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Notes,

I agree with you 100%.

But if your reply was based on an interpretation of my last post that you believe indicated I don't think you are an artist AND a performer, then apparently I did not communicate my thoughts effectively.

I hoped it would be commonly agreed that music is art.

The point of my post was to differentiate the choices made when somebody fuses art and business, as opposed to art for art's sake alone. For convenience's sake I referred to the two groups in overly simplified terms. My mistake, sorry if my communication style was misleading.

I started out in a fine arts program until a counselor pointed out that if I actually want to illustrate for books, magazines etc I should probably be in the commercial art curriculum instead of the fine arts curriculum. Art for arts sake is wide open in the way you approach it, but art for commercial applications requires specific additional skills that are typically not covered in the fine arts programs.

And so it is with music.

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I art a musician, not no artist mon. laugh


Where de rum?

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Notes, your post just about covers everything. I'll repeat again, good players will always find gigs, bad ones, for the most part, will play for free or next to nothing. Later, Ray

Last edited by raymb1; 05/27/14 11:37 AM.

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Originally Posted By: raymb1
Notes, your post just about covers everything. I'll repeat again, good players will always find gigs, bad ones, for the most part, will play for free or next to nothing. Later, Ray


Totally missing the point yet again, The so called bad player playing for free, probably doesn't care a damm about getting paid and probably is enjoying himself more than the so called pro and I use that term loosely.

90db your demo sounds great, great upbeat sound.

I have nothing against backing tracks use them in biab when I try writing a song.

The only thing is probably a track has to be muted or drowned out when a person is playing live, and the muted or drwoned out track may have a better part than the actual instrument player on stage.

But what the hell, its better to be seen playing something, else you are just a singer.

Isn't called show business for nothing.

Musiclover

Last edited by musiclover; 05/27/14 03:10 PM.

Musiclover

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Quote:
Isn't called show business for nothing.


Good point. I’ve never wanted to be a “showman”. I’ve never wanted to be an “entertainer.” The only thing I’ve wanted as a musician is to play for people who wanted to quietly LISTEN to the music instead of expecting me to entertain them while they ignored me.

It’s perfectly okay for folks to get rowdy between songs, but while I’m playing I want them to either shut up and listen, …or leave immediately.

That’s part of why I chose to focus primarily on acoustic music. Wood and strings. Honest and intimate. It can be played on your front porch when the electricity is off or around a campfire at night.

I’ve been called a “purist” on here more than once. I now also find myself thinking about music in terms of art or entertainment. I’ll take “art” 99.99% of the time.

If I hear 2 instruments coming through the PA system, I want to see 2 musicians on stage. If I hear 5 instruments, then I want to see 5 musicians on stage.

My favorite combo when playing live is a duo. Preferably guitar and mandolin. Both instruments are well suited to lead and a solid rhythm backup.

But as I’ve repeatedly stated on these forums, that’s just my opinion. I don’t speak for anyone other than myself. That doesn’t mean it’s not a valid opinion.

Keep it simple and honest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU1cWO_38Bw&index=21&list=PL7MZ550uvzVrKj0jp-Fr-Pvc75KOrJsOV

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Actually, Bob, I think there are probably very few of us who don't like what you're talking about. But that's not where the opportunities are.

Playing to a respectful "listening room" is usually a privilege enjoyed only by people who have earned their reputation by years of playing all the places that AREN'T concert halls.

If you can pull it off without taking the usual route, I say more power to ya! You've got more on the ball than I ever will!

(and I say that sincerely)


PS, the Sierra Hull clip was AWESOME!

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Pat, no offense was taken and I never thought you inferred what I do isn't art.

I do understand art for art's sake. My wife is a fine artist.

On the other hand, I've seen and heard a lot of attempts at fine art that in my opinion are not fine art at all, even if they are original. Note I said "In my opinion" because art is subjective.

