How To Record a Music Demo

As a musician, your demo is your calling card. It can help you expand your audience, and it's your ticket to getting noticed by record labels, so it's important to get it right. Contrary to popular belief, demo recording doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive. If your songs are great, listeners will hear it, no matter how much cash you spent on the recording.

1. Pick your recording venue. Are you going to book a studio? Are you going to record at home using your computer i.e nero, fruityloops or any other software or 4 track recorder? Make sure whichever venue you choose is equipped with everything you need, and if you're recording at home, make sure you understand the acoustical quarks of the room.

2. Choose your recording method. There are two basic choices available to you:
Recording live - that is, all instruments and vocals being recorded in one take - produces a raw, rough sound.
Multi-track recording - each instrument being recorded independently on its own track- gives cleaner and more polished sound.

The right one for you depends on the music you are making. Hardcore punk? Go live. Radio friendly pop? Go multi-track.

3. Set up. For the drums, each individual drum should be miked, and the cymbals should each have two mics . The bass and guitar should each go through a DI. If you have a double guitar part, or to get a really clean sound, the guitarist can have a mic plus be hooked up to an amp in separate room, to prevent bleed of the amp sound into the mic.
Record. Time to do the actual recording. Don't get caught up in the details and don't record for hours on end. A demo should be short, sweet, and to the point.

4. Mix your recording.
Remember that labels don't expect a demo to be perfect.
If you're recording at home on a computer, and mixing is easy enough, don't feel pressured to excute a perfect mix. A rough mix is fine.
If you're recording in a studio, the engineer or producer can mix your recording for you.
One more time - a demo is not intended to be a release ready recording. Mixing is one of the most important parts of professional recording, but not of demo making. Don't get caught up in spending too much time and money on this step.

5. Master your recording. (This step is completely optional.) Mastering involves a final EQ process and also adds a bit of compression. Keep in mind that people who master recordings have styles all their own; no two people will master the same recording in the same way. If you decide to get your recording mastered, make sure you get an unmastered copy as well, in case you don't like the finished product.

Artist Manager

What is it?

An artist manager, also known as a "band manager", is in charge of the business side of being a musician or an artist. Often, band members/musicians are great at the creative side of things, but aren't so great at promoting themselves, booking their own gigs, or negotiating deals. In a very general sense, the task of a "manager" is to take care of the day to day running of the artist or band's career, so they can focus on the creative side of things. The jobs a manager does depends very much on the artist/band and where they are in their careers. For an unsigned artist/band, a manager should:

1. Send out demos to labels, radio stations, local print media, and online publications
2. Book gigs and invite labels and the media to the shows
3. Network and talk to people about the artist/band
4. Help book studio time and practice sessions
5. Explore funding opportunities for the artist/band

For signed artists, managers should:

1. Negotiate financial deals with the label for expenses like touring and recording
3. Oversee other people working for the band, like accountants, agents, and merchandisers.

What Jobs Should an Artist Manager Do? Unsigned Artists:

For an unsigned artist, the manager should be the mouthpiece of the band, and their greatest ally, making sure that everyone else involved in the band's career is doing their job and working hard to promote the band's success. For instance, the manager should be on the phone with the label, asking about advertising campaigns and then on the phone with agent asking about upcoming show opportunities.

Do Managers Need a Contract?:

In a word, YES. Even if you're managing an unsigned band made up of personal friends and there is no money involved for now, you need to write up an agreement. It doesn't have to be fancy or even supervised by a lawyer. Just jot down what is expected of both manager and band, what the percentage of income for the manager will be if any money should come in, and what happens if band and manager decide to part ways. Many new bands don't want to make their friends sign contracts. Put that out of your mind. When you're entering into a business relationship with a friend, a contract keeps the friendship safe.

How Do I Find a Band Manager?:
If you're a musician looking for a manager, this article will let you know how to go about finding one.

What is the Pay Like?:

Managers are generally paid a percentage of the band's income: 15% to 20% is the industry norm. In addition to their percentage, managers should not have to cover any expenses out of their own pocket.
There are some things a manager should NOT get a cut of. These are, including royalties - in my opinion. You should be aware that there are many different kinds of management deals out there, and the changing face of the music industry has meant a change in management deals. Case in point: merchandise. It is becoming the norm for managers to take a cut of merch income - you can still find managers who do not, but they have become the minority. Essentially, the way musicians make their money is in flux, and since the income of the musicians is directly tied to the income of the managers, managers need to make sure they are able to tap into the new sources of money.
Any deal between musicians and managers should be negotiated up front and revisited when significant events occur that could drastically increase or decrease the band's income.

History of Nigerian Music

The music of Nigeria includes many kinds of Folk and popular music, some of which are known worldwide. Styles of folk music are related to the multitudes of ethnic groups in the country, each with their own techniques, instruments, and songs. Little is known about the country's music history prior to European contact, although bronze carvings dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries have been found depicting musicians and their instruments.
Nigeria has been called "the heart of African music" because of its role in the development of West African highlife and palm-wine music, which fuses native rhythms with techniques imported from the Congo for the development of several popular styles that were unique to Nigeria, like apala, fuji, jùjú, highlife, and Yo-pop. Subsequently, Nigerian musicians created their own styles of United States hip hop music and Jamaican reggae. Nigeria's musical output has achieved international acclaim not only in the fields of folk and popular music, but also Western art music written by composers such as Fela Sowande.
Polyrhythms, in which two or more separate beats are played simultaneously, are a part of much of traditional African music; Nigeria is no
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exception. The African hemiola style, based on the asymmetric rhythm pattern is an important rhythmic technique throughout the continent. Nigerian music also uses ostinato rhythms, in which a rhythmic pattern is repeated despite changes in metre.
Nigeria has some of the most advanced recording studio technology in Africa, and provides robust commercial opportunities for music performers. Ronnie Graham, an historian who specialises in West Africa, has attributed the success of the Nigerian music industry to the country's culture—its "thirst for aesthetic and material success and a voracious appetite for life, love and music, [and] a huge domestic market, big enough to sustain artists who sing in regional languages and experiment with indigenous styles". However, political corruption and rampant music piracy in Nigeria has hampered the industry's growth.

The 1950s, '60s and '70s
Following World War II, Nigerian music started to take on new instruments and techniques, including electric instruments imported from the United States and Europe. Rock N' roll, soul, and later funk, became very popular in Nigeria, and elements of these genres were added to jùjú by artists such as IK Dairo. Meanwhile, highlife had been slowly gaining in popularity among the Igbo people, and their unique style soon found a national audience. At the same time, apala's Haruna Ishola was becoming one of the country's biggest stars. In the early to mid 1970s, three of the biggest names in Nigerian music history were at their peak: Fela Kuti, Ebenezer Obey and King Sunny Ade, while the end of that decade saw the start of Yo-pop and Nigerian reggae.
Although popular styles such as highlife and jùjú were at the top of the Nigerian charts in the '60s, traditional music remained widespread. Traditional stars included the Hausa Dan Maraya, who was so well known that he was brought to the battlefield during the 1967 Nigerian Civil War to lift the morale of the federal troops.

Modernisation of Jùjú:
Jùjú musicI.K. DairoFollowing World War II, Tunde Nightingale's s'o wa mbe style made him one of the first jùjú stars, and he introduced more Westernised pop influences to the genre. During the 1950s, recording technology grew more advanced, and the gangan talking drum, electric guitar and accordion were incorporated into jùjú. Much of this innovation was the work of IK Dairo & the Morning Star Orchestra (later IK Dairo & the Blue Spots), which formed in 1957. these performers brought jùjú from the rural poor to the urban cities of Nigeria and beyond.[18] Dairo became perhaps the biggest star of African music by the '60s, recording numerous hit songs that spread his fame to as far away as Japan. In 1963, he became the only African musician ever honoured by receiving membership of the Order of the British Empire, an order of chivalry in the United Kingdom.[8]

Dispersion of highlife
Among the Igbo people, Ghanaian highlife became popular in the early 1950s, and other guitar-band styles from Cameroon and Zaire soon followed. The Ghanaian E. T. Mensah, easily the most popular highlife performer of the 1950s, toured Igbo-land frequently, drawing huge crowds of devoted fans. Bobby Benson & His Combo was the first Nigerian highlife band to find audiences across the country. Benson was followed by Jim Lawson & the Mayor's Dance Band, who achieved national fame in the mid-'70s, ending with Lawson's death in 1976. During the same period, other highlife performers were reaching their peak. These included Rocafil Jazz and Prince Nico Mbarga, whose "Sweet Mother" was a pan-African hit that sold more than 13 million copies, more than any other African single of any kind. Mbarga used English lyrics in a style that he dubbed panko, which incorporated "sophisticated rumba guitar-phrasing into the highlife idiom".
After the civil war in the 1960s, Igbo musicians were forced out of Lagos and returned to their homeland. The result was that highlife ceased to be a major part of mainstream Nigerian music, and was thought of as being something purely associated with the Igbos of the east. Highlife's popularity slowly dwindled among the Igbos, supplanted by jùjú and fuji. However, a few performers kept the style alive, such as Yoruba singer and trumpeter Victor Olaiya (the only Nigerian to ever earn a platinum record), Stephen Osita Osadebe, Sonny Okosun, Victor Uwaifo, and Orlando "Dr. Ganja" Owoh, whose distinctive toye style fused jùjú and highlife.

Birth of fuji
Main article: Fuji musicApala, a traditional style from Ogun state, one of yoruba state in Nigeria, became very popular in the 1960s, led by performers like Haruna Ishola, Sefiu Ayan, Kasumu Adio, and Ayinla Omowura. Ishola, who was one of Nigeria's most consistent hit makers between 1955 and his death in 1983, recorded apala songs, which alternated between slow and emotional, and swift and energetic. His lyrics were a mixture of improvised praise and passages from the Quran, as well as traditional proverbs. His work became a formative influence on the developing fuji style.
The late 1960s saw the appearance of the first fuji bands. Fuji was named after Mount Fuji in Japan, purely for the sound of the word, according to Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister. Fuji was a synthesis of apala with the "ornamented, free-rhythmic" vocals of ajisari devotional musicians and was accompanied by the sakara, a tambourine-drum, and Hawaiian guitar. Among the genre's earliest stars were Haruna Ishola and Ayinla Omowura; Ishola released numerous hits from the late '50s to the early '80s, becoming one of the country's most famous performers. Fuji grew steadily more popular between the 1960s and '70s, becoming closely associated with Islam in the process.
Fuji has been described as jùjú without guitars; ironically, Ebenezer Obey once described jùjú as mambo with guitars. However, at its roots, fuji is a mixture of Muslim traditional were music'ajisari songs with "aspects of apala percussion and vocal songs and brooding, philosophical sakara music"; of these elements, apala is the fundamental basis of fuji. The first stars of fuji were the rival bandleaders Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister and Ayinla Kollington. Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister started his fuji career in the early 1970s with the Golden Fuji Group," although he had sung Muslim songs since he was 10 years old. He first changed his group's name to "Fuji Londoners" when he came back from a trip to London, England. After a very long time — with hits such as "Orilonise," Fuji Disco/Iku Baba Obey," "Oke Agba," "Aye," and "Suuru" — he later changed the group's name to "Supreme Fuji Commanders" with a bang!, "Orelope" that went platinum instantly. Ayinde's rival was Ayinla Kollington, "Baba Alatika," known for fast tempo and dance-able brand of fuji, who also recorded hit albums like "ko bo simi lo'run mo e, in the 80s he released "ijo yoyo, Lakukulala and American megastar" to mention few of his successful albums. With all due respect Ayinla Kollington is a coherent social commentator. He was followed in the 1980s by burgeoning stars such as Wasiu Ayinde Barrister.

Ade and Obey
Ebenezer Obey formed the International Brothers in 1964, and his band soon rivalled that of IK Dairo as the biggest Nigerian group. They played a form of bluesy, guitar-based and highlife-influenced jùjú that included complex talking drum-dominated percussion elements. Obey's lyrics addressed issues that appealed to urban listeners, and incorporated Yoruba traditions and his conservative Christian faith. His rival was King Sunny Ade, who emerged in the same period, forming the Green Spots in 1966 and then achieving some major hits with the African Beats after 1974's Esu Biri Ebo Mi. Ade and Obey raced to incorporate new influences into jùjú music and to gather new fans; Hawaiian slack-key, keyboards and background vocals were among the innovations added during this rapidly changing period. Ade added strong elements of Jamaican dub music, and introduced the practice of having the guitar play the rhythm and the drums play the melody. During this period, jùjú songs changed from short pop songs to long tracks, often over 20 minutes in length. Bands increased from four performers in the original ensembles, to 10 with IK Dairo and more than 30 with Obey and Ade.

