|
Dear Friends,
I hope you enjoyed
last month's edition of HearMePlay.com's online music magazine "Middle
C" written by musicians for musicians.
This June edition is equally rich with content as we work around
the clock to provide a growing selection of music resources from
reputable publishers and distributors worldwide. We are here 24/7
to answer your questions, comments and suggestions about our service!
 |
|
|
Create
unlimited personal music libraries
- resources you regularly use for your studio or classroom.
Send library links to students or friends and allow users
to search for your libraries online - absolutely FREE!
Learn
more » |
|
|
We are also beginning an extensive campaign to locate music publications
(methods, repertoire and more) not readily available to the public.
Please recommend a resource you use so we can feature it on our
website!
Interested in publishing your own method? We are happy to feature
your product on our site! Contact
us any time and we will work to make your knowledge and experience
available to everyone.
Respectfully,
John Goodell
Founder
HearMePlay.com
How the Study
of Music Plays Out in Real Life
Featured
Guest: Anji Cornette, Songwriter, composer, musician and sound preservationist.
Most of her friends in college played it smart and safe. They picked
the "right" majors: pre-law, pre-med…pre-money. And then there was
Anji, a lover of music who earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts in
Music (Composition concentration) from Carnegie Mellon University.
"For me, it was never about making it big in the music world," recalls
Anji Cornette, Sound Preservation Engineer and award-winning songwriter,
composer and musician. "It was about the music. I never really "chose"
music…music chose me."
And it chose her young. She became interested in music when her
parents bought her a 45 rpm disc player when she was 7, inspiring
a love of contemporary pop music, while piano lessons began at 8,
spurning an equal fascination with the classical. Because she was
afraid of her piano teacher, who would pinch her fingers if she
played the wrong notes, Anji would memorize what her teacher played,
and thus began playing classical pieces by memory (never learning
to actually read music until a new teacher realized her handicap
and took her back to basics at age 14).
Formal voice training began at age 12, she wrote her first song
at 14, and orchestrated one of her songs at 16. Anji also sought
out the opportunity to take Music Theory and Music Composition courses
at a local college, while still in high school.
"I loved pop and rock music, but I wanted to get a formal education
in classical, to truly learn music," Anji continues. "My major focus
in college was Music Composition, although I had full scholarships
from other schools for Voice. I just figured I would be able to
do more with a music composition degree than with a voice degree,
and I knew from taking voice lessons that classical was not my forte.
I could really belt it out, so I needed to stick to more contemporary
pop type of music."
So, she had the training. She had the degree. She had the talent.
And how did that play out in paying the rent? After a brief stint
with the non-profit American Symphony Orchestra League, Anji took
her talents to work in the recording studio of The Cutting Corporation,
an audio production company in Washington, D.C.
"I took the job at the recording studio hoping it would lead to
working in a big music studio some day. I knew how to work with
reel-to-reel tape, I was able to use the skills I learned in college,
and with a day job, I was free to assemble, song-write, manage and
perform with my four-member dream-come-true…my very own rock band,"
says Anji.
"We played many clubs, music showcases and put out several extended
play cassettes, 1 full length CD and one extended play CD," she
continues. "Although we were never signed to a major label, we sold
many CDs, won some songwriting competitions, and had many music
reviews by prominent music magazines. We showcased in front of music
labels who, of course, wanted us to be more like somebody else."
Meanwhile, Anji was earning her Master of Business Management (MBA)
from The George Washington University, and falling in love with
her job. "The studio was not a music studio, but focused more on
voice over work and talking books," she explains. "I was interested
in the archival work we were doing, and I was able to preserve and
transfer many recorded discs for the Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald
collections, both housed at the Smithsonian Institution."
When the Boston Public Library flooding damaged composer Walter
Piston's collection, it was Anji who played a key role in restoring
the sound collection by identifying and breaking up Piston's symphonies
into movements, so that they could be encoded into streaming audio
files. She is currently working on sound preservation for the Willis
Connover Collection, housed at the National Archives and Records
Administration.
"I was so excited that I got to use my music degree in an entirely
different way than I had ever imagined," Anji muses. "If you told
me I'd be managing sound preservation for some of the greatest performers
of the 20th century back when I was belting out the rock 'n roll
tunes," she laughs, "I never would have believed you."
"That's the thing about music," Anji continues. You never know where
it will take you." Although she has hung up her touring rock 'n
roll band boots, she continues her personal songwriting, composing
and performing through her Christian rock band, 4GivenPraise (www.4givenpraise.com).
And 15 years later, she is directing the award-winning efforts of
The Cutting Corporation and their world-renowned Sound Preservation
Laboratory. She is Co-Chair of a committee for the Consumer Electronics
Association, and serves as Treasurer of the Board of the Audio Publishers
Association.
Along with her archival sound engineering staff, and the sound laboratory
of The Cutting Corporation, Anji was featured in the documentary
Save Our History, Save Our Sounds on The History Channel.
Would she change her musical path if she could? No way. "I would
not change the choices I made with my musical career," she asserts.
I can never say "I wish," because "I did," and it was a great experience.
Music gives me an outlet to express myself, and I figure that as
long as I am blessed to do so, I will continue to write, perform
and preserve music."
Although many new musicians think the road will end with the signing
of a major record label, there are truly a variety of musical paths
to success one can take. So, the only question is…what's yours?
Dear Music
Wizard,
I fancy myself a somewhat-talented songwriter and singer, but I'm
curious about the process of creating a song with a band, performing
it for an audience, and (dare I dream?) actually recording it. Can
you give me some insight on the process?
Sincerely,
One Man Non-Show
Dear One Man Non-Show,
Writing music can be powerful, as every artist has a canvas to fill.
We musicians fill it with music and lyrics.
When you work with a band, many times the band will start working
out a musical idea or riff, and build upon it until you develop
the basic structure of a song. I will often then write a melody
line over it and, if lyrics come, start singing the lyrics. Sometimes
songs can be written in a couple of hours, and sometimes it takes
a year or so.
Performing a new song before an audience is always wonderful because
it is like unveiling a piece of artwork. Not everyone may like it,
but that's okay. It's wonderful to see when people start singing
your music because you know somehow you have touched them or encouraged
them.
Recording in the studio is a very humbling experience and one every
musician should go through, especially those with an ego. You are
totally naked in the studio. Notes that would pass in a live setting
don't pass in the studio. Sometimes you are singing lines over and
over, to truly get the proper pitch and feeling. The studio can
be a very grueling experience, but certainly rewarding when you
finish.
Step out into your dream, and live the experience.
Best Wishes,
The Music Wizard
--------
Do you have a question you'd like to ask a Music Wizard? Send your
question to wizard@hearmeplay.com.
Interested in
becoming a music wizard? Get great exposure, unique recognition
and a personal discount code for unlimited orders! Take pride in
building a valuable resource for the music community and utilize
this creative outlet for your expertise. Send inquiries to wizard@hearmeplay.com.
Many musicians
start out as music lovers who have opted to take their passion for
music and create a career. The most popular careers are those in
performance, instruction and education. However, many musicians
realize that they can supplement income by acting as a private tutor
or music instructor teaching.
Whether you see yourself as a full-time musical artist, or a part-time
private instructor taking some classes in basic business are critical
to your knowledge base.
Consider taking classes in:
Marketing/Promotion: You'll learn the basics about how to
promote yourself, create general marketing materials and how to
find students (for music instruction) or customers (as a performance
artist.)
Accounting: Even if you work with a business manager or are
employed by an educational facility, knowing how to handle your
finances can help eliminate many common financial woes such as balancing
a check book, creating a budget and so forth.
Sales: No matter if you're interviewing for a job or selling
yourself as a performer, learning the sales techniques to generate
interest, stomp out common objections and how to close the sale
will help you in any aspect of life.
There are many great classes available through community colleges,
online teleclasses and even self-paced instruction manuals. Just
do a search on the Internet for business classes and you'll find
hundreds of valuable links!
http://starpolish.com/index.asp
Packed with lots of information to help musicians, StarPolish has
forums, expert advice and more.
http://www.talentmatch.com
Looking to find a job in music? Talent match has hundreds of job
and free lance opportunities to help you find your dream job-in
music!
http://musicmoz.org/Resources/Directories/Musician_Resources/
The MusicMoz directory has many resources specifically designed
for musicians like you. Lots of great links!
HearMePlay.com
is dedicated to helping musicians make a living in music. In each
issue, this section features fundraising ideas/concepts, grants
and scholarship opportunities for those in schools, and individual
artist grants.
http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3music.htm
http://www.amc.net/
http://www.canadacouncil.ca/grants/music/
©
2004 HearMePlay.com - All Rights Reserved.
To unsubscribe from this mailing or to update your preferences,
visit us online at: http://www.hearmeplay.com/middlec
|