My wife is a trained fine artist, and thanks to her, I've learned a lot about the subject and how to appreciate art. I've been to some of the world's finest art museums like the Metropolitan, MoMa, Chicago, US and British National Galleries, Tate, Prado, Sofia Reina, Ufizzi, Pitti, Budapest, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, and dozens of others, plus regional galleries and numerous road artist shows. I've seen great art, and I've seen what is supposed to be great art but to me was either kitsch or B.S.

Just because it's original, doesn't make it art either in the music business or the visual arts. And conversely, just because it's popular doesn't me it isn't art.

And where do you draw the line.

Is Hopper's "Night Hawks" art or illustration? Is Paul Simon's "The Boxer" a pop song or art music? These and so many others seem to straddle the line, and whatever category you put them in, I like them.

Jackson Pollock is considered to be a fine artist, but to me his work looks like a house painter's drop cloth, and for my way of thinking, there is too much left to chance to be fine art - others have the right to disagree.

On backing tracks.

I make my own backing tracks, planning the arrangement, recording each instrument into a sequencer live and in real time, and sometimes augmenting them with parts extracted from BiaB. What I like to do most in BiaB is to record the top line of a part I want to add, let BiaB do the "Mule Work" of adding the harmony parts and import that into the sequencer. BiaB harmonizes just like the Berklee Correspondence course taught me how to do it.

Is arranging music an art? I don't care, and if so, are my arrangements good enough to cross that line? I like to create my backing tracks and I'm very proud of my work.

If arranging for a sequenced backing track isn't art, then what Nelson Riddle did with an orchestra isn't art either.

If I go out and if the band has backing tracks, I'll evaluate whether they are karaoke tracks or not, and evaluate them along with the rest of the music. I can't help it, it's what I do. I analyze and look for both the good and bad in every piece of music I hear.

To me music is a continuum, from kitsch to art. That Muddy Waters 12 bar blues song is a different kind of art from that Prokofiev Symphony, and although I know the Prokofiev is much more complex, and takes much more knowledge of music theory, I still like Muddy Waters. So where do I draw the line between pop and art? Jethro Tull, Yes, Moody Blues, Gino Vanelli, and so many others seemed to cross that line, but still, it's hard to define where that line is.

In the end, it all comes down to personal taste.

To me there are only two kinds of music, good music and music written and/or played for someone other than me.

Another musician may not want to hear backing tracks, and that's OK. I don't want to gaze at Jackson Pollock or a Mark Rothko work because they don't do it for me.

Beethoven, Mozart and so many others did works on commission - artists or illustrators?

I think Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo ala Turk" is a piece of fine art, but anything I've ever heard Ornette Coleman did never spoke to me.

Who should be the arbiter of what is great art? Who has the right to say Pollock is fine art and Rockwell is not?

I've never been able to draw the line. I recognize obvious kitch, and also fine art but where to draw all the lines in between is something I've never been able to do.

I've heard great groups with backing tracks, and I've heard great soloists playing in front of an orchestra reading charts - live backing tracks?

I've heard many of the greatest symphony orchestras in the world playing cover songs by dead European composers. Cover bands.

Two weeks ago the local blues society came out to our gig as a "Hooked On Blues" event. Many of the members are musicians. Nobody seemed to mind the backing tracks, because the applause and the looks on their faces told me they enjoyed the music very much.

There are so many tools to making music, whether you use backing tracks, use BiaB right out of the box, or are a purist using only hand made acoustic instruments, or play in front of an orchestra reading charts, or whether you cover someone else's material note for note, if you have an audience you must be at least OK. If you have a dedicated audience you must be good. Whether it's art or not? Who cares? Whether you pass an emotion from yourself to the audience, you should care.

And IMHO there is nothing wrong with being an entertainer either, List, Paganini, and so many of the greatest musicians of all time were also entertainers.

This has been all my personal opinions on art, and I don't think any one person or committee should be the arbiter of what is art or not, so feel free to have another equally valid opinion.

Insights and incites by Notes


Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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Bob, It is great that you can still perform like you do. However it sounds like your area is quite a bit different than mine.

In the late 60’s I had a jazz trio, B3, guitar and drums, that played some covers but a lot of original music also. We played in lounges where people did just listen. We loved it and they loved it. However those places disappeared. They wanted rock, country or country rock as those in attendance apparently drank a lot more, thus more money for the owners. There were a number of combos like ours that either changed formats or quit playing.

We changed into a wedding band around 1970 and we went from playing what we wanted to what they the customer wanted, i.e. we became a business. Very few, if any, originals at a gig. All the customer wanted was a recognizable beat so that is what we delivered. We must have been successful at it, as we were extremely busy until we got old and the wedding circuit turned to DJs. I still hate DJs!

When things were slow during the winter we were still busy playing at VFWs, Elk’s clubs, American Legions, Moose halls and private parties. The only free gigs we did were at the VA hospitols.

We played live, no backing tracks. However I much rather here a musician(s) using backing tracks that listening to a DJ or kariokie.

So the question is am I an artist or an entertainer? I don’t think that you can separate the two.


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once again, Notes, I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say. But this quote especially caught my attention:

Quote:
Jackson Pollock is considered to be a fine artist, but to me his work looks like a house painter's drop cloth, and for my way of thinking, there is too much left to chance to be fine art - others have the right to disagree.


this observation is the basis for my own subjective definition of art. To me, an endeavor approaches art in direct proportion to how difficult it is to reproduce.

Splatter paint on canvas? I can do that too, so to me that fails the reproducibility test.

But when I look at an Andrew Wyeth painting.. I can't do that.
When I watch olympic gymnasts... I can't do that
when I watch Tommy Emmanuel.. I can't do that
etc etc etc

In my opinion, reproducing songs from the past and nailing the tones, notes, inflections etc is something that most people can't do too. It may not be the same art as the original work, but it definitely requires skill and dedication to task in order to do it.

In some ways, it is harder than the original, because they played in their own natural style, whereas the cover song performer has to duplicate many artists styles, often on multiple intruments. And it takes a lot of work getting the same tone in the instruments and a similar mix

If I get up in front of an audience and sing and solo I'm already doing what another performer without trax is doing... but the trax fills in the white space and becomes the time machine that takes the audience back to the first time they heard the song.

In short, it challenges me as much to make the trax as it does to learn my performance parts. These are the first reasons why I choose this route.

The second reason is that I want to earn money and playing covers seems to be the best way to do that.

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Originally Posted By: Notes Norton
In the end, it all comes down to personal taste.

To me there are only two kinds of music, good music and music written and/or played for someone other than me.

very well said, Notes!

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Originally Posted By: musiclover
Originally Posted By: raymb1
Notes, your post just about covers everything. I'll repeat again, good players will always find gigs, bad ones, for the most part, will play for free or next to nothing. Later, Ray


Totally missing the point yet again, The so called bad player playing for free, probably doesn't care a damm about getting paid and probably is enjoying himself more than the so called pro and I use that term loosely.

90db your demo sounds great, great upbeat sound.

I have nothing against backing tracks use them in biab when I try writing a song.

The only thing is probably a track has to be muted or drowned out when a person is playing live, and the muted or drwoned out track may have a better part than the actual instrument player on stage.

But what the hell, its better to be seen playing something, else you are just a singer.

Isn't called show business for nothing.

Musiclover


I'm not missing any points. Notes has already covered all of them. I've made a decent living playing piano for over 50 years. I work solo, trio, quartet, quintet and big band gigs. BIAB is included on my solo gigs. I've seen too many places where club owners will get bad entertainment just to save some of their budget. Those bad musicians who are playing free or next to nothing are depriving qualified musicians of gigs. I'm done with this thread. I don't anyone's position on free vs pay will be changed. Later, Ray

Last edited by raymb1; 05/28/14 09:13 AM.

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I find it very interesting how different people define "art". Personal preference almost always comes into play. My son and I have visited The Art Institute of Chicago many times. He is an artist and a lot of my inspiration to write songs comes from seeing how passionate he is about his art.