1980s and '90s
In the early 1980s, both Obey and Ade found larger audiences outside of Nigeria. In 1982, Ade was signed to Island Records, who hoped to replicate Bob Marley's success, and released Juju Music, which sold far beyond expectations in Europe and the United States.[8] Obey released Current Affairs in 1980 on Virgin Records and became a brief star in the UK, but was not able to sustain his international career as long as Ade. Ade led a brief period of international fame for jùjú, which ended in 1985 when he lost his record contract after the commercial failure of Aura (recorded with Stevie Wonder) and his band walked out in the middle of a huge Japanese tour. Ade's brush with international renown brought a lot of attention from mainstream record companies, and helped to inspire the burgeoning world music industry. By the end of the 1980s, jùjú had lost out to other styles, like Yo-pop, gospel and reggae. In the 1990s, however, fuji and jùjú remained popular, as did waka music and Nigerian reggae. At the very end of the decade, hip hop music spread to the country after being a major part of music in neighboring regions like Senegal.
Yo-pop and Afro-jùjú (1980s)Main articles: Yo-pop and Afro-jujuTwo of the biggest stars of the '80s were Segun Adewale and Shina Peters, who started their careers performing in the mid-'70s with Prince Adekunle. They eventually left Adekunle and formed a brief partnership as Shina Adewale & the International Superstars before beginning solo careers. Adewale was the first of the two to gain success, when he became the most famous performer of Yo-pop.
The Yo-pop craze did not last for long, replaced by Shina Peters' Afro-juju style, which broke into the mainstream after the release of Afro-Juju Series 1 (1989). Afro-juju was a combination of Afrobeat and fuji, and it ignited such fervor among Shina's fans that the phenomenon was dubbed "Shinamania". Though he was awarded Juju Musician of the Year in 1990, Shina's follow-up, Shinamania sold respectively but was panned by critics. His success opened up the field to newcomers, however, leading to the success of Fabulous Olu Fajemirokun and Adewale Ayuba. The same period saw the rise of new styles like the funky juju pioneered by Dele Taiwo.

Afrobeat
Main article: AfrobeatAfrobeat is a style most closely associated with Nigeria, though practitioners and fans are found throughout West Africa, and Afrobeat recordings are a prominent part of the world music category found throughout the developed world. It is a fusion of American funk music with elements of highlife, jazz and other styles of West African music. The most popular and well-known performer, indeed the most famous Nigerian musician in history, is undoubtedly Fela Kuti.[8]
Fela Kuti began performing in 1961, but did not start playing in his distinctive Afrobeat style until his exposure to Sierra Leonean Afro-soul singer Geraldo Pino in 1963. Although Kuti is often credited as the only pioneer of Afrobeat, other musicians such as Orlando Julius Ekemode were also prominent in the early Afrobeat scene, where they combined highlife, jazz and funk. A brief period in the United States saw him exposed to the Black Power movement and the Black Panthers, an influence that he would come to express in his lyrics. After living in London briefly, he moved back to Lagos and opened a club, The Shrine, which was one of the most popular music spots in the city. He started recording with Africa '70, a huge band featuring drummer Tony Allen, who has since gone on to become a well-known musician in his own right. With Africa 70, Kuti recorded a series of hits, earning the ire of the government as he tackled such diverse issues as poverty, traffic and skin-bleaching. In 1985, Kuti was jailed for five years, but was released after only two years after international outcry and massive domestic protests. Upon release, Kuti continued to criticise the government in his songs, and became known for eccentric behaviour, such as suddenly divorcing all twenty-eight wives because "no man has the right to own a woman's vagina". His death from AIDS in 1997 sparked a period of national mourning that was unprecedented in documented Nigerian history.
In the 1980s, Afrobeat became affiliated with the burgeoning genre of world music. In Europe and North America, so-called "world music" acts came from all over the world and played in a multitude of styles. Fela Kuti and his Afrobeat followers were among the most famous of the musicians considered world music.
By the end of the '80s and early '90s, Afrobeat had diversified by taking in new influences from jazz and rock and roll. The ever-masked and enigmatic Lágbájá became one of the standard-bearers of the new wave of Afrobeat, especially after his 1996 LP C'est Une African Thing. Following a surprise appearance in place of his father, Fela, Femi Kuti garnered a large fan base that enabled him to tour across Europe.

10 Tips for a Healthy Voice

Some people spend hours at the gym or pounding the pavement to keep their bodies in shape. But beyond singers and actors, who worries much about their voices?

"Your voice is your ambassador to the outside world, It portrays your personality and emotions. People make assessments about you based on your voice, so it is very important when you're speaking or singing to think about what people are really hearing. Problems with your voice also can have a tremendous impact on your life." Hogikyan

The following 10 tips will help keep your voice in shape:

1. Drink water to keep your body well hydrated, and avoid alcohol and caffeine. Your vocal cords vibrate very fast, and having a proper water balance helps keep them lubricated. Important note: Foods containing large amounts of water are excellent hydration-conscious snacks, including apples, pears, watermelon, peaches, melons, grapes, plums, bell peppers and applesauce.

2. Allow yourself several "vocal naps" every day, especially during periods of extended use. Find quiet ways to spend the lunch hour rather than talking in a noisy room or atmosphere with friends.

