|
Log in to post
|
Print Thread |
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Veteran
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
Chris Thile, American Mandolinist extraordinaire, won one of the coveted McArthur Genius $500,000 grants. http://www.newser.com/story/155084/macar...ampaign=rss_3_2He plays almost every style of music there is on his "bluegrass" mandolin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSZ40V0teGMA virtuoso who has time to for the children as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3St1CoH1rKU&feature=relatedAnother fabulous musician to be honored with the same award is the modern French bowmaker and inventor, also a pianist and violinst, Benoit Rolland, now living in Boston and creating his carbon graphite and wood bows that exhibit more enhanced playability and sound than *any* of the well-known and expensive bows of the past. Half a million bucks. "There's always room for THE BEST" --Mac
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,475
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,475 |
Music, like any business, some will make a lot of money, others will fail, and most will survive somewhere in the middle.
A lot of it is talent, a lot of it is promotion, a lot of it is being at the right place at the right time and a lot of it is knowing the right people.
I met Tom Scott many years ago while playing at a Hyatt hotel. He had just gotten off a concert gig with Steve & Eydie. We got to talking.
In our conversation Tom said (and I'll paraphrase) I know there is a sax player playing in a Holiday Inn in a city like Valparaiso Indiana that can put me in his back pocket, but I was in the right place at the right time, knew the right people, showed up straight and on-time and did the job.
What a great humble attitude. This put Tom up 3 notches on my ladder of esteem.
Not to take anything away from Tom, he an excellent sax player, but if his father Nathan Scott wasn't a prolific film and television composer who had more than 850 television credits and more than 100 film credits as a composer, Tom may have not had the opportunity to enrich our lives with is playing.
Others "make it big" with little or not talent, but great connections. And like the sax player in a city like Valparaiso, there are some great musicians who simply make a living playing gigs.
I knew a guitar player like that. Before he died a couple of years ago, he made a living playing small gigs and teaching guitar. As a sax player who almost made it big, I've had the luxury of playing with some great playing, world famous guitarists. My late friend, Richard Mac was the best guitarist I ever played with. I put his talent up there with Jeff Beck, but he never got the break. Still, he made a living doing music and nothing but music.
Business isn't fair. McDonalds makes a fortune selling cardboard food while a really fine chef opens a small restaurant and fails. Jackson Pollock painted what amounts to the drop cloths of a house painter and makes it famous, while another truly great artist works a day job and sells his/her paintings at local art fairs. Some singing stars can't carry a tune and rely on auto-tune while other great singers are in that band with someone like the sax player from Valparaiso.
In business, you can't always equate success with quality. Two different things. Sometimes they go together, sometimes they don't. Especially if your business is something as subjective as the arts. But when an artist is famous AND extremely talented, the artistic output can be one of humankind's great pleasures.
Thanks for the links, Mac.
Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton  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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 8,987
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 8,987 |
Bob, perhaps everyone who has performed on stage can relate to this experience...I have been totally humbled and "blowed away" by the drunk whose friends coax him up on stage to pick-n-sing. I never regained my audience. They are the unmotivated musicians that you may be speaking about but, often, they shun fame and successes in favor of booze and drugs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,251
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,251 |
Chris is a phenomenal mandolin player. I've been listening to him since he was a kid.
His playing with Nickel Creek is great.
Thanks for the heads up Mac.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,697
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,697 |
Quote:
Not to take anything away from Tom, he an excellent sax player, but if his father Nathan Scott wasn't a prolific film and television composer who had more than 850 television credits and more than 100 film credits as a composer, Tom may have not had the opportunity to enrich our lives with is playing.
I didn't know that, jeesh it never ends. May not? I would say 99.5% not. Being good, reliable, a great person is not enough. Just the other day I'm watching the credits at the end of a Law and Order episode and one of the names tickled the old brain cells, Mariska Hargitay. I looked her up and sure enough, she's Jane Mansfield's daughter. She kept her fathers name, Mickey Hargitay. He was the Arnold of his time, a champion body builder and playboy movie star (but not as big as Arnold) who married the sex bomb. This goes back to how surprised I was to read Nicholas Cage is Francis Ford Coppola's nephew. The thing is I'm sure most of these people are embarassed about their connection so on the one hand they used the connection to get ahead but kept the other name so us plebes wouldn't know until they've become such big stars nobody cares. Angelina Jolie is another one, the list is endless if we all got together over some beers about it.
