendre (Saint Andrew) is a sleepy little village two hours up the Danube from Budapest. Artists and tailors and craftspeople spend the winter in the Carpathian Mountains and bring their wares to Szentendre in the summer to sell. One elderly woman who did exquisite needlework said that Transylvania was very cold in the winter, and she enjoyed spending the summers in the heat.

There is an old Serbian Orthodox church in Szentendre, strains of ethereal chant float through the small square. The area …read more

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St. Matthias in Budapest, Hungary was our first concert on the tour. As most churches in Central Europe, it was an accretion of centuries of building on the old foundations. Layers of Byzantine, Medieval, the Magyar chieftains resisting Attila and the various Huns. The castle and church on top of the hill are well fortified, and the only approach is over a bridge on the Danube, through a long tunnel at the base of the hill, and a steep switchback road to the castle close.
There is a four-second lag in the sound from the choir loft. That was the longest …read more

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Bruce created a robust body of information for all good musicians before he said goodbye to his colleagues at b5media. I encourage you to take advantage of his expertise in the music business. His Music 2.0 and Music 2.0 Bookshelf pages will move you smartly toward building your personal database of helpful tips and resources from expert bloggers, a must-have for The Good Musician’s business needs.
In this age of indie music producing and promotion, it behooves aspiring musicians to gain some practical knowledge in the business side of the profession. Many schools offer degrees in music management, but you …read more

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Austin songstress Libby Kirkpatrick is playing at the Ruta Maya coffeehouse this Thursday, May 15. Along with Kirkpatrick, Michael Shay (and the Just Desserts), Mark Utter, David Rothgeb, Geoff Union, and a talent show kick off at 9 p.m. as a benefit for Jim O’Brien.
Come early for a new Environmental Film Series, 6-9 pm, hosted by Texas Clean Water Action and CLEAN (Citizens League for Environmental Action Now). Each screening starts the Austin way, with music from local singer-songwriters, and is followed by a panel discussion with time for audience participation. Opportunities to take action on environmental issues is …read more

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A tip from my favorite hip-hop producer–thanks, J!
Taz Arnold (TI$A), one of Kanye West’s Good Music label artists, put out this number. Flashy, flashy. But is he hurting or helping the cause? Got to say that I looooove the sunnies. Only in L.A.

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1:37 a.m. Tired, but too wired to sleep. Maybe some music would relax you–scrolling through your collection, you’re bored of listening to the same old tunes. Frustrated, you fire up your computer and…
National Public Radio streams forth from your speakers, album art illuminates the gloom of your darkened room, and you groove so hard you forget all about sleeping.
NPR is an embarrassment of musical riches. You may know that one of the top radio shows in the country is Eklektikos, with John Aielli. Weekmornings on KUT-FM, John offers music based on the theme of the day…or doesn’t. Sometimes he …read more

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