On a recent visit to the Art Institute we viewed an entire gallery that was filled with different sized canvases but they were all mostly blank. If you looked closely you could see some minimal shading and markings on some of them. But to me, they looked mostly blank.

Of course, we spent the next few days arguing about whether or not they were really art. My position being "if there is nothing much on the canvas it can't be art" and "if I can do it it can't be art" and "if it takes so little effort it can't be art"! But my son held fast to his viewpoint that art is subjective and he pointed out how my metrics fail in many examples I do consider as art.

So, even though I still have trouble considering mostly blank canvases as art, I have learned a lot about art from my son. Mostly I have learned that just because I don't get it or it does not fit with my perceptions of art, that does not mean it is not art. It just means I don't prefer it.

Interesting side effect of that realization...I am starting to appreciate a lot more art than I ever did before!

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Originally Posted By: raymb1
Originally Posted By: musiclover
Originally Posted By: raymb1
Notes, your post just about covers everything. I'll repeat again, good players will always find gigs, bad ones, for the most part, will play for free or next to nothing. Later, Ray


Totally missing the point yet again, The so called bad player playing for free, probably doesn't care a damm about getting paid and probably is enjoying himself more than the so called pro and I use that term loosely.

90db your demo sounds great, great upbeat sound.

I have nothing against backing tracks use them in biab when I try writing a song.

The only thing is probably a track has to be muted or drowned out when a person is playing live, and the muted or drwoned out track may have a better part than the actual instrument player on stage.

But what the hell, its better to be seen playing something, else you are just a singer.

Isn't called show business for nothing.

Musiclover


I'm not missing any points. Notes has already covered all of them. I've made a decent living playing piano for over 50 years. I work solo, trio, quartet, quintet and big band gigs. BIAB is included on my solo gigs. I've seen too many places where club owners will get bad entertainment just to save some of their budget. Those bad musicians who are playing free or next to nothing are depriving qualified musicians of gigs. I'm done with this thread. I don't anyone's position on free vs pay will be changed. Later, Ray


it is just not so black & white Ray! I have heard plenty of great musicians playing for free and I have paid top dollar for some lame performances!

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Originally Posted By: MarioD
Bob, It is great that you can still perform like you do. However it sounds like your area is quite a bit different than mine.


Mario,

I'm not performing anymore. I consider it an accomplishment just to wake up and give a rat's a*s whether or not the sun shines.

The opinions I've stated about playing for others haven't changed much since I was a child learning to play guitar

I've always wondered why musicians would play live for an audience that ignored them. A small amount of money isn't a good enough reason.

If people just want hear music in the background, why not just play mp3"s? It's easier and it sounds better!

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Originally Posted By: bobcflatpicker
Originally Posted By: MarioD
Bob, It is great that you can still perform like you do. However it sounds like your area is quite a bit different than mine.


Mario,

I'm not performing anymore. I consider it an accomplishment just to wake up and give a rat's a*s whether or not the sun shines.

The opinions I've stated about playing for others haven't changed much since I was a child learning to play guitar

I've always wondered why musicians would play live for an audience that ignored them. A small amount of money isn't a good enough reason.

If people just want hear music in the background, why not just play mp3"s? It's easier and it sounds better!


Bob I hear you about waking up! I feel the same way.

Some of the people did ignore us while many liked us. Just because they were dancing didn’t mean they didn’t like us. In fact we believed that it was our job to play what they wanted to dance too and it wasn’t just a small amount of money. We made quite a bit of money playing at weddings.

People started using DJs because they were cheaper than bands. DJs put a lot of bands out of business in this area.

Peace my friend.


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Originally Posted By: bobcflatpicker


I've always wondered why musicians would play live for an audience that ignored them. A small amount of money isn't a good enough reason.


You're nothing but a glorified jukebox in that situation. But that is also, likely the fault of the band as it is anything else. If the band was "entertaining" the people, the people would be paying attention and be involved with the band and not ignoring them.

That's the reason one of the better bands I played in was a "Show Band" as much as anything else. We played the music the way we wanted, but we also had a stage show and routines that kept the people watching to see what we would do next. Our drummer had more jokes in his head than some of the standup comedians and between songs he was talking and joking and the people loved it. We did things in the songs that people came back time after time to see us do and even requested that we do it.

I carried some of that stuff into bands I was in later....

like this>>>> Family Tradition does TOP

Just silly stuff but the people loved it and ate it up...and yeah, the drummer jumped over the drums onto the stage... A couple of mop heads for beards and a half baked Top song.... That was actually something the people would ask...."Are you going to do the ZZ Top song tonight?

I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.


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To Bob's point regarding listening audiences. I had to get a few years under my belt playing gigs before I understood that they are different types of audiences, very often all intermingled within the same crowd. Now I break them down into "three groups" but I am sure others may have variations on my filing system.

#1. The group no artist, musician or entertainer are not too crazy about, and that is the people who just want your music in the background to enhance, not interfere with nor overpower their conversations.

#2. Bob's favorites (and mine "sometime" also) the listeners, they like to hear every note, every chord change and every lick.

#3. The third are the dancers, they also like to hear every note, chord change and lick, with one caveat, they also like to feel them.

I guess with this stated I am neither a artist or an entertainer but more of a psychologist/social worker. Man and do I have fun doing it. Might even start carrying a couch to my gigs.

PS: And for what it's worth I am very happy that 99% of the time I either get the #2's and 3's a couple times a week.

Later,

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Quote:
I'm done with this thread. I don't anyone's position on free vs pay will be changed. Later, Ray


yeah, that's true Ray... but discussions like this aren't as much about changing anyone's mind as about exploring how a lot of different people see the same thing.

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Originally Posted By: Danny C.
To Bob's point regarding listening audiences. I had to get a few years under my belt playing gigs before I understood that they are different types of audiences, very often all intermingled within the same crowd. Now I break them down into "three groups" but I am sure others may have variations on my filing system.

#1. The group no artist, musician or entertainer are not too crazy about, and that is the people who just want your music in the background to enhance, not interfere with nor overpower their conversations.

#2. Bob's favorites (and mine "sometime" also) the listeners, they like to hear every note, every chord change and every lick.

#3. The third are the dancers, they also like to hear every note, chord change and lick, with one caveat, they also like to feel them.

I guess with this stated I am neither a artist or an entertainer but more of a psychologist/social worker. Man and do I have fun doing it. Might even start carrying a couch to my gigs.

PS: And for what it's worth I am very happy that 99% of the time I either get the #2's and 3's a couple times a week.

Later,


Danny you forgot one, the one that always wants to play “Stump the Band”!
You know they always try to pick of song that is either irrelevant to the occasion or so obscure that no one knows it.


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I've played various kinds of gigs so far in my career, restaurants, small bars, dance clubs, show clubs, cruise ships, and even concerts as the warm up act for the headliner.

I've done a lot of 'sonic wallpaper' gigs where we were supposed to be background music and not listened to. We did one about a year ago, it was a tech convention, and we played while the attendees were having dinner - all gentle instrumentals. We of course did our best, and more or less played for each others ears. When dinner was over, dozens of people stopped by to tell us how much they enjoyed our music.

We play a dinner gig at a yacht club where perhaps the last half to one hour is for dancing. Low volume (about 65db in front of the stage) and gentle so the people can talk during dinner. I've gotten used to the fact that people will seem like they are not listening, and at the end of the gig come up and say, "Thanks for a wonderful evening!"

They may seem like they aren't listening, but that doesn't mean they aren't listening.

And even if they are not and you are doing it just for the money that night; what's wrong with that? How many people here have day jobs that they do just for the money?

I tried to get partially out of music twice in my life to become a weekend warrior. I took day jobs and tried to become a "normal" citizen. I guess it was societal pressure that made me want to try that.

My first job was as a telephone installer/repairman. That was before cell phones when Ma Bell ruled the industry.

Climbing telephone poles is dangerous. There are two kinds of people who climb poles, those who have fallen off the pole and those who haven't fallen of a pole YET. You hold yourself up with two spikes, each has about 1/16-1/8" stuck in a splintered pole that thousands of spikes have torn up in the past.

So one day I had this pole to climb. It was in the back yard with 4 chain link fences intersecting at the pole. Something you don't want to straddle if you fall off the pole. There were also galvanized garbage pails to add insult to the injury.

I climbed the pole and opened the terminal, and I immediately realized that hundreds of paper wasps had built their home in the terminal and weren't too happy about having the lid removed. Well doing something quickly on the pole can certainly mean a "cut out" which means you have time to say about "Oh shi" before you hit the ground. Four fences, garbage pails, and an anatomical part of me that wouldn't like that.

So I slowly and carefully climbed down the pole with my heart pounding. Fortunately I didn't get bit.

Now if I get a bad audience (which is extremely rare) or have to learn a song I don't like, I think of the wasps and everything is fine.

A bad day playing music is better than a good day at any day gig I can think of.

--------

Art?

The problem I see in art, is that there is an elitist group that defines what good art is and what isn't good art. Often their blessings go to other people in the elitist group regardless of talent or lack of it.

I've seen worse than those white canvases with a few brush strokes on them. Especially when it comes to installations; stacks of milk cartons, found items thrown in a trash pile, and the worst one I've seen, an old discarded mattress up against the wall covered with donuts. Art? I think not.

But if the art elitists say it's art, the sheep will follow and claim it's art.

In the late 50s or 60s a monkey did paintings and until they found out it was the artist's monkey, the adjectives just kept flying and they were considered master pieces.

And what about Pollock? I saw a documentary where a woman living in a mobile home was given a Pollock her friend bought in a thrift store because it was the ugliest painting she has ever seen.

The woman kept it, a friend suggested it might be a Pollock and it might be worth millions.

She took the painting to art dealers and critics all over the country, and they all agreed it was a cheap imitation because it didn't have Pollock's soulful inspiration in it. And these people included curators in some of the top museums in the land.

Well after some time, someone found Pollocks fingerprints on the back, had the paint analyzed and found it to be the same as the ones that were on the front and the lady was an instant millionaire and the most respected people of the art elite had to eat crow.

------

It's easy to measure technical ability. As mentioned Andrew Wyeth had great technical skill, and as far as I'm concerned did great art. Norman Rockwell had great technical skill and most artists consider him an illustrator.

But technical ability doesn't make art. True art has to have something that transcends mere technical prowess. I've heard plenty of very fast bebop, country, and pop players who seem like they are just playing scales, and others who take those rapid notes and make melodies out of them.

I've heard bands doing their original songs that duplicated tired old chord progressions with uninspiring words and performed with no emotion. And I've heard original 12 bar blues tunes, performed by technically adequate musicians, but with so much soul they blew me away.

So you can't equate art with technical prowess - although if you have the talent for the art, the more technical ability you have with your tools, the better you can convey your art to your audience.

So what I think is art may not be your definition and that's OK.

Saturday at home I listened to the Moscow Philharmonic do Shostakovitch's 4th symphony - the one he didn't release until Stalin died because he feared for his very life. It's a wonderful piece of art. On the way to an errand my iPod played Neil Diamond's "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" and I'm listening to the musicians, background singers and Neil and it moves me, it's also a wonderful piece of art. A few tunes later Muddy Water's "You Can't Lose What You Never Had" came on and it moves me in a different way - and I think it's a wonderful piece of art. That night Leilani sang "Unchained Melody", her vocals raised the hair on the back of my neck and as I looked out a few couples stopped dancing to stand there and stare at her in amazement and I thought the way we covered that song, the backing track, my wind synth playing, and especially Leilani's vocals made a great work of art.

I've been a musician all my life, I've played in jazz bands where the likes of Ira Sullivan, Duffy Jackson and others came to sit in, I've played in cover bands at singles bars trying to do it exactly like the record, I've warmed up for headliners like The Four Seasons, The Association, and various Motown stars while their records were number one on billboard, and I've also played seedy dives where the only reason the band was there is so one table couldn't hear the drug deal going on at the next table.

