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Music Industry

Top 5 Live Acts to Perform at the New Wembley

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Whether you’re a musician just starting out on what you hope will be the road to superstardom, or you’re a multi-platinum selling artist playing to sell-out crowds around the world, there are some venues that stand as iconic monuments when it comes to music achievements.

Smaller up and coming bands in the United Kingdom might want to play a Friday night at Camden’s KoKo club or the Cavern Club in Liverpool, while globally New York City’s Madison Square Garden and places like Las Vegas are always targets for the most ambitious.

London’s own Wembley Stadium stands as another iconic venue, and as one of the world’s largest stadiums such a show can often represent the peak of an artist’s career.

take that wembley“Take That Wembley” by http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamraoof/ – . Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Here is our take on the top 5 live acts to perform at the new Wembley.

Muse

Muse were the first band to sell out the new Wembley during their 2007, playing two nights across a weekend in June.  For years, Muse have been critically and commercially acclaimed for their live performances, and are generally accepted by the music community to be one of the best live bands of all time.

What makes Muse’s performances stand out above others is that they’re more than gigs; they’re like theatre shows with show much effort going into creating an amazing spectacle.  Muse frontman Matt Bellamy even admitted a few years ago that such is their passion for creating a memorable experience for those at their live shows that the band makes very little profit from their tours.

Take That

The first band from the 90’s to reunite before everyone else seemed to jump on the bandwagon, Take That played four nights at Wembley in 2009 before returning in 2011 for a record breaking eight show run, playing to over 620,000 people across these dates.

Admittedly, Take That weren’t, and still aren’t, everyone’s cup of tea, but their influence within the industry has never been in doubt and their live performances have spawned best-selling DVD’s and caused fervour to the degree that if they decided to take the rest of the decade off, they’d still sell out Wembley in 2020.

Oasis

Speculation was rampant earlier this year that two of Manchester’s favourite sons were going to let bygones be bygones and get back together, for either a world tour or a Glastonbury Festival headline slot.

Neither occurred, but those who saw Oasis play the new Wembley in 2009 will never forget it.  Oasis were one of the last bands to play at the old Wembley before it was demolished, and are in an elite group of those to have played both during their careers.

Coldplay

While Coldplay might lack some of the pomp and circumstance that Muse do on the live stage, they still know how to put on a show and play to sold-out arenas and stadiums all around the world as a result.  Widely regarded as one of the best bands in the world today, even those who don’t consider themselves Coldplay fans should go along and see them and enjoy an unforgettable experience.

Metallica

Metallica’s 2008 Wembley show still holds the record for the highest grossing concert at the stadium, bringing in an astonishing $12million for one night.

Their Glastonbury headline slot this year proved they’re still going strong, so don’t bet against them coming back to play the new Wembley in the next few years.

 

Uncategorized

How can learning an Instrument Help People with Disabilities?

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While learning a musical instrument, whether you go to a personal tutor, use an online service such as ours, or learn through reading a theory book, has been shown to boost brain development, particularly at a young age, what often isn’t explored is how learning a musical instrument can help those with physical disabilities.

Here are some of the ways that learning a musical instrument can help people that are in this situation.

It Can Act as a Distraction

It is common for those with disabilities to get down about themselves, particularly when they don’t have much to do in their lives.

Learning a musical instrument can be a great distraction; it is a brilliant way for anyone to lose themselves for a few hours and fully commit to something else without having a care in the world.  One of the great things about looking at musical instruments in general is that there are so many different types that individuals with disabilities will almost always be able to find something they’re able to do.

Playing Music can be a Form of Physiotherapy

Depending on a person’s disability, the instrument they play might act as a useful form of physiotherapy.

For example, in this inspiring story about a girl with cystic fibrosis, her father speaks of how playing the saxophone will act as a form of physiotherapy for her lungs.  To the same extent, playing the piano could help someone looking to develop their fine motor skills, and playing the drums could be good for someone that needs to keep constant action of their arms to prevent muscle atrophy.

Music can Restore Normality

It is often said that those that are most affected by physical disabilities from a mental perspective are those that have had an accident or suffered an injury having previously lived a healthy life.

For these individuals, music can be a great way to regain a sense of normality and ensure that social interactions remain high and that feelings of depression that may arise are kept under control.