3. Don't smoke, or if you already do, quit. Smoking raises the risk of throat cancer tremendously, and inhaling smoke (even secondhand smoke) can irritate the vocal cords.

4. Don't abuse or misuse your voice. Avoid yelling or screaming, and try not to talk loudly in noisy areas. If your throat feels dry or tired, or your voice is getting hoarse, reduce your voice use. The hoarseness is a warning sign that your vocal cords are irritated.

5. Keep your throat and neck muscles relaxed even when singing high notes and low notes. Some singers tilt their heads up when singing high notes and down when singing low notes. "The high notes are on the ceiling and the low notes are on the floor," Rosenberg says. "Over time, you'll pay for that"—not just with strained vocal muscles but also by causing future limits on the vocal range.

6. Pay attention to how you speak every day. Even performers who have good singing habits can cause damage when they speak. Many skilled singers don't continue their healthy habits when they speak; indeed, many people—including singers—should have much more breath flow when they speak.

7. Don't clear your throat too often. When you clear your throat, it's like slamming your vocal cords together. Doing it too much can injure them and make you hoarse. Try a sip of water or swallow to quench the urge to clear. If you feel like you have to clear your throat a lot, get checked by a doctor for such things as acid reflux disease, or allergy and sinus conditions.

8. When you're sick, spare your voice. Don't talk when you're hoarse due to a cold or infection. Listen to what your voice is telling you.

9. When you have to speak publicly, to large groups or outdoors, think about using amplification to avoid straining your voice.

10. Humidify your home and work areas. Remember, moist is good for the voice.

Further, warming up the voice is not just for singers, the researchers say. Think of it like stretching and loosening up before exercise. Easy, daily warm-ups for your voice:

1. Do lip or tongue trills in the morning (try it in the shower or on your drive to work) to facilitate better use of airflow and breath.
2. Perform gentle humming and cooing to warm up your voice in the morning.
3. If you do more vocally complex warm-ups too, such as vocal scales, do the simple warm-ups first.
4. Repeat these exercises throughout the day to reduce muscular tension in the neck, shoulders and jaw.
5. At the end of the day, perform a cool-down of the voice with similar vocal tasks.

Selecting a Musical Instrument

Music is not just about words and accompanying beats, real music is instrumental. this is what makes a good musician. those who aspire to do music should therefore be schooled in it or at least know how to play one instrument.

Learning a musical instrument can become easy if you follow a few simple points. This article helps you select the instrument you can learn easily.
Many of us dream of being given a chance to record our album in a recording studio. But for this, we have to be able to play music comfortably. For many of us, it means that we need to learn to play a musical instrument. There are many types of musical instruments you can learn easily. However, a lot depends on your aptitude, talent and interest. Beginners tend to get confused by the wide variety of choices. However, with a little research, you will easily be able to decide which instrument can suit you the best. Your actual musical interests will decide the actual selection. Unless you like a particular music, you will not be interested enough to learn it. So, if piano sounds boring to you, it is better if you avoid learning it because otherwise, you may not be able to keep up your enthusiasm to master it. On the other hand if you have always loved the sound of a guitar, you may be able to do well with it because of your passion for it. Thus, listen to different types of music and choose the one that you love most. The next point to consider is the cost. It is possible that the music you want to learn is too costly for you. May be the instrument costs a lot or the tuitions are too expensive. Thus, try to select one that suits your budget. Also, consider taking tuitions that are offered in groups in order to reduce costs or get some free music software. If money is not a factor, you could opt for private tuitions that can offer you a lot of flexibility in timings. Consider also the amount of time you can devote to your lessons. If certain classes take a lot of your time or need a lot of practice, you may not be able to follow them. Unless, you have a lot of time at hand, it is better to choose instruments that do not demand heavy time dedication. Since learning music itself is challenging enough, you can make your task easier by choosing to learn on schedules that are comfortable for you. The key to learning quickly is paying attention to the instructor. You could buy CDs to learn or download music from the websites that give step by step instructions. You must be really involved in the training and be enthusiastic. You may not grasp the ABCs of the musical instrument immediately, so you need to be patient. Also, expose yourself to a lot of recordings by good players. Listen to the records as much as possible. Play it in your car audio, at home and whenever you have free time. You could also record music at home and check your progress. Another point is to notice your physical limitations when playing the instrument. A child or petite person may find certain instruments too heavy and may have to spend most of his energy in holding them. Similarly, certain musical instruments require long fingers or strong lung capabilities. You should check with the teacher or an experienced musician to find out whether you are up to the task.

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