Product Description
A pioneer in the progressive rock movement of the 1970s, and winner of KEYBOARD magazine’s Best New Talent Award in 1979, escorts readers through the often intimidating world of music, introducing them to rhythm, key signatures, chords, and intervals, and telling how to write it all down. Clear and practical throughout, generously sprinkled with examples, this book leads readers to the point where they can take off on their own…. More >>

The Musician’s Guide to Reading and Writing Music 2nd Ed.

There are many benefits to joining one of the top music networks. It is best to focus on two or three at the most and create, as well as maintain, a standout profile page for your music or band. If you spread yourself too thin and try to join every music site you come across then you will find yourself struggling to maintain an active profile. If you join one of these music networks then you will gain a massive amount international exposure for your music.

Try to devote 30 minutes each month in updating your profile with new photos, gig dates, videos or music samples. On a more regular basis you may want to respond to forum posts, reply to comments posted on your page and also respond to any emails sent to you. You need to treat these music networks as an advertisement and great way to promote your band. Therefore spending some time on the site could bring about some lucrative and life changing publicity for you.

The key point to gaining the most exposure for your music on these sites is to be proactive and make the most of the features available to you. You will want to post recent photos of yourself or your band. You should add some new photos each month. Try and add some bright and colourful photos of each of your band members as well as some group shots. Ask a friend or partner to take some high quality photos of you while performing.

Music videos are all the rage due to YouTube. You can use a camera to take some footage of the band performing one of their most popular songs. Just as a great video can make your band; a bad video can have a negative impact on your music. If a music venue manager is not the network to look for a band for a gig and they listen to a poor quality live performance then they will just move on to the next band. So make sure the video you submit is one that will impress your viewers.

Why spend time in the forums? Because you never know who is online and who is reading the forum posts. Many of the top music forums not only allow bands and musicians to sign up and create a profile but also music promoters, managers, music venue owners, music producers and professionals from the music industry. As a result, you may just catch the eye of one of these promoters who could give you the lead you need. Post positive and informative posts that will require a similar response. Avoid getting into any personal attacks or conflicts with other forum members. Maintaining a high level of professionalism is of the utmost importance in building the reputation you want to succeed.

What about writing an article? It is quite easy to write an article about a topic you are passionate about and have knowledge in. How can this help you? Well in a music network you have members who are musicians and are therefore craving information to help them with their band or music. As a result you can gain some valuable exposure by adding your name and active link at the bottom of the article. You can basically piggy back these top music networks who already achieve high page rankings in the search engines for your own benefit. Search engines love quality content about a specific topic. As a result these search engines will pick up the keywords used in your article and rank it highly as the article is located on a reputable site. Both these combined will give it a good chance of being spread throughout the internet.

One of the best features is the ability to post your upcoming gigs or events. What other way can you get free advertising for your gigs! When posting your gig make sure all information is correct and if any of it changes be sure to return to your profile and update it. There will be fans that listen to your music samples, watch your videos and then decide on attending one of your gigs if they like what they hear. You don’t want to upset them by having them go out of their way to attend your event only to find that the details were changed and there is no gig! Try to include the date, time, cost and location of the event. Some of the top networks will have a feature where your fans can “subscribe” or add their name to an attendance list. This will also allow you to send emails with specific details to these members. This is networking and building a fan base.

Classifieds are also a great way to buy and sell instruments, equipment, search for new band members, post jobs or look for a gig, sell tickets to events and so much more. Make sure you only add the information you want people to see and only use a respectable payment solution provider in the transaction. Most sites leave transactions up to both parties and are not responsible for any disputes or problems with the sale.

Are there dangers associated with music networks? Yes, but only if you post personal information that hackers or people involved in criminal activity can use to spam you or rip you off. The top sites will have internal email systems where your personal email address is protected. They also have a feature that allows you to block any members you wish not to correspond with. Remember that you use these music networks to promote your music and not your personal life and details as a lot of the “Social Networks” do. This is why you should stick to the top music networks that operate with the sole purpose of assisting bands and musicians in promoting their music.

If you maintain an active profile you may just be lucky enough to gain additional exposure from the site. For example, the music networks highlight and profiles a new band each month. This profile puts the band on the front page, generates extra hits for the band’s profile page, spreads their band across the internet due to the quality content in the profile and provides a reputable promotion for the band by a music industry leader. Want to make your own luck? Then be proactive and contact the site team and let them know that you would like to have your band or music be considered to be profiled.

One more great tip is to use “Keywords” in your title for photos, events, profiles etc as these keywords will appear in that page’s URL. This will help for better search engine exposure as they love keywords and targeted content.

The key is where to start when selecting which music networks to join? There are many ways to promote your music and three of the best methods for music and band promotion is by creating a profile on MyBandMate and MySpace Music or posting your music videos on YouTube Music.

So if you want to showcase your music to the world and are not active in these top two music networks then you better get on to it. It takes time, some effort and a desire to make your music reach a global audience. Be proactive, utilize all of the key features to gain maximum exposure and build a fan base by responding to their emails and comments. Don’t include any information in your profile that you don’t want the world to see. Treat your profile page as an advertisement for your music. You may only have one chance to catch the eye of a music promoter, producer or music venue owner looking for a band so make your profile look professional.

• This Handy, Pocket-Sized Book Is the Most Contemporary Music Theory Book on the Market
• A Step-by-step Guide to Harmony and Theory for Every Musician
• Packed with Info from the Harmony & Theory Course at Musicians Institute
• Publisher: Hal Leonard
• 176 Pages

Product Description
Following in the footsteps of the popular Hal Leonard Pocket Music Dictionary, this handy pocket-sized book is the most contemporary music theory book on the market! A step-by-step guide to harmony and theory for every musician, it includes thorough, yet to easy-to-understand analysis of: intervals, rhythms, scales, chords, key signatures, transposition, chord inversion, key centers, harmonizing the major and minor scales, extended chords, modulation and much more.P… More >>

Hal Leonard Pocket Music Theory: A Comprehensive and Convenient Source for All Musicians

Music downloads are highly compressed audio files transferred onto a personal computer from an Internet website or P2P (peer to peer) program. From IPOD’s to MP3 players galore, music downloading is seen as the fastest way for a musician to get his or her work out to the public. Many musicians have developed world-wide followings by adding downloadable music files to their web sites.

It’s a trend reaching nearly epidemic proportions; music downloads are everywhere. Websites all over the Internet offer downloads of particularly rare or hard-to-find songs, and computer-savvy music fans have been known to spend hours searching through the mountains of downloadable material. They also function as a godsend for new or underground musicians; who needs a record label when strategically placed downloads alone can garner you a dedicated following? Even cell-phone companies have grabbed themselves a piece of the pie by offering downloads that serve as ring tones. The sound quality is often superior, the P2P programs easy to use—one of those rare pop-culture phenomena embraced by nearly everyone.

But despite (or perhaps because of) their overwhelming popularity, musical direct downloads have stirred quite the controversy. Many P2P programs allowing users to transfer music directly between computers offer downloads for free, much to the chagrin of several recording artists and labels. Fearful of losing money to music fans downloading the songs instead of buying the full record, bands and labels have set out to stop the users from obtaining their music from free programs. A virtual witch-hunt for frequent downloaders and the threat of lawsuits led many P2P programs to begin charging for their services, though several sneak under the wire by making that payment optional.

The ethical implications involved in free downloads are complicated. Some vehemently rail against the practice, claiming that to download free music is to disrespect the artist that created it. Even bands unconcerned with the financial aspect hate free downloads simply because they allow their records to be leaked, or made available before the official release date. But others see no problem with free downloads, some even completely embrace them. In fact, many cite the exorbitant costs of records as justification alone for free downloads. This type of download and the users that either embrace or condemn them are a hotly contested topic; it’s an argument not likely to end anytime soon.

For the musician, however, downloads are an absolute breakthrough technology, allowing, for the first time in history, for a musician to develop a following without ever leaving his or her house! Marketing possibilities are unlimited for the musicians who avail themselves of this wonderful new technology.

If you are like many musicians, you are too busy to worry about decorating your MySpace profile page. Because you are responsible for promoting your music, your time will have to be divided between online marketing, radio spots, shopping for a recording contract, and playing at various gigs and events in order to generate more fan support. MySpace is another way for you to be seen online. Since you are promoting music, you do not have to do too much to make your page a popular one.

Simple organization

When fans visit your page, they want to read your profile, listen to your music, and view photos or video if you have them. Organizing your page so each category is easy to find and use is a big help for fans and record labels who don’t have much time to view pages. Create bold titles that are simple to understand. Create a profile that matches your personality, but don’t try too hard, as you may lose people before they even listen to your music.

Important information

Always include the URL of your web site if your have one and any additional information like third-party distribution sites you are using to sell CD’s and other merchandise. Also include an upcoming gigs section and list gigs in order of appearance. Make it is easy for people to make plans to see your perform.

Uploading songs

The songs you post on MySpace are the most important part of your page. While you can only upload four songs, this is usually enough to get people hooked on your sound. Choose songs that represent the best of what you have to offer. You can change these whenever you like, but give people enough time to listen to them.

Photos and Video

This is pretty easy to do and you should have enough photos from past gigs and rehearsals that you can use. Update photos and video often and let others know when you do so by posting an alert on your page. Fans enjoy seeing photos and video.

Background designs, fonts, and other decorative touches

While you can take your profile page to the next level by adding a background, changing the font, or rearranging categories, it is not always necessary. Gauge how well received your page is and make changes when you have the time or if you feel it will attract new people to the site.

Marketing

The best way to generate interest in your MySpace page is to take advantage of the marketing tools that are offered. Creating a blog, posting comments on forums, and visiting other music site will all cause your page to be noticed.

Make sure you add your MySpace URL to printed marketing materials and on your web site. This will help generate more traffic.

MySpace can help you reach more people and help promote your sound. While anything you do on MySpace will help increase your exposure, spend the time where you think it is appropriate. If fans want to see new photos each week, then spend time uploading photos. Continue to post information about upcoming gigs so fans will be able to see you live and appreciate your sound on another level.