While music is an obvious option to explore for those that previously played an instrument before an injury or accident, it is definitely worth looking at as a new hobby for those that didn’t.

Overall increases in confidence and self-esteem will also be seen as a result of embracing an opportunity to play an instrument.

Music and musical instruments are powerful in many ways and walks of life.  For those with disabilities, it can be a great way to focus on something and keep mentally healthy, while also ensuring you’re living the life you want.

Music Industry

Top 5 Abstract Album Art Covers

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Music albums often deliver some of the most iconic pieces of artwork in modern culture.  The links between music and the rest of what are collectively known as “the arts” is usually plain to see when you look at some album covers. Some become iconic because they are brutal in their simplicity and meaning – think the cover for Nirvana’s Nevermind album – while others because of their elaborate nature and almost over the top design, like The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Abstract art designs are also commonplace when it comes to album covers. Here is a rundown of what we believe to be the top five such examples.

Muse – The Resistance

Muse are one of the biggest and most popular bands in the world, and they love artistry and the spectacular, too. Anyone who has seen them perform live can attest to that, while those who haven’t only need look at the vast array of “Best Live Band/Performance” accolades they have won in addition to all the other times they have been nominated.

This passion extends to their album covers, too, and while many of them make you think, 2009’s The Resistance ticks the abstract box better than all the others, and even has separate yet still abstract cover art for anyone buying the vinyl version.

Radiohead – In Rainbows

When Radiohead released In Rainbows in 2007, it got more attention for being available using the now popular “pay what you want” model than for the album art, because it was initially an exclusive digital release.

Again, a number of different album covers are available, but all are abstract and make great use of colour and effects, and like most of Radiohead’s material, they are fun to experience, and great to try to discover the meaning to.

Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto

While Coldplay have been critically and commercially successful for all their careers, they still carried around the dreaded “middle of the road” and “boring” tags like millstones most of the time.

These were finally cast aside when they released Mylo Xyloto, and while the artwork itself isn’t the most standout piece of abstract expressionism you’ll ever see, it is eclectic yet thoughtful enough to provoke your mind, while the music fit the artwork to perfection, too.

Röyksopp – Melody A.M.

Electro music is often the best place to turn when you want abstract inspirations, and Norwegian duo Röyksopp delivered it with a re-release of their Melody A.M. debut album. The idea behind the artwork is devastatingly simple, yet brings colour and something unexplained into your thoughts while not being so over the top and abstract as to be dismissed as ridiculous.

Keane – Perfect Symmetry

Probably winning the award for the title that is most likely to make use of abstract design (without having the word abstract in the title) is Keane’s Perfect Symmetry. The simple use of photography and shapes on the album cover brings it to life, the only problem is you find yourself dealing the people who argue that the cover isn’t symmetrical!

Saxophone Tips

How to Become Great at Sax Improvisation

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Learning how to play the saxophone is a great achievement in itself, and the beauty of the instrument, like most others, is that you can spend your life indulging in a journey to master it, getting close but often realising that you’ll never stop learning something new each time you pick it up and play.

Sonny Stitt - Alto Saxophone
Sonny Stitt – Alto Saxophone

Some people who learn to play the sax are more than happy learning certain songs or styles of play, while others can’t stop there and want to become confident at playing improvisations and solos. If you develop your skills with the sax to the point you can do this well, you will stand out above the majority of sax players, even if all you ever do is play the instrument for pleasure in your bedroom.

Here are some tips that will help you become great at sax improvisation, and better at playing jazz sounds with any instrument.

Learn the Piano

This isn’t something you should look at doing if you’re a beginner or are relatively new to the sax. However, if you’re an experienced sax player and are looking to take the step from playing selected songs to playing great solos, learning how to play the piano – another instrument where the ability to improvise can be crucial – can help you a great deal.

Many sax players have said that the opportunity to “see” what they’re playing on piano makes it easy to translate this to the sax. If you’re struggling to grasp sax improvisations, give it a go on the piano and see if it makes a difference.

Find a Great Role Model

Name a famous saxophone player who hasn’t been a brilliant improviser.

You probably find it difficult to do. We’re not saying that you should stop because you’ll never be that good; what we’re saying is that you have a wide range of role models in the music world, and that you should use them.