Is there anybody in Hollywood who isn't connected including most of the crew? I really doubt it, if we think someone isn't connected it just means we haven't dug deeply enough.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Veteran
|
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
There's another side to that coin, Bob, a lot of people who were born with such "connections" spend a lot of their time NOT invoking the connection because they do not want people to think that they did not make it on their own merit.
And the public can always see right through a fake.
--Mac
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913 |
Quote:
And the public can always see right through a fake.
--Mac
I think that is generally true. Nicolas Cage is the exception to me - when he's cast as the action hero, I simply can't put it together with his half-closed eyelids. His best role to me: "Matchstick Men".
-Scott
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 484
Journeyman
|
|
Journeyman
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 484 |
Notes,
For me, I was blessed to have an experence in my late teens to tour with many of the 60's recording acts back in the 1980's. I got to learn a lot about the "business" of music that gave me insight. One was the curse of the "Hit".
Follow my logic on this. I like to use the Rolling Stones, "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" as my example. Figure it is 1964 and two guys come up with this song. They gather their blokes around to jam to it. Soon, they are in rehearsal for the recording. Given the potential for many retakes in the recording studio, coupled with the rehearsals, they probably have played that song a couple of hundred times by now. And this is before the first Disc Jockey airs it. Hey, it's a hit. So, they travel and play that song at every concert. By 1966, the Stones probably played that song several hundred times by now. Little did they realize that decades later they would be doomed to play that SAME SONG a million times by now. And each time they do it, they have to look like it was the first time they played it... 50 years later! Echoes of Ricky Nelson's "Garden Party" now comes to mind.
So many bands make it. And the very hit they "make it" with becomes the albatross upon their neck. And Ricky said it best, "I would rather drive a truck." When I talked with many of these 60's recording artists decades after they had their hits, I sensed the same burn out.
Well, I just wanted to point a reality to those who dream of what it would be like to "make it." I think of myself as having made it. Here is my spec for that definition. I get to play my instruments when I want instead of when I have to. And I don't have to play if I don't want to. (That's the best part) I write the songs I want and it does not matter whether they become a hit or not because I don't have to play them again if I don't want to. And the best part, I get to enjoy my family with the privacy of an unknown artist. I love it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,475
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,475 |
Nepotism runs wild in most businesses. I could have been hired at the newspaper because of my father's reputation. And yes, not every person wants to ride on their relatives coat tails either.
Having an 'in' in the business sure helps if you want to do it though. And many talented people have had that opportunity in the music business. I have nothing against that. On the other hand, some relatively untalented people have gotten there solely on their family connections. It's probably been happening for as long as we have been humans. The son of the chief or king gets first shot at being the next chief or king.
And "The Hit" works both ways. I once saw an interview with Tony Bennett and the interviewer asked him if he every got tired of singing "San Francisco". Tony's answer was (and I'll paraphrase): How can I get tired of singing it? It's a great song, it's the song that put me on the map, and it's the song my fans want to hear. So no, I never get tired of singing it.
This put Tony up 3 notches in the ladder of my esteem.
The first song I learned by ear was "Harlem Nocturne". I almost wore out the Viscounts LP moving the needle back and forth trying to pick out each note of the song. I still play the song, not as often as I used to, but once every couple of months when it is appropriate for the audience. And I still love to play it.
We're all happy doing different things. If being a musician was easy, or if being a musician was something everybody wanted to do for a living, people wouldn't pay me to have so much fun on the job.
Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton 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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PowerTracks Pro 2026 for Windows is Here!
PowerTracks 2026 is here—bringing powerful new enhancements designed to make your production workflow faster, smoother, and more intuitive than ever.
The enhanced Mixer now shows Track Type and Instrument icons for instant track recognition, while a new grid option simplifies editing views. Non-floating windows adopt a modern title bar style, replacing the legacy blue bar.
The Master Volume is now applied at the end of the audio chain for consistent levels and full-signal master effects.
Tablature now includes a “Save bends when saving XML” option for improved compatibility with PG Music tools. Plus, you can instantly match all track heights with a simple Ctrl-release after resizing, and Add2 chords from MGU/SGU files are now fully supported... and more!
Get started today—first-time packages start at just $49.
Already using PowerTracks Pro Audio? Upgrade for as little as $29 and enjoy the latest improvements!
Order now!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Windows to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forums57
Topics85,880
Posts797,294
Members39,975
| |
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean