Popular Music

Popular music is popular for a reason.  It has to be.  Obviously there are a lot of people that like it and that's what gives it the title.  But there are so many people competing for so few positions.  I say that in relative terms because some of the most popular music is extremely profitable and there are a lot of people that make a living in the music industry.  Yet somehow growing up, there were always groups that I could literally make fun of for not being talented.  Looking back at that phenomenon, there were hundreds of thousands of people that had to like what they did in order for me to ever hear their name.  So they must be doing something well.  All I need to do to be successful is to learn how other people do so well.

More Playlists

I finally went back and recreated my Winamp playlists.  Winamp is what I use to play all the music that I've ripped from CDs onto my computer.  It's kind of convenient to be able to say that, I guess to have a separation from things like local bands.  I didn't actually recreate anything from before since I have no idea what my previous playlists looked like.  I really just played some songs and recorded the order for a while.  But you tend to connect things a little when you know you're recording the order.  Anyway, I really just wanted to say that it's good to finally have some Winamp playlist representation again.  Things were feeling kinda empty and even if it's just a few random songs thrown together, it still gives my computer a bit more depth.

Coconut

"He said coconut cake every time because we never had been able to decide whether Ringo had ever tasted coconut cake or not." ... "Now and then I used to try and help him decide, get him to tell me how it tasted and what it looked like and sometimes he would almost decide to risk it before he would change his mind.  Because he said hat he would rather just maybe have tasted coconut cake without remembering it than to know for certain he had not; that if he were to describe the wrong kind of cake, he would never taste coconut cake as long as he lived."

William Faulkner - The Unvanquished (pg. 24-25)

Grooming Playlists

After spending quiet a while working on my Jamendo playlists, I've decided that the only thing that I can possibly do  with these is to judge them.  I guess at some point I might listen to the songs enough to mix them up and start making actual playlists.  But about all I can really see them being useful for right now is being judged.  Which artists are better than others.  Which particular songs are better than others.  I guess I wouldn't even go as far as to say better, just which ones do I like more.  I think this is going to be mostly a lot of work and not really that much fun.  Who knows though.

Local Music

I think it's time to acknowledge local music.  Jamendo is a great place to start for sort of comparing yourself to the music scene.  Obviously anyone can listen to the radio and hear what is most popular.  But the local music scene is where you might actually get hired to play a show.  For money.  Giving away music is great for getting your name out there and hoping to get a record deal or build a fan base.  But a short term goal for most musicians is going to be to actually play shows.  So, going to shows and getting the music from people that are actually being hired to play is a pretty good way to gauge what is currently out there.  Obviously what you get depends on where you go, what your location is, etc.

Pitch Pipe Practice

Pitch pipe practice is starting to pay off.  I can't tune an instrument by ear yet, but I'm closer than I was.  Seems like I've been doing this for quite a while without results (twice a day, usually), but I think I'm starting to improve.  I can not say this for sure since real progress will by measured by my ability to get the correct tuning without using my tuner.  I can start to hear the similarities.  I guess because I've been tuning twice a day, my instrument doesn't get out of tune very often, but I'm starting to notice little things.  I still try to make guesses when the strings are slightly flat or sharp.  I think I'm going to stop using my tuner at all for a while and see where things go.  I can always bring it back if I'm not doing well.

Balance

I'm not sure how I feel about taking time off.  It's something you have to do.  Everyone is going to get sick or busy or miss a day of practice somehow.  And everytime you do, your training starts to take a dip.  I have to be able to take time off, that's not something I can just ignore to stay in peak form.  I think I just need to say these things out loud so I can get over it.  I'm not going to actually stop playing for any period of time, but taking time off shouldn't throw me off either.