The trick here is to find a role model that plays within your preferred niche. So, if you’re looking to become great at playing jazz style sax, find your favourite jazz saxophonists and learn about how they move from a set piece of music into a piece of improvisation and back again while maintaining the beat and rhythm of the music.

Trick number two is to remember that you’re not going to get that good overnight, so don’t feel downhearted if you struggle to keep up with your idols at first.

Jam with Friends

Not having any friends that are fellow sax players is no excuse not to have someone you can jam with. With social media the way it is today, there should always be someone that you can find to jam with, and the chances are there’s a community of sax players the same as you within a short bus ride or drive from your home.

Jamming with friends will give you confidence, open your mind to new ideas, and allow you to get used to simply having your instrument in hand and letting it all out.

Just Play

This might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many sax players are reluctant to simply pick up their instruments and play. Even when they’re alone, sax players can be a self-conscious bunch, but you’ll be amazed how much you can learn just by playing yourself – use your smartphone or some recording software to record yourself playing, too, and listen back to understand where you could play better or identify some licks you might wish to go back and repeat.

Kick start your journey to being a great sax improviser today; follow these tips and you’ll start to see your confidence soar in no time.

Guitar Tips

Easy Guitar Chords for Beginners

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Learning to play the guitar like a master might seem like an uphill battle. But you can instantly improve your guitar playing if you start out with the simple, easy chords. Learning to play the simple chords first will ensure you learn the right technique and it gives you better chances of mastering the difficult chords later.

E Minor also known as Em

Em is one of the easiest chords to learn. It only requires you to hold on to two strings on the fret. In order to play the Em chord, you need to place your middle finger on the fifth string and the ring finger on the fourth string. On a tab, Em chord looks like this:

|——– |
|——– |
|——– |
|—3— |
|—2— |
|——– |

Remember, when you are reading the tabs the top of the guitar (when you hold it) is actually displayed at the bottom of the tab. It is also important to note, the first string is the bottom string of the guitar and the sixth string is the top string.

E Major

Once you master the Em, it is easy to learn to play the E major or E chord. All you need to do is press down the third string with your index finger. The tab for E major looks like this:

|——– |——– |
|——– |——– |
|—1— |——– |
|——– |—3— |
|——– |—2— |
|——– |——– |

A Minor

Once you master these two chords, you can learn to play the A minor chord. Again, this is going to be very easy since all you need to do is to move your E major finger position down one string for each finger. Your middle finger plays the fourth string, your ring finger rests on the third string and your index finger is pressing down the second string. The tab for A minor is:

|——– |——– |
|—1— |——– |
|——– |—3— |
|——– |—2— |
|——– |——– |
|——– |——– |

C Major

Once you’ve practiced playing the above chords, you can get a little change to your practise by moving onto the C major chord. Again, the difference to A minor isn’t anything too drastic. Your first finger is still on the second string and your middle finger remains on the fourth string as well. But your ring finger moves on to the fifth string, on the first fret of C note. The tab for C major is:

|——– |——– |——– |
|—1— |——– |——– |
|——– |——– |——– |
|——– |—2— |——– |
|——– |——– |—3— |
|——– |——– |——– |

If you want to understand the guitar fret board better, you can check out this GuitarGear.org blog post. There are some simple exercises there to teach you the frets better as well.

D Major

D major finally changes things up a bit and gives you some new positions to practise on. On D major chord, you place your first finger on the third string, your middle finger on the sixth string and your ring finger on the second string. On a tab it would look like this:

|——– |—2— |——– |
|——– |——– |—3— |
|——– |—1— |——– |
|——– |——– |——– |
|——– |——– |——– |
|——– |——– |——– |

A Major

A major is a perfect beginner chord, because it gives you the option to use different playing techniques. You can either use three different fingers to play the A major chord or opt to use only your index finger. On a tab, A major looks like this:

|——– |
|—3— |
|—2— |
|—1— |
|——– |
|——– |

You can find great finger strength exercises from Guitar Cardio. These are great for boosting your skills and will make playing all these different notes a lot easier.

The above chords are great guitar chords for beginners. They are easy to learn and will be used in a majority of the songs. You can find the best guitar songs for beginners from our blog to take your chord practise to the next level.