I have no regrets, and even though I'm of retirement age, I have no plans to retire. As long as I can fog a mirror and there is someone who will want to hear me, I'll play music. If nobody wants to pay me anymore, I'll do it in public parks, at the VA hospital, for charity events and other non-commercial venues.

In the late 1980s I met a guy playing the piano bar on a cruise ship. Irving Bloom who got his start playing piano in silent movie houses. At one time he was president of the New York local of the AFofM. He was 82 years young at the time, and was curious about the synthesizers that the new keyboard players in bands were bringing on the ship. He said that if he was still in his 70s he'd buy one. Irving never lost his enthusiasm for music, was an artful player and a good entertainer as well. When I'm 82 I hope to be that alive.

Irving is now playing in the 'great gig in the sky' and while he was here he touched the emotions of countless people.

No matter what you play, if you move the audience, it's good music, whether other musicians think so or not.

I'm very glad I've been a professional musician most of my life. If I had pursued the electronics engineering that I took in college, I'd have a lot more money right now, but would I have had a happier life so far? I doubt it.

Insights and incites by Notes


Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!

The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!

There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.

If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.

We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!

Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.

Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed!

Video: Volume Automation in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created a video to help you learn more about the Volume Automation options in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows.

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Volume Automation

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#volume-automation

Video: Audio Input Monitoring with Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created this short video to explain Audio Input Monitoring within Band-in-a-Box® 2024, and included some tips & troubleshooting details too!

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Audio Input Monitoring

3:17: Tips
5:10: Troubleshooting

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#audio-input-monitoring

Video: Enhanced Melodists in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®!

We've enhanced the Melodists feature included in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows!

Access the Melodist feature by pressing F7 in the program to open the new MultiPicker Library and locate the [Melodist] tab.

You can now generate a melody on any track in the program - very handy! Plus, you select how much of the melody you want generated - specify a range, or apply it to the whole track.

See the Melodist in action with our video, Band-in-a-Box® 2024: The Melodist Window.

Learn even more about the enhancements to the Melodist feature in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024upgrade/chapter3.htm#enhanced-melodist

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 DAW Plugin Version 6: New Features Specifically for Reaper®

New with the DAW Plugin Version 6.0, released with Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows: the Reaper® Panel!

This new panel offers built-in specific support for the Reaper® DAW API allowing direct transfer of Band-in-a-Box® files to/from Reaper® tracks!

When you run the Plugin from Reaper®, there is a panel to set the following options:
-BB Track(s) to send: This allows you to select the Plugin tracks that will be sent Reaper.
-Destination Reaper Track: This lets you select the destination Reaper track to receive media content from the Plugin.
-At Bar: You can select a bar in Reaper where the Plugin tracks should be placed.
-Start Below Selected Track: This allows you to place the Plugin tracks below the destination Reaper track.
-Overwrite Reaper Track: You can overwrite previous content on the destination Reaper track.
-Move to Project Folder: With this option, you can move the Plugin tracks to the Reaper project folder.
-Send Reaper Instructions Enable this option to send the Reaper Instructions instead of rendering audio tracks, which is faster.
-Render Audio & Instructions: Enable this option to generate audio files and the Reaper instructions.
-Send Tracks After Generating: This allows the Plugin to automatically send tracks to Reaper after generating.
-Send Audio for MIDI Track: Enable this option to send rendered audio for MIDI tracks.
-Send RealCharts with Audio: If this option is enabled, Enable this option to send RealCharts with audio.

Check out this video highlighting the new Reaper®-specific features: Band-in-a-Box® DAW Plugin Version 6: New Features Specifically for Reaper®

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 DAW Plugin Version 6: New Features Video

The new Band-in-a-Box VST DAW Plugin Verion 6 adds over 20 new features!

Watch the new features video to learn more: Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2024 - DAW Plugin Version 6 New Features

We also list these new features at www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.plugin.htm.

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